Tag Archives: CFL

Another Day With the Circus

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
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Chris Johnson Should Be in the NFL Playoffs

New Year’s Day was disappointing. There were no real upsets in the NFL wars. Sure, Kansas City going into Denver and beating the Broncos 7-3 was a bit of an upset, but considering all the holes in the Broncos offense, it wasn’t a big surprise.

In the end, the finish to the NFL season created the usual stupid playoff matchups. Explain to me the logic behind the ridiculous fact that 12-4 Pittsburgh has to go on the road to play at 8-8 Denver in the first round of the post-season this coming weekend. That’s bloody senseless. Sure, Denver won a Division, but there are BCS teams that could have won the AFC West. The only surprise in the AFC West is that San Diego coach Norv Turner wasn’t fired on Monday.

Of course, it was a surprise that Norv Turner wasn’t fired seven weeks ago.

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Tim Tebow Should Not Be in the NFL Playoffs

When 9-7 teams are eliminated (Tennessee) and 8-8 teams (Denver) get in, you have a problem with your playoff structure. It’s time the NFL went to at least eight teams in the post-season. Or else the league should have a cross-over team. Denver has no business being in the playoffs. And they have no business being in the playoffs even if they upset Pittsburgh this week. The Broncos, a sorry team,  are in the playoffs only because the rest of their division is putrid and their presence is a post-season blight on the NFL’s good name.

OK, that rant is done. Now, to relax. At least, on the day after New Year’s, we were treated to some very good sporting events.

Loved the Wisconsin-Oregon Rose Bowl, won 45-38 by Oregon in what the critics are calling Nike’s victory over adidas.

It seems the teams themselves were perfectly matched. The difference in the game was the uniforms. adidas had developed special uniforms for Wisconsin while Nike had developed what it called, “the greatest technological advancement in uniform design in sports history.” (I love the fact that Nike doesn’t get all hyperbolic about itself).

In the end, Oregon won because they had cooler helmets. At least, that’s my guess.

I also enjoyed the Michigan State-Georgia Outback Bowl in Tampa. Considering the way the Buccaneers played in 2011, it was the best football game Tampa fans saw all year. Michigan State won 33-30 in triple overtime. Nice.

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Rangers Score to Win the Winter Classic

The one thing that wasn’t so nice on Jan. 2 was the Winter Classic, the NHL’s outdoor game in Philly. The hockey was decent and it’s always fun to watch one outdoor NHL game a year, but the officiating made the NHL look like professional wrestling.

I had a Sport Select ticket with the Flyers on it, but by the end of the game, I was cheering for the Rangers. That’s because, by the end of the game, referees Ian Walsh and Dennis LaRue were doing everything they possibly could to get Philly the tying goal. Why didn’t one of them just throw the puck in the net and say Scottie Hartnell shot it?

Ryan Callahan’s holding the stick penalty was one of the most mind-boggling calls in hockey history while the penalty shot call on Ryan McDonagh was weak (Covering the puck in the crease? Well, maybe, at absolute worst). In the end, Henrik Lundqvist beat the officials by himself and I didn’t even mind tearing up my Pro Line ticket.

Then, to top off a very interesting day, word arrived on my Twitter that the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats were about to swap quarterbacks.

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Henry Burris Now No. 1 in Hamilton

You knew it was coming, didn’t you? You knew there was no way the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were going back into battle with Kevin Glenn as their No. 1 quarterback next season. And you also knew that Lyle Bauer, the president in Calgary, was NOT going to pay Henry Burris a bonus on Feb. 1, if he could help it. After all, he pulled the same trick with Kevin Glenn in 2009 when he released Glenn before he had to pay him a few thousand bones.

Anyway, we learned late in the day that there was a deal in place to send Glenn to Calgary as the backup to Drew Tate — along with offensive lineman Mark Dewit — while Burris would head to the Ticats to be the new No. 1 in Hamilton.

It was a huge trade, but absolutely no surprise.

It was quite a day. Throw in all the NFL firings and it was a lot more fun than NFL Sunday.

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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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Barresi’s Firing and Other Observations

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It didn’t take long for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to find someone to blame for their 34-23 loss in the 2011 Grey Cup game.

Barresis Firing and Other Observations

Jamie Barresi

It seems as if only moments after Bombers GM Joe Mack came back from Vancouver and railed about his offense, he fired offensive coordinator Jamie Barresi.

To be fair, it was a move that most Bomber fans expected. After all, while the Bombers defense was, for most of the season, quite worthy of its self-imposed nickname/state-of-being “Swaggerville,” the offense should have been called “Anemia City.” It was short blood, guts and, in the end, glory.

And when the team arrived back in Winnipeg, Mack made it clear that the offense would change (sure he was cryptic, but what else could the following comments have meant?)

“And there will be probably some changes made because they have to be made to get where we need to go,” Mack said. “I’m aware of what I want to do in that regard, and hopefully we’ll be able to execute that in the off-season.

“But we will never be complacent as long as I’m here. We’re always going to be on the razor’s edge trying to get better, because if not you’re going backwards.”

I remember when Doug Brown said that a couple of years ago. It was after another off-season in which the Bombers did little or nothing, just like the most recent off-season. Now in their favor in 2011, some good young defensive players improved dramatically and Winnipeg won, what turned out to be, and extremely weak CFL East — the Montreal defense was brutal, Kevin Glenn was 8-10 and the Argos were an embarrassment to the league (even though they beat the Bombers twice).

Now I won’t criticize the firing of Barresi. Mack was NOT going to fire Paul LaPolice who turned a 4-14 team into a 10-8 team and got to the Grey Cup by beating a horrid Hamilton team (that had beaten a horrid Montreal defense in the Eastern semi) in the Eastern final. But even when Winnipeg won the Eastern final, they only put up 19 points at home. The offense was bad this year and it wasn’t bad because Buck Pierce was occasionally out of the lineup.

It was bad because the offensive line, which was eaten alive in the Grey Cup game, wasn’t very good and because the play-calling was often vomit-inducing. How do you come off a 190-yard rushing game by Chris Garrett in the Eastern final and then don’t even try to establish a running game in the Grey Cup? Anyone with a brain knew somebody was going to get fired for that — al by itself.

It will be interesting to see what Mack does this winter because, as he says himself: “We’re always going to be on the razor’s edge trying to get better.”

Bet that hurts.

Here are a couple of questions I had this week…

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Browns-Bengals

1. Is the NFL fixed?

Watching the Cleveland-Cincinnati game on Sunday and the officials made a half-a-dozen questionable calls in favor of the Bengals. The game didn’t matter, except for the players’ pride and their jobs, but it still looked fishy.

I know, I get all obsessive about officiating, but goodness, gracious, it’s awful. Don’t these sports have rules? Did you watch the Grey Cup? Brutal. They can’t even get replay right.

Just sayin’.

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Victoria's Secret Ad

2. Why hasn’t in-store advertising kept up with our multi-racial community?

My wife’s a mall-walker and I joined her on Sunday. Didn’t realize ‘till that moment how hard she walks and for how long. Heck of a workout.

Anyway, mall walking for more than an hour can get boring so we both started counting those big advertising pictures in department, clothing, make-up, shoe and accessory stores. There are hundreds of them in the windows of high-end mall shops and there was one aspect of them that was unmistakable.

The women in the photos are almost all Caucasian. In fact, there was one Asian model in a photo in the window of an accessory store, but every other female model was white.

We counted four African-American men  and three Asian men, but there were dozens of female models and all but one of them was white.

Just an observation, but considering there were as many Asian mall-walkers as there were Caucasian mall walkers and that many of the stores’ employees are First Nation, Asian or African-American (or would Caribbean-Canadian be more appropriate?)  it just seems reasonable to think that the advertising community might want to take notice.

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Dustin Byfuglien

3. Why is Dustin Byfuglien a defenseman?

OK, OK, I know why. It’s because Craig Ramsay, the coach in Atlanta, decided last year that he was going to move Byfuglien from a forward position (where he helped Chicago win the 2009 Stanley Cup) back to defense because he was big, tough, skilled, fast and Ramsay wanted him on the ice 25 minutes a game. And what the hell? If it’s good enough for the guy True North wouldn’t keep on as head coach, it’s gotta be good enough for the guy they hired.

But that still doesn’t make it a good idea.

Tuesday night, Byfuglien had 12 shots on goal, the most in a single game by an NHL defenseman since Sergei Gonchar — another guy no one would call a pillar of defensive hockey — took 12 shots in a game in 2006. He also played 25 minutes and 53 seconds and, of course, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff wants him to be on the at least 25 minutes a game.

But he was also a minus-one despite dishing out an assist and while he has five goals and 12 assists so far this season — sixth among NHL defensemen in scoring — he’s also a minus-10, the worst plus-minus in the league for the top 29 scorers among defensemen in the NHL (Anaheim’s shaky, young Cam Fowler, No. 30 in scoring, is minus-13).

Dustin Byfuglien turns over the puck too often and makes too many mistakes in the neutral and attacking zones, simply because he’s more interested in scoring than stopping the opposition from scoring and, to be fair, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For a forward.

And at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, Dustin Byfuglien would make a GREAT forward.

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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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Will It Be Good Kevin or Bad Kevin? Expect Bad Kevin.

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Kevin Glenn 229x300 Will It Be Good Kevin or Bad Kevin? Expect Bad Kevin.

Kevin Glenn

This Sunday at Canad Inns Stadium, Kevin Glenn returns to Winnipeg — again — with the Eastern Conference championship on the line.

According to the Hamilton Spectator, this is a big game for Glenn and there is “revenge” at stake. Huh? Evidently, because Glenn was released by Winnipeg three years ago — that’s THREE years ago — and while Hamilton has played Winnipeg at least three times every season since then, this is suddenly the biggest of all big games to Glenn and his apologists.

Seems the one-trick ponies in the mainstream news media still need reasons to rip Mike Kelly so they pulled this old nut out of the bag: The “Mike Kelly was a bad coach because he released Kevin Glenn.” line of baloney.

And believe me, it IS a line of baloney.

First of all, Bombers president Lyle Bauer had as much to do with the release of Glenn as Kelly did because Bauer had already made it known that he had no desire to pay Glenn his bonus for showing up to camp in 2009.

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Mike Kelly in happier times.

Secondly, why wouldn’t a smart president, GM and head coach want to release Glenn? In Winnipeg, he was a .500 quarterback. Since leaving Winnipeg the most inconsistent QB in recent CFL history has guided his Hamilton Tiger-Cats to records of 9-9, 9-9- and 8-10. The fact he helped his team beat an aging Montreal Alouettes team with one of the worst defences in the CFL in the Eastern semifinal in order to get to Winnipeg this week is no reason to believe that Glenn will be any good this Sunday. Chances are very good he’ll do what he does best: Throw interceptions with the game on the line.

This Sunday afternoon, in front of a full house at Canada Inns Stadium, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will play host to Kevin Glenn and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Bombers are 3.5-point favorites for a a number of reasons: No. 1, the Bombers beat Hamilton three times in three meetings this season, No. 2, the Bombers defence will eat Kevin Glenn alive and No. 3, the Bombers will likely have Buck Pierce at quarterback, a guy who, when he’s healthy, is twice the quarterback Glenn was in Winnipeg or is in Hamilton.

If the mainstream media wants to continue to rip Kelly, rip him for not getting a shot at Pierce while he was the coach. Do not rip him for releasing Glenn. Glenn isn’t a .500 quarterback in Hamilton. There is no reason to believe he’ll beat Winnipeg this week no matter what level of “revenge” is at stake.

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A Huge Weekend Coming Up: What Does it Mean?

