Edmonton powers past Saskatchewan in CFL pre-season action

The Edmonton Eskimos took advantage of five takeaways Wednesday night and rolled to a 45-12 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in CFL preseason action, in front of 34,793 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.

Edmonton got on the board early in the first, on a 47 yard punt single by Derek Schiavone.The teams then exchanged turnovers, with the Eskimos intercepting a pass and losing a fumble. On their next possession, Edmonton moved the ball to the Roughrider 40, but the drive stalled there and they had to settle for a 45 yard field goal from Schivone. The Riders weren't able to move the ball with much authority in the first quarter and found themselves on the short end of a 4-0 score after the opening 15 minutes.

Saskatchewan finally started to get rolling on offense in the closing moments of the opening quarter, driving into Eskimos territory for the first time on the night. Luca Congi was able to nail a 33 yard fieldgoal with 11:27 remaining in the first half, to draw to within one at 4-3. Edmonton responded with a couple of big plays by quaterback Jared Zabransky, a long pass completion and a 12 yard scramble, moving the ball into the shadow of the Rider goaline. Zabransky then found Efram Hill for a three yard touchdown pass and with the convert completing a 9 play, 82 yard drive, took an 11-3 lead. Late in the quarter, a drive deep into Saskatchewan territory again stalled, and the Esks had to settle for a 25 yard fieldgoal with 1:43 left by Ryan Elaschuk, increasing their lead to 14-3. Saskatchewan showed flashes of a quick-strike offense on the ensuing possession, quickly driving deep into Edmonton territory as quarterback Steven Jyles hooked up with Jason Clermont on four pass plays. Jyles, unable to find a receiver on first-and-goal, scrambled for 7 yards and a touchdown with Congi's convert capping a 6 play, 73 yard, 35 second drive, bringing the Riders to within 4 at 14-10 at the half.

Saskatchewan fumbled the opening kick of the second half away and the Eskimos quickly converted, increasing the lead to 21-10 on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Lester Rickard to Kevin Challenger, with Elaschuk adding the convert just 60 seconds into the second half. Edmonton drove the field quickly again on their next possession, with Ciatrick Fason punching it in from 2 yards outs, capping a 9 play, 82 yard drive. Elaschuk nailed the convert with 9:37 left in the third, increasing the lead to 28-10. The Riders turned the ball over on an interception deep in their own territory on the next possession and Elaschuk drilled a 15 yard field goal to put the Eskimos up 31-10 with 4:11 remaining, capping the scoring in the third quarter.

Saskatchewan got the first points of the final quarter with 11:04 left, as Edmonton's punter Schiavone conceded the deuce on a safety touch. The Eskimos grabbed the ball back on an interception and crowd-favorite Jesse Lumsden scored on a 9 yard run. Elaschuk's convert with 8:26 left, put Edmonton on top 38-12. Jason Maas then hit Alan Turner with a 28 yard touchdown pass with 2:13 remaining to cap the scoring, as the Eskimos rolled to the 45-12 win.

Edmonton, who held a 509-178 advantage in total yards, was lead by their trio of quarterbacks, Jared Zabransky, Jason Maas and Lester Rickard combined to complete 24 of 36 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns. E Hill, K Challenger and A Turner each caught a touchdown pass, while Ciatrick Fason(9 carries for 83 yards) and Jesse Lumsden(6 carries for 64 yards) each scored a rushing touchdown. The Riders played four different quarterbacks in the opener. Darian Durant, Steven Jyles, Dalton Bell and Juan Joseph went 14 of 29 for 136 yards, no scores and three interceptions. Stu Foord carried the ball 3 times for 23 yards, while quarterback Steven Jyles' touchdown run was the only touchdown of the night for Saskatchewan. Roughriders Head Coach Ken Miller talked about his teams' rookies playing the majority of the game, saying that "We're really happy that this one's over, but we'll have a really good opportunity to evaluate our young players." Commenting on the results, a 33 point loss, Miller said about the young players he used: "When we put someone on the field in the green and white, we expect them to play well and we expect them to be successful."

The Roughriders, 0-1-0 on the pre-season, host the defending Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders on Tuesday, June 23rd at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Kickoff is set for 9:00pm EDT on http://www.620ckrm.com/ with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling all the action. The Eskimos, 1-0-0, travel to Vancouver for a matchup with the BC Lions next Tuesday at 10:00pm EDT.

