DAYTONA HOMES TUESDAY MORNING GOALIE

HEADSHOTS

OH NO, HERE WE GO:  The next round of talks in the ongoing CFL labour negotiations are planned for Wednesday of this week.  In the meantime, let’s sit back and enjoy some Tweets from current and past CFLers as they pertain to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  From Ottawa REDBLACKS quarterback Henry Burris (@HenryBurris): “It’s sad players salaries only make up 20 percent of the bottom line.  Now is that right?”  And from former All-Star Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Doug Brown: (@dougbrown97): “CFL labor dispute in an nutshell:  Each club gets $2.7 mil in additional TV revenue in 2014, yet CFL proposes only $100K cap increase.  Fair?”

This is going the way of the NHL lockout in 2013 only this one’s way more confusing.  I saw the same article written by the Winnipeg Sun’s Kirk Penton in two different publications with two different headlines.  One said the situation looks positive while the other said it doesn’t look good.  That was for the same article!  Very confusing indeed.

DIDN’T EXPECT THIS:  On Friday’s SportsCage, we opened the phones and asked the listeners “What if there’s a strike in the CFL this summer?  What will you do?”  To my shock and horror, no one was concerned.  The first caller said he’d read a book or go play golf when there’s supposed to be a CFL game on.  A lady called in and said a CFL strike might save her marriage, because she never sees her husband during football season.  Another guy called in and said perhaps people will go to WMBL games, particularly the local Regina Red Sox.  Frankly I thought people in this town would be jumping off buildings at the prospect of a CFL work stoppage.  If that’s how they feel here, how do they feel in Toronto and Vancouver?  The theory of Out of Sight, Out of Mind would be catastrophic for the CFL who finally seems to have its act together on the business side.

TSN’S ROLE:  Many fans have said if this work stoppage goes on for any prolonged period of time, TSN will step in and put an end to it because they stand to lose the most.  However I’m not so sure that’s the case.  We’ve seen work stoppages in all of the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB over the years – all varying in length – and not once did we hear that the TV networks played a role in ending them.  Frankly I don’t think the league’s official broadcast partner would have much to do with negotiations.

AN ESPN REPORT:  For what it’s worth, here’s a report from ESPN Kansas City regarding Weston Dressler’s chances at sticking with the NFL’s Chiefs:  “The former CFL receiver is on the outside looking in after the Chiefs drafted De’Anthony Thomas.  The Chiefs don’t need two small players who play the same position and Dressler doesn’t have Thomas’s size or big-play ability.  Unless there’s an injury to another player or Dressler shows unexpected ability, he will have a tough time making it.”

GREY CUP SUCCESSION:  CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon spoke at the Ottawa Mayor’s Breakfast late last week and mused about what a great football city our nation’s capital is.  He’s entirely correct.  He also guaranteed that the REDBLACKS would get to host a Grey Cup within the franchise’s first four seasons and the likely year is 2015.  That happens to be Canada’s 150th birthday and it makes perfect sense.  It appears the succession of Grey Cup cities looks like this: Vancouver (2014), Winnipeg (2015), Hamilton (2016), Ottawa (2017).

NO STANLEY ON TV TONIGHT:  Take your partner for a walk, or give him/her a kiss.  Better yet, watch the Memorial Cup on Rogers Sportsnet.  Regarding the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens are in a world of trouble after falling down 2-0 to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final.  It’s a shame the Habs lost goaltender Carey Price to the knee injury but the collision with New York’s Chris Driedger looked innocent enough.  Montreal fans can’t see it for what it was, but you have to realize there was no penalty on the play nor was there supplemental discipline.  The Canadiens were looking like a team of destiny and now it’s all going down the tubes.  What a shame.  Interestingly enough New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist as started a club record 81 consecutive playoff games.  Don’t think that’s a big deal?  Look down 200 feet to the other end of the ice.

BACK TO THE MEMORIAL CUP:  The hockey’s been pretty good in London, ON and as predicted, the Guelph Storm are the favourites.  In fact they’ve already booked their spot in Sunday’s final and it’s only Tuesday.  However the time has come for the CHL to look at playing two games per day and really giving fans a bang for their buck.  Realistically, how many junior hockey fans can travel cross-country and stay in a hotel for 10 or 11 days?  Featuring double-headers Monday through Wednesday would be a massive shot in the arm and give fans something to do during the day rather than sit around their hotel twiddling their thumbs.  It’s time.

WE’RE DOING PRETTY GOOD:  The WHL Draft has been over for weeks but folks around here are still bemoaning the fact only one Regina player was taken in the entire derby.  In fact they say it was a down year for Saskatchewan overall and the doomsdayers think it’s the start of a trend.  Seriously though, what other Canadian city can boast the number of NHLers that Regina does in the way of Ryan Getzlaf, Jordan Eberle, Chris Kunitz, Josh Harding, Tyler Bozak, Boyd Gordon, etc.?  These things go in cycles and frankly I’d say Regina is leading the way.  Also take a look around and notice that in 2014 Saskatchewan is home to national hockey trophies the Royal Bank Cup, the Telus Cup and the Esso Cup!  We should be taking a bow rather than looking in the mirror.

BACK TO MONTREAL:  On Saturday afternoon I set up the Ipad and speakers out on the patio and listened to the Game 1 call of Montreal Canadiens voice John Bartlett on TSN 690 radio.  This guy is one of the best in the NHL!  He was a call-up from the Habs’ AHL affiliate in Hamilton and immediately made a great pairing with colour commentator Sergio Momesso.  Bartlett has a delivery slightly like Marv and Kenny Albert but he’s better and more exciting.  I invite you to give him a listen.

TIM HORTON’S IS DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT:  I’M KIDDING!  I’M KIDDING!  However their consumers are.  On Saturday morning I was out picking garbage on Lewvan Drive south of Gordon Road and of the thousand or so items I bagged, one out of every four was a Tim Hortons cup.  Mrs. SportsCage wryly asked, “Did you Roll Up The Rim To Win?”  No I didn’t, but I did collect three bags of garbage in that small area but had to quit when my back ached so bad I couldn’t stand up straight.  However it hardly made a dent in that area.  A couple of guys even stopped to help after reading about this on the blog last Monday.  On Sunday I went for a bike ride and noticed this city is covered in garbage from one end to the other.  How absolutely disgusting.  Can we organize a Saturday bee to clean it up?  I propose the Golden Garbage Can Award sponsored by (____Your Business_____) to be awarded to the city’s cleanest area.  Weyburn and Estevan have been doing this for years and it’s very popular.

ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE?:  A long-time radio buddy of mine in Nova Scotia, Trevor Stoyko, lost 120 lbs on a diet called Body By Vi.  I asked him about the diet and after hearing the details, I signed up immediately.  See I’ve studied every diet out there like Anthony Calvillo’s Gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diet (YUCK!), the Ideal Protein diet (no thanks) and many others.  But with Body By Vi, imagine being able to enjoy milk, cereal, grains, shakes and cookies all the while losing pounds!  Coupled with cardio work in the gym, the weight literally falls off.  In fact I dropped 11 lbs in the first week.  If you’re interested, sign up here http://rodpedersen.bodybyvi.com/.  Watch the video and if you think you’d like to take the challenge, fill in the online form.  Pretty sure you won’t be disappointed!

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY … SEE YOU IN THE CAGE AT 4 PM
RP
@sportscage