What’s in store for the Saskatchewan Roughriders? Make that “who’s in store?”!
Three players — quarterback Trevor Harris, returner Mario Alford and receiver Shawn Bane Jr. — will appear in the Mosaic Stadium store on Canada Day to meet and greet fans of the CFL team.
The 90-minute session is to begin at 1 p.m. Fans are invited to bring along Roughriders-related items for the players to sign.
It has been my experience that Harris, Alford and Bane Jr. are very cordial conversationalists. I have enjoyed every interaction with them since joining the organization on Feb. 21.
Of the three players, I have spent the most time yakking with Harris, both formally and informally. He is as down-to-earth as a person can be — someone who always takes an interest in the person with whom he is chatting.
That impression of the Roughriders’ signal-caller was reinforced earlier this week when I received a message from a dedicated fan of the Green and White.
“I wanted to share with you my encounter with Trevor Harris,” Daryl Hepting began. “I was out getting groceries (on Monday), feeling good after being under the weather for a couple of days. I had noticed the Harris family because they entered the store ahead of me.
“Then Trevor and I were getting something out of the same cooler and I said something like, ‘You look like a famous quarterback,’ and he wasn’t sure about that characterization.
“He asked my name and then introduced himself and shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations on the win.’ I was very impressed!
“I was taken back to the time that my 12-year-old self and a friend attended a Quarterback Club luncheon at the Trianon Ballroom and afterwards saw Rhett Dawson on the street. We said ‘Hi, Rhett’ and he replied with ‘Howdy!’ ”
Such is the beauty of Canadian professional football.
There is little, if any, insulation between the players and the fans.
The 12-year-old version of yours truly was also a Rhett Dawson fan. Meeting him in person, several years later, I discovered that the former Roughriders receiver is also an All-Star person off the field.
The latter description is also applicable to Trevor Harris. You will not meet a nicer, more approachable, guy.
See for yourself on Canada Day.
THANKS, AARON
Profuse congratulations to Aaron Anderson, who recently received the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s Service Award (Regina district) in commemoration of an exemplary career as a teacher, mentor and administrator.
Aaron has just concluded his five-year term as commissioner of the Regina High Schools Athletic Association. Over that brief time, he set the bar for all future commissioners.
In 35-plus years of scribbling for a living — and of appreciating high school sports — I have not met anyone who has been more helpful or sincere.
It was never about Aaron. It was always about the student-athletes.
Time after time, Aaron went out of his way to facilitate media coverage that would enable high school sports to be spotlighted.
To cite one of myriad examples, he would take iPhone photos of stats sheets following Regina Intercollegiate Football League games and text the images to yours truly, who would then use the information to compose a roundup that would be published in the Regina Leader-Post.
It didn’t matter if the story was 50 words in length or a full-page feature, Aaron would always make a point of saying thank you.
Now it is time to reciprocate.
Aaron’s passion for sports is largely attributable to heredity. As a child, he attended Roughriders games with his grandparents, Kappy and Sadie Kaplan.
Kappy, of course, will always be known as Mr. Fastball in Regina. Kaplan Field was named in his honour in 1970.
In 1944, Kappy received an early discharge from the Royal Canadian Navy so that he could coach the Army and Navy Bombers, a women’s fastball team that included a future All-American Girls Professional Baseball League star, Mary Baker.
Following the Second World War, the Regina Roughriders resumed play. Without fail, Kappy and Sadie were in the stands at Park de Young/Taylor Field. Aaron joined them in 1972, at age six.
(Fittingly, Aaron was born in 1966 — the Roughriders’ first championship season.)
When Kappy began to struggle with his health in the late 1970s, he took aside his sports-loving grandson and said: “Section 24, Row 13, Seats 1 and 2 will forever be yours.”
Kappy was 68 when he passed away on May 19, 1982. His will stipulated that, indeed, his season tickets would be bequeathed to Aaron.
Aaron has rarely missed a home game over the past 51 years. He cherishes memories of watching Ron Lancaster and George Reed, of course, and regards them as his favourite players.
But special mention is also made of Kerry Joseph (and his game-winning touchdown run in the waning seconds of the 2007 Labour Day Classic), Weston Dressler (because he was, well, Weston Dressler!) and Darian Durant.
When Durant quarterbacked Saskatchewan to victory in the 2013 Grey Cup game, Aaron was in the stands at historic Mosaic Stadium with his daughter, Quinn.
Two weeks earlier, Durant had essentially willed the Roughriders to a 29-25, come-from-behind victory over the visiting B.C. Lions in the West Division semi-final.
