MONDAY SHOW RECAP: PAUL LAPOLICE JOINS!

Monday’s 149th episode of The Rod Pedersen Show was a football extravaganza covering the CFL and NFL! Here are the highlights:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Rollout for Flooring Superstores where they covered a vast array of topics including: 1 – Canada’s 4-3 gold medal win over Russia at the World Juniors, 2 – NFL Wildcard Playoff Weekend, 3 – Officiating at the WJC and NFL (Rod asked “Will we ever accept that blown calls are a part of sports?), 4 – Cowboys firing Jason Garrett, his legacy, and the reported hiring of Mike McCarthy, 5 – Friday’s Nick Arbuckle trade to the RedBlacks, 6 – Tom Brady’s future in New England and 7 – WHL Trade Deadline.
• Ottawa RedBlacks head coach Paul LaPolice joined the show via video chat from New Hampshire. He discussed his first few weeks with the top job, the hirings of assistant coaches Mike Benevides, Alex Suber and Charlie Eger, why they acquired Nick Arbuckle, and gave his take on rabid Patriots fans who’ve given up on their team.
• CFL great Nik Lewis joined the bunker and, as always, offered several colourful tidbits. He feels the signing of Nick Arbuckle in Ottawa is not a slam dunk and figures Arbuckle could still go to Toronto if they offer a boatload of cash (pardon the pun). As a Texas product, Nik explained why the Dallas Cowboys head coaching job is in fact the most-coveted in sports saying that the coaches and players all love GM/owner Jerry Jones, and the team is still by far the most popular in the NFL.
• News broke during the show that the new owners of the Montreal Alouettes are steel industry magnates Sid Spiegel and Gary Stern. The panel debated the merits of the sale, and the future of the franchise.
• Alouettes blogger Cliffy D. Pine joined the show from Montreal and said the CFL did a great job of keeping the Alouettes’ ownership story under wraps. He also said Commissioner Randy Ambrosie was right in offering an apology for the perceived manner in which the sale was handled. Cliffy feels the Alouettes are indeed in good hands.
• TSN Winnipeg’s Darrin Bauming joined the show to discuss the future of the Grey Cup champion Blue Bombers and is betting that the club signs QB Matt Nichols in free agency. He also predicts Buck Pierce will be named the Bombers’ next offensive coordinator, replacing LaPolice. Bauming covers the Jets for NHL.com and gave his take on the current struggles of the Jets. He feels a playoff spot is still in the offing for Winnipeg.
• The RP Show broke the news that former Patriots and Roughriders QB Michael Bishop suffered a mild stroke over the weekend and thus was unable to appear on Monday’s show. Bishop’s family reports Michael is in good spirits and recovering nicely. Bishop even sent out a Tweet thanking his friends and supporters for their prayers.
• Be sure to tune in Tuesday at 10 am CT on Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive as we’ll be joined by CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Eskimos head coach Scott Milanovich from CFL Winter Meetings!