SCRUFFY’S THANKSGIVING THIS ‘N THAT

1 – THE GREATEST NIGHT IN SASKATCHEWAN SPORTS HISTORY: Where were you on November 24, 2013? Chances are every Riders fan remembers whether they were at Taylor Field, watching it on TV or doing something else as the green-and-white won their last Grey Cup defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 101^st Grey Cup on what turned out to be a pretty good night after a very cold week. It was c-c-c-c-c-cold when the Tabbies landed and they were talking about it when they got off the plane. It was at that moment I knew the Riders had them right where they wanted them.

I don’t know what your memories of that game are but I have a lot and they are still pretty fresh 10 years later.  I still remember Rod and I were about to go on to do our first hit of the day when the Ti-Cats came running out onto the field with many that were already seated starting to chant HENNNNNNN-REEEEEEEEE 90 minutes before the game! We just let the fans take it away and you know the rest of the story,

The emotions inside and outside the old girl that night was second to none as the stars aligned to give Rider Nation what they dreamed of. Will the stars align again for a repeat performance at Mosaic Stadium? It could, but we don’t know when the Grey Cup will return to Regina and when it does just what state the team will be in.

2 – GREY CUP 2023: The scapegoats for a pisspoor 2022 Riders season that was repeated in 2023 without those two are Grey Cup champions. Cody Fajardo is a Grey Cup champion and his many haters in Saskatchewan can’t take it away from him. From ‘Who is this guy?’ to franchise quarterback to a guy the Riders gave up on, Fajardo is a Grey Cup champion and so is Jason Maas with Fajardo being the MOP after a 290 yard, three touchdown effort including a last second toss to Tyson Philpot to cap off a signature drive for him.  Like him or not, Cody is a Grey Cup champion. I hope he enjoyed his post-game corn dogs. That was quite the speech he had to his teammates the night before.

3 – SO NOW WHAT? The CFL season is over and now we wait to see what happens with a number of teams. Who are the Riders going to hire as head coach? I have heard so many things about what way the team is leaning that makes me realize that no one except for Jeremy O’Day and Craig Reynolds really know. We know the team has gotten permission to interview candidates like Scott Milanovich, Buck Pierce and Jordan Maksymic. I am guessing Henry Burris will get one too, but who knows. What is known is that this team needs to find someone who will get what has been a dormant offence the past two years going. What will help is an offensive line that can protect the quarterback but where have we heard that before.

The biggest question in the CFL is what the Bombers will do with GM Kyle Walters. He is a major reason why Winnipeg has been in the last four Grey Cups and you would think that retaining him is a slam-dunk. If that were the case though, why hasn’t it been done? Is Wade Miller going to let Walters go and give the GM duties to Mike O’Shea? Time will tell but if he does, the hottest commodity in the league will be Walters and say what you will, but the Riders extension of Jeremy O’Day will have shown itself to be premature. I would think the REDBLACKS will be hot on Walters’ trail if he becomes a free agent.

4 – PROBLEMS ON THE PRAIRIE:  TSN’s James Duthie is the best broadcaster in this country. There is no doubt about it. He proved that again during Sunday’s Grey Cup pre-game show where he put CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie on the hot seat. This was not one of those softball interviews between a rightsholder and the boss as some outlets are prone to do. Duthie went after Ambrosie on a number of topics including the forehead-slap decision not to have bilingual language at Tim Hortons Field especially with Montreal in the game which is something my good friend and CFL lover Arash Madani brought up—-and yes Arash has a fondness for a league that he used to work for. It’s called holding someone accountable. During the interview, Duthie asked if the league trouble spots now include Saskatchewan. It’s a legitimate question when you see the amount of empty seats that were at Mosaic this year. While the picture is improving in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, it is not good in Alberta and Saskatchewan. I think Calgary is the biggest trouble spot in the league. The good times are over in Cowtown and with the stadium being an issue, it’s something that needs to be addressed. It’s not great in Edmonton either, but the Elks are getting better on the field which as we know will help attendance numbers.

5 – IS GRETZKY’S RECORD SAFE? Alex Ovechkin’s goal-scoring pace hasn’t been great this season. He hasn’t gained significant ground on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record, Is he going to get there? As it stands now, Ovie still needs around 65 goals to get number 693. With only five goals in 15 games this season, the 38-year-old needs to pick it up. I am guessing Ovie will keep playing until he gets the record but thoughts of him getting it next year as many expected don’t look good right now. There are a lot of people that hope he doesn’t get to Gretzky’s for obvious reasons. 

6 – NBA IN SEASON TOURNAMENT:  Why? They are basically just modified regular-season games as far as I’m concerned. Has this generated any extra interest? I don’t watch a lot of NBA, but I’m not watching this.

7 – POPOWICH PROTECTS KAWHI:  I have seen coaches take the mic before to tell fans to smarten up because they are doing things like throwing objects on the field.  I think the best was Bengals coach Sam Wyche when he took a shot at Cleveland while telling fans to behave. However. I have never seen a coach tell the crowd to stop booing a player as San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did Wednesday. There is a line that fans have to respect, but you have every right to boo a professional player whether he be on the home team or the visitors. Am I wrong on that?

8 – NFL WEEK 12:  A lot of this week’s action is already over thanks to the US Thanksgiving tripleheader.   We have our first Black Friday game today as Miami plays the Jets.  Here’s some stuff to look for this weekend:

• When the 9-1 Eagles host the 6-5 Bills, it will mark the first time that Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen have faced each other as starting quarterbacks. Allen enters the game leading the league with 29 total touchdowns (22 passing, seven rushing), while Hurts ranks second with 24 (15 passing, nine rushing). Hurts also leads all quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns, while Allen ranks second with seven.
• Going into Thursday’s tripleheader,  115 of 164 games (70.1 percent) – that have been within one score in the fourth quarter. Only 2022 (126) and 2016 (123) had more entering Week 12. 90 games have been decided by one score or less (eight points). Only 2016 (96) and 2022 (95) had more entering Week 12.
• Turnovers are always important in a football game, but when Baltimore takes their AFC best 8-3 record into Los Angeles to take on the 4-6 Chargers Sunday night, turnovers will be even more critical. That’s because both teams have a knack for converting turnovers into points. The Ravens have scored 61 points off takeaways, tied for third in the league, while the Chargers have 52 points off takeaways, fifth in the NFL.

9 – WORKIN’ 9 TO 5: One more NFL item. Dolly Parton came out dressed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for her halftime show? By doing that, Dolly probably answered the fantasies of many seniors who were watching. Good on ya girl!  

10 – COUGAR HOOPS:  Time to get back what I love doing and that is being the in-house announcer for U of R Cougar basketball. Having the best seat in the house for the past many years has been an honour and I’m looking forward to the first weekend of home Canada West action as Fraser Valley comes to town. You can see one of Canada’s best players in Regina’s Jade Belmore and a men’s team that has surprised many by coming out of the gate winning four straight on the road, Game times are 6 and 8 tonight and tomorrow. If you’ve never been to a Cougar basketball game, you are missing out on an entertaining evening. If you’ve been there, you know what to expect.  Come over and say hi if you get a chance,

That’s all I got.  Enjoy American Thanksgiving! Have a great weekend!