20 WEEKEND RANDOM THINGS

From The Home Office

1 – For those loosely keeping track, it’s Day 73 of the pandemic. But can we really still call it Life Without Sports? With the UFC, NASCAR, LPGA, Bundesliga Soccer and Korean Baseball holding games and events without spectators, at least sports fans are getting something.

2 – The hockey people and fans around here are giddy at this weekend’s news that the NHL Players Association has given the green light to the 24-team Stanley Cup Playoff format. Let’s not forget that they still have to determine which Quarantine Cities will be used, but an NHL source tells me to expect the tournament to open August 1.

3 – Things must be getting back to normal. Edmonton Oilers fans are complaining. They’re upset the Oilers have to play Chicago in the Play-In Round, since they were within sniffing distance of 1st-place when the pandemic hit. My Take: If you can’t beat the Blackhawks, then you’re not Stanley Cup contenders in the first place (which we believe the Oilers are). Go prove it. Championship mentality is that you’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime.

4 – Plus: Edmonton can say they made the playoffs in Year 1 of the Holland/Tippett regime. Pretty spiffy! The only asterisk I see on this is the Arizona Coyotes saying their playoff drought ended at 8 years, since they’ve qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2012. Under the normal format, they’d be out. However I don’t see this being a long run for the Desert Dogs.

5 – That NHL source also said players could be looking at a 35% paycut across the board for the 2020-21 season.

6 – I was on Toledo radio Sunday morning (ESPN The Zone) and they asked what the chances are of QB DeShone Kizer playing for the Toronto Argonauts? The Toledo product, Notre Dame star and former Brown, Packer and Raider is a free agent but was currently added to the Argos’ negotiation list by the shrewd John Murphy. My Take: If Johnny Manziel came north, anybody can. And THIS might be what it takes to fill BMO Field.

7 – That question also struck me how absolutely essential it is that the CFL stay alive. There currently is no other developmental league IN THE WORLD and the CFL has always been a place for second chances. While the future of the CFL is grave at the moment (if it doesn’t play games in 2020 or receive financial assistance), it’s not going to die. It will simply be reborn in a new, cost-effective model with salaries that actually match league revenue rather than being completely out-of-whack like they are now. Mosaic Stadium will not sit empty for long, and the Roughriders will always be the primary tenant.

8 – The fits people are throwing over Federal aid for the CFL and its American players seems decidedly “un-Canadian”. What happened to the once inclusive, “we’ll look after you” attitude of this country?

9 – As one veteran, Grey Cup-winning coach told me on the phone this week: “We’re about to find out how much this league really means to Canada.” My gut tells me that when the smoke clears, we’ll find out that the CFL really means a lot to Canadians and will be saved.

10 – However it won’t look the same ever again. Just like NHL players will need to expect wage cuts, so too will CFL players. I asked star Alouettes LB Henoc Muamba this week if he thinks players will play for less money in the New CFL and his answer was, “It’ll have to make sense”. (i.e. Can they live on it, raise a family, etc.). That’s going to be a huge consideration in the years ahead, and players’ careers are already ending because they’re entering the workforce in an effort to make ends meet.

11 – Commissioner Randy Ambrosie has enough on his plate right now whatwith the Return To Play committee he’s formed, plus putting together a competent proposal for the Government of Canada regarding financial assistance. That’s why I’m pleasantly surprised – and deeply honoured – that he’s found time to come on the RP Show Monday morning. Thanks Randy! Please join us.

12 – A $500,000 cap on QB salaries (or less) would prevent players from jumping teams so regularly in the CFL. For instance, Mike Reilly likely wouldn’t have left Edmonton for BC if there wasn’t significantly more money being offered. A similar cap or “fixed wage” on other positions would also make it more attractive for players to stay with one franchise, rather than jumping from team to team. 

13 – Free agent punter Josh Bartel joined us for an exclusive one-off interview this weekend on the RP Show Facebook page. The 8-year vet joined us from his home in Wadonga, Australia and disclosed plenty of interesting things. Josh said he was hungover from a going-away party a year ago when Roughriders coach Craig Dickenson called to inform him that he was cut in favour of Jon Ryan. Bartel called it a “double whammy”. Fortunately he was signed by the Lions within days.

14 – Being a native Australian, Bartel is very much in favour of Randy Ambrosie’s bold CFL 2.0 global initiative but says it has to be accompanied by a TV deal. Josh said it didn’t mean much to Australians that he signed in the CFL until they were actually able to watch the games on ESPN 2 Down Under. That makes total sense, doesn’t it?  

15 – Every year I look forward to the USA Today’s NFL Win Totals Predictions. The pundits’ picks are not always right, but it’s a great gauge of how the teams we follow measure up. So of the four teams I’ll be watching the most in 2020, here are their projected wins: Dallas (10), Cleveland (7), Tampa Bay (10), New England (8). It should be noted that last year the experts picked the Freddie Kitchens/Chris Jones Browns to win 9 games however they wound up with 6 and Kitchens was fired. Jones is still there.

16 – Here are the Top 5 most expensive average NFL single-game ticket prices on the secondary market (Stubhub, etc): Raiders ($1,098), Broncos, Cowboys, Seahawks & Giants. The least-expensive at less than $200 per game is the Detroit Lions.

17 – Here are the Top 10 regions for viewers of The Rod Pedersen Show over a months-long trend: 1) Saskatchewan, 2) Alberta, 3) Ontario, 4) Manitoba, 5) BC, 6) Ohio, 7) Nevada, 8) Mississippi, 9) North Dakota, 10) Florida. 75% of viewers are male. 65% are aged 25-64.

18 – The Melfort Mustangs won the Virtual Canalta Cup this week with a 5-game championship series win over the Yorkton Series to cap a tournament simulated on PlayStation 4 by the SJHL. I was fortunate to be on the call of the clinching game along with the Voice of the Mustangs, Mat Barrett! A staunch hockey purist and SJHL alum texted me with these positive words, “I’m sorry but this is a joke”. I advised him that no one asked for his opinion and that this is all for the kids, is a wonderful marketing tool for the S-J, and league sponsors are tickled pink with the thousands who tuned in on Twitch TV. The digital wave is taking over.

19 – It reminds me of three years ago when I was sitting in a conference room in New York’s Times Square for Intervention training, surrounded by bigshots in the Recovery industry, rocking back and forth, riddled with anxiety, thinking out loud “I’m out of place. I don’t belong here.” A lady came up and put her arm around me and said, “This is happening in your life. Get out of the way and let it happen.” My life changed forever that day, and took a new path.

The same can be said for the Digital Revolution in your life right now. Paul Drouin’s IKS Media is marshalling the parade, and I’m just along for the ride somewhere in the back.

20 – Another example of how out-of-whack sports and the media is right now, is that “The Match” today (Sunday) between Tiger Woods/Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady is on Headline News at 1 pm Sask Time (Channel 47 on your Access cable package). When do you ever remember a sporting event being on Headline News? By the way, the title sponsor for the event is Capital One. Advertisers are still looking for a place to park their money. And Tiger/Manning are heavily favoured at -200. 

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen