TUESDAY COMMENTARY – MONOPOLIES ARE BAD

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

IT’S TUESDAY AND THAT MEANS IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF THE GOOD, THE GREAT & THE UGLY!

FIRST, THE GOOD: IT’S GOOD THAT CODY FAJARDO IS STARTING AT QB FOR THE RIDERS FRIDAY AT BC.

HE’S THE HIGHEST-PAID ROUGHRIDER EVER AND AS SUCH, SHOULD BE ON THE FIELD. AFTER MONDAY’S PRACTICE, FAJARDO EXPRESSED HIS DISPLEASURE WITH BEING PULLED IN LAST WEEK’S LOSS TO BC AND IT DISPLAYED THE TRUE WINNER’S NATURE IN HIM.

HE’S THE KIND OF PLAYER WHO NEEDS A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER TO PLAY HIS BEST – THE BEST ONES ALL DO – AND A MOTIVATED CODY IS A GOOD THING FOR RIDERVILLE.

NEXT, THE GREAT: DON’T LOOK NOW BUT WE’RE ALREADY INTO WEEK 3 OF THE NFL PRESEASON AND I’VE ARRIVED IN FLORIDA JUST IN TIME.

THE MIAMI DOLPHINS ARE HOME TO THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES SATURDAY NIGHT AND I’LL HAVE A SEAT AT HARD ROCK STADIUM.

WE’VE GOT PLENTY OF WEEKS AHEAD TO DISSECT THE NFL BUT IT’S JUST NICE TO HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE.

THANK YOU NFL FOR THAT. WE BEGAN OUR RELATIONSHIP A YEAR AGO, SOLIDIFIED IT AT SUPER BOWL, AND NOW HERE WE ARE.

AND LASTLY, THE UGLY: A GENERATION AGO THE CFL WASN’T WORRIED AT ALL ABOUT BEING OVERTAKEN BY THE NFL IN CANADA BUT IT’S HAPPENED.

I’D LOVE TO READ A STUDY ON HOW THAT HAPPENED – SHOOT, I’D LIKE TO WRITE IT.

IT’LL TAKE LONGER THAN THE 90 SECONDS WE HAVE HERE BUT MY FIRST SWING AT IS THE CFL’S DECISION TO GO WITH ONE TV RIGHTSHOLDER – TSN – IN 2008.

BEFORE THAT, TSN, SPORTSNET AND CBC ALL CARRIED THE GAMES AND WE WERE TREATED TO ALL KINDS OF COLOURFUL CFL PERSONALITIES ON AIR LIKE CHRIS WALBY, DAVED BENEFIELD, ELLIOTT FRIEDMANN, JAMIE CAMPBELL, GRANT CARTER AND WAY, WAY MORE.

IN AMERICA, ALMOST EVERY NETWORK HAS A PIECE OF THE PIE AND THAT’S WHY WE GET TREATED TO ANALYSIS FROM TERRY BRADSHAW, TROY AIKMAN, KEYSHAWN JOHNSON, BILL COWHER, DAN MARINO, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. AND DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE NFL NETWORK WHICH LAUNCHED 18 YEARS AGO AND SERVES AS A 24/7 COMMERCIAL FOR THE NFL.

IN CANADA, WE GET THE SAME ANALYSTS EVERY GAME AND THOSE OTHER TWO NETWORKS COMPLETELY IGNORE THE CFL.

IF YOU RECALL IN THE 2000’S THE STADIUMS WERE ALL FULL (EVEN TORONTO) AND CFL TV RATINGS RIVALLED THE NHL AND QUASHED THE NFL.

BUT NOW ALL THAT’S CHANGED AND I BELIEVE IT’S THE RESIDUE FROM A SHORTSIGHTED DECISION BY GREEDY, NARROW-MINDED CFL OWNERS AT THE TIME.

TODAY’S LESSON KIDS, IS THAT MONOPOLIES ARE A VERY BAD THING.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET & 10 pm PT on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)