Saskatchewan Roughriders

The September 20, 2008 match-up between the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders certainly had its up and down moments. A once again sold out stadium, filled to above capacity at 30,945, got to witness possibly the most exhilarating game ever.

Minutes before kick-off, the Roughriders' organization honoured the loss of the legendary Ron Lancaster. The players wore retro jerseys, and had the number "23" added to their helmets. On the field, they added two circles; one saying "23", one saying "RL" (Lancaster's initials). There was a video montage of some of his greatest moments, followed by a moment of silence (except for a few un-respectful fans who decided to yell while we were all thinking about "the Little General").

When the national anthem was being sung, most people turned their attention to the Sasktel scoreboard. Everyone's jaw dropped when they showed an image on the screen, and then we all looked off to the south to believe it was true. On the SGI building downtown, all four sides of the building had the rooms lit up to perfectly show the number 23.

That feeling of sadness and gratefulness was still present at kickoff, but the anger and hatred was the more powerful feeling. As everyone knows, BC and Saskatchewan have the strongest rivalry in all of CFL (maybe in all of football in general).

Saskatchewan made a lot of mistakes during the game (such as the eight turnovers), some the fault of the players, and some probably the coach's fault. Darian Durant was not playing at his best, and Michael Bishop did not get to play much at all. It was no help that both Jeremy O'Day and Wes Cates were lost to injury.

The biggest disappointment was having the ball on the one-yard line, with a first down. Instead of trying to squeeze over the line on the third down, they decided to pass it off. Obviously, this was not successful. That was Saskatchewan's opportunity to take the lead in the game, and they lost it.

Another bad choice was with 1:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Riders were third-and-seven. Instead of going for it, they decided to punt the ball away. It made us fans upset, as it made it seem like they were giving up when even though they still had a chance.

The fans were peeved from the beginning, and the attitudes continued to get worse. There were stadium-wide chants of "BC sucks!", and other profane sayings that cannot be repeated.

The last straw was during the start of the fourth quarter. Saskatchewan had the ball in good position. There was a facemask by the BC player, which caused Saskatchewan to drop the ball. The refs ruled this a fumble. The stadium erupted, especially on the east side. The booing was so loud that you had to scream in the ear of the person beside you or they could not understand what was being said.

Ken Miller threw the challenge flag, and the booing/swearing continued during the review. The BC fans were taunting us, trying to show off that they had gotten away with something. When the review was still ruled a fumble, and the MaxTron replayed what happened (clearly showing the facemask again), the fans lost it. Something I had never even heard of before followed.

Us fans sitting closer to the field received a beer shower. Yes, beer. Fans from as high as three sections up began throwing full cans of beer at the BC Lions bench. Some of the players did in fact get nailed in the backs and arms. There was at least 15 cans thrown at them. Wally Buono panicked and ordered all of the players to run to centre field while they did a clean up. 15 or 20 security guards then came out and covered all areas of the field on the east side.

I can understand the anger, but that was uncalled for. It makes Regina look like a bad city, and I expect some form of fine to be handed out to the Roughriders organization because of it.

The screaming continued to be crazy afterwards, which is no surprise. BC came out with a 27-21 victory. The announcers though said something to lighten the mood, by repeating a quote from Lancaster, saying "You never lose, you just run out of time."

Unfortunately for the Roughriders, this means remaining only two points ahead of Calgary and Edmonton for first in the west.

A very touching moment was after the game was completed. The starting line up from both clubs all went to centre field. They played one of the video montages of Lancaster on the MaxTron again. Each player knelt down, took off their helmets, and bowed their head. It is amazing to know they can put aside their on the field hatred for each other and come together that way.

I spoke with Bishop after the game. He was of course disappointed with the loss, but he knows it was because of sloppy plays and those eight turnovers. Bishop was shocked by the fans throwing beer at BC, and felt disappointed. He said that Saskatchewan is much different than Toronto because of the chemistry.

In the locker room here, all the players have chemistry even after they lose. None of the other players were much in a mood to chat, and looked sad. So I give kudos to Bishop for still taking the time to speak with me, my best friend, and his co-worker.

I think feeling many different emotions in a game is rare—to go from sadness, to anger, to disappointment, and to honour. I hope that all other fans in attendance can appreciate the rarity. I know I sure did.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders drop to 8-3 after another very thrilling fourth quarter to the BC Lions. The Lions win the first of the home and home in a bad offensive struggle for the Riders.

If losing isn't bad enough, to make things worse for the Riders, during the opening kickoff, Roughriders defensive back Brandon Lynch broke his leg, making that the sixth broken leg for the Roughriders already this season. That's just over an average of one every two games!

