This And That

-- Welcome to Friday!  Here are the usual weekly thoughts running through my muddled mind, and as always they come in no particular order.


--All hail Randy Ambrosie! The new CFL commissioner is making an impact in his first month on the job.  Ambrosie has been touring the different cities checking out the games and talking with the fans. He realized what was wrong and he is fixing it.  Good on him!  Time will tell if allowing coaches just one challenge per game win or lose will be worth it, but on the surface it appears as if it would.

Yes, coaches are still allowed to challenge pass interference and illegal contact which I am against, but they can only do it once so do it wisely.  This should alleviate the BS we saw in the Riders-Calgary game earlier this season and the BC-Edmonton game last week.  Is it a perfect solution? No, it is not, but it is something which is workable until the end of the season.  Ambrosie should be credited for taking this move as should the nine teams who were in support of this unanimously. They realized what was going on, but they also realized they had a job to do in trying to win a football game thus they were using the rules to their advantage.  Coaches were throwing flags to get penalties, not to see if a player had caught the ball, had his foot in bounds or was down before fumbling. That was the intent of review. Getting a penalty called was not.

Ambrosie has said at the end of the season, there will be a complete review of video review and I am OK with that. I think there is a spot for it in the game much as there is in baseball, hockey, basketball, but you can overdo it and the CFL is guilty of that.

You don't have the ability to call balls and strikes in the majors. You don't have the ability to challenge a slashing call or a tripping call in hockey, and you should not have the ability to call for pass interference, illegal contact, roughing the passer etc. etc. in football.  Those in charge need to be allowed to do their job. If that job means you have to check on some things during the course of the action to make sure its right. that's fine. I have said it once and I will say it again. Limit the reviews to turnovers, scoring plays and possession.  After that, let the stripes do their job. Yes, you will have calls that will go your way, and you will have calls that don't.

--What do the Riders and Lions have in store for us Saturday night? I think we could see a good old-fashioned shootout.  Both teams have great offenses so we could and should see 60 or more points get scored. There is no reason to think we couldn't have another CFL game go right down to the last seconds before being decided.

The win over Toronto has some in the Rider Nation feeling good about their football team again hoping they are on the right path.  That was the thought process after a win over Hamilton, but a bye week was followed by a horrible performance in Calgary.  That can't happen again in Vancouver.  Yes, the Riders can win in BC, but if they don't, they need to put in a solid performance and show they are capable of competing with their Western Division foes.

Bring it on!!

--The water episode at Mosaic was simply a head-shaker for yours truly and many others as well. The furour that broke out over the lack of water fountains was tremendously over-blown in my opinion.  If its the middle of December and its 30 below, you take the necessary precautions so why wouldn't you when its 30 above. You knew it was hot, and you knew you could get water from a vendor or the bathrooms as many did.  The entitlement today's society has is somewhat amazing.  Let's see what those lineups at the four water fountains are for those October/November games.  One week, you can't drink craft beer, the next week you can't get water. What's next? Yeesh!

--Sorry CFL lovers, but this blogger couldn't be happier with the fact NFL training camps are underway. Soon, football at all levels will be back whether it be Canadian university, junior, NCAA, NFL or CFL, the game will be found and will be available making Saturdays and Sundays much more pleasurable. I can have my CFL, but I can have my NFL too and act like a fan when it comes to the Seahawks.

--Did the Calgary Stampeders send a message over the last couple of days? One could very well say they have or one could say they beat two football teams that weren't very good.

--Why doesn't anyone talk about Colin Kaepernick continuing his football career in the CFL? Who has his rights? At one time, BC did, but I don't know if they still do or not.

--When did Marcus Stroman become a whiny you know what? First, he complained about the baseballs after a bad performance, then he said he should have been on the all-star team, then he got tossed for arguing balls and strikes and this week, he got into it with Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.  Perhaps if he didn't try to quick-pitch some players there wouldn't have been a shouting match.  Stroman is competitive, I get that. I also get his act is wearing thin on a lot of people in baseball.  Some say teams didn't approach Toronto at the trade deadline for the pitcher because of his quick temper.  Perhaps he should wear 19 next year and keep the tradition going.

--Many asked me this week what I thought of Steve Bartman getting a World Series ring from the Cubs 14 years after that infamous night at Wrigley Field when he became famous for all the wrong reasons.  I think it is OK that Bartman is getting a ring as I know the Cubs have wanted closure on this incident. That closure won't come though until he shows up at Wrigley Field and throws out a first pitch or something.  Bill Buckner went back to Boston and was saluted by the fans after his famous gaffe in 1986. If he can do it, so can Bartman.

 Not only does he need to be welcomed back to Wrigley Field, but he needs to tell the world what the last 14 years has been like.  What was it like for him to see the Cubs win? Where was he? Did he ever go watch the Cubs at Wrigley or somewhere else disguised.  Would we even know what he looked like now?  I gotta admit that while at Wrigley, there was a small part of me that wondered if he was there or if he has ever been back. Hell, he could have been standing right beside me in the beer line, the bathroom or entering or exiting the place. I wouldn't have known.

--Jon Jones vs Brock Lesnar? Hell yeah! I would be way more excited for this fight than Mayweather-McGregor.  Could Jones really take down the beast? It would be fun to see him try!  I somehow get the feeling this will happen sometime late in 2018.

--A guy on Twitter was asking people for their 5 most memorable sporting moments good or bad.  I threw that out there on the Sportscage Thursday and got a lot of great answers.  For me, there are many, but to rank it to 5 would be

1.  Riders win 2013 Grey Cup
2.  Cubs win 2016 World Series in Game 7
3.  Oilers win first Stanley Cup with me at Northlands
4.  Seahawks win 1st Super Bowl
5.  First trip to Wrigley.

There are so many more though both good and bad like the 09 Grey Cup, the Bartman game, the Steve Smith game, the Pats losing in overtime to Val D'or at the Memorial Cup, the 07 Grey Cup, Golden Tate's catch in the endzone in the Monday nighter against Green Bay and the NFC Championship game comeback against Green Bay.  If you want to share yours, please do so.

That's all I got. Have a great long weekend! GO RIDERS!