DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE
We have a guest columnist this week! I’ve had to take care of some things down here in Arizona since Friday’s 40-27 Rider loss in Calgary, so I’ve sort of been off the grid. Therefore today our colleague Mitchell Blair takes over the MMG. Here’s today’s column:
By: Mitchell Blair
Losses are losses and at this time of year, I don’t believe in moral victories. However, I do think the Saskatchewan Roughriders are a much more confident group offensively than what they were despite Friday’s 4th quarter meltdown and that we will see some fight from this squad as they prepare to defend their Grey Cup title in earnest in a couple of weeks time.
Through three quarters, Kerry Joseph showed us he can still throw the ball and while he had a terrible 4th quarter, as did everyone, you could see a spark that hasn’t been seen for a while. Remember, there was no Allen, no Dressler, no Smith, no Best and no Labatte. I don’t know if this team beats Edmonton in the final week of the season and I don’t know if they win through the East in the playoffs with or without Darian Durant, but Joseph has given you a sign this team isn’t going to roll over like they had for most of the time Durant was out and the Sunseri/Doege experiment was taking place.
Someone must have told the Stamps prior to the 4th quarter this wasn’t the Western final. They were certainly playing as if it was.
If there was one thing I didn’t like about Friday’s game, it was the decision to abandon the run. When up by 12, I thought the Stampeders D would get a solid dose of Messam and Keith Toston, but it didn’t happen. Why? That one was a head-scratcher as both Messam and Toston were providing some bull-like runs that had Calgary on their heels. Speaking of Toston, he had a fumble and a dropped pass, but I liked what I saw from him. It was also good to see Chris Getzlaf get back on track.
I’d still rather be in the Riders’ situation than Winnipeg’s. At least the Riders have an excuse for their poor second half that will see them miss the playoffs after such a great start.
Is Montreal the best team in the East? They seem to be.
Other thoughts and takeaways from the weekend.
— The ceremony to honour Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was simply spectacular and was so well done. I’m guessing there were a lot of misty-eyes across the country after that. Say what you will about Don Cherry, but if you saw him Saturday night, he brought up a very great point when he says we an’t forget about our soldiers which we likely will as this event starts to fade away and that donations should be made to the Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services (www.cfmws.com) so military families, department of national defence employees, RCMP personnel and others receive the morale and welfare programs, services and activities they deserve.
— I don’t know why Rays manager Joe Maddon has decided to step down, but if he isn’t fielding calls from both the Cubs and Blue Jays. there is something wrong. Tell me Blue Jays fans that Maddon wouldn’t be a huge improvement over John Gibbons.
— Still with the Rays, I was never an Expos fan, but I would love to see them return to Montreal and if they were to come back and stay in the American League East, it would mean 18 games a year against Toronto which would be so huge for baseball in this country. I don’t know if this will happen, but if word comes out about a stadium being built if they do, it just might happen.
— There’s no doubt Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner will be the World Series MVP if San Fran hangs on to win it all, but teams going back home needing to win Games 6 and 7 to take it all have done so eight of the last ten times its happened. Win or lose, Bumgarner has given us one of the greatest playoff runs we have ever seen.
— I got word from a friend of mine in Edmonton who has some sources close to the Oilers who indicated the team passed up a chance to get Johnny Boychuk from the Bruins. They were OK in sending Nail Yakupov to the Bruins, but they balked at sending Boston a second round pick. What???? Why???? That doesn’t make sense. Boychuk would have been a great addition in Edmonton.
— I will confess I had no idea who Jian Ghomeshi was until the story came out this weekend.
— It would appear as if Steve Nash’s great basketball career is over. He’s a Hall of Famer if you ask me. He didn’t win a title and that is how greatness is measured these days, but in his prime, there was no better.
— The NHL suspended Slava Voynov after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. That’s a good thing. Voynov hasn’t been charged yet though. It has some asking if he should be playing. That’s a tough question to answer. If he doesn’t get charged, he has lost out on a lot of salary for basically nothing. Is that right?
— One has to wonder if Marc Trestman is on shaky ground in Chicago. A beatdown by New England won’t help his case. Jay Cutler doesn’t either, but that’s just my opinion.
— Is it safe to say Tom Brady has silenced his critics?
— The Seahawks won an ugly one, but something isn’t right with the defending champs.
— Speaking of the Seahawks, you can vote Regina’s own Jon Ryan to the Pro Bowl. Go right here and do so…
— How can anyone watch Two Broke Girls?
— The NBA season starts this week. Did the Raptors playoff run last year mean anything when it comes to interest. I may watch a few more games than usual this year, but I’ll be sticking to hockey.
— Congrats to the Rams who got a big win over Manitoba. They also got some help so they are in a position to make the playoffs, but they need to knock off Alberta next Saturday at 2 and then get some more help to get in. One thing is for sure, that team has been very exciting to watch and if their first game against Alberta is any indication, it should be a knock em down, drag em out affair next Saturday. Gary “Chop” Bresch and I will have the play by play for you on Access next Saturday with Ballsy and Marco Ricci giving you the radio call on 620 CKRM at 2.
— If you are in Hell and you’re mad at someone, where do you tell them to go?
— That’s all I got. Have a great week!!
Mitchell Blair
@scruffy regina
The Steeler victory over the Colts was a classic game. One for the ages! Big Ben is the only NFL QB to pass for more than 500 yards in two games in his career. He was outstanding. My prediction – Steelers in the Super Bowl.
