Huskies face next task – prove Hardy Cup win wasn’t a one off

LT Noah Zerr locks up RE Riley Pickett (#91).

    Are the University of Saskatchewan Huskies really the top dogs of the Canada West Conference with regards to football?

    Or, does the conference still belong to the U of Calgary Dinos or the Blake Nill coached University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    A year ago, the Huskies had a magical campaign going places they hadn’t gone in a long time. They finished third in the Canada West Conference with a 5-3, slipped past the Thunderbirds 31-28 in overtime in a Canada West semifinal and dumped the Dinos 43-18 in the Canada West final to capture the Hardy Cup as conference champions.

    The Huskies proceeded to travel to London, Ont., for a U Sports semifinal bowl game falling 47-24 to the U of Western Ontario Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl.

Highly touted Mason Nyhus leads the Huskies at quarterback.

    U of S ended a one year absence from the post season, won a playoff game for the first time since 2009 and captured a conference title for the first time since 2006. The 2018 season was a resounding success for the Huskies.

    Now, they are faced with the challenge of trying to make these runs through the post-season more of a habit.

    Before last year’s playoff run, the Huskies had lost eight straight post-season games, and that skid is now an afterthought.

    Still, the Dinos have played in the last 11 Canada West title games and won eight of those contests. For three straight years from 2015 to 2017, the Dinos faced the Thunderbirds in the conference title game.

    The Thunderbirds took the 2015 Canada West championship and marched on to win the Vanier Cup as U Sports national champions.

    Since the start of the 2008 season, the Thunderbirds in 2015 are the only team in Canada West that has captured a national title.
    In the initial U Sports Top 10 rankings released on Tuesday, the Huskies were rated fourth, and they were the highest ranked team from Canada West. 

Carter Dahl, right, makes a touchdown grab for the Huskies.

    The Dinos were rated fifth and the Thunderbirds were 10^th.

    In the Canada West football pre-season coaches poll released on Wednesday, the Dinos were rated first, the Huskies second, the U of Manitoba Bisons third, the Thunderbirds fourth, the U of Alberta Golden Bears fifth and the U of Regina Rams sixth.

    Nationally, it seems the Huskies have a touch more respect compared to how their conference rivals believe they will stand up. That should seem natural as the Huskies are a long way from matching the Dinos in consistently qualifying for the Canada West final.

    Also, the Dinos return star quarterback Adam Sinagra, who won the Hec Crighton trophy as the most valuable player in U Sports football and was a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star.
    With all that said, the Huskies have the pieces to duplication and potentially go further than they did last season. They return 10 starters on offence and 10 starts on defence from last year’s squad.

RB Adam Machart is looking to have a big year as a starter.

    Mason Nyhus, who is in his third year of eligibility, takes over as the starting quarterback from Kyle Siemens, who has exhausted his U Sports eligibility. Nyhus is a highly touted recruit who has been waiting in the wings as a backup the past two seasons and as a redshirt in 2016.

    The Huskies still have star offensive utility player Colton Klassen in the fold, and he led the team last year in receiving yards (676) and all-purpose yards (981). They have other playmakers at receiver in Jesse Kuntz, Yol Piok and Carter Dahl.

    The running back position is in the sure hands of two former stars with the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops in Adam Machart and Josh Ewanchyna along with first-year runner Keagan White.
    As has been the tradition with the Huskies, their strength on offence likely runs through the offensive line. The Huskies have one of their best offensive lines in recent years return all five starters from a season ago in left tackle Noah Zerr, left guard Mattland Riley, centre Connor Berglof, right guard Tanner Secord and right tackle Nick Summach.

DT Evan Machibroda was a first team all-Canadian last year.

    Riley was a Canada West all-star and a second team U Sports all-Canadian a year ago.

    The defence is anchored by fifth-year defensive tackle Evan Machibroda, who had 14 total tackles and three sacks last season. Machibroda was a Canada West all-star and a first team all-Canadian all-star.

    He was selected in the fifth round and 41^st overall in the CFL Draft held last May by the Edmonton Eskimos.

    Riley Pickett and Nicholas Dheilly can cause all sorts of havoc off the defensive end.
    Brothers Tom and Ben Whiting anchor the linebacking corps, while rookie Ramsey Derbas could be inserted to make big plays. Ben Whiting topped the Huskies with 44 tackles last season and was selected in the seventh round and 57^th overall in the CFL Draft by the Montreal Alouettes last May.

    David Solie returns to the Huskies after helping the Hilltops win their 21^st CJFL title last season, and he will likely take over the place kicking and punting duties.

HC Scott Flory and his staff give the Huskies strong guidance.

    Scott Flory, who is in his third year as head coach, has kept his solid staff intact.

    The Huskies are taking the right approach just worrying about getting better each day in the present and each game as it comes. They believe and live that approach too for real.

