TUESDAY RUNDOWN: ROD SMITH, NHL TALK & FACING THE DRAGON!

It was another fun, informative day on Episode #536 of The RP Show – Canada’s Daytime Sports Talk Show – on Tuesday! Here’s the rundown:

• RP and Moose Dupont kicked it off with The Warmup for EECOL Electric covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) The Vegas Golden Knights trade Marc-Andre Fleury to Chicago (Rod felt Fleury’s gaffe in Game 4 against Montreal MUST’VE played a role in the trade), 2) Riders D-lineman Tim Williams goes down with a season-ending Achilles rupture, 3) The Blue Jays blow a lead in Boston, 4) An Olympics update, 5) In the CEBL, Ottawa downs Saskatchewan 82-69, and 6) The Bombers will unveil their 2019 Grey Cup banner at their home-opener on August 5 versus Hamilton in a Grey Cup rematch.
• CFL On TSN’s new play-by-play man Rod Smith joined the show from his Toronto home to discuss his “new” role. Smith recounted that he called CFL games as early as the 1990s but opted for the panel host position to get more family time, and less travel. He and Rod regaled viewers with tales of some of the earliest TSN panels which included Less Browne, Eric Tillman, Bob O’Billovich and Marty York! “Those shows went off the rails regularly,” Smith laughed. Rod talked about being an offensive lineman with the Queen’s Golden Gaels in the 1970s and feels that experience will help him in the booth. He’s not sure what to expect in the 2021 CFL season due to the Covid protocols and lack of a preseason but is excited that they’re actually going to get to kick it off. He also agreed that it’s far too early for any Grey Cup predictions since there are so many unknowns.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Did the Golden Knights keep the right goalie? At press time over 70% of respondents said no.
• In the Hour 2 Second Half Kickoff for the Four Seasons Sports Palace we told some more CFL stories, examined some of the storylines going into 2021, looked at the rash of injuries in Riderville and updated the craziness in the NHL including Alex Ovechkin re-signing with Washington and Keith Yandle going to Philadelphia.
• Next up was Sportsnet Montreal’s Eric Engels who predicted Marc-Andre Fleury will NOT report to Chicago. Eric also stated that there was a very real chance the Canadiens would lose Carey Price in the expansion draft, so it was quite a gamble. He also feels that Shea Weber’s playing career is likely over due to a rash of injuries. Engels also looked ahead for the Canadiens and feels they are NOT a flash in the pan. He went deep on the Logan Mailloux situation with the Montreal Canadiens and felt the franchise could’ve handled drafting him 31st overall better.
• In the Viewer Takeover segment, Rod was asked about USA Olympian Simone Biles bowing out of competition due to Mental Health concerns. As a certified Recovery Coach in Mental Health, Rod said he’s not sure what Simone’s issues are but he coaches young people to deal with Anxiety Disorder in these types of situations and that “sometimes you have to face the dragon”.
• Tuesday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook/YouTube pages, you can catch the replay at 4:00 pm ET on Game+ TV, 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 12 pm ET/10 am MT on Wednesday on Game+ TV and YouTube/Facebook Live! On the guest list are free agent CFL players Kenny Stafford and Derek Dennis.