Monday Headlines (on Tuesday)

NO SPORTS, SOME PROBLEMS

Were you aware of it? Yesterday and tomorrow are the only two days of the year on which no professional sports are played in the United States and Canada. Apparently the day before and after the MLB All-Star game are the only two that don't have any pro sports. That's kind of frightening isn't it - 363 days a year you can turn on your television and find a game to lose yourself in. But it does keep people like me in business, so who am I to complain?

OFFICIAL ROUGHRIDER BLOGGING

As some of you know, Mysask.com held a contest to find an Official Roughrider Blogger and I was disqualified because of affiliation with SaskTel. However, despite me being ineligible Mysask decided to go on with the contest anyway and the winner was Devin Heroux. You can check out his blogs here. I'm not including the link to hate on the kid (trust me, that's happening enough as it is - this kid is getting lit up like a Christmas tree, check out the comments people have been leaving if you don't believe me) but people should be aware of what else is out there for Rider coverage. In my own personal opinion his stuff reads like a Junior High book report but I'll still give him credit for getting out there and saying what he has to say.

SPORTS AS LIFE ON MYSASK.COM

This is a related item to the above headline. As part of their Official Roughrider Blog Contest, it looks like Mysask is going to be adding links to other Saskatchewan-based sports blogs. And as one such blog, Sports As Life has been asked to be a part of that. When and if that is actually going to happen we're not sure. But it looks like Sports As Life might be up on Mysask.com even without the Official Roughrider Blogger title. So we're all excited about that here.... perhaps I shouldn't have brought this up until it actually happens.

NO HOT TUB, BIG PROBLEMS

In case you hadn't heard, the radio station sponsored hot tub that was a fixture in the south end zone of Taylor Field for many years has been removed. All of this was done in an effort to make Taylor Field more 'family friendly'. Say what you will about this move (a little over the top, no?) but at least Taylor Field is still a stadium where you can yell at Miss Teen Saskatchewan, "Lay off the Beta Carotene!" (trust me, she was orange)

ROUGHRIDER WHIPPING BOY - STILL TAKING APPLICATIONS

As tough as it's been to get used to the Roughriders' play through the first two weeks of the season, it's been the departures of Charles Thomas and Jason French that I'm really struggling to adjust to. Those were my go-to guys and now I've got nobody. Through the first two weeks a front runner for the new whipping boy hasn't even emerged, so as of right now I'm still taking applications. After the Montreal game I thought D.J Flick might be the guy and even though he was inconsistent against Calgary too, that touchdown catch he made on Sunday I think has taken his name off the list. So the search continues. I suppose in a perfect world nobody would come out and claim the job - but how much fun is that?

Strange New World

First off, I think I should apologize to everyone who had to wait an extra day to read this inevitable Roughrider post. But I am not without (good) excuses.

Excuse number 1 is physical. Whoever thought that the Saskatchewan Roughrider home opener should be on a Sunday evening obviously doesn't know their demographics very well. Will power and self-control? A Roughrider fan knows not these things.

Excuse numbers 2 and 3 are emotional and psychological. Yesterday was a day full of discussion, thought, meditation and hand-wringing over what the current state of Roughrider football actually is. Are the Roughriders the football juggernaut they appeared to be on Sunday or have they played the right teams on the right days and all of this is just a big house of cards? The truth is that I don't know. The only thing I do know is that 2 games isn't enough to judge a team on. This Friday's game against B.C should be the first real test this year - and if the Roughriders can win that game, then all bets are off. But for further discussion of this see: every sports reporter in the province, every Roughrider-related website and every water cooler in every office in Saskatchewan.

That's not what I want to talk about because quite frankly, there's nothing to talk about. Only time will tell what the Riders really are. What I want to talk about is how I feel about all this - and the truth is I'm terrified that this team might actually be good.

After 15 years of mediocrity and unmet expectations, the possibility of Saskatchewan fielding a dominant football team is a strange thing to have thrust upon you all of a sudden. Now as I said 2 games is not enough to judge a team on - let's not forget that the Roughriders started the 2005 season 3-1, and should have been 4-0, only to finish 9-9 (big surprise). But those that saw Sunday's game saw a team that was not firing on all cylinders but was still pretty dominant. Whether that had more to do with Calgary than Saskatchewan I guess we'll see.

If the Roughriders actually live up to the expectations that everyone seemingly has for them now, I'm not sure how I will react - 15 years of disappointment is a tough thing to get over in a short span of time. Call me crazy but that amount of mediocrity has created a healthy scepticism in me about this team. I'm not quite ready to believe again.

