THURSDAY COMMENTARY – TED EXPLAINS DIVORCE
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WE MIGHT’VE STARTED SOMETHING WITH WEDNESDAY’S TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.
NOT TOTALLY SURE HOW IT CAME UP ON THE RP SHOW ON GAME+ TV BUT WE RECALLED HENRY BURRIS LEAVING SASKATCHEWAN TWICE FOR THE NFL IN THE EARLY 2000’S.
BY THE TIME HE RETURNED FROM GREEN BAY AND CHICAGO, HENRY LEARNED ROY SHIVERS AND DANNY BARRETT HAD GIVEN AWAY HIS STARTING QUARTERBACK SPOT TO NEALON GREENE.
OH YAH – IT CAME UP WHEN DISCUSSING BO LEVI MITCHELL LOSING HIS STARTING JOB WITH THE CALGARY STAMPEDERS.
THE BURRIS SITUATION WAS THE ONLY ONE I CAN EVER REMEMBER WHERE POLITICS GOT IN THE WAY OF WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE TEAM. OR DID IT?
RAY CHARLES COULD SEE THAT BURRIS WAS THE BETTER QUARTERBACK THAN NEALON, BUT IN RETROSPECT, ROY AND DANNY SEEMED TO BE PUNISHING HENRY FOR GOING TO THE NFL AND LEAVING THEM IN SEARCH OF A #1 QUARTERBACK.
GOD BLESS NEALON … HE DID ALL THAT WAS ASKED OF HIM AND GOT THE RIDERS TO THE PLAYOFFS.
BUT HE WAS NO HENRY, WHO WENT INTO THE HALL OF FAME IN JUNE. HANK DID IT ON THE STRENGTH OF THE TWO GREY CUPS HE WON AS A STARTER, AFTER HE LEFT SASKATCHEWAN.
THOSE COULD’VE BEEN OURS, BUT ROY SHIVERS MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HENRY TO RETURN TO SASK AND HE WAS FORCED TO LEAVE THE PROVINCE. HANK DIDN’T WANT TO.
FUNNY HOW HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.
WHAT, HONESTLY, WAS HENRY TO DO? NOT SIGN IN THE NFL?
IN RETROSPECT, I SUPPOSE, ROY WAS DOING JUST WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE FRANCHISE AND THAT REALLY ONLY DAWNED ON ME NOW.
BUT BY LEAVING HANK ON THE BENCH, HE HELD HIS FRANCHISE BACK FROM WINNING, JUST TO PROVE A POINT. NOT EVEN TWO YEARS LATER, ROY WAS FIRED WHILE HENRY WENT ON TO A HALL OF FAME CAREER AND IS NOW COACHING THE NFL’S JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS.
I GUESS ROY WILL GO INTO THAT SAME HALL OF FAME THIS FALL AND I WONDER IF HENRY WILL BE WATCHING.
I DOUBT IT.
EACH SIDE WAS DOING WHAT WAS BEST FOR THEM, BUT IN THE END IT WOUND UP IN A NASTY SPLIT AND ALL THESE YEARS LATER, NEITHER SIDE IS OVER IT.
THIS IS HOW DIVORCES HAPPEN IN SPORTS FOLKS. THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET & 10 pm PT on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
Roy Shivers, your incompetence knows no limits. I hope Jim Hopson lives forever to keep you out of any hall of fame!
One thing I have learned in divorce retrospect is this. One side will whine, yammer, get all involved to their/her side and the other will simply remain quiet. Since 2004 all I have heard is Henry Burris’ version of events. After he divorced Saskatchewan he also divorced Calgary and Hamilton and through stacking expansion wrapped up with Ottawa. Roy on the other hand has remained quiet. He won Grey Cups with his orginal franchise and partner in B.C. Roy is like Obama telling his ex wife; “if you quit lying about me; I will quit telling the truth about you.”… Read more »
Who hurt you?
The only ‘Hall’ Roy Shivers belongs in is the “Hall of Shame”
Mr. Roy Shivers was the best thing that ever happened to the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Franchise bar none! Mr. Shivers was instrumental in resetting the team management operations to where subsequent others were able to follow in line with success. Mr. Shivers saved that organization without a doubt from the ashes of self ruin. Henry Burris, he abandoned the Roughriders twice only to come back with ransom playing contract asks. Mr. Shivers being a shrewd player talent evaluator determined a organization direction and stuck to it Henry Burris or not. In the end, the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club was better… Read more »
I don’t really know why Roy and Danny valued Nealon over not only Henry but also Kevin Glenn, who was, at last check, pretty darn good after he left. Remember when he was traded to the Bombers right after a trade with the Argos? If only that happened in this age of Social Media. I Don’t blame Henry for leaving. and the fact that Roy never became a GM in the CFL again speaks volumes. Roy did good things for the franchise, no question. But would it be 80-20? good to bad. for me it’s more like 55-45.