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
0915martinjpg2 300x198 A Huge Weekend Coming Up: What Does it Mean?

Josh Freeman

TAMPA, Fla. — There is nothing better than a long weekend. You don’t have to go to bed early, you don’t have to get up early and there is usually enough sports on the tube that there isn’t one dull moment.

This weekend here in sunny Florida, the Houston Texans take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, but don’t worry, there’s more. Lots more.

In fact, there’s a load of NFL games on TV, more than enough college football to fill your boots, plus hockey and fighting — both boxing and MMA. The CFL playoffs begin, Tiger is hot in Australia while John Daly is off in Oz playing Kevin Costner’s character in Tin Cup.

While we remember our fathers and grandfathers and all the people who fought to keep Canada free, we can also take comfort in the fact they left us a nation that loves sports — and really loves to argue about it.

So with that in mind, here are five outstanding sporting events taking place this Remembrance Day weekend.

Let’s have an argument.

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Tiger Woods

1. Tiger Woods Heats Up in Australia:

I know, the world is full of Tiger haters, but I’m afraid I’m not one of them. I hope Tiger shoots 62 every time he tees it up just to piss off the people who hate his guts. I also can’t watch golf on TV unless Tiger is in contention. Televised golf these days would put hyperactive children to sleep if Tiger isn’t playing.

So heading into the weekend, Tiger has gone 68-67 at the Lakes Country Club in Sydney and at nine under, he holds a one-shot lead over Peter O’Malley.

He talked after Round 2 as if he was ready to win again.

“I think experience comes with managing myself and my game,” Woods told reporters at the post-round news conference. “I’ve been there a few times and I understand how to do it. All the things that can happen, I’ve experienced a lot of it.”

Go get ‘em Tiger.

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Anthony Calvillo

2. The CFL Playoffs Start:

The Winnipeg Bombers don’t play again until Sunday, Nov. 20 when they play host to the CFL’s Eastern final at Canad Inns Stadium. More than 27,000 tickets have already been sold for that game and no doubt, it will be a sellout. Bomber fans have waited since 20o1 to cheer for a first place and this year they’ll be at the stadium screaming themselves horse.

Buck Pierce says he’ll be ready to start at quarterback when the Bombers face the winner of this Sunday’s Eastern Conference semifinal between the Montreal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Alouettes are favored by 5.5 points. Game time is 12 Noon. Meanwhile, in the Western semifinal Calgary will play at Edmonton at 3:30. The Eskimos are favored by 2.5.

It says here that Montreal and Edmonton will emerge victorious this weekend, but both teams will lose in the Conference finals. That means we’re looking at a Winnipeg-B.C. Grey Cup on Nov. 27 at B.C. Place Stadium.

You heard it here first.

3. Two Gigantic Saturday Night Fights:

This Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines returns to the ring for a re-match against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez and it will be a dandy. It’s being billed as Pacquiao-Marquez III at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and it’s the rubber match at 144 pounds for Pacquiao and Marquez.

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Manny Pacquiao

The first time Pacquiao fought Marquez in 2004, he knocked him down three times and settled for a draw. The second time, in 2008, Pacquiao won by split decision. There are some who think Marquez is a better fighter. Both Big Will Prince and I picked Pacquaio to win by a unanimous decision. This will be a long, hard, wonderful fight by two of the best pound-for-pound warriors on the planet.

Meanwhile, on the MMA side of the ledger, the UFC heavyweight title will be up for grabs on Saturday night in the first UFC on Fox main event with champion Cain Velasquez taking on top contender Junior Dos Santos. There will be nine preliminary bouts but only one main event – that’s for Velasquez’s UFC heavyweight title and on Streetz 104.7 this week both Big Will and I picked the veteran warrior, Cain Velasquez, to defend his belt,

However, our fight expert, Marc-Andre Drolet from The Fight Network, said he was ready to place a bet on Dos Santos in an upset.

The fight is free on Fox on Saturday, live from the Honda Centre in Anaheim, Cal.

