Friday thoughts

Idle thoughts on day one of a four-day weekend:

• Gas prices went up on the Thursday before a long weekend. Quelle surprise!
• I really feel badly for Marcus Crandell. The guys playing receiver for the Riders these days should feel worse.
• Michael Bishop? Oh well, these same coaches (with one very noticeable exception!) made Kerry Joseph a star. Maybe lightning can strike twice.
• Anyone have any tips on motivating the softest offensive line in atom football? Outscored 24-0 in two games. Sheesh.
• Then again, maybe it's the lousy coaching, specifically the head coach.
• Riders by six over Winnipeg.
• Atom Cougars by 12 over Estevan.
• Do you think my kids are pumped to play on Taylor Field Monday?
• Did you catch the picture in the L-P of the Lululemon shoppers lined up outside the Brandt Centre? I'm sorry, some people should not be allowed to buy/wear that stuff.
• Why is it when you do your job well, others expect you to do theirs for them too?
• SportZone on Access 7 - new and improved, and coming to a tv near you soon!
• My deepest condolences and best wishes to Darrell and Eva Davis and their family. Darrell's a darn fine reporter, and even better husband and father.

Betting on Bishop

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, mired in a two game losing skid, have acquired veteran quarterback Michael Bishop from the Toronto Argos in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Expect either Marcus Crandell or Steven Jyles to be traded or released in the days to come.

Does this constitute pushing the panic button? Well, I don't know - can Bishop throw to himself? Without a serious upgrade at receiver, all this means is passes will now be dropped 50 yards downfield, instead of 20 yards.

However, at least the Riders are acknowledging the importance of having a quarterback who can stretch the field with his arm, and his legs. Hey, didn't we have a guy like that around here recently? Kerry something-or-other?

Friday thoughts

Thoughts on a soggy Friday in the big city:

• The Cougars dropped a 6-0 decision to the defending co-champs in our season opener last night.
• Great to see Perry Nyhus at the game last night. One of the real gentlemen in the broadcasting biz. Sorry about hammering your kid Perry, but that 's what you get for letting him play quarterback!
  
• Due to the defensive nature of the game, some folks think we should introduce a bunch of new plays on offence. To 9-10-11 year olds, who are having a hard enough time remembering the plays we already have. Uh, no.
• Speaking of armchair quarterbacks, now the campaign has started to dump Marcus Crandell as quarterback, following the Riders' 27-10 loss in Edmonton last night.
• Yeah, I'm sure Crandell was to blame for all the dropped passes and missed tackles too.
• A weekend with no pressing engagements until Sunday night. I may actually get to the gym for a refreshing change!
• Apparently, when it comes to the Olympics, Canada is a second half team.
• No big news out of Pats camp yet, but thank goodness Victor Bartley wasn't a no-show. He's going to be a key guy for the Pats this year.
• When can we expect one of the goaltenders to be traded? I'm guessing next week.
  

Monday musings

A little of this, a pinch of that:

• I see the New York Jets' new quarterback led his team to victory on the weekend. For the life of me I can't remember his name.
• I also see the Packers soiled the sheets in their preseason opener. I hope this doesn't mark the beginning of a trend.
  
• Hey RMF, thanks so much for scheduling our season opener at the same time as a Rider game. At least it's not a home game, I suppose.
  
• The Atom Cougars are starting to come together. We'll see how we do in practice without our guest coach from now on. Yikes!
• A big thumbs-up to Calvin at Krazy Kiley's for solving my car stereo snafu on Saturday.
• Madden '09 definitely gets the seal of approval from both Paczko men.
• I want to play tennis. Please help me find some time!
• A federal Liberal candidate resigns, and now faces censure from the Law Society of Saskatchewan. Pretty much sums up the fortunes of that party in Saskatchewan these days.
• The provincial Liberal party has a new leader. And the band plays on.
• I can't get excited about the Summer Olympics. Ever since Ben Johnson broke our hearts I've had a hard time getting worked up about the Summer Games.
  

Regina's Mitchell leads the way

PIESTANY, Slovakia - The Canadian under-18 hockey team is halfway to gold at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament.

Regina Pat Garrett Mitchell had a goal and an assist Wednesday as Canada edged defending champion Sweden 4-3.

Taylor Hall, Casey Cizikas and Cody Eakin also had goals for Canada (2-0). Nathan Lieuwen made 20 saves to pick up his second win of the tournament.

Patrik Cehlin, Jacob Josefson and Magnus Paajarvi replied for Sweden (1-1), which got 47 saves from Robin Lehner.

Canada wraps up the round robin portion of the event against Slovakia on Thursday. A win in that game will advance them straight to Saturday's gold-medal final. (Canadian Press)

Vanstone the psychic!

Did you catch Rob Vanstone's piece in the Sunday Sun this weekend? I swear to God, he stole his material directly from the deep, dark recesses of my brain!

In a nutshell, Rob stated that most amateur sports organizations in the city, and the province, do a poor job of keeping the media informed re: scores, standings, story ideas - but often complain about a lack of coverage after the fact.

Rob's solution: Some enterprising communications/media relations practitioner should offer his services to sports groups/leagues (for a fee, of course). The arrangement would end up being benefiting everyone concerned, including the media.

I swear, I've been thinking about doing that very thing for some time now! I'm wondering if sports organizations would see the benefit in such an arrangement? For a reasonable annual fee, their organization would see and hear their results, standings and news items in print and on the airwaves much, much more often. The benefits (think about how much it would cost to pay advertising rates for that space!) would far outweigh the costs.

Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone interested in discussing the idea?

Friday thoughts

Random thoughts on a sleepy Friday after a late night at the Rider game:

• We didn't honestly think Burris, Reynolds and the Calgary receivers would stink the joint out again, did we?
• Memo to Adarius Bowman and Michael Palmer: Please hold on to the football. Thanks.
• Another broken fibula (Belton Johnson). Is it time to start looking at the footwear? I'd be asking the folks at Reebok some questions.
• Did you see where Eric Tillman stopped the blindfolded fan taking part in an on-field promotion from running into the side advertising boards? Clearly ET has seen enough injuries this year!
• Tonight we introduce tackling to the atom Cougars. Should be a most interesting evening!
• A very public thank you to John Makie Sr. for helping this rookie coach get his team organized. Team manager Sonia Banin deserves some kudos as well!
• So the wackos from the Westboro Baptist Church plan to picket at the funeral of Tim McLean in Winnipeg? I hope it doesn't, but this could get ugly.
• Maybe I'll swing by the Folk Festival after practice tonight. I hear Jully Black wants to meet me!
  

Monday musings

Idle thoughts on a busy long weekend:

• Why do four day weekends fly by so much faster than four day work weeks?
• Jacob's Regina Minor Football team starts practicing this week. I'll let the Riders know if we have any receivers they can use.
• Seriously, how can the Riders keep winning with this number of starters on the injured list? Unfathomable!
• I didn't get to hear John Lynch's colour commentary Saturday night. However, I'm told Lynchie did a bang-up job!
• The same cannot be said for TSN play-by-play man Rod Black. He's......not so much.
• The broken thumb responded well to the "tennis test" on Saturday. A return to active duty is imminent.
• I'm still looking for a good (and affordable) general contractor or odd job specialist. Any recommendations?
• Just wondering: are tattoos a requirement for admittance to Buffalo Days? Holy ink festival!