Saskatchewan opens the 2009 CFL regular season schedule at home on Friday, July 3rd against the BC Lions beginning at 9:00pm EDT. All the exciting action home and away can be heard on CKRM, beginning one hour before scheduled kickoff.

Are you ready for some football?

The Canadian Football League pre-season begins tonight with four games. The matchup I'm most interested in, of course, is the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the Edmonton Eskimos.





The Riders, who have become one of the top teams in the CFL over the past several years, winning the Grey Cup in 2007, are led by Head Coach Ken Miller. Saskatchewan has a potent offense, featuring wide receiver Weston Dressler(pictured), running back Wes Cates(out with an injured shoulder), quarterback Darian Durant and kicker Luca Congi.



Edmonton is led by first-year Head Coach Richie Hall, who spent the past 15 years on the Riders' coaching staff, the last eight as defensive coordinator. Quarterbacks Ricky Ray and Jason Maas, along with running back Calvin McCarty, pace the Eskimos offense.

Kickoff is set for 9:00pm EDT tonight, with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling the action. Catch all the excitement of tonight's game at 9:00pm EDT on http://www.620ckrm.com/.

Monday Morning Meissnervations

It's another Monday morning, so let's see what's happening.

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The Lakers won another NBA title(Their 15th - YAAAAAAAAWN!) last night, beating the Orlando Magic 99 to 86. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and won the Finals MVP award. Coach Phil Jackson won his 10th title as a coach, the first six with Chicago and now four with the Lakers. Rashard Lewis scord 18 and Dwight Howard 11 for Orlando.

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Pittsburgh defeated Detroit 2-1 on Friday, winning the Stanley Cup. I was rooting for the Red Wings, but those wearing the Winged Wheel who are griping at Sidney Crosby for not shaking their hands after the game, are waaaaaaaay off base.

Crosby, as much as he might lose a bit of class when his team is getting hammered, understands and embraces the traditions of the game, which a lot of 21-year-olds don't. He seemingly had every media outlet that was on the ice pulling him in different directions(as he was instructed by NHL officials) when the handshake started and wasn't able to pull away from them. The Detroit players who didn't shake Crosby's hand, had already gone through the hand shake line and couldn't get off the ice fast enough. Red Wings Captain Kris Draper was tinkled off because he supposedly "waited and waited" for Crosby to come shake his hand. Well, if Draper knew what Crosby was doing and where he was at, then Draper could have gone over to him. Crosby has said he feels no need to apologize for missing some of the Red Wings before they left the ice and I agree with him. True champions also know how to lose. Detroit's Captain apparently lost sight of that point.

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The Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League completed its off-season try-out camp in Las Vegas, Nevada over the weekend. The Las Vegas Ice Center, managed by new Storm owner Kirk Brooks, was the first-time home of the annual try-outs. More than 120 players participated in the invite-only tournament. They were split up into 6 teams and faced off in front of coaches and evaluators.

Among the 120 players invited to participate were nine players from last year’s roster including co-captain Danny Heath and team MVP Anthony DeCenzo. The list also included each of the Storm’s 15 draft picks highlighted by number-one overall pick Justin Demartino. Many other players not currently protected by the Storm and not drafted by the Storm attended the camp and played at a high level.

“Overall, we had a successful try-out camp” stated first year coach Drew Schoneck. “We had some returning veterans play well, we’re happy with our goaltenders, and we had some other players really surprise us – which is what you want to have happen at your camp.”

Schoneck selected 30 players from the try-outs who will make the team’s protected list. That list is expected to be released to the public in the coming days after league approval. Check http://www.stormhockey.com for the latest updates. For questions or to purchase season tickets to the 10th anniversary season of the Tri-City Storm, call 308-338-8809 or visit the team website.

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MLB is in their first round of inter-league play. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals three straight(Who doesn't beat the Nationals?), winning Sunday 5-4. The Rays have now won 5 straight and are 9-3 in June. Could this be the start of their push towards the top of the AL East?

Yankess blasted the Mets 15-0. New York's senior circuit club could be the next looking for a new skipper.

Three teams(Florida, Baltimore and Philadelphia) all scored 11 runs yesterday.

Cliff Lee took a no-hitter into the eight inning, as Cleveland beat St. Louis 3-0.

In the American League, Boston the AL East by 2 games over the Yankees and 5 each over Tampa Bay and Toronto. (For those of you who care, Boston's "magic number" to clinch the East is 98 games!) Detroit is first in the Central, leading Minnesota by 3 games. In the West, Texas is first, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Angels.

Over in the National League, the defending World Champion Philadelphia top the East by 4 games over the Mets. Milwaukee leads the Central by a half-game over St. Louis and 2 1/2 over both Cincinnati and the Cubs. Los Angeles is 7 games ahead of San Francisco in the West. Colorado is third, 10 1/2 back, but has won 11 games in a row, closing to within one game of the .500 mark.

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The Canadian Football League begins it's pre-season schedule this Wednesday. This blog will again follow the Saskatchewan Roughriders this season, with recaps of each game. For up-to-the-minute training camp news, check out http://rodpedersen.com/ for all the latest. Rod teams with Carm Carteri for the broadcast of Wednesday's game from Edmonton beginning at 9:00pm EDT at http://www.620ckrm.com/. We'll also have a brief recap of each CFL game this season, right where the hockey recaps have been, in the upper right-hand corner of the blog. And you'll also find links for both the CFL standings and schedule. The Calgary Stampeders are the defending Grey Cup champions.



The league's website is http://www.cfl.ca/. The CFL's 52nd season begins on Wednesday, July 1st.



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Jimmy continues his development as he approaches week 55 of his award-winning life. (He's already been voted Cutest Baby in Town by an impartial panel of judges, consisting of his Mommy and me!) He's now topped 21 pounds, and is 29 1/2 inches long. He has been scooting for quite awhile, as well as pulling himself up and cruising the furniture. Lately though, he's been getting up on his hands and knees and crawling. He made a move yesterday like he was ready to take his first step, but it didn't quite happen. We expect it won't be long though. He's also talking up a storm and we expect more words soon as well. We're still waiting for his first haircut too. And if you look in the dictionary for the term "Happy Baby," you'll see Jimmy's picture.

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Well, that's it for now. Jimmy is playing, Mommy is resting(stayed home sick from work today) and it's time to get back to Real Stories of the Highway Patrol. So, all y'all have a great week, okay?

Penguins edge Wings, win Stanley Cup

Getty Images


Maxime Talbot scored twice in the second period and Marc-Andre Fleury made two saves in the final moments Friday night, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup championship with a 2-1 victory in game 7 over the defending champion Detroit Red Wings.

After a scoreless first, Talbot scored 73 seconds into the second period on a shot between the pads of Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood, then again on a wrister from the left circle that went in just under the cross bar at 10:07, putting Pittsburgh up 2-0 through 40 minutes. The Red Wings halved the deficit on a deflection goal with 6:07 remaining in regulation, then nearly tied the score when a shot from Niklas Kronwall bounced off the crossbar with 2:14 left. Then, with Osgood off the ice for an extra attacker, Fleury stopped a screen shot with less than five seconds remaining, then made a sprawling save on the rebound with one second left to preserve the victory.

Both goaltenders were solid. Fluery made 23 saves for the Penguins, Osgood had 16 for Detroit. Pittsburgh was 0-for-1 on the power play, while the Red Wings were 0-for-2.

Cup Notes:
Evengi Malkin, who amassed 36 points in the post season, won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. The Penguins became the first team to win the Cup after losing in the previous year's finals since Edmonton beat the Islanders 25 years ago, which was also the last rematch of the previous years' finalists. They are also the first team since the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Cup after trailing 3-2 in the finals and were also the first road team since 1971's Montreal Canadiens(vs Chicago) to win game 7 on the road. Dan Bylsma also became the second coach in league history to win the Cup as a mid-season replacement and is the 14th rookie coach to guide his team to the title.

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It took me awhile to figure out why the fans were booing after the game. I don't agree with it(the booing, that is), but apparently, they don't much care for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Why do you think MLB commissioner Bud Selig doesn't present the trophy at the end of the World Series on the field? It may well be a toss-up who sports fans dislike more: Bettman, Selig, or NBA commissioner David Stern.

For those who don't know, I spent 20 years refereeing hockey(I've also umpired baseball for 37 years). I normally don't say stuff like this, because I know how tough of a job officiating is. But I think the NHL should be embarrassed by the way the 2009 playoffs(not just the finals) was officiated. WAY too much testosterone-laced manhood after the whistle, and WAY too much stuff that was a penalty at the start of the season, all of a sudden wasn't a penalty in the playoffs.

In no way did officiating cost Detroit the cup. I'm not saying that at all. You know, the play Sidney Crosby got hurt on in game 7(it limited him to just one shift after about the six-minute mark of the second period) had a lot of people calling for a penalty against Crosby. I actually have no problem with there not being a penalty called on that play, because I don't think he impeded his opponent's progress. But, on the breakaway near the end of game six, how does a guy get away with swinging his stick at a player on a breakaway, hitting him on the shoulder? Some say that should have been called a penalty shot. I'm not so sure about that, but it most certainly was a penalty. It was just frustrating to watch and I was getting real tired of it. In that respect, I'm glad the season is over.

Make no mistake about it. Pittsburgh is a fine team and deserve to be called champions. The finals were, for the most part, pretty exciting. Now, when I can forget about the officiating(and the fact my team lost), then I can start getting excited for next season.

Monday Morning Meissnervations

Morning y'all. It's Monday, let's see what's going on.

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Lakers go up 2-0 on Orlando with a 101-96 OT win last night. No, I didn't watch the game. Too much good stuff on the History Channel. Magic had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but a lay up(No, there was no goaltending) just wouldn't go. I would like to see Orlando win the series, but if they drop either of their upcoming home games, you can then save everyone the trouble and mail that gawd-awful looking trophy to Los Angeles. But IF the Magic could win the two home games, then this series could go the whole seven. We'll just have to wait and see.

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Detroit goes up 3-2 in the Stanley Cup finals with a 5-0 win Saturday. First game in five that wasn't either a 3-1 or 4-2 final. After Detroit controlled the first two games, then Pittsburgh did what they had to do to win game three, then got the goaltending they needed to win game four, the wheels fell off in game five. The Red Wings got solid goaltending Saturday, while the Penguins didn't. Detroit controlled the flow, spent a bunch of time in the Pittsburgh zone and forced the Penguins into numerous mistakes. And, you think LeBron James was a poor sport after losing the NBA East Finals? Who's a bigger crybaby, Sydney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin? Crosby is clearly one of the NHL's marque players, but when things go South for his team, Crosby will give out more cheap shots in one period than Gretzky gave out in his career. Malkin is another one of those dish it out but not take it guys too. Even if Detroit weren't my favorite team, the way Pittsburgh plays makes it easy to root against them. Game six is in Pittsburgh Tuesday night, with game seven (And it would not surprise me if Pittsburgh wins tomorrow)back in Detroit on Friday. The games are on NBC in the U.S. of A.

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Speaking of hockey, are you as tired of the after-the-whistle garbage that, at times, has dominated this year's Stanley Cup playoffs? It almost appears that the NHL publicly said knock it off, just to insure that the players would increase the amount of testosterone-laced manhood. It has disgusted me more than I was the year the NHL locked out it's platyers for the entire season. Knock it off and just play the games already, will ya? Sheesh!

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Tiger Woods won The Memorial yesterday, shooting a final round 65 to beat Jim Furyk by a stroke. Is this guy a machine, or what? Hit every fairway yesterday, drained putts like they were all gimmes to. And it was the 5th time in his career he's come back from 5 strokes down after 54 holes to win. Wow.

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Roger Federer won the French Open in straight sets yesterday and Tony Stewart won the NASCAR event at Pocono, winner in the car he owns. That was pretty cool to hear about that.

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The Tampa Bay Rays, just when it looks like they're finally getting on a roll, throw their bullpen out there and find a way to lose. Tampa Bay gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth yesterday, even though the ball, at least that I can remember, never left the infield. Simply brutal. And to think I switched over from one of those police video shows to watch that garbage! Yankees came from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at Band Box Stadium. BTW: How can they spend so much money on the new Yankess Stadium and have it come out so screwed up, especially in right field. It reminds me of a lot of high school fields, where the fence seemingly gains very little depth as it goes from the right field line over towards center field. Someone really screwed up.

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The Canadian Football League is just nine days away from the start of pre-season action. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Saskatchewan Roughriders do this season, staring with next Wednesday's non-counter at Edmonton. Check out the action not only at http://www.cfl.ca/, but also at http://rodpedersen.blogspot.com/. Roddy covers the CFL like a blanket and may well have the best blog around. Check it out and tell him I sent ya. He's also awesome calling the play-by-play too. Catch the games at http://www.620ckrm.com/.



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Mommy's at work, Jimmy has had his breakfast and now is enjoying playtime. That means, it's time to me to stop blogging and start being Mr. Mom. Have a great day and week everyone!

Monday Morning Meissnervations

Good morning y'all. It's Monday, let's see what's going on.











Jimmy had his 1st birthday last Wednesday. He has been such a joy to us, ever since we found out he was coming, to his arrival and all the way up to his first birthday on Wednesday and party on Saturday. (He got LOTS of really cool presents!)He has the bluest eyes of all time, and he charms everyone he meets. We love our baby boy!

