Monday Headlines

GOODBYE JASON, WE HARDLY KNEW YE

Well the moment I'd been waiting 3 years for finally happened Saturday Night. Jason French was finally sent packing by the Riders, down the CN line to Hamilton. By all accounts a nice guy, but nobody was more maddeningly inconsistent and apt to fold like a cheap suit under pressure. But all that being said, why am I feeling just a little bit sad today? There is no doubt the Riders are better off without French, but still...

With both French and Charles "Turnstile" Thomas gone, all of my whipping boys are gone. Who am I going to crush now? Say what you will about those players, they were always there to wail on - willing to make a mistake just so you wouldn't forget about them.

Basing personnel decisions on talent and accountability? I'm not sure I like the direction this team is heading in.

THE ERIC TILLMAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

Now I'm not going to rip the trades Eric Tillman made this weekend - trading away Rob Lazeo, Thyron Anderson, and Jason French for a running back (Wes Cates) and a defensive back (Tad Kornegay). At first glance it seemed like quite a lot to give up for maybe not so much in return - like say, oh about 30 cents on the dollar. But my CFL guy tells me that both of these players are potential starters - so it's wait and see time. Although I should say I'm all kinds of fired up about having a guy name Tad on the Riders.

What happened to Thyron Anderson though? Everybody was praising the team 3 months ago for getting this guy. Now he's apparently had an Angelo Esposito/Brian Bosworth fall from grace.

Did you happen to see that both Dwan Epps and Dominique Dorsey were both cut by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers? So that means that the Riders traded away two players that Winnipeg cut for a guy who didn't even come to Rider training camp. Don't you love the CFL?

CLOSE BUT NO NO-NO

Wow, is that not the most awkward headline you've ever read in your life? It sounded a lot better in my head than it looks in type. But I'm not going back to change it now, we've already gone to far.

As you've probably heard by now, Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan was three outs away from a no-hitter on Sunday afternoon against the Colorado Rockies. The first Rocky up in the ninth ruined the no-hit bid with a single up the middle. McGowan did get those final three outs for the complete game one-hit shut out. As someone who was actually watching the game, I can tell you those last three innings were pretty exciting. It almost made a person pick up the phone to tell their friends - almost.

It's hard to imagine that Toronto has only had one no-hitter in franchise history - in 1990 Dave Stieb threw one against Cleveland. You can catch it on ESPN Classics Canada every three days or so - right in between TNA Wrestling and a CFL game between Ottawa and Hamilton from 1986.

SPARE ME YOUR AKILI SMITH PUNS

Nowhere in this space will you ever read about anyone being Henry Burris' Akili-es heel... ever. That being said, after witnessing Burris' Marvin Graves-esqe performance on Friday night, I would be very surprised if Akili Smith isn't Calgary's starting quarterback at some point this season. And good for him too. It's not everyday that a guy deemed a bust in the NFL gets a chance to redeem himself.

Now if we can just get Todd Marinovich to stop skateboarding and lay off the PCP.