It's another Monday morning. Really amazing how it keeps coming around at the same time every week. Oh well, here we go again.
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HUGE comeback win for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Calgary Saturday night, scoring with just 77 seconds remaining in regulation on a 65-yard pass from Darian Durant to Chris Getzlaf. I thought Rod Pedersen's jaw was gonna hit the floor of the radio booth in disbelief over the ending of that game. I hate to think what a loss might have done to the Riders season. Oh well, I have no problem at all with not having to worry about that!
Defense made some key stops, especially in the fourth quarter. Durant did alright, as did Steven Jyles, but there needs to be more consistant positive production from the quarterback position. For you Graham Harrel fans, he's on the nine game injured list and isn't available until October. Durant and Jyles will really have to elevate their play between now and then, or coach Ken Miller will have to give Harrel a real hard look before this season is over.
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Edmonton hung the first loss of the season on Montreal last Thursday, 33-19. Hamilton continued their resurgance with a 30-18 win at BC on Friday, and Winnipeg eked out at 13-12 win at Toronto on Saturday. Former Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna kicked a 46-yard field goal with 4:05 left. Justin Medlock hit a 47-yarder with just seconds left that would have won the game for Toronto, but a penalty for too much time negated the kick. Medlock tried again from 57-yards away, but his kick rang off the left upright and fell to the ground as time expired.
One thing I did learn this past weekend, was how the single point rule applies on kicks. On a kickoff, if the ball goes through the endzone untouched, no point for the kicking team. Same thing if a field goal hits an upright or crossbar. Ya learn something new every day, eh?
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Saskatchewan and Edmonton lead the West. Both are 3-2 for 6 points. Calgary is third, 2-3 for 4 points and BC is fourth, 1-4 for 2 points. (Think Wally Buono might start feeling the heat if the Leos don't beat the Riders next Friday?)
In the East, Montreal remains first at 4-1 for 8 points, Hamilton is second at 3-2 for 6 points, while Winnipeg and Toronto are tied for third, both at 2-3 for 4 points.
Saskatchewan is at BC next Friday. The http://www.620ckrm.com/ webcast begins at 9:30pm EDT.
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The Tampa Bay Rays are 5-5 in their past ten games. Losing 2 of 3 to the Yankees didn't help, but they've rebounded to take 2 of 3 from Kansas City(Losing 4-1 yesterday), with one more game with the Royals this afternoon at Tropicana Field beginning at Noon:08. Whatta ya wanna bet there won't be any chance of missing the "Good seats still available" sign for this one?
And as if the team isn't embarrassed by the weekday attendance(And they've pretty much admitted they are), having their own ballpark sound like Yankee Stadium this past week is an embarrassment the team has suffered with their entire existance. If going to the World Series the previous fall can't change that, it makes me wonder just how much of a baseball town this actually is.
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Going 5-5 in the past ten has been good enough to keep Tampa Bay in the AL East race. The Yankees lead the AL East by a half-game over Boston and 6 over the Rays. In the Central, Detroit's 1 1/2 clear of Chicago and 3 ahead of Minnesota. The Angels top the AL West by 4 over Texas, while Seattle has fallen 10 games back. In the NL East, Philadelphia is 5 ahead of Florida and 7 ahead of Atlanta. St. Louis leads the Cubs by 1/2 game in the Central, with Houston and Milwaukee 4 1/2 back. In the West, the Dodgers are still on top (BOOOOOOOO!), leading Colorado and San Francisco by 7. In the Wild Card races, Boston leads Texas by 2 1/2 and Tampa Bay by 5 1/2 in the American League. In the National League, Colorado and San Francisco are tied, followed by the Cubs 2 back, Florida 3 back, Atlanta 5, Houston and Milwaukee 6 and the Mets 7 1/2.
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With the Hall of Fame ceremonies recently concluded, we have again been "barraged" with the "Reinstate Pete" garbage, with several Hall of Famers supposedly behind Rose. Sorry, but the old, tired argument about the moral character of some of the residents of the Hall is just that: Old and tired. Pete Rose bet on baseball while Manager of the Reds. That's enough to keep him out forever. End of story.
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Speaking of stories, would someone PLEASE tell Jose Canseco to shut up and go away? I remember when he broke in with the Northwest League's Medford A's during the 1983 season. I was with the Bend Phillies that season and actually, I should say that while Canseco was in the NWL that season, I don't really remember him, other than one day when he dropped a moon shot on top of the Albertson's grocery store on the other side of the left field fence. I truly wish he was that forgettable now, you know what I mean?
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It's August. Know what that means? Hockey camps start later this month. Drop the puck already, will ya?
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Speaking of hockey, rumblings are mounting in intensity about Dubuque returning to the USHL and Huntington, West Virginia joining the league as well. Dubuque left the league in 2001, but apparently(If the message boards are to be believed), the same person has continued to own the rights to a USHL team there and wants to resurrect the franchise. The rumor mill also says there may be a new building on the way there too, but if it wouldn't be ready for the '10-'11 season, the old building, known as Five Flags, should be able to house the team until a new building is finished.
Huntington is a pretty intriguing idea. Some people, myself included, have initially thought that it might be stretching the league's footprint a bit too much going that far East, but Huntington is actually closer to the rest of the league than the Youngstown(Ohio) Phantoms, who begin their first USHL campaign this fall. Lenny Sundahl has a pretty neat blog at http://huntingtonhockey.blogspot.com/, detailing the history of hockey in Huntington. (Their last team, the Blizzard, left the ECHL after the '99-'00 season.) If funds are approved for arena renovations there, Huntington could be a go for next season, making the USHL a 16-team league and just two teams away from being able to go to a three-division format, with six teams in each division.
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Kim, a/k/a the "REAL" head of the house, continues to do a marvelous job of taking care of us all. My health isn't the best right now(Nothing life threatening, but enough to get me to make the rounds of several different doctors-and different specialties- recently) and it has kept me from fulfilling some of my house husband duties. (Really dear, I do enjoy mowing the lawn!) But, as she always does, my lovely bride jumps in and keeps things moving. I love her more and more each day.
I love you dear!
Jimmy is really zooming around the house these days. Still not walking, but boy can he move! And he's really into climbing. He's climbed out of his high chair twice in the past several days. One time, Mommy found him on top of the cabinet next to him, trying to get some snackies. The other time, I found him sitting on the floor, under the chair. What a silly little guy!
Snoopy and Smoke(That's Snoopy on the right) just enjoy being dogs. Smoke's goal these days seems to be finding an escape route to the outside world every time we let him out for a romp in the yard. Sunday, while sitting at the computer, I looked out the window and there he was, standing in front of the house. Thankfully, he saw me and came right to the front door to be let in. Snoopy has two goals these days: To nap whenever he can, and to avoid being "petted" by Jimmy.
We sure love our boys!
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Oh, before I forget(Or before I get banished to the couch for almost forgetting, take your pick!), Kim and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary this coming Thursday. Believe me when I say I wouldn't trade a minute of the past four years for anything. Is she actually my better half? Sure she is. But I prefer to look at it the way she does me: She's my other half. Life just wouldn't be as much fun without my Kimberly C. "Pookie Bear!"
Happy anniversary dear! I love you!
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If you haven't noticed, I added a little "doohickey" to the blog this past week, that shows where people visit here from. By all means, when you stop by, please leave a comment about what you see here. And, if you are so inclined, leave a contact address too. (I promise it won't get posted.) And tell your friends about this blog too. I'd love a lot more traffic here.
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That's it for now. Have a great week everybody!
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