Does Dinwiddie Have A Future In Riderville?

When word came down that Ryan Dinwiddie had been released by the Bombers, there was some talk about him re-surfacing here. I didn't think it would happen, but it might. As Rod Pedersen reported first on his blog, the Riders have made contact with the now free agent quarterback, but its not clear if an offer has been made.

It starts the debate as to whether or not the Riders should bring in Dinwiddie. Darian Durant is said to be the number one quarterback and many are high on Dalton Bell. After one day of practice and three days of rookie camp, I don't think any decisions can be made yet. If Dinwiddie is to be brought in, I would think it would be to challenge for the backup spot. Would the Riders want to go with a trio of Durant, Dinwiddie and Bell. For that matter, could Dinwiddie supplant one of the four quarterbacks that are currently here. I don't know if the team will try and pursue Dinwiddie or not. If they do, it won't hurt because it doesn't cost them anything. If they don't, it will just have the Ken Miller detractors(and I really don't understand why there are so many of those)saying he has no desire to improve the team. Personally, I still feel as if Dinwiddie's best shot is in Calgary or Montreal. Who is Henry Burris's backup and who is Anthony Calvillo's backup? I think we have seen that teams that don't have a solid number two QB are in trouble if number one goes down. Dinwiddie would be an improvement over what the three teams I just mentioned have. Seriously, without looking who are the backups in Calgary and Montreal. By the way is it just me or do you think Mike Kelly will be the coach of the Bombers by the time they come here for Labour Day. I say no!!

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Speaking of quarterbacks, former Rider QB Drew Tate sounds like he didn't have a good time in Regina last year. Tate is now with the Stampeders battling for the backup job and he made it clear he wasn't happy here last year....



http://www.canada.com/Tate+gets+chance+with+Stamps/1670230/story.html

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We love coverage of Rider football in Saskatchewan no matter where we can find it. One can only imagine how many members of Rider Nation would tune in to 620 CKRM if they did what the voice of the Lions--the team 1040 is doing. The station kicks into football mode Monday when they broadcast six hours of daily coverage from the team's training camp in Abbotsford. There is no denying CKRM does an outstanding job with its coverage of Rider football, but can you imagine how many listeners the station would have in this football-crazed province if they did something similar. Maybe the bigger question is how in the h-e double hockeysticks is the Team 1040 going to get six hours of programming a day from Lions camp. Wall-to-wall Wally???? Is Shiv getting a show???

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The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons has two things in his weekly column that I agree with.



1)Alex Rios' days in Toronto must be numbered after an incident that got played all over the Internet this week



The guy has all the talent in the world, yet he just continues to lollygag it most of the time. Now he has had to apologize after launching into a profanity laced tirade to a fan who got into it with him as Rios was leaving a charity event. If you haven't seen it, its on Youtube. (Where would the world be without Youtube??) Yes, the guy who goaded Rios at a charity function by calling him out was a douchebag but you can't let idiots like this get to you. The tirade made him look bad and when you look at his numbers this year it spells trouble. I still remember GM JP Ricciardi turning down a deal with San Francisco that would have seen Rios go to the Giants for Tim Lincecum. OHHHH, how the Jays would look with Halladay and Lincecum as their top two hurlers.



2)Simmons says other pro leagues are supporting the NHL in their fight to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix yet as he notes, "This coming after the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, the Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee, the Raiders moved back and forth, the Rams left Los Angeles for St. Louis and the Cardinals went to Arizona. This coming after the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City and the Vancouver Grizzlies were stolen and moved to Memphis and the Charlotte franchise went to New Orleans. And this coming after Bud Selig wound up buying the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court in 1970 and moving them to Milwaukee. So much for sport unravelling by franchise moves ... ".

Exactly!!! Will the NHL die if the Coyotes leave Phoenix??? Of course not!!!

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One WHL note. A Sault Ste. Marie Ontario newspaper says Craig Hartsburgh could be the next coach of the Everett Silvertips. Of course Hartsburgh and former and now current Pats coach Curtis Hunt worked together in Ottawa before the Senators released Craig. If this were to happen, it would make for an interesting night when the Silvertips played the Pats next year. Of course thanks to the stupid scheduling in the WHL, that game would happen in Everett.
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The NBA final might be a short one. The Lakers are now up 2-0 after an overtime win over Orlando. The next three games are in Florida. Why does the NBA have a 2-3-2 format in the finals. I think that's dumb and really puts the pressure on the home team to win the first two. In a league where the home team has a bigger advantage than any other pro league, why would you give one team a chance to play three straight at home.

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Four belts change hands at the WWE pay per view. Batista, CM Punk, (cashing in his Money in the Bank chance)Tommy Dreamer and Chris Jericho all now have championships attached to their name. Why didn't Vince do this at Wrestlemania??? I guess RAW will be must-watch TV for this wrestling junkie tomorrow.
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Anna Kournikova turned 28 on Sunday. Happy Birthday Anna. You are still a bonafide lottery pick in the eyes of this blogger. Yes you are!!!!