Pats 9 Raiders 3

PRINCE ALBERT -- It was a stage 5 gongshow at the Art Hauser Centre Wednesday night as the Regina Pats routed the Raiders 9-3 to collect their first road win of the young campaign.

Early on, the story was the return of Jordan Eberle to the Pats lineup as the Oilers first-rounder potted two goals and two assists before the second period was over. Linemate Jordan Weal was just as effective, notching his first WHL hattrick as the Pats built up leads of 2-0 and 7-1 by period.

However things unraveled in the third as the Raiders were afforded six consecutive powerplays, two of which they converted to make it a 7-3 game.

Things hit a climax when Regina's Tomas Hrcina was smashed into the boards from behind by P.A.'s Harrison Ruopp. Hrcina chased him the length of the ice and spun him around by the ears and away they went.

Pats coach Curtis Hunt fired a water bottle on the ice, incensed at the non-call on the hit-from-behind. He was promptly ejected from the game.

Hrcina was assessed an instigator penalty but on the ensuing Raider man advantage, Regina's Brett Leffler streaked down the ice and scored a shorthanded goal making it 8-3.

A water bottle was then rocketed on the ice from the P.A. bench and the Raiders were given a bench minor. Pats newcomer Killian Hutt promptly turned it into his first goal as a Pat in his debut with the club and that capped the scoring at 9-3.

Pats defenceman Colten Teubert was assessed a 10-minute misconduct in the waning moments of the game, while Regina's Dominick Favreau received a further instigator after a late fight with the Raiders' Mark McNeil.

Game over: Regina 9 Prince Albert 3.

Scoring the other Pats goals were Brayden Metz and Matt Strueby as the Pats came within a goal of equaling their season total of 10 from their previous five games.

Without question, Curtis Hunt will be hearing from the league on Thursday however he may instigate the phone call. He said comments made by the referee regarding an incident where Weal and Eberle were "targeted" in the third period were "unacceptable."

Asked if he will be on the bench for Friday's home game against Swift Current, Hunt replied "I have no idea".

Shots on goal: Regina 50 PA 33

Powerplays: REG 3/4 PA 2/9

Regina improves to 2-4-0 (1-1-0 Road) while P.A. drops to 2-3-0 (2-2-0 Home)

Attendance: 1800

Molson 3-Stars: 1) Eberle 2) Weal 3) Leffler. Taylor Toyota Hardest Working Pat: Leffler

Pats' next game is Friday at home against Swift Current at 7pm.

Riders - Lions Preview

Lions and Roughriders ready for Friday night fight
(Courtesy Lions P.R.)

Game Date: Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Location: BC Place
Kickoff: 8:30 pm Sask time (Gates open at 6:30 p.m. PT)

Radio: CKRM 620 (Rod Pedersen, Carm Carteri) TEAM 1040 (Rick Ball, Giulio Caravatta)
TV: TSN

Halftime: Salute to Amateur Football

Merchandise: Gear up in Black-and-Orange football by purchasing exciting new Lions merchandise including the 1960’s-inspired retro jersey at kiosks located at Terry Fox Plaza and throughout BC Place.

The BC Lions Street Party presented by JACKfm kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on the corner of Beatty and Robson streets. In addition to live music by Bombshella, the Felions Dance Team and Leo the Lion will be on hand and there will be plenty of family activities, including face painting, inflatable games and poster making. Exciting new Lions merchandise and great food will also be available.

Game Overview

The BC Lions (5-7) play host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-5) in another crucial West Division battle Friday night at BC Place. The Lions come into the game after a disappointing 27-18 defeat at the hands of the Calgary Stampeders. The loss not only extended a winless streak against the Stamps to five regular season matches, but it also gave Calgary the season series for 2009. The ‘Riders, meanwhile, will play their second road game in as many weeks after a 23-20 win in sold-out Edmonton last week. The Lions sit just a single win behind Edmonton for third spot and two back of Saskatchewan and Calgary.

The Lions and ‘Riders have met twice before this season with the Green and White taking the first game of the year in Regina by a (28-24) score and the Lions returning the favour with a 35-20 win at home in August. These two rivals will meet once again in Regina on October 24th to finish up their season series. With just seven games left on the 2009 schedule and a 5-7 record in the West, GM and head coach Wally Buono knows his squad can ill afford any more divisional losses especially at home if they want to have any chance of hosting a playoff game.

On offence, the Lions will again hand the ball to Buck Pierce as the pivot gets his third consecutive start after missing three games during August and September while recovering from a concussion. Pierce was very good early on last week, guiding a Lions offence that staked the club to 7-0 and 10-7 leads in the first half over the Stamps. Through two quarters he was good on 11 of 15 attempts for 158 yards and a touchdown before running into difficulties in the third and fourth frames and finishing the game 17 of 27 for 230 yards with a TD and an interception. The Lions will need a consistent effort Friday if they hope to keep a tough Saskatchewan defence off balance.

Along the offensive line, the Lions were a dominating group through the first two quarters, opening up holes for Martell Mallett who rung-up 48 rushing yards in the first quarter alone and finished the opening half with 79 yards on nine carries including a 25-yard rumble for a TD that capped a 14-play scoring drive in the second quarter. Mallet finished the game with a superb 151-yard effort on 17 carries and is over the 1,000-yard mark on the year, but the Calgary run defence found its collective legs in the second half, forcing the Lions into a number of second and long situations that they were unable to convert. The Lions will need the kind of performance they saw early on last week from the big bodies up front to set the tone for four quarters but they may have to do it without veteran right tackle Jason Jimenez who has an injured left foot and ankle. Look for recently acquired lineman Dumane Duckett to take his place.

In the wide-open style of football often seen in the CFL, it’s difficult to win games when completing just 17 passes, but the fact that Calgary completed just 14 last week and managed to come out with a victory may be pointing to a shift in play going into the later part of the season. With Geroy Simon and Paris Jackson combining for just six receptions and 72 yards last week, look for the Leos to try to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers more on Friday night. Jackson recorded 92 receiving yards on eight catches last time out versus Saskatchewan. Rookie Emmanuel Arceneaux is showing why he will be a future star in the CFL with his 51-yard catch and sprint versus the Stamps last week. The ‘Riders won’t make it easy, however, as they rank first against the pass (238.8 yds per game).

On defence, the Lions certainly had Henry Burris and Co. off balance early last week, limiting Calgary to just eight offensive plays in the first quarter. Unfortunately, the Red and White gained traction on the ground in the second quarter with Burris and running back Joffrey Reynolds recording four runs for 10 yards or more in the second quarter which kept the Stamps close until ultimately taking a 17-14 halftime lead. The Lions rank dead last versus the run this season and have got to plug holes versus Saskatchewan’s Wes Cates on Friday if they want to put themselves in a position to win. Cates plowed through the Eskimo D last week for 103 yards on 17 carries.

Up front, the Lions defensive line notched an early sack by Ricky Foley who remains tied for the league lead with nine on the season, but could not register any others in the game. Newcomer Steve Williams recorded his first two CFL tackles and managed a pretty good lick on Burris while Aaron Hunt also registered a pair of stops. Brent Johnson was held off the stats sheet last week, but had his best game of the season versus the ‘Riders in August with a three-sack performance that also included a forced fumble. Saskatchewan surrendered five sacks last week in Edmonton and the Lions currently sit tied with Montreal as a team with 34 sacks on the season.

At linebacker, JoJuan Armour and Anton McKenzie will be looking for better performances versus the Green and White – the kind they enjoyed in August when Cates was held to just 38 rushing yards on 11 carries. Armour’s eight tackles led the Black and Orange in Calgary last week, but it will be the linebackers who will no doubt receive plenty of attention once again going into Friday as the Lions try to elevate their play against the run. Anton McKenzie, who had three stops against the Stamps, will renew acquaintances with his former team but knows there are no friends between the white lines come game time. With the season heading into cooler months, the Lions face three games on the prairies after the ‘Riders tilt in the dome which means it will fall to them to help disrupt opposition efforts to establish ball control via the ground. Saskatchewan dominated the clock in cool and blustery Edmonton last week, holding on to the pigskin for an astounding 35:49.

The Lions secondary turned in a solid performance that limited Henry Burris to just 197 passing yards but is wasn’t enough as the Grey Cup champs managed to do just enough to get the win. Despite some close plays that ultimately went to review before going against the club, the secondary was close to making the kind of game-breaking plays the Lions need in crunch time. While the Stamps went after safety Barron Miles with a number of plays over the middle, the veteran responded with six tackles, a forced fumble and a knockdown to lead the defensive backfield. Darian Durant tossed three picks last week in Edmonton including one that was returned for 59 yards but survived the errors to pull out the win. His last visit to BC included three picks as well including one each for Korey Banks and Ryan Phillips. Look for the Leos to pay special attention to Weston Dressler who seems perpetually open as well as Rob Bagg who racked up 120 receiving yards last time out versus BC.

On special teams, the Lions will need to regain the kind of focus that had them leading the league in fewest kickoff return yardage against going into last week’s game. A 75-yard return by Demetris Summers following a hard-earned Lions TD may have been the turning point in a game that the club dominated early on. Sean Whyte was good on his only field goal attempt last week while Jason Arakgi picked up his league leading 27th special teams tackle. Ryan Grice-Mullen had a couple nice returns versus Calgary including 35-yard kickoff return. Ian Smart also had a nice return (27 yards) on a second quarter kickoff. The strong efforts managed to keep the Leos out of the shadow of their own goalposts for much of the game.

Despite seven disappointing losses to date, the Lions are still in contention in a tough West Division and can draw within one win of division leaders with a victory of the ‘Riders Friday night. A tough game Friday precedes a three-game road tour making a home victory critical against a talented Saskatchewan squad.

