TrueBlue4ever

Messam injured, will not play! http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-rb-messam-out-vs-alouettes-1.869808

If we beat the Eskimos, then yes the number to clinch a home game is 2. And the number to clinch a playoff spot will be one, provided there are no more ties in the CFL season.

2006.

"My ding-a-ling. My ding-a-ling. I want you to play, with my ding-a-ling" "THIS SHOW IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!" God, the Simpsons is just brilliant.

The True North chant was started by a couple of fans who wanted to offer a salute to the ownership group for bringing NHL hockey back to Winnipeg and tossed it out at the very first pre-season game. It has now organically morphed into a "Winnipeg" thing where fans yell it to announce their presence at and support for a Winnipeg's team's game, home or road. The cheer afterwards really is just more of that organic morphing, the fans acknowledging that they are there with their "brotherhood" (sisterhood) and ready to cheer loudly for their team, even in a hostile location. Of course it is more pronounced at Jets games, since that is its origin, but it really is more about a way of saying "We are Winnipeg, we are loud, and we are ready to cheer on our team". Hokey to some, I guess, but pretty harmless IMO. The yelling of "Blue" at Bomber games during the anthem is exactly the same concept, albeit more forced (since it was not organically created but a copycat move - see below). So if you hate the "True North" chant, you should logically hate the "Blue" chant as it is designed to elicit the same emotion. It's not about bowing to the corporate overlords. I get the sense that it is a sore spot of petty jealousy by some who don't like the idea that a "Jets" chant carries more power than a Bombers chant at a Bomber game, like the fans are rivals or something. You do know that the entire "glorious and BLUE" chant is a direct rip-off of the "glorious and GREEN" chant Saskatchewan fans have been saying for years at Rider games, don't you? Except their chant makes slightly more sense, since "green" at least sounds like "free", while "blue" completely doesn't fit and is truly just a copycat idea. So if it is such a bad "Saskatchewan" idea to do it, what does that say about Bomber fans who bash it as being self-glorification but feel the need to mimic it during their own anthem? People don't yell it because it would sound stupid and out of context. The "True North" chant works because it fits directly into the anthem and has a link to the team and the ownership who brought them back, so it carries over to other sporting events. The "BLUE" chant doesn't even fit the song. But it's meant to show support for our team, I guess, so the sentiment is good, even if the execution sounds ridiculous. If Bomber fans wanted something a bit more creative and unique to the anthem at their games, perhaps rather than yelling "glorious and blue" (which really makes no sense and has no semblance of any connection to the anthem other than to copy the Rider tradition), maybe fans should yell "BLUE North" instead. At least that rhymes, reflects the team colour and our geographic location as a football city, and has a nice tie-in to a Winnipeg tradition rather than another city's, but adds a Bomber spin to it.

Boy, the Bombers must be having a really good season if this is the kind of stuff we are grousing about today.

Well friends, The Winnipeg Blue Bombers returned to the field tonight after a mid-season respite of 13 days to continue their quest for a home playoff date, something that has not been seen in these parts since the days of Buck Pierce and Paul LaPolice. I wonder where they are at now? Hope they are doing well. In any event, they returned to action this evening facing the Ottawa RedBlacks, who we should not forget are the defending Grey Cup champions, so they were prepared for a stiff test. Also stiff was the wind, as the conditions were not the most ideal to hold a football contest, but then again a little rain never hurt anyone, at least that's what the sailor Noah said all those years ago, if I am quoting him directly....the transcript of that conversation is a little spotty, I must confess. But the inclement weather did not dissuade many thousand faithful supporters in blue and gold attire from coming out to support their hometown squad as they attempted to secure a winning record at Investor's Group Field for the first time since this shiny new building opened some 5 years ago. And it was a night of celebration, as we got to see the unveiling of a new statue honouring the late great kindly Cal Murphy, the crusty old Irishman with a heart of gold so big he needed two of them to fill his life's work [Ed. note: not sure if that is "politically insensitive" in this day and age, but Cactus would have said that with nothing but affection], who returned Lord Grey's silver mug to our beautiful province after so many years, and who was befitting of such recognition. And we recognized the accomplishments of our local baseball heroes, the Winnipeg Goldeyes, before the game, saluting them for their victory in the championship game a couple of nights ago, adding to the sports lore of River city. And we even got to see the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band at halftime, always a treat, although I must admit I was a little disappointed not to see their back-up singer Paul McCartney with them. But the excitement was not just confined to the events off the field. The Bombers came out with their tried and true methodical approach, combining strong running from Andrew Harris, ably supported by Timothy Flanders, who I'm told prefers Timothy to Tim, so who am I to argue with him? And of course Matt Nicholls could be counted on to distribute the ball evenly and fairly to all his receivers in a controlled short passing game, although we did see him stretch the field on a few occasions, most notably to Darvin Adams, who had himself quite a game today with almost two hundred yards and a pair of touchdowns, although only one of them counted. And that defence played a steady game in keeping the new RedBlack quarterback, who was it, Jeff Lynne - didn't he front that Electric Light Orchestra band back in the day? ....off balance throughout the contest. And when it was all said and done the local side had emerged victorious, and despite the soggy conditions, it turned out nice again, as I am want to say. Now after the game I am asked to come out and say a few words and reminisce about the events of the day, but beyond that I am here to bestow the privilege of the Happy Honker Award on one lucky individual. Now this award as you may well know goes to the individual who did that little something extra special in the game that made them stand out, and as you may not know has been given out since the days mighty Mac Herron, Don Jonas, and Bernard Ruoff, 3 Bomber players of my vintage for the younger generation who may not know those names, and I guess the younger generation is anyone younger than me, that is to say pretty much everyone, so don't be afraid to dig into the history books to learn about their exploits. But on to the present day, and the individual who tonight distinguished themselves on the field. And I of course mentioned our running backs, who each dug a little deeper with their touchdown scores, especially Mr.Flanders, who would not be denied, shaking off 3 tacklers before crossing the plane and delivering a gift to a deserving young fan in the end zone. But tonight, there was one play that stood out and changed the course of the game. It was late in the second quarter, with the Bombers in command of the play clock and both sides of the ball, but with the score still tight at 9-2. Ottawa's running back William Powell, who was a namesake of a great actor back in the day, but not related to him I believe, had been fairly productive against the Bombers' defence, and was rolling to another impressive gain on a first down play, bouncing off and dragging would-be Bomber tacklers and leaving a trail of Blue and Gold in his wake, when big defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat wrapped his rather large arms around the ball carrier and tore the pigskin loose, preventing more damage on the run. But not satisfied there, he proceeded to recover his own forced fumble in Ottawa territory, giving the Bombers a golden opportunity to break the game open before the half. And of course, as they have done so often, the Bombers capitalized on the turnover as the aforementioned Andrew Harris rumbled 24 yards across the goal line a few plays later, and the contest was really never in doubt after that point. So for a wonderful individual effort, and the play that really set the win in motion for the Blue Bombers, today's Happy Honker Award goes to Jackson Jeffcoat.

OK, I shouldn't laugh at another human being's expense, but that was pretty good.

I wonder how much of a factor it is that Langford is the back-up punter on the team? If he sat out and Medlock goes down mid-game, is there any other player who could step in? Because to lose your kicking game in the middle of a contest could be pretty devastating for any team, for that contest anyway.

The ring came off my pudding can.

Only downside is it will conflict with the Jets game now. McDavid vs championship final in Winnipeg. I already had tix to the hockey game bought last week, but was planning to go tonight to the ball game had they won yesterday. Oh well.

So to answer my own question (since I looked it up), the balk is a dead ball play unless the pitcher throws it, and if a hit/error/base on balls occurs for the batter the play is considered live (and if a walk occurs, any other baserunners also advance a base even if not as a result of the walk), and as long as one base is advanced by all, the balk is negated and the play goes on as if no balk occurred. So anything over one base can then be played normally, and if an out occurs from the attempt to advance more than one base, then so be it. Kind of silly since a balk occurs before the pitch happens, so it really should be a dead ball play all the time, to my way of thinking.

