This And That

The weekly assortment of thoughts running through my muddled mind and as always, they are in no particular order

--I don't think I've seen or heard from anyone who is upset with Geroy Simon leaving the Riders to join the Lions. Why should they? Geroy did what the team wanted him to do when they signed him in 2013....he helped them win the Grey Cup and he had one of his best ever games in doing so. While here, both in and out of uniform, he was classy and he was gracious. His heart never left the team with which he became one of the CFL's greatest players so why would we be surprised or angered if he goes home. Thanks Geroy! The question now is who takes over his Huddle Up for Kids program that provides coats for kids who need them. Dressler? Durant? Someone will definitely pick up the ball and keep that great program going.

--Is it just me or has Brendan Taman done a great job in free agency. He filled the defensive end spot left vacant by the Ricky Foley trade by re-signing Alex Hall. I had forgotten all about Mr. Cable (long time Reginans will get that joke) after he left for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL following the Grey Cup winning season. One remembers Hall was leading the CFL in sacks when he was traded to Saskatchewan by Winnipeg. If he can still hunt down the quarterback, this could be the best signing of all.

--How many of you had to do a Google search on Joash Gesse when you found out the Riders had picked him up. BE HONEST!!

--Would you rather have Kevin Glenn as Darian's backup or Tino Sunseri?  I know what my answer is.

--I would like to know one day what running back Keith Toston did or didn't do to not get the proper chance from the Riders. He won the opening day tailback job in the pre-season with some punishing runs, but because he wasn't a favourite of then OC George Cortez, he never really got a chance to show his stuff. I thought Toston would get a chance this year with Cortez gone, but the Riders don't seemingly want him around. That's a strange one. I hope someday someone in the Riders organization pulls me aside and says Scruffy, the reason we didn't like Toston is__________________.

--The Ottawa REDBLACKS also have to be commended for their free agent pickup. There was no doubt Henry Burris had a poor crop of receivers to throw to in year 1 of the club. GM Marcel Desjardins rectified that by getting Greg Ellingson, Earnest Jackson and Brad Sinopoli in free agency to go along with Maurice Price that they traded for. Would Ottawa go after Manitoba's Nic Demski or the Rams Addison Richards with their first round pick in the draft? It would be tempting not to.

--How good did the Winnipeg Jets get this week? What a great trade by GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. I can honestly see the Jets taking a good playoff run this season if they stay healthy. Like many teams. they might have a question mark in goal, but I like what they have done and I also like what the Buffalo Sabres did as well.  The Sabres are going to be a good young team perhaps as early as next year. Lets just say the Jets and Sabres look to have a better future than the Oilers and Leafs do.

--Leafs coach Peter Horachek talked about his team's "Give-a-shit Meter" after a loss against the Rangers this week/ Why do I get the feeling someone will be creating a "Give-a-shit Meter" and bringing it to Mosaic Stadium this year! Yes, yes it will happen.

--I realize this might sound completely outlandish, but here ya go. The Regina Pats it would seem will play the Swift Current Broncos in the first round of the playoffs. If they advance, and one would think they should at the moment, they would play Brandon in the second round. A win there and they would likely take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Pats have played the Tigers extremely tough this season winning one game in the Hat since trading some players away and coming oh so close to winning again this week. What I am suggesting is a bounce here and a bounce there and some good goaltending by Daniel Wapple and this team could take a long and memorable playoff run. Beating Brandon would be the biggest challenge, but Regina has done it this year and in the playoffs, anything can happen.

--The good people of Moose Jaw will have national attention this week as the Scotties Tournament of Hearts begins. I know Mosaic Place and the city will put on an excellent show. Sportscage will be broadcasting live from Mosaic Place next week and I will be your host as Rod heads off to Mexico. It should be a good week as we bring you some curling and yes, there will be football and hockey talk as well.

--I can't see me getting to Luther for the annual Luther Invitational Tournament this year, but I wonder how much the tournament has lost with it being in a brand new spacious gym. Don't get me wrong, a new gym is more than welcome at Luther, but you can't replace the character and the energy in the old facility where the fans were right on top of you.

--I wonder how the coach of the Little League team in Chicago feels knowing he successfully broke the hearts of kids who played their tails off to win the title only to  have it taken away because of some boundary problems. There are so many coaches out there who are so good and then there are some who are just slime. This doesn't take the blame off the coach of the Jackie Robinson West team either, but why wouldn't Little League just sanction the coach and the association and let the kids keep the title they earned! Paper might not say they won anymore, but those kids know exactly what they did and their moment should not be tarnished because of some adult coaches who are less than savoury characters. Its a shame!

--Depending on when you read this, the CFL schedule is apparently coming out Friday although a tweet from the CFL was a little cryptic. The response from one person on my Twitter feed was "Thank Christ, now I can tell my wife when to have our baby and I can plan my vacation." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a Rider fan in a nutshell. God love their twisted and tormented souls!


That's all I got.

Have a great weekend!!