LB Barrin Simpson (turf toe) and CB Donovan Alexander (hamstring) left practice today with injuries coach Ken Miller said he’s concerned about. If either one is unable to go Saturday in Calgary, they would be replaced by Mike McCullough and Leron Mitchell respectively.

Former Argo punter Eddie Johnson was brought in for a look. He has not signed a contract. Coach Miller says that’s been in the works the past 48 hours. Johnson kicked after practice for GM Brendan Taman and personnel man Craig Smith.

SB Chris Getzlaf missed a second straight day with a calf injury but is expected to play against the Stampeders.

I asked coach Miller how tough it is for the defense to cover their men while Henry Burris is scrambling around. Ken said the plan is not to let him do that this week.

And I asked former Stampeder Wes Cates about how much the Stamps and their fans dislike the Rider Nation invading their stadium in these games.

“I think the Stamps really can’t stand it,” Cates laughed. “Because most of the people that are in Calgary right now originally came from Saskatchewan so they have a tough time bringing out fans and it’s almost like an away game when they play us at home. They always hate that atmosphere and they just hate that we’ve been pretty well beating up on them the past few years so they get really annoyed.”

We’ll discuss this all on the Sports Cage today with Stamps President Lyle Bauer. Jim Daley is our special guest on the Rider Coaches Show at 5:10. Joining me on the program are Mitchell Blair and John Lynch.

The 3-0 Riders were at practice on Tuesday for the first time since their 24-20 victory over Edmonton on Saturday.

SB Chris Getzlaf missed the workout due to a calf injury. Coach Ken Miller says Getzlaf was “kicked” during the Edmonton game and has experienced considerable swelling in the area. He DOES expect Getzlaf to play Saturday in Calgary.

The focus of the reporters’ questions was on punter Louie Sakoda and his 26.6 yard average against the Eskimos. He says he’ll work his way out of it, and coach Miller said as of today he expects Sakoda will be on the roster this week.

CBC’s Glenn Reid asked Louie if he expected to be cut after the Edmonton game, and he answered that he doesn’t think that way.

Also special teams coordinator Jim Daley said they expect to see more out of KOR/PR Dominque Dorsey and they’ll be working on things this week to help make that happen.

Coach Miller said he gave a 30-minute presentation to his kickers and long-snappers this morning about mental focus, which is the same presentation he gave his QBs last year.

Today we delve into the weekend’s number one topic; The 13th Man.

Everywhere I’ve gone since Thursday, all anyone wants to talk about is the Riders’ “too many men” penalty in their victory over Montreal on Canada Day.

Two pro football players were only too happy to discuss it on my talkshow The Sports Cage on Friday on 620 CKRM. Scott Schultz, who’s going to be a weekly fixture on Football Fridays for the full two hours, discussed the Riders being called for too many men in their last two games.

“It’s not as uncommon as you’d think but it’s been highlighted in two extreme cases,” Schultz explained. “It just boils down to personal responsibility of the players. It’s your job to know what package is going in, and to get the calls. Everyone is told to communicate with each other, get the signals and echo the call within each other. It’s just about everyone personally being responsible for where they’re supposed to be on the field at any given time.”

So it’s on the players?

“It’s up to the players, certainly,” Schultz asserted. “I mean the coaches outline it for you but they’re the coaches because they’re not out there playing. So they lay out the best plans that they can but it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if you don’t have consistency and have it implemented amongst your players.”

While some fans hold coach Ken Miller responsible for the gaffe, Schultz does not. He equates it to his own business, Schultz Gareau Insurance, where if one of Schultzie’s managers pulls a blunder with a customer, why should Scott be held accountable?

“At the end of the day you give responsibility to people; a coach, a boss or whatever. At the end of the day Ken Miller has to stand up and face the media as the face of the organization. But, within the structure of the organization you’ve got your coaches and responsibilities are delegated and that’s how the business works.”

Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan (a Regina product) is in town for his kicking camp for kids today and was on The Sports Cage as well. He agrees with Schultz, saying it’s up to the players to know who should be on the field.

“It depends on the circumstance but I take it upon myself to make sure 11 guys are on the field,” Ryan explained. “Someone’s gotta take charge of that sort of thing. But in the emotion of the game, guys tend to forget about that and get so into the game they forget about the small things.”

Ryan was at the game, and we asked him what his reaction was when the penalty was announced.

“Oh no, not again,” Ryan laughed. “That was my first thought, ‘not again’. I felt for the fans more than anything because I saw fans with hands over their face saying ‘how could this happen again’. But it’s early in the season so those things happen but it’s too bad it was at that point in the game.”

Hopefully this explains everything.

Unless perhaps you don’t agree with Scott and Jon!

—

The game was definitely a classic. Alouettes colour commentator Ed Philion (a four team all-star defensive tackle) came into our broadcast booth smiling and shaking his head after the game. I asked him if the Riders and Alouettes are on a collision course for the Grey Cup.

“I think it’s really early to say that,” Philion rationalized. “You lose your quarterback at any point in the season and you’re in a world of hurt. In the East, I’d say Montreal’s the favourite because two of the four teams changed their coaches (Toronto and Winnipeg) and nobody really knows their quarterbacks. Out West it’s a different story. Calgary’s going to be better and you’ve gotta think Edmonton will be better. In B.C. some of Wally’s decisions are catching up to him and they’ve got a depleted roster. At this point in the season, Saskatchewan and Montreal are the class of their divisions but at this point it’s easier to see Montreal getting back to the Grey Cup just because their division isn’t as tough.”

—

I’m told the TSN panel of Dunigan, Schultz and Climie stood up and applauded after Weston Dressler’s game-winning touchdown. They weren’t cheering for the Riders, but rather the tremendous game itself.

—

I haven’t seen any ratings data, but the Rider-Alouette game seemed to be a BIG hit on the NFL Network on Thursday. It was the first of 14 CFL games that the NFL Network will carry this year.

“Obviously that was an exceptionally exciting game to start. There were so many unbelievable plays,” NFL Network spokesman Dennis Johnson told the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones. “If they are all like that it’s going to be a tremendous season of games.”

Here’s what the NFL Network panel of Rich Eisen, Warren Sapp, Brian Baldinger and Jamie Dukes had to say about the game when replaying the highlights:

Rich Eisen: The CFL is being simulcast on NFL Network this summer and it started off Thursday between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes. We can’t show you Thursday’s hi-lites without flashing back to last year’s Grey Cup. Montreal thought they had the Grey Cup won, but they missed the game-winning field goal. But hang on, Saskatchewan had too many men on the field. They had 13. But you can have 12. The Alouettes get another chance at the field goal, Damon Duval makes it and the Grey Cup is Montreal’s.
Let’s got to the rematch. Darian Durant to Andy Fantuz … it’s a tie ball game! They rule him out, but they have replay in Canada. We go to overtime. The Alouettes turn it over on downs, but guess what? Saskatchewan has 13 men AGAIN!

WARREN SAPP: What? A Baker’s Dozen! Not again!!!

EISEN: So back comes Calvillo. For S.J. Greeeeeeeeen and they get it! They gotta go for two, back to Greeeeeeen and one-handed, he’s got it!

PANEL: WHOAAAAAAAAA! Look at the Canadian farmer’s tan on that guy!

EISEN: So the Alouettes kick a field goal and the Riders need some points. The Roughriders need some points and they go to Dressler..

PANEL: TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JAMIE DUKES: An instant classic!

EISEN: And the Roughriders win in overtime 54-51.

WARREN SAPP: That’s how you start a season!

—

Jon Ryan of the Seahawks think it’s a fantastic move to show CFL games on the NFL Network.

“Getting the games on the NFL Network is a GREAT step in the right direction, Ryan said Friday. “Especially with no football going on down here, a lot of American football fans are going to sit up and take notice of the CFL. They have the Friday night Arena game on the NFL Network and I appreciate that game but the CFL game is so much better than that game. People in the States just haven’t been exposed to it but once you watch a little bit of the CFL you get hooked pretty quickly.”

—

The Roughriders will be practicing all week, basically from 11 to 1 everyday. It dawned on me how much many could be made if somebody opened a snack stand for the hundreds of people who come down to practice when the weather’s nice.

Carm and I agreed that if we had the time, we’d do it. Maybe somebody else does?

—

There’s one drawback of living in the world of sports where everyone is so conscious of their bodies. I walked into Mosaic Stadium with a Slurpee before the Canada Day game and you would’ve have thought I was holding a cup of crystal meth.

The players were ALL over me about how bad it is for you. C’mon guys! It’s just a Slurpee. They’ve been around for years and nobody’s died from it. All it takes is a little more time on the treadmill but it’s worth it on a hot day.

—

Speaking of the treadmill, did you know UFC fighters workout 6-8 hours per day? Amazing.

—

Rider defensive tackle Marcus Adams revealed awhile back that he feels a whole lot better about himself since he doesn’t read the message board riderfans.com. Meanwhile Wes Cates felt all the negative things being said about him came from the very same website. He says he never read it himself, but his teammates told him about it.

PLAYERS! You shouldn’t be reading message boards nor blogs like this!!! These websites are for the fans not the players and coaches.

—

The Roughrider Alumni golf tournament goes this afternoon at the Royal Regina Golf Club with a shotgun start at 1:00pm. I’m going to try to broadcast the Sports Cage today with John Lynch from the Royal Regina from 4-6pm.

Stay tuned…

—

AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK ENJOYING THE SUNSHINE!
RP

“I don’t mind losing, but this was ugly.” – Carm Carteri, Sunday June 20, 2010.

That, in a nutshell, summed up Sunday’s 41-17 Rider loss to the Stampeders in Calgary. Carm’s point was that preseason wins and losses are meaningless but the fashion in which this one went down was unsettling.

All tolled, the Riders were penalized 12 times to the Stampeders’ four and the team looked out of sync in quite a few areas.

Coach Miller referred to the “lack of emotion” from his troops, and that they’ve gotten away from the type of football this team has become known for. Even some of the players noted that the atmosphere was flat from their side all day long.

Carm and I are uneasy with everyone’s prediction for a first-place finish for this club given the fact they haven’t even played a meaningful game yet. I’m sure coach Miller and his staff will have them tuned in in short order.

—

This was Carm’s assessment of the game on the postgame show:

“I think everybody in Riderville expected a lot more from this football team this afternoon, especially head coach Ken Miller. The disappointing thing as we sit here after the game is that we can’t talk about anything positive we can get from the game.

“Special teams weren’t good, on defense they gave up over 400 yards and offensively they really couldn’t get anything going. They scored 10 points in the first half under Darian Durant and nothing happened until late when Cole Bergquist went in and threw that late TD pass to Koch. But other than that, nothing I can say went well for the Riders. Also disappointing was under 40 yards rushing. The coaching staff will now have to sit back and evaluate not only their talent, but what went on here today.

“The first play of the game, the kick return, there was a holding penalty and that set the tone. I just didn’t see any sense of urgency out of the Riders this afternoon while the Calgary players were more exciting, jumping and down. I just didn’t see any spark out of the Riders and that was the disappointing thing.”

—

Was Nik Lewis’ touchdown celebration excessive in the first quarter? You can see it on the highlights of the clash. This is what Darian Durant had to say about it:

“That’s the way Nik Lewis plays. That’s Nik Lewis. I don’t have a problem with that. If a guy has a touchdown routine, then so be it. It doesn’t really bother me. At the end of the day we know what he did to them last year and they know also. It’s a new year so, you know, we have to prove over and over again that we can beat. They beat us today so when we play them we have to show them that we can take care of them.”

