THURSDAY SHOW RECAP: PRONGER, BARNABY & CFL PICKS!

We had some big hockey names plus a lot of fun with Week 1 in the CFL on Episode #253 of The Rod Pedersen Show! Here are the highlights:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Rollout for Flooring Superstore covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) The Argonauts won’t be fined for going over the salary cap in 2019, 2) Some NBA players won’t return to work because of COVID but grocery store workers will?, 3) MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred guarantees they will play in 2020, 4) The CFL season is supposed to open Thursday night with BC at Edmonton, 5) Will the Northern 8 university football conference come to fruition?, and 6) Randy Ambrosie tells TSN 1050 Toronto that a new CFL business model is at the forefront of their discussions right now.
• Regarding what was supposed to be the Lions at Eskimos on Thursday, the guys said they’ll be running a computer simulation of the game and they outlined all of their Week 1 picks. A fan vote determined Nickelback will perform at the simulation halftime and Rod said the setlist will be Burn It To The Ground, Rockstar and When We Stand Together. The panel agreed that while a lot of CFL fans think the simulation is for the birds, the younger demographic is really into it.
• TSN 1260 Edmonton’s Dustin Nielson joined the show and said he’s all in on the CFL SIM. He talked about Mike Reilly’s return to Edmonton with the Lions (and if it’s still a story) and reflected on Chris Jones’ legacy with the Eskimos. Dusty delved a little into the NHL Quarantine Cities debate, and a return to practice for the Oilers.
• TSN 1290 Winnipeg’s Andrew “Hustler” Paterson was next up and said he’ll follow the CFL SIM too. He said the Bombers Grey Cup title defense is still a hot topic in Winnipeg. Hustler previewed the Jets/Flames first round series and other Winnipeg sports topics.
• News broke Thursday morning that NHL training camps will open July 10 as long as all Health & Safety protocols are followed. This was also a hot topic throughout the show.
• In Hour 2 famed NHL pest Matthew Barnaby joined the show and said he’s optimistic about NHL training camps and the Stanley Cup Playoffs saying, “It’s exciting that no matter what, we’re going to have hockey back. Barney discussed the mess that is the Buffalo Sabres, offered his services for a Canadian “The Match” Pro-Am and answered viewer questions. (He said Eric Lindros was the toughest guy to play against).
• Hockey Hall of Famer and Stanley Cup champion Chris Pronger joined the show from South Florida. Pronger is the Florida Panthers Sr. Advisor to Hockey Operations and said the Panthers could win the Cup due to their goaltending, coaching and penchant for scoring goals. The Dryden, ON product talked about living in a sunny hockey market, winning the Cup in 2007 with Anaheim, and much more.
• Great Western Breweries CEO Michael Brennan joined the show from the brewery in Saskatoon to announce Great Western’s relief effort for Saskatchewan’s 36 Food Banks. People can donate now at www.skfoodbanks.ca and more details will be unveiled as the summer unfolds.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Which is Canada’s Game of the Week in the CFL – BC at Edmonton, Toronto at Ottawa, Montreal at Calgary or Winnipeg at Hamilton? The Grey Cup rematch is winning by a landslide.
• You can vote now on our Twitter poll for the Rockstar of the Day for RoxDar Supply Chain Solutions. At press time, Chris Pronger was leading. Wednesday’s vote was won by Justin Dunk.
• Thursday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page, or you can listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio stream at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive presented by SUDS Full Service Car Wash.
• Be sure to join us at 10 am MT for Football Friday on Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive!