Why not? Here's a collection of sports odds n' ends in a bonus column. Don't worry, we're not getting into anything too deep here today:
* I think we're all in agreement the NHL Trade Deadline was a dud. At least the over-the-top TV coverage of it was and all three networks (TSN, Sportsnet and The Score) are guilty of it. Like many, I was sucked into watching deadline coverage beginning at 7:00 am Monday however the first trade didn't come until after 10:00. It was ridiculous. TSN host James Duthie felt compelled to actually apologize on air for the lack of activity. So why are they going on so early? Because of one main reason: MONEY. Sponsors like Coors Light on Sportsnet and Tim Hortons on TSN (plus a ton of others) spent a whack of dough to advertise on this self-hyped statutory NHL holiday. The question is, will we get sucked into watching again? I really don't think I will.
* The biggest trade on Monday? The 2-for-2 deal between Vancouver and Buffalo which saw Cody Hodgson go to the Sabres.
* The biggest trade with local ramifications? The Leafs sending Rouleau's Keith Aulie to Tampa Bay for former Regina Pat Carter Ashton.
* Two examples of why the trade deadline hype is out of control: A) Sportsnet sent Arash Madani to Columbus for literally no reason and 2) TSN had Josh Harding labelled as trade bait yet the Minnesota Wild didn't end up trading their backup goalie. It was an unnecessarily difficult day on the former Regina Pat netminder.
* So who, in your opinion, came out on top in their coverage of the NHL trade deadline? I dare not go out on that limb however Scruffy says the decisive winner was Rogers Sportsnet.
* One major step in the right direction for TV is the new NHL Tonight show on the NHL Network. I immediately tuned to that last night after watching a promo during the Flames-Blues telecast. Whoa! There is now no need to watch Sportscentre, or anything else, for the foreseeable future. Anchor Kathryn Tappen does a great job with a solid set of analysts as they show highlights of each and every goal of each and every NHL game nightly. It has that splashy American feel.
* Calgary-based sportswriter/broadcaster Bruce Dowbiggin was right when he wrote there are two distinctly different NHLs: the traditional, history-laden Canadian NHL featuring mainstay Hockey Night In Canada and the hours upon hours of coverage dedicated to the league on TSN and Sportsnet and then the other NHL, the U.S. version, which is a niche market struggling to be seen anywhere that matters with an entirely different set of networks and analysts. It's the distant cousin of the NFL, NBA and MLB. It's kind of weird. Fix it Gary.
* What is wrong with Ron Wilson? He has plenty of western Canadian players on the Leafs and I know some of them are wondering why they're even on the team because they're being dumped on so much by their head coach. The question becomes, if you feel so little about them, why don't you trade them? This team won't go anywhere until the coach starts building them up rather than tearing them down. The Globe and Mail's James Mirtle wrote a piece this week entitled "Why Ron Wilson Should Be Fired".
* Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson is a sharp guy but his revealing that franchise icon Rick Nash asked for a trade in late-January is a head-scratcher. Howson said teams wouldn't meet his asking price on Monday and he also didn't want to disrupt their team chemistry. However letting the team know that their best player and leader doesn't want to be there won't help things. Howson must have had his reasons.
* Did you SEE Jordan Eberle's goal last night in Winnipeg? I have yet to see the kid take night off. And that backhand is dirty.
* Times are tough when you start getting beaked by @EpicPuckbunny on Twitter. But I can go toe-to-toe with her.
* There are few sports writers who are more entertaining on Twitter than the legendary Terry Jones in Edmonton. I got a chuckle from this Tweet from Jonesie on Monday at 10:47 am:
@sunterryjones: I wonder when the thought pops into Steve Tambellini's head. "Gee, I have a 29th place hockey team and I haven't done anything to improve it."
* I'm proud to say the Regina Pats are on fire, winners of six of their last 10 games. I was shocked to see the score from Friday's home game against Moose Jaw, an 8-2 rout of the Warriors. Here are some pics from my buddy Bakes, who has the best seat in the house:
It certainly appeared to be old time hockey and I wish I was there. However Wednesday night I will be as the Queen City Kids host the Red Deer Rebels. A Pats victory will virtually seal them a playoff spot. By the way, where did the mouthy Warriors fans go?
* Another reason to watch the Pats: Jordan Weal. Did you know he is on the verge of becoming the 4th-highest scorer in Regina Pats history, just seven points back of Len Nielsen? He's also 47 points back of Dennis Sobchuck for third and if Weal should come back as a 20-year old, then look out. You MUST go watch Jordan Weal this season or you'll be kicking yourself down the road.
