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.

 --Can they do it? Could the Saskatchewan Roughriders take down the juggernaut known as the Calgary Stampeders Sunday afternoon at Mosaic?   Many will say no way, and they are justified in doing so seeing the Stamps have once again shown themselves to be the dominant team in the CFL’s regular-season having won eight in a row. If these two teams were playing in Calgary, EVERYTHING would have to go right if the /=S=/ were to be victorious.

It might be another story here though.  The Riders are a different team at home as they are energized by a raucous home crowd which makes life difficult for the opposition.  That crowd should be even more insane than usual when Bo Levi Mitchell and company take the field.  This should be the game where TSN has its decibel meter going! 

If the 13^th man can bring it and then some and make life miserable for Bo Levi and company right of the bat and keep that going throughout the game, the Riders have a chance. The medical report came back favourable so a lot of guys who got wounded in Hamilton should be back. The Stamps will have their fair share of injuries. They will be favoured, and they should be, but if home field advantage was ever needed by the guys in green, it will be Sunday. Are you up to the challenge? Somehow, I think you are.

--The news from 3 Down Nation's Drew Edwards on the Ottawa-Montreal game last week drawing only 190,000 fans as it went head to head against Sunday NFL wasn't a surprise. Why would anyone want to watch two Eastern teams sludge their way through 60 minutes when the NFL was on.  I certainly didn't watch and neither did many by the looks of it.  What did surprise me was more people watched an NHL pre-season, Formula 1 and NASCAR.  Edwards then goes on to report numbers are down 13 percent from last year.  Some advertisers did jump on board this year, but Wendy's and RONA decided to cut bait. This should be very worrisome for many.  The league has to seriously look at going head-to-head with the NFL especially when TSN is showing NFL games on a Sunday as well. They own the rights so they will do it. If Sportsnet had them, it would be the same thing with the same numbers.

   While the numbers are a bad for the CFL, the fact they have launched a game for your phone is a plus. Look for CFL Frenzy and have fun with it. The game will come out for Android in a couple of weeks so I'll have to wait.

--The Regina Pats team that takes the ice tonight in Brandon won’t be the same Regina Pats team that takes the ice against whoever in the opening game of the Memorial Cup in May.  The Pats begin the road to the Memorial Cup which will end at the Brandt Centre without the likes of Sam Steel, Nick Henry, Jake Leschyshyn and Josh Mahura as all are either hurt or at NHL camps.

As I have stated before, if you are thinking this Pats team will be as good as the one last year, you can think again because a 52 win season is improbable.  I can see this team trying to hold its head above water until the trade deadline when John Paddock will do what has to be done to make his team a viable contender for both the Ed Chynoweth Cup and Memorial Cup while attempting to keep the cupboard somewhat stocked so that playoff runs can be achieved and they are not a bottom-feeder as was the case after the last Memorial Cup here when it took forever for the team to be competitive on a night-after-night basis. 

It is going to be a great ride this season watching Paddock’s proteges do their thing, and with this being the 100^th season of Regina Pats hockey, it will be one to celebrate and one to remember.  Can’t wait for the puck to be dropped and see guys like Jeff DeWit, Bryan Lockner, Tyler Brown and Dawson Davidson amongst others do their thing.

--If you are going to the Pats game Saturday night, may I suggest checking out the Rams as well.  They will play Manitoba at 2 o’clock at Mosaic. As Rob Vanstone correctly stated in this week’s “Robservations”, “Why is it the Rams can’t draw more people in a supposedly “football-crazed” city? The same goes for the Thunder!  It’s not as if both teams are bad either because they are definitely not. 

--The "Hockey News" is picking Pittsburgh to beat Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers back in the Final? That would be somewhat delightful for this blogger.

--Whoever runs the Vegas Golden Knights Twitter account is wayyyyyy too smart for that job. It is the best sports Twitter account out there today and the gap between first and second is a wide one. 

--The Blue Jays signed Marco Estrada to a one year, 13 million dollar deal. Yes, Estrada pitched much better in the 2nd half of the season, but is Marco Estrada the answer to getting back to the playoffs on a one year deal? I really don't understand what Mark Shapiro is doing, and I'm thinking the average Blue Jays fan is wondering that as well.  At least after next week, they shouldn't have to worry about Jose Bautista anymore.  What a grand decision it was to bring him back for a year when no one else wanted him. 

--Week 3 NFL Lock Of The Week ---- Packers over Bengals 

   Week 3 NFL Upset Of The Week --- Saints over Panthers

--I can't forget about offering a hearty congratulations to Wes Cates and Roger Brandvold. Both will go down in Riders folklore by being formally inducted to the Plaza of Honour. It's a great accomplishment for two who helped make the Riders "Canada's Team!"