Thanks for the clarification. Did not know that. Here's a question arising from that, however. Runner was on 2nd. Suppose the hit goes through, batter gets safely to first, and the runner on 2nd breaks for home but is thrown out at the plate (or even worse, the batter tries to stretch to a double and is thrown out before the runner gets home). Would the out count or would the play be wiped out by the balk? I see trouble either way the decision goes based on the rule that a hit wipes out the balk: - if the balk wipes out any out, then the runner has nothing to lose by trying to score, and the defensive team gets penalized more than one base should the runner be safe at home - if the balk only applies to one base, and the runner advances past third (or the batter tries for second) at their own peril, not really fair to the baserunner who doesn't know they have an automatic base being awarded since the balk is not signaled until after the play. -also not fair to the defending team who might rush a throw that isn't going to count if they get the putout, get an error instead, and allow the runner going to third to advance to home rather than re-setting and knowing their situation Strange rule, IMO.

Balk was called. If you watch closely he waggles down but doesn't make a distinct stopping motion at the bottom of his wind-up, coming up slightly before going into his delivery. The right call by the book, but not a blatant balk like some where the pitcher makes an obvious flinch or fakes a throw when he needs to commit. The worst part of it is that the ump let the ground ball play out rather than stopping the play immediately and signaling balk. But given the Wingnuts' reaction (especially the pitcher and catcher) they didn't seem to object to the call.

Gretchen, stop trying to make "fetch" happen. It isn't going to happen.

"A not-so-brief History of Time: the CFL video review process" by Jake Ireland

"Keep It Simple Stupid - Overthinking in the big game" By Dave Dickinson, forward by Pete Carroll. "Growing a thinner skin" A collection of posts from MBB.

I actually misspoke on that point. Should have qualified it with "first .500 team in the 9 team crossover era". It's actually happened 11 times since the CFL was founded in 1959, and twice since the crossover was implemented in 1986 (but those 2 were during the American expansion era, both involving U.S. teams), with 4 teams with winning records actually missing the playoffs. The most glaring example was 1981 when Saskatchewan went 9-7 and finished 4th and missed the playoffs while Ottawa at 5-11 and Montreal at 3-15 both got in. That is likely what spurred the crossover rule. Maybe all 5 West teams finishing ahead of the top East team will finally spur the "single division" change.

Final 2 teams, a week late (probably because I am embarrassed at how off I was on these two), so I'll try to not let this past weekend's results affect my forecast. Then no more of my ramblings on this. Saskatchewan : What I said then - "If Vince Young actually made the roster and was anointed the starter, I would be waxing poetic about historic futility with this team (like 2003 Hamilton 1-17 futility), but Kevin Glenn has been around long enough to be a better regular season QB and pull a rabbit out of his hat once in a while to translate into a few more wins. And that receiving corps could keep them in a few games. However, it would require their o-line to actually give him time to throw, and his mobility is not what it used to be (not that it was ever his best feature). And too much overhaul by Chris Jones with no return on his gambles, and like Mike Kelly, the distractions will supercede the results on the field. I think the fans are already at revolt stage, how long before the players are there too? 3-15 (and that might even be charitable, but give them one win at home against Winnipeg - either the first game at the stadium opener where the fans will be jacked up or Labour Day which is always bizarro world for Winnipeg regardless of our record going in, one against Toronto, and one late in the year when the other random team is in the playoffs and doesn't care)." How did I do? - About that..... Well, the team has certainly bought into what Jones is selling more than I would have given him credit for, and Glenn is having a career year at age 38 that no one could have predicted. I did call two of their victories correctly, though. Did not see the Edmonton or BC wins happening, however. So they will be much more competitive than first envisioned, still I picked them last and they can easily track that way in a brutally tough West. May become the first .500 team to miss the playoffs. Win they'll savour - They always revel in the Labour day win, and the scale of the BC beatdown was impressive, but the upset in Edmonton was the one that got the pundits on board with all the "second best team in the league right now!" talk and made them believe their own hype. [Seems kind of distant in light of the Banjo Bowl result]. Loss they'll lament - The players and fans will hate losing the inaugural home game to the Bombers and the way it happened (blow a big lead, claw back to tie it, clang a chip shot FG off the post to hand the OT victory and lose on shoddy kicking on consecutive weeks), but I suspect the coaches will hate the loss a week earlier in Montreal more, given how poorly they played against a poorly playing much inferior opponent, and gassing a makeable game-ending FG to gift wrap 2 points to an eastern team. They make the playoffs - If they win the season series against Winnipeg (Ok, pretend I wrote this before the Banjo Bowl, reality after week 12 is that they are in a 3 way scrap for the last 2 spots) and Edmonton (home game in the final week could be huge for both teams) like they did against BC, they take care of business in a East-heavy second half schedule, and they avoid more key injuries than the Esks and Lions . They won't - because the West isn't allowed to put all 5 teams in the playoffs, and they have an extra game against the Stamps this year. Looking forward - After the Banjo Bowl, 5 of their final 8 games are against the East, so if they can maintain the Western trend of dominance, they could pile up double digits in wins. Might still not be enough, though. Their saving grace could be the season series tiebreaker over BC. Hamilton: What I said then - "Weaker than the Grey Cup caliber team of 3-4 years ago, but still the best of a soft division, and if Collaros can shake off his injury demons, he and Austin should lead the Ticats to a comfortable 1st place division finish. Just curious, without looking can anyone actually name the back-up QB in Steeltown if (when?) Zach goes down? (looked it up - I guess Masoli is still there, with Logan Kilgore as #3). 11-7. (9 of those wins against the East)" How did I do? - So, how about those Bombers, eh? Wow, totally missed the boat on this one. Collaros is a shell of his former, pre-injury self, and clearly has no faith in the line in front of him. Austin's demeanour went from grumpy to resigned, before he actually resigned. So they won't make 11-7, and their off-field antics turned this into a train wreck of a year, and yet......(see Looking Forward) Loss they'll lament - So many to choose from, but the 60-1 Calgary embarrassment really established just how much this team quit. Win they'll savour - Not that it was a good victory, but since there was no other choice, Labour day against Toronto (again, pretend I wrote this before Saturday's Ottawa game - that certainly changes the outlook for this team). They'll make the playoffs - Because the coaching and QB changes give them a lift, the East is so bad that no one is really out of it, and they have 5 eastern games left in their last 9 (more than any of their eastern opponents) They won't - Because third place won't be good enough in the East to make the playoffs, and unlike the RedBlacks, they did not handle a very tough first half West-heavy schedule and show any resiliency, and rolled over and died in week 6 and won't have any fight left (not sure if the last 2 weeks is a mirage or if they still have some fight). Looking forward - If they can sweep their remaining Eastern games they will have 7 wins this year and would own the season series against all other teams in the East. Could this team still finish in top spot in the East and somewhat restore my pre-season prediction of their success?

The worst ever was a Bomber game in Calgary where the Stamps kept sending in an offensive lineman as an extra receiver, and the rule at the time was that you had to declare yourself eligible and the refs had to announce it to the crowd, to avoid the trick play catching the other team off guard. Proulx said about six times "Calgary number sixty-tree is declared as illegible for dis play". It got so bad Bob Irving said "Poor Andre Proulx. They really need to change this rule so the refs don't announce it. This is getting hard to listen to".

Best opening line of an Odds and Sods ever!

The good news for the Bombers if Tate is still QB is that we will have had a couple of weeks' worth of tape on him. Too many times a new QB comes in and catches the other team off guard since he wasn't the one they scouted.

