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Lions Look Great. Vikings Collapse Again. Week 3 Was Sure Interesting.

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Matthew Stafford1 199x300 Lions Look Great. Vikings Collapse Again. Week 3 Was Sure Interesting.

Matthew Stafford, a young man madly in love with his right arm.

MINNEAPOLIS – It could easily be suggested, without much argument by the way, that the greatest moment in Detroit Lions history was Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2008.

No, that was not the day the Lions drafted Ndamukong Suh. That was the day that Lions owner William Ford fired club president Matt Millen, the ex-player-turned-TV-broadcaster-turned bullshit-artist that almost completely destroyed the Lions franchise with a series of inane draft picks and horrid coaching hires.

From that day forward, the Lions have slowly, but surely returned to the glory they once enjoyed. A glory they last enjoyed in the 1950s, when a fellow named Bobby Layne played quarterback.

Sunday afternoon, in front of 62,466 witnesses at the Metrodome, the Lions showed just how far they’ve come. Trailing 20-0 at halftime, they battled all the way back and won 26-23 in overtime. Led by quarterback Matthew Stafford and an outstanding corps of receivers, the Lions improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1980. And that’s significant.

The last time the Lions were 3-0, Stafford – and most of his teammates had not been born.

The last time the Lions beat the Vikings in Minnesota, in 1997, Stafford was nine.

The Lions have won seven straight games dating back to last season – 11 if you count the four pre-season games this year.

These are the new Detroit Lions, a Lions team that doesn’t even remember the 2008 squad that went 0-16. After all, Millen is gone and a team that was 4-36 in their last 40 games against Minnesota and Green Bay is now 1-0 against the Vikings this season and they don’t even see the Packers until Thursday, Nov. 24 – Thanksgiving Day.

Since Millen was fired, the Lions have, almost over night, become one of the most feared teams in the NFL. This year’s team is now 3-0 and with their phenomenal receivers and cocky young quarterback, they have a legitimate chance to challenge in the very good NFC North. Ever since the Ford Family fired Millen and hired Tom Lewand as president and Martin Mayhew as general manager, the Lions have turned the corner.

Since Millen walked out the door, the Lions drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford, a young man who is madly in love with his right arm, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, wide receiver Titus Young, linebacker DeAndre Levy, defensive tackle Sammie Hill, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, runningback Jahvid Best, strong safety Amari Spievey, offensive tackle Jason Fox and defensive end Willie Young.

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Brandon Pettigrew

Stafford, Suh, Levy, Spievey, Pettigrew and Best all started Sunday’s game and all played well. Stafford went 32-for-46 for 378 yards and two touchdowns. Pettigrew had 11 receptions for 112 yards. Best carried 12 times for 14 yards. Spievey had three tackles and a sack. Levy had three tackles. Suh had five tackles and a sack. Off the bench, Titus Young caught four passes for 51 yards, Sammie Hill had two tackles,

Meanwhile, kick and punt returner Stefan Logan was acquired as a free agent from Pittsburgh and was terrific on Sunday. He returned four punts for 37 yards and three kickoffs for 74 yards. Middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch was signed away from Tennessee and yesterday had seven tackles.

The moves this team has made since Millen was dispatched has made the Lions a surprisingly good team. The 3-0 start is no fluke.

“It was a difficult first half, we didn’t play that well,” said Lions quarterback Stafford, addressing the fact his team fell behind 20-0 at the half. “But then we started to do what we do best. We spread things out, we’d played quickly and we had guys make big plays for me.

“On the drive to the game-winning field goal, nothing needs to be said. We knew we were going to score. Like all good offences, we knew we’d make the plays that would get us into a position for Jason (Hanson) to kick the winning field goal.”

That’s the difference between a team that has won seven consecutive regular-season games, compared to a team that went 0-16 just four seasons ago. Good ownership finally put the right people in the right positions and they’ve given good young draft picks a chance to be successful.

It’s kind of the same reason I’ve taken over from Dr. Football as the Alpha Male of this prognostication team. Confidence. I buried the past, looked to future and decided that the Doc wasn’t really that smart.

This will be the third week The Coach has led this season and you’ll see when the picks are posted on Thursday. Last week, The Coach went 10-6 straight up (33-13 on the season) and a Matt Millen-like 5-11 (24-24) against the spread, but The Coach still leads and that’s all that matters. It’s the first time since we’ve started making these picks that The Coach has held the lead.

