DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

10 MONDAY NOTES:

1 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders get back to work after the bye week with a Monday morning workout at Mosaic Stadium (10:30-12:30).  It will be open to the public and it might give us our first glimpse into whether or not Darian Durant is able to come back from the elbow injury suffered September 7.  Supposedly it’s a seven week injury and this is now week #8.

Durant’s status is what I’ve been asked about the most over the past 10 days but because the team’s been off, no one’s seen Durant.  Those who have seen Darian aren’t saying anything.  Understandably it’s a closely-guarded secret because teams across the league are incredibly curious about it as well.

2 – Just a couple of weeks ago Durant was out practicing with the team but did not throw a pass.  However on about his sixth rep through an individual drill, when he cocked his arm while holding the ball, he appeared to wince in pain.  Will that injured have come a long way in the days since?  We may know today.

3 – You have to wonder what’s best for Darian Durant; bringing him back this week, or in the playoffs, or shutting him down all together.  The Riders will have to weigh what gives them a better chance to win: Darian Durant at 80%, or even 50%, or Kerry Joseph at 100%.  Also, will the team do what’s best for Darian (which could mean shutting him down) in a Win Now Business?  You’d like to think they have the players’ best interests at heart but that isn’t always the case (2011).  However this is a different regime.

4 – It’s been a real confusing end to the 2014 CFL regular season.  The Riders still don’t know who they’ll be facing in the playoffs but that will be sorted out this weekend.  A Rider over Edmonton this coupled with a B.C. loss to Calgary means Saskatchewan will stay in the West Division playoffs however a Rider loss confirms they’ll go East via the crossover.  Rider coach Corey Chamblin said earlier in the season he has no interest in going East because there’s never been a crossover team advance to the Grey Cup.  However he might have just been blowing smoke.  Chamblin’s never been afraid to knock down barriers and do things that have never before been done.  It honestly makes no difference to me which way they go in the post-season — it’s going to be a difficult road regardless.

5 – I don’t mind revealing that I voted for Darian Durant as the Riders’ Most Outstanding Player last week.  They were 8-2 when he went down and it’s not his fault he’s injured.  Ricky Ray won 1st team All-Star quarterback last year and only played 11 games.  Plus, John Chick is having an MVP season but apparently there’s never been a defensive player win the league MVP award.  He stands a better chance to win Defensive MOP like he did in 2009.  And the way this season has turned out, Durant’s value to the team has never been more evident.  Management recognized this last April when they made him one of the top three highest-paid players in the league.

6 – What an exciting conclusion to the Regina Rams’ regular season!  The Boys In The Horns overcame some questionable officiating and came back to beat Alberta 35-31 on Saturday to clinch a playoff berth and a semifinal date in Calgary this Saturday.  It was an emotional day for everyone around the Rams as it was the final home game for coach Frank McCrystal after 31 years on the Rams sidelines.  It hits you hard when you consider no one has coached more games at Taylor Field/Mosaic Stadium than Frank.  And now they’re thinking perhaps they’re a team of destiny!  620 CKRM has been there every step of the way and will have this weekend’s action as well.

7 – Speaking of university athletics, it was a TREAT to broadcast the Regina Cougars-UBC Thunderbirds hockey game on CanadaWest.tv on Saturday evening.  It was Regina’s first win of the season and it was a great game as Lucas Gore collected the shutout and Tyler Henry scored both goals in a 2-0 victory.  Working with colour commentator Brock Appleyard – an injured Cougar player – was fantastic as well.  It was the biggest crowd of the year for the Cougars at the Cooperators Arena and it was a real fun night!  Hopefully they have be back again.  It was great to be back at the hockey mic again.

8 – Across the way, the Regina Pats have won three in a row including a 5-2 win over the Blades Friday and a 2-1 triumph over Swift Current Saturday — both in the Brandt Centre.  The Pats are a sheer treat to watch this season but unfortunately all anyone wants to talk about is the poor attendance in the old Agridome.  They announced 3072 on Friday night but the true attendance was almost exactly half of that.  Hallowe’en was blamed by many for the lack of bums in the seats, but that’s what we drew for intrasquad games in the mid-90’s.  There were a few more at the game on Saturday.

The Pats and Rams are rivalling each other for attendance right now.

Hey I’m not going to beg people to buy Pats tickets anymore.  That’s not my job!  However hockey fans in this community are missing out.  Someone said “They need to win more” but they are coming off a first-place season!  Clearly this ship won’t be turned around overnight and it appears the new QSEG ownership group is using this first season to figure everything out since they’re new to the game.  The rumours persist there’s a new four-sided video scoreclock that will be in place before the New Year but the lack of a clock isn’t why people are staying away.

And I refuse to believe this isn’t a hockey community.  The Regina Pats are a flagship, cornerstone, franchise in all of hockey however the brand has unfortunately been left to decay.  It’s painful for those of us who truly love the team and go to every game but it’s comforting to know there are much better days ahead.

