Scruffy’s This ‘N That

1 – GETTING THE CALL:  If anyone asks me who my favourite all-time Rider is, the answer without a doubt is Weston Dressler, although Jeff Fairholm is a close 2^nd.  How could you not love WD7 if you were a Riders fan during his tenure here?

I remember a family member telling me that Dressler has signed a contract with the team and on the first day of rookie camp, head coach Ken Miller said he was a special talent.  He sure was!

I was as happy as could be Friday morning when I learned Dressler had been named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 as I’m sure many others were.

It didn’t take long for Dressler to work his way into the hearts of Rider fans with the way he played the game.  When he was released by the Riders along with John Chick, it was the most memorable Sportscage that I was a part of.  I was hosting that day and the phone/text lines were jammed right from the time we signed on and it never stopped. He has to be one of the most popular Riders of all-time — certainly the most since the Lancaster/Reed era ended.

I’ve got two stories as to how popular he was. In 2008 at Grey Cup after he was named the rookie of the year, Dressler walked into a Montreal building (the same place where the NHL was formed for what its worth) as that is where Riderville was. There was a special area for some and I was in that area when Dressler said he was going down to get some beverages. Several said he might not want to do that because he will be mobbed. He said who is going to know me here. Ohhhhh Weston! It wasn’t a long trip to the bar, but he couldn’t get there as he was mobbed and had to be politely rescued. Many of us laughed at what had happened.

The second one was after his first visit to Taylor Field as a member of the Bombers. As many fans likely know, people would wait outside the tunnel for players as they made their way to the bus and on this day many were waiting to get a glimpse of Weston. I am guessing someone had to drag him to the bus as he talked with many fans, signed many items and posed for pictures and it wasn’t just a 10-15 minute exercise. I tried chatting with him but couldn’t because of the people that wanted to say hi or get a pic.

Dressler did a fantastic interview with CJME’s Jamie Nye on “The Green Zone” Friday and one question that Jamie asked him is if there is a catch that he remembers. He said the Banjo Bowl TD from Michael Bishop was one he fondly remembers. I thought he might go with the last TD at Grey Cup 2013 when he hauled in a pass from Darian Durant. Ironically, it’s the last TD those two ever connected on because of injuries.

Congrats Weston!

2 – J-O ROLLS THE DICE: With every CFL team, time will tell to see if their 2024 draft was a success or not.  For the Saskatchewan Roughriders, that time may be a long ways away.  I don’t know if I necessarily agree with a team that has had back-to-back six win seasons wasting or what appears to be wasting their first round pick, but that is what O’Day has done. He may never see Boston College offensive lineman Kyle Hergel wear a Riders uniform. To be fair, the Riders have taken other players in a draft that have played their career south of the border, but guys like David Onmeyata and Neville Gallimore were taken in later rounds, but not number 3.

Hergel signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints shortly after the NFL draft and will forego coming to Riders camp as he looks to crack an NFL roster. If he does, chances are he will be in the NFL for a long time. If he comes north of the border, the Riders have found themselves someone who might be a perennial all-star.

With their second pick, the Riders did what they do quite often as they looked at the U of S to take Nick Wiebe.  The linebacker also won’t be on the field at camp as he is getting over a season-ending knee injury suffered in the Hardy Cup playoffs. He won’t be able to make an impact immediately, but I think he can be an impact player starting in 2025.

As mentioned, the green-and-white like looking at the U of S and U of R and while grabbing a Husky, they also grabbed a Ram in receiver D’Sean Mimbs. This kid can play at the next level. He went way later than I thought he would so O’Day may have made a steal here.

O’Day could have opted to take someone that will be at camp and likely be on the opening-day roster, but he rolled the dice. He will be criticized for that, but J-O would likely be criticized if he said no to chocolate ice cream and yes to strawberry. That’s the way it is in Riderville as you know. I’m OK with the gamble taken, but others aren’t and won’t be if Hergel never shows up at Mosaic Stadium which could happen.