Darian was asked if the fans be upset at the lopsided loss.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Durant answered. “We went 0-2 in the preseason last year and wound up in the Grey Cup. I really don’t think it’s too much to worry about. It’s just preseason, we’re working on some things and we’re trying to see what players fit in where so I wouldn’t read too much into it.”

—

The Riders returned home late Sunday night and will have Monday off. There will be a handful of cuts on Tuesday and the rest will be announced on Thursday. We’ll discuss the game this afternoon on The Sports Cage on 620 CKRM from 4:00-6:00pm with our usual Monday Rider Roundtable with Hadesbeck and Lynch. We’ll also replay postgame interviews from the players.

—

We had some fun with Stamps quarterback Henry Burris on the pregame show Sunday. I asked him if we’ll ever get over the heated rivalry between Burris and the Rider Nation:

“I think it’s a love-hate relationship,” Burris laughed. “I think once everything’s said and done I’ll come back to Regina and we’ll all sit down and reminisce over some Pilsners or something like that and talk about all the great times and the great games. It’s a love-hate thing but off the field it’s nothing but love.

“I’m thankful for everything the Rider Nation has done for me in my career. When it comes to game day, I love the excitement and the motivation of going out and trying to beat team in green. It’s love-hate but on the field it’s definitely hate and I always try to beat them.”

Burris was 12/16 for 153 yards and two touchdowns in a half of work on Sunday. On the other side, Darian Durant was 14/18 for 156 yards in the opening 30 minutes.

—

Much-hyped rookie DE Brent Hawkins led the Riders with six defensive tackles on Sunday but never really got near the quarterback. The lone sack in the game was recorded by Rider LB Mike McCullough on Calgary’s Zac Champion.

—

Just in time for the regular season, we introduce http://www.cflpickem.com/. It’s fairly simple – you pick who is going to win each and every CFL regular season game – no spreads, no handicaps. Just pick who you think is going to win. The entry fee is $10 with the top three finishers getting prize money. Fans have until game time to make/change their picks.

Ryan Campbell sent me the info on the pool. Looks like fun!

—

Message to George Cortez: The Palomino isn’t the same without you! Love that place. And I’m glad George introduced me to it.

—

Thank you Calgary Airport for free wireless internet. It allowed me to get plenty of work done Sunday night during our three hour wait for the flight home.

—

I’ll have to let Sunday’s radio listeners in on a little gag.

Way back in 2005 when the Riders were playing a preseason game in Calgary, I had a momentary brain camp and said “Ryan Johnson will punt the ball for the Riders”. Rider PR man Ryan Whippler was doing stats and said “Who is Ryan Johnson?” The fact is there was no Ryan Johnson on the team. I accidentally morphed two names together and never acknowledged the mistake on the air.

So now every year since, in the preseason road game which is never televised, the Rider staff eggs me to mention Ryan Johnson once per game as a joke. I’ve done it every year since, including yesterday when I said “Ryan Johnson will hold for Luca Congi”.

Some wise listeners noticed the name Sunday and it instigated a thread on Riderfans.com. Now that everyone’s on to us, the gag is over.

But it provided amusement while it lasted!

—

Stampeder personnel were quick to remind us of the 13th man gaffe in the Grey Cup this weekend, but they didn’t have to. There are reminders everywhere but during Saturday’s walk-through one reminder was particularly eery.

That suspended loud speaker over McMahon Stadium casted a shadow six-feet in diameter on the field. When the Riders came onto the turf, defensive coordinator Gary Etcheverry went over and sat under it.

I quipped to Mike McCullough “we haven’t had sunshine in a month and now Etch is looking for the shade!”

The Rider linebacker answered back, “I don’t think that’s what it is. Look where the shadow is.”

It was over the right hash of the 43-yard line, precisely where Damon Duval kicked the first wide field goal JUST before the too many men penalty.

That was spooky.

—

By the numbers for Roughriders dressed in Sunday’s game:

Oldest: OG Gene Makowsky (37)
Youngest: WR Dwayne Eley (23)
Tallest: OT Joel Bell (6′7″)
Smallest: RB Dominique Dorsey, SB Weston Dressler (5′7″)
Heaviest: OT Jordan Rempel (320 lbs)
Lightest: Dorsey (173 lbs)

—

An eleven run 6th inning helped the Regina Red Sox to a convincing 14-5 Father’s Day win over Melville Sunday afternoon at Currie Field.

Anthony Rodriguez had four RBIs for the winners with David Fox, Eric McKinney and Josh Hughes having a pair each. The Red Sox are now 11-2 and will be in Swift Current on Tuesday. The next home game is Thursday against Moose Jaw.

—

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft goes this weekend in Los Angeles. That’s one thing I’ll miss about broadcasting Pats hockey; going to the Draft every year. I’ve been to the draft in Edmonton, St. Louis, Boston, Buffalo, Toronto, Calgary, Columbus and Raleigh but always wanted to hit Los Angeles.

Pats players Jordan Weal and Brandon Davidson will be hoping to hear their names called. The first round is on Friday and all subsequent rounds are on Saturday. We’ll have to get those two on the air in the Cage this week.

—

There was lots of talk in Calgary about the flooding in the Maple Creek area. The footage on CBC Newsworld of the flooded-out town was disturbing. We’ll have to rally to raise some funds for people who’ve been wiped out. Fine folks in our area ponied up lots of cash for Haiti, but now there’s help needed at home.

If there’s any plan to do a benefit fundraising sports dinner, I’d be happy to go speak free of charge. We could probably raise some money that way.

—

We’re also headed for a potential disaster with 10 million acres of farmland going by the wayside this year because of the excessive moisture.

Saskatchewan produces 46% of Canada’s canola and 10% of the world’s wheat. But not this year.

