Changes Coming

To my 'loyal' followers, changes are coming in the near future for this blog. After a few years of independent blogging, I have been given the opportunity to move on. An old college roommate from my days in Lethbridge contacted me recently to gauge my interest in becoming part of a blog network that will focus on all that is sports in Canada. As such I have been asked to write a weekly column on the CFL with an emphasis on the Riders. The site, currently under construction, will be found at sfncanada.com. The Sports Fan Network is set to launch soon and I am thrilled to be a part of it. For all your Rider news, and anything sports related in Canada, Sports Fan Network Canada will be your one stop. In essence, I am not done blogging but will just be doing so as part of a larger network, something I truly look forward to. Catch you soon at sfncanada.com

HM

Saying Good - Bye to a Legend.

At a press conference this morning in Montreal, Anthony Calvillo said good - bye to the Alouettes organization and the CFL, announcing his retirement after twenty seasons in the league. The 41 year old broke into the CFL in 1994 with the Las Vegas Posse as part of the largely unsuccesful expansion into the United States. After three seasons in Hamilton, the native of Los Angeles, California moved on to Montreal where he would spend the next sixteen seasons, two watching and learning under Tracey Ham prior to taking the reins himself in 2000. A three time Grey Cup Champ (2002, 2009 & 2010), Calvillo threw for nearly 79, 000 yards and 455 TD's. The last snap he took was this August in Regina when he left the game with a concussion following a hit from the Rider' Ricky Foley.

As a Rider fan it was easy to despise Calvillo for his abilities. I have always, perhaps wrongly, marked the abilities of a player by the fear he imposed on me as a fan. I was always nervous lining up against the Als simply because I knew what the man was capable of. Not a large man by any stretch of the imagination, Calvillo played much bigger than his stature. He was tough as nails and was capable of putting up points in bunches. One needs not look any further than the 16 point deficit he and the Als overcame in an eight minute span on a lovely Sunday evening in Calgary in 2009. Sure the Riders lost the game largely due to the 13th man debacle but AC put Montreal into a position which made that play meaningful, a situation that could have been entirely avoided were it not for the abilities of the man under centre.

I will always remember the Canada Day shootout he and Darian Durant had on opening night, 2010. Down 21 at the half, DD pulled the Riders back and had the game won until a great pass and catch from Calvillo to SJ Green set the game into OT only to have the Riders pull it out on an equally impressive catch by Weston Dressler in extra time.

I forget who wrote about it this morning, perhaps Mitchell Blair or maybe Rod Pederson; regardless they considered AC one of, if not the greatest QB our league has ever known. It would be very difficult not to annoint Calvillo as the greatest of all time. There have been a lot of great gun slingers roll through our league in its 101 year history but the numbers speak for themselves. In addition many players have AC to thank for much of the success they enjoyed; names like Jamel Richardson who was a non - factor here in Saskatchewan has flourished in Montreal, SJ Green has become one of the most feared recievers in the league at the moment and who can ever forget the chemistry he shared with Ben Cahoon. The Als have been for many years a team to fear and one you need to put in a full sixty minutes if you hope to find success. That was in large part due to the play of Anthony Calvillo. Do you honestly remember him having an off night? An off night for him was what many would consider a good day at the office.

Elsewhere in the CFL....

Craig Butler has made it known that he intends to test the free agency waters and determine his value on the open market come February 15th. To this there are two schools of thought: (1) How can he not want to go and play in the East and be closer to friends and family ala Andy Fantuz? or (2) Tyron Brackenridge did the exact same thing last year before deciding that the Rider's were the best fit for him at that point in his career. In the event he does leave, something I clearly hope does not transpire, I wonder if the Rider's would be interested in taking a run at someone like Shea Emry. I hate to play against him but would love to see him in the green and white. Generally speaking I have the same feelings for him that I had for Dwight Anderson last year and we all know how that worked out.

Weston Dressler has worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs and according to his agent, as many as four or five 'other' teams remain in the mix. Like Butler, it sounds like Dressler doesn't have his heart set on returning to the green and white should NFL aspirations fade away. Should he go, we need to remember the six years of blood, sweat and tears the man gave to this organization. Nobody who is a true fan of Dressler should be angry if he makes it down south. On the flip side however, should he return to the CFL with another team, the warm, fuzzy feelings may quickly dissipate.

