Robservations: Brier buzz … quirky, Quakery stats … quarterbacking firsts and lasts … and bring back the ’dromes!

This past Tuesday, I was expertly navigating my way from the Brandt Centre to Mosaic Stadium after the evening draw at the Brier.

Little did I know that three fellow members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization were a few first downs behind me, having also watched a marquee matchup between the Brendan Bottcher and Matt Dunstone teams at the Canadian men’s curling championship.

As I opened the door, Equipment Manager Gordon Gilroy exclaimed “Rob!” Intuitively, I realized that Rob is my name, so I turned around.

There was Gordie, accompanied by Jeremy O’Day (Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager) and Jordan Greenly (Director, Football Operations).

The four of us were abuzz after witnessing 10 ends of superlative shot-making, culminating in a 7-5 victory by Bottcher, third Marc Kennedy, second Brent Gallant and lead Ben Hebert over Dunstone, B.J. Neufeld, Colton Lott and Ryan Harnden.

“That,” Gordie observed, “was unbelievable.”

Such is the beauty of live sports.

All of us are football people, by nature of our preferences and job descriptions, but Bottcher versus Dunstone had left us in awe.

As a sports fan, you live for moments like that.

You never quite know when, or how, they are going to unfold. But when they do, and you are fortunate enough to be there, it is something to savour.

QUIRKY STATS

• Since 2002, the Roughriders have played in only two games in which fewer than 20 points were scored. Coincidentally, both games were against Edmonton. Each time, the home team won 17-1 (Oct. 10, 2011 at Edmonton; July 8, 2012 at Saskatchewan).
• The last single-digit game? That was on Sept. 27, 1970, when the Roughriders downed the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers 5-2. Jack Abendschan kicked a game-winning, 27-yard field goal with one second remaining in the fourth quarter.
  • The lowest-scoring game in franchise history? Oct. 26, 1929, when the Regina Roughriders and Saskatoon Quakers played to a 0-0 tie at Cairns Field.
  • A sure sign that I am aging: I think I covered the 0-0 game.
• Another sure sign that I am aging: I remember when curlers smoked during a match — a sight that is unthinkable as we watch and enjoy the 2024 Brier.

“KEEP BRIAN” AND CIGARETTES

• A few years ago, I complied with a manager’s request to cull the Regina Leader-Post’s treasury of sports photos. The objective was to reduce the number of filing cabinets before the move was made from an expansive newsroom to a smaller workspace. There were plenty of disposable images, so the photo editing wasn’t a difficult or stressful process. The eye-openers: (1) There was a terrific photo of the Roughriders’ Brian O’Hara nearly crashing into a fence that was perilously close to Taylor Field’s south end zone boundary in 1978; (2) Several of the black-and-white curling photos showed a curler in the hack, cigarette in mouth. (Note to self: Insert “hacking cough” joke here.)
• The Brian O’Hara photo was a keeper. I soon found a reason to publish it in the Leader-Post. And, yes, I saved every one of those smoking-curler photos and, for good measure, ensured that they were summarily scanned into the electronic archives.
• O’Hara, by the way, is the answer to a trivia question: Who caught Ron Lancaster’s final pass? O’Hara made a 21-yard reception to set up Lancaster’s one-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter on Oct. 29, 1978 at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium. Here is the fluky part: Edmonton’s Head Coach at the time was Hugh Campbell, who had been the field boss at Whitworth College in Spokane when O’Hara played there.
  • OK, now we’re in the trivia rabbit hole, so beware. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Lancaster had thrown his 333^rd and final touchdown pass, to Joey Walters. Three years later, Walters broke Campbell’s Roughriders single-season records for catches (91) and receiving yards (1,715). The latter record endures. Campbell, largely in collaboration with Lancaster, had posted record totals of 73 catches and 1,329 yards in 1965. The next year, Campbell caught 17 TD passes — another enduring Riders record.
  • Walters has come the closest to eclipsing Campbell’s TD-receptions mark. In 1981, No. 17 caught 14 TD passes … and had two other majors called back due to penalties … and was tackled at the one-yard line on four occasions.

FIRSTS AND LASTS FROM THE PAST

• Roughriders quarterbacking firsts and lasts, Part 1 (continued): Lancaster’s first pass as a Roughrider was a long incompletion in the direction of Dave Washington on Aug. 15, 1963 against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Further to the earlier references to low-scoring games, Saskatchewan won that rain-soaked nailbiter, 5-3. Lancaster’s first TD pass as a Roughrider was a 17-yarder to Jack Gotta on Aug. 23, 1963 against the visiting Calgary Stampeders. Gotta pulled off a rare daily double by also scoring on a 34-yard interception return in that game.
• Part 2: The firsts and lasts of the Roughriders’ second Grey Cup-winning starting quarterback. Kent Austin’s first completion: A four-yarder to Don Narcisse on Oct. 11, 1987 in Hamilton. First TD pass: A 51-yarder to Ray Elgaard in the same game. Final completion: 12 yards to Bruce Boyko on Nov. 14, 1993 at Commonwealth Stadium in the West Division semi-final. Final TD pass: 20 yards to Narcisse on Oct. 31, 1993 against the host Toronto Argonauts.
• Part 3: Kerry Joseph. First completion: One yard to Jason Armstead at B.C. Lions, June 16, 2006. First TD pass: 27 yards to Jamel Richardson versus B.C. Final completion: 33 yards to Chris Getzlaf on Nov. 16, 2014 in the West semi-final at Edmonton. Final TD pass: 24 yards to Korey Williams, same game.
• Part 4: Darian Durant. First completion: 14 yards to Shermar Bracey on Aug. 26, 2006 in Hamilton. First TD pass: Three yards to Neal Hughes on July 12, 2008, also at Hamilton. Final completion: Seven yards to Rob Bagg against the Lions on Oct. 29, 2016, in the final CFL game at historic Mosaic Stadium. Final TD pass: To Caleb Holley (five yards) on Oct. 15, 2016 in Toronto.
• Holley is the answer to another trivia question: Who caught the first TD pass at new Mosaic Stadium? He collaborated with Kevin Glenn on an 18-yard score on July 1, 2017 against Winnipeg.