—

I sure got worked over on Friday for being grumpy in my Rodservations column. Perhaps I’ve been hanging out with the old guys at the Lawson too long! Or maybe I was just grumpy about being away for Father’s Day. Oh well, I’m sure there are plenty of dads who would have traded places with me in a heartbeat.

—

Speaking of grumpy, did you see Phil Mickelson bark at the gallery on Saturday at the U.S. Open for being too loud?

Why does the gallery have to be quiet anyways? Every other athlete has to perform in absolute bedlam. What if they told the crowd to be quiet during free throws in the NBA?

Just because that’s the way it’s always been doesn’t mean that’s the way it always has to be!

—

From the newsletter of Saskatchewan Enterprise Minister Ken Cheveldayoff:

“It was a pleasure to be the first guest of the season and speak with Rod Pedersen and John Lynch on the first In The Huddle on June 1st. As Minister of Enterprise I was quizzed about the possibility of a new stadium and home for the Roughriders. Right now the provincial government is working behind the scenes with all the partners – Federal Government, City of Regina, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders to see how we can come together with the funding arrangements to make this happen.

“At the end of the day we haven’t made a decision whether to go forward or not. It is a priority and a generational opportunity, but for the Saskatchewan Party government, the top priorities are health care, education and infrastructure.”

—

There were plenty of questions in Calgary about us getting a new stadium. I think it’s going to happen.

—

And I’ll leave you with this pearl of wisdom from the always-wise Miley Cyrus:

“Life is too short to worry about what other people say.”

—

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYBODY!!
RP

Some random thoughts as we head into the weekend:

- The farmers have come to town, and thank God I’m leaving. WOW are they some-kind-of-drivers! No offense to the rural folk (and I’m likely related to a lot of them) but if I get stuck behind one more combine on Lewvan Drive or cut off by a 1988 Ford F150 with no turn signals, I will be displaying some road rage! Welcome farmers to the 2010 Western Canada Farm Progress Show at Evraz Place. Take the premises … they’re yours. I’m off to Calgary tonight.

- The Roughriders conclude the 2010 preseason at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on Sunday at 1:00 on the 620 CKRM Rider Radio Network. It’s the biggest broadcast of the year for Carm and I (no television broadcast) so I’m headed into southern Alberta early to prepare. I’ve been told the Stamps are projecting a crowd of over 30,000 for the contest. It’s going to be intense.

- Speaking of our neighbours to the west, three former Regina Pats trainers are now a part of the NHL’s Battle of Alberta. Schad Richea and Corey Osmak (Calgary Flames) and Brad Harrison (Edmonton Oilers) have all hit the big time and will work for the NHL teams in Wild Rose Country this upcoming NHL season. Congratulations men.

- It’s really, really weird when I flip on the TV to TSN or Sportsnet and hear them say “The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the team to beat in 2010.” It’s taken soooooo long to get here. Here’s a text messsage I received from a Toronto broadcaster regarding the /=S=/:

“Same team except the DEs. Cates should be better. OL better. Dressler and Fantuz healthy and Prechae. If DD is as good, Ssk is the team to beat.”

I liked it better when the Riders were picked to be last every year.

- The Roughriders’ Jason Clermont is the self-proclaimed “Worst interview in the CFL”. In fact, he seems to take pride in that.

- Meanwhile Bengals’ receiver Chad Ocho Cinco might be the best interview in the NFL. Did you see his interview this week from Cincinnati’s OTA’s? “I’m like birth control,” said #85. “I’m there for you 99.9% of the time.”

- There’s been lots of talk about memorable lines by broadcasters in championship games. A guy ripped me on the Monday Morning Goalie for ‘borrowing’ the line “GO CRAZY SASKATCHEWAN, GO CRAZY” from Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck in 1985. Did you hear ABC’s Mike Breen last night when the Lakers took Game 7 of the NBA Finals?

“The Lakers repeat!” Breen yelled. “The L.A. Lakers are 2010 NBA champions!”

It hardly sent chills down my spine. But now every broadcaster is expected to come up with something memorable, like Chris Cuthbert after the Olympic gold medal goal by Sidney Crosby, or Jim Hughson calling the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory over Philadelphia.

It’s pretty evident the guys have something written down and when the game is over, they’re scrambling to find it. Chicago’s John Weideman had a good one after Patrick Kane’s cup-clinching goal last week when he said “Lord Stanley’s new address reads Sweet Home Chicago!”

But the frenzied circumstances around how that goal was scored took a bit of the climax of the broadcast away.

What are your memorable (or not so memorable) calls by broadcasters?

- Here’s a topic I meant to get to in the Sports Cage this week; if you were a Stanley Cup champion and had the Cup for two days, what would you do with it? I would take the Cup to Milestone, Sask and invite everyone in southeastern Saskatchewan to our rink to have their picture taken with the Cup for $5 with all proceeds going to the operating fund of the arena. That night I would take the Cup on a pub crawl through Regina and on the second day, I would recover.

- I’d like to “thank” the knob who sent me the anonymous tip during Sunday’s Rider broadcast about the Ticats cutting Quinton Porter and signing Belton Johnson (which they DIDN’T do). The text was signed “Darren Allemang, HTC Scouting”. The Ticats called me this week and said no one by that name works for them in scouting. Why would someone send in a bum tip like that?

- If you’re going to send me a resume to work in CKRM Sports, SPELL MY NAME RIGHT on the cover letter! That application went straight to the trash.

- And if you’re going to drive around town on a sunny day with the top down, make sure your car is WASHED! Sheesh.

—

Who’s watching the FIFA 2010 World Cup? If not, why not? Who’s your team and how are they doing?? My clubs are Greece and Denmark and so far they’re not threatening to win it all but they’ve been fun to watch. What do you think about World Cup and the vuvuzuelas?

