The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS
TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH
1 – ON ROUGHRIDERS: Like there was ever any doubt. The Saskatchewan Roughriders clinched a playoff berth with a drab 16-12 victory over Dustin Crum and the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium. Sure the Alouettes rested their star players and it’s got the cynics crowing but that matters not. Now’s not the time to be listening to the naysayers (is it ever really?). The Riders snapped a 4-game losing streak with this win, improved to 9-8, and now await their playoff fate as they conclude the regular season next weekend against Edmonton, who seemingly has nothing to play for. There’s a chance to achieve 10 wins, and a season like that used to be a pipe dream around here. But it’s impossible to escape the noise. “Trevor Harris got old”, “Teams have figured out Marc Mueller,” blah, blah, blah. It will all fade to black if the Riders get healthy enough, go on a run, and get back to the Grey Cup. They now have that chance.
2 – THE REST: Calgary QB Vernon Adams Jr. says it’s “awkward” that they concluded their regular season with a 32-13 home win over BC on Saturday to finish at 9-9, but now have to wait during a bye week in Week 21 to see if they make the playoffs. Sorry Vernon, but you guys put yourselves in that bind. And the finale to this thrill-a-minute 2026 CFL season comes down to a final weekend match-up between the Blue Bombers and Lions in BC next Friday. If the Bombers win, they’re in. If the Lions win, the Stampeders clinch and Winnipeg misses the playoffs. Honestly it’s incredible drama – some of the best we’ve seen – and we need to enjoy it because come next season when all but one team makes playoffs, battles like this will become moot.
3 – OTTAWA: Last week I teased in this space that the Ottawa RedBlacks have some good news coming down the pipe and dropped it again on Friday’s RP Show. That really got tongues wagging, but apparently it’s only big news outside the nation’s capital. Everyone at TD Place is aware that the RedBlacks are poised to name a new team President and out of respect to the candidates, I won’t name who they are. However after several discussions with various RedBlacks staffers this week, I’ve learned that the vast majority want their next President to be franchise great Henry Burris. Would he take the job? That’s very likely, but Hank’s career at ESPN and NFL Radio is blossoming and I know he has offers on the table there as well. At the very least, Hank will be fine no matter what and that’s all I care about. However Burris running the RedBlacks is what the world needs. However apparently it’s no slamdunk.
4 – OAKLEY ICON ALLIANCE: Spent the weekend broadcasting 14 Flag Football games for USA Football and the East Regionals from Jacksonville, FL. Four spots in the U.S. high school girls national championship in Los Angeles in February were on the line. They’re all vying to be in the LA Olympics in 2028. … Four years ago when I started announcing Flag Football, people scoffed. That not never bothered me for a second because I could see the future. And they’re certainly not scoffing now as Flag Football is now an Olympic sport, has become sanctioned in the NCAA, and is the fastest-growing sport in America. Everybody, including Tom Brady, wants to play. And coach. And announce. And ref. … This weekend’s games were played at the NFL Jaguars facility while the team was in London and as I said on air eekend, “While the Jags are away, the girls will play”. My color commentator was Marli Bartlett, the Las Vegas Raiders Football Development Manager, and streamed by Saskatchewan-basd HomeTeam Network (producers of the RP Show). … The West Regionals are at AT&T Stadium in Dallas in December and, as mentioned, the national championship is at The Bolt in Los Angeles, home of the NFL’s Chargers, in February. Much fun! So grateful they invited me to be a part of it.
5 – NFL WEEK 6: The Cardinals recorded a massive upset, the Titans & Texans delivered mild ones, and the Cowboys & Raiders did the predictable by losing. Meanwhile with wins, the Browns, Panthers, Bears, Patriots and Chiefs kept chugging along. That was my take on Sunday. … The sports world is marveling at Green Bay’s 23-13 dismantling of America’s Team but if you follow any of my coverage, we saw this coming. Who the Cowboys gonna fire now? … And while they say there are no moral victories in the NFL, the fact the Las Vegas Raiders put a scare into the Buffalo Bills at Allegiant Stadium is a very good sign for the Black & Silver. The Bills emerged with a 33-30 victory, but we predicted a blowout and it went down to the last minute. Now at 3-3, Las Vegas has the suddenly-struggling LA Rams in their house in Week 7. Things are getting interesting…
6 – COLLEGE: After Thursday’s wild news that the College Football Playoff is doubling to 24 teams in 2027 – and the avalanche of vitriol which followed – the sport needed a day like Saturday. In fact, College football has never experienced a day like we saw on Saturday. Five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day in the regular season for the first time in history. The last time anything even remotely close happened was on Jan. 2, 1989, according to Sportradar, when five of the top eight teams lost. Shakeup Saturday was driven by the Southeastern Conference, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas going down as touchdown or more favorites. … The biggest shocker of ’em all? The Longhorns falling 27-24 to Florida, and now quarterback Arch Manning has to face another week of blistering heat. This may be worse than anything he’ll face in the NFL! … The game of the week was here in Miami where the Canes went to 6-0 with a 43-35 double OT thriller against the Florida State Seminoles.
