It's Monday morning. Let's see what's happening....
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The Saskatchewan Roughriders enjoyed a week off before getting back into action this Sunday, with the first of two straight games against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Riders lost at Montreal 34-25 in their last game, while Winnipeg pounded BC 37-10 in Vancouver(The Bombers were also off this past weekend). The two teams play each other in 4:00pm EDT kickoffs this coming Sunday in Regina and the following Sunday in Winnipeg.
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The two games that were played in the CFL this past weekend both went down to the wire. Calgary scored a touchdown in the final minute to send Toronto to it's 10th straight home loss, while a last-minute field goal helped Edmonton beat Hamilton. The Eskimos are now on top of the West at 5-3 for 10 points, 2 points ahead of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders, both at 4-4 and 4 points ahead of the 3-5 BC Lions. In the East, Montreal is 7-1 for 14 points, Hamilton slips to 4-4 for 8 points, Winnipeg is 3-5 for 6 points and Toronto is 2-6 for 4 points.
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Rider fans are everywhere. I met this gentleman in the concourse of the St. Pete Times Forum at Lightning Fanfest on Saturday. He's in town on assignment for Mosaic, the agricultural chemical company who holds the naming rights to the Roughriders home stadium in Regina. He did tell me of another encounter he had that day, where a father said to him: "Go Bombers!" but the father's son said "Go Riders!" then shook his hand. A little family rivalry there, eh? It was fun talking CFL football with an actual fan, who just also happens to be a Riders season ticket holder.
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Speaking of Lightning Fanfest:
There were lots of games, autograph opportunities and chances to buy game-used equipment for those who attended. The hi-lite was a game between the Tampa Police hockey team and a team made up of former and current Lightning players, to benefit slain Tampa Police Corporal Mike Roberts. All players on both teams wore number 12, the same number Roberts wore as the Police squad's goaltender. The crowd was great and very supportive of the event.
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The weekend was loads o' fun. Friday night, we went to watch the Tampa Yankees play the Brevard County Manatees in Florida State League Baseball at Steinbrenner Field, spring training home of the New York Yankees.
Saturday at Lightning Fanfest, my wife prodded me into the WDAE "You Make the Call" booth, where I got to make the call of a exciting moment in Lightning history. We also discovered that day, that Jimmy's 7th tooth has come in on the right side of the upper gum line.
Jimmy continues to "have a thing" for older women. At Fanfest he met Mallory, who is 15 days older. Could wedding bells be ringing in another 18 years? (That's a bit scary to think about!) Seriously though, it's fun to watch Jimmy socialize with other kids his age(or thereabouts). And he's doing just fine at getting along with others, whether it's at our library's weekly Mother Goose Story Time(Miss Sam is awesome!), in the nursery at church, or at a hockey game. Our Jimmy is a very sociable little guy. It's too bad that someone we viewed as a friend tried to impose their will on us as to how to raise our son and now doesn't talk to us because we wouldn't give in to their "expectations." What counts is every pediatrician that has seen our little guy is quite pleased with his development and so are we. We sure do love our little guy!
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Oh, is it still baseball season? I guess it is. Tampa Bay Rays have traded Scott Kazmir, one of their best pitchers, but a guy who they might not have been able to hold on to for financial reasons anyway. And, with a chance to really make a move into the wild card race, their bullpen lets them down big time. But, on the other side of the US of A, San Francisco, who got smacked around a bit in Denver, came home and swept Colorado, to tie for the NL Wild Card lead. Yesterday, the Giants were down 5-2 in the 7th, then got a grand slam from Edgar Renteria on the way to a 9-5 win and the three-game sweep. You know, the Rays were last year's surprise team, maybe this year, it's the Giants turn. I hope so.
In the National League, the Dodgers lead the Giants and Rockies in the West by 6 games. St. Louis tops the Central by 10 games over the Cubs and 12 games over Milwaukee. In the East, it's Philadelphia by 8 games over both Florida and Atlanta. As mentioned earlier, San Francisco and Colorado are tied for the Wild Card lead, with Atlanta and Florida 3 1/2 back.
In the American League, the Yankees lead the East by 6 over Boston and 11 1/2 over Tampa Bay. In the Central, Detroit leads Minnesota by 4 1/2 and the White Sox by 6. And in the West, the Angels lead Texas by 5. Boston leads Texas by 3 1/2 in the Wild Card race, with Tampa Bay slipping over the weekend to 5 1/2 back, while Seattle is 8 1/2 behind.
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Oh, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued their NFL preseason this past Thursday, losing to Miami 10-6. Perhaps the most exciting thing all evening, was a thunder/lightning storm that deklayed play in the second quarter by 45 minutes. Few things continue to be more boring than preseason NFL games. Yick! Compound that by having to listen to Joe Buck try to fill all that time and you'll find yourself running to your local dentist, because you'd find a double root canal easier to take.
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And before I go, I would be remiss(whatever that means) in not mentioning that the Oregon State Beavers open the college football season this Saturday, with the cream puff on this season's schedule, a match-up with the Portland State Vikings. In another indication of how TV controls sports these days, after waiting forever to get a start time for this game, a check of the schedule shows that this Saturday's game kicks off at 11:30am PDT. That's am, as in MORNING. (Say what?)Not even high school games start before noon. Beaver athletic director Bob De Carolis said on oregonlive.com: "The early kickoff, which is imperative for television coverage, also will hopefully give the fans of both programs an opportunity to take full advantage of the Labor Day weekend." Whatever Bob.
Oh well, finally, I see a benefit to living in the East, as the game starts at 2:30pm at my house. Anyway, the Beavers are looking prepared for another exciting season(they finished '08 ranked #18 and are ranked #25 to start this season), while Portland State(4-7 last season) still tries to find their way under the leadership of Jerry Glanville, who decided to mess with the run-and-shoot offense, forcing Mouse Davis into retirement. The Beavers and Vikings have met just twice on the football field, with the Beavers taking a 51-14 win in Portland back in 1983 and 41-14 in Corvallis in 2005. (I took a date to that 1983 game. We missed the first half of the first quarter trying to find a parking space. When we got inside the stadium, the Beavers already had a 21-0 lead.)
I would expect the outcome this Saturday to be one-sided, perhaps even approaching that 1983 margin. All I know is, I am excited that Beaver football(the only team I like more than the Saskatchewan Roughriders) is ready to go for another year.
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That's it for now. Have a great week everyone!
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