Free Agent DB John Ojo Signs With Riders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced they have signed international defensive back John Ojo to a two-year contract.       

Ojo (6’3 – 210) signs with the Riders after previously spending two CFL seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos. The 28-year-old Florida A&M product originally signed with the Eskimos in June, 2015.

In 2015, Ojo started 18 regular-season games at defensive back, registering 43 defensive tackles, eight special-teams tackles and five interceptions – one of which he returned 57 yards for a touchdown. He was named a CFL and West Division All-Star and won his first Grey Cup.   

Ojo signed with the New York Jets in April, 2017 after missing the entire 2016 season due to an Achilles injury suffered in training camp.

(Ryan Pollock/Riders PR)

NHL Three Stars Of Week

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen and Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 25.

FIRST STAR – CONNOR McDAVID, C, EDMONTON OILERS

McDavid paced the NHL with five goals and 10 points in four games (5-5—10) to move into first place in the Art Ross Trophy race and propel the Oilers (34-36-6, 74 points) to a 3-0-1 week. He collected one assist in a 7-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes March 20 followed by 2-2—4, his third four-point performance of the season, in a 6-2 triumph against the Ottawa Senators March 22. McDavid then scored twice, including the winning goal, in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings March 24. In doing so, he leapfrogged Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov – who had held the outright lead since Dec. 12 – for first place in the NHL scoring race. McDavid closed the week with 1-2—3 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks March 25. The 21-year-old Richmond Hill, Ont., native and reigning Art Ross Trophy winner paces the League with 39-60—99 in 76 contests this season. He is aiming to become the first repeat Art Ross Trophy winner since Jaromir Jagr won four straight scoring titles from 1997-98 through 2000-01 (w/ PIT).

SECOND STAR – JAKE ALLEN, G, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Allen went 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .961 save percentage to help the Blues (42‑28‑5, 89 points) extend their winning streak to five games and move into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. He made 21 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Boston Bruins March 21, followed by 19 stops in a 4-1 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks March 23. Allen finished the week with 33 saves in a 2-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets March 24, also pushing his personal winning streak to five contests (1.97 GAA, .921 SV%). The 27-year-old Fredericton, N.B., native owns a 26-21-2 record with a 2.68 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and one shutout in 53 appearances this season.

THIRD STAR – KYLE CONNOR, LW, WINNIPEG JETS

Connor registered 4-2—6, including a pair of overtime goals, in three games as the Jets (46-19-10, 102 points) went 3-0-0 to clinch their third playoff berth in franchise history. He scored twice, including the overtime winner, in a 2-1 victory against the Los Angeles Kings March 20 and again notched the overtime goal in a 3-2 triumph versus the Anaheim Ducks March 23. In doing so, Connor joined Andrew Cogliano (2007-08 w/ EDM) as the only rookies in NHL history to score regular-season overtime goals in consecutive team games. Connor capped the week with 1-2—3, his third three-point effort of the season, in a 5-4 shootout victory against the Nashville Predators March 25. The 21-year-old Shelby Township, Mich., native shares first place among rookies with 29 goals and ranks fifth among first-year skaters with 50 points (29-21—50) in 69 outings this season.

Something To "Mitch" About

 

Picture: Courtesy SW Booster

We thought the Pats-Broncos and Raiders-Warriors series would be two great ones, and it appears we weren't wrong.

There isn't a lot separating Regina and Swift Current after two games while Prince Albert does not appear to be the pushover that some thought they might be against the heavily-favoured Warriors and are just a shot away from being up 2 games to none.

The biggest question going into Game 3 of the Pats-Broncos series is who starts in goal for Regina? Going into Friday night, I think everyone thought Max Paddock would get that honour considering the finish he had to the regular season, but when the lineups came out Paddock wasn't on it meaning Ryan Kubic got the call. 

Kubic would like a Tyler Steenburgen shot back from Game 1, but other than that he has been rock-solid.  A pad save he made on Colby Sissons in the 2nd period of Game 2 with Regina up 1-0 was a game-changer.

If Paddock is ready to go, head coach John Paddock has a nice problem on his hands. While that is a good thing, Paddock also has to be wondering about his team's discipline.  You can't win on a consistent basis when you are sitting in the penalty box and Regina is doing wayyyy too much of that in the first two games. 

It should be a great Game 3 tonight, and it could be a long Game 3.  I get the feeling these two teams are so evenly matched that we could have one game in this series that goes well beyond the allotted 60 minutes.

As for what is going on with the Warriors-Raiders, one person told me Sunday that Moose Jaw looks nothing like the 52 win team that breezed through the regular season.  Are they feeling the pressure?  Justin Almeida may have saved the Moose Jaw season with his outstanding overtime winner on Saturday.  If Prince Albert wins that game and goes home up 2-0, that very well could have been it for Moose Jaw.  Despite the loss in Game 2, one could say Prince Albert has been the better team through two games and now they have home ice.   Don't you love the playoffs?