    This is a team that can take another step building off what happened last season. Off the field, they are a good group of respectable young men. They have a team you can rally around.

    The Huskies open the regular season on Friday in Winnipeg against the Bisons. U of S then returns home to host the Thunderbirds on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.

    A new golden age for Huskies football could very well be at hand.

Rattlers end first storybook season in style as CEBL champs

CHAMPIONS. #RattleTheRim pic.twitter.com/WdgU3bnA9v

— Saskatchewan Rattlers (@SASK_Rattlers) August 26, 2019

    It looks like the Saskatchewan Rattlers are carving their niche in the province’s sports scene.

    On Sunday at the SaskTel Centre, the Rattlers downed the Hamilton Honey Badgers 94-83 in the inaugural title game of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The Rattlers finished third in the regular season standings of the six-team circuit with an 11-9 record and were the host team of the CEBL’s final four championship tournament at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Rattlers slipped past the second place Edmonton Stingers 85-83 in one of two semifinal games on Saturday. The Stingers had a 14-6 record in the regular season.

    The Honey Badgers, who finished fourth in the regular season at 10-10, upset the first place Niagara River Lions 104-103 in Saturday’s other semifinal. The River Lions had a 15-5 mark during the regular season.

    In the CEBL title game, the Rattlers jumped out to a 48-41 lead at halftime ultimate coming away with an 11-point win before 3,119 spectators. Guard Alex Campbell topped the Rattlers in scoring with 20 points.

    Saskatoon has seen its share of fly-by-night professional basketball leagues, and in the immediate aftermath of one season, it feels like the CEBL will be around for the longer term.

    The Rattlers gained instant credibility by bringing on Greg Jockims as head coach and general manager. Jockims rebuilt the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s basketball team into one of the strongest programs in U Sports as the squad’s head coach from 1998 to 2011.

    He guided the Huskies Canada West conference and U Sports national championships in the 2009-10 campaign.

    Jockims is well-respected in Saskatchewan’s basketball community and can coach the game in top form at any level.

    The Rattlers benefitted from having Lee Genier as team president. Genier also doubles as the president and chief operation officer, western operation for the CEBL.

    He is veteran sports management executive having stints with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, Bobsleigh Canada Skelton and the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush. Genier seems to collect championship rings wherever he goes.

    Sunday’s title game was also the last competitive game played by hometown hero in 36-year-old guard Michael Linklater. Linklater has been a star and ambassador on Saskatchewan basketball scene for years. He was a member of the Huskies U Sports national championship team in 2009-10.

    Before the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters stop held this past July, Linklater said he would be retiring from competitive basketball after the Rattlers season ended.

    He scored four points and had one rebound and one assist seeing six minutes and 10 seconds of court time on Sunday.

    For this season, it is cheers to the Rattlers on a successful campaign. Hopefully this is the start of bigger things.

Thom Trojans football takes leave, stirs up media attention

I am saddened to hear of the Thom Football program shutting down. One of the strongest Alumni and traditions in the city. This hurts the kids in that school the most. Many young men that need the discipline and leadership will no longer receive that. #BleedBlack #BlackGhosts pic.twitter.com/gAzYCuXSoG

— Deke (@DekeJunior) August 28, 2019

    The Trojans football program at Regina’s Thom Collegiate hasn’t stirred up this much media attention since the heyday of Gerry Thompson’s era as head coach.

    On Tuesday, the Regina High Schools Athletic Association and Regina Public Schools announced Thom Collegiate will not be fielding its Trojans football team this season. The release said not enough students showed interest in playing football in the spring of the 2018-19 school year and in the fall of the current school year that is about to begin.

    Football Canada recommends high schools have at least 24 players to ensure player safety.

    Thom has taken a one-year leave of absence from the Regina Intercollegiate Football League.

    The Trojans football program has produced a number of players that have gone on to play with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders including Jim Hopson, Neal Hughes, Stu Foord, Kennedy Nkeyasen and Dan Clark.

    Thom students who wish to play football this season will be able to join the Winston Knoll Collegiate Wolverines. As of Tuesday, three students had decided to play with Regina Minor Football.

    While the development at Thom is disappointing, it has been crazy how much media coverage it has received from mainstream outlets.

    Arguably, the Trojans taking a leave of absence from the Regina high school league has received more coverage than the powerhouse Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team in Saskatoon has received combined in the past two years.

    While a number of reasons likely cause low registration for football at Thom, you could argue the Trojans would still be playing if high school football in Saskatchewan as a whole received the coverage that the Trojans received for taking a year leave of absence.

    There was a time mainstream media outlets had much larger sports staffs. In those days, the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix had sports staffers dedicated to covering high school sports and produced high school sports pages.

    It should be noted the high school beat traditionally results in the most sports coverage complaints usually revolving around one school, which is always winning, receiving more coverage than other schools. The top bosses at mainstream media outlets prefer to not spend any time dealing with those types of complaints and that is usually achieved by not covering high school sports.

