What Did You Miss Wednesday?

--Bombers coach Mike O'Shea made it clear Wednesday that Matt Nichols remains the team's starting quarterback. O'Shea says Nichols is running the offence well and the ball is going where it should go. O'Shea added an interception that led to a touchdown, blocking a field goal and returning a punt for a major score were the reasons the Bombers lost as you can't have plays like that go against you.

--Stamps coach Dave Dickinson says his quarterback may have dodged one.  Bo Levi Mitchell will play Saturday in Edmonton despite suffering a knee injury in Monday's win over Edmonton.  Mitchell missed a couple of series before coming back with a knee brace.

--Le'Veon Bell's teammates on the Pittsburgh Steelers are sick of defending him. The All-Pro running back remains away from the club while waiting to sign his one-year franchise tender, and he will almost certainly not be ready in time for the season opener against Cleveland. Center Maurkice Pouncey called Bell's decision to stay out this long ``selfish'' and guard Ramon Foster questioned how much Bell actually cares about the team.

--Colorado shortstop Trevor Story hit three homers in a win over San Francisco. His 2nd homer went an estimated 505 feet which is the longest homer in the majors since 2015.

--The group hoping to bring the NHL to Seattle will make a pitch to the executive committee of the league's board of governors at a meeting in New York on Oct. 2.  The Oak View Group confirmed the meeting on Wednesday, the same day it announced a group of local minority partners, including Adrian Hanauer, majority owner of Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS; Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services; and Christopher and Ted Ackerley, two sons of former SuperSonics owner Barry Ackerley.  The OVG -- led by investment banker David Bonderman, longtime sports executive Tim Leiweke and Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer -- has been in a memorandum of understanding with the city to renovate KeyArena in downtown Seattle for the potential NHL team, and possibly an NBA team.

Five Pats Off To NHL Camps

Jake Leschyshyn: Courtesy Keith Hershmiller Photo

The Regina Pats Hockey Club is pleased to announce that five members of the team are headed to NHL training camps. 

Jake Leschyshyn (Vegas Golden Knights), Cale Fleury (Montreal Canadiens), Nick Henry (Colorado Avalanche), Robbie Holmes (Colorado Avalanche) and Max Paddock (San Jose Sharks) all left on Wednesday.

Leschyshyn will be taking part in his second camp with the Knights. A second round pick, Leschyshyn signed a three-year entry level contract with Vegas in June of 2018. The 19-year-old had 18 goals and 40 points with the Pats last season and added three goals and five points in seven games in the 2018 playoffs.

Fleury is off to his second camp with the Canadiens. The overage defenceman was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Fleury was acquired by the Pats from the Kootenay ICE last season and put up 12 goals and 51 points in 68 games.

Henry, a fourth round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2017, will play in his first training camp with the Avalanche. The 19-year-old missed last year’s camp with injury and the start of the Pats regular season. The product of Portage la Prairie, MB has 49 goals and 110 points in 125 games in his Pats career.

Robbie Holmes will be attending his first NHL training camp this week. The 19-year-old was a free agent camp invite by the Avalanche. Holmes is coming off a career year where he scored 16 goals and had 29 points in 68 games. He added another two goals and two assists in the playoffs. Holmes also attended summer development camp with the Avalanche this summer.

Max Paddock is also a free agent camp invite by the San Jose Sharks. The Brandon, Manitoba product is coming off a strong season where he went 19-7-1-1 with the WHL’s third best goals against average of 2.90 and a .904 save percentage. The 18-year-old was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star team after a strong performance in the tournament, going 3-1 with a .908 save percentage.

The Pats continue the 2018 preseason on Friday in Brandon against the Wheat Kings at 6:30 Regina time. They will return home to host the Wheat Kings on Saturday at 7 at the Brandt Centre. 

What Did You Miss Tuesday?

--Blake Wheeler isn't going anywhere anytime soon.  After a career-high 91 point season, the Winnipeg Jets have signed their captain to a 5 year, 41.25 million dollar contract. 