3 – ADJUST PLAYOFF WEEKEND STARTS: I realize it is tough for the NHL and any pro league to have as many eyes on their game as possible when they have so many time zones to deal with, but is it so hard for the league to look at its weekend scheduling and make it better.

The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings didn’t start Game 4 of their first-round series on Sunday until 8:50 p.m. Saskatchewan time —- that is 10:50 Eastern time. How many are staying up to watch that game especially those in ratings-rich Ontario? I understand how the NHL doesn’t want to have games overlapping one another come playoff time or being on at the same time, but there are some times you need to do that.

Having the Oilers and the Kings playing at 9 Eastern time — 7 Saskatchewan time or having that game be an afternoon game would be much more favourable when you are trying to market Connor McDavid and other top players from the Western Conference. I can’t imagine what it must be like being an Oilers fan in the Maritimes when puck drop isn’t till just before midnight.

4 – DISSECTING THE JETS: I wonder what all the people who said Winnipeg would win the Stanley Cup this year are doing these days. As good a regular season as they had, I didn’t think they would beat Colorado in a seven-game series. Let’s be honest, if Alexander Georgiev isn’t terrible in Game 1, it may have been a four-game sweep.

This shouldn’t take away what was a very good season for Winnipeg. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff found a way to keep Mark Schiefele and Connor Hellebuyck around long-term just before the season started. He made a great trade with LA to get rid of team killer Pierre Luc Dubois  and while there is work to do in the off-season, this should be a team that makes noise again next year, but they have to do some things. One of those things is to get some more speed. Colorado made them look silly with the speed they have. They also need to find a way to score three or more goals a night as Hellebuyck will rarely allow that many in the regular season. Head Coach Rick Bowness says the team is much better now than they were a year ago and he is right.  Fans of the Jets should know that team should be a Western Conference contender for a few years yet, but they need to find a way to get to that level Colorado and Dallas are and right now they aren’t despite the fact the point production is there.

5 – THE LEADER OF THE LIGHTNING:  As the Tampa Bay Lightning shook hands with the Florida Panthers ending their season, many wondered if it would be the last time we saw Steve Stamkos wearing the Tampa sweater. All I will say on this is unless there is something behind the scenes we don’t know about, the Lightning would be stupid to let Stamkos sign elsewhere. The same could be said with Jon Cooper. He might be the best coach in the NHL and there is no doubt the Canadian Olympic team should have him on the bench in Italy in 2026.

6 – BLADES-WARRIORS:  As I write this, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades are in overtime in Game 5 of the WHL East final. The winner takes a 3-2 lead. Saskatoon led Game 5 4-0 after two only to see Moose Jaw comeback.  Four of the five games have gone to overtime. Is anyone surprised?

7 – RIDE THAT MUSTANG! There were a few people in my SJHL circle that said going into the playoffs that Flin Flon was a slam dunk to win the Canterra Seeds Cup. Nope! Yes, it’s an upset and I am guessing not many outside Melfort thought the Mustangs would win the SJHL championship but that is what they’ve done. On a year over year over year basis, the Bombers might be the most successful team over the last decade, but they haven’t brought a title home for whatever reason and that can’t be argued. Looking forward to seeing how the Mustangs do at the Centennial Cup.

8 – DON’T SAY I TOLD YOU SO: I said the Blue Jays wouldn’t be good this year and through the first month of the season they are 15-18 and are six games back of Baltimore. The pitching is not as strong as last year and the bats are still cold. It’s like watching a repeat of last season at the plate as Vladimir Guerrero Junior and others struggle. This is what Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro brought you. One has to think John Schneider won’t see June 1 if the current play continues.

9 – ?????: I walked into a Regina Subway location this week to get myself some lunch.  I asked the girl behind the counter for a Roast Beef on Multigrain.  She politely informed me that Subway has discontinued selling roast beef.  HUH??? She then went on to say I could have steak or brisket, but that’s not what I wanted.  How can you not sell roast beef? First, it was yellow mustard and now this? Be better Subway!

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