FRIDAY COMMENTARY – NOW’S THE TIME

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

THIS IS GOING TO SOUND LIKE A COMMERCIAL BUT TRUST ME, IT’S NOT.

THE SASKATCHEWAN RUSH ARE HOME SATURDAY NIGHT TO THE CALGARY ROUGHNECKS IN A MUST-WIN NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE GAME.

THIS, I BELIEVE, IS THE SIXTH SEASON FOR THE RUSH IN SASKATOON SINCE RELOCATING FROM EDMONTON BUT IT STILL ASTOUNDS ME HOW MANY SASKIES HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A GAME!

WELL, NOW’S THE TIME.

THE RUSH AND ROUGHNECKS ARE TIED IN THE BASEMENT OF THE NLL WEST WITH FOUR WINS EACH BUT JUST LIKE THE CFL – WITH AN 18-GAME REGULAR SEASON – YOU’RE NOT GENERALLY OUT OF IT TILL THE LAST WEEKEND.

THE WINNERS ARE THE FANS, BECAUSE THE PLAYOFFS HAVE PRETTY MUCH STARTED NOW AND THE RUSH CAN’T AFFORD ANOTHER LOSS OVER THEIR FINAL FIVE GAMES.

SO THE INTENSITY IN THE SASKTEL CENTRE WILL BE RATCHETED UP, AND IT DOESN’T HURT THAT THESE TWO TEAMS HATE EACH OTHER.

RUSH CAPTAIN CHRIS CORBEIL WAS ON THE RP SHOW THIS WEEK AND AGREED THAT INDEED, CALGARY IS THEIR NUMBER-ONE RIVAL. THE TWO TEAMS MET A WEEK AGO AT THE SADDLEDOME WITH THE ROUGHNECKS PREVAILING 14-12. CORBEIL SAID THEY OWE CALGARY ONE.

WITH FIGHTING ALL BUT ELIMINATED FROM HOCKEY, I HAD TO MAKE A DECISION FIVE YEARS AGO WHETHER I’D KEEP WATCHING. CLEARLY, I STILL DO.

BUT THE HOCKEY LEAGUES FORBID THEIR TEAMS AND NETWORKS FROM PROMOTING FIGHTING, BARRING VIDEO OF SCRAPS IN THEIR HIGHLIGHT PACKAGES.

NOT SO IN THE NLL. IN FACT, IT’S ENCOURAGED BY THE HEAD OFFICE AND CORBEIL’S PUNCH-UP LAST WEEK AGAINST ROCHESTER WAS A DOOZY. (I CAUGHT IT IN THE HIGHLIGHTS).

SO JUST LIKE THE WILD AND WOOLLY DAYS, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IN A RUSH GAME.

SATURDAY’S YOUR BEST CHANCE TO FIND OUT. GET YOUR TICKETS AT TICKETMASTER.CA.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY.

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV Network across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)