SCRUFFY’S HOLIDAY THIS ‘N THAT

It’s a holiday assortment of the things running through my muddled mind as we devour turkey, enjoy family and friends and open presents. As usual, they come in no particular order:

— How many people get screwed up over by what day of the week it is at this time of year? Many do by the sounds of it, and yes put me in that category as I forgot as I started to type this that it was Saturday morning.

— The Saskatchewan Roughriders made five signings just before Christmas. None of the names were players who jump out at you, but one player I think could make an impact on the team moving forward is former UBC running back Brandon Deschamps. I have had the opportunity to see this kid play several times and he is a load. He could be a Neal Hughes 2.0 and if he can have the type of career Hughsie had here, the Riders have themselves a nice piece of Canadian talent to work with.

— With it being year’s end, TSN and Sportsnet are doing their year-end shows and Sportsnet continues to capitalize on the Toronto Blue Jays by showing the emotion-filled 7th inning of Game 5 of the American League Divisional series against the Texas Rangers. The one that ended with the “play of the year” which was the Jose Bautista homerun to give Toronto the series. The more times I watch that inning, the more times I wonder just what would have happened in Toronto that night had the Rangers won. I seriously believe we would have had a very ugly situation develop in and outside the Rogers Center as all hell would have broken loose. While the Jays were winners, the fans embarassed themselves with their actions and they would have taken to the streets in an angry mood. Bautista kept a season alive and a city from having a very black mark put on it.  That 7th inning just reminded me again that reality television is not Survivor and all those other shows, it is sports because you just can’t write up what you see. As ESPN’s Dan Shulman said, they have to make a 30 for 30 special on that game and that inning alone.

— It is time to watch the World Juniors. The Canadians start against the Americans which ruins a New Years Eve tradition, but Canada-US is still something to watch as is the rest of the tournament so enjoy it. Can Canada win gold? Yes, but they will have to have everything working right as this tournament as has been seen over the last decade is no slam-dunk anymore.

— As the tournament begins, let’s hope tournament officials have thoroughly inspected the nets. The fact Sweden scored three times against Canada in a pre-tournament game with the puck going through the net should leave those officials asking WTF? Did they get the nets from Finland Tire?

— Back to the Riders for just a second and no one can tell me a 3-15 season hurt the team when it comes to merchandise sales. Being in the Rider Store at both Northgate and Mosaic in December and seeing the amount of people in there buying something with the iconic /=S=/ on it for someone shows me the appetite is still very strong when it comes to the Rider Nation supporting their football team. With all apologies to Sportsnet who refer to the Blue Jays as Canada’s team, that distinction remains solidly with the Riders.

— The L-P’s Rob Vanstone has spoken to Santa after his yearly trek around the world. I don’t know if I laughed harder when Santa said he bought the outgoing coaching staff a new drill set since the drills they used last year obviously didn’t work or the fact he gave CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge an etch-a-sketch in an attempt to create another logo for the league.

— If Adarius Bowman is getting a contract which pays him 250-thousand a year base salary, Eric Rogers should get at least 300-thousand. Both are very good players, but I think Rogers is far more valuable than Bowman. Someone will have to break the bank to attain his services if he returns to the CFL and that is a big IF as I think Rogers may have played his last down in the CFL and will be with an NFL team next year.

— We don’t get this opportunity in Saskatchewan so it might not be a fair question to ask, but with an NFL game on Christmas Eve that was well-attended as were five NBA games on Christmas Day, would you go to a sporting event on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? I think it would be great to get up, open presents, and then head off to a game and then come home for the feast, but others would be horrified at such a notion.

— Week 16 NFL Lock of the Week — Steelers over Ravens

— Week 16 NFL Upset of the Week — Jets over Patriots

— Have we seen the last of Peyton Manning? If the answer to that question is yes, which I believe it is, the question then is what network will he be a part of next year.

— That’s all I got. Hope Santa was good to you. Enjoy the day!