Sweet victory!!! That was a football game last night. Well actually two great, gritty games. Very nice to see Hamilton get their first win last night. And the fact that it was against Calgary made it sweeter. And the Rider game was pure emotion to watch. I admit I was a little bit worried early. On the first drive when both Szarka and Richardson couldn't haul in the easy 6 points I thought the game was going wrong early. And going into halftime down by almost 2 TD's didn't help the bloodpressure either. I wanted Jackie Mitchell's head on a spike after the first half. The phrase "piss poor" describes his performance up to the half perfectly. But after the half it looked like a different player out there, I would have loved to be in the dressing room at halftime to hear the changes. Richie Hall came through in the second half. His defense found their swagger and pride and came out kicking ass. Kitwana was a special teams monster and played his usual great defense. This guy will be an all-star soon. My man Reggie played his usual super solid game. He was a tackling machine. He might not have got any sacks but he caused some. I sure hope that Mitchell can carry over his play from the second half into the next game. When they have two outside LB's to worry about then Reggie will start racking up some tombstones.
Jamel Richardson has to be the most depressed guy on the planet today. He started this season damn hot and now he gets to watch from the bench on crutches. One of those occupational hazards but it doesn't make you feel any better when you are the one who got hurt. I know from experience about being hurt. I hope that after the swelling goes down that his injury is less serious than it appears right now. I've had the chance to talk to him a lot this year and he has impressed me with his attitude and drive. Whether it was just because of the NFL money waiting after the season or not he is motivated. Heal fast Jamel because the team needs your physical play in the second half of the season.
Now for a couple minor negatives. Our D-tackles are not the force that they should be. And this is a concern. I know that Nate has had back problems and I know from personal experience that an injured back is a hard thing to recover from. But staying away from the ice cream man is a very good start big guy. He has cut down his purchases from the ice cream man at TF after practice, and according to a few people he is paying more attention to his weight. I think that as soon as the temps start to stabilize his back will feel better and he will make his usual impact. But Scott Schultz is starting to worry me. He took some time off from practice a while ago for a sore back and I think that it's still bothering him and he is not being honest about it to the coaches. And if he's not telling the coaches whats wrong he isn't getting the treatment he needs. Be honest Scott and get better. It's a long season and we need you at the end!!
Tristan Clovis made a name for himself last night. I hope that the Store staff was paying attention so they know who he is when he tries to buy something now. I love to see the rookies doing well. Even though Suiter screwed up on his call last night and blamed Tristan for Jackie's mistakes. I rewatched that part and it wasn't the safety's mistake, Mitchell just got outran. Oh well Jackie made up for that in a big way.
And Luca Congi is continuing his great rookie campaign. This kid will be the Rider kicker for a long, long time. My son will grow up watching him like I grew up watching Ridgway. And an added bonus for Terry is that Luca knows him and says hi everytime he sees him. Luca is a great kid and a very dedicated football player. I must be getting old when I start calling pro players "kid".
Now for my last thoughts today. Kenton Keith. Leave the man alone already. When the facts of what happened that night come out a lot of people will eat a lot of crow. He's a young black man with some cash. And that seems to be a combination that a lot of people here want to believe the worst of. Get over the redneck attitude that Regina is getting famous for. And the rumours about him are just plain silly. I've heard most of them and I decided to track some down at the source. So far none of the people that were supposedly harmed by his actions have any clue about the rumours. So I call bullshit on most of the rumours.
Thanks for reading my ramblings.