This And That

 

 

I don't think there is any doubt I love this city when it comes to sports. We have so much to be proud of and one of things we can be very proud of is Jon Ryan. 

 

 

 

The Regina born Seahawks punter has been in town this week for events surrounding the Jon Ryan Charity Golf Classic and he has been letting everybody share in his success by showing off his Super Bowl ring to a community that he and his family have no problem giving back to. It would seem as if the community has no problems in letting Jon and his family know how proud they are of them. The 2nd ever JRCGC raised over 100-thousand dollars for the Bob Ryan Foundation. That is so spectacular on so many levels.  Congrats to all who put in hard work over a long time to see a week like this and see it end the way it did.

 

As you can see above, I, like many others in Regina, had a great chance to see the Super Bowl ring up close and personal. For me, this was a little special seeing I have been a fan of the Seahawks since Day 1 and I will admit when Jon took the ring off his finger and gave it to me I was afraid. I didn't want that thing to slip from my fingers or slip off of it and fall or anything. I took it, put it on, got a picture and gave it back to him a-s-a-p. It was rather surreal to slip that rock on though. Its something I guess you could say I was waiting 38 years to do and it may be the only chance I get.  You put that ring on one finger and a Grey Cup Riders ring on the other, and you feel a little fortunate to have the daily double occur the way it did for me this year.

 

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I came home from the Wascana and turned on the TV to see the opening game of the CFL season. I had to do a doubletake when I saw the score. WTF??? Did anyone see that coming?  Drew Willy looked like the 2nd coming of Dieter Brock and the crazy defence led by Gary Etcheverry must have confused the h-e-double hockeysticks out of Scott Milanovich and Ricky Ray. Its just one game, but what a confidence builder for Mike O'Shea's group.

 

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I don't mind rain and I would rather have it than snow, but ENOUGH!! As I write this, the Weather Network is saying 15-20 mm of rain will fall on Regina Sunday afternoon and evening as the Riders open up 2014 against Hamilton. This will mean three straight Rider home games on a rainy day.  ENOUGH!! I just hope it doesn't deter the Rider Nation from bringing their "A" game. I am very excited at reading what CNNSI and NBC Sports' Peter King will say about the Riders and the Mosaic Stadium experience in his Monday Morning Quarterback Column. A column read by over 8 million each people each week. King's Canada Week feature on the CFL is something that will be huge for the CFL when it comes to their American audience. I'm hoping to get the chance to shake hands with the sportswriting icon as he will exclusively appear on 620 CKRM's pre game show and again during the game.

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It is predictions time in the CFL as a new season starts and I am no different. As I have said in a couple of different places over the past few days, I highly expect the Saskatchewan Roughriders to be in Grey Cup 102. They have the best quarterback in the league, they have the best offensive line and I think they have the best secondary. I also think they are getting Kory Sheets back as well. No team in the CFL was decimated as much as what the Riders were in the off-season, but Calgary, BC and Edmonton didn't really improve themselves dramatically either.  In the West, I think its the Riders, Calgary, BC, Edmonton and Winnipeg and I wouldn't be surprised to see Edmonton finish 3rd. In the East, despite the opening night loss, I see Toronto as the best team in the East with Hamilton, Montreal and Ottawa. The Ti-Cats will be right there with the Argos, the Alouettes will have to hold off the 4th team place in the West for the crossover with the expansion REDBLACKS winning just 5-6 in year one.

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What did you think of the half hour feature on the Riders and the Grey Cup on TSN? I thought it was brilliant. We saw a lot of it on Grey Cup Sunday, but you add the Grey Cup footage to it and it was television gold. I loved Ricky Foley's line 31-6 at the half what can you say about that.  If I had any negative comment about the show, it would be I would have liked it to have been an hour.

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Who or what is Bruno Capoclo? Wasn't he Dr. Tongue's sidekick on SCTV's 3D House of Pancakes? To say the Raptors first round draft pick did not thrill me would be accurate. I was hoping the team could trade up to get Nik Stauskas from Michigan or Syracuse's Tyler Ennis would fall to number 20, but I wasn't expecting a Brazilian to be taken. I would have rather had Neymar!!

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Hats off to the NBA for this extremely first-class move!!! Its a night that young man won't ever forget

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The World Cup continues and now we get into the nitty-gritty of the affair. I am still laughing over the Luis Suarez biting of an Italian. Again, WTF??? What the hell was Suarez thinking when he did that? Did he take the same pre-game medication Zinedine Zidane did against the Italians in the final a few years ago when he headbutted someone. What is it with the Italians provoking these acts?  At least FIFA is giving Suarez a harsh suspension for what he does compared to the NHL. As Adam Proteau of the Hockey News tweeted, if Suarez was in the NHL, he would have been fined 17 dollars and 25 cents and a stern letter would have been sent home to his mother.

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I'm looking forward to the NHL draft. Will Florida keep their pick? What big names get traded if any? Will Edmonton take a defenceman or a forward and is there any truth to the rumour they wanted recently signed Marian Gaborik and that they want to trade down. Trading down a few picks wouldn't kill the Oilers as long as they got some talent back. I think they need the defenceman, but Aaron Ekblad won't be there. A trade with someone to get some talent and a pick in the top 10 would work for me as well. I also think the team if they take the pick should take Sam Reinhart at number 3 if Ekblad is gone, but some have told me Leon Draisatl will be a better selection.

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I was surprised as anyone to hear what happened with the Pats this week. Malcolm Cameron took this team to an Eastern Division title, but its deemed a change is needed especially after his assistant coaches leave, It leaves a lot of questions to be asked, but in the end, the new ownership has made its first move. When does the second one happen and who does it involve? How long until a new head coach is chosen and who will it be? I hope former Pats coach Rich Preston is at least on the list as I think he can, as he was before, a tremendous junior coach when he has the talent around him.

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Those starting to pile some dirt onto the Jays have had to pull back just a little as the team has gotten its act together after going through a rough stretch the past two weeks.

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Summer Holidays has started for munchkins all over the land and parents across the nation are reaching for or buying Advil knowing they will need it soon.

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That''s all I got. Have a great weekend everyone! Stay dry!