Winnipeg Blue Bombers prepare for Banjo Bowl, Zach Collaros taking 1st team reps

Countdown [Music] [Applause] [Music] Intro, Bombers practice update this is Winnipeg Sports Talk daily with Andre through Hustler Patterson and Michael [Music] Reis hey what's up everyone welcome to Winnipeg Sports Talk daily for a Wednesday it is Banjo bull week and we countdown to the big rematch between the bombers and the Saskatchewan Ru Riders and now that we're into September can look ahead to Winnipeg Jets training camp looking forward to having maresh join us coming up in about half an hour or so today on the program and then we're going to talk some CFL Rod Smith who called the Labor Day classic and has been calling CFL games all year long is going to pop on in hour number two and we're going to finish it off with Nick demsky live on wst and that's going to take us right into CFL 110 presented by garage leing Winnipeg which will debut live right after Winnipeg sports talk at 3:15 today so uh welcome to everybody in chat I hope that uh you'll be able to hang around and uh hang around with us after 3 P.M for CFL 110 after that wild Labor Day weekend and setting up a big one including the biggest home game of the year here in the peg the banjo ball which is Live 2 p.m. on Saturday on CTV um it's going to be a great show though we also are getting ready for a big night if you stuck around at the end of the show yesterday we did a little Marble Race to determine our draft order in tonight the final day before NFL it is draft day for the Winnipeg media League uh the marbles weren't kind to myself for Remis we're picking 11th and 12th but uh it the the everything is possible in fantasy football so uh we're going to have some good time with the fellas tonight getting together to make some picks we'll let you know how that goes tomorrow but uh we're going to dive in we got news from bombers practice right off the top as I mentioned CFL 110 coming up after the program today uh brought you by garage living Winnipeg also want to thank the sponsors that make wst possible for you of course our friends at Kolb Canada we just did our final Lo preseason lockshop because tomorrow we're going to be making CFL picks and getting ready for the Chiefs and r Ravens you can always check that at noon before wst over on the Edmonton Sports Talk Channel um of course our friends at Princess Auto rolas transfer Manitoba battery and Consolidated Supply F apparel Wallace and Wallace Canadian Club Little Brown Jug Royal Sports Boston Pizza the Winnipeg Jets the Winnipeg gold eyes Akens Lake cinoa Downs Breezy Bend and we'll get into a why not question of the day for not autocorp over at Waverly and mcgilvery let's get Michael Remis here and get this going as we welcome everybody in chat Remo uh are you ready for the draft tonight yeah I'm deciding um which Jersey I should wear I've got a bunch in the closet some I've never I don't really wear jerseys I like having them in my closet but don't wear them but I'm just deciding which to wear we're all set for the draft we got WiFi plugs food all the essential so I'm I'm pumped I had most points last year in the medor league first in the regular season but ran out of gas in the playoffs I seem to get the worst matchups for all all my I had py and mcaffrey last year hus and of course in the playoffs they're playing the Ravens and that was the game where py lost MVP so uh remember that one I'm I'm pumped for NFL uh just a quick note to all of you fantasy footballers out there and Commissioners uh make sure you set your schedule so that your Playoffs begin in week 15 oh and go week 15 week 16 week 17 and then the final week There's no games I I do know that traditionally a lot of teams have gone week 14 15 and 16 here's the thing there are a bunch of top teams that actually have Buys in week 14 I was amazed at going through the schedule and you kind of Drafting and seeing the buy numbers by the teams like it's not really something I usually pay that much attention to there are some like big time fantasy Powerhouse teams on the Buy in week 14 so first of all if you need to win that week to make the playoffs and it's sort of like a playoff game you might be screwed so pay attention to that but you definitely do not want to be setting up your fantasy playoffs to begin on week 14 when four or six teams have the buy so uh there's a uh there's a little tip for you Commissioners right now just making sure that You' got your schedules set up right away and of course tomorrow we'll be talking NFL Chiefs and Ravens get going and then Friday night Friday night is going to be real fun because we've got the gold eyes playoff game game number two back at home they get going tonight good luck to the fish in the playoffs hopefully you can get that win and it could be clinching time to move on to the next round on Friday of course if the series goes to three games there will be a game on Saturday night and uh that could set up an amazing Daily Double for sports fans starting it off at a sold out banjo bowl and then heading downtown for a third and deciding game between sou Falls and Winnipeg but uh that Series starts tonight down in sou Falls good luck to the fish and Friday we'll be doing that and of course keeping a Keen Eye on the Green Bay Packers in the Philadelphia Eagles who are kicking off in Brazil to start the season um but I think the the main focus on Winnipeg sports fans right now heading into this week is the banjo Bowl the rematch after the bombers one 3 uh 3533 in Regina on the weekend and Remis this this is such a huge opportunity for Winnipeg um we've talked plenty about the turnaround winning four straight after being two- six and everything else that has happened around the West um they did it they failed themselves out they are now in first place in the west based on a tiebreaker but man BC's got a really tough game in Montreal and the bombers get the Riders again and if Montreal beats BC and the bombers are able to beat Saskatchewan the bombers will have essentially a two game lead um or at least a one and a half game lead because with the Riders tie they would be a game and a half back and of course BC even though the teams have the same record right now if they finish with the same record Winnipeg will be ahead of them based on their season series so with the goal being to finish first in the west and have the West final here this is an absolutely massive weekend huge game for them to take care of their own business an opportunity with BC having a really really tough game um because it's not getting any easier the these games at the start of the year that we laughed at probably when the Elks were 0 and six and 0 and7 Edmonton is the real deal right now and they are going to be a real tough out they've got the most explosive offense in the entire Canadian football league and it almost doesn't matter whether it's Trey Ford or McLoud bethl Thompson playing so uh the stakes are high for this one and you know the Saskatchewan Rough Riders are going to be uh doing everything they can to even the score after the bombers and what they did to them in Regina on the weekend yeah I think HomeField Advantage going to be huge you know it's going to be loud they tell you every time hus that the crowd causes a delay of game penalty I do like that as part of the game more than anywhere else in the Canadian Football League that's why they're the loudest fans I do enjoy that yeah as part of the game experience as and I think you know you've seen this year home teams you know won more often I think it was up until a couple weeks ago there weren't that many Road winners and BC I think they're a home team they're a dome team now they did win um it technically you know not in BC Place it was in Victoria on the weekend but I mean I think everything came together for Nathan R to finally have a bounceback game how was he going to do on the road against Montreal who's coming off the buy um you know against that really impressive uh Thorp defense uh that's a big game Friday 6:30 uh nice scheduling here this weekend H in week 14 you have the one game Friday and the triple header Saturday 12 3 and six or sorry is the bomber gaming out at uh at two it's actually at 2 notic that there is going to be an overlap there's going to be a 1 hour overlap between the Toronto Ottawa game and Winnipeg Saskatchewan because Toronto and Dusty's given me the lowdown as to why this is this the games are debuting on CTV for Saturdays now yes so if you're planning on setting a PVR for the banjo Bowl it starts at 2 and it's on CTV it is not on TSN um but apparently they have to play the game at 2 3 Eastern so that the game is finished and they are out in time for the CTV national news so that's why Toronto Ottawa will still be playing when the bombers and Saskatchewan kick off that's the only time so far this season that You' have two games going on at the same time um but that's all good everyone in Winnipeg and saskatch in the pr and most of the country I'm sure will'll be focusing in on the banjo Bowl if they're flicking around on Saturday afternoon and I expect a number well in excess of a million people watching that football game so uh it should be good and hey speaking of the banjo Bowl in the Labor Day classic Dusty's doing the game this weekend uh but re I'm fired up to welcome in Rod Smith who called the band the Labor Day game last weekend in Regina to join us a little later on before Nick Demi jumps on the program yeah I mean hey this is like we're well in I said oh you want to come on Rod to talk about the second half of the Season we're well in the second half this is week 14 we're twoth thirds of the way through yeah I the calendar has really flown by here and he is calling I know he's got uh Zoom calls this afternoon he's calling BC Montreal on Friday so I mean that could be a great cup preview you know potential great cup preview with Montreal you know they've clinched a playoff spot already and BC looking uh to turn the page here after getting their first win after Nathan RoR returned so Rod you know he's been around the league for a long time great voice uh looking forward to having him back on the show and hearing his thoughts on calling the game on Satur or sorry Sunday in Regina yeah listen I um you know the more I think about it and I know people are talking about it in chat this BC Montreal game is huge in that you know Winnipeg has a trip to Montreal as as well in their remaining six games however it's the final week of the regular season and I think there's a high probability that Montreal will be finished and just getting ready for the East final and at that point they'll have decisions as to whether they want to put Austin Mack out there and Cody Fardo and the rest of their top players um BC is not going to get a break like that they're going to go into Montreal playing a team off the buy and as we mentioned rema's first place in the West especially right now with all the teams being seemingly so close to each other is going to be so huge first of all you skip the semi-final and you don't have to play another very good team in the 23 game but like we've said before and we saw a couple years ago when Nathan Mor was here like there are a lot of things that you can do in the comfort of the Dome that you can't do in Princess Auto stadium in the middle of November and I have to think that if the bombers want to get back to a fifth straight gr cup and kind of spoil the party in BC and be that team they're going to need to win the division it's going to be real tough to get on the road uh and that's and that's an advantage that I don't know if anybody else in the West can replicate um I think a lot of the data and the stats would say they can't um you know we'll see that crowd be impactful this weekend in the banjo Bowl against the skatan um but as they continue this quest for first place this could be an absolutely pivotal week um but as we've said and Michael Shay would be the first one to uh to tell you we're not paying attention to anybody else we're minding our business and as cliche as it sounds we're looking to go one and0 this week you look at the standings hus the bombers 4-2 at home 2 and four on the road you know BC 4- One at home 2 and five on the road a home field advantage in the playoffs going to be absolutely huge and I think the bombers have a position to not only host a playoff game but win the West after starting 0 and four when you know the panic button was definitely being pushed here early on in the season um really really impressive what they've done and part of it is the defense um they're second in the league in points allowed Montreal is first with the least they have played one less game uh but I mean the defense has really come on the offense some questions there you know mostly if Zach isn't there how are they going to score points but he's back practicing with the ones today and they're I think they're still looking to find it for a full 60 you know you saw they were rolling along early last game and then he got hurt and then they kind of just I don't know put it in neutral and just tried to run the clock out uh we'll see how it goes on Saturday afternoon against aatan but I mean all the talk about their great defense had you know hasn't really looked so great and they're on a big losing streak here they need to snap at us or sorry winless streak because there was a tie in there but uh I I'm curious how this rematch is going to go and you know all eyes on bombers practice and the injury report you know number one story is Zach and you're going to be talking a lot about the hit on CFL 110 and Jeff had a big rant on it yesterday posted on our X feed um but seems like he's going to be okay and we'll see if there's any you know I don't know or anything like that I don't I don't think so I don't think anyone's going to do anything too stupid but hey it's a rivalry game people get emotional stuff certainly happens but uh and big one for the West you know big week for the West Division coming up starting Friday well and of course the bombers are on the practice field today and uh we've got some good news uh Zack keros is out there and he is taking first team reps um he all expectations are he will start the game on Saturday afternoon and that is great news for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers he looked uh he looked great uh for the most part in that first half before being knocked out on that very controversial hit that got a lot of people going like Wade Miller after the game and Hammer yesterday on the program um the other bit of great news and I don't know whether we hadn't really heard that this was likely to happen Remo is that the offensive line getting a little bit of help now it's not stle Bryant he was not on the field um imagine he's still recovering from you know the the sickness the dehydration everything that happened in the Hamilton game that surprisingly had him not make the trip to Regina but Pat newfeld is back in practicing at Right Guard and Patty was obviously before he left the lineup and missed the last few games was really really struggling with injury um you know if he comes back anywhere close to 100% that is a big big boost for a bomber offensive line that has been performing valiantly without some of their key veterans uh but man they could use Patty back and um he was built for games like the banjo bow and the Rivalry against the Saskatchewan Rough Riders um that's going to be very a very positive development for Winnipeg and even more positive if Stanley big 66 is back on the Princess Auto field helping protect Zach colos as well yeah Pat newfeld former CFL Allstar um you know having him back at full health would be big Stanley Bryant as well but the you know they've they've played well in times where hey maybe you think they shouldn't Randolph he stepped up uh for sure this year at times so um sounds like they're getting some bodies big hill see you know Jeff said this yesterday seems like he's going to be out more longer term and you wonder what the future is for him but uh nice to see Stanley Bryant back uniform one other player not practicing uh lucky Whitehead he was injured in last game and then came back for that huge punt return and you know the return game just hasn't been there this season after losing Jerian Grant I thought Lucky's coming and and definitely well he had the longest punt return of the year for them last and you you nailed it that was that was a kind of a sneaky important play that I think maybe was missed um you know by a few but I mean it absolutely was a huge part of you know the field position battle putting them into field goal range and allowing the bombers to hang on by the skin of their teeth and escape with that 35 33 win so um we'll have some fun talking about just the environment the scene out on the weekend and setting up the banjo bowl with Rod Smith a little later on uh and then we'll talk to Nick demsky before we dive in to CF 110 so Mara Tesh is going to join us and we'll talk some jets look ahead to training camp uh we know now about the rookie Camp Remis a week Friday the rookies will get going Friday September 13th to Monday September 16th and then it's off to the young Stars tournament do they still call it that in pen tikton the youngstar tourament yes yes they do uh pen tikton uh the young Stars September 13 to 16 11th edition of the event I remember when they had it the Jets you know when the Jets returned turn so uh exciting stuff we'll get to see players in uniforms the Jets do play that evening 6:00 p.m. and uh pretty exciting I mean the countdown is on us cting down a training camp we're seeing players in uniforms I you know around the corners are they not doing a rookie Camp here in Winnipeg first before so the tournament is the week is the 13th to the 16th yeah I I mean I'm assuming they're going to come in next week and have a couple practices yeah yeah yeah that I'm sure they they'll get the guys out to skate they'll kind of get them do presumably testing and some of those things will happen beforehand um so really like a week today um you know a bunch of the the the young players will be here getting ready to show what they can do including Braden joerger um I would assume Lambert chiov I mean those guys will be able to come in play a lot play prominent roles get their confidence up going into the big Camp speaking of chiov he was uh involved in that uh was it the Upper Deck NHL PA rookie showcase over the last day or so yeah so they bring all the players in they're in near one of the capitals practice facilities get pictures of them for the you know Upper Deck uh Young Gun set I think EA Sports getting some head shots you know a lot of talk about Matt feay mitkov being there and I was I was curious who's the Jets rookie you know Connor Bard's there um the Sharks celebrini and Will Smith are there you know just doing media getting promotional stuff down I was like who's the Jets guy going to be cuz I don't really think they have uh a big rookie this year but it's Nikita chiov he's there and he hey he came into a game at the end of last year uh you know got on the score sheet but I wonder if they brought him in you know to here he is what with Ivan is this Mir nenko I forget who this was let me just double check uh yes Ivan miros shenko here he is uh interpreting he's also helping om mitkov as well so bringing some of the Russian players together and I mean hey I think you talk more with morat later but maybe he is a player who can make an impact at training camp um you know and get a call up at time you know at time he had a nice season with the Moose last year he did get rewarded at the end it's a guy who's kind of been off the radar you know we talk about Lambert making an impact you talk about joerger you talk about hanala I haven't heard a lot chiot and maybe he slips sneaks in there well and I think part of the reason is that you know he wasn't a first round pick and he's not a guy that I think projects to being you know a top six player in the NHL but he certainly has you know a package that could come in and be a very important and effective player for a National Hockey League team like he was for the Manitoba moves last year and I'll just say this for a minute Remis we remember him coming here last year and staying here through the summer so he could work on his English I mean he really did seem committed to coming to North America and doing everything he could to put himself in the best position to succeed and for players from overseas especially Russians um you know in an organization without a lot of them you know the ability to communicate is incredibly important I I can't say how impressive it is that this young man is there acting as an interpreter for some other players at this rookie showcase based on just how far he's come with his English over the last year and a half or whatever it's been yeah it's certainly an interesting aspect of that I don't know maybe I was getting Santa Claus I'm like oh I mean he's going to sign with the Flyers when he gets a chance so we can be teammates with with mitov is that the world that I'm in where I think every young player I gotta be honest I I don't believe a thing a player says anymore after ruer he's tainted all press conferences going forward what he said about the there's a few snake oil salesmen in the game I think that is true and in a lot of ways I mean I think teams and agents coach uh individuals to be shall we say less than honest with the media and the fans at times um but listen there's a lot of there's a lot of great players and a lot of great individuals just in this organization um you know that I think have been you know kind of on the other side of that the Adam Lowry's the Josh Morris's and hopefully jger he certainly seemed that way when he joined us uh on the program a couple Fridays ago after being traded from the Winnipeg Jets um but anyways morat's going to join us in just a few minutes CFL 110s coming up at 35 we'll look forward to bringing the hammer in for that um I do want to give Murat Ates of The Athletic a big thanks to our friends at ry's transfer as we get into the fall if you have an upcoming move uh limit the stress of the move with the white glove treatment from our friends at roley's transfer the most trusted name and moving in Manitoba familyowned and operated for over 60 years and of course they're around the province every single day they've got an extensive Logistics business which means for you and your family flexible timing flexible roots and a great price on your next move from a company that has been trusted for into seven decades now of getting manitobans to their next stop what you're going to want to do is go to ry.com they've got a great website it's just been relaunched recently and if you click up in the top right 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they're also the leaders in small engine parts and repair pop by and see them open at their showroom which is open to the public $395 NAA Road East and uh you can check out more on Consolidated Supply and everything they've going on today at c.ca and uh hey we're not ready to even start talking winter yet there still is some nice weather and a full month of September into October to enjoy so when you are hitting the trails on an ATV or going camping or getting back out in the boat know that all your battery needs are covered with one trip or even a call to Manitoba battery and then when it's when the winter when the Winter's uh comes and we're needing to take care of the cars and trucks that's your number one stop as well two locations Logan Avenue and of course dovercourt Drive their new location in the South End of the city the biggest and best selection of batteries in town with the best prices period beating the pants off the big box stores you can count on that you can also count on the best service in town because if you're busy and can't make it down to Manitoba battery no problem they will deliver your batteries to you for free anywhere inside the perimeter on any purchase over 60 bucks it's just that easy give them a call today pop by in store or shop online at Manitoba battery.com keep it local and get the best deals in town all right lots of CFL talk in hour two of the program but uh let's bring in Mara Tesh as we get closer to training camp and of course the youngstars tournament in pen tikton what's going on how are you hey hus doing doing quite well happy to be back for around two post vacation getting into the swing of things I was just about to say you know now that you've been back for a week or or a bit you know are you are you back into the groove or on the other side of Labor Day weekend does it feel like the structure of the season is just around the corner yeah for sure like there's a little while of getting back where sort of a lot of it's just catching up on information and everything that's gone on and the Rucker mcgi thing sort of did end holidays early but then there was a bit of a pause sort of getting myself together and now I've got you know that cool Peretti analysis piece uh where's that heading what sort of numbers make sense how does he fit in compared to past jesss at his age and I got that up yesterday so to have the conversations that come with it the comment section the Twitter stuff like now it feels real now it feels like there's a season around the corner and uh and J fans are ready for it well this has certainly been a topic that we've kicked around quite a bit this summer and it has not uh we don't have any Clarity on it yet because he is still on signed listen just before we dive into that I wanted to ask you about Nikita chiov uh because chiov was just at we're just showing a video of him acting as a translator for one of the other Russian players I have to just say how impressive that is that this young guy who basically came here to try to really you know dive into the team the organization and the culture is in a place where he can actually act as an interpreter very very impressive and he had a really really good season last year interesting that he that he's at this event Moran but um when we when you think about Nikita chiov and his prospects for this year um what are the chances that he plays significant NHL games this year and what do you think he would have to do to be in the mix in training camp to earn a spot yeah he's one of those guys Nikita chiov who people sleep on I think there's a couple alas salamonson would be another one where unless you've been paying close attention to what he's been up to of late at the pro ranks you might look at his draft slot and underestimate just how good this player is I think chiov is is just like that a player who's actually developed a more well-rounded Pro game than you'd expect for a player of his age drafted where he was uh one of the things that impresses me about him at the Moose level for sure started at Camp last year and I'm sure he's done it his whole life but really camp for the Jets and then into his moose season is where I picked up on it is his plays getting pucks out and getting Pucks in he does a lot of little things that are pro ready you know everybody talks about the shot he has plenty of offense and you know if it weren't for Brad Lambert I think the hype train on Nikita chiov would be even bigger coming out of his move season last year because he produced but there are just Pro elements where he'll eat a check to make sure a puck gets out or in uh he's willing to make body position plays that put his team Ates in better positions there are just little things I think that contribute to him being an impact Pro Player and then the question is how ready is he for the NHL at that level I think that even if you're say Brad Lambert who's approaching with a lot of speed and and a lot of hype and even no matter who you are the Winnipeg Jets um are not necessarily going to offer the most opportunity to young players this year I think the forward group is pretty deep and a lot of veterans are returning so I'd be surprised if he carves his way into a half season let's say with the Winnipeg Jets I wouldn't be surprised if he comes up and plays games and looks good when he does sort of setting the table for next year being his real platform year um but all of that said like he's one of those players that's become a favorite for me because I like when guys do the little things that the blue lines that like that's the stuff that shows up in the fancy stats at the end of the day it leads to offense for other players and it's rare for somebody that young and that offensively minded and talented to probably have that in his game at the pro level and I like that I'm sort of almost pulling for that skill set to succeed you know just listening to you talk about chiov it kind of gets me thinking about a a a bigger topic that I'm not sure we really have the answers to yet Marat and that is how's Scott arneal as the new head coach and his coaching staff we going to look at not just his young players but all of his players and what might be defining traits of particular guys that maybe put them ahead of others when it comes to competition for spots in Camp yeah that's going to be one of our learning lessons right um I tend to assume and it's this would not be borne out necessarily by facts but I tend to assume that coaches gravitate towards safe players and players who maybe represent the best of themselves when they were players so I don't know if you've got insights into Scott AR Neal's like Peak era you know as a as a Winnipeg jet or even in other stops in his career in terms of what the what the best version of that player could be but that's fun um the thing that I think about when a when a new coaching staff takes over also is that they have so much on their plate they have so much on their plate and um you know there there may be systemic adjust ments we know that there's this you know Summit that was meant to take place and should be wrapped up by now in terms of reevaluating what sort of data winipeg uses and sort of exploring all these other angles and there's also like the big rocks the big priorities like getting your aces in their places making sure Mark shley is scoring making sure Kyle Connor is getting good opportunities making sure Connor hu's getting into a good Rhythm such that how does a team integrate its Nikita chiov I wonder if that falls so far down the priority list for a guy who's sort of looking to make his mark on uh a lot of the bigger picture items and keep this a playoff competitive team and all that sort of stuff um and so I wonder if that puts it even more on the player than in other situations to prove that they you know they don't cheat back checks they do things that make coaches happy they for check aggressively they like they lay the body they make space for their teammates and all that sort of stuff it's a clean slate it's a fresh start and also the coaching staff has so many bigger fish on their mind that I just think that the onus is really on the player to take as much advantage of it as possible that's the hot take I don't know how it'll play out well yeah and again you know we listen Scott you know he knows many of these players and you know guys like Lambert and chiov I think might be in an advantageous position in in this case as opposed to a brand new guy coming in that really didn't pay attention to the Moose last year that wouldn't have connections that wouldn't be talking about where those players are at and of course wouldn't have seen them make their National Hockey League debuts in that final game where they both really you know stood out and played uh played a really solid brand of hockey um before the playoffs uh began and they ended up going back to the Manitoba moose so those players will be um they'll have many eyes on on them when uh when we dro the puck at training camp but maybe no one more so in the top six than Cole Peretti and where he fits next year um but before we start talking where he fits is he going to be playing Center is he going to be on the wing who his linemates are going to be uh he's got to be assigned he's got to have a contract with the uh with the Winnipeg Jets and I mean first off first off before we even talk about where things are at are you at all surprised that it's taken this long he's certainly not the only one and we've seen some some bigger names I mean Mor cider looking for a huge deal Lucas Raymond I mean to name a few that aren't done and historically Marat many of these deals get done right in and around training camp but it just seems like we're on a we're on a very similar path for Cole yeah I'm sort of of two minds there the the first one is you look at Winnipeg's own history and I remember that year when both Patrick l and Kyle Connor needed new deals and that wasn't until can you know you get Josh morrisy Andrew cop Neil pan I think also later in summer maybe pan wasn't as late if I memory but there's a lot of situations where it's been a September deal and you know even those Juggernaut Juggernaut contracts that doesn't make sense but those enormous contracts that chle and heluk signed last year on the eve of the season I mean that's a situation where you know Kevin shev off and the Winnipeg Jets don't really mind when that deal gets done as long as they have confidence that it does at the same time like you you point around the NHL at Cedar and Raymond and and some of the other players and I wonder if you know a common reason why things might drag is if there's you know some different contract expectations from players who have really uh really blown up or or had really massive step forward Seasons or put together an awful lot of offense and you know Cole Peretti has a lot of strong underlying numbers there's a lot of reasons to think that this is a top six producer a lot of a lot of good arrows a lot of good signs but because of minutes because of injuries but most recently because of minutes he doesn't have those enormous totals and I'm thinking like shouldn't that be an easier deal to get done like if you're leaning hard into it if you're Kevin shovel day off like if you're if you're having those conversations every single day I would think that that would be easier and and I think what's probably happening is just that they're they're not pounding at this table every single day because they're comfortable it will get done that's my read of the situation is that it will be sometime you know days weeks from now it will happen at or before Camp uh it won't be an extremely contentious situation between player and Club but I think part of that Comfort is actually leading to the delay in terms of getting you know a an obvious player to sign and uh part of the future skating with shley and morrisy and Lowry like this is a guy that's part of the culture and I don't think anybody should be concerned about a Maori skit or anything crazy so um yeah I think that it's just may be so comfortable on especially the Jets perspective that it's taking a bit of time well I I think there's also something to be said for letting the rest of the market sort of develop um because I think for both sides those comparables are important I mean for some of his contemporaries and again you know he'll have different minutes played and and games but we've seen londell and Byfield take longer deals and then maybe most interestingly is this deal that Seth Jarvis signed with the Carolina Hurricanes that you talk about in the piece he got an 8-year extension I don't know if you want to get into the the novelty of the Deferred money I think what is it almost 16 million is deferred money in signing bonuses means it's actually paid out after the contract and certainly I think most agents and players they want the money now so they can do whatever they want with it it was it was certainly a unique contract I don't know whether we'll see many others follow but just quick thoughts on the Jarvis deal the length of it and you know what that might say for a potential deal longer than a two-year Bridge deal for Cole Peretti if the and the Jets wanted to go down that route yeah first and foremost credit to the Carolina Hurricanes for being creative I think that that's my biggest takeaway just sort of League wide is I don't know I didn't even know this option existed prior to the Seth Jarvis contract and I know that they tried it a little bit in a smaller fashion earlier in the year but I I didn't clock that so the the idea that you can give Seth Jarvis you know a salary every year and then after the term of the contract has ended years later still receiving signing B bonuses so he's still getting paid but that doesn't become part of the cap hit on this that's creative and so go hold on a second so he's getting 7.42 an aav but the 15.67% yeah that's a good question and I should have read that before this my understanding and it's not a perfect understanding so this could be inaccurate I understand that that money does get counted uh as part of the cap hit but not but there's like a formula to reduce the value of it so if it's is it 15.6 that you're saying yeah that not all of that will get added to the the total value of the contract to go into the aav formula there'll be a discounted version of it which does serve to lower the capit even though he's getting all that money later so um the idea is like you said we all want our money now instead of later well I think the way that the formula works for this is also acknowledging that saying that that money later um you You' take a you take less now and still be happy and I think that that works out in in terms of how the calculation is made it serves to reduce the cap hit but I don't think the money disappears entirely um and I think I'd need to read it to any more clear than that I understand if that's sort of awkward speech on my part listen the fact that it's new and very rare I don't know if anyone's got a full total grasp of it right now but um it certainly is unique and I mean tolsky and the guys they've got working there are pretty creative thinkers so credit them for doing it um we'll take away the nuances of the deal um I would Peretti compare to Jarvis when it comes to you know legitimately you know making demands and falling in like I think we all agreed that he's probably going to be upwards of six if this number is beyond six years and certainly if you're looking at a seventh or eighth year deal which is prime time for those players um H how do you compare Peretti and Jarvis just from a hockey standpoint if you were if you were arbitrating if you will for sure it's this is fascinating to me this is a situation with a lot of angles and you know I think anyone's final opinion just depends on what they prefer in a player but you go back to Junior and the reason why Cole Peretti was taken three spots above Seth Jarvis in the 2020 draft like Cole Peretti was offense in the bank uh he had one of the most dominant second halfes to his draft season in junior hockey there was just a production level that Cole Peretti had that Seth Jarvis didn't match in and I think that that's true year-over-year uh throughout their junior age careers so it justifies the draft spot to be sure it makes sense they're both you know quote unquote undersized players they're both sub six feet and not particularly heavy players um and so for that reason you have Peretti ahead of Jarvis and probably that specific thing that Cole Peretti does well that hockey IQ where he makes reads on the ice faster than other players even at the NHL level and then he puts pucks into dangerous areas at the right time like that leads to point production and a on a per minute basis it leads to as much Point production as as Seth Jarvis has put together at the NHL level so if he's as productive per minute why is Seth Jarvis getting all this ice time why is he put together a platform year before this summer where he scored over 30 goals and 30 assists he's just so productive playing alongside Sebastian AO in Carolina and just being so productive like I said getting all that opportunity and and so part of the pie is that Carolina has done a better job of integrating their young player alongside higher end Talent with more consistent minutes with more minutes period a little more grace I would say for when the when the player isn't producing and then part of that of course would be Seth Jarvis's own qualities as a player and um it maybe he's finding more uh use of his speed which would be an advantage that he has over Co Peretti in the NHL there might be a better translation in terms of his growth he might be a late bloomer and there's you know the sky the limit for the player as well what's clear is that total minutes and total points wise Seth Jarvis came from behind Peretti throughout their youth and you know even into their beginning of the NHL time and now he surpassed them and for me I think that that leaves us room to criticize sort of the benchings the the lack of time even when Peretti has scored 19 points in 21 games I think it was to start last season you're still being pulled off the ice like I don't think it is the most development focused approach to the player and Carolina deserves its credit there but so does Seth Jarvis and let's let's not eliminate that all that to say though it's fair that Seth Jarvis is making more money than Co Peretti on their next deal I don't think Co Peretti's cap hit approach is 7.4 mil no matter what the length of it is yeah I'm sort of with you uh with you as well and you know what from from Peretti's standpoint and and the more I think about this and I know there's a lot of people that say no this is just going to be a bet on yourself two-year deal I mean you made a great point on the program before you went away that you know you can do that but again there's money being left on the table that probably will be made up later on but there certainly is no guarantees and if we look at where Cole Peretti is right now you know going into this year he's 22 years old like an 8-year deal is a big commitment because it takes you on the other side of 30 and we talked a lot about this like when Mark shley was signing his contract and you know and Connor heluk like if I'm Peretti's agent I'm actually quite open to doing longer of a two-year deal but I don't think I'd want to get it to eight because the a perfect time for a player like Cole if he's going to get his money now and you know say instead of three and a half six right now but it goes for six years I think it serves a dual purpose and the winipeg Jets are happy because they buy a couple years of unrestricted free agency but for Peretti he gets to that point at 28 years old which to me is a much more advantageous time to be potentially hitting the market or signing a long-term extension than if you're 30 years old in today's NHL I don't think that's going to change over the course of the next six years yeah it's an interesting one because we're projecting and we're we're guessing and I think that like my stance is that Cole Peretti is likely to produce like a top six forward and a first unit power play player over the next several years like I think that that I see enough there eye test wise math wise that's all in the piece I think it's well laid out it's I really recommend the read um I see that happening and then this it's a case of well how is this player type going to age how is um How is is the timing of his Market situation going to impact that next deal one of the reasons why if I'm advising Winnipeg right now I'm at least saying be open to a long-term deal is if P Peretti signs for two years right now I think that he's entering a situation in the top six with power play time and I really like his vision to produce with those guys and there's a numerical argument for it as well I think he's going to make you pay on that deal he signs when he's 24 so that's one element of timing that I think I think I would be advising take that six million make it for term but then the question is how long I think that reasons that Peretti might age really well and that's it's not a risk is that um when I look at players who I mean these are Edge case examples like you know Blake wheeler to a certain degree but the let's go even more Edge case than that like a Leno Messi a LeBron James a um a Tom Brady well one of the things that in addition to having bodies that aged well and the great care they took is these were cerebral players the these were IQ players they weren't necessarily were producing simply by bulldozing their way to certain situations and so I'm like okay well if Peretti ends up in good spots on the ice I trust the Aging version of him years down the line to put Pucks in good spots I don't think that that skill set goes anywhere it's a question of longevity based on okay we've seen him get injured a couple of times and there's a question you know people will always have fears about his size for me it's foot speed and uh I think he's approaching NHL average in that regard can he keep it there is there a risk of you know early 30s when that explosiveness goes away is he below average again he's not getting into those spots for me the the the dial where I where I worry about his performance falling off isn't quite yet at 28 it's a little bit later but if you're if you're him trying to maximize money that contract that you signed at 28 people are buying really productive years still I don't know I think I just thought out loud a whole bunch but I don't know what the answer is and hopefully there's still some value in thinking about it well one thing I I I I'm quite sure of is I've heard some people suggest a five-year deal there's no way I I don't think the Winnipeg Jets do that I mean they're either doing two years and then Crossing this bridge again potentially you know with arbitration in the mix which is not something I think the team would want for a player a prospect of Cole's of Cole's level um but also if you're going to be doing the ension you want to be getting at least 2 years of unrestricted free agency I think they might prefer seven or eight for obvious reasons I think from the Peretti Camp I still think about that number at 28 because marro I'm sure you'll agree I mean players going to regardless of what their numbers and what they've done at that point it really does seem like the NHL with the importance of younger players right now views guys on the other side of 30 a little different than they would right in their Prime at 28 27 and obviously there are a few exceptions of players that are just legit superstars of which I don't think Cole's uh you know close to being being there yet but I mean to me six or seven if the Jets were making it happen would be kind of that sweet spot that they'd want to get in and and from a Peretti Camp I think you're looking at kinding of go five or six and that's why to me a sixe deal if it's not two is what probably makes the most sense on both sides yeah you know what I think key thing to remember too is that I'm expecting for fetty to be open to a long-term deal as well like I I think this is a player who who's Rel like you know there's a story that that I wrote last year about the bond that has formed between shley and Peretti and the mentorship there and things like that and I'm certain that you know as they're skating together this Summer that you know there's there's a real sense that he's become part of or could become as time goes by part of that real core of you know these these jet who the organization really prioritizes the low's the morrises the the shiple the the cultural fit there I think is really strong and I think there's there's a lot to that I think that the possibility of a of a long-term deal really depends on Winnipeg's willingness to to expose themselves to risk of going with that higher aav now I think that that's really what what that would sort of boil down to I think if you're thinking down the line you're buying his years from 28 to 33 some someday later you probably assume that that's quite a productive player still um and to your point about just The View on on NHL players on on the wrong side of 30 it's I I think that's true and I think that that's the trend and I think that there's still so many cases of of that being ignored if you consider Winnipeg's own history with Blake wheeler or Mark shley um where probably they're going to be inefficient contracts as the player enters their mid-30s like I think for the right people at the right tier Winnipeg still willing to to run that risk I don't know if it yet views Peretti that way in fact I'm fairly confident they still want to wait and see and make sure that um he puts together those end of season totals that that he's probably capable of and I think that's part of why there isn't an obvious long-term deal already signed um you know one of the one of the best parts of the piece um uh over in the athletic is looking at the other second contracts for some of the other jet at stars including Mark shley um you know shley was 23 when he signed that 8-year extension that ended up being one of the best value contracts in the entire National Hockey League from a team perspective eers went 7 by6 at 21 years old Kyle Connor got 7.7 by 7.14 at 22 and what was really interesting Morad is just looking at how similar the five on five points per 60 are for C Peretti compared to you know these players that you know are big time stars on the Jets that ended up really getting paid for long term yeah that's one thing whatever you think of the player type whatever you think of the style of play um you know there are CR criticisms available to you based on size and speed the guy has produced just like the previous generation of Topline caliber Winnipeg Jets forwards and I think that that gets lost people look at the end of season point total goal total you know oh 19 goals I think you fall short of 20 by you know a few minutes of ice time um and you think well okay well maybe he must not be as good as those guys were were as dangerous offensively I think that the Gap in public perception between what Cole Peretti is capable of offensively H sorry between public perception and what he is capable of I think that Gap is bigger right now than it may be at any point in the future because I really see that iceon opportunity coming this season under Scott arneal with this particular Jets group I see the production happening I see uh I see some bumper spots for him on the power play I see some first unit looks like there's a lot of reasons that over the next few years whether it's immediately or two years from now this guy is going to put together the offensive end of year totals that everybody's hoping that he will and because he hasn't and that's a minutes and games play thing and you know it's a minutes per night thing as well I don't think perception is high enough when you go points per minute five on five he's up there with the Kyle Connor Patrick Lon Nikolai eers and Mark shiles and that should be celebrated there's a there's an argument that okay well you can sort of see well L had a shot obviously that no one else has that Connor had his hands at the speed that he moves at nobody else has that Nikolai eers can absolutely fly no like you can point to these things where you're like they they felt like safer bets perhaps and maybe there's some trepidation about Peretti as a result of that I really think that hockey sense is just a little bit harder to name and I think he's on track to be that top six productive forward and and I he may not have done enough yet to earn a really big deal and maybe that's to the Jets advantage and Credit in this situation because I think he'll produce over the next several years of his life if not on that level as those guys close to it and I think that's a good player to have in your top six what what do you make of just his season last year because as I say we look at all these underlying numbers they're quite good he had that great start there's no getting around the fact that he absolutely did hit a wall and really struggled for a pretty extended stretch though in the second half of the year yeah I mean all those things are real I I think that like my memory of that first half of this season is a lot of Point production playing with a lot of good players putting pucks into dangerous places it it was a really impressive thing I remember thinking okay well third periods he's getting sad certain defensive leverage moments he's getting sad I thought that it was sort of a kid gloves approach and I wondered how it it would influence the player's confidence I don't know if it did I don't know if it didn't I thought it was a bit gentle but it made sense from a veteran coach who was taking one last swing at a Stanley Cup he doesn't care about two or three or four years from now he does because he's a good guy but like his number one priority is on the moment in front of him and I think that there were some win now decisions made just defia so but with some costs there and I think that Cole Peretti's first half probably Justified more minutes than he got that second half collapse yeah there's you don't like that you don't like to see that from the player um you don't like to see that that production go away again then you get into the the Flatout benchings and I think that that'll hurt a young players's confidence as well I think that the the treatment was just volatile enough that I think all but the most stubborn and steadfast of young players would be affected by it and also the slump was was there and you know you can make those arguments as well the other thing that flies under the radar and you know there's a there's a commenter at the athletic actually that shared it I think Ian was his name um that amongst NHL players last year Cole Peretti got credited for some of the fewest secondary assists same with Gabriel vardi actually he was one of the most productive primary points players goals and primary assists and there's a lot of reasons there's a lot of indicators to believe that you know the things that are most repeatable offensively he did well again so what do I make of a season it was a mixed bag but I really think the indicators are there that this is probably an impact offensive player particularly if he plays with good ones alongside himself well speaking of playing with good players um another reason why I'm looking forward to training camp in particular is just seeing how things look and how things are different with Scott arneal as the as the head coach and I've been thinking about this and talking about with Pals just when we're having a couple beers and kicking around Jets topics do you see a fit potentially with Mark shley at some point for Cole Peretti hey um I kind of do uh on paper I do and Mark shley is a linemate that Cole Peretti has had right if you go back a season and a half or so there's that Peretti shle wheeler line that was actually quite productive for a short stretch there there was some things to like about those two players in working together there's a hockey sense sort of timing play protect the puck put the puck into the middle that you can see that developing if you do play shley and Peretti alongside each other you hope that you've signed him long term because those Point totals are likely to explode like that's that's a situation where his end of season numbers if he plays a lot with shley now you're looking at that you know that I don't know 25 35 25 goals 35 assist type of season if you get consistent minutes alongside a player like Mark shley so that's that would be productive and it would be a concern for whatever contract he signs next if you're the winter Peg Jets I think just based off of like I'm sure Mark shy would be delighted to play with Co Peretti but when I talked to Mark Schley about his playing style and about uh player playing styles that he liked last year he really lit up always when talking about Kyle Connor we know that but Gabriel valard as well and I think I think that Connor shle valard line which did get beaten badly in terms of five on five metrics because the backchecking wasn't there there was some assignments missed the goals against were higher than you'd like I don't know that we've seen the last of it and that will be one of the challenges for Scott arneal especially coming out of this analytics Summit being like hey wait a second you know on paper these guys are a great fit but when we play them together we don't outscore other teams especially not like a first line should how much are we willing to lean into this and if they're not then Cole Peretti becomes you know a viable bump up to the to that Top Line spot especially if arneal takes a modern approach and looks at more of a productive top nine than a top six plus checking line type of utilization well for sure I mean listen I get it bones been around for a long time he had the guys that he liked playing together with and and I I would I'd be surprised if there wasn't you know some maneuvering inside the dressing room if you will of guys that have sort of really expressed like I really like to play I mean we've heard it from Mark a million times and we've been talking about eers and Connor about just how much he likes playing you know with Kyle how comfortable he is and you know obviously they've been great offensively but you can't ignore what hadn't been happening often enough and that was you know having a good enough goal differential to your point to you know justify being that first line that gets so much time because of what they were giving up as well and I would love to see through the preseason and even earlier on this year you know giving a few different looks um you know to those lines because as you mentioned you know with if you're thinking top nine but especially balancing out that top six there's definitely an argument and you'd probably be better off to do this with a long-term deal sign for col per fitti because I really do think that if he played with a mark shle and got even close to the minutes that usually are associated with schley's line playing with player like that and whoever else is on that Wing we could be talking about a guy that takes another significant jump up in production 100% 100% I mean one of the the great advantages to playing alongside Mark shley for just about any Winnipeg jet is that you're getting big minutes in good offensive situations and you've got a guy that makes plays like Mark cley does opening up space and and putting pucks onto your stick at dangerous times I think that most players and you know Co Peretti probably I could see that happening I would love to go back and look at the the numbers when they played together for that that stint especially with wheeler I think that they were productive my memory says that they were um Nicolai ERS is another guy that whenever he and shle played together Winnipeg outscores their opponents by a ton by a ton and it's it's a situation where um it I guess you if you're looking for ways to sort of exploit the skill sets that you have and and you're a new coach you you sort of need to balance the idea that you want everyone on board you need your big guns to really Buy in and and and really have a an enormous like you need to be pulling on the same rope as your big guns and also you probably want to put your stamp on things too by saying hey I've got these ideas and there's some new roots that we want to try you're not just going to do what the previous regime did even though you were part of it um I don't think any NHL hockey coach would would do that they all have ideas for what makes teams good and and they're going to be tweaks um yeah just get them on the ice I'm talking it through I just want to see it now yeah I'm uh I'm with you um listen it's going to be a real fun camp again the young Stars tournament is going from the 16th to the 13th in Penticton imagine the rookies will get here a day or two before that and then fly out and then main Camp the following week heading into Winnipeg Jets FanFest on the morning of Saturday the 21st and the first pre season game that night at Canada Life Center uh we're now getting down to the days until training camp and just a few weeks until we get going next month in the National Hockey League Marat great read folks get there to the athletic and check it out the title again is all about Cole Peretti projecting where the Jets and Peretti will land on a new contract some great analysis and comparison uh Marat great to have you back on the program enjoy these final few days before things get real busy coming up here in Winnipeg thanks for doing this thanks for having me H good stuff there's Mara Tesh great hockey conversation cannot wait for Jets season here on Winnipeg Sports Talk uh we're going to be talking to bombers coming up Rod Smith's going to join us in a few minutes uh and then Nick dempy will as well heading into CFL 110 of course all our bomber reports are brought to you by Princess Auto proud sponsors of the bombers and the home of TSN's Rod Smith the bom Princess Auto Stadium the biggest party of the year and that's saying something of Princess Auto stadium is going to be on Saturday afternoon the sold out banjo Bowl pregame gets going at noon before the 2:00 kickoff actually I think they might even be opening it up a bit earlier um if you're head to the game get to the Princess Auto tailgate Zone get a couple beers in you five bucks couple hot dogs in you 350 along with pop inflatables for the kids entertain M um and it should be a zoo there of both blue and green no better day of the year at Princess Auto Stadium than the banjo bowl of course Princess Auto headquartered and founded right here in Winnipeg with two locations to serve you Panet Road Portage Avenue West and you could it's always shop online 247365 for all the great deals at Princess Auto online at princess auto.com um and they better have a lot of Canadian Club on Saturday I will tell you that uh you know the bomber fans have been having a great time at the games this year and have been taxing the staff of the bartending locations throughout Princess Auto Stadium of course Canadian Club is the official Spirit of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers um and not only will uh the uh Canadian Club be flowing in the North End and throughout the stadium you can also get the Great Taste of Canadian club with ginger ale premixed cocktails in cans available throughout the stadium and it's also available wherever you buy your beer check out for Canadian club and ginger ale in cans at your local beer store and of course the entire Canadian Club family waiting for you for the weekend in the banjo bowl at your local Manitoba Liquor Mars um certainly I think you'd be having more fun on Saturday afternoon at the banjo Bowl than building a new fence if you do need to get a new fence up before winter just give the experts at Wallace and Wallace call they've been doing it since 1946 is the leaders in fencing and Overhead Doors if you need the security and protection of a new fence they've got you covered with vinyl ornamental welded wire chain link or wood fences and if you do have a need for a new garage door make sure to talk to Wallace and walls they've got the largest selection of overhead garage doors in Winnipeg certainly have the perfect match for your home and that can add value to your home as well give them a call at 4552 2700 the Wallace and Wallace team will arrange a time to come out and give you a free estimate you can also visit them at Wallace fences.com or pop down to their Showroom on laon Crescent off of keniston and uh Hey as we get into fall which is just around the corner guys if you're looking into your closet and realize that you need to step up your Men's Wear game get on down and see our Pals at F parol at 190 Smith Street they've got custom suits beginning at just 400 bucks along with chinos and golf pants amazing shirts custom shirts made to fit both tucked and untucked styles and the biggest and best selection of men's wear accessories in town if you are getting married next year or you're in a wedding party make sure to talk to the guys at F about a 15% discount when the wedding party gets their suits at F apparel suits that you can look amazing on the big day and then wear well beyond the nuptuals e apparel's at 190 Smith Street make an appointment for a f and find out more online at F that's e apparel.com all right let's get Remis back in here man that was a fun conversation with morat just getting me more amped up to get going for training camp when uh the Jets get back to town and even for the youngstars tournament yeah a lot of questions about col perfetti this season you know he was healthy scratch for a number of games last year but at times was among the Jets scoring leaders and what kind of step forward is he going to take uh and his contract what's it going to be you know he's currently unsigned will we have a hold out and is he going to sign a longterm you look at some of the comparable contracts signed this off season guys you know from his draft class you mentioned Seth Jarvis uh you know what is his contract going to look like and just going by who his agent is Kurt overheard and you know the challenges the Jets have had signing some of his players to Deals taking Andrew cop to arbitration Jacob trouba holding out I do think you're more likely to go for a bridge deal maybe he tries to cash in after uh it'll be fascinating how this shakes out but that seemed to be the one contract issue facing the Jets I gu that and Nikolai eers if he you know he's entering the final year of his deal do we have a Thanksgiving day extension announcement I'm going to have to Google what day that is has make sure I'm available I know I don't want to have any important family plans on Thanksgiving because say there could be a contract signing if things go like they did last year obviously I'm making reference if they sign Peretti I'll go back to Grand Forks and record another video in the Target produce section like last year when when huk and shle got the extensions just be careful when you say if they do this I will do this on the internet because people will hold hold you to that H just because you think something is unlike to happen doesn't mean uh that it that it won't happen but yeah we will need I can hit the Chick-fil-A and and pull that off and it won't be a big deal much uh unlike some other outlandish and outrageous claims on the internet that have not been followed through uh in in recent discourse in the last few days involving college football I will just leave it at that we're going to talk to the big guy Rod Smith on some CFL football coming up in just a second uh Rod of course was in Regina as many of us were in that incredible atmosphere at mosaic stadium watching one hell of a football game and that was just the first half of this incredible rivalry because the teams are back at it in the banjo Bowl Saturday afternoon 2 pm here in Winnipeg and Coast to Coast on CTV let's welcome in our pal Rod Smith from TSN Rod it is great to have you back on winipeg Sports St how was your weekend in Regina oh one a sec R I think we've just got you muted here we just got a um uh is that on our end re uh I'm trying to request I think it should be good now but now perfect Rod what's going on how's the weekend in how's the weekend in Regina really outstanding I've done a lot of games in Regina I've done a lot of bomber Rider games I'd never done a Labor Day game and so that was a that was a treat for me because it had like a just a little mini gray cup kind of buzz and I'm sure banjoo will have that too like around you know in downtown Regina it's a lot of bomber jerseys a lot of Rider jerseys and and I I I love that I love the Rivalry I mean there there are good ones I mean that one is said to be the best and I can't really dispute it the way fans were out for this thing the way they filled Mosaic Stadium um uh a when playful hate if you will for the for the two you know you know the two franchises stable franchises in the in the Canadian football league and it was it was neat to see under those circumstances I'll tell you the game really delivered too I mean it was it was exciting right until the end well it was and just to Echo your thoughts I mean it had been a couple years since I'd been back and we did a we did a tour with about 55 people I mean I think there was in total probably a good dozen plus buses that came down with bomber fans I mean and they were everywhere and you know if you were out in some of the bars on Saturday night I mean it was it was just there's nothing like it it it is sort of a mini gray cup and to me it's the most fun weekend of the year in the Canadian Football League outside of the gray cup and there's no better place to spend it in Regina because you know of the fun rivalry between the two clubs and people really do get together for the most part I was amazed I know we saw that one scrap on social media which blew me away because I did not even hear anything remotely close I I think part of the reason why some of the chirping was maybe down because I'm not sure either team was going in or either fan base with the utmost confidence I mean no you knew the bombers were going in to play a very good team that had been struggling in a tough spot and the riders for their part you know had had this great start should have won a few of these games but the fact of the matter they hadn't in and you know in some ways it was sort of nervous group but we did not see the nerves I thought from the teams especially in the first half I mean for everyone thought that this was going to be an easy under and the first team to 20 would win uh we certainly saw that narrative flipped in the first half because there were some great offense on both sides yeah there really was and you thought about you know both of these teams and what they've gone through so far this season I mean the bomber started at 0 and four the Riders started at 4-0 and at that point in time if you could have told me well by the time they beet on Labor Day it's going to be for first place not only is it going to be for first place but um they'll be like only a point apart of the standings I would have thought you were crazy but you know here we are and once again this banjo Bowl it's the same thing just flip it now Saskatchewan's a point behind Winnipeg and you know um we'll see it's it's close and I can't recall apparently it's just over 20 years ago the last time we headed into labor day where Labor Day where no team in the west was above 500 that's just crazy three teams in the East above 500 no teams in the west I mean a long long time since you could see something like that so yeah I can see both of these teams the bombers nicely bouncing back from a really tough start but the Riders I mean really wondering after going five- one and now sitting below 500 uh it's a really interesting Dynamic and not over yet looking forward to the game in Winnipeg as well well and to be honest I mean why I don't think well part of the reason why neither fan base went into that game overconfident at all and I don't think should be the case on the weekend is that like Saskatchewan and maybe everything is just settled where it should be and all these teams are really close I mean I would make that argument that that is where we're at right now and why we're going to have such an incredible final third of the regular season that we really haven't had in the West for a number of years but when I look at the Riders whatever six games without winning a football game they could have easily won that game on on Sunday both games against Montreal You could argue that they should have won I mean the one that they lost at home where lther missed the four kicks and the one got returned for a touchdown yes was honestly one of the most well-played quarterbacking games all year Trevor Harris was phenomenal in that game and yet they sort of found a way to lose and and that's what the bombers were doing earlier on this season BC had been doing a lot of that lately and now all of a sudden Edmonton's come out of the ashes and we've got two wins separating first from last in the west the one thing I think we can guarantee every game is going to be huge for the rest of the way if you're a western division team and it is going to come right down to the Finish Line yeah it will and and and a key for Winnipeg they've won the season series against BC that's big especially the last two games they played both wins where their defense was absolutely dominant um the only the only yeah but with the Lions is so they bring Matthew Betts back in that'll help their pass rush but Nathan Rook that was his first game he clearly uh was not as sharp as we saw in 22 he's progressively looked better so uh you know if if they're to meet again in a West final again how different would it be this time around especially depending on where the game is I mean obviously Advantage Winnipeg right now because they have the season series and big Advantage Winnipeg uh as far as the writers are concerned if the bombers beat him in the banjo Bowl then they won that season series as well so they have these tiebreakers and when things are that close in the west division if that continues down the way um huge for Winnipeg right now but and not to change the subject of what you're talking about I mean how is that Karis doing how how is Adam big hill doing right now they did win the game but couple of key losses on the field well for sure and uh there's good news and bad news the good news is that Zach is back at practice today leading the ones and they expect him to play right um there's serious concern that Adam big hill is going to be out a considerable amount of time and you know worries that maybe depending on his plans after the season that that could be it for Adam big hill I mean that guy's such a warrior he'll do everything he can like he did last year to get back on the field yeah we wish him well I will say this though this bomber defense which has frankly been a revelation Rod I mean we went in with all the money that they had had to spend put to Dalton shown put to Brady Oliva you know the thought going into the year was that well the bombers offense is still going to be elite but they're going to probably need to be winning 40 to 35 sometimes because of the changes on defense couldn't have been more reversed the offense has really struggled at times throughout the season although they sure looked good when Zach was coming in the first half against his Gan it has been the defense that put the team on their back for about a month coming out of the two and six loss and then we know how important defense is come playoff time in the Canadian Football League yeah and I look at the secondary in particular although they've had to you know you know Jackson Jeff goe retires they had to make you know changes up front too and some additions have worked out really well there linebacking core Tony Jones filling in for the injured Kyrie Wilson impressed with the play of Jones so far and the the way Shane goce has also filled in for big hill when he's had to as well Rea cramy and on you know with the the Sam linebacker spot but I look at the secondary biggest question I remember the opener in Winnipeg against Montreal and my biggest question was in the secondary on the corner with the Mario Houston leaving they have two new corners in Tyrell Ford and Terrell bonds and um they had a rougher one against the alett in that opener but that secondary has steadily gotten better and and those two corners in particular look at the play of uh a Ford I mean it it's been nice the way they've jelled in along with of course Brandon Alexander at safety and Evan Holm who might be an underrated like star in the Canadian football league and Dietrich Nichols as well so I mean I I think their secondary is a lot better now too and you're right that defense has really stood up well well and just looking ahead to this week I I mean like to your point we have been following every single game over the course of the last month and literally every single thing has broken the bombers way since they were two six Saskatchewan hasn't been winning BC hadn't been winning Edmonton was winning but at the expense of those other teams to bring everybody back into it and we were just talking earlier about this BC Montreal game and you know knowing how close it's going to be and the potential of tiebreakers Rod Montreal hosting coming off the buy hosting BC on that cross country flight yeah if Montreal can beat BC and the bombers get the win at home against Saskatchewan they essentially have a two game lead on both of those teams yes because Saskatchewan would be a game and a half back well again it the the season series won't really matter with Winnipeg and eskaton because eskaton has the tie but they would be more than a full game back and BC would be a game back and even if they got it on the bombers the bombers would still have the tiebreaker what's key about this is the bombers go to Montreal as well but in the last week of the regular season I think the way things are looking right now there's a high probability that the alet will be home and cooled and might not want to play their starters in that last game right so for BC this is a massive game to build off the Good Vibes of the touchdown Pacific game and keep up with the bombers um and listen the bombers just have to take care of business at home because that home and home coming up against Edmonton um all bets are off now when we're talking about the Elks absolutely the way Edmonton's going right now and look at what I mean so evon's uh won three of the last four or sorry four of their last five excuse me after losing seven straight to start and that one loss was in Montreal a couple of weeks ago where Boris Bey kind of let them down I mean they were they were they were in a chance to win that game and um you know their their kicking game LED them down but they had the lead in that one in the second half and monreal came back and that's no easy place for a visiting team to win um so yeah Edmonton is just a better team we saw that against Calgary on on Monday I mean um they're uh they're a bit of a wild card now I don't know what to think of the Elks I mean they're despite the record as long as they can get into the playoffs I mean they could do some damage I wouldn't take anything for granted against them anymore and and they by the way in their 0 and7 start had a lot of you know near misses too they they lost back-to-back games on the road in Toronto and BC within less than a week on walk-off field goals I mean they they were that close so many different times and just couldn't seal the deal so that's a good football team and they they have two quarterbacks that can make it happen I mean for all the talk about try for the way mccloud's been especially since Trey for got hurt has looked Dynamite so I mean uh that that one you're right about that I mean but but I agree with you about BC and Montreal as well absolutely huge um the Lions lost in Toronto they lost a close one in Ottawa I'm just talking about jumping those time zones going you know but they they did win in Hamilton although at a time when the ti cats looked absolutely in in disarray so that's a tough one for uh for BC but Nathan roor you got to admit does look a whole lot better with each game he is playing and William stanback I'm sure is going to be fired up going up against his old team back in Montreal coming off his best game of the season well listen I mean I I I have no doubt that Nathan roor and the BC offense is going to get theirs the big question for me when they go to Montreal is can they mix in a few stops I mean I know they did it against Ottawa Ottawa was missing their top two receivers they had the crazy travel all the way to the West Coast yeah I mean to me this I if BC can go in and beat the Montreal aletes that will be the statement game that they are back that that that four game losing streak is behind them um and they're poised to continue what they set out to do at the beginning of the Season which was out the West final at BC place and then play there the following week in the gray cup so um you know a huge start I have to ask you about Ottawa um it all year long people have looked at the a record and said oh yeah well whatever and just not really giving them the credit that I I think they've deserved by what they had earned and then we saw a really tough game last weekend and again we said they were missing a couple receivers how dangerous do you think the Ottawa redls are given you know their quarterback situation you know if Drew Brown is back in there and are they the biggest threat in the East to the aletes or is it the Argos although we didn't you know obviously lost to Hamilton but that's game you throw the records out every year I mean that's Labor Day a lot like the scatch and bombers and you've seen a lot of the East Rod I mean what do you make of Ottawa and and who is the biggest Challenger to the aloette to maybe do what the aletes did to the Argos last year when it was the Argos and then everybody else well that's a great question and it's very timely too because of who Ottawa plays this week and that's the Aros um Ottawa had one game against Montreal and they were blown out it was their worst game worse than the game in in Victoria it was they were never in it they fell behind like 30 to1 in the first half so that was really uh let's wait and see now since then they've won games including a game over Hamilton which was a walk-off field goal at the end one the ti cats thought they had the ti cats I think was back in week three and they the win they would look like the winning touchdown pass thrown by B by Mitchell in the final minute they left just a bit of time on the clock just enough for the red blacks to get back and close enough for L Ward so Ottawa won that game and I bring up Hamilton and Montreal because they're East Division teams last year the Ottawa red blacks did not beat an East Division opponent and they've hardly faced East Division opponents this year they have only faced Montreal the loss Hamilton the walk-off win so that's that's it and now they're going to have a whole lot of East you know in the final third of the Season beginning with the Toronto Argonauts coming off a loss in Hamilton but still looking respectable as they did the week before against the skatan when they won with you know Chad Kelly back at quarterback but there are a lot of other aspects to consider but the Argos too and I still think um I have I wonder about Ottawa I want to see Ottawa at home against the Argos I want to see how the red blacks handle coming off a loss uh up against an East Division opponent and they got to win those games within their division they're one in one um that's a huge game to me an absolutely huge game for the red blacks and the confidence that people should have in them to see how they do against the argonut you know it's funny you mention you know their their wins um because with it being so close you know I I often like to look at just the point differential from teams just to show how their strength of Victories or where they've been I mean and I mean the West is so tight I mean the bombers are plus 16 B and it's six and six BC's six and six they're plus four uh the Riders are plus eight um and then Calgary and Edmonton Edmonton actually has Edmonton has the best point differential in the west crazy they're plus2 obviously Montreal's been smashing everyone they're clearly the best team in the league but Ottawa is 73 and one and has a negative 10o differential crazy which shows you that they've won some nail biters and then got whooped a couple times and I'm with you I think this is the test and this game in particular I think is going to set the tone for the for the the the final third of this season for Bob dice's team I mean we love Bobby dice here great win a pig guy um and he's a great leader of men I think he's gotten a lot out of that um but man if they have injury troubles they're playing against some good teams and you know that the Argos are looking at this as a game that they have to have when they head to the nation's capital yeah they I mean they've been on the right side of these close games this year and they were on the wrong side of them they had a lot of close game talk about Edmonton before but Ottawa was losing games like that a year ago two years ago I mean but they they had walk-off wins let's see if I have this right uh they had a dramatic victory over the bombers in Ottawa after the weather delay they had the walk-off win over Hamilton they had a walk-off win in Edmonton they had a walk-off win in Calgary I mean these are all one two-point victories to your point they have had very close games they've been on the winning side and they're they're good football team don't get me wrong they are they look like a team that they're finding their way and they had that tie at home against the SC one in that crazy finish um so they are um no question a contender exactly I said how much better are they you have that stat about points I know it's it doesn't sometimes it just doesn't seem to add up so I really I I just I feel I need to see a little bit more from auttaa and even from Drew Brown I think is a really good Young quarterback showed that when he got his chance in Winnipeg and I I I think he's been a great addition the the best quarterbacking that they've had overall consistently since Trevor Harris in 2018 so but I said I'm I'm I'm very curious as to what happens in this game Ron what um what we've talked about all the teams that are sort of in the mix Calgary is still there but I mean what do you make of the stamps and are they playing for their season this week I could make an argument if they lose this game to Edmonton I don't see much of a path for them to be a playoff team I agree I agree and I wonder um you know I I I I I wonder about quarterback play as much as I like J May and his big play capability but consistency I wonder about um they've kind of just sort of flown under the radar in a bad way kind of f like Edmonton through through uh worse and now better I mean was just seemed to be more apparent with big plays everything else than Calgary was and and um it's finally coming to fruition for the Elks they're the team on the rise the stamp Peters stalling out and they've had a long they had a long break before playing on Labor Day what was it it 17 days I think it was between the Ottawa game which they lost on the final play and then this uh loss you know um an impressive win by the Edmonton Elks and so they got the rematch I'll be in Edmonton for that game I'll be curious to see how different the Stampeders look especially against an eon team that is just really coming on and you know you're talking about Winnipeg BC Saskatchewan and Edmonton and um if if those teams all you know keep going the way they're projecting right now that's bad news for the stamp peders no question especially if they're losing if they're going to lose back-to-back games to the Edmonton Alex Rod it it's been so much fun having you on the program listen just before we go um I saw a couple folks in the chat mentioning um Darren datian and I I always think of Dutch around Labor Day and the banjo bow he was such a proud Saskatchewan guy and you know was the uh was quite often the life of gray cup week um you know it's you know been a while since he passed but I know he's still in the hearts of everyone at TSN um do you have those same feelings when you look at the green and these big days and the big parties around these two weeks here on the Prairies and think about our old pal Dutch no kidding no question rather I I I you know being out there in Reina there nothing to people were really kind to coming up to me coming up to others working at TSN um you know especially in Saskatchewan just uh how sorry that they they are and were to you know to find out about touch and and that he that he's gone but I have fond memories several of working back in the old Sports desk days with him but then I worked a lot of great cups with him we used to do a show called great cup Saturday and great cup Sunday which is all day television after we've been out till late at night uh strictly for research purposes sampling the gray cup parties and everything else yes um so we'd have something only only because we'd have something to talk about the next day of course I mean it was um and and he was so much fun and he had he kept things light for all of us he certainly did for me I mean I think of all the times uh that he made me laugh and and I thought it was you know he'd been he'd been going through a hard time he missed an entire year in 2021 and uh he came back and started working again in the fall around Labor Day of 22 and he got a chance to host our great cup coverage in saskatch I'll never forget that I felt so good for him I felt good for all of us to see him back there in his home Province and up in the podium and the presentation and everything else and uh you know in light of how things went um after that um you know I'll never forget that moment and we all miss him but it was I was I was really appreciative that to see that he could come back and work that game no he was synonymous with the Canadian Football League TSN and the province of Saskatchewan I think back what what was the last time was it 2013 when it was in uh in Regina the uh the previous time yeah I mean I'll never forget the crowd around him and hedge in and around the stadium before the game and you know at this point I we' finished doing the shows all week I mean I was going in just as a fan with a bunch of friends to to take in the great cup and I mean you want to talk about a guy holding court but loving every second of it and having enough time for everyone and uh and hedge tells stories too about just you know being around with there with Dutch but you couldn't get him out of there because he was truly the man of the people anyways we missed him on the weekend we will again for the banjo Bowl this week and certainly a great cup but uh Rod thanks so much for doing this it was uh hell of a weekend and I have a feeling these two teams are going to put on another classic in the banjo Bowl on Saturday afternoon on CTV yeah I look forward to it D Dusty's gonna have the call of that one with Glenn suder and I'll be watching I I it's uh it's amazing how that's become just about as big as the Labor Day you know classic as well I mean and that stadium is you know at in Winnipeg is just so much fun to do a game at and uh it'll be a great atmosphere I'm sure well the best move they ever made a few years ago they moved that game to Saturday uh you know not going head-to-head with the first week of NFL I mean now Ryder fans you know they don't have the long weekend but at least with the game being on Saturday they've got the day to get back and get their life back together before having to punch the clock on on Monday so uh it continues to get bigger the game's been sold out for about a month oh yeah so uh um and you know just it is so great to see mean the crowd that we had here in Winnipeg against Hamilton there wasn't a ticket to be had it was the same situation in Regina last weekend and uh it's going to be the same case on Saturday so I was gonna say Hustler enjoyed I I had a good chat with Wade Miller the night before so last Saturday night the night before the uh the Labor Day game and I said to him um and I talking about the banjo Bowl looking forward to that too and I said it's just about as big as uh as the Labor Day game and he looked at me like just he goes it's bigger so I mean just the whole competitive side the Saskatoon versus Winnipeg and Riders bombers I mean it was aw but it but it is huge I mean it's so uh whether it whether it's actually bigger I mean I the attendance everything else it's uh too two great places to watch a football game and it's just a classic rivalry Rod uh you be well thanks so much continued great great CH and always hler Hey listen we appreciate the time maybe we can do this later on this season all the best to you and the Gang I still remember that I think the first time I met you and chatted with you years ago with Lawless it was always a good time no doubt about it and we'll see you in Vancouver as well cannot wait for that take care Rod take care byebye uh there's Rod Smith Coolbet Lines from TSN he had the call for the big win on Sunday and uh now uh it'll be Dusty coming in along with Glenn Suter to the game on CTV and again it's a 2 o'clock start party gets going around noon at the Princess Auto tailgate party one thing I know we'll see a lot of in the uh in the parking lot before the game is some of Winnipeg's favorite local beer Little Brown Jug I know my pal Pat raffell had his fair share of generics on the bus and in the tailgate beforehand we did bring out quite a bit of generic um and one of the great parts of generic is uh right now you can pop into your local beer store the eight packs of tall boys $ 1999 now they had that great special with the 12pack of generic and the 12pack of 1919 heading into the long weekend uh but that is now the everyday price of generic logger impressively standard as only Little Brown Jug can make it pick it up downtown check out their patio while you're there 334 William Avenue your local Manitoba Liquor marks and your favorite local beer store well tomorrow gang is NFL kickoff Friday we got an NFL game Saturday we got the banjo Bowl Sunday the Full Slate of NFL games whether you need to get your blue for the banjo bowl or whether you want to get the latest merch of your favorite team for NFL kickoff Royal Sports has you covered it is all there right now and um all the new Turf Traditions bomber gear is in looked amazing saw a lot of that out in Regina on the weekend um and of course the biggest and best NFL selection in town get down there and get ready for another huge weekend of football and the upcoming season of NFL and while you're at it for all you hockey players take care of everything you need to drop the puck on another season as Royal Sports is the hockey Superstore in town for over 40 years with the biggest and best selection of everything you need for a great season ahead pop by and CM 750 Pema Highway follow them on Insta Royal Sports Pema for La merchandise drops and sale information and don't forget not this weekend but the following weekend will be another world famous Royal Sports tent sale and the wait is over tomorrow folks we're back at Boston pizzas getting together with the gang for prime time NFL games nothing better than saddling up having a few ice cold Schooners some world famous BP wings and of course those guret pizzas watching the NFL and winning great prizes make Boston Pizza your headquarters with your crew for every NFL Prime Time game all year and if you are staying at home you can order online at Boston pizza.com Remo great stuff with Rod Smith man he was awesome yeah great talking with Rod what a great voice and uh finishing off with some nice memories of Darren Titian you know hard not to think about him when uh you know on saskatch one for Labor Day mentioning you know him being able to broadcast at the gr cup there and you know I tweeted this uh when he passed but my favorite TSN promo ever was the rodski and Dutch commercial it is on YouTube uh you know just a sports center uh grew up watching them so uh yeah great talk with Rod big week for CFL looking forward to that and I know we have Nick dempski coming up and had the huge touchdown on Sunday and I think really quieted down has a lot of the conversation about him we were having earlier in the season he had some you know unfortunate fumbles I mean and the bombers fumbling we haven't even talked about that you know when they were losing they were saying he hold on to the ball and I think that was something that was certainly easily correctable I think the interceptions you'd like to see that come down um Zach what did he he had one and the touchdown on the weekend so um some challenges going forward but yeah great great overview of the league there yeah well and and that's a nice little lead in because a number of those topics Jeff and I will be hitting uh on CFL 110 which is going to start about 3:15 after we finish up with Nick demsky listen while we wait for Nick to jump in in a few minutes let's get over to the cool bet lines right now and of course we've got a hell and this is just a perfect example of how tight the CFL has been all season long every line this week is three points or less uh the aletes are three-point favorites in that huge game against BC Ottawa minus one and a half against Toronto uh the rematch bombers Riders the Riders were two and a half Point faves last week the bombers are two and a half Point faves this week and the same two and a half number being hung on the Elks right now against the Calgary stamp Peters don't forget every week cool betters get to choose one CFL bet for a 20% win boost Pat myself on the back and I had uh the BC Winnipeg Edmonton moneyline parlay with that boost which was uh nice put about an extra $30 on the ticket which I appreciated just in time for NFL season um and listen we'll touch on a couple more NFL lines later on but don't forget if you if you've been playing at Kolb for a long time uh or a short time but you've already taken advantage of using the wst promo for a 100% bonus on your first deposit special promo heading into NFL season the NFL reload bonus if you bet 50 bucks you will get 100% bonus up to 50 for sorry if you deposit up to $50 they'll match that up to 50 go to the promotions code click on the bear in The Jersey you put in NFL RL 24 to take advantage of that uh 100% reload bonus up to 50 bucks over at Kolb join us in the lock shop tomorrow all of our CFL picks and then the big one on Friday our first NFL Best Bets show of the Season again that's daily at noon before Winnipeg sports talk over at uh at Edmonton Sports Talk Channel all right Nic Demski joins CFL 110 coming up at 3:15 but right now let's uh welcome in Nick demsky from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coming off that big win in Regina on the weekend Nick what's up buddy how are you not bad are you how you doing well I'm good I mean I uh like many bomber fans came back feeling like I played the game on Monday um it was it was a hell of a weekend I mean it was great to see so many bomber fans out there I mean like like just the atmosphere of the entire city for the weekend really felt like we were back you played in this game on both sides for a number of years how did that one compare to you just looking around I mean or wasn't a seat to be had a ton of blue it seemed like the atmosphere was as good as I can remember for one of these games in a long long time oh it was amazing I mean uh yeah it was loud um bunch of energy on both sides like you know of course there's a lot of green in the stands but at the same time there's definitely some blue there too so I mean it's just amazing that our fan base is is willing to travel and and bring the energy out for those games I mean it definitely helped us I mean it was funny because even that last field goal um that they had when they had a chance to to win I mean you know the the stadium was still making a bunch of noise it wasn't like it was quiet or anything like that like they weren't letting letting La think about it for two seconds so I mean just it's just amazing uh you know how much support we get well uh I mean let's talk about I mean the game you had and the offense in particular and I mean listen I I think know when you look at how well these defense has been playing all year long um and looked at the history of this game I think a lot of people thought that this was going to be another one of these you know first team to hit 20 Point sort of wins I mean the under very close very tight and listen it was close and tight but in a very different way like the offense the passing game really struggled in the Hamilton game until that clutch drive at the end to win um it looked completely different against the scat I mean tell us about the preparation for that game and making the strides that you guys did as an offense with Zack in in the first half yeah for sure I mean you know we had a good we had a good game plan and uh you know we stuck to it and stuck to our process and and we're executing that's that's the main thing um you know it's kind of tricky uh with you know the coaching that was moving around over there in Hamilton so you know it was kind of was kind of a weird prep week in a sense but you know we we already played SAS once um you know Cory Cory Ma has been around uh the league for a while so we kind of knew what type of Defense they wanted to to bring against us so you know we did a good job preparing for that and and making our Corrections you know there's still some stuff that we need to fix um I think we still need to you know make sure our Run games uh at at a better Pace but you know what at the end of the day uh we scored enough points and it made enough happen to get the win well I I mean tell us about what the pr the prep was like last week because you know again I mean there were plenty of times in particularly the second half against Hamilton where it just didn't seem like things were clicking but I mean listen Pro Sports is what have you done for me lately at business what you guys did at the end of the game was rally around Zach and have him lead you the distance for a game-winning touchdown in the final 30 seconds um how much did that win and the way you won help you guys prepare and carry some of that offensive momentum into the first half yeah I mean you know one of one of our one of our mantras on on on yeah on offense sorry is you know just do whatever it takes to win do whatever it takes to have one more Point than the other team you know we don't care how it gets done and we just want to go out there and and make sure we can win it for for for this team so um you know for us it was kind of the same thing in saskatch we always know it's going to be you know a dog fight out there against them so you know yeah we we definitely had to prepare and probably the biggest thing that we had to prepare for was that crowd noise you know just hearing that um you know the game was sold out and whatnot so you know it's always hard to go into opponent's uh spot like uh you know as hostile as Saskatchewan is when you can't really hear you know Zach can even do his Cadence like that so um you know we just had to Rally around him you know he's he's a great leader and then uh when strev came in you know we just had to Rally around and and just make sure that we can move the chains and and put Serge in a good enough position to to kick a field goal you know um you mentioned about rallying around I mean what what was it like at halftime me after that hit which I mean I think most people would agree was a little cheap and now you find out that the guy had has had such a great first half that's LED you to this lead all of a sudden isn't going to be able to play yeah I mean you know what it's uh it was a tough one you know nobody really knew uh kind of what was going on because you know Zach he's such a competitor you know he wasn't ruling himself out yet at halftime so you know kind of when you get that news I mean you know obviously a guy like strer who's who's a competitor and a warrior and and and is ready whenever his name gets called so you know we we we knew that we could go back out there and and and handle business with him so you know when Zach kind of you know dropped the bomb or you know came came out there with with with other shoulder pads on you know we kind of all got the you know we we we all knew that he wasn't going to be able to finish this game so at the end of the day I mean you know it's football it's a it's an next-man up mentality and uh and you know whoever you got out there wearing the jersey at the time you know that's that's who you got to play for and play with so you know we made it work you know what I I gotta ask you because just from afar Zach and strer seem like such different dudes I mean like keros is so you know quiet um you know very focused and then strer is this ball of energy I mean from from receiver standpoint just how different is it in the huddle with a guy like Zach who's been around for so long and then strer getting his opportunity coming in I imagine trying to blow guys up get take the ball himself and throw it all at the same time yeah you know you know he would if you could but uh yeah you know shev I mean you know what he uh know you you definitely have seen a lot of growth in him though since since he's been back um from down sou so you know he's he's a leader too you know what I mean and and it's funny that you say you know they are you know two different guys but at the end of the day you know they lead in their own way and and and everybody in the room respects it you know obviously Zach you know his respect you know just uh just what he does on the field you know I mean that that just speaks for itself but strev you know he's the type of guy that he's gonna he's going to come in here he's going to work hard he's going to be greedy and and and he's going to earn that respect and demand that respect and you know what like everybody everybody rallies behind him you know obviously we know it's a little bit of a of a different style but at the end of the day I mean you know shev does does the work in in what it takes to win so you know we we we all rally behind them and you know we we just got to go out there and and uh and execute the game plan for whatever it is with whatever quarterback we have you know um you know and we're and we're guilty of this I mean you know fans and in the media we live kind of a fantasy football worlds we're always talking about what the offensive numbers are and you know you're looking at the guys on defense that make big plays but in three down football special teams is a huge part of the game that that often gets undersold but is the difference more often than not between winning and losing just a quick word on the confidence that you guys have every time poppy or Sergio Castillo gets thrown out there I mean a 52 and a 56 Yer and we can't forget about probably the play of the game the punt by Jamis and Shen which caught them completely off guard they ended up in a touchdown I mean both jam and Sergio had a Hu that their fingerprints all over that victory for sure and I mean you know they've been doing it all year you know OB L uh you know like like any player like uh you know like any piece of football you know it's always going to be some waves there's always going to have be some ups and downs but I mean Serge I mean he's been having an incredible year jamson's been doing a great job too um our whole special team have been doing good you know obviously there's always going to be things that you can improve on but at the end of the day I mean they're doing what what what they have to do I mean that Nick howed play was unbelievable I mean you know there's probably a lucky charm up his butt somewhere or something like that but at the end day you know when the bounces are there and you work hard and you pursue to the ball I mean good things are going to happen and you know that's Nick howett for you right there you know uh Nick brings that type of attitude every day just working hard and and and just being you know a Savvy football player and you know it show it showed on that play alone so you know obviously it was it was a great punt by Jammer but you know Serge I mean you know Serge is such a he's such a funny character but you know he's he really is serious about his craft you know he takes this thing you know takes football very seriously and uh you know I'm just I'm just so proud of him for for how far he's come and and what he's done for this team well I mean listen he he's setting records right now I mean we're only two-thirds through the season he's already set a CFL record for the amount of 50 plus yard field goals this year he's now at nine he had two last week and I I mean you can just tell I mean O'Shea being a special teams coach background I mean knows the importance of field position and knows what happens when you know you miss these long field goals there is no hesitation whatsoever to throw him up whether it's 52 55 or even 60 yards and he seems to get the job done and that is a huge boost and it's got to give a real level of confidence in everybody on that sideline when you're seeing the kick team roll out oh for sure I mean you know what um obviously we're having a little bit of a of difficulty moving the ball the way that we wanted to you know of course we did enough but at the end of the day you know when you kind of know that you know I mean specifically lucky you know get he gets a big big punt return um and then you know I think I I picked up a first down I think we ran out the clock a little bit more and then we you know we put him in in field goal situation for so you know like when you know that you can cross to 55 and you know that you have a shot of getting three points out of out of something like that I mean it takes a lot of pressure off the offense especially in you know close games like that so you know we just appreciate him um you know I know he appreciates us too but you know it's just uh that's just that's just the family part in football you know everybody's playing for each other and trying to put each other in in better situations and you know we still got to do a better job on offense but you know it definitely is uh you know helps a lot when we have a kicker at that caliber well listen it's been all hands on deck I mean the 0 and four and two and six was sort of an ugly start but I mean not only have you guys done the job but everything else has broken your way and now what seemed like a laughable scenario is reality that you're first place and hold the rest your destiny in your own hands of course you got to keep winning though and this is a huge game against the scaton on Saturday Nick these home and homes maybe you can speak to just the challenge of a player and going up against the same team I mean I think historically if you go through these numbers it's difficult to beat a team twice in a row you've got the opportunity to do that and you just did it earlier this season against a very good BC Lions team I mean what is it going to take for you guys to get the job done and get this win on Sunday or Saturday afternoon yeah I mean you know what we we we have a bye after this week so I think you know we just got to let it all hang out man you know we just got to go out there and play Fearless play physical play tough and uh you know but at the end of the day you know we just got to play smart we got to play our type of football our BR football offensively we got to stay on the field defensively you know obviously they got to get them off the field and special teams you know we just gota they just got to keep doing what they're doing um you know it's it's a lot easier said than done but you know at the end of the day you know we're playing good football so we just can't take our the pedal off the metal or yeah pedal off the metal there we go trying to look for the words there but you know we just uh yeah we just got to keep doing what we're doing and and just play our fundamental football you know it's uh you know we're we're we're in a great spot to to do something great you know heading into the bias so you know we just got to go out there and stick to our process and and just get it done well that process of course uh kind of started in Earnest today you were back on the practice field um just uh how the practice go today and how good was it to see eight back practicing with the ones of course you know what uh yeah you know just seeing Zach you know I I had a feeling he was going to you know be able to go uh this week you know you just never know when it's uh when when you know something like that happens but you know I know uh I know he's a competitor I know he wants to be out there and you know everybody wants him out there so um you know practice was good we're moving in the right direction so you know again we just got to clean some stuff up but you know I think we'll be ready to go when it comes to time com Saturday it's Rider week back in the peg banjo bow on Saturday it doesn't get any better than this and uh I mean listen the the atmosphere and the scene in Regina all weekend was incredible I think we're in for a hell of a round two between these two football teams and it was a heck of a game last week month and a yeah I have a hard time thinking it'll be any different hey just on the way out I mean you know that it's going to be Insanity in that Stadium on Saturday afternoon uh but man just a thought on the support you guys have had from the fans all season long I mean even with you know the tough start I mean they've been calling out and I think about that that Hamilton game which didn't have a seat available in the entire house and the crowd and the way they stood up there at the end of the game I mean uh it's a it's a special time for Winnipeg football fans and I imagine it's got to be especially for you being a local guy a special time to be a blue bomber oh for sure I mean you know what it's uh it is amazing I mean obviously you don't like to talk about the the past years you know you want to be stuck in the president but you know it has been a blessing to be part of this uh about you know what what we've been doing so I mean you know the fans is Incredible the support's Incredible you know I know uh I know they're going to bring that energy and and you know it's bangable so you know I know I know everybody has this game circle on the calendar you know as I was just saying I think it's been like sold out for the last six weeks so it's going to be amazing and uh you know it's funny all the Vets are just telling the rookies you know just stay composed you know it's gonna be a emotional game with that with that crowd in the background but you know I think uh I think Labor Day they got their their Taste of uh of what these games can be like but you know this is this is the this is the game to be at so we can't wait to get this thing going one one more thing on the way out and I know for a fact that O'Shea would never ever bring this up but are are you and the guys aware that if you guys are able to get the win on Su on Saturday in the greatest scenario possible in the banable against your biggest rival Michael Shay will become the winningest head coach in blue bomber history with 103 wins I never knew that no yeah that's the thing I mean that just goes to show how humble he really is because I mean I mean I've never heard of that you know I know I I know he's done some amazing things this year already with you know the type of wins and whatnot like that but yeah I never knew that so 100 earlier this year and like we've been mentioning a little bit like how perfect of a scenario would that be but listen there was had to beat Hamilton a tough Challenge on the road but now we're here right now so I know he's probably the one giving out the game balls afterwards but hopefully you guys can get the dub and maybe give him a game ball for 103 passing the legendary Bud Grant with his next win atue as Blue Bombers head coach Nick good luck on the weekend uh congratulations on the great run as of late back in first place keep it rolling and uh we'll look forward to a hell of a scene on Saturday afternoon As you guys look to uh continue being on top of the CFL West yes sir appreciate you having me man have a good day take it easy we'll see you soon there's nick dky uh the Winnipeg Blue Bombers big thanks to DC and the Gang for setting that up more CFL talk coming up in about 10 minutes with CFL 110 along with uh my friend Jeff Hamilton let's get to the Y not question Wrap up, Assiniboia Downs Picks of the day and uh it is simply this as close as that game was and as difficult as it is to beat a team twice do the bombers get it done win the season series against the skatan and win the banjo Bowl how are you feeling right now two and a half point spread um I do think this is going to be a very very difficult game a very tough challenge for the bombers I think that they can do it interested in your thoughts on the why not question of the day for not Auto Corp over at Waverly and mcgilvery um gold eyes add it tonight you can follow along in the American Association game one ins sou Falls travel day tomorrow and then back for Friday night at Blue Cross Park we're going to head out to the game support the fish and uh should be a hell of a night for a little bit of baseball and a great Sports weekend heading into the banjo bowl and then of course Sunday and the National Football League uh big thanks to the gold eyes for their support of wst um and no real golf to talk about today but I will shout out our friends at Breezy Bend uh yesterday on our Breezy Bend Golf report we got talking about the international and the American teams for the President's Cup in Montreal a lot of uh chats with some Pals that are going to be out there cannot wait to get to Montreal um there going to be a huge huge event and the biggest event I believe ever in the history of Canadian golf at Royal Montreal so we'll stay on top of that we'll have reports from Montreal as always brought to you by Breezy Ben find out more on membership for the 2025 season at Breezy b.ca or giv going to call to the club host and asking for our pal Corey Johnson all right I did want to quickly get back to the cool bet lines I mentioned to you all uh that there is a special reload bonus if you've been playing at kolette you were thinking on topping it up for the upcoming NFL season 100% bonus up to 50 bucks it the the promo code go into promotions and click on it you'll want to use NFL rl24 so you can do that before kickoff tomorrow night tomorrow night we'll get get into Chiefs Ravens uh there's tons of NFL Futures out today today on the lock shop we kind of went into the make the playoffs numbers and I was just looking for some value on some teams I'm still wondering hey who's going to be the good team last year that doesn't make the playoffs this year I made the case for the Philadelphia Eagles today at plus2 200 they're in action in Brazil against the uh Packers to start things off uh I'm not high on Nick serani they've got two new coordinators I have a feeling the Eagles could be taking a real step back and I think the NFC overall is getting a little bit better if you want a couple teams at plus money to make the playoffs I do like the Jags at plus 135 I'll tell you what I think the Seahawks at plus 175 are also a pretty live bet but uh you can bet every team in the NFL to make or miss the playoffs we've got all the division winners a couple of my favorite division winners are I mean Chiefs obviously but they're such a heavy favorite I'm not sure it's worth betting at minus 103 I do like the New York Jets in the AFC East and wow the odds have really swung Miami is now plus 230 the bills at plus 175 and the Jets are the favorite at plus 150 in the AFC East the other one I really like is Green Bay at plus 190 but uh before kickoff tomorrow get in get your NF Futures bet set and you can follow those along all year long as we uh get it all going tomorrow night at Arrowhead by the way Remis speaking of Arrowhead did you hear that Chiefs aholic the bank robbing Chief superan is being sentenced to is being sentenced tomorrow in a Kansas City courtroom just hours before the Chiefs raise a banner and kick off another season I only heard about it because I saw your your Tweet uh yesterday uh yeah he's getting sentenced tomorrow I tongue and cheek said it'd be nice if they could just push it off to Friday let him throw the wolf suit on one more time Bang the Drum at Arrowhead and then go to jail the funny thing is prosecutions asking for 20 years his lawyers are asking for 10 years you know you know they're good going to meet in the middle and give him 15 years the number of Patrick Mahomes so oh my God I don't think there's any any doubt about that um but yes no Chief aholic won't be there I think Rob riggle's banging the drum tomorrow uh for the big game to start it off Hey listen before we wrap it up um how did you do last night I had one win at the track of 17 yeah no really bad um I didn't have any winners okay so I chipped away a little bit um let's quickly roll through uh let's quickly roll through our picks for tonight uh I am I've got to pick uh 2 three 4 5 6 s all right hey shout out to uh Mitch in chat who did a great job filling in for me us just gifted 20 memberships Mitch 20 uh 20 new uh users with a microphone in the chat that's awesome listen oh that's derp is Zen is Mitch listen I wasn't aware I didn't but now there's a lot of things that are now making sense from last week now that I know that Mitch is derp is in yeah um huge thanks to Mitch for uh amazing work last night he and Adam really helped us out big time and uh got us through all week long and of course you can see their handywork on the uh ASD broadcast on YouTube each and every night um all right so let's uh roll through this Remo uh you got anything on Race two uh um I am on Race no I have 3 four five 6 s today okay uh race two I've got just a straight up one two Exacta box JL Cooper and Daddy's rare Edition uh what do you have for number three I'm keeping it simple uh this race hus just winners race three $5 on number four Dynamic strike to win that is the big favorite all right we're going head to head I'm going four bucks or three bucks on number five uh what is it game the Tor Torpedoes Damn the Torpedoes the torped Tom Petty fan there we go D the Torpedoes uh now into race number four this is not a triactor box this is just a straight triactor bet three five or sorry 315 no no wait a second I screwed that up I think it's 341 yes 341 that's the uh $2 triactor on 341 okay I have a 31 Exacta box on this excellent all right um race number five Prairie Drifter to win number five so uh five in race five all right I'm going I see I'm you're taking a longer shot I'm going with the favorite poroso Equis uh to Win horse three okay Race Six here's my tractor box for the night it's 157 West over bossy holiday and rym the favorite I'm going with Mr Dazzle not quite the favorite just behind uh two win yeah and then I got a tuny left for race seven I'm going to throw it on a bit of a longer shot number six golden eyed to win number six all right I got a longer shot of tuny on finalize horse one to win Perfect all right there are picks of course you can bet along hpib bet.com if you like and uh you can watch all the races at a cboy downs but the best place to watch them is at the track Post Time 7:30 p.m. and again Monday Tuesday Wednesday racing right through September up until September 24th all right that is going to do it for us but don't go anywhere if you're with us on YouTube because we're kicking over right away to CFL 110 Jeff Hamilton is ready to roll we've got so much to talk about coming out of Labor Day weekend heading into the banjo Bowl we'll do that next brought to you by garage living Winnipeg thanks again to all the sponsors that make the show happen every day everyone in chat great crowd today as always and of course all of you listening on the podcast we appreciate you join us tomorrow big NFL kickoff edition of Winnipeg Sports Talk beginning at 1 p.m. in the meantime stick around and joy join us right now live on the wst YouTube channel for CFL 110 next oh my God shut it down let's go home thanks for tuning in to Winnipeg Sports Talk daily make sure to subscribe on YouTube and your favorite