The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS
From left: Keith Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Dustin Poirier & Vince Papale
TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH
1 – WINGMEN: Well that was quite the Sunday. Kudos to the Tkachuks – Keith and sons Matthew & Brady – for spending a weekend afternoon signing autographs and greeting fans at the Palm Beach Fair Grounds as part of a sports celebrity & card expo event. Former Panthers Voice Jeff Rimer was also on hand to sign copies of his new book It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This, as were fellow sports celebs Vince Papale (Invincible, NFL) and Dustin Poirier (UFC). It was fun spending the afternoon with them. Then, mere blocks away from the fair grounds, a private jet crashed from the sky killing all nine on board. If you look at a map and line it up, the tragedy was only a mile or two away from us during the celebrity event. Scary.
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2 – NO REPEAT: The seasons flipped quite sharply from “Rider Season” to “Winter” on Saturday afternoon, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders fell 33-26 to the BC Lions in Vancouver in the CFL Western Semifinal. Although the Green Guys had a 20-13 lead in the third quarter, did you ever feel comfortable? Lions QB Nathan “WestJet” Rourke hit turbo boost in the second half, scoring 20 points and propelling the Lions to victory and a date with the Elkimos in Edmonton in Saturday’s West Division Final. But wait, there’s so much more…
3 – IRONIC: Where’s Alanis Morrissette when you need her? The only thing really working for the Riders on this Saturday was kicker Brett Lauther going 6/6 on field goals, but you don’t win playoff games with those. So the offense wasn’t explosive, and QB Trevor Harris had a QBR of 84.3. Meanwhile the defense gave up three “explosions” of 30 yards or more to the Nathan Rourke passing attack, and WestJet had a QBR of 135.7. In short, the Riders were out-QB’ed and struggled mightily on defense. Did Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace have the horses at his disposal on the defensive side of the ball? The football people will tell you no. As for Trevor Harris, he’s undecided if he’ll come back for another season at age 41. My guess is he will, if the Riders want him. Lots of questions!
4 – D.A.9: Hall of Famer Damon Allen jumped on our very well-viewed Instagram Live postgame show Saturday evening and I asked him if the Riders have anything to hang their heads about with this game, and season. “No they don’t have to feel bad but you have to understand that each year, teams get better and the teams that make the right moves … I mean Saskatchewan’s a real good football team and they still got a real good QB … otherwise they wouldn’t be in the playoffs,” Damon explained. “It’s just a matter of every year you have to get better in the CFL because every team’s getting better and better until they turn that corner. It looks like BC … Saskatchewan pretty much stayed the same, and BC got better. Now you take the necessary steps.” Zoiks!
5 – FOR THE W: Who’s kidding who – the game of the day was in Toronto where Argo QB Chad Kelly left the Eastern Semifinal with a right elbow injury in the second half, opening the door for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to upset the Boatmen 25-22 in a game that went down to the last second. Did Kelly’s injury cost the Argos the game? No, but it didn’t help. Oh, and the Bombers were playing with their back-up too in Dru Brown, but he looked like Dieter Brock! Great crowd, great game, and maybe there’s hope for the Argos in Toronto after all. But not this year.
6 – FINAL FOUR: We all had Winnipeg visiting Montreal in the 2026 CFL East Division Final, right? That’s the match up next Saturday as the Bombers look to become the first crossover team to advance to the Grey Cup in CFL history. Good golly, Miss Molly! Nobody does drama like the CFL when it’s playoff time. … In the West, Elks head coach Mark Kilam and QB Cody Fajardo have put on more miles than Premier Danielle Smith, smiling and waving to the adoring YEG crowds over the past two weeks. We all had Edmonton finishing first in the West this year, right? The Elks host the BC Lions in Saturday’s West Division Final and it’s going to be fun as hell teeing the game up all week on our shows, websites and social media. … I’ll take Montreal and BC to advance. The Lions have a “team of destiny” mystique while the Elks are still very much the NKOTB. (Look it up)
7A – OFF FIELD: From what I gather, Head Coach/GM Ryan Dinwiddie still doesn’t know his future in Ottawa. He has two years left on his contract. … On Tuesday, the Argos announced a new 5-year, multimillion dollar deal for Chad Kelly and the rumours suggest he’ll get as much as $1.2-million in Year 1. One insider said to me, “Barker wasn’t going to let him get away”. … On Saturday’s IG Live, I asked Damon Allen if the Argos are worried about Kelly’s injury history and he replied, “Obviously not if they were willing to give him that much money!” … The decision to keep Dave Dickenson in the dual role as Head Coach & GM in Calgary hasn’t gone over well with fans, it seems. Meanwhile former Stamps front office man John Murphy explained on Friday’s RP Show, “coaching is what Dave does best”. … Somebody said the Stampeders “were close” to making the playoffs in 2026! Sorry, but that was never enough for the guys I worked for and with.
