The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS

TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH

1 – DEATH, TAXES &: They weren’t the most cliffhanging CFL Division Finals ever but when the smoke cleared on Saturday, the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Elks advanced to the 113th Grey Cup in Calgary next Sunday. Zach Collaros was the surprise starter for Winnipeg in the EDF, after not practicing all week, but it didn’t matter. The Blue Bomber defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed and they were manhandled 33-23 by an Alouettes team which appears to be on a mission. Meanwhile in Edmonton, 40,182 showed up at Commonwealth Stadium to watch Cody Fajardo and the Elks outlast Nathan Rourke and the BC Lions 28-16 to win the West. Two double-digit margins of victory, but so what? They were fun games. So Edmonton-Montreal it is for the Grey Cup. A rematch of 2002 & 2003. Can’t wait!

2 – MORE ON THE GAMES: The Edmonton defense pulverized Rourke & the BC offense, and Fajardo put the Elks on his back in the fourth quarter. That’s what this one came down to. I’m sure it was a very long flight home for the Lions and it’ll be an even longer winter trying to find out why Nathan Rourke is 0-3 in West Finals. The fact is, it could’ve been way worse. Elks LB Joel Dublanko dropped two interceptions and Rourke missed a receiver in the endzone in the dying minutes which could’ve made it a far different story. I love the kid, but… … Meanwhile over in Montreal the biggest story coming out of the game was Als QB Davis Alexander accusing Winnipeg DL David Reese of taunting him about his dead father multiple times during the game. Players on both teams confirmed the accusation. Is this simply a case of classless trash talking, or will the CFL get involved in the form of supplementary discipline? I wouldn’t be surprised either way. We’re in different times now, and you shouldn’t be able to say whatever you want, anywhere.

3 – 113TH GREY CUP: As predicted in our Sunday newsletter, the oddsmakers have installed the Alouettes as 3.5-point favourites for the 113th Grey Cup. Over the years I’ve gotten to know some of these guys and they tell me homefield isn’t that much of a factor anymore. And in this case, it doesn’t matter at all as the game will be played in a neutral site; Calgary, AB. … Don’t forget, too, the Montreal Alouettes beat the Riders in back-to-back Grey Cups (2009 & 2010) and were the “road” team in both. … The biggest storyline of course is Montreal jettisoning Cody Fajardo in favour of Davis Alexander following the 2023 season. That’s really the only storyline this game needs, but it doesn’t affect the point spread in my mind. The Alouettes should be the better team going into this one. However Edmonton has God on their side! Death, taxes and ….

4 – THE REST: Trevor Harris has yet to decide if he’ll be back for a 15th season, at age 41, next year with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He said this week he’d like to get on the RP Show soon, and maybe that’s when he’ll make his announcement? Frankly I’m really hoping he returns. Trevor led the CFL in passing in 2026, really is at the top of his game, and is just a really, really good person. Yet he’s torn by the toll pro sports takes on a young family, like his. Hey, I get it. But if we’re betting, I’d wager he’ll be back on the field in 2027. … Speaking of betting, wanna bet Chris Jones is back in the CFL before long? Maybe even next season?? … Don’t expect any CFL personnel announcements during Grey Cup Week although, that guideline seems to have gone out the window in recent years due to the 24-hour news cycle which we now live in.

5 – CFL MEDIA: I saw a camera pan the room of Nathan Rourke’s news conference on Friday at Commonwealth Stadium and all I saw were empty chairs. I could’ve cried. In the heyday, you’d have had to fight for a spot at a news conference like that, and most of us would’ve been lined up along the walls, offering up our seats to the elder statesmen like Terry Jones, Bryan Hall, Cam Cole, etc. If there was anymore sign of the times! … A Stampeders great texted me earlier this week, beside himself, over lack of football coverage in YYC and how it’s caused lagging ticket sales in the Foothills. He begged me to move to Calgary and fire up a Calgary Sports Talk, or TSN Radio. Hey I tried, if you recall. Besides, I’m in Florida now.

Guys – you also gotta get with the times. Podcasts and livestreams, like ours, is where it’s at. There isn’t a dinosaur newspaper columnist to be found at these media events nowadays and the biggest splash made last week was by 18-year old Edmonton podcaster Ewan Manning on my show, saying Nathan Rourke is “An indoor dome guy!” (Ewan’s the next big thing by the way). … Get your heads around the fact you’re not picking up a newspaper anymore, nor sitting by the radio all day. And, your favourite sports host probably isn’t living in your market. THIS IS THE WAY IT IS NOW, PLEASE GET USED TO IT! Read on…

6 – NFL WEEK 9: The Cowboys didn’t win by 30, but they did beat Indianapolis 27-23. The Giants lead the division, and will likely take it (that extra point they earned versus Washington’s turning out to be huge). … Death, taxes & J.J. McCarthy winning. … The 49ers clobbered the Raiders 381-7, which was expected. Nothing for Las Vegas to hang their heads about. … Jim Harbaugh has aged 10 years this season. … The Game of the Week has to be the Bills at Vikings on Monday Night Football, doesn’t it? If the Bills win, I swept the week with correct picks.

