Monday musings

Some idle thoughts in the aftermath of a thriller at Mosaic Stadium:

• Give the Riders full credit for their 41-38 overtime victory over the B.C Lions in the CFL west semi-final. The Riders came out like gangbusters in the second half, and held off the Lions for the win.
• Some media outlets are calling it a double overtime win. Is that right? It was the second of two mini-games, so why would that make it a second overtime session? Wouldn't the second overtime start with the beginning of the third mini-game? Yeah, I know. I need a life.
• Darian Durant had a terrible first half. But give the guy credit for bringing his A game out of the locker room for the second half.
• Anyone calling for offensive coordinator Doug Berry to be fired can zip it. The play calling yesterday was outstanding. If Durant was on in the first half, the Riders would have blown out the Lions.
• It appears Wally Buono has found his franchise quarterback in Travis Lulay. It was a treat to watch him duel with Durant yesterday.
• What is it about the Riders' inability to defend Hail Mary passes against B.C.? Geroy Simon killed Saskatchewan with one a few years ago. Emmanuel Arceneaux caught one on the final play of regulation yesterday. And Ryan Grice-Mullin had one go through his hands that would have won the game for the Lions a couple of years ago. Scary stuff.
• So now it's the game everyone wanted to see - a conference final matchup with the Calgary Stampeders.
• Can the Riders win? Sure. Would it be considered an upset? Yes.
• We can talk about schemes and other individual matchups all week long, but I really think it comes down to this: If Durant outplays Burris, the Riders will win. If he doesn't, they won't.
• Congrats to the Campbell Tartans (4A) and O'Neill Titans (3A), who gave Regina high school football bragging rights for the year by winning their respective provincial finals this weekend.
• Representatives of both teams will be on upcoming episodes of Locker Talk. Yet another solid reason to watch Regina's pre-eminent local sports show!
• If the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping Nazem Kadri will turn their season around, they'll be waiting a long, long time. The kid is softer than my midsection.
• What the hell was with the chants of "Looou" every time Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo made a save on Saturday night? In Toronto? That's messed up.
• I guess it's time to pull my Chicago Blackhawks hat out of the closet again. Life as a Leafs fan would be pretty depressing if there wasn't a plan B, let me tell you.