FRIDAY COMMENTARY – A LESSON FROM BLUE

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)

There’s always a method to my madness, even if it appears a little erratic some times.

One of the best parts of my job has always been emceeing or being the guest speaker at these sports banquets around the province. Honestly it’s a win-win for everyone; the towns raise a lot of money, the community comes together, and I get to meet new people and rub elbows with the sports stars.

These guys (and gals) are usually the cream of the crop in their sports and have the championship rings to prove it. So when they speak about their road to success, I listen. And I also make sure to take down their contact info!

One night at Milestone’s fundraising dinner, in 2013 in fact, I asked Rider great offensive lineman Brendon Labatte when he knew the 2013 Grey Cup was in hand. After all, the Riders led 31-6 at halftime over the Ticats at Taylor Field that day, on the way to a 45-23 laugher.

He replied, “When the clock hit 0:00.”

Those words have stuck with me every since. i.e. You don’t stop working till the horn blows. I know for a lot of you that’s not new but for the last two generations to hit the workforce, it might as well be written in Mandarin.

And I used to cut corners too, take things for granted, and check out early. Honestly it’s amazing I’ve had the career that I’ve had.

Not anymore.

So that’s why when it comes to the Calgary Flames, I’m not going to write them off till the math says so. We’re broadcasting the RP Show from here at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino in Calgary and the mood around the city is pretty down. I’d guess 90% of the city has written them off.

But the clock hasn’t hit 0:00 yet. And last night the Flames pasted the Golden Knights in Vegas 7-2 to close to within three points of a playoff spot with 13 games to play.

Wouldn’t it be something if they actually got hot at the right time and punched their ticket to the dance?

I love having the last laugh, and I’m guessing the Flames would too.

One night in Estevan on the rubber chicken circuit, I got to have supper with Boston Bruins icon Ray Bourque. I asked him the secret to his success and he answered, “Off the glass and out.”

I said, “What??”

Ray continued, “I may have had over a thousand points in a thousand games but what I did thousands of times more is get the puck off the glass and out of our zone. Simple, consistent. We can’t score when the puck’s in our end.”

Simple, but consistent. I wrote that one down too.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV, YouTube Live, iHeartRadio and WQEE Radio)