This and That

In the words of the UFC's Mike Goldberg, HERE WE GO!!

It has been a long time since the end of the Super Bowl, but the first football game of meaning is upon us as another CFL season has started with the focus in this neck of the woods clearly on Mosaic Stadium Saturday night when the Saskatchewan Roughriders tangle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Each day as I have gotten out of my car to go into the 620 CKRM headquarters, this has been one of the first vehicles I have seen.

 I'm guessing he isn't a supporter of the green-and-white. Poor guy!!

There's a lot of talk about the Riders being over-confident in this one. I can certainly understand that, but I don't see Corey Chamblin and company allowing his team to have big heads going in. The Riders should beat the Bombers and beat them by more than a touchdown, but without Dressler and Brackenridge, Winnipeg could surprise. Always expect the unexpected in the CFL.

The big question is where will the 2015 Saskatchewan Roughriders finish. We know the 2014 season wouldn't have seen this team finish where they did had Darian Durant been able to complete the year. Fingers are crossed Durant spends very little or no time on the injured list in 2015 because if he does, this football team should be in the equation again to be in the Grey Cup. I don't know if there is a lot separating the Riders, Stamps and Eskimos, but I will give Calgary the edge in the West followed by the Riders and the Eskimos with Winnipeg and B-C well back. Let's go with the Riders finishing 12-6. In the East, Hamilton is the class of the division and will perhaps have the best record in the league because of their weak sisters. I'll take Montreal, Ottawa (yes Ottawa) and then Toronto to round it up. On Grey Cup Sunday, Investors Group Field will have a matchup of the Ti-Cats versus the Riders. I'll just let you take it from there.

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Speaking of Durant, he says he can throw for 6000 yards this year. That means he has to average 333 yards a game this season. With the new rules, I think QB's numbers will be inflated somewhat, but that goal may be a little too lofty. I could see Darian and others getting to 5, but 6 might be a little unrealistic.

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Did the CFL schedule maker make a mistake? Call me crazy, but I would have liked the season opener to be a rematch of the Grey Cup game with the Stampeders home to Hamilton. It would give the Stamps the chance to celebrate the GC championship one final time with a ceremony like they do in the NFL. Put your best foot forward to start things off is usually the right way to go.  There really wasn't a lot of marquee value to Ottawa and Montreal. That being said, BREAK UP THE REDBLACKS. Those crazy quarterback killing, trick-play REDBLACKS upset the Alouettes on night one to get the season going with the Als having to go to their 3rd string quarterback. Could a call to Tino Sunseri be placed by Jim Popp? I'm already 0-1 in the Sportscage picks pool and I am behind Lynch for gods sake.

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Jon Ryan loves his hometown and his hometown loves him. Wednesday Night Live---a fundraiser for his Gear Up program to help raise funds for Regina Minor Football to get equipment for its mighty mites (8 and 9 year old) division was a huge success at the Saskatchewan Soundstage Wednesday night with Gord Bamford (a Scruffy favourite) and the Trews performing.  Regina is awfully lucky to have guys like Jon along with Jordan Eberle, Mike Sillinger and Jamie Heward, who raised 70 grand at "Sticks On Rose" as these guys who are all stellar individuals have no problem in giving back to the community that raised them. We should be awfully proud of these guys in the #YQR and I think we have shown them that they are. The best thing about all four is they remain just as humble as they have ever been and that is great.

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Josh Donaldson's play Wednesday in Tampa where he went into the stands to catch a foul ball and preserve a perfect game was one of the best plays I have ever seen. That was insane! It may have propelled him to be the starting 3rd baseman at the All-Star game. Still with the Jays, who hypnotized Marco Estrada into thinking he is Dave Stieb. I think you might have to go back to Stieb to find a Jay who has had two better consecutive starts than what Estrada has put forth the last two trips out.
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Congratulations to Weldon Brown and his wife on the arrival of their third child! Get a pick for Paisley on Saturday Dad!
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We know the NHL draft will see Connor McDavid go to the Oilers with the first pick (YESSSS!!) and Jack Eichel go to Buffalo, but after that it is wide open. There are numerous rumours about Arizona trading the 3rd pick to get more assets which might be the right thing to do. What do the Leafs do? Who gets traded? Who will the first member of the Pats be to hear his name called and by what team. The NHL draft is always a great weekend and it will technically get started when Arizona or whoever picks at #3 as there is no intrigue in numbers 1 and 2,

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I hope Jarret Stoll gets picked up by an NHL team as a free agent after having his drug charges dropped, but at 32 will anyone want him after what happened? He can still play a role and he can still contribute, but he had best come cheap because he doesn't have a lot of bargaining power.

