What Was Uglier--The Game Or The Unis?

Tell the truth Rider fans. What was uglier? The garb worn by head coach Ken Miller and his assistants or the red and burgundy uniforms. Saturday's tilt at Mosaic was certainly not aesthetically pleasing, but the home team won and that is all that matters. In what was a bad football game, the Riders won it 24-20 or perhaps I should say Edmonton gave it to them because the Eskimos probably deserved a better fate on this day. Just some random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon at the stadium.

--Make fun of those pants all you want, but if Steve Mazurak and the Rider marketing staff get some of those with green and white on it, they will sell and they will sell big.

--I felt bad for Chris Cuthbert, Rod Pedersen, Evan Bray and the Eskimos play by play guy Morley Scott. It was tough trying to decipher the numbers of those Rider uniforms. I'm glad that was a once in a 100 year experiment. Those jerseys can now be ditched much like the Seahawks lime green jersey of a couple of years ago. I'd put a picture of that jersey up, but I may vomit.

--Contrary to popular belief at the start of the year, Wes Cates is not done. He's the first RB in the CFL to hit the 300 yard mark.

--Even though the Riders were ineffective for most of the afternoon, I had this sneaking suspicion that with the wind in the 4th quarter, they would come through.

--Does Ricky Ray look at any other receiver besides Kelly Campbell and Fred Stamps. The way those two let him down--especially Campbell--I might want to look elsewhere.

--I don't think Louie Sakoda is done as Rider punter as some are suggesting, but he is on strike 2.

--The Rider return game is one that needs to be returned.

--Andy Fantuz asked fans to wear black. Many fans did that and I applaud them for doing that. You would think those that have a jersey with Fantuz's name and number might accomodate Andy's request because he is obviously their favourite player. NOPE! I must have seen 20 Fantuz green jerseys yesterday.

--The finalists for Riderville were announced and if I had a vote I would go for Yorkton. Why? Those on the field representing Yorkton were wearing black while the reps of the other 3 towns were not. The spirit of the day was to wear black, not green. Thumbs up to the Yorktonians for doing what was asked and not snubbing the request---something that shows you should be Riderville.

--What were former Eskimos coach Danny Macioccia and current president Rick Lelacheur discussing after the game? The two did not look happy (nor should they have been). There is talk about Richie being dumped. I hope for Richie's sake that was not the case.

--I am just going to throw this one out there and I am not endorsing this whatsoever when I do this. If Richie should get axed in Edmonton, would you consider him as a candidate to replace Ken Miller if he indeed should step down as head coach at the end of this season. Right now, I would think Doug Berry would have the inside track, but if Richie were available, would he be the favourite?

--Mo Lloyd and Shomari Williams were exchanging words at the end of the game with all the reporters on the field. TSN and former co-worker Wray Morrison was almost caught in the middle of it. Wray came up to me after the game and said he thought he was going to inadvertently get caught in the middle of it, but he knew I had his back. My response "Nope, I don't play for your team anymore!"

--With the recent woes of the Oilers and Eskimos, the city of Edmonton should think about taking down those "City of Champions" signs. Then again, they still have the Golden Bears.

--Do the Rams 50/50 sellers come into the top deck anymore? I haven't seen them up there this season. Still with the 50/50, a great idea from Global's Derek Meyers. Duke thinks the Rams should invest in that system that they had at the World Juniors where you can see the running total. I don't know if you can do that and sell to people sitting in the stands as they would have to go into the concourse areas to buy, but it might increase the already big jackpots somewhat.

Just a couple of other things before starting my Sunday

--While watching the British Open today, you might also want to check out the Reno-Tahoe Open. Weyburn's Graham DeLaet was on fire yesterday shooting a 10 under 62 to put him a couple of strokes off the lead. I believe the Golf Channel has the final round of that event today. I think Graham will get a lot of pub this week with the Canadian Open happening.

--I know its been out there for a couple of days, but former Pats goalie Josh Harding--one of my faves--has signed a new contract with the Minnesota Wild. Truth be told that disappoints me. Harding's time is now and he should be starting, but he is stuck behind Nick Backstrom. There are many teams that could use a good young goalie of Josh's calibre--yes Edmonton is one of them. I'm tired of seeing him sit on the bench.

--Texas Rangers catcher Bengie Molina hit for the cycle Friday night. I look better than Molina! How the hell did he stretch out a triple?

--Another big win for the Red Sox. They pounded Medicine Hat 13-1 as Shawn Wilyman pitched a complete game 7 hitter.

--Craven! What an interesting mix of life lumped together.

--I've had my Blackberry for a month and it crashed and died yesterday. Not a happy camper when it comes to that topic.

--Have a great Sunday!