Scruffy’s This N That

1 – PLAYOFF BOUND: The Saskatchewan Roughriders were hoping the removal of Craig Dickenson and the hiring of Corey Mace would get this team back into the playoffs. It has. The Riders clinched a playoff berth with a 28-24 win at Edmonton on Saturday and will likely play BC in the Western Semi. The host for that game will probably be decided next Saturday night at Mosaic when the Lions pay a visit in a game that really should be sold out.

Saturday’s win in Edmonton was a back-and-forth affair that wasn’t decided until the defence came up with yet another big play as Amari Henderson punched the ball away from Kurleigh Gittens Junior inside the Saskatchewan 40 with time ticking down.

With the Riders now securing a playoff spot, will that quiet those that want both GM Jeremy O’Day and CEO Craig Reynolds to be dismissed? Both still have their detractors, but the football team is back in the playoffs which is what everyone wanted.

2 – THE DIRTY RIDERS: As the Riders prepared for this week’s game, a question was being asked about the team and it is a fair one. The question is “Are the Riders a dirty team?”. That will probably get some of the fanbase upset, but the reality is the question is being asked as they had a reputation going into the season and while Corey Mace has changed things up, the stupidity continues as evidenced by the Deonte Williams penalty at the end of last week’s game against Ottawa that was dirty and will see him get suspended. It continued with a couple of more against Edmonton including CJ Reavis throwing a punch after an Edmonton TD. Logan Ferland got thrown out of a game this year for throwing a punch so why didn’t Reavis?

I asked my favourite stats nerd, Derek Taylor, to provide some numbers and they show the /=S=/ lead the league in both roughing the passer calls going into this week with 8 and unnecessary roughness penalties.  Dirty? You decide and don’t give me this BS about the league being against the Riders either because that is just a cheap excuse fans want to use when things don’t go the team’s way. You’ve only been doing it for too many years already.

3 – THE HEAT IS ON: I’m sure to no one’s disappointment in the 306, the Calgary Stampeders will miss the CFL playoffs for the first time since 2004. When asked about his future this week, Head Coach and General Manager Dave Dickenson bristled a little as he gave a rather terse answer to a Calgary reporter.

The Stamps have often been referred to as the Patriots of the CFL. After a while, the time comes that you are no longer the threat and team you once were, right Bill Belichick? I don’t know if Calgary changes things up going into 25, but that track record is hard to ignore. That being said, change might be needed.

BTW, if the Stamps were called the Patriots of the CFL, does that make the Bombers the Chiefs of the CFL and what NFL team would be the Riders? Is calling the green-and-white, the Cowboys of the CFL fair? Weigh in on that!

4 – BAHAHAHAHA! As many of you know, I have no time for the Leafs or Blue Jays. It made me laugh hard this week when the Blue Jays, who had an atrocious season, announced both President Ross Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins would be back. BAHAHAHAHAHA! Those two guys have killed that organization, yet they keep bringing them back. Are the Jays using the Leafs handbook? Of course, if they keep Atkins and Shapiro and can John Schneider, one could say they used the off-season handbook of another team you are all too familiar with.

Sorry Toronto baseball fans and yes, that includes those of you who know nothing about the game but jump on the bandwagon because they are Canada’s only team, but until new blood is in the front office, that team is going nowhere soon.  Oh well!

5 – SHAME ON YOU MLB: On the eve of the Major League Baseball playoffs starting, Pete Rose passed away. You can debate whether or not Rose should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but when neither MLB or the Players Association issues a statement on his passing and there is no remembrance of him before the four games being played that day, it is an embarrassment to MLB.

Maybe there was a tribute to Rose that we didn’t see because the networks had gone to a Bet365 or Caesars MGM ad which makes MLB look worse. Yes, Pete Rose gambled on baseball and yes, some of those bets involved games that he was involved in as a manager which is a huge no-no even if those wagers were on his team to win and not lose. At the time, then-baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti said Rose had “stained the game and must now live with the consequences of his act”. Really? Are we still going to stand by that statement considering the amount of gambling being done in the sports world today.

The fact that MLB is not recognizing the death of its all-time hits leader is a slap in the face to baseball fans. This is different than the steroid era and if the day ever comes where Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have a chance to be enshrined in Cooperstown and Rose isn’t, someone will have to answer why.  Rob Manfred and Tony Clark won’t be the ones because they will be too busy hiding their heads in the sand hoping everything just blows over.

I don’t know.  You can keep Robbie Alomar in the Hall of Fame after his allegations of sexual misconduct which resulted in him being basically expelled by the Blue Jays, but you can’t induct one of the greatest-ever who has a record that won’t be beat in my lifetime is pure hypocrisy and the ones to blame for that are the heads of MLB and its players association.

Do the right thing and give Rose his moment in the sun considering the sport is now in bed with the crime he committed.

