Monday Morning Sentimonies: Random Thoughts

Sorry about not posting last week. I hope you have recovered from the emotional damage of my brief absence. I went down to Minnesota last weekend for a T-Wolves and Vikings game.

The trip was great… at least for me as a Vikings fan. They were so inspired by my presence that they won 31-0. My travelling companion who is a big Commanders fan has a very different view of the game. He spent a lot of money to see Jayden Daniels get hurt and not see a solitary point. Learned a few things while I was down there. First the Vikes have a “raffle” not a 50/50. The reason its not called a 50/50 is because it is in fact a 60/40 with the winner getting 40. The way economy is going an actual Hundo/Nundo may occur in my lifetime. 

Also the Timberwolves have an outstanding in-game promo called Bricken’ For Chicken. If an opposing player misses back to back free throws the whole crowd wins a chicken sandwich. Man did that crowd get amped up for those free throws. We actually saw Bricken’ for Chicken hit as a Clipper missed 2 free throws. The building erupted. It got me thinking that the Riders need an equivalent promo. Maybe Missin’ for Mission where missed FGs win you ski passes to Mission Ridge. Or Doinkin’ for Donuts. 

On to Rider news…

In what was the least surprising occurrence since the Command Centre getting a call wrong, Trevor Harris is coming back for one more. It was pretty clear in the days following the Grey Cup that he was not done playing. Coming off a season where he stayed mostly healthy and had a great year both statistically and in terms of accomplishment why not? We were in some trouble at QB if he didn’t come back so this is great news. As an added bonus Tommy Time is coming back as well. We know he is a stud is short yardage. I will be curious to see if he gets a legit chance to compete for #2. Question will be if Maier also comes back. He owes it to himself to see what else is out there in free agency but honestly with no starting jobs open he may opt to stay in a pretty good situation here backing up an old man. 

With QB secured the question becomes, what’s next? Championship teams have 2 key elements: they are strong in the trenches and have great Canadian depth. So that makes OL, DL and Canadians like Emilus and, Campbell Allen priorities. 

On the O-line we are currently sitting pretty good. With Hardrick back we have both starting tackles and our Centre locked up. We also have Fry and Johnson as well as our draft pick from last season who was just the top lineman in U-Sports.  

D-line will be interesting. Individually I love all our original starters (Carney, Micah, Rose, Ray) but they are all old. And the risk with “running it back” is getting old. Colonel Sanders is a big one for me. Him and Saad can be a strong interior if we want to go younger. 

Dhonte Myers has had 3 NFL workouts so far (Minnesota, Chicago, Denver). As much as I don’t want him to go, it would not be the worst thing for him to go down to an NFL camp and come back in September. Less of a hit to sign him for half a season than now. 

That’s it for today. Your homework is to  make suggestions for our Bricken’ for Chicken equivalent.

17th Annual Rider Prophet Awards

As we do every season, we end the year by presenting the infamous Rider Prophet Awards. Recognizing all that is hilarious, awful and otherwise noteworthy in the CFL. Longtime readers will note some changes to the awards. I have sun-setted a few of the old awards and brought in some new ones. It’s an overt attempt to try and freshen things up akin to a sitcom adding a new character. 

This year’s award winners will receive a congratulatory pat on the back... I blew all the prize budget in Vegas. 

Let’s get to the awards. 

Defensive Player of the Year

This new award will actually jointly honour a pair of players. Collectively these 2 did more to boost defensive statistics and big plays in the CFL than all defensive coordinators combined. I am talking of course about Zach Collaros and Chris Streveler.

These two threw a combined 27 interceptions and at one point during the season, somehow managed to rank #1 and #2 in the league in interceptions. For their perseverance and hard work, Collaros and Streveler as your inaugural Rider Prophet Defensive Players of the Year. 

Offensive Player of the Year

In a year where pretty much every story coming out of Riderville was positive, one player stood alone. Kosi Oneyka. 

Details have been hard to come by but somehow he did something so offensive to the team that he was released outright. Do you know how bad it has to be for a Canadian player to be released from a team that at the time was dealing with a rash of injuries to Canadians and desperate for anyone with the right passport? Whatever Kosi did… I hope it was worth it, because he picked a bad year to get kicked off the Riders. 

