TUESDAY COMMENTARY: THE GOOD, THE GREAT & THE UGLY
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)
It’s Tuesday and that means it’s time for another edition of the Good, the Great & the Ugly!
First the good: One day after I commented that summers are for football, I found myself chilling in the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs for Day 1 of Florida’s Rookie Development Camp.
I got a long list of players to keep an eye on, sent to me by parents and scouts of other teams. Does that make me a spy or a reporter? No matter … there wasn’t much to report on since it was all skating drills and they barely needed pucks!
My takeaway was the fanbase. The rink was full with fans of all shapes and sizes, various ages and just about every ethnicity.
A voice in my head said, “Hockey is for everyone.”
Next the great: Monday’s news had been percolating for some time; John Paddock was retiring as GM of the Pats, to be replaced by former Warriors boss and Hockey Canada birddog Alan Millar.
Then it happened. And it’s all positive!
I’ve seen the various commentaries (on social media mostly) of Paddock’s nine season legacy with the Pats but this is the only one that matters — it’s been GREAT.
Do not ever forget the magical run to the 2017 WHL Final, nor the 2018 Memorial Cup Final in the Brandt Centre, nor the sheer bedlam of Connor Bedard Mania.
John Paddock engineered it all, and he’ll go down in history as the second-best Pats GM behind Bob Strumm. (A Memorial Cup appearance in which they got shafted, and seven straight 40-win seasons. ‘Nuff said).
And for the many whom are wondering if the hiring of Al Millar is a good one, it’s GREAT.
And lastly the ugly: Sorry to say, but it’s the state of the media on this continent.
It is, quite frankly, abhorrent. We’ll leave the news media alone because that’s an entirely other kettle of fish but the sports media has gotten completely out of hand. I don’t see it ever coming back either.
I saw a headline last week stating “Disgraced Blue Jays Pitcher Returns To The Mound.”
They were referring to Alek Manoah, but the headline got me Googling what heinous crimes Manoah was guilty of. No, as I thought, he’d just had a tough start and was sent to the minors.
People, this isn’t Larry Nassar stuff, nor Jeffrey Dahmer.
As one veteran sportscaster said to me Monday, “This is what happens when they lay off those who know what they’re doing, and hire kids.”
And you wonder why our TV & Radio show is becoming so popular in both countries.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+TV, WQEE Radio, Podcast & YouTube Live)
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