Tag Archives: buck pierce

We All Say Dumb Things…

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
dumb 300x240 We All Say Dumb Things...

Dumb

As the headline suggests, we all say dumb things. That certainly includes me. I’ll even say them on the radio.

Last week, on the Rise Up Show with Big Will and Miss Melissa on Streetz 104.7, I said three really dumb things. I didn’t say them all at once. I spread them out over the week so I could sound even dumber, more often.

I don’t normally say really dumb things, but when I do, it eats at me for days. This time, dumbness has eaten at me long enough. I said it, it was dumb, and with that, let me apologize for…

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Another Jose Calderon brick.

1. On Tuesday morning, I said I liked the way the Toronto Raptors played basketball. I said that. I said it out loud to a listening audience on Streetz that really likes basketball and knows a lot about the game.

I had just watched the Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-87. Man they looked good. Amir Johnson beat up Kevin Love and had 11 points and 19 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani scored 31. Jose Calderon ran the offence and shut down Ricky Rubio on D and he didn’t even throw up too many of those Jose Calderon clang-bang bricks. It was a nice effort.

So I went on the radio and said that the 4-5 Raptors were playing “good basketball,” and should break out of their early-season struggles.

Yeah, right. What a bonehead.

The Raptors proceeded to lose 93-78 to the dog-ass Washington Wizards, 98-91 at home to the D-League level Sacramento Kings, 95-90 at home to Indiana, 77-64 in Chicago and 93-84 to Atlanta (which really isn’t embarrassing at the worst of times). In that entire stretch of five straight losses, the Raptors had, maybe, three good quarters and Bargnani, clearly their best player despite those stupid spaghetti commercials he does, injured a calf muscle and missed three games.

When I said I liked the way the Raptors played, they were 4-5. By today’s admission that I was really dumb to say that I liked the way they played, they are now 4-10.

So dumb.

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Buck's Re-signing is not so obvious.

2. On Friday morning, I said two really dumb things. The first one was a doozy:

I said, “Blue Bombers general manager Joe Mack held a news conference yesterday to say that his off-season priorities were to sign a new offensive coordinator, quarterback Buck Pierce and offensive lineman Brendan LaBatte. Thank you Captain Obvious.”

Well, after a sober second thought, it wasn’t so obvious. The offensive coordinator part is obvious and Brendan LaBatte is really obvious, but Buck Pierce? Not so much.

Pierce wants big dough to return. Mack doesn’t really have to pay him big dough. With the seven other CFL teams set at quarterback next season, no other team is going to sign Pierce for the amount of money he wants ( a base of at least $200,000). Meanwhile, Mack knows that Pierce had virtually the same numbers as Michael Bishop did back in 2009 and we all remember that the local mainstream media laughed at Michael Bishop. There is no need to sign Pierce for more than he’s worth with Alex Brink and Joey Elliott ready to go.

In fact, you could argue that if Mack signs LaBatte and the offensive line continues to get better, Brink and Elliott could provide head coach Paul LaPolice with a great training camp battle at the QB’s position.

Joe Mack was not Captain Obvious because Buck Pierce, for too much money, is not an obvious signing.

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Tom Brady: Shoulda had more faith.

3. Also on Friday, I said the New England Patriots would beat the Denver Broncos by two touchdowns. What an idiot.

Sure, I picked New Orleans and Green Bay to win on Friday morning during our weekly Streetz NFL picks with Tahl East, but we both hedged those bets. Neither one of us was quite convinced that the Packers or Saints were a guarantee, and we both said so. In fact, we both took New Orleans while holding our noses.

But New England? I came right out and said “the Pats win by two touchdowns.”

Wrong. They won by five touchdowns. And if Tom Brady and Bill Belichick hadn’t called off the dogs late in the game, it could have been seven or eight. New England was so much better than Denver it wasn’t even a fair fight.

I should have known better. And, yes, it was dumb to think that Denver could finish within two touchdowns of that New England team.

Because Baltimore won’t, either.

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Buck Pierce: Michael Bishop 2

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Scott Taylor| 2 Comments

Until the re-signing of long-snapper Chris Cvetkovic on Friday, there were 17 Winnipeg Blue Bombers on the free agent list. Most of them have one goal: They really, really want to get paid.

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Buck Pierce

Doug Brown will likely retire so signing NT Don Oramasionwu will be important as will getting Canadian safety Ian Logan under contract. After that, the contributing free agents all play on offense: Breandan LaBatte, Steve Morley, Glenn January, Andre Douglas and Ryan Donnelly make up an important part of the offensive line. Receivers Aaron Hargreaves and Greg Carr will be big signings as will quarterbacks Buck Pierce, Alex Brink and Joey Elliot. Well, maybe.

Pierce is one guy who has indicated he wants to be rewarded for taking the Bombers to the Grey Cup this past season, but based on Pierce’s numbers and penchant for injury, it might be worth GM Joe Mack’s while to think twice about breaking the bank for a guy whose numbers are no better than Michael Bishop’s.

That’s right. If you look at the hated 2009 Bombers and the beloved 2011 Bombers, you will see clearly that the QB in 2011 wasn’t a whole lot better than the QB in 2009. In fact, statistically, the two teams were not a lot different.

Sure this past year’s team went 10-8 and made it to the Grey Cup where it was drilled 34-23 in the national final. The 2009 team, meanwhile, went 7-11 and missed the playoffs. Clearly the reason for the three-game difference was points for and against. This past year the Bombers scored 432 points and had 432 scored against then. The 2009 team managed only 386 points and allowed 506.

