The Classic is upon us!

For the 45th time in history the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers will clash in the annual Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium. The two teams could not be at more polar opposite ends of the spectrum...the Bombers come in with the best record in the CFL at 7 - 1, while the Riders counter with a feeble 1 - 7 mark.

As we all know the Riders made some serious changes during their two week lay off following a 24 - 18 loss in Toronto. No longer here are OC Doug Berry and HC Greg Marshall and the old man, Ken Miller is back roaming the green and white sidelines. While Ken Miller may not make them Grey Cup contenders overnight, he will make them a better football club. From what I hear, practice has been full of energy and enthusiasm the last week, and god forbid it looks like they may have even had some fun as evidenced by Miller's dance moves following Saturday's walk through at Mosaic. That alone is what this team needed. To me Greg Marshall never had this team in his pocket the way Miller does. These guys love Ken Miller and he knows how to inspire them and prepare them to play. These are two attributes that Marshall didn't possess. The difference will be seen today when they come out of the tunnel..rather than lolly gag their way to midfield....look for them to sprint out and challenge the Bomber's sideline. This is something that has been lacking all year.

I also think you can expect to see Darian Durant use his legs more which makes him a much greater threat to the Bombers. In general, the one player who will benefit the most from these changes is Durant. This in turn will make the offence better, which in turn will lead to more sustained drives which results in the defence being on the field less than they have been to this point in the season.

Call me crazy, and an eternal optimist but I have not given up on this team, and until the season end's still think they will be there in Vancouver in November. I know he is only one man, but given MIller's track record with the green and white, his arrival comes at the absolute right time. He debuts in the biggest game of the year...Labor Day is always a zoo. A victory today over the best the CFL has to offer will return confidence to the players and optimism to RiderNation. We must remember there are still ten games left, and we are still right in the thick of the play - off race. We have BC twice more, Edmonton a couple of times who are not the 5 - 0 team they started, not to mention we owe the Stamps an ass whopping in their back yard. Today is the day the fortunes of this year's edition of the Roughriders turn around.

Let's get 'er done and show Swaggerville, they are nothing compared to Riderville.