THURSDAY RUNDOWN: NIGHT ONE RECAP AND DAVE RANDORF JOINS!

It was an explosive, all-encompassing Episode #400 of The RP Show – Canada’s Daytime Sports Talk Show – on Thursday! Here’s the rundown:

• Rod and Dupes got it rolling with The Warmup for the Four Seasons Sports Palace covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) Opening Night in the NHL saw Toronto, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and St. Louis win (Rod wonders what the hell happened to the Oilers?), 2) There are nine games Thursday and Rod’s focusing on Flames/Jets, Canucks/Oilers and Ducks/Golden Knights, 3) Do we deserve an update from the CFL on plans for 2021?, 4) Fans are griping about helmet sticker advertisements and sponsorships for NHL divisions, 5) Junior A teams are reminding the public that the NHL is back, but hockey is not, and 6) NFL Notes – Jacksonville hires Urban Meyers and Chicago Bears ownership endorses the Head Coach & GM.
• Sauga 960’s Mike Richards joined the show from Mississauga with a scorching chat on Night 1 in The NHL, the American Capitol insurgence (he figures a larger crowd would gather in Canada!), and a brief dissection of the CFL. Richards took several questions from viewers and said the James Harden trade is getting big play in Southern Ontario, and that the Brooklyn Nets have suddenly become very unlikeable. Rod says the Nets’ team parties must be epic. Richards also predicted a “renaissance” in sports media and that hosts like he and Rod are positioned well for the post-pandemic media landscape.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: How many goals will Alex Ovechkin score this year – 10-20, 21-29, 30-39 or 40+? At press time, 21-29 was leading.
• Hour 2 was simulcast on Game+ TV and Facebook Live and after re-upping the Quick Six, we were joined by Tampa Bay Lightning Voice Dave Randorf. “Rambo” recapped Tampa’s 5-1 victory over Chicago and explained why the Stanley Cup banner unveiling didn’t go all the way to the top of Amalie Arena. (That will be saved for when fans are in attendance). Randorf explained how it came to be that he was hired by the Lightning, and revealed that the hiring process went back to last summer. Viewers had tons of questions for Dave and they related to the CFL. He wouldn’t name his favourite CFL On TSN panelist but said Matt Dunigan lives just up the coast from him in Florida. Randorf’s last game as CFL panel host was the 2013 Grey Cup in Regina and he went into detail on his meeting with Tom Hanks on the pregame show. Rambo said he’s a regular viewer of the RP Show and congratulated the crew on the show’s success!
• The Viewer Takeover feature covered the last two segments and fans wanted to talk about NHL helmet stickers, the future of the CFL, NHL officiating and this weekend’s NFL playoff games.
• Rod and Dupes faced off for Ultimate Fan Zone and the Mad Greek Restaurant on NHL sponsorship and Rod hopes it stays beyond this season. Darren vehemently disagreed and feels it should only last for this season due to the financial strife the NHL is facing in the pandemic. He hopes NHL teams don’t get greedy and plaster uniforms with ads for years to come.
• Thursday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can catch the replay at 4:00 pm ET on Game+, listen to the podcast by clicking on the CONTENT tab at the top of this page, or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio feed at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• See you at 10 am CT Friday on Facebook Live and 12 pm ET on Game+ for a Flame Tech Football Friday! Our guest list includes Gus Frerotte, Tori Gurley, Shaq Murray-Lawrence and John Frenzy.