    Of course when a football team stops playing due to low numbers, the spectre of fear involving concussion injuries often comes up. Because of the concussion fears, any time it is decided a football program stops operating becomes a story mainstream media outlets flock to. That is just the way it is.

    Add on top of that, North America is a changed world where people of all ages spend countless hours on mobile phones and social media.

    Hopefully, Thom’s football program, which is full of tradition, returns a year from now.

The great NFL Winnipeg ripoff, other notes

Announced crowd of 21,992 for Packers vs Raiders in Winnipeg tonight. #Preseason #NFL (last two: https://t.co/jio9BOfDtp + https://t.co/GmK58tBbaK) pic.twitter.com/w781r0qYmg

— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) August 23, 2019

    I know this is beating a dead horse, but the NFL exhibition game held in Winnipeg, Man., between the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders was a joke.

    Last Thursday, the Raiders beat the Packers 22-21 before 21,992 spectators at IG Field, which is home to the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

    The field was shrunk from 100 to 80 yards due to concerns on the part of the field where the CFL uprights are located for Bombers games. End zones were marked at the 10 yard line, and there were no kickoffs in the game.

    The Packers proceeded to announce they would not dress 33 players including two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers alone was the marquee draw for this game.

    The Raiders sat out starting quarterback Derek Carr and receiver Antonio Brown.

    The biggest lesson to come out of this game is that any event will flop, if it is overpriced. This one was priced to the point it was reasonable to ask ticket buyers, if they were out of their mind.

    A day before the game, mountains of tickets were available, but you had to shell out to get them.

    You could sit in Section 108P, row 12, seat 10, which was at midfield, but you had to pay $439.25 including fees and taxes for that seat.

    How about near midfield in the upper deck of the east side in Section 209, row 26, seat 22? That seat way up there would set you back $243.75 including fees and taxes.

    You could sit in the corner of one end zone in Section 143, row 4, seat 3. That ticket would cost you $266.75 including fees and taxes.

    In that same section, you could sit in the back in row 23, seat 15, and that seat would cost you $94.25 including fees and taxes.

    The $94.25 price point was the lowest I could find the day before the game. Most tickets were over $240.

    Winnipeg is known as a frugal town, and most football followers there know you could travel to Minneapolis, Minn., and see a Minnesota Vikings NFL regular season game for $240 including travel expenses. There have been tour companies offering that type of package for years.

    The Packers also play in Minneapolis once every season, so you could see Rodgers play for four quarters in a game that counts for the price you paid to see the Winnipeg pre-season game.

    The Winnipeg NFL pre-season game was a dud, and those that paid money to see it received the lemon they deserved. When you saw the inflated ticket prices, that already stamped bad vibes on the game.

• The Saskatoon Blades opened camp this week, and star centre Kirby Dach wasn’t there. The 18-year-old was selected in the first round and third overall in the NHL Entry Draft last June and has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blades and their fans have to figure that this might be a bigger sign that Dach will likely make the Blackhawks and not be rejoining the Blades this season.
• The Blades signed their two picks from last June’s CHL Import Draft in Czech defencemen Libor Zabransky and Radek Kucerik before training camp started on Sunday. Both are expected to play key minutes this season.
• Feisty forward Riley McKay has looking outstanding in a series of team scrimmages on Monday and Tuesday played in a tournament format called the Kirkness Cup. McKay, who is a 20-year-old left-winger, took part in the tournament final with Team Holtby. McKay, who arguably the WHL’s best agitator, had a pair of goals, including the double overtime winner, and an assist to power Team Holtby past Team McLellan 4-3. Could McKay be the Blades version of Derek Dorsett, when Dorsett played for the Medicine Hat Tigers?
• On Monday, the defending WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders signed 17-year-old forward Ivan Kechkin to a WHL standard player agreement. The Raiders selected the Russian in last June’s CHL Import Draft. Raiders training camp opens on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre.
• Saskatoon hockey fans will get to see former Blades in centre Josh Paterson and offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson pass through town in enemy colours in the U Sports ranks. Both have signed on to play with the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team. Paterson finished last season as a member of the Portland Winterhawks after being dealt there before the WHL trade deadline on Jan. 10.
• Former U of Regina Rams linebacker Jon Cormier passed away over the weekend suddenly from natural causes. Cormier was from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, and he played for the Rams in 2000, when they appeared in the U Sport national title game the Vanier Cup, through to 2003. He was a popular player amongst his teammates during his time with the Rams. The 40-year-old was a police officer with the RCMP.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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From Rams to ’Riders – Ryan’s football life comes full circle

Jon Ryan boots a punt for the U of Regina Rams in 2002.

    Jon Ryan’s most famous play in the NFL came via his arm and not his punting leg.

