THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE
TAKING SHOTS …
1 – DUB HUB: Things move fast. Since Saturday’s column there have been two nights of games in the SUBWAY WHL East Hub and on Sunday, Brandon pulled into a first-place tie with Saskatoon by downing the Blades 3-1. They each have identical records of 9-2-1. Brandon’s won six in a row and for my money, the Wheat Kings’ Ridley Greig is the most dazzling player in the Hub (save for a certain blonde-haired whiz kid who wears red, white & blue).
On Saturday, Winnipeg dropped Regina 5-2 and Prince Albert got past Swift Current 4-2. I know, I know there are three other divisions playing but the East Division is all my peabrain can handle for now.
Pats fans will only get to see Connor Bedard skate with Regina three more times before he leaves to join Canada’s U18 team. On Monday the Pats take on the Moose Jaw Warriors at 4:00 pm in the Brandt Centre followed by a Tuesday date with Swift Current (8:00 pm) and a Friday encounter with Brandon (4:00 pm). All games will be shown on AccessNow TV and WHL Live.
2 – CONNOR BEDARD: The buzz in the city is electric, and not just with the hockey people. It’s got fans wondering if any Regina Pats all-time records are in jeopardy given Connor’s scoring touch? Dale Derkatch’s 491 career points are safe when you consider Bedard could play in the NHL at age 18. That would mean he’s only got two more seasons here which would constitute 136 games, and that doesn’t even take into account missing games for more International competitions. At his current clip of scoring 1.83 points-per-game, that would put him at around 248 career points in major junior. However The Rat also holds the franchise record at 2.4-points-per-game, so that’s something to watch. Dennis Sobchuk’s next at 2.08 PPG, followed by Jock Callander (1.83), Doug Wickenheiser (1.70) and Brian Varga (1.62). These are all with a minimum of 200 games played. Jordan Eberle, for the record, averaged 1.22 PPG over 254 games. I love this stuff!
3 – JONES’ING: The biggest CFL-related news to come out of the weekend was Chris Jones being officially named the head football coach at South Pittsburg High School in his hometown in Tennessee. One thing we’ve learned in the pandemic is that people only hear what they want to hear and many can’t be convinced that this isn’t a major step down for CJ in his career. However I can guarantee that Jones hasn’t heard the noise. He will be on the field for the Pirates’ first practice on Wednesday! He’ll be back in the pros or college before long but for now, he’s right in his element realizing a dream. If the cynics don’t want to acknowledge that, they never will. Go Pirates! #AllGasNoBrakes
4 – SOUTH PITTSBURG: Chris Jones’ hometown has a population of 3,051 and is renowned as home of the National Cornbread Festival. And the 4-time Grey Cup champion coach and former Cleveland Browns assistant is listed as the town’s most famous resident.
5 – LARRY SMITH: When the topic of the greatest all-time CFL Commissioner comes up, Jake Gaudaur and Mark Cohon are generally mentioned. However I always bring up Larry Smith, who ran the league from 1992-97 and oversaw the U.S. expansion. Now a Conservative Senator, Larry gave a very insightful interview on TSN 690 Montreal last week. He had absolutely no interest in discussing a possible CFL/XFL merger and said all that matters right now is a 2021 season. He also mentioned that the CFL Commissioner is “a servant” for the owners, which sent my mind racing. Larry also said with so much Covid uncertainty – doused with a few jabs at the Liberal government – the CFL needs to find a way to generate other sources of revenue besides ticket sales. He never once suggested we’re facing the end of the CFL, but he wants answers.
6 – CFL/XFL: Wednesday will mark one month since current Commissioner Randy Ambrosie dropped the “collaboration” bomb and to my knowledge, he hasn’t made a statement since. From a talkshow standpoint, we’ve ridden this horse into the ground and my sense is that people are getting tired of it. CFL fans – not to mention players, coaches and staff – want some concrete details on how training camps will open in a little over a month. Failing that, they’d like to know when the season will actually kickoff. Isn’t it time to talk about this season?
7 – BAIT & SWITCH: You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to wonder if the CFL/XFL story was thrown out as a smokescreen to distract from confusion over 2021. It was suggested to me that the “secret word is hypothetical” so if all this is is an elaborate ruse, I’d be severely disappointed. However with the lack of any additional information being divulged, speculation is going to run rampant. And it is. It should be noted that Larry Smith recalled it took a year-and-a-half of logistics just to get the Sacramento Gold Miners into the league in 1993 and owner Fred Anderson didn’t want any changes made to the CFL game to accommodate his franchise. Will The Rock be so gracious?
8 – NEW ARENA: During Saturday’s 5-2 Pats loss to the Winnipeg ICE, we were discussing the notion of a brand new multipurpose facility in Downtown Regina as home to the Pats, as has been suggested by owner Shaun Semple. I mentioned if it goes through, I’m really going to miss the Brandt Centre/Agridome. An off-ice official looked at me and deadpanned, “Of course. You grew up in this place.” Finally somebody gets it! My Dad scouted for the Pats and my brother interned with them both in the 1980s and my childhood included knocking around in the dressing rooms and offices with the likes of Billy Hicke, Doug Sauter, Dennis Sobchuk and all the rest. That place is magic. Not to mention the rodeos, concerts, etc. that have shaped our lives.