As far as the team goes, people rave about rookie Sam Steel but the two players I enjoy watching the most are forward Morgan Klimchuk and goalie Daniel Wapple.  Klimchuk is a flat-out pro while Wapple is quick as a cat.

The Pats also had two fun promotions on the weekend: Hallowe’en Night and Rider Night.  I’m always a fan of promotional nights.  I think every game could be one.

9 – According to the Twitter account @WHLFacts, the average attendance count for October in the WHL was 3907 which represents an increase of 77 fans per game over October of 2013.

10 – NHL NOTES:  It seems as though there’s a new Jordan Eberle trade rumour every day around the NHL.  It’s got to be getting a little nauseating for Jordan (he’s probably wondering why they want him out of town so bad).  However I finally got to the bottom of the issue and asked a high-ranking Oilers official if there’s any basis to these rumours.  He wrote via text, “Eberle’s had an upper body issue to start the season … don’t see him in play” … Down the road in Calgary, where all they care about is finishing ahead of Edmonton, the Flames jumped into 4th in the Western Conference after Sunday’s 6-2 rout in Montreal on national television.  You can look to one person for the Flames’ one-season turnaround — Brian Burke.  It’s the best hire by that franchise in 10 years, even if not everyone in the organization agrees with that … And, unfortunately, the Arizona Coyotes reside in last-place in the 14-team Western Conference however they’ve played almost the fewest amount of games.  That won’t matter though because the way they’re playing it won’t matter how many games they have left.  One player called Saturday’s 3-0 loss in Carolina “embarrassing”.  Head coach Dave Tippett has a lot of work to do … Earth To NBCSN: Since when is Washington at Detroit a RIVALRY GAME?  Who are you trying to kid.


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NFL WEEK 9: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT


Colin Kaepernick came awfully close to scoring a go-ahead touchdown for San Francisco with a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal at the 1 in the closing seconds – just as he had come awfully close to throwing a go-ahead TD pass to Michael Crabtree moments earlier.

Kaepernick did neither, though, according to the officials.

The catch by Crabtree was ruled short of the end zone. And Kaep’s keeper – some might wonder why bruising running back Frank Gore didn’t get the ball – was ruled a fumble, one that the Rams recovered to cap a 13-10 victory over the surprisingly mediocre-so-far 49ers.

There was another much-debated call at the end of the first half, when 49ers kicker Phil Dawson missed a field-goal attempt, and Tavon Austin of the Rams caught the ball near the back of the end zone, brought it out, then was tackled near the goal line. Safety? Not according to the officials.

In the end, San Francisco, a participant in each of the past three NFL championship games, is merely a .500 team at 4-4, already way behind first-place Arizona (7-1) in the NFC West.

The same San Francisco offensive line that couldn’t get enough forward push at the very end of the game had an all-around rough day, allowing Kaepernick to be sacked six times in the first half alone, eight times in all, by a St. Louis defence that entered the game with six sacks all season.

“Got to play better,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Better habits. Better assignments. Better coaching.”

In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL season’s ninth Sunday:

“BRADY’S BETTER!’‘: That’s what the fans in Foxborough were chanting as Tom Brady once again beat Peyton Manning, improving to 11-5 in their head-to-head meetings as New England topped Denver 43-23. With tight end Rob Gronkowski back to making the sort of no-way-to-cover-him plays – including a one-handed grab – that made him one of the NFL’s most dynamic players, the Patriots are an AFC-best 7-2 and own the NFL’s longest current winning streak at five games. “I stunk today,” Manning said after Denver dropped to 6-2 and 1-2 on the road.

BUS RIDE: Less than four hours before kickoff, a pair of buses carrying the Redskins – players, coaches, other team employees – to their game at the Vikings collided. After Washington’s 29-26 loss, coach Jay Gruden described what happened to the buses as “five feet from driving off a cliff.” A backup running back, Silas Redd Jr., was held out of the game because of back spasms, but others were unhurt.

QBs HURTIN‘: Add Philadelphia’s Nick Foles to the ever-growing list of starting quarterbacks who have gotten hurt in games this season. The NFC East-leading Eagles turned to backup Mark Sanchez – remember him? – during a 31-21 victory at Houston after Foles was levelled during a sack at the end of the first quarter. Foles wound up wearing a sling. A half-dozen startering QBs missed time because of injuries this season, including Dallas’ Tony Romo on Sunday.

BIG BEN: Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger is the first player in NFL history to toss 12 touchdown passes over two games; he had six in a 43-23 win over Baltimore, a week after having six against Indianapolis. Oh, and there’s this: Roethlisberger threw zero interceptions in those two games.

WHAT’S UP WITH THE CHARGERS?: Philip Rivers threw three interceptions, failed to throw a TD pass for the first time in 29 games and was shut out for the first time in his NFL career, as San Diego lost at Miami 37-0. The Chargers lost their third in a row to drop to 5-4.


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THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY! HAVE A GREAT WEEK
RP
@sportscage