    On January 18, 2015, Ryan was playing for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, who were trailing 16-0 in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game to the visiting Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field.

    Facing a fourth-and-10 at the Packers 19 yard line, the Seahawks sent out their field goal unit. Ryan served as the holder on the field goal team for place kicker Steven Hauschka.

    The Seahawks called for a fake. Ryan, who was born and raised in Regina, Sask., took the ball, rolled to his left and floated a 19-yard touchdown pass to offensive tackle Garry Gilliam to cut the Packers lead to 16-7.

    Seattle rallied to win that contest 28-22 in overtime.

    Ryan is still the last Canadian born player to throw a touchdown pass in an NFL conference title game thanks to his toss on that fake field goal against the Packers, who he broke into the NFL with in 2006 and 2007.

Jon Ryan sets up to punt during Roughriders training camp.

    “It was pretty cool,” said Ryan. “It was quite the experience to be able to throw a touchdown pass and be able to do a fake, not only that but in a game of that magnitude.

    “To be able to represent Canada in that situation meant a lot to me.”

    These days, Ryan is back in his hometown playing for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. After four games, the 37-year-old has punted the ball 24 times for the league’s second highest average at 47.5 yards per kick.

    The Roughriders (1-3) are slated to host British Columbia Lions (1-4) at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.

    Until the start of this season, Ryan hadn’t played in the CFL since starting his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005.

    With the Bombers in 2005, Ryan appeared in 17 regular season games punting the ball 118 times for an average of 50.6 yards per kick. That average yards per kick is still a CFL record for most punt yards per kick for one season.

    After his time with the Bombers, Ryan played 12 straight seasons in the NFL with the Packers and Seahawks appearing in 191 career regular season games. Over that time, he punted the ball 914 times for 40,895 yards and averaged 44.7 yards per punt.

Jon Ryan (#9) is the recognizable hometown face with the Roughriders.

    Ryan admits his days with the Bombers seem like a long time ago. He is happy things worked out that he was able to return to the CFL with the Roughriders.

    “It has been cool,” said Ryan, who stands 6-feet and weighs 217 pounds. “It has kind of been a dream, a goal for a long time.

    “It is just kind of coming to fruition now. It is fun to be out here with the guys. It is fun to be back with family and friends.

    “It is good to be back in Saskatchewan.”

    With his return to Regina, Ryan’s football days have pretty much come full circle. He played high school football with Regina’s Sheldon-Williams Collegiate in 1999 after stepping away from being a hockey goalie on a full-time basis.

    In 2000, he joined the University of Regina Rams in the U Sports ranks tabbed to be both a place kicker and a punter. The Rams were in their second season at the Canadian university level after leaving the Canadian Junior Football League following the 1998 campaign.

Jon Ryan (#15) made lots of catches with the Rams from 2000 to 2003.

    Ryan took over the Rams place kicking and punting duties on a full-time basis as a rookie. He was responsible for scoring the winning point in the Rams first ever U Sports playoff victory on Nov. 3, 2000.

    In the last play of a Canada West Conference semifinal playoff game against the U of Calgary Dinos in Calgary, Alta., Ryan booted a 36-yard punt single to lift the Rams to a 33-32 victory.

    The Rams won two more playoff games to earn a berth in the Vanier Cup, which is the U Sports championship game. They fell 42-39 to the U of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 2000 Vanier Cup.

    Ryan’s versatility began to take further form during that first campaign with the Rams. As that season went on, he began taking more reps at practices and games at wide receiver.

    Ryan made his most memorable offensive play as a sophomore in 2001 in a regular season game at Griffiths Stadium against the host U of Saskatchewan Huskies. After a goal-line stand, the Rams were at their own one yard line.

Jon Ryan launches a punt for the Rams in 2000.

    The Huskies came with a blitz, and Rams quarterback Marc Anderson threw a deep sideline streak pattern to Ryan. Ryan out jumped a defender for the ball, came down with it and raced down the sideline for a 109-yard touchdown reception.

    The Rams fell 34-28, but Ryan’s catch was something that would never be forgotten.

    In his final season with the Rams in 2003, Ryan was named the all-star punter in the Canada West Conference and a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star averaging 45.9 yards per boot on 67 attempts. He also had 27 catches in eight regular season games to lead the team with 501 receiving yards, while scoring four touchdowns on receptions.

    Due to the fact many of his former Rams teammates work in Regina, Ryan has been doing some catching up on that front.

    “It has been great,” said Ryan. “I’ve talked to a lot of them.

Jon Ryan kicks a field goal for the Rams in 2003.

    “Maybe, we will have a little almost 20-year reunion from the Vanier Cup days.”
    Ryan has enjoyed catching up with his large, extended family as well. Having played 12 straight seasons in the NFL with the last 10 of those campaigns coming in Seattle, Ryan’s visits fell off in frequency.

