The weekly collection of thoughts running through my muddled mind in no particular order.
In February of 2009, I started this blog. This is the 5000th post. In that time, this blog has had 1.12 million hits and 1.5 million views. A sincere thank you to one and all who have checked it out over the last 4 1/2 years.
--As the Saskatchewan Roughriders get set to play the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday, I sense a large part of Rider Nation has given up on this season. They are angry over the quarterback situation and they have resigned themselves that this promising season will likely end on a very bitter note. C'mon Rider Nation!! When this team wasn't good, you always found a positive. You thought there was a way they could win. It seems like this isn't the case this year. People have been moping around for the last month taking every chance they can to take a potshot at the organization that brought you a Grey Cup last year. We should well know around here you can't win every year even though you'd like to. Let's get some buzz going again this weekend. Kerry Joseph may succeed and he may fail, but in my mind, he is the best option and the last option this team has. Stand behind them as they roll the dice and don't get so negative over what has happened. No one wanted Darian Durant to go down, but it happened. Its the cruel reality of sports. We've been through worse haven't we? When it was worse, there was always a quiet confidence that the team could find a way. Can we have that attitude back for the remainder of the year?
--Another fanbase that is seemingly giving up is the one who cheers for the Edmonton Oilers, but realistically I can understand it. At what point is this team going to be competitive? In a tough Western Conference, you need close to 100 points to get in the playoffs and I didn't expect Edmonton to be at this level this year. I didn't expect them to give up 23 in their first 4 games while still searching for its first win. 23 goals in 4 games----I can understand if that's me playing NHL15, but I'm not! If this team doesn't play well in an upcoming 7 game homestand, it is going to get very ugly. I still think they screwed up last year when they didn't trade their first round, first overall pick or at the least take Ryan Murray or Griffin Reinhart ahead of Nail Yakupov. He's been a disaster. Should I just resign myself to the fact Jordan Eberle will be traded. What can they get for him? I heard someone on NHL Radio Thursday morning suggest kicking Florida's tires to see if they could get Brian Campbell, whom the Panthers are trying to get rid of, a draft pick and a prospect or two. I don't think they could get that. Who knows? Would Buffalo trade Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford for Ebs and Jeff Petry? I will not be happy if Ebs gets traded and if he were to go to the Leafs, I might consider selling stock.
--Week 7 NFL Lock of The Week---Dallas over Giants
Week 7 NFL Upset Of The Week ---Lions over Saints
--Milan Lucic = Class Act
-- I should have mentioned this Monday, but congratulations to Dave Taylor and the U of R womens basketball team. The team, with seven players thanks to injury and absence, managed to win three straight games against tough opponents last weekend on their home floor. Dave has got himself a good team again this year and the mens team led by Steve Burrows looks to be a lot better meaning a lot of entertaining nights are ahead this winter at the CKHS. I hope to see a lot of basketball fans at the gym this winter.
--Congrats as well to the Cougars softball team (yes they have one)....they won bronze at the Canadian Championships. Good job to coach Mike Smith and his squad.
--Could be an interesting afternoon in Vancouver on Saturday. I'll be calling the Rams game on CKRM against UBC at one of the most picturesque stadiums in Canada---Thunderbird Stadium. Word is Marco Ricci and I will be calling the game in a beer garden in the crowd. Do I need a cooler? If the Rams get spanked the way they did in Calgary, can Marco and I crack some at halftime? For what its worth, I'm not expecting the Rams to get spanked. They beat UBC on opening night and if the defence can hold, they can do it again.
--These baseball playoffs might be the best collective one I've ever seen. Its been one dramatic game after another. I'm guessing it will be the same when the Royals and Giants go at it. Can't wait for Tuesday and Game 1.
--If you did not see the piece of Riders linebacker Brian Peters and a young fan that aired on TSN this past week, you might want to click here.
--Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game," when we are already there?
Have a great weekend!!
22 comments:
Congratulations Mr.Mitchell Blair on the Informative sports related work and personal dedication to your This & That blog. Amazing ,5000 posts ,1.12 million hits ,1.5 million views. Thank you !
EGA
Yakupov has been one of their best forwards this season.
