Rams Sports Dinner

53rd Annual Rams Sports Dinner

Featuring Michael "Pinball" Clemons with special guest Craig Dickenson and hosted by Darren Dupont

Thursday April 28th, 2022

Queensbury Convention Centre - 1700 Elphinstone Street

Cocktails 5:00pm

Dinner 6:00pm

Program 7:00pm

Sponsored by:

            

 

Michael “Pinball” Clemons

Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer | General Manager, CFL’s Toronto Argonauts

Few people exemplify the qualities of personal excellence, teamwork, community leadership, and overcoming the odds better than CFL legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons. With boundless energy, Clemon’s talks centre on the potential for each of us to achieve anything we set our minds to. Unabashedly emotional and impactful, he shows audiences how to put heart into everything they do.

Clemons joined the National Football League in 1987, and CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 1989. He was nicknamed “Pinball” because of his running style — his diminutive size and extraordinary balance allowed him to “bounce” between defensive players, drawing comparisons to a pinball machine.

Clemons won the Grey Cup in 1991, 1996, and 1997 with the Argonauts, and was honoured with the CFL’s “most outstanding player” award in 1990, after setting the single-season record for all-purpose yards. He played his last game as an Argonaut in 2000, before becoming head coach of the team in the same year. He led the football club to six consecutive East Division Finals, including the 2004 championship, concluding his coaching tenure with 68 wins — the second highest in the team history.

In 2007, Clemons stepped down as head coach to become the chief executive officer, and in 2009, he was appointed as the vice-chair of the team. In 2019, Clemons was named the 20^th general manager of the Toronto Argonauts.

Clemons is also the founder of the Pinball Clemons Foundation, a non-profit organization that empowers youth through education. Since it’s founding in 2007, it’s been responsible for the construction of a hospital in Uganda, over 200 schools in developing countries, two orphanages in Haiti, and locally awarded more than 200 scholarships.

In recognition of his work, Clemons received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Meritorious Service Cross, and is a member of the Order of Ontario. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

 

Craig Dickenson

Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coach

Craig Dickenson was named the Riders’ head coach on January 25, 2019 – becoming the 47th head coach in club history.

Dickenson is entering his seventh year in his second go-round with the Roughriders. Dickenson was the Special Teams Coordinator for the 2016-2018 seasons, moving to a dual role when he was named Head Coach.  He also previously worked with the Riders special teams during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

In 2019, Dickenson coached the Roughriders to a 13-5 season, positioning them as the first-place team in the west division – and the third-best record in the Club’s history.  He was named the West Division Coach of the Year for his leadership on and off the field. Over his two seasons as head coach, the Club has gone 22-10 and hosted two home playoff games, winning the first playoff game in new Mosaic Stadium on November 27, 2021.

In 2018, Dickenson’s special teams’ group played a key role in the Riders success. Kicker Brett Lauther connected on 90.0% of his field goal attempts – the second-highest success rate in franchise history. The special teams unit tied a franchise record with four kick return touchdowns on the season, counting three on punt returns and one kickoff return.

Dickenson is in his 18th season as a CFL coach and his 15th as a special-teams coordinator. Before returning to Saskatchewan in 2016, the product of Great Falls, Mont., spent two seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos and one with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Dickenson also previously spent seven CFL seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, serving as their special-teams coordinator in five of those seasons, and one campaign with the Montreal Alouettes.

He is a two-time Grey Cup champion, having won CFL titles with the Eskimos in 2015 and the Stampeders in 2008.

The former University of Montana kicker also was a special-teams assistant for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders (in 2010) and the San Diego Chargers (2000-01). Before embarking on his pro coaching career, Dickenson also worked in the university ranks at Montana and Utah State.

 

Darren Dupont

CEO of Dupont Media Inc.

He is the founder and CEO of Dupont Media Inc., a multi-media company that allows him to focus on sports through different mediums. It’s all about adapting to the changing landscape of sports coverage. The Rod Pedersen Show is an example of Dupont using a different medium while concentrating on sports.

The live show was launched on June 3, 2019, as a partnership between Dupont, IKS Media and Pedersen Media. Dupont is the executive producer while serving as Pedersen’s co-host.

The two-hour show runs Mondays to Fridays and is available online through Facebook and YouTube. An audio portion of the show can be found on rodpedersen.com.

The Game Plus Network, an entertainment and sports TV network that is available through various cable providers across North America, is carrying the second hour of the show. It’s also offered Saturdays and Sundays on cable TV via Access Communications in Regina.