THURSDAY COMMENTARY – THAT’S HOCKEY
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 FM & Rock 98.5 FM)
WHEN I STARTED THIS COMMENTARY A YEAR AGO IN MAY, THE RADIO STATION SAID TO JUST TALK ABOUT WHATEVER I WANT.
SO YOU KNOW WHAT?? IT’S AUGUST, THE COMBINES ARE IN THE FIELDS, WE’VE HAD A HOT SUMMER, AND THE THING THAT’S ON MY MIND THE MOST IS REGINA PATS HOCKEY AND THE UPCOMING WHL SEASON.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
FOR THOSE WHO KNOW ME BEST, THEY CAN. AND MONDAY’S INTERVIEW ON THE ROD PEDERSEN SHOW WITH PATS STAR CONNOR BEDARD ONLY STOKED THE FIRE.
I STILL KEEP SMILING ABOUT THE FACT HE WAS MORE EAGER TO HEAR HOW MY SUMMER’S BEEN THAN TALK ABOUT HIMSELF! THAT’S HOCKEY.
THE PATS FINISHED MIDDLE-OF-THE-PACK IN THE BUBBLE LAST SPRING AND GAVE US PLENTY TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS YEAR. THE RIVAL WARRIORS SOMEWHAT INEXPLICABLY FINISHED FAR BELOW BUT THEY’RE EXTREMELY YOUNG.
TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY, CONNOR BEDARD WAS LEADING THE DUB IN SCORING AT NEARLY TWO POINTS PER GAME AT THE AGE OF 15 WHEN HE LEFT TO DEAL WITH THE TRAGIC DEATH OF HIS GRANDFATHER, AND THEN WENT TO THE WORLD UNDER-18’S WHERE HE WAS NAMED PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT AND WAS THE GOLD MEDAL GAME HERO.
HE’S ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO JUST HAS A FLARE FOR THE DRAMATIC AND ALWAYS RISES TO MEET THE MOMENT.
THE GLARE ON THE REGINA PATS OVER THE NEXT TWO SEASONS IS GOING TO BE LARGER THAN EVER BEFORE. THAT’S BECAUSE THERE’S NEVER BEEN A PLAYER COME THROUGH LIKE CONNOR BEDARD IN THE FRANCHISE’S 105 SEASONS.
I’M THRILLED TO REPORT I’LL BE ABLE TO CALL THE GAMES ON PROVINCE-WIDE TELEVISION ON ACCESS-NOW TV, AND MEET THE WHL’S MANDATORY VACCINE REQUIREMENT. IT’S BEEN MY DREAM JOB SINCE I WAS 6 YEARS OLD.
WE WON’T BROADCAST EVERY PATS GAME ON ACCESS BUT FOR THOSE WE WON’T, I’LL HAVE MY SEASON TICKETS IN A SUITE ON THE WEST END CONCOURSE.
THE PATS ATTEMPTED A TICKET PRICE HIKE LAST WEEK THAT RECEIVED SUCH A BACKLASH, I’M TOLD, THAT THEY’VE DECIDED TO PUSH IT BACK A YEAR. I’M NOT TOTALLY SURE; I JUST CALL THE GAMES.
HONESTLY, I DIDN’T CARE. I’D PAY ANYTHING TO WATCH THE REGINA PATS AND THAT INCLUDED BUYING FOUR OVER-PRICED SEATS FOR THE MEMORIAL CUP IN 2018. I DIDN’T BAT AN EYE, AND DON’T REGRET IT.
I THINK THAT’S HOW MANY OF YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS, SO I GET IT.
BEDARD REPORTS TO REGINA ON AUGUST 31 FOR THE START OF TRAINING CAMP.
GO PATS GO! IT’S GOING TO BE A BLAST.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY
When I read a commentary like this it honestly hammers home why I never left Regina or the surrounding area. Can we go sit on beaches or near Okanagan cherry orchards? Sure we can. It gets boring after about 2 weeks. I am almost 50 and can truthfully say I never left Regina because everything and anything is here. Even when the Roughriders were putrid, the conversations, the hope for next year, and when lighthing struck omg it was heaven on Earth. The Pats were a different story. To be a kid and doing loser laps on the concourse in… Read more »
Great note. I’d add that for those of us who have had to move away, there is nothing quite like Saskatchewan homesickness. Sure life is fine where we’ve landed, but you never quit looking back just to see what’s going on back home. When I come across a Saskie, I know where that person is from. Not location, where they’re FROM. Many times I thought I will just retire to the coast, but I think I might be happier in section T or whatever it is called now… can you still walk in with your ticket, get your hand stamped… Read more »
lol – that depends – there are only 5 people who knew how to do that and 1 of them is dead. I know I am fully alive so you are probably someone I know and did that with:)- 3 possible suspects “Fred” lol. People think they lost their “freedom” after 9/11 pfft. When 1500 people show up to watch Louis Dumont score his 50th goal let’s just say security was lax at the ‘ol Agridome and it subsequently had to get a little tightened up. From 1987 to 1992 it was the Wild West. But you take a game… Read more »
Will Connor be rockin the Menards advertising patch on his jersey or Helmut.
Save BIG Money at Menards