DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS

I call that “On The Ground Marketing”.  I’m sure there’s a fancier name for it but I never went to school for this stuff.   Just a lifetime in the game.

But man are people upset!  Some have taken to writing letters to the Leader Post while others are simply content to breathe fire into my ear.

Unfortunately some of them won’t listen to reason.

I wish I could’ve been in attendance at Saturday’s Town Hall Meeting in the Brandt Centre to truly get a sense of what went down but suffice it to say, there’s a great deal of discontent amongst Pats fans with the new ticket pricing structure.  And a disconnect between the fans and the team can not be allowed to happen.

It would be great to know whose idea the price hike was?  I’d have gone about it differently, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat.  For instance a decade ago in Medicine Hat the Tigers slashed season ticket prices significantly when the franchise was in the doldrums.  I think it was down to $100 but they wound up selling the Arena out and although they’ve gradually increased ticket prices since, you still can’t buy a ticket for Tigers games to this day.  It’s a sellout every night.

It’s the Walmart mentality: sell more for less.

However for any of us earthlings to question the business accumen of the men who make up the Queen City Sports & Entertainment Group would be ludicrous.  They’re some of the wealthiest and most successful businessmen in the province.  I just get a nagging feeling that sports business is a great deal different than the regular business world.

I’ve worked for Paul Hill for almost 20 years and we’ve debated this on many an occasion.  A lot of times we agree to disagree but we both enjoy the debate.

One last thing on this topic: while in Mexico, a couple from Regina made an interesting comment regarding the Pats.  “We went to a Pats game to see the new clock,” the wife said.  “It was great but now that we’ve seen it, we don’t need to go back.  It’s not like it’s going to make us Pats fans or anything.”

That comment floored me because I don’t get that mentality.  However they’re likely not alone.  Could people like this ever become Pats fans?

That’s a good question.

3 – THE SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS:  Of course the Riders are a pleasure for all of us and covering them on a day-to-day basis is a dream.  There’s not a ton going on with the Green & White these days – at least that’s how it looks from the outside – but one undercurrent of discussion centres around the status of veteran fullback Neal Hughes.

Neal’s contract with the Riders expired on February 10 and thus his name does not appear on the team’s roster at Riderville.com.  Tabbed “White Chocolate” by former teammate Nealon Greene in 2004 because of his uncanny moves and footwork for a white guy from Regina, I’m told the Thom Trojan and Regina Rams grad is contemplating retirement.

However, he told his barber on Wednesday that he’s considering coming back in 2015 too.  How do I know this?  Because the same gal cut my hair on Thursday.  This town!  Haha.

Sources tell me there’s also a lingering injury issue with Hughes as well, which could factor prominently into his eventual decision.  As it stands now – from what I hear – it could be a few months before we get definitive word on Neal’s plans.  Linebacker Mike McCullough waited until May last year until he eventually decided to call it a career.  It may be that long before we know Hughes’ future as well.

4 – BACK TO SPORTS MARKETING:  A simple Tweet from the Roughriders’ account on Thursday – quoting me – referred to the franchise as “Canada’s Team” when it promoted my latest column on their website.  That comment set off a Twitter controversy from fans across the CFL, including an Eskimo supporter who said he finds the term Canada’s Team “incredibly offensive”.

My response?  GOOD!  We’re not in the business of promoting and marketing other CFL teams.  In the MMG I’ll recount the origin of that moniker but the simple fact is we jumped on that slogan over a decade ago before anybody else in the Canadian Football League did.  Plus we have a copious amount of statitistical data to back up the claim.

Maybe if other teams’ fans wouldn’t react so violently to the phrase, we’d back off on it but everytime it comes up they come unglued.  Don’t egg me on!

5 – ARIZONA:  Ever been there?  It’s the greatest place on earth.  A perfect climate, no bugs, and year-round sports.  It doesn’t get better than that.  One day I hope to hang my hat there for good.

And on Sunday I’ll have the pleasure of heading back to Phoenix along with Rider Radio analyst Carm Carteri for the Riderville Tour at Tuesday’s Arizona Coyotes-Anaheim Ducks game at Gila River Arena.  In October when I wrote that I was taking care of some business down in Arizona, that’s what it was about.

We’ll be broadcasting the SportsCage on 620 CKRM live from the Whiskey Rose (adjacent to the arena) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with a bevy of Coyotes, Roughriders and Phoenix guests.  Football maven John Lynch will be with us too, and it sounds like Tiger Williams as well.

On Tuesday there will be a pregame tailgate party featuring star Rider receiver Chris Getzlaf from 4:00-6:30 pm and then possibly more events inside the arena.  The first 350 Rider fans to purchase seats will have the opportunity to pose for a postgame photo at centre ice along with Ryan and Chris Getzlaf and us Rider personalities.

On Wednesday I was told the Coyotes were capping ticket sales due to high demand and then on Thursday I was told they aren’t.  Why turn anybody away?

However if you’re waiting until Tuesday, don’t.  Go to www.arizonacoyotes.com/riderville and enter the promo code RIDERS.  You’ll get discounted tickets and will be situated in one of at least four sections that are dedicated to the Rider Nation.

This is such an amazing promotion for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and I’m still getting my head around the fact we were able to partner the Riders with an NHL team for an event in Phoenix!  It’s truly been a team effort.  Once the plans quickly came together, we knew the Rider Nation would do the rest and they’ve responded in droves.