It was really a defensive battle as there was only one touchdown in the first half and that belonged to Charles Roberts getting his first touchdown as a BC Lion. After a good start for Luca Congi going 3-3 for the Riders on field goals, the Lions lead 11-9 at the half.

The Roughriders had a terrible third quarter as they didn't score a point as the Lions hit one field goal set up by a Barron Miles interception to put the Lions up 14-9 at the end of the third.

However, we all know how the Roughriders can come back in the fourth quarter and instantly start out great and it leads to a victory right? I mean, they will surely do it again as soon as the fourth quarter starts right? Wrong. The very first play of the fourth quarter, quarterback Buck Pierce throws a 43-yard pass to Paris Jackson to take the lead 21-9.

After letting up another touchdown was when the Riders finally woke up and started playing. The Riders answered back the very next drive as Michael Bishop lead them through an 89-yard drive capped by a six-yard touchdown pass to Canadian slotback Adam Nicolson, which made it 21-16 Lions. But the Lions would not let this game slip away, with 3:24 left to play, Buck Pierce through a 77-yard pass to Geroy Simon to make it 28-16 Lions.

But just when we think all is lost, the Riders keep tugging at our hearts to give us false hope. With 2:35 to go, Bishop throws a 60-yard bomb to slotback Michael Palmer. The Riders capped the drive off with a touchdown plunge by Wes Cates on third down to bring the Riders within five with 1:46 left to play.

The Riders tried a short kick but didn't get it so it was there turn to try on defense. The Lions went two and out capped by an eight-yard sack by Maurice Lloyd to put the Riders back on offence.

So the Riders had one more chance, a possible game winning drive with just over a minute left at there own 36-yard line. Could they do it? No. Bishop was sacked twice and he fumbled the ball so the Lions went on kneeling and won the game.

"We knew it was going to be tough and we didn't play the way we should've early on," said a defeated Rider Ken Miller after the game. "We took penalties and threw behind our seocndary. We can't rely on fourth quarter comebacks."

Although they lost, I would like to throw a congrats to Wes Cates, who became the first rusher to break the 1,000 yard mark this season and to Maurice Lloyd who one defensive player of the game with one sack and a forced fumble.

After winning the first game of a home-and-home series known as the Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl, the Riders appeared to have lost the second game, but I'll tell you how the Riders were able to come back for the win in this thrilling game recap.

First Quarter

The offenses came out firing early on in the game and the Riders started off the scoring on the first possession of the game when Wes Cates capped a 65-yard, five-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run just 2:28 into the football game. It was Catesʼ league-leading tenth touchdown of the season.

The Bombers were able to come back on their very first drive of the game when tailback Fred Reid plunged into the end zone from the one-yard line. The Bombers then pulled ahead 14-7 when Terrence Edwards pulled in a 13-yard pass from Kevin Glenn.

Second Quarter

The second quarter was not a very eventful one as both offense's seemed to have cooled off. Neither team was able to score any points until very late in the half when Blue Bombers kicker Alexis Serna booted a 41-yard field goal.

The Riders seemed to have been getting something going late in the half when a illegal procedure call on third-and-inches forced them to punt. Fortunately for them, they were able to pounce on a fumble by kick returner Jason Armstead.

Michael Bishop was able to throw a 31-yard touchdown pass to rookie slotback Weston Dressler with just 39 seconds left in the half to make it a 17-14 game for the Bombers at the half.

You don't know what it is like until you try it—it is the best quote to describe being at the most important CFL game of the season—the Labour Day Classic (LDC), with the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

My method of attendance was not the way I dreamed.  Trying to sell the Game Day/Leaderpost programs was a real nightmare.  But the two hours flew by.

The hours were not the only thing to fly—the Snowbirds did, as well.  Very surreal!

By the time we found a place to stand it was already into the second quarter.  Before I knew it, it was halftime.  I was stuck along the wall on the north-east side of the stadium, so it was impossible to differentiate between the players.

I do wish it was a more offensive game.  Definitely nothing as crazy as the Banjo Bowl was.  But the intensity was definitely there, more so than I felt during my previous two attendances combined.

There was definitely both good and bad moments non-relating to the game play.

I was not at all impressed with the way we were treated by the staff.  When we finished working, we walked into the north gate on the west side, and stood against the wall.  The employee immediately came over and said we had to move. 

We squashed ourselves tightly to the wall; that apparently was not good enough.  She told us we could not stand there because we were blocking the view of those in the actual seats.  We were then physically shoved back, where we could not see the field at all!