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Hey Mother Nature, here's a deal for you. Make it sunny and 30 on Saturday, but about 90 minutes after the football game, why don't you open up and let it rain until Tuesday. A lot of people would be very, very happy with you if you did that. Come on!!

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RIP to John Steed! The star of the original "Avengers" Patrick Macnee died on Thursday. The Avengers was one of the first shows I watched. John Steed was a mean man with a bowler and Emma Peel looked great in leather pants.

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

Pats Ready for NHL Draft

The Regina Pats roster features six players ranked by Central Scouting ahead of this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Florida.  Austin Wagner, Connor Hobbs, Jesse Gabrielle, Sergey Zborovskiy, Adam Brooks and Adam Berg all sit within the CSS top 210 among North American Skaters.

Austin Wagner is the Pats’ highest ranked player at 35th among North American skaters.  Wagner found his scoring touch this season, picking up 39 points (20G, 19A) in 61 games.  The speedster became one of the WHL’s top shorthanded threats with eight shorthanded points (5G, 3A).  In the playoffs, Wagner registered 3 points (1G, 2A) in nine games.

Connor Hobbs finished the year 72nd on the North American list despite only playing 45 games in the WHL this season.  Hobbs totaled 18 points (2G, 16A) with 16 of those coming in his final 24 games.  The defender also tallied two goals in nine playoff games.  The Saskatoon, SK product dressed for Team Canada’s U18 squad at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and Team Canada West at the World Junior-A Challenge.

Jesse Gabrielle is right on Hobbs’ heels at 73rd in the rankings.  The forward joined the Pats just ahead of the 2015 WHL Trade Deadline from the Brandon Wheat Kings.  Gabrielle tallied 44 points (23G, 21A) in 66 games this season.  Gabrielle also finished second on the Pats with 112 penalty minutes.  The Moosomin, SK also added four points (1G, 3A) in nine playoff contests.

Sergey Zborovskiy leapt up the rankings late in the season, moving all the way to 103 in the final rankings from 197 at the mid-term. Zborovskiy put up 19 points (3G, 16A) and a +15 plus/minus rating while playing in 71 games this season, missing just the final game of the year.  He led the Pats in the playoffs with a +5 plus/minus rating.

Adam Brooks sits 176th among North American skaters.  The 19-year old is in his second year of draft eligibility.  Brooks enjoyed a break out season leading the Pats in goals (30) and points (62).  Brooks finished ahead of teammate Austin Wagner leading the WHL with nine shorthanded points (4G, 5A).  He posted 7 points (4G, 3A) in nine playoff games.

Recent call-up Adam Berg rounds out the list at 200th.  Berg played most of his season with the Calgary Mustangs in the AJHL, finishing with 36 points (16G, 20A) in 49 games.  Berg played in 12 regular season games with the Pats, picking up three points (1G, 2A).  He had three assists in nine playoff games.

Big Night For Carey Price

Carey Price clearly was nervous when he delivered his first acceptance speech at the 2015 NHL Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday.

"I was really uncomfortable," the Montreal Canadiens goalie said.

Fortunately it got easier for him as the night went along. He had a lot of practice because he had a historic night as a four-time winner.

Price took home the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player, the Vezina Trophy as the League's best goalie and the Ted Lindsay Award for the most outstanding player as voted by the players. Price also received a share of the William M. Jennings Trophy with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks as the goalies on the teams that allowed the fewest goals in the regular season (189).

Price, 27, is the first goalie in NHL history to sweep those four awards. He also is the first goalie to win the Hart Trophy since former Montreal goalie Jose Theodore did it in 2001-02 and the first to win the Ted Lindsay Award since Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres in 1997-98.

In addition, Price is the second player in Canadiens history to win four awards. The first was Guy Lafleur, who won the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award (formerly the Lester B. Pearson Award), Art Ross Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy in 1977.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Price said. "I'm just truly grateful just to be here. I don't really know what to say. It's been an amazing experience. This whole season has been just amazing. There is still one more thing I want to get though."

Price is talking about the Stanley Cup. He still hasn't won that yet, but his past 17 months have nonetheless been special.

He won gold as Canada's starting goalie at the 2014 Sochi Olympics last February. He was injured in the 2014 Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers and missed the last five games of the series, but he rebounded in a historic way this season.

Price led the NHL with 44 wins, a 1.96 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, becoming the first goalie to finish first in all three categories since Ed Belfour did it with the Blackhawks in 1990-91. Price's 44 wins set a Canadiens record.