--Jordan Eberle is going into his last season with the New York Islanders.  The former Pat says he has not started talks on a contract extension with the team yet. Making $6 million against the salary cap, Eberle has the second-highest AAV of any winger set to become a UFA next summer, behind only Mark Stone who signed a one-year $7.35-million deal with Ottawa ahead of their salary arbitration hearing.

--A brawl involving several players broke out in the Seattle Mariners‘ clubhouse Tuesday night several hours before a game at Safeco Field. Shortstop Jean Segura, catcher Mike Zunino and other players were involved in the skirmish. Moments after centre fielder Dee Gordon politely asked reporters to leave the locker room, the double doors burst open with players shoving and shouting.

--The Calgary Stampeders did not give an update on the status of receiver Kamar Jorden Tuesday. He suffered a lower-body injury in the Stamps 23-20 win over Edmonton on Monday. He got rolled over on a block late in the second quarter and limped off the field. He did not play after that.

--Oakland City Council intends to file an antitrust lawsuit against the Raiders and the NFL over the franchise's impending move to Las Vegas, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The lawsuit is expected to be filed before the Raiders' season opener Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. It will seek around $500 million in damages.If it's filed, the Raiders have indicated to the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum that they will withdraw from negotiations about extending their lease, leaving them without a home until they're ready to move to Vegas.

What Did You Miss Monday?

--Rene Paredes kicked five field goals, including a 43-yarder with no time remaining, to boot the Calgary Stampeders to a thrilling 23-20 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in the Labour Day Classic.  Calgary has now won seven straight Labour Day games at home against their provincial rival.  Edmonton is now 6-5--third in the west a half game behind the Riders while Calgary is 9-1

--4th quarter touchdowns by Alex Green and Brandon Banks lifted Hamilton to a 42-28 win over Toronto in the other CFL game Monday.  Jeremiah Masoli threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The Ti-Cats are 5-5 with the Argos falling to 3-7.

-- Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson says Nick Foles will start against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night in the NFL season opener. Carson Wentz still hasn't been medically cleared for contact as he comes back from surgery last December to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee.

--Ottawa Redblacks linebacker Kyries Hebert will be watching from the sidelines again because of an illegal hit. The CFL announced on Monday that Hebert has been suspended for two-games for hitting Montreal Alouettes receiver B.J. Cunningham to the side of his head in a "reckless manner" in Friday's contest. The penalty was issued after CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie held a telephone hearing with Hebert and a representative of the league's Players' Association.

--New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom tied a modern-era major league record Monday night by allowing three or fewer runs in 25 straight starts in a single season. The Cy Young candidate, who is just 8-8 despite a sparkling 1.68 ERA this season, went six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers and left with the game tied at 1-all.  New York won the game 4-2

Something To "Mitch" About

Courtesy Saskatchewan Roughriders 

--Happy Labour Day everyone!  Like it usually is in the 306 on the day after the Labour Day Classic, the Riders and Rider Nation are celebrating another victory over the Bombers on the first Sunday in September.  I don't know about you, but the Bombers should wear different helmets when they visit Mosaic Stadium on Labour Day, because that "W" is highly misleading.  Then again, its the only "W" they see in Regina. 

The 2018 LDC was the same script for the Riders as we have seen for most of 2018.  Defence and special teams.  Sprinkle in some youth and age as well.  Matt Elam got the party started with his interception on the first offensive series the Bombers had and Kyran Moore electrified the crowd as he took a punt back 65 yards.  The offence had its struggles, but when they needed to in the 4th quarter, Zach Collaros led the team downfield on two drives with one capped off by a touchdown toss to Marcus Thigpen (who had a great day) and the other on a Nick Marshall run after what I thought was a tremendous call late in the 4th to throw a deep ball to Jordan Williams-Lambert that put the ball at the 3. 

As I have said before, it all boils down to Collaros.  No one is complaining about Stephen McAdoo's calls anymore, no one is complaining about Chris Jones. Some are wondering if his green "Diversity is Strength" shirt will be inducted into the Plaza since they are 3-0 since he started wearing it.  The negativity has stopped and the waters are calm.  Those waters will rise next week if the team should lose the Banjo Bowl which they might as history shows the Bombers to be much different at home than they are here.  Then again, when you don't win here, anything is considered an improvement right? 

As all in sports will tell you, the football season is a marathon and not a sprint.  \The Riders are better finishers than starters.  That has been proven.  I don't know if they can catch Calgary, but they can certainly catch Edmonton for that much-desired home playoff game.

I can't be the only one wanting to see the Riders wear those retro greens every game am I?  I also can't be the only one wishing people would stop doing the wave at Mosaic Stadium especially when the Riders have the football.  Why are we still doing the wave? What is the allure of it? 

--What is the narrative in Winnipeg today?  The team with a lot of pressure on its shoulders stayed with the Riders for three quarters, but they couldn't finish the job.  Matt Nichols was his "average" self and the demand to put Chris Streveler back behind centre will certainly increase this week. Is Mike O'Shea's job on the line next week?  I would think that wouldn't happen, but who knows if the Bombers push the panic button if they lose.   All I know is there is no drama in Riderville right now and I'm OK with that. 

--It is no secret I am not a Jays fan.  However, I do feel sorry for those who root for this team because of the way the squad has been dismantled over the past couple of seasons.  Those glory days that caused the bandwagon to fill up are over and once again Toronto is a dismal squad.  Like it or not, you can chalk it all up to the day they hired Mark Shapiro to run the operation. One of his first moves was to not retain Alex Anthopoulos.   Instead, Shapiro brought in his former Cleveland running mate Ross Atkins to run the ship----a ship that is sinking. 

The Josh Donaldson trade is embarassing.  The dirty laundry is going to get spilled at some point perhaps as early as this week when Donaldson and the Cleveland Indians come rolling into Rogers Centre.   I would think there will be one huge ovation for the Bringer of Rain who did some great things over his time in Toronto.  The sad thing is not only did they trade him. They were so desperate to trade him that they even paid Cleveland to take him off their hands.  They aren't getting much for him either.  In fact, what have they gotten for the likes of David Price, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Donaldson.  Oh yeah, zip!   I am guessing John Gibbons can't wait to get out of Dodge.   I'll just sit back and watch while enjoying the Cubs take a run at the National League pennant. 

--Can't be easy being a fan of Toronto sports these days.  Demar DeRozan and now Donaldson.  At least you have John Tavares!

--A lot was made about the Angus Reid CFL vs NFL poll that came out this week.  That poll didn't really surprise me at all.  I don't think it would surprise anyone in the CFL offices either.  The NFL is an animal that simply can't be contained in Canada.  The CFL recognizes that.  After yesterday's game at Mosaic, there are just two more Sunday games to be played until playoffs and both of those are in Montreal.  The CFL and TSN see that not many eyes will be on their games once the NFL season begins.   While I don't ever see it happening because of Hockey Night in Canada, I wonder if the CFL would ever look at staging a Grey Cup on a Saturday night in an attempt to avoid the NFL. You can be the biggest hard-core CFL fan that you want to be, and you can make argument after argument after argument as to why the CFL is better, but the fact remains that the NFL is "the" league when it comes to pro sports and that isn't changing anytime soon.  

--A lot was also made this week about the Thursday night TV numbers and how the Riders stirred the drink.  Again, this doesn't surprise me.  The /=S=/ are Canada's team for a reason.  It is their games that are most often the most watched game of the week and with them being on Thursday night football four times, it would only make sense that those games would have a big TV audience.  Don't be surprised to see four more appearances next year and like it or not, one of them will be a home game.  I don't like Thursday home games and neither does a lot of Rider Nation, but every team will have one if this moves forward----which it likely will. 

