“I don’t mind losing, but this was ugly.” – Carm Carteri, Sunday June 20, 2010.
That, in a nutshell, summed up Sunday’s 41-17 Rider loss to the Stampeders in Calgary. Carm’s point was that preseason wins and losses are meaningless but the fashion in which this one went down was unsettling.
All tolled, the Riders were penalized 12 times to the Stampeders’ four and the team looked out of sync in quite a few areas.
Coach Miller referred to the “lack of emotion” from his troops, and that they’ve gotten away from the type of football this team has become known for. Even some of the players noted that the atmosphere was flat from their side all day long.
Carm and I are uneasy with everyone’s prediction for a first-place finish for this club given the fact they haven’t even played a meaningful game yet. I’m sure coach Miller and his staff will have them tuned in in short order.
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This was Carm’s assessment of the game on the postgame show:
“I think everybody in Riderville expected a lot more from this football team this afternoon, especially head coach Ken Miller. The disappointing thing as we sit here after the game is that we can’t talk about anything positive we can get from the game.
“Special teams weren’t good, on defense they gave up over 400 yards and offensively they really couldn’t get anything going. They scored 10 points in the first half under Darian Durant and nothing happened until late when Cole Bergquist went in and threw that late TD pass to Koch. But other than that, nothing I can say went well for the Riders. Also disappointing was under 40 yards rushing. The coaching staff will now have to sit back and evaluate not only their talent, but what went on here today.
“The first play of the game, the kick return, there was a holding penalty and that set the tone. I just didn’t see any sense of urgency out of the Riders this afternoon while the Calgary players were more exciting, jumping and down. I just didn’t see any spark out of the Riders and that was the disappointing thing.”
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Was Nik Lewis’ touchdown celebration excessive in the first quarter? You can see it on the highlights of the clash. This is what Darian Durant had to say about it:
“That’s the way Nik Lewis plays. That’s Nik Lewis. I don’t have a problem with that. If a guy has a touchdown routine, then so be it. It doesn’t really bother me. At the end of the day we know what he did to them last year and they know also. It’s a new year so, you know, we have to prove over and over again that we can beat. They beat us today so when we play them we have to show them that we can take care of them.”
Darian was asked if the fans be upset at the lopsided loss.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Durant answered. “We went 0-2 in the preseason last year and wound up in the Grey Cup. I really don’t think it’s too much to worry about. It’s just preseason, we’re working on some things and we’re trying to see what players fit in where so I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
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The Riders returned home late Sunday night and will have Monday off. There will be a handful of cuts on Tuesday and the rest will be announced on Thursday. We’ll discuss the game this afternoon on The Sports Cage on 620 CKRM from 4:00-6:00pm with our usual Monday Rider Roundtable with Hadesbeck and Lynch. We’ll also replay postgame interviews from the players.
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We had some fun with Stamps quarterback Henry Burris on the pregame show Sunday. I asked him if we’ll ever get over the heated rivalry between Burris and the Rider Nation:
“I think it’s a love-hate relationship,” Burris laughed. “I think once everything’s said and done I’ll come back to Regina and we’ll all sit down and reminisce over some Pilsners or something like that and talk about all the great times and the great games. It’s a love-hate thing but off the field it’s nothing but love.
“I’m thankful for everything the Rider Nation has done for me in my career. When it comes to game day, I love the excitement and the motivation of going out and trying to beat team in green. It’s love-hate but on the field it’s definitely hate and I always try to beat them.”
Burris was 12/16 for 153 yards and two touchdowns in a half of work on Sunday. On the other side, Darian Durant was 14/18 for 156 yards in the opening 30 minutes.
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Much-hyped rookie DE Brent Hawkins led the Riders with six defensive tackles on Sunday but never really got near the quarterback. The lone sack in the game was recorded by Rider LB Mike McCullough on Calgary’s Zac Champion.
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Just in time for the regular season, we introduce http://www.cflpickem.com/. It’s fairly simple – you pick who is going to win each and every CFL regular season game – no spreads, no handicaps. Just pick who you think is going to win. The entry fee is $10 with the top three finishers getting prize money. Fans have until game time to make/change their picks.
Ryan Campbell sent me the info on the pool. Looks like fun!
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Message to George Cortez: The Palomino isn’t the same without you! Love that place. And I’m glad George introduced me to it.
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Thank you Calgary Airport for free wireless internet. It allowed me to get plenty of work done Sunday night during our three hour wait for the flight home.
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I’ll have to let Sunday’s radio listeners in on a little gag.
Way back in 2005 when the Riders were playing a preseason game in Calgary, I had a momentary brain camp and said “Ryan Johnson will punt the ball for the Riders”. Rider PR man Ryan Whippler was doing stats and said “Who is Ryan Johnson?” The fact is there was no Ryan Johnson on the team. I accidentally morphed two names together and never acknowledged the mistake on the air.