Yes, “The Roar” has been restored.

Let’s look back at Week 3, before we move forward on Thursday to Week 4:

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Detroit 26 Minnesota 23 (OT)

percy harvin Lions Look Great. Vikings Collapse Again. Week 3 Was Sure Interesting.

Percy Harvin, a great player who doesn't see the ball enough.

Detroit’s Jason Hanson kicked a 32-yard field goal on the fifth play of overtime to win it. The Lions trailed 20-0 at the half and came back to win and move to 3-0 while the Vikes fell to 0-3 with their third straight second-half collapse.

Buffalo 34 New England 31

The Bills came back from a 21-0 deficit and picked off four Tom Brady passes. Buffalo is the only unbeaten team in the AFC.

Carolina 16 Jacksonville 10

Cam Newton only threw for 158 yards and a touchdown, but this week he gets a win. He lost two straight despite throwing for more than 400 yards both times.

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Alex Smith of the Niners

San Francisco 13 Cincinnati 8

Alex Smith was 20-for-30 for 201 yards and the Niners Kendall Hunter rushed for the game’s only touchdown.

Cleveland 17 Miami 16

Colt McCoy completed 19-of-39 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, the winning TD to Joshua Cribbs. The Browns played without Peyton Hillis and still won a big game at home to got to 2-1.

New Orleans 40 Houston 33

The Saints outscored the Texans 23-14 in a thrilling fourth quarter. The Saints Drew Brees finished 31-for-44 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. TE Jimmy Graham caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee 17 Denver 14

The Titans Matt Hasselbeck went 27-for-36 for 311 yards and two TDs including a four-yarder to Daniel Graham to win it.

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Philly's Michael Vick injured his hand.

NY Giants 29 Philadelphia 16 

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was hit late and broke his right hand, non-throwing hand and then went off, saying the league’s referees don’t protect him like they do other quarterbacks. It’s true. If a defensive player so much as breathes on Tom Brady, there is a penalty. Vick takes a beating and there is seldom ever a flag.

Oakland 34 NY Jets 24

Raiders runningback Darren McFadden rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns as Oakland improved to 2-1. The Raiders have been improving dramatically and this season with Jason Campbell and McFadden, the offence might be good enough to challenge to the West.

San Diego 20 Kansas City 17

The Chargers’ Ryan Mathews carried 21 times for 98 yards and two TDs. Matt Cassel’s late interception cost Kansas City a comeback.

Baltimore 37 St. Louis 7

Ravens rookie receiver Torrey Smith’s first three career receptions went for 133 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with five catches for 152 yards. Joe Flacco went 27-for-48 for 389 yards and three TDs to Smith.

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Green Bay's Jermichael Finley

Green Bay 27 Chicago 17

Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns, all to tight end Jermichael Finley. Brandon’s Israel Idonije had another good game with four tackles for the Bears.

Seattle 13 Arizona 10

Neither offense was any good but Seattle’s Tarvaris Jackson ran 11 yards for a TD in the third quarter and that’s all Seattle needed.

Tampa Bay 16 Atlanta 13

The Bucs Josh Freeman scored the first rushing touchdown of his career, and Tampa Bay’s defense forced three turnovers and sacked Atlanta QB Matt Ryan four times.

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Ben Roethlisberger

SUNDAY NIGHT

Pittsburgh 23 Indianapolis 20

The Colts lost quarterback Kerry Collins to a concussion and that ultimately cost them the game. Pittsburgh’s Canadian kicker Sean Suisham booted a 38-yard field goal with only eight seconds left on the clock.

MONDAY NIGHT

Dallas 18 Washington 16

Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey booted six field goals to give Dallas all 18 of their points. Tremendous effort by Cowboys QB Tony Romo who played with that serious rib injury.

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Favre Saves Chilly, Nobody Can Save Wade Phillips

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS — Brett Favre saved Brad Childress’s job, but it doesn’t appear as if anyone can save Wade Phillips’s job.

Last night, the Green Bay Packers massacred the Dallas Cowboys 45-7 and immediately after the debacle, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said “people will suffer the consequences.” Despite that vote of confidence Jones gave Phillips this past week, I can’t imagine old Wade will be around by the end of the day. Owners have surprised me before, but I just don’t believe Jones is going to ride this one out.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns were unbeatable yesterday, Peyton Manning couldn’t pull off the same miracle ol’ Brett pulled off here at Mall of America Field and Oakland won a thriller to go to 5-4 on the season.

It was an exciting day in the NFL, but frankly, nothing was more exciting than the Brett Favre/Adrian Peterson-led comeback by the Vikings. If Favre had any time at all to throw, the Vikings would be unbeatable. As it is, a 41-year-old man playing on a broken ankle behind the most porous offensive line in the NFL had the greatest passing day of his already remarkable Hall of Fame career.

Let’s take a close look at the highlights of Week 9 in The League…

Last night…

Green Bay 45 Dallas 7

Wonder how long Wade Phillips has as coach of the Cowboys. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers completed 27 of 34 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns.

Yesterday afternoon….

Minnesota 27 Arizona 24 (OT)

The Vikings scored two touchdowns in the final 3:34 of regulation, then Ryan Longwell won it with a 35-yard field goal in overtime. Brett Favre, in his record 293rd consecutive start threw for a career high 446 yards while Adrian Peterson had two touchdowns including a receiving touchdown, the first since his very first game in 2007.

Cleveland 34 New England 14

Cleveland rookie quarterback Colt McCoy scrambled for a touchdown while RB Peyton Hillis ran for a career-high 184 yards and two scores. Cleveland’s defense also beat the stuffing out of the Patriots.

NY Jets 23 Detroit 20 (OT)

Nick Folk kicked a 36-yard field goal with no time on the clock to tie the game at the end of regulation and then kicked a 30-yard field early in overtime to win it.

New Orleans 34 Carolina 3

Drew Brees, 27-for-43, 253 yards and two touchdowns.

Baltimore 26 Miami 10

The Ravens’ Joe Flacco, 20-of-27 for 266 yards and two touchdowns.

San Diego 29 Houston 23

The Chargers Phillip Rivers, 17-for-23, 295 yards and four touchdowns

Chicago 22 Buffalo 19

Chicago’s Israel Idonije, from Brandon, had three tackles and a half a sack.

Atlanta 27 Tampa Bay 21

Atlanta’s Michael Turner had 24 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Ryan, 24-for-36, 235 yards and a touchdown.

Philadelphia 26 Indianapolis 24

Michael Vick, 17-for-29 for 218 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 74 yards and another TD.

Oakland 23 Kansas City 20 (OT)

Sebastien Janikowski kicked a 33-yard field goal to win it in OT.

NY Giants 41 Seattle 7

The Giants Eli Manning 21-for-32 for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Ahmad Bradshaw had two rushing touchdowns.

Tonight, in the Monday Nighter, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati to play the Bengals.

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If Moss is Really a Viking Again, Ol’ Brett Might Smile Again

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

TAMPA, Fla. — It appears Randy Moss is back in Minnesota.

Just talked to a couple of NFL buddies here in Tampa and the deal is apparently done: Moss from the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a third-round draft pick.

Doesn’t sound like New England got much in return, but ever since Moss went off, in a Week 1 rant, that was designed either to get him a huge contract extension or a one-way ticket out of Belichickland, it was painfully apparent that the talented but emotional receiver was no longer welcome in Foxboro. He saw the football occasionally, especially in the end zone, but he was no longer a favorite of anybody in Patriot Blue. In 2010, he’s had nine receptions in four weeks, for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Monday night, in New England’s 41-14 shellacking of the Miami Dolphins, Moss had his first game without a reception as a member of the Patriots.

As a result, the Patriots have run him out of Dodge and he’s now somebody else’s problem.

However, you have to know that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre loves him. Remember, back in 2006, when Oakland wanted to move Moss and Favre wanted him in Green Bay. Favre sulked almost every day after Moss went from Oakland to New England and not to Green Bay.

Now, without Sidney Rice, plus a bead-achy Percy Harvin and a guy named Berrian that can’t be found on the field with bloodhounds and searchlights, Favre finally has a legitimate downfield threat and a guy with actual speed and skill. And it will be fun to watch Moss jump into the arms of Winnipeg’s Syd Davy at the Metrodome again.

I can’t wait for Monday night when the Vikings take on the New York Jets in the Big Apple and I really can’t wait until Oct. 17 when the Vikings play at home against the Dallas Cowboys.