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Mike Kelly

But the same statistics suggest that if it wasn’t for one horrendous 55-10 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, those point totals would have been virtually equal. And if the Bombers’ receivers coach doesn’t grease the skids in the final game of the season, a 39-17 loss to Hamilton in which the receivers were so bad, they quit completely (those inside still believe it was done to make sure the team missed the playoffs and Mike Kelly was fired) , the Bombers would have made the playoffs.

Regardless, that 2009 team was despised from coast to coast, the coach was hated and the local media did exactly what it set out to do, get that coach fired.

What it got in return is a beloved coaching staff that has put up the exact same won-lost record as the coach who was despised. Mike Kelly was 7-11 while Paul LaPolice and company has gone 14-22. The .388 percentage is the same for both coaches.

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Paul LaPolice

However, to be fair, LaPolice, with Pierce at quarterback, did make it to the Grey Cup this past season (OK, Doug Berry and Kevin Glenn got to the Grey Cup in our little eight-team house league). However, the team had a 10-8 record and finished first in the East. The other teams in the East had records of 10-8, 8-10 and 6-12. The 8-10 Hamilton Tiger-Cats made the playoffs.

The 2009 Bombers finished third in the East at 7-11 but missed the playoffs because B.C. finished 8-10, finished last in the West and won the crossover. The first place team in the East that year was Montreal at 15-3. This year Montreal was 10-8.

There are all sorts of comparisons between the 2009 and 2011 Bombers teams. Especially on defense. After all, it was the 2009 Bombers that created “Swaggerville.”

This year’s vaunted Bombers defense had 54 takeaways — exactly the same number as the 2009 defense. The 2011 team had 25 interceptions while the 2009 team had 31 interceptions. The 2011 team recovered 18 fumbles while the 2009 team recovered 16 fumbles. The 2011 team forced the opposition to turn the ball over on downs 11 times wile the 2009 team forced the opposition to turn it ober on downs seven times — 54 takeaways each. Hmmm.

BISHOP AND BUCK ARE THE SAME GUY

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Michael Bishop

But it’s on offense where Mack has to sit back and say, should we pay a whole lot of money to those offensive linemen and that No. 1 quarterback? Have we fixed all our problems on offense by firing Jamie Barresi? Or should we keep Joey Elliot and Alex Brink and save our money on Buck?

If I were Mack, I’d check these numbers first. After all, the Bombers went out of their way to run Michael Bishop out on a rail after the 2009 season. These days there are people within the organization who think Pierce is the answer, but his numbers wouldn’t confirm that.

In 2009, Bishop started 13 games. In 2011 Buck started 16.

Bishop had 405 passing attempts, Buck had 411 attempts.

Bishop threw for 3,036 yards Buck threw for 3,348.

Bishop threw 15 touchdown passes (3.7 per attempt). Buck threw 14 touchdown passes (3.4 per attempt).

Bishop threw 20 interceptions (4.9 per attempt). Buck threw 18 interceptions (4.4 per attempt).

Bishop had 204 completions in 13 games while Buck had 261 completions in 16 games, but don’t forget, this year the Bombers best receiver, Terrence Edwards, didn’t miss half the season with turf toe as he did in 2009.

If Buck Pierce intends to “get paid,” he might want to check out the free agent market. Because if the Bombers pay him, they’re paying for Michael Bishop’s numbers and in 2009, the same coach and GM that are here today thought those numbers were worthless.

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Why the Lions Won the Cup. Not That it Wasn’t Obvious.

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Why the Lions Won the Cup. Not That it Wasnt Obvious.

Ouch! (Todd Korol, Reuters)

There was a reason why the B.C. Lions were 7.5-point favorites heading into the Grey Cup. There was a reason that in this space last week (Nov. 21, No Fluke: CFL’s Two Best Teams Meet in the Grey Cup), we took a serious amount of heat and predicted the Lions would beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-23 in the 99th Grey Cup game.

The reason was simple. The Lions had too much offense and a defense that was just about as good as the vaunted Bombers’ “Swaggerville” defense.

Our prediction was pretty close, too.

Sunday evening at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, the Lions became the 2011 Grey Cup champions. The CFL’s Most Outstanding Player this season, Travis Lulay, threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns to lead the heavily-favored Lions past the Eastern Conference champion Bombers 34-23 to claim the sixth Grey Cup championship in franchise history.

After falling behind 31-9 late in the fourth quarter, the Bombers came back and made a game of it, but in the end, Winnipeg just ran out of time. It was a 66-yard pass from Lulay to Kierrie Johnson that sealed the Lions victory.

In fairness, it was quite a season for the Bombers. After going 4-14 last year, they battled back and finished 10-8 to claim the Eastern Conference championship and get to the Grey Cup for the third time since 2001. Sadly, for all those loyal Blue Bombers fans that packed Canad Inns Stadium all season long, they’re beloved team lost all three appearances and still haven’t won a CFL championship since 1990.

And while thousands of Bombers fans in Vancouver this week were convinced their boys had enough defense to win the CFL championship, what they didn’t count on was the fact the Lions had enough defense of their own – and way too much offense.

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The Champions

Lulay completed 21-of-37 passes for 320 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while Winnipeg product Andrew Harris rushed for 65 yards and a 19-yard touchdown, as the Lions got the home crowd into the game early, built an 11-0 first-quarter lead and never trailed.

“I missed a few throws that I haven’t missed in a while, especially in the first half,” said Lulay modestly. “Unfortunately those misthrows some drives. But it’s a championship game, and you’ve just got to keep on fighting. To win, feels pretty sweet.”

Lulay capped off an almost perfect season by being named the Grey Cup MVP. And it was especially sweet for Lulay considering the way the season started for B.C. The Lions became the first team in CFL history to start the year 0-5 and then go on to win the Grey Cup.