The five of us were fairly peeved to say the least and quickly ran to the east side where we were welcomed with open arms.  Nobody cared that we sat along the steps, even as they walked past.  After the game, the Blue Bomber fans thanks us for sitting there.

Seeing the streaker was fun—especially since I exactly caught the entire thing on video with my camera!

I give kudos to all of the Blue Bomber fans.  As they were loading themselves back onto the buses they gave everyone high-fives, shouting "two-and-seven!"  It is nice to see they did not hold any actual grudge against us Roughrider fans.

I do not know if I will ever get the opportunity to attend the LDC again, but being a part of the record 30,945 crowd was incredible.  It was a day I will never forget.

Anyone needing clarification on how the Saskatchewan Roughriders managed to out-duel the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 34 to 31, need only look at the inscription on the back of each of last years Grey Cup rings... 

...Believe.  What HAS to be the Riders most exciting chapter in a long history is being completely ignored and discredited by Canada's football media.

For anyone just tuning in to the 2008 season and listening to the TSN broadcast analysis, the Riders had no chance at halftime.

The team that resides 550 kilometers east of Regina clearly lacks any of the reward earned by such a philosophy as belief.     

The only thing the Bombers managed to do was lead with their helmets (none of which were called), benefit from poor officiating, and fold as a team when the chips were down. 

At the final whistle the positives for the Bombers didn't matter as they hadn't even helped the CFL's all-time best receiver, Milt Stegall, get the official record even though he required less than 100 yards(he did get his name on street sign leading up to CanadInns though).  

On the other side of the ball, a raw rookie out of the University of North Dakota, Weston Dressler sure had a big day (6-199, 2 TDs).  It might be the last time he out-duels Stegall who remains in the twilight of his career in the CFL.  Welcome to the CFL in 2008. 

Speaking of 2008, human life-preserver Wes Cates had 14 carries for 92 yards and a rushing TD, proving with average numbers that while he is the leagues premier running back, he's not the only weapon available to new Rider number one (make no mistake about it) Michael Bishop. 

Those weapons include a cast of receiver purchased at Dollarama.  Manitobans will know what I'm talking about.  Good deals.

Dressler, Vincent Marshall, Gerran Walker, Michael Palmer, Henri Childs and Adam Nicolson aren't exactly candidates for people in your five (most frequently called numbers on your cell phone).

Bear in mind Bishop has produced his best game of 2008 despite these factors and despite having only participated in nine practices with his new teammates.

No excuses in Riderville.  Just heart pounding hard nosed never-say-die individuals that can almost kill you as a fan at times.  Clearly the CFL's "Cardiac Kids."

It was Joe Smiths first game in blue and gold.  The wind was strongly in the Riders favor in the fourth quarter.  The Bombers defense suffered a few injuries mainly to the line backing corps.  

So I ask you, when do the Riders arrive at their destination, if not now, as the CFL's best team?

This is an open letter to CFL media.

It is not unfair to say that some Canadian media utilize our fundamental freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression in a generally non-interfering manner.  

It is also fair to say the exact opposite.  

I'm about to go out on a limb that I am willing to bet most of you would join me on.  

The ONLY reason Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph could not co-exist in Toronto is due to the interference of some meddlesome CFL media.  

As a Rider fan, I was greedily loving it.  But I realize this now and I am quite frankly disappointed in myself.  It is just wrong.

Some people will actually believe players and coaches when they say they don't read the papers.  They ALL read the papers, some all of the time and some more selectively.  It is all about them.  Wouldn't you?

So this is precisely why the mental toughness the Saskatchewan Roughriders have demonstrated is the EXACT right fit for Michael Bishop.  He is ready to have vast improvement with an improved offensive line, tailback, and receivers once everything is back in order.

But there are still some bound to interfere and exercise their freedom JUST because they can.

That's where the preparation, not only for games but mentally as well, that GM Eric Tillman and Head Coach Ken Miller and his staff implement is unique.  

Through clearly the largest media microscope in the league, the Riders appear relatively unaffected by news stories about offseason free agency and trades, and this seasons injury woes.  

In the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s this type of confidence from front office to locker room was a feat accomplished only by the other clubs.  

But not this edition.  

They are more than capable of working through everything put in front of them until they achieve all of their goals.

The Toronto media might as well give up, because there is little or no way you are going to sabotage the destiny of this football club.

Bad news sells but not in Rider Nation.  If you are a Rider fan or otherwise, join us and if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all.

A much-needed victory two weeks ago and a much-needed bye last week have led the Bombers into their labour day match-up with the Riders this Sunday. 

The two teams are going in very different directions this season, but both are equally as desperate for a win. 

For the Bombers, they look to improve on their 2-6 record and keep pace with the rest in a quest for a playoff berth.  The Riders look to regain some confidence and re-establish themselves following two straight losses after beginning the season at 6-0.

A rematch of last year's Grey Cup, these two clubs have taken very different paths this season, but not the paths many expected. 

For the Bombers, following that heartbreaking Cup loss last year, they were expected to contend again this year with much of last year's team still in tact.  Instead, they have struggled mightily this year, posting a record of 2-6 with little room for error the rest of the way.

On the other hand, the Riders, following their Grey Cup win, went through a difficult offseason losing head coach Kent Austin and MVP quarterback Kerry Joseph.  With such key losses, not much was expected out of the Riders this season, but Saskatchewan has shown incredible resilience and unexpected power with an impressive 6-2 record to this point.

These back-to-back games are critical for both teams in the second half push for the playoffs.  For the Bombers, it's very simple: they just need to win.  And that is what they are going to have to do a lot of for the remainder of the season if they are to have any hope of making the postseason and returning to the Grey Cup. 

The Riders, after a terrific start this season, are looking to get back on track after two straight losses.  They will have newly acquired Michael Bishop in the lineup and will hope he can re-establish his dominance from last year that saw him post an impressive 11-1 record as the Argos' starter.

Doug Berry and the Bombers are fighting for their lives and must come out with the attitude that there's is no tommorrow—because quite frankly, that's what it's like in Winnipeg right now.  They cannot afford any more slip-ups because they have dug themselves such a deep hole that there is no room for error. 

The Bombers are coming off a very impressive 37-24 victory over the Ti-cats two weeks ago.  It was a game that saw the likes of Kevin Glenn and Charles Roberts break free from long droughts, Glenn throwing for an impressive 285 yards and a touchdown while Roberts finally broke lose to carry 23 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

The Banjo Bowl has allways been a heated matchup for these two prairie rivals, and this year will be no exception as they re both in desperate need of a win.  These clubs enter a critical part of the season now that will determine how they will fare in the final standings. 

CFL fans, strap yourself in for an intense roller coaster ride these next couple of weeks as these team leave it all on the line.

The big story to start the season was a six-game winning streak, but the big story has now shifted to the untimely injuries.

With so many injuries to the offense, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have been unable to maintain their success and have now lost their last two games. This includes a 27-10 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos tonight.

The game was tough to watch, with the offense unable to move the ball at all and the defense tiring from being on the field for so long. Here is a quarter-by-quarter recap of the game.

First Quarter

The game started off slowly, which was to be expected after two weeks off for both teams. The Riders' first possession was a two-and-out, while Edmonton was forced into their own endzone, ultimately ending in a safety by kicker Noel Prefontaine.

The Riders strengthened their lead with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Crandell to Weston Dressler, and punter Jamie Boreham made it 10-0 on the following kickoff after kicking the football through the endzone.

The Eskimos got a quick touchdown on a broken play when running back A.J. Harris ran 37 yards into the endzone, going the exact opposite way he was supposed to. The  Eskimos went into the second quarter only down by three.

Second Quarter

The second quarter started off with a Lance Frazier interception off a Ricky Ray pass, but the Riders were unable to capitalize after Luca Congi missed a 49-yard field goal kicking into the wind.

The Eskimos were able to take the lead this quarter on the strength of an eight-yard touchdown catch by Kamau Peterson and nine-yard field goal from Noel Prefontaine.

Third Quarter

The third quarter was relatively quiet as both offenses looked absolutely awful. The Riders got a scare as it looked like another important player, Maurice Lloyd, went down with a knee injury. Fortunately for the Riders, Lloyd came back three series later.

The Esks were able to get a 43-yard field goal from Prefontaine for the only scoring that happened in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter has been very good for the Riders this year, but today that was not the case. The Eskimos got seven points off of two field goals and a single while the Riders were shut out. Edmonton was able to score 27 unanswered points after the Riders started the game off very promising.

Crandell played absolutely terrible, going 7-for-24 in pass attempts for only 134 yards and one touchdown. He had been replaced by Steve Jyles when the expected happened—Jyles was knocked out of the game in the last minute. This made him the third quarterback to be injured this year and he will likely have to join Darian Durant on the injured list.

Something must be done about this losing streak. Sure, Saskatchewan has a lot of injuries, but only Chick is expected back soon while Flick and Fantuz should be available later in the season. The Riders must go back to their winning ways so they give themselves a shot at a repeat once their star players come back.

Injuries were the story once again for the injury-depleted Saskatchewan Roughriders as they lost two more key players in their first loss of the season, 30-25 to the Calgary Stampeders.

Offensive linemen Belton Johnson will be out six to eight weeks as he is the fourth Rider to sustain a broken fibula. Cornerback Omarr Morgan also left the game and did not return.

Both the defense and offense started off the game very poorly for the Riders and Calgary took advantage as they took a 23-4 lead going into halftime.

The Riders would jump out of the gate with a early 4-0 lead but it quickly went downhill from that point on.

Calgary came back quickly. On second-and-three from the seven-yard line, Burris dropped back. He was pressured and found an open spot in the line and scampered across the goal line to lead 7-4.

The Stamps would go on to add three field goals and a three-yard touchdown rush by Joffrey Reynolds after a Michael Palmer fumble gave them a commanding lead at halftime.

Calgary would also tack on another touchdown in the third quarter after Ken-Yon Rambo caught a nine-yard pass from Burris, extending Calgary's lead to 26 points.

At that point the situation seemed dire for the Riders, but they almost put together a fourth quarter comeback that would have been remembered for decades.

Saskatchewan began the fourth quarter comeback with Marcus Crandell connecting on a 52-yard pass to receiver Adarius Bowman to make the score 30-11.

The Riders' Renauld Williams then blocked a Calgary punt from the 27-yard line. The ball bounced into the end zone and Chris Szarka jumped on the ball for the major.

A Weston Dressler touchdown catch with just 2:24 left in the game made it 30-25 and it was then that a comeback seemed possible.

Unfortunately, the defense that played perfect throughout the fourth quarter couldn't stop the Stampeders from getting a couple of first downs and Calgary was able to hand Saskatchewan their first defeat.

Crandell completed 20 of 33 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. Burris completed 22 of 33 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown. He threw two interceptions.

Despite the loss, the Riders still possess a very good record at 6-1 and showed promising signs with their fourth quarter surge. They have a bye next week which gives them ample time to heal some injuries (Johnson, Chick) but they won't be getting any receivers back until the start of the playoffs.

Wow. 6-0. It's the first time they have ever done it, and just...wow.

The last time they were even 5-0 it was 1934 when they were the Regina Roughriders rugby team!

I have no idea how, but the Riders pulled out a 22-21 win in Calgary over the Stamps last weekend. Now they are going to have to do it again this weekend.

It might be easy since they will be at home and might have kick returner/receiver Weston Dressler and star defensive back James Johnson back. Unfortunately, they will be without full back Neil Hughes and star receiver Matt Dominguez.

The Roughriders are a very deep team, but this is really pushing it. Countless stars on the team have gone down!

Dressler, who looks to be one of the best returners in the league, has been out since that BC game. Fantuz is out for three to six weeks yet, and there's no telling when Dominguez will get back. Chick and Durant are out till late August (maybe a bit longer for Chick) and Flick will be out for the entire season. I mean come on people! This is ridiculous!

The one thing keeping the Riders in every game this year is their running game, otherwise known as Wes Cates. Cates is a top back in the league this year and as long as he doesn't get injured (knock on wood) the Riders won't be in too bad a position.

Though he is fantastic, he will have a tougher time running this game against the Stamps since he will have to go through Juwan Armour. Armour is now back aftering being kicked out of the game for "physical abuse of a referee."

It will be a tough game for the Riders.

Personally I think Crandell sucks. He is a good backup but he is not starting material. However, I think the Roughriders will roll as soon as Chick, Durant, and Fantuz return. Obviously all injuries hurt, but these three I think are the most significant.

In my opinion, Fantuz is our best receiver. He is huge, quite fast, and has great hands. With him there our receiving core will be 100 times better. Chick, our best d-lineman, will help us massively!

The Riders have had a huge problem pressuring quarterbacks this year as they have only had eight sacks this season.

The addition of Dek Bake has helped, but with Chick back it should improve a large amount.

And finally we need Darian Durant back. Crandell isn't very good and it is clear that Durant is much better. He is faster and can read defenses better. He also makes better decisions. Even when Durant gets back, he will still be a backup.

But that will mean Crandell will be on a short leash, so if he plays badly: Hello future of the Roughriders, Darian Durant.

BREAKING NEWS: This news was not availible when i first wrote this article, but Matt Dominguez has torn his ACL and will retire after the season, also, James Johnson will not play in this game but should be back by the August 21st game against the Eskimos.