FRIDAY RUNDOWN: FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE CFL!

Fridays are reserved for football on The Rod Pedersen Show and we ran the gamut on Episode #297! Here’s the rundown:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Rollout for Flooring Superstores covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) Sportsnet’s Arash Madani reports the Toronto Argonauts and other corporate/privately-owned CFL teams don’t want to play a shortened season in 2020, 2) Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien undergoes a heart procedure and won’t be back for the rest of Round 1, 3) Thursday in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Winners were Columbus, Vegas, Carolina and Dallas, 4) The Raptors will play Brooklyn in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, 5) Is anyone following NFL training camp coverage?, and 6) In CFL SIM Canada’s Game of the Week the Calgary Stampeders knocked off the BC Lions 24-12.
• The CFL on TSN’s Rod Black joined the show from the set of the NBA on TSN in Hour 1 on Game+ TV. “Blackie” said he’d heard rumblings that there’d be an announcement on the 2020 CFL season on Friday but admitted we’ve been fooled by that before. He crossed his fingers for the CFL and said he badly wants the league to play this year. “All CFL stadiums are beautiful”, Rod said and he can’t wait to get back in the booth. Regarding the Raptors, Black figures the Nets are a “gimme” in Round 1 but future series against Boston and Milwaukee are a concern. Raptors analyst Leo Rautins made a cameo in the interview and Black explained why the Raptors are a better team even without Kawhi Leonard this year.
• A hilarious moment in the interview came when Rod Black renewed acquaintances with Hall of Fame Rider broadcast John “Frenzy” Lynch. The pair recalled a story from 2005 when Frenzy drove Black to Weyburn in a blizzard to broadcast the 2005 Centennial Cup final.
• The Viewer Takeover segment started early and the panel and viewers debated the future of the CFL. They examined private ownership for the Roughriders and RP stated all ideas have to be considered.
• Hour 2 was broadcast on Facebook Live only and we were joined by new Seattle Kraken TV play-by-play man Everett Fitzhugh. He discussed taking the job, detailed his history in hockey including stints with Bowling Green and Cincinnati of the ECHL, and explained the blossoming rivalry with the Vegas Golden Knights as NHL expansion cousins.
• Calgary Sun Stampeders beat writer Danny Austin joined the show and said he’s incredibly frustrated with the state of the CFL and lack of updates. He talked about how great Calgary is as a CFL market (definitely underrated) and said he grew up as a staunch Argonauts fan in Toronto and still very much loves the league. Austin said in the absence of Stamps coverage, he’s been assigned to writing about the Calgary Flames playoff run.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Which Canadian NHL team will go the furthest in the playoffs – Montreal, Calgary or Vancouver? At press time, the Canucks were leading.
• You can vote now on our Twitter poll for the Rockstar of the Day for RoxDar Supply Chain Solutions. At press time, Rod Black was leading. Thursday’s vote was won by Ryan Murray of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• See you at 10 am MT on Monday on Game+ TV, Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive!