tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253165652024-03-08T15:42:58.217-06:00rickyg's worldJust my random ramblings on my life and other things that might interest me at the time. For the summer and fall this will probably be populated with my ramblings about the Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL football team.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-17523407627019626872008-08-13T08:04:00.002-06:002008-08-13T08:27:30.521-06:00Well here we are 6-1 with the bye week. I'll take that record any year.I could live without the broken legs though. We gotta start putting our guys through a bone density scanner before we sign them.<br /><br />But the best thing about 6-1 is that this team hasn't played up to it's potential yet. And how could they with the injuries? No time to gel together. But we should be getting some guys back soon and then look out for the Green Machine.<br /><br />Earlier this year I said Cates was the man and he has really proved it so far. Not a flashy RB but damn he's effective. And he gets stronger as the game goes on, fantastic conditioning.<br /><br />Our D-line needs to get it together quick though. Chunky is playing decent and Kitwana is OK but damn we need something from the other two. Schultz is half the player he used to be and I blame that on the front office making him drop weight this offseason. Somewhere along the line he dropped most of his game too. He's getting owned by guys he used to smack around and it aint pretty to watch. I'm hoping he spent the bye week at a buffet. We need Chick back soon.<br /><br />Our LBs are great run stoppers. Nobody can run against these guys and that's great. But they just plain can't cover the short inside stuff. I could get open on these guys and I aint fast. It's painful to watch when we get a team in second and 7 and you know they are throwing inside and you know it will be complete. Got to get that fixed or the 6-1 start will be just a nice memory.<br /><br />Our DBs are solid for the most part. But damn Morgan you got to play tough. No more backpedalling BEFORE THE SNAP. You just aint got the closing speed anymore to make up for the soft ass cushion. Lose the cushion and rely on the safety to help out if they beat you deep but don't give up 7-15 yarders by being soft. The longer the pass the easier it is for help to arrive but on the short stuff it's just you and a 7 yard cushion makes it too easy.<br /><br />I aint even gonna look at the O because of injuries. The line, the QBs, the receivers, the back up RBs, they have all went down. And still managed to win 6 games. Thank you Wes Cates.<br /><br />Special teams has the potential to be great. But right now that potential depends on the blocking. And so far it aint there. Give Dressler a crease and let him run. The kid is excitement waiting to happen but he can't run through walls.<br /><br />That's it for today folks. And anybody that wants to party this weekend it's my 40th. We are starting in my backyard Saturday around 5 and then hitting The Drink later on.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-10039361793821338042008-07-05T09:23:00.002-06:002008-07-05T09:53:30.147-06:00Well that was not pretty but it is a win. A costly win though. Losing Flick aint good no matter how you look at it. And Leron Mitchell never got a chance to show what he could do. Losing Crandell for 3 weeks could hurt more than both of the other guys. Jyles showed he aint got what it takes to run this O. And Durant is still a question mark. But we can get some answers about him next week against Hamilton. Thank the football gods for this schedule!! The perfect game for a raw QB to start. Hamilton has some talent but a major dropoff from facing B.C.'s front 4 so Durant should look much better next week.<br /><br />As for our D. They played back on their heels for the first half again. What is up with that? But after halftime they came out and played aggressive, again. Our D-line was only half alive this game. Chick and Chunky were very good. Kitwana looked OK but never made an impact like the other 2, and Schultz was owned. We need these big guys to step up and kick some ass or it's gonna be a long season. LBs got killed by the crossing stuff again early but picked it up better late in the game. DBs with one exception played great all game. The exception was Burnt Morgan. Way too much backpedalling right off the snap and he just aint got the speed anymore to make up for that. Eddie played like he plays, 10 years younger than his birth certificate. Frazier was the stud this week with 2 picks and Johnson was solid. I likes that Johnson kid. And as for the safety I didn't notice him much at all and that's the way it should be. Our D is the best in the league and they have to be even better for the next couple of games while the O gets a chance to gel again.<br /><br />Wes Cates deserves his own paragraph this week. He won this game. Once they tried to stretch his runs outside the D had to respect it and not stack the box against him. And that opened up running between the tackles which is what he does best. Power and elusiveness is his game and it was on display in the second half. And good hands out of the backfield. He stepped up when the rest of the O looked worn down and turned eveything around. Thanks you Wes.<br /><br /><br />And hey I can't end this without a shout out to Luca Congi. 4 for 4 on the night is great. Gotta love the kid.<br /><br />Thanks for reading and if you want to comment go ahead.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-14175214045683772172008-07-01T21:10:00.002-06:002008-07-01T21:23:59.117-06:00Ok it's time for another pointless ramble about Riders football. <br /><br />One game in and they picked up nicely from where they left off last year. The O looked good for the first game. A few mistakes but it was against Edmonton so they didn't hurt us. After another week of practice with Matt D. back in the lineup the O will be scary good this week. My prediction is another 30+ point performance. And another 250+ yard passing day for Marcus. This O will easily surpass last year's version.<br /><br />The D looks OK so far. The line will eat whichever poor sap B.C. lines up at QB and spit out the bones. And that is the key, pressure from the big guys up front. Because our LBs need another game to get the coverage on the quick inside stuff together. They played better in the second half against Edmonton but the first half was bad. And our DBs weren't much better in that first half, back on their heels waiting for the receiver to come to them. I don't know what Miller and Hall said at halftime but it worked. The second half of that game was in your face aggressive D. And it worked well. There was one huge bright spot in the secondary though. Mr. James Johnson was incredible. Yes I really said that. I was not a big Johnson fan early in his Rider career but he has made me a believer. The Grey Cup was no fluke. The man is the real deal and I'm glad I was wrong.<br /><br />So this week we play the Lions. And it will be another Rider victory. The Lions are a team on the downside of the curve and really should not be a challenge. So the Riders open 3-0 because Hamilton is the free space on the bingo card next week.<br /><br />Anyway thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-84404554174086640422008-05-18T07:45:00.003-06:002008-05-18T08:00:23.489-06:00It almost that time again. Rider football starts soon. And the defense of the Grey Cup should be fun.<br /><br />I had a chance to talk to Ken Miller(new head caoch) and I'm impressed. He is a little older than I would like for a rookie head coach but he can't control his age. What he can control is his attitude and I like it. A very smart, competitive man so I think we are in good hands.<br /><br />And we start training camp with Marcus Crandell as the number 1 QB. I know a lot of people are nervous about that but I'm not. Marcus has the tools to do very well in our system. That's what he was missing previously, a good system to work in. When he was with Calgary it was a circus and it showed with what they tried to make him do. Right now we have a lot of talent around him and coaches who know his strengths and weaknesses. They will do what they have to in order to let him succeed. <br /><br />One last thing for a Sunday morning. If you haven't bought it yet Terry Mcevoy has updated his fantastic book Rider Pride on the American Side. He came out with the Grey Cup Edition which is available online at <a href="www.northernroadpress.com ">www.northernroadpress.com</a> Check it out.<br /><br />Anyway thanks for reading and I'll try and update this thing more often now that football season is coming up.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-14307477040647879102008-02-15T09:22:00.002-06:002008-02-15T09:38:56.707-06:00Wow I haven't updated this thing since August. But of course nothing much has happened since then, right? OK the Riders won the Grey Cup and Austin left the team but those things happen every 20 years or so. <br /><br />The previous paragraph was not to be taken seriously. Grey Cup was amazing. And I have zero hard feelings with Austin leaving. Football is a business. Miller should be able to do the job depending on the talent available to him. And speaking of talent free-agency starts tonight. My man Reggie is a free agent if he doesn't sign in the next 14 hours or so. I have a bad feeling about it though. If we don't sign him I'm pretty sure that our D will suffer this year. There was a reason that he was playing hurt all season. And that reason is that Reggie Hunt at 75% is still better than the guys behind him at 100%. The coaches know that but some of the fans just don't get it. How do I know it? See previous comment about the coaches. Yep coaches are a pretty good source. Sign Reggie.<br /><br />As for the other Rider news. Kerry Joseph had a tryout with the Saints. Yeah it took longer to type that than it did for the Saints to say "Sorry Kerry" and send him on his way. He went public about his being unsatisfied with his current contract that he renegotiated last season, two demerit points for using the media in contract negotiations. He signed it off his own free will so he should play it out. Have another big season and then ask for big bucks. <br /><br />And the newest Rider related news is that a group of Saskatoon business people are planning on building a 32,000 seats stadium. Yeah they should lay offf the meth. Now way the Riders move and now way Saskatoon gets an expansion team. But if this gets more tickets sold in Toon town then it's all good. <br /><br />Time to get ready for work. Thanks for reading and as usual if you have something to say go ahead. But try to keep it clean.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-79231418623301193622007-08-13T22:08:00.001-06:002007-08-13T22:18:23.242-06:00Well I don't have much to say but I'm bored and may as well update this thing a little bit.<br /><br />My daughter is doing great after last months scare. Typical toddler getting into everything and smiling as she does it. <br /><br />My son is starting to get bored with summer holidays. He just loves school. And I'm looking forward to him starting this year because his new principal used to be my grade 5 and 6 teacher. I was in his first class that he ever taught. Mr.Strachan is probably my favourite teacher I ever had. The first teacher to ever keep me after school and make me catch up on my work. It helped a lot later on.<br /><br />The Riders are tied for first place in the CFL right now. September 22 is looking like it will be a HUGE game, get your tickets now. And this Saturday is going to be fun. A Saturday NIGHT GAME at TF against the freaking useless, hated, ugly, smelly, I hate them with a passion, Edmonton Eskimoes. They are beatup and will probably be without Gass so it's the perfect time to hurt them some more and take the two points.<br /><br />Anyway thanks for reading, I should get some sleep because when I wakeup I'll be another year older.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-55316105077310665752007-07-23T17:48:00.000-06:002007-07-23T18:04:12.098-06:00Yeah my daughter is home. She got released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. And being a typical kid you would never know that 3 days ago she was running a high fever and not eating or drinking. Today she is running around and bugging her big brother and just having fun. She got to see her two cousins today and was super hyper. I'm still forcing her to drink just because of the extreme heat, but I'm forcing my son to drink too, and when I make them drink I do too. <br /><br />This heat is damn awful. I've had heatstroke before and I could feel the effects starting again earlier today. So I got into some air conditioning and had a milkshake, good milkshake.<br /><br />Nothin really new in Rider news yet this week. They took an extra day off because of the extreme heat. And I totally agree with that. No sense having players go down for something that can be avoided. They can still get in 3 good days of practice and maybe the longer break will bring them back with more of an edge. They need to smack the Esks in the mouth and just make an example of them. Show them that last week was a fluke and it won't happen again.<br /><br />The biggest Rider related news was Tillman/Hillbilly that Rod Pedersen blogged about. I admire Rod but this time he was totally wrong. He said Hillbilly didn't have the nads to use his real name when in the Riderville post that Tillman went off on he signed it J.J Voss. Yep that's hios real name. Then the next day he blogs that he made a mistake, no apology for the "no nads" comment though. Then he pretty much says that J.J. should be fired from his gameday job running the Maxtron sound just because he got into it with Tillman. What he didn't mention was that Tillman had gone off on a few people over the last month or so for no real resaon. Every time he reads something that "could" be taken as critical he loses it. Not good. He needs to stop posting so late at night because at 3AM he is very prickly and takes things the wrong way and won't back down later when it's pointed out to him that he took it the wrong way. He says that he's not going to post anymore, but then he's said that a few times before. He's like the kid playing baseball and he's gonna take his ball and bat and go home. Then when another kid says he's got a bat and ball he decides to stay. Eric is afraid that he will become irrelevant on Riderville so he'll be back.<br /><br />Thanks for reading. And hey,flame away if you don't agree. Just keep it sorta clean.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-29176905330062309692007-07-20T23:20:00.000-06:002007-07-20T23:30:55.839-06:00OK god. I get it. For some unknown reason you are pissed at me.<br /><br />I've had one of the worst freaking weeks of my life. And the last three days just topped it off. My daughter is in the hospital as I type this suffering from dehydration and the aftereffects of the flu. She is 20 months old and it's hitting her hard. She isn't drinking or eating and has an IV in her hand. She was doing OK with just a little bit of a cough until Wednesday night. Then it just went nuts. At 4AM she puked for the first time. At 5:30 she did it again and at 6AM my wife had her at the hospital. She hasn't been home since. Damn I miss them right now but I have to be home with my son. So far all the blood work has come back negative for anything bad and that's good. But it's just a helpless feeling not knowing why she isn't getting much better. I'm hoping that in the morning she will be her normal self and I can tickle her and hear her laugh. <br /><br />I was going to add something about the Rider loss tonight but I just really don't care enough about it right now. It's just football.