DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS
RAPID-FIRE OBSERVATIONS
* #THANKYOUWESTON: The news that Weston Dressler is leaving the Saskatchewan Roughriders came like a kick to the gut on Thursday. Quite simply put, when you assess it, Weston Dressler is a heart-and-soul guy. In his time in Regina, the 5’7″ receiver grew to legendary stature, accumulated Hall of Fame credentials, and turned into a locker room leader. Make no mistake; the Roughriders are Darian’s team, but Dressler was a trusty Lieutenant. He tackled every play in practice like it was the Grey Cup. That’s why he got hurt in training camp last year in Saskatoon — he was diving all over the place, putting his body in harm’s way, and wore himself out before the team had even played a game. That’s why he’ll be a hit in the NFL and I mean what I told on him on the radio yesterday; I hope I never see him again on the Mosaic Stadium turf unless he’s being honoured. BUT this is a crater-sized loss for Canada’s Team.
* SNAPPED! LOST IT!: This caller to the SportsCage, Eldon, really gets my goat. He always does. He called in yesterday to say he’s disappointed in Dressler for “leaving us” and said “don’t tell us it’s all about the money, when it is”. Eldon is all that’s wrong with the Rider Nation and the reason Saskatchewan used to get scorned by the rest of the country. People were texting into the show asking if the caller was staged because his comments were so ridiculous. The fact is, Weston owes us nothing. In fact, we owe him.
* HANK IN BLUE & GOLD: It seems it’s just a matter of time before the Winnipeg Blue Bombers snap up quarterback Henry Burris, who was released by Hamilton on Thursday. TSN’s Farhan Lalji reports the Bombers have already made Hank a substantial offer. Twitter reaction in Winnipeg is mostly negative towards the move but Bomber fans can’t afford to be choosy. See you on Labour Day Henry! Add another chapter to the rivalry’s storied history.
* ARE YOU KIDDING ME?: Expect 2014 to be the last time the NFL holds a Media Day for the Super Bowl combatants with 2000 reporters from around the world on hand. I mean, if a reporter actually asked Seattle coach Pete Carroll “Is this a must-win game?”, then it’s time to hang it up. This is a waste of everyone’s time, even if I don’t agree with Marshawn Lynch’s punk-ish antics with the media all week.
* MY SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Denver 27 Seattle 24. But I’m pulling for the Seahawks and Regina’s Jon Ryan.
* PREDICTIONS DON’T MATTER: It’s fun to watch and read all the analysis in the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl but in the end, none of it matters. However it’s interesting to see the predictions from those who actually played in the NFL or even the Super Bowl. Former San Diego quarterback Dave Dickenson told a Calgary newspaper this week that “it’s Peyton’s year”, and is going with Denver on Sunday. Meanwhile two-time Super Bowl champion Jeff Reed with the Pittsburgh Steelers predicted on the SportsCage this week that Seattle will triumph. “Defense wins championships and we won our two Super Bowls with defense,” Reed told us on CKRM. Only one of them will be right.
* SKITTLES: ESPN NFL insider Ed Werder wrote on Twitter this week that Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch feels he has been quoted inaccurately and misrepresented by the media so he prefers to cooperate on a limited basis. To me, that’s ridiculous. It’s like never dating again after you’ve had bad relationships in the past. Dumb.
* MORE 12’S ON HAND: According to www.seatgeek.com, the Seahawks will have more fans at Sunday’s game than the Broncos. 18% of ticket buyers for Super Bowl 48 are from Washington state compared to just 8.1% from Colorado.
* ENDING THE DROUGHT: The Seahawks are one of 14 NFL teams without a Super Bowl championship to their credit. The others are Atlanta, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, Carolina, Arizona, Houston, San Diego, Tennessee, Philadlephia and Minnesota.
* ONE FOR THE BROADCASTERS OUT THERE: Joe Buck will call the play-by-play of Super Bowl LVIII on Fox. He said on ESPN Radio this week, “There’s no real upside to calling the Super Bowl but there’s a major downside. If you screw up a game-defining play, it (your career) is over”.
