This and That

---Welcome to Friday and the usual assortment of things running through my muddled mind.   As always, these come in no particular order.

--Was anyone surprised to see the Riders were heading to Atlantic Canada?  I think since we found out when the schedule was released that Saskatchewan's game in Toronto which would be played at a neutral site would go in Halifax.  Canada's Team heads to Atlantic Canada.   Riderville takes its brand to a part of the country it has never been before.  It's perfect.  They say a Maritime fanbase could be as wild as what Rider Nation is. There's nothing wrong with that.  We will see it in July.  Lobster rolls and Pilsner.  Bring it on!  I'm guessing many from here will make the trip to Halifax whether they have been there before or not.  Late July in the Maritimes is said to be very picturesque.  Add a Rider game to that and many will be making plans to head East.

--Give Nick Arbuckle and/or his agent some credit.  They know they have the Ottawa Redblacks over the proverbial barrel so they are asking for a lot.   Arbuckle has started six games and he wants a contract similar to the one Cody Fajardo has.   Arbuckle needs to do a LOT more to get into that range, but Ottawa needs a quarterback.   Arbuckle could be the next big thing or he could be the next big dud like Jonathan Jennings.  Hey wait, didn't Ottawa just release Jennings?  Remember when Rider fans lost their mind because management at the time didn't sign him to a contract when they had the chance.

--I don't understand why we need two weeks between the AFC and NFC Championships and the Super Bowl.  We know where the game is going to be played. We know who the teams are.  Lets go!!  Can you see the CFL taking two weeks off between the divisional finals and the Grey Cup.  Of course you can't. We talk about moving the schedule up or playing the Grey Cup on a Saturday.  If the CFL went two weeks between the divisional finals and the Grey Cup, the league would have a riot on its hands in some places.

--The San Francisco 49ers wanted to wear their all-white retro unis that they wore winning one of their Super Bowls in the 90's.  The NFL said no so the Niners will wear their white tops with gold pants.  There was outrage.  First world problems ladies and gentlemen.

--Why are people failing to acknowledge that the 49ers were in the Super Bowl just a few years ago when they lost to Baltimore.  Did the NFL forget about the Harbaugh Bowl?  Did they forget about the power outage at the Superdome? Did they forget about the QB battle that day between Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick? Oh wait!

--Speaking of the Niners, they did in 60 minutes to Green Bay what Conor McGregor did to Donald Cerrone.   Actually that's not fair because the Packers at least did something in the NFC Championship game.

--The Connor McDavid special where he talks about his knee injury suffered last year looks to be a must-watch.  That injury was serious as it turned out and is one that doctors originally thought would keep him from playing this season.  One only needs to look atop the NHL scoring race to see what a story this is.

--Tuesday was a great day for baseball in this country as Larry Walker was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  What might have been greater was the SpongeBob shirt he was wearing.   Walker needs to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day at Rogers Centre.  He also needs to be saluted in Montreal when the Jays finish off their pre-season at Olympic Stadium.

--Are we tired of the labour situation at the Co-Op refinery yet?

--The Winnipeg Jets are not playing good hockey right now.  They go into the all-star break having lost four in a row.  The chances of them getting into the playoffs appears to be via the wild-card as St. Louis, Colorado and Dallas with Chicago now ahead of them as well.  I heard some chatter on NHL Radio about Paul Maurice and his job security.  I don't see the Jets making any changes, but if they do its not the right move in my mind.

--Can Robyn Silvernagle make it two in a row? We will find out as the North Battleford rink is the favourite as the provincial women's curling championship gets underway.  The road to victory is tougher with 12 teams taking part in the Viterra Scotties instead of 9.  If she can make it and wear the Saskatchewan jacket to the Scotties in Moose Jaw, she will definitely deserve it as there are many good rinks taking part.  I don't know if I would bet against Michelle Englot and her rink.  We'll see!

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