Locker Talk lineup for October 25

Here's the lineup for this week's show, airing tonight at 9 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m. on Access channel 7 in Regina.

Locker Talk Guests for Oct 25/11
Co-Host: Mitchell Blair

1. ENG segment. A post-mortem on the 2011 season for the Regina Thunder junior football club. Guest: Erwin Klempner (Head Coach).

2. The Regina Pats get set to host the Edmonton Oil Kings October 28th on Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Complete with pink ice! Guest: Cliff Mapes (Pats VP Operations).

3. Our Man Carlo. Locker Talk sports movie reviewer Carlo Palazzo delivers another adrenaline-charged review of a sports cinema classic. This time: Remember the Titans.

4. ENG segment. Interviews with some of the 2011 Regina Sports Hall of Fame inductees (Part two). Reporter: Arielle Wood.

5. The Blair Necessities. Mitch’s weekly sports commentary.

Locker Talk lineup for October 18

Here's the lineup for this week's show, airing tonight at 9 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m. on Access channel 7. My coaching duties kept me out of the studio again this week. I'll let you decide whether that's a good thing or not!

Locker Talk Guests for Oct 18/11
Hosts: Mitchell Blair & Carlo Palazzo

1. The Regina Bears celebrate a championship in Regina Minor Football’s atom division. Guests: Steve Sombach (Head Coach), Jackson and Carson Sombach (Bears players).

2. Summer’s over. Are you gonna hibernate all winter, or try to get in some semblance of shape? Guest: Michael Lindenbach (Managing Partner, Gold’s Gym Regina).

3. ENG segment. Interviews with some of the 2011 Regina Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Reporter: Arielle Wood.

4. The Notre Dame Hounds are definitely the team to beat in Regina high school (3A) football, after an undefeated regular season. Guest: Wayne Morrison (Head Coach).

5. A profile of the University of Regina wrestling team, and a new youth wrestling program starting up in the city. Guest: Leo McGee (Cougars/Cattown Wrestling Club Head Coach).

6. The Blair Necessities. Mitch’s weekly sports commentary.

What a finish!

Who says there hasn't been any exciting football at Mosaic Stadium this season?

Those nay-sayers obviously weren't in the stands for last night's RMF pee wee U of R Coaches Bowl showdown between the Vikings and our Unicorns. A back-and-forth battle featured numerous lead changes, and wasn't settled until the very last play.

With just nine seconds left on the clock, the Unicorns scrimmaged from our own 40 yard line, facing a 22-19 deficit. Our strong-armed pivot Jayden Lorenz dropped back and launched a bomb in the direction of fleet-footed receiver Jace Kobylansky. JK #21 hauled in the pass, evaded a couple of would-be tacklers and hauled butt to the end zone as time expired! Make the final Unicorns 25, Vikings 22!

How's that for a thriller? Or, as the players quickly dubbed it, the "Miracle at Mosaic". Our team was proud to dedicate the game to our offensive coordinator John Makie, who is in the General Hospital recovering from a mild stroke. That left the offensive play-calling in the trembling hands of yours truly, the head coach. Amazingly, we still managed to move the ball. That one was for you, coach Makie!

Thus ends our RMF season. Good luck to the teams still in the hunt for city championships this week in the pee wee and bantam divisions.

Friday thoughts

Here a thought, there a thought, everywhere a thought thought...

• Is there any chance the Saskatchewan Roughriders will knock off the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday?
• I suppose there's always a chance, but that's contingent upon the offense actually putting some points on the board.
• What would you do? Would you let an injured Darian Durant play?
  
• I don't think Ryan Dinwiddie is a realistic back-up plan. So that leaves third-stringer Cole Bergquist. Isn't it time to see if the kid can play?
• Win, lose or draw, the RMF season will come to an end for the Unicorns on Monday night against the Vikings.
• At least the kids get to wrap up the year with a game at Mosaic Stadium. That should get them properly motivated!
• I wonder if the 2013 Grey Cup committee needs a full-time communications person. Just wondering...
• The timing won't work, but wouldn't it be great if that 2013 championship was the last game played at the old Taylor Field? Dare to dream!
  
• Is 2016 still the projected date for the opening of the new facility? Can't wait.
• Speaking of 2013, wouldn't it be something if both the Saskatoon Blades (host team) and the Regina Pats (WHL champs) were in the Memorial Cup tournament that year?
• Dare to dream again!
• In the meantime, fans are enjoying the resurgence of the Pats under new head coach Pat Conacher - who has to be an early candidate for WHL coach of the year.
• The Memorial Cup, the Junos and the Grey Cup are all coming to Saskatchewan in 2013. Better start resting up now!
  