So now every year since, in the preseason road game which is never televised, the Rider staff eggs me to mention Ryan Johnson once per game as a joke. I’ve done it every year since, including yesterday when I said “Ryan Johnson will hold for Luca Congi”.
Some wise listeners noticed the name Sunday and it instigated a thread on Riderfans.com. Now that everyone’s on to us, the gag is over.
But it provided amusement while it lasted!
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Stampeder personnel were quick to remind us of the 13th man gaffe in the Grey Cup this weekend, but they didn’t have to. There are reminders everywhere but during Saturday’s walk-through one reminder was particularly eery.
That suspended loud speaker over McMahon Stadium casted a shadow six-feet in diameter on the field. When the Riders came onto the turf, defensive coordinator Gary Etcheverry went over and sat under it.
I quipped to Mike McCullough “we haven’t had sunshine in a month and now Etch is looking for the shade!”
The Rider linebacker answered back, “I don’t think that’s what it is. Look where the shadow is.”
It was over the right hash of the 43-yard line, precisely where Damon Duval kicked the first wide field goal JUST before the too many men penalty.
That was spooky.
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By the numbers for Roughriders dressed in Sunday’s game:
Oldest: OG Gene Makowsky (37)
Youngest: WR Dwayne Eley (23)
Tallest: OT Joel Bell (6′7″)
Smallest: RB Dominique Dorsey, SB Weston Dressler (5′7″)
Heaviest: OT Jordan Rempel (320 lbs)
Lightest: Dorsey (173 lbs)
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An eleven run 6th inning helped the Regina Red Sox to a convincing 14-5 Father’s Day win over Melville Sunday afternoon at Currie Field.
Anthony Rodriguez had four RBIs for the winners with David Fox, Eric McKinney and Josh Hughes having a pair each. The Red Sox are now 11-2 and will be in Swift Current on Tuesday. The next home game is Thursday against Moose Jaw.
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The 2010 NHL Entry Draft goes this weekend in Los Angeles. That’s one thing I’ll miss about broadcasting Pats hockey; going to the Draft every year. I’ve been to the draft in Edmonton, St. Louis, Boston, Buffalo, Toronto, Calgary, Columbus and Raleigh but always wanted to hit Los Angeles.
Pats players Jordan Weal and Brandon Davidson will be hoping to hear their names called. The first round is on Friday and all subsequent rounds are on Saturday. We’ll have to get those two on the air in the Cage this week.
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There was lots of talk in Calgary about the flooding in the Maple Creek area. The footage on CBC Newsworld of the flooded-out town was disturbing. We’ll have to rally to raise some funds for people who’ve been wiped out. Fine folks in our area ponied up lots of cash for Haiti, but now there’s help needed at home.
If there’s any plan to do a benefit fundraising sports dinner, I’d be happy to go speak free of charge. We could probably raise some money that way.
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We’re also headed for a potential disaster with 10 million acres of farmland going by the wayside this year because of the excessive moisture.
Saskatchewan produces 46% of Canada’s canola and 10% of the world’s wheat. But not this year.
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I sure got worked over on Friday for being grumpy in my Rodservations column. Perhaps I’ve been hanging out with the old guys at the Lawson too long! Or maybe I was just grumpy about being away for Father’s Day. Oh well, I’m sure there are plenty of dads who would have traded places with me in a heartbeat.
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Speaking of grumpy, did you see Phil Mickelson bark at the gallery on Saturday at the U.S. Open for being too loud?
Why does the gallery have to be quiet anyways? Every other athlete has to perform in absolute bedlam. What if they told the crowd to be quiet during free throws in the NBA?
Just because that’s the way it’s always been doesn’t mean that’s the way it always has to be!
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From the newsletter of Saskatchewan Enterprise Minister Ken Cheveldayoff:
“It was a pleasure to be the first guest of the season and speak with Rod Pedersen and John Lynch on the first In The Huddle on June 1st. As Minister of Enterprise I was quizzed about the possibility of a new stadium and home for the Roughriders. Right now the provincial government is working behind the scenes with all the partners – Federal Government, City of Regina, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders to see how we can come together with the funding arrangements to make this happen.
“At the end of the day we haven’t made a decision whether to go forward or not. It is a priority and a generational opportunity, but for the Saskatchewan Party government, the top priorities are health care, education and infrastructure.”
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There were plenty of questions in Calgary about us getting a new stadium. I think it’s going to happen.
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And I’ll leave you with this pearl of wisdom from the always-wise Miley Cyrus:
“Life is too short to worry about what other people say.”
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HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYBODY!!
RP
