Something To "Mitch" About

--In the words of the legendary sportscaster Jack Buck "I don't believe what I just saw" and as his son Joe so eloquently says at the end of this "Seattle is going back to the Super Bowl".

 I'm not going to lie, like some of those who left CenturyLink Field early, I thought it was over with 4 minutes to go and the Seahawks down 19-7 after Russell Wilson threw his 4th INT of the game. However, Seattle found a way and thanks to the brick-like hands of Packer tight end Brandon Bostick, the Seahawks got the game to overtime where they won it on the first possession much to the chagrin of those who hate NFL overtime the way it stands now. Did Seattle deserve to win? NOPE! Did they win or did Green Bay lose it? I'll argue the latter.

 Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy made one mistake after another in this game starting in the first quarter. They had a 4th and goal at the 1 and a 4th and 1 at the 2 in the first quarter and decided each time to eschew the TD for a FG. WRONG!! McCarthy showed no faith in his potent offence and MVP quarterback in decisions that came back to bite him in the you know where.

McCarthy should also be quizzed about why the Packers at no time challenged all-world defensive back Richard Sherman when it was obvious he was not 100 percent. McCarthy had to test Sherman out by throwing one towards Jordy Nelson. He did not!

Arguably the play of the game came from one of our own. How about the fake field goal with Jon Ryan hoisting one to a wide open Garry Gilliam for a TD. It perhaps has spawned an early candidate for photo of the year.

 

 

 

That arguably was the play that turned this game around and it may be a play that ends up with Seattle winning back to back titles. Jon can kick, catch and he can throw it too. Yes, the guy is more than just a punter. What I want to know was did that play cause an earthquake --RYANQUAKE, PUNTERQUAKE, CANADIANQUAKE???

 

 

It will be Seattle against New England for the Vince. The game has an early 'pick-em' for the spread.  New England looked at the top of their game in clubbing Indianapolis. Tom Brady versus the Legion of Boom. Can't wait!

 

Thanks to George Yannitsos at the Four Seasons for looking after me during yesterday's Seahawks game. There was never any worry George. OK, maybe a little.

 

Elsewhere....

--The University of Regina did not handle the Bernie Schmidt situation well. The long-time offensive co-ordinator of the Rams was told his services were no longer needed last week, The word didn't come down from new coach Mike Gibson, it came down from the University. What's wrong is that there was no notice of this. Schmidt deserves much more than that. Much more! No release, no nothing for someone who like Frank McCrystal spent many years with the Rams. There should be some red-faces at the U of R for handling the situation poorly. As for Bernie, I am not saying he should move over because Stefan Endsin is doing a fine job with the Thunder, but someone of Bernie's ilk would make the Thunder a better team.

--Speaking of handling things badly, Eskimos GM Ed Hervey in the release which announced the Fred Stamps trade said " Fred's on-field accomplishments are well-documented. We thank him for his contributions to the organization and wish him the best." Did Fred get fired? I think his time in Edmonton deserved a little more than that. That trade is an interesting one considering Stamps will be a free agent in a short time. The Alouettes are gambling by making this move, but they aren't giving up a lot for Stamps. This would seem to indicate SJ Green's days in Montreal are over.

--Congrats to the Regina Capitals for being named the host team of the 2016 Keystone Cup "Junior B" Western Canadian Championship. There's no junior A team in town because the SJHL is afraid to come into the big city so this is the next biggest team behind the Pats. Self-admittedly, I have maybe been to one or two Junior B games in my existence, but I'm told its good hockey and if you have the champs of all the Western provinces and northwestern Ontario coming, it should be something you'll want to watch.

--The Saskatchewan Hockey Association named a huge group including Wendel Clark, the 2002-03 Humboldt Broncos and Tiger Williams  as its 2015 Hall of Fame inductees.  Congrats to all, but a question for the S-H-A. With the CAMECO Hockey Day in Saskatchewan festivities happening in Carnduff, why not make that announcement there as well instead of Saskatoon?

--Granted the team they were playing isn't exactly a major draw with their record, but was there anyone at Saturday's Oilers-Panthers game in Florida? How can the league keep this team in Miami when there are markets that would actually go out and watch the club play.

--The Blue Jays say it is not intentional, but they could start the season with three Canadians starting at their respective positions--Russell Martin at catcher, Michael Saunders in left and rookie Dalton Pompey in center. With all Jays games on TV in Canada, this will surely spark a huge increase in kids playing the game. It worked with basketball and kids watching Vince Carter play for the Raptors and now we are seeing that with the amount of Canadian players in the NBA. I'm certainly OK with this.

--Analytics in hockey. The Leafs, Oilers and Devils were the three teams in the NHL that had it at the start of the season and all three have fired their head coaches. Hmmmmmm!!

--A great discussion was had on the Dan Patrick show this week. Tom Brady has never constantly had great receivers to throw to and yet the Patriots continue to win. If Brady is the best ever QB to have a lack of talent at receivers, than who is the best receiver to not have great quarterbacks to get the ball to him. The argument ended at Larry Fitzgerald, but I wonder who that distinction would go to in the CFL. Would Don Narcisse fit in there? He had Kent Austin throwing to him in 1989, but after that it was a dogs breakfast.

--I almost forgot. Rams receiver Addison Richards showed he can play with the big boys Saturday in St, Pete's Florida. Richards caught a pair of passes in the game for 19 yards and saw a lot of action in the first quarter. He also got some praise as did the Rams from NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock. It would be nice to see Richards get an NFL opportunity and I'm sure he spoke or will speak with several teams.

--If you are a UFC fan and you stayed up late Sunday night, you saw Conor McGregor destroy Dennis Siver in their featherweight bout with the feisty Irishman then hopping the octagon and getting in the face of champ Jose Aldo. McGregor is one tough little leprechaun and Aldo will be in tough in what should be a classic cage matchup.

--That's all I got. Have a great week and yes that includes you Cheezheads!