Well all the speculation is over. Danny Barrett is moving on. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about that either. When he came here the team sucked ass and when he left it had been to 3 Western Finals. But no Grey Cup games. Or home playoff games. He took a really bad team and turned it into something that we could be proud of. Every game we expected a win. And in over 25 years of watching this team that was a nice change.

But his ability to properly manage his quarterbacks is the biggest reason he is looking for a job right now. He wouldn't make any changes as the games went on and that cost us a lot of wins. OK he never really had a top flight QB to work with but he had quality backups to goto when the starter sucked. And the starter sucked a lot every season.

Danny is a great guy in my experience and I hope he catches on somewhere soon. College coaching would be something he should be very good at. He has the respect of his players and helped a lot of them become better people and better football players. I'm going to miss seeing him jog past my house in the spring. He always waved or said hi and sometimes would stop and talk for a few minutes. He is a class guy but the business of football is all about winning and that didn't happen enough. Good luck Danny and thanks for what you started here.

Later on I'll give my opinion on the rumoured replacements for Barrett. Thanks for reading.

What the hell was that?

Thanks for reading.

OK it's gameday. I might be a little bit nervous right now. Damn I wish we were the early game. My stomach is feeeling a little bit funny and it's hard to contain the excitement. I remember the feeling of being in the stands last week and I so want to feel that same feeling after this game. I'm watching TSN's coverage this morning and they just showed Reggie Hunt and now I'm going a lot more crazy. We will win. It's that simple. Climie sucks by the way. Dunigan is my new hero, he picked us. Schultz sucks. The other two picked us too. It's a good day baby.

I'll be at the Casino cheering my ass off like I was at the game. And after we win I know I'm going to the game. The inlaws have got me hooked up for a ticket. It's going to be a suicide ride, up and back the same day. But I've done that before. Go Riders.

Thanks for reading my disjointed ramblings. Riders by 12 today. Go Riders Go.

Well it's 9 hours until the bus loads for Calgary. As usual I'm totally disorganised. I have stuff in the dryer, stuff already folded and stuff I have probably forgotten about that I will need. At least I don't have to be up 3 hours before departure time to do my face paint. Going up the day before eliminates that hassle. It also adds to the expense of the trip but I think if I'm careful I can come back with some cash, I have on all the other trips so far.

I think the plan for Saturday night is to hit the French Maid for a little while then find a club that we can close down. I'm pretty sure I'll just be people watching and trying to convert half of Calgary into Rider fans. The other half already are. I'm not going to drink really hard Saturday or Sunday. I'll probably always have a drink in my hand but I won't be chugging or doing shots. This trip is about the football.

And talking about football the Riders had probably the best week of practice I have seen all year. Kerry Joseph is showing no hint of his injury and it shows in his throws. This is the QB that I've been waiting all year to see. Thursday at practice maybe 3 balls hit the turf between Kerry and Marcus. They looked that good. Joseph has all of his tools right now and I believe he can take us a long way in the playoffs. And if he falters then Crandell is more than capable of running the offense. For the first time in months we have two healthy capable QBs and it couldn't happen at a better time. Armstead is back. And damn he's actually catching the long ball. Look out for him Sunday because they have a couple of very pretty plays for him and Grant and Fantuz. They will make you go ooh and aahh. Kenton Keith is at his elusive best right now, look for 190 combined yards. Matt Dominguez actually looked shaky this week but he is a gamer so I'm not worried. And Mr.Burris had better have a good doctor because the D is fired up. Reggie Hunt put in his best week as a Rider, yeah I said best as a Rider. He was everywhere he was supposed to be and that's where the ball was. Reaper will stop Reynolds and be in the gaptoothed one's face all day long. And if he gets blocked look for Jackie "mohawk" Mitchell to pick up the slack. He is back to the all star form he had before his injuries. And the D-line looks mean. Nate Davis was running in the drills. He never does that so look out Calgary the big dog is looking to mark his territory. Terrel and Fred are both hyped for this game too so it's a long day for smilin' hank. And watch the sideline shots for Tristan Clovis' new hairdo. It's Mr.T baby. Half the team has the funky hair happening and it's great to see.

Well I gotta pack. So if you are in Calgary on Saturday pick up a copy of the Calgary Herald because they interviewed Phil, Cathy and Me and it's going to run then. They called me tonight to confirm a few things. And of course watch for me on TV. Thanks for reading.