AVAILABLE HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\nSaskatchewan, which is concluding a bye week, has a 4-1 record. Edmonton is 5-1 after Friday\u2019s 19-17 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions.<\/p>\n
Better yet, the Roughriders and Elks will meet at Commonwealth Stadium on Aug. 1 to conclude a home-and-home set.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good timing,\u201d receiver Samuel Emilus said, \u201cespecially because we\u2019re battling for first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just like old times.<\/p>\n
In 1972, the Roughriders opened the playoffs with an 8-6 victory in Edmonton before defeating the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-24 in the Western Final.<\/p>\n
Edmonton\u2019s Clarke Stadium was the site of the next three conference finals. The home team won 25-23 (in 1973), 31-27 (1974) and 30-18 (1975). In the latter game, Saskatchewan led 18-8 before Edmonton scored all 22 fourth-quarter points.<\/p>\n
In 1976, at long last, the Western Final was played at Taylor Field. The Roughriders\u2019 23-13 win was the ticket to a Grey Cup appearance.<\/p>\n
After that, the teams\u2019 fortunes diverged. The Roughriders missed the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons (1977 to 1987). During that stretch, Edmonton won an unprecedented five consecutive Grey Cups (1978 to 1982).<\/p>\n
The script has flipped in recent years. The Elks missed the playoffs from 2021 to 2025, inclusive, whereas the Roughriders are the reigning Grey Cup champions.<\/p>\n
The 2026 Saskatchewan side is enjoying a 4-1 start for the third consecutive season. Edmonton, meanwhile, is resurgent after going 25-61 over the past five seasons.<\/p>\n
Adding to the intrigue, the Elks are quarterbacked by Cody Fajardo, who was Saskatchewan\u2019s starter for most of the 2019, 2021 and 2022 seasons.<\/p>\n
With the Montreal Alouettes in 2023, he succeeded Trevor Harris, who just happened to follow Fajardo as the Roughriders\u2019 featured pivot.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to Thursday and two recent Grey Cup MVPs \u2014 Fajardo in 2023; Harris in 2025 \u2014 will call signals for their respective teams in a matchup that is not to be missed.<\/p>\n
At 62, it can be folly to wish too many days away, but Thursday cannot arrive fast enough for this seasoned scribe.<\/p>\n
TREVOR\u2019S TALLY<\/p>\n
Harris is enjoying one of the best starts of any Roughriders quarterback.<\/p>\n
For example, he has the fourth-highest passing-yardage total in franchise history at the five-game mark:<\/p>\n
1,762 \u2014 Kent Austin, 1993.<\/p>\n
1,709 \u2014 Joe Paopao, 1985.<\/p>\n
1,671 \u2014 Kent Austin, 1992.<\/p>\n
1,620 \u2014 Trevor Harris, 2026.<\/p>\n
Also, Harris boasts the Roughriders\u2019 second-highest number of touchdown passes after five games:<\/p>\n
14 \u2014 Tom Burgess, 1989.<\/p>\n
12 \u2014 Henry Burris, 2000.<\/p>\n
12 \u2014 Trevor Harris, 2026.<\/p>\n
Harris is alone in second if the sample is limited to regulation-time TD passes. Burris threw for two majors in overtime against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on July 28, 2000.<\/p>\n
With Harris as the No. 1 pivot, Saskatchewan sports the fifth-best points-scored total in team history at this juncture of the season, excluding OT:<\/p>\n
183 \u2014 2013 (5-0 record).<\/p>\n
178 \u2014 1989 (4-1).<\/p>\n
164 \u2014 1991 (1-4).<\/p>\n
162 \u2014 2008 (5-0).<\/p>\n
161 \u2014 2026 (4-1).<\/p>\n
If you include the nine points Saskatchewan scored in OT while winning 40-34 in Calgary on June 20, the current team\u2019s ranking ascends to third All-Time:<\/p>\n
183 \u2014 2013 (5-0).<\/p>\n
178 \u2014 1989 (4-1).<\/p>\n
170 \u2014 2026 (4-1).<\/p>\n
164 \u2014 1991 (1-4).<\/p>\n
162 \u2014 2008 (5-0).<\/p>\n
The 1991 team\u2019s 1-4 start jumps off the page.<\/p>\n
A unique season, indeed.<\/p>\n
In 1991, the Roughriders established enduring franchise record for points scored (606) and points allowed (710) in a season.<\/p>\n
HAPPY 100TH!<\/p>\n
CKRM is marking a milestone by holding a gala \u2014 100 Years in One Night \u2014 this evening at the Conexus Arts Centre.<\/p>\n
The grand event is part of the Regina radio station\u2019s 100th-anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n
CKRM\u2019s first broadcast took place on July 27, 1926.<\/p>\n
Known as CJRM at the time, the station was initially based in Moose Jaw\u2019s Richardson Building. Located at 665 on the AM dial, CJRM then had a power of 500 watts.<\/p>\n
The frequency subsequently changed to 880 (in 1928), 960 (1934), 950 (1940) and 980 (1941) before finding its current home of 620 in 2001. CKRM has long had a power output of 10,000 watts.<\/p>\n
CKRM has been the Roughriders\u2019 radio rights-holder since 1983.<\/p>\n
Over the past 43 calendar years, CKRM has broadcast 889 Roughriders games, including 751 regular-season contests. The tally also includes 95 pre-season games and 43 playoff contests (including seven Grey Cups).<\/p>\n
CKRM will commemorate its 900th consecutive Roughriders broadcast when the Alouettes play host to Saskatchewan on Oct. 12 in a rematch of the 2025 Grey Cup Game.<\/p>\n
Depending on future playoff fortunes, CKRM will celebrate another major milestone \u2014 its 1,000th consecutive Roughriders broadcast \u2014 late in the 2031 season or early in 2032.<\/p>\n
CKRM TRIVIA<\/p>\n
