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Friday, February 27, 2015

This And That


The usual assortment of thoughts running through my muddled mind in no particular order


 --Is it safe to say the Saskatchewan Roughriders may have started a succession plan on Tuesday afternoon when they announced assistant GM Jeremy O'Day had signed a three year contract extension and was now director of football operations.  There is no doubt O'Day is one of the bright young minds in the CFL and he has general manager written all over him. Do the Riders take him through to the end of the 2017 season and then make him GM while moving Brendan Taman to a spot higher up in the organization. O'Day has been and will continue to learn from Taman over the next three years and that should make him more than ready to take over.  This was a great move by the team to keep O'Day in the plans for not only the next three years but many more after that I would wager.

 --How many Rider fans breathed a sigh of relief when it was learned Nik Lewis had signed with Montreal. Many hated the Dwight Anderson signing because of his past but they grew past it. I don't think the same would have been said had Lewis been wearing green.

  --I've heard a lot of good things about defensive back Kris Robertson. The Canadian, who played CIS ball, at Concordia is said to be a real ballhawk and a great player. The Riders may have gotten a steal here if he can make that move to the next level.

 --Those suggesting the hit that knocked Patrick Kane out for what likely is the remainder of the hockey season was a dirty one make me shake my head. That hit wasn't dirty! Its a hockey play! Alex Petrovic gave him a stick in the hips like many d-men do and sadly for Kane, he lost his balance and went unprotected into the boards breaking his collarbone. The attention on this play is purely because it happened to one of the NHL's top players. Had Bryan Bickell, Brandon Saad or Kris Versteeg been the victim of this hit, we would not be talking about this.

 -With Kane being hurt, do they give the Leafs a call about Phil Kessel? How about perhaps going after a Jarome Iginla who won't win a Cup in Colorado this year.

 --Was Kane the front-runner for MVP this year, He would have been the first American MVP if he had been voted. How will Canadians react when an American is named MVP of what supposedly is "our game". Will it be treated the same way it was when Steve Nash was named MVP of the NBA and there was considerable moaning.

--Thursday was the night in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs that the David Clarkson era at the same time as the Zach Sill era started!

--I have no problems with the rule baseball is putting in place to speed up the game. Pitchers pitch and batters bat. This other crap that both do have to be stopped. Get the ball, get the signal, let the hitter dig in and throw the ball. No screwing around! Get it done!

 --The Regina Pats will have an "x"  beside their name on the WHL standings meaning they have clinched a playoff spot.  I hope this is the year the team can get to the second round of the playoffs. Swift Current will be tough, but I think the Pats have the horses to get it done. If not, it will be another long summer around here and I don't think QCSE wants that as they try to re-establish this teams identity.

--Speaking of the Pats, last week on the Sportscage, I asked people who was the next player who should have his jersey retired in the wake of the Warriors retiring Ryan Smyth's jersey. A few people said Rick Rypien's #11 and I couldn't agree more. The Winnipeg Jets are doing their best to honor Rypien by starting Project 11. It is a positive mental health program that helps Grade 5-8 kids in Manitoba. It is a Manitoba project, but the website is http://www.projecteleven.ca/. I don't know if there are any plans to expand this into Saskatchewan and I know there are agencies promoting mental health awareness, but lets hope. Here is a video the Jets played inside MTS Centre before their game against St. Louis Thursday night that centers around Rick and what he was all about. Its long, but if you're a fan of Rick, watch it!

For those who wondered why the Saskatoon Blades would play the Pats on a Monday afternoon and laughed about it or thought it was dumb,  Here is what CJWW's Dave Thomas had to say about the affair.

http://toontownsports.net/top-10-tuesday-playing-hooky-for-hockey/#more-4308

PS: This must be a part of the Pats season schedule in 2015-16 and beyond. Why wouldn't you do something like this?

There's an interesting poll on saskatoonhomepage.ca asking about the Riders logo and what your favourite one is. Over half say they like the current one which is fine, but 18 percent say its time to get a new, modern logo. I say no to that idea!

Good luck to Steve Laycock at the Tim Hortons Brier. I don't see the drought ending with rinks like Morris, Jacobs and Kevin Koe in the field, but one never knows. TSN will have multiple games on each draw through their multitude of channels(where was that for the Scotties) with Bryan Mudryk being joined by David Nedohin.

Rob Ford is selling off his Rider jersey, but its for a good cause as money will go to fight the cancer he is battling. You can make a bid on that sweater right here.

I don't know how many radio types across this fine country of ours reads this blog on a day to day basis, but if you are looking for someone who will add to your newsroom, I highly endorse and recommend the name of Thomas Strangward. "Tom the Intern" as he became quickly known at 620 CKRM was a tremendous addition to our newsroom in the month of February from SAIT. If you are looking for someone, he would certainly fit the bill. Good luck Tom!

--Good luck also to the Cougar ladies basketball team. Dave Taylor's crew upset Fraser Valley last week and they have a very tough task this weekend battling UBC in Vancouver. GO COUGS!

And while this damn dress is stirring up debate all over the place for what colours it is, I think I can honestly say around here, there is no doubt as to what the colours of this fine garment are



That's all I got for now. Have a great weekend!!





21 comments:

Anonymous said...

as hard core hawks fan there is no way in heck i would ever wanna see that fat lazy little jerk kessel in a hawks sweater.

Don said...

Fran Huck should also get consideration for what he did for the Pats in the early and mid 60's

Anonymous said...

Let's go Pats !

Anonymous said...

If Nik Lewis has signed with the RIders, I would have proudly marched to the ticket office and handed in my season tickets. Enjoy the poutine in Mtl.

Anonymous said...

Question for you Scruffy....

Who has better year---Jamel Richardson with us or Nik Lewis in Montreal. I would say Richardson. You?

Anonymous said...

O'Day is destined to be Riders GM. Smart move to keep him around.

Terry C

Anonymous said...

Both Richardson and Lewis will not be on opening day roster. That is my call!

Anonymous said...

Great video on Rick and I agree. His number should be retired by the Pats.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1.

How do you really feel? LOL!!

Anonymous said...

Great point on the Kane injury. If this wasn't an elite player, there wouldn't be any crying.

Petrovic didn't answer the bell last night so I guess the Hawks didn't think it was a cheap shot. If they did and didn't retaliate it would show how gutless they are.

Another great posting today Scruff.

Anonymous said...

Vanstone is promoting Jock Callander to be the next Pat to have his jersey retired.

Anonymous said...

We have started the Scruffy Drinkin game boys ! Prepare for a Wicked hangover

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't the radio station let you do the sports show more often? We appreciate your take. There's less name drops and self-promotion and more time spent on SPORTS other than the hockey. Can you ask for more work?

Anonymous said...

Those thinking the game in Sasktoon on a Monday afternoon are just stupid.

If Parker had some brain cells that worked he would have done this years ago but NOOOOOOOOO.

Message to Markwart, Lumbard and company...DO THIS NEXT YEAR!!

Mike

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

To anon talking about taking Rider tickets in if Lewis had signed here.

I'd have raced you to the stadium.


Colin

Anonymous said...

Please send deets on the Scruffy drinking game!

Anonymous said...

Well to start with when you hear "Who's kidding who? " take a shot

Anonymous said...

chug a beer when you hear a exasperated sigh.

Anonymous said...

How many kids do you and Angel have now Mr Blair?

Mitchell Blair said...

HA HA HA. I don't have any kids with Angel because she isn't my wife!!