7 – NHL: Why are people shocked the Edmonton Oilers are winning with Mike Babcock? … When the Leafs won the draft lottery this spring my first thought was “That poor kid”. And it’s coming to fruition as Toronto is ruining Gavin McKenna. Wendel Clark said it was a lot to deal with and that was 40 years ago. This is outrageous. … Poor Bob to, by the way. … Swift Current’s Lane Lambert always gets saddled with crappy teams. The latest is Seattle, who was trounced 8-3 by the Panthers in Sunrise on Saturday. Lane is this generation’s Harry Neale. … Can someone please wake me up when the Connor Hellebuyck drama is over? This thing has more ups and downs than Dynasty and, sadly, I don’t know who to believe anymore. He wants to stay, he doesn’t want to stay, the players don’t want him, the players do want him, he never wanted to leave in the first place, yada, yada, yada. That’s what I’m reading. Please make it end!
8 – TOP 5/BOTTOM 5: This Tuesday marks the start of the fourth week of the NHL regular season and here are our rankings so far. Some are surprising, most are not: 1) Edmonton, 2) Vegas, 3) Carolina, 4) Tampa Bay, 5) Boston … 28) Chicago, 29) Philadelphia, 30) LA, 31) Vancouver 32) Calgary. … So many of my Canadian hockey friends ask me what the vibe is amongst Florida fans and here it is — there was some hand-wringing with the Panthers’ start, particularly due to injuries to Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand and Jacob Markstrom. I advised them to give it 15 games. This week, the Cats have exploded including hattricks from Brady Tkachuk (twice), Sam Bennett & Carter Verhaeghe. They’re fine. As for the Lightning, ho hum, they’re unbeatable at home.
9 – BEST NHL FANS: Brady Tkachuk ignited a firestorm by saying the Florida Panthers have the best fans in the NHL after Thursday’s 3-2 OT win over Vancouver, in which he scored all three Florida goals. I honestly don’t believe he meant to cause a controversy, and simply got caught up in the moment. He truly loves it here, and why wouldn’t you? … Anyway, no, I don’t think the Panthers have the best fans because the second they start losing again, that rink will be empty. However I’ll put Lightning fans in the top three! They sell that rink out every game and NEVER get down on that team after a loss or two. It’s truly amazing/inspiring. … But the best fans in the NHL? It’s Montreal, and even Hab-haters admit it. … Worst fans? Toronto.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: My mentor Kevin Gallant (Voice of the Pats 1980-88) says 80’s Pats hockey is back, following Friday’s 6-1 rout of Medicine Hat in the Dome. Hold on Kevy! The Queen City Kids are in 9th-place at 4-4-0-1. But they do have our attention. … Markie Post. … Pop Tarts are basically cookies dressed up as breakfast food. And they’re amazing. … Who SHOULD be in the Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honour? Richie Hall, Phil Kershaw, Jill McDougall, Cheryl McLean-Keil, John Lynch and Bob Hughes. Please get back to me when they are. … Lee Majors was married four times. … When Netflix is laying off 6% of its staff, we got real problems in this industry. … GOING APE: Eight endangered orangutans were released into a protected forest in Indonesia this week, weeks after wildfires destroyed large swaths of their habitat, a conservation group revealed. The orangutans, including three mothers with infants and two adolescent males, were rescued from their home areas which were ravaged by fires between August and September. The wildfires cut off habitat corridors and reduced access to food sources, forcing the apes into plantations inhabited by people in search of food and shelter and stranding them there “They had no burns, open wounds, broken bones or other life-threatening injuries, but appeared to be suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and anxiety,” officials said. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
