This And That

WOW!!!! It hasn't even been two months since we put the 2013 CFL season to bed with the Riders winning the Grey Cup and now many are writing the obituary for this squad with 4 1/2 months to go until the 2014 season starts.

The loss of Keith Shologan and Zach Evans in the Ottawa dispersal draft hurt this team tremendously and so has the loss of Weston Dressler to the NFL, but it would seem as if the loss of Kory Sheets and Craig Butler has a lot of the fanbase throwing in the towel already while sharpening those knives I thought perhaps they had put away for good with the aim once again being GM Brendan Taman.

I won't sit here and tell you the loss of Sholo, Sheets. Butler and Dressler aren't huge because they are, but this team still has a lot of quality on it and the core is still there. Durant, Getzlaf, Taj Smith, the o-line, Chick. Brackenridge, Rey Williams, Milo, etc. etc. This team still has a lot of talent on it and no one knows what Taman has up his sleeve. This negative talk with so much time to go until training camp is laughable as far as I'm concerned. They did what they wanted in 2013 and that is win the Grey Cup on home turf. The desire is there to repeat, but its not as strong thus the team isn't as active in free agency as they were last year. Relax and have some faith. Everything will be fine.

The question now is what one of the three who have left creates the biggest hole. Is it Sheets, Dressler or Butler and I say the answer is Butler. You can find a one thousand yard American receiver in this league (albeit not one as popular and as dynamic as Dressler) and you can find an American one thousand yard running back, but you can't find a replacement right away for a guy who did what Butler did in green and white. He was an impact player and more importantly, he was Canadian! You don't find Canadians as talented as Butler. While I think you can replace Dressler and Sheets, I don't think you find another Canadian as valuable to a team as what Butler was.

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Surprisingly, there isn't a lot of negativity being shown after the Canadians 3-1 mens hockey win over Norway. I thought there would be some seeing the game wasn't one-sided, but there hasn't been a lot. That's good! The pressure is still there to win, but its not as immense as it was for Canada four years ago when the weight of the whole games and their success seemingly came down to whether Canada won gold in mens hockey or not. That pressure has shifted over to Ovechkin and the Russians. I'd love to beat them in their own rink and I hope they get the opportunity, but I just think Ovechkin won't be denied on home soil much like Sid wasn't denied in Canada.

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How much of the Olympics are you watching and what events are you watching? Like it is every Winter games for me, I watch the downhill, the speedskating, the bobsled and luge, the curling and the hockey but that's it. I watched Paige Lawrence and her partner do their thing in figureskating because she's local and I did caught up in watching Mark McMorris and some of the freestyle skiing. I should perhaps be watching more of the freestyle skiing when it comes to some of the female competitors. No wonder, young men in their 20's love that sport. There are some big time cuties in that sport. There was an Australian girl on the halfpipe the other day who was just stunning. OK, I'm starting to sound like Brent Musberger........moving on!!!!
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Guys, its Valentines Day. Treat that woman in your life right today and this weekend!
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Its a joke the Argos won't play a home game in September. They need to get to BMO Field right now.
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So much for going to Dierks Bentley at Craven. How could the Riders schedule a night game on the same weekend as the jamboree? As Curtis Hunt said on Wednesday's Sportscage, perhaps the Riders can get him to do the anthem or maybe a little pre-game concert.
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I had a lot of fun doing MAACO Hockey Wednesday with Curtis this week. The weekly gig on the show has really made him open up compared to the days when he was coaching the Pats and Warriors when it was tough to get a good 12-15 second soundbite out of him. I've never had a problem with Curtis and I'm glad he gets to share his hockey wisdom with us on the show each week. He's just another of the top-notch analysts that we have at our disposal.
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The Blue Jays have been way too quiet this off-season after last. Are they afraid of getting burned again or did they just smarten up. Some think this team will be better this year with the same cast of characters. I see another 75-80 win season and that won't be good enough.
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If there has been a classier athlete in any sport over the past 15 years than Derek Jeter, I'd love to know who it is. I don't know if I'll  have the chance, but I would love to see him do his thing one time before he rides off into the sunset.
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The BC Lions sent out a tweet Thursday night mocking the Riders for losing who they have in the off-season and adding Khari Jones. This from the same BC Lions team who tweeted out Tuesday they have made offers to Nick Moore, Craig Butler, Josh Bourke, Wayne Smith and Shea Emry. I have two things to say to that. 1) Wayne Smith is still playing? 2. You're 0-4 having struck out on that wish list. Nexttttttt!!!
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NBC Sports and CNNSI columnist Peter King recently tweeted he wants to go to a CFL game this summer and he asked where he should go. Does he really have to ask? Peter doesn;t read this blog and if he does he's tremendously bored, but there is no other place to go to catch the true essence of our game than right here at Mosaic. Peter's Twitter handle is  @SI_PeterKing. You may want to send him a message.
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I haven't watched many NBA games this year, but Wednesday's game between Miami and Golden State which was won on a Lebron James three pointer at the buzzer was a dandy!
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I have to try and get to L-I-T this weekend seeing its the last tournament in the old gym. If you have never been, you have no idea what its like in that building. If you have, you do! Its second to none.
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Big weekend for the Cougar womens basketball team. They should beat Brandon twice, but they need the Huskies to knock off Alberta once to finish first. I won't be surprised if that scenario plays itself out. It would be nice to see some good crowds for the games this weekend. I know they start a little earlier than one might like, but its a good nite at the University ---especially if you ignore the public address announcer.
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I have no clue what the  main event at WrestleMania will be, but it can't be Batista vs Randy Orton. I am now hearing word Hulk Hogan is coming back to WWE. If this is true, god help us wrestling fans one and all especially if he wins some gold. Oh yeah, don't give me a Hulk-Cena match at WM either.
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We're two weeks away from my High Impact wrestling TV debut as I sit alongside the Polish Hammer Pete Paczko. Get ready Regina---especially some of you Rex Roberts loving gronks that sit front row!
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Have a great weekend!!! A great LONG weekend that is! We deserve one don't we.