Not that Moss is going to turn around the Vikings season, but he’ll suddenly add some intrigue to an otherwise mediocre and only marginally interesting Vikings team.

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Vikes Coach Brad Childress Dead Right in His Assessment of Sunday’s Blowout.

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Here is what our local football guru wrote in a Winnipeg newspaper this week:

“The Vikes have a lot of people thinking their Week 17 walloping of the Giants was a playoff primer. Not us. Their defence is suspect and their offensive line could prove porous to a big D like the one in Dallas.”

He went on to say: “The Vikings have lost three of their last five games and while many believe their season-ending thumping of the Giants was a show of strength, we believe it was smoke and mirrors. The Cowboys match up very well against the Vikings with a huge offensive line that can slow down the pass rush and move the ball on the ground. Look for the Dallas defence to push the Vikes around at the line of scrimmage.”

I wouldn’t bring it up if it had been a close football game, but like Vikings coach Brad Childress suggested on Sunday afternoon, it was so off-base it was hard to ignore. Now, to be fair, that’s just what was written in Winnipeg about Sunday afternoon’s game between the Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys. It wasn’t a whole lot different anywhere else. In fact, Childress heard the talk in the Twin Cities all week and it pissed him off.

So yesterday, after the Vikings drilled the Cowboys 34-3 here at Mall of America Field, Childress took a little time to go off on all those who thought Dallas was the be-all and end-all of professional football teams.

“I heard all the nonsense and all the hype about the Dallas Cowboys coming to town, the hottest team in the playoffs,” Childress said. “I asked my players this week to just choke it back and shut up. And we’ll play the game when they get here on Sunday.

“The game is always won on the football field so I’m tickled to death for our guys. I knew they’d play their tails off and dispel the myth about whoever was coming to town.

“All I heard all week was that the Tasmainian Devils from Dallas were coming in to bombard the state of Minnesota and were about to run through us like Sherman through the south. That was the aura that was left after last week’s games. Our guys had enough of it by Tuesday. They did a great job by shuttimng up because sometimes it’s hard to listen to that stuff.

“So that was a team victory. We were a good football team all season and a good football team today.”

You can check the numbers at www.nfl.com. Needless to say, the Vikings were much the superior team.

But while so many of the so-called experts were calling for Dallas to win easily on Sunday, it took former Vikings coach, Mike Tice, to assess the situation best.

On Friday, Tice was interviewed by Dan Barreiro on 1130-The FAN in Minneapolis. Tice said: “Under duress, Romo will revert, get sloppy and then go fetal.”

That’s exactly what he did. That’s why the Vikings had six sacks, why Romo fumbled three times, threw an interception and got his ass kicked. So much for “Their (Minnesota’s) defence is suspect and their offensive line could prove porous to a big D like the one in Dallas.”

Brett Favre was brilliant, Sidney Rice was unstoppable and the Vikings defence was a monster. 34-3. This one wasn’t even close.

But now comes the real test. Can the Vikings win on the road, in New Orleans?

Sure, But will they? Guess all the experts will know in seven days.

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Favre Spectacular. Rice Wonderful. Defence Solid. Vikings Ready for Post-Season.

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS — While the Indianapolis Colts were blown out again and the New Orleans Saints lost their third straight, the Minnesota Vikings prepared for the NFL post-season by destroying the New York Giants.

A final score of 44-7 is one thing. The surgical beauty of Sunday’s evisceration of the Jints was even more impressive, now that the post-season looms.

And there is no doubt that the Vikes are ready for the post-season. On Sunday, Favre completed 25 of 31 passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and an eye-popping 148.7 passer rating. He was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson with the Vikings leading 41-0 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

The four touchdown passes tied Favre’s season high, and it was the sixth time he’s thrown for 300-plus yards this season. Since the end of the first half at Chicago last Monday night, Favre put up 71 points in a little more than four quarters. He completed 46 of 62 passes for 601 yards, six touchdowns and no INTs.

Funny, but it appears the mainstream media has forgotten the bullshit story it created two weeks ago, suggesting there was dissent in Minnesota. The big numbers have chased the fiction away.

Meanwhile, Favre’s brilliance — along with the brilliance of Chester Taylor, Visanthe Shiancoe, Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian, the offensive line and a defence that appears to be adjusting to the loss E.J. Henderson –  provided the Vikings faithful fans, the 65,000 that sell out Mall of America Field at the Metrodome every single week, with something to get all giddy about.

Now that’s professional sports.

There was no coaching scared, no worry that precious Brett might get his undies dirty. This wasn’t the candy-assed approach of the lily-livered Indianapolis Colts (have they returned the ticket money from Week 15′s dishonorable debacle yet?). Vikes head coach Brad Childress sent the playoff-bound Vikings out to win a football game on Sunday and he got all $12.5 million worth out of his 40-year-old quarterback.

“It would appear that we picked up right where we left off (in the second half in Chicago),” Favre said during his post-game news conference. “I thought that what we did at the start of the game was what we needed to do. I think it’s proof of what we are capable of doing. For whatever reason we have been inconsistent at times. I think there were 20 first downs in the first half and 22 in the second half of last week’s game. That’s 42 first downs in a game or so. Not that you would expect that all of the time, but that’s what we are capable of doing.”

Nobody is quite sure what some of the other playoff-bound teams are capable of doing. The Colts, the team that threw Game 15 and allowed the New York Jets to eliminate the Houston Texans from the playoffs, were just brutal for the second straight week. Fact is, the Colts were  lucky to get past such powerhouse teams as Jacksonville (the Colts beat the Jags 14-12 and 35-31), Miami, Baltimore, New England and San Francisco, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be ready for anyone in two weeks time.

In fact, by the time the Colts play a post-season game (on Jan. 16 or 17), they will not have won since Dec. 17.

Of course, it could be worse. The New Orleans Saints have lost three straight and when they play again on Jan. 16 or 17, they will not have won a game in five weeks. The Colts and Saints will essentially be starting a new season (and not just in the hyperbolic sense) when they play their next game.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Arizona were dreadful this week, but while Arizona played nobody in the butt-kicking they took at home against Green Bay, the Eagles went all-out in the 24-0 shellacking they received in Dallas while the Bengals played all their stars in that 37-0 whooping they suffered in New York.

Right now, the best teams in the NFC are Minnesota, Dallas and Green Bay while the best teams in the AFC are San Diego, Baltimore and the Jets.

And if anybody suggests even for one second that the signing of Brett Favre was a mistake — no matter what happens in the playoffs — then that person knows absolutely nothing about football or professional sports. Favre is spectacular and the Vikings are great to watch.

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It’s Week 15 in the NFL and it’s Already Crazy.

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It was quite a Saturday night in the NFL.

After three quarters, the Dallas Cowboys held a 24-3 lead over the unbeaten New Orleans Saints, but when you’re trying to get to 14-0, there is usually no give-up in you.

So the Saints put up 14 unanswered in the fourth quarter and were driving for the tying touchdown when the Cowboys brilliant outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware stripped Drew Brees of the football, ending the Saints dream of 16-0.

It was a pretty good football game other than the NFL Network’s coverage of it. Technically, the telecast was weak (the Superdome P.A. announcer was louder than NFL Network play-by-play man Bob Papa) and the commentating was just annoying. In fact, it was another night of football with the mute button on.

It’s great that every NFL game is on television. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t enough quality broadcasters to go around. Matt Millen? Simply grating. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. Why doesn’t the NFL just showcase the home radio crews. I’ll guarantee most of them are easier to listen to than the alleged “national” broadcasters.

More thoughts from a wild and woolly week:

1) On the afternoon that Lyle Bauer announced his resignation as CEO of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, CJOB radio’s Geoff Currier made the most insightful comment of the day.

“If you look at the record, the most successful Blue Bombers coach during the Lyle Bauer Era was Dave Ritchie,” Currier said. “And Dave Ritchie was the only coach Lyle didn’t hire.”

It’s true. Bauer inherited Ritchie and never much liked him. Bauer did hire Jim Daley, Doug Berry and Mike Kelly, all, in the end failures. Although Kelly has left the Bombers with the best team they’ve had since 2000.

2) CBS Sports is promoting its 2010 PGA Tour golf coverage without using any images of Tiger Woods. Wow! Can’t wait for that showdown in the final round of the FedEx-Accenture-Buick-Ford-Disney Invitational Open World Golf Classic between Jerry Kelly and Zach Johnson.

Thrilling? No, sleep inducing. Pass the remote.