Well friends, it was another glorious late summer day here in Manitoba, and everyone was excited for the re-match between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and our own Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And everyone was curious to see how the Bombers would bounce back from that defeat last week in the annual Labour day classic. And everyone wanted to see how loud the fans could be, and if they could surpass the noise last week. And we even had a moose sighting today, which held things up a bit. So we certainly had a lot of excitement even before the opening kickoff. But once the game started the two teams got down to business and traded blows before the Bombers pulled away in the second half, or just before the second half, in fact, before a packed house, who all will be seen in a magnificent panoramic photo I'm told, to preserve this moment for posterity. In any event, the Bombers came out on top to maintain their grip on the second place position in the always tough Western division. And there were many outstanding moments and performances in this game, to be sure. You had Clarence Denmark making a couple of big catches for touchdowns, one in each end zone so all the fans could see him up close. And then there was Matt Nicholls throwing for 3 touchdowns, and scampering for 41 yards on a quarterback run, although his coach may not like him going head first into that defender rather than slide, and we'll pretend like we didn't notice that fumble at the end. But then we had Chris Randle, getting the ball right back after that play with an interception that salted the game away, certainly Happy Honker worthy. And Andrew Harris once again stepped up, especially in the fourth quarter with some solid running. And let's not forget Justin Medlock, who despite missing one of his two field goals, continues to be automatic on those new long converts, and added three singles on huge kickoffs and that one punt, which may or may not be a Bomber record [ED NOTE: it isn't - this went 85 yards and Bob Cameron and Jon Ryan each hit a 95 harder once in their careers). And we saw some big hits, from Brandon Alexander on Saskatchewan returner Duron Carter, and what a great effort from that linebacker Jefferson, or Jackson Jeffcoat, running down the 'Rider QB, and then missing the sack, but showing true heart and perseverance in not giving up and turning the other way with a diving show string tackle for a sack that snuffed out the last 'Rider chance to get back in the game. And I would be remiss if I did not mention Maurice Leggett, who is becoming a bit of a Happy Honker staple with another great performance today, with a pair of touchdowns including a fantastic interception over the shoulder of the Saskatchewan receiver, then fighting off tackles to take it to the house some 54 yards later in what really was the deciding moment of the game. But I'm sure Knuckles will be bringing up his name when we discuss the player of the game later so I will leave him off my list here. No, this is not the player of the game award but the Happy Honker award, who as you know, is not meant for the player of the game, but that unsung hero, that player or person who did that something a little extra special in the game. Well, we saw something special in the second quarter of today's contest. With the score tied at 7 and the Roughriders taking momentum after a long touchdown catch, the Bombers were looking to answer back. And it came in a most surprising way, so much so that the cameras and the Roughriders apparently as well did not see it. On a punt return, the ball bounced over to the far sideline near the Saskatchewan bench, but returner Kevin Fogg instead ran to the opposite side of the field to catch a punt that wasn't coming his way. For good measure, the Bomber blockers all pointed to Kevin and ran his way, with one exception. And while all the Saskatchewan players followed suit, Maurice Leggett, who I already mentioned before, ran down the ball before it went out of bounds, and after dodging one tackler who figured out the ruse a little too late, had nothing but daylight and a convoy of blockers to escort him 97 yards to the end zone for a big punt return touchdown, and a token effort at a tackle from the Saskatchewan punter did nothing to keep him from getting across that goal line . And we heard Mr. Leggett say afterwards that it wasn't planned and just a shanked punt, and head coach Mike O'Shea wouldn't tip his hand either way, but it was clear to the old observer that this play was set up by the coaching staff, and executed brilliantly, so this week's Happy Honker award goes to special teams coach Paul Boudreau, who drew up this play, and also coached and great punt cover game that kept the 'Riders pinned deep all day, and recovered both a short onside punt and onside kick which led to Bomber points, so in honour of the special teams play today, the happy honker award goes to special teams coach Paul Boudreau. Way to go, Paul! Let's hear it for him!