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Claude Noel

4. The Jets Play in Columbus:

The 5-8-3 Winnipeg Jets, coming off a heartbreaking 6-5 overtime loss in Buffalo on Tuesday night and a dud — a 5-2 loss to Florida — at home on Thursday, take to the road to face the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

The Jets can’t afford to sleep walk through this one like they did against Florida on Thursday.

After all, they get one game on the road and then return to Winnipeg to face Tampa on Monday, Washington on Thursday and Philly next Saturday. The road game will be the easiest of the next four.

After Thursday’s loss head coach Claude Noel said: “We were not good from the goaltender out, what do you want me to say?”

Thank you, coach, for the thoughtful, candid, honest response. I watched the game at Buffalo Wild Wings in Orlando on Thursday night and the locals laughed at my favorite hockey team. They had better be better on Saturday or a desperate Columbus team will rip them.

Meanwhile, there is still talk in Jets circles about moving Dustin Byfuglien from defense to forward, but head coach Claude Noel doesn’t want to make the move because Byfuglien “Doesn’t want to play forward,” and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff doesn’t want to make the move because he likes Byfuglien on the ice 22-24 minutes a night on defense while he’d only play 15-17 minutes at forward. Which, of course, didn’t matter much in Buffalo after two of Byfuglien’s mistakes cost the Jets a pair of goals.

This debate will continue for awhile.

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Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings

5. Indy to 0-10, Green Bay to 9-0:

I’m not convinced the Jacksonville Jaguars are any good, but I am convinced they’re better than the 0-9 Indianapolis Colts. However, the Colts aren’t going to go 0-16 this season (my Lions have already EARNED that notoriety) and if they’re going to win a game this year, this is it. It goes Sunday at Noon (CST) and yet if they were playing it in my back yard, I wouldn’t open the drapes to watch it. This might be one of the worst NFL games this season.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, the Green Bay Packers play host to the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay will win because Aaron Rodgers will throw a pantload of TD passes against that dreadful Vikings defensive secondary. How about 48-36 Green Bay?

The Packers will improve to 9-0 and will only have two semi-difficult games in their final seven. We could be witnessing another 16-0 season.

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Bombers Backed Into First? Well No, Not Really.

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Jovon Johnson 2 200x300 Bombers Backed Into First? Well No, Not Really.

The Bombers Most Outstanding Player Jovon Johnson (Photos by Shawn Coates)

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers did everything humanly possible on Saturday afternoon to pull off, well, the impossible.

Trailing 24-0 to the Calgary Stampeders in Calgary, early in the second quarter, the Bombers battled all the way back before losing 30-24. However, they did have two opportunities in the final four minutes to do something with the football. In other words, they had a chance to win.

On Sunday morning, there were a handful of pundits across the country who wanted to suggest that the Bombers “backed into first place in the CFL’s Eastern Conference,” but nothing could be further from the truth. Finishing first isn’t making the playoffs. Finishing first is a combination of playing well enough all season long and then winning the right games. The Bombers did that.

Granted, the Bombers finished 10-8. Granted, they lost their final two games of the season. Granted, they won only three of their last 10 games. However, on Saturday, Oct. 22, the Bombers came back from a 25-10 deficit after three quarters and beat the Montreal Alouettes 26-25. That was the difference and that’s why nobody backed into anything.

Over the final two weeks, Montreal lost 32-27 at home to Calgary and 43-1 in B.C. That’s hardly catching the Bombers and allowing a slumping team to finish first. As bad as the Bombers might have been, the Alouettes lost their final THREE games, including the game against Winnipeg that ultimately determined the first-place finisher in the East.

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Clint Kent and the great Bombers Defense.

It might have been an ugly way to finish the season for Winnipeg, but it was even uglier for Montreal. And just as we predicted all week on Streetz 104.7 in Winnipeg, “The Bombers would probably lose to Calgary, but Montreal will get pasted in B.C.” And that’s exactly what happened.

