Scruffy’s This N That: Riders Clinch

1 – PLAYOFF BOUND: Before Saturday’s game at Mosaic Stadium, I proclaimed on Twitter that this should be a guaranteed win for the Riders seeing they were playing a severely depleted Montreal Alouettes squad. While I did say it should be a double-digit win – and it wasn’t (16-12 Riders) –  it was a win. Those who decided to chastise me never apologized. Shame! LOL! 

Yes, they only had the lead for 27 seconds, but a win is a win is a win, and this win gives the green-and-white a spot in the playoffs. While a spot in the playoffs is now guaranteed, I don’t think you should plan any trips to the Rider Store for Grey Cup merchandise unless they are trotting out merchandise for next year’s game at Mosaic a little early. 

There aren’t a lot of positives you can take out of Saturday’s game besides the fact they are in the playoffs. This team should have crushed an Alouettes team that didn’t have Davis Alexander, Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead in the lineup. Had those three played, Montreal wins this game going away. There are a lot of questions surrounding Trevor Harris and the offence and they are all legitimate. Harris seems uncomfortable in the pocket, he isn’t on the same page as his receivers, and he isn’t throwing the deep ball. It might have been his worst ever game in Rider green. Some think that throwing arm has run out of magic and they may be right. However, one can’t argue that when a drive was needed, he came through and he came through with his legs! Who had a 22-yard run by Harris on their bingo card!

To quote the Northern Pikes, she isn’t pretty, she just looks that way. It isn’t a victory that will exude confidence amongst Rider Nation, and I don’t know what type of lineup that both themselves and Edmonton will trot out next Saturday at Mosaic. 

There are still a lot of questions, but the team is in the playoffs. That’s all that matters, right?

2 – THE LONG AWAITED W: What a night in Ottawa!! Was the REDBLACKS last-second win over the Argos the game of the year in the CFL? It has to be right up there. While there were a lot of people out there wanting to see Ottawa not win a game this year, I think many more wanted to see them get just one and they did in dramatic fashion. Has Ottawa found a quarterback in Brycen Barnes? He looked pretty poised in his first start, especially on the final drive. One that probably shouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for egregious clock management by Argos Head Coach Mike Miller. 

At the end of the day, Ottawa has the victory they have been looking for and while it is too late to salvage the season, they have maybe started building for next year as Barnes looks to have promise which makes one wonder why he wasn’t given a shot earlier. Yes, it is just one game but.

3 – CHRIS MORRIS: The president of the Edmonton football team gets it. Chris Morris told Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 this week that the team will not be raising ticket prices for the Western Final saying they owe it to their fans after not having a home playoff game in over a decade. Edmonton has been the feel-good story of the year in the CFL and it does seem as if the chilly waters that the fanbase and organization have had over the years is warming up. Raising ticket prices would have been a step back. People in and around the Alberta capital are excited with the three-down game again. Morris needs to take one more step and announce season tickets for next year will be held at the same price as this year or maybe lowered to generate some more excitement. 

I wonder with the apathy surrounding the upcoming rule changes in the CFL next year if any team will be dim enough to raise ticket prices? Many across the land have threatened not to renew and some are hesitant to renew. I think a lot of that outrage will be quashed when push comes to shove but raising ticket prices would not be the thing to do for any club this off-season.

4 – HERE WE GO AGAIN: When the Prairie Football Conference season started, I said it will likely be the Saskatoon Hilltops facing the Regina Thunder again with the only question being asked is where the game will be played. These two teams have once again been head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the league and while I don’t know if it’s great for the league as a whole and junior football having the same two teams constantly playing for the title, it is what it is. No one on either team is apologizing and it’s a sign that teams in Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg need to get better to get to the level of the two Sask teams. 

It should be quite the atmosphere Sunday afternoon at Leibel Field. Is this the first time these two teams have played there for a title? With what should be a good turnout from Saskatoon fans driving down Highway 11, it should be a great afternoon at Leibel. Certainly more so than Mosaic because of the tighter quarters.  

5 – NFL WEEK 6:  The NFL continues to provide great drama on Sundays. Through five weeks, 24 games have featured a game-winning score in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime, tied for the third-most such games through Week 5 in NFL history.

• Since 2018, the under is 8-2 when the Jaguars play in London. They will take on Houston Sunday morning at Wembley Stadium after beating the Eagles in London last weekend.
• The Chiefs, coming off a Week 5 bye, can begin 5-0 for the fifth time since head coach Andy Reid was hired in 2013. Reid, who also led Philadelphia to a 5-0 start in 2004, can become the third head coach all-time to lead a team to a 5-0 start in six seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers George Halas (10 seasons) and Paul Brown (six)
• The Ravens and Browns are two of eight teams with at least three wins in 2026 that missed the playoffs last season. Cleveland can win each of its first three home games for the third time since 1999 (2004 and 2020) while Baltimore can win each of its first four road games for the second time in franchise history (2020).
• Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers go into Tampa to meet the Bucs. In his career, Rodgers has 10 TD’s and 10 interceptions in six games against Tampa. Tampa is only one of two teams that Rodgers has not thrown more TD’s than interceptions against. The other is Buffalo.