Quote of the Year

Following a loss in June Argo Coach Ryan Dinwiddie gave a press conference for the ages. You can rewatch it in all its glory below. The best part of it was when a reporter served up a softball question about the Argo defense making an interception to put them on the one yard line. Dinwiddie instead chose violence and responded “I thought new got beat up front. We got one of our guards at 280 pounds, I don’t know what he did all offseason”

Previous Winners: Ben Major, Craig Dickenson x2, Tom Velessi, Cody Fajardo, Dave Dickenson, Kavis Reed/Jacques Chapdelaine, Greg Quick, Solomon Elimimian, Ed Hervey, Joe Mack, Henry Burris, Eddie Johnson, Jason Clermont, Mike Abou-Mechrek x2

Play of the Year

I watch a lot of football so its rare when I see something that completely surprises me, or I haven’t seen before. In week 17 Trevor Harris accomplished such a feat. While Harris has received awards for his great play, I will be awarding him for a for more dubious reason. He gets my play of the year for managing to throw 2 interceptions in the same drive. That is not a typo. On his third pass of the game he threw a pick. The defender ended up fumbling to ball back to us. Two plays later Harris gave it right back. 

Never seen that before.

 Most Insulted Sports Figure

Nelson Lokomobo was trending to win this award for a second year in a row until he got hurt. For the first time in ages, my most insulted sports figure was not a Rider... just a former Rider.

I dolled out a lot of insults at the expense of Zach Collaros, almost as many insults as he dolled out INTs (but try as I may, I could not keep pace). I actually like Collaros and respect his accomplishments but the super petty part of me is happy to see Winnipeg finally get a dose of the Collaros that the Riders had.

 

Previous Winners: Nelson Lokombo, Craig Dickenson, Riders O-line, Riders Offensive Tackles, John Ryan, Brandon Bridge, Steve McAdoo, The Riders Secondary, Any Rider QB not named Durant, Pat Neufeld, Chris Getzlaf, Ryan Dinwiddie, Jim Daley, Michael Bishop x 2, Marcel Bellefeuille

Botched Call of the Year

I can’t even narrow this down to one play so I will just give this to everything related to the Command Centre (making them back to back award winners in this category). This is by far the worst aspect of CFL football today. There is no rhyme or reason for when they do or do not intervene. There is less than a 50% chance that if they do intervene they will get it right. It’s a sham and a mockery… a shamockery if you will.

Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year

This seems like the perfect segue from the previous award. You the fans have spoken once again and with once of the narrowest margins we have had in a while, the CFL Command Centre is your Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year. They received 37% of the votes. A clear sign that you hate them as a much as me. A rare case of democracy actually working.

I would like to acknowledge that we had a record high number of write in votes this year with the likes of: Stewart Johnson, Shawn Lemon, the Blue Bombers (for signing Demario Houston), Bob Dyce, and “the guy four rows down from us that was inebriated and shoving nearby fans, then refused to leave when security was called and had to be frogmarched out of the stadium by the police”

Previous Winners: Chad Kelly, Craig Reynolds/Jeremy O’Day/Craig Dickenson Garett Marino, Andrew Harris, Simoni Lawrence, Jason Maas x2, Cory Chamblin, Chris Jones, Jon Cornish x2, Henry Burris, Dwight Anderson, Mike Kelly, Jason Jimenez, Rob Murphy

Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year 2025

Next week we will award the 17^th Annual Rider Prophet Awards. The cornerstone of those awards is the Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year. The annual opportunity for you the fans to cast your vote and recognize outstanding achievements in the field of Douchebaggery.

Cast your vote on Twitter @RiderProphet. I also accept write in votes in the Comments below:

Here are this year’s nominees:

Chad Kelly – I feel the defending champion should have the chance to repeat… and its not like missing the entire season due to injury stopped Kelly from being a douche. There was his claim that he is a top 32 QB in the NFL and his social media post gloriously foreshadowing his triumphant return… that ever happened.

CFL Command Centre – Another repeat nominee from last year. From there insistence on inserting themselves in calls that no one wanted them to, to their complete lack of anything resembling a coherent logic for when to intervene and whether or not to get the call right. Not much unites Canadians these days but our universal hatred of the Command Centre certainly does.

Micah Awe – The dirtiest player in the CFL and its not even close. I can only assume he has embarrassing photos of top league execs because he continues to deliver illegal hits with impunity knowing the worst we will get is his 20^th consecutive fine. I think we owes the league some money for his hit in the WSF that was once again glossed over.

Shawn Oakman – When the words “threated”, “sexually explicit material” and “child” all make it into the one sentence outlining the wrongdoings that more than enough to warrant a nomination. 

Other – Leave your comments below or on Twitter

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Elation in Rider Nation

It has now been over a week since the Riders won the Grey Cup and this province (myself included) still remain firmly entranced in the championship glow.

Look, Grey Cups in Saskatchewan are a big freakin’ deal! The only other award we tend to get is for being the murder capital of Canada. So you’ll have to forgive us if the party drags on for a while. We have gone decades between them so we got a lot of celebrating to get in in case it needs to tide us over.

One group who is not taking this particularly well is Bomber fans. I get it. Watching your most hated rival win a Cup on your home turf while your team has been out of it for 2 weeks is painful. Had the Bombers won here in 2022 no amount of whiskey would have drown my sorrows (though I damn sure would have tried). But just shut up and take your lumps rather than drawing further attention to how butt hurt you are by trying to hurl terrible unsolicited insults. Topping the list is “You only have 5 championships ever”. This is true but we have the same number of Cups as you since 1990 and more since 2000. No one really cares that you were good in the 40s and 50s. Another popular retort is that “there is no shame in getting to a lot of Cups and losing”. There most certainly is. No one looks on the Buffalo Bills of the 90s as anything but an abject failure. Second place is just the first loser and boy do you know how to lose Cups (more than anyone in history). But if you really want to see a Bomber fan’s logic fail apart and start frantically trying to move the goal posts on the argument tell them “Ok if losing a Grey Cup isn’t a big deal then really the Bomber should be mocked more for 2009 than the Riders because we at least made the finals right?”  

I know there were many idiot Rider fans in the 2 years that Winnipeg won the cup who could not take their butt-hurtedness with any form of dignity but we won this year so we get to celebrate and make fun of you. If you would just quietly skulk in the corner, we’d leave you alone and thank you for hosting a great Grey Cup. But when you attempt to wade into things are start trying to bring us down you just come across as desperate.

We get a few more weeks to enjoy this before reality hits us… everyone but like 5 people on this team are pending free agents. O’Day has a ton of work to do if we are to have even a chance at the first ever repeat in franchise history. But now is not the time to panic. The fact that no one is signed also means that we have a ton of money to sign people with. There is going to be some really tough negotiations and decisions coming up. Myers, KeeSean, Baldonado and Colonel Sanders are coming off rookie deals and have definitely established themselves of players worth more than league minimums. Emilus and AJ Allen deserve to be paid like the top end Canadians they are. Championships, a great coach and a winning culture help attract people here but players aren’t charities.

Expect a few small time Canadians to sign in the coming days. Also Expect Harris to re-sign before Christmas (its so a done deal). Everything else will need to wait until the Salary Cap year resets Jan 1.

As always, the Rider Prophet is here to help get you through the long offseason. We are starting our offseason coverage with the notorious Rider Prophet Awards headlined by the Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year Award. Voting starts tomorrow. So be sure to let you voice be heard.

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.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Closing it Out

Riders 21 – BC 28

Only in the CFL could I manage to get angry about the results of a meaningless game. Simply put the Riders beat the Lions on Saturday… but they could not beat the refs. We had a touchdown taken off the board by a whistle blow so prematurely that the call on the field qualified for admission to the neonatal care unit. The Command Centre also made their habitual Rider-hating appearance to overturn a called incompletion despite a lack of clear evidence giving BC a TD. Was it a completion? Maybe but I don’t believe there was sufficient evidence to overturn the call on the field. The refs also somehow managed to miss this:

 

I firmly believe and keep trying to say there is no ref conspiracy against the Riders but refs keep piling on evidence to the contrary.

Do I care at the end of the day that we lost? No. But its frustrating when the number 1 thing fans ask for is to fix the command centre and officiating and the League responds by reconfiguring the fields instead. 

Tainted results aside you have to feel pretty darn good about that game as a Rider fan. When our starters we’re in, we were clearly the better team… well as long as you ignore that first play on defense where Campbell made no effort to move to cover his guy and Field channeled his inner Junior Mertile in his tackling effort. Even when we started rolling with our back-ups BC was only marginally better than us. 

Offensively Harris looked sharp going 10/11. While its entertaining to see Lamar Harris outrunning defenders, we were all pleading for him to slide about 4 yards sooner. Shaefer-Baker had a hell of a half and is clearly ready to go for playoffs. He made some very difficult catches. Him taking a drink of Gatorade from the BC sidelines was pure entertainment. The O-line kept Harris clean and even the back-ups did not give up a sack until the 2^nd half. The Riders did not punt until the 3^rd quarter. This was BC’s starting D with a home playoff game on the line and despite missing our 3 top receivers, we we’re able to move the ball on them. Jack Coan is doing really well on sneaks. Tommy Stevens must have been dying on the sidelines. If he got some of the holes that Coan got Saturday he would have score 2 long TDs. Given how well Coan was doing, the decision to let Maier run a sneak which resulted in a fumble seems all the more questionable. 

Defensively other than that first play where we were clearly asleep, we held the much lauded BC offense (with all their starters) to a whole lot of nothing. The line was getting great pressure and managed 2 sacks against a BC line that has given up the least sacks all year. Hell the golden child of the CFL even managed to throw a pick to Lokombo. Do you know how bad you have to be to be one of 2 people in the history of the CFL to throw a pick to Lokombo? Ironically the only other document instance was also BC. VA threw one to him in the playoff game at Mosaic. Should BC end up here in the West Final I may need to see if I can find a Lokombo anytime INT prop bet just in case. 

Special teams was a mixed bag. It was refreshing to have a kicker come in and just do his job. Hughes not only eclipsed the non-existent bar established by Campbell Fair but nailed it every time he was called on. Nice to see Alford get the all-time Rider record… though I’m lying if I say I truly believe he has one more return TD left in him. Coverage team had some issues. Mirco had one boomer and a couple so-so kicks. 

Overall the game was a success. Our starters got some quality reps in. We emerged relatively healthy. And we sent a message to divisional opponent that we finished first for a reason. We now have 2 full weeks to get ready for the West Final. The regular season was a big success and our reward is being one home win away from the ultimate goal. 

Other random thoughts:

-        It was a predictably small crowd but kudos to those that came, the stadium was loud relative to the number of people there.

-        I would pay money to watch a video of the throwing motion of the guy who did the Toss the Rock challenge on loop. It was the football equivalent of Charles Barkley golfing.

-        Hair dye mat be able to maintain Rory Allen’s Elvis hairdo but it can’t hide the effects of time on his face.

-        When they do the Price is Right stats contest I have decided that I am more offended by the participants’ lack of knowledge of basic Price is Right betting strategy than I am of their lack of knowledge of the Riders or basic logic. We need some mandatory Bob Barker film study is school curriculum.

Riders vs. BC Lions: Regular Season Finale

Good news, I made it back from Vegas. Ate at the Golden Steer, saw a ton of great bands, rolled a lot of dice and came back with my pants on (much to the delight of pretty much everyone involved). Now I am refreshed and ready for the final push in the Riders’ season.

Saturday the 2025 regular season comes to a close with the BC Lions in town. I have no clue what to expect. In theory BC should stomp us as a win guarantees a home playoff game and while we will be playing starters we will essentially be treating this like the second preseason game. But if Calgary manages to somehow lose to Edmonton, BC might not care and be interested in resting their key players. Plus while I know BC is not as embarrassing as the Bombers, last week did show that anything can happen in the CFL. 

BC has come a long way since we last met in Week 7. We rolled into BC place and laid a whooping on them dropping them to 3-4 and 4^th in the West. Now they have become the hottest team in the CFL riding a 5 game win streak. Their last loss came against (check notes) Ottawa?!? They are powered by a strong offense. #1 in yards and points. The only team averaging 30 points per game. They have a so-so defense overall but a very strong pass rush. I am glad we get to watch this game in person as I could not stand 3 hours of Suitor verbally fellating Rourke. I know he is playing at a very high level and deserves praise but its painfully obvious that TSN is going over the top to hype him up. 

The goal for the Riders is very different than a usual game. Obviously we would love to win but the primary goal is get some quality reps for our starters to make sure they don’t get rusty with a bye week coming up and then play as many back-ups as possible in the back half of the game.    

Offensively Trevor Harris will step back in. He won’t have Myers, Johnson or Robustelli but Bane, Emilus, Baker, Ajou and Nield with spot appearances by Picton will be fine. I already mentioned that intimidating BC pass rush. They lead the league in sacks. Now is not the time to have Harris get acquainted with the turf. Establish a strong run game and make sure he is getting the ball out quick. BC has the #6 run D. In the last BC game Harris was the most aggressive downfield I think I have ever seen him. While I think BC still has vulnerabilities there, we can save that for if we see them in the playoffs. Selfishly hoping we find a way to get Bane a TD. 

Defensively it will be interesting to see how we configure the secondary. We are still letting Milligan and Sayles heal up but Lokombo and possibly Ford will be available. I am about as big a fan of Lokombo as I am of rolling untimely sevens at the craps table but getting Canadian starters back is important.  Odds are Rourke will feast on a secondary that is missing its best 2 DBs and has Lokombo playing his first ball in months. BC has the least sacks allowed (thanks in large part to Rourke’s mobility) so sacks may be hard to come by but need to see pressure from the front 4. Come playoffs winning the battle in trenches is critical. BC does turn the ball over a lot (6^th most in the league) so if we can get pressure there will be chances for that patchwork secondary or our rock solid linebackers to make plays. 

Really interested to see how the American kicker Hughes does. Gotta be a great for the confidence knowing that all you have to do is make one solitary kick (or even be close) to be way better than the last guy we auditioned. 

I don’t see Calgary losing to Edmonton so odds are BC will be going full out. I can see us playing them really close for the first half and then letting them run away with it in the second half as our priority switches from getting quality reps in to making sure everyone important is ready to go in 2 weeks. 

While I’m sure I will still find reasons to curse and be mad, I am looking forward to relatively stress free game in about the nicest weather you could hope for in late October.

BC by 2 TDs.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Riders 27 – Argos 19

If your response to the Riders clinching first place with a win on Friday is anything but elation then you come across sounding exactly like a rich teenage girl whose dad bought her a Lamborghini but she cried “I wanted the purple one!”. This is the best possible outcome of a regular season and you want to complain that we didn’t do it pretty enough? This has occurred 9 times in our 100+ year history. This is the 3^rd time in the past 50 years which encompasses the entirety of my existence. We are not exactly a franchise that has the luxury of waiting until we do things pretty. I assume people unhappy about how we got this first place finish were also unhappy when we won the Cup in 2007 because that game was pure ass. Being a Rider fan is mostly just signing up for pain… for god sake enjoy the few actual good things that happen. 

I hear lots of people bemoaning that this Rider team isn’t going to win in the postseason… you are right. But this Rider team will not be playing in the West final. Winning this game was so important because we now have 3 weeks to get healthy so that the best version of this team is ready to play in November. It gives a chance for our secondary to get healthy. It gives a chance for the guys who are playing through bumps and bruises to be at their best. I often complain that this team does things the hard way. Well this time they actually did the easy thing. 

There were lots of positives offensively. Harris was able to move the ball and avoid turnovers… well I mean he tried to turn it over but it mercifully got ruled incomplete. Sam Emilus is back! Big yards and big catches (that catch over the helmet was ridiculous). We should maybe run that slant play more. Last week Myers turned it into a TD. This week Emilus turned it into 50 yards. Should maybe try it a bit more. Minus the fumble Ouelette churned out hard yards once again as did Hudon. There were a number of miscues and we settled for FGs far too often but these last 2 weeks have made me feel a whole lot better about Harris and the O. 