You MUST Check This Out!

http://www.wearethecofred.com/

Media Statement - Player Fines Following the Toronto Argonauts at Winnipeg Blue Bombers Game

Toronto, ON (September 30, 2009) - The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced today that it has fined the following players undisclosed amounts for their involvement in on-field incidents during the game between the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers  on Saturday, September 26th, 2009 at Canad Inns Stadium.

Toronto Argonauts: Adriano Belli, Kevin Huntley, Jeff Keeping, Zeke Moreno, Rob Murphy, Dominic Picard, Lin-J Shell.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Michael Bishop, Keyuo Craver, Jonathan Hefney, Siddeeq Shabazz, Dorian Smith.

TSN and TSN2 Drop the Puck on 2009-10 NHL Season

Toronto, ON (September 30, 2009) - Hockey Lives Here! Canada's
favourite pastime makes itself at home on TSN and TSN2, as both networks hit the ice for the 2009-10 NHL ON TSN season with more regular season games and more national coverage of Canadian teams than ever before.

A total of 124 games will air on multiple distribution platforms: 88
games on TSN and 36 games on TSN2, with a combined total of 77 games featuring at least one Canadian team - the most ever on TSN and TSN2. All games on TSN and TSN2 are available nationally in High Definition. Games and highlights are also available on-demand at TSN.ca.

Included in the TSN2 schedule are six Ottawa Senators games that were not previously scheduled for broadcast in Canada.

Regular season coverage on TSN gets underway on Friday, Oct. 2 with two NHL Premiere games from Europe, with the Florida Panthers taking on the Chicago Blackhawks at 12 noon ET in Helsinki, Finland, and the Detroit
Red Wings facing off against the St. Louis Blues at 3 p.m. ET in
Stockholm, Sweden. This marks the first time in NHL history that
regular season games are being played in Helsinki.

TSN2 hits the ice overseas on Saturday, Oct. 3 with Florida versus Chicago at 12 noon ET from the Finnish capital. (See complete TSN and TSN2 broadcast schedule below.)

In addition, Canadian hockey fans are well-served this season with the return of the weekly staple, WEDNESDAY NIGHT HOCKEY, along with THAT'S HOCKEY and up-to-the-minute NHL news and highlights on SPORTSCENTRE, the
first three rounds of the STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS, and the addition of former NHL player and head coach Craig MacTavish to the NHL ON TSN broadcast team.

NHL ON TSN will also have comprehensive coverage of the 2010 NHL ENTRY DRAFT, featuring the TSN-produced NHL DRAFT LOTTERY SPECIAL in April and
the NHL ON TSN 2010 MOCK DRAFT SPECIAL in June. Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie is also producing three rankings of prospects eligible for the 2010 NHL ENTRY DRAFT, including his final ranking in a 30-minute
special, BOB MCKENZIE'S NHL DRAFT RANKING: 2010, leading up to the NHL Entry Draft.

Broadcast Schedule

This year's combined 124-game national broadcast package is part of TSN and TSN2's multi-year broadcast and digital rights agreement with the NHL. All 124 games are available nationally in High Definition.

TSN's 88-game schedule is the largest in network history and features 71 regular season games with at least one Canadian team. All games are also available on-demand at TSN.ca.

Wednesday nights continue to be appointment viewing on TSN, as WEDNESDAY NIGHT HOCKEY returns to the network with 30 games. TSN retains exclusivity of Wednesday night hockey, during which there are no other national or local telecasts on other Canadian networks.

Highlights of the NHL ON TSN schedule include three all-Canadian games featuring Ottawa @ Toronto (October 6), Montreal @ Vancouver (October 7) and Toronto @ Montreal (December 1), and six Original Six match-ups. Additional highlights include 15 doubleheaders on TSN, eight games featuring Hart Trophy winner Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, and seven games featuring Sidney Crosby and the Stanley Cup
champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Augmenting TSN's coverage, TSN2 delivers an additional 36 live NHL
match-ups during the 2009-10 regular season, making it the most games ever on the digital network. Highlights of the TSN2 schedule include exclusive Canadian coverage of six Ottawa Senators games, along with six Penguins games and four Capitals match-ups.

Headlining TSN and TSN2's increased Canadian team coverage during the regular season are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators with 17
appearances each, followed by Montreal with 16, and 10 appearances each for Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

Last month, TSN and TSN2 produced and televised a total of six pre-season games, with one game for each of the six Canadian clubs.

Broadcast Team

NHL ON TSN welcomes a new recruit to its roster with the addition of Craig MacTavish to the studio panel for 25 games. The four-time Stanley Cup(r) winner will also contribute regularly to SPORTSCENTRE.

James Duthie returns as host of NHL ON TSN, alongside Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger, commentator Dave Hodge, and SPORTSCENTRE anchor Darren Dutchyshen, who will provide NHL news and highlights in intermission updates. Pierre McGuire and Ray Ferraro will appear frequently in studio as analysts when not providing colour commentary for the games. McKenzie and Dreger will continue to provide their exclusive Insider reports on SPORTSCENTRE through the 2009-10 season.

New to the NHL ON TSN this season is HodgeMail, a weekly segment in which Dave Hodge examines the NHL's hot-button issues, inviting viewers to weigh in via e-mail. Topics are posted at 12 noon ET on TSN.ca and introduced for the TV audience at the beginning of the NHL ON TSN
broadcast. During the first intermission, Hodge presents responses from fans and completes the segment by giving his own view of the issue.

For the network's extensive NHL coverage, TSN will use two broadcast teams featuring play-by-play announcers Gord Miller and Chris Cuthbert and game analysts McGuire and Ferraro. Once again, TSN will utilize the
1-Up/1-Down and Front Row Centre formats during its hockey broadcasts. The 1-Up/1-Down technique has Miller/Cuthbert in the broadcast booth with McGuire/Ferraro providing analysis from between the benches at ice
level, while Front Row Centre features both the play-by-play announcer and game analyst calling the game between the benches from ice level.

TSN.ca

TSN.ca is the definitive online destination for hockey fans in Canada, as the country's leading sports website features up-to-the-minute news, scores and stats, along with highlights of every game, in-depth features
and exclusive interviews with players, coaches and GMs from around the league. Games will also be available on-demand at TSN.ca.

Columns and Blogs

TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger, plus NHL Network's Dan Pollard, return with weekly columns on TSN.ca. In addition, McKenzie and Dreger continue to write hockey blogs on the website, covering the NHL and international hockey events such as the World Junior Championship, World Hockey Championship and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Also joining the blogosphere this season is TSN
analyst Ray Ferraro with his very own blog, Razor's Edge, featured on TSN.ca.

Twitter and Online Chats

Fans can also follow McKenzie and Dreger on Twitter for additional
breaking hockey news and information, as well as participate in online chats with the Hockey Insiders throughout the NHL season. Dreger kicks off TSN.ca's series of live hockey chats on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. ET.

Ice Chips

TSN.ca also continues to provide 'Ice Chips', featuring a daily roundup of hockey news, roster moves, lineup changes and injuries, with information coming straight from the rinks from TSN's reporters, analysts and Hockey Insiders. Video versions of 'Ice Chips' are also available at TSN.ca.

CHL Top 10

1 Calgary Hitmen (4-0-0-0)
2 Drummondville Voltigeurs (6-0-0-0)
3 Windsor Spitfires (3-1-0-1)
4 Brandon Wheat Kings (3-1-0-0)
5 Gatineau Olympiques (5-2-0-0)
6 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (5-0-0-0)
7 Barrie Colts (3-1-0-0)
8 Victoriaville Tigres (5-2-0-1)
9 Saskatoon Blades (2-1-0-1)
10 Saint John Sea Dogs (5-2-0-0)

On The Road

Pats at Raiders, 7:00 tonight on 620 CKRM.

Congi Named ST Player of the Month

Saskatchewan Roughrider kicker Luca Congi has earned the title of Gibson's Finest CFL Specials Teams Player of the Month for September. 

Congi had a perfect field goal completion percentage with 12 field goals in September including the game in Winnipeg when he split the uprights six times which earned him the Specials Teams Player of the Week acknowledgement.  So far this season, the Simon Fraser product has kicked 22 field goals for an 81 completion percentage.

In addition, the Waterloo native has kicked 22 converts to round out his point scoring at 100 points for the Green and White this season. 

Congi joins teammate Stevie Baggs, who was the CFL Defensive Player of the Month in August. 

Congrats Luca!

Toronto, ON - (September 30, 2009) - Jeremaine Copeland (offence), Otis Floyd (defence), Luca Congi (special teams) and Ricky Foley (Canadian) were named the Gibson's Finest CFL Players of the Month for September the Canadian Football League announced today. 

The four players were chosen by a panel of judges that includes former Canadian Football League players Matt Dunigan and Duane Forde, now of TSN, and Pierre Vercheval of RDS.

Warriors-Tigers Trade

Medicine Hat, AB – Medicine Hat Tigers announce today they have made a trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors. 

The Tigers sent 17-year-old prospect forward Michael Forsyth and a 6th round bantam pick to the Warriors for 19-year-old forward Matt MacKay and 18-year-old goaltender Deven Dubyk. 

"Matt is a skilled forward with good hands who works real from the top of the circles down to the net," said Tigers' general manager/head coach Willie Desjardins. "We are excited to have Matt join our team. He was at Minnesota Wild's training camp this year and we are looking forward to what he can bring to our club." 

MacKay, from Calgary, AB, is a 5' 11", 190 lbs centre man who played in 31 games last season with the Warriors, scoring 6 goals and adding 3 assists for 9 points along with 19 penalty minutes. 

"Deven is a player who is looking for a new start in the WHL," stated Desjardins. "He was just named the SJHL player of the week and has had a terrific start with Notre Dame Hounds." 

"Our goaltending coach, J.F. Martel, worked with Deven this summer and liked what he saw. Deven has the potential to be a very good goaltender," concluded Desjardins. 

The Minitonas, MB native stands 6'3" and weighs in at 180 lbs. He appeared in 35 games for Moose Jaw last year posting a 4.57 goals against average and 0.866 save percentage.

Clermont Talk / Pats & Eberle at P.A.

It was a really weird day covering Canada's Team. The decision by veteran fullback Chris Szarka to enter politics probably was the biggest headline-grabber (see below), but there's also an issue with slotback Jason Clermont.

I don't know what Clermont's intention was with his comment on Twitter (see Tuesday's blog posts) but it certainly got people talking. He made a glib remark about the Buffalo Bills' under-utilization of Terrell Owens and later wrote that it would be a soap opera that will carry on for awhile.

I don't know Jason very well and likely never will but you CAN'T tell me he wasn't drawing a parallel between his own situation, and Owens catching no passes for Buffalo on Sunday. Was it an attempt at humour? I'm being told that it was. And if I thought he felt his minimal role with the Riders in 2009 was the least bit funny, I could actually go along with that assessment.

Jason's been nothing but professional and cordial towards me not only this season but throughout his whole career so I'm not about to pass judgment on him now or anytime soon with regards to what he writes on Twitter, or whatever he chooses to do with his life.

Whatever. It is what it is.

A 34-year Rider season ticket holder wrote in to rip me that I shouldn't have posted this "garbage" about Clermont and that this blog shouldn't be turned into a gossip page.

Well A) I'll put on this blog whatever I want and B) Clermont wrote it, not me. Every other media outlet's picked it up so why wouldn't I?

But enough with THAT.

But pretty much everywhere I go, several times a day, people are asking me about Clermont's "role" with the Riders and why he isn't used more. Certainly Jason has a LOT of fans in this town and they're upset he isn't getting the ball.

CKRM/Access 7 Rider analyst Marshall Hamilton (a former Rider DB) tackled the issue on In The Huddle last night:

"I suspect there's a subtle message there (Clermont's comments on Twitter) but none of us can prove that. I think Jason Clermont has been a tremendous athlete, a tremendous CFLer and a tremendous gentleman his entire career. And he had some remarkable years in British Columbia but what happened was Wally Buono saw a guy who was getting on in years, whose body was beaten up because of the way he played, and he was in the declining years in terms of his talent and ability to contribute. So he decided not to re-sign him."

"The Saskatchewan Roughriders, in my opinion, had no choice but to sign Clermont even though they may have, and this is just my opinion, they may have had the same opinion as Wally Buono in terms of how beat up he is and his declining years. But it would've been a public relations nightmare if they had not signed Jason Clermont and he had wound up playing elsewhere."

"So I think this season has panned out the way the Roughriders believed it would. They didn't believe he would play a prominent role in their offence and he hasn't. But I believe he's played a solid role at the practice field, in their locker room and is still contributing. And the season's not over! I think you still will see Jason Clermont contribute in a big way in the last six games of the regular season and perhaps even make some big plays in the post-season."

----


The news broke Tuesday about Chris Szarka running in the next civic election on Twitter too!

You can check it out at www.twitter.com/ReginaElections .

I hate when sports crosses over into news! I never know how to handle it. CKRM newsman Roger Currie is covering this story in the news this morning.

Good for Zark. I'm sure he'll get lots of votes.

----

I'm sure you're one of the many that's NOT into Twitter. Charles Barkley said on Fox Sports Radio yesterday that Twitter's for losers; those who write on it, and those who read it to get status updates of celebrities.

That's Charles's opinion.

But when something breaks like the Szarka news or the Clermont comments, the media has to take action. That's JUST the way it is.

And Twitter will be great until it's over-used and taken advantage of and becomes an annoyance like Facebook has.

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was on Howard Stern recently saying he just sits by his computer all day refreshing his Twitter comments page and is making a living blogging about what the celebrities are writing about themselves on Twitter.

Weird, but that's where we're at as a society.

----

To hockey --

The Regina Pats are at Prince Albert tonight (7:00pm on 620 CKRM) for their first meeting of the season against the Raiders.

Thanks to the Leader Post's Rob Vanstone for TWICE including CKRM in his preview stories in today's Sports section! :)

Yes, it'll be Jordan Eberle's first appearance in the Pats' lineup all season after being returned by the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Pats coach Curtis Hunt told CKRM yesterday that he hopes Jordan soon gets over the disappointment of being cut by the Oilers:

HUNT: "Of course he's disappointed. He said to me himself 'I have no intentions of being back' and you know what? That's the right attitude to have. But for the naysayers about his attitude coming back, if you'd have seen him practice this week, there's no grey area about where his heart and mind are."

RP: What's he going to do for your team?

HUNT: "Well right now he gives us hope! Haha. Especially the way we've struggled as much as we have to score. He brings leadership, he'll play in all situations, he'll kill penalties, block shots. The way his demeanor is, I think it's a calming influence for our group."

----

Generally this time of year I don't get to spend as much time around the hockey club as I'd like, since I've got to split my loyalties with the Riders.

But I got to spend some significant team at the Brandt Centre yesterday and it was refreshing being around the 1-4-0 club. Of course they're not happy with the record but when I was upstairs visiting with the P.R. people, they pointed out four of the team's five games opening week were against the top two teams in the division (Saskatoon and Brandon) and they feel they should be happy to have beaten the Blades 4-3 in the shootout one week ago, and been real close in the other games.

With Eberle back now - and the addition of sniper Killian Hutt - there's a sense of renewed optimism around the club.

It was great to see Jordan and he skated over to the bench where I was standing with a huge smile on his face. It'll take some time to get over being sent down by the Oilers but at least he knows he has a bright future there. He also said his billets ( his grandparents ) were real pleased to have him back for one more season.

Goalie coach Ryan Cyr is in town to work with Ketlo and Guhle and he was smiling ear-to-ear too when we chatted.

It's not bad news in Pats-land. Not by a long shot.

And it's always, always GREAT to be around the hockey club.

It jarred in my memory yesterday that this is my 17th season in the 'Dub and that Pats' rookie defenceman Myles Bell was being brought home from the hospital when I was a 20-year old broadcasting my first game in the league between the Raiders and Blades at the Communiplex in 1993. The goalies were Kendall Sidoruk (P.A.) and Norm Maracle (Saskatoon) and the coaches were Donn Clark and Lorne Molleken.

WOW time flies. And it's still awesome being in the league, chasing the dream of one day being the NHL -- for all of us..

----

Here are tonight's game notes courtesy Daniel Plaster:

Head to Head
This will be the first of six meetings this season between the Regina Pats and the Prince Albert Raiders. The Raiders took the season series from the Pats (3-4-0-1), but there were some tight battles with 5 of the 8 games coming with a 2 goal or less difference. The next battle between the two will be October 20th in Prince Albert. This game also marks the return of Jordan Eberle to the Pats line-up, he was sent back to the Pats this past Sunday at the end of the Edmonton Oiler pre-season schedule.

Last Season Against the Raiders:
GP G A Pts.
Brett Leffler 7 5 3 8
Jordan Weal 6 3 4 7
Matt Strueby 7 2 4 6
Jordan Eberle 6 4 2 6

Last Action:
The Pats played the Blades for the third time in their first 5 games this past Sunday. Again, the blue and white matched up well with Saskatoon, but the Blades used 3 third period goals to pull away with a 4-1 win. The turning point was a disallowed Pats power play goal mid-way through the third that would have tied the game. Dawson Guhle started his third straight game for the Pats, while Jordan Weal scored the lone goal for the Pats

This past Friday the Pats ran into a quick skating Moose Jaw Warrior team that used a strong first period to power them to a 5-4 win. Dawson Guhle picked up the loss in his second WHL career while Brett Leffler with Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist and fight).

The Pats won their first game of the 2009-10 campaign on Wednesday night 4-3 over the Saskatoon Blades in a shoot-out. Matt Strueby scored twice and added the shoot-out winner; Tomas Hricina also added a goal and Brett Leffler scored in the shoot-out. Dawson Guhle picked up the win, but it was interesting as the Blades scored with less than 20 seconds left in the third to tie it, sending the game to overtime.

Injury Report:
Garrett Mitchell (Thumb) – 4-6 Weeks
Damien Ketlo (Groin) – Day to Day
Games lost to injury – 5 games

Recent Transactions:
September 28th/09
Killian Hutt acquired from Portland (2010 4th/Conditional 2011)
3 Players designated for re-assignment
Lucas Froese (LW) – Winnipeg (MJHL)
Dominic Perrault (D) – Battlefords (SJHL)
Derek Tendler (G) – Estevan (SJHL)
September 26th/09
Linden Rowat traded to Lethbridge (5th rnd. Bntm. Pick)
September 24/09
1 Player designated for re-assignment
Mitch Czibere (C) – To be determined
September 22nd/09
1 Player assigned to Pats
Derek Tendler (G) – Estevan (SJHL)

Milestones:
*Jordan Eberle is the active Pat career leader in points with 204. He is also the current active Pat career leader in goals (105), assists (99), points (204), game winning goals (23), power play goals (39) and shorthanded markers (7).
*Brett Leffler is just 2 goals away from 60 career markers and 14 minutes away from 400 penalty minutes for his career
*Matt Delahey is 8 games away from reaching the 200 games played played.
*Colten Teubert is 16 away from 400 career penalty minutes.
*Garrett Mitchell is 10 games away from 150 in his WHL career.
*Matt Strueby is 4 away from 40 career WHL goals

Eberle topping the charts:
Jordan Eberle is currently the Pats active leader in goals with 105 for his Pat career. This puts 4 back of Rhett Gordon (Pats 92-96) on the modern Pats all-time goal list (1966-present). Eberle’s 204 points puts him in a tie with Jim Minor (Pats 71-75) and one back of Brent Fedyk (Pats 82-87).

Eberle Returns:
After the Pats 4-1 loss on Sunday night, the blue and white did get some great news. Star forward Jordan Eberle was returned to the blue and white from the Edmonton Oilers after their final pre-season game Sunday night. Eberle will be in the line-up Wednesday night in Prince Albert.

Guhle taking the reins:
Starting goaltender, Damien Ketlo has been out the past week with a pulled groin he suffered in a 3-0 loss last Saturday to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Since then, 17 year old rookie goaltender Dawson Guhle has gotten three straight starts. He is 1-2 with a 4.00 GAA.

Bell Multi-tasking:
With injuries and tweaking up front, 16 year old defenceman, Myles Bell, has played the past two games at right wing. He has not looked out of place, collecting an assist and getting some solid time on the power play.

Pats Penalty killers:
One of the strong points to the Pats play this season has been their ability to kill penalties. They are 6th best team in the WHL killing penalties. The unit has killed 30 of 33 penalties including a stellar 22 of 24 at home.

Pats Trade Rowat:
Goaltender Linden Rowat has been at home awaiting a trade since being the odd man out in the Regina Pats 20 year old situation. His future will now be with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Saturday, he was sent to the windy city in exchange for a conditional 2010 5th round WHL Bantam Draft pick.

Pats Acquire Hutt:
Monday, the Regina Pats acquired RW Killian Hutt from the Portland Winterhawks in exchange for a 2010 4th round WHL Bantam pick and a conditional 2011 pick. Hutt is a solid offensive player who had 35 points on a Winterhawk team that struggled last season.

Team Make-up:
16 Year Olds (93) – 2 (Bell, Borstmayer)
17 Year Olds (92) – 6 (Slobozian, Favreau, Hood, Rieder, Weal, Guhle)
18 Year Olds (91) – 9 (Davidson, Hutt, Pym, Sparrow, Gardiner, Mitchell, Mulder, Poletin, Ketlo) 19 Year Olds (90) – 4 (Teubert, Eberle, Hricina, Metz)
20 Year Olds (89) – 3 (Delahey, Strueby, Leffler)

Leaders:
Goals – Matt Strueby (3) Assists – Brett Leffler (3)
Points – 3 tied (4) Plus/Minus – Tomas Hricina (3)
PIM – Travis Sparrow (19) PPG – Weal/Davidson (1)
Wins – Dawson Guhle (1) GAA – Damien Ketlo (3.53)
Sv. % - Damien Ketlo (.903)

Next 5 Games: (all times local)
Oct. 2nd v/ Swift Current 7:00
Oct. 3rd v/ Red Deer 7:00
Oct. 7th @ Moose Jaw 7:00
Oct. 9th v/ Calgary 7:00
Oct. 16th v/ Kamloops 7:00

Tuesday Rider Practice Report

We taped tonight's In The Huddle program during today's Rider practice so I missed the goings-on. The Leader Post's Ian Hamilton has a good recap here:
http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/blogs/roughriders/default.aspx

Huddle airs tonight at 7:00 on Access 7.

Tough To Ignore This

Jason Clermont posted this on his Twitter account at about 10:20 this morning:

"@JasonClermont T. Owens with no catches??! Come on Buffalo, you signed him...use him"

Oooooooh boy. Here we go. What do you make of this?

I'd planned to sidestep this but it's hit the message boards.

FYI, CKRM Rider analyst Marshall Hamilton has some interesting thoughts on Clermont on In The Huddle tonight at 7:00 on Access 7....
RP

Players Of The Week

Toronto, ON - (September 29, 2009) - Avon Cobourne (offence), T.J. Hill (defence), Alexis Serna (special teams) and Andy Fantuz (Canadian) were named the Gibson's Finest CFL Players of the Week for week 13, the Canadian Football League announced today.

Eberle Back With Pats

Jordan Eberle was at practice with the Regina Pats on Monday, shortly after his return from Edmonton Oilers camp where he hung in until the final day of cuts. Jordan will be in the Pats' lineup tomorrow night at Prince Albert (7:00pm on 620 CKRM). Here are his thoughts on the move by the Oilers:

EBERLE: I thought I had a good camp. I look at it as a step to hopefully making the NHL one day. Coming in I knew the position I was in; I had to impress a lot to make this team. They had a lot of guys on one-way contracts and a lot of forwards. I was happy with the effort I put in and to make it this far was a goal too.

Q: What was the message from the Oilers?

EBERLE: They were extremely happy with how I played in the camp. They saw I can compete at this level. They want me to go back to junior and be a leader, teach and make the players in Regina better players around me. I thought it was a great message.

It's tough anytime you get cut. But I still see it that way; go back to junior and have a good year and with the World Juniors as well. It's another year to learn and get better.


The Pats got some further good news Monday. 18-year old forward Garrett Mitchell could be in the lineup Friday at home against Swift Current. He'll have missed three games with a thumb injury.

For further news on a Pats trade and two player reassignments, see the posts below..

Shologan On Sportsline

Roughriders defensive tackle was an entertaining guest on 620 CKRM's Sportsline last night at Capital Ford Lincoln at Rochdale & Pasqua.

Forgive the Riders for being somewhat offended when people refer to Saturday's 23-20 victory at Edmonton as an "ugly win". Rider coach Ken Miller seemed a bit put off by a reporter's comment on that upon the team's return to Regina Sunday and Shologan agrees.

"I'd have to get offended too," Shologan offered. "It might've been ugly from the perspective that we didn't score a lot of points. But our defence played awesome football and our offence ran it well and threw the ball well. We didn't get into the endzone because of penalties or some other reason, but I would say our defence played well so from that perspective it was a beautiful win."

Point being; the 31-27 home loss to Edmonton the week before may have been a little easier on the eyes but it was a loss. What would you rather have?

Rider coach Ken Miller gave his team Monday off as far as being on the practice field, but the players spent the day in meetings at Mosaic Stadium preparing for Friday's match at Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.

Shologan said they aren't concerned over who the Lions may play at quarterback in this one; Buck Pierce or Casey Printers.

They're just looking forward to the game!

Riders practice Tuesday at 11:00.

Pats Re-Assign A Pair

Regina, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats have re-assigned two players to their Junior-A clubs. 

Dominic Perrault has been sent to the Battlefords' North Stars of the SJHL.

Perrault split time between both the Pats and the North Stars in 2008-09. He picked up 4 goals and 4 assists with the Stars in 22 games and had 2 assists in 26 games with the Pats. 

Lucas Froese has been sent to the Winnipeg Saints of the MJHL. The 17 year old rookie got into a pair of games this season with no points and a -2.

Pats-Hawks Swing Deal

Pats Acquire Hutt from Portland  

Regina, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats General Manager Brant Parker would like to announce the acquisition of forward Killian Hutt from the Portland Winter Hawks in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft and a conditional 2011 WHL Bantam Draft pick. 

With the Winter Hawks last season, the 18 year old forward had a solid rookie WHL season with 13 goals and 35 points. In 2007-08, Hutt was a 16 year old midget player with the Knights of Columbus Pats in the AMHL. He was third in the league in scoring with 66 points in 36 games and was an all-star.

Killian Hutt (RW)
Born: Apr. 13/915'8" 179Lbs
Home: Edmonton, Ab.
2008-09
GP-57 G-13 A-22 Pts-35 

Regina Pats General Manager Brent Parker, "Killian fits into a good age group for us and we think he can add some skill and scoring to our line-up." 

Hutt will arrive in Regina shortly and begin practicing with the Pats later this week.

Rider Schedule

This Week's Practice Times:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH
11:00 am Riders practice

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH
11:00 am Riders practice

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2ND
8:30 pm (Sask time) SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS at B.C. LIONS

Former Rider Sends In Rider Pride Pics

"Hello Rod,
I know when you're in the booth its hard to catch all the Rider faithful out and about so I attached a few pics from during the game.

I live real close to the stadium and loved going by the Riders Billboard.

You're a superstar, thanks for keeping the Rider Nation informed. Keep up the good work!

Jon Hoffman"

----

Roughriders DT Keith Shologan will be our guest on 620 CKRM's Sportsline tonight at 6:00 live from Capital Ford Lincoln..

The Monday Morning Goalie

HELLO "UP WEEK"!

Where've you been?

Actually it's been pretty good around here lately ... Canada's Team has won four of its last six games and is sitting in first-place as they head into the homestretch.

What's ahead in the stretch drive? B.C. twice, Calgary twice, Toronto (at Mosaic Stadium) and Hamilton (at Ivor Wynne) meaning for the most part they'll duke it out in the west to get to the finish line.

That's what you want; your fate to be in your own hands. Now, you just gotta win.

And the /=S=/ appears to be up for the challenge.

----

The 62,517 fans in attendance at Saturday's 23-20 Rider win at Commonwealth Stadium made an all-time CFL attendance record for a regular season game. Congratulations to those who were there! You were a part of history, and that record may stand forever.

ALTHOUGH, this week we head to Vancouver for a Friday Night Football clash between the 7-5 Riders and the 5-7 B.C. Lions.

Now IF Casey Printers gets the nod at QB for the Lions this week, we could be looking at another monster crowd for a Rider game but it's doubtful B.C. Place will hit what we had in Edmonton this weekend.

It would be nice though.

-----

When Rider OT Gene Makowsky takes to the field Friday night in Vancouver, he'll tie Ron Lancaster for the second-most career games played by a Roughrider at 245.

Roger Aldag remains #1 in that category but Geno may catch him before all is said and done.

----

NFL notes:

- If you don't love Brett Favre, you don't have a heart.

- It's an UP week in Detroit after the Lions beat Washington to end 19 straight down weeks. Can you imagine?

- Said Eagles backup quarterback Michael Vick about Sunday's game against Kansas City:

"It's gonna be a dogfight!"

:D

The protesters outside Lincoln Financial Field weren't laughing though. Don't they have anything better to do?

- Did anybody else see Tom Brady scream an F-bomb on his way into the locker room at halftime against Atlanta?

----

A hearty congrats to the Eskimos for their stunning halftime show Saturday which featured 300 current and former cheer team members and cheerleaders doing one giant routine.

Six decades of Eskimo cheerleaders were out there aged 20 to 80.

It was like The Golden Girls meets Baywatch.

For some reason I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Nice job. Maybe the Riders can do that some time.

----

I've asked it before and never got an answer so I'll ask it again.

How did this younger generation of fans get turned onto the Riders? Our Edmonton hotel was full of 20- and 30-something aged fans clad in Green & White making all kinds of noise.

Teenagers and kids are Rider crazy too. What flipped the switch?

In the 90s, it seemed like only the baby boomers and grey hairs cared (and a few of you younger diehards).

I bring this up because last week on In The Huddle, Dan Farthing said he wished he could've played in this era of Rider Pride, rather than 1991 to 2001 where crowds at Taylor Field were routinely 16,000 to 17,000.

Was it the winning? Was it the marketing? Was it Kent Austin?

What got you turned onto the Riders if you weren't before?

THESE are the questions that keep me up at night. Not the X's and O's of the game of football.

----

The Riders and their fans seem to be despised by those in other stadiums however.

Eskimo safety Scott Gordon admitted it on our pregame show Saturday and he's seen it from both sides, being an ex-Rider.

The Rider Priders are routinely soused, and very loud. Bordering on belligerent. These are the ones I see.

I chalk it up to 100 years of having sand kicked in our face, and now it's payback time.

That's the way I see it anyways.

----

You would've liked this:

The flight attendant on the mic on the way home from Edmonton asked for a round of applause from all Rider fans on the airplane.

There was a round of applause, and the pilot dinged the bell too!

I wonder if other CFL teams get this.

Who knows, but it's fun to be with the Riders when things like this happen.

----

How do we fill the Brandt Centre regularly for Pats games, like the Riders do for their facility?

I know how.

Just win baby. I firmly believe the Pats couldn't be marketed any better than they already are.

Just win, and they will come.

That atmosphere at the NHL game last week was remarkable and showed what we COULD have with a little more success.

In fact maybe it's time we give credit to the Brandt Centre people for the work that's been done in our arena.

The NHL types were impressed with the facilities for the Senators-Lightning game.

Conversely, the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon is getting a universal thumbs-down for what went on during the two New York Islander preseason games there.

I know this; the broadcast facilities there are a sham considering how great that arena COULD be.

----

Good story by the Leader Post's Murray McCormick last week on the Riders purchasing and renovating a portion of the old Superstore at Albert and Dewdney and turning it into a players' lounge/meeting/training facility.

$500,000 is being put towards the investment, which is long overdue. It's too bad the team's been split into three different locales; Mosaic Stadium, the business office at Albert and Dewdney and now this training facility.

But at least they're within a few blocks of each other.

It's all patchwork until the Riders are playing in their new stadium by 2013.

What do I know about that by the way? Diddly squat.

All I know is that PLENTY is going on behind the scenes but I'm not interested in digging for information.

Just call me to attend the news conference with the big announcement and I'll be there with bells on....

----

After that nice compliment of the L-P, I have a favour to ask.

It would be nice if Murray McCormick put in his Rider preview stories that the Rider games are on CKRM Radio and not just TSN.

Darrell Davis used to do it, and Greg Harder does it in his Pats preview stories.

Please give it some thought Murray!

----

Back to hockey --

Regardless of what you think of the Pats, Jordan's return will provide a gigantic boost.

For one, he's good for at least a point a game meaning the Pats go into every game up 1-0 with him in the lineup.

With better goaltending than last year, this team's outlook vastly improves.

Do they challenge for first? Can they make a run?

That's pretty hard to say right now considering they sit at the bottom of the East Division standings.

But the return of Jordan Eberle means all bets are off.

I wouldn't look at dealing off Eberle and Teubert before we see what can happen with this team playing together, and playing HARD.

----

This may be a shortened version of the M.M.G. because when I switched over BlackBerrys from the Curve to the Tour on Friday, all the notes I had saved were erased.

But this Tour WILL be the last phone I ever own. Or at least I hope so.

If you're in the market for a new BlackBerry or are elligible for an upgrade, I strongly urge you to head down to Prairie Mobile Communications at 240 Albert St. N. or their Henderson Drive location and check out the TOUR.

Trust me, it's worth it.

----

ON THAT TOPIC....

A couple things regarding Twitter and blogging.

What works better for score updates .... Twitter updates,
or if I just did a quick update on the blog?

Here's the problem -- if I get 30 or so people (friends of mine), texting me asking for score updates of Rider and Pats games because they're not near a TV or radio, then I just can't broadcast the game.

I've tried to get them to sign up for Twitter to get my score updates, but they won't.

This hit a crescendo during the Banjo Bowl when I was trying to update all these people by text or PIN and it COMPLETELY screwed up our broadcast.

In fact people wrote into the blog saying I sounded drunk which was a COMPLETE INSULT. People in this town should know better than that after all these years and thousands of broadcasts. But it made me realize it's time to sharpen up and remember the task at hand.

MOST of my friends have BlackBerrys so a quick check of the blog while you're out and about will get you the latest scores from your team
s if that's where I'm sending the updates.

Could this work?

Otherwise, I'm putting the BB away during games because it's too distracting from what my purpose is for being there...

And for those direct messaging me on Twitter during games asking fo
r explanations of penalties or injuries, FORGET IT!

How can I call the game?

----

I was scolded by a lady at the 7/11 at Pasqua and 13th the other day for not wearing red on a Friday.

She said we're supposed to do it to support Canada's troops in Afghanistan.

Is this the deal? If so, I'm all for it but I haven't heard anything about it.

And judging by the rest of the people in 7/11, they hadn't heard about it either since they were wearing everything BUT red.

Perhaps we should start it.

----

I'm still working out with the seniors at the Lawson, Fieldhouse and the NWLC.

The other day this gentleman, a Pats season ticket holder, told me he torn his bicep off the bone doing curls and the doctor said he was just going to leave it since the guy was so old.

"Just another thing that doesn't work!" he said cheerfully.

And they call these the "golden years"???

:(

----

Rider Radio analyst Carm Carteri has invented the word "nulligate".

It's a hybrid of the words "nullify" and "negate" I think.

I get what he's saying. Do you?

----

Silence of the Lambs was on A&E on our flight home from Edmonton yesterday.

YIKES!! 18 years later and that movie still gives me the heebie jeebies.

We saw it in the theatre when I was in Mount Royal College in Calgary and when we walked out, we were looking over our shoulders in the parking lot.

That's in my Top 3 all-time movies no doubt.

----

Can you believe we snuck in a flick last week? Yah, it was on my ONE free evening. We hit the Wok Box (one of Regina's best secrets) for supper then saw A Perfect Getaway at Rainbow Cinemas.

It's a perfect show if you only want to pay $4. It's a drama/horror movie with actors I barely recognize. That makes it believable.

I would recommend it for a few hours to put your brain on hold.

But that Vince Vaughn movie which opens this weekend looks like a must-see....

----

By the way, is The Hangover closing in on the #1 grossing movie of all-time or what?

It debuted June 5 and it's STILL in the expensive theatres showing a dozen times a day on weekends and packing the place.

SHEESH! Most movies would be on the Blockbuster 7-Day rental shelf by now but that show is still going strong.

Nice job.

----

Okay, that's it for another week.

Thanks for checking in and we'll talk to you tonight on Sportsline on 620 CKRM!
RP

Eberle Reassigned

He'll be in Regina Monday....

Blades 4 Pats 1

REGINA -- It was a case of a great start but an unlucky finish for the Regina Pats who fell 4-1 to the visiting Saskatoon Blades Sunday evening to conclude their four game homestand at a disappointing 1-3.

Jordan Weal got the Pats on the board first, 17:24 into the game. Linemate Brett Leffler dug the puck out behind the Saskatoon goal and fed Weal in the slot who rifled it past Blades goalie Adam Morrison. Tomas Hrcina picked up the other assist. Regina led 1-0 after the first despite being outshot 11-7.

Saskatoon's Curtis Hamilton knotted the game at 1-1 at 12:49 of the second period and that was the score going to the third. Just 56 seconds into the next frame, the Blades' Stefan Elliott made it 2-1 when he banked the puck in from behind the Pats' goal line off the skate off goalie Dawson Guhle. Later on the Pats got their first powerplay of the game and thought they'd scored, stuffing the puck past Morrison on the short-side, however the referee called for a video review. After a look upstairs, the goal was disallowed and it remained 2-1 for Saskatoon.

The Blades made it 3-1 on a Travis Toomey goal with 2:32 left to play and ten seconds after that Josh Nicholls made it 4-1 and that sent most of 3340 to the exits.

Game over: Saskatoon 4 Regina 1

Molson 3-Stars: 1) Hamilton 2) Nicholls 3) Weal. Taylor Toyota Hardest Working Pat: Weal

Shots on goal: Saskatoon 31 Regina 23

Powerplays: Regina 0/3, Saskatoon 0/4

Records: Regina 1-4-0 (1-3-0 home), Saskatoon 2-1-0-1 (1-0-0-1 road)

Pats Next Game: 7:30pm Wednesday at P.A. on 620 CKRM.

Regina Pat Canadians News Release

The Regina Pat Canadians opened their regular season winning one of three games this past weekend.

On Friday night Regina won its opening game by defeating the Saskatoon Blazers by a score of 3-2 in Saskatoon.

Allen Kilback, Eric Benoit, and Calder Brooks scored for Regina. Spencer Mault, and Jesse Williamson replied for the Blazers.

Brett Teskey stopped eighteen of twenty shots for the Pat Canadians to record the win. The Pat Canadians directed thirty shots at the Saskatoon net.

The game star for the Pat C’s was Calder Brooks.

Saturday night the Pat Canadians lost 6-2 to the Beardy’s Blackhawks.

Allen Kilback, and Erik Benoit each scored for the Pat Canadians. Todd Fiddler with two goals and Jared Iron, Jaimen Jakubowski, Matthew Hildebrandt and Kenny Kubica with singles scored for Beardy’s.

Andy Desautels stopped thirty-eight shot s in the Pat C net and took the loss. Brandon Thiessen blocked twenty-three shots for Beardy’s.

Erik Benoit was the game star for Regina.

The Pat Canadians closed out their weekend with a 5-3 loss to the Saskatoon Contacts on Sunday afternoon at the Schroh in Saskatoon.

Graham Black, Tyler Giebel and Erik Benoit notched the Regina goals. Jordan Fransoo, and Robbie Newton each scored twice for the Contacts and Michael Segan added one goal.

Brett Teskey turned aside thirty-six shots for the Pat Canadians. Matt Hrynkiw stopped twenty-two for the Contacts.

Graham Black earned the game star honour for the Pat Canadians.

Regina opens its home schedule this weekend with two games against the Beardy’s Blackhawks on Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Sunday versus the Battleford Stars at 2:30 pm.

Both games are at the Al Ritchie.

Rider Audio

Here are some of the interviews from today's Rider arrival at the Regina Airport following Saturday's 23-20 win at Edmonton:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=d76e6134d4df39870c814df2efeadc50e04e75f6e8ebb871

Rowat Dealt To 'Canes

Regina, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats have traded 20 year old goaltender Linden Rowat to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for a conditional 5th round pick in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft.

Rowat spent four seasons with the Regina Pats and won 85 regular season games and is the all-time shutout leader for the club. 

Regina Pats General Manager, Brent Parker, "We wish Linden nothing but the best, he is a good kid and has been a solid member of our organization on and off the ice. A fresh start for him will be good, I'm glad we got it done."

Nice

From the Calgary Herald..

Blades at Pats Notes

Saskatoon Blades at Regina Pats, 6pm TONIGHT, Brandt Centre
Broadcast: 620 CKRM Regina, 92.9 FM Saskatoon

The Saskatoon Blades take to the road for 6 of the next 7 games beginning tonight in Regina against the Pats.  Game time is 6:00 pm.

The two teams have already faced off twice in the young 2009-10 regular season.  The Blades opened the season with a 5-1 victory over the Pats at Credit Union Centre on September 18th.  However, the Pats responded on home ice with a 4-3 shootout victory on September 23rd.

This past Friday, the Blades dropped a 4-2 decision to the Edmonton Oil Kings on home ice for a 1-1-0-1 record through the first three games.

Right winger Burke Gallimore (Edmonton, AB) leads the Blades in scoring through 3 games with 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points.  Left winger Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) and defenseman Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) each have 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points for a tie for second in team scoring.

Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) has got the call between the pipes in all 3 games, making 62 saves on 69 shots.

The Pats, meanwhile, also last played this past Friday, taking a 5-4 loss at the hands of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Overage center Matt Strueby leads the Pats in scoring over the first four games with 3 goals and 1 assist for 4 points, while left winger Tomas Hricina and right winger Brett Leffler each have 3 points.

Tonight concludes a four game homestand for the Pats (1-2-0). Wednesday they visit the P.A. Raiders.

Following tonight's game the Blades are off until next Saturday, when the team travels to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders.

The Blades' next home game is Wednesday, October 7th when the Kootenay Ice pay a visit to Credit Union Centre.  Game time is 7:05 pm.

Rams 28 T-Birds 17

VANCOUVER, B.C. - The University of Regina Rams improved to 2-2 on the season after recording a 28-17 road victory over the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday afternoon in Vancouver, heard on 620ckrm.com.



The Rams took an early lead with 15 unanswered points in the first quarter, including two Perri Scarcelli field goals and a seven-yard touchdown run by Cale Inglis.



Spencer Betts caught a 19-yard pass for a major early in the second quarter to cut the lead to eight, but that was as close as the Thunderbirds would come.



Two more Scarcelli field goals gave the Rams a 14-point lead at halftime, and a Jordan Sisco touchdown reception late in the third quarter put the Rams up 28-10 going into the final frame.



Betts capped off the scoring with his second touchdown reception of the game five minutes into the second quarter.



Inglis led the Rams with 87 rushing yards, while Graham Mosiondz had nine carries for 55 yards.



Marc Mueller completed 17 of his 36 passes for 202 yards, with Sisco checking in as his top receiver with six catches for 75 yards.

Riders 23 Eskimos 20

Riders down Eskimos 23-20 in front of record crowd at Commonwealth Stadium


EDMONTON - Steven Jyles's fourth quarter dive into the endzone put the Saskatchewan Roughriders back atop the packed CFL West Division.

Jyles's touchdown plunge proved to be the difference as Saskatchewan avenged last week's narrow loss by taking down the Edmonton Eskimos 23-20 in the rematch in front of a record crowd of 62,517 on Saturday night.

It was the third win in the last four outings for the Riders (7-5), who kept pace with Calgary for a share of first place in the West.

"It's a big win on the road," said Riders starting quarterback Darian Durant. "It's a big Western win and it keeps us in first place. We want to finish the season in first place and to do that we need to take care of the games that we need to win to control our own path. We definitely didn't want to lose all three to Edmonton this year."

Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller admitted the game was far from perfect, but his team will take it.

"There were a lot of mistakes," said Miller. "The weather was a big factor in some of the errors. There is some room for improvement off of that game.

"But it's a big win for us. It keeps us in first place. It keeps us away from the pack at second place or worse."

Edmonton (6-6) had already captured the season series against Saskatchewan but has now lost three of its last four to sit in third in the West.
(Canadian Press)

Game Log

Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:

- Eskimos are in their green retro 1960s uniforms with green jerseys and gold pants and helmets. The Riders are adorned in their regular white road jerseys with green helmets and green pants.

- 17 degrees Celsius at game time. The wind is 45 km/h. Field conditions are dry.

- Riders win coin toss and defer to second half. Riders get the ball and the wind to open the game, as per the Eskimos’ choice.

- Riders start their opening drive at their 34-yard line. They get a first down on an 11-yard pick up by SB Andy Fantuz, but end up having to punt.

- A 58-yard Jamie Boreham punt pins the Eskimos on their 3-yard line to start their first possession. After three plays, the Esks have to punt.

- Saskatchewan goes 2 and out on its second possession. So do the Eskimos!

- Edmonton gets on the board first with a 60-yard interception return touchdown by LB T.J. Hill with 6:37 to go in the first quarter. 7-0 Edmonton.

- Riders tossed a TD from Steven Jyles to Andy Fantuz on a trick play which was called back due to illegal formation. They had to settle for a 26-yard Luca Congi field goal to make it 7-3 with 3:51 left in the quarter.

- Riders’ first sack comes on the next Edmonton drive when DT Keith Shologan takes down QB Ricky Ray at the Edmonton 13 yard line. That forces Edmonton to take a safety rather than punt into the wind, making it 7-5 for the Eskimos with 2:27 left in the opening period.

- Durant gets intercepted again, by Bradley Robinson, at the Edmonton 26-yard. Takes points off the board. 7-5 Edmonton after 1 quarter.

- 2:14 into the second quarter, Noel Prefontaine made it 10-5 Edmonton with a 22-yard field goal. The big play in the drive was a 63-yard Ray-to-Peterson hook up.

- Riders take the lead late in the first half when LB Rey Williams recovers a fumbled punt in the Edmonton endzone to make it 12-10 Saskatchewan with 2:01 to go in the half.

- Riders take the two point lead into the halftime break.

- The Eskimos open the second half scoring on a 43 yard Noel Prefontaine field goal to make it 13-12 Edmonton 2:18 in.

- Durant intercepted on the Riders’ first second half drive when Jason Armstead tips a pass into the hands of Edmonton LB T.J. Hill. Esks lead turnover ratio 3-1.

- Attendance announced at 62,517. A CFL record for a regular season game.

- Rider punter Jamie Boreham scrambles for a 1st down on 3rd and 1 to keep a Rider drive alive at their 39 yard line. The possession ends with a Congi 36 yard field goal to make it 15-13 Sask with 3:12 to go in the 3rd quarter. It was a 10 play, 66 yard drive.

- Riders take a 15-13 lead into the fourth quarter.

- 1:05 into the fourth, Eskimo tailback rambles 55 yards to the Rider endzone to give Edmonton a 20-15 lead.

- Riders get the lead back at 21-20 within a Steven Jyles one-yard plunge. Two point convert pass to Fantuz is good. 23-20 with 9:11 to go.

- Eskimos turn it over on downs with 0:54 to go. Riders grind out the clock and Wes Cates goes over 100 yards rushing to get a critical first down as the scoreboard reads 0:00.

- Game over: Roughriders 23 Eskimos 20Riders improve to 7-5 and into a first-place tie in the CFL West with Calgary with six games to go. Eskimos drop to third at 6-6, a game up on last-place B.C.

POSTGAME QUOTES:
RIDER HEAD COACH KEN MILLER:
“We played with an attitude today. It wasn’t always pretty or exact, but we played with attitude and I was proud of the men. We made some mistakes in our sub packages which isn’t like us, and we had so interceptions, but we were committed to being tough and getting the job done.”

“On the TD that was called back, we had inelligible players as our ends. One reported to the officials and the other didn’t. It was a technicality. The play was run well, but the player forgot to report he was eligible.”

“It feels good. We travel back and then have a short week of practice and then another big game in B.C.”

“Jamie Boreham made several big plays today; the rugby style kicks, the 3rd down conversion, he was real big for us today.”

“It was big for the defence to step up and stop them when it counted. We took away Ray’s continuity and stopped their run. Overall it was a good win but a great 3-way win for all phases.”

“We were determined to play well on grass and we were glad to get the win.”

RUNNING BACK WES CATES:
“This is a huge victory. We owe this to the fans. We dropped two to Edmonton at home and we came in with a purpose not to let it slip away. They put up quite a fight but we made more plays than they did.”

“We knew they were good against the run so we wanted to stay in 2nd and short situations and it worked out well that way.”

“I’m proud of the defence. Ricky Ray was awesome last week but the DBs gave him different looks and confused him. It was night and day compared to last week.”

“You kinda want to see the first place teams lose but Calgary beat B.C. but we’re right there with them. We have to keep ourselves on top and B.C.’s a good team so we can’t give them momentum and we’ve got to beat them next week.”

LINEBACKER MIKE MCCULLOUGH:
“Last week Ray, we couldn’t stop him. But we knew he wouldn’t do that again. But he’s still Ricky Ray so we had to counter him. We played well to contain him.”

“The special teams, the touchdown that Rey Williams got, he felt responsible for giving up the 55 yard touchdown which wasn’t his fault, but he came back two plays later and scored a touchdown for us.”

“Obviously we lost the season series to these guys so this one was more for the standings. Now that we’re tied for first-place, it’s right where we want to be.”

1:15 To Kickoff

Two Hours Before Kickoff

First picture off the new Blackberry TOUR! How's it look?

Countdown To Kickoff

EDMONTON -- We're just hours away from the biggest football game of the season for the 6-5 Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 6-5 Edmonton Eskimos.

In the above photo, Commonwealth Stadium is empty but the Eskimos have said they've sold over 56,000 tickets for the showdown (4:00pm Sask time on TSN and CKRM Rider Radio Network). That's a staggering crowd!

The question is, are they mostly Eskimo fans who've jumped on the Richie Hall bandwagon, or are they Rider Priders who've made the trip to the Alberta capital since it's a perfectly-timed kickoff on a beautiful fall afternoon?

We'll find out shortly.

I'll have to admit I haven't exactly felt the vibe just yet. I caught a 7:00am Air Canada flight in here from Regina and landed at 8:30am when the city was still sleeping. I've been buried in my hotel room ever since doing prep work.

An email has just come in from Eskimo P.R. staff that they've lifted the blackout for the game, so even more football fans from northern Alberta will be checking in on this one.

Some quick thoughts on the clash:

- The middle third of the season closes here today. The Riders were 3-3 in the opening six games of the season and are 3-2 so far in the middle six. A win today would make them an impressive 4-2 in this stretch, while a loss leaves them at 3-3 and likely on pace for a 9-9 season.

- A Rider win today is absolutely critical if the team wants to finish first for the first time since 1976. Imagine hosting the WDF with a 50-50 shot of getting to the Grey Cup in Calgary?

- What will Eskimo offensive coordinator Kevin Strasser have up his sleeve today? In his first real game at the helm last week, we had the Riders on their heels for the better part of three quarters. Will have lots of new stuff planned today, or go back with the 30 offence?

- The Riders can't allow the Esks to score touchdowns on their first three drives like they did in Regina. As a matter of fact, giving up three touchdowns overall today could spell disaster.

- How will the team's footing be on the Commonwealth Stadium grass? It'll be interesting to hear Richie Hall's take on it in the pregame show since he's now on the "other side".

- Clermont's in, Hughes is out on this one. Neal will be missed on special teams for sure. Will TODAY be Clermont's breakout game as a Rider? Tailback Wes Cates has more receiving yards than Jason so far this season. Let's hope today's the day...

- 56,000+? I still can't get my mind around that. This will be the highest-attended game I've ever called except for a few WDF's in Vancouver between the Riders and the B.C. Lions.

- LET'S KICK IT OFF ALREADY!!!!!

Game Day!

From Eskimos P.R. staff:

Edmonton Eskimos vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2009
Place: Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton
Kick-off: 4:00 PM (MTN)
Television: TSN
Radio: 630 CHED Edmonton
620 CKRM
Sirius Radio Channel 98

Gates open 2 hours prior to kickoff (2:00pm) on Saturday afternoon

Pre-Game Entertainment:
Two bands will be playing in the concourse starting at 2:00pm.
The Decades - East End Sports Bar starting.
Hoffman and Brown - West Concession area

13th Eskimo: Howard Richie – a longtime season seat holder who turns 90 on September 29
National Anthem: St. David's Male Voice Welsh Choir
Halftime: 60 Years of Eskimo Cheers – 350 members of the Eskimo Cheer Team from the past six decades will perform.

Overview
With last week's nail-biting 31 – 27 win over the Riders in Regina; the Eskimos (6-5) have cemented their reputation as the CFL's best in overcoming adversity.

The late-game heroics are fine and are wildly entertaining, but Head Coach Richie Hall would rather his team learn to play with "prosperity" - get a lead, keep it and close out victories.

A sparkling 20 for 20 passing streak last week showed Ricky Ray and his receiving corps are settling in nicely with the Kevin Strasser led balanced offence. The duo of Fred Stamps and Maurice Mann lit up the 'Rider defence for a combined total of 15 catches, 237 yards and two TDs.

On the ground, Arkee Whitlock ran 19 times for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He'll carry the load Saturday as running mate Calvin McCarty re-aggravated a nagging hamstring injury in Sunday's win.

Asked about the potential pitfalls of playing back-to-back games against the same opponent, Richie Hall said, "The biggest challenge is the possibility of boredom, you have to keep it fresh throughout the week, change the routine for the players and the coaches."

With an expected 50,000+ fans in the seats there will be no shortage of energy at Commonwealth Stadium as the Esks look to sweep the three game season series from the Riders and get a leg up in the tight CFL West race.

Notables
o The Eskimos are 10-1 in their last 11 regular season games vs Saskatchewan in Commonwealth.
o Ricky Ray needs 2 rushing TD's to tie Damon Allen for 9th on the Eskimo All-Time Rushing List (31)
o Kamau Peterson needs 3 receptions for 500 receptions in his CFL career and he needs 56 receiving yards for 3000 receiving yards as an Eskimo
o Maurice Mann needs 6 receptions for 100 receptions in his CFL career
o The last time the Eskimos swept the season series from the Roughriders was 2006
o The Eskimo regular season record at Commonwealth Stadium vs Saskatchewan is 34-8-0
o The largest Commonwealth crowd to watch the Eskimos and Riders play a Regular Season game was 59,723 on Aug. 29, 1982 (Riders won 32-25).

CFL Friday

Henry Burris led Calgary to a 27-18 win over the B-C Lions. Burris ran for two touchdowns and tossed another to Jeremaine Copeland's. Scoring touchdowns for B-C were Martell Mallett and Paris Jackson. The Stamps are now 7-5 and a game up on Edmonton and Saskatchewan who meet today at 4:00 at Commonwealth Stadium (TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network).

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If there was any doubt, the Montreal Alouettes proved they're the team to beat in the CFL's East Division. Avon Cobourne rumbled
for two touchdowns on the ground as Montreal spanked the Hamilton
Tiger-Cats 42-8. Anthony Calvillo added two touchdowns through the air for the Alouettes, who improve to 10-2.

Warriors 5 Pats 4

REGINA -- A penalty shot goal by Moose Jaw's Quinton Howden at 11:46 of the third period was the game-winner as the Warriors took a 5-4 victory out of the Brandt Centre Friday night.

Moose Jaw carried the play for much of the game, and held a 2-1 lead after the opening period on goals by Spencer Edwards and Kendall McFaull. Jordan Weal opened the scoring at the 8:00 mark of the first, with his first of the year. It was set up by Matt Strueby and Brett Leffler. The Tribe outshot Regina 16-7 after the opening 20 minutes.

Play evened out in the second frame as the shots wound up tied 12-12, but second period goals by Jason Bast and Edwards made it 4-3 for the visitors going to the third. Tomas Hrcina (from Metz and Teubert) and Leffler (from Brandon Davidson) replied for the Pats in the second period. The trouble for the Pats was that after their first two goals, the Warriors answered a minute later.

Penalty problems in the third period enabled the Pats to outshoot Moose jaw 13-6 however Howden's penalty shot goal made it 5-3 and proved to be too much to come back from. Pats rookie Brandon Davidson's first career goal came on the powerplay at 12:35 to make it a 5-4 game but despite having their net empty with an extra attacker in the waning moments, the Pats couldn't get the equalizer past Moose Jaw goalie Jeff Bosch.

Game over: Moose Jaw 5 Pats 4.

Shots on goal: Moose Jaw 34 Regina 32.

Powerplays: Moose Jaw 1/4 Regina 2/7

Molson 3 Stars: 1) Howden 2) Leffler 3) Bast. Taylor Toyota Hardest Working Pat: Brandon Davidson.

Attendance: 4189

Pats fall to 1-3-0 (1-2-0 at home) while the Warriors to improve to 2-1-0 (1-1-0 on the road). Regina's next game is Sunday at home to Saskatoon at 6:00 while the Warriors return home to face Brandon Saturday night at 7:00 in the Crushed Can.

CKRM Week 13 Picks

Week 13 CFL Sked:
Friday: Montreal at Hamilton, BC at Calgary
Saturday: Saskatchewan at Edmonton, Toronto at Winnipeg

ANNOUNCER/RECORD/PICKS
CURRIE 34/44: HAM - CGY - SK - WPG
LYNCH 31/44: HAM - CGY - SK - TOR
PEDERSEN 26/44: MTL - CGY - SK - TOR
JOHNSON 26/44: HAM - CGY - SK - TOR
CARTERI 26/44: MTL - CGY - SK - TOR
HADESBECK 25/44: HAM - CGY - SK - TOR

Friday Rodservations

Is this the end of one week or the start of another??

It's been a blur lately on the sporting scene, but it's also been a ton of fun.

We've got lots of hockey talk today but we'll start out with some football......

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BREAKING NEWS: The Calgary Flames have released Theoren Fleury.

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This week's "best line" goes to Winnipeg Free Press writer Ed Tait who wrote that comparing the 2009 Blue Bombers to a circus is an INSULT to the circus!

Funny stuff, but what's going on in Winnipeg right now is not funny. There are public anti-Bomber rallies and the team appears to be headed nowhere fast.

Asked how he felt about the execution of his offence, Bomber coach Mike Kelly replied:

"I'm in favour of it!"

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Local Regina businesses appear to be strongly in favour of a new domed stadium in Regina.

The Regina & District Chamber of Commerce surveyed its membership on the issue and CEO John Hopkins says more than 70% indicated support for such a project, if the funding and a solid business plan are in place.

Upgrading the existing stadium came a distant second, with only 12% favouring that option.

6% felt the stadium should be left as is, and the remaining 9% had no opinion.

In additional comments from those surveyed, 12% expressed concerned about operating costs.

Another 10% said there were higher priorities, particularly healthcare.

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Legendary Edmonton Sun writer Terry Jones says the Riders are giving the Eskimos a run for the title of "the flagship franchise of the CFL", if they haven't overtaken them already.

It's nice that Terry can see past the Green & Gold glasses. I hear plenty of opposition to the Riders' moniker of "Canada's Team".

Guys, we have statistical data to back it up. You wanna see it?

Just go with it!

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Tomorrow's atmosphere at Commonwealth Stadium is going to be absolutely mind-blowing!

Over 52,000 tickets have already been sold for the game and we've still got over 24 hours until kickoff between the Riders and Eskimos on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.

What a HUGE football game this is going to be. Can't wait!

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It is Hall of Fame weekend in the CFL, and for the first time ever the festivities are being held in Winnipeg. Tonight, a special ceremony will honour Alondra Johnson, Jim Mills, Rudy Phillips, and Glen Weir as players, and Tony Anselmo as a builder. The weekend will also feature a salute to 82 year old Bud Grant who coached the Blue Bombers in their most celebrated era from 1957 to 1966.

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Now to the hockey...

Everybody wants to know what the Regina Pats are going to do with their captaincy. The "C" became available last spring with the graduation of Victor Bartley (love this photo).


Coach Curtis Hunt said the other night he's going to hold off on the decision for at least a month. Right now there are four guys he considers to be in the running for the job but everyone's on their best behaviour and tripping all over themselves doing their best to lead the team. Why would he want to end that anytime soon?

When the time is right, the matter will be put to a dressing room vote. Curtis has never done this in the past, but feels now's the time to do it.

I agree it's the best way. It's democratic, and no one can argue with the results. Unless you're in Florida.

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The Pats are home to "The Hunch Bunch" tonight, as they welcome Dave Hunchak's Moose Jaw Warriors to the Brandt Centre for a 7:00 engagement. We'll have the broadcast on 620 CKRM beginning with the Press Box Sports Bar Pats Pregame at 6:35.

Hopefully it's a similar effort and outcome to Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Blades, which still has everybody talking.

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Hey speaking of elections, so Regina environmentalist Jim Elliott has announced his candidacy for the next civic election?

He seriously wants to challenge Pat Fiacco for Mayor??

Hope you don't plan to spend too much on your campaign there Jim-bo.

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Was that the Toronto Maple Leafs A Team or B Team that played against Pittsburgh the other night on TSN? It's hard to tell.

Sidney Crosbey didn't play for the Pens in that one at Air Canada Centre, nor did Evgeni Malkin or Marc-Andre Fleury yet fans paid full price. I suppose this is how it goes in the NHL preseason. How would we know around here? We haven't had an NHL game here since 1990 till this past Monday.

I suppose we should feel real fortunate to get a game at all, no matter which faces are in the lineup. THAT'S the bottom line.

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And who wouldn't agree the 2009 NHL preseason has been particularly fascinating? Lots of fights, suspensions, Jim Balsillie, Theo Fleury, and what about Mac-T debuting as a studio analyst on TSN?

This is going to be a great winter!

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11,644 fans turned out to the MTS Centre in Winnipeg last night to watch Tampa Bay beat Edmonton 4-3 in overtime in preseason action.

TSN's Pierre McGuire says Winnipeggers should've sold it out to show they want the NHL BACK! With Winnipeg ACTUALLY being considered for franchise relocation, you'd think the town would've had the rink bursting at the seams but they were 4,000 shy of a sellout.

However Manitoba Moose broadcaster Brian Munz (the pride of Humboldt, SK) reports to us that Winnipeggers had no interest in watching the Oilers and Lightning. They still hate Edmonton from the Jets days.

If it had been Vancouver in town (the Moose's parent club), the place would've been jammed.

So, did Winnipeg optically hurt its chances of getting an NHL team by not selling out last night?

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With all due apologies to The Old Guy, I'm switching my NHL allegiances from the Dallas Stars to the Edmonton Oilers (and a little bit to the Flames too).

I have my reasons. Not the least of which is that I don't like the direction the Stars are going in and didn't like the firing of Dave Tippett nor the hiring of Marc Crawford.

Molson Saskatchewan boss Devin Baxter said this week he switched from the Flyers to the Flames because he didn't like what Bobby Clarke was doing so I figured I could too. Besides, I was an Oilers fan till August 9, 1988 when they traded Gretz. I was team-less for a few years till the Old Guy signed with Minnesota who later became Dallas.

So sorry Dad!

This blog is Oil Country now..

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What happens if you don't pay an Impark ticket?

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I wonder if the cops are mad at the Wolf 104.9 morning show team of Chris and Ballsy.

The other day they were warning listeners about the speed trap at Dewdney and McCarthy.

An hour later I drove by and the police were all gone.

Did Chris and Ballsy spoil their ticket party?

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If there were a better league than the NHL, Alexei Kovalev would be in it.

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Press Box Sports Bar Friday Buffet (11:00am - 2:00pm):

Montreal spiced, shaved roast beef
Sweet Chili glazed ham
Southwest chicken tenders
Lasagna
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Mixed vegetables
Tossed and caesar salad

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Okay, that's enough ramblings for now. This weekend is going to be flat-out insane for yours truly.

Warriors @ Pats tonight, 7 am flight to Edmonton tomorrow for Riders @ Eskimos, then fly back home for Blades @ Pats Sunday night at 6:00.

The thought of it all actually makes me sick to my stomach. Lots of work, prep-time and angst, but we'll get through it!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND
RP

Thursday Rider Audio

Hear the latest from Rider coach Ken Miller and quarterback Darian Durant following Thursday practice by clicking on this link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=d76e6134d4df39870c814df2efeadc50e04e75f6e8ebb871

Tippett Replaces Gretz

TSN.ca ALERT: Phoenix Coyotes name Dave Tippett head coach.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Garrett Mitchell Update

The Regina Pats RW and Washington Capitals prospect was taken to hospital for x-rays last night after blocking a slapshot from Saskatoon's Jiri Niemi.

The x-rays were inconclusive. Doctors have determined it could be a fracture or a ligament injury. He will back for more x-rays Monday and see a specialist on Tuesday.

For sure he'll miss this weekend's Pats games (Friday vs Moose Jaw and Sunday vs Saskatoon). The best case scenario is he'll play soon with a playing cast and the worst case is that he'll be out 4-6 weeks.

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Regina, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats have put an end to their 20 year old puzzle by today putting forward Mitch Czibere on waivers for purpose of re-assignment to Junior-A.   

Riders Practice On Grass Thursday

Reggie Hunt An Eskimo

Former Rider and Alouette Reggie Hunt has signed with the Edmonton Eskimos. Check it out on the Eskimos' official Twitter page:
http://twitter.com/cfl_esks

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The University of Mississippi (known as Ole Miss), where Kent Austin is serving as offensive coordinator, will be playing South Carolina on television today at 5:30 Saskatchewan time on The Score. The Ole Miss Rebels are currently ranked fourth in the US, out of 120 division one university programs.

Before new head coach Houston Nutt and Austin moved to Oxford, Mississippi the Rebels finished 3-9 overall in 2007, including going 0-8 in Southeastern Conference play. In 2008, year one with the new regime, Ole Miss had a remarkable turnaround winning nine games, including beating national champion Florida, 31-30, and, later outscoring Texas Tech and Graham Harrell, 47-34, in the Cotton Bowl.

This season the Rebels have won their first two games, but they are expecting a very challenging contest when they face the Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina tonight.

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Hey Rod, this one won't be as awesome as the ones by the pyramids or the jungle but it does the job. Sorry bout the darkness, we had a late supper. Have a good one.

Kris

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Rod,

Here is a photo of my Mom with my nieces and nephew. She is from the big city of Rama Saskatchewan. She just completed her cancer treatments. So she went to Edmonton to make sure her Alberta grandkids understand that they were born into Rider Pride. The photo is in front of Commonwealth Stadium.

Pat Belitski

Another precious moment! God I love fall games the over abundance of face paint is unreal! Even though the Eskies pulled that one from their A$$, our youngest son Casey's face says it all!

Luree