THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. JURASSIC PARK REGINA: The Riders will never admit it but I am just certain there were more people at last night’s Jurassic Park Regina to watch game 5 of the NBA finals on TV than there were at last Thursday’s Roughrider preseason game. And if nothing else, it sure got a heckuva lot noisier than the Rider game did.

It was great to see something different from your usual collection of middle-aged white guys (me included) and drunk 20 somethings we normally see at Rider games.

There were lots of young people and diversity galore. So what if the whistles in the flag football games on the field below distracted us from the basketball? I got to show off my Bryant “Big Country” Reeves Vancouver Grizzlies turquoise green jersey!

It felt like a moment in time when the Raptors become more than Toronto’s team but Canada’s team and SASKATCHEWAN’S team, too.

2. THE RAPTORS GAME 5 LOSS REMINDS ME OF: The Toronto Blue Jays game 5 loss of the 1992 World Series to the Atlanta Braves. The Jays entered the game leading the series 3 games to 1 with a chance to close it out at home. Trailing 3-2 in the top of the 5th inning with 2 out and 2 men on base, Toronto manager Cito Gaston had his ace pitcher Jack Morris intentionally walk David Justice to load the bases in order to face the struggling Lonnie Smith to try and get out of it.

It was all fine and good until Lonnie hit a grand slam into the Braves bullpen, devastating Kurt Browning and all other Canadian celebrities cheering on the Blue Jays.

The Point is: It hurt but the Jays went on the road and won it all in game 6 anyways. I have a good feeling about this series turning out that way for the Raptors too.

3. NEAL HUGHES: Jim Hopson is the probably the finest CEO the Riders ever had. Jim Hopson is also delirious if he legitimately thinks Neal Hughes was ever in the category of Andrew Harris when it comes to Canadian Running Backs as he admitted to thinking as much of Hughes’s potential with the Riders back in the 2000’s.

However, Neal was a younger man’s Chris Szarka, but without the spotty attendance record as a Regina City Councillor.

Hughes was a great blocker and the ultimate unsung hero. A perfect example of why we have the Canadian player’s ratio and why we need the Canadian player’s ratio.

4. KERRY JOSEPH: I don’t care if he only played 2 full seasons with the Roughriders or if he played 20 full seasons with the Roughriders. Kerry Joseph should have been a lock for the plaza the moment he led the green and white to the 2007 Grey Cup,….the 3rd in the 100 year history of the franchise.
My biggest disappointment was to see Kerry agree to come out of retirement in 2014, only to be humiliated in the western semifinal at Edmonton that fall.

Now having said all of that,….if you take away the final 6 weeks of the 2007 season, KJ was a pretty average quarterback around these parts. At best.

5. ROUGHRIDER PRESEASON PREDICTION: With the 5th best quarterback in a 5-team division in a quarterback-driven league, I’m sorry but the Roughriders don’t look good here. Despite their strong defense, even that isn’t what it was with Willie Jefferson. Expect a 5th place finish unless one of the other western teams loses their star quarterback to injury. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if a playoff appearance happens for the Riders in 2019.

6. ALOUETTE DYSFUNCTION: Think of just how boring this league would be without the grease-fire of the Montreal Alouettes. Mike Sherman’s firing as head coach is just more proof of how badly overrated these NFL coaches were and are. Just eating up salaries that players should be getting and opportunities that young Canadian football coaches should be getting.

7. CURRIE FIELD IS REGINA RED SOX OWN FENWAY PARK: The Sox have turned Regina’s Currie Field into a House of Horrors for visiting teams by outscoring Yorkton, Weyburn, Yorkton and Moose Jaw 36-9 in their opening 4 home games. That’s an average romp of 8-2! And their best players are just showing up in town, now. This week’s Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday 3 game set with the Edmonton Prospects will give Reginans their first glimpse at one of the Alberta powerhouses and if the Red Sox keep tearing the cover off the ball, it would make for a terrific summer at the ball park!
Could even make up for the disappointment we might get from the Riders.

8. BIGGEST REASON TO CHEER FOR ST. LOUIS: Not because they have a bunch of Saskatchewan guys. Not even because Brad Marchand is loathesome and not even because Boston has been getting spoiled rotten for the past 18 years (6 Patriot Super Bowls, 4 Red Sox World Series wins, 1 Bruins Stanley Cup and 1 Celtics NBA title). But more than anything, let’s cheer on the Blues to win their first Stanley Cup ever because it will officially give the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans the longest Stanley Cup drought of them all!

9. RAPTOR BROADCASTS: Disappointed in the homerism. Matt Devlin is great at including the entire country but he, along with both Leo Rautins and Jack Armstrong lack the objectivity to properly describe the proceedings. I’ll be watching the ESPN feed for game 6 if I’m not broadcasting baseball on the internet already.

10. VIDEO OF THE WEEK: FINDING BIG COUNTRY is a terrific piece by a young Vancouver film producer who grew up a Grizzlies fan and takes you through her quest locate Bryan “Big Country” Reeves. Closing in on 100 thousand views and you’ll see why when you tune it in on Youtube.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)