SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT

What a week! Man, I ran into a lot of happy people while out and about.  I guess that is what happens when the weather is what it is and not 100 below.  Enough about that, here we go with this week’s thoughts:

1 – CFL FREE AGENCY: It’s almost time for hardcore CFL fans to be looking for information as to what their team is doing with free agency. Teams can start talking with potential free agents on Sunday with the “grocery store” opening on February 13.

Riders GM Jeremy O’Day. who has done a nice job in getting some key FA’s re-signed to new deals including Shawn Bane Junior and Anthony Lanier, told the media Thursday that it’s hard to say how active he will be. While I believe 13 potential free agents have been inked to contract extensions, players like Larry Dean, Jake Dolegala, Jamal Morrow and Pete Robertson have not.  I think Dolegala ends up in BC and I’m not sure where Morrow could end up, but getting Dean and Robertson to stay in green would be great. The same can be said with the massive Micah Johnson.

O’Day also made an interesting statement about Shea Patterson. He has been somewhat ignored in the quarterback discussion.  I thought Patterson was a guy that should have been given a chance to start last season but that didn’t happen. I think – and I stress “think” – he might be the best QB in the room should something happen to Trevor Harris. I am interested to see what plan the team has for him. Hopefully being the short yardage quarterback isn’t in that plan.

2 – CONGRATS KJ!! Congratulations to “Seahawks Royalty and Roughriders Royalty” Kerry Joseph. He is heading to Chicago to become the Bears quarterback’s coach. He will either have the chance to further develop Justin Fields, or he will have the chance to help Caleb Williams who will likely be the number one pick overall by Chicago if they decide not to trade the pick. If it is the latter, Joseph will be under the microscope as he helps develop Williams. Knowing KJ, he will relish that opportunity and likely build his resume to someday being an NFL offensive co-ordinator and maybe a head coach. Is it also safe to say that KJ and Regina’s Jon Ryan are the only ones who can be called “Riders Royalty” and “Seahawks Royalty”. He’s definitely the latter,

3 – DAN CAMPBELL: There is no doubt the head coach of the Detroit Lions likes to be aggressive, but Dan Campbell has some learning to do as evidenced in the NFC Championship. It should be the Lions taking on Kansas City in the Super Bowl, but some questionable decisions by Campbell in the second half took his team’s shot at going to the game away.

There is aggressive, and then there is aggressive to the point of being dumb and that is what Campbell is guilty of. He comes off as a guy who would go to the casino to play blackjack and tell the dealer to hit at 16.

Yes, Josh Reynolds should have caught the football on the first botched 4^th down, and yes, the Jahmyr Gibbs fumble was a costly one and yes, there is no guarantee that Michael Badgley would have made his FG’s, but it seemed like Campbell had no confidence in him thus he gambled which asks why not find a better kicker.

San Francisco didn’t win the NFC Championship, they had it gifted to them in my mind. 

4 – BURIED TREASURE: Quite the story is emerging over the recent find by a Regina family of an unopened case of 1979-80 O’Pee Chee hockey cards — a set that has the holy grail of cards which is Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card. When you have 16 boxes of cards and each box has 48 packages which contain seven cards, the chances of some Gretzky rookie cards being in there are immense. There are estimates that up to 25 could be in this stash and when you consider what a mint Gretzky card is selling for these days, it is a windfall.  Someone is asking whether or not you would open up any of the packs. It is tempting, but the move to auction off the box for what will be an estimated three million is the right move to make for this family. While the prediction has been made that there are several Gretzky rookie cards in there, what shape will they be in. If they are up against that terrible-tasting, short-lasting gum that came with the cards, they won’t be great.

One only wonders how many of those cards we had when we were kids and what we did with them.If only we knew!

5 – C’MON YORKTON: It was with shock on Saturday that I saw a release from the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers saying they are in dire financial straits and need some help to stay alive.  Really? As I put on “X” when the news came out, this is a city that stopped supporting its WMBL team that is sadly no more and now this. The Terriers are Yorkton much like Weyburn are thIe Red Wings, Estevan is the Bruins and so on. C’mon Yorkton find a way! It’s been a long time since I worked for the SJ, but I also welcomed trips to the city because I knew how much people loved that franchise. That love is still there isn’t it?

By the way, if the Terriers are having problems, I have to ask what the bottom line is for smaller centers like La Ronge, Flin Flon and Kindersley. I’ve been told they do a much better job with fundraisers so while the bottom line is an issue, its not like it is in Yorkton.

6 – BETTMAN BREAKS A RECORD: Did you know NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has now been on the job for over 11,320 days? It makes him the longest-serving leader of the big four leagues (NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA).

Say what you will against Bettman, but he has done some big things for the NHL. He is the reason why Calgary is getting a new rink, he is the reason why Edmonton got a new rink and he was a major player in Winnipeg getting the Jets back. He has made substantial dollars for the teams and the league. Yes, he has botched Arizona and his stubbornness on this will be a part of his legacy but believe it or not he has been good for the NHL. When the Heritage Classic was here, I had a chance to sit down with Gary for a few minutes and get his vision on the league. You might not like it, but the guy has a plan and it is showing.

He is much better than Rob Manfred and I would put him ahead of Adam Silver as well. As for Roger Goodell, you can decide for yourself on that one but remember he has made a lot of money for the league and its teams and that is what you are supposed to do.

7 – NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND: Who cares! I am so over all-star games. Many players have no interest in the all-star game. Do we really need a glorified no-hitting, no-effort three on three effort to “showcase” the game. You have 32 teams with some getting a break before this weekend and others after next weekend.  Keep that but keep playing as well until you find a way to make this game somewhat interesting again. Will I be watching? Nope!

8 – WHO WINS THE TANKARD?  The battle for the SaskTel Tankard is on in Saskatoon and there are some good rinks trying to get that green jacket to represent Saskatchewan at the Montana’s Brier at the Brandt Centre. Mike McEwen’s group is the favourite, but the competition is stiff.  I still have a tough tine trying to call it the Montana’s Brier. It will be a fun week at REAL no matter who is carrying Saskatchewan’s colours.  Yeah, I’ll probably take in a draw or two while looking at the media bench and wondering if the sponsor is delivering ribs and wings instead of coffee and donuts like Tim’s did.

That’s all I got, Have a great weekend!