THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

Was it an intentional act of mischief?  No one knows but by the timing of the outage, I smell a rat.  I had just spoken into my headset on the 620 CKRM Roughriders Radio Network, “The Lions lead the Roughriders 18-6 at the break.  The halftime show is coming up next...”  Then, POOF!  All power to the stadium was lost.

But unlike the great power outage during the Riders-Eskimos game in August of 2007, there was still enough daylight to diffuse mass panic within the facility.

It’s unlikely that that the perpetrators will be caught and identified, but just like the 17-year old who caused $10,000 damage in New Mosaic Stadium last week, hopefully they are harshly punished if the opportunity presents itself.

As Tiger Williams said on 620 CKRM’s SportsCage on Friday regarding the teen vandal, “Hang him from centrefield and if he lives, good for him.”

Was Confetti-Gate embarrassing?  Absolutely.  But I suppose given the events of the nightclub mass shooting in Orlando Saturday night, we need to put this incident into perspective and shrug it off.

To be sure, the Farewell Season is off to a memorable start even if a fraction of a normal home crowd was in attendance.

I’m told approximately 17,500 took it in.  The new-fangled CFL stat sheet doesn’t list attendance.  Hopefully that changes, and pronto.

#whereisthecommissioner

2 – THE GAME:  The Roughriders were more optimistic after Saturday’s 28-16 loss to the B.C. Lions than I’d expected.  Head Coach & GM Chris Jones wasn’t exactly chipper in our live postgame interview or news conference but he didn’t seem overly discouraged either.  Certainly he didn’t report any symptoms of nausea like one week before after the mock game in Saskatoon.  He was very open and obliging on the radio with us.

Oh sure, I overheard the comment “Oh the Roughriders lost again” many times Sunday morning at the coffee shop and during our walk around Wascana Lake but those folks clearly hadn’t watched the game closely.

Saskatchewan wasn’t guilty of many unforced-errors in the way of illegal procedure or time count violations and only took 12 penalties to B.C.’s 17.

There were plenty of positives including good pressure from the defensive front four (including a pair of sacks and a handful of knockdowns).  The running game was solid which will be a hallmark of the Stephen McAdoo offense.  After watching the game a second time, the receivers did an exemplary job of blocking downfield.  These are some of the little things the club has spent a great deal of time working on during training camp and they’ve come a long way since Day 1.

It’s clear the B.C. Lions are far more set than Saskatchewan with regards to their roster for this season but if this game had been purely “1’s versus 1’s”, it might’ve had a far different outcome.

3 – THE CUTS:  There were no big names included in the Roughriders’ list of nine cuts on Sunday but it did include veterans WR S.J. Haidara and DB Dan West along with journeyman DL Caesar Rayford.  I thought perhaps receiver/returner Ricky Collins might feel the knife after his second half fumble on a kick return however he was spared.  “He’s a great player,” I was advised by the Roughriders staff Sunday evening.

Chris Jones was particularly harsh on quarterbacks Brett Smith and B.J. Coleman after Saturday’s game and deservedly so.  Both pivots have shown traits that could wiggle their way into the hearts of the Rider Nation but Rider fans are unforgiving when it comes to interceptions and giving up needless sacks.  Clearly, there’s plenty of work left to be done in the battle to decide who will be Darian Durant’s top back-up.  I’m told the interceptions are less of a concern than their inability to consistently move the ball and put up points.

The Riders are hoping to get veterans Justin Capicciotti and Jeff Knox Jr. back on the field at some point this week but it could still be a longshot for them to suit up next Saturday in Edmonton in the preseason finale.  The pair has basically missed all of training camp with muscle injuries while veteran defensive end Dylan Ainsworth is working his way back from a concussion.

It’s clear the Roughriders will be a much different team with the likes of Durant, Capicciotti and Knox and it’s a blessing this team has a bye in Week 1.

4 – BACK IN THE EPICENTRE:  You’ve gotta love Regina.  I’d just walked up to the counter at Starbucks at 8:10 am Sunday when I heard a voice over my shoulder saying, “Rod, what did you think of #78 and #72?”  I turned and asked the gentleman if he could at least wait until I ordered my standard Venti Pike!

The long-time Regina businessman was referring to defensive linemen Tony Criswell and Tre’Von Armstead who he felt had a rough outing against the Lions.  In truth, I hadn’t noticed Criswell at all in the game – good or bad – and had only spotted Armstead on special teams duty.

These Rider fans inspect every minute detail of a game and they watch with a harsh eye.  Armstead’s a guy who struggled as an offensive lineman in the Florida minicamp (it was later learned he was battling through a hamstring injury) and has been switched to the defensive line in training camp.  This practice of swapping players to the opposite side of the ball continues to be a curious one and I feel it presents a multitude of challenges for the players because they won’t be able to rely on their instincts or past experiences because they’ve never played that position before.