9 – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: I’m in. The Blue Jays are off to a 2-1 start after a successful weekend in the Bronx and I’m habitually checking my Score app under the MLB tab. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t it take until the seventh series in 2020 for the Blue Jays to clinch one? Bo Bichette was in All Star form on Sunday and has become the fastest player in Blue Jays history to record 100 career hits. Meanwhile Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn’t lost any power with his new slimmer physique. … Jays In 30 is a wonderful thing. … Kudos too to the Sportsnet broadcast which seamlessly pulled off a 3-way with Dan Shulman in Toronto, Buck Martinez in Florida and the team in New York. Hopefully this arrangement doesn’t last long, but you’d never know by watching what a technical nightmare that has to be.
10 – RANDOMS: From what I’ve seen, Unstoppables laundry pellets has the largest TV advertising budget on the continent these days. … Apparently The Hockey News hasn’t gone the way of the dodo as was scribbled here weeks ago! DUBNetwork Warriors beat writer Jamie Neugebauer dropped off the latest issue in my mailbox. Still looks the same! Haven’t opened it yet. … The CFL/XFL chatter was a nice diversion from Covid restrictions talk but we’re right back there again. All I know is I don’t want to contract the virus so a mask and 6-feet it is. … The Edmonton Oilers are just a better team than the Calgary Flames. That’s all. … The double attempted homicide trial of Jeff Knox Jr. which was scheduled for February 18 has been put over again. That’s the second time. It’s now scheduled for May 11 in Pittsburgh. I’ve been in regular communication with the former Roughriders MVP. He’s anxious to clear his name and resume his football career. Somewhere. …. Apparently I missed a huge March Madness game Saturday night while I was watching the Vegas Golden Knights drop their third in a row, 2-1 to Minnesota. How do you people keep track of multiple games at once? Anyway Gonzaga faces Baylor Monday night for the title and if the Bears win, RP Show magnate Darren Dupont will win the EnterPrize Sports Bracket. Viewers of our show in Philly invited us into their pool and Darren’s 40 long minutes away from cashing in. … Take care of yourselves and each other! … Hope you had a good Easter!
Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen
(Photo: Keith Hershmiller Photography)
4 – Chris Jones_ matter of fact Saskatchewan’s most famous resident, he was adopted by Riderville so he fits the residency requirements. Someone from Riderville needs to update Wikipedia asap!
Chris Jones got out of town & left the team high & dry. He lived in a hotel his whole stay here. He never won a Cup. But if that qualifies him as our most famous resident, well okay. Pretty low bar IMO.
He is SOUTH PITTSBURG’s most famous resident.
Rod talking BASEBALL???Welcome to the DARKSIDE
We finally have a team!!
I’m grateful for this column. Regarding Point 7) I am getting obsessed with this XFL/CFL discussion. The snow melts, it feels like training camp, the instincts take over and then we realize this is not going to happen. First we should all be beholden to Larry Smith. He was a great player and incredible Executive. The USA expansion was to keep the league afloat. It gave us the Baltimore Stallions which in turn gave us the Montreal Alouettes and that franchise is historic. He is wrong. There will be no playing in 2021. When Vancouver shuts down due to Covid-19,… Read more »
We’ll see what happens. MLSE & Toronto have long wanted an NFL franchise. If the CFL folds Toronto isn’t interested in the XFL IMO – nor are Montreal or Vancouver. They don’t consider themselves to be minor league. If Toronto were in the US they would be the 4th largest city there. There may well be no playing in 2021 – totally agree. You could be right. The Rock may well call the shots but what’s the end game? We play football somewhere in the March to September time frame? Who in Canada will be watching in the 7 NHL… Read more »
Hi Ed, I don’t have to see what will happen I know what will happen. The XFL had franchises in Seattle, St. Louis, Houston, New York, L.A etc., and their attendance was fine. Those towns have/had NFL and also have a pile of NCAA schools. – the schedule is for that end of NFL – beginning of NFL for those who still want to watch Football year round. The end game? That’s easy. Franchise values go up and there is stability. There is a one central system that administers all contracts and then you get consistent league wide marketing. Rod… Read more »
Attendance not only plummets with teams out of the playoffs, it’s zero. But I get what you meant. My point is that minor league football in the US hasn’t attracted big TV money & I don’t assume it will. Who’s Ed?
Ed I will leave it at this. I knew 2 Salesmen. Both got sent to tribal lands overseas. One Salesman came home and said, “thats a waste of time these people do not wear shoes.” The other guy called his Boss and was adamant he have a massive shipment sent over and they keep the warehouse stocker. He said “boss this is a windfall omg these people NEED shoes” The point is guys like Dana White, Vince McMahon and Steve Jobs see things people will need before it is invented. There is a market for year round football because guys… Read more »
When the CFL finally calls it a day and folds their tents expect a new minor professional football league to emerge led by the City of Saskatoon. Saskatoon’s football franchise will be a innovator with an accountable business model that all other clubs will emulate, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, ND will have football franchises in this Prairie Football league as will Bemidji Minnesota.
Missoula, Mt.
Bozeman, Mt.
Ogden, Id.
Moscow, Id.
Pocatello,Id.
Portland, Oregon
Various Washington State venues starting with Pullman.
People in Canada want football, get it together and start thinking.
PS,
This new proposed league has a name already, it’s called The North Ridge Football League NRFL
Here is the other reason coming out of the pandemic in Canada we need to move to hybrid – CFL/NFL rules. Football Scholarships. If grassroots Canadian players what a plethora of scholarships they need to be playing the same game and with the same rules so they can be compared to their American counterparts. It is important to note there are no scholarships in Canada. By definition it is mostly fundraising and a pittance. Also note Candian Universities with respect to U-Sports want to drop athletics and focus on academic International recruitment. The cost to run these loss leader programs… Read more »