--Did they play with a goalie Saturday night in Kelowna?  Tri-Cities beat the Rockets 9-7 in a playoff game!! Oh how I would loved to have seen that tilt.   The Americans have taken a 2-0 lead on Kelowna by taking the first two games in BC.   Again, don't you love the playoffs?  They're just getting started!!

--CFL Week is in the books and it appears as if Winnipeg did an outstanding job with everything. All stories coming out of the Peg indicate it was a great few days of everything CFL.  Now we just need to get the draft out of the way and then we can concentrate on training camp and the season that lies ahead.  A season where many are starting to now realize just what the Riders have in their cupboard and what they could potentially do.  Is it fair to say the success of the season depends on Zach Collaros and how he performs? I think it is fair to say that because you could say it with QB's on other teams as well.  If Mike Reilly doesn't perform, the Eskimos aren't going anywhere.  Jonathan Jennings didn't perform last year and look what happened to BC. The same could be said with Darian Durant and Montreal.

--Still on the topic of Winnipeg, the Jets should be a force in these Stanley Cup playoffs with all indications being they can make a deep playoff run.  With all the attention focussed on guys like Schiefele, Wheeler, Hellebuyck and Byfuglien for good reason, it would seem as if many have forgotten about Kyle Connor. In fact, where does he rate when it comes to the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.  Yes, one would think Matt Barzal is the favourite for the season he has had and Brock Boeser would have been right there as well if it weren't for his season-ending injury, but how can you not consider the University of Michigan product for the award?  He's going to have a 30 goal season on a very good team.  At the end of the day, Barzal is likely your winner, but Connor has to be a finalist.

--The Chicago Blackhawks are not going to make the playoffs this year.  There is talk the axe may fall on Joel Quenneville as a result.  Really? Quenneville is without a doubt one of the top 5 HC's in the NHL today.  What he has done with that team over the years has been great.  If he goes, he won't be out of work for long.  I am not advocating a change in Edmonton, but after the year the Oilers have had and the track history Quenneville has had with guys like Toews and Kane, what could he do with McDavid and Draisiatl.  That being said, if the Oilers tie a can around Peter Chiarelli as some are suggesting, it could mean Todd McLellan goes as well.

--Have they done a 30 for 30 on Loyola-Chicago yet? I'm sure Sister Jean is a lovely woman, but the focus has been on her and not the players who have given her her 15 minutes of fame. She is not the story!  The players on that team will likely never see an NBA court. They are having the time of their lives and while I hope Michigan (Mitchigan) ends the Cinderella story next weekend at the Final Four, you can never take away what those kids are experiencing.  Here's hoping it is them who gets the publicity deserved in San Antonio next weekend.

--I guess we don't need a curling summit as so many had called for right?

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

What Did You Miss on Sunday?

--The Winnipeg Jets clinched a playoff spot and kept hopes of finishing first in the Central alive with a 5-4 shootout win over Nashville. The Jets are five back with seven to play.

 

In Edmonton, Ethan Bear scored his first NHL goal, but the Oilers were beaten 5-4 by the Ducks in overtime. Former Pat Jordan Weal also had his first career 3 point game as his Flyers were beaten 5-4 by Pittsburgh in overtime.


--Jennifer Jones has put Canada back on top of the curling world when it comes to the women's game. Jones and her Winnipeg rink beat Anna Hasselborg of Sweden 7-6 to win the world title.   Jones went through the event with a perfect 14-0 record.  This adds to the World Junior titles won by Canada a few weeks ago.  Brad Gushue will look to keep it going at the men's world championship in Las Vegas at the end of the month.

--It didn't take long for Kirk Muyres and his brother Dallan to find another rink to curl with moving forward. The Muyres boys are joining up with Dan and Kevin Marsh to form a new team that Kirk will skip. The Marshs were both on the Colton Flasch team, but Flasch left to join up with Kevin Koe's foursome.  Kirk and Dallan had been long-time fixtures on the Steve Laycock team that represented Saskatchewan at the Brier. It is expected the futures of Laycock and Matt Dunstone will be determined shortly.

--Game 3 of the Pats-Broncos series goes at the Brandt Center Monday night. The best of seven is even at one. Last night, Medicine Hat took a 2-0 lead over Brandon with a 7-3 win while Portland evened its series with Spokane at 1 after a 4-3 victory.

-- Bubba Watson won the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play 7 and 6 over Kevin Kisner  for the second WGC title of his career and his second win on the PGA Tour this season. After beating up on Justin Thomas in the semifinal match and keeping him from the No. 1 ranking in the world, Watson annihilated Kisner in the afternoon for the 11th win of his career.



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What Did You Miss on Saturday?

--Both Saskatchewan based WHL first round playoff series are even at one. In Swift Current, the Pats evened things up with the Broncos with a 2-1 win while Justin Almeida's overtime goal lifted Moose Jaw to a 3-2 win over Prince Albert at Mosaic Place.

--Bruce Boudreau got his 500th career win as an NHL head coach. He did it as the Minnesota Wild beat Nashville. Boudreau is the 2nd fastest all-time to hit 500 wins doing it in 836 games. Scotty Bowman has the record at 825. Boudreau is the 26th head coach in NHL history to hit the 500 wins mark.  One other game saw Edmonton beat L-A 3-2. Connor McDavid took over the NHL scoring lead with two goals. He now has 97 points on the season.

--Riders quarterback Zach Collaros is one of many CFL players at CFL Week in Winnipeg. Collaros tells Riderville.com he never thought he would be wearing Rider green, but its really cool and he is excited to get things going. Collaro, who came to the Riders on January 3 via trade, says he has run into many members of Rider Nation in Winnipeg this week and it has him ready for training camp and the 2018 season which inches closer and closer by the day

--The Cinderella story continues for Loyola-Chicago.  They advanced to the Final Four with a 78-62 win over Kansas State to become the 4th 11 seed to move into the Final Four. They will play Michigan in a national NCAA men's basketball semi-final next Saturday. The Wolverines bested Florida State 58-54. The other two teams will be determined tomorrow as two more regional finals are held.  They see  Duke vs Kansas and Texas Tech vs Villanova.


--WWE star John Cena would relish the opportunity to square off against Conor McGregor.
Cena didn't hesitate when asked if he would step into the ring with the UFC lightweight champion, though he acknowledged it may be too soon to start speculating about such a match. It was reported a few months ago that McGregor was in talks about making a one-off appearance at WrestleMania 34 in April, but UFC president Dana White and WWE chairman Vince McMahon both denied there was any truth to the rumor.

What Did You Miss on Friday?

--The WHL playoffs are off and running.  Stuart Skinner made 34 saves as the Broncos beat Regina 3-0 while Jordy Stallard and Cole Fonstad each had a pair as P-A got by Moose Jaw 5-3. It was Game 1 of their respective Eastern Conference series.  Other winners were Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Vancouver and Everett.

--A Winnipeg NHL team has a 100 point season. The Jets hit the century mark with a 3-2 overtime win against Anaheim.  The most points a Winnipeg pro hockey team has had was in the 1975-76 season when the WHA Jets had 106 points.

--The Calgary Flames have shut center Sean Monahan down for the season.  Head Coach Glen Gulutzan said Friday that Monahan is dealing with two significant injuries and that one will require surgery.  He would not say what those injuries are.

--One of baseball's best pitchers will start the season on the DL.  Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner took a line-drive off his throwing hand breaking it.  It was Bumgarner's last start of the spring.  Baseball season starts Thursday.

--Canada has finished first after round-robin play at the World Women's Curling Championship. Jennifer Jones is 12-0 after an 8-5 win over the US.  Canada gets a bye to the semi-final against an opponent to be determined. There is no Page Playoffs at this event as the top six teams make it.  1 and 2 get byes to the semi with 3 playing 6 and 4 playing 5.

This and That

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

--Its playoff time!  Safe to say I will be either glued to my TV watching Access 7 or listening to Phil Andrews as the Pats and Broncos go at it in what should be one helluva matchup starting in Swift Current tonight.  If these teams even come close to giving us what they gave us last Friday at the Brandt Centre, you'll want to throw away the remote.  It will be a "ring-a-ding-dong dandy".  I said a long time ago that I liked Swift Current to win the Eastern Conference.  I can't go back on that prediction now. My heart wants the Pats to win, but my head says Swift Current.  If my heart wins this series, I won't be crestfallen.  At the end of the day, I see Portland playing the Broncos in the league final.  A lot needs to happen for both teams to get there.

 --Saskatoon wants a new arena. They say the 30 year old Sasktel Centre is at the end of its useful life.  Is that the age-limit on buildings now seeing the Saddledome is also around that age?  While the Brandt Centre certainly doesn't have the amenities that the newer rinks have, is it at the end of its useful stage?

One wonders if we would even be talking about this had Saskatoon done the smart thing many years ago and put then Saskatchewan Place downtown like it should have instead of screwing it up.  I think we know the answer to that question.  How will the building, which is pegged at 330-375 million when you add in a desired convention centre be funded?  The times are a little different now than they were when the shovel went into ground for Mosaic Stadium 2.0.  Does Saskatoon use some of the same template used when it came to who pays for what with Mosaic. Do they use their own template?

Saskatoon doesn't need a new rink if you ask me.....it just needs to have the existing one in a better spot.  That won't happen so a new facility will likely get built.  The mistake of many years ago is now coming back to hit Saskatoon in the wallet.


