The Saskatchewan Roughriders are 1-and-6 overall and 0-and-4 at Mosaic Stadium after a flattering 45-35 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night. The fan base is wildly upset. There are calls for just about everyone to be fired.
Instead, I'd like to see how a good old fashioned benching works. When the jumbotron flashed the starters on offense Friday night, there was only 1 change from the first game of the year: Wes Cates was out and Hugh Charles was in at running back. This change was not one based on performance, but on injury. I think it's time to sit down about six players and let them watch for a game. The results couldn't possibly be any worse. Kent Austin did this very thing to Andy Fantuz in 2007 and it worked like a charm. One has to wonder if the same effect would be had on Chris Getzlaf.
One rule I'd like to see changed in the CFL is the 'no yards' call once the football hits the ground. It's almost impossible to stay outside a five yard radius from a returner who lets the ball bounce off the turf/grass.
I can't stand watching National League baseball. Sunday night, the St. Louis Cardinals pushed across a pair of runs with two outs in the eighth inning to pad their lead on the Colorado Rockies. Not wanting to take Octavio Dotel out of the game, the Cards let him bat and he was an easy out. Dotel is now 5-for-76 in his Major League career as a hitter. Can you really say you'd rather watch Dotel bat with runners on base with two out as opposed to watching a power hitting designated hitter?
Canadian Blood Services fell a little short in their quota for last week's blood donor clinic in Yorkton. If you've never given blood before, it's a very easy and rewarding process to know you are doing something small to help someone who may need blood. Yes, you get a needle. Yes, it pinches for about three seconds and gives an extremely brief feeling of discomfort (not pain and it doesn't hurt). Canadian Blood Services will schedule you a time, so there's limited waiting around. They'll also call you the day before the clinic to remind you.
I couldn't help but feel sadness upon learning of the death of former Warrant front man Jani Lane. Too often we look at the glamour life of a rock star and think about all the fame and fortune that it brings, but the reality is that a great number of these guys end up lonely and lost. Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) maybe summed it up best when he said the life of a rock star is almost the complete opposite of what we see as fans. When the party is over and everyone goes home, here's a musician sitting alone in his hotel room wishing he could be with his wife and kids.
I was happy to learn the man who was discovered passed out on the highway just outside of Fort Qu'Appelle on Friday afternoon is going to be okay. It turns out a guy who was sleeping along the white line had been walking from Canora (true story) and became severely dehydrated.
This week's Dave Zinczenko tidbit says that if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. He also found a study from Cal State that says too much social networking time (Facebook, Twitter) could lead to narcissism and anti-social behavior in teenagers.
A public congratulations to Darrel and Sharon Kawa, who became grand-parents last week with the birth of a grandson. A further congratulations are in order for proud parents Lane and Alison Kawa.
Nice person mentions this week to Dr. Trevor Hove, Justin Yawney, Anna Keewatin, Ashley Hagon, and Phil Decker.
