Breaking It Down After A Night Of Z's

I don't know about you, but I saw bad things on the horizon for the Saskatchewan Roughriders when the football game was tied at 7 after one quarter of play. As you know, the Riders D forced three turnovers on BC's first three possessions, but they did diddly squat with those turnovers, Yes, they did get a Rob Bagg TD, but they certainly should have been in control after 15 minutes of play. I'll give all the credit in the world to Korey Banks because he made a helluva play in picking off Durant at the Rider 5, but still.

It couldn't have been hard for Rob and Carm to pick the offensive game star because Bagg was the only one. Neither Durant or Jyles impressed me, the thoughts of a Rider running game happening because of BC's run problems didn't materialize, the offensive line was manhandled and the defence simply wore down. Don't even get me started on special teams.

It was obvious going in that the Lions were the hungrier football team. They needed a win in the worst way. Yes, the season is just one third of the way through, but a loss by the Lions would have been disastrous in a Western Division where not much separates top from bottom. It just seemed to me as if the Riders never matched their intensity. They had a chance to deliver a first round knockout after B.C's offensive woes, but they allowed the Lions off the canvas and then B.C struck with a rabbit punch on that bizarre TD at the end of the first half and well, you know the rest of the story.

I'm not going to sit here like a lot of fans and belittle coach Miller, but I do think Ken has to ask some serious questions of his assistant coaches. Paul Lapolice, Gary Etcheverry and Kavis Reed need to explain just why their philosophies aren't working. Miller sounded very frustrated on the post-game show last nite and for good reason. He knows his team is much better than the way they played and he knows they let one slip through their fingers. That's twice this year now that they have let a Western Division rival come back to beat them when there is no way they should have.

In an effort to spark his team, Wally made some personnel changes going into the Rider game. Does Ken make some personnel changes this week or does he go with the status quo? Whatever it is, it will make for a very interesting week in Riderville as they get ready for Hamilton. One personnel change that may have to be made may be at middle linebacker and it has nothing to do with the play of Rey Williams. The LP's Murray McCormick says Williams may have suffered a season-ending knee injury last night. If that's the case, Jerrell Freeman becomes the man in the middle.

At least there is one thing you can say Rider fans, you're not in Toronto's shoes. As woeful as the Riders were offensively, they were gangbusters compared to the Argonauts. How embarassing is it to get shutout in the CFL??? There hasn't been a shutout in the CFL since 2006. They couldn't even muster a measly rouge. That's pathetic. Kerry Joseph isn't getting help from his receivers, but one has to think his days are up. He looks nothing like he did in 2007, but then again he has nowhere near the talent either.
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Just some other odds and ends

--Theoren Fleury is talking about making a comeback. Don't do it Theo. I want to remember you for the player that you were, not the player you might be in a return. Did Claude Lemieux make an impact in San Jose? Thank you!

--If the Jays are smart, they let whatever team has made a claim keep Alex Rios, but they make a trade for him. Rios has all the talent in the world, but he's been a bust in Toronto. Why couldn't someone have made a claim on Vernon Wells!!!!

--My Cubs will not make the playoffs if they don't finish first in the NL Central, and I'm thinking that honour could go to St. Louis. Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday are a scary 3-4 combination.

--Its not hard watching any Sugarland videos. This of course is because Jennifer Nettles is an outstanding singer. What?!

--The NFL welcomes Derrick Thomas into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. With all apologies to Lawrence Taylor fans, Thomas might have been the best outside linebacker to play the game. The NFL network showed the game the other day where Thomas had seven sacks in a game against Seattle. He should have had eight, but Dave Krieg got away from him and threw the winning TD pass on the final play of the game. (YES!!) The guy was unbelievable. I don't know what kind of induction speeches will be given today, but all will be hard-pressed to equal the one Michael Irvin gave in 2007. It was absolutely amazing. If you haven't seen it, watch.



--The WWE is in Regina tonight and UFC 101 is on. It means a late night for this guy. I hope its one of those nights where I see Kenny Florian kick the you know what out of BJ Penn. I'm also going to take Forrest Griffin to beat Anderson Silva, but I'm not confident with that pick.
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I thought it was supposed to rain all day. Where is the rain??? Environment Canada truly has no clue when it comes to the forecast. Maybe EC's chief climatologist David Phillips and Paul LaPolice should trade spots, because neither man is having success at their job right now. (ITS A JOKE!!!!)
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