Scruffy’s This ‘N That

1 – SAY WHAT? I am sure many Rider fans were surprised when they heard about or read the 3DownNation story about Weston Dressler being undecided as to what team he wants to enter as a Canadian Football Hall of Famer when he officially goes into the shrine later this year.

We all know in Saskatchewan what it was like when both Dressler and John Chick were released. It perhaps cemented Chris Jones’ fate when it came to being popular in Rider Nation.

Since returning to Regina in the mid-90’s, I have not seen a more popular player wearing green than Dressler.  The fans loved him right from the first day of rookie camp when he turned heads, and you know the rest of the story.

If WD7 truly wants to enter the CFHOF as a Bomber, he is more than entitled to do so but if he does, it will be a giant bagshot to the Riders fanbase. I hope Weston realizes that and makes the right choice. His best years in the CFL were as a member of the /=S=/, but there are hard feelings there that the football team maybe needs to try and smooth over.

2 – WHY NOT TRY?  I didn’t go to Monday’s pre-season opener and by looking at some pictures that came from the game, a lot of people were like me. That’s not an indictment on the Saskatchewan Roughriders either. The reality is a majority of the fanbase is not engaged with pre-season football — especially when it is the first game. There are guys you will never see representing the /=S=/ again, the regulars hardly play and the final score means nothing. Of course, that didn’t stop one caller to the Green Zone post-game show to say this team will win between 13-15 games this season, but hey if that’s what he thinks, that’s what he thinks.

I don’t know, maybe it is just me, but I think the Riders could have really engaged with the younger portion of their fanbase by handing out some free tickets to elementary school kids and maybe some 10- or 15-dollar seats for Mom or Dad. I know I’m not the only one with that sentiment either.  There are a lot of people who simply can’t afford to take their kids to games, and I understand that. This was a perfect way to get some enthusiastic fans into the building. The kids would have loved it and they would yearn for the day they could come back.

Does anyone think of these things? A 10-dollar seat with Mom or Dad buying a beverage for themselves and some food for their little guy or maybe a t-shirt is revenue you just lose out on.  Call it a golden opportunity missed.  The team is inviting you to come for free to watch Saturday’s game in Edmonton with plenty of family activities to enjoy, but watching a game on the big screen is a little different than watching it live.

PS: I hope the team has plans for fans to watch regular-season road games at Mosaic. The electricity at the stadium in 2019 for the NBA Final when the Raptors beat Golden State and the crowd count was tremendous.   That was for basketball, this would be for Riders football. 

3 – NBA HAS WHAT OTHER LEAGUES NEED! The NBA is into its final four as either the Celtics, Pacers, Timberwolves or Mavericks will be named champion. When Minnesota polished off Denver Sunday night, it meant the defending league champs were out. When you go back to 2019 when Toronto beat Golden State, there will now be six different winners in the last six years with the defending league champ not getting to the conference final.

That is the definition of parity. The other big three (MLB, NBA, NFL) would love to see that kind of parity in their league but they don’t. I don’t know if the NBA would be the most popular league amongst the big four, but the interest is generated when you don’t have the same teams in the final four or three of the four year-after-year-after year. 

Yes, there are teams in all leagues that don’t have a sniff at their respective league championship right from opening night, but in the NBA we have teams who find a way to challenge for a title.  Don’t get me wrong, there are teams in the NBA that are horrible, but the parity in the league shows that when it comes to basketball perhaps more than any other sport is that all you have to do is get in because if you do, who knows what will happen.

4 – THE MCDAVID FACTOR: People are watching hockey on ESPN and TNT and that is good news for the NHL. The league told us this week that these are the most-watched Stanley Cup playoffs ever with the first two rounds having an average audience of 1.15 million people which is a nine percent increase from last year. That includes a figure of 1.66 million for ESPN for Game 7 of the Canucks-Oilers series.

While that number is great, it was down 40 percent from Game 7 of Dallas-Vegas series last year. It was a different story in Canada where 3.2 million watched Game 7. Yes, it is fair to say that Americans probably didn’t care too much about an all-Canadian battle and the start time wasn’t great for the lucrative eastern time zone either.

What I wonder about is how many tuned in because of Connor McDavid? Like him or not, he is the face of the NHL and many watch to see what he is going to do. He isn’t the most charismatic individual in the league, but he is someone you want to see. If McDavid was in an American market or had Edmonton been playing an American team, I am guessing the numbers would be higher.

It also makes me wonder when another Connor gets into the playoffs what the numbers will look like and of course I am talking about Bedard. Once Chicago becomes a playoff team, that market will be highly engaged in what the Hawks are doing and we know how marketable and charismatic Bedard is around these parts.

Of course, us Canadians are just entertained by Stanley Cup hockey no matter who is playing and this Canadian is hoping McDavid and crew can get seven more wins.

5 – THE FINAL BATTLE BEGINS: Safe to say not many in Moose Jaw were watching the Rangers-Panthers game last night as the Memorial Cup opened up last night with the WHL champion Warriors getting beaten by the host Saginaw Spirit.

How about that send-off for the team last week? The streets were packed early in the morning as the team bus rolled out to Regina for the flight to Saginaw. As I said on Twitter or X or whatever it’s called, win or lose that bus needs to come down Thatcher Drive and turn down Main Street to the Events Centre.  The streets would be lined all the way down Main Street and if all goes well, the Warriors will have the Cup with them. Dare I say that this past month has been one of the bigger months in the history of the city. Soak it in people! Soak it in!

Oh yeah, I realize he is now serving as GM of the Pats but has anyone given credit to former GM Alan Millar for putting together this team. The core (Mateychuk, Firkus, Yager, Calvert and Unger) were all players drafted when Millar was GM and I believe he hired Mark O’Leary as head coach as well. If Millar has gotten accolades since MJ won the Ed Chynoweth Cup, I have missed it but he is a big reason for the success this team has had.  Hopefully he can work that magic with the Pats as well, but it won’t be an overnight thing.

6 – A JUNIOR BEST ON BEST: TSN’s Darren Dreger caught my attention during the 2^nd intermission of the Moose Jaw-Saginaw game when he said talks are going on to have a mid-season tournament featuring the stars of Canada’s three major junior leagues. It sounds like this wouldn’t be a prospects game and would see the top players from each league battling it out. Sign me up coach!

7 – PLAY BALL: First pitch for the Regina Red Sox is Saturday night as they welcome the expansion Saskatoon Berries to Currie Field in a 7:05 start. When the weather co-operates, Currie Field despite its age is a great spot to get together and watch some quality baseball. It would be nice to see a big crowd on opening weekend as the two teams meet again Sunday afternoon.

8 – YAY OR NAY: I’m not buying one when I roll through in the morning and if I have a pizza craving at night, I am not going to Tim’s, but I have to ask if their flatbread pizzas are good. The only food I get from there is a bagel, a turkey bacon sandwich or chili and I have zero problem with those items, but I just can’t see getting a flatbread pizza.

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