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Wally Buono

“It was a really long, hard journey for this football team,” said Lions head coach Wally Buono, who won his fifth Grey Cup championship in his ninth appearance. “I’m extremely proud of all the players, the coaches, the entire organization. We all stuck together and toughed it out when a lot of people thought we were out of it.”

The Lions won this year’s Grey Cup game because the people who had to get the job done got it done. Lulay ran the offense, Harris ran the football (and got a big first down late in the game when he had to), and Arland Bruce III, Geroy Simon and Kierrie Johnson made the necessary catches – in traffic or wide open.

Defensively, Khalif Mitchell, Solomon Elimimian, Keron Williams, Brent Johnson, Tad Kornegay, Korey Banks and Anthony Reddick kept Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce off-balance and on-edge for 60 minutes. It was a complete team victory for the Lions.

“It’s just so special to win it at home,” said Simon, who had the best Grey Cup game of his long career. “To come from where we came from back in August to where we are now – Grey Cup champions – is the best feeling I’ve ever had.”

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Geroy Simon

There was really never any doubt. The Lions struck early and led 11-0 after the first quarter. The Bombers played well in the second quarter but could only post two Justin Palardy field goals and B.C. led 14-6 at the half. The Lions outscored Winnipeg 10-3 in the third quarter and led 24-9 with 15 minutes remaining. Then the Lions built a 31-9 lead in the fourth quarter before Winnipeg scored two touchdowns on Buck Pierce passes to Greg Carr and Terrence Edwards in the final four minutes to make it close.

In fairness, the Bombers got some string performances. Jovon Johnson was terrific, especially on special teams. Greg Carr played his best game as a Bomber and provided a gutsy Buck Pierce with a large target. Terrence Edwards made a great catch to score Winnipeg’s final TD.

It’s just that it never seemed like it was that close. In fact, while watching the game, you had the feeling that every football fan in Canada outside Manitoba and B.C.’s lower mainland had turned their TVs to Tim Tebow’s comeback against the San Diego Chargers (or The Amazing Race), not a Grey Cup game that was dominated from start to finish by the Western Conference champions — a team that went 13-2 after a 30-17 loss to the Bombers on Aug. 13.

From the opening kickoff of the 99th Grey Cup championship game, there was absolutely no doubt that the British Columbia Lions were the best team in the Canadian Football League. And there was even less doubt that Travis Lulay was the game’s best player.

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No Fluke: CFL’s Two Best Teams Meet in the Grey Cup

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

At 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon, the B.C. Lions were installed as 7-point favorites. By 6 p.m., the Lions were favored by 7.5.

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Travis Lulay

The Canadian Football League must feel like it won a lottery this season. Not only will it have a hometown team in its 99th Grey Cup game but even the visitor is the right visitor.

It will be the Eastern Conference champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the Western Conference champion B.C. Lions in the 2011 Grey Cup game this coming Sunday night at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.

This past Sunday, in front of 30,000 spectators at the final game ever played at Canad Inns Stadium, Bombers runningback Chris Garrett rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown while the Swaggerville defense shut down Kevin Glenn and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as the Bombers whipped the Ticats 19-3 in the Eastern final. Winnipeg will play in its third Grey Cup game since 2001.

Meanwhile, out on the West Coast Travis Lulay threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a 61-yard major as the B.C. Lions drilled the Edmonton Eskimos 40-23. Geroy Simon caught six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown as the Lions will get to play at home in next Sunday’s Grey Cup game. The big game goes at 5:30 CST live on TSN.

That’s the news. Here’s the story: The two best teams without argument will meet in the biggest game of the year. This will not be the 1981 Grey Cup when the 5-11 Ottawa Rough Riders won the East. This will not be the 1988 Grey Cup when the 9-9 Bombers beat the 10-8 Lions in a battle of third-place teams. This will not be the 2001 Grey Cup when an 8-10 Calgary Stampeders team beat the 14-4 Winnipeg Blue Bombers because Marcus Crandell suddenly figured out how to play football on the same day that Khari Jones forgot (Does anyone remember the Most Outstanding Canadian in the Cup that year? I don’t think Aldi Henry’s family remember either.)

This year the first place team in the East will meet the first-place team in the West in a battle that will absolutely determine the champion of the Canadian Football League.

There was no fluke on Sunday. The Bombers earned first place in the East by beating Montreal and Hamilton in the regular season and by fighting off injuries and a 3-7 slump down the stretch. They turned to the best defence in the CFL and got the job done in one of the most complete games the Bombers played all year against a quarterback who is, arguably, the most inconsistent starting QB in CFL history. Nobody has ever been more “.500” than Kevin Glenn. You can look it up. His epitaph will read: “9-9.”

Meanwhile, out west, the greatest coaching job in CFL history was rewarded when the Lions drilled the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday. This was a team that started 0-5 and didn’t look like it could beat the Sisters of the Poor. Then, because of Wally Buono’s loyalty to Travis Lulay, got its act together and blew away all challengers, going 11-2 down the stretch: Twelve and two if you count Sunday’s thrashing of the overmatched Eskimos.

So now it’s Grey Cup Week and here’s a quick look at how these two “best teams,” stack up head-to-head.

The 2011 Record: If you’d put money down on the Lions and Bombers on a futures bet in Vegas back in the spring, you’d have been setting up a college trust fund for your kids. The Lions were +825 to win the Cup while the Bombers were +1700. The Bombers were +1200 to make the playoffs. While the odds for Sunday’s game have yet to be set, it’s likely B.C. will be a heavy favorite, even though Winnipeg won the season series. The Bombers beat the Lions 25-20 in Winnipeg on July 28 as Alex Brink came off the bench and led the Bombers to a late game-winning touchdown. Then, Winnipeg went into B.C. and beat the Lions 30-17 on Aug. 13. However, that changed the Lions completely. B.C. went on to rip off eight consecutive victories while, the Bombers seemingly fell apart after that game, going 3-7 down the stretch and finishing the year 3-5 against the West. 11-8 Winnipeg was 5-4 on the road while 12-7 B.C. was 7-3 at home (counting Sunday’s games). Oh, and here’s one thing to remember: It’s very difficult to beat an evenly matched opponent three times in one season.

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Buck Pierce (Photo by Shawn Coates)

Offense: B.C. ‘s Travis Lulay was the No. 2 quarterback in the league with 4,815 passing yards. Geroy Simon was the No. 2 receiver with 1,350 yards. Buck Pierce, meanwhile, was seventh with 3,348 and Alex Brink was 11th with 1,023. Winnipeg’s leading receiver, Terrence Edwards was seventh with 1,124. B.C. won’t run the football much, but Winnipeg got a real boost from runningback Chris Garrett who carried for 190 yards against Hamilton on Sunday. He’ll be hard to stop. B.C. scored 551 points counting Sunday’s playoff game while Winnipeg scored 451 counting Sunday’s game – afull 100 points fewer. This Grey Cup game will be about Winnipeg’s defense and B.C.’s offense and you know what they say about defense and winning championships. Advantage: B.C.

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Jovon Johnson (Photo by Shawn Coates)

Defense: The Lions’ led the CFL by allowing the fewest points (21.4 per game), touchdowns (32) and touchdown passes (20). Meanwhile, they were second overall in sacks (54), in rushing yards allowed (95.9), in passing yards allowed (249.1) and in total yards allowed (318 per game). On Sunday, B.C. forced four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble) and its offence converted that good fortune into 21 points. Solomon Elimimian was probably the best all-around defensive player in the CFL. However, in fairness, he Bombers were just as good this season. Winnipeg finished the regular season leading the CFL in fewest yards allowed (301.1 per game), most interceptions (25), fewest completions (320) and most sacks (55). Bombers corner Jovon Johnson, perhaps the best all-around football player in the Canadian game, is a finalist for the league’s top defensive player after recording  a CFL-leading eight interceptions, returning two for TDs. Defense should be a toss-up, but somehow, I’d rather have Swaggerville on my side than a Lions defense that gave up 23 points to the Eskimos on Sunday. Advantage: Winnipeg.

lions No Fluke: CFL’s Two Best Teams Meet in the Grey Cup

Solomon Elimimian

Special Teams: B.C.’s defensive star is Andrew Bighill, who was fourth in the CFL with 21 special teams tackles. Rookie Henoc Muamba is the man to watch for the Bombers. He had 15 tackles. B.C.’s Tim Brown had 1,569 return yards this year. Kicker Paul McCallum scored 203 kicking points and averaged 42.1 yards punting this season. For Winnipeg, Jovon Johnson had 795 return yards while punter Jamie Boreham averaged 40.7 yards per punt. Three Bonber kickers combined for 174 kicking points this season. Advantage: B.C.

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Doug Brown (Photo by Shawn Coates)

Intangibles: The last time these two teams met in the Grey Cup, in 1988, Winnipeg’s defense won the game almost singlehandedly, 22-21. Veteran defensive star Doug Brown will be playing his last game for the Bombers and that should be significant considering he’s never won a Grey Cup while Lions star Brent Johnson will also be playing his final game. The Lions will try to become the the first CFL team to win the Grey Cup in their own ballyard since they did it at B.C. Place in 1994, beating Baltimore 26-23 on Lui Passaglia’s last-second field goal. The Bombers haven’t won a Grey Cup in 21 years. B.C. tailback Andrew Harris is a Winnipegger. Buck Pierce returns to B.C. where he started his CFL career in 2005. However, the Lions are at home and that’s huge. I like the Lions intangibles better than the Bombers intangibles. Advantage: B.C.

Coaching: With the exception of Bombers defensive coordinator Tim Burke, I’d take the Lions staff over the Bombers staff any day. The Lions got better as the season went along while the Bombers got worse. And offensively, Paul LaPolice and Jamie Barresi aren’t even in the same league as Wally Buono and Jacques Chapdelaine. Advantage: B.C.

Outcome: The Lions win 28-23

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Random Thoughts on Staggerville Sunday

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Buck Pierce 4 200x300 Random Thoughts on Staggerville Sunday

Run Buck, Run! (Photo by Shawn Coates)

It used to be known as “Re-Match Weekend” around the CFL, but we here in Winnipeg now refer to it as “Banjo Bowl Weekend.” Then again, after Sunday’s debacle it might now be referred to as “Embarrassment Weekend.”

For the uninitiated, Banjo Bowl Weekend became a big deal eight years ago. It started after Bombers kicker Troy Westwood, a native of Saskatchewan, said, “The trouble with Roughriders fans is that they’re all banjo-picking inbreds.”

That, of course, led to an apoplectic fit from just about every person living in Saskatchewan, so Westwood was forced to apologize: “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was mistaken. Most Roughriders fans aren’t smart enough to play the banjo.” Ouch!

Ever since that day, the Sunday after Labor Day has become the cornerstone of Banjo Bowl Weekend and this past Sunday, the Bombers and their fans looked like the banjo pickers themselves. Getting drilled is one thing. Getting drilled 45-23 on your own field by a 2-7 team is quite another. Especially a 2-7 team you have decided you’re going to ridicule.

One thing about an 18-game schedule: There are no flukes. You are either good or you’re not and right now, B.C. (which has now allowed the fewest points in the CFL this season) and Saskatchewan  might be a lot better than we thought while Winnipeg and Edmonton might not be. Oh, and, by the way, Toronto is just one vile stinking dung pile of a football team.

Check out the Week 11 scores. We watched 2-7 Saskatchewan blast 7-2 Winnipeg, Montreal and Calgary got their revenge and this week, the Toronto media and head coach Jim Barker couldn’t blame Cleo Lemon. No matter how hard they might have tried. Here were the Banjo Bowl Weekend scores:

Calgary 30 at Edmonton 20

Toronto 6 at B.C. 28

Hamilton 13 at Montreal 43

Saskatchewan 45 at Winnipeg 23

The four games played this week proved four things: Toronto needs a coaching change if not a complete overhaul; Swaggerville has run its course and it’s time for Winnipeg to just play football; Hamilton has a solid, but inconsistent football team; and Edmonton proved that what happened last week (that 35-7 win in Calgary) was probably a fluke.

So, in honor of another entertaining Banjo Bowl Weekend in the CFL, here are a few random thoughts on the people, involved in the Bombers 45-23 loss to Saskatchewan.

On Craig Butler, S, Saskatchewan Roughriders: The Riders Canadian safety was sensational. In fact, here’s the player I think is your CFL defensive player of the week. Butler had a monster sack on Buck Pierce that was the turning point in the game. Pierce was never the same again. Then Butler picked off two passes and recovered a fumble. It was a game-changing defensive performance – and on the road, no less.

21 300x193 Random Thoughts on Staggerville Sunday

Darian Durant

On Darian Durant, QB, Saskatchewan Roughriders: The second straight outstanding performance by Durant, a guy I didn’t think had it in him. The Saskatchewan quarterback completed 14-of-27 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns. Granted, it didn’t hurt that the Bombers turned over the football six times, but Durant did exactly what was required to do in order to blow out the Bombers for the second straight week. In two games, back-to-back, against the vaunted Bomber secondary, Durant had seven TD passes.

On Paul LaPolice, Head Coach, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Let’s just say that even at 7-3, he has some work to do. His team was not ready to play in front of a more-than-sold-out house against their arch-rivals. That’s on the head coach.

On Buck Pierce, QB, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Sunday’s 45-23 loss to the Roughriders might have been the worst game Buck Pierce ever played. He threw five interceptions. Previously, his worst performance was three INTs. In the end, he completed 20-of-32 passes for 265 yards and no touchdowns. However, he started the game eight-for-eight and you know what they say, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” One wonders how Buck’s head is responding to treatment (if any) today.

On The Winnipeg Blue Bombers Offensive Line: These guys are going to get Buck Pierce killed. Pierce was sacked three times, but he was forced to take off and run three other times and that didn’t help His Royal Grogginess. Meanwhile, the line gave Fred Reid no opportunity to run the football and in the end he finished with nine carries for 40 yards. The Bombers have lost two straight to Saskatchewan and both times the Riders D-Line kicked the crapola out of the Bombers O-Line.

On Jamie Barresi, Offensive Coordinator, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: He has to find some offensive linemen who can block and he has to re-vamp an offence that hasn’t been very good all year. And he has to do it by this coming Sunday in order to compete with the second-place Alouettes, a team that whupped Hamilton 43-13 at Moslon Stadium this past week. Good luck with that.

For the Bombers, there is always next week. And at 7-3, they still have the best record in the CFL. But playing Montreal IN Montreal is a lot tougher than playing Saskatchewan at Canad Inns Stadium. The Bombers will have to fix that offence if they intend to go toe-to-toe with Anthony Calvillo and the Als this Sunday.

If they don’t, a 7-4 record and, suddenly, a tie for first in the East is what awaits them.

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Not Much Swagger on Labor Day

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

The problem with something like Swaggerville is that when things don’t go well, Swaggerville can become a bit of a joke. It can certainly become a launching pad for well-placed barbs from the opposition and its fans.

Poor Buck. Not a Good Day 300x221 Not Much Swagger on Labor Day

Poor Buck. Not a Good Day (Reuters)

Sunday afternoon the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were drilled 27-7 by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the annual Labor Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. It’s not like the outcome was entirely unexpected even though the boys from Swaggerville went into the game with a 7-1 record and the lowly Green Riders were 1-7. This was the seventh consecutive year in which the Riders have won the Labor Day Classic, so no, it wasn’t a big surprise.

I see where one of our local papers tried to suggest that Saskatchewan’s offence controlled the game and the “vaunted Swaggerville defence,” didn’t get the job done, but the trouble with that statement is that it lets the absent Bombers offence off the hook.

Let’s ignore Swaggerville for a minute and look at the football game. The Blue Bombers offence was awful. Period. End of argument. The defensive secondary made three big mistakes, but over 65 plays, that’s going to happen. You simply can’t start blaming the defence when you watch this:

1) The Bombers did not score a touchdown. That used to be almost impossible in the CFL, back in the days of Matt Dunigan, Tom Clements, Tracy Ham, Damon Allen and Kent Austin. These days, playing an entire CFL game without scoring a TD is reaching the level of normal.

2) Two Bomber quarterbacks combined to go 23-for-35 for 234 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Alex Brink threw the interception while Buck Pierce lost a fumble. Turnovers will kill any team and they sure killed the Bombers.

3) Fred Reid carried 14 times for a meagre 35 yards (2.5 yards per carry). Not good. But was it entirely Reid’s fault? The Bombers offensive line did not have a banner day. There were not a lot of holes. Riders linebacker Jerrell Freeman had seven tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. There’s your CFL defensive player of the week.

4) The Bombers did not have a 100-yard rusher nor a 100-yard receiver. In fact, the Bombers rushed for a mere 57 yards. Total.

5) The Bombers had five two-and-outs. Offensive coordinator Jamie Barresi should be ashamed of himself. What was he watching up in that press box? He’d have been better off just throwing it up for Greg Carr and hoping he might come down with it. After all, those six-yard passes to Kito Poblah got nothing accomplished.

