Scruffy’s This N That

1 – DON’T PUSH THE PANIC BUTTON: As the 2024 Labour Day Classic hits us, the mood in Rider Nation has taken a 180-degree turn. That never happens though right? A month ago, some were saying Corey Mace was the best thing to happen to this football team in years and fast forward to today and some of those same people are wondering if Mace was the man for the job? First-year offensive coordinator Marc Mueller and others also feeling the wrath from a fanbase that would keep therapists wealthy for years.

The mocking that Rider fans were making to their counterparts in Winnipeg has been silenced a little as we get ready for Sunday’s sold-out game at Mosaic. Some have said the only reason it is sold out is because of the army of Bombers fans making their way to the 306. That certainly helps, but I think the favour is repaid by those heading East next weekend.

Yes, a win is needed on Sunday to keep the Riders in first place, but the season is not over should they lose to the Bombers. The West is tight and it could be tighter once play is down on Monday, but a loss will not spend the end of the season despite what the naysayers are preaching.

That being said, it is time for this losing skid to come to an end. The team has had three tough outcomes in its last three games, but they were one play away from perhaps getting a “W”.

Things need to be corrected, but I’m not opening that drawer with the panic button in it.  At least not yet.

2 – LABOUR DAY NUMBERS:

• Trevor Harris is 4-8 lifetime against the Bombers. Zach Collaros is 11-5
• 33 of the 59 previous LDC’s have not been decided until the final three minutes. I expect LDC60 to be close as well
• Samuel Emilus is 3^rd in the CFL in YAC yardage at 275. Montreal’s Walter Fletcher is the leader at 419
• Micah Johnson leads the CFL in sacks with 6. Is that a low number at this point in the season?

3 – TOUCHDOWN PACIFIC: I’m interested to see how the CFL’s first venture into Victoria goes. From talking to people I know, there are a lot of people excited about this game and for good reason. Might this be the place where the CFL finds its 10^th team? Would Victoria and Vancouver Island be a great spot for an expansion team? The infrastructure is there which isn’t the case in the Maritimes. At some point, the league either has to cut this idea of a team in the Maritimes off or act on it and get it done. What we see this weekend might be a precursor to the future.

4 – CONTINUING THE GAME: There have been too many ambulances on CFL fields over the last two weeks. It is never a good sight when you have an ambulance on the field taking a player off because of an injury. The scenes in Ottawa last Saturday were not good after Jaelan Acklin took a hard hit and landed on the back of his head after coming oh-so-close to catching a touchdown pass.

You could hear a pin drop as medical staff worked on Acklin. The week earlier it was the same sight as Luther Hakanavanu of the Ti-Cats and the night before it was Stanley Bryant of the Bombers.

Seeing an ambulance on the field taking off a player is not an easy thing for any player on the field and we all saw how serious it can be when you go back to that horrific night in Cincinnati when Damar Hamlin came close to death.

While the game in Cincinnati was postponed, the CFL games went on as quickly as possible.  The severity in the CFL incidents was not as bad as Hamlin, but the fact the game resumes almost as soon as the ambulance leaves the field makes me ask a question.

Would it be better if the two coaches, the two captains and the head official got together for a brief conference to talk about a 15–20 minute delay to try and get their minds back on the game? As a fan, whether in the stadium or watching on TV, would you accept that?

5 – JOHNNY HOCKEY: As I went to bed Thursday night, a story that some thought was a hoax about Johnny Gaudreau being killed had surfaced on Twitter. Someone said they wouldn’t believe it until someone like Elliotte Friedman, Frank Seravalli or Pierre Lebrun confirmed it. I thought the same thing until I woke up Friday morning and saw the devastating news on my phone.

The death of Gaudreau and his brother was so preventable, but drinking and driving claims another pair of lives and throws the driver into a situation where his life will never be the same because of a stupid decision that he can’t blame anyone else for. Do I feel sorry for the guy? Not when he moans and complains about how long he will be in jail for. Probably not the smartest move.

The death is one that has crushed the hockey world for so many reasons.  In talking to people I know in Calgary; they said you didn’t have to go far to see someone in a Gaudreau jersey.  I saw two people in Regina wearing one on Friday. As one person told me, when a guy leaves town to go somewhere else, he usually isn’t very popular and one could argue that when Gaudreau left for Columbus, the dismantling of the Flames started as Matthew Tkachuk soon left as did Calgary’s Cup chances  The thing is Calgary loved Johnny and never held any animosity towards him.  As one told me, if Calgary fans could have either Gaudreau or Tkachuk back they would take 13 in a heartbeat.

6 – ONE DOWN:  Congrats to the U of R Rams.  They started the Canada West football season with a victory in Calgary. I didn’t see the Canada West coaches poll, but many say Alberta and BC are the top of the class this year.  I somehow think both Huskies coach Scott Flory and Rams coach Mark McConkey will have something to say about that.  The two Saskie universities meet at Mosaic next Friday night with the Thunder and Hilltops playing the night after at Mosaic.  Get out there and see the future stars of the CFL.

7 – CHIEFS-RAVENS:  By the time you read next week’s column, the NFL season will be underway. Will the first game of the year be repeated in the AFC Championship.  The Ravens and Chiefs will kick it off as Lamar Jackson battles Patrick Mahomes.  Will Taylor be there? Some teams might be able to ease their way into the season, but the winner of this game could very well be the host of the AFC title game in January. For what it’s worth, I’m putting money down on the Ravens to win the Vince.

8 – WHL CAMPS UNDERWAY:  The Pats and Warriors along with other WHL teams have started training camp.  The regular season is right around the corner.  I guess summer is truly over.

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: 

• When something is all-new, shouldn’t it be better and not worse?
• Is there a better pitcher in baseball right now than Toronto’s Bowden Francis. His efforts aren’t getting Toronto into the playoffs, but those that think the team will be competitive in 2025 can certainly use his performance of late as a positive. By the way, does anyone ask what Alex Manoah’s future in Toronto is moving forward?
• Making the initial 53-man roster of the Miami Dolphins is a running back named “Storm Duck”. We have a new entry for best names of a pro football player.  The best in my mind is former running back I.M Hipp.
• Micah Johnson or Rolan Milligan. Who has been the Riders best defensive player this year? I’m going with Johnson!

Have a great week all.  Have a great Labour Day long and stay away from the pumpkin spice whatevers!