The Saskatchewan Roughriders are off to an 0-and-2 start to the season, alarming to me when you consider both losses have come at Mosaic Stadium. It’s early, but they are going to have to win six of their last seven at home if they want to be taken seriously as a Grey Cup contender. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of panic amongst Rider Nation, although I wonder what the reaction from fans would have been in 2003 if I suggested that in 2015 you would have Kevin Glenn, Jamel Richardson, and Paul McCallum all playing key roles. All three were on the club 12 years ago and, for the most part, people weren’t unhappy when all of them left town. They are all back and all will have a major say in how the 2015 season plays out.
It’s interesting to me when I have a significant faction of Rider fans tell me that Saskatchewan would not have won a Grey Cup in 2007 if Kevin Glenn hadn’t broken his arm and missed the big game. Most of these same fans are telling me Kevin Glenn doesn’t have what it takes to get it done in the big game, so the Riders are going nowhere in 2015. So, which is it? Can’t have it both ways.
Beer prices have climbed to $7 at Mosaic Stadium this year. That’s not bad when you consider a similar product at a Blue Jays game is $10.50 (slightly taller cans).
I always say that in professional sports you will find a team dumber than you are. When it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs, that’s a pretty tall order; but they discovered a club last week when the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to take on the rest of Phil Kessel’s contract. They are now tasked with seven years of indifferent play from a highly skilled winger. There are some that say Kessel will thrive in Pittsburgh. I say, Kessel will only drag down a few others (possibly Malkin) who don’t always feel like giving it their all on a nightly basis. There are those that say Kessel will add 40 goals to the Pens next season. I say even if he scores 40, the Pittsburgh Penguins will not score 40 more as a team. So, what did they really add?
July 4th celebrations got a little out of hand in Calais, Maine over the weekend as a 22-year-old man lost his life when he tried to launch fireworks off his head. True story. He died at the scene. That would be an, incredibly, awkward funeral to attend.
I was in Toronto last week and was attending the Blue Jay game on July 1st when Canada Day festivities took place. The biggest flag I’ve ever seen was unrolled by the military and covered the entire outfield. Don Cherry threw out the game’s first pitch and the Jay steamrolled their way to victory. It was perfect and you could feel amazing patriotism at Rogers Centre throughout. I think it was the best Canada Day I’ve ever experienced from a Canadian perspective. I was moved seeing armed forces personnel and thinking about their dedication to keeping our country as great as it is. I wish I could thank each one of them for all that they do.
A Yorkton man who forced a woman into his truck was given a year and a half of house arrest as his punishment last week. I don’t know about you, but do you think that’s a deterrent for anyone else who commits a similarly scary offense?
WestJet has been dealing with a number of bomb threats over the last ten days and all of them have proven to be hoaxes. The hoax is irrelevant to me. If you call-in a threat, it may as well be legit because the punishment should be the same as if you actually carried it out. People get scared. We take bomb threats seriously. Not to mention, the dollars that are flushed down the toilet from WestJet having to arrange an unscheduled landing, put people up in hotels, and transport them on buses. What, eventually, happens is that the airline will grow tired of these things and the price of flying will increase to account for the expense of potential emergencies.
Sick murderer Paul Bernardo has applied for day parole. He’s, unlikely, to get it; but anything is possible in our legal system where the scales of justice lean heavily towards criminals. Victims of Bernardo are required to submit victim impact statements and views on possible conditional release. These will be shared with Bernardo, but information compiled by Bernardo regarding his application won’t be shared with victims because that would violate Bernardo’s rights.
The fires in La Ronge are unsettling. Through hockey, I’ve gotten to know a number of folks from that community and I’ve seen a lot of personal photos on Facebook; which makes their harrowing experiences all the more real. Let’s pray for some help from Mother Nature in the coming days so that these people can get back home and start rebuilding their lives.
Nice person mentions this week to Trent Cey, Marty and Carson Sveinbjornson, Clayton Swanton, and Lana Davidson.
