Burris Photo Controversy

By now I’m sure you have all seem this photo or one of the other similar ones of Henry Burris posing in a bra. The photos have been making their rounds behind the scenes for a number of weeks but they were finally thrust into the public spotlight this week.

There is a clear split in how people are reacting to the photos. Some people are trying to make a big deal out of it while others (namely Burris) are blaming Rider fans for trying to make something out of nothing.

Personally I don’t think it’s a huge deal. Who among us has not had an embarrassing photo taken of them? But what I find way more entertaining than the pictures themselves is Burris’ response. Pretty much every embarrassing photo has the same explanation: I was drunk. Had Burris just come out and said that he got super blitzed because he had had 3 sips of a wine cooler and next thing he knew he was being photographed in a bra the story would likely have just gone away. However, Burris’ actual explanation is that is was a “harmless birthday prank” that his wife knows about and that its Rider fans fault for try to stir up controversy.

Let’s take a closer look at each part of his “story”…

It’s Rider Fans Fault

So it our fault that Burris was stupid enough to a) put on a bra and b) get his picture taken while wearing it? This is the information age and you have to assume as a celebrity that any photo or video of you will likely be made public (this is why I will never ever be able to run for public office). Blaming us for the pictures is like Germany saying it was Poland’s fault they invaded them since there were conveniently located so close.

It’s A Non-Issue Because His Wife Knew About It

Bullshit!! If my fiancée saw a picture of me without my shirt on with a young lady who also didn’t have her shirt on, it would be an issue alright. In fact she’d likely murder me… or dole a punishment so severe that it would make Lorena Bobbitt look merciful by comparison. I can’t imagine too many women being okay with those kind of photos, especially when the excuse is a “birthday prank”.

Birthday Prank

What the hell kind of people celebrate a birthday by taking their close off and swapping underwear?!? I could maybe see that at a keys party but not a birthday party. I’d hate to see their version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Further more how do you “trick” someone into to taking their shift off and putting on a bra? Did Henry think they were just putting the party hats in the wrong place? I’m not sure it can even be called a prank when a guy willingly takes his shirt off, puts a bra on and smiles for an entire roll of film.

Based on the facts available there are only 3 explanations I can come up with for this whole fiasco.

1 - Burris is messed up and hangs out with people just as messed up as him.

2 - The Burris’ are swingers

3 - This was the beginning of Burris’ training to vie for the next drag queen competition (not there’s anything wrong with that)

I won’t speculate on which one is correct. As I said I could care less about the photos, I’m just entertained by Burris’ lame attempt to explain them.

This isn’t the first time that controversial pictures of Burris have surfaced. Back in 2007, in a Rider Prophet exclusive, the following photo of Burris was uncovered… and I personally think that what he is doing in this picture far worse than the bra ones.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Riders Get It Done On The Road

Riders 32 – Ti-Cats 25

Coming into this game I thought we matched up well against the Ti-Cats and should in theory be able to defeat them but given that the team tends to forget to pack their talent when they go on the road I was a bit apprehensive about our ability to turn theory into reality. In theory communism works… in theory.

The way the first few series of the game went had me convinced that we were about be treated to yet another horrific road performance. First we managed to let them score their a TD so fast that I’m not sure that the anthem signer had finished saying “we stand on guard for thee” yet. Then our defense followed up by treating us to a rarity in football. They managed to stuff the Ti-Cats 3 times from the 1 (which is an amazing defensive showing) yet still manage to give up a TD because we couldn’t grasp the simple concept of lining up without your fingers going over the big line of paint (I can only assume that these same people had trouble colouring within the lines). Needless to say at that point I was pretty sure that the only way that the Riders were ever going to win outside of Mosaic again was if the team were relocated and their home games were played elsewhere.

Fortunately unlike previous games where the teams’ talent was left at home, this time the talent must have just missed the original flight and caught a later one because in the 2^nd quarter something clicked and the team started to play up to their potential. Durant put on an aerial show (minus a couple ill-advised throws and that whole “fumbling when all we needed to do to win the game was not fumble” thing). Though Fantuz wasn’t the focal point of our attack (he did have an amazing one handed grab), the attention he drew from the defenders opened things up for Getzlaf, Bagg and Dressler whose TD catch was simply unbelievable. This was one of those rare football plays where Rod Black would have been right in his element. I mean a leaping circus catch into a triple barrel roll – TD combination is right up his alley. Though instead of talking about the TD he probably would have instinctually segued into a discussion of the marks to artistic merit.

To be fair, on the second Bagg TD he probably could have been called offside and he also might have got away with a tincey wincey bit of interference on the defender when he threw him to the ground. Maybe the refs were just too intimated by Bagg’s 150 man posse to penalize him for anything. Or maybe they were just fulfilling their weekly requirement of questionable calls (given how many if them there are week in and week out across the league I can only assume they have a quota).

