Tag Archives: The FAN 960

Vuvuzelas Give Me a Headache and Other Thoughts from the Whine Cellar

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Those who think the vuvuzela is cute and cultural simply refuse to believe that plastic really isn’t part of any nation’s culture.

1) The plastic horns that are “played” (how about “just blown into?”) from start to finish of every match at the 2010 World Cup in  South Africa have reached the point of stupid and annoying and while I love the British announcers who call the matches with both a rich vocabulary and soothing voices, the fact they’ve been drowned out by the incessant hum of the vuvuzela has made the mute button on the TV my most precious of possessions.

Monday, we got word that FIFA is considering banning the horns. According to yahoo.com sports, a precedent has already been set. Vuvuzelas were banned – confiscated from ticket holders upon entry to the stadium – from the World Cup Kickoff Concert in Soweto last Thursday.

I, frankly, don’t care what FIFA does at this stage. The mute button has done its job.

2) This Thursday is the sixth anniversary of the Mike Richards Show at Calgary’s The FAN 960. I’m proud to say I’ve been a part of it almost the entire six years. Richards is the best young broadcaster in the country and nothing on the radio dial is funnier than the fabulous Mike Richards Show.

3) No matter where I go in Winnipeg, I get asked the same question: “Are the Jets coming back?” I believe they are and the team coming to Winnipeg will likely be the Phoenix Coyotes.

However, I’m not convinced yet that it won’t be the Atlanta Thrashers. Friends inside the NHL office in New York tell me that if a team must move, and commissioner Gary Bettman does NOT want any team to move, Bettman would accept the move of a team from the Eastern Conference to the West. That means he can move the Detroit Red Wings to the East (Bettman believes teams in the Eastern time zone, like Detroit, should probably play in the Eastern Confernce).

Sure, all signs would point to the Coyotes leaving the desert and moving back to the prairie, however there appears to be enough resolve to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix now and if Ice Edge can get its financing in order, they’ll likely buy the team and keep them there.

But there are more non-traditional markets out there and committed fan bases are small in many of hockey’s Sun Belt communities. Before this whole issue is resolved, the next Winnipeg franchise could very well come from the Eastern Conference.

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Vancouver Olympics Coming to an End. Will This Be the Last Big Media Olympics in North America?

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

One big hockey game to go. And, yes, despite Pavol Demitra being only a crossbar away from a potential Canadian collapse and a Slovakia-USA gold medal game, I still believe Canada will bounce back, beat the Americans and get a chance to party like they’re female hockey players.

Someone asked me on Saturday if enjoyed the Olympics. Well, that’s a tough question. I loved the hockey. Period. I enjoyed some of the sports with the mute button on. Others? If the Olympic gold medal was on the line in a judged sport (figure skating, aerials, moguls, short-track — which shouldn’t be a judged sport but from what we saw in Vancouver, it is — etc.) and they decided to hold it in my backyard, I wouldn’t open the drapes to watch it. Judging at every possible level of sport is so frustratingly phoney, it’s just impossible to watch without laughing out loud.

Other than that, I did enjoy the Games. Especially ski cross, snowboard cross and long-track speedskating. I also enjoyed all of them with no sound on the TV. Frankly, if CTV and TSN had just one announcer  per sport — one of the professional play-by-play guys like Rod Black or Rod Smith (especially Rod Smith) — the Games would have been quite enjoyable. But when Catriona LeMay Doan or one of the other fawning, bullshit artists opened their mouths, I wanted to gag. Thank the lord for the mute button.

As my pal Mike Richards said on the Fan 960 in Calgary last week, “Here was a typical comment by one of the CTV analysts: ‘Yes, Rod, what a wonderful athlete who has worked so hard all her life for this special moment because you know Rod, winning is better than losing. That’s right Rod, winning is good. Losing isn’t good. We like winning, Rod. All Canadians like winning. She likes winning. Winning is better than losing.’”

Click.

After all that phoney pre-Olympic hype, the I-Believe-Own-the-Podium hogwash, the Games were a nice diversion. But will this be it for big, popular Winter Games?

These Vancouver Games were huge. It was in North America, in a great city, and the North American media was all over it. But with newspapers struggling mightily, with TV networks (in Canada, at least) cutting to the bone and losing big money and with all those shoestring internet operations trying to save every penny to pay for content, the people who travelled to Vancouver aren’t going to go to Sochi, Russia in four years. Especially for a Games that will be held with a nine-hour time difference (to CST).

Meanwhile, only three cities in the world have shown any interest at all in 2018.

It was fun to celebrate Canada’s performance in Vancouver. After all, it was an Olympics held in prime time. But do you remember what happened in Turin? Did you watch much of that at all hours of the night? Will you stay up to 3 a.m., 4 a.m. to watch in Sochi? And if the NHL chooses not to participate, will you even bother with hockey?

A lot can happen by 2014, but right now, I’d say this Vancouver Winter Olympics was the last great North American party for a long, long time.

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Favre Now On The Vikings Practice Field

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

He has a contract, the fans are still going nuts and Brett Favre is now practicing with the Minnesota Vikings.

Remember this? “And that’s why I still believe the Vikings are going to make some news before Sunday, Sept. 13. Whether that news is spelled F-A-V-R-E or V-I-C-K or something else altogether, I just can’t for the life of me see Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack under centre on Opening Sunday in Cleveland.

“How about Favre coming in about Week 3 of training camp?”

That’s what we wrote right here at www.rivercitysportsblog.com on July 29, after Favre said he wasn’t coming to camp. Later that week (on July 30 to be exact), with Tom and Joe on 92-CITI-FM, I guaranteed that Favre would be wearing a Vikings uniform after the team broke camp at Mankato State University. On Thursday, July 30, on The FAN 960 in Calgary, I told Mike Richards that it was an absolute guarantee that Favre would sign because the NFL had already spent millions on “Favre No. 4″ jerseys.

So on Tuesday, Favre and his wife Deanna hopped on the Vikings private jet in Hattiesburg, Miss., flew to Holman Airport in St. Paul, Minn., were picked up by Vikings coach Brad Childress and given a police escort to Winter Park where he signed the contract that was always there waiting for him.

This was always a no doubter.

After all, at the age of 40, Brett Favre wasn’t going to room with Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack in the dorm at Mankato State. Was not going to happen.

There was no sense bringing him in to start camp with all the rookies around and have nothing but Cirque du Favre every freakin’ day.

And, what the heck? For two weeks, Rosenfels and Jackson got to pretend they were the co-starters on a team that’s going to play very, very good football this season.

Now he’s here and suddenly my season tickets have a whole new value.

Yesterday, according to my friends in Minneapolis, Favre arrived in Winter Park just after noon and the place “was a zoo!”

There were TV camera crews everywhere, fans trying to get a glimpse of the new quarterback and only one police officer, attempting as best he could, to keep order.

At 12:50, Favre had signed his new contract. At 1:29, he was on the practice field. At 12:02, you could purchase Favre No. 4 jerseys on the NFL website. Coincidence? I think not.

Meanwhile, at about 11 a.m., former Vikings receiver Cris Carter said on espn.com: “And another news flash, Brett Favre is going to be starting for them (the Vikings) this weekend at quarterback.”

Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Metrodome, it’s the Vikings vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. Wonder how many No. 4 jerseys will be in the building?

According the Minnesota Vikings, purple is the new green.

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“Is Avery nuts?”

Posted on December 2, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

Tuesday night, about 7:30, I got a call from Doug Orr, the father of New York Rangers’ enforcer, Colton Orr.

“Is Avery nuts.” asked Orr. “Why would you say something that stupid.”

 

Whoa, Tuesday was a crazy day — Mike Kelly was finally named head coach of the Blue Bombers, Plaxico Burress and the Williams’ boys were suspended and Sean Avery had a brain fart.

 

Early Tuesday morning, the folks who listen to the FAN 960′s Mike Richards Show were dying to see Avery and the Dallas Stars simply arrive at the Pengrowth Saddledome last night to face Dion Phaneuf and the Flames. That’s because — of course — Phaneuf’s girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert, is Avery’s old girlfriend. A lot of Flames fans figured there might be a real donnybrook if the exceptionally lippy Avery and the big,  strong, younger Phaneuf got nose-to-nose.

 

Now, first of all, you have to understand that Avery gets around. Not only is Cuthbert an ex saliva-swapper but the girlfriend of L.A. Kings’ centre Jarrett Stoll is also a former girlfriend of Avery’s – yeah, that’s  Rod Stewart’s ex, 39-year-old model Rachel Hunter.

 

Suffice it to say that in calgary yesterday, there was plenty of breathless anticipation.

 

Sadly, Avery and Phaneuf never had a chance to exchange pleasantries. Instead, Avery made the following comment: “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don’t know what that’s about. Enjoy the game tonight.”

 

Avery didn’t. He was suspended indefinitely for making “inappropriate public comments,” and will have to meet with commissioner Gary Bettman before he’s reinstated. 

 

To quote Dougie Orr, “Is Avery nuts?”

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The CFL Conference finals. Are we looking at an All-Alberta Grey Cup?

Posted on November 15, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

This season, the West dominated the East. The tally was 22-6 when the Edmonton Eskimos went into Winnipeg and beat the Bombers 29-21 in the crossover semifinal.

 

Montreal hasn’t played well for seven weeks and Anthony Calvillo hasn’t taken a snap in anger in three weeks. Ricky Ray — and his receiving corps — has looked very good in the final month of the season.  

 

Out west, Calgary has owned B.C. all season. they should own them again on Saturday.

 

We are looking at an All-Alberta Grey Cup IN Montreal next Sunday. Could be fun. Especially for the Scott Taylor Reports on The FAN 960 in Calgary on Tuesday and Thursday and on the TEAM 1260 in Edmonton on Wednesday.

 

Let’s take a close look at the Conference finals:

 

Edmonton Eskimos (11-8) at Montreal Alouettes (11-7)

 

Saturday, 12 Noon, CT, TSN

 

The Eskimos became the first Western team in history to win the West-East crossover semifinal. In fact, last week’s win in Winnipeg was pretty easy. This week, the Eskimos go into Montreal, where the Alouettes lost 24-23 to the Bombers in Week 18. In Week 19, the Eskimos whipped the Alouettes 37-14 in Edmonton, but Montreal played without Anthony Calvillo. Of course, Calvillo hasn’t played well since he put up 43 points against sad-sack Toronto in Week 17. In fact, Montreal hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record since Week 14, way back on Sept. 28, when they whipped a banged-up Saskatchewan team 37-12 at Molson Stadium. Since then, the Als have lost to Hamilton, Winnipeg and Edmonton and beaten only 3-15 Hamilton and 4-14 Toronto. On Saturday, the Esks and Als play at the cavernous Olympic Stadium and that’s really not homefield advantage for the Alouettes. It’s West vs. East and I always pick West first. 

 

Pick: Edmonton

B.C. Lions (12-7) at Calgary Stampeders (13-5)

Saturday 3:30 p.m. CT, TSN

Last week, B.C. won on the road in Regina. There is no tougher place to play. That means could certainly take out Calgary this week. Calgary beat B.C. in Calgary 28-18 in Calgary way back in Week 1. Calgary beat B.C. 36-29 in B.C. in Week 9. And Calgary wasted B.C. 41-30 in Calgary in Week 19 in a game B.C. had to win to play host to the Western semifinal. Calgary has B.C.’s number and the Stamps put up a lot of points to get to 13-5. If Henry Burris avoids brain farts and Cameron Wake, Calgary could blow the Lions away. It’s time. It’s time for an All-Alberta Grey Cup.

Pick: Calgary

Last Week: 0-2

Season: 45-21

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After the latest mess in Toronto, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are getting closer to requiring a new head coach.

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

After Friday night’s game at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Doug Berry told reporters: “If you’ve got any good ideas, I’ll listen to you.”

 

No he won’t.

 

People around town have been giving Doug Berry advice for weeks and while he seems to be listening to some of it, he isn’t listening to the good stuff. 

