Scruffy’s This N That

1 – EXPOSING THE WARTS?  To say the Saskatchewan Roughriders got slapped in the face by Calgary last weekend is an understatement.  The Horsemen came in and dominated the green-and-white in a contest that was all Calgary with the final flattering the Riders.  It has some now taking a close look at this football team as they get ready for a game in Vancouver against Nathan Rourke and the Lions. 

Some are looking at the first five games of the schedule and say the Riders failed their first big test. Wins over Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto are no longer being considered as quality wins if they even were in the first place because of the records of the Eastern teams—especially the Argos and REDBLACKS.  The argument could be made that the win in Toronto only came because of Mario Alford’s heroics.  You can debate whether or not the Riders would have won in overtime, but we will never know. 

A defence that was lauded in the pre-season has not lived to expectations with Dru Brown and Vernon Adams Junior having thrown for 400 plus yards this season with not many sacks and the offensive line which some have considered patchwork was victimized by a very good Stamps defence last week. 

All this talk can come to a quick end if Corey Mace’s men can come out of B.C. Place tonight with a victory, but a second straight loss in this territory will have some people really questioning just how good this team is. 

2 – TRE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT: How much longer can Edmonton’s CFL team go with Tre Ford at quarterback.  Edmonton has kept giving the Canadian chance after chance after chance but he continues to struggle as was seen last week against Vancouver. Some will argue Edmonton’s offensive line didn’t give Ford a chance against the Lions and while there may be some validity to that, the bottom line is Ford seemingly doesn’t have what it takes to be a CFL quarterback.

With Edmonton on a bye week, the team has to look at giving Cody Fajardo the keys and they have to look at just getting better because they’re not.  The team cleaned house at the end of last season and they are worse now.  That isn’t a great way to get fans back to Commonwealth Stadium.

3 – THE HORSE IS OUT OF THE BARN: If you didn’t think the Calgary Stampeders were the best team in the CFL before they went into Winnipeg now, you have to now. The Bombers don’t lose at home and they certainly don’t get clobbered at home, but they did last night as Calgary took them to the woodshed. In the last three games which are a pair of victories against the Bombers and the Riders, Calgary has won by 56 points.  Vernon Adams Junior has to be the favourite for MOP at this moment and Damien Alford has to be the top rookie.  Number one picks in the CFL are usually different from number one picks in the NFL as they aren’t expected to make an immediate impact but Alford is having caught 12 balls for 300 yards and five touchdowns with all five of those scores happening in the last three weeks.  They have captured the season series against the Bombers and they have the advantage over Saskatchewan right now. Is the Western Final going to be back at McMahon the way it was for so many years not too long ago.  We have a longgggggg ways to go before we get there, but you have to think right now we will be.

4 – SHAWN LEMON:  I guess Pete Rose should have played in the CFL! A league that desperately searches for credibility is once again embarrassing themselves by allowing Shawn Lemon to play again.  Yes, the Shawn Lemon that gambled on CFL games including games he was involved in has had his suspension lifted. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! Has the league not looked at what happened to a third-string NBA player that played for the Raptors and was caught for wrongdoing associated with gambling? That player will never set forth on a basketball court again and he shouldn’t.  NO athlete that gambles on the game he plays and especially games he is involved in should be allowed back. End of story!  Stewart Johnston has done some good things in his first few months as CFL commissioner, but this is a major error! 

5 – RON & DON: It is sad to see what was an iconic Canadian duo have their relationship continue to crumble in front of our eyes.  We will never know the true story behind the dismissal in 2019 of Don Cherry thus bringing an end to Coach’s Corner meaning we will never know the true role of Ron McLean in that dismissal. McLean has taken a lot of heat for not defending his long-time partner and this week he suggested Cherry’s removal was part of an exit strategy that was planned because of health concerns which Cherry staunchly denies. McLean did apologize for his comments, but more damage has been done and because of Don’s age it may be too late for the two to get back to friendly terms with one another.

I don’t think Ron meant any harm in what he said and good on him for apologizing but to Don it is probably more dirt being heaped on what is now the open coffin of Coach’s Corner.   There are some low-lifes out there that intentionally mean to harm the reputation of others by fabricating stories to make themselves look good and someone else look bad.  I have seen it, I have experienced it and chances are many of you have too.  Say what you will about Ron, but that was not his intention.