    When he wasn’t an NFL roster after parting way with the Seahawks, Ryan lived in Los Angeles, Calif., with his wife and famous comedian Sarah Colonna.

    On June 5, Ryan received an honourary doctor of laws degree along with his mother, Barb, from the University of Regina. Ryan’s father, Bob, passed away on Dec. 1, 2006 due to cancer.

    “I was living in Seattle and now I live off-season in L.A.,” said Ryan, who is serving a one-year contract with the Roughriders. “I see them (his family) once or twice a year.

    “When you have 12 nieces and nephews, a lot changes in a year when I don’t get to see them. Now, I’ll be able to see them on a regular basis. I’ll be able to see my mom and my brother and my sisters.

Jon Ryan jogs out for starting intros in 2003.

    “My nieces and nephews, I will be able to watch all their sporting events and all the things that they do. It is going to be pretty special, and it already has been.”
    On the field, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said Ryan hasn’t shown signs of losing any of his power.

    “I knew he was pretty good,” said Dickenson. “He has actually gotten better.

    “He was a little rusty the first few days. He has a big leg there is no doubt.”

    Suiting up as the hometown product for the Roughriders, Ryan is inevitably watched more than a number of his teammates.

    He has dealt with that before in the NFL.
    During his time with the Seahawks, Ryan was one of the team’s most popular players, and he was a team captain over his final four seasons with the club.

    Ryan holds the Seahawks team records for most career punts (770), most career yards (34,480) and highest career average for yards per punt (44.8).

    He is comfortable with being in the spotlight.

    “You feel like a little bit you live in a fishbowl sometimes,” said Ryan, who helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 regular season. “That is kind of how it was in the NFL too.

Jon Ryan (#9) and Jorgen Hus chat at Roughriders camp.

    “No matter what position you are, you are always kind of being watched whether it be on the field or off the field. I feel that is the same here. It is one of those things I kind of thrive off of.
    “I like it, and I’m used to it.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Ex-NFL duo of Jones and Glanville a perfect Tiger-Cats fit

June Jones, second from left, gives instructions to Hamilton’s quarterbacks.

    REGINA – You were waiting for someone to yell, “Hey Glanville, Elvis has left the building.”

    It is uncertain how many of the 30,594 spectators in attendance for Thursday’s CFL contest at Mosaic Stadium were aware of the history Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach June Jones and defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville have with the sport of football. 

    For those that follow football in Canada and the United States, it seemed strange to see both men, who have lengthy ties with the NFL, manning the sideline of the CFL’s Tiger-Cats, who fell 18-13 to the host Saskatchewan Roughriders.

    Both squads sat with identical 2-2 regular season records after that result.

    Jones joined the Tiger-Cats last season and brought Glanville on board before the start of this season.

    Jones is 65 years of age, while Glanville is 76-years-old and will celebrate his 77th birthday on Oct. 14. Both have made their money coaching football and can be long retired.

    Jones had some experience in the CFL working as a co-offensive coordinator with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1986. Glanville had never been to a CFL game in person until this year.

You almost want to ask, “Why are you both here?”

    The site of the veteran sideline bosses appeared almost as head scratching as the appearance of former troubled Cleveland Browns NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel on the Tigers-Cats roster as a backup signal caller.

    Even if Manziel wasn’t with Tiger-Cats, you would still end up taking lots of looks at the Hamilton bench area due to the presence of Jones and Glanville. Visibly, they both look like they still enjoy the game.

Jerry Glanville sports his classic all black look with sunglasses and headset.

    With how well prepared the Tiger-Cats have been through their first four contests, you can tell Jones and Glanville are treating this job seriously and are legitimately invested in what they are doing. They have shown that they can adjust and learn.

    There have been a number of times where successful lifelong professional coaches from the United States end up failing in the CFL, because they don’t adjust to the Canadian game.

    As a duo, Jones and Glanville gained their notoriety during two NFL stints. The first game with the Houston Oilers, where Glanville was the defensive coordinator from 1984 to 85 and then the head coach from 1986 to 1989. Jones worked under Glanville on the Oilers staff as a quarterbacks coach in 1987 and 1988.

    The second stint came with the Atlanta Falcons. Glanville served as the Falcons head coach from 1990 to 1993. Jones joined the Falcons staff as an offensive coordinator in 1991 and took over as head coach in 1994 and stayed on until 1996.

    Glanville  displayed a colourful personality giving tonnes of off the wall quotes, and he often left tickets for the late Elvis Presley at his team’s games.

    The clubs Jones and Glanville coached were known for being aggressive, exciting and having swagger. The two men were known as players’ coaches, but their teams were often viewed as villains by their opponents.

    With the Oilers, the two men built a squad that played a hard-hitting and blitzing style of defence. The Oilers home stadium, the Astrodome, became known as “The House of Pain.”