Now let’s be reasonable. The Bombers were not going to go 17-1. That was simply not going to happen. But between “Swaggerville” and that cheeky billboard they bought in Regina, the Bombers had to eat a little humble pie on Sunday. On the upside, a 27-7 shellacking is a good teacher sometimes.

If they handle it properly, it could be the best thing that ever happened to them. Go home with a little humility and pick up the season from, say, that 28-16 win over Edmonton back on Aug. 5.

Of course, while they’re at it, they might want to do something about that offence. It’s stinky.

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A Remarkable Night in the ‘Peg

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I won’t call Winnipeg “Swaggerville,” because that seems to be something owned by the members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And make no mistake, this little monologue is about Winnipeg, not just about one team.

On Friday night, we witnessed what was almost a perfect storm.

Buck Pierce 11 200x300 A Remarkable Night in the Peg

Buck Pierce in front of 30,033 fans (photo by Shawn Coates)

Over on Maroons Road, the Blue Bombers drew 30,033 spectators to watch the home football side beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 30-27 and improve to 7-1 on the season.

Meanwhile, down at the East End of Portage Ave., the Winnipeg Goldeyes drew 8,065 fans to Shaw Park to watch the Local 9 whip their arch-rivals, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 9-5, to wrap up the American Association’s North Division pennant.

However, while it was definitely an evening of celebration at both venues, it was also one of the most remarkable nights in Winnipeg sports history. On one night, there were 38,098 Winnipeg sports fans watching two professional teams at exactly the same time. And both games were also on TV.

Now that’s not the largest pair of crowds ever to watch two pro sports teams in Winnipeg on the same day. Back in the 1990s, the Bombers and Jets often combined to surpass the 40,000 mark on the same day. But this might have been the largest double crowd for two teams playing at exactly the same time and it was first time anyone could remember that two Winnipeg teams drew more fans than there were actual permanent seats available for them to sit in — at exactly the same time with both teams on TV.

The Bombers added 500 temporary seats — and sold them all  in a few hours — to get from 29,533 seats to 30,033. The Goldeyes, meanwhile, sold tickets on the grass berm and probably a few standing room spots to surpass the 7,481 permanent seats at their beautiful little downtown ball park.

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Goldeyes manager Rick Forney

There is nothing like a winner to grab peoples’ interest and when you have two winners, folks will obviously respond. With Friday night’s 9-5 win, the Goldeyes swept a four-game series from Fargo this week to improve to 58-38 — 20 games over .500 for the first time since 2003. It was also the first time the Fish had clinched a division title since 2003.

It was also a night to celebrate Rick Forney’s outstanding season as manager of the Goldeyes. In his sixth year as the Goldeyes’ skipper, he built a winner by bringing in (a) an commplished group of veteran leaders and (b) the four best rookies in the American Association and as a result, he won a championship and was named 2011 Manager of the Year.

As well, the Goldeyes reversed a trend this season. After dropping in attendance every year from 2004-2010, the Goldeyes turned things around. Last year, the team drew 271,399 fans and then missed the playoffs. This year, the Fish have drawn 286,885 spectators and the team has at least two playoff games remaining. Getting back to 300,000 is s possibility.

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Ace Walker (Photo by Shawn Coates)

“It’s been awesome to be part of this,” said Ace Walker who joined Chris Salamida as the second Goldeyes pitcher to pick up his 10th win of the season this week. “Last year, at the end, was really an emotional time for me (he threw a one-hitter in the final game of the year and thought it would be his final game with the Goldeyes). I don’t think baseball will ever be out of my blood. I think I’ll always want to play. But last year, I thought maybe I was done. Then Rick (manager Forney) really impressed me with the people he was bringing in and when he asked me to play, I really wanted to be part of it. I’m glad I came back.”

Meanwhile, the 7-1 Bombers have four home games remaining and all 30,033 seats available for the Banjo Bowl on Sept. 11, have been sold. That means the Bombers are on pace to set a post-1999 franchise attendance record (1999 was when the available seating at Canad Inns Stadium was actually lowered for the Pan Am Games) in the final year of the Old Dump on Maroons. Next year, the Bombers will move into a brand new 33,000-seat stadium on the campus of the U of M and they’ll do it with a good team playing great football. In fact, after Montreal’s loss to Calgary on Sunday, the Bombers are now four points up on the Alouettes in the CFL East.

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The Awesome Bombers D (photo by Shawn Coates)

The Bombers are 7-1 now and with all things being fair and equal, they could very well finish somewhere between 13-5 and 16-2, depending on how well they play down the stretch. This is a team with a remarkable defence that actually got a little help from Buck Pierce and the offence on Friday night.

When the Winnipeg Jets play their home opener on Oct. 9, they could be following a pro baseball championship and a pro football team that is oh, say, 11-3 (as a conservative sports pundit, I still can’t call them winners against Montreal … yet). No wonder Winnipeggers are excited about sports these days.

In fact, any suggestion that there is not a Sports Renaissance in this city is coming from people who think the earth is flat.

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LaPolice Can Relax (A LIttle). Seems like Swaggerville Works

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

All of last week, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice was a little worried about Swaggerville. There was just something about the karma.

It’s fine if fans want to start something like “Swaggerville.” That’s fun. But when it starts with the players — and it actually started back in 2009 — bad things can happen. LaPolice was worried that his hard-working, humble football team might start believing in their own headlines.

lions jpg 1302980cl 3 LaPolice Can Relax (A LIttle). Seems like Swaggerville Works

Another Frightened QB

Maybe these young, talented kids on defense saw themselves as unbeatable. He had no reason to worry about his offensive veterans, guys such as Buck Pierce, Terrence Edwards, Fred Reid or that steadily improving offensive line. These guys were old pros. But that hard-hitting, ball-hawking, fast, aggressive, young defense might wake up one morning thinking they were invincible. That’s about the time bad things happen.

