DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

There really is only one Montreal Alouette who could come into the epicentre of the Rider Nation and get welcomed with open arms.  That’s legendary quarterback Anthony Calvillo and he wowed a sold out crowd at the Turvey Centre Saturday night at the 15th Annual Regina Thunder Sports Dinner.  I’ll recap A.C.’s speech below but first, some photos…

There are the boys with the franchise’s first Armadale Cup.  They smoked the Vancouver Island Red Raiders in November at Mosaic Stadium for their first CJFL championship..

In a special ceremony at 5:00 pm the players, coaches, board members and staff received their championship rings.  That’s always an exciting time…

The football cub receives a standing ovation from the dinner patrons which included CFL Hall of Famers Don Narcisse and Roger Aldag…

Regina Thunder President Brin Werrett.  The franchise has really taken off under his guidance.  The Nipawin product became President three years ago…

He’s still a teenager and he’s already a legend.  Chris Dimas banged the skins Saturday night just before heading to Los Angeles to start his career in the music industry.

Scott MacAulay guided the Thunder to a championship in his first season.  Remarkably, he wasn’t named Coach of the Year!  Haha!  Here, he looks like Moses.

Regina Minor Football’s Len Antonini awarded the Unsung Hero Trophy to long time coach Sheldon Neald.  Len would also like you to know Regina Minor Football’s registration is now open.  For information, email rmf@reginaminorfootball.ca or visit their website at www.reginaminorfootball.ca.

There was ONE Alouettes fan in the crowd.  He is Bailey Hein from Findlater, SK who I called up on stage to get his jersey signed by A.C. …

And a real thrill for me, getting to interview the future Hall of Famer on stage.  It was tough missing the Regina Pats playoff game, but it’s always an honour to be invited by Regina’s sports teams to speak at their functions.  CKRM has had a close association with the Regina Thunder since Day 1!  It’s real rewarding to see them get to the top of the mountain.

People couldn’t get over how accommodating A.C. was with fans.  But, that’s his way…

Posing with my friends Devin and Nicholas.  They bought tickets JUST to see Calvillo.  They went away impressed…

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You all think you know Anthony Calvillo’s story – because I thought I did – but you don’t.

Over a 30-minute speech where Anthony roamed the stage with a wireless headset microphone and read notes from his Iphone, here’s a recap of what he said.

– I have to get used to being called “former” Montreal Alouettes quarterback.

– Early in my career my work ethic was pathetic and I had no confidence.  When I became accountable, that’s when my career changed.

– The quote “It’s time to take ownership of your locker room” by Marc Trestman changed my life.

– Born August 23, 1972 in Los Angeles, Calvillo went to La Puente High School and that really is where it all started.

– Sports was my motivation.  I struggled as a student, always needing tutors.  I had to work extra hard at school.  My Mom said “if you achieve special things, you will get special things”

– My parents separated when I was in junior high and my life changed.  My Dad wasn’t around.  I got kicked off the football team because I was goofing around.  People told me to get my act together.  I never lifted weights and couldn’t lift 110 lbs.

– I got no scholarship coming out of high school so I went to a local junior college.  From there I chose Utah St. because it was close enough for my family to come see me play.

– I couldn’t hide from the weight room there.  I became more accountable in my training and got to the point where I could lift 225 lbs twice.

– The NFL wasn’t an option for me so I looked into the CFL.  In 1994 there were three American CFL teams: Las Vegas, Shreveport and Baltimore.

– I got a tryout with the Las Vegas Posse.  We lived at the Riviera hotel and ate our meals there at the buffet.  In training camp we practiced in the morning at Sam Boyd Stadium and in the afternoons we practiced in the parking lot of the Riviera.  Our field was an “L” shape because it curved around a light post.

– I became the starter after four weeks with the Posse.

– I spent 1995, 1996 and 1997 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after Las Vegas folded.  But I wasted by time there not listening to the veterans like Matt Dunigan.  In 1997, I was the starting quarterback but we were 2-16 and I didn’t play in the wins.