--There is no doubt Gerard Gallant is coach of the year in the NHL for what he has done with the Vegas Golden Knights but how much consideration should Yorkton's Jared Bednar get for what he has done in year 2 with the Avalanche. Speaking of the Avs, my vote for Hart Trophy goes to Nathan McKinnon if Colorado hangs on to make the playoffs.  As for the Connor McDavid-Hart Trophy talk---NOPE! I don't care if you lead the league in scoring again, if you are a player on a team that does not make the playoffs, you don't deserve the MVP honour. Sorry!

--Ilya Kovalchuk says he wants to come back to the NHL. Does the NHL really want Kovalchuk back though? I am guessing some team would pay whatever he wants to come back to North America, but his best before date has long passed.  I would just say thanks, but no thanks to Ilya.

--TSN asked this question this week. "If the Leafs are the lone remaining team in the Stanley Cup playoffs, will Canada cheer for them?" NO!!!! You can if you want, but I won't be and why would I even consider it. I wouldn't cheer for the Flames if they were the last Canadian team standing being an Oilers fan. A Toronto-Calgary Stanley Cup would be nightmarish for this blogger. I can live with a Grey Cup between those two cities, but not a Stanley Cup.  Why is there a thought process that we have to latch onto a Canadian team in the playoffs?  Montreal fans wouldn't cheer for Toronto and vice-versa, The same could be said for Edmonton and Calgary and everyone hates the Canucks still don't they?

--Will the play of the Winnipeg Jets have an effect on CFL Week? Will the event move the needle in Winnipeg with the way the Jets are playing the way it did in Regina last year.  For the league's sake, I hope it does.  They are excited about what the spring could bring when it comes to the Jets and they should be.  At what cost though.  I am thinking very few are thinking about the Bombers at this time,  You can't blame the CFL for this as they have no idea what is going to be happening in the NHL with the Canadian teams.  If hindsight was 20-20, they may have wanted to put it in Calgary or Edmonton this year seeing many are checking out from the Flames and Oilers-----and for good reason.

CFL Week is a great idea and it is something that Christina Litz and others in the CFL office should be commended for.  As we saw in Regina last year, it is a great way for fans to get up close and personal with the stars of the game with many other CFL-designed events happening to get fans ready for the season. If the Jets should overshadow this year's event, I hope the league doesn't decide to re-visit the idea.  It needs to continue, and yes at some point it will have to go one of the big three cities where an attempt will have to be made to make it as big as possible.

--Congrats to Scott Flory for going to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Will the Regina native who played at the U of S and now coaches them want Sparky's to cater the meal at the induction dinner? Scott loves his Sparky's.  Can't really blame him!

--The CFL is talking about improving player safety.  The rules committee is proposing several changes aimed at that. I understand what is being done, but saying something and actually acting on it is another. Other leagues talk about player safety, but when push comes to shove player safety gets pushed aside.  What is good is the fact illegal contact on a receiver is no longer going to be challenged. There should be no more fishing expeditions now by a head coach who is searching for some illegal contact way away from the play.

--A lot of people are putting out their power rankings in this dead time for the CFL. I just go "MEH" to all of it. Let's talk about this some more once the draft is held and training camps are ready to get rolling.

--Jason Priestley (aka Brandon Walsh from Beverly Hills 90210) is coming to Regina for FanFest. Is he bringing Kelly Taylor with him? If that happens, I'll see ya there!

--When I spoke with Steve Laycock and Kirk Muyres after the Brier, they didn't give me a definite "we'll be back" statement which made me wonder if the most successful team we have seen in the 306 for the past little while would be back. They confirmed they wouldn't be on Wednesday night, I don't know what the plans for the four who thrilled the Brandt Centre crowd at the Brier, but if Kirk his brother Dallan and perhaps either Pat Simmons or Catlin Schneider joined Braeden Moskowy to form a Sasky super-team, I wouldn't be upset.  Moskowy told me the other night he would love to be the guy who ends the Saskatchewan Brier drought.  This would be a good start.  Moskowy also said the cost for a team each winter is around 150,000 dollars as they travel to event after event after event. Someone or some consortium of companies can surely step up to help make this happen.

-I am a WWE fan. Always have been, always will.  The Matt Hardy-Bray Wyatt "Ultimate Deletion" match was one of the stupidest things I have seen.  It was one or two levels above dumb! Anytime Matt Hardy comes on, I reach for the remote.  His schtick does absolutely zero for me.  With Wyatt being dumped into "The Lake of Reincarnation", I am guessing we will see a reboot for Wyatt since his character has gone nowhere.

--I don't know who is winning March Madness and frankly I don't care. I don't think anyone had the tournament going this way with one top seed after another going down. It's been fantastic! GO MICHIGAN or Mitchigan as I prefer to call them

Have a great weekend!