Bye Week Blues

While I have no doubt that the bye week will benefit the Riders by allowing key players to get healthy (i.e. DB’s not named Graham), selfishly I hate the bye week. We get half as much football and the one game isn’t even until Monday leaving me to be subjected to the Olympics as the best form of “sports” available… though I use the term extremely loosely since what the Olympics consider a sport and what I consider a sport evidently differ greatly. The IOC says trampoline is a sport – I contend that the only acceptable uses for trampolines are Slamball and girls jumping on them. The IOC says sailing is a sport – I say then where is the Olympic medal for NASCAR and monster trucks? The IOC says equestrian is a sport – I say it’s not a sport if an animal does all the work!! (Though we are the defending Olympic champions at that event, I guess no one sits on talented horses like Canadians).

Anywho… since there is nothing Rider related to discuss I will use this opportunity to opine and pontificate on random non-Rider matters from the first part of the CFL season.

- So far the 2 worst rushing attacks in the CFL belong to Montreal and Calgary. Given who their respective RBs are that just boggles my mind. I mean they are behind the like of such highly touted backs as Hugh Charles and whoever the hell Winnipeg can find each week who is healthy enough to suit up.

- According to Jon Cornish though, Calgary’s problem can be entirely blamed on his O-line. Publicly calling out the behemoths whose job it is to block for you has to be one of the more idiotic strategies I’ve seen. Not saying he’s wrong, just that he probably shouldn’t be saying it.

- I love how Montreal is 2-3 and there is near hysteria about who this team is falling apart and is in shambles. Meanwhile Hamilton has one solitary win more than the Als and people are pretty much penciling them in as the East representatives in the Grey Cup. Evidently the “No Lead Is Safe” mantra in the CFL does not apply to the Ti-Cats commanding one game lead over the Als.

- I can’t believe people are surprised at how bad the Winnipeg offense is. They are dead last in scoring and have turned the ball over 19 times in 5 games. This is what happens when you put all your eggs in the Buck Pierce basket (which displays all the durability of a wet Kleenex). They further compounded things for themselves by fielding an absolutely terrible O-line. You would think that you would want to invest an O-line that could actually protect whichever sacrificial QB you decide to serve up.

- I am so sick of the constant talk about players who are on pace to break records (i.e. Andrew Harris, Henry Burrs). Its game freakin’ 5 and it started weeks ago already! This is just ridiculous!! Remember back a few years when all we heard for weeks on end was how Cobourne was on pace for 1000 receiving and 1000 rushing? And remember how in the end he didn’t come anywhere close to the feat? All this record talk is more premature than Man in the Bush on… in the interest of taste I’ll just end that line there. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with that. Maybe I should just join in the fray by proclaiming that given Kory Sheets’ current pace he will break Milt Stegall’s record for most career TDs within 7 seasons.

Enjoy the long weekend/bye week everyone… we will be back with Rider related rantings next week. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to watching the Olympics, I think synchronized canoeing is up next.