THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE
1. FAJARDO LOOKS LEGIT: In the 2 starts which we’ve seen him run the Rider offence so far, Cody Fajardo has already shown us more than Zach Collaros did in all of last season. In fact, one could argue (and I will) that Fajardo has strung together better back-to-back starts to begin his Rider career than any other quarterback since the great Kent Austin.
That’s about a 32-year gap.
We have to take this all with a grain of salt because the guy just grabbed his first win against a team that looks like a dumpster fire already. But even the enthusiastic demeanor Fajardo (however you pronounce that) shows toward his teammates and the fans makes you WANT to root for this guy.
2. RIDERS THAT GOOD OR ARGOS THAT BAD?: Probably a little bit of both. The Argos clearly let that 2017 Grey Cup go to their heads and without Ricky Ray, just aren’t good enough. But on the other hand, the Riders executed when they had to and showed great poise in waiting out that rain delay. No-one freaked out over the 0-2 start, just worked together all week to figure out how to make it right on Canada Day.
Which they did.
3. WEATHER DELAYS ARE THE BEST: I remember covering a several hour power outage delay between the Riders and Edmonton Eskimos way back in 2007 when I heard someone say “I love these nights because these are the games that you’ll always remember”. And it’s true. On that night the Roughriders entered the delay early in the 4thquarter trailing and ended up storming back to win in front of the noisiest 5 thousand or so fans I have ever witnessed. The fans who stick around and make that memory are who make the atmosphere at the park what it’s supposed to be.
4. WHAT MORE DOES FRANKLIN NEED?: Guy has good receivers like SJ Green and Armanti Edwards, a great running back in James Wilder Jr. and on Canada Day even looked like he had time to throw the football. Some guys get too much patience like Johnny Manziel did from the Alouettes and I’m thinking Marc Trestman was right to give up on this guy. He’s just not good enough. That has become abundantly clear.
5. CFL ATTENDANCE: Crowds in all of the major professional sports leagues are down but the CFL gets ripped for it when just about no-one else does. What gives?
6. REGINA RED SOX ROAD TRIP: Sox have been amazing at home but not quite on the road. Dropped 2 of 3 in Okotoks before doing the same in Lethbridge including Canada Day’s doubleheader with the Lethbridge Bulls. Those teams are always pretty tough and given the fact they’ve gone 6-0 against good Alberta teams at home this summer, I think we can cut the Red Sox a bit of slack when they go on the road. A better indicator will come when they travel to Brooks and Swift Current for a 4-game trip later this week.
7. KANSAS CITY ROYALS MAPLE LEAF: Might sound a bit cheesy to even bring this up but I thought it was real nice of Major League Baseball to have the Kansas City Royals wear the Canadian flag on their uniforms during their Canada Day game with the Blue Jays. It feels good to know that our country is accepted and embraced, which hasn’t always been the case, by all of MLB.
The Jays have worn the U.S. flag for special occasions many times and it shouldn’t be too much to expect them to reciprocate and do the same for us, right?
8. KAWHI LEONARD: Since when has the Los Angeles media given a superstar their privacy the way Toronto has for Kawhi Leonard? If I still gambled, I’d be placing a wager on the Raptors re-signing this guy. I just can’t see it playing out any other way.
9. ANOTHER REASON TO HATE THE NHL: I’m looking for highlights on the Blue Jays and Riders on Canada Day and all I get is all this BS about the Maple Leafs trading Nazim Kadri. On CANADA DAY! Are you freaking kidding me? The NHL needs to hog the spotlight on Canada Day? Hockey season is just waaayyyy too long in this country.
10. ON THE AIR THIS WEEK: Regina Red Sox return home to play the Yorkton Cardinals on Wednesday night. Leo Mac and I will have it live on the Access Communications facebook page or if you have an Access cable subscription, channel 7 or 70 in HD.
(Follow Brendan McGuire on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)
Pt 1 & 2. It’s only 2 games but he already has more 300 yd games than Zach & half the offensive TD’s. So there’s that. Three Eastern teams to start. I’ll reserve my comments on the Riders till they meet the West. That comes this week & they may get lucky if Mitchell’s out. Stamps need to win with offence – too many newcomers on defence & teams are laying 30+ pts & 400+ yds on them. Might be catching the Stamps at a good time.
Pt 4. An OL would help. They’re awful.
Agreed on the NHL hate thing.
Hey McGuire,
Barry McCockiner here. Do you still think the Grey Cup should be played in Vegas?
Thanks,
BM
Agreed on the Kent Austin comment. I was thinking that at Mosaic the other night. Doesn’t lock in on his primary receiver, but instead can look to pass one way (which can freeze the defense) and then throw the other direction, unlike Durant.
Uses all his receivers, not just his favorites. Very quick release. Can throw the short and long routes with precision. Has running ability that defences have to respect, just as the aforementioned Doubles. I’m impressed with the small sample I’ve seen. Go Riders!
Any chance of a regular WMBL write-up on this site? Red Sox focused or league focused…either way. I know that usually requires co-operation from the teams and communications/PR people but it seems like the Sox are having a hell of a year and I’m hearing almost nothing about it.