    Besides hitting opponents hard, Oilers defensive players were often involved in fights on the field, especially if they were playing their AFC Central Division rivals in the Browns, Cincinnati Bengals or the Pittsburgh Steelers.

    Offensively, the Oilers could burn out the lights on the scoreboard with a high-powered passing attack led by quarterback Warren Moon.

June Jones looks at his play chart to call a play.

    With the Falcons, the blitzing style of defence used in Houston successfully transferred to Atlanta, which also included the fighting aspect. Atlanta’s defence also possessed great swagger from the play of cornerback Deion Sanders, who was one of the best to ever play the game.

    The Falcons offence shot out the lights in the 1991 season, and Atlanta posted a 10-6 regular season record and won one playoff game.

    The Falcons had celebrities like rapper M.C. Hammer and heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield hanging with them on the sidelines. Hammer’s song “Too Legit To Quit” became the theme track for the team.

    Atlanta only enjoyed a one-year wonder status as injuries because to derail the career of starting quarterback Chris Miller in 1992. Miller looked like he would be an NFL star for the long haul after a breakout 1991 campaign, and as a result, the Falcons traded then sophomore backup quarterback Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers before the 1992 regular season began.

    Of course, history will note the Packers became great beneficiaries due to the fact they added Favre to their roster.

    These days, Jones and Glanville are still players’ coaches. While watching the Tiger-Cats sidelines on Thursday, Glanville was constantly teaching and encouraging. When the defence was on the bench, he would often be found sitting beside various defensive players helping them out with adjustments.

    Jones had to be more involved with overseeing the overall game due to holding the head coach role. He still did his share of encouraging and helping players make adjustments on the offensive side.

    Both Jones and Glanville appeared to be father figures or even wise grandfather figures to their players.

    While the Tiger-Cats were held to 13 points, they put up 429 yards of offence and looked like they could be really explosive on that side of the ball.

Jerry Glanville bends down to survey a defensive situation.

    Glanville looks to have adjusted his defence to football’s current time, where the rules crack down more on violent hits and allow receivers a lot more freedom to run routes down the field compared to the 1980s and 1990s.

    The Tiger-Cats defence looked to get pressure on the opposing quarterback with a four-man rush from the defensive line, while the secondary played a variety of different coverages. They limited the Roughriders to 298 yards of total offence.

    Hamilton wasn’t able to intercept any passes and only recovered one fumble. Glanville’s defences in the NFL were known to go all out trying to score a touchdown after a turnover making a number of laterals, but the Tiger-Cats didn’t have any opportunities to show if they had that up their sleeve.

    They might get that chance in their next game, when they host the Roughriders on July 19.

    In the early going of the 2018 regular season, it appears Jones and Glanville are a good fit for the Tiger-Cats and the CFL. They are a surprising feel good story for the Canadian game.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Seahawks’ Ryan still one of the boys from the Rams

Jon Ryan boots a punt for the U of Regina Rams in 2002.

   Jon Ryan, the popular and star punter for the Seattle Seahawks.
   I still can't wrap my head around that phrase.
   The 33-year-old Regina product is has one more game to play in his seventh complete season with the Seahawks, but even with his tenure with that NFL club, it still sounds unbelievable. I will always think of Ryan as a talented member of the University of Regina Rams football team.
   During those Rams days, no one ever thought Ryan would earn a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks last year, throw a touchdown pass in Seattle's NFC Championship victory against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday and will be playing for the Seahawks in the upcoming Super Bowl against the New England Patriots on Feb. 1.
   In Canada, the biggest realistic sports dream is winning the Stanley Cup as a member of an NHL team. In football, the biggest dream is winning the Grey Cup as the champion of the CFL. If you are from Saskatchewan, capturing the Grey Cup with the Roughriders is usually the ultimate dream.
   Winning the Super Bowl with an NFL club wasn't something you dare to dream about as few Canadians have had the opportunity to play in the biggest professional sports league in North America. Super Bowl victories included finishing seasons on the video games Tecmo Super Bowl and Madden Football. Tecmo Super Bowl for the old Nintendo Entertainment System was a favourite video game in Ryan's household, when he was growing up.

Jon Ryan caught a lot of passes as a Rams receiver.

   I first saw Ryan play live in 2000 during Saskatchewan's high school all-star game for graduating players called "The Senior Bowl." He was punting and place kicking for the South Team during a clash with the North Team at a very windy Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
   During that contest won 23-9 by the North Team, I was certain Ryan would become a standout kicker in the Canadian university ranks. If he kept improving, I could foresee him moving on to the CFL, where he did play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005.
   If he kept and improving and there was a break or two, he might have had a slight chance to crack an NFL roster. As a few Canadian born kickers did move on to have long careers in the NFL, you always had to think that was a possibility, but it was still a remote possibility.
   Ryan joined the Rams in the fall of 2000 for their second season in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport ranks after leaving the Canadian Junior Football League. The big story that year was the return of star quarterback Darryl Leason and his brother and star receiver Michael Leason to the Rams program.
   Both left the University of Calgary Dinos to rejoin the Rams, when the left the junior ranks. Both were stars with the Rams during their junior days.
   When Ryan came as an 18-year-old, the big thinking was the kicking game was never going to be in question, while he wore the green and gold. He was slated to be the punter and place kicker. As I was pretty active with the Rams at that time, I was pretty happy the Sheldon-Williams Collegiate grad was there.

Jon Ryan kicks a field goal for the Rams in 2003.

   Very quickly in training camp, it was easy to take notice of Ryan's booming punts. As his first season began, the Rams coaches had other plans for him.
   Growing up, Ryan was a stellar athlete, who also turned heads in hockey and lacrosse. At one time, there was a thought Ryan could become a professional goaltender in hockey.
   In football, he also played receiver, and Rams brain trust decided it would be wise to utilize his abilities on the offensive side of the ball. As his rookie campaign went on, Ryan began taking more reps in practices and in games playing wide receiver.
   This was a very bold move. Before Ryan, the Rams kickers mainly focused on their kicking duties. The team was also very deep at the time at receiver.
   At receiver future CFL star Jason Clermont, Chris Warnecke, Mike Thomas, Michael Leason and Shane Ostapowich all had stellar careers with the Rams. Also catching passes out of the backfield were with current Saskatchewan Roughriders fullback Neal Hughes, another future CFLer in Cory Olynick and Chris Briltz, who all shared in the Rams spotlight. It was common for the football to never hit the ground in a Rams practice.
   Putting Ryan in with that group was really high praise.
   During that freshman season, Ryan helped the Rams advance to their only Vanier Cup appearance, where they dropped a 42-39 decision to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. In that run to the Vanier Cup final in Toronto, Ryan played a part in one of the most memorable plays during a regular season game against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
   Trailing 31-28 with under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Ryan booted up a high on-side kick. The kick was knocked out of the air by Clermont to Warnecke, who was clear of all possible tacklers and had an open path to the end zone. Warnecke charged the distance for the winning score in a 35-31 victory.

Jon Ryan launches a punt for the Rams in 2000.

   The play was a legal one under Canadian rules and one the Rams worked on in practice.
   Ryan made his most memorable offensive play as a sophomore in 2001 in a regular season game at Griffiths against the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies. After a goal-line stand, the Rams were at their own one yard line.
   The Huskies came with a blitz, and Rams quarterback Mark Anderson threw a deep sideline streak pattern to Ryan. Ryan out jumped a defender for the ball, came down with it and raced down the sideline for a 109-yard touchdown reception. Regina fell 34-28, but Ryan's catch was something that would never be forgotten.
   In his final season with the Rams in 2003, Ryan was named the all-star punter for the Canada West football conference and a first team CIS all-Canadian all-star averaging 45.9 yards per boot on 67 attempts. He also had 27 catches in eight regular season games to lead the team with 501 receiving yards, while scoring four touchdowns on receptions. Ryan cemented his reputation as a standout receiver.
   During his final campaigns with the Rams, Ryan got to play alongside younger brother and defensive back, Steve, who was the holder on field goal attempts.
   Away from the field, the elder Ryan was everyone's best friend. The Rams at the time went everywhere together and did everything together.
   I still have very good memories of cruising to a few social occasions with my old white 1987 Chevrolet Capris former police car packed with Ryan and a bunch of other players. One trip I remember Ryan being pretty pumped that rapper Eminem was being cranked on my old stereo system.

Jon Ryan fires a punt for the Rams in 2003.

   It was also cool from that first year with the Rams to see Ryan develop a really super tight friendship with Jarrod Livingstone, who is a Rams super fan that is confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida. Livingstone was also the grandson of the late Scotty Livingstone, who was a key influential director in building the Rams in their junior years. The friendship between Ryan and Jarrod Livingstone has grown and is stronger than ever in the current day.
   During his Rams years, Ryan set the team's career record for punting average at the university level with 42.6 yards per kick, which still stands to this day. After his final season, hopes were high Ryan would have a lengthy career in the professional ranks in the CFL.
   In 2004, Ryan was selected in the third round and 24^th overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL Draft. The rookie punter played a key role in the Bombers prevailing 17-4 in what is still their last Labour Day Classic victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
   That contest was a huge defensive battle, and Ryan twice pinned the Roughriders at their own one yard line with two coffin corner kicks. The kicks were so perfect that the football landed both times exactly on the out of bounds spot on the sidelines right beside the one yard-line marker. The officials didn't have any trouble spotting the ball.

Jon Ryan jogs out for starting intros in 2003.

