RIDERS

GO RIDERS!!!!

TORCH!

The story is here as to why I'm holding the Olympic Torch!! I'm sure you'll see a lot of these over the next few months ... I don't care .. it was still super awesome that Canadian Olympic Pole Vaulter Kelsie Hendry was in the station yesterday and let all of us, and I mean ALL of us, get pictures with the torch!

Can't wait for January 10th when the Olympic Torch relay party hits Swift Current at the Kinetic Exhibition park!!

Gainer

If Gainer the Gopher is now allowed into the Legislative chamber with a round of applause from the MLA's ... it's no wonder the whole province is going crazy!! That's a picture from yesterdays Legislative Assembly where Premier Wall welcomed the beloved Roughrider Mascot.

"This Sunday marks Gainer's triumphant return to McMahon Stadium. Let's not forget that this is a gopher that's been embroiled in controversy in Calgary — in 2006 the Stampeders actually banned Gainer from McMahon Stadium for the Riders playoff game there," Wall said.

Sundays gonna be a lot of fun!!

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I just got word that we have three Grey Cup tickets. Section F, Row 52. We're going to auction these tickets off across Saskatchewan on all our Golden West Radio stations which means you have to be generous to get them ... your bidding against every Rider fan across Southern Saskatchewan!! All proceeds will go to the Make a Wish Foundation and they go up for auction tomorrow morning at 6!! We'll take the final bid at 8:45.

Riders

- It was so loud at the game yesterday I couldn't hear the announcer. When the "HENRRRYYYY" chant started ... it was deafening.

- The best place to watch a CFL football game is Mosaic Stadium. Which puts me on the fence for the dome ... do I want it? Yes. Am I sad that Mosaic Stadium will be no more? Yes. Especially after watching history yesterday afternoon.

- The amount of people from the Southwest that make the trip to Rider games is ridiculous! Every ride back from a game is like watching a never ending sea of tail lights all the way down the #1.

- If they're going to continue to show Wendy's commercials on the big screens ... they better put a damn Wendy's at Mosaic Stadium! Something happens to me when I see that Baconator ... BACOOOOONNNNNN!

- How many people do you wish you could punch in the face throughout a Rider game? For me .. give or take ... 1 or 2. Yesterday it was 1 ... just because Wes Cates isn't getting any blocks ... doesn't mean he's not a good running back. Now shut up and stop complaining ... we're winning by 17!!

- Thanks to my buddy Mark for taking me yesterday ... I don't get to nearly enough Rider games and it was a lot of fun! Especially considering the last time there was a West Final in our province I was still 8 years from being born!

- I feel bad for ZZ Top. They play the Credit Union Centre on Sunday ... and it might be to 5 people.

- Good luck finding tickets to the Grey Cup .... Dash Tours might be the only way you find a way into McMahon Stadium next weekend ... and it won't be cheap.


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This was sent to me from a friend who used to do news for the radio stations. Thanks Trina! I laughed till my side exploded.

In this video ... Trent Redekop (CKSW mornings), Ryan Switzer (Magic 97 mornings), Jon Keen (voice of the Broncos), Ken Audette (morning news) and myself.

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Doolys

It was the summer of 2005. I had just got offered a part time job at the radio station and was super PUMPED about it!! Unfortunately, reality set in and it was time to find another source of income if I was going to work part time in the broadcasting industry.

My resume got handed around to a few places in town for the position of bartender. I have no idea why the bartender position was so important to me. There wasn't really a whole lot of people looking to hire a kid, who was barely of age to drink himself, a job as a drink slinger!

My first interview was with Helga from the Legion ... I think she took a liking to me but in the end ... the hours didn't work out ... and I don't think I was good enough at darts to hold my own in the basement. A few other jobs fell through, but then Derrick scheduled me in for an interview. After talking with him for 5 minutes I was officially a bartender at Doolys! I was elated! My dreams were coming true ... my foot was in the door with radio and I was about to serve booze at a pool hall for money! In my mind, I was a year away from becoming a mixture of Howard Stern and Tom Cruise.

My employment lasted exactly 4 hours ... actually I don't think you can even count those 4 hrs because I didn't actually pour a drink. That day, before I could even work my first night shift, I was offered a full time position at the radio station which promptly put a stop to my bar tending fantasies!

So, instead of serving booze at Doolys, I just frequented the facility on a regular basis. Some of my fondest memories were getting my ass kicked by our then General Manager Deb Gauger at our staff Christmas parties ... she's what you would call a "pool shark."

Doolys has been closed for about a year now. While I miss the friendly atmosphere and the sounds of the pool hall, there are better things coming to that building.

Right away your thinking, "Great!! Another bar opening in Swift Current ... that's just what we need!!" Actually, its the furthest thing from another bar. East Side Church of God has purchased the old pool hall with plans to turn it into a Downtown Ministry Centre for kids!

I strongly believe that our youth are our future. While I don't have any kids, I plan to someday, and would like to think of this town as a safe place to raise them. But from what I've been hearing over the last few years ... it's just as tough being a teenager growing up in Swift Current as it is in any other huge city. Drugs, abusive relationships, and bullying are three things that are obvious problems. This Downtown Ministry Centre is being geared as a safe sanctuary for kids where those three things are not permitted. In fact, there are big plans to have programs to help kids who are in those situations already.

