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Friday, July 26, 2019

This and That



--Welcome to Friday and the usual thoughts running through my muddled mind.  As always, they come in no particular order

--The Riders need a repeat performance in Vancouver Saturday.  The Lions need what is possibly a season-saving win.  Did I say "possibly"?  The pressure is on the shoulders of the home team when the two teams meet at BC Place tomorrow after a 13 point Riders win last week.  A Riders win and they win the season series.  Edmonton has already won the season series against the Lions and there isn't any way they are going to catch Calgary and Winnipeg.   The Lions will come out as the more desperate or at least they should.

It's not often that Game 6 of the season is a huge game when you look at the season, but that is the case for a Riders team that may have gotten its game back on track following the bye week.  Those who say a quality win against a team that isn't a bottom-feeder is needed for them to see that something is developing is a statement that can't be denied, but you can't lose to a bottom-feeder either.

--A great question posed by Derek Taylor on Thursday's Sportscage.  Who are the 6 most important Riders for the last 13 games.  Not who are the most popular, but who are the most important moving forward.  I had Cody Fajardo at 1 simply for the fact that he has shown he can do the job and may very well have to do it again if Zach Collaros doesn't return or should go down again.  Considering the track record Collaros has had in green one has to believe we won't be seeing the last of Fajardo this season if Zach comes back as the number one guy.  Who are your six?

--Gainer is under heat again for abusing a stuffed animal.  OMG!! At some point, can we take political correctness and do with it what Gainer does with the Lion and his stuffed Tiger which will likely make an appearance at the next home game?   That was the biggest non-story of the week that made a lot more headlines than it should have.  As I said on Twitter this week, are we in a world where mascot-on-mascot crime is frowned upon.  If so, let me off.

Will the Riders now produce another video where Craig Reynolds is seen chewing out Gainer for his "antics"? Will that video include his stuffed lion being taken away from him. (OHHHHHH NOOOOOOO!!!) The video where Gainer ditched his green contacts was outstanding so hopefully the creative team over there can produce something before the Hamilton home game.

--The Mike Scheper firing from Riderville is a strange one when it comes to timing.  There's more to this story. The timing is very, very odd.

--There are braincramps and there are Rick Campbell brain-cramps.  What was that? I don't understand his thinking at all at the end of last nite's game and I don't think I'm alone.

--Those were two bad CFL games on Thursday nights.

--The Flames have a new arena.  We all knew it would happen eventually.  Where's the new football stadium though?  We all remember when Ken King and his cronies proudly announced in the first arena deal that was squashed that a football stadium was coming too to replace the archaic MacMahon Stadium.  It would appear as if the Stampeders were forgotten this time around.  Surprise, surprise! The Stampeders deserve better.  King and company should either double down and get the Stamps a new building or just sell the squad.  The latter might be the better thing for the organization as this shows how much Calgary Sports and Entertainment cares about one of their properties.

--The Jays and Cleveland played a game on Facebook Live Tuesday night.  As they were last year, Jays fans were not happy wanting to see the game on Sportsnet.  Facebook Live isn't the platform you want to be on IMO.  How many viewers do you actually get?  It can be tracked, and when I checked out the game in the 4th inning, there were just over 3000 people checking it out.  If you want highlights great, but if you are looking to watch the whole thing.  No thanks!   I am guessing more than 3000 people would be watching the Sportsnet broadcast.  This one is a head-scratcher.

--Why are some in Toronto upset with the fact Kawhi Leonard didn't give an overwhelming thank you to Toronto and the Raptors as he officially became a Clipper. What more do you want from the guy?  I think he brought you what you were looking for.  There really should be no Kawhi-hate at all amongst Raptors fans.  Meanwhile, if you saw Clippers owner Steve Ballman, you wonder just what it is in his medicine closet.  That was weird!

--You are on a road trip with your significant other.  You are in charge of the snacks.  What three items are you taking?

--Storms like the one that rolled through Regina Wednesday night are just great to watch. Those cloud formations were unreal.

--The stretch drive is on in the WCBL.  Regina has a leg up on Swift Current and Weyburn, but the 57's and Beavers are right behind.  It's going to be a fun last couple of weeks and playoffs.













14 comments:

Anonymous said...

6 most important Riders in no particular order

Fajardo, Evans, Hughes, Moncrief, Marshall, Johnson

Anonymous said...


The sheer stupidity of Campbell can't be measured. I could see a rookie head coach like Dickie, Claybrooks or Khari doing that, but Campbell has been around the block. No plausible explanation for that "brain-cramp"


Aaron

Anonymous said...


1. Fajardo
2. Hughes
3. Marshall
4. Powell
5. Micah J
6. Gainey


Al

joe bunyawk said...

Six most important Riders for the rest of the season...

Quarterback
Offensive Lineman
Offensive Lineman
Offensive Lineman
Offensive Lineman
Offensive Lineman

Whether it's Fajardo, Collaros, Harker or even Bennett, the passing and running game need blocking and protection...need five healthy capable guys up front to make it work...I have faith the defence and special teams will hold their own...just my thoughts...

Anonymous said...

The Stampeders should have been beaten last night even before Campbell's brain cramp if the Redblacks could tackle.
I've never seen so many blown tackles.
It makes you wonder if the 'no-tackle practices' rule was a mistake.

Mike said...

To me the mascot thing isn't about "stuffed animal rights" as some have suggested. I went through traumatic violence as a child, I'm living with PTSD permanently now, and my condition makes it really hard to carry on with my daily life. When Gainer does a lot of what he does with the stuffed animals, I really don't care, but when the "violence" reaches a certain level - strangulation, for instance - I feel the same fear and physical sensations I did as a kid. I know in my head that the lion isn't real and the violence isn't real but my body doesn't know the difference. It's a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone. Out of the ~750,000 people watching every game, I can't be the only one who's been through that kind of traumatic violence in the past.

The number of times I've seen the term "political correctness" misused in reference to the latest Gainer-gate is wearing me down and I wish it would stop. "Political correctness" doesn't mean killing fun, it means standing up for marginalized people even when it's not popular to do so. Supporting a recovering alcoholic's choice to not drink is is politically correct, as is supporting a friend with depression or anxiety instead of just telling them to "suck it up." A couple decades ago, the idea of putting quarterbacks in concussion protocol after a head hit would have been widely dismissed as political correctness gone way too far. I think a lot of us can do better with the use of this term.

Anonymous said...


The decision by Campbell was one of the stupidest ones I have ever seen. Moreso because it benefits Calgary. As soon as they conceeded, I knew they would lose. The defense had been great all night long so why not show confieence and give them one more drive to shut Nicky boy down. ARRRGHHHH!!!


Andrew

Anonymous said...


Scruffy, does Derek Taylor have any personal demons or restaurants that he owns. He never talks about that stuff. Just curious!

Anonymous said...

Why would calgary build a stadium for a team and a league that will probably be history in 10 years

Anonymous said...

I saw where Dickensen had a discussion with your hero Jon Ryan about his singles last week. Turns out he really isn't very good because Dickie said Jon was trying to punt them out of bounds but they went out the far end of the end zone, LOL.

The Realist

Anonymous said...


Mike, the whole Gainer story made our province look bad again. I understand the points you make, but the fact media outlets like Global and the CBC actually did stories like this shows me the credibility or lack of it they have.

Mascots do this all the time, but because some wingnut takes it to another level this happens.

Its embarassing!

Tony

Anonymous said...


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's funny because it's true.

Anonymous said...


Chips, jerky, pop

Anonymous said...


Good show yesterday Scruffdog. The Cage has a different sound to it now. Liked it a lot with you and RP, but its better now.



Jeff