FOOTBALL FRIDAY RUNDOWN: FOOTBALL NIGHT IN MONCTON!

The greatest story in Canadian football right now is going down in Moncton, New Brunswick this weekend and we covered it all on Episode #480 of The RP Show – Canada’s Daytime Sports Talkshow! Read on for the rundown:

• RP and Moose Dupont kicked it off with The Warmup for Four Seasons Sports Palace covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) Thursday NHL leftovers (What makes Darren nervous about the #1 Leafs?), 2) The Spring League kicked off with a doubleheader Thursday night on Fox Sports 1, 3) The Blue Jays rout the A’s 10-4 and proclaim “This Team Is A Family!”, but is George Springer part of that family?, 4) The RP Show’s NHL Top 5 are: Carolina, Vegas, Pittsburgh, Tampa and Toronto, 5) The RP Show’s NHL Bottom 5 are: Anaheim, Vancouver, Buffalo, Detroit and Columbus, and 6) The Packers are planning their OTA without the services of Aaron Rodgers.
• Moose divulged that The RP Show was intended to be live on location in Moncton, NB this week for Saturday night’s big senior mens football game between the Moncton Mustangs and Fredericton Fleet! This is the game where former CFL D-lineman Darin Burns is attempting a comeback at age 57 and will become the first Canadian to play high level football in six different decades! Friday’s show was presented by Moncton Chrysler Superstore, the top auto dealer in Atlantic Canada.
• Burns joined the show from the dealership and detailed his story of being a child sex abuse victim in foster care in Toronto but advancing to the CFL. His comeback is a tribute to his mentor, and former CFL’er Bruce Smith who recently passed away. Darin explained all the details around the game, the Maritimes mens league, and what will go down Saturday night.
• Moncton Mustangs coach Jason Terris – a former player – joined the show to talk more about the game, the league, Darin’s comeback, and the popularity of football in the Maritimes. The game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on Sportsnet East with CFL dignitaries on hand however Covid cancelled that too. The game will now be streamed live at 4:30 pm ET at www.monctonmustangs.com.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Which team will Aaron Rodgers play for in 2021 – Green Bay, Denver, Vegas or Other? At press time, the Packers were leading.
• In the Hour 2 Second Half Kickoff we were joined by former Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa Rough Riders receiver Stew Fraser who’s the only New Brunswick born-and-trained product to play in the CFL (to his knowledge). Stew played with Saskatchewan in the early 1980s and Hall of Fame Roughrider broadcaster John “Frenzy” Lynch called his games! The pair regaled the viewers with old Rider stories and at the urging of viewer Norm Fong, Fraser told the story of once having Dave Ridgway kick a field goal while using Stew’s head as the tee! It was a fascinating chat and Stew was named the Rockstar of the Day for RoxDar Supply Chain Solutions. Rod mentioned that he got to know all these guys at 2019 Touchdown Atlantic when he was hired by CFLAA Executive Director Leo Ezerins to host events that weekend in Moncton.
• After the Moncton guests were done, the panel debated the latest CFL issues including the Halifax stadium project being declared dead on Thursday, and how they can play 12-on-12 football in the Maritimes in the pandemic and why the CFL can’t do it?
• The final two segments were dedicated to Viewer Takeover and fans were gushing over the Moncton story, the interviews, and much more.
• Rod and Darren Faced Off on the question: Which dumpster fire would you rather be in charge of running – the Green Bay Packers or New York Rangers? Rod chose the Rangers while Dupes went with the Packers. The Face Off is a presentation of UFZ Moose Jaw and The Mad Greek Restaurant.
• 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 or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio feed at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• Have a great weekend and we’ll see you again Monday at 10 am MT/12 pm ET on Game+ TV and YouTube/Facebook Live!