But let's be honest, this province deserves to have a football team that we can be proud of. A powerful football machine that is talented, well prepared and accountable. It's been too long since that has happened and now that it seems we might heading down that road I'm still waiting for the other shoe to fall. It's not that I'm nay-saying for no reason, I've got 15 years full of reasons to be sceptical. And I suppose that until the Roughriders actually do some of the things that football teams are supposed to, i.e - play consistently, host a playoff game, win a championship, I am still going to be waiting for those old Rider demons to show up.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, what I'm feeling is not scepticism but realism.

Thank Goodness For Kevin Lowe

I was in big trouble today.

I felt that a blog post was in order but when I went to the well, the bucket came up... empty. Apathy I think was the main cause of that. It's in the mid to high 30s outside and here I am in my office drinking hot coffee. I just couldn't get up for it today.

And then, just when I had resigned myself to not writing anything today, Edmonton Oiler GM Kevin Lowe comes along and bails me out of a jam. He has been my go to guy all week, constantly providing material with which to skewer him with. And just when I think he's through embarrassing what was once a proud franchise - he's at it again. Say what you will about the man, at least he's consistent.

In case you haven't heard by now, the Oilers tried to sign another big name free agent today. But of course they were once again foiled. This time it was not an unrestricted free agent (UFA) but one of the restricted (RFA) variety. Which means that you can't simply sign the player (as with a UFA) - with an RFA you make an offer to the player and if he accepts then you have to compensate the team he came from with draft picks. But of course the team that player is currently on has the option to match the offer and if they do the transaction is null and void.

Today the Oilers signed Buffalo's RFA Thomas Vanek to a 7 year, $50 million contract. However, as everybody, except apparently Kevin Lowe, knew they would do, the Buffalo Sabres quickly matched Edmonton's offer. So this means that Buffalo keeps Vanek and has signed him to the 7 year, $50 million contract. If Buffalo had decided not to match Edmonton's offer, the Sabres would have received 4 first round draft picks from Edmonton.

This is all a very convoluted description of what went down today, and probably not a very good one at that - so if you're confused and want to see how a professional journalist would explain everything, just read this article from TSN.ca - http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212929&hubname=

Oh poor Kevin Lowe, he can't win even when he bends the rules. Well let me rephrase that, there's nothing wrong with what Kevin did. Teams are totally free to make offers to other team's RFAs. However, there has always been something of a gentleman's agreement about doing something like this. It's like hitting on another guy's girlfriend when they're sort of broken up but he's still got his arm around her - and then if you talk her into giving you her phone number, you have to give her boyfriend your car and your little brother's Xbox 360.

Signing an RFA to an offer sheet is considered in bad taste because it forces the player's current team to either match the offer, which in most cases is over the top, or let the player go and receive draft picks in return (the number of draft picks the team receives is based on the salary of the player in question) - this whole procedure is more complicated than instituting a code of conduct for a CFL team.

However all's fair in love and war. And I guess as far as Kevin Lowe is concerned, it's war. He's been totally unable to lure any top tier players to Edmonton - only castoffs that nobody else wanted. So now he's moved into the territory of forcing the hands of other teams. With no luck even at that so far.

It's too bad that Edmonton doesn't need a goalie, they could easily make offers to Ray Emery and Henrik Lundqvist that Ottawa and New York couldn't match because of salary cap reasons. But oh that's right, Edmonton has a 39 year old, career backup goalie who makes over $4 million a year. Oh well.

But beyond Kevin Lowe's total futility, there is another interesting story here. Thomas Vanek now makes over $7 million per year. Does that sound right to you? His salary will be $10 million this year (and then decreases in the years after that to average out to $7.14 million per year) - his salary last year was less than a million. Sure he had 43 goals last year on an insanely talented Buffalo team. Let's see if he can do it again this year with no Briere and Drury around. I have my doubts.

So that makes one more player who is making more money that Jarome Iginla or Joe Thornton. Who would you rather have on your team? Vanek or Iginla? Briere or Thornton? History is going to remember that Iginla and Thornton took less money than they would have gotten on the open market so that their teams could still compete. Sure they could have probably gotten $10 million a season next year in free agency but when one player takes up a 1/5th of a team's salary, your chances of building a championship contender are slim.

This is not taking a home town discount, as some might suggest. These are great players who want to win above all else and will put the teams needs ahead of their own. Wanting to get the most money you possibly can and wanting to play for a winner are two totally different things. Just ask Paul Kariya.