While we will never know the true story around what happened, here is my thought on the matter. Don Cherry is 91 years old.  Coach’s Corner became a Canadian institution and because of that Don should be given every hockey honor there is and the Order of Canada, too — for not only his contributions to the game, but for his avid support of this country.  Who’s kidding who –if this was 10 years ago, I would put money on Cherry laying a five knuckle sandwich on that fat orange mess that calls the White House home if given a chance.  Don Cherry is/was Canadiana at its best. He should be given one last opportunity to say goodbye.  I don’t need Ron, Kevin Bieksa, Elliotte Friedman and Jennifer Botterill sitting around the table in the first intermission of the first Saturday night of the season. Put Don on camera and give him an opportunity and give us an opportunity to say goodbye. Do it from his home and give him as long as you possibly can. It’s the least that Sportsnet and others could do before Grapes leaves us.

6 – THE SWING-OFF: I had no idea as the American League staged a 9^th inning comeback at the All-Star game that the game would be decided by a swing-off.  Baseball’s version of the shootout was a quirky way to end the game and by the sound of it, most loved it.  Most! It was OK to me, but I would NOT want regular season games or playoff games to end like this.  I am a guy that isn’t crazy about the runner on 2^nd to start extra innings, but that is ideal compared to this.  While the swing-off was OK, it could have been so much better had both teams actually put some decent players out there.  Kyle Schwarber was arguably the only one of the six who competed who should have been on the field.  This screamed for Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.  It screamed for Cal Raleigh, Vladimir Guerrero and Eugenio Suarez but instead we got Jonathan Aranda, Kyle Stowers and Randy Arozarena.  Apparently, many players had already left the ballpark by the time the swing-off started which only asks more questions. 

Baseball has done some great things over the last few years to make the game better like the pitch clock, but I hope we don’t see this become the norm. 

While on the topic of the all-star game, some are saying the home run derby is becoming stale much like the slam-dunk competition in the NBA because the top players aren’t in them.  Do we need things like fastest runner around the bases, catchers throwing out players at 2^nd and how quick is the throw from home to 2^nd and outfielders throwing runners out at the plate from a certain distance.  I would watch that. Would you?

7 – VLADDY:  The Blue Jays started the post all-star break of their schedule with a 4-0 win over San Francisco.  As Toronto begins its unexpected sprint to what they hope is a playoff spot, many are focussing in on Vladimir Guerrero.  The Blue Jays best player has not been their best player this season especially after he signed that mammoth contract that will keep him in Toronto.  Vladdy was 0-3 last night and goes into the weekend with a batting average of .275 with just 12 homers and 46 RBI’s.  For a lot of players that is a good season, but when you are making the money that he is, Blue Jays fans should be expecting a lot more.  If Toronto is going to make serious noise in the remainder of the season, number 27 has to start coming through and show he is their best player. If he doesn’t and the team stumbling down the stretch, there will be many looking at him as a scapegoat.  I heard someone say Vladdy is baseball’s Auston Matthews.  There is some validity in that.

8 – SHUFFLING THE ROSTER: If you are one of those that have been going out to a WCBL game this year or any year, you know that the quality of baseball is very good. Sadly, it is also a league where you can’t tell from day-to-day or week-to-week just who your team will have in the lineup because guys are leaving for better opportunities.   The Regina Red Sox lost two of its top players because they want to keep playing and are hooking up with an independent league team and they aren’t alone as all teams have had impact players leave them at some point. 

It isn’t the fault of the league nor its teams.  The Canadian Elite Basketball League suffers the same thing.  You hope you can find guys that will want to stick around all season, but you also make sure you try and have guys in the pipeline that can come up.  The Brooks Bombers took to social media this week asking if there are any arms out there that can give them some innings and they have a passport to get in contact with them.  That isn’t right, but you can’t say no to players who have a desire to keep playing the game they love.  Yes, some just leave because they don’t like the situation they are in, but most that I have talked to love the league but are looking for a chance with a team that will allow them to play the game they have grown up playing. In the meantime, just keep going out to the park and cheer on your favourite team.  The playoffs are right around the corner.

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: 

• Still not a fan of the obsidian green Rider unis.  Mark me down as a retros guy!
• The NHL season will open with the Panthers hosting Florida starting at 5 Eastern Time, 3 Saskatchewan time, 2 Pacific Time. Can we not do 7 or 8 Eastern and scrap an opening-night tripleheader? The Leafs will entertain Vegas on a Friday night in January. That game should be the first Saturday night game of the season. What an epic fail by the NHL, but its probably what both teams wanted.
• Did we watch Shane Gillis’ monologue at the ESPY’s? WOWWWW!!! I think we all knew there would be some who thought it was great and others who were disgusted. I had zero problem with it because we all need a good laugh every now and then and many of us have forgotten how to do that,
• Who had the better week. The now former head of the NFL Players Association or the guy at the Coldplay concert? 

That’s all I got. Have a great weekend!