– In 1998, I was a free agent with offers from Montreal and Saskatchewan.  One more bad season would kill my career so I told Roughrider coach Jim Daley I had to go to the Alouettes because they had a proven quarterback to teach me.

– Alouettes QB Tracy Ham showed up three hours before every practice, lifting weights and watching video.  The whole locker room loved and respected him.

– I started six games in 1998 due to Ham’s injuries and was 4-2 as a starter.  By 1999 I was 7-2 as a starter and was starting to earn the trust of the organization.

– We had very selfish players in Las Vegas and Hamilton who didn’t believe in the coaches and did their own thing.  That wasn’t the case in Montreal.

– A 4 1/2 hour work day isn’t enough for a winning franchise.  My days start with video from 5:00-7:30 am Monday to Friday.  There’s a break between 7:30-8:00 am followed by a “volunteer” quarterback meeting from 8:00-9:00 am and then the practice day officially begins.

– In 2000 I was 12-6 as a starter but we lost the Grey Cup to BC in Calgary but we learned a lot.

– In 2002 we finally won a Grey Cup (over the Eskimos in Edmonton) and Don Mathews was our leader.  He was intimidating but he believed in me and radically changed our offense and staff.  We built confidence.

– After a championship, now what?  It took nine years to win and be consistent.  Why would I change anything or add to what I just did?  That was a mistake.

– We appeared in, but lost, Grey Cups in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008.  I was MVP in 2008 but came up short.

– I made changes … re-evaluated what I did wrong.  I went and saw a sports psychologist who I call my “career-extender”.  The first thing he did was give me a food journal and I filled it out with what I ate: Luck Charms, chips and chocolate.  He took hair, blood and urine samples and discovered my body had a tough time breaking those things downs.  I went on a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diet and my energy went way up.

– Marc Trestman’s first year in Montreal was 2008 and that was the first time he said “It’s time to take ownership of your locker room”.  It took awhile but guys bought in by 2009.

– In 2009 we were 15-3 and it was one of the best teams I’d ever been on.  I apologize for bringing up the 2013 Grey Cup, but it’s part of my story.  We were down 16 points with eight minutes to go and it came down to that field goal.  I was down on one knee holding my teammates’ hands thinking “Whatever’s gonna happen will happen”.  I was devastated to lose because of all that work we put in but as you know, we got another chance and won that game.

– The Thunder is in the same position — you’re on the top of the hill.  All the other teams are gunning for you.  Will you do all the same things, or will you raise the bar?

– In August of 2010 I was diagnozed with a cancerous lump in my throat.  It was non life-threatening, unlike my wife’s cancer in 2007.  She beat that and it’s behind her and mine was going to be too.  It was an annoyance.

– We won the Grey Cup in 2010, got our rings, and then I had surgery to remove the lump.

– By 2013 I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep playing and as it turned out my last play was August 17 in Regina.  I didn’t know that would be my last game.  But I had two symptoms of concussions after the hit I took: pressure in my head and extreme fatigue.  After I looked at the video, I wasn’t hit in the head.  I was hit in my stomach.  My head jerking forward caused my concussion and the doctor said my tolerance to take a hit had gone way down.

– At that point, I’d had enough and I’m looking forward to looking ahead.

– My drive to be #1 isn’t gone.  I’ve got an opportunity now to be a mentor like the guys who mentored me.  My opportunity to play football is over and I’m so happy about that.

– I’m ready to move forward.

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Then Sunday it was across town to take in Game 2 of the Regina-Brandon first round WHL series.  The Wheat Kings were up 1-0 in the series after a 6-3 victory on Saturday.  Here are some photos from Sunday, and then a commentary.

I got a great spot between the benches to take these shots.  Here, Wheat Kings goaltender Jordan Papirny is beaten by Regina’s Connor Gay just 1:37 into the game…

Coming for a high-five….