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The Oregon State Beavers returned to the NCAA baseball tournament this past weekend after missing last year, following their back-to-back titles. The Beavers hung on in game one on the Fort Worth Regional Friday, building a 9-0 lead on the way(?) to a 9-8 win over Texas A & M. Carter Bell set a season-high with three hits and Koa Kahalehoe had three hits and drove in three runs.

Oregon State collected just two hits Saturday and lost to #1 seed and host TCU 13-1. That forced the Beavers into a must-win situation, the same path they rode to their two titles(In '06 & '07). Oregon State ended Texas A & M's season Sunday, with a 13-5 win. Koa Kahalehoe went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs, and Jorge Reyes fanned six in a complete game effort. Sunday's second game didn't go as well though. The Beavers built a 4-0 lead over TCU, saw it slip away, then missed a comeback chance late, losing 5-4. Oregon State finishes the season with a 37-19 record.

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While we're on the subject of the NCAA Division 1 baseball tournament, how about those Ohio State Buckeyes? Competeing in the Tallahassee Regional, the Bucks(42-17 entering the tournament) opened with a 24-8 loss to Georgia on Friday, but then, to their credit, rebounded for a 6-4 win over Marist on Friday, but somewhere along the way, burned all their pitching. The result? An amazing 37-6 loss to Florida State on Sunday. 65 runs against in three games and many of those were earned. (FSU pounded out 38 hits in Sunday's game.) Wow. How does that happen?

And, we can't move on without mentioning Texas's 3-2 win over Boston College on Saturday. What made the game noteworthy, was that it went 25 innings and lasted nearly 7 1/2 hours. Two participants in a game that I'd normally love to be, the home plate umpire or the play-by-play guy, may have had the toughest jobs of the night. Wow. I've broadcast a three-overtime hockey game, refereed a five-overtime hockey game, but those were nothing like what went on between Texas and BC. Wow.

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The Detroit Red Wings won the opening two games of the Stanley Cup finals over the Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend, winning 3-1 on both Saturday and Sunday nights. This is the first rematch of Stanley Cup finalists since Edmonton and the Islanders in the 80s. One thing that seems to be bothering people, is the latest example of how the major TV networks exert a great deal of influence over sports. This weekend's games were the first time Stanley Cup Finals games have been played on back-to-back nights since 1955(The Red Wings won that year too. And I would have been more interested in that series if I had been more than just three months old!). Most playoff series in big league sports these days play, day off, play, day off, etc, etc. But the schedule for Detroit-Pittsburgh shows just how much influence NBC holds, despite how little they pay to carry the games. Reality may stink, but reality says NBC will make lots more money on Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show debut. That's a problem hockey has to do something to fix.

The Red Wings have gotten strong efforts all through the lineup, especially from goaltender Chris Osgood. Pittsburgh has played hard too, but the bounces just haven't gone their way. This series could go the whole 7 games. We'll see. Games 3 & 4 are in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Thursday.

Oh, by the way: Teams that have won the first two games of the finals have gone on to win the Cup 41 times. Of the three teams that didn't, Detroit was the victim of the combacks twice, in '42(Toronto) and '66(Montreal).

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The Tampa Bay Rays continue to struggle through injuries. They hosted the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, winning 2 of 3. The Rays are fourth in the AL East with a record of 25-28, 5 1/2 games behind first place New York. Getting on a roll is simple: Fix the starting pitching, solidify the bullpen and get the injured players all better. Oh, and while they're at it, they can do something about their abysmal customer relations too.

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The NBA was close to their dream Finals matchup of LA vs Cleveland, but the Orland Magic didn't cooperate, knocking off the Cadavaliers in six games. It's the first finals appearance for the Magic since the mid-90s. Go Magic!

Oh....NBA Basketball: Tall Guys Who Can't Skate!

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The Canadian Football League opens the 2009 season with rookie camps this week. My favorite team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, appear to be a contender again. This blog will follow the Riders again this season, but for the best Riders coverage, check out my good friend Rod Pedersen's blog, at http://rodpedersen.blogspot.com. Rod is the radio voice of the Riders, as well as the WHL's Regina Pats, as well as the sports guy at CKRM Radio. He's one busy guy, but there's few better than Roddy. You'll enjoy Rod's blog. If you haven't already viewed it, check it out soon. It's really good.

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That's it for now. Y'all have a good day and week!