WEEKEND RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR CAPITAL AUTO MALL

Keeping It Real …

1 – Regina was the epicentre of good vibes all across the Wheat Province on Saturday as country star Brett Kissel performed a triple-header of “Drive In” shows at Evraz Place. Saskies drove in from all across the The Rectangle and do you think they’re starved for entertainment? The shows sold out in minutes. A perfect ending of the sets was Kissel’s smash hit Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do. What a perfect rallying cry for people struggling in this mixed up world of 2020.

2 – The show was produced in association with Paul Drouin’s IKS Media, the same production house which turns out The Rod Pedersen Show daily. We were offered tickets to the Drive In, but declined. I’d seen Kissel before at Buffalo Days and will attest that he puts on as good a show as anyone, and I’ve seen ’em all. But I don’t need to see them more than once, unless their initials are GS.

3 – What a fascinating tale this Auston Matthews/Steve Simmons saga is! The Toronto Sun columnist is under fire for breaking the news that Matthews has tested positive for Coronavirus however the Maple Leafs won’t confirm it and the major sports networks won’t acknowledge it. We haven’t had a doozy like this in YEARS. For what it’s worth, Simmons did nothing illegal by disclosing Matthews’ health information (look it up). But was his reporting immoral? I suppose that’s up to you to decide. However this certainly illustrates how the sports media landscape has changed in Canada, and how the teams have the media under their thumbs (or try to).

4 – After a volatile week in the CFL, things seemed to calm right down over the weekend. It probably wasn’t a bad thing for the coaches and players to get things off their chests, or for Randy Ambrosie to make a lengthy statement which confessed to paycuts in the league office. As painful as it is, this league is going to have to dig up all the weeds at their roots before it can move on. There’s still a long ways to go to heal, but this week was a start.

5 – Commissioner Randy Ambrosie outlined a “gigantic bubble” concept on 630 CHED Edmonton radio, which spurred plenty of debate. Randy is spearheading a noble cause however to house 810 players (90 per team) plus coaches, support staff and the like, the tab would be astronomical and that doesn’t even include expensive testing. I think before long we’ll hear that the 2020 season has been scrapped, and that the Commissioner has indeed exhausted all options. Who could argue with that?

6 – We are still waiting for an elaborate Save The CFL campaign, and perhaps it’ll be rolled out once the season is eventually turfed. Winnipeg magnate David Asper and CFLAA Executive Director Leo Ezerins (in Hamilton) have already started a #HelpTheCFL crusade which is aimed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stroking a cheque to prop up the 3-down league. As wild as the past 100+ days have been, it’s going to get James Wilder folks.

7 – Again, at least the CFL will be able to say they emptied the tank investigating all options to save the season. Can university sports say the same thing? It seemed they pulled the pin at the earliest sign of trouble, and the insiders feel it was more for financial reasons than Health & Safety. One Canada West coach who requested anonymity said the NCAA is planning fall sports because “Their model is inverted to ours. Sports fund universities in the States while it’s the other way around in Canada. Yet there’s no effort to market our games in Canada, and no effort to get the games on national TV”. Please debate.

8 – Jim Popp is cooling his heels in North Carolina, watching the goings-on in the CFL with great interest. In fact, the 5-time Grey Cup champion spent the weekend following the golfers around the course at the RBC Heritage Open PGA event. The Popp camp wanted to clarify that if the Toronto Argonauts violated the salary cap in 2019, it wasn’t on Jim’s watch. The team was under the cap at the 6-game and 12-game checks and Popp was let go after Game #14, when the club was $40,000-$50,000 under. What happened after that is anyone’s guess. Why the need for a clarification? Popp expects to work in the CFL again and doesn’t need to be a scapegoat, nor have the notion out there that he doesn’t know how to manage the cap.

9 – Can’t tell you how great it feels to have players, coaches and GMs know that they can pick up the phone and call me, and tell their side of the story. I think it makes them feel good too. Sometimes all you need to move on with your life is to get things off your chest. In the Recovery world we call it “The Talking Cure”. One thing I’ve learned over the years: players and coaches don’t lie. (Injuries don’t count!)

