Things Banging Around in My Head

When you spend every waking moment reading about, writing about or thinking about sports, one of two things will happen: Your brain will turn to tapioca or you'll start a blog to get this crap out of your head.

Right now, I have a headache. Let's see if I can drain the swamp.

1) For head coach Mike Kelly's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, there might not be a more important football game played this season than Saturday night’s Bombers-Argos battle at Canad Inns Stadium. If the Bombers win and go to 4-8, they’re right back in the playoff hunt (that's what happens in a league where six of eight teams make the playoffs). However, if they lose and fall to 3-9, it will be time to think about next year.

Lose, and the Bombers can go right ahead and release Michael Bishop, save some money and let the kids, Casey Bramlet and Ricky Santos share the quarterbacking duties for the rest of the season.

2) "The Minister of Defence," Barrin Simpson, is no longer a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The star middle linebacker, who was, for awhile, on the CFL’s nine-game disabled list, has been told by head coach Mike Kelly not to return to the locker room, to meetings or to hang out at practice.

To make matters more difficult for the Minister's future in Winnipeg, the CFL’s board of governors ruled yesterday in favour of Simpson’s grievance, a grievance that was filed last week. The board said Simpson would be placed on the one-game injured list, not the nine-game list. The Bombers wanted him on the nine-game list so his contract wouldn't count against the cap.

Now that he’s already come off that list, if he can’t be traded quickly he will likely have to be released.

And the Bombers will get nothing in return for a very good football player.

3) This my good friend and 92-CITI-FM producer, Scott O'Neil: "Mark my words, you will be doing a CFL Report (7:15 a.m., every Monday through Friday, on 92-CITI-Fm brought to you by MAACO) on how Casey Printers led the B.C. Lions into the playoffs and how Barrin Simpson led some other team into the playoffs."

I agreed.

4) Jim Balsillie, the man who wants to buy the Phoenix Coyotes for $242.5 million and move them to Hamilton, told the bankruptcy court in Phoenix on Wednesday, that he would agree to keep the team in Phoenix this year.

Which mans that Balsillie has another $50 million (the likely number for this year's losses) to throw away on that dog of a franchise.