FRIDAY RUNDOWN: FOOTBALL FRIDAY!

We covered all the biggest football topics on Episode #307 of The RP Show, Canada’s daytime sports talk show! Here’s the recap:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Warmup covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) NHL and NBA playoffs to resume Saturday?, 2) Why is MLB escaping criticism?, 3) How can pro sports owners affect change?, 4) Will CFL opt-out players return to the CFL?, 5) Should all CFL contracts be voided (a carry-over from Thursday’s discussion) and 6) More on Alouettes owner Gary Stern’s comment that “We cannot use Covid-19 to hide from getting better”.
• Football maven John “Frenzy” Lynch joined the bunker in Segment 2 and talked about all the current topics. He’s upset at all the opt-outs and wonders if there will be a CFL for the players to come back to? He’s still extremely discouraged that there’s no CFL season and said his friends are accepting this reality yet he’s unable to.
• 3DownNation CFL Insider Justin Dunk joined the show from Southern Ontario to discuss the latest CFL news. While he initially reported the possibility of all CFL contracts being voided if there’s no season way back in the spring, he doesn’t think it’ll happen. Rod pointed out that the TSN contract covers the payroll of each team’s players so there isn’t necessarily a need for new deals or paycuts. Dunk applauded the statement by Gary Stern and said such an admission is rare by CFL owners. Dunk also reported that Blue Bombers star Willie Jefferson is considering opting out his contract. CFL players have until Monday to make a decision.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Will there be a CFL season in 2021? At press time over 60% of respondents said yes.
• Hour 2 was broadcast on Facebook Live only and we were joined by free agent kicker Brett Lauther who opted out of his Roughrider contract on the weekend. He said he has yet to secure an NFL tryout but is posting videos of his workouts with hopes of being noticed. He said kicking an NFL ball is much easier with narrower hashmarks and not as much angled-kicking. Since NFL teams are already in training camp, Brett wishes the CFL would’ve allowed players to opt out earlier. The Truro, NS product said if he’s not able to secure an NFL opportunity, he’ll return to Saskatchewan if the Roughriders will take him.
• Free agent WR Nate Behar joined the show from Ottawa to discuss his career and the future. The former Eskimo and RedBlack has kept busy with several off-field ventures but will be ready to play whenever the CFL resumes. He discussed the resurgence of the Carleton Ravens program during his time there and reflected on Panda Game memories in Ottawa between the GeeGees and Ravens.
• Friday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio feed at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• See you at 10 am MT on Monday on Game+ TV, Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive!