FLAME TECH FOOTBALL FRIDAY RUNDOWN: THE RETURN OF ABOU!

Fridays are reserved for the gridiron and we tackled it all on Episode #539 of The RP Show – Canada’s Daytime Sports Talkshow! Read on for the rundown:

• RP and Moose Dupont got it going with The Warmup for EECOL Electric covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) NFL training camps are open and they include Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers!, 2) It’s CFL Final Cutdown Day and the panel perused the big names released so far, 3) Texas and Oklahoma are leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, 4) Does Commissioner Randy Ambrosie deserve some credit for the CFL playing this season?, 5) The Blue Jays rout the Red Sox 13-1, it’s MLB Trade Deadline Day and the Jays host Kansas City Friday in Toronto! and 6) An Olympic update – which sport do you believe you could compete in in the Olympics? (We asked the viewers, and the hosts both agreed on Table Tennis).
• Calgary Stampeders blogger and podcaster Ryan Ballantine joined the sh0w for a Stamps update and detailed the team’s final cuts. He reported that while Bo Levi Mitchell is missing time, Ryan expects he’ll be good to go for Game 1. Ballantine isn’t surprised by the many training camp injuries and predicts there will be more once the regular season begins. He also predicted an undefeated season for the Stampeders and a Grey Cup championship!
• 10-year CFL veteran and Grey Cup champion Mike Abou-Mechrek made his long-awaited return to the bunker and had plenty to say. He’s attended a few Rider training camp sessions and said he was immediately struck by the slower pace to the workouts. The Toronto product also said the rash of injuries is to be expected due to the fact the players haven’t played in two years and have had to hold down regular jobs. Abou stayed for four segments and agreed to be the regular Friday co-host, taking over from Hall of Fame Rider broadcaster John Lynch. Mike also made headlines this summer by donating a kidney to his father and urged all viewers to be organ donors, and fill out their donor cards.
• In the Hour 2 Second Half Kickoff for the Four Seasons Sports Palace we continued the CFL talk and picked landing spots for free agent defensive end Shawn Lemon (he’d later sign with the Calgary Stampeders). Abou gave his thoughts on how the season will shake out.
• 3DownNation CFL Insider Justin Dunk joined the show from Southern Ontario for a CFL update and that included the passing of Montreal Alouettes co-owner Sid Spiegel. Justin doesn’t think it’ll affect the future of the franchise much at all. Dunk went over teams’ final cuts, looked ahead to the season and previewed some of the big stories 3Down is working on heading into the long weekend.
• Rod and Darren previewed the NFL season and Super Bowl futures bets for betting partner Come On Official. Rod’s Dallas Cowboys face longer odds than Darren’s Tennessee Titans to win it all this year. Best value bets include the Rams, Chargers and Patriots while the worst are the Chiefs and Saints!
• Friday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook/YouTube pages, you can catch the replay at 4:00 pm ET on Game+ TV, listen to the podcast anytime by clicking on the CONTENT tab at the top of this page or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio feed at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• Enjoy the long weekend and we’ll see you Tuesday at 12 pm ET/10 am MT on Game+ TV and YouTube/Facebook Live! Don’t miss the Best Of The RP Show Saturday and Sunday at 12 pm Sask Time on Access Now TV.