Sports Roundtable – Nov. 18, 2010
Another epic game goes down at Mosaic Stadium
Autumn McDowell, Colin Buchinski, Dietrich Neu, Edward Dodd, Ed Kapp
This week’s roundtable
Kelly Wiebe earned a bronze medal for the Cougars at the CIS cross-country championships in Sherbrooke, Que., last weekend. While he was hoping to win obviously, it was still a great finish to the season. Will he get the result he is looking for next year?
Autumn McDowell: Hopefully, but it is extremely hard to say. The problem with cross-country is that there is always some kid coming up that could be unreal right off the bat. Perhaps Usain Bolt will pull a Hayley Wickenheiser and be the newest addition to another school’s cross-country team. Anything is possible.
Colin Buchinski: Bronze is a great finish. It’s fantastic to see guys like this representing our school so well and I wish him great luck in the future.
Dietrich Neu: I think so. Kelly is an exceptional athlete and has been a force to reckon with in cross-country. You can’t win all the time, but great athletes come back stronger when they stumble. Kelly is no different.
Edward Dodd: With enough training and perseverance, I am sure Kelly will get the result he is looking for. This bronze medal is proof that he is good enough to come in the top three, and it is most definitely a stepping stone towards the ultimate prize: gold.
Ed Kapp: Absolutely. Wiebe is one of the hardest working athletes out there, so if he commits himself for another season, there’s no doubt that he will get the results he’s hoping for. Wiebe had an awesome year, regardless of his last race, and I would imagine that he’s going to work even harder next season to finish his CIS career strong.
Saskatchewan earned an epic, EPIC, 41-38 double-overtime victory over the British Columbia Lions last weekend in the West semifinal. Thoughts on the game? Did you lose faith in the team when they struggled early on?
McDowell: Never. The Riders have always been a fourth-quarter team. They play well when it counts. However, I wish that they could play well all the time and that Durant wasn’t so trigger-happy. Still, it was an unreal game!
Buchinski: This game was absolutely breathtaking, one of the best I’ve ever seen at Mosaic Stadium. The win can be credited to our great fan base. They were loud and proud all game long! Props to the fans, they were the difference. At Halftime, I was very worried, but Darian Durant came out and proved he is a gamer. Great effort in the second half!
Neu: Easily the best CFL game I have watched all year. Anyone who missed it should be able to catch it again on the NFL Network this Friday. The Riders did struggle early on, but I think it was a little premature to lose faith. The Green and White played hard to the final whistle and they made the province proud.
Dodd: I couldn’t believe Durant kept throwing long bombs after it was apparent he was too pumped up to reign in his throwing arm. I was definitely disheartened at the half, but I knew the Riders would turn it around in the second half. There was a lot of nail-biting during the second overtime mini-game when the Riders needed the touchdown for the win, but they pulled it off!
Kapp: A win is a win, but the Riders are going to need to play a lot better against Calgary if they want to make it to the Grey Cup. No, I didn’t lose faith – the defence and special teams units played well, and I knew that if Durant could get things going, Saskatchewan has more than enough fire power to put up big points.
The Riders travel to Calgary on Sunday to battle the Stampeders in the West final. Will the Green and White come up with the victory and advance to the Grey Cup in Edmonton?
McDowell: Yes, I believe they will. At least I hope to God they will. Nothing would be sweeter than facing the Alouettes in the Grey Cup again and taking the whole thing home. Calgary is obviously a good team, there is no question about that, but I think the Riders will take this one.
Buchinski: The Riders will have a sea of green at McMahon stadium in Calgary and will definitely win the game. Darian Durant and the offence finally turned the corner against B.C. and they will carry that momentum into this game.
Neu: Yes. The game last week was a massive morale boost for the Riders. I’m looking for them to carry that momentum into the West final. But, you know the Stamps will have images of last years West final fresh in their minds and they’ll be looking for revenge.
Dodd: Sadly, I think the season is over after Calgary. As much as I am still cheering for the Riders, it seems impractical to believe they will win with the way Durant has been playing. If he could calm down in the first half and make some decent plays early, then maybe.
Kapp: I sure hope so, but I’m not sure. Burris has so many weapons on offence it’s ridiculous. It’s going to be a tough game on defence for the Riders. Calgary also has three all-star defensive linemen who are going to try to make life miserable for the Rider’s offence. This has all the makings of a classic game.
If the Riders do advance to the Grey Cup, would you rather they face the Montreal Alouettes or the Toronto Argonauts?
McDowell: I would definitely like to see them face Montreal because a victory always tastes sweeter when there is a hint of revenge mixed in.
Buchinski: Montreal Alouettes: No questions asked. A rematch of these two teams would be absolutely epic and beating them in the Grey Cup would make it just that much more special.
Neu: Montreal, without question. They didn’t deserve their Grey Cup win last year. That was our cup. It’s time for revenge, and I know all the players on the Riders would love to take the Grey Cup away from the team that didn’t earn it last year.
Dodd: If they make it, out of sheer love of a good game, I hope they play Montreal. Of course, the TSN commentators will probably have a ton of stupid 13th man jokes and won't let anyone forget how Saskatchewan lost last year. But if we win, no one can say we still have the 13th man curse.
Kapp: Toronto, for sure. On defence, the Riders have struggled against the pass and that’s Montreal’s world. Toronto’s offence is almost exclusively reliant on Boyd, and the Riders did a great job shutting down B.C.’s Robertson last weekend. Montreal is going to win, but playing Toronto would give the Riders a much better shot.
Apparently, Brett Favre is done after the season. Which, of course, means he will be back. Are you getting tired of his crap?
McDowell: Tired? Yes. Perhaps, in Favre’s old age he has become delusional and has forgotten how many times he has claimed retirement. It was obvious that he was coming back this season, but I truly believe he won’t be back for another. Hopefully he can go out on top. Go Vikings!
Buchinski: On the one hand, I think the media circus he’s involved in every off-season is an absolute joke, but I can also see where Favre is coming from. It’s very hard to leave the game you love behind.
Neu: Yes, but I’m getting more tired of the NFL Network crawling back to that story in the off-season when they're running dry on fresh news. Brett won’t even have to say anything. The media with undoubtedly bring up the topic, and then babble about it for a month while waiting for more interesting news to come in.
Dodd: I was tired of this crap the first time he un-retired. Once you are done, you should be done. As far as I see it, this is just a ploy to make sure people will keep talking about him. Sorry, Favre, game over. And pronounce your name right. It should be FAV-RA, not FARV!
Kapp: Not at all. I wish Favre nothing but the best and hope for him to be happy. I feel bad for him, honestly. Favre never wanted to be the distraction he has become in Minnesota, he just really loves the game and has had a hard time leaving. It’s just too bad his last season may go down as one of his worst.