It will be a place where kids can go and just be kids without dealing with adult pressures. While I'm not sure of the plans exactly, you can be sure to see a big stage for bands, a gaming facility, big screens for movies, and all sorts of pool/Foosball/air hockey tables.

I believe the first move will see the Fresh Start Program get into the building and start using the facility to run the Soup Kitchen twice a week instead of once a week. A program that has been very well received and much needed in the community.

Over the next few years when they're in these starting stages of this massive project ... please think about donating your time or money towards this great centre for our youth.

Kiss

Eldon Campbell (on the left Gene Simmons), Jon, Chance, Andrew Murphy (on the right Gene Simmons)

We had our "Live Like a Rockstar: Kiss" finale last Thursday at the Buffalo Brew Pub. Eldon ended up winning the big prize pack:

2 tickets to the show tonight
2 nights stay at the Delta Bessborough
75 dollar gift card to Avocados

Andrew was awesomely dressed too so we hooked him up with GNR tickets for their show in January.

If your going to Kiss tonight in Saskatoon ... drive safe, have a lot of fun, and call the Eagle to let us know how the show went!

Sasky Splash

This is the guy who got me a mortgage ... either really cool ... or a little concerning.

Tyler Bragg in the Rider hot tub.


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1976 was a long time ago ... are there any Rider fans around that were old enough to truly relish in the Riders 1st place finish 33 years ago? From what I've heard, the fan base back then was way older then now ... so I'm looking for someone probably in their early to mid 60's.

I would just love to talk to someone who has been cheering for the Green and White for that long ... plus I always tell my better half we should have grown up in the 60's and 70's ... I just love those eras!!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

It's not like I was having a bad day yesterday ... but it definitely got better after I saw these commercials on youtube!

Conspiracy Theory

Is the Swine Flu really that much worse than the regular flu? Or is this just a big conspiracy to turn our world into a global mass of germa phobes in order to boost up prices on cleaning products, hand sanitizer, and vaccinations.

Is this a way to give our economy a much needed boost after a terrible recession? Kleenex, Advil, Hand Sanitizer, Lysol ... the list of huge companies that would benefit from a global virus taking the population by storm is endless!

Think about it ... these are companies who employ thousands of workers! Get people thinking they NEED hand sanitizer, and it all of a sudden becomes a necessity rather than a want. The Gov't gets to spend a little bit of money without having people angry at them ... the big drug companies, who also employ thousands of people, start pumping out the drugs which costs a ton, and everybody feels safe because they're now immune to this horrible horrible Swine Flu that's killing people all over the world....

Did I go a bit too Mel Gibson on ya there? Probably. Is there some sort of conspiracy to the whole Swine Flu ... nah! Am I going to get my shots ... yes ... yes I am.




The inaugural flight for Swanberg Air in Swift Current happened yesterday. I just checked out their website to see how much it would cost to go to Calgary for the weekend .... $357 to Calgary on a Friday ... $315 back from Calgary on Monday. A bit to pricey for a radio guy who has the 6 hours to drive there, but I can definitely see lots of oilfield companies taking advantage of this service.

I think its awesome! Thumbs up to John Parker and the crew from Southwest Community Futures and anyone else who helped out on this project! Just another reason Swift Current is the best small town to call home in Saskatchewan!!

Facebook Comments

This is going to be something I do more frequently .... posting random funny status/comments I find on Facebook.



The first edition of "Facebook Comments" is more on the serious side. Marissa Marten is a high school student from Hazlet who is a big fan of the Eagle and the "Breakfast Boys" Facebook Group. She posted this on our wall last week:

Marissa Martin: Can you guys talk about small school being shut down for no reason? You don't have to, but it would be nice to hear your guyses input on the subject

To be honest ... its a touchy subject that we've talked about on air before. It always garners the same response. Some people call in mad because we were talking about it, others phone in to plead for their schools, some just call our boss to say we're horrible DJ's because we think small town schools should get shut down ... which by the way is not the views of this morning show. Some people just hear what they want to hear, its called selective hearing. Anyway, I tried to answer her question the best I could on our Facebook Group "the Breakfast Boys".

Chance Duperreault: Marissa, we've talked about this before on the show and my opinion still has not changed.

To shut down a school in a small town is like pulling the plug on the community. I come from a very small community that had its school shut down in 1989 and it crippled our village. Sports teams disappeared, young couples vanished with their children, the few well respected teachers left (including my Dad) and it became a summer destination due to Lake Diefenbaker being 1 km away.

I don't agree with shutting down small town schools.

But with that said ... if a school is struggling to keep enrollment up, it's in the kids best interest to be offered the best opportunities which would come from a larger school that offers more class options, sports, and more teachers to help these kids learn.

I'm not saying thats whats going on in Hazlet because I really don't know enough about the schools situation. But I do know when they shut down our school (Riverhurst) .. while it crippled our small community, we as kids, benefited by having enough numbers in a larger school to field large sports teams ... plus we were offered different courses that we couldn't have taken in our small town.

Does it suck to see a small town die ... of course. Is it worth it to benefit our next generation ... I think so.

I hope it doesn't happen to Hazlet Marissa ... it sounds like you guys have a pretty neat little school with a very great staff.