--The Canada West football season is off. It was a tale of two games Friday at Mosaic with the Rams and Calgary.  First, you thought Calgary was going to blow the doors off of Steve Bryce's crew and then they come back to lead at half-time only to let it get away in the second half.   The score isn't what the Rams wanted, but it was an entertaining football game with many big plays.  Some of those big plays were orchestrated by Noah Picton.  His time in a Regina jersey is coming to an end. You need to see the kid play if you haven't.  He became the first passer in conference history to surpass 10,000 yards and he very well could be Canadian university's all-time passer when this season is over. I have been fortunate enough to see just about every pass he has made during his University career.   You won't find a better individual. He is deserving of every accolade he gets. 

--Jay and Dan's summer hiatus is over and they are back on TSN!  Can we put their show on CTV too? I would much rather see that than Ben Mulroney and his vacuous group of sidekicks on "E-Talk"! 

--That's all I got.  Have a great holiday Monday and the rest of the week! 

What Did You Miss Sunday?

Photo: Courtesy Saskatchewan Roughriders

--Make it three in a row for the Riders.  4th quarter TD's from Marcus Thigpen and Nick Marshall lifted Saskatchewan to its 3rd straight win as they beat Winnipeg 31-23 in the Labour Day Classic.  The Riders have won 13 of the last 14 LDC's.

--The Regina Thunder are 2-1 on the season.  They went to Edmonton and beat the Huskies 28-17.  The result leaves both teams at 2-1 with a rematch going next weekend at Mosaic Stadium. Brock Sich had 339 yards passing to go with two touchdowns.

--So much for seeing Vladimir Guerrero Junior in a Jays uniform before this season ends.  GM Ross Atkins said Sunday he will not be calling up the phenom for a late-season appearance.  Keeping Guerrero Jr. at triple-A for the rest of 2018 ensures the Blue Jays will have an additional year of team control over baseball’s top prospect.

--Josh Donaldson says he is leaving a city that he grew to love.  Donaldson made the comments as he made his first statements since being traded to Cleveland this weekend by the Blue Jays. Donaldson would not get into specifics about the situation surrounding his trade---one that has been met with negativity by Blue Jays fans.  He says being Cleveland gives him a new opportunity and a fresh start.

--Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Nate Schmidt has been suspended for 20 games. The NHL said Schmidt will miss the first 20 games of the season for violating the terms of the performance enhancing substances program. Schmidt played 76 games for the Western Conference champions last year. He had five goals and 31 assists.

What Did You Miss Saturday?

--The Riders are making a few lineup changes for Sunday's game at home against Winnipeg. NFL vet Will Blackmon starts on the corner. Marcus Thigpen also returns to the backfield with Cameron Marshall going back to the practice roster.  The Labour Day Classic starts at 1 on TSN/CKRM with the pre-game show beginning at 10 on 620 CKRM.

--Jon Ryan is once again a punter without a home.  After signing with the Buffalo Bills just over a week ago, Ryan was one of Buffalo's final cuts as all NFL teams got down to 53 players.  The New York Jets released former Rider Kacy Rodgers and Riders 2018 first-round draft pick Dakoda Shepley while the Titans cut former Riders LB Jeff Knox Junior.  Former CFL kicker Brett Maher will do his thing for the Cowboys after they released Dan Bailey.

--The Chicago Bears have acquired star pass rusher Khalil Mack from the Raiders in a massive trade that sends two first-round draft picks to Oakland. Mack held out for the entire off-season and pre-season, seeking a new, long-term contract rather than play under the final year of his rookie deal that would have earned him $13.8 million US

--Import Nikita Sedov had a goal and an assist for the Pats, but they were beaten 4-2 by Moose Jaw in WHL pre-season play,  The Pats will be in Brandon Friday.

--Jays GM Ross Atkins says the trade of Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians was“the best thing for the organization” and the “best decision for our future. It is still not known who the Jays got in return, but reports say it is pitcher Justin Merryweather who hasn't played this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and was not considered as one of the Indians top prospects.  Donaldson and the Indians are in Toronto next weekend.