   After witnessing those kicks, you have to believe Ryan would stick in the NFL, if he could get a chance. He signed with the Green Bay Packers in January of 2006. During various Packers camps, the media covering the Packers quickly started asking questions of the Canadian kid who could boom the long punts.
   He spent the 2006 and 2007 campaigns with the Packers. The first season was tough from the fact his father, Bob, passed of cancer. The son played two days after his father's death, and the Packers teammates voted the Canadian punter as the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award for his display of courage and sportsmanship.
   After being released by the Packers, Ryan quickly caught on with the Seahawks. While career punters and place kicker can be journeymen in the NFL, Ryan's identity has become tied to the fact he is the Seahawks punter.
   While he is making memories doing things in the NFL no Canadian kid would dare dream about, he will still be thought of by a number of people in Regina as a just a good bud from the Rams.

   If you have any feedback about this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.

Officiating always a work in progress

An official explains a blown call at a CIS football game.

            Being a referee is never easy, but it seems like fans of Canadian football want to throw the men in the stripes under the bus this year more than ever.

            During the CFL season, it has been common place to see spectators get upset at the officials, besides frowning at the fact defensive play rules the game this year. During contests, more penalties have been called than ever before, and it seems like the consistency isn’t there.

            The complaints seem to go down the ladder. At university, junior and high school games, it seems no one is happy with the officials.

            A couple of understanding coaches have said to me that a new group of younger officials is coming up through the ranks, because a number of older ones have retired. As a result, there will be some growing pains.

            Unfortunately, officiating in football has a couple of common characteristics that go along with officiating in any sport in Canada, which hamper officials from being as good as they can be.

First, more resources need to be utilized in every sport to help officials. In too many instances, officials are usually undertrained. Because of this, they hit the competitive stage at a total disadvantage.

Second, there is a feeling in Canada that officials should not have to be accountable. Part of this comes from the fact they usually go into games undertrained.

Being unaccountable also becomes a big problem. It allows one to accept a notion it is alright if officials do not get better at their craft.

As for the first point, to become a good official you need ongoing coaching and support. Athletes in their sports receive continuous coaching to become better. Officiating is the same.

            It is still common place for someone to go to a weekend course and become a referee. From there, officials get placed in a game environment, where the abuse at times does not fit the game day pay an official receives.

            Officiating also is more than just about making the right calls. The biggest skill in officiating is dealing with people. Once you have mastered the skill of dealing with people you will run into fewer situations where you have to deal with disrespect.

            In hockey, one of Canada’s top referees was Chris Savage, who had a lengthy career officiating in the major junior ranks and worked a whole host of world competitions. When you talk with him, you quickly realize how much there is to the art of being an official and how much there is to learn about being a good one.

            He approaches officiating with a real upbeat passion for the craft and the game of hockey itself. A Medicine Hat resident, Savage, who is pretty skilled as a coach, has worked with numerous officials in that geographical area.

An official breaks up a scrum at a CIS hockey game.

Those officials will all tell you they are way more confident and even more excited to do their jobs thanks to the small tips they receive from Savage. A lot of the tips are usually with regards to dealing with people in various sorts of situations, which Savage encountered as a referee. The value of the experience Savage passes on is priceless.

            You wish someone like Savage was offered a position with great compensation by a body like Hockey Canada to help with developing officials across the country. As the old saying goes, in order to be the best it helps to learn from the best.

            With that said, the WHL should be given big credit last season to having officials supervisors out what appeared more than ever, when the league was going through a youth movement in that department. They were really visible. Video is also often used to help officials.

            In the United States, more money in thrown into helping officials, because the sports culture there is just way bigger than it is Canada. In Canada, hockey can only really legitimately be viewed as a “big sport.”

            When officials in Canadian football are compared to those in U.S. football, the officials in the Canadian game always come up short. In the NFL, officials have weekly meetings where they simulate what to do in almost unheard of complex and tough calls.

            The scrutiny is also a lot bigger. All one has to do is remember the heat placed on the replacement officials, when the NFL locked out their regular officials in the 2012 campaign.       

            The tipping point came during the “Fail Mary” game, when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 14-12 on a Monday night contest that concluded Week 3 of the season. The contest ended when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass to the Green Bay end zone, and both Seahawks receiver Golden Tate and Packers defender M.D. Jennings got their hands on the ball in the air.

            Singles of touchdown and touchback were made by the two officials nearest to the play, before a ruling of simultaneous possession occurred resulting in a Seahawks touchdown. Before the catch, Tate shoved Packers cornerback Sam Shields with both hands, which the NFL later acknowledged should have resulted in an offensive pass interference penalty that would have negated the touchdown and given victory to Green Bay.

            That was the last game worked by replacement officials, as the NFL quickly came to a new collective bargaining agreement with their regular officials to bring them back.

            To various degrees, all sports bodies in Canada can make cases about the efforts they make to help officials. Even with those efforts, strides should always be taken to put more resources into officiating.

            Also, officials should be a little more open to receiving criticism. One of the ways you get better is to learn from your mistakes.

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.