6 – SO FAR, SO GOOD: The NHL season hasn’t hit the 10-game mark, but some are already wondering if they have to do a 180 on the Mike Babcock-Edmonton Oilers. Did you have Edmonton as the last team to be beaten in regulation this season? Some have said, and with good reason, that Edmonton hasn’t beaten a quality team this year which is fair, but one can not deny that things have started well in Edmonton.  So much so that Babcock was yukking it up with Oilers reporter Paige Martin after a win in LA. 

Yes, the first two games against Vancouver were defensive nightmares, but was that because of a small pre-season? The Oilers have shot out of the gate. They have 11 out of 14 points and they have done it without Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matt Savoie.  Devon Levi has been fantastic in goal; Connor McDavid is on a pace to score over 200 points this season and Evan Bouchard is silencing his doubters with every shift.  Has it been perfect? We all know it hasn’t been, but the positives are far outweighing the negatives as Edmonton has quieted the Babcock critics ——- for now!

7 – THE DODGERS:  To the joy of many baseball fans, the World Series will not be going to the Dodgers for a 3^rd straight year. In fact, L-A won’t even have a chance to compete for the title having been bounced in the National League Flag Series by Milwaukee in four straight. 

It’s a development that has many north of the border wishing would have happened last year and it is a development that has many wondering what this means for the future as owners look for some kind of salary restraint in the next CBA because of the big $$$ the Dodgers have thrown around. 

Some, and I am one of them, say baseball is broken because of the Dodgers but the fact they won’t win for a 3^rd straight year has some wondering if this will turn the tide to the players. 

First off, Milwaukee winning the National League shouldn’t surprise people. They won a major-league high 103 games. Their payroll is far less than the Dodgers, but their roster was far better when it counted. 

This will give those that are against a salary cap some ammunition as Milwaukee, Cleveland and Tampa are small market teams with low payrolls. The Rays are famous for having good teams and then shipping players off elsewhere because they no longer fit into their salary structure. It tells how good their front office and scouting system is. 

At the end of the day, I don’t know if the Dodgers being out will help or hurt labour negotiations, but there is nothing at this time that tells me baseball will start on time in 2027 because some teams can still spend whatever they want while others won’t or can’t. 

8 – CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: Wait, what? Connor Hellebuyck can return to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday? A trade has to be coming before then! I can’t imagine Hellebuyck with his hockey bag over his shoulder walking into the room and saying, “Hi guys, what’s new? I brought donuts!” Awwwwkkkkkward!

Word is no one wants to see him return, but if a player has actually come out and said that, I haven’t heard it. I don’t think the relationship can be repaired now. Not with the team, not with the fans. At this point, Kevin Cheveldayoff needs to find a trading partner and find one soon.  Is Washington a long-shot candidate? Logan Thompson would have to come back, but is Hellebuyck that much of an upgrade over Thompson?  I still think he ends up in Utah, Carolina or Buffalo.  With the Hurricanes in Winnipeg on Saturday, that would have been the perfect time to pull the trigger.  What a mess! If only Nathan McKinnon had hit the empty net!

9 – HAPPY 25^TH:  I’m guessing Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon had no idea when they did the first “Pardon the Interruption” 25 years ago just how iconic the show would be. The 30-minute show redefined sports talk. Kornheiser and Wilbon have great chemistry with one another, and they are not afraid to tell you what they think. They have become institutions. The show, which has more than 5500 episodes, has no signs of slowing down and it will probably stay that way until one of them has decided enough is enough. It is always a great watch.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: 

• Why doesn’t the NHL schedule at least one game in Canada on Thanksgiving Monday?
• Did Rogers scrap “Hockey Day in Canada”? 
• Two thumbs up to the Regina Pats! The “Rumble in the Ring” promotion Friday night where they had a wrestling ring set up with two matches being held was a huge hit. Some grumbled about wrestling having no place in a hockey rink, but those people need to sit back and enjoy life. You won’t find an intermission better than that at the rink this year. Oh yeah, if fans weren’t entertained by that, they were by the 6-1 win by the home team over Medicine Hat,
• Golfers can go to Rogers Centre this winter and hit some balls onto the field from the upper deck. I wonder if anyone will be able to wedge a golf ball under the wall in left centre?  Since Mosaic Stadium opened, I have wondered why you don’t do this there with mats above Pil Country and on each side. I am sure you could do something for charity, and it would be a great way to spend some time on a summer afternoon or night once the Riders were done for the day or on a bye week.

That’s all I got.  Have a great week!