DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS
10 COMPLETELY RANDOM WEEKEND NOTES:
1 – A SPECIAL WEEKEND: It’s Plaza of Honor Weekend in the Rider Nation as we honour franchise greats Reggie Hunt (LB, 2002-2007) and Chris Szarka (FB, 1997-2010) with tonight’s induction ceremony at the Credit Union Eventplex before nearly 2,000 patrons. We have many Rider get-togethers over the course of the year but this evening truly is the best because it’s the only time we get everyone in the Rider Family together under one roof: players, staff, sponsors and fans.
“The Reaper” and “Zark” embodied what it means to be a Roughrider and this is their weekend. It truly was a joy to watch them play and a huge honour to have been able to broadcast their games. They are true Hall of Famers and their highlights fill a reel. I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures along with my role as Master of Ceremonies.
What are your favourite Reggie Hunt and Chris Szarka memories? Interestingly the inductees got to handpick who will induct them tonight. Reggie went with Scott Schultz while Szarka chose Mike McCullough.
2 – WHERE’S THE “U”?: It’s going to come up a lot this weekend — why is Plaza of Honor spelled without a “u” in honor? We delved into this question last year and former Rider President Gord Staseson revealed that, when they first started the Plaza in the early-80’s, marketing experts figured this was the best way to go. They felt it would look better aesthetically on the cairn out front of Taylor Field and in marketing materials. So there you go…
3 – DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE GAME!: The 8-3 Roughriders look to get back into the win column on Sunday when they host the 1-9 Ottawa RedBlacks in the annual Plaza Game at 2:00 pm (TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network). The forecast calls for sunshine and a high of 21 degrees Celsius (69 above Fahrenheit) for game time and the Roughriders are favoured by 11.5-points.
The Saskatchewan-Ottawa game is on at the same time as the Super Bowl rematch between the Seahawks and Broncos in Seattle. To quote the late, great Bob Hughes, “Wonderful planning, that”.
4 – WHAT ABOUT PERSONNEL?: The Riders held a closed practice on Thursday so we weren’t able to report on their roster plans for the Ottawa game. However kicker Chris Milo said after the workout he’s prepared to handle all three kicking duties for a third straight game while punter Josh Bartel recovers from injury. As far as the “three-headed monster” in the offensive backfield goes, it’s too early to tell if Will Ford will be in the lineup. He was a scratch for Sunday’s 28-3 loss in Hamilton for ratio reasons, however Jerome Messame and Anthony Allen suited up.
5 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK #1: Tiger-Cats Coach/GM Kent Austin was asked if his young team is having a tough time replacing the veteran leaders from the 2013 Hamilton squad. “I’d be careful about anointing some of those guys who left as previous leaders,” Austin warned. What the heck happened in Hamilton last year??? I suppose that’s their business, and not ours.
6 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK #2: On Thursday’s SportsCage on 620 CKRM, Chris Szarka was asked about the 13th Man incident in the 2009 Grey Cup and how afterwards he sobbed like a baby as if someone had died. “SOMEONE DID DIE!” Szarka huffed. Like everyone else on that squad, that gaffe will haunt them as long as they’re on the planet (to quote Coach Miller).
7 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK #3: 16-year old rookie Regina Pats phenom Sam Steel was on the SportsCage on Wednesday and we asked him how it feels to be the Face of the Franchise for the Queen City Kids. “It’s a little early for that,” Steel cautioned. He’s right, but how many of you can name three other Regina Pats? Sam’s the one everyone’s talking about as the Pats get set to open the 2014-15 season Friday night at Brandon. Hopefully if the Pats get some wins out of the gate, the city will sit up and take notice.
The 620 CKRM Home-Opener goes on Saturday with a pregame tailgate at 4:30 pm in the parking lot just west of the Brandt Centre. We’ll see you at the game…
8 – WEEK 13 CFL GAME NOTES: Here are some interesting tidbits from the CFL weekly Game Notes package –
– BC defensive back Ryan Phillips’ league-best consecutive game streak of 173 is in jeopardy tonight. Phillips is a game time decision for tonight’s home game against Toronto with a hamstring pull.
– The CFL’s East Division is a combined 1-21 on the road so far this season.
– NO team in CFL history has ever won its division with a below .500 record. It appears that will be the case in 2014 as there’s a three-way tie atop the East between Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto. Each team has three wins with just over a third of the season to go.
– The Riders were 4-2 in the opening third of the season and are 4-1 so far in the middle third.
– Hamilton was 1-4 when quarterback Zach Collaros was out with a concussion. Meanwhile the Edmonton Eskimos were 0-2 with quarterback Mike Reilly out with a hand injury. They are 8-1 with Reilly.
– The Tiger-Cats are 2-0 in the newly-opened Tim Hortons Field. On Saturday evening they host the Edmonton Eskimos who are 6-0 against the East Division this year. Something’s gotta give.
– Only Calgary is better than Edmonton against the East this year at 7-0.
– The Stampeders are the only unbeaten road team this year at 5-0. However their 10-1 start is not a franchise record. They were 12-0 during the 1948 season, and are the only team in CFL history to have a perfect season.
– Montreal quarterback Jonathan Crompton is 2-1 as a starter and 2-0 at home.
– Calgary visits Montreal on Sunday afternoon. They are the two best franchises in the CFL since 1996 (when the Alouettes moved from Baltimore). Montreal has a .622 winning percentage since then with 10-first place finishes and 14 appearances in the division final. Calgary is .581 over that span with six first-place finishes and 10 division final appearances.
– CFL referees are getting the message to keep their hanky in their pocket. In the first 29 games of this season there were an average of 23.9 penalties per game. However over the past 20 games, there’s been an average of 19.3 penalties per game.
9 – THE NFL MESS: The National Football League has never had a more dreadful 10-day period than what they’ve just been through. It seems like almost every team has had to deal with some sort of legal battle and PR catastrophe. They never really stood up and took notice until sponsors starting jumping ship. As far as the fans’ concerns go, the teams never really seemed to care. However it seems a little hypocritical for Anheuser-Busch to threaten pulling its sponsorship. I mean how many people get drunk and abuse their spouse or kids? Hopefully some good comes out of this but the NFL has a long road back.
10 – AT THE MOVIES: Not much beats a warm hotdog at Regina’s Galaxy Cinemas or Southland Cinemas along with a gigantic bag of popcorn and an over-sized Diet Coke. We enjoyed the movie “The Drop” Thursday evening and it gets two thumbs-up from the MMG. However if you’re considering catching the flick “Moms Night Out”, save your money! It’s one of the worst I’ve ever seen.
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THAT’S ALL! ENJOY PLAZA WEEKEND
RP
@sportscage
The NFL may be a mess, but what does it say about the american legal system that morality and justice has to be meted out through professional sports leagues? With the NFL in a tailspin regarding members (players and management) conduct and the overzealousness of media/sponsors/fans and interest groups to now punish before conviction, you have to wonder how long it takes for some person(s) to make false accusations looking for a pay day to keep quiet or even worse keep a star player out of the lineup in an important game (they are that crazy and clever when it… Read more »
FYI – The current edition of Rolling Stone magazine has an article (page 17) titled "Tim Tebow's Bizarro Future. It is a short review of an innovative piece of fiction titled "The Tim Tebow CFL Chronicles" by writer Jon Bois, which can be read on SBNation.com (Just google The Tim Tebow CFL Chronicles) It is well worth the read and has great graphics, including his signed contract with the Argos.
In the story, he had joined the Argos after leaving the NFL. It is always a good thing for our CFL to get mentioned south of the border.
Thanks for the updates Rod. I'm currently in Paris on vacation and your blog is the main source of Rider info for me.
In terms of the game Sunday, expect a low scoring defensive battle. Ottawa held both BC and Edmonton to a total of 17 points combined so we have to hope the defence holds Henry to under 10 points. Ottawa hasn't own since July so the riders need to be ready for the potential trap game.
J
Trap game? Most people hear catchy phrases like trap game, load the box (which no football coach actually uses), double teams, etc.
The Riders lost in an embarrassing effort last week and have questions everywhere about their offence and specifically the quarterback. With 4 of the last 5 games versus the top two team in the division I cannot for the life of me see this as a trap game. I see this as a must win.
The Riders need to be as desperate as ever on Sunday. A loss all but eliminates the reality of a home playoff game.
On what level does the CFL think they can compete with the NFL viewers?? I just don't get it. Go back to the Friday/Friday Saturday/Saturday games.
"On what level does the CFL think they can compete with the NFL viewers?? I just don't get it. Go back to the Friday/Friday Saturday/Saturday games"
All four CFL games with most likely be the highest watched sport events of the week in Canada – as they typically are. Sunday's game in Sask will most likely be sold out … so is the argument of not playing on sunday valid?
RP said,"However it seems a little hypocritical for Anheuser-Busch to threaten pulling its sponsorship. I mean how many people get drunk and abuse their spouse or kids?" Well said as most all bar fights and domestic disputes and violence in general can, in turn, be associated with alcohol. Somewhat related, it reminds me of just how hypocritical the laws against marijuana are. That is a drug that creates a calm and has many medicinal purposes, yet is hypocritically treated like it is the drug of the devil. So we continue to use our tax dollars to prosecute against it. Meanwhile… Read more »
Dope causes enough problems of its own…there is a reason why it is illegal. ..and alcohol is no better.
The Rock
The NFL, and all professional sports has always had its problems. The only difference now is that we have technology everywhere to catch it.
Elevator cameras, dash-cams, smart phones with cameras everywhere… The NFL players have not suddenly become ignorant, those that always have been will continue to be… It is a symptom of society, not some sort of sick trend of the times…
K
On what level does the CFL think they can compete with the NFL viewers?? I just don't get it. Go back to the Friday/Friday Saturday/Saturday games.
I agree, but maybe it’s TSN that’s driving it? Notice that the Riders are the ones playing Sunday. The league or TSN are banking on the loyalty of Rider followers that they’ll give up viewing NFL (probably the only fans that would).
Pats home opener is this weekend too. Lots of good sports viewing this weekend.
What a great time of year, weather wise, sports wise, food wise! Get wise and enjoy each day like it was your last. Go Riders!
..and tobacco.
The Roll
Check out the weather forecast for next week. Summer has arrived!
'Dope' is quite the derogatory term for something that is medically administered and accepted as medicinally legal in most places throughout the world. Next time the doctor issues you a pain-killer or anti-inflammatory from some mad-scientist lab who lobbied hard by paying off the doctors (big business federal lobbying); the last thing to go through most peoples mind is to consider that pill form subscription as 'dope'; yet the calming and natural herb cannabis should remain forever with a negative label 'dope'. Give your head a shake 'Rock'… As for alcohol, you say it is not much better? I will… Read more »
Calming and natural? You mean burnt out…as for the natural…so is Anthrax want to give that a try? Dope increases your heart rate and ruins countless of lives…it is no different than any other drug…you grow tolerance..
You then use more to get same effect till at some point you are not even getting buzzed anymore and just smoke up to feel normal or to sleep at night…Weed is nobodys "friend"…
The Rock
So Canada's team can't even spell Honour correctly? I have a feeling that someone screwed up, and the "excuse" about marketing is complete BS.
Hey Rock… Cannabis is not my thing, but even I (and most people with a brain in 2014), most all know that the money and time wasted with policing, prosecuting, and corrections for possession of this relatively harmless drug (non-violent), is a continued waste of our tax payers time and money, including our policing resources that could be used elsewhere. ——Unless you are a supporter of gang-activity and want the underground black market economy to continue to thrive, then it's time to face up to the reality of a useless war against marijuana. —-I for one support safer streets and… Read more »
BALONEY…lol…non violent? Ya quit using for 7-10 days and see what happens…lol You only have to look at the path alcohol has had since prohibition…and weed will take the same path….it destroys and steals lives….safer streets? Lol You mean just more stoned drivers as is for alcohol…users always defend their drug of choice….
The Rock
So someone forgot the letter 'U' in HONOUR and the best excuse that they could come up with is 'They felt it would look better aesthetically on the cairn out front of Taylor Field and in marketing materials.' Yeah right ?? I guess it was cheaper to come up with a flimsy excuse than actually fix one pice of stone. What a joke !!! But why am I not surprised. One question though …. was it an American that spelled it this way or someone from Saskatchewan ??
Milo all 3 kicking duties again. Get ready for Ottawa starting with good field position all game.