Scruffy’s This N That

1 – THE WINDOW IS OPEN:  CFL free agency basically gets underway Sunday.  As you know, contracts can’t be officially signed until February 10, but teams can start talking to potential free agents on Sunday with many announcements expected over the next week.  That sort of spoils free agency as it leaves February 10 to be just another day, but hey it’s the CFL right?

There is only one team that matters in the 306 and I have had many ask me over the last week what is going on with some players—mainly AJ Ouellette.  As I said last week, I think AJ is back in green.  I honestly thought an announcement would be made but that didn’t happen for whatever reason. GM Jeremy O’Day says talks are going well, but what else is he supposed to say?  AJ obviously wants to see what is out there and I have heard there are a couple of teams that might be willing to overpay to acquire the league’s 2^nd leading rusher in 2025.  One has to wonder if Ouellette looked at what Brady Olivieira signed for and thinks he can get near that.  He made around $150,000 last year and you know he is probably looking for something around $200,000.  His relationship with Trevor Harris may be what makes him stay, but if he is looking for $200,000 it may be too much.  While there is hope AJ will be back, guys like AJ Allen, Mike Rose, CJ Reavis and Malik Carney might not be which will be a big hit for a very good defence in 2025. 

Safe to say Rider fans will be waiting for news, good and bad starting on Sunday.

2 – NATHAN ROURKE: The CFL’s reigning MOP made an investment in the CFL this week by signing a contract that will keep him with the Lions through 2028.  Rourke could have tried again to make the NFL, but he knows where his bread is buttered and is going to stay.  Now that Rourke has made an investment in the CFL, it is time for the league and the players association to make an investment in him. 

I have said for years that the CFL and the players association are extremely weak for not having players involved with advertising campaigns with some major Canadian business.  If I can see Jay Onrait and Luke Willson hawking Tostitos and Chase and Sydney Brown promoting Advil and backup quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Teddy Bridgewater doing things for Progressive insurance south of the border, why can’t I see a CFL player doing something?  Rourke and others should be on at times other than CFL games while TV shows on CTV and Global or on or on streaming services like Crave, Prime and whatever. 

Tell me AJ Ouellette and Kian Schaeffer-Baker and others wouldn’t be perfect for a shampoo company like Troy Polamulu is.  The league and more so the players association need to get players involved in ad campaigns. It is part of the marketing area where the league is oh-so-weak.   Some have said that Rourke might not engage an audience in one part of the country he does in another.  Do you think Pizza Hut cares about that with the Tom Brady ads that you have seen during the NFL season?   Don’t give me excuses, give me action!

3 – TRE FORD:  While one Canadian quarterback is doing well and has secured his future for a while, another one is now looking for a job. The Elks surprised no one by releasing Tre Ford on Friday. Ford just couldn’t take it to the next level in Edmonton for whatever reason. I maintain that if the Elks had given the keys to Cody Fajardo at the start of the season that they very well might have been a playoff team.  The question now is where does Ford end up?  Teams know what he can and can’t do. He certainly wouldn’t go into camp as the number one guy, but he can be a backup. Is Calgary a landing spot for him? Montreal? With Jack Coan back in Saskatchewan, I can’t see him calling the 306 home. 

4 – FACE OF THE FRANCHISE: TSN is running a feature this week called “Face of the Franchise” in which they are basically announcing what player has been the best ever to wear the uniform.  Edmonton’s was a no-brainer as it was Wayne Gretzky and the legendary Maurice Richard was given the honour in Montreal in which would be no easy decision to make.  In Chicago, I was surprised to see the honour go to Jonathan Toews when you consider the names Hull and Mikita. 

It got me wondering.  Who would the “Face of the Franchise” be with the Saskatchewan based WHL teams.  That’s not easy and your opinion will likely differ from mine which is fine.  Here’s what I have

• Regina Pats – Doug Wickenheiser
• Moose Jaw Warriors – Theoren Fleury
• Swift Current Broncos – Joe Sakic
• Prince Albert Raiders – Mike Modano
• Saskatoon Blades – Wendel Clark

If you wanted to take it to football, who is the “Face of the Franchise” for the Riders. Who is the first person you think of when you think of the green-and-white.  It has to be Ronnie or George!

