THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. RIDERS BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: It’s not the O-line, not the defensive secondary without LJ McCray and not even the pass rush post-Charleston Hughes. As it was before the last opening day for the Roughriders in 2019, it was and still is, the quarterback. Cody Fajardo has, to date, shown us the ability to be a one-hit wonder. Most of us are assuming he’ll peak under Jason Maas running the offence but until they do it on the field, we’re still in the dark. We’ve given Fajardo a Rockstar status based on a very small sample size. And unless he can bounce back from that tragic crossbar ending in the 2019 West Final, that status could still very well disappear overnight. Not to diminish the other parts of any CFL team, but the QB remains the starter and stopper of any team’s Grey Cup hopes. And that’s still very much the case in Riderville.   

2. DON’T RULE OUT LaBATTE JUST YET: He’s done nothing to give any indication that he plans to play this year and I have absolutely zero inside information, whatsoever. That said, the green and white have lost 60 percent of their starting offensive line and have plenty of incentive to coax him out of retirement, even if it requires financial enticements. From the players standpoint, old linemen love to skip training camp. That’s been going on for decades in both the CFL and the NFL. So maybe he’s playing the game? It’s a shot in the dark but once training camp is done, it would make too much sense for both sides to not at least speculate on an early return for Brendon LaBatte. I’m just sayin.

3. INTEREST IN PAXTON LYNCH SIGNING SHOWS ARROGANCE OF NFL FANS: I’ve fielded texts from no less than a half dozen chums, who follow the NFL and ridicule the CFL regularly, about the Roughriders signing former Denver Broncos first round pick Paxton Lynch to tryout at quarterback. Comments about Lynch’s potential to ‘dominate the league’ are embarrassing for anyone who dares to key such a suggestion. Never before have I witnessed such rubbish on my cellphone. If you legitimately expect Paxton Lynch to dominate the CFL, much less earn any meaningful playing time, than your football IQ is staggeringly low and not worthy of any football discussion. Period. Such commentary helps me understand how Donald Trump got elected. Good grief!

4. THIS SEASON WILL STAND ABOVE THE CROWD: We have never before and will probably never again appreciate having the CFL like we will this year. That goes for the entire country. I will be shocked and disappointed if record crowds don’t blanket the league from coast to coast. The pent-up demand for live sports should be enough to surprise everyone and carry the day. We will cheer louder, coaches will work more and players will play harder, not taking this season for granted. A shortened season is always cringe-worthy for obvious reasons like skewed statistical performance and other things out of whack. But it will also make a great story before life goes completely back to normal. One year after its worst nightmare, this season will be the CFL’s finest moment yet.    

5. CFL RETURN SHOULD KILL XFL TALK: I fully expect the Canadian Football League to, once again, prove its viability this fall. This will overshadow all the nonsense about partnering with the XFL. That league still won’t have any path toward profitability at that point and will probably just fold (again) like a cheap suit. If you’re wondering what the biggest reason was for the CFL to get back at it this year, you’re looking straight at it.   

6. EXPECT ARGOS TO FINISH LAST: High-priced, and likely over-the-hill, talent doesn’t get anyone very far in pro football. The fact that the Toronto Argonauts are built on players from other teams, including ex-Riders Charleston Hughes, Cameron Judge and Henoc Muamba, tells us all that Toronto has no commitment to player development and worse yet, no identity. Ever since MLSE has handed the reigns over to Toronto FC team president Bill Manning to run both clubs, the boatmen have been treated as a minor league property. Don’t expect that change on the field, either. Hiring Pinball Clemons to be the General Manager is great PR but won’t provide enough lipstick for this pig.  

7. STANLEY CUP FINALS: Habs are taking the perfect approach to just enjoy being in the finals and win one game at a time. Defeat looks inevitable but that’s okay: A Stanley Cup in July just doesn’t feel right, anyway. Tampa can have these COVID cups. Their run should be about ready to expire as soon the world is right, again.

8. NBA FINALS: Encouraged to see the Milwaukee Bucks get there with victories minus their big star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Anytime an NBA team can prove they are something more than one player, I’m all for it. Having said that, I’m rooting for the Phoenix Suns in the finals for two reasons: One, I would get sick of hearing Bucks fan and Regina Red Sox P.A. Announcer Sean Kleisinger brag in the Currie Field sound booth in future baseball seasons about the year “We won the NBA Championship”. Secondly, the Bucks will get plenty more chances. I’m not sure the Suns will pull this off again anytime soon.

9. RUNNING OUT OF EXCUSES TO DEVELOP DOWNTOWN REGINA: One argument I heard last week against the new ballpark for the Regina Red Sox was that the proposal sits on downtown property that real estate developers will want to pay big dollars for in the next decade or two. For starters, real estate developers always want downtown land. Secondly, they’ll want it a lot more if there’s action in the area and reasons for people to be in the area. Regina’s downtown will never get developed overnight and even if said ballpark sits there for 20 years, and then the city wants to develop it in some other way, then that will mean the park will have done its job and can be re-built somewhere else. By waiting for the downtown to turn into something, we will all get nothing. Time’s a wasting.  

10. WEEKLY YOUTUBE PICK: Find an episode of THE RICH EISEN SHOW although there are many other platforms to dial that up. Rich deserves kudos for rising above the low-rent level of so many of his NFL Network colleagues. Rich is thoughtful, articulate and balanced. Best of all, he sounds like an actual sports fan and not some corporate rear-end kisser or shock jock desperate for ratings.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)