It's not his fault Scrivens has been caught out of his net trying to play the puck five times this season already.
Its opportunity lost and its Taman's fault. No thinking about worst-case scenario means no backup QB with experience while the guys he brought in were terrible. Now a 41 year old is in charge of saving the season. No thanks!
Wayne
Where's Dan Bylsma?
Is it safe to say an Eberle-Phaneuf trade would make you a happy camper? I would take that in a heartbeat as a Leafs fan. I might even throw a 2nd rounder in there.
Thanks for the endorsement Wayne. When they win, don't come back saying "I told you so" like so many others do!
Scruffy can you explain how Lucic is a class act? Taking a stupid selfish penalty last night for running a guy in the last minute to sink Boston's chance of tying that game and then coming out of the box and getting thrown out , yes that's class for sure!
Re: Lucic
Sarcasm is a lost art to you isn't it.
Bylsma would be a nice fit in Edmonton.
Congrats on your 5000 posts.thats a lot of "shovelling" over the years.
...Probably gets tough telling people to hang in there with the Oil-and frustrating to keep telling the Ridernation to wait and see how the other teams play in November (I still don't think the Stamps have picked up all the balls they fumbled away last year division final)
...the Blog needs to have more "Guyisms" or 'Maximisms" to help soothe the angry fans....
...here's to 5000 more posts and I do endorse you hanging out in the Beer Garden Saturday as you toast your success.
(maybe run that last part by Mama Blair to see she supports--don't say I said you could please!!!)
PS,
Muddled mind In no particular order,
Post should have read, THE BLAIR NECESSITIES blog, along with This &That. Thanx again Mr. Blair.
EGA
Re Lucic: Sorry Scruff, my bad, sounds like we're on the same page on this one.
Good reply about Lucic ! Congratulations on the milestone Mitch !
The dumbbells out there such as the guys (or gals) who can't get sarcasm and who blame the Durant injury on Taman (or Drew Willy deciding to go somewhere else to be a starter) make me shake my head in despair. Has our education system failed us or is it their parent's fault?
There is this fool at work who thinks that Taman should have been able to predict that Sunseri would not be good enough and should have brought in an NFL cut. There are zombies everywhere!
Keep Frank out of the beer garden Scruff!!
Why should I express confidence in a team that is terrible at the game's most important position. This is a failure on Taman's fault and an epic one at that. Durant's injury was something you couldn't predict, but you couldn't discount it either. Taman failed the fan base. End of story!
I'd trade Perron before I trade Eberle.
Taman didn't fail the fan base! O'Day did! LOL
No, the salary cap has meant that teams cannot afford to carry two proven and starting QB's.
In the old days teams could pay bid money to have more than one elite QB. (Toronto and Edmonton are good examples).
If this were like the old days, the Rich Riders could have bought Burris to back-up Durant, or out bid BC to get Glenn to come sit on the bench.
In 2014 this can't happen, so when you are lucky enough to have an elite QB, and he goes down, it is a crap shoot as to whether your young, new QB can jump into the role quickly.
Tino shows glimmers of ability but lacks consistency so far. So whine all you want about the GM. The situation is much more complex than that. Taman has signed up for the long term and Tillman ain't coming back. So get over it!
Congrats Scruffy on the 5000.
It's sure nice not to have Obama posting his drivel on here like some other trashy blog.
Hear ! Hear ! Fully agree with the above post. Taman by now should know his job descriptive duties. He's been in the CFL "how many years" now? Roughriders would be wise to fire this gm or reassign to non on field decisions before it's too late as this CFL franchise falls into oblivious decline. He's takes all the credit for the team scouting staff player finds by title only while riding out previous team administration signings. He wouldn't know player talent if it came up and introduced itself, no clue to professional football assessment or evaluations. Everyone knows he's not wanted down south on any big 10 college campus premises or any other for that matter. Other's rejects, castoffs his method of a team build. Free agent camps down south a collective organizational operatuon by consultation.
Sunseri will burn us one day. It's all there but George Cortez hasn't called a decent game this year. When we dump him someone else will pick him up and he'll burn us.
There has to be an 'Old Folks Home' somewhere in this city that has a room for George Cortez because he's lost it. he's done.
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