Sandra's WK 3 CFL Power Grouping

So by now you get the idea of how my Power Groupings work.  If you're unsure just look back and the last two weeks for clear descriptions.  In the meantime...

WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO GAINER?

...oh wait...that's not it.

Here is how a rather soggy and rain delayed SmilingSandra worked out the Grouping in Week 3.

Group A - The Queens of the CFL

I may have caught myself saying nice things about the Blue Bombers this week.  It sure seem that they are on track for a play off run and while it's only week 3 things just *feel* like they're working in their favour.  Lucky Whitehead was a marvelous find for Winnipeg.   The TigerCats find themselves in this group this week too.  Brandan Banks had a great game.  The Ottawa Redblacks are still in this grouping however they were on bye week this week.

Group B - Take a (Mic) Stand

The Edmonton Eskimos killed themselves with penalties against Winnipeg.  We were all looking to see if Harris would repeat his recent play and no...he didn't but the undisciplined play is what really killed them... also who kicks a Field Goal on 1st down?  Jason Mass apparently.  Had this worked for him we'd all be calling him a genius but instead...  The Calgary Stampeders find themselves in B group although I'd previously had them ranked higher.  Things were not working in their favour until Bo Levi suffered a non-contact injury and Arbuckle entered the game.  He lit the fire in the team and they launched a huge comeback to win the game.  Do I hear a QB controversy in Calgary?  Let's wait and see what Mitchell's MRI shows this week.  The Roughriders have moved up into B group having gained Craig Dickenson's first win and Gatorade shower.  There's no QB controversy in Saskie - Cody Fajardo is the guy.  He had looked shaky in game 1 but has controlled the offence perfectly and found open receivers as well as finding escapability that I've not seen since Doubles graced Taylor Field.  How will the Roughriders manage a short turn around in Week 4 against the visiting Stampeders?

Group C - I Mustache You a Question...

...will these teams ever win?  The BC Lions looked like they were going to take the game against Calgary and they let it slip away.  The Montreal Alouettes need to find some protection for their Quarterback among many things.  The Toronto Argonauts are out there looking for an identity.  Will they find it when they match up against the Lions in Week 4?

Thanks for following along this week in the Canadian Football League!  On to Week 4!

Go Riders!

Ratio Ga Ga

HEADLINE - Something something blah blah, Sources.

We know that no CFL reporter is going to divulge their source but isn't it easy to fall back and support your argument just stating "my source".  I wrote a whole blog (Sources Say) post about it some time ago.  I don't expect Justin Dunk to reveal who he's talking to and it remains that he's often correct in what he tells us.  Still I think when anyone cites a source we should take everything with a grain of salt.

At least that's what my source says.

So "Sources" aside, it was reported that the Canadian Football League and it's Players Association who are in bargaining have discussed lowering the ratio of Canadian football players from 7 to 5.  It didn't take very long for players to respond to this idea and many of us got the popcorn ready as we watched them spout off on social media.  Even Brian Ramsey, executive director, refuted that this proposal had never been agreed to however he never stated that the idea was false.  You can read that 3 Down Nation article here --> CFLPA Responds

What do you think?

Two things are certain.  CFL 2.0 is moving ahead.  Ambrosie has discussed having 2 "global" players added to the roster from the countries with which he's stricken deals.  Whether those 2 spots are the same 2 being removed from the Canadian ratio isn't clear.  What fans and players are most disappointed with is that in instigating this plan we are removing the very essence of what makes it the Canadian Football League to begin with.  We are at odds between expanding the horizon of the CFL and protecting everything it stands for.  Then again, fans are never very open to change...are we?

Let's be clear here, the ratio only affects Canadians who are actually on the field.  It doesn't mean any less players will be on a teams roster.  Those 2 global spots also don't dictate whether they will be starters or not, only that 2 players on the roster should be from another country neither national or international.  What this does mean, I think at this point, is that only elite Canadian players will end up making the squad.  That means someone like Robb Bagg who was never drafted may never play professional football.  I can also see the other side of wanting to ensure that the best of the best do make teams.  The CFL is the only football league to demand that a certain amount of players hold a certain passport.  Does it seem to make a difference to the NFL or these other leagues that are springing up?  No.  There is already a large disconnect between USports and grooming players for pro football.  Or is there?  We are also seeing more Canadians heading south to the college ranks or NFL.  Where does this leave us?  This is because it seems they need that American exposure to be able to compete at the next level.  Not every team can draft from Laval.  

Perhaps we need to examine football in university and other levels.  I'll be the first person to admit I know next to nothing about football at this level.  Wouldn't it be great to be able to watch these teams and games on tv or streamed to our laptops or devices?  We'd be able to see what all the talk is about and learn why players are drafted first over all.  A tv deal would not only boost this level of Canadian football but it might lead more people to view CFL as well.  College football in the United States is almost on another level of fandom and there is a loyalty found not evident anywhere else.  That feeling is one reason lot's of players like the Roughrider team and game atmosphere...it reminds them of their college days.  

There could be a CFL expansion in the future.  Is there enough Canadian talent period?  Why is it players can go south and be successful while others spend up to 3 years getting acquainted with the CFL and still don't seem to play with the passion and motivation they should?  * cough St John cough *  Or do these players not realize the precious opportunity they're getting and fail to live up to expectations?  Perhaps if there were less opportunities Canadians would work harder?  Can it also work the other way around.  Someone who never expected to be a pro football player but gets the chance and doesn't waste it.  Someone like Chris Getzlaf who living not so far from Regina felt destined to be a Rider.

It seems like a catch 22.

Every one has an opinion on the ratio and as most subjects go amongst not only football fans but everyone in 2019 having an opinion is divisive.  I watched as Duron Carter and Ricky Foley had at it on Twitter Monday.  Travis Lulay posted the most level headed opinion I've seen.  It doesn't matter what your passport says as long as you are part of the locker room.  The players need to be united if they're going to get anything done and the CFL is counting on pushing through their agenda while they're busy scrapping over something that may have little meaning in July.  When was the last time you felt united?  I know it's been a long time for me.  I think we've forgotten how to be part of something bigger than ourselves in this journey of individuality.

Is this all just really cah cah.  Sometimes things are put out in the media to distract us from what is really going on.  While everyone is over here complaining about this ratio thing perhaps they'll be over there putting some other plan into motion.  It's a political move.  You don't like our negotiations well this is what we're proposing.  If that's the case, it sure has gotten everyone worked up in what was a rather slow moment in the CFL off season.  This story isn't over yet either.

If you enjoyed the title of this weeks blog post don't hesitate to read last weeks offering titled Any Way the Wind Blows which will give you a little inside look at other aspects of my life.  Good friend Tony Brice commented that it was one of my best posts yet.  Thanks for that Tony!  He follows me on Twitter @smilingsandra but you can find me elsewhere and mostly at the ABC Rider Fan Facebook page.  Search us up - Come talk to us about this Ratio Ga Ga.  

Any Way The Wind Blows

There hasn't been much going on in the CFL lately.  Pieces of news have been few and far between.  They've resorted to articles about players pets and who can be named best dressed CFLer.

Meanwhile...

* crickets *

...a dog barks in the distance...

🎵 a birdie chirps...

With this lull in activity every off season I find that my own rabid fan status wains and I wonder over to other activities and my influences change.  Some people turn to other sports - Saskatoon Rush, Nascar and hockey of course. Many of you haven't known me a long time but March seems to be a time for when I explore.  There was the Dean Martin infatuation of 20-something.  We won't discuss the whole vampire thing. Last year I researched my family tree and actually found a cousin living in Montreal who I didn't know existed. This off season was going along like normal and then in February I watched (finally) Bohemian Rhapsody and it seemed like everything changed for me.

I've made no secret that while I write this blog and am administrator for ABC Rider Fans, that in "real life" I am a piano teacher.  While I've always maintained that music is what I do - it's not my life...it's an illusion because it really does consume my life.   Where I am able to strike a balance is that I only teach after school hours so while you are likely gearing up to go home after your work day, I am gearing up to start teaching.  'Tis the life of a musician I suppose.  What these hours allow me to do is follow football during those off times except when I need to do research or find music or actually come up with a plan or strategy for my lessons, which by the way is unpaid time but I'm dedicated and I do it happily.

So there I was coasting through CFL off season and coping with some other health things that always seem to crop up at this time of year but you know everyone has "stuff" to deal with.  One of my students...my best student if I'm honest (and fav but don't tell the others!), is playing Bohemian Rhapsody for the SAM music festival in May which runs close if not at the same time as Roughrider training camp.  We had decided on this selection before Christmas so it had nothing to do with my off season doldrums but everything to do with the reason one quiet Saturday night I decided I should watch the movie.  I called it Professional Development. I actually streamed A Star is Born the same night but for whatever reason (I'm heartless?) it had zero effect on me, yet the story of Freddie Mercury made me feel a whole myriad of things that I can't even begin to sort out or explain in any form.

I was 18 when Mercury died from Aids in 1991 and when I think back to "me" back then I often refer to myself as a stupid teenager.  Maybe I was just oblivious? I remember the news but life went on.  I didn't realize until now how excruciating that event actually was.  Is it possible to mourn someone nearly 30 years later?  Well just like I seem to be stuck in this musical cycle, many football fans are stuck as well.  Bring back Dressler is one of the newest cries.  When will Rider fans move on?  Are we still in 2009 mourning too?  The Roughriders need to continue to move on to the future instead of looking back.  Unlike, Queen's front man, most football players are replaceable even if we've loved their character and personality.  To everything there is a season.  The show must go on.

With most things in my life even when I don't think music plays a roll it's there in the background noise.  If you're still with me here and wondering what any of this has to do with the football blog you've grown used to reading well it made me realize how much I've grown in all ways and continue to evolve and how fortunate...blessed really, I am to have a slightly successful page which is somewhat accepted by a mostly male dominated sort of hobby and industry.  No one ever told me I couldn't and I always knew I could do things, mostly artistic types of things with extreme ease.  I can do anything! I've often said. So while Roughrider football is an obsession in my life, music is a thread weaving itself deeply through it.  A team wins a championship - We Are The Champions.  A Calgary Stampeders game comes to an end - Sweet Caroline.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders score a touchdown - Green is the Colour.

"Like" and "Follow" ABC Football on Facebook for my latest musings.

When the city of Regina hosted the 2013 Grey Cup they knocked the halftime show out of the park by having flying snowmobiles and a rocking Hedley (at the time) group.  Randy Ambrosie said that the Riders pitch was so good they could have landed the Olympics so naturally that makes me question what kind of half time show was pitched.  Does the halftime show need to be Canadian or should they reach farther into the stars to bring the most epic halftime ever?  Can both be done?  What's your opinion on this and who would you like to see as the 2020 halftime show? 

This time of year - March, the cold snap finally comes to an end and we are looking for signs of life.  While it'll be a while until we see daffodils here in Saskatchewan, birds are returning and the snow is sinking as the sun grows higher and higher in the sky.  Our beloved CFL teams will be re-awakening after all the moves in free agency.  The CFLPA negotiations will get settled.  Soon it'll be draft day. Some people are already looking forward and talking about training camp in Saskatoon.  Our passion is renewed.  The season is renewed.  We feel anew.

I'm ready for the next chapter.

Go Riders.