DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS

TOTALLY RANDOM WEEKEND OBSERVATIONS

1 – THE USUAL: Sometimes I wonder why I even put the forecast for Rider games on this blog a couple days in advance.  They’re never accurate.  However the latest one I saw for Labour Day Classix XLVIII on Sunday against Winnipeg calls for a 60% chance of showers and a high of 19 degrees Celsius.  Don’t buy it.

As for the odds, Bodog.net hasn’t posted them yet.  Perhaps it’s too tough of a decision?  How about if we say the Riders are favoured by four points?

2 – DRESSLER:  All is right in the world with Weston Dressler rejoining the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  Well, sort of.  I was hoping we’d never see him in a Roughrider uniform again and he’d go on to a long and illustrious NFL career.  However for now that isn’t meant to be.  It’s eerily similar to Andy Fantuz on Labour Day Weekend of 2011 though isn’t it?

I took mild flak on Wednesday for surmising in the morning that it didn’t look good for Dressler to be signing with the Riders.  At that time, the Riders hadn’t made their offer yet and Weston was sifting through offers from the other teams.  I flip-flopped on it hourly but obviously wanted Weston to come home.  In fact my new Reebok Signature Rider jersey was printed up with #7 on it in his honour.  It was a lucky gamble.

The Riders won’t say whether or not Weston will play on Sunday but somebody told me his family is looking for 50 tickets for the game so it’s a safe bet he’ll be on the field.

The fact he signed only a one-year contract is interesting too, however Rider GM Brendan Taman told us Thursday it’s something both sides wanted.

3 – HOW CUTE:  The Calgary Stampeders made a pitch to sign Weston.  That’s rich.  However he turned them down and apparently they’re now hoping to sign Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon who’s been suspended a year for substance abuse violations and habitual rule-breaking.  Perhaps they’ll have a better shot with him, and he’ll be a better fit.

4 – LABOUR DAY MEMORIES: Bomber fans will start trickling into the Queen City tonight for Sunday’s game and will be spending their money here until Monday.  That’s great!  Last year not many of them made the trip but hopefully that’s not the case this year.  You can’t have a rivalry with only one side.  Blue Bomber broadcaster Bob Irving noted on Thursday’s SportsCage that Saskatchewan has won nine in a row so it’s no wonder the Classic is losing its steam for Bomber fans.  The Riders are 31-16 all-time over Winnipeg on this weekend.

Do you have a favourite L.D.C.?  Mine was my first as Voice of the Riders in 1999 when Curtis Mayfield set a Rider record with two punt return touchdowns in an eventual Rider win over Winnipeg.  It was the last win the team would record that season as they went on to finish 3-15 and end Cal Murphy’s coaching career.

5 – FREE WILLY:  Bob Irving noted that Bomber quarterback Drew Willy “went down like he was shot” in Thursday’s practice after knocking his throwing hand off a defender’s helmet.  However they’re reporting that he’ll be ready to play in Sunday’s LDC XLVIII.

It was also shocking to hear Irving say Drew is planning to be booed by Rider fans on Sunday.  What?  By and large he was hardly known here and for those who were aware of him, they loved and respected him.  I’d be stunned if he got any negative reaction from the Rider Nation.  But the Bombers will as a whole.

6 – HOW MUCH $$$$:  The question I’ve fielded the most this week – aside from the possible return of Dressler – is how much did Dennis Skulsky’s “Guaranteed Win” cost him?  I don’t have a marketing degree but I do have a marketing background and realistically I don’t think it cost the Lions anything more than the cost of printing the tickets for the few thousand or so extra fans it drew to Sunday’s Rider game in Vancouver.  In terms of marketing, he got his money’s worth and more by making everyone in B.C. aware of the football game.  Unfortunately only 33,000+ plus showed up which is one of the more poorly-attended games against Saskatchewan in memory.

7 – A FOUR LEAF CLOVIS:  Former Roughrider defensive back Sebastian Clovis is going to be a TV star.  Have you seen the promos for the debut of his new TV show “Tackle My Renos” on HGTV?  There’s no mention in the ads that he’s a former CFL’er but as soon as I saw his face, it was unmistakeable.  Sebastian leans into the camera, crosses his arms while holding power tools and snarls, “Let’s get dirty!”   If you ever see the show, tell me how it is.

8 – A STEEL OF A WIN:  The Regina Pats routed the Moose Jaw Warriors 9-1 Thursday night to kickoff the 2014 preseason.  Rookie phenom Sam Steel and veteran forward Connor Gay each had four points in the affair.  Steel was so far heads-and-tails better than everyone else on the ice it was sickening and he’s still only 16.  As one hockey observer said to me while watching the game, “If he was a few inches taller and 30 pounds heavier he’d be in an NHL camp right now”.  In two years he will be and it’ll be scary to think how good he will be by then.  And to me, he still looks like this generation’s Glenn Anderson.

The Pats dressed a much older lineup than Moose Jaw and it was evident by the shotclock; 65-27 Regina.  But who cares?  As Al and Jared Dumba noted, new Pats coach John Paddock needs to see his guys and most fans in attendance don’t know the ages of the players.  All they saw was the Pats spank their top rival!  Regina is on the ice again tonight at the Coop at 7:00 pm versus Calgary.

A pet peeve though: where oh where did they ever come up with the idea of calling an age group of hockey players, “’98’s, ’97’s,”, etc.?  How confusing can you get?  In my day you’d characterize a team by saying, “They have the best group of 18-year olds in the league” or whatever.  Now, when they talk about that age group they go by their birth year and I have to pull out my calculator.  I get that it’s “cool hockey lingo” but it’s confusing to fans or anyone outside the team offices.

9 – HURRY UP NHL:  I’ve had enough MLB, soccer and tennis highlights on Sportscentre and Connected to last a lifetime.  Let’s hurry up and get to the NHL training camps and preseason so these shows are more interesting and entertaining.   Also, the news of the NHL expanding to Las Vegas and Seattle in the West Conference is scintillating.  I think the league would be a big hit on both cities.  Las Vegas is starving for live sports.

10 – PARK ‘N RIDE:  The Press Box Sports Bar still has 20 tickets remaining for their game day Park ‘N Ride package which includes a ticket to the Labour Day Classic, transportation to and from the game as well as a Rod Pedersen burger and Molson product.  It’s $100 for Labour Day.  Stop in at 909 Albert St. N. and ask a server for details.

—

HAVE A FUN WEEKEND AND BE SAFE!
RP
@sportscage