MONDAY COMMENTARY – I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I DOUBT IT
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)
WE OPEN THE WEEK DISCUSSING THREE SPORTS IN 90 SECONDS.
FIRST, IT TOOK 49 YEARS BUT I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO TAKE IN THE WORLD’S GREATEST OUTDOOR SHOW, THE CALGARY STAMPEDE, IN ALL ITS SPLENDOR ON SUNDAY.
AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, MY NEW FRIEND BRINSON JAMES – THE CLOWN & ENTERTAINER FROM GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA WHO’S ALL THE RAGE IN RODEO RIGHT NOW – GOT ME DOWN TO THE INFIELD AT GMC STADIUM AND I THINK MY HEART STOPPED.
TO BE RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE ACTION AFTER WATCHING IT ALL THESE YEARS ON TV WAS AWE-INSPIRING.
WHEN THIS IS ALL SAID AND DONE, BRINSON AND I ARE GONNA SIT ON THE PORCH IN FLORIDA, SIPPING ICED TEAS AND SWAPPING STORIES FROM THE ARENA TILL THE SUN GOES DOWN.
SECOND, WE AWAIT WORD FROM THE CFL ON DISCIPLINE FOR ROUGHRIDERS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN GARRETT MARINO WHO TOOK OUT OTTAWA QUARTERBACK JEREMIAH MASOLI AT THE KNEES ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND THEN CELEBRATED LUSTILY AFTER BEING KICKED OUT OF THE GAME.
I CAN TELL YOU THIS: THE RIDERS WON’T SUSPEND OR CUT MARINO FOR HIS ACTIONS ON THE FIELD (UNLESS THE ALLEGATIONS OF RACIST COMMENTS FROM MARINO TOWARDS THE REDBLACKS ARE PROVED CORRECT).
THE RIDERS D-LINE LEADS THE LEAGUE IN SACKS AND RUN DEFENSE BY A MILE AND MARINO IS A HUGE PART OF THAT. THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY HAVE IN HIM.
THE RIDERS ADOPTED A “WIN AT ALL COSTS” MENTALITY SOMETIME AROUND 2015. JUDGE FOR YOURSELF WHETHER THIS MANTRA HAS WORKED OR NOT.
SO THE RIDERS DON’T REALLY CARE IF THE PUBLIC WAS RUBBED THE WRONG WAY BY MARINO’S ACTIONS.
I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I DOUBT IT.
AND LASTLY, I MEANT TO PUT THIS IN MY WEEKEND COLUMN AT RODPEDERSEN.COM BUT I FORGOT:
IF IT’S TRUE TOP NHL PROSPECT SHANE WRIGHT WAS INDEED GIVING THE MONTREAL CANADIENS TABLE THE “DEATHSTARE” AT THURSDAY’S DRAFT FOR NOT TAKING HIM #1 OVERALL, THEN ALL HE DID WAS PROVE THEM RIGHT.
THE NERVE OF A TEENAGER TO GIVE THE CANADIENS AND THEIR 24 STANLEY CUPS THE STINKEYE.
HE SAYS NOW THERE WAS NO INTENT BEHIND THE EVIL EYE HE WAS CAUGHT ON CAMERA GIVING AS HE STRODE TO THE STAGE AS PICK #4, BUT I DON’T BELIEVE HIM. HE SURE AS HELL WOULDN’T PLAY ON MY TEAM.
AGAIN, I COULD BE WRONG. BUT I DOUBT IT.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET & 10 pm PT on Game+ TV 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 same “i’m gonna prove them wrong and screw them” attitude that makes for bad draft pictures also creates elite hockey players. For the next 15 years fans will boo him in Montreal and he will circle every game in Montreal. Time will tell who gets the last laugh.
Which elite hockey players? I haven’t met one. Anyone in Saskatchewan recall the McGauley family? Their little antics out at Wilcox, Notre Dame? – Apparently they were the chosen ones and I said the only future they have in hockey is maybe working Maintenance Dept., for the rink. A few shifts in the WHL and that was about it. That garbage works in football in the sense right up to the nano second they lose a milisecond and hit a certain age. Then it’s get lost and don’t let the door hit you. It might work in baseball up to… Read more »
Basically any player selected in the top 5 of the NHL draft is an elite hockey player. To not admit Shane Wright is an elite hockey player is being willful ignorance. That is not to say he is a sure fire hall of famer. A young man like him has been the best player on every team he has ever played on. It takes a lot of personal drive to push yourself to improve when you are already the best. Unless he wants to he will probably not be running the zamboni at the rink … Maybe he won’t be… Read more »
Last point. Do not confuse “elite” with Glory Days of the speedball Pitcher walkin’ into a road side bar while you were walkin’ out. The Junior hockey graveyard is full of plenty of “elite” players. They end up in Senior A hockey, fix escalators during the day, and take runs at guys like Mike Sillinger or Ryan Smyth who want to play a little senior hockey and give the fans some entertainment. I’ll send you lists of all the elite players in the NHL draft records. Elite guys like Mike Blaisdell end up as WHL Assistant coaches for 1 year… Read more »
“THE RIDERS ADOPTED A “WIN AT ALL COSTS” MENTALITY SOMETIME AROUND 2015″
That’s when Jim Hopson retired and Craig Reynolds took over.
RIDER PRIDE has been in decline ever since and took another nose dive last weekend with the circus that went on after that play. There’s no sense in cutting Marino because I’ll guarantee the Edmonton Elks would sign him within an hour. I say suspend him for 6 or 8 games and teach him a lesson. To me, it’s not about the hit it’s about the circus afterwards. How can you be proud of that?