Turd an Tree

It's the end of April. The purgatory of the off season. It's not quite over yet it's still a month until the 2016 session of Training Camp opens. At this point we are all yearning for Rod Blackisms and the franglish melody of Andre Proulx's voice. Or maybe you've already turned your attentions to hockey, basketball, lacrosse or even the go-fast-turn-left allure of Nascar. Yup. The CFL season can't get here soon enough.

Here are a few things which piqued my interest since my arrival home from the big apple.

While I was walking the High Line with Kelsey Grammar.... (Okay, not really, but I did see the Frasier actor himself walking down the street near the High Line, he just wasn't with me....) Rod Pederson was making CFL predictions. He apparently got all of social media abuzz and angered Eskimo fans. Who really knows how the CFL will shape up this season? They're all just pie in the sky pull 'em out of your butt predictions but you cannot deny one thing and that's the marketing genius of the voice of Canada's Team himself. This lesson was not lost on Luc Mullinder who posted a podcast with Coach Etchevarry saying some interesting comments about Darian Durant. He said something to the effect of “Darian Durant is an unproven commodity.” Like, wha? All he's done is be a Rider on 2 Grey Cup winning teams, led the Riders to back to back Grey Cup appearances in 09/10, put the whole entire team on his back in 2013. What does Darian Durant have to do to earn some respect around here? I don't see any other quarterback merely questioned about his abilities in this way in the Canadian Football League.

Here's a shocker. Ben Heenan retired from football. Wow. No one knows exactly why but in this day and age there is a lot of discussion over concussions and mental health and you have to believe it's a valid concern of his. Quality over quantity right? I wish him well in his future endeavours. In contrast, Maurice Price announced his retirement last week. Ugh. The Riders had traded some draft picks and given a signing bonus to win the guy over from Ottawa. Some say he was supposed to be the replacement for Weston Dressler. I had to keep reminding myself the whole time to a) not make fun of his fumbles anymore and b) that he was in fact a Rider in the first place. I can't help but be miffed at the guy. In his retirement address he didn't mention a team at all but thanked God for his abilities. Everyone was surprised including the Roughriders organization who basically said 'well, this opens up an opportunity for someone else.' I guess the Price wasn't right after all.

My life always seems to revolve in crazy circles involving music and football. To paraphrase a new favourite sitcom Crowded - “As long as I can watch football and eat chocolate, hook me up to every machine they've got!” Aging is not fun but I've recently started using a skin care line called Nerium. A piano students mom started me with it and I really love it. Since I started my skin tone has evened out and some light eczema I had has disappeared. What I didn't know was that football players CFL and NFL alike are using this line too. It's not really for the night cream but more for a new product called EHT which is a supplement that is supposed to help brain health and cognitive function. Jeremaine Copeland and Nik Lewis mentioned it on Twitter. I wonder how they feel about chocolate.

Last November the CFL launched a new logo which puzzled some who didn't find anything wrong with the old one. Personally, I like the new version. It's simple and clean and probably much easier to stitch on jerseys. The new Adidas jerseys will

be unveiled May 12^th. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have already announced they will be returning to their royal blue. My Saskatchewan Roughriders cleaned up their own logo and trimmed off the silver. Justin Capicciotti said they look great and he can't wait to put it on and go to battle. All of this means that before the end of May we will all be Rushing to the stores throwing financial caution to the wind and buying up all the new gear for Training Camp. Do I need another jersey? Of course!

Just don't tell my accountant.

So while the NFL is still pondering their deflated balls those of us in the CFL turned our attention to the stripes. Should CFL balls have stripes? Should they be white or black? Should we really care? Apparently the stripes have something to do with grip and some players use them as a guide on the field too. We've prided ourselves on being different in the CFL. We have the rouge. We have different sized fields and more players. For the love of Taylor Field leave our balls alone. Now if you mean, The Guys in Stripes aka the Officials, yes they do need some improvement. In fact, it was announced last week that the NFL and CFL have joined together to improve the officiating in a development program. So if you don't like the PI calls this 2016 season...blame the NFL because they're the ones making the major calls. Fair catch? Rouge? Offside? False start? This could get really confusing.

Did you know that in 1971 New York City pursued a CFL expansion team? I wonder how that would have worked out and what they would have been named. I can't help but wonder because I have such a fondness for the city. It would have given me a whole other reason to visit year after year. Andre Proulx might have had a Bronx accent (Andre from the Bloc) instead ... still leaving us to wonder what turd an tree truly means. Thankfully, their $25,000 down payment wasn't enough to make it happen and the CFL went on to create a league of fans who care about what Chris Jones is wearing.

Black.

He's wearing black.

Two newsworthy crumbs before I post:

Holy Sheets! Rod Pederson broke news that the Montreal Alouettes have confirmed Kory Sheets will be at their mini camp in Florida. I'm a huge Sheets fan and know he'll crack the roster somewhere.

Shawn #Lemondrops Lemon and Justin Capicciotti will be at the Northgate Mall in Regina Saturday April 30 1-3pm and in Saskatoon at the Lawson Heights Mall Sunday May 1^st 1-3pm. Go see them. Take them Smarties and M&M's. Tell them I said "hi".  Then get 15% off at the Rider Store. Some purchases qualify for a draw for tickets and sideline passes to the final game at Mosaic Stadium.

As always, thanks for reading.  You can find me on Twitter @smilingsandra 

All comments are appreciated! 

It's Not June Yet

So a good friend asked me the other day, “Sandra, what's the temperament of Ridernation?”

Firstly, I think it's pretty cool that I can have these type of conversations despite the issue that many people are still shocked that I not only like football but that I love it and follow not only my Saskatchewan Roughriders but the whole CFL league. Apparently I don't look like a fan. How much green to I have to wear to convince people? Is there ever too much green?

Secondly, I've got the answers. The temperament of the average Roughriders fan is mixed and somewhat divided. This isn't new. Every time you think it's gotten better and the emotion has died off something else happens to ruffle the feathers. Some love the Chris Jones regime, others hate him and others just hate his personality but love the coach. There are still (in March – 2 months later) fans who bring up the whole Chick/Dressler releases. Ridernation doesn't forget much.

In contrast, there are fans such as myself who are completely encouraged by all the changes going on from coaching to recruitment to free agent signings. Misery loves company and in our social media age it is more popular to complain and pout than to be positive and enthusiastic. I once stated the louder voice isn't necessarily the correct voice nor the voice of reason. I stand by that and at the same time I also know that some of these voices will be the first ones cheering and going crazy with the first touchdown of the 2016 season while those of us who never lost faith roll our eyes.

Defining times in Roughrider history for me is hearing Corey Chamblin say things like “I guess that's how they're going to call it.” in regards to the new rules for 2015 and the referee’s calling interference penalties. Our undersized DB's had to play man to man instead of zone defence and the coaches stubbornness to conform to the new rules set in motion the demise of the whole season. The refs are calling the penalties that way because that's what the rules are. Period. Also, our undersized slower receivers were helpless against the taller DB's of other teams. Chris Jones has fixed this HUGE issue. You might not like how he's done it but in one swoop he upgraded the secondary and receiving corps.

Thank you Chris Jones! I've been waiting for someone who has the guts to make the tough decisions and stand by them. I applaud you!

Ridernation is passionate in all facets. Fans can be the kindest and warmest and the meanest and rudest all rolled into one ball of green and white. In February, I

Smartie loving Shawn Lemon & myself

went to the Rider Store at Lawson Heights Mall to meet three of the Roughriders. The line wasn't very long and I suspect that was due to two things a) it wasn't publicized well and b) fans didn't really know who the guys were. But I knew! ...and I was glad to be able to inform the elderly man who stood in front of me in line. Nic Demski, Shawn “Lemondrops” Lemon and the “Terrorist” Tearius George. What a great group of guys. I watched them greet people and kids of all ages and I got to see a jovial tender side of the players that I didn't know existed. I offered to take pictures for the elderly gentleman and did so with his cell phone. He was so thrilled to meet these players. We are family. Rider fans are my people.

It was brought to my attention that I have a history of disastrous happenings occurring after I've met players. At this point I really hate to bring it up, however over the course of several years I've realized that after I've met Roughriders players they've either been released or gotten injured. It is true and I hang my head in shame. I bought the Fantuz Flakes cereal and he left for the NFL then later went to the Hamilton TigerCats. I bought the Getzlaf cereal and he's been consistently injured and is now an Edmonton Eskimo. However, this is almost unforgivable...I bought Dario's and had them signed by Darian at the Co-Op in August of 2014 merely a week before the Labour Day Classic and he's been injured ever since. I've already pledged to stop buying CFL Co-Op themed cereal but this should also stand as a warning to any player I have met or will meet in the future.

I am not a season ticket holder mainly because living in Saskatoon it's tough to get to all the games. I am a proud flex ticket holder though. * smile * A few weeks ago I got an email from the Roughriders unveiling the new choose and pay system. Wow what a huge improvement! I used to have to fill out a shopping list and then wait to see if I got the tickets I wanted. Now it's all done online and I can choose different seats for different games. It's awesome. Hubby and myself will be going to 5 games this season. It's the Farewell Season and no rabid fan could possible stay away. I wish the home opener wasn't a late Thursday night game but it doesn't matter....I'm going to be there. I think every home game will be increasingly epic until the lights dim October 28^th. My 80 year old dad wants me to “swipe a piece.” I'm sure there will be a bit of that going on.

Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium has seen the worst of times and then glowed like the grand jewel she was in 2013. Tears will be shed. At the same time, we are living in the best of times and 2016 will be one for the history books. I can see tomorrow from here and it's all green and white.