As you no doubt know,  today is April Fools Day. Now each year various news outlets and  message board posters make up a bunch of ridiculously false stories in  an attempt to get people in a frenzy. It’s surprising and somewhat  saddening how often it still seems to work. I however realize that my  devoted readers are above such shenanigans. 
I mean I could have posted headlines such as:
- Riders sign Jesus to Fill Void Left by Andy Fantuz
- Rider Prophet is endowed with an eleven inch penis
- James Johnson to be inducted into the Plaza of Honour along with Jim Daley and Jason French.
But clearly you would  have seen right through these lies. I mean if Jesus were to play sports  it would as a goaltender in the NHL since everyone knows Jesus Saves.  Admittedly, the Rider Prophet’s manhood is not eleven inches… its 12 and  a half but who’s counting? As for the last one, while I’m fairly  certain that the hollowed ranks of the Plaza will not be sullied by  Daley or French, it’s sadly very likely that there will come a day when  James Johnson is honoured as being among the greatest Riders in the  history of the franchise. Part of me will die that day. 
Anywho, now that the  obligatory April Fools commentary is out of the way let’s turn our  attention to the actual news... and by that I mean my Random Quasi-Coherent Thoughts on what’s going on in the sporting world.
- The Riders have  signed former Eskimo DL Dario Romero (2 year deal worth $80,000/season)  to fill the void left behind by the departure of Chunky. At the ripe old  age of 32, Romero is a short term solution but the price is right and  he’s a proven force on the interior of the D-line. If it wasn’t clear  before that Greg Marshall has a different philosophy about the D-line  than Etch did, it sure is now. While Marshall is bringing in big guys  like Curious George and Romero, Etch would likely have openly discussing  converting Tad Kornegay and Weston Dressler to defensive tackle.
- A big trade went down this week as the Bombers shipped QB Steven Jyles to the Argos in exchange for a 1st round pick in 2011 and a 4th  rounder in 2012. Now I realize that the Bombers are almost barren of  Canadian talent and desperate to restock the shelves but it would seem  to be an unwise move to trade away your only experienced back-up when  your starter has never come close to completing a season. They are  unwisely placing all their eggs in the Buck Pierce basket… and if  history is any indicator the handle of that basket will likely break off  when a slight breeze rolls in and the bottom will collapse during a  routine stroll. 
- As much as the  Argos needed to do something to address their embarrassingly awful  passing attack and as much as Jyles is an improvement over Cleo Lemon,  its not like this is a miracle pill for the Argos either. For one, the  Argos still have the least intimidating group of receivers in the CFL.  Not to mention the fact that Jyles is coming off shoulder surgery and  only recently began throwing again. Cleo Lemon had offseason hand  surgery and still isn’t throwing the ball yet, meaning that Dalton Bell  is currently their only healthy QB.
- There is a very real chance that there could be bidding war between these 2 teams for Michael Bishop by Labour Day.
- The March Madness  finals are right around the corner… but as with most years my bracket  has been thrown in the trash at this point so I really could care less.  Well that’s not entirely true, I still have a chance to win some money  if there is somehow a double disqualification in the Kentucky/UConn  game. Sadly this marks the most successful Prophet bracket ever.
- After 347 pre  season games, the Major League regular season finally opened this week. I  can barely contain my excitement as we are only a mere 4825 games away  from determining which overly rich team will be successful in buying a  pennant this year. It’s a wonder this game doesn’t attract more fans  with drama like that.
 - Baseball has the steroids scandal, hockey has the whole headshot controversy, the NFL has a lockout… I never thought I’d see the day when the CFL was shining beacon of normality in the sporting world.
Dont lose hope and resign yourself to the James Johnson Plaza entry. Paul Henderson isn't in the hockey HOF depite his big goal.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the same will happen and outside of the 2007 team picture, he will never make it
I guess we can always dream.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that would make Johnson's induction into the Plaza something I could take is if Dinwiddie did his induction speech.