20 WEEKEND RANDOM THINGS FOR UNIVERSAL COLLISION

Buckle Up …

1 – Let the record show the UFC is the first North American pro sport to return to action during the pandemic. UFC 249 was a highly-successful event staged Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL before a Pay-Per-View audience with no live crowd. UFC President Dana White said he was going to do it, and he did. 

2 – With virtually nothing else to report on, why was it not HUGE NEWS that former NFL D-lineman Greg Hardy was featured on Saturday night’s card? (He won by Unanimous Decision). The former Panther, Cowboy and Roughrider (Richmond) was exiled from pro football due to a litany of domestic violence and drug charges however he’s flourishing in the UFC with a pro record of 6-2. Chris Jones was rumoured to have tried to lure Hardy to Saskatchewan in 2016, believe it or not. Now he’s blossoming under Dana White. I’d love to spend an hour with Hardy – as a Recovery Coach in Sports & Entertainment – and find out why he’s behaved this way in his life. Instead, he’s just another name spit out by the machine that is pro football. Newsflash: People aren’t disposable.

3 – The CFL brains must’ve investigated a Pay-Per-View model as a means to begin play in 2020 but concluded that it just won’t work. Fans seem to think the CFL can just wave a wand and produce teams on the field, and then give Canadians the choice of whether they want to pay $65-$95 to watch. What about getting Americans into Canada? Then quarantining them? Quarantining them where? Where to house them once they’ve been cleared? Where and how to feed them? What about social distancing restrictions during practice? Travel? Obviously in the end, they figured it’s easier just to apply for Federal aid.

4 – Legendary CFL columnist Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun wrote a column which blared the headline: AMBROSIE FUMBLES FEDERAL FUNDING REQUEST. Ouch. How many times have I written or broadcast over the years that Randy Ambrosie is the best man to lead the CFL? Many. But he needs an extremely strong team around him to cover off his blind spots and it appears he doesn’t have that. Don’t forget he also speaks for – and answers to – the owners, governors and presidents and they’ve long been out-of-touch. They think we’re the problem.

5 – Will the CFL receive the funding it’s requested? I continue to hope so but the way it was presented on Thursday to the House of Commons reps has turned even CFL fans off. So many people have written into my social media channels saying, “Get in line” or “Wait your turn”, referring to the CFL.

Read My Lips: Without financial aid the CFL will likely fold. Randy Ambrosie would not stand before the nation and bluff.

6 – Other pro and amateur sports leagues in Canada are watching the CFL funding story very, very, very closely. I’ve been speaking to them all. “It’s a big ask,” said one league rep.

7 – One last note on Ambrosie: He replaced Jeffrey Orridge in 2017 and immediately made a couple tweaks to make the on-field product perhaps better than it’s ever been. The video challenge process was streamlined, the disciplinary system is now hard to criticize, he got teams to financial stability (at least more than they’ve been in years), and negotiated a CBA that everyone feels is fair. Randy originally signed up to fix and lead the CFL, but he didn’t sign up to save the league from the biggest crisis it’s faced in over 100 years. It would be nice if some of Ambrosie’s bosses or confidantes came out and showed some support for him. Instead, they’ve left him twisting in the wind.

8 – As far as requesting Federal funding goes, there’s no shame in asking for help. In any form. It’s a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. It took me the longest time to realize this myself, but it comes with shedding ego and wanting to be better. That’s not the hallmark of sports. Recovery is the only war you win by surrendering.

9 – Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth posting these self-help tips every weekend. It feels like no one’s listening, particularly when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. A small portion of society seems to be ticking along just fine while a growing portion is starting to spin out of control. They’re ignoring warning signs and refusing assistance. It’s getting gross.

10 – It’s also increasingly apparent that people don’t have a sniff of what’s going on in pro sports. People seemed shocked that sophomore Roughriders offensive lineman Jake Bennett retired this week. HE NEEDED TO GET A REAL JOB! You can’t think it’s a whole lot different for CFL great Travis Lulay, who left the BC Lions front office Thursday to join the family business in Oregon. The writing’s on the wall folks. Wake up and smell the coffee.