In an age when Vanek is a $7 million player and Kimmo Timonen is an $8 million player, I'm glad that I can still look at players like Iginla and Thornton and be reminded that there are still superstars who care about being part of a winning team.

See, sometimes it isn't always about money - just ask Edmonton.

Artist of the Week

Hey - it got to the end of week and I realized there was no Artist of the Week. So here we go, this week's artist is Brandi Carlile. Those who run in Grey's Anatomy circles will be familiar with her work, even if you don't know her name.

She starts comes off as very quiet and unassuming - and then she kicks you in the chest. Check out this video and you'll see what I mean - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJa-KazVMYU

The Links

I didn't post the Links last week because quite frankly I didn't have any. But I think I've got a few this week, and I know how much everyone loves them. So here we go...

- Put this in the category of game shows I want to be a part of. I would travel to Japan just to participate.

- I can't remember if I've linked this before or not but even if I have it's still pretty ingenious. I think I see a theme developing.

- And this one as well, same as above, I may have linked it previously. But it reminds me of a simpler time. Plus it goes with today's theme.

- I'd like People Who Have Too Much Time On Their Hands for 1000 Alex. Wow.

- Say what you will about me for putting this video up, you know you laughed.

This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race

First of all, before we get into all of the NHL free agent signings, I'd like to share my condolences with the 31 remaining fans of the Edmonton Oilers.

Wow, could the last 4 days have gone any worse for you? Your general manager, Kevin Lowe, was unable to land any front-line free agents - just like everyone except Kevin knew was going to happen. His big selling point over the last year was that Edmonton was going to have big money to spend on free agents this offseason - after Chris Pronger and Ryan Smyth jumped ship. The only problem was that nobody wanted to play in Edmonton, regardless of the money.

And now the bats have come home to roost in Edmonton. Their big free agent signings? A back-up goalie and a defenceman who was a healthy-scratch with the team during their Stanley Cup run 2 years ago. When you have to send out a DVD selling your city to potential free agents this is what you end up with.

And just when the Oilers thought they had landed a big-name free agent in Michael Nylander, they learned via the television that Nylander had in fact signed with the Washington Capitals instead. People in Saskatchewan just had a Scott Flory Flashback. This situations is going to get very, very ugly - mark my words. You can read about the whole sordid affair here.

AND... as if that wasn't bad enough, on Sunday the Oilers traded away their captain (Jason Smith) and one of the two players they got for Chris Pronger last summer (Joffrey Lupul, who was a total bust in Edmonton, by the way) for a defenceman who was a -25 last year (Joni Pitkanen) and a 35 year old (Geoff Sanderson). Last week I was saying that Eric Tillman has been getting about 30 cents on the dollar in his trades, apparently Kevin Lowe is fine with getting about 7 cents on the dollar.

I'm surprised the people of Edmonton haven't strung Lowe up from the statue of Wayne Gretzky yet. It's just baffling to think that he still has a job with the way he's run the team over the last two years.

And also to the fans of the Montreal Canadiens - Welcome to the Roman Hamrlik era! You thought you didn't like Sheldon Souray, just wait till ol' Roman takes the ice for you this year. Hamrlik has about the same defensive prowess as Souray, only without the offensive upside. Oh and did I mention that Hamrlik is making over 5 million dollars a year for the next 4 years. Have fun!

Now to the rest of the free agent news...

I'm not going to rank how teams fared in the free agent market or anything like that. I'm leaving that to men who wear suits and have profile pictures on websites for TV stations and newspapers.

Is Buffalo's management deliberately trying to sabotage their team? How do you have the two top free agents on your team and end up keeping neither of them? Both Daniel Briere and Chris Drury were Sabres last year and now they've lost both of them. Wow, I just don't understand that one. By all accounts the Sabres made offers to both Drury and Briere but both offers were well below market value. All of the talk leading up to free agency was about which superstar Buffalo was going to keep and somehow they squandered their chance at both of them. The Sabres were one of the best teams in the league the last two years and now they've taken a huge step backwards.

Somehow the New York Rangers are going to be able to pay Jaromir Jagr, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Henrik Lundqvist and apparently Brendan Shannahan. Is nobody looking into this at all? When 3 of your players (Jagr, Drury, and Gomez) make up almost half of your payroll, about $25 million, how are you going to pay your other 20-odd players? The Rangers could be a little weak on the supporting cast this year... oh, and on defence.

