Scruffy’s This N That

1 – LET THE BIDDING BEGIN: CFL free agency gets going on Sunday as the league’s free agency window opens up with official signings being made February 11. At the time of writing this, players like Micah Johnson, Dalton Schoen, Wynton McManis are still unsigned by their respective teams (Check that! The Bombers locked up Schoen on Saturday). As has been previously discussed, I can’t see the Riders being too active in free agency and give credit to GM Jeremy O’Day for getting a lot of his potential free agents re-signed. What team wants want player and what will the cost be? CFL fans will be keeping a close eye on the goings-on with their team.

2 – OVER TO YOU J-O: As I have said before, I think Jeremy O’Day has done a great job in getting a lot of his key free agents back under control. He didn’t get everyone back which means there will be holes. The biggest one may be in the secondary where Marcus Sayles appear to be moving on. There are a lot of good DB’s that will be available so chances are one if not more will be wearing green-and-white. I am guessing that a big splash won’t be made, but there will be some key additions. One of those additions was made Saturday morning when the team announced they had come to terms with former Calgary DL Mike Rose. That’s a big get!

It also appears as if Mario Alford will be moving on so do you try and make a deal with Janarion Grant or do you hope you have someone who can come in and take the job. We have seen a lot of good returners in the CFL just come out of nowhere to make a name for themselves.

3 – CONNOR ISN’T WRONG: When Connor McDavid speaks, reporters look for a quote they can run with. #97 gave them that Friday when talking about Saturday’s home game against the Leafs. When asked about playing Toronto, McDavid with a wry smile responded by saying. “Guys are excited, you know, we get the five o’clock start time. It’s always nice when they come into our building and we’ve got to change our schedule around.” He has a great point and it’s not just the Oilers who get affected as the Flames and Canucks usually have to cater to Toronto as well. There is nothing wrong with this game or any game involving Toronto in Western Canada being the back-half of the Saturday doubleheader. The home team should basically have the choice as to when games start — no matter who the opponent is.

One other thing while talking about McDavid: I love the McDonalds commercial he has with Auston Matthews as it is hockey’s version of the iconic Bird-Magic commercial from the 80’s with a hockey twist. Ask yourself though when the last time either player visited the Golden Arches. I am guessing you won’t see any McDonalds bags in the back of McDavid’s or Matthews’ car.

4 – LEAVE SID BE: This just in — Sidney Crosby has done enough for the Pittsburgh Penguins that he can call the shots. If Sidney Crosby has not said he would like to leave the only organization that he has played for, then he has no desire to leave. It seems everyone wants what they feel is best for Sid and have him go somewhere to try and make a Stanley Cup run as his career starts to wind down—a career that has a few more years in it I think.

The Mikko Rantanen trade had many thinking this could lead the way to Sid heading to Colorado. He has no desire to be dealt and has told people he is just trying to help what is a bad Penguins team this year win. Take him for his word.

5 – THE HATEABLE CHIEFS: It didn’t take long for the pendulum to swing. A few years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes were the new kids on the block. Everyone loved Andy Reid and football fans loved it when the Chiefs beat San Francisco in Super Bowl 54. Fast forward to today. Many football fans are tired of Mahomes and the Chiefs getting favourable calls, and they don’t like Travis Kelce’s girlfriend. They are jealous of the fact that their team can’t get to where the Chiefs are, and they have no problem vocalizing that.

The question I have is are the Chiefs as hateable now as what the Patriots were when they were winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl after Super Bowl? Kansas City hasn’t had any scandals like Spygate or Deflategate and while there is a dislike for Mahomes now because of the penalties he draws, it is nothing like what we saw with Tom Brady is it?

Bottom line is when you’re succeeding, they hate you.

6 – THERE HAS TO BE A WAY: We have so much technology in sports today that this seems to be a simple fix —- “seems” being the key word. While the Chiefs beat Buffalo in the AFC Championship, the talk, and rightly so was did KC benefit yet again from some questionable calls. The biggest one was a 4th down sneak that Buffalo failed to convert even though it looked like Josh Allen had crossed the first-down line. It was to the point that even Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and officiating analyst Gene Steratore thought it was a first down. As we all know, the call was Allen was short, and Kansas City got the ball.

We see in hockey all the time where we think the puck has crossed the goal-line, but we can’t be 100 percent sure thus a potential goal is taken off the board. There has been talk of putting a microchip in the puck or the football to determine if a puck has crossed the line or if a first-down or a touchdown has been made. Can this not be done? Is it too hard to do this for whatever reason? Do you the fan want to see this knowing it may shorten delays and keep game action going?

There has to be a way for this to be corrected isn’t there?

7 – THE FOUR NATIONS CUP: Is it just me or is there very little fan excitement to the upcoming 4 Nations Cup? Would it be different if Russia was involved? Guessing not! Will it be different when the Olympics come around, I would think so!

8 – LOGAN THOMPSON: I understand why it was done so early, but it is safe to say Canada’s team for the 4 Nations Cup would look a lot different if the team was named today — especially in goal. I think it is safe to say that the best Canadian goalie in the NHL right now will be watching when the tournament gets underway. If Logan Thompson of Washington isn’t the best Canadian-born goalie in the league right now, then who is? Surely, he will be one of the Olympic goalies for us if he stays healthy. Let’s take it one step further. Thompson has probably replaced Mike Ridley as the best NHL’er to come from Canadian university hockey. Yes, many of you probably remember him playing for Brandon, but he went to Brock University after going undrafted where he was USports rookie of the year and best goalie in 2018-19 before signing with Vegas.

9 – FAREWELL PEAVEY MART: A store you will find in many Western Canadian cities will soon be no more as Peavey Mart is closing all of its stores. Peavey Mart was a great place to shop if looking for certain items. Like many others, I will miss heading to Peavey Mart (except for when my wife drags me there when doing plant shopping!) especially around Christmas as it was a great place to find a present for Mom!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Bill Belichick thinks the trophy awarded to the NFL champs should be named after Tom Brady and not Vince Lombardi. I can only imagine the fallout if that happens.
A Super Bowl 30 second ad is going for eight million dollars. The CFL salary cap is 5.65 million. Let that sink in for a second or two.
If the money is right and he still has a desire to play, I say the Riders end up signing Adam Bighill. He could be in 2025 what Geroy Simon was in 2013.
Now that they can’t be called the Yetis due to the water bottles, I want the Utah Hockey Club to remain the Utah Hockey Club.

That’s all I got! Have a great week!