10 – The CFL Simulated season (computer-generated games) is similar to non-alcoholic beer, I feel. A lot of people don’t like it, some like it a lot, but both quench your thirst. And in the end, both are harmless. A whopping 10,000 viewers tuned in for our Facebook Live broadcast Friday night of Montreal/Saskatchewan, which the Riders won 8-3. Teagan Littlechief sang the national anthem, and she kept her streak alive of the home team winning when she performs.

11 – Week 2 CFL Sim scores: Calgary 42-BC 9, Saskatchewan 8-Montreal 3, Toronto 10-Hamilton 0, Edmonton 14-Ottawa 6.

STANDINGS:
Calgary 2-0
Toronto 2-0
Edmonton 2-0
Saskatchewan 1-0
Hamilton 1-1
Winnipeg 0-1
Ottawa 0-2
Montreal 0-2
BC 0-2

12 – Sim Storylines: Rookie Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie and first-year Edmonton coach Scott Milanovich are both 2-0 while new faces-in-new places Paul LaPolice (Ottawa) and Rick Campbell (BC) are still looking for their first Gatorade showers. Of particular concern is with the RedBlacks, as starting QB Nick Arbuckle left in the 1st quarter of Saturday’s game in Edmonton with injury. Meanwhile in Saskatchewan the talkshows are ablaze with new Offensive Coordinator Jason Maas whose playcalling yielded only 8 points, and attempted only one pass over 20 yards. Can’t you see how much fun this is?

13 – You can decide which CFL game we broadcast on Facebook Live this week. A Twitter poll will determine Canada’s Game of the Week and the options are: Sask at Hamilton, Calgary at Winnipeg and Edmonton at BC. I have a hunch it will be Riders/Ticats and if it is, you can tune in at 5:00 pm Sask Time on Thursday. If it’s not, we’ll have the call of the winner on Friday evening.

14 – If you care, you’re seeing the future of broadcasting unfold before your eyes. And yes, you read that right; 10,000 tuned in for our Facebook Live SIM broadcast. Broadcasters calling games off monitors will be the new norm (there’s an expansive article on The Athletic on how the NHL will do it for the Bubble Playoffs) and viewer engagement will be incorporated by announcers interacting with the fans during the broadcast. It’s not about having the perfect “call” anymore, as much as it’s about being entertaining and attracting eyeballs. (Think about Charles Barkley being an analyst on The Match Pro-Am made-for-TV golf event a few weeks back). 20 years ago, if you’d offered me a spot calling a game off a monitor, I’d have told you to go jump in the lake. Now, I like being able to drive across town, wear flip-flops and a golf shirt, and be home in bed by 10. The future is here.  Get on board or get out of the way.

15 – Even TSN feels sheepish for including Willie Jefferson on its All-Time Blue Bombers team which was announced this week. He’s only played there one season! Host Rod Smith blushed, “Yessssss, Willie Jefferson” when reading the names on this week’s edition of CFL 2020. I’m with analyst Henry Burris who piped up, “Where’s Andrew Harris on the list?” Methinks the Saskatchewan All Time list is gonna be wild.

16 – After 100 years, Eskimo Pie ice cream will be no more. Parent company Dreyer’s confirmed the news to the Wall Street Journal this weekend saying “We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality and recognize the term is derogatory”. WSJ stated the term Eskimo is a disparaging term for the indigenous people of the Arctic regions of northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Siberia.

17 – Over to you Edmonton! Personally I’m not offended by the term but I’m not offended by much, other than the team name “Hitmen” which I feel glorifies organized crime. I seem to be alone in that stance. What a slippery slope!

18 – Montreal Expos-turned-Canadiens mascot Youppi has been named to the 2020 induction class for the North American Mascot Hall of Fame. Youppi – who jumped from MLB to the NHL once the Expos left town in 2004 – is the first Canadian mascot to be enshrined. It’s a slam-dunk that Gainer the Gopher would be inducted, or at least considered, wouldn’t it? Gainer has been the CFL’s #1 mascot since 1977.

19 – Not sure if they’re serious or not, but GOATs Geroy Simon and Milt Stegall are talking about comebacks and Geroy has even posted a training video. Pundits are saying that in CFL 3.0, veterans will be favoured over American rookies. Again, please debate.

20 – Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

(Photos: Producer Clark Munroe/Blue Street Media)