3) Although Mike Babcock has done a terrific job as head coach of the beaten-to-a-pulp Detroit Red Wings this season, there is very little doubt that the coach of the year in the NHL right now, is Nashville Predators boss, Barry Trotz.

Trotz, who came out of Dauphin, Man., to start his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Manitoba, has made the no-name Predators one of the top teams in the NHL this season, In fact, after Saturday night’s 5-3 win over Calgary, the Preds are now 22-11-3, tied with power-house Chicago for first in the Central Division.

While Babcock, who will do a tremendous job as head coach of Canada’s 2010 Olympic team, has kept Detroit in the playoff hunt despite the fact the Wings are currently without top line players’ Dan Cleary, Johan Franzen, Valterri Flippula, Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams, Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, and now Henrik Zetterberg, what Trotz has done is nothing short of remarkable.

He’s taken a low-budget team of has-beens, never-weres and not-likelys and turned them into one of only six NHL teams with at least 22 wins. He is a brilliant coach and the man Winnipeg would need if the NHL ever returned.

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New Football Stadium in Winnipeg a Good Deal All Around

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 2 Comments

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will get a new owner in 2010 and a new stadium in 2011.

It’s probably the two best things that could happen to the franchise.

 

The Bombers are a proud franchise that continues to lose money and continues to lose football games. Although the team went to the Grey Cup in 1992, 1993, 2001 and 2007, the Bombers have not won a Grey Cup championship since 1990. Frankly, in an eight-team league, every team should win at least one championship in 18 years just by dumb luck.

 

There is no dumb luck in Winnipeg. Just when it looks like this team has the horses and is red-hot at the right something like, oh, a starting quarterback’s broken arm douses the flame.

 

In the meantime, the 55-year-old stadium, located in the centre of a commercial district in the west end of town, has become more of an eyesore than a destination. The most popular aspect of Canada Inns Stadium is the Appleton’s Rum Shack. In fact, it’s often more popular than the team. 

 

So when media baron and property developer David Asper came forward 14 months ago with an idea to build a new stadium and take over ownership — and fiscal responsibility — from the community board that has run the team for almost 80 years, it seemed like the right thing to do.

 

Still, Asper has spent the last 14 months doing everything possible to sell his idea to the community. He’s run an interactive web site, www.blueandgold.ca; he’s held open forums, both public and with special interest groups; and he’s acquiesced to the demands of federal, provincial and civic politicians. 

 

He has done everything in good faith.

 

But at the news conference on Wednesday to announce the deal, the new members of the old media (we’re not talking about the veteran reporters such as the Free Press’ s Randy Turner and Ed Tait, the Sun’s Kirk Penton, Global’s Joe Pascucci or CJOB’s Bob Irving, but this group of children who don’t Google and don’t read the printed material that’s handed out) gave a virtuoso performance of ignorance and attempts at, well, hubris.

 

It started when a young child from CBC television opened with a question impugning Asper about his business acumen. She suggested that because the family business, Canwest Communications was struggling, Asper himself was somehow going to go broke and default on his responsibilities.

 

Now I would not have thought anything of that question coming from, say CJOB, a Corus radio station that is and always has done quite well financially, but for CBC to send out its child reporter to suggest that Asper, who is using his own money (not Canwest’s money) to build the stadium, would soon go broke and we’d have a helluva mess is patently outrageous.

 

This, from a taxpayer-funded operation that has outlived its usefulness and contributed mightily to the recent problems faced by the Asper family and by the country’s other major television network, CTV. The CBC receives $1 billion a year from the federal government — one freakin’ BILLION, not million, BILLION — and can sell TV advertising on top of that and yet it still can’t balance its books. Instead, after losing $171 million in 2008, it went back to the feds asking for something called a “bridge loan.” Bridge to what? The CBC was never going to actually pay back the $171 million. They were looking for another handout.  

 

This time the feds said, “Not a chance, you boobs,” and so last week, the public broadcaster announced 800 layoffs. 

 

Still, despite all of its own incompetence, some CBC news producer sent out a little girl with an attitude to suggest Asper was somehow going to fail miserably. Had she only bothered to use Google, she might have learned that Creswin Properties and Canwest Communications are two different companies run by two different people. Leonard Asper is not involved in this deal.

 

Stunning.

