Something To Mitch About

Week 1 of CFL play is in the books. Damn, it was good watching some real-life football that mattered instead of NFL Classic games. Many of us needed to get our football fix back and we have it as the 2012 season is underway. I guess the CFL wanted to wait until Canada Day to show us this, but I can't understand why they wouldn't have trotted it out Thursday night.



If you didn't see this, take a few minutes and watch it. If it doesn't leave you with a lump in your throat, you might want to hand in your CFL fanclub card. What a tremendous job by the CFL! I do feel a little sorry for Szarka though.

That isn't the only question I have for the CFL as we wrap week 1 up. The other question I have is what better way to have spent Canada Day than with a CFL opening weekend triple-header. Could the Riders have not played in Hamilton at 11 our time followed by the Montreal-Calgary game or the Toronto-Edmonton contest with the Lions-Bombers game to cap it off. Did TSN need to start off with a Friday night football doubleheader? With events like the Euro 2012 final, the NHL free-agent frenzy and the PGA ( all events that TSN is contractually obligated to do), it just couldn't happen? Regardless, I think the league missed out on a major opportunity there. That's just my two cents on the matter.

I re-hashed the Riders game in an earlier post, but here are just some thoughts after the opening weekend


--Who looked better, the Riders or Calgary?

--Will Nik Lewis ever stop being a mouthpiece? If this guy handled himself on the field like Geroy Simon, I may be able to tolerate him. The guy dresses well and plays well, but that's about all the positives I can find.

--Who had the worst defence on Sunday, the Alouettes or Italy?

--Who said the East was going to be better than the West this year. West 4 East 0 after one week?

--Who went 1-3 in the CKRM CFL picks? (Oh wait...uhh yeah moving on)

--Ricky Ray may have lost his homecoming game, but his team is still better than the one he left. I was not impressed with the Eskimos, but while Toronto wasn't impressive either, I think they can and will improve.

--Why doesn't Buck Pierce try something where the chances of him being hurt are less than they are on the football field? I would think being a member of the bomb disposal unit might be a safer gig for him? I don't know why but I envision the Winnipeg quarterback living life in a wheelchair by the time he is 50. He is going to be like the Dynamite Kid of Stampede Wrestling fame minus the drug and alcohol abuse that the Kid put his body through. I don't know how Pierce does it and I don't know why. Is it really worth what he is doing to himself? I guess it is because he just keeps getting knocked down and he just keeps getting back up.

--The TSN panel debated at the half what player should have made the top 50 that didn't and they had their choice of four players who finished 51-54. None of the four were Rider receiver Chris Getzlaf. Where did he finish in this poll? Who voted? I think Murray McCormick was the only Saskatchewan based guy to vote which makes me wonder why people like Vanstone and Pedersen weren't asked. Still with the poll, Stamps defensive lineman Charleston Hughes is apparently pissed with TSN and wouldn't take his helmet off when being interviewed as a sign of protest. That's right Calgary, its all about you and not the team isn't it. The cockiness that team has is still high and its why I don't like them. BC isn't even in their league as far as I'm concerned when it comes to that area of the game.

Other tidbits floating through the brain...

--Good on the Oilers for getting free agent defenceman Justin Schultz. Has a free agent ever had his choice of all NHL teams and gone to Edmonton? That's a major coup. After all the talk about him, I just hope he isn't another Fabian Brunnstrom. Everyone has been raving about this guy and people I have talked to in the States say he is the real deal. Lets see!

--Free agency is killing or could kill the New Jersey Devils as we know it. The team could lose Martin Brodeur, they could lose Zach Parise, they could lose Bryce Salvador, they could lose Ryan Carter and they have lost Alexei Ponikarovsky. That's a big chunk out of their lineup if none of those guys return.

--Seeing Brodeur in a different uniform other than the Devils wouldn't be right, but he wouldn't be the first long-time vet to end his career elsewhere after many, many years with one team.

--The Vancouver Canucks have signed free agent defenceman Jason Garrison. Do they also get the rights to Mr. Hat? (South Park reference if you don't understand) For what its worth, I think the Canucks acquisition of Dan Hamhuis was better than the signing of Garrison and less expensive too. I'm not sure if that was the smartest move by Mike Gillis. We'll see.

--Steve Nash doesn't have an NBA title to his resume. He is close to being done. With that being the case, why not go somewhere where he has a chance. Going to Toronto will kill any thought process of Nash winning a title. Is he serious? If he does come back, basketball in this country will get a real shot in the arm, but common sense dictates he go somewhere where he can get a ring.

--Two of my personal pet peeves were front and center again this weekend 1)Why doesn't corporate Canada and sponsors of the CFL use CFL players in their ads. It baffles me as to why this doesn't happen. If the Phoenix Group can write a commercial that stars Jim Hopson, can not some national agency make an ad that stars the likes of Geroy Simon, Ricky Ray, Darian Durant or Henry Burris. I guess not. 2) When at a lottery kiosk checking out winners, go to the machine and if you must check it out with the retailer, have the sense to see what type of lineup is forming behind you. That just drives me right up the wall.

--Tiger Woods wins the National when Bo Van Pelt blows up in the final couple of holes. Late in the action, Tiger walked away from his drive because people were taking pictures and the sound of the shutter and the cellphone cameras distracted him. This bothered Phil Mickleson earlier this year. Is it just me or do you think golfers would fail miserably being a quarterback with 50-thousand yelling at you or at being a basketball player when fans behind the basket are trying to distract you while taking a foul shot. Cmon guys, man up!! By the way, Weyburn's Graham DeLaet took him another 15-grand as he nears closer to his card. He must be close by now.

--Brett Lawrie can play on my baseball team anytime he wants. His emotions may cause him to go overboard sometimes, but I love what the Toronto 3rd baseman brings to the table. He isn't taking any crap from anyone!

--The Regina Red Sox are back home at Currie Field Monday night as they play Melville in a 705 start. That would be a great way to end the holiday weekend.

--Two Saskatchewan ball players are getting noticed as they climb the ladder to possible major league spots. Both North Battleford's Andrew Albers and Moose Jaw's James Avery will play in the Eastern League (AA) All-Star game later this month. Seeing their rise makes me wonder if and when Dustin Molleken will get called up to the Colorado Rockies from their Triple A affilliate in Colorado Springs.

--The Grey Cup will bring an estimated 123 million dollars to Regina. Just think of what it will bring when a fancy new stadium comes on board. If something happens to derail that stadium, it will be the last time we see the event come to Regina. Bank on it!

--Whoever said Saskatchewan is the least beautiful province in Canada needs to take a look at some of what this province has to offer. What a colossal joke that was!

--One media outlet this weekend suggested what it would have been like in Regina 100 years ago if we had Twitter. I asked the question "Without computers and cellphones, Twitter wouldn't have done anyone any good." Was I wrong!

--Chris Cuthbert is 54? Speaking of Cuthbert, he mentioned the name of Kerwin Bell on Friday night. I'm not sure why he was referring to Bell, but whenever you think of Kerwin Bell, you think of what is one of the best sports-related bloopers of all time. Remember.....



That's all I got! Later!