DuPont’s 10 Things

Welcome to the weekly column!

I’m currently back in The Rectangle for a few days in between broadcasts and writing this from the deck with my morning coffee.

I flew in late last week to call my first USports football game of the season in Regina and stayed in the province for a couple more games this weekend before flying back. Prepping for two football games plus mixing in some family time has made for a busy, but great, week.

There’s a lot to unpack this week and I’ve got to get back to prep so let’s get into it!:

1. Playoffs – I flew into Regina last Wednesday night and as we touched down the flight attendant got on the intercom to say “Welcome to Regina!” He added “Go Riders! 2024 champs. We’re having a good season.” To which someone couldn’t help themselves and let out a big “HA!” I almost hit the floor. That was BEFORE the Banjo Bowl.

As it stands now, the playoffs look like a longshot for the Riders. Can you see them surpassing Winnipeg to get in? How about BC the way they are playing the last two weeks? I think Edmonton is (at least) the second best team in the CFL right now so I don’t see the Riders getting in over Edmonton either. That basically means no playoffs in 2024.

Look, things can change quickly and we may be writing here in three weeks with a completely new outlook. That’s the beauty of having an opinion. It can (and maybe should) change as the world changes, time passes, and new information becomes available. For now, it’s not great.

2. The Comeback – This was brought up early this week on the RP Show. Is the CFL making a comeback? There were over 105,000 fans at stadiums across the league this past weekend which is great to see. Let’s be honest, the game wasn’t in a great place coming out of the pandemic. The league was strapped for cash (maybe still is) and the play on the field wasn’t what we were used to either. But, going back to last season, the games have been extremely entertaining, there are elite QB’s across the board and fans are back in the stands.

The CFL is back and trending UP.

3. NFL Opening Week – The NFL is back and it was great to sit down Sunday and soak it all in. To absolutely no one’s surprise, QB’s are dominating headlines. Dak got a new contract, Joe Burrow had a tough opener, Sam Darnold has Vikings’ fans excited, Deshaun Watson was… disappointing, Josh Allen was Josh Allen, and rookie QB’s are off to a rocky start.

Forget all of it. Will Levis and the Titans’ offence may have been the most disappointing. Head coach Brian Callahan: “If we’d just punted it on 1st & 10 every time we might’ve won the game the way that we gave it away.”

Wow.

He’s not wrong. The Titans D allowed a league low 93 yards passing and just 177 total yards but blew a 17-0 lead to lose 24-17. Oof.

Onward.

4. Rookie QB’s – Do not write off any of the young QB’s after week 1. Heck, don’t write them off after year one. Troy Aikman started his first year 0-11 and the Cowboys went 1-15. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his first year while Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady didn’t play in their first seasons of professional football. It takes time. The problem is teams, coaches and executives don’t have the luxury of time in a win-now business. That means teams will do their best to assess assets as best they can as fast they can and either invest or move on.

That could be a benefit to some and maybe is for the Minnesota Vikings and Sam Darnold. Let’s face it, Darnold’s career hasn’t gotten off to the best start and he’s already on his fourth team at just 27 years old. Fit and situation matter so much and perhaps this one will fit like a glove. It has definitely started well. The QB completed 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the team’s 28-6 win over the Giants.

But, it’s just one week. Relax Darren.

5. Canada West TV – I called the kickoff to the 2024 U Prairie Challenge on Friday between the U of R Rams and the U of S Huskies at Mosaic Stadium. The Rams came-from-behind to beat their provincial rivals and snap an 8-game losing streak to the Huskies. It was an entertaining game on a great night in Regina. They’ll meet again up in Saskatoon in October.

This week I have the calls for Calgary (1-1) at Saskatchewan (0-2) on Friday night and UBC (0-2) at Regina (2-0) on Saturday afternoon.

6. The Wild West – The conference is off to a wild, confusing, electric, and entertaining start in 2024. Regina was predicted to finish last in the annual coach’s poll and are 2-0 and inside the USports Top-10, The Huskies are 0-2 after losses in Winnipeg and Regina. UBC,the defending Hardy Cup Champions and Vanier Cup finalists, have dropped their first two games (both at home) and have fallen out of the top-10. Calgary had three… yes three pick-six’s in the first half to help them beat provincial rivals the Alberta Golden Bears last week.

Yep, it’s the wild west indeed.

7. USports Notes – It has been a great few weeks to start the season and this past week may have been the best yet. The Laval Rouge et Or knocked off the Vanier Cup champs from Montreal on a last-second field goal in front of… 20,903 fans in Quebec City. Well done!

Western continues to be ranked #1 in the nation and for good reason. The biggest games this week include the #1 Mustangs visiting QB Taylor Elgersma and the #4 ranked Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon and the #6 ranked Manitoba Bisons (2-0) welcoming the #9 Alberta Golden Bears (1-1).

Enjoy the games.

8. NCAA Ball – Here’s some quick-hitters: Texas looks like a real National Championship contender after watching them dismantle Michigan on Saturday. Michigan won a title by dominating the line and Texas is doing it much the same way this year… I love that Nebraska is back and they are 2-0 after being far too much for Deion Sanders and the Buffs… speaking of Colorado, it’s Colorado @ Colorado State on Saturday night. Last year they met in Boulder and the Buffaloes won in overtime….

… and one final note (to fans of Notre Dame, Michigan, and others): Teams have played two games. Relax and get back to winning games. With a 12-team playoff nobody is out of it with one loss. Heck, nobody is out of it with two losses and there’s an OUTSIDE chance someone may make the playoff with three losses. Now that’s entertaining.

9. Curling 🥌 – Last year was a fun one for me as I was able to dive into curling coverage in a new way. It wasn’t my first time calling curling but it was my first time calling play-by-play of the two provincial championship events and I LOVED IT!

I’m booked to call the championships again in 2025 in Kindersley so we’ll be following the sport in this column. Fun!

Why curling now? Because the season started this past weekend. Yep.

Remember Mike McEwan? After winning the provincial title, representing Saskatchewan at the Brier in Regina and making it all the way to the final, McEwen and his rink were on the ice in Alberta this past weekend for the first bonspiel of the year, the Saville Shootout in Edmonton…. and they won!

Notables in the event: Calgary’s Kevin Koe was in the event looking good going 5-0 in the round robin while Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg was 4-1 in pool play.

Meanwhile, Brad Gushue fell in the semi-final of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard. The Grand Slam season is coming soon and in the province the Sask Curling Tour begins Sept 27-29 in Martensville.

At the Women’s Ice Breaker at Sutherland Curling Club in Saskatoon this past weekend. Moose Jaw’s Sherrilee Orsted beat Saskatoon’s Ashley Thevenot and her team in the final. The Thevenot foursome repped Saskatchewan at the Scotties last spring and was skipped by Skylar Ackerman. Thevenot is now the skip as Ackerman is focusing on school and stepping away from the game. Brittany Tran has joined the team at third.

10. Randoms – NHL training camps are opening this week and I’m excited for the season to get started in a little less than a month…. Thank God for Sportscentre. Without it, and a highly curated social media feed, it would be impossible to keep track of everything going on this time of year…. I’ve become a big fan of QB Kyler Murray. The Cardinals lost in Week 1 but he looked good and should garner more conversation among the league’s best pivots…. Are the Jays done yet? I have tickets for one more game when I get back to Toronto. Despite the team being in last-place the games are still fun. That’s a credit to the gameday staff… What’s my favourite level of football? I don’t know but I was asked the question this week and will do my best to answer it in an upcoming social media post… and Leanne and I are taking off for a brief hiatus to the other side of the world next month. RP might be reading about it for the first time right here! That’s how fast this is happening. It’s a good story and you’ll have to come back next week to read about it!

Talk to you then!