 

From that point on, the news conference was loaded with questions that were already answered on the printed handout that was given to every media member when he or she entered the room. 

 

Sad, but true. And the mainstream media is wondering why its days are numbered.

 

Here are the facts. The deal is tremendous. Asper pays $100 million out of his own pocket to build the stadium and take over the team. No other person on the planet — no one, nobody, period — would step up and do the same for a community or its CFL team. And besides, the new owner not only bleeds Bomber blue, but Bison brown and so the university will get a marvelous facility as well. (For those folks who live near the university, they will notice that the traffic will be a little busier 10 or 11 times per year.)

 

The new stadium will be fine — although after watching the Dallas Cowboys spend a billion dollars (there’s that B-word again) on their new building I sometimes wonder what we’ll really get for $140 million. Still, the old stadium is done. Let’s hope that by 2011 when the new building is finished, the upper decks in the old one haven’t fallen down on someone. 

 

The days of public bailouts, which include right now to a certain extent, should be over. This is a good deal for everyone involved, especially the folks who buy tickets to Bomber games. Just go to www.blueandgold.ca for all the details.

 

It’s just too bad that so many people in the media don’t get it. Because they don’t get it and can’t explain it, far too many members of the public — who didn’t bother to show up at Asper’s public forums — don’t really get it, either.

 

 

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Three more things to think about: Murray, Holyfield, Romo.

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Three more things banging around in my cranium…

1) The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Bryan Murray is frustrated with the way the Senators are playing and he wants to shake up the team. Hey, Bryan, thanks for catching up.

 

Let’s cut the bullshit. It was Murray who created this 12-14-5 mess. It was Murray who took a Stanley Cup contender built by John Muckler and turned it into a big time loser. It was Bryan Murray who fired John Paddock, replaced him with Craig Hartsburg and made a first-place team in the East, a 12th place team in the East.

 

Maybe the shakeup in Ottawa should start with Bryan Murray. It was  former Ottawa GM John Muckler who told me in Tampa this season, “Bryan Murray can’t coach talent.” Bryan Murray can’t manage it either.

 

2) Ever seen a fixed fight before? You probably did on Saturday if you watched the Evander Holyfield-Nikolai Valuev heavyweight championship fight in Zurich on TSN2.

 

Valuev barely landed a punch and was awarded the fight 114-114, 116-112 and 115-114. Valuev couldn’t have hurt me with the wussy punches he threw and he certainly didn’t hurt the much smaller, and older, Holyfield, who danced all over the ring and was barely touched. Granted, neither fighter was worth his weight in dog-shit, but let’s not lie to people (as the Associated Press report did on Saturday), Holyfield kicked the crap out of the big Russian.

 

The TSN2 announcers called it one of the worst fights in history. That was definitely true. Valuev barely landed a punch and made the 46-year-old Holyfield look like a 20-year-old, as he danced around the ring. In fact, both announcers called it 117-112 Holyfield.

However, the judges gave it to Valuev. And I get that. It was fixed, but it was fixed for a reason. They gave it to the champion because even though the challenger was the better fighter, he didn’t do enough to take the belt away. 

I’ve always maintained, unless you knock the champion down a couple of time, you don’t get his belt in a decision. 

Unless you fight a Winnipeg guy in Winnipeg. Then you can just steal a belt. Remember that WBA Championship of the Americas fight. Dome guy from Colombia rolls into Winnipeg, fights Winnipeg’s Larry Sharpe to a draw and gets to take home Sharpe’s belt because Winnipeg judges are so afraid that they might look like homers. They aren’t afraid to look like idiotic assholes, but they sure don’t want to be homers.

Boxing has long been weird, but no wonder MMA is stealing its thunder. It’s hard to watch boxing when you and everybody else in the building know who won the fight, but the judges go the other way because (a) they’ve been told to go the other way or (b) they’ve been paid to go the other way.

However, judges are so unpredictable, boxing is starting to look as phoney as figure skating because either Valuev-Holyfield was botched or Sharpe-and the Colombian guy was botched. Or fixed???

3) On Thursday, one of Fox Sports Radio’s NFL handicappers suggested that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had never proven to anyone that he could win a big game.

“Never done it in the regular season, never done it in the playoffs,” said our fearless prognosticator. “That’s why I believe Baltimore wins by a touchdown.”

Wow, was that guy ever right. 

