Hello all, and long time no talk!! I am back after a lengthy hospital stay, which I can assure you was not fun!  The B.C. Lions did not have much fun Thursday night either, as they were coming into a charged up Taylor fie….er Mosaic stadium, where on this day the Riders could not lose! It was the Annual Hall of Fame game. This year’s inductee list includes one of the greatest Rider recievers of all time in Don Narcisse. Here in Regina today was annointed Don Narcisse day. So with Narco in town the Riders would have to get that offensive swagger going early and often. They did get the offense going pretty well tonight, but I thought the defense, especially Jerrell Freeman and his 3 sacks were huge in this game. They kept B.C. out of the end zone a few times in the first half, after the Lions had long drives taking them inside the 10 yard line. There was pressure aplenty on starting QB Jarious Jackson all night, as he was sacked 5 times, and hurried often. Barrin Simpson had a great game, he had 6 tackles and a sack tonight, his closing speed and presence is remarkable, he was flying to the ball and carriers all night.

Wes Cates and Darian Durant both rumbled for a pair of touchdowns each, and combined for 128 yards on the ground. Myself and I am sure a good portion of the Rider Nation are still waiting for Prechea Rodriguez and Dominique Dorsey to have breakout games, both have been average to say the least. Newcomer Eddie Johnson, the punter out of Idaho State was booming the ball all night, he finished with a 44.4 yard average, his longest being 54. Wally Buono must be reeling at his offense, particualrly some of his recievers such as Oniell Wilson, who added a few more costly drops to his resume. The Lions’ offense could not get it going all night, and when they did it seemed like it would stall due to penalties, which the Lions had a boat load of. One spot B.C. excelled in, especially early in the game, I thought was rushing the ball. The Rider rush defense got torched with a few big runs throughout the game. Jamal Robertson, and Yanous Davis each rushed for 84 yards. Unfortunately I have to say B.C. is wearing the worst team in the league tag for now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to shed it until some changes are made.

All in all it was a good game.  I thought the Riders looked great on both sides of the ball, the special teams will continue to get better, and remember it’s a long season. The 5-2 Roughriders have a bye and do not play again until August 28th, when they meet the Edmonton Eskimos.

The Riders ruined the festivities for the Lions return to Empire Stadium. In the process, they have become the team to beat, along with the equal 2-0 Stampeders. Darian Durant made things look easy against the Lions secondary, and seemed to throw all caution to the wind, letting long balls fly left and right on his way to compiling 252 yards through the air.He also scampered for a touchdown, but it was Wes Cates looking stronger as the game rolled along once again that put the nail in the coffin. He finished with 16 carries for 93 yards. The one player who impressed the most i thought was Brent Hawkins. Hawkins really stepped his game up from last week, and had B.C’s 2 qb’s running for their lives. He took Casey Printers out of the game early with a nice shoestring tackle.He had 2 sacks on the day and also nabbed a fumble late in the game and ran it 47 yards for a touchdown. Its hard to find things to nit pick about after a game like that, but once again we saw no Jason Clermont out there. I know its only week 2, and we are so deep in the recieving corps, but Clermont adds so much in the middle. He does not drop anything, those gorilla arms are clutch, but there is plenty of season left i suppose!Another player i thought had a great game was Hugh Charles, he was good on returns, and he had an impact  in the backfield. He is very agile and shifty, and as the season progresses i feel we will be seeing a lot more of Mr.Charles.

The Riders had a pretty close to complete game against the Lions, and if they can get to 3-0 after a showdown with the esks, and with a probable Stamps win in Toronto, we will be set up for a first place showdown in Calgary on July 24th. But lets not jump the gun, Edmonton is going to be coming out hungry after an 0-2 start, and are going to have a lot to prove, and what a great place to start, against the 2-0 Riders. I shall have an analysis of the upcoming game, which will be a dandy!

“Green is the colour…..football is the game……..we’re all together…and winning is our aim…….” Happy Canada Day to all!! Especially for those clad in green and white!! I do not know how you could possibly start a CFL season any better than what took place on ol’ Taylor Field….ummm Mosaic stadium today! A shoot out it was indeed. Big plays, highlight reel catches and hits, controversy, overtime, the 13th man!! But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

Aside from the first toss and subsequent interception thrown by Anthony Calvillo. It looked like it was going to be a cake walk for the defending Grey Cup champs. Calvillo hooked up with perrenial 1’000 yard man Kerry Watkins twice and S.J. Green once, and took a 24-10 lead into halftime, looking very much like the dominent Grey Cup champs.The teams traded safeties to start the second half, when a missed 35 yard field goal by Luca Congi, was returned 117 yards by Montreal Rookie Tm Maypray for a touchdown, and a seemingly unsurmountable 33-12 Alouettes lead. But hold on to your tighty whiteies…the Durant led Riders came alive, similarily reminiscent of the Alouettes in last years Grey Cup. Durant hit Prechae Rodriguez, and Rob Bagg to cut the deficit to 33-26. Then just over 4 minutes into the fourth, Wes Cates tied the game on a ten yard touchdown run. Cates broke a couple of big runs in the previous plays putting them into scoring position. Avon coburne , and andy Fantuz each had touchdowns , both at the end of thrilling drives for their teams, to send the game to overtime.