So this week, LaPolice made sure his team got the message. Stay humble, work hard at practice and do not, under any circumstances, take the B.C. Lions lightly on Saturday night.

Turns out, he had nothing to worry about.

The Bombers proved how good they really were on Saturday. Playing without starting defensive tackles Doug Brown and Dorian Smith, the Bombers used Jason Vega, Don Oramasionwu, Bryant Turner and Deji Oduwole in those two spots up front and demolished the B.C. Lions offence en route to a 30-17 win at Empire Field.

With the victory the Bombers improved to 6-1, first in the East with the bye week coming this week. It’s the first time the Bombers have been 6-1 since 1984 and the first time they’ve been 3-0 on the road since 1982.

It was an impressive performance and once again, LaPolice’s defense drove the Bombers bandwagon. B.C. quarterback Travis Lulay had no time to throw and when he did release his passes, the Bombers defensive secondary shut down the receivers. Before the game ended, Lulay was replaced by Jarious Jackson who had even less success than the starter.

In the end, the Bombers ball-hawking defense forced one interception and four fumbles (special teams were sensational, too) and while the team’s offence wasn’t spectacular, it was good enough to ride the D’s coat-tails to its sixth win in seven games. That’s impressive.

This defense is amazing. In fact, the first seven games of the 2011 Bomber season have belonged, solely, to the defense. It leads the league in fewest points allowed (18.6 per game), fewest yards allowed (277.6 per game), most sacks (25), most interceptions (11) and most turnovers (26) created and it is primarily responsible for the team’s 6-1 record. There are those who would suggest a little “swagger” never hurt anybody.

As an old timer, I have to admit I have not seen a defense this good in Winnipeg since the days of Tyrone Jones, Rod Hill, James West. Paul Randolph, Michael Gray and Greg Battle. Jonathan Hefney, Jovon Johnson, Kenny Mainor, Joe Lobendahn, Marcellus Bowman, Clint Kent, Ian Logan, Alex Suber and Odell Willis are right up there with the Bombers greats.

At 6-1, they have every right to enjoy Swaggerville. At least ,until they have to prove they can demolish Henry Burris and Anthony Calvillo, like they’ve demolished Kevin Glenn, Cleo Lemon, Ricky Ray, Travis Lulay, Quinton Porter, Dalton Bell and Jarious Jackson.

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More Moves, More Winners and Losers.

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Vince Young e1309451809140 300x197 More Moves, More Winners and Losers.

Vince Young

The National Football League’s training camps will open this weekend, but in the meantime the big moves just keep on coming:

1) Quarterback Vince Young, released by the Tennessee Titans yesterday, has been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as Michael Vick’s backup. WINNER: The Eagles have had a great free-agent week. Young might be odd, but he can play and in the right circumstance, he can be a big help.

2) Chad Ochocinco is on his way from the Cincinnati Bengals to the New England Patriots. The Bengals will receive a pair of draft picks in return. Ochocinco will be great in New England. WINNER: The Pats. They always win with reclamation projects. Ochocinco will be outstanding in New England and QB Tom Brady has already formally welcomed his new target.

3) With Donovan McNabb now in Minnesota, punter Chris Kluwe announced this morning on K-FAN in the Twin Cities that he will wear No. 4 this season while McNabb gets No. 5. Didn’t some other old quarterback wear No. 4 last year? Can’t remember. WINNER: The Vikings. If McNabb is happy, the Vikings will be happy. And who gives a rat’s ass about the punter anyway?

drc More Moves, More Winners and Losers.

dominique rodgers-cromartie

4) The deal was done quicker than we thought. The Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. A great trade for the Eagles. WINNER: The Eagles. Again. Rodgers-Cromartie is a dominant corner who will make the Eagles defensive immediately better. Kevin Kolb isn’t as good as the NFL’s fawning media experts made him out to be and he also lost his job to Vick. He wasn’t going to play in Philly. In fact, the Eagles are a lot better off with Vince Young.

5) The Carolina Panthers, who already signed linebacker Charles Johnson and runningback DeAngelo Williams made a deal yesterday to acquire tight end Greg Olsen from the Chicago Bears, signed linebacker Joe Beason tyo a five-year, $50 million extension and are now just hours away from signing rookie quarterback Cam Newton. WINNER: The Panthers. Because on Friday, they were last in the NFC South. Today, they could be third and with a quarterback, they could challenge.

Minnesota Vikings training camp opens on Tuesday. We will be there live next weekend.

*   *   *

LATE FRIDAY ADDITIONS

1) Minnesota free agent defensive end, Ray Edwards, has signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons. WINNER: Falcons, for obvious reasons.

2) After his release from Dallas wideout Roy Williams has found a home in Mike Martz’s offence in Chicago. WINNER: Chicago. Martz will find a way to use this guy to help make Jay Cutler a better quarterback.

3) Safety and kick returner, Danieal Manning has agreed to a four-year $20 million with the Houston Texans. WINNER: Houston. Manning gives the Texans a double-barrelled shot of speed.

4) Cornerback Eric Wright tweeted on Friday that he’s going to the Detroit Lions. WINNER: The Lions only because it’s another experienced body on a team that Ndamukong Suh says is going 16-0 this season.

5) Big name players who were cut on Friday: Jets — QB Mark Brunell; Steelers — T Flozell Adams; Jaguars — G Vince Manuwai; Falcons — DL Jamaal Anderson, WR Michael Jenkins, RB Jerious Norwood; 49ers — K Joe Nedney.

