Something To "Mitch" About

Losses are losses and at this time of year, I don't believe in moral victories. However, I do think the Saskatchewan Roughriders are a much more confident group offensively than what they were despite Friday's 4th quarter meltdown and that we will see some fight from this squad as they prepare to defend their Grey Cup title in earnest in a couple of weeks time

Through three quarters, Kerry Joseph showed us he can still throw the ball and while he had a terrible 4th quarter as did everyone, you could see a spark that hadn't been seen for a while. Remember, there was no Allen, no Dressler, no Smith, no Best and no Labatte.  I don't know if this team beats Edmonton in the final week of the season and I don't know if they win out East in the playoffs with or without Darian Durant, but Joseph has given you a sign this team isn't going to roll over like they had for most of the time Durant was out and the Sunseri/Doege experiment was taking place.

Someone must have told the Stamps prior to the 4th quarter this wasn't the Western final. They were certainly playing as if it was.

If there was one thing I didn't like about Friday's game, it was the decision to abandon the run. When up by 12, I thought the Stampeders D would get a solid dose of Messam and Keith Toston, but it didn't happen. Why?  That one was a headscratcher as both Messam and Toston were providing some bull-like runs that had Calgary on their heels.  Speaking of Toston, he had a fumble and a dropped pass, but I liked what I saw from him. It was also good to see Chris Getzlaf get back on track.

I'd still rather be in the Riders situation than Winnipeg's. At least the Riders have an excuse for their poor second half that will see them miss the playoffs after such a great start.

Is Montreal the best team in the East? They seem to be.


Other thoughts and takeaways from the weekend.

 --The ceremony to honor Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was simply spectacular and was so well done. I'm guessing there were a lot of misty-eyes across the country after that. Say what you will about Don Cherry, but if you saw him Saturday night, he brought up a very great point when he says we can't forget about our soldiers which we likely will as this event starts to fade away and that donations should be made to the Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services (www.cfmws.com) so military families, department of national defence employees, RCMP personnel and others receive the morale and welfare programs, services and activities they deserve.

 --I don't know why Rays manager Joe Maddon has decided to step down, but if he isn't fielding calls from both the Cubs and Blue Jays. there is something wrong. Tell me Blue Jays fans that Maddon wouldn't be a huge improvement over John Gibbons.

--Still with the Rays, I was never an Expos fan, but I would love to see them return to Montreal and if they were to come back and stay in the American League East, it would mean 18 games a year against Toronto which would be so huge for baseball in this country. I don't know if this will happen, but if word comes out about a stadium being built if they do, it just might happen.

 --There's no doubt Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner will be the World Series MVP if San Fran hangs on to win it all, but teams going back home needing to win Games 6 and 7 to take it all have done so eight of the last ten times its happened. Win or lose, Bumgarner has given us one of the greatest playoff runs we have ever seen.

--I got word from a friend of mine in Edmonton who has some sources close to the Oilers who indicated the team passed up a chance to get Johnny Boychuk from the Bruins. They were OK in sending Nail Yakupov to the Bruins, but they balked at sending Boston a second round pick. What???? Why???? That doesn't make sense. Boychuk would have been a great addition in Edmonton.

--I will confess I had no idea who Jian Ghomeshi was until the story came out this weekend.

--It would appear as if Steve Nash's great basketball career is over. He's a Hall of Famer if you ask me. He didn't win a title and that is how greatness is measured these days, but in his prime, there was no better.

--The NHL suspended Slava Voynov after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. That's a good thing. Voynov hasn't been charged yet though. It has some asking if he should be playing. That's a tough question to answer. If he doesn't get charged, he has lost out on a lot of salary for basically nothing. Is that right?

--One has to wonder if Marc Trestman is on shaky ground in Chicago. A beatdown by New England won't help his case. Jay Cutler doesn't either, but that's just my opinion.

--Is it safe to say Tom Brady has silenced his critics?

--The Seahawks won an ugly one, but something isn't right with the defending champs.

--Speaking of the Seahawks, you can vote Regina's own Jon Ryan to the Pro Bowl. Go right here and do so...

http://www.nfl.com/probowl


 --How can anyone watch Two Broke Girls?

--The NBA season starts this week. Did the Raptors playoff run last year mean anything when it comes to interest. I may watch a few more games than usual this year, but I'll be sticking to hockey.

--Congrats to the Rams who got a big win over Manitoba. They also got some help so they are in a position to make the playoffs, but they need to knock off Alberta next Saturday at 2 and then get some more help to get in. One thing is for sure, that team has been very exciting to watch and if their first game against Alberta is any indication, it should be a knock em down, drag em out affair next Saturday.  Gary "Chop" Bresch and I will have the play by play for you on Access next Saturday with Ballsy and Marco Ricci giving you the radio call on 620 CKRM at 2.

--If you are in Hell and you're mad at someone, where do you tell them to go?

--That's all I got. Have a great week!!