Scruffy’s This N That

1 – ARE YOU READY?  They won’t be in the Bombers dressing room, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be on the field Sunday night in the 112^th Grey Cup as they try and avenge losses to Montreal in ’09 (sorry!) and ’10 for their anguished fanbase and bring home their first CFL championship since that magical night at Taylor Field in 2013. It was also the last time the green-and-white played in the big game as you know. 

I realize this won’t be popular with many of you, but while Corey Mace gets a lot of credit for getting this football team to this point, you can look back to the day that Craig Dickenson was let go while Craig Reynolds and Jeremy O’Day stayed despite back to back six win seasons that tore Rider Nation apart at the seams. 

Reynolds is making money for the organization which is something many other teams aren’t doing which is why the league is in the situation it is. The board saw that at that time and gave him permission to continue. Reynolds could have axed O’Day, but he had a gut feeling that he could bring a winner back to the 306. O’Day hired Mace and gave him the great group to work with, and Mace assembled a championship calibre coaching staff. You know the rest of the story. You can be petty and vindictive against Reynolds all you want, but this team would not be where it is had it not been for that day. 

The seeds for this season were planted before free agency when many of the key players that needed to be re-signed were. O’Day was criticized by some for not being active in free agency. The truth is he was! Can they cap it off with a win Sunday night? We will know then, but the optimism in Riderville is high and one has to think that win or lose they will go into next year as the Grey Cup favourite for 2026 unless …

2 – TREVOR HARRIS: I said right from the start of the regular season that the Riders will go as far as Trevor Harris can take them and if he got hurt, all bets were off. Harris, at the age of 39, had one of his best-ever seasons thanks to the talent he was given to work with and he stayed on the field. 

I think it is safe to say that Harris has earned himself another one or two-year contract if he wants it no matter the end result Sunday night. The question is if they win, does he want it? 

He has a chance to go out on top and walk into the sunset with a spot in Riders history if he wants to hang it up. While I have not gotten the opportunity to know Harris since he started wearing green, everyone I know that is associated with the team tells me what type of work ethic he has and what kind of person he is. I don’t think he wants to hang up the helmet and that is good news moving forward if that’s the case. 

3 – THE X FACTOR: Weather should not be a factor Sunday night. With that being the case, what will this game come down to? I think the X factor in this game will be AJ Ouellette.  Saskatchewan simply has to feed him the ball over and over again as he batters that Montreal front line with the odd swing pass to get him into some open field against linebackers.  If Ouellette can touch the ball 20-25 times, I like Saskatchewan’s chances.  I think both defences, arguably the best two in the league all year, will come to play and make life difficult for both Harris and Davis Alexander. 

My prediction is that the /=S=/ will bring the Grey Cup home. Saskatchewan 26 Montreal 23.

4 – YIKES: The Angus Reid Institute picked a fine time to drop a bomb on Grey Cup week when it produced a poll saying interest in the CFL continues to drop as the number sits at 16 percent of Canadians who say they follow the league. That number wasn’t great in 2018 when it stood at 21 percent, but as someone has told you over the past few years, the interest in the CFL is declining in the very important 18-55 demographic with support increasing amongst older fans who aren’t getting younger. There are also more Canadians following the NFL in that 18-55 demographic than are following the CFL. The question I have is what would this number look like if you didn’t include Saskatchewan and if you go a little farther, what would it look like if you didn’t include Alberta and Manitoba? 

Hide your head in the sand all you want and say there is nothing wrong with the CFL thus it should stay the way it is, but the reality is there is a lot wrong with the CFL which is why these changes are coming whether you like it or not. Seven of nine teams did not make money last year. Something needs to be done to change that. The older fans are the most vocal about the changes and while some in the 18-54 demographic are also against what will be happening, the changes we are about to see are a last gasp effort for a league that Canadians are losing interest in to become relevant again. 

Yes, marketing is an issue. Yes, TV is an issue. Yes, the league hasn’t helped itself and either has the teams in some areas, but you can’t ignore the fact that less and less Canadians are following the CFL. If you want to scoff at the numbers that is fine, but the reality is and it has been this way for quite a while is that the CFL just isn’t as important as some of you think it is. I believe someone has been delivering that message for quite a while and he has been scorned for it. 

5 – STATE OF THE LEAGUE ADDRESS: In probably the most anticipated off-field event of the week, CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston attempted to calm the waters somewhat after creating a storm with his rule change announcements in September. When he announced those changes, he would not guarantee that what was announced would lead to the game going to four downs. He clarified that on Friday by stating that under his watch, the CFL would not be doing that as the three-down, 12-man game on a wide field would continue. He admitted he made a mistake at that time and I give him a lot of credit for doing so. 

He announced plans for a new app, a new website and a season-long fantasy game. This is something that can’t be blamed on Johnston as things had gone awry well before he took over. Yes, he can be blamed for being slow on getting these things done, but he obviously didn’t want to rush into it.