* GIVE IT UP: There’s been plenty of talk this week about MLSE in Toronto buying the Argonauts, and how that move could pave the way for the city to land an NFL franchise. At his annual State of the League news conference last year, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Toronto isn’t even on their radar. Hopefully somebody asks Goodell about Toronto this year because I assume their stance hasn’t changed. Here’s my take — what happens first: the NFL to Toronto or the NHL to Saskatoon?
* FREE WILLY: There’s plenty of talk that Henry Burris will be the starting quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2014. However Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press reported this week that a CFL source told him the Bombers are eyeing pending free agent Drew Willy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Drew is an under-the-radar kind of guy BUT he has the tools and the demeanor to be a star CFL pivot. Wherever he lands, we wish him well.
* GOLDEN TATE: Calgary Sun writer Scott Mitchell wrote this week that the Calgary Stampeders are 7-0 when quarterback Drew Tate starts and finishes the game going back to 2011. He will be atop the Stampeders’ depth chart going into training camp in June.
* SCHEDULE LEAK: Last year’s CFL schedule came out on March 5 and it seems teams are currently crafting this year’s schedule. Gerry Moddejonge of the Edmonton Sun wrote this week he’s hearing first-year Eskimo head coach Chris Jones will make his debut in Week 1 at BC.
* STILL SEARCHING: When the Eskimos announced their coaching staff this week, there was a glaring ommission; offensive line coach. GM Ed Hervey said they’ve interviewed seven or eight candidates and are still in search of the right fit. Bob Wylie seems to be the object of their affection, but the former Rider and Bomber OL coach likes to take his time with these decisions.
* THE HOMESTAND CONTINUES: The Regina Pats (25-21-5) are home to the Saskatoon Blades tonight and to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday. The Pats are currently 7th in the WHL’s Eastern Conference but are only three points back of 2nd-place. They are 5-4-1 in their past 10 games. They’ve had almost a full week of rest/practice time and it’s time to find the consistency they’ve been missing all season. We’ll see you there Saturday.
* AULIE UPDATE: We’ve been keeping a close eye on the injury status of Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Keith Aulie, a Rouleau, SK product and Friend of the Show. He suffered a broken hand in early December when we were in Tampa for the SportsCage Ultimate Sports Trip but he returned to the Lightning lineup on Sunday and has appeared in three games since.
* IS ANYONE ELSE NERVOUS?: Robert Luongo and Carey Price are atop the depth chart in goal for Team Canada’s Olympic squad but both appeared in the Bloopers of the Week on the sports networks. Any chance third-stringer Mike Smith makes an appearance before the tournament is over in Sochi? Or is Ben Scrivens available? His team record 59-save shutout the other night was impressive but, coming from the Monday Morning Goalie, let’s remember it was just one game. But congrats for going into the Oiler record book.
* WE’RE REALLY ROLLIN’: After last night’s win over San Jose, the Calgary Flames are on their longest winning streak in nearly two years at four games. The season turning point? You guessed it — Tortorella Gate.
* DELAET UPDATE: Weyburn’s Graham DeLaet is tied for 18th at 4-under after the opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
* BIG NAMES COMING TO TOWN: The Canadian junior football champion Regina Thunder announced this week that Anthony Calvillo will be the keynote speaker at their annual fundraising dinner and ring ceremony on March 22 at the Turvey Centre. Meanwhile the WMBL’s Regina Red Sox have announced Jose Canseco will the guest speaker at their sports dinner and auction on April 5. I’ll have the good fortunate of MC’ing both events. Canseco has a list of questions he won’t answer. A.C. does not.
THAT’S ALL! ENJOY SUPER BOWL!
RP
@sportscage
This Eldon cat sounds like a real knucklehead.
Dressler gave us six years of exciting football – he owes Rider Nation squat.
U.S. players don't grow up dreaming to play in the CFL – they want to play in the NFL.
To rag on Dressler for pursuing his dream is idiotic and selfish.
–Cam
I'd say an NFL team in Regina happens before anything!
But seriously, the NFL isn't here to squash the Argos. North Americas oldest sports franchise. They may co-exist one day in Toronto. But only if the CFL doesn't get hurt by it. There's a good working relationship there. And with the list of players going back and forth growing, that only helps the CFL exposure. Example: How many times do they bring up the Riders when talking with the Colts Freeman. Every time.
