’Riders lose frustrating West final, surprise season still fun

Cody Fajardo was the breakout star for the Roughriders.

    No matter how well things go for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, fans always have to fear one of those moments is just around the corner where you ask yourself, “Why do I cheer for this team?”

    The latest installment of asking that very question went down on Sunday, when the Roughriders fell 20-13 to their archrivals the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’s West final before a near capacity crowd of 33,300 spectators at Mosaic Stadium.

    With the Bombers holding their 20-13 edge, they turned away the Roughriders on two defensive stands inside the Winnipeg 10 yard line to preserve victory.

    The last play of the game saw Roughriders breakthrough star quarterback Cody Fajardo wire a pass intended for open receiver Kyran Moore off the upright in the Winnipeg end zone. With that thud, the Roughriders magical 2019 campaign came to an end.

    Winnipeg advances to the Grey Cup this coming Sunday in Calgary, Alta., to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the CFL championship. The Tiger-Cats romped to a 36-16 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL’s East final on Sunday in Hamilton, Ont.

    For Roughriders fans, the West final loss to the Bombers was a painful way to season come to an end that far exceeded expectations.

Shaq Evans led the Roughriders with 1,334 receiving yards.

    When training camps opened for CFL clubs back in late May, most pundit predictions had the Roughriders posting a record that would allow them to just scrap into the playoffs as a best case scenario.

    Only those on the inside with the team would have had higher hopes.

    During the off-season, the Roughriders went through a head coaching change with Chris Jones leaving his head coach and general manager duties behind to bolt or an assistant coach position with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

    Craig Dickenson, who is a player’s coach type that everyone likes, took over as the Roughriders head coach, and Jeremy O’Day became the club’s new general manager.

    At the start of the campaign, the Roughriders were bringing back Zach Collaros as the team’s starting quarterback. Fans feared Collaros might potentially suffer another concussion injury, and the season would go down the drain.

    That fear played out as a reality on the fourth play of the Roughriders regular season opener on June 13 against the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton. Collaros ran for a seven-yard gain and gave himself up on a feet first slide only to have Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence drive his shoulder into the signal caller’s head.

Charleston Hughes, right, led the CFL with 16 sacks.

    Collaros left the game due to a concussion, and the Roughriders ultimately dropped that contest 23-17.

    After the first four weeks of the regular season, the Roughriders had a 1-3 record. No one could have seen they would turn their campaign around in a big way topping the West Division for the first time since 2009 with a 13-5 record.

    The 13 victories were the most for the Roughriders in the regular season since finishing 14-2 in 1970.

    The surprising first place campaign resulted due to the emergence of Fajardo as a star. Before signing with the Roughriders, the Brea, Calif., product spent about two-and-a-half seasons as a reserve quarterback with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and British Columbia Lions.

    The 27-year-old had an out of nowhere fantastic season completing 338-of-473 passes for 4,302 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He became the West Division nominee for the CFL’s most outstanding player award.

William Powell led the Roughriders with 1,093 yards rushing.

    Thanks the Fajardo’s meteoric rise, Collaros was deemed expendable. The Roughriders traded Collaros to the Toronto Argonauts in late July.

    Before the CFL’s trade deadline on Oct. 9, the Argonauts dealt Collaros to the Bombers. The Bombers were looking for more consistent quarterback play after star signal caller Matt Nichols was lost for the season due to shoulder injury in the Bombers 32-16 victory over the B.C. Lions on Aug. 15 in Winnipeg, Man.

    Roughriders 35-year-old defensive end Charleston Hughes played like an ageless wonder leading the league with 16 sacks and piling up 50 defensive tackles.

    Linebacker Cameron Judge is the West Division’s nominee for the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian player award. Judge posted 61 defensive tackles, 11 special teams tackles, five sacks and two interceptions for the Roughriders.

    Pass catcher Shaq Evans topped the Roughriders in receiving catching 72 passes for 1,334 yards and five touchdowns.

    Running back William Powell came over from the Ottawa Redblacks and broke the 1,000-yard barrier in rushing for a third straight season. He carried the ball 215 times for 1,093 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Cameron Judge is up for the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian award.

    Dickenson is the West Division’s nominee for CFL coach of the year.

    Just when all things seem great for the Roughriders, adversity strikes. In a practice leading to their final regular season game, Fajardo suffered an oblique muscle injury. He revealed after the West final loss he tore two oblique muscles.

    In another crazy twist, Collaros was healthy entering the West final with the Bombers. The Bombers had many pundits predicting in training camp they would make the Grey Cup game, but they finished third in the West Division still with a solid 11-7 mark.