 

Oh, sure, he listened to people who have never played a down of football in their lives and yet were thrilled that Troy Westwood was publicly humiliated. And he listened to the whining masses who wanted Kevin Glenn removed and then chirped like The Joker when Ryan Dinwiddie’s lame ducks found their intended targets against Calgary’s rotten defensive secondary a week ago.

 

But on Friday, as he asked for advice following a 19-11 loss to an equally-as-inept Toronto Argos outfit (two teams needed a single on the final play of the game to put up a total of 30 points in a CFL game), he continued to forget the most important piece of advice of all: “Give Charles Roberts the damn football.”

 

There will be some who will suggest that Roberts had “another lousy game” against the Argos and will say “he is still struggling.” But let’s put our thinking caps on and look closely at what Roberts did on Friday. 

 

Charles Roberts carried the ball 11 times for 66 yards. The National Post reported that “the Argos shut down Roberts.” Held him, they did. In fact, the Post wrote: “From the opening whistle the Argos focused their attention on stopping Winnipeg’s all-star running back, Charles Roberts. Toronto’s defence — the worst against the run in the Canadian Football League coming into the game — loaded up on bodies on the line of scrimmage and gave Roberts little room to operate.”

 

Trouble is the Argos didn’t shut down Roberts at all. Doug Berry and offensive co-ordinator Kit Cartwright shut down Roberts.

 

Charlie Roberts gained 66 yards on 11 carries. That’s 6.0 yards per carry. Roberts was averaging 3.7 yards per carry heading into the game. It was his best game of the year. At 6.0 yards per carry, two carries per set of downs is 12 yards. That averages out to an unstoppable march down the field. Had the Bombers given the ball to Roberts 30 times, he’d have rushed for about 180 yards.

 

Of course, TSN’s on-line headline was “Argonauts Defence Steps Up To Stymie Blue Bombers.” The only people stymied were the head coach, the offensive co-ordinator and the quarterback.

 

Certainly Toronto’s front seven did a good job harassing Dinwiddie (much better than Calgary’s worthless three-man rush a week earlier) and the defensive secondary, as we suspected, was significantly better than that awful group the Stamps trot out every week. But to suggest the Argos shut down Roberts is to have missed the game entirely.

 

“If you know Charlie, you know he gets stronger as the game goes on,” said his former quarterback Khari Jones, as we did Mike Richards’ radio program on the FAN 960 in Calgary together the other day. “The more you give Charlie the ball, the better he gets.”

 

Giving Charlie the ball 11 times a game is NOT enough. In fact, Roberts also caught one pass for 14 yards, so in total, he picked up 80 yards on 12 touches. 12 lousy touches? No wonder the Bombers are 1-5. 

 

Dinwiddie, meanwhile, went 16-for-28 for 224 yards with one touchdown (and 85-yarder to Romby Bryant) and two interceptions. The Bombers had a grand total of just 13 first downs. On Friday night, Kevin Glenn’s replacement made last week’s win over Calgary look Troy Kopp-esque.

 

The Bombers problem is clearly coaching. The coach humiliated his veteran kicker publicly and half of his locker room lost faith. His new kicker is now 14-for-20 (70 per cent) in field goals and is the first Bomber punter in 35 years to be dead last in the league in punting average after the first six games of the season and now the rest of the room is starting to wonder about the decision to chase Westwood out of the game.

 

What could be worse, however, is that in a panic — or in an effort to find someone else to blame — the coach dumped his veteran starting quarterback and replaced him with a guy who admitted on Tom and Joe’s Show on 92-CITI-FM this week that he had trouble reading the extra man on defence in the Canadian game.

 

Oh, oh.

 

Doug Berry was a great assistant in Montreal. He could be a great assistant in Winnipeg. His 10-7-1 trip to last year’s Grey Cup notwithstanding, he has appeared to have lost his touch as a head coach. 

 

Working in Berry’s favour is the fact his Bombers now play two straight games at home against Montreal and Hamilton. If Winnipeg doesn’t win both, it will be the bye-week and it will be time to make a coaching change.    

 

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