* I have a phrase I've used for many years and it's called Pats Royalty. Of course it includes the retired numbers of Staniowski, Hornung, Gillies, Wickenheiser, Sobchuck, Hicke, Derkatch and Sillinger but it extends beyond that to guys like Jamie Heward, Frank Kovacs, Fran Huck, Murray Armstrong, Bob Turner and a select group of others. Jordan Weal will be in this group by the time it's all said and done. Who do you consider Pats Royalty?
* Pats coach Pat Conacher was on the Sports Cage last night saying despite all of his individual accolades, all Jordan Weal wants to do is make the playoffs. He is on the cusp of that.
* The positive comments regarding interim Regina Pats play-by-play man Phil Andrews have been staggering. He's done a real nice job and things are about to become real fun for him in the playoffs. Touch wood.
* I've vowed to attend each and every Pats game the rest of the way but have realized that will be impossible. Saturday night I can not miss guest speaker Jay Onrait at the annual U of R Rams fundraising dinner at Queensbury. I plan to have a full recap in the MMG next week. You can get your tickets from the Rams office.
* Are you ready for some football? Here are some thoughts on that:
* The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been installed as Grey Cup favourites by an online betting site given their impressive off-season moves. That's a bold prediction since the Tabbies haven't even appeared in a Grey Cup since 1999. Incidentally the Riders face the longest odds at winning the Grey Cup according to this particular website.
* We discussed this matter with Ticats play-by-play man Rick Zamprien last night on the Sports Cage. He offered the opinion that Henry Burris will one day be named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. WHAT? As they say on NFL Countdown, "C'MON MAN!" And as my good friend Guy Tallman said last night at the Sheldon-Thom basketball game, "Marcus Crandell has a Grey Cup too. He's not going to the Hall of Fame."
* I wish they had concessions at these RHSAA senior girls basketball games I go to. When I get off the air at 7:00 and head to the gymnasiums to watch the girls play, I'm starving.
* A question about all those #83 FANTUZ jerseys you see out there: are they collector's items now, or are they worthless? You tell me.
* WHAT is so hard to understand about the Grey Cup Legacy/Mosaic Stadium renovation plan? When it was announced on Friday people immediately assumed the $14-million upgrade to Taylor Field meant the new stadium project is dead. WHY? Our facility badly needed upgrades and this is simply something to get us through until we move into the new place. End of story.
* Interesting Tweet by Canadian comic genius Brent Butt of Tisdale, Saskatchewan regarding the retirement of Gene Makowsky: @BrentButt: Gonna miss Big60 on the field. (So is Darian). Congrats on your retirement Gene Makowski. Thank you for everything!"
* I spoke to Canadian Football Hall of Fame officials about Gene. He's a first ballot entrant in 2015.
* Speaking of Hall of Famers, it was devastating to not be in Regina for Cal Murphy's memorial service. You know you're big-time when the Commissioner sends out a news release about your passing and the Canadian Press issues and urgent news alert. My favourite memory of Cal was when he threw a chair at me in the old President's Lounge at Taylor Field in 1999. He was upset I wouldn't reveal the names of the players who complained about a two hour walk-through before a game in Toronto. Cal was a gem.
* Count my brother Reid in as a contributor to this blog. He sent in the following photos:
* It was a devastating day for us Bonanza regulars when the Albert Street fixture was leveled recently. Reid got a pic for posterity.
THAT'S ALL FOR THIS WEEK -- HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!
HAVE A GOOD DAY,
RP
32 comments:
I could easily get used to this Tuesday Morning Goalie stuff. Well done Rod!
Matthew
Rod you can have a "goalie" column for every day of the week if you want to. Very entertaining. We need some more of your philosophies on life as well as sports too. Gets the masses riled up and hits to the site up too.
Romney
Fantuz Jerseys will eventually end up with Burris Jerseys - Value Village. My Fantuz cereal will make good bird feed.
As a former north Bonanza employee, good riddance!
My Fantuz jersey is already in the dirty work clothes bag in the garage. I use for paniting and yard work. As for Weal could he really come back as a 20 yr old? Jordan is nothing but class and anyone who says different clearly doesn't go to Pats games or lives in Moose Jaw.
I've really enjoyed Phil doing the play by play. He's not in Rod's territory yet, but he's pretty good. Enjoyed the Tuesday morning goalie. Pretty funny yesterday when you were coming up with the rules for the Mitchell Blair drinking game. Loved the one when you said "when he starts talking slower, take a shot." Loved it. Thought I was the only one who noticed that.
