THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. LABOUR DAY CLASSIC AN IMPORTANT DISTRACTION: Seems silly that we get wrapped up in a football game after the news broke of what happened on the James Smith Cree Nation, doesn’t it? I even stayed home knowing that my mind would be wandering to how my family was doing living not far from where the suspect vehicle was spotted Sunday morning. But I’m also grateful that the game on TV gave me and probably many of you a distraction from the sickening reality of what happened. It was uplifting to see Mosaic Stadium not just sold out but actually look full for the first time in a long time on television. We need sports as a distraction from everyday life and the pandemic proved that to us. I’m also grateful to everyone who didn’t let the craziness of two individuals destroy their weekend and had enough spirit to get out to the game and take their minds off of it, if only for a few hours. We prioritize real life over sport in this country, as we should. But the show had to go on and I’m so glad it did.

2. TIME TO SEND MARINO PACKING: I’ve straddled the fence on this since his low hit on Jeremiah Masoli but his latest cheap-shot on another quarterback has made up my mind. That late push to the ground on Zach Collaros near the end of Sunday’s game did it for me. The league doesn’t need that and the Riders don’t need that. Craig Dickenson doesn’t deserve to have to defend that each week. Time for Marino to get his apple and a road map. In fact, it was probably time a few weeks ago.

3. NOT TIME TO SEND DUKE PACKING: Spitting and taking costly penalties are serious offences. However, I still don’t put it in the category of endangering another man’s career. Plus, Duke brings way more upside and spirit to the Riders than Garrett Marino ever did or will. Duke needs to wake up and smell the watermelons here and coach Dickenson needs to help him with that. But his situation isn’t the same as the other guy. Not by a longshot.

4. THE TWO DICKENSONS: One of them (Dave) had a great weekend and the other (Craig) not so much. Dave made the gutsy call to move away from Bo Levi Mitchell and it finally paid off for him in the form of a grind-it-out win over the Elks, probably the best finish of the labour day weekend, next to the Rider game. Craig made a baffling challenge of an offensive pass interference call that cost him a timeout and valuable seconds that Cody Fajardo could have used to drive his team into game-winning field goal range in the dying seconds of Sunday’s loss. To Craig’s everlasting credit, he faces the music with accountability and poise in ways few other head coaches or GM’s ever do. I find it hard to criticize a coach who takes the bullets with sincerity the way he does it but at the end of the day we still need to look at it objectively to maintain any credibility. He (Craig Dickenson) needs to confront these discipline issues with the habitual repeat offenders the same way he did when they sent Na’Ty Rodgers packing. In the words of Geoff Currier (boy I sure quote him a lot) “Sometimes those players with the most talent will hurt you more than they’ll help you.” 

5. FAJARDO RESPONDS TO TOUGH LOVE: Somehow I’m struggling to see how Cody Fajardo being booed and then yanked in his worst outing as a Roughrider followed by arguably his two best performances this season could be a coincidence. Like it or not, sometimes that little slap in the face is just the wakeup call we all need, especially quarterbacks. It worked when Adam Rita did it with Damon Allen during their stop together in BC from 1997-2002. Kent Austin got terrific mileage out of Kerry Joseph by playing the same card here in 2007. And Henry Burris never looked so grateful to play every snap as if it were his last than ever the Stamps benched him in favour of Drew Tate in 2011. The booing and the benching got Cody’s attention and in watching him play these last two weeks, you can sure tell.  

6. THE GREATEST FALL OF THEM ALL: 2013, when both the Riders and the Thunder won national championships at old Taylor Field was a pretty sweet football autumn around these parts that will be tough to top, ever. However, it could happen this year. The Thunder have to be favoured to do it again and we can’t rule out the Roughriders completely if they ever get their discipline issues under control because as Jeff Reinbebold said it on the RP Show a while back, “You’re good enough Saskatchewan” referring to the penalty issues that have plagued the green and white. But don’t forget the U of R Rams looked pretty good in their season opener at Winnipeg over the weekend, beating the U of M Bisons by 10 points. Not much is really expected out of the Rams this year but that’s why they play the game. If Mark McConkey’s crew surprise a few people, it could be the greatest November of football in Regina sports history.

7. REGINA THUNDER WEEK FOUR: Coming off a bye week, the Thunder enter a critical home-and-home with the Saskatoon Hilltops this coming Saturday night. First, they’ll play on the road before coming back home to play at Mosaic as part of football week in Saskatchewan one week later. As the only still-perfect squad in the Prairie Football Conference at 3 and 0, one would think a win in Saskatoon next weekend should set them up to run the table on a perfect season and national championship run. Except, that’s what we thought last year and it all came apart on a snowy, windy afternoon at Mosaic Stadium. Still a long road ahead but these next two weekends will be fascinating to see how they unfold.

8. DID YOU KNOW: They’ve been playing the labour day classic between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg in Regina fairly consistently since a meeting in 1970. The Riders came out on top 30-11 on that day. Exceptions since then include facing BC one year (1971), playing one of the games in Winnipeg (1973), playing it a few days early once upon a time (1976) , another year the Riders played Montreal instead (1981) and another when they didn’t play at all (2020). My tally, not including those exceptions, says Saskatchewan is now 32 and 16 all time during that span. Largely from a 24 and 6 domination that lasted from 1990 through 2019, the last season before the pandemic. Can the green and white regain that magic again? Only time will tell but ultimately the game at Mosaic Stadium in November will make everyone forget about labour day, good or bad.  

9. BANJO BOWL PREDICTION: The Roughriders are good enough to stick with the Blue Bombers for four quarters. Sunday proved that. What we don’t know is if the Riders can stick with the Bombers when it’s Saskatchewan taking the timecount and procedure penalties due to crowd noise. I’m taking Winnipeg but that won’t surprise anyone. 

10. IN-THE-HUDDLE THIS WEEK: We are joined by longtime Roughrider special teams ace/linebacker Dan Rashovich who will tell us about an exciting event coming up in the next few weeks and kick around what went wrong in the labour day classic. Watch us on Access Now TV at 7pm Tuesday nights or on the Access Now app.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)