Now, in fairness, the Dallas defence was dreadful in a 33-24 home loss to Baltimore on Saturday night, but two interceptions and too many red zone stalls made Romo look less than effective.

Dallas might not make the playoffs. It could be very easy to blame head coach Wade Phillips, but Tony Romo might not be as good as the NFL media wants us to believe.

And once again, it takes a professional gambler to figure it out.

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London, England, Brees and Rivers and bad Cowboys: Week 8 in the NFL should be intriguing

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It is Week 8 on the NFL schedule and while there are a number of great matchups this weekend, the biggest will probably be the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.

Both quarterbacks, Eli Manning of the Giants and Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers were 2004 first-round draft choices who have both won Super Bowls and they have already faced off against each other — way back in their rookie seasons. Roethlisberger won 33-30. This should be the Game of the Week.

 

Meanwhile, the National Football League heads to London, England this week. It’s the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers live from Wembley Stadium and aside from the international impact, this one comes complete with a shot at revenge.

 

It will be the first time Saints quarterback Drew Brees will face his former team (remember, he signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006). His understudy for those final two seasons in San Diego will be across the field from him on Sunday — Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers.

 

Not surprisingly Brees leads the NFL in passing with 2,224 yards while Rivers is fourth at 1,697. Rivers has been slumping and has much to prove. Brees would love to stick it to the Chargers. This will be a great game.

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Usain Bolt in the NFL? If nothing else, it makes for a great conversation.

Posted on August 27, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 2 Comments

He was the star of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The fastest man on the planet. And Usain Bolt’s record-setting times in the 100- and 200-metre sprints were eye-popping.

 

Michael Phelps might have won eight gold medals, but Bolt won three and every one was in a glamour event. The title “Fastest Man on Earth,” is bestowed only once or twice — legitimately — in a generation and the 22-year-old Jamaican sprinter, who ran a remarkable 9.72 seconds in the 100, is clearly the fastest man on the planet.

 

Which makes him a pretty good candidate to be the NFL’s next game-breaking wideout.

 

On Aug. 23, the former vice-president in charge of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, Gil Brandt, wrote a column on nfl.com. In it he said, “If Hall of Fame general manager Tex Schramm and I were still running the Cowboys, we’d be in Jamaica right now waiting for Bolt’s plane to land.”

 

Brandt went on to say that under his watch, a contract would be offered, and Bolt would be given every opportunity to play for the Cowboys. Brandt did not say that he believed Bolt would make a great NFL player. He simply said that Bolt had speed that couldn’t be taught while, at the same time, football skills could be taught, and from the days — way back — when the Cowboys signed the world’s fastest human of the moment, Bob Hayes, the team has put a lot of its eggs in the speed basket.

 

Granted Cincinnati Bengals wideout Chad Johnson says he’d like to race Bolt, but Bolt has run a timed 4.2 40-yard dash while Johnson’s best is, evidently, 4.54 at the NFL combine. Advantage: Bolt.

 

And that makes a move by Bolt to football quite intriguing. He’s big — 6-foot-5, about 215 — has a strong upper body and is, YES, the fastest human on the planet.

 

So why not? Hayes was great. But then again, Skeets Nehemiah was a bust.

 

“Skeets is one of those track guys who didn’t like to get hit,” said Winnipeg Blue Bombers wideout Derick Armstrong, a former star at Arkansas-Monticello.

 

“Bolt has the size and speed, no question, but can he take a hit? That’s the question.”

 

This past Tuesday night, Armstrong was part of Hot Stove panel of current and former Bombers speaking at the Hearts of Blue and Gold for Variety dinner at Earl’s St. Vital Restaurant in Winnipeg. As the host for the evening, I asked him on behalf of the crowd, if he thought Bolt could be a pro receiver. 

 

“I guess, if you stuck him outside and just let him run and threw it as far as you could, he’d probably outrun the corner and the safety,” Armstrong said. “But can he catch a football? Maybe.

 

“The real question is, can he take a hit? If he’s going to be a receiver, he’s gotta run a route and take the occasional shot from a linebacker. I can tell you, that hurts. If he can do that — and do it more than once — I guess he can play. I’d like to see it, though.”

 

A lot of us would like to see it. Usain Bolt in the NFL is an intriguing prospect. Wonder if the league has any Gil Brandts left?

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