DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

5 MONDAY RANDOM THOUGHTS

1 – THAT WAS FUN!:  Sunday, June 29/2014 is a day we won’t soon forget.  I never heard how much rainfall we experienced in southern Saskatchewan over the last 24 hours but it was immense.  And intense.  Hands up – how many people thought the driving, powerful rains were going to force the game to be delayed or postponed?  I did.

But the game of football goes on rain or shine and what a contrast it was on Sunday when the Saskatchewan Roughriders eventually trampled the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-10 to open the 2014 CFL season.  The Riders mauled dejected Ticats quarterback Zach Collaros (pictured above) an astounding 10 times and left the Tabbies leaving the stadium licking their wounds.  They looked completely bewildered by the wretched conditions while the Riders looked like they were playing inside a dome, totally unaffected by the wind and rain.  I wish.

What a dominant performance by Chamblin’s Charges, most notably rookie tailback Anthony Allen who rushed for 156 yards and scored a touchdown receiving and rushing in his CFL debut.  The Riders predicted they’d be very good this year, and we’ve been discussing that all spring long, but who could have expected a waxing like that?  And I can’t say as I feel sorry for the Ticats either.  I remember going into Ivor Wynne Stadium and losing 62-7 in 1999 when Hamilton was at the top of their cycle, on the way to winning a Grey Cup.

The shoe is on the other foot now and the Riders continue to be the CFL’s juggernaut.

2 – WHOA, WHOA, WHOA: People are getting on me saying I’ll be scorning the Rider Nation due to the fact only 19,000+ showed up for Sunday’s game.  I was getting a bunch of blowback on Twitter all weekend.  Excuse me?  Sorry, but I didn’t say squat about it all week long about poor ticket sales.  In fact on Friday’s SportsCage, I said I don’t have it in me to argue over this stuff anymore.  I’m not begging people to buy tickets or to go to games any longer.  What I did say was that Rider fans had better look over their shoulder because their title of “World’s Best Fans” is being challenged by the province next door, and fans of the Winnipeg Jets and Blue Bombers.  They haven’t won diddly yet their fans are still the loudest in North America.

But as far as Rider fans go, do what you want.  I think the fact all games are on television has softened the hearty people of this province.  To the 19,000+ who were on hand on Sunday, take a bow.  They witnessed a heckuva football game.  My brother and his daughter held in till halftime but couldn’t take the downpour any longer.  I told him he should be commended for coming at all.

Tell us your rain game stories in the comments section please.

Which reminds me — a lady wrote into the SportsCage on Thursday and dryly asked, “How many tickets does your family pay for?”  Well I bought a pair of season tickets for Mrs. SportsCage this year, my one brother has a pair while the other brother has a single and goes with friends, and my Mom has a season ticket and goes alone.  My Dad prefers to stay at home and watch on TV while listening to me on the radio. That’s a total of six seasons in our family.

Peter King with Carm and me

3 – MMG MEETS THE MMQB:  Well, it happened.  The king of NFL reporters, Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC’s Football Night in America, made a pilgrimage to Mosaic Stadium and stopped by our broadcast booth on Sunday.

It was, in a word, magical.  There’s no doubt I’ve likely made too much of this but when you consider his Monday Morning Quarterback column is read by 8-million people and he has 1.3-million Twitter followers, you have to realize he’s a pretty big deal.  He has a sort of Bob Hughes-style of writing that really draws you in and makes you feel like you’re reading something you can’t get anywhere else.  If you don’t know who he is, that doesn’t bother me.  But he’s a legend to this kid.  Luc Mullinder said he’d be more excited to meet Reggie White, which makes sense.

But it was awesome to hear King’s stories on 620 CKRM’s pregame show where he recounted driving from Calgary to Regina with an overnight stop in Medicine Hat.  He thinks it’s beautiful along that drive, and couldn’t believe how green it is.  He also couldn’t believe the lineup at Moose Jaw’s Tim Hortons on Thatcher Drive, but nobody ever can.  King said he would have preferred to have gone to a Starbucks, but no one was on hand to tell him he could have found one in the Moose Jaw Safeway.

Regardless, P.K. described Rider fans as “nutty” and that their love for their team is more intense “in its own way” than the love of the Green Bay Packers from their fans.  That was astounding and I don’t think he was playing to the crowd.  I also don’t know why we are always looking for approval or legitimacy from our American football friends but that’s the way it will always likely be.

