THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. FAJARDO STILL ROLLING THE DICE: The internet was flooded over the weekend with breaking news of the Saskatchewan Roughriders new contract agreement with their quarterback. As first reported by RodPedersen.com, Cody Fajardo has accepted a paycut in guaranteed money to help the Riders balance their books in 2021. Still haven’t figured out why Fajardo’s agent hasn’t leveraged his client’s newfound popularity into a longer-term deal with a bigger signing bonus. Let’s not forget there have been plenty of one-hit wonders in this league and Cody is one season removed from not being good enough to start on a .500 football team.

2. MIKE REILLY IS OVERPAID: Hearing about his grievance over not getting paid in a season where lots of people who need the money a lot more than he does didn’t get paid either, makes me shake my head. Ed Hervey took a chance to give Mike Reilly his first shot to become a starting quarterback in pro football and then took another chance to make Mike Reilly among the highest-paid signal callers in the league. Hervey’s reward: A last-place 5-13 finish and then gets fired for trying to please his quarterback with a promise he couldn’t keep. Mike Reilly shouldn’t be crying for a payday in 2020. Instead, he should’ve been offering Ed Hervey a rebate.

3. BO LEVI MITCHELL IS UNDERPAID: Rider fans treat him like a target and that makes the rivalry fun. But in all seriousness, Bo Levi Mitchell might be the most unselfish player our league has seen in a really long time. He’s talked openly about the need to sacrifice his own lofty salary for the betterment of his teammates and the rest of the league. It’s a far cry from the days of Doug Flutie, who did less for the Stamps than Mitchell has, whining and pouting over Larry Ryckman’s inability to pay him (Flutie) his full one million dollar-per-year salary for a fourth straight season while the Stamps were entering bankruptcy. Bo Levi Mitchell gets a lot of credit for his success in Calgary but not nearly as much as he deserves.  

4.MIKE PRINGLE’S CONCUSSIONS: I still cringe at some of the footage from the days he used his head as a battering ram to eke out a Hall of Fame career. Pringle recently told a Montreal radio station that he doesn’t like the changes we’ve seen in the NFL/CFL with eliminating head contact to make the game safer. He’s 53 years old and appears to be in good health. I hope it stays that way and if it does for another 30 years, Mike Pringle will be symbol of hope for football and a sign that the game is not as dangerous as we sometimes fear. I worry about the head injuries as much as anyone and don’t endorse playing the way Mike Pringle did. But it’s only fair to hear the other side of the story, too.

5.WHY THE BC LIONS HAVEN’T CHOSEN A LONG-TERM GM: I’ve made up my mind that somebody on the west coast has someone else in mind for his next General Manager of the BC Lions. Team President Rick Lelacheur has won Grey Cups with Edmonton and Chris Jones has won a Grey Cup with Edmonton. Rick Lelacheur once hired his new GM, Eric Tillman, who was unemployed after Tillman left Saskatchewan. Rick Lelacheur just might hire Chris Jones as his next GM. Think about it. Jones could very well be looking for work after the Cleveland Browns NFL season ends and is unlikely to get a job anywhere in professional football better than General Manager of the BC Lions. Why else would any team ever name “Co-GM’s” in the way the Lions have with Head Coach, Rick Campbell and Director of Football Operations, Neil McEvoy? Both of them could easily keep the seat warm for a few months and then slide right back into their existing roles. I have zero insider information to say this will happen but it makes far too much sense to not, at least, speculate on.

6. TANKING IS FOR LOSERS: I was suffering regret from not following my inner gambler instinct to wager $10 on the Jets to beat the Rams Sunday as the Jets were 12-1 underdogs. However, I then realized this would have only fueled more gambling and led to losses and heartache, like it always does. Good for the coaches and players on the New York Jets for not rolling over for a winless season that would’ve resulted in the Jets obtaining the first overall draft pick for Clemson star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. That would’ve made other players, not on the Jets today, look good and some other coach look like a genius while laughing at the 2020 version of the New York Football Jets. Tanking rarely works in any of the major league sports. Just ask your nearest Oiler fan about that. 

7. MOOSE JAW’S DOWNTOWN: Recently did a weekend at the Spa with the wife and roamed up and downtown the main drag. We had no idea their city had such a great downtown until I had to go there to see the Warriors play in their new arena a few years back. I just love that place. A model for what Regina needs and could still have. True story.

8. KEVIN GREENE WAS CHUCK KLINGBEIL: Both were ferocious pass-rushers and both died in their 50’s, far before their time. Greene had rage issues as evidenced by his sideline attack on his assistant coach at the end of his playing career. Klingbeil had other issues with prescription drugs as evidenced by criminal charges before he died. If you’re wondering why so many of us are concerned about the price these athletes pay to play, then you’re probably not paying very close attention.

9. FIXING THE ONSIDE KICK: Stop trying to dribble it along the ground and get back to doing it the old-fashioned way, how we still do it in Canada. Kicking the ball up in the air and try to punch it out of bounds. That could work even with the newer rules preventing teams for loading up on one side. NFL teams don’t even try that anymore, despite the fact the dribble effect almost never works. It isn’t rocket science, guys. Highly paid football coaches really are some of the dumbest people in the world, sometimes.

10. HE SAID IT: Saw COOL RUNNINGS for the 11^th time over the weekend but it was the first time I’ve seen it on something other than VHS. The late great John Candy, still Argos co-owner at the time of that movie’s filming and release, said in that movie “If you aren’t enough without the gold medal, you’ll never be enough with it.”  

(Follow Brendan McGuire on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)