Scruffy’s This N That

1 – WAYYYY TOO EARLY:  CFL.ca admitted it was wayyyyy too early, but that did not stop them from publishing a set of power rankings after the meat and potatoes of free agency concluded. I can’t really disagree with what they have. 

The rankings were Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Montreal, Hamilton, Ottawa, Edmonton, BC, Calgary. 

Those in the 306 who bleed Rider green will be furious their team isn’t ahead of the Bombers, but you have to beat them first and until you do, Winnipeg is still the best team in the division. I might have had BC a lot higher —like 4th. 

2 – HOW DUMB CAN YA BE:  I don’t know the two Regina Rams players who were arrested on drug charges this week. I know that both were considered good players with one being looked at from what I was told by a major Division 1 school in the US. I also know that both have made a mistake that have cost them their football careers and likely their lives thanks to what was obviously a dumb decision. At this time, nothing more can be said. I have seen a lot of stupid comments on social media on this topic and I have seen a lot of racist ones too which says a lot about some people. I don’t know what will happen to these individuals, but I am guessing they are going to jail which is where they deserve to be. Fentanyl is a nasty, nasty drug and we have to as a community get rid of it and the people distributing it. The provincial government took a big step to doing that this week and I commend them for it. 

As for the Rams, don’t paint them with that brush. That team has many good guys on it who do a lot of great things for the community. I feel bad for Mark McConkey and crew who are taking some heat for this. I understand that, but these two guys are not what that team and those around it stand for. It is as simple as that. 

3 – ONE MORE RUN: A lot of people are looking at the Florida Panthers of being Eastern Conference champs if not Stanley Cup champs again. There will be competition from several teams to knock the Panthers off the throne in the East and one of them is a team that everyone seems to be forgetting about. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning are still a very formidable opponent. They arguably have the best coach in the league in Jon Cooper. They have a roster that has Kucherov, Point, Hedman, Guentzel, Hagel, Cirelli and Vasilevskii on it.  They will likely be adding to that group at the trade deadline as well.  With the injury to Matthew Tkachuk, they might be able to jump in front of the Panthers and Leafs to take first in the Atlantic. I would certainly take them to beat Toronto in a first-round matchup. If looking for a team to “surprise” come playoff time, I say look no further than Tampa. 

4 – SIGHHHH!! The first time Gavin McKenna rolled through Regina, I was busy doing my thing at the CKHS with the U of R Cougars. The Tigers were at the Brandt Centre for their second visit of the season Friday night. I had that contest scheduled for a while so I could get another look at a player that is considered Bedard-like. Alas, he was not in the lineup due to a suspension received for slashing an Edmonton Oil King last weekend. SIGHHH!!  What might be the saddest thing is that even though one of the best if not the best player in the league was not in the lineup, the Brandt Center was still empty. The crowd count was announced at 3100. That might have been a little high — like about 500 people high. The Tigers might very well be the class of the league this season. It was a chance to see a good team roll through just before playoffs, but the apathy Regina hockey fans have won the day. Yes, I understand that apathy. The Pats are losing fans because of their stubbornness not to reduce prices. You can’t gauge prices on how well the team is playing, but you have to realize that this trend can’t continue because even if Regina was winning, the fans aren’t going to show up. I haven’t been to a lot of games this year, but what a disappointing environment. No energy, no one lined up at concession stands, no traffic jams when walking around. No excuse of it being too cold to go. Just disappointing. What also was disappointing is that even though there were only 3100 inside, it STILL takes you forever to get out of the Brandt Centre. I wonder how much that plays into the equation? It shouldn’t take you a half-hour to get out of the rink. REAL needs to have some traffic cops out there directing traffic. 

5 – WHO STAYS AND WHO GOES: Canadians are still basking in the 4 Nations Cup win, but the attention has quickly turned from winning that event to winning Olympic gold in Italy at this time next year. The boys on Overdrive (love that show by the way) were discussing just how much change there will be between that team that won in Boston and the team that will hit the ice in Italy. 

Barring injury, you have to think Jordan Binnington is the starting goalie, but I don’t see Aden Hill or Sam Montembault on the team. On the blueline, you know that Makar, Toews, Morrissey and Parayko are wearing the jersey with guys like Thomas Chabot, Noah Dobson and Owen Power challenging. Alex Pietrangelo should not get any consideration after basically saying he wasn’t interested in playing at the 4 Nations because of “injury” where he didn’t miss a game before the break. 

Up front, there doesn’t need to be a lot of change. Brad Marchand, Seth Jarvis, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel might be in tough when you have guys like Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, Mark Scheifele and Robert Thomas in the mix. Once again, tough decisions will have to be made which is a good thing. 

6 – BRINGING BACK THE WHALE: The Carolina Hurricanes went back to being the Hartford Whalers Thursday night at home against Buffalo. Who didn’t love their white jerseys back in the day? They looked magnificent! Makes me ask the question just what team in your mind has the best retro look. Sorry, the captain Highliner Islanders look doesn’t qualify. 

7 – IS IT BRAD’S BRIER: Much like Rachel Homan was the overwhelming favourite to win the Scotties in Thunder Bay, one has to think the same thing is in play for Brad Gushue at the Montana’s Brier which started Friday in Kelowna. The only difference is that there are many more challengers to knock Gushue off the throne than there were Homan. What a lineup. Gushue, Brad Jacobs (who is representing—-checks his notes—Alberta), Kevin Koe, Matt Dunstone, Reid Carruthers and the Saskatchewan rinks, yes rinks skipped by Mike McEwen and Rylan Kleiter won’t go down without a fight. There will be some good rinks that don’t make the playoffs. At the end of the day, I think it will be Gushue carrying the Canadian colours into the worlds in Moose Jaw. 

8 – HERE WE GO AGAIN: Is Aaron Rodgers going to deliver us another season of drama? It would appear as if it may happen and he won’t have to change his address. If stories are correct, the New York Giants are kicking Rodgers’ tires to see if he might be a good fit. Rodgers is an upgrade over Danny Dimes and Tommy Cutlets, but is a 41 year old really going to bring credibility to the Giants. It certainly doesn’t put them ahead of the Eagles, Commanders and yeah likely the Cowboys if he signs with them. What is known is that where Rodgers goes, drama will follow. Embrace the chaos!

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• He won’t end up there anytime soon, but Jets captain Adam Lowry would be a great addition on the Oilers.  He is what they need. Still with Winnipeg, if they can land Brayden Schenn, I will like their chances come playoff time. 
• Barring a big finish to the season by Colorado, get ready for an Avalanche/Edmonton or Avalanche/Vegas 1^st round matchup. Hook that one to my veins. 
• Where are we on the CFL commissioner search?

That’s all I got! Have a great week!