Something To "Mitch" About

--You can't sugarcoat what transpired Saturday.  You could try, but why bother!  That was 50 shades of ugly! Going into Saturday, I thought the Riders could win this game because on paper they are a better team.  However, I was also concerned about the short week compared with a long week for the Bombers and the fact Winnipeg was the more desperate team.   At the end of the day, the Bombers displayed wayyyy more intensity than the Riders. To break out an old line from years ago, I have seen old men waiting for a bus that had more intensity than the Riders on this day.  It was pathetic! Technically they didn't mail it in, but are we sure they came to Investors Group Field on a bus and not a Canada Post truck?

No zip, no imagination, no chance! The offense didn't have Jordan Williams-Lambert, Naaman Roosevelt and Dan Clark, but lets be honest, would those three have helped on this day? Doubt it! They were better in the loss to Montreal at home than they were in Winnipeg and that's saying a lot.

On this day, the defense couldn't bail the offence out.  Teams have those types of day for whatever reason.  Just ask the Minnesota Vikings when they stunk out the joint against Buffalo a few weeks ago.  Wins by Edmonton and BC made the West a little tighter this weekend.  With three weeks to go, there is still a lot to be decided.  Say what you want about Calgary, but it would appear another late season swoon has hit them as well. 

Meanwhile, the smooth highway the Riders had been travelling on has hit a major bump.  The pressure is back on Chris Jones and company to fix what's wrong and do it in a hurry as they have a game against a Calgary team that you know will be ornery after losing at home. When's the last time the Stamps lost two in a row at home? At least both teams will have had the same amount of rest.  That's not an excuse, but it was a contributor.

--Thoughts on Mike O'Shea calling a timeout with less than 30 seconds to play and challenging a PI call when up 31.  Tell me there wasn't a message sent to Chris Jones there. Tell me Chris Jones doesn't have that filed away should the two teams meet again this year.

--Bombers play-by-play guy Bob Irving called his 800th CFL game on Saturday. 800?! If anyone deserves a Grey Cup in Winnipeg, it is Knuckles!  Congrats Bob!!

--With three weeks to go in the regular season, who is the Most Outstanding Player?

--If anyone can tell me what type of team the Ottawa REDBLACKS are, please do so.  How can a team looks so good one week, look so bad the next and keep it going.  They are flip-flopping all over the place.  I think they are the best team in the East, which isn't saying a lot, but they are also a team I expect to put in a dud come playoff time.

--USports Canada is dragging its heels on the situation involving the Regina Rams.  From what I have heard, an appeal is taking place or will be very soon.  Someone from Edmonton reached out to me Saturday wondering what I knew.  I don't know anything because USports people aren't answering questions and for that matter, either is the U of R.   There are a lot of rumours out there floating around the football team and whether or not the decision to strip three victories from them will stand or not.

 If I were member schools in Canada West, I would be wanting an answer a-s-a-p as this can't be delayed.  Seasons and possible playoff appearances are on the line.   Meanwhile, the Rams went out and beat Alberta Friday night behind Seb Britton.  He is the heir apparent to Noah Picton who missed the game with what is said to be a toe infection,  There was a lot of good in Britton's game and some bad----bad that can be fixed with reps and experience.


--I thought the Connor McDavid-Auston Matthews debate would have started last year. It didn't for whatever reason, but it has now.  It's a great question.  Many are weighing in on it.  The players believe Connor is, and I have to agree with that, but Matthews is making it close.  The winners are the fans as both won't be going away anytime soon and there are a lot of young guys behind them to keep the game interesting for years to come

--Congrats to former Pat Sam Steel for getting his first NHL point Saturday night as he assisted on a goal from Adam Henrique in an Anaheim loss to Dallas. It is the first of many.

--A stat from Sportsnet said 6 Canadian teams won a game on the same day for the first time since 1989.  That's bad isn't it?

--When Elliotte Friedman showed Alex Ovechkin a snippet of his summer celebrating with the Stanley Cup, I wonder what was going through Ovi's mind.  Does he remember 50 percent of the stuff that he was shown?  We all know Ovi had a great few days hanging out with Lord Stanley's fabled mug upon winning it.

--Do we really have a need for the NHL to have a hearing with Mike Matheson on the play that injured Elias Pettersson? That's a good old-fashioned hockey play. Its called finishing off the check.

--Anyone who suggests the NFL is boring should sit down and watch the Chiefs/Patriots game from Sunday night. It was everything we thought it would be and yes, in the end we all knew New England would win right?

--There are a lot of bad offensive lines in the NFL right now.  A lot of them!

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