"It's been a crazy ride," Price said. "Everything has just fallen into place for some reason. The team has been playing well. Things are just awesome at home. My family is doing great. It's just been such a blessing."

In winning the Lindsay Award and the Hart and Vezina trophies, Price's spectacular season was recognized by three different groups.

The members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the Hart Trophy. Price blew away the competition, finishing with 139 first-place votes and 1,498 voting points. Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was second with 888.

The NHL's general managers vote for the Vezina Trophy. Price received 27 of the 30 first-place votes and finished with 144 voting points, 84 more than Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Price's peers, fellow members of the NHL Players' Association, vote for the Lindsay Award. The voting results were not revealed.

"I'm very humbled," Price said. "Especially the players, no offense to everybody else, but I'm very humbled by that because I compete against these guys. We go to war out there, and for them to vote for me is really special."

The Calgary Flames, who had the most finalists for awards (four), took home two pieces of hardware. Flames coach Bob Hartley won the Jack Adams Award, and forward Jiri Hudler became the first Czech player to win the Lady Byng Trophy.

Hartley, who coached the Flames to a surprising trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, received 37 of the 75 first-place votes available as cast by the NHL's Broadcasters' Association. He received 237 voting points.

Hudler edged four-time Lady Byng winner Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings by 52 points. He finished with 700 points and 52 first-place votes.

"I know Wayne Gretzky won it five times," Hudler said of the Lady Byng Trophy. "I know it started in 1925. And I know I'm the first Czech player to win it, and that is all I care about."

Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson and Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron each added to his trophy collection.

Karlsson won the Norris Trophy for the second time in his career (2012), and Bergeron won the Selke Trophy for the second straight year and third time in the past four years.

Bergeron barely edged Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews in what has become an annual back and forth between them in the Selke voting. Bergeron received 75 first-place votes and 1,083 voting points; Toews received 51 first-place votes and 1,051 voting points.

"Any time you have a competition against Jonathan it's always a big challenge," Bergeron said. "Whether it's on the ice or off the ice, he's a competitor and a winner. I love watching him play and I try to take some of the things out of his game."

Karlsson, who led defensemen with 66 points (21 goals), received 44 first-place votes and 964 voting points. He joins Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith as the only active defensemen to win the Norris Trophy multiple times.

"The bar is pretty high and it just keeps raising, which in my mind I think is a good thing and it pushes me to try to get better every day," Karlsson said. "The situation I'm in right now is very special and it's something I hold very high for my individual and personal achievements."

Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie on the one-year anniversary of the day he arrived in Philadelphia in advance of the 2014 NHL Draft, where he was the No. 1 pick.

Ekblad is the first defenseman since Tyler Myers in 2010 and the 11th in history to win the Calder Trophy, which has been handed out every season since 1932-33.

"I did not expect to win this trophy at all," Ekblad said. "I assumed that a forward would win it. I think it's an award dominated by forwards. Pretty special to be within the few names of defensemen who have won this trophy."

Despite losing out in the Vezina Trophy voting, Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk went home as the winner of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

And despite losing out to Bergeron in the Selke Trophy voting, Toews took home the Mark Messier Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone.

Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman won the General Manager of the Year voting. His team lost to the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg (King Clancy Memorial Trophy) and San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (NHL Foundation Player Award) also won Wednesday.

In addition, Ovechkin received the Rocket Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals in the regular season (53), and Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn received the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the season (87).

But the night belonged to Price, who was almost speechless by the end of it.

"You try and prepare something to say, and it never really comes out the way you had in mind," Price said. "I'm just truly grateful to be here. I'm just immeasurably blessed to do what I do. That's all I really have to say."

(NHL.com)

CFL and CFLPA To Toughen Drug Policy

 


The CFL and its players union have finally bowed to public pressure, agreeing to hold “formal talks” to strengthen the league's drug policy.
League commissioner Jeffrey Orridge and CFL Players Association boss Scott Flory made the joint announcement Wednesday, after weeks of criticism from national and international leaders in the fight against doping.
In an interview with the Winnipeg Sun, Orridge said the league will address three key areas of the policy: how to deal with university players entering the league who've been caught doping, the penalties for first-time offenders and the frequency of testing.
All three areas have come under heavy fire from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, which oversees the fight against doping in this country, from the only Canadian lab approved to do testing by the World Anti-Doping Agency and from WADA itself.
At the same time, the first-year commissioner continued to take a combative stand against the league's high-profile critics.
“No one should be in the position of dictating a policy that would be best for our players, our league and the game,” Orridge told the Sun, reiterating the league's statement the CFL will not be held to “a standard that no North American professional team sport is meeting.”
The CFL policy, though, does not meet the standards of other pro sports in that first-time offenders are not identified or suspended. Instead, they are subject to “mandatory testing” and optional counselling.
Canadian university players entering the league through the draft are subject to the same policy. And when five of them at this year's pre-draft combine were found to be doping, up from one a year ago, a leading player agent and university head coach sounded the alarm in a Winnipeg Sun story last month.
Orridge couldn't say if the CFL will at least match what the NFL does: publicly identifying first-time offenders and suspending them for four games.
“We're open to change,” he said. “We can't do it on our own. We have to do it in partnership with our players. And we're very serious about it and very committed to it.”
A spokesman for Flory said the CFLPA boss would provide no further comments than what were in the official release, which indicated a desire to work with the league in “examining, updating and strengthening” the policy in some key areas “in a way that works for us.”
The players and league tout the effectiveness of the policy by saying there has yet to be a second positive test and subsequent suspension.
Yet, the lack of an independent and transparent results-management process, one of the tenets of an effective anti-doping system, raises questions about the authenticity of the claim.
“We know that because the people who are privy to that information are trustworthy,” Orridge said. “And if you ask CCES, if you ask the laboratory... they would all corroborate that.”
In fact, WADA-accredited lab boss Christiane Ayotte could not confirm that on Wednesday.
The lack of independent and transparent results management was one of the reasons Ayotte said last month she had no choice but to stop accepting CFL samples for testing.
CCES president/CEO Paul Melia said Wednesday he couldn't talk about the CFL results specifically, but pointed to a need for openness in any management of test results.
“If there is no transparency and there is no accountability, then it's difficult for people on the outside to know what to believe and not to believe,” Melia said.
The CFL's test results have been managed by the league.
Orridge's description of the CCES and the Quebec-based lab as people to trust comes two weeks after he cut ties with them due to a lack of same, after Ayotte went public with her concerns in the Sun.
“You have to have a trusted partner in any relationship,” Orridge said Wednesday. “And when the trust is breached, you have to take appropriate action.”
The CFL's reaction was to take its program south of the border.
“We've been in discussions with other organizations, some of which are actually involved with drug testing,” Orridge said. “Both accredited and non-accredited. We're exploring those options right now.”
Melia says it's unfortunate the “dust” stirred up over the issue overshadowed the real issue, the health and safety of players, going so far as to apologize to the league for Ayotte's comments and the role they played in the split.

“If they develop a stronger policy and it protects the rights of their clean athletes to a fair and safe sport, then some good will have come of this,” Melia said. “But we sincerely would have hoped that we could have had a made-in-Canada approach to this problem.”

(Winnipeg Sun)

Get Ready for 3 on 3 Overtimes in NHL

The Board of Governors will vote during their meeting Wednesday on recommendations from the League's general managers to change the overtime format to 3-on-3 for five minutes and to expand video replay to include a coach's challenge on goals scored off of potential offside or goalie-interference plays.
If the recommendations are approved by the Board of Governors, they will go into effect for the start of the 2015-16 regular season.

The general managers agreed to send the recommendations to the Board of Governors in their meeting Tuesday at Bellagio Hotel and Casino.

The concept of 3-on-3 overtime is to create more space on the ice, which will allow for more goals to be scored and hopefully see more games end in overtime rather than the shootout, similar to the success that the American Hockey League experienced this past season.


By adding a 3-on-3 element to its overtime format, the AHL had 75 percent of its games that went past regulation time decided in overtime this past season. The number was 35.3 percent in 2013-14, when they played under a strict 4-on-4 overtime format.

The AHL's current overtime model extends overtime to seven minutes and starts with 4-on-4 before eventually going down to 3-on-3 if there were no goals scored through the first three minutes.

The NHL had 44.4 percent of those games decided in overtime this season (136 of 306) in a 4-on-4 format.

"I've always said that as exciting that the shootouts can be, I would prefer the games to get decided in the overtime and there's evidence that when you go from 4-on-4 to 3-on-3, it increases the likelihood of a goal in the overtime," Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "We've seen that in the American League, we've seen that in the Swedish League. So I think there's a good chance the percentage of overtime goals will go up with this change and I think it's an improvement."

However, the NHL Competition Committee, which met during the Stanley Cup Final, was torn between that format and a strict 3-on-3 format until consensus formed among the players that going directly to 3-on-3 would be preferable.


The GMs ultimately decided to go that route because getting to 3-on-3 was a part of any proposal.