It will be very interesting to see how this all turns out once the regular season kicks off but amongst the most hardcore of Roughrider fans, I sense a willingness to allow Chris Jones’ plan to unfold.

5 – JUST NOTES:  Roughrider veteran Levi Steinhauer has worn three different numbers since training camp opened on May 29:  #51, #13 and #43.  I’m told he was ordered to shed #13 for Saturday’s game because it belongs to Rider mascot Gainer The Gopher.  Seniority, I guess. … Given the popularity of Golden State Warriors NBA players Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who are known as “The Splash Brothers”, I respectfully submit this nickname for Rider defensive ends Shawn Lemon and Justin Capicciotti: “The Smash Brothers”.  Lemon was a force in his limited time on Saturday night which was a welcome sight since he’s spent a lot of time talking over the past few months.  Against B.C., he walked the walk too.

6 – RUNNING BACK TO SASKATOON:  The Riders are back on the Griffiths Stadium turf Monday at 9:00 am as Week 3 of training camp begins.  With the roster pared by nine, the groups will be a little more workable and things will take on an even more serious tone. … Saskatoon has been a gracious host for training camp, as was expected.  However if I was a Saskatoon restaurant owner I’d instruct my staff not to ridicule Regina when patrons from the Queen City frequent their establishment.  On a daily basis when our server discovers we’re in from Regina for work, their response is always, “Ewwww, sorry about that.” … But I guess that’s to be expected with this inter-provincial rivalry.  On a radio morning show in Saskatoon last week I was asked by the host, “How much better is Saskatoon than Regina for training camp?”  I was at a loss for words for an answer on that one.  It was an interesting way of wording the question.

7 – FAREWELL GORDIE:  It was stirring to be in Saskatoon on Friday morning, the very day of Gordie Howe’s passing at the age of 88.  By 7:30 am the coffee shop I was in was buzzing, with parents telling their little kids about the legendary Detroit Red Wings #9 who hails from the Bridge City.

I had to dig through one of my Mom’s scrapbooks in Milestone, Saskatchewan on Saturday to find this photo of Gordon Howe and me at the Prince Albert Raiders wind-up in 1994.  That mic cord wasn’t plugged into anything so I asked Mr. Hockey to “fake it”.

As my Mom wisely pointed out, “Pictures aren’t worth anything until 20 years after they’re taken.”

Some of my Mom’s other sage sayings:

“Kids can hear the grass grow.”

“He’s another guy with more money than brains.”

“Youth is wasted on the young.”

I could think of plenty more given more time.

Judi’s a great small town Saskatchewan farm girl and an unbelievable mentor.

8 – HOCKEY THOUGHTS:  The hockey season officially ended last night with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-1 victory at San Jose to clinch the Stanley Cup in six games.  Let the record show the season went until June 12 in 2016. … I was shocked that Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs given the fact his goaltender Matt Murray was the story of this post-season.  Sidney was a force in the Final, but it didn’t show up in the statsheet. … Crosby is only 28, even though it seems he’s been around forever.  There’s plenty of winning to be done by him before he calls it a career. … By the way, none of the pundits on Sportsnet or CBC pointed out the fact the Calgary Flames had San Jose goalie Martin Jones right under their nose for four seasons while he starred for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.  As the Flames continue to search for a franchise goalie, they must be lamenting the fact the L.A. Kings robbed their backyard.

9 – KEEPER OF THE CUP:  A fun fact – the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Phil Pritchard helped carry the Stanley Cup onto the ice in San Jose last night for the postgame ceremony.  Pritchard resides in Burlington, ON and lives right down the street from the Keeper of the Grey Cup, Mark Denobile of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

10 – AROUND THE TABLE:  TSN debuted its series Around The Table on Saturday evening prior to the Riders-Lions telecast.  The episode I caught featured host Rod Smith with CFL General Managers Jim Barker, Jim Popp and Marcel Desjardins.  It appeared Smith had to keep the reins on Barker, as the Argos GM was chomping at the bit to steal the whole show.  But it was a great, classy presentation with the men discussing CFL rule changes and how they got into the role of General Manager.  My wife was watching with me and mused, “They’re talking about the same stuff that you and your buddies talk about everyday!”  I suppose that’s the idea — to give viewers an inside glimpse into the nuts and bolts of the Canadian Football League.  The MMG gives the show two thumbs up.

Meanwhile one has to wonder who TSN will tab to replace Paul Lapolice with the popular Coach’s Playbook feature on CFL telecasts?  If they’ve named a replacement, I missed it.

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THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!  SEE YOU ON THE RADIO…
RP
@rodpedersen