The top five most-watched sports broadcasts in Canada over the past week were all World Cup, led by the U.S.-England match which drew 2.27-million viewers on CBC.

—

The Four Seasons UFC Report debuted on The Sports Cage on Thursday, and it featured Showdown Joe Ferraro of Rogers Sportsnet. He was reporting on UFC 115 in Vancouver last week, which was the fastest-selling UFC event ever. Interestingly, UFC Canada head Tom Wright said if we get a new stadium in Regina, the UFC will bring an event here! Showdown Joe said he’d love to come to Regina, as he has never been.

It’s Four Seasons Football Friday in the Cage and today and we’ll be joined by CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon, former Rider Scott Schultz and more. We’ll also discuss the Waterloo steroids scandal.

—

A homerun and 5 RBI’s from David Fox helped the Regina Red Sox outscore the Weyburn Beavers 14-9 last night at Currie Field. Tonight the Red Sox will host a doubleheader against Melville at Currie, weather-permitting.

—

Finally, how do you make Lady Gaga mad?

Poker Face.

—

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
RP

Welcome to the Gateway To The Weekend, otherwise known as Rodservations. Here we go with our weekly notes & quotes:

- I could barely wait to get this out … today on Football Friday on 620 CKRM’s Sports Cage, we’ll be joined by perhaps the biggest guest we’ll ever hope to have. Who is it? How about INDIANAPOLIS COLTS G.M. BILL POLIAN! That’s right.

Also on today’s show, Calgary Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris and B.C. Lions broadcaster (and former QB Guilio Caravatta). And I ask you, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

It’s all today 4:00-6:00pm MT on Saskatchewan’s Sports Leader.

- Haven’t laughed out loud as hard lately as I did yesterday when I heard Hockey Night In Canada star Ron MacLean saved a man from drowning in Philadelphia. He was having lunch with Don Cherry when he saw the man flailing in the water, and Ron bolted to the rescue.

Said Grapes, “And I was in the middle of a great story and MacLean takes off!”

- Are you watching the NBA Finals? ESPN/ABC needs to upgrade their sideline hotties. I don’t know any other way to say it than that. For instance, do a Google image search on the Versus Network’s Charissa Thompson.

- Don’t forget the Regina Red Sox home-opener goes tonight at 7:00 against the Yorkton Cardinals at Currie Field.

- A brand new sports game just launched this week for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s a fantasy-styled game played in real-time on a game-by-game basis. All you do to start is pick any 5 players and you can actually change your players during the game. I’ll be
playing Game 4 tonight and so will some of the Sutter family! It’s free, easy & fun and there are great prizes to boot. Go here: http://playerscup.thehockeynews.com/

- The Edmonton Oilers would be nuts to trade the #1 NHL pick. And they’d be even crazier NOT to take Taylor Hall with the selection.

- I love Patrick Kane’s mullet. Used to have one exactly like it.

- A great quote from former NHL’er Jamie Heward came during a break in The Sports Cage on Thursday.

“I could do this all day!” Heward laughed. He’s got plenty of time now, since he officially retired from pro hockey this week.

- Couldn’t believe the comments of Argos coach Jim Barker this week about getting back into coaching. “I love having my job on the line each week,” Barker told reporters. Can you imagine?

Don’t count him out. He turned the 4-14 Stampeders into an 11-7 team in his first year as G.M.

- I couldn’t believe this nugget I found out about TSN/NBC hockey analyst Pierre McGuire this week. Apparently he’s best friends with Vince Papale, the former Philadelphia Eagles receiver who the movie Invincible was based upon. The friendship dates back to their college days.

- Here’s a note from the Montreal Alouettes PR staff. They can say it better than me:

“Rod, I just wanted to let you know that Coach Trestman greatly appreciated that you talked about is book on your blog. He wanted me to thank you for the mention.

Also, just so your readers don’t get into any fight with bookstore employees, the book is available on Amazon.com and on Coach Trestman’s web site (http://www.coachmarctrestman.com/). They are sold at Indigo in Montreal, but I don’t know if they will be spreading them across the country.

Thanks again
Charles Rooke
Director of Communications
Montreal Alouettes”

- Adam Proteau of The Hockey News might have been the guest of the week in The Sports Cage. Could have talked to that guy for hours..

- TSN sent out a news release this week promoting their coverage of the “prestigious” SCRIPPS spelling bee beginning today at noon. Is this a joke? Please tell me it’s in High Definition?!

The release says: “A total of 273 spellers will participate in the SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE for the chance to win $30,000 cash and other prizes. Among the competitors this year is 11-year-old Laura Newcombe from Toronto, who won the CanWest CanSpell National Spelling Bee in March to advance to the SCRIPPS competition.”

- If you support the new Saskatchewan football/entertainment facility, Enterprise Minister Ken Cheveldayoff instructs you to CONTACT YOUR MLA AND MP.

- Please plan to attend TCU Financial Group’s annual charity Rider Pride barbecue at their Quance St location. Here are the details from my buddy Phil Deutscher:

Saturday June 5, 2010
BBQ Time – 10 – 2pm
Location – TCU Financial Group 2615E Quance St
Proceeds to the Regina Burn Unit

Fun for the whole family includes:
• Fire Truck
• “Gainer” the gopher
• Kenny Campbell’s race car and a junior version
• Dino Bouncer

- Can’t believe no Saskatchewan radio station is carrying the Stanley Cup Finals this year. Yup, this province is in need of all-sports radio. Don’t you think?

- http://www.versus.com/ is one of my favourite stops for NHL news. Canada needs Versus!!

- Clean up after your dog! If I see one more person look the other way while their pooch unloads, I’m going to assault them.

- Who’s excited about the Blue Jays? I am cautiously optimistic about the team. However, as you know, we’ve seen this movie before as recently as 2009.