Mike
Re: the US NHL
Just got back from Raleigh NC, home of the mighty Hurricanes. It's a city that looks like Saskatoon and is completely, head-over-heels obsessed with college basketball. Any leftover energy is devoted to football and NASCAR.
Hockey is a total afterthought and the only reason anyone seems to care is because the NHL is technically a "major league" so there is some sense of civic duty to support it because you don't want the embarrassment of losing your only "major league" team, not to mention the fact that it could potentially lead to other major league teams down the road in sports that people there actually care about.
I've never seen such a pathetic thing in my life and there is really no logical reason why the Hurricanes don't play in Hartford, Seattle, Quebec, Hamilton or some other place that actually gives a crap about the sport.
There was no 'winner' in terms of coverage of the NHL Trade Deadline.
No one needs to see/hear Nick Kypreos for that many hours in one day. That's just cruel to society.
I find it strange that restaurants like Bonanza, Swiss Chalet and Fuddruckers can't make a go of it in Regina but are still very popular in Saskatoon....there are many people I know that the first thing they do in Saskatoon is go to Fuddruckers....
The trade deadline was a bust. That is eight hours of my life I will never get back! As for the pats, good game on friday. I just cant get over how the warriors are so good at home but are so bad on the road. Will they get there act together?? Who knows! There the ultimate Jeckel and Hyde team. As long as they have home ice advantage in the playoffs they will win the round. Ill be interested to see how they play the Pats on the 9th. Should be fun to watch!
Re NHL: Sports networks and employees are way to obsessed with hockey in this country. While tv numbers for hockey are ok it is still a small minority of the population that watches. Personally, I'd much rather watch football. Can't wait for training camp.
Go Riders.
Dave
TSN's panel(s) and graphics win hand's down. Sportsnet makes me feel like I'm watching local news filmed in somebody's basement. But either way the deadline was a huge bust.
I never bought a Fantuz jersey. But I'm looking forward to using the cereal boxes in the next back yard fire pit.
I agree that the temporary upgrades to Mosaic is just that...Temporary. We needed a good look for Grey Cup. And I'm excited for some minor sports fields to have those seats afterwords. Great job Riders.
p.s. the word verification is nuts sometimes on here. 3 tries today! ha.
Pats Royalty in terms of one of the toughest Pats ever, pound for pound: Robbie Laird.
I always chuckle when people whine about when their jerseys become "outdated"
Simple solution: Pick a legend or Alumni, that's at least 5 years retired.
Chances are, he's not coming back with any team, and you got nothing but good memories.
Fantuz says the reason he left was because he wanted to be on a winner. A team that had a realistic shot at winning it all. That says many things. It says he would rather go to a team that is already built rather than sticking around and help the rebuild. It says he he really had no loyalty here. It says he doesn't think enough has been done here to make us a ligitimate contender. (he may be right there). It says he doesn't have any confidence in the team management. It says many things and none of them are good.
Why is everyone "burning and soiling" Fantuz stuff. It's like burning your Lancaster jersey. It's a business. Get over it. The fact that he was here and wore the Rider Green should be enough for him to earn the respect he deserves. Even Burris, but that's too fun to let go of the chants at games, but it's all in fun for us fans!
My thoughts on the gm of Columbus...he threw it out there to see if he got what the price was worth, kind of like we did with Eberle and Weal. They were out there, we just didn't get offered Cody Eakin type deals as that shows that that doesn't even pay off in the WHL. It's too much of the future for one player. I think the Oilers should trade their 1st round pic to LA for Jordan Weal! haha Oilers will be known as Pats North!
Did Reid take that photo from Erotica Video?
J-Snizzle
A buddy of mine is a hard core Oil fan and wants to see them trade for Weal. Pats Norh for sure. Ebs Teubert, Daivdson, Marincin why not Weal.
Do you think people in the States complain that Canada lacks NBA coverage? NBC Sports network does a good job with coverage in the US, especially play-off time.
Gap Jumper
Howson's comments was his way of responding to comments made earlier in the week by Nash's agents. Everyone is on damage control today but it it appears Nash's days as a Blue Jacket will be over this summer.
Canucks' Cody Hodgson (Silent D) was stuck behind Sedin and Kesler (Selke and Hart winners) so there was no way he was going to get more ice minutes for the next few years. He is in the top 4 for rookie of the year but doesn't have a chance to win the Calder because he doesn't get near the minutes the others get - hence, no bonus for winning. It's thought that his camp also asked for a trade.
Yes, most of the day was much ado about nothing but, wow, did you see Igor Larionov's daughter???
