FLAME TECH FOOTBALL FRIDAY RUNDOWN

Fridays are reserved for football on The RP Show and we welcome the greats on Episode #350 of Canada’s Daytime Sports Talk Show! Here’s the rundown:

• Rod and Dupes (who was dressed for Hallowe’en in a Cobra Kai/Bo Levi costume) kicked it off with The Warmup, covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) The Arizona Coyotes cut ties with draftee Mitchell Miller, 2) Thursday Night Football saw the Falcons down the Panthers 25-17, 3) Why are headshots on Andy Dalton and Teddy Bridgewater not drawing fines?, 4) Canada’s Game of the Week in CFL SIM saw Calgary down Saskatchewan 11-5, 5) Grey Cup Unite, and 6) What’s the CFL’s future without David Braley in the picture?
• RP Show NFL Insider Tori Gurley joined the show for his weekly Tori’s Tips presented by Wheaton Kia. Tori gave his fantasy advice for Week 8. The former Packers, Browns and Argonauts WR said there won’t be any suspensions for head hits because they’re far more costly than fines. He feels player safety isn’t taken that seriously during Covid, other than testing for the virus. Tori also answered a machine gun of questions from Hall of Fame Rider broadcaster John Frenzy, whose appearances are also sponsored by Wheaton Kia. Regarding the Cowboys not sticking up for Andy Dalton after taking a headshot from Washington’s John Bostic, Tori said he’d have been in there throwing punches.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Who’s the greatest GM in CFL history – Hugh Campbell, Wally Buono, Jim Popp or Eric Tillman? At press time the leader was Buono. RP said Tillman got the nod over John Hufnagel because we won three Grey Cups with three different teams, plus Hufnagel is still active.
• Hour 2 was broadcast on Facebook Live only and we were joined by iconic Regina Rams coach Frank McCrystal. The Rams won seven national titles under Frank’s watch. It was a very wide-ranging visit where Frank touched on the absence of pro, university, junior and high school football in Canada in 2020. He said the group of players he feels for the most is high school seniors. McCrystal also discussed Canadians in the NFL and NCAA and how scouting is a huge challenge right now due to the lack of in-person activities. He also discussed the many Rams who’ve graduated to the NFL and how he worked to help get Jon Ryan into The Show.
• Next up was Ottawa RedBlacks defensive coordinator Mike Benevides from his home in Vancouver. He talked about his 12 seasons with the BC Lions and his fondness for owner David Braley. Regarding criticism of Braley’s tenure, Benevides advised “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone”. He also talked about Vancouver product Chase Claypool of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and how he’s been tracking Claypool’s career for the past six years. He feels the many Canadians starring in NCAA and NFL is only a tremendous thing for football in Canada, and the more kids playing the game, the better. He also talked about his time on the CFL On TSN panel and how much he loved the reaction from CFL fans coast-to-coast. He admitted the toughest part of the job was being critical of his coaching comrades.
• In the closing segments, Rod said how much he appreciated CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s comments on a Return To Play in 2021 and that Ambrosie’s demeanour instills confidence in the fanbase.
• You can vote now on our Twitter poll for the Rockstar of the Day for RoxDar Supply Chain Solutions. At press time, Mike Benevides was leading.
• Friday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can catch the replay at 4:00 pm ET on Game+ TV, listen to the podcast by clicking on the CONTENT tab at the top of this page, or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio stream.
• See you at 10 am MT on Monday!