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-24437181339600657992007-06-02T09:06:00.000-06:002007-06-02T09:19:58.032-06:00Well just an update on something I've blogged on before.<br /><br />The news didn't pick this up but another possible dog poisoning in Regina last week. We were at softball on Sunday just off of Pasqua and 15th when an older lady with 3 dogs came to out dugout crying. One of her dogs was foaming at the mouth and falling over. So one of our girls gave her a ride to the ver clinic on Saskatchewan Drive to get the dog looked at. That was pretty scary because a few people on the other team had brought their dogs out to the game and of course there were a ton of kids out watching and playing too. After seeing the lady being so upset in person I take back my statement about not beating this guy if you can catch him. He needs to be covered in BBQ sauce and thrown in a room full of hungry dogs. <br /><br />Rider rookie camp was held the last 3 days on the new turf at TF. Damn it looks good. Hard to judge who has real talent and who is just better than the other rookies. A Regina (and Thom Collegiate) boy by the name of Stuart Foord looked pretty good and I'm hoping he gets a chance at main camp. He still has another year of Junior Football left so I doubt he makes the team this year but he is learning lots.<br /><br />And anybody else on Facebook? That damn site is addictive as hell. But it's fun too. I thought I would be too old to enjoy it but I figure if my older sister-in-law can be on it then I can too. Lots of Rider groups on Facebook if you are interested.<br /><br />Anyway it looks like the lawn is drying up so it's time to get out and cut it before I need a swather. Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-7960563983308598912007-05-25T09:43:00.000-06:002007-05-25T10:14:13.696-06:00OK it's been almost a month since I've updated this thing so here goes.<br /><br />First off if you haven't heard Taylor Field(Mosaic Stadium for those that care more about the cash than the tradition) is having Field Turf installed right now. For some really good pictures of the install process check out <a href="http://mikeknight.blogspot.com/">Mike's Blog</a> Even the actual Field Turf website is using a few of these pics by Mike. And after seeing the field in person I can say that even though the pics are great they don't do justice to the real thing. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Riders play on this stuff. And practice on it too. The new turf should drastically cut down on injuries.<br /><br />And if anybody reading this has ever talked to me then you know that Reggie Hunt is my favourite player. He is one of the top 3 linebackers in the league and a guy who doesn't get enough credit here. Everybody just looks at the sack and int totals and writes him off. They don't look at him taking the runningback or O-lineman out of the play so Perry, Jones... get through to make the big play. Without him being there first to take the block the rest of the rush wouldn't be as good. And if you watch the tackles he makes most of them he has to cover a lot of ground to get to. He is there to make the play that somebody else missed. Reggie now has his own internet site at <a href="http://www.reaper9.com/index.html">Reaper9.com</a> Check it out.<br /><br />And talking about new internet sites. Joe Hadesbeck has his blog up and running now. And it's updated a lot more often than this one is. Here is the link <a href="http://www.theracerreport.blogspot.com/">The Racer Report</a> Pretty good blog with lots of stuff covered. Check it out but don't guess too many of the lyrics because I have the lead and don't want to lose it.<br /><br />I think that's about all I wanted to post about today. As usual it was just random ramblings. The guy who left out the poison is still at large but he seems to have slowed down since the weather went to crap here. If you know who is doing the poison thing turn him in before a kid gets hurt. If you want to slap him around a bit first that's up to you but I think this guy needs some serious help more than he needs a beating. A beating heals in a month or so and then he would still be out there doing this crap. Getting him some help might stop him from repeating this again next year.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-32787623386912458802007-05-08T10:45:00.000-06:002007-05-08T10:56:25.404-06:00OK just a short one today, maybe.<br /><br />I can't believe there are people sick enough to leave poison around in the parks here in Regina. So far 9 dogs have been poisoned with at least one dieing from it. And the places the poison has been left are scary. I mean Candy Cane park is heavily used by kids. It's bad enough that dogs are getting sick but what happens when a 2 year old picks it up and puts it in their mouth? And that's what kids do. Right now everybody is a little bit choked that dogs are being poisoned and I don't think the cops are devoting much time to catching him. But that will all change if a kid gets sick. Then it will be attempted murder and the cops will do what they should be doing right now. Spend the time and money and catch him BEFORE people get hurt.