SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT

– Chris Jones is back. Should we be surprised?  I say enjoy it now and start asking yourself who the new head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be in 2020. With a clause in the contract saying Jones can leave for opportunities south of the border, I say 2019 is his last on the Riders sideline.  Jones is drawing interest from the NCAA and NFL.  He also may be drawing interest from the Alliance of American Football.  His name is on the radar.

Win or lose in 2019, the question is: does Jones want to stay here or does he get serious about packing up and heading south? If I were Jones, I would say the latter especially if he does manage to take the /=S=/ to the top of the mountain. Why not?  It’s not like another former Rider head coach that took his team to the Grey Cup headed south of the border after getting the job done right?

–Lost in the shuffle of the Jones extension was the official announcement that Paul Jones is now on the Rider staff. I think many know just how huge of an acquisition this is for the organization. Jones has a lengthy track record of finding quality football players. His mission is clear; find a quarterback! Chances are he will find one and then some.

–Why are there so many in Rider Nation who want Johnny Manziel to be the QB in 2019? Did we not see what he was all about last year?  If you hated Zach Collaros, what makes you think Johnny Over-Rated will be the answer?  I don’t get it!

–Is the player who is going to be the big winner in the 2019 QB sweepstakes going to be Jonathan Jennings?  As hard as it is to believe after seeing his game drop off over the last couple of years, he could be.  One has to think the Stampeders would be interested in Jennings if Bo Levi Mitchell heads south and one has to think the Eskimos would also be interested if Mike Reilly heads to BC.  We know there is said to be interest here.  Jennings is certainly in the catbird’s seat it would seem.

–Derek “Duke” Meyers brought up an interesting point on Thursday’s Sportscage –> Are CFL players who become free agents February 12 able to sign with AAF teams? CFL teams are giving players permission to sign with NFL teams, but no one has left to sign with an AAF club. Is permission not being given or can these players basically filter into AAF teams one week into the season after they become free agents? I guess we will find out.

–The WHL trade deadline proved to be a whole lot of nothing—-especially after last year when picks and prospects were flying.  The Pats shipped Robbie Holmes off which was too bad because the kid had said he would like to play his whole WHL career with one team before Wednesday’s game against Portland.  Holmes’ departure means there are just six players left from the team that left the ice after the Memorial Cup final last year.  I loved the grit and style of play Holmes gave the Pats.  He and Jake Leschyshyn were my favourite Pats at the start of the year.  Who are these guys that are left?  The Pats need to do a solid job of letting us know who these kids are that are going to hopefully take them back to the upper echelon of the league moving forward.  No one knows who any of these kids are right now, but that’s understandable isn’t it?

–Good on the Brandt Centre for bringing new food items to the rink, but losing the nachos is not a move I agree with. Then again, if its not popcorn or a burger, you are not going to find me getting a lot at the rink. There is nothing wrong with either of those as far as I am concerned. Oh yeah, add the mini-donuts to that list.  What is your go-to stadium food?

–In a playoff series between the Jets and Flames, who have you got?

–It will be good to be back at the CKHS for some Cougar basketball this weekend.  It should be another entertaining weekend as the Cougs take on UBC-Okanagan.  Hope to see ya there.

–Even though the Seahawks are gone, I can’t wait for the four NFL playoff games this weekend.  If you were to rank the teams and their Super Bowl chances, how would you do so?   I say the winners this weekend are Indy, the Patriots, the Rams and Saints.   Some think New England’s time is up.  Its the Patriots and its the playoffs. Don’t they always find a way.  Then again, we said that about Alabama on Monday night too didn’t we.

–That’s all I got.  Have a great weekend!