It seems our offense has finally rediscovered the explosiveness that they started the year with.

Defense turned in a bi-polar performance. Some series they played great, such as stuffing Cobb on a 3^rd down gamble or forcing 2 big forced fumbles. Some series they were so clueless that I wondered if the trainers would have to start handing out velcro cleats. But in the end, they made big plays when they needed to so hats off to them for that. The combination of Glenn being a quick release passer and missing 2 starters on the D-line definitely limited the amount of pressure we were able to generate and the later clearly affected our run D. They did a good job of limiting Arland Bruce and they pitched a shutout over the final 20+ minutes of the game, forcing 3 turnovers in that time including James Patrick finally getting an INT that counts to end the game. I’ve liked Patrick ever since he first came to the Riders so to see him now developing into one the League’s premiere safeties is a real treat.

This win just goes to show you that there are 3 ways to do things. The easy was; the hard way and the Rider way… which is really just the hard way with a few more twists, turns, profanity and angina (which explains why Man in the Bush describes his approach to his love life as the Rider way).

The win combined with an embarrassingly awesome Calgary collapse (seriously at least Durant was touched when he fumbled… what was Henry’s excuse? Low barometric pressure?) leaves us just 1 game back of first place which, considering how things looked just 2 weeks ago, is pretty awesome. This team seems to be hitting their stride as we head down the stretch which is exactly where you want to be.

Other thoughts from around the league…

- Winnipeg sure has no killer instinct. You can point to questionable reffing all you want but this team has lost so many close games that they should have won that at some point they need to start looking in the mirror for the source of their poor season so far.

- That BC/Calgary was painful to watch at times. The game pretty much went: big return by Yonus Davis, 2 and out BC, McCallum FG, Henry Burris embarrasses himself and repeat over and over and over.

- The CFL should publicly apologize to the city of Moncton for subjecting them to the Argos for 3 hours. They have to wait this long for a pro football game in the Maritimes and they get stuck watching the Argos make the brutal Esks look like a decent team

13th Man Contest

Earlier in the week I told you to vote for me the Canadian Mint's 13th Man Contest... and if you haven't already done so you should go do it now (I'll wait)

http://roughriders.mint.ca/eng/contests/showentry/417664

However as I was browsing through the other entries, I came across one so good that I'm considering just conceding defeat. I simply don't know how I can compete with this. While I still think you should vote for me, if you vote for this guy I will completely understand.

http://roughriders.mint.ca/eng/contests/showentry/378858

Riders vs. Ti-Cats: On The Road Again

Saturday the 7-4 Riders travel to Hamilton to take on the 6-5 Ti-Cats. Both teams are coming off dramatic come from behind victory (though to be fair the Ti-Cats’ victory was aided by a blown reffing call and the repeated ineptness of BC). Outside of Edmonton and Winnipeg, the Riders boast the worst road record in the CFL having only managed 1 solitary victory on the road (which was also aided by the repeated ineptness of the Lions).

The roster could look very different from the last time we played. Some changes are being made because we want to, others because we have to. Under the “we want to category” is Joel Bell being made a starter again. He will replace Geno at tackle and Geno will move back to guard. This will approximately attempt number 27 to make Geno a guard. We have been trying to do it since 2008 but injuries always end up forcing him back outside (or in some cases to centre). With all due respect to Geno, Bell we be a massive upgrade at tackle due to his pure athleticism. Geno’s veteran savvy will be better put to use on the inside. The line played well against Calgary last week and should be even better this week. Also under “changes we want to make” it looks like Grice-Mullen will make his debut. If nothing else he will add speed to our return game… I say that because there really isn’t anything else he adds… other than maybe increasing our dreadlock ratio.

We will also be forced to make a couple changes due to injury. Hawkins and Chunky are both hurt so that means 2 DLs will get promoted from the PR. Though I’m still holding out hope that the Rider Prophet endorsed Ike Squared will make his debut it looks like Montez Murphy and Ryan Lucas will get the nod. Dang. Hamilton’s OL has been pretty solid so this group will have their work cut out for without 2 of their better players. Though since Jimenez has figured out how to intentionally injure players for the low cost of half a game’s salary I do worry about escaping this game without further injuries.

Coming into this season, I thought Hamilton was in for a big season. Given how bad they used to be, 2^nd in the East is hardly something to complain about but the general consensus is that the Ti-Cats should be doing better. Though they are a game above .500, only 2 of their wins have come against a team with a winning record and those 2 were against Toronto which can hardly be considered a powerhouse.

Their record is really quite amazing given their talent laden roster. Kevin Glenn is 2^nd in the league in TD passes. Arland Bruce is hands down the best receiver in the CFL. They have arguably the best LB group in the league and their front 4 is pretty good (and should only get better with the addition of Stevie Baggs). Many people will point to Marcus Thigpen as another star on there team… I will not. Thigpen went from the most underrated guy in the CFL to most overrated one in a matter of 3 weeks. Honestly what has he done since his monstrous first few games… the answer is be very average.

In terms of weaknesses, Hamilton has 2 key ones… well 3 if you include the fact their decision to invest heavily in Sandro DeAngelis has gone as well as previous high profile free agent acquisitions such as Kenton Keith and Casey Printers. Maybe Sandro just needs Eric Wilbur to beat the crap out of him so he feels more at home.

Weakness the first… Running Game. It is the worst in the CFL by a large margin. That is mainly due to the fact that people are finally realizing what I knew all along… DeAndra Cobb isn’t that good. I have no idea how he go it so many yards last year because he looked only slightly more impressive than Henri Childs. He is thus far averaging 60 yards per game. Admittedly Cates is faring only slightly better but at least he is a scoring machine. Plus Durant’s legs give our run game a boost. The threat of Glenn running ranks right up their with the threat of Nick Hutchins running a deep flag pattern in terms of things that concern a defense.

Weakness the second… Pass Coverage. Their secondary gives up a lot of yards through the air and there aren’t really any game changers in that group. That is where they are vulnerable.

Keys to the game are fairly obvious. Offensively we need to lean on Fantuz. We need to balance that by running Cates and Charles to keep the defense honest but the air is where we need to attack the Cats. Fantuz is coming off a career game but he second best game as a pro just so happens to have come at Ivor Wynne. Simply put good things happen when you throw to Fantuz… not only does he rack up the yards but it will also open things up for the other receiver (i.e. Dressler’s long TD). This of course will require a strong performance from our revamped O-line.

Defensively… For the love of god somebody cover Arland Bruce!! He pretty much had his way with our secondary last game en route to tying a CFL record. It was as if we were intentionally not covering him for how often he got open. That needs to change. Our pass coverage in general needs to be tight because Glenn is an accurate passer and Stala and McDaniel give him some legitimate options to work with. I’d add Maurice Mann but he needs illegal blocks in order to do anything of value.

After watching us go toe to toe with the best team in the CFL I’d really like to say the Riders should win this game. That said I have also watched all our other road games and for the most part they have been about as pretty as a Hamilton cheerleader. For some reason we just seem to forget how to be good when we leave Mosaic. Not sure if this is because the road schedule doesn’t allow our coaches their accustomed nap time or what. The Riders are a bad road team with a ton of roster changes facing a Ti-cat team at home that is generally intact. Logic would favour the Ti-Cats.

However, being a Rider fan for as long as I have you quickly learn that logic gets thrown out the window when it comes to the green and white. I think the dramatic win against the powerhouse Stamps will be the catalyst this team needs to take their game to the next level. Our pass protection is improving, our offense is showing some diversity and is starting to lean on our top play makers. We are making changes to address out weaknesses along the OL and in our return game. All signs that this team is heading in the right direction.

As usual we won’t do this the easy way but I expect a back and forth game that is decided late in the 4^th quarter. Much to the chagrin of my heart…

Riders by Darian Durant rushing TD

TJ Karwandy

Vote For Me

The Canadian Mint (some sort of up and coming candy company I assume) is running a contest to see who the ultimate Rider fan is. In a fair world, I would have just been anointed the winner. But thanks to "democracy" the matter is going to a vote. So you should do you prophetly duty and go and vote for me.

Contest details

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Still Undefeated At Home... Barely

Riders 43 – Stamps 37

Well we wondered about the Riders would respond after an embarrassing defeat... and based on how the first series went it looked as though the pitchforks and torches might be soon broken out. Fortunately the first play was not indicative of how the rest of the game would go... well except for maybe the last play of regulation but I will get to that in a bit.

I was impressed with how well the team stepped up against the top team in the league. I mean sure seeing how well they can play did make the loses to Edmonton and Winnipeg that much more unbelievable but let’s focus on the positive for now. After looking like a bunch of wimpy 7 year olds for the past couple weeks I thought the O-line played well. They weren’t perfect but at least they managed to give Durant a bit of time. Speaking of Durant he sure looked like the all-star QB we had become accustom to. When he took a big hit on a run at the end of the first Q to fight for extra yards you knew he was tuned in for this game. He used his legs well and spread the ball around pretty well.

Do you see what happens when we make Fantuz the focal point of our offense?? The man is a monster! If we had been using him like that before we would likely have had a more productive offense. Also, and this should come as no surprise to anyone, Clermont still good for more than just selling condos. He made some clutch catches. Also though I find it a bit excessive for a team that only runs their RB 10 times a game to have a change of pace back, it seemed to work out pretty well. That was a nice cut by Charles and an even nicer back flip. I don`t know where this explosive offense has been for the past month or so but hopefully it is here to stay.

I have no idea what the refs were looking at on that long pass that Dressler almost caught on the defenders back but the fact that they were too blind to call pass interference on that is ridiculous. Apparently the rules have recently changed so that its okay for a defender not to turn and look at the ball or make any attempt to make a play on it. It’s apparently okay to just have your back to the ball the entire time and screen the intended receiver... or at least its okay for Stampeders to do that. Ridiculous!

Defense had another good game despite having to endure a number of injuries. We contained Joffrey Reynolds and didn`t allow Burris to use his legs which is the key to beating the Stamps` O. James Patrick is now leading the league in INTs as well as spectacular INTs that end up getting called back. Poor guy.

This brings us of course to the infamous ``punt``. There seems to be two schools of thought on the controversial decision to punt for the win rather than attempt a 35 yard FG. On one side there is our coaching staff who feel that it was the right decision. On the other side there is me and the rest of the sane world. Seriously that was a dumb decision plain and simple. I wonder how that conversation went on the sidelines. I can just imagine Coach Miller going to Congi, "Luca, the game is on the line. How`s the leg feeling?" "Great Coach!" "Excellent! Go run over and tell Eddie Johnson he`s punting for the win."

While I realize that Miller may know a bit more about football than me. I will give you 2 pieces of information that illustrate just how ridiculous his decision was. 1) Luca has not missed a FG attempt from inside 40 this year. *** EDIT: Apparently he missed one last week. I guess I have subconsciously removed that game from my memory.*** 2)Eddie Johnson`s punt have averaged 43.4 yards. Meaning that the majority of his punts fall well short of the distance he needed to seal the game. If you don`t have complete faith in your kicker to hit a FG from 35 yds then you`d better be looking for a new kicker. That is a huge slap in the face of Congi. And given that he`s Italian that is likely to end up with a mob hit on you... or a horse head in your bed (if movies have taught me anything).

Fortunately the team was able to overcome the monumental gaff and win a thriller in OT. It was a great team effort against the top team in the league. We remain undefeated at home which is a good sign given that the Stamps have to come here one more time. The real test will be if we can sustain this type of performance on the road where we have struggled all year. For now though, hats off to the team on a great performance!

Riders vs. Stamps: Make Me Proud... Or At Least Less Ashamed

Well I have to admit its been awhile since I've had this kind of feeling about a game. You know the "I've got a bad feeling about this" feeling. Back a few years ago I had this feeling all the time but that was because we weren't that good of a team. But over the past couple years we have evolved into one of the better teams in the league and with that comes the belief that any game is winnable. It has been a rarity for me to be worried about a game.

This is one of those rare times.

Maybe its the fact that the Stamps are the top team in the CFL; that they've only lost 1 game; that their QB has thrown more TDs than anyone; that they have an elite RB, talented WRs and a great O-line; that they lead in pretty much every significant defensive category; that I've heard they sacrifice animals and drink their blood to gain strength for battle... there's plenty of reason to to worried.

But oddly enough, its these games that the Riders have historically stepped up big for. I mean sure our piss poor O-line is matched up against their furious front 7. And sure this isn't exactly the best match-up for our struggling offense. And sure our mistake prone QB may be victimized by the top team at creating INTs. And... wait... I'm not sure where I'm going with this one.

All pessimism aside I do think this is a winnable game and here's why...
- Burris has thrown as many INTs as Durant and our defense has been playing well so there will be turnovers. Patrick already has 2 INTs from Burris and this year and I expect that to increase.

- They key to stopping the Stamps is eliminate Reynolds and keep Burris in the pocket and other than last game our run defense has been doing very well.

- With the exception of Edmonton, the Stamps really haven't blow anybody out and we are as good or better than any team they have faced so far. they are no as invicible as their record suggests.

- Rob Maver sucks. Both on the football field... and likely off given the tendencies of some of the Stamp players (no that there's anything wrong with that).

- With Dorsey and Rodriguez out of the picture we now have competent kick returners and a receiver willing to fight for a ball. We have also sent a message that failure we no longer be tolerated.

Most importantly if you look our record this year you will see that we play like crap on the road (what? we do.) and play just good enough to win at home. We have yet to lose at Mosaic so hopefully the soldout stands will give the team the boost they need to break out of this rut and start playing like the elite team they should be. Another way for fans to help would be to run Doug Berry and Jim Daley over with a car on their way to the stadium. Not that I encourage vehicular assault... but let's just say if it were to happen I wouldn't be heart broken.

Clearly my mind says that the Stamps should win this game. But my heart is holding out the slightest hope that the Riders have another dramatic victory that almost sends me into cardiac arrest in them.

While I still feel that we have a chance to win and that the game will be way closer than most are predicting. I still say...

Stamps by 7