    Had the Bombers overcome their injury bug, they could have had more wins. Still, Collaros’s arrival and strong play restored Grey Cup hopes in the Manitoba capital.

    In leading the Bombers to their West final win over the Roughriders, Collaros completed 17-of-25 passes for 267 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

    Fajardo had a strong game despite his injuries completing 27-of-41 passes for 366 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Makana Henry (#74) had a solid campaign at DT for the Roughriders.

    The Roughrider struggled inside of the Winnipeg 10 yard line, and those struggles were costly.

    On the first of two defensive stands the Bombers made inside of the final 2:30 of the fourth quarter, the Roughriders gambled on a third and goal from the one on a Fajardo quarterback run. He was stopped creating a turnover on downs, but knowing his injury status, the play call was a curious one.

    When Fajardo rang his final pass off the crossbar of the goalpost on the game’s final play, it was the final sign to show this wasn’t the Roughriders day.

    The Bombers will try to win their first Grey Cup since 1990 going in as underdogs against the Tiger-Cats, who finished first in the East Division with a 15-3 regular season record.

    When the Roughriders host the Grey Cup next season, hopes will be high they can win it all at home like they did in 2013 downing the Tiger-Cats 45-23 at Taylor Field.

    Going into the 2019 campaign, the Roughriders had a lot of question marks, and those question marks have disappeared.

Craig Dickenson, middle, is up for the CFL coach of the year award.

    There will be questions and chances this off-season too. On the local front, one wonders if 37-year-old Regina product Jon Ryan will return as the punter and 33-year-old Weyburn, Sask., product Brendon LaBatte will be back on the offensive line.

    Age and life pursuits could play part in decisions on those fronts.

    The Roughriders have a franchise quarterback in Fajardo, who has the potential to play for a large number of years. That instils a bigger belief it is possible to build on the club’s meagre total of four Grey Cup titles.

    While it seems something always happens to dampen hopes of Roughriders fans, Rider Nation continues to find reasons to keep believing the best is still possible.

    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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Bring on the Bombers – Rider Nation feeling sky high about their Roughriders

Naaman Roosevelt throws his touchdown reception ball into the crowd.

    REGINA, Sask. – “Winnipeg Blue Bombers, we want you!”

    If you are a fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, you are dreaming big dreams right now. On Saturday before 32,328 members of Rider Nation at Mosaic Stadium, the Roughriders hammered the Ottawa Redblacks 40-18 in a CFL regular season clash.

    The win was the fifth in a row for the Roughriders helping them improve to 6-3, while the Redblacks fell to 3-7. In the immediate aftermath of that game, you are likely in an overreaction state of bliss, if you cheer for the Roughriders.

Kyran Moore, right, head up field after making a catch.

    Next up – the Labour Day Classic.

    The Roughriders return to action on Sunday, Sept. 1, when they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who lead the CFL’s West Division at 8-2, at 1 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.

    As a Roughriders fan, you are thinking, “Blue Bombers, we are going to kick your (explanative)!”

    This should not come as any sort of bulletin board material for the Winnipeg side. Roughriders fans relish seeing the Blue Bombers lose, and that is a safe given fact.

Cody Fajardo (#7) throws a touchdown pass for the Roughriders.

    The only team Roughriders fans likely love to see lose more than the Blue Bombers are the hated Calgary Stampeders.

    Plus, excitement skyrockets because the Labour Day Classic game between the Roughriders and Blue Bombers is usually an annual celebration of Rider Nation. That celebration is usually topped by the fact the Roughriders seemingly never lose that game.

    The Roughriders have won 13 of the last 14 Labour Day Classic games. I have attended 18 editions of the Labour Day Classic and the Roughriders have a 16-2 record against the Blue Bombers in those outings.

    On top of all that, the Roughriders looked great in Saturday’s win over the Redblacks. Coming off the bye week, the Roughriders put together a total team win.

Gainer the Gopher makes his rounds after a Roughriders touchdown.

    The host side was opportunistic putting the boots to Ottawa early scoring 17 points off turnovers in the first quarter to go ahead 17-0.

    Roughriders defensive back Nick Marshall intercepted Redblacks starting quarterback Dominique Davis for the first turnover. That set up a short three-play 21-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a four-yard scoring run by tailback William Powell to give the Roughriders a 7-0 lead.

    On Ottawa’s next series, Davis was picked by Roughriders defensive back L.J. McCray. That set up a short five-play 39-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 14-yard scoring run by rising star quarterback Cody Fajardo, which put the Roughriders up 14-0.

    On Ottawa’s next series, Davis was picked by Roughriders linebacker Derrick Moncrief. 

Redblacks RT Evan Johnson battles Roughriders RE Charleston Hughes. 

    Davis wouldn’t return under centre after that play as he was pulled for backup quarterback Jonathon Jennings.

    Saskatchewan turned Davis’s third interception into a 46-yard field goal from Brett Lauther to give the host a 17-0 lead.

    The Roughriders edge extended to 20-0 early in the second quarter on 43-yard field goal from Lauther.

    While the Redblacks battled back eventually getting the score to a 21-12 advantage in favour of the Roughriders at one point in the second quarter, it never felt like the visitors would rally back all the way.

    Saskatchewan pulled away from that point. Lauther hit a 49-yard field goal to give the Roughriders a 24-12 advantage at halftime.

    Punter Jon Ryan hit a 56-yard punt single in the third quarter to go with his 51-yard punt single in the second quarter to put the Roughriders up 25-12.

Roughriders DT Makana Henry charges at the quarterback.

    After kicker Lewis Ward nailed a 44-yard field goal for the Redblacks to cut the Roughriders edge to 25-15, Fajardo hit Roughriders receiver Naaman Roosevelt for a 15-yard touchdown toss to give the Roughriders a 32-15 lead before the third quarter came to a close.

    In the fourth quarter, a 32-yard missed field goal single from Lauther and a 23-yard touchdown run from Powell rounded out the Roughriders scoring.

    Ward had three other field goals to go with his third quarter kick for the Redblacks. Jennings hit receiver Dominique Rhymes with a 75-yard touchdown toss in the second quarter, but Ward missed the convert after that score.

    On the day, the Roughriders forced five turnovers while not committing any turnovers themselves. Defensive end Charleston Hughes and defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy each forced and recovered fumbles to go with the three interceptions their Saskatchewan teammates caught in the first quarter.

The Roughriders pour off their bench to mark their win.

    Fajardo had a solid game completing 24-of-36 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. He ran the ball five times for 38 yards and his major score.

    In this game, Fajardo just needed to be a cog in the machine as his team fired in all facets of the game. As a team, the Roughriders piled up 122 yards on the ground.

    When you cheer for the Roughriders, there is always a fear the floor will fall out from under the team without any notice. It always feels like the breaks go against the Roughriders more than they go for the Roughriders over the long haul.

    Currently in the present, this feels like it could be a blessed season.

    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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CFL needs to walk the talk in removing cheap shots

Lawrence suspension a small step forward, more work needed

Zach Collaros throws a pass at Roughriders training camp in June.

    The message isn’t getting through regarding cheap shots in the CFL.
    In the league’s regular season opener last Thursday between the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders and host Hamilton Tiger-Cats, two obvious dirty hits went down in the first six plays of the game. For a league and a CFL Players’ Association that talked lots in the off-season about player safety, the start of the regular season opener showed there wasn’t any more respect for player safety on the field than there was last year.

    On just the fourth play of Thursday’s contest, Roughriders quarterback Zach Collaros ran for a seven-yard gain and gave himself up on a feet first slide.

    Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence dove and drove his left shoulder into Collaros’s head. Collaros left the game and didn’t return after he failed to pass the CFL’s concussion protocol.

    Lawrence received a Grade 2 roughing the passer penalty resulting in a 25-yard gain for Saskatchewan.  

    Two plays later, Roughriders backup quarterback Cody Fajardo overthrew a sideline pass to running back William Powell.

    After the ball had long sailed over Powell’s head, he was decked by Tiger-Cats defensive back Delvin Breaux. Breaux received a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.

    The hits thrown by Lawrence and Breaux didn’t need to be delivered. They were both plays that were brainless and needless.

    The Roughriders would score a touchdown on that opening series and ultimately lost the contest 23-17.

    In the aftermath, the Roughriders moved Collaros to the six-game injured list on Sunday. While the Roughriders didn’t confirm what Collaros’s injury was, he does have a history of concussion injuries, and it is pretty easy to draw an educated guess on what his exact injury is.

    On Monday, the CFL suspended Lawrence two games for his hit on Collaros. Commissioner Randy Ambrosie stressed the importance of player safety in Monday’s press release sent out by the league regarding Lawrence’s suspension.

    Lawrence can appeal the CFL’s ruling under the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players. The 30-year-old hasn’t been previously suspended or fined for dangerous play since joining the league in 2012.

