MONDAY SHOW RECAP: BREAKING NEWS!

Monday was Episode 127 of The Rod Pedersen Show! Here are the highlights:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Rollout for Flooring Superstores. They discussed Week 13 in the NFL, Sunday’s NHL games, and Rod broke the news that he’s heard the Roughriders and defensive end Charleston Hughes have agreed on a contract extension. The boys recapped their weekends and agreed that everywhere they go, there’s talk of hockey culture amid recent allegations.
• That led to the daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question of: Does hockey culture have a problem? The majority of respondents said no. Rod said that there are bad people in hockey just like there are in all areas of society.
• Riders/Bombers/Renegades alum Mike Abou-Mechrek joined the bunker in Segment 2 to discuss a variety of things including the 8-game losing skid of the Montreal Canadiens. Being a born-and-raised Torontonian, Abou took the opportunity to troll the Habs. “What would you expect from a team whose logo is a toilet seat?” Abou scoffed. They also talked about the coaching carousel in the CFL, and who may land where. They also pinpointed the CFL’s top free agents who are set to hit the market in February.
• News broke in Hour 1 that the BC Lions were poised to hire Rick Campbell as their new head coach. The news became official at 2:00 pm CT. The guys examined this hire and what it means for the Lions, and Campbell, moving forward.
• Rider great Jackie Mitchell joined the show via phone from his home in Houston, TX. He covered his 7 seasons with the Riders (2000-2006) and how proud he is that he helped lay the foundation for the successful years which followed. Abou pointed out that Jackie revolutionized the way the SAM linebacker position is played in the CFL and how opposing offenses always had to account for Jackie’s whereabouts on the field. Jackie told stories of how he was tasked with covering the greatest receivers in the CFL including Milt Stegall, Geroy Simon and Jason Clermont.
• CTV Regina’s Don Hewitt joined the bunker in Hour 2 and, being a staunch Canadiens fan, offered his take on what’s troubling the Montreal franchise. He pointed the finger at owner Geoff Molson and GM Marc Bergevin. He said the club hasn’t been built “organically”, favouring instead to construct the roster through trades and free agency.
• They also talked about the Riders heading into the off-season and Don said the love for the franchise has been rekindled. “The fans feel it’s their team again,” Hewitt stated.
• TSN CFL Insider Dave Naylor joined the show near the end of the program for a CFL update. He said insiders feel the Campbell hiring was consummated 28 days ago, and that Rick stepped down with the Ottawa RedBlacks likely knowing he was headed to BC. Naylor also said the Alouettes are nearing a decision on their next GM and that they’ll likely hire a fresh face as GM, rather than go with an established, recycled GM.
• In honour of show #27 the guys recognized sports figures who’ve worn #27 in their career and the group included Jordan Eberle, Glen Suitor, Ray Rice, Dave Semenko, Scott Niedermayer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Sr, Eddie George, Darryl Sittler, Alexei Kovalev, Frank Mahovlich, John Slaney, Ted Dushinski and Milan Lucic.
• Monday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page or you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page.
• See you at 10 am CT on Tuesday on Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive!

(Photo: Hannah Souster)