THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. RIDERS CHOOSING PAXTON AS BACKUP THE SMART BET: If Saskatchewan Roughrider head coach Craig Dickenson was as impressed with Lynch after Saturday’s Green and White game as 3 Down Nation’s John Hodge has made it sound, then consider the pressure coach will face to make the ex-Denver Bronco franchise savior-in-waiting the number one backup to Cody Fajardo. Lynch has reportedly earned more than $5 million U.S. from his NFL career and has admitted this CFL thing is nothing more than a springboard to a comeback down south. So why on earth would he kick around Regina for the next four months and change to be a 3rd stringer? That alone, will probably serve as the tie-breaker between Lynch and incumbent backup, Isaac Harker. Prediction: Lynch will be the number two and Harker will have to suck up the demotion to number three. 

2. GREEN AND WHITE GAME A SIGN OF SLOPPY FOOTBALL TO COME: Fans hate preseason and so do I. But I’ve heard nothing good about the quality of play from Saturday’s scrimmage. Maybe this is what we all needed to start appreciating preseason games again? Look for the first 2-3 weeks of the real thing to be not that good. When I was a boy, the CFL was ridiculed for only having 2 preseason games instead of 4, like they did in the early 80s and usually still do in the NFL. Preseason matters and the on-field quality of play will suffer this year without it. 

3. RIDER O-LINE WILL BE FINE BECAUSE: Brett Boyko will be the starting Left Guard. The guy has amazing experience from his NFL and Alliance of American Football days. So, what if it’s a new group? The whole league is dealing with this kind of scenario. The hogs protecting Cody Fajardo will be fine.   

4. SASKATCHEWAN KRAKEN: Every so often this notion of Saskatchewan adopting a certain NHL team as our own comes up. The late Ken King was from Hanley, Saskatchewan and told Drew Remenda and I on the radio he wanted the Saskatchewan market when he was president of the Calgary Flames and chose to play preseason games in Saskatoon for that reason. But too many of us hate Alberta and Calgary, specifically, for destroying our economy in the 90s. The St. Louis Blues were an intriguing idea because of so many Saskatchewan players from their Stanley Cup winning roster a couple years back but that was only temporary. Podcasters Greg and Justin pushed the Vegas Golden Knights idea hard but those two weren’t/aren’t even real sports fans, anyway. But the Seattle Kraken strikes a note with me, personally. How can I not want to cheer for Jordan Eberle? Why wouldn’t I want to cheer for the Canucks newest rival at a time when I’m sick and tired of the Canuck management arrogance and as a fan, I’m in need of a change? I just might even try to brainwash my wife and newborn daughter to a new start as hockey fans with the Seattle Kraken.  

5. CFL ON TSN CHANGES: Good call to get Rod Smith into the booth. He was fine on the panel but I expect him to take it to the next level doing games live. He’s done them before and I must say, he’s quite good at it. Kate Bierness is the perfect host for the panel. She’s enthusiastic, funny and a real fan. Plus having a younger, female voice doesn’t hurt in the CFL in its fight against the perception of being an old, white guy’s league. The only other thing I would like to see more of is Gord Miller and Matt Dunigan in the booth. Their live football calls are good, too. 

6. THIS WEEK I’M JEALOUS OF: Darren Dupont. People gasped a while back when the guy turned down a low-ball offer from another media outlet. Now he’s nominated for a Paragon Award as YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR. #BALLER Lesson learned: It’s okay to bet on yourself, sometimes. 

7. OLYMPICS ON TV: Got big into the women’s softball and men’s volleyball. The basketball has been great too. All in all, I’d have to say the CBC’s coverage has been, despite challenging circumstances, pretty damn good. And it was cool to hear the voice of CTV Regina’s Claire Hanna narrating the beach volleyball, too. As good as it all has been, I must say, how dumb is it they’re calling it TOKYO 2020 when it is very clearly NOT 2020 anymore? It’s almost as if the IOC had already printed their signs and were too lazy to fix them. And then the same committee ignores the city’s wishes and pushes ahead with the games despite the coronavirus disaster. If anyone needed another reason to boot the IOC suits in the arse, it’s right in front of us. They owe Tokyo another Olympics, bigtime!  

8. FOOTBALL AT THE OLYMPICS: Would be cool to see and the only obstacle in the way of making it happen would be the lack of football played outside of North America. If CFL Commish Randy Ambrosie wants to try a global initiative that actually makes sense, he should be connecting with the IOC and coordinating an effort to ensure Olympic rules are CFL RULES. No way this doesn’t happen (football at the Olympics). It’s not a matter of if, but when? Hopefully, I live long enough to see it.   

9. STILL SUSPICIOUS OF BALLPLAYERS DOPING: Nelson Cruz was caught doping earlier in his career and now he’s magically in demand for buyers at the trade deadline at the tender age of 41. Hmm, he needed PED’s earlier in his career in order to perform, but not now into his 40’s? Hmm. Really makes you wonder, doesn’t it?  

10. SASK SUMMER SIM: Check us out on Access NOW Sports! Wednesday and Friday nights at 7 pm local time. It’s an MLB the Show style tournament for the WCBL Saskatchewan teams season. All Access cable subscribers can watch us and anyone can download the Access NOW app for like 3 bucks. I watched it all from home myself and it looks fantastic, despite the play-by-play narrater. Leo MacDonald, Mitch MacDonald and Landon Adelman have all done great work in helping out with colour commentary. We miss the real thing but director Spencer Burridge has pulled off an amazing coup in putting this all together and help remind us that Sox ball isn’t all that far away.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)