ICY WORDS
• It is so easy to lose faith in humanity when a heckler shows up at a curling event. Is nothing sacred anymore?
• A more comforting thought: Only two months until Roughriders training camp!
• Training camp showcases the accessibility of established or prospective CFL players. If you want to meet an established star or a promising player, simply check out a workout in Saskatoon. I am reminded of one example from 2023, when quarterback Trevor Harris went out of his way to engage with everyone. He was happy to chat, sign autographs and pose for selfies as long as anyone approached him. There was a long lineup, but nary a long face afterwards, because Harris cheerfully accommodated everyone.
• That session came to mind as I watched the Brier. Team Canada skip Brad Gushue is a huge figure on the Canadian sporting scene but, one heckler aside, he is happy to interact with the spectators. Curlers, in general, are obliging — one of many reasons why I love the roaring game.
• My only bad curling experience was entirely my fault. In 1986, as a gormless intern at the Lloydminster Meridian Booster, I covered a bonspiel and expertly managed to misread the scoreboard. It was one of those scoreboards that included the end numbers, as opposed to reading like a baseball linescore. There was a “9” on the board but, somehow, that did not strike me as odd or impossible. Anyway, I approached the skip whose team had erupted for the “nine-ender” and asked him for his thoughts on the victory. “We lost,” he replied, disgustedly.
• Thinking on your feet 101: My follow-up question was, “Oh … um … what are your thoughts on the victory?” (I have job skills.)

HAPPY 60TH, TOM BURGESS!

• Hard to believe, but the eternally youthful Tom Burgess turned 60 on Wednesday. Although Austin was the Grey Cup-winning starting quarterback in 1989, the Roughriders would not have won a championship that year without Burgess. He led the Roughriders in touchdown passes, with 22, during the 1989 regular season. Also in 1989, he twice threw five touchdown passes in a game. Before 1989, a Saskatchewan quarterback had thrown for five scores only three times (Lancaster in 1963 and 1966; Joe Barnes in 1981).
• Let’s give Burgess the first/last treatment. First completion: 11 yards to Tron Armstrong. June 28, 1987 at B.C. First TD pass: 63 yards to Todd Brown on July 4, 1987 against the visiting Argonauts. Last completion: Two yards to Robert Mimbs on Oct. 28, 1995 at B.C. Last TD pass: 10 yards to Farthing, same game.

TSN: THE SUITOR NUMBERS

• TSN trivia: Glen Suitor’s first two-interception game as a CFLer was against Edmonton on Aug. 12, 1984 at Taylor Field. Both interceptions were thrown by Matt Dunigan. Suitor and Dunigan are long-time TSN colleagues. When Suitor next had a two-interception game, versus the visitors from Edmonton on Oct. 18, 1987, the throws once again originated from Dunigan’s right arm.
• Little-known fact: One former Roughrider is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Frank Mathers, a member of the Regina Roughriders in 1943, was enshrined in the Hall as a builder in 1992. Mathers was associated with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears for 35 years, in the capacities of player, coach, general manager and president.
• The Montreal Canadiens’ roster includes 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman Arber Xhekaj. For all it’s worth, the Roughriders have yet to sign, let alone dress, a player whose surname begins with X.
• I miss the days when there were sporting venues known as the Curlodrome and Bolodrome. Whatever happened to all the ’dromes?ROLL CREDITS …
  • Nice people who deserve a plug: Jim Hopson, Pete Glencross, Karen Glencross, Nathaniel Cruz, Tom Burgess, Larry Dean, Jolene Campbell, Kirk Muyres, Kelly Moore, Michael Burns, Brad Gushue, Kenda Richards, Al Richards. Shannon England, Craig Adam, Bernadette McIntyre, Jeff Welke, Cindy Zerr, Barry Zerr, Marian McCormick, Murray McCormick, Sandeep Singh Kalsia, Judy Samuelson, Don Samuelson, Dick Irvin, Clarissa Young, Josh Shaw, Morgan Fleury, Rob Harrison, David Freeman, Glen Suitor, Jess Moskaluke, Devin Heroux, Colleen Jones, Len Antonini, Bernie Eiswirth, Bob Koroluk, Naeem Ayub, Steve Daniel and, for driving back to the office after business hours to let me in after I smoothly forgot my security card, Jessica Gelowsky. I work with the nicest people!