7 – THUNDER/RAMS/PATS: The Regina Thunder captured their 2nd Canadian Bowl in franchise history, beating the Westshore Rebels 42-21 at StarLight Stadium in Victoria on Sunday. Both those titles have come under Scott MacAuley. He’s going to catch Frank! … Meanwhile the University of Regina Rams are off to their third straight Hardy Cup after disposing of the Saskatchewan Huskies 39-27 in Saskatoon on Saturday. The vitriol between the fanbases and alumni seems to be at an all-time high and frankly, that’s a good thing (see: negative pub is better than none). The Boys In The Horns will visit the UBC Thunderbirds next Saturday in the 89th Hardy Cup. … Here’s hoping the Brandt Centre is packed from here on out upon the return of Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue to the Regina Pats from the World Under 17 Challenge. Schultz notched a whopping 16 points (6-10-16) while Pue netted 10 (4-6-10) in just five games in the tournament. Regina hockey fans didn’t Pack The Dome until the final half of Connor Bedard’s third and final season with the club, and that’s only because his exploits were on display via TSN at the 2023 World Juniors. After a slow start – hampered by the absence of Schultz & Pue – the Pats stand at 8-6-0-1, and are 7th in the WHL’s East Conference. The story of the young season, however, is the 11-7-0 Swift Current Broncos.

8 – COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Week 10 delivered a massive shakeup in the College Football Playoff picture Saturday, highlighted by No. 11 Notre Dame knocking off previously unbeaten No. 1 Miami 31-24 in a statement victory that could dramatically alter the playoff rankings. No. 2 Georgia was equally impressive, dismantling No. 10 Ole Miss 42-7, while No. 23 Oregon stunned No. 12 Ohio State 41-28 on the road in another major upset. No. 3 Utah strengthened its playoff position with a 28-20 victory over No. 9 BYU, and No. 5 Alabama handled LSU 31-13 in Baton Rouge. Tennessee also made a statement, crushing No. 6 Kentucky 34-6, while No. 7 Texas defeated Missouri 34-20 and No. 8 UCLA stayed on track with a 34-20 win over Minnesota. With Miami suffering its first loss and several ranked teams falling, Tuesday’s next CFP rankings promise plenty of movement as the playoff race enters its critical stretch.

9 – CABLE TV’S COMEBACK: They laughed a couple weeks ago when I said cable television’s going to make a comeback. You watch (I’ve been in the media 38 years but apparently don’t know what I’m talking about). In an Angus Reid Poll revealed this week, we learned more than four-in-five Canadians (84%) subscribe to at least one streaming service, unchanged from 2022, with Amazon Prime Video (62%) and Netflix (60%) leading the way. But subscription fatigue appears to be growing. Nearly two-in-five Canadians (37%) say they’ve cancelled at least one streaming service in the past six months, up from 32 per cent four years ago. As the price of streaming rises, cable may be finding a renewed argument for its value. Although two-thirds of current cable subscribers (67%) consider their television packages too expensive, two-in-five (40%) agree that traditional television is becoming a better deal than paying for multiple streaming subscriptions. i.e. People will pay for cable and watch whatever sports are on the program grid rather than forking out extra cash for their favourite leagues & teams via streaming. OR, they can watch the RP Show daily for free on YouTube thanks to our generous, longtime sponsors. Thank you!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it? … David Schwimmer turned 60 this week. … The turf fiasco at Mosaic Stadium, and subsequent finger-pointing, is about the biggest clusterf–k I’ve ever seen. These are our leaders? … Some people are made for each other. Both good, and bad. … Losers whine about who gets the credit. … The average McDonalds serves 1,500 meals per day. … A chimpanzee sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida had to deliver food to one of its 200 apes by drone this week because the property was swamped by record rainfall. Canals overflowed and submerged the internal roads that normally are used to deliver 3,000 pounds of chimp food per day via golf carts, facilities director Mark Yohannan. A high-clearance swamp buggy helped but soon broke down. And one chimp, a 38-year-old named Kaleb, was stranded in an outdoor area that was cut off by water. The organization bought a delivery drone some time ago for emergencies just like this. Staffers used the device to bring Kaleb food and blankets until he decided on his own to head for somewhere more accessible. “Chimps are getting all their food, bananas and oranges on time,” Yohannan said. “They’re good. They haven’t missed a beat.” … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,