THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

Taking shots …

1 – FAN CONTROLLED FOOTBALL: Not sure about yours but my Saturday night was filled with watching the opening night doubleheader in the fledgling Fan Controlled Football League on Twitch. League co-founder Patrick Dees was on the RP Show a few weeks back explaining how fans call the plays electronically. (You might want to go back and watch). 30,000 viewers tuned in which isn’t too shabby and despite some high school-ish play at times, in the end it was still live *pro* football. The major kink was the seemingly endless delay between plays while they got the plays in from fans. But I’ll watch again. What other option do we have? ESPN’s Sportscenter even showed the highlights and included the unique one-on-one PAT attempts. Bravo to the FCF!

2 – CFL FLAVOUR: There were a bevy of former CFL names on the sidelines as coaches including former Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton & Winnipeg assistant John Jenkins. The Porter Wagoner-lookalike was adorned in pants made out of an American flag, plus flaming red blazer and tie. I could fill up this column with stories about Jenkins, whose time in the CFL was memorable. He was credited with inventing the “Run & Shoot Offense” although it was actually Glen “Tiger” Williams who did that in the 1950s. Anyway, other CFL’ers involved with the Atlanta-based FCF are Drew Tate, Don Unamba and Khalil Carter. You DO need to inject some flair into things because sometimes “the game” isn’t enough. Jenkins fits that bill perfectly. So too does NFL star Marshawn Lynch, who’s one of the league’s owners and was in the house Saturday night. It was a party, without fans.

3 – JOHNNY FOOTBALL: Who’s kidding who? I tuned in to watch another CFL alum – Johnny Manziel – quarterback the Zappers in the double dip. The Texas A&M star and former Ticat & Alouette took off on a 40-yard dash on his first play and looked like the Johnny Of Old. From there unfortunately, he looked like Old Johnny as he finished his day just 1/6 passing. Afterwards he told reporters he felt “super washed-up” however “win or lose, we booze on the Zappers”. Same old Johnny. I could fill this column with thoughts on that situation but won’t bore you with them. We can all see that Manziel will go down in history as the poster boy for failed potential. Time and again Johnny’s been offered the choice of a new life or booze and he’s picked Option B every single time. He told reporters he’s happy and his heart isn’t into pro football anymore. I don’t believe it.

4 – CFL: It was a quiet weekend for the Canadian Football League. The last item on the newswire was Friday’s Charleston Hughes introductory news conference with the Toronto media. Other than that, crickets, but there generally isn’t much going on. Regarding Charleston’s consistent jabs at the Riders over contract negotiations, fans are starting to indicate on social media that it’s getting old. Chucky has his reasons, but it’s best for everyone to move on pronto.

Regarding a season for 2021, when do we start to get worried? For anyone who says there’s still “plenty of time”, then you don’t know what goes into planning for a season. CFL forefathers John Tory and Larry Smith have both said the CFL will need to get creative if it plans to return to the field in the pandemic. So far, we haven’t seen anything creative in order to play which is disappointing.

5 – NEW POWER RANKINGS: Free agency moves have caused our Power Rankings to shift a bit at this point in the off-season. Our last rankings were posted at New Years. Here’s the updated ones:

WEST:
Winnipeg (Perhaps the CFL’s new flagship franchise, and they’re just getting started)
Sask (The offense is intact and Paul Jones will find talent to fill the defensive holes. Plus they’re not done tinkering)
Edmonton (Loads of excitement with a new coach, proven QB and a ferocious defensive line. Look out!)
Calgary (Another quiet free agency, but they’ve lost a lot. I’m not saying they’ll miss the playoffs! But it’s Crossover City)
BC (On the rise, still lots to prove, and they reside in the toughest division)

EAST
Hamilton (15-3 is 15-3, with many returnees except Larry Dean)
Toronto (The biggest movers & shakers in free agency. They’ve served notice they’re in it to win it)
Montreal (GM Danny Macoccia is building a foundation that’ll last for a decade)
Ottawa (3-15 the last time we saw them without a ton of changes, and Matt Nichols is unproven to me)

6 – NHL PROJECTIONS: Are you a believer in analytics and projections? If so, this point is for you. According to The Athletic’s computer projections for the Scotia North Division, the order of finish will be: 1) Toronto, 2) Montreal, 3) Calgary, 4) Edmonton, 5) Winnipeg, 6) Vancouver, 7) Ottawa. This will not sit well with a lot of Canadians! Particularly in Vancouver where the owners – the Aquilini Family – have given a vote of confidence to GM Jim Benning. The word I’m getting from the left coast is that the Canucks owners meddle too much.

7 – MORE PROJECTIONS: By the way these projections were based off 50,000 computer simulations for the rest of the season. What it doesn’t factor in are injuries, Covid suspensions, scoring slumps and things that are a part of daily NHL life and computers don’t experience. Anyway, here’s the projected Top 5 overall order of finish: 1) Colorado, 2) Boston, 3) Tampa Bay, 4) Carolina, 5) Toronto. At the RP Show we’re fond of pointing out the Bottom 5 and they are 31) Ottawa, 30) Detroit, 29) San Jose, 28) Los Angeles, 27) Anaheim. Apparently Death Valley in California is still just that!

8 – MORE NOTES: The Vegas Golden Knights have reached 10 wins in 13 games which is the fastest in franchise history. … Their 28 goals against are lowest in the Honda West Division, and second only to Tampa Bay’s 26 in the Discover Central Division. … Let’s not ever take for granted the way the Vegas Golden Knights have come out of the blocks over the past four seasons as a Stanley Cup contender EVERY YEAR. It’s unheard of in any sport, and has put mighty pressure on the Seattle Kraken. … Edmonton meets Winnipeg on Monday and Connor McDavid sits 3 points shy of 500. He’s looking to become the fastest active player to reach that plateau. … Jets fans are looking for a scapegoat for that game-losing goal against Ottawa Saturday on Hockey Day In Canada with eight seconds remaining. It says here that all six players on the ice can take the blame.

9 – DUB HUB: What a contrast the weekend was. WHL types are elated with Friday’s news that Regina will be the Hub Centre for seven East Division teams beginning March 12. At this point, not much is known by team staffers regarding rosters, travel, etc. but that info will be disseminated in the days ahead. I spoke with Commissioner Ron Robison via text on Sunday and it’s clear this thing will have moving parts right up to its conclusion. The contrast is hockey people at all other levels like Junior A, U18 AAA, etc. who are either awaiting word or have had their seasons cancelled altogether. They’re looking for answers and aren’t getting any. The carnage continues. BUT AT LEAST YOU DIDN’T DIE! /sarcasm off

10 – EAST PREDICTIONS: The WHL suits don’t know yet if there will be playoffs, let alone a Memorial Cup. However here are our inaugural 7-team East Division standings projections which should be a lot of fun to debate:

BREAKING: **Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon tells me this morning that all 19-year old WHL’ers will be returned by the AHL including Peyton Krebs. However he expects Bowen Byram to stick with the Colorado Avalanche.**

P.A. (Still the reigning champs, if you remember. And Max Paddock has lots to prove)
Winnipeg (They were just coming on and Krebs is coming back!)
Saskatoon (Lots of talent, and perhaps the Division’s best keeper)
Regina (The additions of the Holy Child and overage goalie Roddy Ross vault them up a ton)
Moose Jaw (Another year older, wiser, and hungrier. And Daemon Hunt has been playing regularly)
Brandon (Let’s do this again, this time with a new coach)
Swift Current (Welcome back to the jungle Swifty!)

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

(Photos: Fan Controlled Football League)