\u2022 The first points scored in a game broadcast by CKRM during its current run as the rights-holder were produced at 7:24 of the first quarter on June 14, 1983, when Calgary\u2019s J.T. Hay kicked a 50-yard field goal in a pre-season contest versus Saskatchewan at McMahon Stadium. The Roughriders\u2019 first points followed 4:18 later when Dave Ridgway kicked a nine-yard field goal.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Saskatchewan\u2019s first CKRM touchdown was scored by Ron Robinson on a five-yard pass from Joe (747) Adams at 14:55 of the second quarter during that pre-season game in Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The first points scored in a CKRM home broadcast (1983-present) resulted from Adams\u2019 eight-yard TD pass to rookie receiver Ray Elgaard against Edmonton on June 18, 1983 at Taylor Field. Ridgway added the convert at 3:01 of the first quarter.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Saskatchewan was the winner when CKRM first broadcast a Roughriders regular-season game during the current stretch of affiliation. The Green and White defeated the host Montreal Concordes 21-14 on July 7, 1983. The first regular-season play, described by Tim Dancy, was a 19-yard kickoff return by Saskatchewan\u2019s Dwight Edwards.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dancy was the Roughriders\u2019 play-by-play voice from 1983 to 1985. He was followed by Geoff Currier (1986-97), Steve Brown (1998), Rod Pedersen (1999-2018), Derek Taylor (2019, 2021), Michael Ball (2022-23) and Dave Thomas (2024-present).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Colour commentators: John Lynch (1983-85), Mike Samples (1986), Steve Mazurak (1987-88), Ron Cherkas (1988), Carm Carteri (1989-2016) and Luc Mullinder (2017-present).<\/p>\n
DON\u2019T TOUCH THAT DIAL!<\/p>\n
Researcher extraordinaire Tom Fuzesy was kind enough to provide some information about the history of the Riders on the radio, period.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s noteworthy that the first radio broadcast of a Rider game appears to be Nov 11, 1929 on CKCK \u2014 a Calgary Tigers-Regina Roughriders playoff tilt on a cold, snowy, blustery day at the Exhibition Grounds,\u201d Tom wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cA write up by Dave Dryburgh in the Nov 13, 1929 Regina Leader-Post describes it as the \u2018first time in these parts that radio has been used for a rugby tilt.\u2019 It was over six years after the first hockey play-by-play broadcast on radio, by CKCK\u2019s Pete Parker on March 14, 1923.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, Rider radio broadcasts had begun. Initially they were only for playoff and Grey Cup games, but by the mid-1930s all games would be broadcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cExclusive radio rights as such did not exist until the mid-1960s. CKCK and CJRM\/CKRM would frequently share broadcasts and both stations would appear in the ads. For example, there\u2019s an ad for a game versus Winnipeg in the Oct 11, 1935 Leader-Post, showing both radio stations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a mix of the same or different broadcasters on both stations for each game. In 1955, it appears that other than the opening game, either CKCK or CKRM but not both would broadcast every Rider game.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the mid-1960s, the broadcast arrangements with which we have long been familiar began to take shape.<\/p>\n
The Roughriders\u2019 radio rights were held by CKCK (1966-67), CJME (1968-73) and, once more, CKCK (1974-82) before CKRM took over in 1983.<\/p>\n
CKRM operates under the umbrella of Harvard Media, which is owned by Paul J. Hill.<\/p>\n
Hill\u2019s 20-plus years on the Roughriders\u2019 Board of Directors and countless other contributions to the Club were recognized when he entered the Saskatchewan Roughrider Plaza of Honour in 2021.<\/p>\n
SHORT SNORTS<\/p>\n
\u2022 I stumbled into this one the other day: Although Don Narcisse holds the pro football record for consecutive games with at least one reception (216), he was held without a catch in one contest of note. He did not register a reception on Nov. 13, 1988, against B.C. in a first-round playoff game. The streak applies exclusively to the regular season. Counting playoffs and Grey Cup competition, Narcisse caught at least one pass in 216 of his 217 games as a Roughrider. The team\u2019s career leader in receptions (919) entered the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2010.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Entering this weekend\u2019s games, the Roughriders lead the league in first downs (124), second-down conversions (60.2 per cent) and sacks (11). Saskatchewan had also allowed the fewest offensive touchdowns (11), yards of net offence (354.2 per game), passing yards (266.6 per game), touchdown passes (four), yards per play (6.54) and completions of 30-plus yards (three). Saskatchewan\u2019s defence also has allowed the lowest second-down conversion rate (42.1%).<\/p>\n
\u2022 At this point last year, the Roughriders\u2019 offence was third in second-down conversions (51.5%) and the defence was eighth (55.1%).<\/p>\n
ROLL CREDITS \u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nice people who deserve a plug: Les Stephens, Tom Fuzesy, Don Narcisse, Dylan Kurtz, Mathew Sexton, Chris Wiebe, Lance Hackewich, Larry Vandelinden, Lawrence Vandelinden, Freddy Vandelinden, Barney Shynkaruk, Dick White, Shannon England, Sara England, Jenna England, Janice Dockham, Peter Godber, Campbell Godber, Paul J. Hill, Willy Cole, Rylee Cohen, Cyndi Cherney, Jessica Gelowsky, Addison Richards and Sam Champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This grizzled gargoyle of a historian vividly, affectionately remembers a time when a game against Edmonton was everything.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":810866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-810865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}