THURSDAY RUNDOWN: BURKIE! AND MORE CFL/XFL TALK

We were poppin’ on Thursday’s Episode #440 of The RP Show – Canada’s Daytime Sports Talkshow! Here’s the rundown:

• RP and Moose Dupont kicked it off with The Warmup for Four Seasons Sports Palace covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) The latest on the CFL/XFL deal (Rod reports the CFL prefers to tap into The Rock’s branding, marketing and network but not change anything with regards to how the CFL operates football-wise. No merger.), 2) Wednesday NHL leftovers, 3) Dr. Fauci appeared on ESPN saying not to expect full capacity stadiums by this summer in America, 4) The Blue Jays fall to the Orioles, 5) Would the Brandt Centre sellout for the Connor Bedard debut in normal times? (both Rod and Darren say no) and 6) Saskatchewan is in contention at the Brier.
• Vegas Golden Knights analyst and longtime CFL On TSN Insider Gary Lawless joined the show from Summerlin, NV to talk about a variety of things. He predicts an all-out CFL/XFL merger by the time this deal is done and doesn’t buy Rod’s report that the CFL simply wants to leverage The Rock and his status as CFL alum. Gary also told some old Winnipeg Jets/John Ferguson Sr. stories and regarding the Golden Knights, he said the loss of Alex Pietrangelo is a huge hole on the blueline and that Marc-Andre Fleury will remain in the Vegas crease even after Robin Lehner becomes available.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Which CFL rule is the hill you’re prepared to die on – The Rouge, 3 Downs, Field Size or Other? At press time, 3 Downs was the overwhelming favourite.
• In Hour 2 in the Second Half Kickoff we re-upped the Quick Six and delved deeper into the CFL/XFL story. Rod figures that the CFL is out to lunch if they plan to “use” The Rock, and that he’ll pick their pocket if given the chance.
• Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke joined the show from the Steel City. He said he took the job because he wanted to work for Mario Lemieux, and that the Penguins check all the boxes for organizations you’d want to work for. Regarding the potential of trading Sidney Crosby to kickstart a rebuild, Burke said that’s “unthinkable”. Brian discussed his Maine Mariners/Philadelphia Flyers days, and promote his upcoming appearance at the U of R President’s breakfast on March 23 with Mark McMorris and Kevin Bieksa.
• 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 11 am CT/12 pm ET on Friday on Game+ and YouTube/Facebook Live for a Flame Tech Football Friday. Our guest list includes John Frenzy, Seattle broadcaster Ian Furness and Toronto Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie!