The most important thing to come out of CFL Week... Well for me anyway...

Lord knows I tried to get her in Rider green, but she wasn’t having it. She came down the hallway in a black and blue dress, black leggings, a pink and purple puffy vest, “cowgirl” boots, and carrying her purse.

“Daddy I have to look pretty for our date, and you need to look handsome.”

I peeled off my Rider jersey and dug through my closet for clothes that would be suitable for a date with a headstrong 5-year-old. It was our “Daddy-versary” and the Thursday of CFL Week so we made a compromise, we would go see Warren Moon for me, then we would go to Menchies for her.

We weren’t even at the CFL Week venue when she was already asking if it was time for Menchies, so I resigned myself to the fact that this was going to be a short visit to CFL Week.

We then walked to the Main Stage where Mike Reilly, Anthony Calvillo, and Warren Moon had a large crowd hanging off every word. She asked who they were and I tried to explain who each player was and what they meant to the game. Then she just listened, which can be pretty hard for a 5-year-old sometimes.

After we got out of the way of the autograph seekers, we went display to display, booth to booth, and she completely forgot about the pending DIY frozen yoghurt. She would have done the mini drills they had set up all night if I would have let her. After I finally reminded her of dessert (Hey I like FroYo too) and we started heading out, she spotted the Grey Cup and asked if we could get a closer look.

When we get close to the cup a volunteer asks if she could take our picture, I pull out my phone and we get a picture of us. She grabbed the handle which was a no-no but she’s cute so we got away with it. If I would have grabbed the handle, we probably would have set off alarms everywhere.

The picture with the cup probably would have been the highlight of her night, if we didn’t run into Gainer the Gopher on the way out and got a big high five.

As we ate our frozen yoghurt she looks at me.

“Daddy, can we go to CFL Week on our next daddy-daughter date?”

I explained we couldn't but if it ever came back to Regina we would definitely go again.

"Oh... Can I play football like those girls were then?"

Want to guess who is signed up for flag football this spring?

There have been many things written about the first CFL Week abut the economic benefits, the player accessibility and getting the CFL to the forefront in March.

For myself, I met current players, CFL Legends, CFL reporters I respect, people I interact with about the league on twitter. But for me the first CFL week will always boil down to a little girl in a black and blue dress, high-stepping through tires in her cowgirl boots...  and you can’t put an economic assessment on that.

Tales From the Angry Dome - Durant and RiderNation

The first step in fixing a problem is realizing we have a problem and to be blunt RiderNation… We have a problem. I say “we” because I am one of you… I have season tickets, I wear my green with pride, I count my pizza discount on every Crapigna field goal, I yell “HENNNNNNNRY” at the top of my lungs for 4 quarters, I felt the low of the 2009 Grey Cup, and rode the wave of emotions in the stands of the “Ultimate Mosaic Moment” in 2013.

So now that we settled my Piffles Way Cred, what is the problem you may ask? Well, to be honest, it’s the blind love and devotion to Darian Durant. Now before you start firing up manure trucks, trolling or flaming me, and force me to defend the virtue of my mother on twitter (she’s a saint btw) … Hear me out. Darian has been a great leader, a great player, a great ambassador and a sure fire first ballot Plaza of Honour Inductee… BUT... It is time to let him go if he wishes to go.

For the record, in my circle of friends I have been known as the “Durant Apologist” and on this very blog, I called Durant the Riders best shot of winning immediately. But it is time to let him go because now its more and more obvious he wants to go. The relationship between him and this management is completely fractured.

Honestly, you can’t blame him, he has given almost a decade to the franchise. Took the team to three Grey Cups, winning one (which should have been two and no fault of his). He has had five head coaches and even more offensive coordinators through the years. Seen teammates and friends come and go. He’s battled injuries and carried this team on his back whenever it needed a play. He has always been professional and a good Rider.

Because he was a good Rider, he restructured his contract for less money and now he feels like he was given a raw deal by Chris Jones and company. He feels like he isn’t their guy and if he did come back without a big money guarantee there is a good chance he might not even be the starting QB when the new stadium opens. Similar to Henry Burris' battle with Roy Shivers, just minus the new stadium obviously.

However, we need to remember it was Darian’s decision to go with a one-year deal last year when the team offered him a multi-year deal. I will always respect Darian’s decision to bet on himself to prove he could put numbers up and stay healthy for a full season after it became a black mark on his reputation. However, this impasse that we are at now was always a possible outcome and Darian knew it.

Some fans have accepted that Darian is most likely going to be an Alouette by Canada day (or maybe a Bomber, depending on how the Nichols contract shakes out). Others have faith that he and the Riders will come together and do what’s "best" for both sides, which is also fine by me. But there are those that are talking about boycotts and bans if Durant doesn’t come back, which honestly isn’t Chris Jones fault. Whatever happens now is Darian’s decision and everyone should respect the outcome. This will actually be an acceptable use of #DurantsFault.

Chris Jones’ job is to build a winning team for how long he ever wants to have a job with the Roughriders. He had to make hard decisions and cut a lot of fan favourites to make the team competitive and more cap friendly so it wasn’t a prolonged rebuild. Nostalgia and good feelings are not going to win Chris Jones games.  If it did I am sure he would have talked George Reed into coming out of retirement by the third game just to get a win. It’s his job to win games, not win the battle of public opinion.

The battle for fan approval almost always goes to the player, very rarely do you see fans side with management unless it is releasing a player for a crime or embarrassing the team. The New England Patriots come to mind as the only exception to the rule. No one is safe in Bill Belichick’s system unless their name rhymes with “Dom Grady” and even then, that relationship is probably doomed.

At the end of the day, Jones has X number of dollars that he wants to pay a 34-year-old quarterback who has been injured every season since 2011. Is it incentive heavy? Of course it is, but that is Jones protecting his investment in the team. It allows flexibility to pay other positions like a less porous offensive line, a defensive secondary that doesn’t blow every deep coverage, or linebackers that can tackle a running back. There is more to a football team than a Quarterback,  although I know sometimes it sure doesn’t seem that way.

Whatever happens with Darian in the next few months, we all need to remember there is nothing that can erase his legacy in green and white. If he rolls into new Mosaic wearing a different team uniform I am sure it will be difficult for him and fans alike but that's pro football.

And I can promise you I will be there giving him a standing ovation before the game starts... but the minute that opening whistle goes it will be full blown "DAAAAAARRRRRIAN".

Yelling at Clouds: CFL Awards, Grey Cup thoughts, and the Vegas Golden Knights unveiled

CFL Awards: 6 out of 7 ain’t bad.

My first reaction to the CFL Award Nominees...

MOP: Mitchell

DP: Elimimian

MOC: Messam

OL:Gott

ST: Medlock

MOR: Daniels

COY:Dickenson

— Greg McCulloch (@GregOnSports) November 10, 2016

That guy right there is a frigging genius.

Frankly, the only reason I got the Gott pick wrong is because I thought there would be a pity award sent to the East. The rest of these picks were glaringly obvious, it was hard to deny the Stampeders and the West division dominance this year.

Hopefully, next year the East gets a resurgence and raises the suspense up a smidge.

Grey Cup Thoughts and Prediction

To my Toronto readers… I know this might be a shock for you but the Grey Cup is this weekend. Go buy a Tim’s coffee and you might be able to get a free ticket or 12 with a box of doughnuts.

The CFL probably should have let the new ownership get a foothold in the market before handing them the biggest game of the season. But that is a piece for another day and time. But beyond pricing gaffes, SLOW ticket sales, and naming Andre Proulx the head referee (Be sure to load up on snacks and drinks, it is going to be a LOOOOOOONG one) the game between the Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Redblacks should be a good one.

Why pick Ottawa?

Even though it was very early in the season, the tie between these two teams is one of three blemishes on the Stamps record breaking season. They were first in the East for a reason, well besides the rest of the teams weren't that good...

The Redblacks also showed they were a team ready for the big game with how they ruined the Edmonton Eskimos bid to be first crossover team to make the Grey Cup. Campbell and company had the team ready for the conditions and the pressure. 

Also, don’t sleep on Henry Burris either, whether he is retiring or coming back next year you can believe he knows he needs to have the game of his life to cement the legacy he believes he deserves.

Why Pick Calgary?

The year they had was incredible, the only 2 losses they had was the first game of the year in BC by 2 points and the last game in Montreal when they rested all their starters. They went 16 games straight without a loss, 15 wins and 1 tie. That is nuts no matter how you look at it.

They have a plus/minus of 217. The only team close to 200 was the Riders with 180, the only problem is that was -180. BC had the second best plus/minus with 91, there literally was no one in their league.

To put it in perspective, think about it this way 217 points over 18 games is about 12. Essentially the Stamps started every game up 12-0 before the coin was even flipped.

So... Who am I picking... 

I can say without any doubt that a team wearing some combination of red and black will win it all this year.

The true winner this year is the schmuck who has to load the confetti cannons.

"So you are telling me I just need to load up red and black before the game starts then I can put it on autopilot??? AWESOME!"

As much as I hate to say it, it's Calgary's game to lose. However, I think the Redblacks will hang in till the 4th before the Stamps get tired of playing with their food and just end it. 

Stamps 33 – Redblacks 21

Oh, what a (K)night...

The Vegas Golden Nights were unleashed to the world the other day. I, for one, think the team is going to do well in the Vegas market. They have a state of the art arena right on the strip, they have a passionate majority owner, they have a great hockey ops team set up, the expansion rules are conducive for having a competitive team in the first few seasons, and the team has attracted celebrity minority owners like Jose Bautista, Rob Gronkowski, and Carol Alt.

That primary logo though… me likely. I am what they call a “logo snob” and it pushes all the right buttons. Great colours, simple yet bold, immediately recognisable, and that subtle “V” for Vegas was a great touch. 

Besides, I know of someone else who would really appreciate it....

Hey Magneto what do you think of the Vegas Golden Knights' logo? pic.twitter.com/3LP7UhK7o0

— Greg McCulloch (@GregOnSports) November 23, 2016

Good Night Old Girl: A Farewell to Taylor Field

Saturday marks the end of an era to the people of Saskatchewan, the final Rider game at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field (Yes that is indeed the official title).  While the Riders will not be the ones shutting off the lights, it will be most people’s final goodbye to the old girl before New Mosaic officially opens next year. Countless people have visited Taylor Field for various events: it has held concerts, stage shows, football games from high school to Junior to Collegiate, movies, and even hosted the Toronto Blue Jays.

My relationship with Taylor Field has been an interesting one...

My first trip to Taylor Field was a game versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the early 90s, can’t remember the exact year but I do know 2 things. 1) Don Narcisse was THE MAN, after that game I was his biggest fan. 2) My dad was either given the tickets or won them because there is no way he as a Bomber fan would have paid to drive to Regina to watch the Riders and Ti-Cats.

After that, Taylor Field wasn't really in my life until my second year at the University of Regina. That year I was elected Sports Editor of “the Carillon”, the U of R’s campus weekly. While it was easy to get someone to cover the Rams in their second season of CIS football, it was near impossible to get anyone take pictures at the games. So, I spent most of that season doing my best photographer impression every other weekend. That assignment landed me my first real press pass and I still have it to this day as a reminder.

My third year I was on the sidelines again but in a much different role. I was the first male cheerleader in U of R history. Long story short, I tried out for the team as a feature for the Carillon, supposedly they were scared I was going to rip them in the piece if they cut me… so they didn’t cut me. Then my buddies started taking bets on how long it would take me to quit. So, at first I was just being stubborn because I was challenged, then I was having fun, then I got to know my future wife and I stayed on the team. (And when I say future wife I mean way down the line… it took 13 years of friendship and several relationships in between before I could con her into walking down the aisle).

While it is easy to point to all the amazing games I have been to like the Blackout Game, the 2007 Labour Day Classic, all the Rams-Huskies rivalry games, the 2003 Grey Cup which landed on my birthday, and obviously, the 2013 Grey Cup Victory. To me, the allure of Taylor Field was never about the building itself, or even the event, but the people I went there with.

It was about the memories, like the “Lee Cherkas fan club” chanting “Throw the guy! Throw the guy!” towards me and my cheer teammates. The Rider game where the mother sitting in front of me and my buddies asked us before the game if we wouldn’t mind watching our language because of her young children, so we spent the entire game yelling things like “Balderdash” and “Poppycock” much to her amusement.  Taking both of my kids to their first football games and meeting Gainer. Getting our wedding pictures at Taylor Field so we could get the one at the tunnel where we used to run out onto the field or getting "sacked" by my wife. Watching my son run (well more like waddle) up and down the sidelines having the time of his life while I was playing a touch football game. The game this year where my daughter got to perform halftime on the field “Like mommy and daddy used to do”.

Taylor Field will always have a place in my heart and Saturday will be both a day of celebration and sadness.  

Good Night Old Girl. Let’s send you out the right way on Saturday.

Even though I got sacked in the best way at Taylor Field... I still needed a better O-line