Monday musings - a day late

Slowly easing back into the swing of things after a great long weekend with the offspring:

• Can we just call a spade a spade and admit the Saskatchewan Roughriders are a bad football team right now?
• Yesterday's 17-1 loss to Edmonton was just about as sad a display of offensive football as I've seen. Give the defense some respect for keeping the game within reach, I guess.
• Does this mean Ryan Dinwiddie isn't the answer?
  
• On the O-line. I think Mssrs. Gauthier and Goodspeed have passed their best before date. They simply don't move quickly enough to handle the DE's of today.
• Speaking of DE's - the Riders are still searching for an impact player at that position.
• So now what? Is it time to start auditioning young replacements at key positions? Yep.
• Is it time to revisit the goofy organizational structure? Yep.
  
• Trade Andy Fantuz? Nope.
  
• The RMF Unicorns concluded the regular season on the weekend with a heart-breaking 28-22 loss to the Patriots. We were stuffed twice inside the opponent's five yard line on the last two plays of the game. Ouch.
• Still, considering last year's team went 0-9, we'll take a 4-4 record - no complaints!
• We may not have the deepest team (we're down to 25 players), or the biggest or fastest, but these kids NEVER quit! Suffice to say I'm proud of them.
• We wrap up the season with a playoff bowl game next Monday night at Mosaic Stadium. Bring on those Vikings!
• The Green Bay Packers are 5-0, and there doesn't appear to be anything resembling a Super Bowl hangover happening in the land of the cheeseheads.
• The Detroit Lions are also 5-0. Are the NFL's ultimate doormats for real this year? Apparently so!
• Their rise hasn't been quite as dramatic as the NFL's Lions (mostly because they were never as bad as the Lions), but Regina Pats fans have to be feeling pretty good about things these days.
• The Pats boast a top-notch goalie and a rock-solid blueline corps. Add on a tremendous work ethic and timely goal scoring from a young group of forwards, and the future is looking bright.
• Hell, if they keep rolling, the future may be now! Well, let's hold off for a while before getting that excited.
  

Locker Talk lineup for October 6

Don't forget to catch the rebroadcast of Regina's favourite (ie: only) hour long local sports program tonight at 6 p.m. on Access channel 7. Once again this week I was not available for the taping, so that's probably all the reason you need to tune in!

Locker Talk Guests for Oct 4/11
Hosts: Mitchell Blair & Carlo Palazzo

1. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are limping to the finish line of the CFL season. What’s up with that? Guest: Rob Vanstone (Regina Leader-Post Sports Coordinator). (www.leaderpost.com)

2. Elite Boxing News. Locker Talk’s boxing correspondent Moses Alli takes a look at what‘s happening in local boxing circles this month.

3. A preview of the 2011/12 Prairie Junior (Junior B) ocHhHockey League season for the defending champion Traveland RV (Pilot Butte) Storm. Guests: Chris Lewgood (Head Coach) & Mitch McNish (Storm forward).

4. A profile of the University of Regina cross country team. Guests: Kelly Wiebe, Matt Johnson & Kaytlyn Criddle (Cougars runners).

5. The Blair Necessities. Mitch’s weekly sports commentary.

Monday musings

A random collection of random thoughts. How...random.

• The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been outscored 82-8 in their last two games. And with that, the CFL playoffs become next year country.
• I wish there was a ready-made scapegoat (ie: send "insert name here" out of town, and things will be fine!), but the problems run much deeper than a player or two. Or three.
• You ever work somewhere where everyone comes to work, does their thing, and hates every minute of it? That's what the Riders look like right now.
• For whatever reason, it seems the corporate culture of the organization has deteriorated rapidly over the past 12 months.
• On a much brighter note, the RMF Unicorns posted a 36-14 victory to run our latest winning streak to two games.
• We wrap up the regular season Saturday morning. I'm hoping our starting running back is a quick healer!
• Unicorns win. Packers win. Rams and Thunder win. Darn near a perfect football weekend!
• Don't look now, but the Regina Pats have opened the WHL season with four wins in five starts.
• Chad Lang's decision to bring Pat Conacher on board as the head coach is looking borderline brilliant! Mind you, there's a lot of hockey left to be played this season.
• Thanks to the guys at Tri's Dent Care for taking care of the hail damage on my buggy from July. Gotta hate when the Riders and your vehicle get pelted on the same day!
• Is there any chance this weather can continue until the end of the month? Can we put it to a vote?