THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

Here’s the photoblog we promised from the just-completed SportsCage/Marlin Travel Ultimate Sports Trip V to Miami followed by the regular Monday morning notebook you’ve come to know as the MMG.  Thanks to all 46 SportsCage listeners who came along as well as Marlin Travel’s Terry Kaszas who did another AMAZING job of organizing and selling the excursion!  In the above photo, you see the home of the Miami Dolphins and the site of tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the Dolphins and the New York Giants.

The tailgating was well underway hours before the 1:00 pm ET kickoff last Sunday, and was populated by thousands of Ravens fans …

Here’s a tour from around SunLife Stadium, which has gone by several names since its construction in 1986.

The original owner of the Dolphins, South Dakotan Joe Robbie after which the stadium was named 30 years ago.

The Dolphins Hall of Fame features plenty of franchise greats considering they’re celebrating their 50th season.  Coach Don Shula is the most famous of them all, leading the Dolphins to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1972 and 1973 and the famed perfect season of ’72.

A lot of those alumni still live on the same street in Miami and are keeping a close eye on the 13-0 Carolina Panthers of 2015.  Whenever an NFL team’s perfect season ends, those alumni meet in the street and pop a bottle of champagne to toast the 1972 team.  True story.

A fun area for kids to run football drills with Dolphins staff …

The famed Dolphins cheerleaders …

This is that farmer from Kipling, SK, Brett, whom I wrote about in the column last week …

It seems every week in the NFL is like a Grey Cup and it’s no exception in Miami…

Learn about the Dolphins here, and get photos and autographs with the Dolphins cheerleaders …

The doors open to NFL stadiums two hours prior to kickoff and we went down to the field to survey the goings-on.  It was a treat to study the goings-on, examine who enters the field and when, and what they do while they’re out there …

We often hear the NFL isn’t “fan-friendly” but these photos will prove otherwise.  Here, one Ravens player stops to sign autographs before warming up …

Ever seen a coach stop to take selfies with fans before a game?  Baltimore’s John Harbaugh did just that last Sunday …

Ravens Offensive Coordinator Marc Trestman chats with an NFL-type.  This was as close was we could get to Marc …

Super fans from both teams…

Another appearance by the Dolphins cheerleaders …

Field level luxury boxes are all-the-rage in new or newly-renovated NFL stadiums.  You have to wonder if boxes like these will be incorporated into the New Mosaic Stadium?  $$$$$$$$$$$$  They were a part of the recent stadium renovation in Miami …

The Dolphins take to the field for the 1:00 pm ET kickoff …

Game action …

Another staple of new stadiums are the many areas for fans to congregate and watch the games.  Teams aren’t concerned with fans staying in their seats any more.  They’d prefer you get up, mingle, and above all, spend money …

Too much of the “Devil Juice”, to quote my friend Johnny Athens …

Another area for fans to visit…

One thing we don’t have in Saskatchewan:  acres upon acres of parking space…

A great shot of SunLife Stadium.  You’ll remember it used to have orange seats but Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross forked over hundreds of millions of his own money a few years back to modernize the facility …  One thing struck me — the Dolphins have sucked forever but dear Lord do their fans love that team!  It seems they’re still riding the cache earned from back-to-back Super Bowl wins over 40 years ago …

Another area for fans to mill about and watch the game …

A shot from behind our hotel, an hour north of downtown Miami in Deefield Beach, FL …

The sun broke out for a few days during our trip, and it was fantastic as the temperature reached nearly 30 degrees Celsius …

The Atlantic Ocean.  But the waters were shark-infested and a Hammerhead made an appearance just off the nearby pier.  Some of our SportsCagers were fishing and snapped a photo of the beast …

The area around our hotel … Very nice.

Monday night we headed to downtown Miami to catch the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards at American Airlines Center.  The game was soldout …

Miami sports teams seem to be ahead of the curve as it pertains to sales and marketing.  Each gate is sold to a sponsor.  Mental note …

It’s a party atmosphere with red lighting on all concourses at AAC …

Want a party?  Bring in a deejay.  NBA games always provide the best “show” or game day presentation …

Tip-off …

Expensive yachts float right behind the American Airlines Center.  This one features a helicopter pad on one end …

Ready to go alligator hunting in the Everglades?  Justin is going to be our tour guide …

Our mode of transportation …

We saw nine alligators on this excursion.  After three days of rain and cloud, these fellas were excited to come out and sunbathe …

A seven-footer …

One of our drivers and the owner of D-And-J Transportation: “Mike”.  I learned a lot about the area from this guy …

The BB&T Centre, home of the NHL’s Florida Panthers …

The Panthers brought in a deejay too, but the party fizzled.  Spits of rain didn’t help …

You can learn all about the Panthers’ 22-year history in this museum on the concourse.  And there was plenty of room to move around …

Get your Panthers merchandise!  The selection was fairly picked-over and didn’t have a lot of sizes …

Didn’t know Roger Neilson was a reporter?

Here’s the view from our seats for Tuesday’s Florida-Ottawa game.  For $99 you can get a game ticket in a huge lounge with all-inclusive food and beverages … Also, the Panthers don’t sell or hand-out programs however game notes are provided to all season ticket holders.  That’s a nice touch.

And finally, most of the group gathered for a shot on the second-last day.  Thanks to all who came along and also thanks for being such faithful listeners to the SportsCage on 620 CKRM!

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MONDAY NOTEBOOK

1. THE LAST WORD:  As is usually the case, near the end of the trip talk started to circulate about where we’ll venture for the SportsCage/Marlin Travel Ultimate Sports Trip VI next year.  Chicago, Nashville and New Orleans all came up but it seems many would consider doubling back to Phoenix or Dallas (so far we’ve visited Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Southern California and now Miami).

For the first time we didn’t broadcast the SportsCage while on the trip and that’s probably a good thing considering all of the Roughriders news that was breaking back home.  The primary reason for the lack of a show was that a budget wasn’t built-in for a co-host and I wasn’t too interested in doing 2 1/2 hours alone each day from a sports bar.  Plus if we were to do lots of phone interviews, I can’t host the show and operate a sound system all at the same time.  Maybe next year we’ll be able to drag along a co-host.

2. ONTO THE RIDERS:  We were back home in time for 620 CKRM’s annual Christmas Party in the Harvard Broadcasting Green & White Lounge at Mosaic Stadium Saturday night.  Our owner Paul Hill addressed the crowd and when he mentioned the hiring of Chris Jones as Head Coach & GM of the Roughriders, he got a huge ovation.  The applause continued when Paul announced plans to hold next year’s Christmas Party in the New Mosaic Stadium.

Those cheers for Chris Jones Saturday night seemed to be a small sample of what the entire Rider Nation is feeling right now after last week’s news.  As the Leader Post’s Murray McCormick said on a podcast last week, “It’s like the 3-15 season never even happened”.

The Jones Regime hasn’t won – or lost – a game yet but the feeling across the CFL seems to be that the 2016 Roughriders will automatically be considered favourites or front-runners.  A lot of that will depend on how the roster takes shape, and we’ll get into that further down.

2016 will be the Farewell Season at the old Mosaic Stadium and Rider fans expect to send the old girl out with a bang!  The positive vibes emanating from 1910 Piffles Taylor Road are endless.

As one patron on the SportsCage trip said last week, “I think the Riders will destroy everything in their path next year”.

Amazingly, other than last week’s hiring of Chris Jones, there have been no subsequent announcements by Canada’s Team.  CFL Insiders like Arash Madani and Gary Lawless have reported John Murphy is jumping to Saskatchewan from Calgary and Jones is luring his entire Edmonton coaching staff to the 306 but not one single thing has been confirmed by the club.

That’s not to say it hasn’t happened though, as one of those coaches contacted me last week about accomodations for the 2016 CFL season.

I expect over the new few days these moves will be confirmed along with, hopefully, an announcement on what role Jeremy O’Day will fulfill with the Roughriders moving forward.

And when the music stops on this wild game of Musical Chairs within the CFL coaching fraternity, one has to wonder if Jacques Chapdelaine will have a spot to sit down.  I’m told the Riders’ 2015 Offensive Coordinator and his son Justin (Riders Offensive Assistant) have cleaned out their offices at Mosaic Stadium however their names haven’t been linked to any job openings in the league as of yet.

3. TRAITOROUS CHRIS JONES:  The way the Edmonton Eskimos have handled Chris Jones’ departure has been classy including GM Ed Hervey’s assertion last week that no compensation is necessary.  Hervey told reporters Jones fulfilled his obligations by delivering a Grey Cup championship and the Eskimos will not be a franchise that “holds people back”.

However the Edmonton media has been lambasting the new Coach & GM of the Riders, including a column in the Edmonton Sun by Graham Hicks over the weekend which featured the headline: “Good Riddance To The Traitorous Chris Jones“.

The whole article comes across like a Facebook post from a jilted lover however if you dig deeper, Hicks made some great points.  He mentioned that the Eskimos gave Chris Jones his first opportunity to be a head coach after 10 years in the league and he paid them back by jumping ship at the first, and best, opportunity elsewhere.

Hicks likened it to several employers who put time and money into training employees – and giving them a chance – only to leave them holding the bag.

That, I get.  Especially after talking with several business operators over the past few years who’ve been left high and dry and forced to continually mine the field for staff.  Hicks writes, “Jones is representative of a disturbing new business ethos taking root through the modern world.  In contemporary culture in general, in business particularly, it has become all-about-me.”

However on the flipside, for anyone who’s ever been oppressed or “held back”, you have to silently pump your fist in support of Jones.

Dynasties in sports are a thing of the past.  Coaches and players in all leagues are “cashing in” when they have the opportunity and their stock is high.  It’s no longer satisfactory to see how many consecutive championships you can win with your franchise.  It truly has become all-about-me.

And you can hardly blame them.  Corey Chamblin and Brendan Taman are examples of the other side of the coin, being shown the door when times are bad.

“Get while the getting’s good” is the new mantra in sports.

I can see both sides, and that’s why I thought Hicks’ column was excellent even if I don’t agree in the case of Chris Jones.


4. ALL THE RAGE:  You’re going to be hearing a lot of the term “compensation” in the days and weeks ahead.  In the business world, compensation generally comes in the form of money but in sports it’s players and/or draft picks.  NHL GM’s voted last week to do away with compensation for fired-employees who join other teams while they’re still being paid out the term of their deals.  That’s completely understandable and actually surprising that the policy was still in place.

However there’s an entirely separate phenomenon going on in the CFL and it’s at the forefront right now.  While Ed Hervey doesn’t feel the Eskimos are due compensation for Chris Jones being plucked away by Saskatchewan, the Ottawa RedBlacks reportedly are after some sort of compensation for the Edmonton Eskimos stealing their Offensive Coordinator Jason Maas to be their next Head Coach.

Everybody seems to have a different take on this so here’s mine:  if said coach or personnel-type is offered a promotion in terms of job title and salary from a rival team, then he should be free to go.  It seems black and white to me.

Where it gets gray is a case like Stampeders Assistant GM John Murphy reportedly heading to Saskatchewan for a manufactured title.  At this point we don’t know what title or salary Murphy has agreed to with the Roughriders but that may all get sorted out this week.

Stamps GM John Hufnagel doesn’t seem to mind however, as he’s reportedly already hired his son Cole away from the New York Jets to replace Murphy.

It figures to be a very interesting time ahead.

5. THE PLAYERS:  The Riders will get through this wave of coaching announcements and before long (maybe even before Christmas) we’ll start to hear which players from 2015 will be invited back while others are set free.  While Chris Jones coffee’d with buddies and enjoyed family time in South Pittsburg, Tennessee late last week, you have to know he was making a list in the back of his mind.

Several Rider fans have asked about the status of quarterback Darian Durant and how it may change.  Many have asked if he’ll be asked to take a paycut from his nearly half-a-million dollar salary and for that, I have no answer.

Perhaps he will be asked, but I don’t expect it to happen for two reasons: 1) The mismanagement over the past couple of seasons isn’t Durant’s fault and 2) In any discussions with Chris Jones that I’ve had regarding Durant over the past few years, Jones has had nothing but the utmost respect for Darian as a player and as a competitor.  I recall Jones saying Darian is nearly impossible to defend when “he’s on”.

Now, you could rightfully bring up Darian’s injury history in 2014 and 2015 but it’s no different than other top-flight CFL quarterbacks like Travis Lulay, Drew Willy and Ricky Ray.  There’s no reason to expect Durant won’t be allowed to play out the duration of his current deal and see what the scenario is when it’s time to renew.

As far as the other players go, it figures to be an uneasy Christmas.  Murray McCormick has a nice article in today’s Leader Post quoting Weston Dressler about the angst the players are feeling right now.  Really no one knows where they stand.

But they’ll know soon.

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THAT’S ALL!  SEE YOU IN THE CAGE AT 4:00 PM
RP
@sportscage