THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. SIMONI LAWRENCE IS A CHEAPSHOT ARTIST: He doesn’t go looking for trouble but boy it sure seems to find him. First it was Zach Collaros, then it was Logan Kilgore and over the weekend it was Cody Fajardo’s turn. Maybe he’s not aiming for the head and maybe he’s not trying to injure. Maybe it’s all just a big accident. Maybe he just doesn’t know how to tackle. Maybe the league should just stop trying to define intent and keep up its zero tolerance of head shots. I worry for Simoni Lawrence because I’m not sure there’s room for him in a CFL that doesn’t put up with that nonsense. I’d suspend him for 4 games at least.

2. O’DAY DESERVES CREDIT FOR RIDER WIN: Adding another American tackle to eliminate the turnstyle that was the Riders left tackle spot in 2021 paid big dividends Saturday as Cody Fajardo was sacked zero times. The free agent pickups of Derrick Moncreif and Charleston Hughes looked not bad either with the game-sealing interception and a sack to go with it. And this Rolan Milligan looks like a player, too. Now most of the credit probably goes to O’Day’s assistants, Paul Jones and Kyle Carson, for finding these players. But smart people surround themselves with more smart people. J.O. and his recruiting class looked pretty good on opening day.

3. MAAS DESERVES NO CREDIT FOR RIDER WIN: Offence showed limited imagination and didn’t convert drives. More evidence of someone trying to slam square pegs into a round hole. Lucky for him, Kian Schaffer-Baker was too good to be held down on this day. The heat is mounting on Jason Maas to get this offence to perform and rightfully so. Jeremy O’Day and Craig Dickenson have given him the groceries and kitchen to work with. Time for him to cook the meal. And so far, that meal looks promising but tastes an awful lot like kraft dinner without the cheese sauce. Underwhelming to say the least.

4. THE STOCK MARKET FOR THESE ASSISTANT COACHES: Defensive coordinator Jason Shivers’ ability to plug and play with no less than 5 new starters demonstrated splendid flexibility and adaptability. His stock is rising dramatically as he continues to step out from under the shadow of Chris Jones. Offensive coordinator Jason Maas’ stock is going the way of these cryptocurrencies I keep reading about that are plunging and scaring investors. The Roughrider coaching staff has a very mixed portfolio, indeed.  

5. DID YOU KNOW: 22 of the Riders 30 points scored Saturday night were by Canadian players? But somehow the quota needs to be cut, according to the league owners. It’s probably the Argos pushing that. They haven’t had any meaningful ideas to advance the CFL in Toronto or anywhere else so it all makes sense.

6. RIVALRY WITH ELKS: Does it count as a rivalry when one side looks completely inept and has nothing going for it other than a loud mouth coach giving the other team’s star quarterback bulletin board material? Pretty hard to call this a true rivalry until we see any signs of improvement in what the Elks are doing and so far we have none. His yanking of starting quarterback Nick Arbuckle in the 2nd quarter over their first game of the season had the TSN panel questioning it and Milt Stegall quipping “That’s Chris Jones.” Jones’s quarterback handling has proven to be his achilles heel and he has yet to prove to us all otherwise.

7. SOX SLOW START: 5 and 7 and clinging to the last last playoff position in the east division doesn’t look like a good spot to be in nearly a quarter of the way through the season for the Regina Red sox. However, the Sox have had a rough schedule including half of those games against the Swift Current 57s who usually give the entire league all it can handle and then some. Surprisingly, it has been the pesky Moose Jaw Miller Express who they’ve been unable to beat, losing both matches of the TransCanada Clash putting the Clark Gillies Cup in jeopardy (I gave it that name, nobody else). Doesn’t get any easier this week and home with a pair of games versus Okotoks Tuesday and Wednesday before a Thursday night showdown with the Sylvan Lake Gulls at Currie Field, the Gulls first ever visit to the Queen City. If you can’t make er down, you can watch all 3 games on the Regina Red Sox website but Thursday’s game will be on Access Now TV too. It’ll be one of the few Access Soxcasts I get to do this summer. I’m stoked. 

8. HE SAID IT: This little gem from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio after Tom Brady said he was about 55 percent sure he was going to retire from football, “Finally, remember this when (Tom) Brady starts talking about 55 percent and 45 percent and 100 percent. He said last June that 90 percent of the things he says don’t reflect how he really feels. So there’s a 10 percent chance that what he said last night is the truth.”

9. THIS WEEK I’M JEALOUS OF: Leo MacDonald. Guy has written books, coached two SJHL teams and started another. I don’t want to spill the beans but there’s big news coming down the pipe about Leo’s TV career too. He treats every day like a Saturday and does it with a smile on his face. The world would be a little less crazy if we all did that.

10. IN THE HUDDLE THIS WEEK: Marshall Hamilton and I will zoom in on key moments from the Riders big win and we’ll be joined by should be hall of famer and 1989 Grey Cup champion Dan Rashovich. Olivia Lawrence will bring you some of the usual suspects from Mosaic Stadium too. Airing at 7pm Tuesday nights on Access Now TV or the Access Now App with reruns to follow. Watch us!