As the heat of August continues, the days left in my summer vacation are now down to one. While the summer was great for spending time with family and friends fishing, golfing and watching the Riders, it did nothing for the blog. In saying that, since I am back in 'the office' today I think it's time to provide my insights into the summer that was, and the fall that is in front of us.
First off, today is August 26th. The Winter Olympics kick off in Sochi in approximately six months time. This morning, in a rink in Calgary, a group of men hoping to represent Canada in Men's hockey are playing ball hockey, and from what I read on twitter are practicing line changes amongst other things. Are you kidding me? Look, I love hockey as much as the next and nothing gives me more national pride than watching our hockey teams perform at a high level in international competitions, but really, ball hockey in August? In all reality, these next three days are in my opinion, a colossal waste of both time and effort. Why? There are probably ten players who have already made the team. Guys like Crosby, Stamkos and Doughty are already on the team, don't kid yourself. In saying that, do you honestly think that Bob Nicholson, Kevin Lowe and others on the managment team are going to look back at how well Player A performed playing road hockey in Calgary in August to determine whether or not he goes to Russia or stays home? Not a chance, it will be all based on what they have done in the first few months of the NHL season. I don't usually poke fun at Hockey Canada but this is laughable. TSN has their entire hockey crew there reporting on every bounce of the ball which just adds to the comedic value of this event.
The NFL season is only two weeks away. Not going to say much other than I am excited.
For a stretch in June and July the Toronto Blue Jays gave us reasons to be optimistic. They won eleven in a row and were crawling back into contention. It look like the dogs days of summer were going to provide us with meaningful baseball games to watch. That evaporated quickly. While, injuries have to be taken into account, this group has set the bar in terms of underachievement. As such, the absolute first thing that Alex Anthopoulos needs to do at the end of the season is terminate the contract of John Gibbons. He was fired for a reason three years ago, and his hiring in the off - season raised a lot of eyebrows. The concerns of Blue Jays fans at the time have proven to be warranted over and over.
Graham Delaet has gone from making a name for himself on the PGA to officially having made a name. With yesterday's T2 finish at the Barclay's a bunch of firsts have arisen for the Weyburn product. He cracked the top 50 in the Offical World Rankings as he jumped to #48. He eclipsed the $2 million dollar mark in earnings this season, not to mention jumping him up to #7 in the FedEx Cup stadings which gives him a very legitimate, if not almost, guaranteed spot in the Tour Championship. As if that wasn't enough, he has also jumped into the Top 10 in President's Cup standings which means there is a very strong likelihood that he will be part of Nick Faldo's International squad in Ohio in early October. And to think, he hasn't even won an event yet. While we all talk about how he is close to his first victory, I think we now need to think of how many times will he win once he get's over that proverbial hump.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are somewhere they have not been since 1970. They are 7 - 1 and alone atop the CFL standings. With back to back games against the greatest circus show in Canada presently, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a 9 - 1 record in two weeks is very much a possibility. Here are my random observations about their season thus far:
* Kory Sheets is a monster. He set a goal of 2,000 yards along the ground this year. He is more than half way home with 10 games to go.
* Darian Durant is having his finest season as a Rider. To date he has thrown 17 TD's without an interception. Sure, he may have had a poor showing at home against Montreal but he was a warrior to the end and made the play he needed to make to give us an opportunity to win. While many in this province have a serious 'hate on' for DD, if you are a true football fan, you can appreciate his abilities. Be thankful he is on our team as there aren't anymore I would rather have running my team at this point in time.
* Dwight Anderson may be obnoxious but he makes plays when they need to be made.
* So much for that concern with the kicking game. Chris Milo is the only kicker in the leaague to make every kick this season. The stats would tell you that Calagary's Rene Paredes is also perfect but he has had a kick blocked and if not for ridiculous CFL rules, that perfection would be erased.
* The officiating throughout the CFL is at times horrific. There is absolutely no consistency from one week to the next. What is pass interference this week may not be next week and I don't think anybody, officials included, truly know what roughing the passer entails. What is called one week won't be the next. As a fan, all I can ask for is consistentcy. If the officiating is going to be poor, be poor every week. How some of these guys can even accept a pay cheque is beyonhd me.
* I could go on and on with who has impressed me from the green and white all day but at some point I have to get some work done.
Later,
HM
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