7B – COMMISH: Lots of CFL here today, but that’s okay. ‘Tis the season. CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston addressed expansion and the rule changes on TSN on Saturday, but I’ve only seen clips of the interview. It sounded like a lot of word salad. Sooooo many people have asked my opinion on the rule changes the past couple weeks and frankly, all I can do is shrug. We were all over this a year ago when they were announced. Frankly, I’m tired of the talk. You actually think they’ll change their mind? It is what it is. This isn’t the CFL I know. … Damon Allen asked about US expansion last night and I brought up his hometown of San Diego, or St. Louis, as former NFL markets starving for pro football. “I never thought about that,” Damon smiled, and then offered to coach a San Diego team. Well, we’ve all been thinking about it for quite awhile. Trouble is, there’s a difference between thinking, talking, and doing. I’m out on it until I see some action.
8 – NHL THOUGHTS: The Jets have lost a million in a row and everyone wants Scott Arniel fired. Question: who could do any better? … Bruce Cassidy would be on speed dial for any GM looking for a new coach. Who woulda thought Winnipeg could be the first to call? … Watched the Leafs beat the Canucks 4-2 Saturday night in Vancouver. Rogers Arena is a tomb. How sad. … The Tampa Bay market is reeling after news broke Friday night that Nikita Kucherov has requested a trade. Then, Saturday afternoon, the reigning NHL MVP notched three assists in the Bolts’ 5-4 shootout loss at Nashville. Steven Stamkos scored the winner. My gut tells me they won’t trade Kuch but it’s been wrong a lot lately AND in the history of guys asking for trades this year, everyone’s been granted. They’ve also all been American players! … *Some* fans in Chicago are trying to organize a boycott because the Blackhawks are so bad, again. The Hawks visit Sunrise on Wednesday and I’ll be able to give an accurate assessment after watching them live. It seems to be a culture thing more than anything else. They shouldn’t be “this” bad.
9 – NFL/COLLEGE: As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders beat the New York Jets on Sunday to snap a 4-game losing streak. In fact, there was only one surprise in Week 8 as the Arizona Cardinals *upset* the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in OT. Have the Cowboys always been this dysfunctional? Wait, don’t answer that. And the 1972 Miami Dolphins are toasting champagne as the Minnesota Vikings fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, 19-15 at Detroit, and are 6-1. … Meanwhile USC delivered the biggest shock of Week 9 in college football, knocking off No. 2 Ohio State, 30-18, in Los Angeles as the Trojans forced three turnovers and dealt the Buckeyes a damaging defeat in the College Football Playoff race. No. 1 Miami survived a major scare, rallying past North Carolina 38-35, while Iowa State stunned No. 24 Oklahoma State 51-49 on a last-second field goal in a wild offensive shootout. Other major results included No. 3 Georgia’s 27-8 victory over Florida and Texas blasting Mississippi State 31-3.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Just when they were ready to write off the Moose Jaw Warriors for dead, they beat Regina 6-3 Friday and Everett 3-2 Saturday in the Remple Temple. Good news as they head out for the west coast trip this week. The Pats-Warriors game was a gooder so thanks WHL for making it available on YouTube. … So entertaining to watch Western Canadians, particularly Albertans, dealing with the time change this weekend and the provinces ditching DST for the first time in their lifetime. One called it “intimidating”. Could it be, just maybe, that we were ahead of everybody in Saskatchewan all this time? OMG! THE ULTIMATE PLOT TWIST. … Out of sight, out of mind. … Fail to plan, plan to fail. … Wonder if all the empty seats in Canadian NHL arenas has to do with the dreadful new Rogers deal, with many less games being shown on cable TV? Just a thought. … Exactly one century after his death, Harry Houdini remains a man we’re still trying to learn more about. Did you know the legendary escape artist died on Halloween, 2026 in Detroit? A recent book revisits longtime questions about the cause and date of the famous illusionist’s death at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. His legacy is being debated at numerous Houdini events taking place this weekend, from a “Grand Houdini Centenarium” in his hometown of Budapest to an auction of memorabilia in Hollywood, California, to seances in cities he visited such as Chicago and Frederick, Maryland. His burial site, at Machpelah Cemetery in New York City, has long been a Halloween gathering place. According to contemporary media accounts, Houdini died Oct. 31, 1926, from diffuse peritonitis after being hospitalized with appendicitis, possibly aggravated days earlier when a college student in Montreal tested his legendary strength by punching him in the stomach. Aided in part by no autopsy being performed, alternate theories have thrived ever since, including that he was poisoned by a gang of circus performers. Meanwhile author Larrian Gillespie draws upon medical records, Houdini’s death certificate and other materials to challenge the official diagnosis and to contend that he actually died Oct. 30. The real cause of death, she writes, was intestinal blockage, caused by a doctor’s fatal decision to allow Houdini to eat a bowl of vegetables and sour cream while he was recovering from surgery. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK??
Y’er welcome,
RP