Many are asking how this promotion came about.  I’ll tell that story once we hit the air at 4:00 pm on Monday.

6 – STAND-UP COMEDY:  We always try to hit a comedy club no matter where our travels take us, whether it’s Sunset Boulevard, the Vegas Strip or Times Square.  Or, Regina’s Conexus Arts Centre.  Would I normally buy a ticket to see comedian Ron James, “The Old Maritime Midget”?  Likely not.  But on Tuesday we were afforded a pair of free tickets to James’ show and it was a riot (thank you Global).

The former CBC star did a set which lasted 1:51 (he could’ve trimmed it by 20 minutes, but whatever) and he had us holding our guts and wiping tears from our cheeks.  It’s Canadian humour of course, with James jabbing Stephen Harper, the Toronto Maple Leafs, our country’s moose population and several odd jokes about bodily functions.  The performance gets two thumbs-up from the MMG and if Ron James is coming to a town near you, grab some seats.

However something struck me during the show.  The Conexus Arts Centre could stand an upgrade.  After seeing so many live shows around the continent, I felt the old Centre of the Arts could benefit from the addition of a video screen or two.  So much of Ron James’ show has to do with his many facial expressions and contortions but we couldn’t see them from Row J.

It is 2015 after all.

7 – COUNTRY MUSIC:  It’s been a lifelong pleasure of mine but I haven’t listened to it much lately, for my own reasons.  However country legend Clint Black will perform a soldout show at the Casino Regina Show Lounge tonight and it promises to be a magical evening.  I even offered to be the emcee for the performance, but the request fell on deaf ears.  As it turns out, that’s a good thing because of tonight’s Regina Pats TV broadcast duties

But I was hooked on Clint Black from the first time I heard his debut album Killin’ Time coming through the truck speakers on CKRM while I was working on the farm as a teenager.  “You were the first thing that I thought of, when I thought I’d drink you off my mind.  When I get lost in the liquor, you’re the only one I find,” Black wailed.

When I was plugging the jukebox in Leopold’s Tavern in days gone by, one of the first quarters always dropped on Clint.  I had a whole introduction written and ready to go for his show tonight, but I’ll re-work it for a hockey broadcast.

Those are my pleasures.  What are yours?!

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RANDOM FRIDAY THOUGHTS

– I’m oh-fer in this season of Roll Up The Rim To Win.  OH-FER!  In at least 20 opportunities.  How’s your luck?

– Happy belated Birthday to Rider great Don Narcisse who turned 50 on Thursday.  We’ll have a get-together for my favourite all-time import Rider on Saturday.  Jeff Fairholm is my favourite all-time non-import.

– We’re going to add some baseball analysts to the SportsCage roster starting as early as next week.  With pitchers and catchers reporting to camps in Florida and Arizona, I’m getting caught up in America’s pastime.  I always have grand plans to keep in touch with baseball each summer but as soon as Rider training camp starts, those thoughts go out the window.  There’s only so much room in this cranium and the Riders seem to fill it all up.

– Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin should likely sell a few more tickets this year since the former Pittsburgh Pirate has returned to his hometown to play.  I’m all for hometown players, particularly with the Roughriders and Pats however Regina coach John Paddock says that will not be their focus.  They’re intent on finding the best players, regardless of where they’re from.  You can’t argue with his plan so far.

– Is anyone else noticing that Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters is making TSN’s Highlight of the Night on virtually a nightly basis?  He’s a JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYER for goodness sake!  His exploits are truly jaw-dropping.  What’s he going to do once he reaches the NHL?

– Both TSN and Sportsnet will have wall-to-wall coverage of Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline.  It will be interesting to chart whose coverage is the best.  They’ll be at each other’s throats to provide the best analysis and breaking news.

– I feel the use of the term “iconic” is being tossed around too liberally.  It should be saved for things that are truly iconic.

– What a sense of accomplishment it was to become Facebook friends with Lonie Glieberman this week.  He’ll forever go down as one of the greats in the wild and whacky history of the Canadian Football League.  Who ever thought a Mardi Gras beads promotion in Ottawa would be a bad idea??  For sure not Lonie.

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If you haven’t already heard, The Riderville Radio Sitcom will premiere on 620 CKRM as part of the Riders’ regular game day broadcasts this season. Each half-hour episode will focus on a group of fans in and around a famous game in the Roughriders’ history. Think Corner Gas meets Bull Durham.

“The idea of tying actual moments in the Riders’ history to stuff we just fabricate, makes for
a special kind of comedy,” said series creator, Jarrett Rusnak. “After listening to the series’ demo, my friend joked that it could have been a documentary.”

Guest stars in the series include Lorne Cardinal (who played ‘Davis’ in Corner Gas), Geoff Currier, and some guy named Rod Pedersen. More announcements will be coming soon.

Rider fans have a unique opportunity to be part of the production. Nearly 60 characters will be created over 10 half-hour episodes, and fans can pay for the privilege of having some of these characters modelled after themselves (or someone they love).

“It’s a great way to honour a grandparent for an episode that takes place in 1948,” said Rusnak, “or you can put yourself in the stands for the 1966 Grey Cup.”

Visit www.PreorderRidervilleRadioSitcom.com for more information.

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THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY! SEE YOU AT THE RINK
RP
@sportscage
Instagram: ridervoice