Defense was a real mixed bag. They allowed just 19 points and only one TD so they did fine. The secondary was not awful. But the front 4 was completely invisible against a very weak Argo OL. That more than anything surprised me. The big positive is AJ freakin’ Allen. He is not getting near enough recognition for the level he is playing at. If he is not our nominee for top Canadian then the voters need to have their voting ability revoked. He just makes plays.

In the wake of Campbell Fair’s very brief and very tragic time as our kicker, Brett Lauther’s back magically healed up and he went out and had a perfect game. They did make it easy on him by never having him kick into the wind but he still did his job. If you want to see how much this team still loves him and believe him go watch to the end of this video where they hand out game balls. 

My final thought on the game is, how ironic is it that the thing that officially clinched first for us was the command centre intervening to help us... and getting it right?… did not see that coming.

The next two weeks are essentially a second preseason. The road game in Winnipeg is like the first preseason game where you play as many back-ups as humanly possible. The home game against BC you give your starters a solid half to make sure they don’t get rusty. Its great to have the luxury to rest guys while the rest of the West beats each other up. 

With the Riders clinching first place, I have decided to reward myself and my clear significant role in getting the team this far with a vacation in Las Vegas. Truth be told I was going regardless but much better to label it as a celebratory trip. There will be no game preview this week as I will instead be spending my time with a drink in one hand and craps dice in the other. 

One last note, as we do every week in Section 510, we played games for prizes. This week was the Pick 6 Challenge but with Argo themed pictures. Here’s the 6 pictures we were playing with. See if you get all the references

Riders vs. ArgoNots

The sentiment across the prairies this week has been decidedly “they can’t lose to these argos”… unfortunately its phrased more as a cautious question than a deeply believed statement. We should this game and I believe we will but honestly I can’t rule anything out based on how this season has gone. 

We are a win away from first place. Their season is over and 2 meaningless games stand between them and going home. We are 5-2 at home. They are 2-5 on the road. We have a team briming with talent. They have O-linemen that Ryan Dinwiddie makes snarky comments about their offseason regimen. Were it not for the fact that we are starting a preseason secondary they may have employed the mercy rule in this one. Fortunately the Argos rebalance the scales by conveniently starting a preseason QB. 

Look our secondary is a mess. No Milligan, Campbell or safety. I am still not sold that anything more than voodoo magic is holding Sayles’ lower body together. Fields is suddenly legitimately one of the best DBs we are fielding.. and that is not a compliment. Secondary is potentially an issue. But here’s the thing: Our front 7 can dominate enough to compensate. Toronto has no run game whatsoever (a miniscule 51 yards per game avg), they allow the most sacks and Jarrett Doege is how the French might say “le terriblé". There will be sacks, there will be turnovers. The main thing that worries me about Toronto is the chance that their unknown 4h string Horn might come in. Rider history is littered with unknown back-ups who made a name against us. 

While injuries may be testing the limits of our defensive depth, our offense remains relatively healthy (I don’t feel great typing this and am aggressively knocking on wood as we speak). Toronto’s D struggled when they cared and had Wynton McManis playing. They have neither of those now. We need early production like last week. Get them down early and then pound it at them with Ouelette and Hudon. You can’t manufacture “care” and Toronto doesn’t care. They are not going to stand up to 60 mins of physicality and aggression. They allow the most 30+ yard passes so take shots and get points on the board. 

This is a dream scenario. Friday night. Obsidian. Home crowd. All we need is one win against the second worst team in the CFL and we get first place and 3 weeks to rest before a West Final at home. We need to seize this opportunity. We don’t want to have to play meaningful ball next week in Winnipeg of the week after when BC is here. 

I feel very old man-ish saying this but “back in my day” we would have killed for even just a Friday night game. We would have killed loved ones for meaningful football this late in the year. And we would have pretty much crossed any moral, ethical and legal line for a chance at first place. Entire generations have not seen us finish in first. I have barely seen it. I am amped up beyond belief for this game and just paying that the football gods don’t summon an untimely gale-force wind to ruin this for us again. 

Even with a battered secondary we should stomp a team that doesn’t care. Therefore I boldly predict a victory but like a 9 point victory just because that’s how we roll. 

Get loud Saskatchewan. Lights out night with a chance a t first place. It don’t get better than that.