Cory Chamblin is one of three coaches up for the CFL Coach of the Year award. Chamblin will be opposed by his foe in Grey Cup 101, Kent Austin of Hamilton and John Hufnagel of the Stampeders. I can not believe I am saying this but the right choice is Huf. Sure they dropped the ball (literally and figuratively) in the play - off's but he tallied a 14 - 4 record and used three different starting QB's at various points of the season. Chamblin may earn some votes by virtue of the Rider's Grey Cup victory but if I had a vote, Huf would get the nod.

Speaking of the Stamps, I still believe they made a mistake protecting Drew Tate while allowing Kevin Glenn to walk. Sure Tate is younger but Glenn proved last year that he is more than capable of still playing at a high level and personally I think Glenn could be a much better tutor and mentor for Bo Levi Mitchell both on and off the field than Tate. I ran into Kevin Glenn at the Grey Cup and he was more than willing to stop and talk when he easily could have ignored me and walked away. A very nice, endearing fellow who I wish nothing but the best for in Ottawa.

Speaking of Ottawa, what is up with them using the hashtag #RNATION. Uhm, isn't that our thing? Are they still angry that couldn't use the name Rough Riders again?

Last week or the week before I was driving home after work listening to the Sportscage and the voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was on the air discussing the upcoming season in the Manitoba capital. He said a lot of things but what stood out for me was his contention that the Bombers should be a winning club in 2014. I almost hit the ditch; unless they bring in a bonafide CFL QB, they will not be a winner next year. For me the choice is simple, bring in Henry Burris to provide not only some stability at that position but also provide a live teaching tool for a youngster like Max Hall who I think can be good in the CFL but needs to learn how to play it.

Back to the Riders and with Khari Jones taking the position of Offensive Coordinator in BC, the Riders are now in need of a QB coach to replace him. The name that has been bantered about is Kerry Joseph. I adamantly believe he is not the best choice. Sure he won us a Grey Cup and for that the Rider fans should always be grateful. But all loyalty aside, he stunk in the Grey Cup and the remainder of his career following his trade to Toronto in the offseason after the 2007 Grey Cup victory was far from impressive. Does Darian still need a QB coach or is he at the point where he can do this on his own? I would be more inclined to lean towards the latter.

Later,

HM

Some Snap Judgements

It has been a while since I have shared with you my wisdom and insights. My quest to turn the Norquay Knights into the most dominant Boys 1A basketball team leaves only a few minutes for some quick thoughts. Here we go:

* Love it or hate it, the Canadian Men's roster at the Olympics is the best there is in this tournament....on paper anyways.

* The World Jr. Team needs to move away from the mentality that they need to take players to fulfill certain 'roles' on that team. I mean really the likes of Frederick Gauthier and Josh Anderson, so - called checkers did very little to help that team. Surely there was more skilled guys they could have taken. You don't see Sweden, Finland and the likes filling roles. They take the top forwards they have, throw them together and let them work their magic.

* Even the thought that the NHL should be forced to loan Jr. aged players to this tournament is preposterous. No NHL GM in the world is going to put the Canadian World Jr. team ahead of their own team, nor should they be expected to be.

* Nathan Dumba is highly over - rated.

* Where was Max Domi? Surely he could have added not only skill, but grit to go along with it.

* In all honestly, I struggle to believe that there aren't better choices than Jeff Carter and Marc - Edouard Vlasic for the Olympic team. To add to that, Chris Kunitz is really one of the top 14 forwards in our nation. Put him in Florida; does he score twenty?

* The Cincinnati Bengals have a serious decision to make regarding Andy Dalton. Is he, or isn't he the guy to move them into the NFL's elite? He isn' exactly 'red hot' in the play - offs.

* Being an NFL coach must be about the most fickle job in the world. Hired today and spoken highly of as the man to turn the team around, fired nine months later and said you werent' the man for the job. Is one season really a fair shot to see what you bring as a coach?

* Did you know the Cleveland Browns are paying nearly $50 million dollars to men who once were, but are no longer their Head Coach?

* Not much for basketball but the Chicago Bulls acquired Andrew Bynum late last night/early this morning. He was released this afternoon. Maybe he could be the next HC in Cleveland for the Browns.

* Nick Kypreos was pretty worked up that Dallas Eakins ran an 8:00 am practice yesterday morning for the Edmonton Oilers. Nick, do you know how many people accomplish more by 8:00 in the morning than most NHL'ers will in a month? If they want to make their millions, they can practice when their 'boss' tells them to.

* The same Nick Kypreos said that James Neal was the pureset goal scorer in the game aside from Alexander Ovechkin. Yeah sure Nick and your nose is the straightest in sports television.

* It's cold.