FRIDAY COMMENTARY – THE CHAMB GAME
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)
SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THIS FRIDAY TO CLOSE OUT THE WEEK …
FIRST, HOPEFULLY YOUR ST. PATRICK’S DAY WAS GOOD! WE RUNG IT IN WITH A CLASSIC NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE MATCH-UP IN THE SADDLEDOME WITH THE SASKATCHEWAN RUSH AT THE CALGARY ROUGHNECKS.
DESPITE IT BEING A WILD, BACK-AND-FORTH ENCOUNTER, THE RUSH CAME OUT ON THE LOSING END OF A 14-12 SCORE AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON THEIR SEASON.
OF AT LEAST AS MUCH INTEREST TO ME WAS THE AMOUNT OF RIDER GEAR SEEN AROUND CALGARY. AT FIRST I HAD TO CHECK WHAT MONTH IT WAS – THINKING THE RIDERS WERE IN TO PLAY THE STAMPS – BUT THEN I REMEMBERED COWTOWN REMAINS A RIDER NATION STRONGHOLD AND MARCH 17 IS A PERFECT DAY TO BUST OUT THE KELLY GREEN.
SECOND, CFL COMMISSIONER RANDY AMBROSIE WAS IN REGINA THURSDAY FOR HIS LATEST STOP OF THE RANDY’S ROAD TRIP TOUR.
FROM ALL ACCOUNTS, IT WAS MUCH MORE WIDE-RANGING ADDRESS THAN HIS STOP IN CALGARY.
AMBROSIE REMAINED NON-COMMITTAL ON THE MOVE TO FOUR DOWNS IDEA, SAYING THEY CONTINUE TO LOOK AT TINKERING WITH THE GAME.
MOST NOTABLE TO ME WAS THE NEWS TOUCHDOWN ATLANTIC RETURNS THIS YEAR WITH THE RIDERS TAKING ON THE ARGOS IN HALIFAX ON JULY 16.
AND LASTLY, IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR FORMER RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN IS BACK IN THE GAME, HIRED TO LEAD THE USFL’S BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS; HIS HOMETOWN TEAM.
I ALWAYS LIKED CHAMB. IN FACT, FOR A GOOD PERIOD OF TIME I LOVED HIM. HE WAS EXACTLY WHAT THE FRANCHISE NEEDED WHEN HE CAME IN 2012, AND GOES DOWN IN HISTORY FOR LEADING THE RIDERS TO THE 2013 GREY CUP CHAMPIONSHIP.
WHILE HIS TIME IN RIDERVILLE HAD A SAD ENDING, THAT’S NOT WHAT HE’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR.
NOR SHOULD IT.
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 or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
The main thing I remember about Corey Chamblin is him with his guaranteed contract daring the board to fire him, actually baiting them in every interview. He wanted to just take the money and run and eventually his plan worked.
What’s the longest tenured Head Coach in Riderland? It is NOT a job with stability and this guy won the Grey Cup on what I would deem literally the greatest team in the history of the franchise. Coaching was not the issue when he was here. The issue was Darian Durant went down with an achilles injury that obliterated the entire season. Add in we had no capable backup and none on the horizon. If he dared them to fire him good on him. He got to experience what John Gregory and Kent Austin seen first and and probably why… Read more »