11 – 3DownNation CFL Insider Justin Dunk told the RP Show this week that on Draft night, Rider GM Jeremy O’Day overruled the scouting staff and personally selected Huskies O-lineman Mattland Riley with their first round pick. I say, so what? This happens all the time. The fate of this franchise – on the field – lays entirely at O’Day’s feet and when you’re the one responsible, you have to be the one calling the shots. Plus, O’Day saw the Huskies enough in person to know what he was getting. I saw him at the games. PLUS, you think he might know what makes a quality non-import offensive lineman? Next. 

12 – The real CFL 2.0 could come if-and-when CFL 1.0 eventually goes down and a reset, or rebirth is forced. Imagine teams in Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, (Toronto?), Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton and Halifax. The sense after a crisis is that we always come back stronger than before, and this could be it.

13 – The Tweet of the Week comes from the popular account @FakeGainer who opined: “It’s too bad Chris Jones still isn’t in the CFL – his annual fine money would have funded at least half of the $150-million”.

14 – Chris Jones was fond of referring to the CFL head office under then-Commissioner Jeffrey P. Orridge as “Mayberry”. I still grab my belly and laugh every time I think of that.

15 – I still hold onto the dream of a spring indoor pro football league in Western Canada with teams from Winnipeg to Calgary, including Brandon, Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, etc. The arenas are there, there’s nothing else to do at that time of year, and there are no shortage of players and coaches, nor rich guys who want to own teams. There are also networks starving for quality Canadian content. It could happen.

16 – I get up every morning and check the Korean Baseball Organization scores. I have to say, I love it. My beloved SK Wyverns are languishing around at 1-3, but are expected to pick it up soon. This weekend Wyverns star Dong Min Han added to his league-leading homerun total of 3. In the Wyverns Nation we call him, “The Big Donger”. Up until Monday, I didn’t even know what a Wyvern was. (It’s a legendary Korean dragon).

17 – When life gives you lemons, make chicken salad.

18 – We need to start a petition to Apple to create a “Moose” emoji. Living on the Canadian prairies, I quite often find myself searching for a moose emoji on my keyboard. Why are there two camel emojis on my iPhone but not a single moose? It’s not inclusive and I’m offended! (Let’s see if that works).

19 – The NFL and South Florida went into a state of mourning this week with the passing of legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula. The NFL career wins leader was 90. Feared Dolphins fullback Larry Csonka told ESPN that Shula fostered a tremendous sense of “unity and oneness”. “We loved to hate him and hated to love him,” Csonka said. He went on to say, “When he passed, I cried, and realized he had become a member of the family more than a coach”. Newsflash: Tough love works and you can’t be afraid of hurting feelings, stepping on toes or a backlash.

20 – FINAL RANDOMS: If you think the UFC is too barbaric and gruesome, don’t watch. Problem solved. … Tune into the SJHL’s Twitch channel at 6:30 pm MT Sunday evening as Mike Stackhouse and I will have the call of Game 1 of the virtual Canalta Cup between Yorkton and Melfort! SJHL sponsors are tickled pink that thousands of fans have tuned in nightly to watch the SJ playoffs. When life gives you lemons, make chicken salad. … Life without Country Thunder – for even just one summer – would be very crappy! … Tune into Cat Country 98 FM in the Deep South for the Rod Pedersen commentary at 9:50 AM and 5:20 PM daily. So far I’ve discussed the Oilers all-time team, Kim Coates, CFL Federal aid and more. … Our plan is still to host the RP Show VIP Sports Trip II to Florida this November. If we fill the plane up with people from Assiniboia and area, do I care? Not on your life. …  Fans of the Kelowna Rockets elected the franchise’s all-time team this week. It included two goalies, four defensemen and six forwards. We’ll be doing this for the Pats! … I’ve built a home gym, a home broadcast studio and within weeks we’ll have a steam room added. Frankly, I’ll never have a reason to leave my house ever again. But I’ll continue to go to Evolution Fitness because that’s where I get the bulk of my scoops and show topics. You know who goes to the gym? Sports people. … TSN’s named Chris Neil to the Ottawa Senators all-time team. Stop! He averaged 7 goals per season over 15 seasons. … This is the first Mother’s Day without our Mom. We’ll be dealing with that. … Jerry Springer had it right: Be good to yourself, and each other.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen