Tuesday Morning Sentimonies: Grey Cup Champion Edition

You’ll have to forgive me not posting on Monday morning. While I certainly didn’t go as hard as the players, I did have a bottle of 2013 Grey Cup Whiskey and a visit to the green mile to keep me from getting to bed at a reasonable hour. 

We did it!!! 12 longs year we waited for this moment and man oh man was it sweet. When the clock hit zero (with a brief pause to make sure Bradbury didn’t rain on our parade from the command centre) me and the whole province erupted. 

As expected it was the defense that lead the way. Four turnovers, none bigger than the goal line forced fumble by Campbell that Sayles recovered. They held Montreal under 20 points. Other than a bust in coverage in the secondary (cough, Fields, cough) they really did not allow much. Marcus Sayles had a monster game. It’s amazing how good he his when his lower body is not held together by duct tape and horse tranquilizers. Remember that he is a Rider because BC didn’t think he was talented enough and cut him in training camp. Thank you BC. Baldonado is growing into an impact pass rusher in front of our eyes. A fitting way to end the season for a defense that has been so good all year. 

The big difference is that offense didn’t leave them high and dry. They scored early and kept scoring and against a stingy D. O-line kept Harris so clean he didn’t even need to wash his jersey. No turnovers. They made mistakes, we didn’t. I was fully expecting a struggling Harris game. And yes he certainly tried to throw a pick 6. But he didn’t. And other than that he was really dialed in. Nice to see us Myers involved (good things happens when he touches the ball) and Emilus is just a flat out stud. 

Also credit to the coaching staff. Called a great game, particularly on O. Made great in-game decisions like that challenge of pass interference. Last year we saw a lot of potential but a lot of mistakes from Mace and his crew. This year, they looked like seasoned vets. They also drink beer like seasoned vets, another plus in my books. 

This was a really weird year. All season you had the feeling that they were building something special. All season they remained atop the league. But at no point were they dominant or did they feel like they were certifiably the best. 

Standing amid hundreds of fellow Rider fans at Albert and Vic singing song after song in unison is when it really hit me. We won! Nothing brings this province together more than the Riders winning and Grey Cup wins here are so special because they are so rare. It’s refreshing to end a season just feeling content. Not angry. Not disappointed. Not hopeless. But happy. Drink it in Rider Nation. The Cup came home and we could not be prouder of the team that put in the work to make it happen.

I would like to point out that in the 96 years this team existed before the Rider Prophet came onto the scene we had just 2 total cups. Since my arrival we have won 3, more than the entirety of before. I know correlation is not causality… but times are certainly better during the age of the Prophet. 

Grey Cup 112: Riders vs. Alouettes

It has been 11 long seasons since I have been able to write a post this important. I don’t know if you’ve heard but if you have a been a Rider fan long enough you will know that 11 years, that’s enough. If you do not understand this reference then it is your duty as Rider fan to pause now and go watch this video… I’ll wait.  

2013 was the last time the Riders appeared in the Grey Cup. For context back then there was no Tik Tok, the Ottawa RedBlacks had yet to play a single game, Winnipeg was in the East division and Micah Johnson was a spry young rookie just starting his CFL career. 

On Sunday the Riders have a chance to raise the Grey Cup for just the fifth time in their 100+ year history. To say it’s kinda a big deal would be like saying air is kinda important to sustain life. 

These two teams played twice in the regular season but the results of those games are as meaningful as my season pass to Maxwell’s Amusement (kids ask your parents). In the first one the Rider pummeled a depleted Alouettes team and the in the second one the Als pummeled a depleted Rider secondary… mostly Exume. This will be the first time this season these teams face each other at full strength. 

The story of the Als is they go as Alexander goes. They are 10-0 (including playoffs) this season when he starts and 3-8 and he doesn’t. So the key to victory is clearly murdering Alexander. I’m kidding I do not promote violent crime. That said if he were to be kidnapped for the day and safely released Monday it would not be the worst thing. 

While many are focusing on the QB story, for me the bigger factor in this game is defense. This game features the best two defensive units in the CFL. Both loaded with playmakers at all positions. Both stingy in given up points. 