According to Cap Geek, Calgary Flames have the most players with no movement clauses in their contracts at 11. On the other end of the spectrum, LA has none, Colorado has 1 and the Rangers and Blue Jackets have 2 each. Pretty obvious why Calgary didn't do anything yesterday.
I think people are reading too much into Fantuz' comments. He simply said that he was looking forward to playing on a team that was a contender....Hamilton is a contender aren't they?. But that does not mean that he was inferring that Saskatchewan was NOT a contender. Did he specifically say "The Riders are not contenders so I went to Hamilton"? NO he didn't.
He tends to have a habit of saying too much at presser's or in media scrums. The quote that Vanstone had in the paper last week from October 13th where he says he loved it in Sask and wanted to be part of the team, etc. - did he really have to say that? As a result of that he set false expectations with both the fans and the Riders and likely resulted in the Riders not considering a trade for him last fall.
In the Hamilton presser he talked about coming to a contender and he liked Cortez, etc. All of which I am sure are true. But in saying that he did not mean the Riders were dirt and Chamblin was a bum. Honestly, people apparently have nothing to do but invent ways to complain. Instead of celebrating the players we did sign, certain people have to go on about losing Andy and make up things like the organization is not a contender just to stir the pot. Bunch of crap.
I am over Fantuz and am just glad the saga is over. Let's face it, similar to how we got Labatte, the real reason why Andy left was to be closer to family. Period. The rest of what he said was just fluff and stating the obvious.
As Toronto fans would say, Keith Aulie the legit top paring D in the the Phaneuf deal. Man that got old fast. I'm not trying to knock wood one the guy, but @ these point in his career he looks a career AHL'er.
Hamilton to win the Grey Cup in 2012? Great laugh because I think Burris is done and will be pick six machine next year.
You can't miss the Cougar women hosting the CW Final 4 either Rod.
Dave
You can't be serious? I am pretty sure the majority of sports fans in Canada would name hockey as their favourite sport. Try getting a Canucks, Leafs, Flames, Jets, Oilers or Habs ticket VS. their CFL counterpart.
It's not even close.
>Re NHL: Sports networks and >employees are way to obsessed >with hockey in this country. >While tv numbers for hockey are >ok it is still a small minority >of the population that watches. >Personally, I'd much rather watch >football. Can't wait for training >camp.
>Go Riders.
>Dave
Fantuz left to play close to home. Almost anyone in any line of work would do the same. Good on him. Some of the so called Rider fans on here are not fans at all, just loud mouths that give sports fans of all types a bad name. It's no wonder some players won't play in Regina.
Smitty
Comparing Labatte and Fantuz is apples and oranges. Labatt didn't spend two years toying with the Bomber fans emotions and then jump ship. He simply played out his option and said he was going where he wanted. The day of the Hamilton game I'm having a Fantuz jersey bonfire.
BB
Why is everyone "burning and soiling" Fantuz stuff. It's like burning your Lancaster jersey.
Not even close, not even by a mile
You want to compare a good player who had a career year because DD threw for over 5000yds and those yards had to be caught by someone... to the legend Ronnie Lancaster?!
Get your nose out of Fantuz's 2010 jock strap!
Rod,
The best coverage was the one my boys and I watched...the Carribean sea and pool in the Mayan! I used to take the day off for trade deadline, then it became that Dead! You can't change the trade anyway, so just log in to one of the websites and watche "trade tracker", much easier and lets you do something productive with your day.
Pats royalty, gotta be Darren Bobyck!!! Everyone loves Bobber hahaa.
Everyone with a current players jersey or non-current, Cates, Fantuz, Foord, just get smart and buy a legend jersey, Lancaster, Reed, etc. never go out of style.
PB
Pats Royalty? How about Garth Butcher.
Well Rod, still miss your robust and exciting calls for Pats games but Phil has done a good job.
I was Listening to Phil last week while driving home and it only took about 30 seconds for him to tell the score and time and did so every couple of minutes or less which was great. With Dan, I would listen for almost 10 minutes and maybe get a score or time. It was like he thought the scoreboard was on the radio like on satellite radio. I gave him the benefit of the doubt once but it was always happening. It was frustrating having to wait so long to hear the score.
Keep up the good work Phil. It has been a refreshing change.
L.E.
Jordan Weal is the most creative hockey you will ever see in junior hockey - i agree Roddy, if people don't go see him now they'll be kicking themselves when he's in a Kings jersey doing the same things there, which he will. There is not as big of a jump from junior to the NHL as there used to be, without the hooking and holding and taking alot of the rough stuff out it's alot easier for guys like Eberle and Weal or say Nugent-Hopkins to make the jump as smaller or more slight guys. If he's the best here he'll be great there too.
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