6 – 2026 MEMORIAL CUP: In an item I probably should have mentioned last week, there are 5 WHL clubs bidding to be the host of the 2026 Memorial Cup. With all apologies to those in Brandon, Lethbridge, Kelowna and Spokane, I think this tournament goes to Medicine Hat. It will give scouts one last chance to look at Gavin McKenna, who should be the number one pick, and a Tigers lineup that will be stacked.

Kelowna really deserves a second opportunity to host after having the 2020 event taken away from them because of COVID, but I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t go to the Hat and they will do a tremendous job as host.

7 – DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME: The Oilers have Leon Draisaitl locked up. They will have Connor McDavid locked up at this time next year. They will have to fork out some cash to keep Evan Bouchard, but don’t forget about someone else who is important to the future of the team.

In two years, Stuart Skinner will need a new contract and to say it will be a hefty one would be an understatement. Jeremy Swayman is currently looking for a new deal with the Bruins and wants $8.5 million per season if reports are correct. Igor Shesterkin is looking for a big contract from the Rangers and by the time Skinner gets to the point where a new deal is needed, it might be in that $8-10 million dollar neighborhood and I may be light in that thought process.

Skinner is a workhorse. He might be Canada’s starting goalie at the Four Nations Cup and the Winter Olympics and he will likely be the goalie that helps take his team to another long playoff run that they hope is one win better than last year’s.

It might be in Edmonton’s best interests to get talking about a new deal as soon as they can.

By the way, where does Swayman end up because I just can’t see him staying in Boston which makes me wonder why Boston got rid of Linus Ullmark before having Swayman secured to a new deal.

If he is traded, and I don’t know the cap space for all the teams, I would have to think maybe a team on the cusp of being a contender like Seattle would be interested and he would be a huge upgrade for Colorado and possibly Vegas.  Would you put it past Kelly McCrimmon to somehow make that deal work?

8 – WHO MOVES UP, WHO MOVES DOWN: As the NHL season gets started, one has to wonder what non-playoff teams will become playoff teams and vice-versa. I have to think Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa are going to be right there. How much will Boston fall without Swayman and Ullmark, are the Islanders good enough to be a playoff team again and the same could be said for Washington.

In the West, I think it is safe to say Calgary, Chicago, Anaheim and San Jose won’t be moving up this year but what about St. Louis, Minnesota, Seattle and Utah.  I didn’t think LA was a playoff team last year and I don’t know if they are this year as the puck gets ready to drop. I don’t see Winnipeg falling off and I don’t see Colorado or Dallas being any worse. I guess the answers will come in a few months.

9 – NFL WEEK 5: One month into the 2024 season, the competition has never been tighter, as more games have been decided by eight points (39), seven points (38) and six points (32) at this point of the season than any other. One team in each conference – the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC – remain undefeated as the NFL resumes its international slate with one game in London in each of the next three weeks. Here are some other tidbits going into Sunday’s play

• The Washington Commanders (3-1), with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, have won three consecutive games and are looking for their first four-game winning streak since the 2021 season against Cleveland. Over the past two weeks, the Commanders became the third team in the past 35 seasons to score five-or-more offensive touchdowns (passing and rushing combined) in consecutive games with a rookie starting quarterback, joining the 2012 Seattle Seahawks (Weeks 14-16 with Russell Wilson) and 2017 Houston Texans (Weeks 4-5 with Deshaun Watson). Daniels can become the third rookie quarterback since 1950 to start and win four of his team’s first five games of a season, joining Joe Ferguson (1973 with Buffalo) and Dak Prescott (2016 with Dallas).
• The only matchup to occur in three different Super Bowls, the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) on Sunday Night Football. The Steelers won the first two Super Bowl matchups (X and XIII) while the Cowboys earned a Super Bowl XXX victory over Pittsburgh. Since 1970, Dallas (106 wins) and Pittsburgh (98) have the most wins in primetime games among all teams.
• Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud leads the AFC with 1,054 passing yards this season and has 5,162 passing yards in 19 career regular-season games. On Sunday against Buffalo, Stroud can surpass Joe Burrow (5,333 passing yards) for the fourth-most by a player in his first 20 games in NFL history. Only Patrick Mahomes (6,576 passing yards), Justin Herbert (5,912) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (5,613) have more.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning have taken the names of their more than 6,000 season ticket holders and suite holders and put it into the bolt they have at centre ice. What a great idea! Can’t believe a Canadian team didn’t think of it first!
• When was the last time both Alberta teams did not make the playoffs in the CFL?
• Did someone tell the Saskatoon Blades they weren’t supposed to jump out of the gate 4-1 with that first loss coming Friday against Swift Current. Let’s remember this team lost guys like Egor Sidorov, Fraser Minten and Tanner Molendyk? Yes, there is a long ways to go in the season, but the Blades are showing they might be ready to take another run with a new group.
• Congratulations to former Rider Donald Narcisse. He was inducted into Texas Southern University’s Hall of Fame on Friday. 

Have a great week all!