Let’s start with our defense. They are the reason we are here and if we win it will be because of them. Its no secret what Mace’s defensive strategy is. Stop the run, force long drives and get sacks and turnovers. I think that plays well into this match-up. Als had the second worst running attack this season (I know we are all shocked that Maas would ignore the run). That said, Stevie Scott has had an impressive playoffs so far and can’t be taken lightly. The big story is of course the health of Alexander’s hamstring. They say he’ll be fine. I say let’s make him prove it. If he’s allowed to stay in the pocket he can hide the injury. But if he’s forced to run odds of him tweaking it are so high Shawn Lemon is tempted to bet on it. He’s already tweaked it twice this season running. So get pressure and get him moving. He is not afraid to chuck it deep. 7 of his 10 TDs this season came on passes over 20 yards. We need to limit those big plays. Last week this unit shut down BC who presented similar challenges as Montreal but is arguable better at every position other than OL. I have faith in the Defense… maybe not Mace level, punt with no time on the clock faith, but pretty strong faith.

Offensively this is going to be a grind. The Als are very good on defense. #4 in points allowed. Least total yards allowed. Least pass yards allowed. Tied for most sacks. If you thought Harris struggled against BC last week, well buckle up. The Als have one primary weakness… their run defense. They were 6^th against the run in the regular season and the loss of Oakman only further weakens them. Now you could take the Winnipeg approach and only run your star RB 8 times against that weakness or you could play competent football and hammer them with Ouelette. In a grind out game he’s who I am leaning on heavy. Passing plays will be there but Harris needs to be careful with the ball. He can’t lock onto receivers or be indecisive or Montreal will eat him up. I would look to get him in a rhythm early with some short easy passes. We cannot afford to wait until after MGK plays for Harris to decide to play football. We won 75% of games this season when scoring 6 or more in the first quarter (its actually 100% if you exclude the final 2 meaningless games). The winning % drops to 60% when scoring 5 or less. We know the defense will start strong. Any kind of early offensive support is massive. Good things happen when Myers gets the ball so lets do that early. He can turn a short crosser into 6. Based on last game I would say lean on Emilus when we need a first down (assuming Keesean does not play). 

I unfortunately expect a script similar to the West Final. I do believe Harris can win a ring but he’s not going to look like a conquering hero doing it. He’s going to throw a pick early. He’s not going to score until the second quarter. The defense will once again need to keep us in this. This will be a low scoring defensive struggle. 

But we are built for this. We are healthier. Better rested. Deeper. I expect a strong second half where we out-grind the Als. Brett Lauther is going to have to make a kick that either absolves him of every miss ever or places him on a Paul McCallum story arc. I’m believe it will be the former. Harris may not be good as he once was but he's as good once as he ever was. He showed he can deliver when the stakes are at the highest (even if the stakes are only high because he could not deliver before then). 

In true Rider fashion we are going to find the ugliest way possible to do this. But as has been the case with this team all season, they are going to find a way to it. 

Riders 24 – Als 20.. with Ouelette as your MVP and Allen as top Canadian.  

I’ll see you at Albert and Victoria after the game.

Rider Prophet Grey Cup Prop Bets

What’s the point of sports if not to enable degenerate gambling? This quote is endorsed by Shawn Lemon, Shohei Ohtani (or at least his translator, wink, wink) and pretty much anyone involved in basketball apparently.  

With the Grey Cup coming up there will be many an opportunity to place bets. But we do things a little different around here. So here are my top 10 unofficial Grey Cup Prop Bets. Let me know in the comments what you are betting on:

 

1.     The amount of times the 2009 Grey Cup is mentioned during the broadcast – Over/Under 6.5

2.     The amount of times the more recent 2010 Grey Cup is mentioned during the broadcast – Over/Under 0.5

3.     The amount of times Glen Suitor finds a ridiculous segue to talk about Nathan Rourke even though he is not in the game – Over/Under 2.5

4.     Will there be a dribble punt? – Yes/No

5.     The amount of times either boner pills or adult underwear commercials air during the game – Over/Under 8.5

6.     In what quarter will Jason Maas waste his challenge on a 4 yard play that causes him a full-on emotional meltdown? – 1,2,3 or 4

7.     How long will the stupid in-game interview with MGK go? Over/Under 4.5 mins

a.     Bonus Question 1 – Will a significant scoring play be missed by the announcers because of said stupid interview? Yes/No

b.     Bonus Question 2 – Will Glen Suitor make a lame joke about being more of a country guy during said stupid interview? Yes/No

8.     Length of time of the longest video review? Over/Under 5.5 mins

a.     Bonus Question – Do they still get it wrong? Yes/No

9.     Number of babies born nine months from now named after the Grey Cup MVP if the Riders win? Over/Under 250.5

10.  Wild ass guess for the most obscure player who could win Grey Cup MVP (no QBs or star players. Think like ’07 James Johnson)

Monday Morning Sentimonies: All’s Well That Ends Well

Riders 24 – Lions 21

As Saturday’s game wore on, the list of grievances I had against the Riders just kept mounting. Receivers couldn’t catch. Harris slept through the first half. And the coaching decisions… I was about as big a fan of them as I was of Michael Bishop. But here’s the thing, all is forgiven because despite all that we found a way to win. Style points are as useful as a 2025 Winnipeg Blue Bombers home playoff ticket. I am so freakin’ happy! I can honestly think of no more fitting way for this team to punch their ticket to the Grey Cup than that monstrosity of a game. The 2025 Riders win ugly... but dammit, they win.

As we got closer and closer to kickoff, I was growing more and more concerned that the “Sellout” crowd was going to look like a preseason game. But the seats filled in way more than I ever expected and those that showed up brought the energy. For about 59 minutes of that game the team seemed to do its best to suck that energy out of the stadium but Mosaic was rocking and there’s no better place to be when it is. 

This win goes to the defense. They are the only reason we are where we are. They were the only ones to show up in the first half. They took the highest powered offense in the CFL and held them to 7 points through 45 minutes and 21 points overall (BC’s lowest point total since July). This was despite zero offensive support and having to overcome a turnover in our own end. And when the game was on the line and Corey Mace put his trust in the defense, they rewarded his faith by not allowing a solitary first down on the final 2 BC drives. That entire unit played their assess off and deserve a ton of credit. 

While it was mostly praise I heaped on the defense, it was mostly profanity I heaped on the O. I will say that the O-line did a great job of protecting Harris and winning the battle in the trenches. And early on when nothing was working AJ Ouelette was the work horse we needed him to be churning out big run after big run. The rest of the O… well they came through when it mattered most. Harris was utterly useless until after halftime. He was making bad reads, forcing throws and missing receivers. Now the receivers were doing him no favours by refusing to make catches for him. But when it seemed like our window of opportunity was closing they all stepped up. Harris delivered drives. Emilus was a flat out beast (likely was “randomly” selected for a pee test after the game). Myers came through big. And on a roster stacked with big name receivers it was Tommy Nield (an afterthought to most at the start of this season among the receivers) who stepped up when we absolutely needed a catch. The offensive performance was so ugly that all the rye in Saskatchewan could not have made it pretty but when Nield scored that TD all was forgiven. Coming through when it matters most is what counts. 

How ironic is it that our ticket to the Grey Cup was secured by the command centre making a ruling in our favour? 

I don’t want to dwell on it because clearly Corey Mace was right in the end. But I hated a lot of his decisions. Hated the decision not to go for it on 3^rd and short from midfield (it’s the entire reason you employ Tommy Stevens). Hated the decision to not run once from the 5 yard line. Hated the FG. Really hated punting it. There was a lot of really questionable decision making going on. But to his credit, Mace believed in his defense and the rest of team and in the end he was right. After a 12 year absence from the Grey Cup I am not about to get nit picky about how the coach managed to get us back there. 

As the fireworks went up into the sky and my heart rate started easing back down it set in for real… this team is going to the Grey Cup! Being a Rider fan is mostly about preparing yourself to be hurt or disappointed. So when a true happy moment comes along and the team delivers its almost too good to believe.  But believe it. 

Other random thoughts:

-        When the coin toss was done by Georgette Reed and she nailed it you knew it was going to be our night.

-        That poor guy who had to try and kick a frozen football 50 yards in front of thousands of people for the contest. I don’t think the real kickers would have made it. The guy’s kick got about as far off the turf as an O-lineman’s vertical.

-        Here’s my theory after rewatching the Hatcher TD. There was an obvious massive bust in coverage. To my untrained eyes it looked like Reavis didn’t trust Fields (he did spend a lot of the game yelling a him) and left his zone to try and compensate for Fields. The others assumed he was providing support over the top but he cheated too far to the other side of the field.

-        If it were a regular season game, Trevor Harris would totally have been pulled for concussion protocol after that big hit. I know it makes me petty but the fact that Betts’ injured knee kept him from playing every down after that seems like karma for hitting Harris’ head with it.

-        I have a bottle of 2013 Grey Cup whiskey just waiting to be cracked on Sunday to celebrate.

Riders vs. BC Lions: West Final 2025

For only the 9^th time in our hundred-plus year history and only the third time in the past 49 years the Riders are hosting the West Final. We played in one last year. We have not hosted one since 2019. We have not won one since 2013. This is a pretty big friggin’ deal. The stakes are higher than Ricky Williams in Denver (I am prouder than I should be of that line. Its witty on multiple levels). I am pumped! 

I am super pumped because it is on the verge of selling out. I legit thought we’d get 27,000. The prospect of a packed stadium amps me up even more. Now I can here some of you griping “but they gave away a lot of tickets” to which I say… good! I have been calling on the Riders for years to do what it takes to pack the stands. The best marketing for the team is experiencing an exciting win with 30,000 other people. I assure you the Riders will get more marketing benefit from giving away a few tickets and packing the stands than all the Tikky Tokkies in the world could muster.

The narrative on BC is their high powered offense led by Nathan Rourke. They have won 7 straight game (including playoffs). They have been held under 30 points just 3 times since Week 6. (Though I will give you one guess as to which team held them under 30 two of those three times it happened.) The sweat from Nathan Rourke's brow could cure most communicable diseases. And the thing is, the narrative is true (well except the curing part, that is only true in Suitor’s world). They have a great offense. 

But I am not scared. For one, we happen to have a great defense and will be as healthy as you could hope for at this time of year. But also, we have played BC really well this year. Now when you look at the 3 games you have to ignore the first one because Masoli started at QB and letting him pass at this point in his career is akin to putting only 8 players on the field in terms of how likely it is to lead to victory. You also have to ignore the second half of the last game where we did not care or play any important players (and still had a chance to win). Last you have to ignore the 4^th quarter in the 2^nd game where we were nursing a massive lead and playing prevent. If you look only at the 5 quarters of meaningful Harris vs. Rourke play this season we outscored them 51-32. 

Now do I think we can take them lightly or that this will be easy on my ticker? No but I have a healthy confidence that we should not fear BC. 

I am glad to have our full starting secondary back (begrudgingly yes, even Lokombo), we will need them. But as always it starts up front. Rider football is stop the run, make them throw and pressure them until sacks/turnovers happen. That formula doesn’t change now. BC allows the fewest sacks (thanks in large part to Rourke’s mobility) so sacks may be at a premium but we need our front 4 to be disruptive. Hurry his throws. Make him move. Get some hits on him. For all his offensive stats, Rourke also finished tied for the league lead in interceptions. You know how much I have mocked Collaros for his inability to throw to the right team. Well Rouke is as error prone. Hell he even threw one to Lokombo. Remember?!? I honestly expect a ton of passing yards but believe the defense can hold BC to FG tries instead of majors more often than not. That will require limiting the big plays. If we can force long drives I trust our front 7 to impact things. 

The reality is despite our strong defense, BC will put up points. Probably at least 25. So the game really hinges on whether Trevor Harris can put up 30. If he does, I like our chances. BC leads the league in sacks but find themselves near the bottom in pretty much every other statistical category. 7^th in points allowed, 7^th in run D, second most big passing plays allowed. Rourke putting up 30 per game wasn’t just a luxury, it was a necessity to balance their defensive shortcomings. They have guys who can make plays but if we can get the ball out quick to neutralize the pass rush Harris can put yards up. We will have Myers (who put up 130 and 2 TDS last time he played BC), Emilus, Baker (who put up 75 in the first half in the regular season finale), hopefully Johnson. Pick your poison. Oh an even if you stop all them Nield and Busby can make plays too. More importantly, playoff football in the cold is exactly why you bring in an AJ Ouelette. Feed that man the ball and let’s be the hammer in this game not the nail (hammer, Ouelette, what another great display of writing by me). Him running hard or catching swing passes will open up so much for our receivers. One big thing is we need our offense to capitalize when the D gets a big play. Too often we fail to score off turnovers. This is the two best teams in the West you can’t miss opportunities to make a team pay as they will not come often. 

Special teams advantage probably goes to BC as they have the best kicker in the CFL and we have a kicker (I think). Our kick coverage and return game probably level the field a bit. We do have the advantage in discipline. BC took the most penalty yards in the regular season. If we can stay disciplined it gives us an edge. 

Look, I am a faithful Rider die hard and I don’t ask much. Its been 12 years since we’ve been to a Cup. This is the best roster we have assemble since then. This is the healthiest and most rested a team could hope to be. This is our chance. Please let us be happy. Once a decade does not seem like asking too much. I’ll do my part by using Rye as antifreeze and screaming my lungs out. The team just needs to do theirs. 

Based on how this season has gone expect an ugly, frustrating, closer than it should be game that brings you to the brink of either crying or punching someone/something. But I believe in this team and I believe that while BC is used to smoking the green, on Saturday the Green will be smoking BC. 

Riders by an Ouelette TD.  

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Bring On BC

For the Riders being on bye it was certainly an eventful sporting weekend. The Blue Jays’ magical postseason run came to a dramatic but heartbreaking end. It was shocking that it occurred in a city with such a good track record when it comes to game 7. Actually, what was shocking was that when Vladdy tempted fate by wearing an Austin Matthews jersey he had success but when he wore the jersey of someone who actually won when it mattered he did not… doesn’t seem fair. What does seem fair is the Bombers’ season ending by Collaros throwing an interception . Clearly he assumed that because he was playing an east team in November it must be time for his annual Grey Cup choke.

BC earned the right to travel to Regina this coming Saturday and honestly if I had to pick, I’d prefer to play BC. Watching the West-semi, BC played OK. Calgary just made too many mistakes. Calgary fumbled at a key moment, missed a convert, allowed a kick return TD and committed some of the most egregious clock management at the end of the first half that I have seen since Craig Dickenson was here (wait, where is Craig now?). Despite all of that BC needed a last second FG to win. I’m not saying you can take that offense lightly. They are dangerous. But they are beatable and the defense gave up 170 on the ground and 330 through the air.

If you watched the semis you no doubt saw the new league sponsorship by Mobil. They evidently paid for the right to have their name emblazoned as a tramp stamp on every player’s jersey. Now I am all for the league growing revenue and expanding sponsorship but I don’t really get why Mobil wanted this. Was there a boardroom discussion somewhere that asked “What do we want the first thing people think of when then they of Mobil to be?” and then some guy in a suit blurted out a little too enthusiastically “Athlete’s Asses!!!”  

The forecast for Saturday currently calls for right around 0. Honestly for November football in Regina this is about as good as you can hope for. And a little rye will take the edge of the coldness right off. So let’s get out and pack the stands. This is one win from the Grey Cup. I don’t know if you have followed the history of this franchise but we don’t have many Grey Cups. To be this close to another chance is a friggin big deal! Let’s pack the stands and scream until our voices give out. 

I am pumped. My robe is hanging and ready to be donned. It’s playoffs on the prairies baby!

Random Quasi-Coherent Thoughts: Bye Week Edition

With the Riders enjoying a bye week, we get the rare chance to pause and reflect on the regular season before the anticipation/crippling stress of playoff football sets in. In no particular order here are some thoughts I had as I looked back on a successful 2025 regular season. 

-        Corey Mace deserves credit for his growth as a coach. You could tell from day 1 he was the right hire but he made a lot of game management mistakes in his rookie year. I’m not saying he was perfect in year 2 but you could tell her learned from his mistakes and a better coach overall this year.

-        Once again you could triple the salary we are paying OL coach Edwin Harrison and it would not cover the value he brings to this team.

-        Last year many were questioning why the Riders bothered brining in AJ Ouelette. This season was why. Very few highlight reel plays but a consistent workhorse who got it done all season when it mattered. Also he just drives around town in a jacked up half ton full of dogs… he was clearly meant to live in this province.  

-        We openly worry about Harris’ age and durability but only 2 QBs started more games than him this year (one of which was old man Mitchell).

-        In back to back years O’Day has managed to find a new left tackle (Reid last year, Collins this year), that’s impressive.

-        KeeSean Johnson was 4^th in the CFL in receiving yards and 3^rd in receptions despite missing 2 games.

-        Can we put some love on Jorgen Hus? He is so good at what he does we pretty much forget he is even out there.

-        Speaking of putting some love on… AJ Freakin’ Allen! People rightly praise Cam Judge for his outstanding play and being arguably the top Canadian LB in the league. Allen was better than Judge in every single statistical category except tackles for a loss. Allen started as a special teams plater and excelled at that. So we gave him some rotational reps on D and he excelled at that. So we made him a starter and low and behold he excelled at that. Based on his track record we should let the guy kick FGs.

-        Micah Johnson has more sacks since turning 35 than many guys do in the entirety of their 20s. He is like the old fridge in your parent’s basement… it will outperform and outlast anything coming onto the market in the past 5 years.

-        If the CFL Commissioner wants to endear himself to the fans all he has to do is abolish the CFL Replay centre. Coaches challenges and scoring play reviews only. That or allow a live 2 way mic into the command centre so we can hear what they say and they can hear us curse at their failures. 

As for this weekend, while I think both home teams should win I can’t count our Calgary or Winnipeg. In the West I would much rather play BC. In the east I would much rather Winnipeg be put out of their misery early and emphatically.

Enjoy the bye week.