THURSDAY CAT COUNTRY COMMENTARY

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary at 9:50 am and 5:20 pm on Cat Country 98 FM)

IT’S TIME FOR A DISCUSSION ON YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC – THE SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS.

ON FRIDAY NIGHT TSN WILL UNVEIL ITS ALL-TIME ROUGHRIDERS TEAM AND IT’S HOTLY-ANTICIPATED.

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME MINI-CONTROVERSIES OVER SOME OF THE ALL-TIME TEAMS TSN HAS ANNOUNCED THIS SUMMER INCLUDING DOUG FLUTIE OVER BO LEVI AS CALGARY’S #1 QUARTERBACK, WILLIE JEFFERSON BEING NAMED TO WINNIPEG’S TEAM DESPITE ONLY BEING THERE A YEAR, OR ED PHILION’S OMISSION FROM THE MONTREAL SQUAD DESPITE BEING THE BACKBONE OF THEIR DEFENSE FOR A DECADE.

THERE’S NO DOUBT RON LANCASTER WILL BE NAMED THE ROUGHRIDERS FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK AND THERE’S ALSO NO DEBATE ON THE TOP RUNNING BACK EITHER – IT’S GEORGE REED.

HOWEVER TSN’S TEMPLATE ALLOWS FOR TWO RUNNING BACKS AND THAT’S WHERE WE’RE RUNNING INTO A DILEMMA.

RIDER FANS CAN’T DECIDE BETWEEN WES CATES, KORY SHEETS OR MIKE SAUNDERS BEHIND GEORGE REED AND SOME ARE SUGGESTING OTHER NAMES ALTOGETHER.

GENERALLY WHEN I’M VOTING ON THESE ALL-TIME TEAMS, I DEFER TO THE RECORD BOOK AND THAT’S RARELY LET ME DOWN. IN THAT INSTANCE, WES CATES GETS MY NOD AS HE’S NUMBER-TWO BEHIND GEORGE IN ALL-TIME RIDER RUSHING YARDS.

BUT THE KORY SHEETS FANS SAY HOW CAN YOU IGNORE SHEETS SETTING A GREY CUP RUSHING RECORD, AT HOME, OR TYING GEORGE REED’S RECORD FOR 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES IN A SEASON?

90’S ERA RIDER FANS SAY MIKE SAUNDERS WAS THE BEST OF ‘EM ALL, BUT WAS SADDLED WITH SOME TERRIBLE TEAMS.

HERE’S A LITTLE SECRET – LONGEVITY, AND HOW YOU LEAVE A TEAM USUALLY FACTOR INTO HOW YOUR LEGACY IS VIEWED. SHEETS LEFT SASKATCHEWAN AS A FREE AGENT AFTER 2013, CHASING THE MONEY. WES CATES WAS RELUCTANTLY SHOWN THE DOOR BY COREY CHAMBLIN IN 2012 AND WENT OUT KICKING AND SCREAMING.

AND THAT’S WHY WES CATES GETS MY VOTE FOR THE RIDERS ALL-TIME TEAM.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY ON CAT COUNTRY 98.