Rider Bye's & Fruit Flies

I took the Roughriders bye week off from blogging. Instead, I waged a war on fruit flies. They moved in to my kitchen when I brought home a box of pears from Costco. Let me say this – Fruit flies are not my friend.

During the bye week, we said goodbye to Kevin Glenn in a trade to the Montreal Alouettes. The Riders got a 5^th round draft pick in return. Then we turned around and used that draft pick as leverage and sent Jerome Messam to the Calgary Stampeders for a kicker (Tyler Crapigna) and a player on their negotiation list. It took some time to find out who the neg list player was and he had no sooner arrived in Regina when he got some NFL opportunities and quickly retreated. In the end of it we signed a RB Chad Spann.

GASP! Messam to the Stamps?!

May as well just kill off Glenn on the Walking Dead.

Oh wait.

So after the initial shock wore off it did feel encouraging for Jeremy O'Day to be making some moves. It felt like he was making a statement and doing what any 2 – 14 team does when looking to the future and that is trade for some younger players. As much as I've enjoyed McCallum being our kicker, the truth is that he's a 45 year old man. I've loved his attitude in spite of what I've heard others say...I do believe he has been a leader in the locker room when we were lacking that so badly this season. Messam to Calgary was a great move for the Stamps with the future of Cornish up in the air. It seems he's still suffering from effects from concussion injuries. I talked to a Stamps fan and even he admitted that in his opinion it was a stupid move from the Roughriders, but Messam was a free agent at the end of the season anyway. We were bound to lose him one way or another. So...as it may appear, I'm on the fence about Jeremy O'Day. I also highly suspect his hands are tied by previous contracts and the salary cap and so many other things that our little fandom brains can't even comprehend it. What I do know is that he was a player on a Roughrider team who did suffer as horribly as the 2015 team has. Maybe...just maybe he is exactly the right man for the job.

~ shrugs ~

Here we are nearing the end of October and what have we found out about the 2015 Saskatchewan Roughriders? They are awful in every possible way. Tackling has been an issue right out of training camp. That can almost sum everything up. We are slow. We are undersized. We are unmotivated. I don't think Bob Dyce is the next Head Coach. There, I said it. The Roughriders need a coach & coaches who can keep the team in check, preparing them for every game situation possible and firing them up when they falter. At times during the game Saturday, Dyce seemed bored. He's also saying some similar things as to what Chamblin was quoted as saying in media scrums. Sure mistakes happen but it is your job to be better...make the team better...

...Fans deserve better and we know, BETTER is always possible.

This team has consistently tried to hang onto the glory of past seasons and done very little to plan for next year. We can't even say we are in “next year country”. There are very few players on this current team who should be here next week never mind next year. The bottom line for the Roughriders is they need to put a system in place to scout and develop players not only for now but for always. They should always be looking for the next Chick, the next Dressler, the next franchise quarterback. There needs to be an end to finding the cast offs and trying to rehabilitate them. It doesn't work and we end up running in circles.

This is where someone like Wally Buono has excelled. He's been able to see the end of a career and nip it in the bud before they've over stayed their welcome. It's shocking. But when you are the GM or HC your job is to make the tough calls not the popular ones. You have to do what is best for the greater good. You have to sometimes release players you've loved to move the team forward. It's not personal – it's business.

Did firing Corey Chamblin and Brendan Taman change anything? There was such an outcry at the time but really, in my opinion, all it really did was expose how broken down the team really was. No longer can we hinge the Riders demise to the injuries of Darian Durant or Shea Emry. When the rule changes occurred the Roughriders were the last team to try to adapt. We didn't employ a defence that was prepared or could over come the changes while our small receivers constantly got beat by taller Db's. Next season I'm looking to see taller bigger defensive backs and receivers and I know that means saying goodbye to Riders we love dearly.

Rip off the band aid.

Just pull Glenn off the dumpster.

There are two games left in the Roughriders season. Many fans have already jumped ship. They've gotten behind the Jays, although that didn't end very well. It was very inspiring to see so many people, myself included, come together for a Canadian team. Others have turned to hockey or the NFL. I myself am enjoying the end of the Nascar season and have tuned into some of the Boise State games which are always fun to watch on the Smurf Turf.

Sigh.

Oh...so how did I finally get rid of the fruit flies? It turns out a slice of fruit with vinegar in a jar and a makeshift funnel made out of paper is all it takes to trap them.

If only the Roughriders problems could be resolved so easily.

Paint the World PINK

It's an interesting time we're living in. In the last week, I was unfollowed on Twitter for being judgemental, bashed for not wanting to pay higher taxes for something the government has no right to be involved in, and told the Pink campaign for breast cancer awareness is a scam. This can only mean one thing...the Riders are not only losing but have finally “officially” been “mathematically” eliminated from the 2015 Grey Cup play offs.

I'm a strong prairie woman. Your opinion on any social media platform means little to me. Elections bring out the worst in people and even though I try to maintain my belief of don't discuss politics and religion, sometimes things slip out. Hey, if I have to see your silly Anyone But Conservative slogan time after time, my little share with our Prime Minister in a guitar factory should be okay. But what really got me angry was when I saw a photo criticizing football players and cheerleaders for wearing pink for breast cancer awareness month.

Apparently, “pink washing” is a thing.

Who knew?

Prior to 2010 CFL players were not allowed under CFL regulations to wear anything during practice or games that were not considered regulation football uniforms. In 2007 Roughriders Marcus Chunky Adams made the news by wearing pink shoelaces to show support for his mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I cite him because I recall his story more easily but there were other CFL players who were ambassadors for breast cancer awareness as well. These men fought for the ability for CFL players to wear pink during games as a sign of support for female fans and family members. This is why every CFL team takes turns during the month of October to wear pink.

Back in 2011 the Roughriders sold Touchdown for Dreams bandanas at their Rider Stores. They came in a set of two; one to be worn and the other to be signed and returned to Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium as a massive show of support for those battling cancer. I bought one and had my piano students sign it and then it was sent to the football game.

Touchdown for Dreams is a partnership between Cameco, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The program holds different events to promote early detection programs. They also sell pink items and merchandise through the month of October to grant wishes and dreams to women who have life threatening diagnosis of cancer.

In January of this year I received a courageous phone call from my older Sister. She informed me that she had been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. It was found through an ultrasound as a follow up to a routine mammogram. To date, she's had seven rounds of chemo, surgery to remove the cancer, and radiation treatments. She's been the most amazing woman I've ever known. In the face of a potentially life threatening situation she continually shared her story through facebook posts and often professing how grateful she was for each day. Her prognosis is very good. My sister has always been a fighter and I knew from day one cancer picked a fight with the wrong lady.

Because of my Sister's story and even though I'm younger than she is, I've taken action and talked to my doctor about screening. Not everyone has an older sister as amazing as mine who urges you to start the conversation. Not everyone has a son like Marcus Adams to help change a whole sports league to one who paints the field pink. If you happen to see a cheerleader wearing pink it may just encourage you to get screened. Early detection can save your life. I think that's complete reality and not a scam at all.

As I sit here writing this blog in my cancer awareness tee shirt purchased at Penningtons, there are other campaigns which the CFL supports. Check out Roughriders John Chick's support of Sun Life Kick Diabetes where there are different challenges with other CFLers as well as screening to find out if you are at risk for diabetes. Injured Rider Shea Emry is also an ambassador for mental health awareness and last week as a show of support Investors Group Field was lit up in purple.

Aren't Canadian Football League players amazing?!

Before Lambeau Leaping to conclusions, consider yourself or your family in these situations. Don't paint with the same brush. You may find yourself needing this tremendous show of support some day and regretting you didn't listen.

CFL – this normally green clad rabid Rider fan salutes your efforts.

In October, let's paint the world pink and for the love of Gainer start the conversation with your doctor.

Rider Nation needs you.

It's Not Easy Being a Fan of the Green

OMG

Oh my GAWD

Oh-Em-Gee

You have no idea how many times I said those words during Saturday's pathetic display of football against the BC Lions.

~ face palm ~

I still can't even put it in to words. I'm still angry. That wasn't even the sentiment at the end of the game. It was the feeling during the second quarter. Hubby stormed out of the living room muttering how much he couldn't stand it. He returned but the muttering didn't change much.

It sure is tough being green these days.

What did we think was going to happen? After beating the Allouettes in a completely dominant fashion, did we think that was our team now? Did we think all the bad was undone and we remembered what Rider football was? I'm mostly upset because that game gave Rider Nation hope...HOPE...and there they were in BC breaking our hearts yet again this season.

Where do we go from here?

One view is the Roughriders need to make some trades for draft picks. I have a really hard time with that belief. Who do you trade? I had thoughts back in training camp days but now and with injuries in consideration I'm not ready to part ways with these guys who I've grown to love so much. I also know, and it's the pessimist in me, Riders often trade people and then they go on to have stellar careers elsewhere and usually have the games of their lives against us.

I posted some painfully brutal comments following Saturday's game. This team, playing the way they did, don't deserve to win a game nor do they deserve a play off spot. Our team is under sized, slow, unmotivated, and poorly coached.
Corey Chamblin stacked his coaching staff with people who could not or would not challenge him. I don't know if that's ego or just the belief that he could control everything. I feel for Bob Dyce because he's inherited this mess. He has an offensive coordinator in Jaques Chapdelaine who really doesn't believe in what I consider “rider football” because he refuses to use the run game. The defensive coordinator Greg Quick shows sparks of potential but when it comes to the secondary..... * grimace *. 

The Roughriders need a complete revamp.

BUT we won the 2013 Grey Cup.

Sure. We did. Look at us now.

Ugh.

For interest sake:

Riders Grey Cup 1966. Record in 1968 12-3. Lost west final.

Riders Grey Cup 1989. Record in 1991 6-12. Finished 4^th in west.

Riders Grey Cup 2007. Record in 2009 10-7. I won't remind you.

Riders Grey Cup 2013. Record in 2015..... NOW.

We are not making the playoffs.

Period.

It's just not our time. As actor Kim Coates remarked several weeks ago (to paraphrase) “we had our time in the sun and now it's time to let someone else shine.”

I just wish it wasn't so painful.

I love this team. I'm still watching the remaining games. I'll still wear my Rider jersey. I know that whatever happens from this point on is what happens but for once in a long time I'm looking forward to the off season.

Can't possibly lose in the off season.

Is it June yet?