Dupont’s 10 Things

1. Last Week – It was great sitting in for RP last week while he was taking some time off. It’s always a fun challenge to take on the hosting of the RP Show but it’s good to have the big guy back. Loved the support from the viewers and listeners but a week is enough. One of the best segments of the week was sharing stories with the viewers of our favourite live concerts!

2. Oilers – Thanks to Doug Armstrong and the St Louis Blues for filling the show’s rundown for a good portion of the week. It all came to a resolution early Tuesday morning (rather anti-climactically) when the Oilers decided not to match either offer sheet. In the end I think the Oilers will be ok. You can’t allow someone to strong arm you when you’re in salary cap crisis and bend to it. The Oilers called their bluff and we’ll see over time if it was the right move. No reason to panic or think the Oilers won’t be in the mix next season.

3. Habs – The addition this week of Patrick Laine by the Montreal Canadiens has sparked good conversation this week. Habs’ fans are over-the-moon excited and for good reason. They’re getting a former 44-goal scorer and dream that he’ll return to superstar status immediately. Not so fast. Prior to getting hurt early last season and then entering the Player’s Assistance Program, Laine had been basically a point-per-game player the two seasons prior but seemed to have lost that spark that wowed fans in Winnipeg. Remember Laine vs Mathews? Feels like a decade ago.

The good news? Montreal GM Kent Hughes seems to have done his homework here. The Canadiens didn’t give up much to acquire Laine and he seems genuinely excited to head to the hockey Mecca. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this plays out. It’s a big year for the Canadiens’ development and Martin St Louis will need to manage the culture carefully.

4. Leafs – Might as well touch on the Leafs quickly while we’re at it. Austin Matthews was named the 26th captain in team history last week and, while it’s largely just a ceremonial move for the team, they seemed to do it the right way. Having John Tavares hand it over in a big ceremony feels like the right way. And, while we will say it doesn’t really matter (and does it? really?) it matters to the players. It means something in the locker room. I don’t think this will have any affect on the ice. Matthews currently has a projected over/under of 57.5 goals for 2024-25.

5. Elks – Our poll question on the RP show Wednesday will be “What is Canada’s Game Of The Week?” and the answer is easy: Saskatchewan @ Toronto on Thursday. But a VERY close runner-up for me is Edmonton @ Montreal on Sunday. Montreal won the first meeting back in June by just three points (23-20). The Elks have new ownership and are riding a tidy three-game winning streak coming into week 11. If Edmonton can find a way to win this game, they’ll put the entire league on notice that this isn’t a fad and that they should be considered a real threat in the second half. The West should be worried.

6. GAME OF THE WEEK – Chad Kelly. Not sure where to go with that. It wasn’t a criminal offence; it was more of a code-of-conduct violation. Still, not good. He’s down to his “last strike in the bottom of the 9th” as RP put it on the show this week. Boo him, cheer him, don’t buy his jersey, I don’t care. No matter how you feel, there is a reason to watch the game on Thursday. Some will watch hoping he makes good on his n-th chance and some will watch hoping he looks worse than he did in the Argos’ playoff loss last season. Either way, I hope we’ll all watch.

7. RIDER PRIDE – Meanwhile, a lot of pressure seems to be off Sask heading on the road for this one. They can thank Randy Ambrosie and Chad Kelly for that. That doesn’t mean they aren’t feeling the heat internally. They’re still in first place but the entire division is closing in on them quickly. This is the time I tell fans not to panic. They actually looked really good last week and Trevor Harris was graded out over 93% and the CFL’s top performer. They’ll be fine. Brett Lauther won’t miss 4 FG this week.

8. College FB – We are three days away from the fall college football season beginning on both sides of the boarder. I’m excited to be asked to jump on an OUA broadcast Saturday from McMaster University in Hamilton while ESPN will kickoff another season of College Game Day from Dublin on Saturday in a pretty light week. It’ll get hot and heavy really quickly in another week. Does that signal the end of summer?

9. Hot Dogs – Netflix dipped their toe into live streaming a little while ago but they’ve fully jumped into the pool now. This is straight from Netflix:

Streaming live on Netflix, 16-time hot dog– eating champion Joey Chestnut will face off against rival and six-time hot dog–eating champion Takeru Kobayashi in Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef with all-beef hot dogs. The showdown will settle a 15-year rivalry between the two competitive eaters: Will Chestnut maintain his title as the world’s greatest, or will Kobayashi gnaw with a vengeance and regain his throne?

I don’t know about you but I’ll be watching!

10. Randoms – This CFL season should be a Netflix doc. Bo Levi throws 5 touchdowns in a game, leads the league in passing but the team can’t win and he gets benched, Tre Ford finally gets his shot and the Elks are rolling, Nathan Rourke has returned to Canada, the Chad Kelly saga, Chris Jones is fired and then resurfaces in Hamilton, new ownership in Edmonton, Jeremiah Masoli’s return is out of a Disney script…. what am I missing?… I’ve been introduced to iced coffee. More specifically, iced protein coffee. I mix two espresso shots with a protein drink from Costco and it’s honestly my new favourite summer drink… Episode 3 of Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Chicago Bears aired Tuesday night on HBO. I’m becoming more and more of a fan of this team heading into the season. Crazy what a little media can do… Guardian caps are cool and don’t look nearly as awkward as I thought they might. Hats off to players already wearing them in CFL and NFL games.

And what’s on your mind?