FOOTBALL FRIDAY RECAP: HURL AND BENEFIELD JOIN!

We recapped a volatile week in the CFL on Episode #259 of The Rod Pedersen Show. Here are the highlights!

• Rod and Dupes got it going with The Rollout for Flooring Superstore covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) A recap of Thursday’s CFL news (Commissioner Ambrosie’s statement, head office paycuts and the reaction), 2) A contrary viewpoint on the Argos being over the 2019 salary cap (Rod said don’t let MLSE pin it on Jim Popp as sources say Toronto was $40,000-$50,000 under the cap when Popp was let go in October), 3) The 2017 CFL Eastern Final airs Friday night on TSN, 4) The NHL’s confident they’ll play this summer despite CBA and COVID hurdles, 5) Kevin Bieksa says half the NHL players he’s talked to don’t even want to play (Rod said “Of course they don’t, but this is their job”), and 6) The WHL needs at least 50% capacity to make a go of it financially in 2020-21.
• Hall of Fame Rider broadcast John “Frenzy” Lynch joined the bunker in Segment 2 and said the conjecture in the CFL at the moment is nonsense and that if they truly want to play, they’ll play. This created quite a back-and-forth with viewers and while Rod opposed Lynch at first, he said he’s coming around to Frenzy’s line of thinking. 
• All Star BC Lions linebacker Daved “Mr. Furious” Benefield joined the show from Vancouver and discussed the players’ side of things in the CFL situation. He wonders why the NCAA is confident they’ll play football this fall, but playing is a major problem in the CFL. Benefield also said there’s virtually no coverage of the Lions from the Vancouver media and that will need to change when the CFL eventually resumes. Then the guys got into a deep Black Lives Matter discussion and RP gave Daved the floor. It was a fascinating discussion and Benefield told a story of being called the “N-word” while playing in the CFL and he had to be restrained from going into the crowd to confront the racist who said it.
• Recently-retired CFL linebacker Sam Hurl joined the show from a beach near Edmonton and said he’s “super content” with his decision to call it a career, but admitted it’s been made much easier by the COVID situation affecting the CFL. Sam told stories of coming to the Riders in 2012, his stint with the Blue Bombers, then closing out his career back with Saskatchewan. He’s getting into the commercial real estate game and said he has a great team around him.
• The guys promoted Friday night’s CFL SIM broadcast of Montreal at Saskatchewan, which will air on The Rod Pedersen Show Facebook Live channel. Teagan Littlechief will sing the national anthem, and the boys plan to have a ton of fun with it. Please join us!
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Who shall perform at the virtual halftime show of the SIM broadcast – The Sheepdogs, The Hunter brothers, Colin James or Jess Moscaluke? At press time, The Hunter Brothers were leading.
• Saskatchewan Rattlers President Lee Genier joined the show from Saskatoon to detail the CEBL’s month-long championship tournament in the Niagara region. Lee said Health & Safety and broadcast details are being worked out, and explained why they feel they can play while other leagues are having a tough time getting off the ground.
• You can vote now on our Twitter poll for the Rockstar of the Day for RoxDar Supply Chain Solutions. At press time, Daved Benefield was leading. Thursday’s vote was won by the Keeper of the Cup, Phil Pritchard.
• Friday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page, or you can listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio stream at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive presented by SUDS Full Service Car Wash.
• See you at 10 am MT on Monday on Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive and we’ll see you for Friday night’s SIM broadcast!