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-47811176804440345202007-04-23T09:59:00.000-06:002007-04-23T10:20:55.375-06:00Damn I'm getting old. My buddy had his stag on Saturday and I'm still feeling it today. We started out at noon playing some football. Three hours of dragging my old out of shape ass around the field. But I was too stubborn to take it easy and let the young guys show me up. And I didn't. I played better than I thought I would.<br /><br />After football it was drinks at O'Hanlons. There were probably 15-20 of us at any time there. Good food and good service. Then it was off to the real nightclubs after my buddy tried to scam a pizza at the Copper Kettle by going in the back door and talking to the kitchen staff. He didn't get the pizza.<br /><br />We got to Dewdney Avenue too late to get in anywhere except upstairs at SOHOs. That place is a dump but we needed booze so we stuck around. Jay and I decided to give free pool lessons to an assortment of people. We were unbeatable until the cue ball got stuck in the table. We finally decided to leave and somehow a couple of bottles of liquor ended up leaving with us. I am totally innocent in that shenanigan, really I had nothing to do with it. I was already outside waiting for a cab. <br /><br />Out cab ride from Dewdney to the strip club was a classic. We ended up with the greatest cab driver possible for a bunch of drunk guys on their way to see naked women. He kept us entertained and looked the other way when the bottle accidently got opened and partially consumed. Needless to say he got $30 for a $7 fare.<br /><br />The strip club was interesting. We paid $10 to get in and they only had two dancers. The first one was decent but wow I hope the second one finds another job fast. I went for a smoke break about 2 minutes into her show. And that was just about the time the groom to be was outside hurling. And being the good friends that we are a few of us pulled out the cell phones and got pictures and video of him puking.<br /><br />I woke up Sunday feeling the effects of too much football and too much booze. And I still had the evaluation day for riderfans football to look forward to. I made a few people look really good early on in the one on one drills. I probably moved them up 2 or 3 rounds in the draft. But I redeemed myself in the scrimmages. I ended up in a group of guys who caught on to zone defense really fast. We probably had the best D out of all the groups. <br /><br />Today I can barely move.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-74399972438784448032007-03-23T08:25:00.000-06:002007-03-23T09:04:48.679-06:00Hey it's time for a new post on here. I kinda forgot about this thing.<br /><br />So the old guys that were holding up the skatepark have backed down. They figured it would cost them too much to fight it out in court. The city is saying the park should be ready to use by late summer. Good to hear. We need more things like this to keep the younger people happy and busy.<br /><br />Not much Rider news that I want to talk about. Nate Davis signed with the Bombers and joins Andrew there. I'm happy to see him get picked up and have a chance to end his career on his own terms. And of course Vanstone had to pick up on a couple comments that Nate made and turn them into a huge deal. Unfortunatly Eric Tillman got sucked into responding to those comments and in my opinion just made himself look even more thin skinned by doing so. Hey I like Eric, had to get that in before I get jumped on for not planning a parade everytime he talks, but he has to get thicker skin if he is going to be effective in Saskatchewan. I've told him that to his face by the way. Politely of course. I think that as soon as the season starts and it comes down to the real football part of his job he will be fine. It's just right now he is trying to sell his moves and his previous jobs too much. I can't blame him too much for that because the season hasn't started yet so he can't just point to the team on the field and say "judge me on that".<br /><br />So for those that are really desperate for Rider related activities there have been a few in the last couple of weeks. First the Rider basketball team played a celebrity squad at Scott Collegiate last week. Good game but a very disappointing crowd. I was lucky and won two of the door prizes. Of course in those prizes were 2 tickets to the pre-season game in both baskets. So now including what I get with my season tickets I will have 7 extra tickets to that game. I think most of them are spoken for too. And last night was the final slection for the Rider cheerleaders at Northgate Mall. Damn some of those girls are smokin' hot. Good looking team this year. And the Riders are going with a "stunt team" this year too. I'm still not sure if I like the idea of having guys as a part of it though. It takes away from how hard I can heckle the Eskimos' gayleaders. But on the bright side the guys on our stunt team are not half as gay looking as Edmonton's. There were a couple of close calls when they did their throws last night though. Sometime this year one of the girls will get dropped. The guys on the stunt team need to bulk up quickly.<br /><br />But that's it for now except to remind anybody who is reading about the next appearance of the Rider basketball team. Wednesday the 28th of March at Sheldon Collegiate 7PM. I'm not 100% sure if I'll be there because there is a meeting about the future of my son's elementary school that night and I HAVE to be at that. <br /><br />Anyway thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1170990917654765412007-02-08T21:03:00.000-06:002007-02-08T21:15:17.666-06:00I can't believe that 4 old guys can hold up the new skate park that is supposed to be going into Wascana Park. They say there was not enough public discussion but I can remember public meetings all last year. This is just a few old folks who don't want skaters anywhere near them. The indoor skate park is a block and a half away from my place and I have never had any problems with skaters. No extra graffiti, no extra litter and no extra crime. All the things that the old folks are worried about. I'm pretty sure that if I had the energy I could find the crime and grafitti stats for the area around the existing skate park, I know they were available at the public meetings. And they were pretty much neutral for the time before the park and the time after it was built. These old folks really can't win but it will slow down the building plans and cost the City of Regina a bunch of money fighting it. And it will be just one more reason for young people to wonder why they should stay in this city.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1170472225543250922007-02-02T20:56:00.000-06:002007-02-02T21:10:25.556-06:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6480/2643/1600/545377/100_7551%20%28Medium%29.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6480/2643/320/600704/100_7551%20%28Medium%29.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Wow what a week in Riderville. Rocky Butler and draft picks to Hamilton for D.J. Flick and Wayne Smith and negotiation rights to a QB. Not a bad trade but not earthshaking. <br /><br />Nate Davis was released this week too. Other than salary reasons I don't get this release. Even last year when he was injured he was still a force. I don't think we will replace him any time soon. So right now I think our Dline is much weaker after this.<br /><br />And they weren't done yet. Andrew Greene got his release this week too. Damn I don't like this one at all. Andrew was one of the alltime greats to ever play on the Rider line, not Aldag calibre but close. I know the salary cap thing but damn!! He is a great guy and I hope that if he decides to play this year somebody picks him up soon.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1170004822092346912007-01-28T10:53:00.000-06:002007-01-29T09:01:43.920-06:00It's been a while since I've even looked at this thing so I figured I should post something. <br /><br />How about that Jason Clermont to the Riders rumour? People seem to be split on whether we need him now, need to pay any price to get him, don't need him, or if we can wait until next year when he is a free agent. My opinion is that having Clermont on the team would be a great thing. But do we NEED Clermont on the team? Nope. He is not a game breaker. He just goes out and catches the ball and blocks. He aint a Stegall or a Simon type of receiver. And don't even start to compare him to Elgaard because he aint even close to that level of possesion receiver. He is just a very good, solid Canadian receiver. He would look good in green and white but the price would have to be very right.<br /><br />And the one rumoured trade of Reggie Hunt for Clermont is not a good price. First for those that don't know, I'm a huge Reggie Hunt fan. He is simply one of the 3 best linebackers in the CFL. He is a leader on D and on the team. Add to that the fact that he has chosen to live year round in Regina and is very community minded guy and you have reason to keep him here for his entire career just based on Reggie being Reggie. He is a fan favourite for good reason. I have had a chance to kind of get to know him and he has always been great to me and my family. And every other fan who has ever approached him when I was there. That's just the talent and off field reasons for not trading him. The defense for the team could be very different this year with Bush and Morgan being free agents, Nate Davis being a question mark, and Eddie Davis not getting any younger. Add to that the fact that Jackie Mitchell has been released and we are already missing one leader on D. The young LBs that played have shown good raw talent but raw is the key word. We need a veteran at LB and Reggie is a young vet. He is only 28 years old and he has 6 years in the league.<br /><br />So there you have it. My admittedly biased view of the Hunt for Clermont rumour. Thanks for readingrickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1168397646117629752007-01-09T20:19:00.000-06:002007-01-09T21:49:31.786-06:00Worst neighbourhood in Canada? OK if you haven't read the new Macleans magazine this week check out this <a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/08012007/21/canada-s-worst-neighbourhood.html">story</a> Wow what a piece of crap neighbourhood, right? You must need an armed escort to walk to the store after supper. Not even close. And I should know. I've lived in and around North Central for about half my life and while it's not a great neighbourhood it's not half as bad as that reporter portrayed it. In the last couple of years it has went downhill but most of that can be blamed on lack of real effort on all levels of government. The feds do nothing except set up an office in the neighbourhood and then make themselves scarce until the next election. The provincial goofs do even less. And Smilin'Pat only goes into the neighbourhood when there is a camera crew so he can complain about the big guys not doing anything. It's time that one level just does something and forgets about playing the blame game. Get a REAL police presense on the streets to try and stop crime before it happens. Actually enforce the prostitution laws, harrass the johns and pull the underage girls off the street after 11. Get them in school. Get more money into the foster care homes now and start taking the kids away from anybody involved in gang related activity.<br /><br />Where will the extra cash for all of this come from? Your pocket and mine. But taxes pay for worse things than cleaning up a neighbourhood that needs it. If the hood isn't cleaned up now it will just get worse and cost more later. But this is Regina and people bitch if their taxes go up by $10 a year. But they also bitch when they have to pay deductables when their car is stolen or their house is broken into. And guess what? If the hood isn't cleaned up the problem will move outwards and affect more of the city. It already has when you look at the major drug busts lately. The addresses are in "good" neighbourhoods and that is disturbing. So if you have a new neighbour with a lot of strange traffic and you live in a "good" neighbourhood maybe you should look closer at them. They might be running a grow op while you are BBQing in your nice backyard. And sometimes it's not just a new neighbour. A few of those who have been arrested lately had been in business out of the nice houses for years.<br /><br />Anyway I could make this into a novel but it's time to study. Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1166839414685500722006-12-22T20:01:00.000-06:002006-12-22T20:03:34.696-06:00Merry almost Christmas!!rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1165504862568924602006-12-07T09:07:00.000-06:002006-12-07T09:21:02.603-06:00Well I got lazy and missed my chance to preview the possible coaches. Kent Austin is the new coach. He was my second choice behind Richie Hall so I'm happy. Dave Ritchie would have scared me as the coach. At his age too many possible health problems could have come up and then the team would have been in trouble.<br /><br />Lots of people in Saskatchewan are still holding the way Austin left the first time against him. That was years ago and I'm over it. Hell at the time it didn't bother me too much. I said when the changes started happening that they should be real changes, not just window dressing. And it looks like they are. A coach who is a perfectionist is something this team needs and has now. I know Austin is smart enough to see the talent on this team and use it in the best way. People are worried that the running game is out the window now. I say don't worry. He will make this more of a passing team but will still use the run. Keith was only getting maybe 15 touches a game the last couple years anyway so I can't see his touches going down. And with an offense that is a real passing threat his yards per touch should go up because teams won't be able to stack the box against him when they have to respect the pass.<br /><br />I think everybody knows that I am a Shivers and Barrett fan. But the more I talk to Eric Tillman the more he impresses me. He has a real vision of what this team could be and he has wasted no time putting his stamp on it. The damn offseason is too long because I'm looking forward to seeing the Tillman/Austin version of the Riders on the field. Unlike when Shivers/Barrett took over I think this team has a ton of talent and could challenge for first even with the SMS changes. <br /><br />Anyway thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1164727138918965972006-11-28T09:06:00.000-06:002006-11-28T09:18:58.973-06:00Well 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Later on I'll give my opinion on the rumoured replacements for Barrett. Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1163388743108779712006-11-12T21:31:00.000-06:002006-11-12T21:32:23.116-06:00What the hell was that?<br /><br />Thanks for reading.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1163347775051965522006-11-12T10:01:00.000-06:002006-11-12T10:09:35.066-06:00OK 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Thanks for reading my disjointed ramblings. Riders by 12 today. Go Riders Go.