10 WEEKEND THINGS

1 – NO APOLOGIES: They are dancing in the streets here in the Wheat Province, given the fact their beloved Roughriders are 3-3 following a 2-game sweep of the barely-alive BC Lions. Have the Riders clinched yet? There are many ways to look at it, and one is the fact the Riders’ 3 wins have come over teams with a combined record of 1-12. But that’s not the Riders fault. The best way to look at things, today, is to be happy.

2 – LION DOWN: Saturday’s 45-18 loss to Saskatchewan *has* to be rock bottom for the 1-6 BC Lions, doesn’t it? Aside from KR Ryan Lankford’s 2 return TDs, the Lions looked listless, disinterested and uninspired on their home field. This week’s CFL Game Notes noted that the 2011 Grey Cup champion BC Lions actually started 1-6 too, but there doesn’t seem to be much hope on the west coast this time around. Wally Buono retired and the roof at BC Place caved in. Fans are begging him to return to the sidelines. But wait, there’s more …

3 – VIVA MONTREAL: Longtime BC football coach Jerry Mullis posted to his Facebook that the rumour du jour says Wally Buono is being courted to takeover the Montreal Alouettes as President/GM once new ownership is in place. It’s not-so-farfetched considering Wally was raised in Montreal and was part of some great Alouettes teams in the 70’s. However the last time I talked with the CFL’s all-time winningest coach, he was very much enjoying retirement. His family seems deeply entrenched in BC. However, things change and money talks.

4 – THE LORD IS MY SCHEPER: It’s quite rare that a football team fires a position coach mid-season, but that’s what the Riders did on Thursday with defensive line coach Mike Scheper (pictured). The football world is still buzzing about it into the weekend. Seasoned football PR people would call the reason for the firing “philosophical differences”, and be done with it. However head coach Craig Dickenson’s explanation left tongues wagging, and was ambiguous at best. “Schep” is a tireless, dedicated worker and hopefully will be on another team in the future. He’s got a long, deep resume and is a champion.

5 – FIRINGS: Clearly the water’s getting hot for rookie coach Devone Claybrooks in BC, and for veteran coach Corey Chamblin in Toronto. Football maven John Lynch predicts Mike Benevides will be running the Argos by Labour Day. The TSN analyst is a Toronto product and *could* be an ideal fit but I’d ask you, “Can he play QB?” Because that’s what Toronto needs the most. Ottawa’s Rick Campbell is on the hot seat too, on the heels of a 4-game losing streak and a controversial coaches call on Thursday Night Football. Just remember that the new coaches salary cap restriction – which doesn’t apply to team Presidents nor the Commissioner – has severely handcuffed teams who would otherwise want to fire a coach.

6 – CHAMB BLAME GAME: Corey Chamblin’s losing streak hit 15 following Toronto’s 26-0 loss in Edmonton on Thursday Night Football. Clearly, I’ve been a staunch defender of Corey so I got-to-thinking about the list of QBs he’s had during this stretch. They are: Darian Durant (for one half in Week 1), Kevin Glenn, Tino Sunseri, Brett Smith, McLeod Bethel Thompson, James Franklin and Dakota Prokop. It’s not exactly the road to Canton, OH but there’s a Hall of Famer on the list in KG. Still, Chamblin’s been dealt a crappy hand and I defy you to find a coach who would have any different results with the current Argos.

7 – TIGER TOWN: Ticats QB Jeremiah Masoli saw his season end on Friday Night Football with a harmless, non-contact, twist-of-the-knee in the first half. (I thought Field Turf was supposed to prevent these injuries, not cause them?) Pundits are predicting curtains for Hamilton’s season, and an automatic playoff berth for the 4th place team in the CFL West. We say, “not so fast”. The Ticats beat the #1 team in the CFL, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with back-up QB Dane Evans Friday night. This ain’t over yet.

8 – FOR THE W: The Blue Bombers gift-wrapped Friday’s game for the Ticats by fumbling, bumbling, stumbling, and intercepting. They pulled their QB twice. As we’ve said in this space all summer – the only team that’ll beat Winnipeg this year is Winnipeg. THAT is head coach Mike O’Shea’s biggest challenge at the moment.

9 – JOHNNY FOOTBALL: Desperate times call for desperate measures and with an extreme shortage of starting-calibre QBs and scores of empty seats in CFL stadiums, folks are calling for the return of Johnny Manziel. “He’ll sell tickets,” they say. But I’m not in favour of that idea. He’s lying in the bed he made and I see no reason for that to change.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Saying it again – if you believe the CFL season begins at Labour Day, the joke’s on you. You’re missing A LOT! … The Edmonton Eskimos are operating without a President and have a winning record, and attendance is increasing. … The Calgary Stampeders continue to win without Bo Levi Mitchell. My initial thought is that it’s “luck”, but that would be insulting to the Stamps. That team believes they will win every game, and generally do. It’s a mindset, and there is no such thing as “luck”. … Former Roughriders personnel man John Murphy is listed as Director of Player Personnel with the Toronto Argonauts. However he tells me it’s more of a consulting role, for the time being. … It appears former Rider LB Sam Eguavoen has made the Miami Dolphins. He’s with the 1’s in their nickel package in camp. New Dolphins head coach Bryan Flores on Sam: “Good, young, talented guy who has some developmental characteristics. He’s done a good job. We give him something, he’s done a good job with it. We’ll give him more. If you do a good job, we’ll give you more things to do.” … The WHL Cup is making the rounds in the 306. Estevan products Cole Fonstad and Brayden Pachel of the P.A. Raiders had it in the Energy City over the weekend for a day of celebrations. It would be nice to see the Raiders and the trophy honoured at a Rider game before camps open!

Y’er welcome,
RP

(Mike Scheper photo courtesy Lisa Lukye)