Wheat Kings Coach/GM Kelly McCrimmon.  He surpassed Bob Lowes last weekend as Brandon’s career wins leader…

In the trenches with Pats coach Malcolm Cameron…

Regina Pats owner Russ Parker watches on from his private suite as his team goes down 5-2.  Then 6-2.  Then 7-2 on the way to an 8-4 defeat.   Was Sunday the final home game of the Parker regime?  Only that family knows.

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The Regina Pats have broken more hearts than Lindsay Lohan.

And now here we sit, halfway through a playoff series which was actually over before it began.

The Wheat Kings hold a 2-0 edge in the Best-of-7 affair and have outscored Regina 14-7 with the series now shifting to southwestern Manitoba.  The way it’s going, we won’t see these teams again.

Proving that Regina truly is a hockey town when it has a team to support, 6200 fans packed the Brandt Centre for Game 1 on Saturday night.  Due to my commitments with the Regina Thunder Football Club I wasn’t at the hockey game but by most accounts, it was a legit sellout.

While I really wanted to watch my beloved Pats play playoff hockey, I was happy to help out the Thunder because they’ve been gracious to extend an invitation for so many years.   These local teams always seem to come to CKRM for these things and we’re very happy to oblige.

So by the wonders of technology, patrons at the Thunder dinner were buzzing that Brandon was up 1-0 after their first shot on goal Saturday night.  Then 2-0.   Then 4-0 before the first period was even over.  It ended 6-3.

Game over.

Series over.

I walked out of the Turvey Centre Saturday evening muttering “Same old Pats”, but tried to correct myself and keep it positive.

The only natural choice for Pats coach Malcolm Cameron was to come back with Dawson MacAuley for Game 2 but in my estimation, that would be his last chance.

As I was preparing to head to the Brandt Centre Sunday afternoon, still excited about the prospects of an “upset” by Regina, I was discouraged that even Mother Nature robbed us of true playoff weather.  You should be able to wear a light jacket to a playoff game in Regina, and splash through puddles of water as you navigate the Evraz Place parking lot.

But no, a windchill of minus-20 ruined that too.

And what to wear?  ROCK THE RED was the playoff theme but I didn’t see anything on social media Sunday afternoon promoting the fact.  The Game 1 loss seemed to suck the life out of everybody.  So I wore blue.  And when the Pats came out for warm-ups, they wore white.

So much for that.

Attendance dropped by 1200 from Saturday to Sunday which constitutes about $24,000 in lost revenue.  And people say a team’s performance has no affect on marketing.  Hogwash!

The Pats started tremendously well, as has been noted, but they just aren’t getting WHL-calibre goaltending.  In the playoffs everything is magnified and that’s why when you give up a weak goal, you have to score two goals to get it back.  And when you blow a game, you have to win two to get it back.

That’s why this series is over, even if regular starter Daniel Wapple miraculously returns to the crease for the games in Brandon.  This is a different team in front of MacAuley than it is with Wapple.  There isn’t enough space here to explain why but it’s very clear this is the case.

And it’s nobody’s fault.

In 2001, I recall players staring at the Agridome rafters after Donald Choukalous allowed a “floater” to tie the game or put the Pats down by one in the playoffs or in the Memorial Cup.  The problem that year was that no one better was found however in 2014 Pats GM Chad Lang did find somebody better.  His name is Daniel Wapple.

But he got hurt in a case of “Friendly Fire” nineteen days ago and he’s still recovering.  Add to that the fact team MVP Dyson Stevenson missed Game 1 with a broken hand and played at only 50% efficiency in Game 2 and you have a recipe for disaster.

An NHL scout said before Sunday’s game, “What’s worse: missing your top goaltender or your top scorer in the playoffs?  You’d have to say missing your top goaltender because he’s the most important part of the team.”

Its true.  But the Pats are missing both and it’s a crying shame.

But it’s just the way things are.  And have been for as long as I can remember.

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SEE YOU AT 4:00 PM IN THE CAGE!
RP
@sportscage