In the meantime, Bombers No. 2 quarterback Alex Brink got a lot more comfortable with the Canadian game on saturday and if he has to play against the winner of the Montreal-Hamilton game next week, he’ll be able to handle the situation without much difficulty.

Although quite frankly, the Bombers are going to play in the 2011 Grey Cup. Winnipeg’s defense is clearly the best in the East and because of it, the Bombers will whip either Montreal or Hamilton (Hamilton?) at Canad Inns Stadium on Nov. 20 and WILL be playing in Vancouver on Nov. 27.

Mark my words. The 99th Grey Cup game at B.C. Place Stadium will feature the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the B.C. Lions. And on Nov. 27, nobody will be even hinting that the Bombers “backed in” to first place.

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Chaos, Mayhem Best Describe Finish of Bombers-Als Fiasco

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32-26 at Canad Inns Stadium on Friday night. In the end, the officials had nothing to do with the final score.

*   *   *

alex brink1 212x300 Chaos, Mayhem Best Describe Finish of Bombers Als Fiasco

Alex Brink of the Bombers

Let me preface this by saying I have absolutely no use for Canadian Football League referee Al Bradbury’s crew. For full disclosure, this bunch has been the only crew I’ve rated a “Slug” in my weekly CFL Stars and Slugs column at www.fantrax.com.

These were the donkeys who let this year’s Winnipeg-Saskatchewan Labor Day Classic get out of hand at the end, resulting in penalties and disqualifications that simply made the CFL look foolish.

So imagine my thrill when they showed up in Winnipeg on Friday to call the Bombers-Als game. You knew it would get stupid and just as if a call had been made to the crew on the field (“Hey boys, it’s the Commish, time to screw it up, now.”), it did.

It all started with 14 seconds left on the clock when Bombers quarterback Alex Brink threw a desperation pass to no one in the end zone on third-and-10. That should have ended the game right there and while 30,000 Winnipeg fans would have gone home disappointed, the league would not have looked bush.

But it did. That’s because for some inexplicable reason a pass interference call was made against Montreal defensive back Greg Laybourn for getting karate chopped and held by Bombers receiver Greg Carr. If there was interference on the play — which every replay clearly showed there was not — it should have gone against Carr, but because Bradbury’s crew tends to become visually impaired near the end of the game, a flag was thrown and pass interference in the end zone was called against Laybourn.

Now remember, the ball was thrown 20 yards away from Carr. One might have come to the conclusion that he was the intended receiver, but the fact is, the ball was thrown away while Carr beat on Laybourn at the goal line. However, Carr, who would be a prize winner at the Academy of Broadcasting’s acting class, just fell down and out came the flag. At the time the flag was thrown I called it, “The worst call in CFL history,” but that’s probably overstating it. There have been so many bad calls in the CFL, that it was really just another night at the ballyard.

Meanwhile, back at the stadium, the Bombers now had first-and-goal from the one with eight seconds left. On the first play it appeared as if Brink had bulled his way over the goal line but no signal was given, the officials said “no touchdown” so when they checked replay there was no clear evidence to change the call. That left second and goal from the one with five seconds left. Now, remember, the first play took three seconds. The second play, a carbon copy of the first play apparently took five seconds.

Clearly, Brink didn’t get in on second down, but even on replay, when TSN gave us a whistle-to-whistle look, it took only four seconds to run the play. There should have been time for one more play from the one.

But no, Bradbury says “clock is correct,” Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice argues, nobody listens, game over.

Now, frankly, this game should never have reached the point of bush-league fiasco at the end. There was no interference on Laybourn. Period. But in an inadvertent effort to make the CFL look bad again, the Bradbury Crew found a way to screw things up. The only thing that didn’t make the league look completely stupid was the fact the phantom pass interference call didn’t change the outcome of the game.

You know, the football played in the CFL, even by backups (see: Winnipeg Blue Bombers), is pretty good. Too bad the league hasn’t been able to find officiating crews on a par with the players.

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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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