    First, I will admit the suspension is a good start, if it holds up. As a general observation on how these situations were dealt with in past seasons, it always felt like discipline handed out by the CFL was toothless.

Brandon Bridge was a head shot victim last season.

    There would usually be a one-game suspension, which would disappear after an appeal was made. It always seemed more weight was thrown behind ensuring an offending player didn’t miss a game paycheque.

    It seems like the only way to get discipline is to handle things an old school way, where your offensive line basically act as enforcers.

    In the old days of football, it was common for an offensive team to run a running play at a defensive player that threw a cheap shot. The focus of the play wasn’t to gain yards but to go after and hurt the defensive player that threw the cheap shot.

    In the modern era, I’m not sure how that type of tactic would be received, if it was utilized.

    The officials in Thursday’s game between the Roughriders and Tiger-Cats called those penalties as they should. They could have elected to eject Lawrence from the game, and that is the only other thing they could have done.

    Still, the CFL as a league and the players have to make it a priority amongst themselves to get the cheap shots out of the game.

    One way the CFL could do more is adopting a targeting penalty that is used in the United States by the football teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

    The penalty in the NCAA is 15-yards with an automatic ejection from the game. If the penalty occurs in the second half of a contest, the offending player is automatically suspended for the first half of the next game.

    With the CFL field being larger, the yardage for the penalty could be 25-yards with those ejection stipulations.

    Amateur football in Canada has a targeting rule that contains a 25-yard penalty, but there are no automatic ejections. In U Sports, the infraction is automatically reviewed for further discipline, and if the targeting infraction is upheld, the offending player is suspended for his squad’s upcoming game.

    A number of pundits were calling for Lawrence to be suspended for three to five games. The CFL and its players have to look at these longer suspensions too.
    There are likely some Roughriders fans looking for the old school enforcer response. Going back to last season, Saskatchewan has gone three straight games losing its starting quarterback in a game due to a head shot.

    In a 23-18 West semifinal playoff loss on Nov. 11, 2018 to the Bombers, Roughriders starting quarterback Brandon Bridge was hit helmet to helmet on the game’s second last play by Bombers defensive lineman Jackson Jeffcoat. Bridge was knocked out of that contest.

    During the Roughriders final regular season game in 2018 on Oct. 27, Collaros was lost as starting quarterback due to a helmet-to-helmet shot from British Columbia Lions defensive lineman Odell Willis in a 35-16 Saskatchewan victory.

    The needless cheap shots need to go in the CFL. Unless is a steady enforcement of ejections and suspensions for those fouls, they will always remain a major problem in the game.

Is CFL football overpriced?

Fans at the 2013 West final in Calgary.

    Is there a lack of interest or a pricing problem, when it comes to CFL football?

    Since at least the start of the 2016 season, it seems a lot of fans show up at CFL game dressed as empty seats. It seems like there are a lot of no shows in the stadium even when a strong attendance figure is announced.

    Announced attendance figures from Week 1 weren’t anything to write home about. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced 22,287 spectators attended their 23-17 victory over the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders at the 23,218 seat Tim Hortons Field.

    On Friday, the Edmonton Eskimos attracted 25,263 announced spectators to their 32-25 victory over the visiting Montreal Alouettes at the 55,819 seat Commonwealth Stadium.

    On Saturday, the Calgary Stampeders drew 26,301 announced spectators to their 32-28 setback to the visiting Ottawa Redblacks at the 35,400 seat McMahon Stadium.

    Also on Saturday, The British Columbia Lions drew an announced crowd of 18,058 spectators to their 33-23 setback to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the 54,500 seat B.C. Place stadium in Vancouver.

    None of those figures are even close to what those clubs could draw in their heydays.

    Way back in 1972, the Tiger-Cats drew an average of 32,129 spectators to each of their regular season home games, and that mark still stands as a team record.

    The Eskimos set their team record for average regular season attendance in 1982, when they attracted 57,899 spectators for each of their regular season games.

    The Stampeders team record for average regular season attendance isn’t that old. Back in 2009, the Stampeders drew an average of 36,502 spectators in each of their regular season home games.

    The Lions record for average regular season attendance came back in 1986, when they attracted 46,526 spectators per game.

    While numerous factors have to be considered for why fans stay away, one wonders how big of a factor ticket prices play.

    If you are looking to purchase single game tickets in the lower part of each team’s stadium between the 20 yard lines, be prepared to shell out. Those are the sections you can see the most on television and often they seem empty.

