Pages

Monday, October 14, 2019

Something To "Mitch" About




--Win or lose, we knew the chances of the Riders and Stampeders playing again this season in what probably will be the Western Final were high. We also found out why Calgary is Calgary and that the Riders have some work to do if they are to catapult the CFL's version of the New England Patriots from the CFL playoffs. 

It was one of those nights early where you wondered if it would be Saskatchewan's night. I am still not really sure what exactly happened on the Cody Fajardo overthrow to Shaq Evans on the first series. . That was a sure touchdown, but Evans seemed to let up on it.  Why?  You go from what would have been a big-time punch in the mouth to a 2nd down sack to a rouge.  What a huge let-down. 

Then you have the Marcus Thigpen bobble on the kickoff that resulted in a Calgary touchdown and you are wondering if it is going to be a long night, but Nick Marshall turned the tide after what was a horrible decision by Bo Levi and you knew it was going to be a strange night.  One in which the Riders couldn't pull it off, but they have no one to blame but themselves. 

To me, it just looked as if the Stamps wanted it more on both sides of the ball.  The Riders seemed lethargic especially on defense.  A no-name Calgary o-line won that battle.  I think the green-and-white only had one sack and I thought they would get at least three or four on old Bo. 

The offense simply didn't produce.  The team only had two or three passes that went for more than 12 yards on this night.  You can't win with that production.  The sad thing is they just about did.  If you take away the first 6 minutes and a Brett Lauther doink at the end of the 3rd, the Riders come out of MacMahon with a win.  There was so much I didn't like about the effort, but the desired result was just about there.  They have some work to do, but it can be done. 

--If Bo Levi Mitchell were a professional wrestler, he would be one of the best heels going.  What was that with the half-time interview with Jermaine Franklin.. As the former voice of the Riders would say, BO LEVI SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!  

He certainly had no problem with getting 47 yards of penalties thanks to Ed Gainey and I'm sure he didn't think a Calgary defender was guilty of interference or face-masking on a slant pass to Shaq Evans in the redzone.   BLM is one of those guys you just despise unless he is wearing your colours. He's not! 

--The CFL is looking at having teams dress just two quarterbacks next season.  They may want to put that on hold or just put it on ice.   Mike Reilly's broken wrist means A) no quarterback that was the starter for their team in Week 1 has made it through the year without being injured and B) Bo Levi Mitchell is the only QB that started in Week 1 that is the starter now. 

BC:  Reilly- Danny O'Brien
Edmonton: Trevor Harris - Logan Kilgore
Saskatchewan: Zach Collaros - Cody Fajardo 
Winnipeg: Matt Nichols-Chris Streveler 

Hamilton: Jeremiah Masoli - Dane Evans 
Montreal: Antonio Pipkin - Vernon Adams Junior 
Toronto: James Franklin - McLeod Bethel Thompson 
Ottawa: Dominique Davis - Will Arndt

If the CFL goes through with this plan, disaster awaits.  Then again, this is the CFL that has introduced a ludicrous coaches salary cap. 

--Why isn't there a CFL game on Thanksgiving Monday?

--Credit to the groundskeepers in both Calgary and Winnipeg.  Snow hit those two cities this week and you wouldn't know it by looking at the fields.  Great job in both cities.  Hopefully, we don't have to worry about that for Rider home games before the end of the year.

--Cody Fajardo became an honorary Reginan on the weekend.  He tweeted that his vehicle was broken into.  He now truly is "one of us".  Thankfully, it doesn't sound like anything of major value was stolen and he is taking it in stride. 

--I am sure the Regina Thunder didn't like the fact they were gifted a win by the Prairie Football Conference because the Winnipeg Rifles couldn't get here due to that storm but what are you going to do?  Yes, the Thunder likely beat the Rifles to clinch 2nd, but what if they don't.  We will never know the answer to that question and the Edmonton Huskies have a right to be choked if they want, but what are you going to do?  With games happening next weekend and no idea as to when the number one highway will open, the league was stuck with making a decision they probably didn't want to.

--Are the Pats ever going to win again?  While they obviously didn't know the early season problems Max Paddock would have when it comes to staying healthy, I am sure they are wishing they hadn't traded Dean McNabb to Winnipeg.  To say this team struggles scoring goals is an understatement.  The newest Pat --20 year old Zach Wytinck--- looks to be a big plus for them though as he stabilizes the back end. 