*   *   *

A QUICK WORD ABOUT THE BOMBERS…

Winnipeg now has a football team capable of winning the Grey Cup. As the ghosts have long said, “Offense draws crowds, defense wins championships.”

Thursday night, backup quarterback Alex Brink came off the bench in the fourth quarter, after an injury to starter Buck Pierce, and made a great run to set up a game winning touchdown pass to Terrence Edwards as the Blue Bombers beat the B.C. Lions 25-20 in front of more than 29,000 at Canad Inns Stadium last night. The Bombers trailed 13-6 at halftime and Pierce, who left the game with what’s being called a calf strain, got the home side going early in the second half with an 82-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Denmark on the first play of the third quarter.

On an emotional night honouring assistant coach Richard Harris who died of a heart attack on Tuesday, the Bombers defense was outstanding once again as Winnipeg improved to 4-1 on the season and matched their win total from all of last year. The Lions fell to 0-5.  The Bombers D is now No. 1 in every major statistical category in the CFL.

This D makes me think of Tyrone Jones, James West, Greg Battle, Paul Randolph, Rod Hill and Michael Gray. It’s good enough to win it all, no matter who plays quarterback.

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A Couple of Mornings at Streetz

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
583802 300x193 A Couple of Mornings at Streetz

Manuel Osborne-Paradis

Every morning at Streetz 104.7 in Winnipeg, Big Will, Miss Melissa and I discuss the most important news stories from around the World of Sports (that sounds so media-like, “The World of Sports.”).

We have discussed, for example, the fact Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki are an item, the drug issues of Lance Armstrong, the NBA and NFL lockouts, the fact nobody can score in the CFL anymore (except Montreal) and that the quarterbacks are generally horrible (except for that 38-year-old guy who had cancer last fall),  the on-air retirement (the guy with big balls quit right on the air) of the play-by-play announcer of the Lake County Fielders, the fact the Winnipeg Jets are the very best AHL team in the NHL and that they should get a really high draft pick next spring and Melissa’s lust for professional baseball players (it’s a healthy lust).

This week, however, we had a number of very lively discussions. After talking about Marc Tyler, the running back with the USC Trojans who made a very bad decision and decided to make drunken remarks to a hand-held camera while drinking with his pals in L.A. — a decision that got him on TMZ and then suspended from the team for the season opener and maybe longer — we learned of the public drunken screw-up perpetatred on himself by national ski team member Manuel Osborne-Paradis.

Seems Manny, while still recovering from a broken leg suffered on the World Cup circuit in January, was shit-faced at the Calgary Stampede and decided that it was a good idea to bounce around the bed of a pickup truck, fall off, get hooked to the trailer hitch and be dragged “some distance,” according to the police report. Evidently, he suffered road rash so severe that he underwent “multiple operations,” to repair the damage.

But get this: the Calgary gendarmes charged him with a traffic summons for “riding or being towed outside a vehicle.”

We don’t like to laugh at other people’s misfortune, but 27-year-old athletes should be able to handle their liquor better than that.

Good thing he can ski, because neither drinking nor thinking appears to be among his stronger traits.

Then we talked about Reggie Bush. More specifically, Reggie Bush’s ex-girlfriend and new girlfriend.

470 melissa molinaro 110721 300x168 A Couple of Mornings at Streetz

Melissa Molinaro

Of course we all know the New Orleans Saints RB and kick returner was once the fiance of Kim Kardashian. Seems Kardashian is pissed because a young Canadian model named Melissa Molinaro is now featured in Old Navy ads. Kardashian, who because of her stunning ability as a thespian in an  internet sex video, has sued Old Navy for $20 million claiming that Molinaro looks to much like her. Huh?

Called “a reality show starlet and model” by the mainstream media (sure, why not?) Kardashian sued Old Navy and its parent company, The Gap Inc., in a Los Angeles federal court alleging “the advertisements violated Miss Kardashian’s publicity rights with a woman who looks like her.”

Well, that’s certainly true and yes, the ads have been viewed more than two million times at Old Navy’s YouTube channel so people certainly do like looking at Miss Molinaro — even when she’s not engaged in some sort of, you know, internet-style chuck-and-grind.

Molinaro’s response on Twitter to the lawsuit was freakin’ priceless: ”We’re still talking about this?” she posted, adding that the ad started running five months ago. “Some people have too much time on (their) hands.”

Kardashian’s lawsuit claims, “Miss Kardashian has invested substantial time, energy, finances and entrepreneurial effort in developing her considerable professional and commercial achievements and success, as well as in developing her popularity, fame, and prominence in the public eye,” the lawsuit states.”

Achievements?

Here’s what’s really pissing her off: Melissa Molinaro is Reggie Bush’s new squeeze. As my colleague Big Will suggested: “He really likes curvy brunettes, doesn’t he?”

Don’t we all, young Will? Don’t we all?

Finally, we talked a lot this week about the never-ending bull-pucky that Winnipeggers were subjected to over Bomber quarterback Buck Pierce.

Day in and day out, all we got was, “Buck might not play this week. It might be Alex Brink.” Bull-pucky. There was never any doubt Buck was going to play this week.  There was a better chance you or I could start at quarterback than Alex Brink.

By the way, just to be clear, Buck Pierce IS starting at quarterback when the Bombers face Toronto at Rogers Centre at 3 p.m. CDT on Saturday. The bull-pucky has stopped. At least for the rest of this week.

For more fun, tune into Streetz 104.7 every morning at 7:15, 7:45, 8:15 and 8:45. It’s the place where sport is only taken seriously when the co-hosts got eight hours sleep the night before — and I can guarantee that’s not going to happen.

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