- Buck Martinez ROCKS on Blue Jays play-by-play. His voice and delivery are so smooooooooth. He breathes baseball.

- Did you see the Tampa Bay Rays get off their jet Sunday night in Toronto wearing hockey jerseys? Skipper Joe Maddon has had the players adopt a theme for all road trips and on this one, they’re supposed to wear their favourite team’s sweater. Most of them were wearing Blackhawks uni’s.

- Chicago’s red jerseys are the nicest in hockey.

- Okay time to fly.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
RP

We’ve almost made it! After a long, cold off-season, this is the last MMG before the start of football season. The countdown timer shows we’re just over five days away from the start of Rider training camp but in truth, things begin Wednesday with the start of rookie camp and we’ll be all over it. Congratulations! We’re almost there…

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We’ll start with hockey today however and people are still buzzing about the Regina Pats’ hiring of Chad Lang as their new General Manager on Friday. Lang appeared in The Sports Cage on 620 CKRM Friday afternoon and John Lynch asked him if he’d have complete authority over making a coaching change if he felt that was necessary.

“As far as anything in hockey operations, as of today I have the autonomy to make the decisions I feel are in the best interests of the organization,” Lang explained. “In saying that, I will definitely sit down with Curtis Hunt and the scouting staff and give them an opportunity to say their piece. I think it’s an important to give those guys an opportunity to voice their opinions. They’ve been involved the past few years, and then I’ll put in my two cents.”

“I have a good understanding of the organization from an outsider looking in but to have success there are so many factors that go into it. Sometimes it’s tough to evaluate them from the outside. But in fairness to the process, everyone has to be able to voice their opinions. Then if I feel there are any gaps, I’ll make the necessary changes. I’m comfortable doing that.”

Lang says he’s up to speed on the Pats’ roster, and those of other WHL teams as he attended as many games in Regina and Moose Jaw as he could since being relieved by the Moose Jaw Warriors in May of 2009.

“Maybe having the year off was the best thing for me. I’m fresh and excited to get back at it but it also allowed me to evaluate all the teams from a neutral perspective. There’s definitely some assets within this organization – personnel on the ice – but we need to upgrade in a few areas. But that’ll be a process as well. I don’t proclaim to be a miracle worker and things won’t change overnight.”

“The biggest thing I want to get across to the fans is that my hockey clubs need to compete every night and when you do that you give yourselves a chance. If you don’t, you shoot yourself in the foot. That will be the message and the mandate from day one with this hockey club but in saying that, there will be changes down the road.”

So what do you think think those changes should/will be?

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The Regina Pats are proud to announce that they have signed their first round pick from the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft to a WHL Standard Players Agreement.

Morgan Klimchuk was taken by the Pats 5th overall in the recent 2010 WHL Bantam Draft. He was the Captain of a Calgary Bison squad that won the silver medal at the Western Canadian Bantam Championships. In 28 games with the Bisons this season, Klimchuk scored 33 times and collected 19 assists for 52 points while adding 44 minutes in penalties. He was also a 2009-2010 South Division AMBHL All-Star.

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Who predicted Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals would produce 11 goals with Chicago winning 6-5? The purists love low-scoring, defensive struggles but the majority of the public wants to see GOALS and they’re raving about the game south of the border because of the offense. Sadly I was vastly outvoted Saturday night at the Tsakas family barbecue and had to watch the Lakers-Suns Game 6 instead, making me settle for the hockey highlights later.

Which leads me to wonder why the NHL would want to go up against the NBA playoffs in the States? There were only two games going on this weekend in sports and they started at the exact same time. Something’s wrong with that picture.

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Now to the football. You’ll notice a poll at the top left of the page regarding Roughrider training camp and what position you feel will be the most interesting to watch come Sunday. For me, it’s the defensive end positions vacated by John Chick and Stevie Baggs. Rider great Scott Schultz discussed that in the Sports Cage Friday afternoon.

“No question those two guys were tremendous players and candidates for player of the year,” Schultz explained. “The funny thing was when Chick showed up in town, nobody expected anything from him. It was like ‘who is this goofy looking guy?’ but over the course of time he really arrived. Those players will always present themselves and you have to have faith in the GM to recruit players.”

“I look at it as a player and as a fan I can’t wrap my head around it. I’m just becoming a fan. But as a player, guys now get a chance. Luc Mullinder should be licking his chops and this new guy, the #1 pick (Shomari Williams) will prove whether he’s worth his salt to be a back-up.”

We asked Schultz if he understands why fans are a little nervous at the prospect of replacing those two bookends.

“Well sure but that comes down to a fan’s football IQ and some fans have higher ones than others. The sexy names like Baggs and Chick are going to give way to two new guys who are just as good and popular. It’s just a matter of who will they be and when will they present themselves?”

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Stevie Baggs faces long odds to make that Cardinals team which has him listed at the bottom of their depth chart at outside linebacker. He was on The Sports Cage Friday as well and had a message to Rider fans, and a tip about who might replace him at defensive end.

“I just want to tell all the Rider fans that I appreciate their past and current support,” Baggs said from Phoenix. “Keep me in your prayers as I do you guys. I spread peace, blessings and love to all of Rider Nation. I’m looking forward to seeing coach Miller and coach Etcheverry do a great job this year. And look out for Joe Sykes, man. He’s a beast and he’ll do a great job replacing me.”
Even if Baggs IS cut, don’t expect him back in Green & White unless GM Brendan Taman opens up his wallet. Stevie has made it known that he expects to go to the highest bidder in that eventuality.

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I’d suggest you get to a bookstore ASAP and pick up a copy of Perseverance, Life Lessons on Leadership and Teamwork, a motivational biography written by Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman in which he collaborated with Minneapolis-based sports author and motivational speaker Ross Bernstein.

Trestman is a highly impressive individual.