--Good on the Moose Jaw Warriors for hiring former Notre Dame Hound Olivia Howe as an assistant coach.  In the words of GM Al Millar

“We are very pleased to add Olivia to our hockey operations staff.  She has tremendous experience in the game and made a strong impression on our staff at our recent training camp as a guest coach. Olivia has played at a high level, coached, scouted, been a leader, and a champion in her career.  She will be a strong addition to our team.”

She may be the first woman to be an assistant in the WHL, but I'm guessing she won't be the last.

--The Edmonton Oilers are 5-0!  At what point of the NHL season do you start to look at things and decide whether or not your team is good or not and what its strengths and weaknesses are.   I say its about mid-November once you have a month of games under your belt.  Meanwhile, if the Oilers are 5-0, it brings back the great days of the 80's.  Should I go to ladies night at Checkers to celebrate?

-- The Dallas Cowboys have lost three in a row!!

--Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are going to get contract extensions from the Blue Jays.  Why?

--If you are a baseball fan with no horse in the race, you had to enjoy Sunday's Astros-Yankees game.  What a contest it was. That is playoff baseball at its best.

--It was great to see so many people put out on social media, especially millenials, that they took advantage of advance voting this weekend.  It doesn't matter who you support, you need to cast your vote on October 21.

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

(If you're not already, give me a follow on Twitter @mblairYQR )





14 comments:

Anonymous said...


Why isn't there a CFL game today? There usually is.

Anonymous said...

The Riders weren't ready at the start and it cost them. Tough lesson to learn, but one they hopefully take moving forward.

Anonymous said...


What has gotten into Gainey? He made an ass of himself in Winnipeg when he chased after O'Shea for challenging a PI. He made an ass of himself in Calgary too by taking the 15 yder for getting called on what was a questionable PI.

He's a leader on that team and he's acting like a 5 yr old.


Rob


Anonymous said...

Why so many offsides for Riders Leonard>?

Anonymous said...


Good on MJ for giving Olivia a chance. There are many like her out there that can help a team.

Was at the Pats game Saturday. My god, they're bad. There is no one on that team that can be considered an offensive threat when on the ice. It's gotta be tough for coaching staff to preach to guys about what they want when no one can put the puck in the net on a consistent basis.

It's not going to get any better soon either. I know they have Swift's first round pick in this year's draft, but do they have their own too? Getting two in the top 6 moving forward will be a plus.


Anonymous said...


Cody and I have something in common now. Did he get his window smashed in? I did!

It happens everywhere though.

Anonymous said...

May not be the avenue to bring this up on, but the Thunder have done a terrible job of marketing themselves this year.

I didn't even know they had a game, much less a game at Leibel Field this weekend or the announcement of a 20th Anniversary team.

Have they had a change at the top? It just doesn't seem like they or the media have done a great job in covering them this year. I know having dabbled in the media that teams just can't send out a schedule and expect people to show up.

Anonymous said...


Checkers!!! What a wonderful structure of sin and no goodness that was. I LOVED that place!

Anonymous said...


Why isn't there a CFL game today is right? One might even ask why there isn't two?

Anonymous said...


I think most of us knew the Pats weren't going to be much better than last year, but at least the Pats of last year got some goals. Not having Paddock healthy has hurt them a lot, but is this team really better than last year's.

If so, I'm not seeing it. The new kid from Brandon did look good though.

Struch and Herauf are in no danger of being axed, but Paddock may want to revisit his plan, because right now it isn't working. He hasn't got the players that are needed. Too many pluggers and not enough offense.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Rob when it comes to Gainey. It also seemed that Evans was bothered by the cold. Like you, I'm not sure exactly what he was doing on that first pass.


Anonymous said...

I'm with Rob Vanstone as well

joe bunyawk said...

I believe most NFL teams only dress two quarterbacks per game...it is pretty rare that two QBs go down in the same game...it's a cost-saving move...not saying it's right or I agree with it...but paying a game cheque vs a practice squad salary is the difference...

Anonymous said...

Vernon the King aDAMS