Fantuz caught a touchdown, and Chris Gretzlaf the two point convert to start the overtime. The game came down to a third down gamble…..an incomplete pass from Calvillo…RIDERS WIN RIDERS WIN!!!……..flag….no…….it could not..possibly be…….again!! Too many men Saskatchewan!! It was like a cruel joke, funny yet twisted. The look of the faces at sold out Mosaic, disbelief, anger, DISBELIEF!! I myself had no words. I just simply could not fathom this happening again. I would think that the Riders may place someone, somewhere, whose sole purpose, is to just count bodies on the field. I hope any way! S.J. Green made them pay with a absolutely amazing one handed grab just on the edge of the endzone and out of bounds stripe…….tie game.

This time history would not repeat itself. Weston Dressler Caught two passes including a touchdown, to outdo Montreals field goal, and the game was finally over with. We have our revenge……for now! There were stars aplenty in this one. Durant out performed Calvillo, going 30 of 44 for a big 478 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was very effective when he started to stretch the Als secondary, throwing nice balls to his recievers. Speaking of…..Dressler and Bagg each broke a hundred, 154 and 121. Dressler was catching everything his way, especially at big junctures in the game, and Bagg really put the Riders back in the game with a huge 87 yard touchdown play that put the heat on the Als.Fantuz had 8 grabs for 77 yards, Getzlaf 3 for 65, and Rodriguez 2 for 54. Cates was slow to start, but had a very solid game, busting a bunch of big yardage runs off, he finished with 13 rushes for 112 yards and 1 touchdown. The defense had issues in the beginning, but got it together, and made plays when they had to. They got the offense the ball back, and thats all you can ask for. Donovan Alexander got burnt bad a couple of times early, but seperated the reciever from the ball at very important times late in the game.

It was an amazing game by both teams, an unbelievable start to the season, and to add to that, the game was televised on the NFL network. Americans got to see the CFL at its best. All the story lines were there, all the thrills and dramatics were present. If you watched the game and were not entertained, you are either a) deceased, or b) ……deceased.  Its only week 1, what a game. It will be hard to outdo this one, but the Riders have their revenge, and now take their air show west  for another great rivalry in B.C July 10. No B.C Place Stadium this year, as the Lions will be playing outdoors this year, as their stadium undergoes upgrades. So its off to the tame the Lions Rider Priders, the journey has begun!!

Happy Fathers Day! To wrap up the preaseason, and a busy fathers day, i will keep it short and sweet, something the Riders wish they could have done today! The Riders preseason games in the past have been like a gruesome car wreck, so why deviate from the formula? Well it certainly has been status quo once again this year. First a “just going through the motions”  opening loss against an equally stale B.C. Lions club. Then today….well there is not much to tell about today, you just have to look at the score. A non existent running game, no touchdown tosses from Darian Durant, although he was a nice 14 of 18 for 156 yards for his first half work. There were not very many positives on either side of the ball.Cary Koch had a solid effort with 5 grabs for 84 yards and a touchdown, which just may have landed him a roster spot. Mike Mccullough had the lone  sack of the game. The Riders made it out injury free which is always a bright spot!

Listening to a call in show after the game, many so called Rider “supporters” are already throwing the season out! Can you believe it!? 2 preseasons games in, and people are throwing in the towel! The Riders definitely have some questions that need to be addressed before July 1st, for their much anticipated Grey Cup rematch. The fact is this was a preseason game, and not a pretty one at that, but for the most part it is a time to evaluate. With new faces on the field, and especially new faces coaching staff wise, we were not going to see the coaches throw a whole lot of thier game plan into a preseason game. We will likely see that come July 1st. By then (thursday or friday to more precise) there will be many cuts made, coach Miller stated there will be some cuts made before the next practice. So fear not Rider Nation, this is just the beginning of another wild adventure, which only the CFL can provide. I am excited that the season is upon us, support your team, and see you all july 1st……………OH CANADA!!!!