DuPont’s 10 Things
I’ve been away from the RP show this week and will be away next week as well, but plenty to unload so let’s get into it!
1. Two weeks – I’ve been getting plenty of questions around my two weeks off from the show. Am I suspended? In Australia for the Aussie open? The answer is no and no lol. I’ve actually have other business to attend to this week and then I’m off to Saskatchewan to call Curling trials that will run through next weekend. I’m looking forward to it, but will be back on the show soon.
2. AO – Let’s start in the land down under where I am following the Australian Open. All three Canadians, Gabrielle, Diallo, Dennis Shapovalov, and Felix Auger-Aliassime all advanced to the second round. Diallo and Shapo are scheduled to hit the court on Wednesday evening while Felix was back on the court Tuesday night. Meanwhile on the women’s side Leylah Annie Fernandez won her opening round match while Rebecca Marino came up short. Fernandez was on the court Tuesday night in the round of 64. Bianca Andreescu isn’t in the field as she continues to struggle with an injury.
3. CFP – I won’t spend too much time looking back on the College football playoff semifinals, but they did happen since we last spoke in the space. As you may know, I’ve jumped on the Notre Dame bandwagon and they took care of business knocking off Penn State in the Orange Bowl, thanks to a late intercetpion, then field goal. It was one hell of a game. Meanwhile, Ohio State continues to look like the best team remaining and eliminated the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl to set up a date with the Irish on Monday.
4. The Natty – The Buckeyes open as eight point favourites over Notre Dame ahead of Monday’s college football playoff national championship. This run that Ohio State has been on would have been unthinkable, following the crushing loss to Michigan and failing to reach the Big Ten championship game but here they are. Do I think the Irish have a shot? I do, but they’ll need to be even better than they were against Penn State.
5. NFL Playoffs – I woke up Tuesday morning feeling really bad for Minnesota Vikings fans, and we know a few. The Vikings were handed a loss in the wildcard round by the Los Angeles Rams and it really wasn’t close. What does this mean for Sam Darnold and the Vikings moving forward? I think you still have to run it back and Darnold needs to be their QB moving forward. JJ McCarthy can stick around as number two for a couple more seasons. I still love the Detroit Lions, but Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford are a pretty good combination and we saw that Monday. I think what is underrated is the Rams young defence.
I’ve still got a Bills/Lions Super Bowl.
6. Prime Time – As soon as news surfaced that the Dallas Cowboys were moving on from Mike McCarthy as their head coach the Dion Sanders rumours started to swirl. I’m in favour of Prime Time coaching the Cowboys although I think I’d rather see him in Tennessee with the Titans. What I don’t think I would really like is him bolting from Colorado after just a couple of seasons. I’d really like to see him stay and continue to build that program and then make a move to the NFL. That could still be with the Cowboys or maybe even my Titans, but I just don’t think it’s a great look to do it so soon. Sure, he did the same thing moving from Jackson State to Colorado with his sons and this really wouldn’t be much different, but I just want him to keep building the Colorado program.
7. Oh Canada – When we woke up on Tuesday morning, all seven Canadian teams were among the top 20 National Hockey League. That’s incredible! At the same time, Ottawa Montreal and Vancouver were all sitting outside the playoffs. I don’t know how this is going to shake out, and I talked about the wild playoff races last week but, wow, this is going to be a wild second half of the season and all Canadian markets are in the race. What else could we want?
8. Curling – I’m deep in prep for curling provincials where I’ll be calling play by play for our television and streaming broadcasts. Forget about the teams and the two events that will happen simultaneously, there are so many storylines around the game itself that my head is spinning. First, I’m trying to wrap my head around everything to do with the brooms and sweeping. There will be plenty to talk about on that front. Then, there’s the Brianne Harris situation annd any potential fallout from her lifted suspension after being cleared of any wrongdoing.
9. New champs? – There will be two new champions crowned at the upcoming men’s and women’s provincial curling championships in Kindersley. Mike McEwen‘s rink will not be defending their provincial crown as they’ve already earned a wild card birth into the Brier. On the women’s side, Young skip Skylar Ackerman has stepped back to focus on school, but her rink remains led by new skip and former third Ashley Thevenot. If you didn’t hear, the women’s event, formerly known as the Viterra Scotties, has been renamed to the Viterra Prairie Pinnacle.
10. Randoms – Somebody tell me what I need to pack and what the weather’s gonna be in Kindersley. I just assume I’ll pack layers and layers and layers…. Do people still make thermoses of coffee? I would like one… I’ve been approached asking if I’d explore acting. I’d start as a background actor to learn the business but then who knows? I’m seriously considering it… What’s happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs? Car, meet cliff.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
DD