The Philadelphia Flyers have gone from joke to probable playoff team. A team that was old and slow last year is suddenly younger and faster. Daniel Briere, Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and even Joffrey Lupul make up one of the best young groups in hockey. Kimmo Timonen and Jason Smith are upgrades for them defensively as well. Now if only they could rid themselves of the corpse of Derian Hatcher. Has anyone been made more obsolete by the new NHL? He's like watching a phone booth on skates.

Paul Kariya is still a 6 million dollar a year player, when did that happen? What year is this? Kariya signed a 3 year $18 million contract with the St. Louis Blues, proving once again that Paul Kariya doesn't care about winning (from Sportsnet Connected).

The Colorado Avalanche have a chance to be very good for the next two years, or until Joe Sackic retires. By adding Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan the Avalanche are now right in the mix in the West. Goaltending is still an issue with them though. However, if Peter Forsberg decides he can play next year, don't be surprised if he ends up in Denver again - even if it's for only half a season. Right now they're my dark horse in the West for next season.

The biggest deals that Calgary and San Jose made were re-signing their big guns to new contracts. In Calgary Jarome Iginla and Robin Regehr both signed new 5 year contracts. And in San Jose Joe Thornton signed a new deal as well. All 3 of those players would have been big names in next years free agent market, Iginla and Thornton especially. But are you really ready for a world in which Scott Gomez, Kimmo Timonen, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury all make more than Iginla and Thornton? There are guys who are in this for the money and there are guys who are in this to win.

Based on all the signings and trades of the past few weeks, I think I'll pick some dark horse teams that are going to surprise people next year. I'm not saying these team will win the Stanley Cup or anything but they'll be playoff teams. I've already picked Colorado in the West and I'm going to go with Florida in the East.

So that's it, hopefully your team spent their money well. Unless of course you're an Oiler or Canadiens fan and then... well there's always next year.

The Roughrider Bandwagon: Sold Out

Seriously people, I told you to get on months ago when there were still lots of good seats available. Now, after one mediocre win the Bandwagon is dangerously close to being over-capacity. This might be a fire marshall situation soon.

I haven't seen this much excitement based on suspect evidence since the O.J trial.

I hate to be a naysayer (actually, I don't) but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. Yes the Roughriders won in Montreal for the first time since Kent Austin could fit into a size-32 pair of pants (trust me, it's been awhile). Yes the defence held Montreal's offence in check for the entire game. And yes a win is a win.

BUT....

I am firmly of the belief that that game was more about Montreal's offence than it was about Saskatchewan's defence. Don't get me wrong, the Roughrider defence looked pretty solid but let's be real, Montreal's offence was terrible. Apparently they only have one viable offensive weapon, Ben Cahoon - and when you throw to him 135 times in a game, it becomes reasonably easy to defense.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the Roughriders' run defence though. When Montreal actually wanted to run the ball, it seemed like they were able to with some ease. Montreal running back Mike Imoh averaged 5 yards per carry on 10 rushes. I'm also curious to see how the Saskatchewan defensive line will play against a team that actually employs a pass-blocking scheme.

And then there's the Saskatchewan offence...

If that was the high-octane offence that Kent Austin spent the last two months installing, I really don't know what to say. It seems the offence consists of two plays (more or less) - the sprint option, that teams are going to learn how to defense real quick, and the shotgun draw that we're all so familiar with. Seriously, how is that draw play still hanging around? It only worked because Kenton Keith was slippery enough to make at least two defenders miss - and even then it only worked about 40% of the time. How much sense does it make to give the ball to the running back at a dead stop 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage? Does that sound like a recipe for success to you?

Kerry Joseph picked up this year right where he left off last year - trying hard to overthrow Jason Armstead on the game's first play - only to be foiled by Armstead's 4 foot vertical leap and 5 foot arms (although I'm still not convinced it was a catch). The only touchdown of the game came when Joseph made a nice play to avoid the Montreal pass rush and then hit Henri "Jackie" Childs (listen, I know it's actually Jackie Chiles but are you really going to nitpick over this?) behind a disinterested Montreal cornerback. It was a really accurate throw on the run but let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. The ball had such phenomenal spin and trajectory on it that on its way down the ball almost looked like it was going to start moving backwards.

I'm not trying to discount what the Riders did in Montreal on Friday night, a win is a win, especially in Montreal. However, I'm not hating on the team for no reason, there definitely are some problem areas that I see.

All I'm saying is that before you put a deposit down on your home playoff tickets, lets see how the Riders stack up against teams like B.C, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.