5 – WHAT THE HALL IS GOING ON? How can perhaps the greatest coach in professional sports not be a first-ballot hall of famer into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There is outrage and deservedly so after Bill Belichick failed to get 40 of 50 votes to get enshrined into Canton.  If Belichick can’t get in with the resume he had, there is no other coach that should get in on the first ballot. Does this mean Tom Brady won’t get in on the first ballot?  Yes, Spygate and Deflategate are contributing factors, but so is pettiness—especially when it comes to Bill Polian who apparently recommended that Bill be punished for that by suggesting he shouldn’t be a first-timer.  All that has accomplished is tarnishing the Hall. Then again, maybe it is already tarnished because O.J Simpson is still there.

At the end of the day, Belichick will be in the HOF and this will get swept under the carpet, but again if Belichick isn’t a first-time hall of famer with the resume he had, who is?

6 – TAKE THE DAMN POINTS:  The Seahawks and Patriots are going to the Super Bowl. If you are not tired of the pre-game hype as the game gets broken down with every little thing being dissected, you should be by this time next week.  While Seattle and New England will be in the final battle for the Vince, one can only wonder what matchup we would have seen had it not been for analytics rearing its ugly head again. 

Why can’t head coaches ignore analytics and go with their gut feeling? It worked for Corey Mace in the Western Final and it worked for Dave Roberts in Game 7 of the World Series as he allowed Miguel Rojas to take one last hack at the plate much to the chagrin of Blue Jays fans. 

In the AFC Championship, the Broncos had a chance to take a 10-0 lead on New England in the 2^nd quarter.  As you know, Denver was operating with a backup quarterback whose underpants were full at kickoff.  You could see the defence was doing the job for the Broncos and you had a chance to go up by two scores, but Sean Payton decided to gamble on a 4^th and 1. The play call was not a strong one and did not work.  Moments later, Jarrett Stidham had a costly fumble deep in Denver’s end allowing New England to tie the game and the rest is history.

Sean McVay wasn’t as guilty as Sean Payton in the NFC Championship, but one wonders if the Rams could have tied or won the game at the end if they had kicked a FG instead of going for it on 4^th and 4 from the 6.  That would have made the score 31-30 with just under 5 minutes to go.  We all know it is easier to get three than six and the Rams might have been able to get the ball back with the chance for a game-winning score. 

7 – READ THE ROOM NETFLIX:  There is anger amongst some in the hockey community—especially those whose lives were turned upside down with the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018.   Netflix is promoting a show about a Minnesota town who has a high school hockey team that has won several state championships and have sent many to the NHL thrown into disarray when a bus crash kills several players and their coach with the wife of the coach being asked to take over.  That plotline sounds a little too familiar with me and it should with you too. 

It’s disgusting to try and profit on this tragedy. Some have already done that. The director of this show in Canadian. I am sure he is well aware of what happened on that highway on that terrible night as the Broncos were heading to Nipawin. 

I won’t be watching and I know I’m not alone with that sentiment. 

8 – GEARING UP:  It’s been great to see teams in the Western Canadian Baseball League start promoting signings.  The defending champion Regina Red Sox announced the return of four players this week who played key roles for the team that won it all with more on the way. One player I am hoping will be back in the league is Carnduff’s Carter Beck.  More and more people in the baseball world are noticing how good this kid is and this week, the Missouri Valley Conference named the Indiana State outfielder as one of its top draft eligible players. He will be drafted and when that happens, his days with the Saskatoon Berries and the league will likely be done as whatever major league team selects him in the draft will want him with one of their teams.  Bottom line is the kid will probably crack a major league roster some day so get out and see him this year if you can.  I had someone ask me if he could play for Canada at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. I don’t think he could this time around, but he certainly could when the next one happens. 

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• It isn’t happening, but I would love it if the Seahawks and Patriots came out in their throwback jerseys on Super Bowl Sunday
• CJME’s Green Zone asked listeners Friday what fanbase is the most annoying. I know what my answer would be.
• Why hasn’t the hockey universe criticized the NHL for holding an outdoor game in Tampa the way did for holding a game in Miami?
• There is just something comforting when you hear Vic Rauter say “Hello Canada”. 

That’s all I got.  We got through January.  Let’s see what this month brings, Have a great week!