This And That

Welcome to Friday!  Here are the usual weekly thoughts running through my muddled mind, and as always they come in no particular order.

--I don't think I am alone when I look at the latest with the BC Lions and go WHAT??  I can understand the hiring of Ed Hervey as GM, but why is Wally Buono remaining the head coach. Why does Wally need to stay? Is his ego that big that he can't be eased out now? Hervey is Wally's boss, but Wally appears to be Hervey's boss.  This from a team that needs to get its you know what in order seeing they are sinking and may replace the Argos as the league's worst franchise.

What does Geroy Simon think about all of this? I'm sure he walked by Wally's office every day saying this will be mine soon.

There just seem to be more questions to this than answers. At the end of the day, the Lions continue to revolve around Wally. Someone needs to tell him it is time. The problem is no one seemingly can do that and the fact they have no president at this time and an owner who looks as if he couldn't care one bit about what is going on means you get what you get.  Safe to say it will be an "interesting" year as the Lions look to get back into the playoffs.

By the way, here's your hot-take. With their history in Edmonton, James Franklin joins Hervey nd becomes a member of the BC Lions.  Jon Jennings had a year to forget, and the Lions will move on without him.  What Eastern team does JJ end up with?  My bet will be Montreal.

--Why?  That is what Calgary Stampeders fans are asking in the wake of their team losing the Grey Cup for a second straight season.  While Rider Nation basks in their misery, the Stampeders are wondering why a great regular season has not translated into a title.  What we saw both last year and this year are a big reason.

You may remember last year after losing in overtime that Bo Levi Mitchell took a shot at Dave Dickenson by questioning why the ball wasn't in his hands at the end of regulation.  That resulted in Ottawa winning in overtime.  This year, it was Marquay McDaniel who without hesitation threw a teammate under a bus while Bo Levi failed with the ball in his hands as he seemingly wanted.

Talk of Dave Dickenson being ousted as head coach is ludicrous, and is just a snap reaction, but there is something wrong in Calgary despite the success they are having.. The culture needs to change. Humility is never a bad thing, but humility is a word I don't think the Stampeders have in their system.   They win, and they win a lot in the regular season, but they can't back that up with a championship and it has been that way for most of the last decade.

Does the problem fall on John Hufnagel? He is the guy bringing in these players.  They are good on the field, but as we saw with McDaniel, they may not be good off the field.



Let the soul-searching begin!

--Week 13 NFL Lock of The Week --  Raiders over Giants
   Week 13 NFL Upset of The Week -- 49ers over Bears

--Did Ben McAdoo basically sign his death warrant as coach of the Giants this week. Benching Eli Manning? Yeah, that's the problem.  I don't really see Geno Smith being the guy who can save the G-Men's season.  If you are going to go with a younger quarterback, why not go with draft pick Davis Webb to see what he can do instead of Smith who has shown us what he can or can't do.  Say what you will about Eli, but the guy won two Super Bowls and started over 220 straight games. He doesn't deserve to go out like that.  He will have the last laugh.  Could he end up reunited with Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville next year? He has a job somewhere if he wants one.  Maybe he follows his brother's footsteps and finishes things off in Denver.

--I think it has become clear that the Steelers should play the Patriots for the right to go to the Super Bowl representing the AFC. If any team is going to throw a monkeywrench into those plans right now, I would have to think its the Chargers and they aren't even in a playoff spot right now. 

--The story about the Yorkton midget hockey coach and one of his players is unfortunate on all sides.  If you take the "F" bombs out of what he said was it really that bad? Did he really say anything that other coaches wouldn't.  There is a lot of blame to go around here and the young man and his family that decided to take that tape to the media has to take some of it. They also have to realize that his hockey career may have just come to a screeching halt.


--Sad news for Derek Dorsett. The Kindersley product has to to give up the game he loves because his body simply won't co-operate anymore because of the wear and tear.  Dorsett wasn't the most gifted player on the ice, but he had a passion for the game not many have.  It's tough to see him go out like this.

--Good on the Blue Jays for doing the obvious and saying they will honour Roy Halladay on opening day. While they haven't said it yet, you have to think his jersey will be retired on that day---and an emotional day it will be.

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