When it comes to fantasy, I just don’t know what the league has planned. I think 90 percent of those reading this column are involved in at least one NFL fantasy league. Having players from 30 plus teams to choose from is far easier than nine teams. You can have 12-16 games per each week of the NFL season, but there are times in the CFL season where only six teams are playing.  The league has tried to make fantasy football relevant, but it isn’t the same. I used to play CFL fantasy ball, but it became a pain for a variety of reasons.  I am all for CFL fantasy, but how do you improve on something when the reality is there could only be six teams out of nine playing in some weeks.  I look forward to seeing what they can do to get more engagement out of this from fans. 

There were other areas he could have touched upon, but those in attendance didn’t really want to grill him on some things like the Angus Reid poll as I would have loved to have heard his stance on that but that isn’t his fault. 

I was afraid he had sold the league’s soul to the NFL before his September announcement and that didn’t happen.  I know I am in the moral minority, but I think the changes announced will give the CFL a shot in the arm that is has needed for years.  Baseball changed its rules, hockey changed its rules and the NFL has changed its rules. People have continued to watch and it will be that way in the CFL too despite the bluster from some.

As Arash Madani stated Friday, I have seen more from Johnston in seven months then I did Randy Ambrosie in seven years. 

6 – DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Let’s be honest. Canada could have its greatest ever Winter Olympics, but if Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and others aren’t getting a gold medal around their neck, the event will be a failure for Canadian sports fans who are ready for the puck to drop now. It doesn’t matter who is and who isn’t on this team, but the debate will be on full-steam as to why this guy was omitted or why this guy made it. 

Some believe Brayden Point shouldn’t be on the team after what has been a dreadful season.  This just in. He will be as he is clutch and those in Moose Jaw know how many big goals at big times he has scored.  Macklin Celebrini is on this team as it stands right now and so is Connor Bedard, but whose spots do they take? It can’t be Mark Scheifele and I’d be shocked if Nick Suzuki isn’t on the team. Does Zach Hyman make it? Does Tom Wilson make it? I would have Wilson just for the fact that he might be able to control the pesky Tkachuks.

7 – WEEK 11 NFL NOTES:  Yeah, there might not be interest in the 306 with the second half of the late games or the Sunday nighter, but here are some nuggets of information going into Week 11 of the NFL season.

• The Buffalo Bills will be home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in one of the more intriguing games. Buffalo is 22-3 at home since the start of the 2023-24 season.
• Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 280 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions last week and became the first player in NFL history with at least four touchdowns and no interceptions in three consecutive games. Stafford has 402 career touchdown passes and became the ninth player ever with at least 400 career regular-season touchdown passes. With a touchdown pass against Seattle, Stafford will tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (four games in 1984 with Miami) for the second-most consecutive games in a single season with at least four touchdown passes in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (five games in 2004).
• Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs totaled 172 scrimmage yards (142 rushing, 30 receiving) and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) last week and leads the NFL with 41 scrimmage touchdowns since entering the NFL in 2023. With a touchdown on Sunday Night Football at Philadelphia, Gibbs – who is 23 years old – can tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown (42 scrimmage touchdowns) for the fourth-most touchdowns by a player under the age of 24 in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famers Barry Sanders (47), Randy Moss (43) and Emmitt Smith (43).
• While the Chicago Bears are tied with the Detroit Lions for first in the NFC North with each team sitting at 6-3, Chicago QB Caleb Williams is 1-7 career in divisional games including an 0-2 mark this season. 

8 – CATCHING UP: I meant to put a couple of things in last week’s column and didn’t get around to doing so, so let’s do so now. 

It was tough to hear that former Pats goalie David Reekie had left us at the very young age of 36 from cancer. He had two great years in Regina before being sent to Everett and ended up being one of the best goalies in Canada West with the U of S. 

Speaking of former Pats goalies, if you have a subscription to “The Athletic”, go find the story Michael Russo did on Josh Harding. Arguably the 2^nd greatest goalie I have seen wear a Pats uniform (Ed Staniowski is number 1), Harding saw a very promising pro career cut short by multiple sclerosis in 2012.  It sounds as if he is living a great life which is great.  I haven’t talked to Josh since around 2015 or 2016 when he officially announced his retirement.  Those that know him know you won’t find much better. 

Saskatoon has been awarded the 100^th Brier. They will do a great job. That’s an automatic whenever a big curling event comes to this province.  Speaking of curling, Saskatchewan and great jobs, it sounds like Assiniboia knocked one out of the park with the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship.  More big events will come Assiniboia’s way courtesy CurlSask and Curling Canada. New Brunswick’s Rene Comeau won the title with Saskatchewan’s Jason Ackerman grabbing bronze. 

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Congratulations to U of R Cougar women’s basketballer Jade Belmore.  Last weekend, the 5^th year player became the team’s all-time leading scorer. I really hope this she has more high-level basketball in her future once her time at the U of R ends.  
• John Schneider should have been the American League Manager of the Year. A late season hot streak should not have given Cleveland’s Steven Vogt the honor. 
• Does Corey Perry realize he is 40? Not retaining him was a major mistake by the Oilers, but I’m guessing many teams didn’t think he would be playing at the level he is.
• I thought SJ Green’s catch at the back of the endzone at Taylor Field in 2010 was the best catch I had ever seen. The one made by Indiana’s Omar Cooper to beat Penn State last Saturday has surpassed that.

That’s all I got. Have a great week! Enjoy the Grey Cup!