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1162617140533509052006-11-03T22:50:00.000-06:002006-11-03T23:12:20.546-06:00Well 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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1161465676102012832006-10-21T14:57:00.000-06:002006-10-21T15:21:16.116-06:00It wasn't pretty but it was worth 2 points. The D stepped up huge and made a statement. No TDs given up is always a great game. These guys are ready for the playoffs. But damn I'm not sold on the O. One TD will not get us to the western final. I had a bad feeling about the O this week just because Joseph had such a good week of practice. It seems to be his pattern, play well in practice and not so well come gametime. Yeah I know Toronto has a good secondary but if we want to play in Winnipeg our O had to play well against the good teams. And last night they didn't. I haven't read Barrett's post game interviews yet but he probably said that Joseph played well. He didn't. But we still got the W. Now we prepare for Edmonton and I hope a lot better offense shows up Friday. And better special teams tackling too because it wasn't good last night at all. Luca had to be in on at least 2 tackles and that's not a good thing. A kicker should never have to make a tackle expecially when we only have one on the roster. <br /><br />The riderfans.com steak night was a blast. Chaps managed to sell it out and make a bit of cash to keep the site running. And it was JJ's birthday too. I may have gotten a little bit drunk to say the least. And after the game a bunch of us headed over to The Drink for a few more drinks. Tequila is bad for you!!! If you haven't checked out The Drink yet try and make it there to watch the Rider game on Friday. Here is Hillbilly's post about what the bar is doing.<br /><br />"I'm Playing at the Drink Next Thursday, Fri, Sat. Talked with the owners of the club about making it a Rider Fan friendly zone.......<br /><br />So what they've come up with is this...... For $10. You get in for free for the evening.....A Steak Sandwich, a Beer/bar shot....And you get to watch the game in HD on one of 5 T.V.s ( as well as 2 big projection screens) After the game is over Some long haired Rider Fanatic is going to be hitting the stage and Belting out tunes.<br /><br />If you choose to hang around after the game for my show, the bar will buy you a beer/shot.....To keep the party going."<br /><br />If I wasn't making the trip to Edmonton I would defiantly be there. The club is nicely laid out and the TV's are great. And JJ puts on a great show. And if you do make it out to watch the game remember to have a shot every time they show me on TV. Last year in Edmonton I made 8 appearances so the odds of getting drunk are pretty good.<br /><br />Anyway thanks for reading. And stay away from tequila.rickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25316565.post-1161370858260943442006-10-20T12:40:00.000-06:002006-10-20T13:25:58.473-06:00Gameday number 17 today. And thank god it's a game that doesn't matter much. We can't move up or down in the playoff rankings. We are going to Calgary for our first playoff game. Yeah I said our first!!! I expect this team to have three playoff games this year. And hopefully I will see two of those games live. For sure I'm going to Calgary for the semi final. No way I can afford to see the western final live but after we win it I'll figure out a way to get to Winnipeg. Anybody want to donate to my Grey Cup fund? <br /><br />I reported earlier this week that a player was at practice all week and wasn't wearing a uniform. I figure that 4 1/2 hours before the game is a good time to reveal which player that was. That and the fact that nobody reads this thing so it should be safe. The player who didn't dress or participate in practice this week was Fred Perry. Is he playing tonight? I have no idea. Did the coaches just rest him to heal up some dings? Your guess is as good or better than mine. I'm just reporting what I saw and not reading anything into it at all. My guess is that he plays because he wants the sack title and he wasn't obviously in pain walking around at practice.<br /><br />Tonight is the riderfans.com steak night at Brewsters east. Chaps put 50 tickets on sale and it sold out. Should be a very good time. And all profits go to support the website. If you want to support riderfans.com here is a link to how <a href="http://www.riderfans.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=78">Riderfans</a> I know that at time the site is a total gongshow but if you sift through the bullshit there are lots of good informed opinions to be found. And hey even the idiots are good for comic relief sometimes. I just have to decide if I'm wearing the mohawk to the steak night or not. Probably not but stranger things have happened.<br /><br />Anyway that's about all I wanted to write today except for my prediction on the score tonight. 37-22 Riders. Thanks for readingrickyghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169800211001099904noreply@blogger.com0