Halladay Remains A Jay And Thats OK

He didn't go to the Cubs,(I wonder what they might have offered) and he thankfully didn't go to the Cardinals or any other team. Roy Halladay is still a Blue Jay and I think that has to be good news if you are a fan of this club.

There is no doubt Halladay is the face of the franchise. Losing him would have been disastrous. They still might in the off-season, but when you look at the young arms Halladay could surround himself with, it might be in JP Ricciardi's best effort to sign "Doc" to a big-time extension. Think about it, you will have Halladay and a healthy Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch. Add to that you have Ricky Romero and Marc Rzepcynczki, and you have a talented pitching staff to start 2010. If Toronto is going to contend with the Red Sox and the Yankees, they need solid pitching. It is something they might have next year, but Halladay must stay.

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How bout the Hamilton Tiger Cats? They are 3-2 and dare I say it, they may have piqued the excitement of football fans in the area again for the first time in a long time. The Tabbies beat the Lions 30-18 to complete the season sweep of B.C. I wonder when the last time was that Hamilton beat a team twice in the regular season. Deandra Cobb is going to make it very tough to find Kenton Keith a spot on the active roster when he comes off the nine game injury list. Cobb ran for 167 yards to lead the Ti-Cats. Rod Black compared him to a young Charles Roberts. That's a nice compliment indeed.

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The Leader Post's Murray McCormick is in Calgary with the Riders as they get ready for tomorrow's game. He says Andy Fantuz looked good in the pre-game rundown, but game day is another story. Chris Getzlaf will slide into Fantuz's spot if he can't go and it is interesting to note Adam Nicolson has been put on the active roster. This is likely an insurance move in case Fantuz goes down during the game.



Its nice to see Gene Makowsky back on the offensive line. I think his presence will be a big help to that offensive line meaning that both the running game will be evident and that Darian Durant will have some more time to find receivers.



I'll be interested to see how Joe Sykes performs in the absence of John Chick. Sykes obviously knows what to do as his days in AF2 will prove. Can he bring that game to the CFL. If he can, there will be a lot of smiles tomorrow night.



What happens if Steven Jyles gets the ball and leads the team down the field for a touchdown?? I don't want to mention that "C" word.



Is the focus of the Rider "D" to stop Joffrey Reynolds or Henry Burris?? I would almost say it has to be Reynolds.

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Did you see Michael Bishop on "Off the Record" Friday? Michael Landsberg asked him if I heard him correctly if there was any truth to a rumour that he got involved in a fight outside of Mosaic after the Western semi last year and that was a reason for his quick release. Bishop said no. I had not heard of this rumour. Did you?

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Now the NHL decides it doesn't like long-term contracts so its investigating the big one Marian Hossa signed. If they are going to investigate this one, they have to investigate the big ones signed by Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Dipietro etc. etc. If teams can find a way to circumvent the cap you know they are going to try. If they have succeeded, you can't close the loophole once someone has gone through it.

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This talk of Michael Vick perhaps becoming a Seahawk is not impressing me.

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One last thing and that is a big congrats to the North Regina Little League all-stars. They won a tournament in Calgary Friday meaning they are off to the Canadian Little League Championships in Quebec. A win there and they are headed to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series. Of course, this would not be the first time a Regina team has had a chance at going to or competing in Williamsport. Good luck in Quebec guys!!!
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Enjoy the Rider game!!!!