In the Mean Time and Between Time

Yeah, I know, I haven't blogged for a bit of time... but, hey, life's been busy and some things were left to blow in the wind.

Life's been good, but there's still some things to annoy me these days, like...

• Edmonton drivers: The majority of them have no idea what to do in traffic. They tend to get in one lane when the other is open, they drive like molasses with a skiff of snow on the ground, cannot grasp the concept of a traffic circle, take forever to get through an intersection when the short-lived left-turn signal is flashing, and believe that the object of driving is to bump the other vehicles out there. Insurance rates are high here because of this garbage.
  
• Canadian MP's and their inflated egos: Seriously, these people were elected to represent the people of this country, not their own self-serving power interests. Their Christmas break should be cancelled until they can get their act together. And PM Harper, you lost my vote because of your ignorance and now you might lose your job... congrats! And, when you get booted, hopefully Flaherty goes with you.
• GM, Ford, and Chrysler: Asian automakers invaded over 25 years ago and have been a success while you have slowly descended into bankruptcy. Your blind arrogance in not measuring the success of your foreign competitors is going to cost many assembly line workers their careers and retirement savings... nice job, not! And, I drive a GM product... imagine my disappointment.
• E-Talk Daily: CTV booted Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune so we could have this vapid crap on tv every night... hmm, shows that make you think replaced by Ben Mulroney and that woman who constantly walks toward the camera. I thought Canadians were better than this?

Okay, I feel better now... that's a lot of hot air which needed to be released.

;)

Congratulations, America...

You finally got it right!

Only took eight long years...

;)

Why Can't We Make This Easy On Ourselves?

Ughhh... another loss to B.C.

Tonight was an opportunity to bury the Lions in the standings... but, it slipped away, along with the ball eight times. The offence has fallen apart and there's many reasons for it. I was really hoping the Riders would clinch first place with considerable time till the end of the season and be able to book a flight to Regina for the West Final on a seat sale... damn.

Technically, they're still tied for first place. The injuries are devastating and I think they're more than a coincidence. I would certainly question the training staff, nutritionists, et al, cause something is wrong. Same thing happened with the Montreal Canadiens a few years ago and they fired everyone in that department solving the issue.

And finally, I cannot stand Wally Buono. Is there another coach who's teams choke so much in the playoffs? Having his teams in the first place games is a waste cause you know his team is going to choke. If the first place game is in that crap dome again, I will really be disappointed.

Okay, one more point... Kerry Joseph are you enjoying your contract in Toronto? You could've been in Riderville. Let's face it, the Riders miss his energy and Joseph misses success. However, the Riders made the right decision and Joseph did not.

I have a headache and cannot take anymore tonight. Oh, and a big thank you to Don Matthews for throwing the game in Calgary tonight. Good on ya! Henry Burris gives you a 'tip of the stetson for that.

Good night and as usual...

Go Riders Go!    /=S=/

The End of an Era

Well, folks, Ron Lancaster, aka "The Little General", aka "The Wizard of Wittenberg", aka "The Greatest Roughrider" has passed on. Everybody who follows the CFL has a memory of Ronnie. While I never saw him play, I was witness to him patrolling the sidelines as a CFL head coach. It was great entertainment watching him as the game progressed, whether he was rolling up his sleeves when he got annoyed by his team's play, or lifting his hat to run a hand through his hair and put the hat back on before a big play, or yammering at the officials, Ronnie never disappointed. I remember a story my cousin told me about seeing Ron before a game at Taylor Field. He was signing autographs, as the head coach of Hamilton at the time, and my cousin said to him, "Don't beat us too bad," to which Lancaster laughed and replied, "We're only here for two points."

It always seemed like he was forever intertwined with the Roughriders. Their greatest era was when he was their quarterback, two of their most disastrous seasons had him as head coach, his last game as Eskimo head coach was in the '97 West final when the Riders won, and in 2003, as head coach of Hamilton, their only win that season came at the expense of, you guessed it, the Roughriders.

Now, I know TSN had this little list of the 50 greatest CFL players a couple of years ago and named Doug "I'm too important to be tackled" Flutie, but as far as I'm concerned, Lancaster should have been #1. To borrow a line from Bret Hart, Ron Lancaster could be described as "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."

So, the Riders lost...

Well, the Riders lost a close one in BC... they made some mistakes, but they're correctable. The only thing that bothers me from the game were the actions of Cam Wake and Aaron Hunt. Wake is always yapping and hot dogging... buddy, you're in 4th place this week and regardless of next week's game, you'll still be in 4th place, so quit being a damn fool. As for Hunt, that celebration thing of yours, it looks really, really dumb... it's just inane. Hopefully, the Riders are done in the dome for this season because games from there are just awful to watch on tv... there's hardly any atmosphere and the place really looks empty. Seriously, the only crowd noise is pumped through the p.a. system. Oh well, next week at Taylor Field, the league's best fans will show how it's done.

Go Riders Go! /=S=/

Stop the Presses!

Matt Damon is concerned that Sarah Palin could be President of the United States! Well, at least that's what this article is about. After reading it, my first thought was... who gives a damn what Matt Damon thinks? I mean, he's a freaking actor! Now, I'd really be concerned if Matt Damon became commander in chief. All he'd do is pose for the camera and continue his fake feud with Jimmy Kimmel. Seriously, if people think Mr. Bush is limited with his mental capacities, my good Lord, think about Mr. Damon's abilities. The dude is lucky to know his own name. So, really what this point comes down to is this... if actors like Mr. Damon are pitching a movie, pitch the movie, sell the fans on the movie, but, when it comes to politics, I really don't care what you think because you have the same single vote like everybody else and you're no more important than the little old lady who spoils her ballot each election because the candidates are all a bunch of turkeys.

Yes, it was idiotic to waste a post on Matt Damon.

;)

The Miracle on Milt Street

You know that scene in Miracle on 34th Street where the U.S. Postal Service delivered bags and bags of letters to prove the existence of Santa Claus? Well, yesterday, the Riders delivered big play after big play to prove that they are a real #1 team this year. Yep, ill tidings were delivered to Bomberland yesterday by the festive men in green. Sweeping the Bombers was like Christmas in September. And now, lucky #7 is the number of games for Rider wins combined with West Division opponent losses to clinch the #1 seed. The playoff round games on are Saturday nights this fall and I guarantee Taylor Field will be rocking for that game... yep, Saturday Night would be Alright for Fighting!

Go Riders Go!  /=S=/

Idiotic Points of Interest

Well, time to put some random thoughts on here... I mean, everybody else does on their blogs... lol.

- The Telus building in downtown Edmonton put their Christmas lights on tonight... very nice... a little early, though.

- Was walking through Chapters lately and in one particular aisle there was the "Christianity"  section facing the "Wicca and Witchcraft" section. Somebody on the display team has a sense of humour.

- Cold's and flu's wouldn't be so bad except for the whole runny/plugged nose bit... Good Lord, do I miss breathing normally.

- PBS is raising money again and they're showing a concert film from 'The Who'. Does this mean the Lawrence Welk demographic has died off? Are the children of the '60's and '70's now their target demo? Can't wait till 'Green Day' is the featured concert film. "Wow, Linda, wasn't that just a wonderful concert." "Yes, Gary, Green Day could really knock a person's socks off." "They were just such great patriots."

- Well, we're getting another Federal election... it's most likely things will stay the same, which the polls are indicating. Thus, that'll be millions of dollars flushed into a campaign nobody wants, but you know these egotistical champions of all Canadians, it's all about their face time. 30 days of campaigning and they'll get back to Parliament and look at each other across the aisle and say, "Gee, nothing changed." Yep, could've improved public infrastructure, or maybe put some money into health care improvement, but, no, we have to be bombarded with ads and lawn signs.

- The Riders are in the 'Peg tomorrow for the 'Bingo Bowl', or 'Mullet Bowl', or is it 'Banjo Bowl'? Actually, I went to the first 'Banjo Bowl' and it was a little scary. Our group and a few other Rider fans were surrounded by Bomber fans. Anyhow, they started playing banjo music over the p.a. system and we in green looked at each other and were like, "Gawd, how tacky." Yet, here were all the Bomber fans dancing and singing along to every tune... I was like, "Who are the banjo picking in-breds again?" Hopefully, the Riders can pull out a win, but I'll understand if they're put off by all the buck tooth, mulletized, BTO lovin' Manitobans. Is it any wonder how Milt Stegall is the best dressed man in Winnipeg? I mean, a clean set of coveralls and you'll be the local 'GQ' man of the week. And as my cousin once said about Winnipeg, "Why don't they just bulldoze all this s%@# down?"

Go Riders Go!    /=S=/

Roughriders 19 - Blue Bombers 6

Well, the game wasn't much of a classic today, but a win is a win and we'll take it. It was cold, it was raining, and it was windy... it felt like I was back home in Saskatchewan. lol! It was a dog of a game to be sure with the marginal offence of both teams and the lack of atmosphere for football's farewell to summer. The defence played very well, so I put a picture of them up here. Michael Bishop displayed his considerable arm strength... if he were to get on the same page with a guy like Dressler to slip in behind coverage, they could put up some numbers. Actually, if he had a receiver like Geroy Simon, my goodness the damage that could be caused. All in all, it was still great to be back home. I miss Regina, so it's good to have that one weekend on the schedule where I can come back rain or shine.

Well, that's all for tonight folks... later.

