Here is the Riderville Report…

Well, a decent weekend for a change and it was nice to actually see some live football. The University of Regina Rams held their spring camp and while it wasn't the Roughriders, it was great to watch some amazing athletes and potential CFL players show what they can do.

Some odds and ends in Riderville this week, mostly due to the World Men's Curling taking over the local spotlight.

The Riders will not be going after former safety Kyries Hebert. This is according to Rider GM Brendan Taman and was a rumor that picked up steam when the Riders signed Dario Romero, formerly of the Edmonton Eskimos. Hebert is a hard hitting safety and would seem to fit into Rider Head Coach Greg Marshall's desire to see a more aggressive physical defense.

The denial of interest by Taman seems to indicate the Riders are fixed on Jeremy Weatherspoon who is a cornerback and can fill in at safety. I know there has been speculation on the Riders maybe going after Hamilton safety Dylan Barker, a Moose Jaw boy and former University of Saskatchewan star player, but Hamilton doesn't have many Canadians and if the Riders asked for Barker, they would have to probably give them two starting Canadians and a draft pick. Don't see that scenario happening.

Speaking of players, the Riders held their invitation only free agent camp in Orlando this past weekend, but not word as yet on how that went or who might have been signed. Rider coaches were down in force and apparently a few players as well.

Raiders AGM

Raiders impact on Prince Albert local economy continues to go up: AGM report

10h ago

Court proceedings

'The impact of this trauma will echo for generations': court case surrounding La Ronge woman's death reaches conclusion

Dec 11, 2024

Going Global

P.A.'s Zablocki named to Team Canada for U18 Women's World Championships

Dec 11, 2024

The Riders were the only team to go over the CFL salary cap this year by $26,000 which the Riders were fined. According to Taman, bonuses and contract extensions were to blame for the bump, which makes one wonder about Dominique Dorsey and the big bonus he received. The amount the Riders was over was piddling, but with Jeff Stoughten of Winnipeg representing Canada in the world curling championships this past week, a lot of Winnipegers were in town and in the Keith Patch there was a bunch of cheaters coming from their lips…to which I responded, 1990 – the last year Winnipeg won the Grey Cup and the longest current drought in the league.

If Rod Pederson, an old PA media buddy and currently voice of the Riders is accurate, the fine will not bother the Riders much. The Riders annual meeting is expected to be held in June and apparently the Riders will be posting somewhere in the neighborhood of a $5 million profit. A combination of winning, the Riders licence plate promotion and the all the stuff associated with the Riders 100th anniversary last year are the factors that explain the profit.

And then again, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with a 4-14 record, posted something along the lines of a $454,000 profit. With a new stadium, Winnipeg should do much better, and from a CFL fan perspective, its good to see teams post profits…even if we don't like them.

The Riders got a look at the early Vegas odds of winning the Grey Cup and the Riders are pegged at 8.50 to win the Cup. Only Winnipeg has worse odds at 17 to make the cup. Apparently losing Andy Fantuz, changing coaches, and coming close, but not quite, the last two years, influenced Vegas. But as a friend of mine once said, if Vegas is so smart, why is it in Nevada?