    Thanks to Ticketmaster information, here is what you can expect to play for single game tickets in the following eight CFL markets, if you sit in the lower sections between the 20 yard lines. All of these prices come before fees and taxes.

• Calgary - $99 to $120.25.
• Edmonton - $66.75 to $99.75.
• Hamilton - $95 to $110.25.
• Ottawa - $55 to $131.
• Saskatchewan - $106 to $127.
• Toronto - $57.25 to $76.25.
• Vancouver - $90 to $94.
• Winnipeg - $99 to $155.

    I couldn’t find single game ticket sales online for the Montreal Alouettes. Using calculations from their regular season pricing plans on their website, it will cost you $54.37 to $88.91 to sit between the 20 yard lines in the lower sections at Alouettes home games before fees and taxes.

    For the casual fans that attend games, it is safe to say these prices are too high to make an impulse decision to go to a game. You could sit in the end zones or the upper decks where the cheaper tickets are, but casual fans are more tempted to pass on that.

    If it becomes popular to head to a game to be seen, then casual fans will pay higher ticket prices.

    In cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, CFL clubs have to compete against other options for the sports entertainment dollar like Major League Soccer. Also, weather conditions will influence a ticket buyer, and those prices will drive people away from bad weather games.

    Even for ultra passionate fans, one wonders how close the CFL is to pricing itself out of the market.

Clouston joins Blazers as head coach

Shaun Clouston, centre, is the new Kamloops Blazers head coach.

    It didn’t take long for Shaun Clouston to resurface in the WHL.

    On Monday, the Kamloops Blazers announced Clouston would be the team’s new head coach and Darryl Sydor, who was a Blazers assistant coach last season, has moved up to the role of associate coach. Sydor is one of the Blazers part owners.

    Clouston was the head coach and general manager of the Medicine Hat Tigers, but he and the Tigers parted ways on May 30.

    One day later, the Tigers announced Willie Desjardins had returned to the team to retake his former roles of head coach and general manager, which he left being in 2010 moving up to the professional ranks.

    Clouston has been with the Tigers for 16 seasons. He joined the club as an assistant coach before the start of their WHL title winning campaign in 2003-04.

    The Viking, Alta., product was promoted to associate coach before the start of the 2005-06 campaign and helped the Tigers win another WHL in 2006-07.

    He became the club’s head coach in 2010 and took on the role of general manager in August of 2012.

    Clouston became the all-time leader in regular season head coaching wins with the Tigers. The 51-year-old put together a stellar 375-241-46 regular season coaching record with the team.

    The Tigers reached the WHL Eastern Conference championship series in 2011 and 2014 with Clouston as head coach.

    Adding in his time as head coach of the Tri-City Americans from the 2002-03 season, Clouston has 391 career regular season victories as a head coach.

    The Tigers put up a solid 35-27-4-2 record last season under Clouston despite suffering some key injuries down the stretch. They fell 4-2 in a best-of-seven first round playoff series to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

    The Blazers parted ways with former head coach Serge Lajoie in April after one season. Under Lajoie, the Blazers posted a 28-32-6-2 record in the regular season and won a standings tiebreaking game 5-1 over the Kelowna Rockets to make the playoffs.

    Kamloops fell in a best-of-seven first round playoff series 4-2 to the Victoria Royals.

    Sydor played defence for the Blazers when they won the WHL and Memorial Cup titles in the 1991-92 campaign. He also played his first games in the NHL ranks that season with the Los Angeles Kings.

    Sydor is best remember for his time in the NHL playing 1,291 career regular season games from 1991 to 2010 recording 98 goals and 409 assists with the Kings, Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

    He won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999 and the Lightning in 2004.

    Under Clouston, you can be sure the Blazers players will be hearing a lot about playing as a unit of five in all three zones on the ice. In a team press release, Clouston said his family is planning to make Kamloops their new home.

Raptors celebration looked crazy

Speechless. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/Ulb7MtDnK9

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 17, 2019

    The NBA champion Toronto Raptors held their victory parade in the Ontario provincial capital on Monday, and the images show on television and social media looked pretty crazy.

    It is estimated over two-million people turned out to see the parade in downtown Toronto. The Raptors clinched their first NBA crown downing the two time defending champion Golden State Warriors 114-110 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last Thursday in Oakland, Calif.

    The images of the celebration showed Toronto engulfed by a mass of humanity. The pictures and video showed people from all sorts of cultures getting along together and being happy.

    Unfortunately, the celebrations were marred by a shooting that left four people wounded and three people were taken into custody.

    Hopefully, the good the Raptors did in bringing people together with their run will outlast an idiotic incident.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.