Trivia question: which CFL QB (s) have thrown for 500 yards at least twice in their career?
Ghomeshi will team up with Strombo for Roger's Hockey coverage in 2015!
You heard it here first.
Obama Jr.
Future news release,
Sk rrs proudly Introduce a new exciting era of football with Mr Marc Trestman as VP of Operations, General Manager, Head Coach 2015+. Accountable financial details forthcoming.
I had no idea who Jian was either. Then I read his letter. I am thinking he is now bound down South, and will forget all about CBC, as he will make oodles more money.
Well Scruffy, you put it in print now have you got the jam to ask George Cortez in person why he abandoned the run in the second half? I'd sure like to hear his rational and I doubt I'm alone.
Mrs. Toston
Thanks for the column Mitchell.
I don't know a bunch about baseball but weren't the Washington Nationals the team that was created out of Montreal's relocation?
Re: the Roughriders I agree that it is tough to keep looking at the positives at this time of year but that was a pretty solid team effort minus that 4th quarter gong-show. Easily the best we've been since DD went down. Either way we have some things to build on heading into the postseason.
Stranger
Ryan tannehill also became the first NFL QB to run for 30+ yards in 3 consecutive games since Vick in 2004.
re: donating to Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services…
There is a segment of the population, and one particular political party, that take every opportunity it can to refer to Canadian Forces soldiers as "Heroes".
The classic "They sacrifice themselves so that we can be safe" line usually precedes or follows.
Very strong language. Funny then, how so many of these "Heroes", once they lose a limb, or acquire PTSD, have such a hard time getting help from the government!
It's almost as if the gov't doesn't really believe the things they say!
Funny, that.
Its not only the Stamps game and Cortez's decision to abandon the run but the other games when he shows no imagination or didn't use the back up QB's skills to put them in a position to win. Is it his ego that will not allow him to admit he is wrong on play calling and will not change it no matter what? (ie) First down run. Second down pass. Third down punt.
This should be the last year for Cortez and Hall in Sask.
From looking at your Twitter feed, you're in Phoenix. What's goin on?
Voynov is still being paid. Toston is the best back they have. Need DD and a middle line backer if they want to win it all.
Hey Scruffy,
Voynov was suspended WITH pay, so even though he is not playing he is taking home his cash.
Not sure, but not we all innocent until proven guilty? Perhaps that is only in the eyes of the court, it definitely doesn't seem to apply to the real world. As humans, we love to judge, and judge harshly. I point to bandwagoners with the Riders, they love it when we lose, cause then they can complain about whatever they want…
Mark my words:
The over reaction of professional sports leagues suspending players before they are being found guilty will result in bogus claims during important games and playoffs unnecessarily costing a team.
The better punishment for all sports leagues would be to allow the player to continue playing. If that player is found guilty or tries to negotiate a settlement he/she is banned for life from the league.
Riders and Stamps both were missing a lot of starters. All the last game showed was Calgary can go and find new players, while the Riders have to rely on signing other teams castoffs to fill holes.
Calgary’s scouting and management outperformed Saskatchewan’s all year and that is why Calgary is 1st with all their injuries and the Riders have had their backsides handed to them with their list of injuries.
A graphic that TSN put up toward the end of last weeks game vs EDM has stuck with me. In the last 5 years final 6 or 7 regular season Rider games the team is now something like 6-26!! (Might be out a game or so in the loss column but you get the idea)
I find this astounding. I figured it had to be bad but I hadn't really thought of putting a stat to it. I have some ideas why this happens but I'd be curious as to what everybody thinks of this.
A few things: 1) @Danny – absolutely true. 10 years ago Canada was a country that went about the world providing peace keeping. Where would the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda be without Canada? Now it's a so called "warrior nation", and it's all about the military and heroes. This same federal government cuts the funding to the military and the benefits the soldiers/their families….all so tax breaks can occur for an upcoming election. It is utterly disgusting. What Harper does to this country is….shameful. 2) Not to harp on politics, but I was away last week during the Provincial throne… Read more »
Classic media that get an idea in their heads and go with it without checking facts. You don't need to ask Cortez, just pay attention. Case in point … 1. in the third quarter the Riders had 13 offensive plays, when you take away punts, PAT, Kickoffs. They ran the ball four times, got sacked twice, and completed four of seven passes including a 40 yard touchdown to Getzlaf. That put them up by 12. Abandoned??? 2. The Riders first possession of the fourth quarter began at their own seven and had three rush attempts – including a 21 yard… Read more »
How can anyone watch Two Broke Girls?
Easy, boobs and ass.
At work it seems all the guys and gals under 30 are big Jian fans. They don't listen to country music much it seems. But they seem to like celebrities which are always appearing on this CBC radio show called Q. Go figure. Like you Mitch, us fellows over 50 had not much awareness of Jian Ghomeshi. No CFL or NFL coverage on his show.
@Old Hank, I read with interest the issue of this Jian fellow. Completely disgusting, and grounds for dismissal. What they could have done to play it safer though would be to take him off the air, and put him on paid leave pending the findings of an investigation. Now, the labour relations advice they have is that by keeping him on the air or employed he is tainting the image of there organization. By law he can do what he wants in his personal life. When those actions impact the organization he is still allowed to do his stuff, but… Read more »