While sharing those recollections with me, Aaron’s genuine, self-effacing nature shines through.
He is quick to shift the attention to others — his grandparents, his wife (Rochelle) and his daughters (Quinn and Meg).
Over the years, the Andersons have moved from Section 24 to Section 105 to Section 515, switching stadiums along the way.
Most recently, there has been another change of note. Aaron is now the former commissioner, although it is safe to presume that he will continue to find ways to help people — especially within the parameters of sport — and to make them feel good simply by being so genuinely kind and thoughtful.
A 1998 photo of Aaron Anderson (closest to Gainer) with his wife Rochelle and infant daughter Quinn. (Submitted)
REMEMBERING JIM BLEVINS
Regina lost a dedicated sports fan and family man on Monday when Jim Blevins passed away of a heart attack at age 79.
Jim was a long-time Roughriders, Regina Pats and University of Regina Rams season-ticket holder.
He also loved the Chicago Bears, University of Nebraska Cornhuskers (football), Vanderbilt University Commodores (baseball) and, especially, the New York Yankees.
Locally, Jim enjoyed coaching hockey and baseball, in addition to scouting for the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings for more than 20 years.
During the 1970s, Jim also worked as a sports reporter for CKRM radio, alongside the legendary Bob Hutton.
In the years to come, Jim’s distinctive voice would also be heard on CKRM when he called into open-line shows to discuss the Roughriders, the Pats, or anything else that was on his mind.
Jim, who was born in Melfort and grew up in Star City, loved to talk about sports and to enjoy the company of his family and friends.
I had the great pleasure of knowing Jim and of working with his son, Kevin, at the Leader-Post. After passing along the sad news about his father, Blevs was kind enough to include a story.
Jim Blevins (left) and his son Kevin Blevins. (Submitted)
“My dad and I were at his good friend Ed’s house for the 1976 Grey Cup,” he recalled of a CFL championship game between Saskatchewan and the Ottawa Rough Riders. “I was nine.
“The house was in Uplands and had an in-ground swimming pool. It also had a nice, finished basement with a bar. Swanky for the ’70s. I was the only kid there. It was Ed, my dad, and their SaskPower buddies.
“As you will recall, it looked like the Green and White had it in the bag. As the game wound down, my dad and his friends went to the bar to have some celebratory drinks. I was glued to the TV, in my Rhett Dawson shirt, trying to comprehend what I was about to see.
“Dad had started taking me to games that year — 1976 … the year he got season tickets. I watched these guys at Taylor Field and now I was watching them win the Grey Cup on TV.
“But Tony Gabriel intervened.”
With 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter — not too long after Ottawa’s Tom Clements had been stuffed on a third-down quarterback sneak at Saskatchewan’s one-yard line — Gabriel caught a 24-yard touchdown pass that propelled the eastern Riders to a 23-20 victory.
Nine-year-old Kevin saw the play as it happened. As for everyone else …
“Dad and his buddies were deep into celebration,” Blevs said. “They were loud. I can hear them now behind me.
“After ‘The Catch,’ I got up from the rug and ran to my dad, pulling on his jacket, telling him: ‘Dad, they didn’t win.’
“(On June 23) at Houston Pizza on Hill Avenue, I joined my dad, mom, Ed and his wife for dinner. I hadn’t seen Ed and his wife since my college years.
“We talked about that game and Ed said: ‘Kev, if anyone at my house that day, except you, said they saw the Tony Gabriel catch live, they would be lying. We all watched the replays in horror after you told your dad that the Riders didn’t win.’ ”
On Nov. 28, 1976, it was a gloomy drive back to the Blevins family’s Cathedral-area residence.
“I was distraught,” Jim Blevins’ proud son concluded. “Dad leaned over and said: ‘It’s OK. This team will break your heart, but you will love them anyways.’ ”
ROLL CREDITS …
- Nice people who deserve a plug: Gail Blevins, Kevin Blevins, Alan Ford, Sally Ford, Jaxon Ford, Tracy Ford, Jill Ford, Robert A. Walker, Trevor Harris, Rhett Dawson, Andrew Baechler, Merran Fleming, Brett Lauther, Todd Bielefeld, Destiny Kaus, Chloe Le, Daryl Hepting, Mike Roney, Aaron Anderson, Rochelle Anderson, Quinn Anderson, Meg Anderson, Chris Cvetkovic, Norm Fong, Brooke Schaeffer, Evan Bray and, currently immersed in Day 1 of retirement after 36 remarkable years at Luther College High School, Dr. Mark Anderson.