First off, congrats to Weston, what he did for this province, the fan base, the organization and every community he graced during his tenure speaks volumes to the type of a person he is. You can't help but be anything but ecstatic for him and his family. Rider fans should show their support by purchasing some customizable "Dressler 13" t-shirts and/or jerseys for those who can afford it to really show the Chiefs how big of a deal this signing was to the Dressler fan base. http://shop.kcchiefs.com/search/customize Agree with you Rod on the NFL Toronto thing, many talking heads on… Read more »
Was truly an honour to watch #7 play six years for us, will be remembered as one of the greatest rider receivers we ever had,wish him the best in his nfl dream.
Congratulations Weston! I hope you get a better shot than was given to Fantuz. I predict he'll be back down the road.
Huge, and I mean HUGE Green and White gallery following Graham Delaet yesterday in Phoenix. Tremendous support and he responded. He's got a great chance to win this tournament.
Fully agree with Cam and Parkside. That Eldon guy gives all of Rider Nation a bad name with his selfishness. If Weston wants to go after his dream like he is then we ought to be supporting him fully. He's a shoo-in for the Plaza for sure whenever he is done playing the game. Can't figure out why Bomber fans would be upset that they are looking at bringing in Burris. First off, love him or hate him he's still a good quarterback. Second, is anything they have or is out there any better?? Give Burris the starting job and… Read more »
Roddy, DeLaet is only 3 strokes back of the leader and in very good position after the first round. When you say he is tied for 18th place it sounds like he is out of it already.
According to my Score App it says "DeLaet T18, -4"?
No you are correct, it's just in golf, esp in he early rounds it is more important to look at the number of shots behind the leader rather than the position.
Eldon must have thought he was listening to the Green Zone because only people like him would listen to that show.
I'm not sure can team Canada change their roster once its submitted? Because as Luongo and price loose games and play horrible, Fleury has been winning and playing great. Marc-andre should have been on the original roster over price and smith but its never too late to make the change if they can!
Burris took the Cats to the Grey Cup and Hamilton doesn't want him back. Was he asking for too much money or too long a term? Do he and Austin not get along? Have his skills eroded significantly? All of the above?
Fevour is uncoachable at 37. Last season you saw that with him and Austin on the sidelines arguing all the time. Nor is Burris a team player and it showed when Austin would rotate LeFevour in. Now Austin has what we wants a young QB that has talent and will listen and get better over time. Hamilton will be a great team for many years. Burris has become the old qb in the league getting bounced around team to team
Rosters are set, that's why you have to name three goalies, you do have the option/risk to take two goaltenders in order to get an extra skater but its rare for countries to do that.
Smith will see some ice.
Love Weston to death but I fear he's too small to survive down there. Those db's are killers! really hope i'm wrong for his sake.
The fact of the matter is DeLaet is tied for 18th. It doesn't matter how many strokes he is back, You can add it if you wish, but he is tied for 18th. Lets just hope at the end of the weekend there is a "1" besides his name. RP, it truly makes me laugh at the idiocy of some on this forum who want to stir something up. Keep up the good work!
If you doubt Weston Dressler can make it in the NFL you are simply buying into the hype. He has been told his entire career he was too small and just continues to prove people wrong at every level.
We have all had the privilege of watching him for six great seasons. He runs a route as good as anybody, he has tremendous hands and you will not find a tougher football player at his position, at least not in this league.
I don't even consider it a long shot. I fully expect to see him playing on Sundays.
I think Marshawn Lynch is doing fine. He seems fine in a one on one setting and he is CLEARLY uncomfortable at the tables and podiums. He could have a social anxiety disorder, you never know. Thus making you and the media the ones acting 'punk'ish. I like the guy and how he's 'All about that action boss'.
Go Broncos! I don’t want to see team P.E.D. win the Super Bowl.
Poor old Minnesota plus Buffalo, no Super Bowl titles.
Ben Scrivens Impressive athletic goaltender performance at the highest level, (NHL), good on you Mr Scrivens.
EGA
agree with all posters regarding the classy Weston Dressler. He owes Rider fans zip. Rider "fans" like Eldon should shut the f*** up. Classless. Will be cheering for #13 unless they are playing Da Bears!!