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Former Roughrider, Blue Bomber, Alouette and Renegade Jason Armstead will be playing pro football in 2010. The wide receiver/kick returner has signed with Jim Fassel’s Las Vegas team in the United Football League.

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Don’t expect Kenton Keith in Green & White anytime soon. I’d heard a rumour the Riders were interested in signing the bad boy running back, but GM Brendan Taman told me Sunday “not as of now.”

Keith has turned down interview requests.

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Great news for football fans from border to border! In The Huddle makes its season premiere tomorrow night at 7:00 PROVINCE-WIDE! That’s right, new Access VP of Marketing Trevor
Derksen reached an agreement with Shaw last week to carry our weekly one hour Roughrider magazine show. So Rider fans in such places as Saskatoon, Swift Current, Moose Jaw and P.A. will now get the show.

We’ve got some big news on tomorrow’s show as well, but I’ll wait a day to preview it.

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A couple of Sports Cage notes, listeners were under the mistaken impression that Mitchell “Scruffy” Blair was under the full-time employ of Harvard Broadcasting when we launched the show two weeks ago. The truth is we were just floating him a handsome stipend for doing two hours on air with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So when he was hired to oversee Capital Automotive’s online division last week, nobody could figure out why he’d choose that over the radio. The hours of his new job aren’t conducive to playing radio with us twice a week, but we’re working on it. Scruffy did such a bang up job and the reviews have been so tremendous that Harvard’s trying to find a way to keep him on air.

As a matter of fact, Leader Post hockey writer Greg Harder dropped this on his blog on Friday:
“As a sports fan, it’s a nice change of pace. And keep that Scruffy guy around too. The local airwaves wouldn’t be the same without him.”

Also tomorrow is the 3rd Annual Rider Players Golf Tournament at Deer Valley, organized by the Riders’ Jeremy O’Day and Mike McCullough. We plan to broadcast The Sports Cage live from the golf course from 4:00 – 6:00pm and plan to have the golfers/celebrities come on the air with us as they make the turn after the ninth hole by the pro shop

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If you listened to Friday’s show, you’ll remember we mentioned the deaths of celebrities Art Linkletter and Gary Coleman last week and since these things always come in three’s, we asked for predictions on who third one might be. I had a feeling it would be David Hasselhoff while Lynch predicted Lawrence Fishburne.

Sure enough on Saturday we received the news that Dennis Hopper died at the age of 74. Turns out I had the initials correct, just not the right celebrity.

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I unloaded the Eberle Oilers jersey on Friday. A gentleman in Wetaskiwin, Alberta stepped up to the plate to purchase the priceless piece of sports memorabilia. His name his Clarke Compton, and has ties to Regina. Perhaps some of you know him.

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The Regina Red Sox’ season-opening game at Yorkton was rained out and will be made up tomorrow night. The Sox’ home opener is this Friday night against the Cardinals at 7:00pm at Currie Field…

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From the Leader Post:

REGINA — The Regina Pats are holding a news conference this afternoon at 3:00 to introduce former Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Chad Lang as their new general manager.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are pleased to once again welcome a group of experienced guest coaches to training camp this year.
Paul Charbonneau will be working with Tom Freeman and the offensive line. Charbonneau comes from the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux where he is an assistant coach and works with tight ends. He originally joined the Fighting Sioux in 2005. This marks the second year Charbonneau is a guest coach with the Green and White.

Jerry Friesen is the head coach for the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The Rosthern native played linebacker for the Saskatoon Hilltops before moving on to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Friesen entered the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes in 1978 where he spent three seasons before moving back to Saskatchewan and signing with the Roughriders were he played six seasons. He was honoured with the CFL’s Tom Pate Award for contributions to the team and the community in 1986 and later became the defensive coordinator with the Huskies in 1988, sharing in a Vanier Cup national title in 1990. Friesen will be working with Jim Daley.

Rob Harley is an assistant coach at Evangel University in Missouri. He has also coached at Eastern Oregon University, Azusa Pacific University and the University of Redlands. He will be working with Marcus Crandell during this year’s training camp.

Don Lawrence has over 45 years coaching experience. He was the offensive coordinator for the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe and won two World Bowl rings with Amsterdam and Frankfurt. He also served as the tight ends coach for the Buffalo Bills and helped take them to four consecutive Super Bowls.

Lawrence also coached at the collegiate level with Notre Dame, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Texas Christian, Missouri and was the head coach at the University of Virginia. He played three seasons in the NFL for the Washington Redskins. Lawrence will be working alongside Ken Miller during this years camp.

Former CFL kicker Gerry McGrath will be brought in to work with the Rider kickers for the fourth straight training camp. McGrath spent seven seasons in the CFL with Saskatchewan, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. After serving as offensive coordinator with the University of Concordia for eight seasons he was named head coach in 2000.

Also attending training camp to assistant in a variety of coaching areas are Ted Bilderbeck – a retired football coach who spent most of his time coaching at Imperial Valley in Southern California and Darrick Yray – an assistant in the Fresno State football program.

Welcome to the start of the long weekend!

- A hearty thank you to Bruce Rogers of the Conexus Credit Union South Branch for inviting us to the Rotary Club Dinner 2010 featuring keynote speaker Rider GM Brendan Taman Thursday night. Wouldn’t you know it, out of 350 people, I’d be the only guy there in jeans. Hey it’s 2010! I thought you could wear jeans to anything? Apparently not. Does it matter that they’re True Religion?

- Said Rider President Jim Hopson, “Thanks for dressing up Rod”. Taman jumped in as well saying “I had a scoop for you but you’re not dressed well enough for it!”

- Turns out Brendan had a couple scoops including the fact SB Weston Dressler won’t be ready to start training camp in 17 days. He WILL be ready for Week 1 though. And the club will be signing two QBs in the next little bit but one won’t be Kerry Joseph. Quotes from Brendan’s speech are at the bottom of the post.