And then come the third quarter, I got word Peter King would be popping by our booth shortly after he visits the TSN broadcast booth.  I was ready, having written my questions on the corner of my depth chart in case I got so excited I blacked out momentarily (that actually happens).  When he came into the booth, it was like the arrival of Santa Claus.  He’s a fairly big man, but has lost weight as he gets older (Wikipedia has him at 57 years of age).

As he popped the headset on, I found him to be a very warm, accommodating man.  He had the twangy accent consistent of someone who was raised in Massachussetts but lives in New York City.  He mentioned that the two CFL games he witnessed this weekend perhaps weren’t the best football this league has to offer but, “These types of games happen all the time”.  He said he hadn’t been at a rain game like Sunday’s since 1984 in Cincinnati.  However all in all he left with a great appreciation for the Canadian game, and marvelled at how our players play simply for “The Love of the Game”.  He was also quick to note that the skill level is incredibly close to that of the NFL.  We’ve known that for years.

Photo credit: Medicine Hat News

To read about Peter’s CFL experience, click here:
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/06/30/canada-week-peter-king-cfl/

OH MY GOD! I JUST READ IT AND I MADE THE MMQB!! PAGE 2
Thank you Peter!  There’s a screenshot to the right.

4 – WEEK 1 THOUGHTS:  The West Division teams (almost) all won while the East Division teams all lost, although Ottawa had the bye … Even Winnipeg had to be surprised at how the Blue Bombers eviscerated the Toronto Argonauts 45-21 in the 2014 CFL lid-lifter on Thursday.  It could have been worse had it not been for two kick return touchdowns by the Argos.  They’re bouncing off the walls in the Manitoba capital and annointing Drew Willy as the “next Dieter Brock” because of the four touchdown passes in his Bomber debut and good for him.  He’s a franchise player and it’s nice to see Winnipeg snap out of its doldrums, even if it’s only momentary … Calgary’s 29-8 blowout of Montreal was just an eyesore.  Plain and simple.  Kudos to the Stampeders for being ready to go but the Alouettes are just downright awful and it doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon.  Is quarterback Troy Smith just going to throw deep all day and hope for the best?  And the clothesline on Jon Cornish by Montreal’s Kyries Hebert was just stomach-turning … Finally Edmonton’s 27-20 win over B.C. in Vancouver on Saturday evening was just a real thriller.  We were at a barbecue but we all came inside to watch the fourth quarter because it was going down to the wire.  Hands up – who had faith that Kevin Glenn was going to rally the Lions on a pair of last minute drives?  They ended up with a pick, and then a fumble, to snuff out any chance at winning.  But the Eskimos looked real good and it appears we’ll have a very interesting race in the West.

5 – MORE RANDOM NOTES TO CLOSE: Ticats WR Cary Koch has to wear #86 this year because his regular #84 is occupied by veteran Hamilton receiver Bakarri Grant.  Koch told the SportsCage last week that he offered Grant $20 US for the number, but he declined.  🙂 … Ran into former Roughrider and B.C. Lion Stu Foord last week.  He’s selling promotional merchandise these days and still recovering from that horrible injury he suffered last season in Regina.  He hasn’t filed his retirement papers yet because there’s an outside chance at a comeback, but it doesn’t look good.  He’s the only player in pro football history to score touchdowns on their first career reception, and carry … I learned over the weekend this “Ambassador” job of Geroy Simon’s is only for the 2014 season.  It’s to honour the final year of the two-year contract he got upon his arrival in Regina last season … Great quote from the NBA’s #1 overall draft pick, Andrew Wiggins of Toronto last week, “Never give up on your dreams.  And when you have your chance to shine, shine” … Speaking of drafts, it was funny to watch NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman get booed long and lustily in Philadelphia Friday evening.  “I thought this was the City of Brotherly Love!” Bettman said awkwardly.  “I love your passion” … The Draft closed with a standing ovation for Calgary Flames amateur scout Tom Webster who’s retiring after decades in the game.  He’s the fond brother of former Moose Jaw Warriors President Barry Webster.  Most in attendance said it’s the first time they’d seen a standing ovation from the Draft floor.

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THAT’S GOT IT! ENJOY UP WEEK!
RP
@sportscage