"We came out of the Competition Committee meeting with the Players' Association and we talked about both formats, and they went back to their representatives and players, and I think the consensus with them and back to us was 3-on-3 would be the right way to go," Nashville Predators general manager David Poile said. "I'm excited about it. We felt almost unanimous that we would like to have more games ended in overtime versus the shootout. We got our wish. We got 3-on-3. I don't know what the statistics are going to prove out, but I know there certainly will be less shootouts. This could be very exciting. It's another tweak to the game that could be very fan-friendly."

The fan-friendly aspect will be a result of the excitement that the 3-on-3 overtime could create, according to Ron Hextall, the Philadelphia Flyers general manager.

"There's obviously a lot of space and I think once there is one scoring chance at one end, typically if you don't score it goes back the other way," Hextall said. "It ends up being exciting, fast-paced and, obviously, the skill level of the players comes out.

"It's just really risky hockey and it makes it very exciting. I saw some of it at the American League level and it's very exciting."


The coach's challenge has been a topic discussed for several years. It is being limited to expanding video review to goals scored off plays that may potentially be offsides and plays involving potential goalie interference to ensure that more calls made on the ice are correct.

"There's going to be judgmental decisions and calls made and we're never going to agree 100 percent on those, but it's going to give us a chance to get better calls and use the technology that's out there to help us," Kekalainen said. "So I think it's a big improvement as well."

As part of the proposal, to use a coach's challenge, the challenging team must still have its timeout.

"I think it's probably going to be a trial-and-error basis at the beginning since we've never had this type of rule before," New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Probably take a little bit of getting used to for when the right time is, so there will be some strategy involved there for sure."

Riders Announce Practice Roster

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have added the following players to the practice roster:

·         National receiver Alex Carroll

·         National defensive back Michael Carter

·         International linebacker Jake Doughty

·         National receiver Seydou Junior Haidara

·         International defensive back Junior Mertile

·         International defensive back Marrio Norman

·         International offensive lineman Randy Richards

·         International receiver Naaman Roosevelt

·         National offensive lineman Matt Vonk

·         International receiver Devin Wilson

Argos Extend Barker and Milanovich

 The Toronto Argonauts incoming ownership group announced today that the contracts of General Manager Jim Barker and Head Coach Scott Milanovich will be extended by 3 years when new owners Bell Canada and Kilmer Group assume control of the team at the end of the year.

“With their strong records of success and clear passion for the Argos team and fans, we are delighted that Jim Barker and Scott Milanovich have agreed to continue their leadership roles with the team,” said Dale Lastman, representative for the new ownership group and an Alternate Governor of the CFL. “Jim and Scott are clear football talents and stellar ambassadors for the club and for the Canadian game, and we look forward to working with them as a bright new era begins for the Toronto Argonauts.”

Following the Argonauts historic victory in the 100th Grey Cup in 2012, in which Barker built a team that secured Toronto’s CFL record 16th championship, he led a team of staff and players to a first place finish in the East Division in 2013. The Argonauts hosted the Eastern Final on the strength of 11 wins – the most by a Double Blue team since 2007. In December 2011, he orchestrated one of the most important trades in team history when he brought quarterback Ricky Ray to Toronto.

Commented Argonauts’ General Manager, Jim Barker, “I’m excited about the future of the organization and the commitment our incoming ownership group is making to winning football. We have faced a number of challenges the past few seasons but our team is energized and confident about the future. We’re well positioned to deliver long-term success to the fans of the Double Blue and I am very happy to be part of what we will achieve together.”

Barker continued, “Scott Milanovich is an excellent coach who is respected by the players and a proven winner. He has effectively evolved with the game as well as the players, and nobody will work harder than Scott to ensure this team reaches beyond its potential over the coming years.”

Scott Milanovich is the Argonauts’ 42nd head coach in team history. He was named the CFL Coach of the Year after leading the club to the 100th Grey Cup championship during his first season. Milanovich followed up the championship season with a first place finish in the East Division.

He has re-energized the Argos’ offence and helped to inject new life into QB Ricky Ray. Under Milanovich’s guidance, Ray has set and surpassed multiple team and league records over the past three seasons, and has been named East Division Most Outstanding Player in each of the past two years. In 2012, WR/KR Chad Owens became the first Argos player since 1998 to lead the league in receiving en route to being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player. The Double Blue scored more than 500 points in 2013, which was the first time since 1998.

Commented Argonauts Head Coach, Scott Milanovich, “I’m excited to be part of the long-term vision for the Argonauts and for the opportunity to continue working closely with Jim Barker. Our new ownership group is clearly committed to the team’s success. The coaching staff and I are eager to unlock the full potential of our talented Argos team and dedicated to delivering championship success for the greatest fans in the Canadian Football League.”