- We’re almost a week into The Sports Cage on 620 CKRM, my new late day talkshow. Any initial comments on it? Here are some things I took away from the first week:

• Kelly Hrudey told us Monday his wife is a Rider fan from Coronach, Sask. How hot do you think she is? I say that not just because she’s a good Sask girl, but also because Hrudey makes women’s hearts flutter from coast to coast. I’m sure he got his pick of the litter.

• Stampeders lineman Dan Comiskey is all for a new stadium in Regina. “Just build the stands as far away from the visitors’ sidelines as possible,” Commy quipped.

• CFL Director of Officiating Tom Higgins has advice for members of the Rider Pep Band still mad that Damon Allen got them flagged for excessive noise 15 years ago. “My advice to you would be to get over it!” Tom said in the Sports Cage Wednesday.

• CJME talkhost Drew Remenda called to congratulate me on the new show. It was unexpected, but incredibly classy.

• Some TSN talent is charging for radio appearances. I don’t blame them one bit.

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Manitoba Moose coach Scott Arniel has interviewed for head coaching jobs in Atlanta and Columbus. Curtis Hunt’s name has been mentioned as a possible replacement if he leaves Winnipeg.

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Chad Lang met with Pats President Brent Parker on Monday regarding the club’s GM position. I also heard Chad’s been offered a great opportunity OUTSIDE of hockey. The plot thickens.

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A name which has surfaced in connection to the Pats’ job as well as the Edmonton Oil Kings’ vacant head coaching job; Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Perry Pearn.

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The Edmonton Oilers have named their new AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City the “Barons”.

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Anybody want to buy an autographed Jordan Eberle Oilers #14 jersey? I’ll give it to you for a bargain of $800. What was I thinking buying that thing last week at Ken Goff Boxing?

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Pats forward Garrett Mitchell told us yesterday Jordan Eberle had a rash on his arm this season and called it his “Arash Madani” (named after the Sportsnet reporter).

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I’ll miss Bryan Hall as Voice of the Eskimos this season. CKRM ran his voice on a Tony Roma’s commercial yesterday and it brought back a flood of memories.

But his replacement, Morley Scott at 630 CHED, will be excellent. We spent 40 minutes on the phone Wednesday going over things.

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Taman was refreshing in his speech last night and the emcee, Leader Post publisher Marty Klyne, was smooth as silk.

“Brendan has a string of leaving teams just before they went to the Grey Cup,” Klyne mused. “It happened twice in Saskatchewan and once in BC. We’re stopping the string here. Fat chance Winnipeg will go to the Grey Cup this year!”

Brendan was open, honest and downright funny in his address. Here are some notes and quotes:

• “(Rams assistant coach) Larry Mueller got me into this speaking job. Thanks a lot Larry. Jerk!”

“I honestly could not stand Winnipeg growing up in Saskatoon. When I was young I hated the Bombers. I hated Cal Murphy and I even hated their colours. When I was there I hated the colours. I tried to get them changed but it didn’t work. But it was a real honour to be replaced by Mike Kelly.”

• Lost three Grey Cups. 2001 (Winnipeg), 2007 (Winnipeg), 2009 (Saskatchewan).

• “They tried to blame me for being the 13th Man but it didn’t stick!”

• 2008 Labour Day Game – went to the game with Charles Roberts. His pregame meal was a Red Bull and a Snickers bar. Two days later they traded him to B.C.

• Dexter Manley signed his contract in Ottawa three different ways (3 different signatures). He didn’t know how to read or write. He was Loni Glieberman’s favourite player, and that’s why they signed him.

• “When Troy Westwood started calling down Saskatchewan people, that was crossing the line for me ”

• “One of the best trades we ever pulled off in Winnipeg was for Kevin Glenn. Danny Barrett told us he wasn’t available so I got Adam Rita to get him to Toronto and then we sent a first round pick to the Argos for Kevin. I saw Danny a week later and said ‘I thought Kevin wasn’t available’. Danny said ‘he wasn’t’. I said, ‘yes he was. He’s playing for our team now.’”

• “Walking out onto the field against the Riders in the Grey Cup in 07, Doug Berry turned to me and said ‘Looks like we’re the road team’ and I said ‘Yep.’”

• “We’re not guaranteed of being in the Grey Cup again. But by far we have the greatest coaching staff in the league. Ken Miller is a fantastic human being and a fantastic football coach.”

• “I want to thank you for your support and it’s a huge advantage for us. I’ve been in places where we didn’t have that. You ARE a factor for the Roughriders.”

• “Weston Dressler will be held out of the start of training camp but he’ll be ready for Week 1.”

• “The ratio number will not change. Don’t worry about that too much”.

• “QBs are a popular topic! We’re going to have two guys come up to Regina soon. Kerry Joseph won’t be one of them. Darian’s our guy. Specific names we don’t have yet.”

• “I don’t expect to get John Chick (Colts) back. Rey Williams (Steelers) is hit and miss. Stevie Baggs (Cardinals) is a free agent if he gets cut that could be tough to get him.”

• “Talks are going on about the new stadium. I’m just a football guy. I want to present a Grey Cup in the old stadium first.”

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Former Milestonian Dave Wilson spoke on behalf of the Rotary Club after B.T.’s address. The interesting note about him is at the 1991 Plaza of Honour Dinner, a bunch of us from Milestone came in in a van with a designated driver and Dave was with us.

John Gregory went into the Plaza that year. Afterwards we went to Checkers for awhile, and then got in the van and went home. Trouble is we left Dave in the bathroom at Checkers!

Last night he informed me he walked home. I was stunned thinking about the 30 mile venture, then he laughed and said he had moved into Regina six months later and his house was a 10-minute walk away!

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Today’s Press Box Friday Lunch Buffet:

BUILD YOUR OWN BURGERS!!