TUESDAY COMMENTARY – BLACK MONDAY

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary at 9:50 am and 5:20 pm on Cat Country 98 FM)

ANOTHER DAY, AND MORE BAD NEWS. HOWEVER THERE’S A SILVER LINING.

BUT IT CAME IN WAVES ON MONDAY. WE HAD JUST GOTTEN OFF THE AIR FROM THE ROD PEDERSEN SHOW ON GAME+ TV WHEN NEWS CAME DOWN THAT BC LIONS OWNER DAVID BRALEY HAD PASSED AWAY AT AGE 79.

IT WASN’T THE BIGGEST SHOCK BECAUSE I’D HEARD HE’D BEEN IN DECLINING HEALTH FOR YEARS BUT IT WAS STILL A BIG BLOW TO THE CFL. BRALEY HAD OWNED THREE DIFFERENT TEAMS IN HIS LIFETIME AND MEMORIALS ARE ALREADY BEING PLANNED TO HONOUR HIS LEGACY.

THE BUZZ IN THE UNDER-CURRENT OF THE CFL WELL INTO THE EVENING MONDAY WAS HOW WILL CFL BUSINESS CHANGE WITH BRALEY GONE?

IT’S A VERY WORTHWHILE DISCUSSION, BUT BEST SAVED FOR ANOTHER DAY.

MEANWHILE JUST HOURS AFTER THE BRALEY NEWS, EDMONTON SPORTS TEAMS ANNOUNCED THE PASSING OF LONG-TIME LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANT JOEY MOSS.

JOEY WAS AS MUCH A FIXTURE OF EDMONTON SPORTS AS ANY ATHLETE OR COACH AND HIS PASSING AT AGE 57 SENT THE CITY INTO DEEP MOURNING.

THOSE OF US OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER KNOW MOSS CAME ON THE SCENE IN THE 80’S WHEN WAYNE GRETZKY WAS DATING JOEY’S SISTER VICKI AND HE BROUGHT HIM AROUND THE RINK.

WAYNE LEFT BUT JOEY STAYED!

THE SILVER LINING IN ALL THIS WAS THAT I WAS ON THE ENTERPRIZE PODCAST IN PHILADELPHIA LAST NIGHT. THE HOST DAN SERAVALLI STUMBLED ACROSS OUR SHOW WHILE CHANNEL-SURFING IN PHILLY AND HE WAS EAGER TO DISCUSS ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE PART OF OUR EVERYDAY LIFE HERE –

THE CFL, JUNIOR HOCKEY, AND THE FACT THIS IS WHERE HOCKEY PLAYERS COME FROM. HE WAS PARTICULARLY ENTHRALLED WITH STORIES ABOUT FLYERS GREATS BRIAN PROPP, RON HEXTALL, BOBBY CLARKE AND THE LIKE.

THE TRUTH IS WE HAVE LOTS TO CELEBRATE AND ALWAYS WILL. IT’S JUST ON PAUSE RIGHT NOW …

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY ON CAT COUNTRY 98.