Go Riders Go!  /=S=/

It's Game Day!!!!!

The 2008 Labour Day Classic is upon us... Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan! I haven't missed an LD Classic since I started going in 1999. There's something special to this game, whether it's the rivalry, the end of summer celebration, or the home-coming atmosphere. It's just the best!

There's no crowd like the Rider fans at Taylor Field... why they want to replace this shrine I don't know? I think that if you replace this facility they'll lose some of those mystical elements that makes Taylor Field stand apart from every other stadium in the league. Personally, if you take care of the stadium properly, it'll shine forever. Refurbishment is my preference to keep the facility open. Oh well, they'll likely replace Taylor Field and I'll just have to savour the moments tomorrow for the memory bank.

GO RIDERS GO!    /=S=/

The NFL (No Fun League) in Canada

So, the question around the country for CFL fans is, 'how do you prevent the NFL coming to Canada, specifically, the hapless Buffalo Bills?' Now, I'm not really sure what Toronto's fascination is with collecting mediocre sports teams, but this NFL thing is truly perplexing. Well, I'm going to offer my take on what to do about The Bills.

If I was a multi-billionaire, I would swoop in and buy The Bills right from underneath the noses of the Toronto consortium and move the team to Moscow. Once there, I'd get the best football people money could buy to load the team up with the new name of 'The Cold Warriors'. For the opening game, The Cold Warriors would certainly live up to the league's mandate of overt patriotism by having Vladamir Putin ride in on a tank to perform the ceremonial kick-off. After that, a half-baked, fully drunk, Amy Winehouse would perform the U.S. anthem to the tune of 'O' Christmas Tree', all sponsored by Gazprom, Russia's energy monopoly. At season's end, my team would win the Super Bore... er, I mean Super Bowl. Naturally, the commissioner would hand me the championship trophy because I'm the owner, who sat in a luxury box while the real champions busted their tail to win the darn thing. Being the true champion that I am, I'd have the trophy melted down... into a toilet seat, which would then be promptly installed in my bathroom so I can sit my big fat butt on it when I go the 'can. Of course, there may be the odd time where I purposely wiz on the lid.

;)

P.S. Just remember folks, this is for a giggle.

/=S=/

Post Game Post Mortem

Eskimos 27 Roughriders 10

Well, that stunk.

First, it must be said that the Esks are full credit for the win. Down 10-0 early, they toughed it out and came back to take one from the Riders. And, like I said before, the Esks fans are a classy bunch. I mean, sure, they have the one liners and that, but there were no fights and shenanigans like the kind that inevitably happen in Calgary.

Full credit to the Rider's defence for keeping 'em in there. Good Lord, they must have been tired. Offensively, there are two individuals I'm going to key in on. First, the Adarius Bowman experiment was a failure. If he wants to play pro ball he has to want to catch the ball... too many drops to be excused. Second, Marcus Crandell needs a wake-up call. If he wants to be the starter, he needs to show some energy, some enthusiasm, and really show that he WANTS THE BALL. If he cannot do this, well, his time is done. When you see Steven Jyles showing the leadership they need on the sidelines, talking the receiving core up, revving up Cates et al, and Marcus sorta standing there, well it's time for a switch. I'm sure I could go on, but I'm tired and it's time to focus on the Labour Day Classic.

To really put things in perspective, the Riders are still in first place.

Good night.

It's Game Day!!!!!!

That's right folks, the Roughriders are in E-town to face the Eskimo Empire. I know the tendency is to insert 'evil' before empire, but the Esks fans I've run into are usually a classy bunch. Hence, 'evil' is a little too strong (and yes, I realize this post is one day ahead, but considering my schedule tomorrow, this was the best opportunity).

Anyhow, regardless of the result, the Riders will still be in first place. However, I'm hoping the result is more 'in line' with the picture I posted, which is from an '06 exhibition game. Word around town is that nearly 50,000 fans will be attending the game. Usually, an Esks game draws around 30,000, so I guess that means the additional numbers are Rider fans, eh? After last year's infamous holding call on Fleming's last ever field goal in the CFL, maybe the football gods will take a shine to the Riders again and screw the empire over. Or, maybe I'm asking too much.

Well, as we say in Saskatchewan, Go Riders Go!

/=S=/

First Post... this is so exciting!

Hey there... welcome to 'The Idiot's Point of View'. As the title suggests, this is my first post and will not likely be earth shattering... which, is kind of a moot point because shattering the earth would render my blog useless.

Yes, that was bad.

As the title suggests, I am an idiot... well, not really, but if I'm going to put my ramblings out to the world, I want people to realize that they're only thoughts and opinions and should not be taken too seriously. What this blog will actually be, I'm not to sure, but with all goods things, should evolve into something fun.

Well, all the best to everyone out there and enjoy!