CALGARY -- Grey Cup week peaks today and I'm headed out of town.
This blog post comes to you from departure gate C21at the Calgary Airport as I get set to fly to Seattle to catch up with the Regina Pats for two weekend broadcasts (tonight in Everett and tomorrow in Spokane) before returning to Calgary Sunday at 12:55pm in time to call the Riders in the Grey Cup nationally.
This trip to the States has been called "ridiculous", "crazy", "unforgivable" and "dangerous to your health" by my friends the past few days but duty calls and the Pats need me.
Besides, there's nothing going on football-wise between now and the game anyways. Friday and Saturday are all about the fans and the party.
I don't need to be around for that. I don't like crowds to begin with.
As for Grey Cup photos, my boy Jeff Armstead will feed me some throughout the weekend to give you the "Grey Cup feel".
----
As for calling the game Sunday across Canada, I get the first half of the game.
Initially I was told it would be the second half -- which would've been tremendous -- but on Tuesday it was confirmed I'll get the first.
I'm not sure why the switch, but Cindy thinks it's because I chirped the guy about wanting to do the whole game, or none at all.
Oh well, that's how I felt at the time so I gotta live with it.
It's no biggie. I've seen grown men stamp their feet and whine like babies over this broadcast over the years and I swore I'll never be one of them.
However I'd have prefered a coin toss to decide it rather than some guy saying "I feel it's what's best for the broadcast".
Life goes on! Nobody's dying here.
----
Okay as for the game itself, here are some quick thoughts:
I've picked the Riders to win because I always do. In fact I think I told the Leader Post the Riders would win 31-30.
But if they should lose, here's why....
They can lose this game and their season will still be a success. They finished first, Darian Durant joined "the big four" of CFL quarterbacks and coach Miller could still win Coach of the Year.
However if Montreal loses, their season is a colossal failure. They know it, we know it, everybody knows it.
Spending time with them yesterday, I got a sense of a team who's hungry, and still very angry over losing to Calgary in their own park last year.
They've been to six Grey Cups this decade and have just one win.
They're the old dogs and the Riders are the new kids on the block.
The Als were laughing, holding and posing with the Grey Cup yesterday throwing superstition to the wind.
That scared me. They know they don't need luck.
They fully intend to kick the Riders' ass on Sunday.
----
We'll have a home crowd going for us at McMahon Stadium, and we'll also see what type of pregame speech Ken Miller can come up with to make these boys want to run through one more wall for him.
I'm not selling the Riders short just yet. Marc Trestman's pregame speech was paltry and vanilla compared to John Hufnagel's firey address last year at Grey Cup in Montreal.
Tick, tick, tick. We're getting closer to kickoff.
----
Trestman pulled Carm aside yesterday and asked him to apologize to Darian Durant on his behalf for calling him "Damien" twice on Wednesday.
He said he was operating on one hour of sleep and wasn't "with it".
Carm said he would but it won't matter.
Darian's peeved about it. He told the media he wasn't, but he told me privately that he is.
Let's play the "disrespect card" to the hilt. More fuel to the fire.
----
10,000 watermelons have been delivered to Calgary grocery stores because of the demand by Rider fans.
----
It'll be +11 Celsius at game time Sunday, and +2 by the end of the game.
----
Saw Henry Burris on Off The Record last night saying Rider fans should show respect to the Stampeders.
Hank, ENOUGH!!
----
One more thing:
I've been getting scathing reviews for playing up the "Calgary Hates Saskatchewan" thing this week.
Well guess what? Those naysayers can shove it.
I've been hearing this stuff against my province and our people ever since I lived here and I'm done with biting my lip.It's NOT good-natured ribbing. What they're saying is cruel, and we don't say those types of things about them.
Saskatchewan and the Riders are on top now.
Deal with it!
----
You'll see in one of the photos above what my travel bags are for this trip. A briefcase and a napsack.
So, I don't have room to bring people merchandise back.
Nor can I get people tickets to the game.
You'll have to try someone else. Sorry!
----
This blog post comes to you from departure gate C21at the Calgary Airport as I get set to fly to Seattle to catch up with the Regina Pats for two weekend broadcasts (tonight in Everett and tomorrow in Spokane) before returning to Calgary Sunday at 12:55pm in time to call the Riders in the Grey Cup nationally.
This trip to the States has been called "ridiculous", "crazy", "unforgivable" and "dangerous to your health" by my friends the past few days but duty calls and the Pats need me.
Besides, there's nothing going on football-wise between now and the game anyways. Friday and Saturday are all about the fans and the party.
I don't need to be around for that. I don't like crowds to begin with.
As for Grey Cup photos, my boy Jeff Armstead will feed me some throughout the weekend to give you the "Grey Cup feel".
----
As for calling the game Sunday across Canada, I get the first half of the game.
Initially I was told it would be the second half -- which would've been tremendous -- but on Tuesday it was confirmed I'll get the first.
I'm not sure why the switch, but Cindy thinks it's because I chirped the guy about wanting to do the whole game, or none at all.
Oh well, that's how I felt at the time so I gotta live with it.
It's no biggie. I've seen grown men stamp their feet and whine like babies over this broadcast over the years and I swore I'll never be one of them.
However I'd have prefered a coin toss to decide it rather than some guy saying "I feel it's what's best for the broadcast".
Life goes on! Nobody's dying here.
----
Okay as for the game itself, here are some quick thoughts:
I've picked the Riders to win because I always do. In fact I think I told the Leader Post the Riders would win 31-30.
But if they should lose, here's why....
They can lose this game and their season will still be a success. They finished first, Darian Durant joined "the big four" of CFL quarterbacks and coach Miller could still win Coach of the Year.
However if Montreal loses, their season is a colossal failure. They know it, we know it, everybody knows it.
Spending time with them yesterday, I got a sense of a team who's hungry, and still very angry over losing to Calgary in their own park last year.
They've been to six Grey Cups this decade and have just one win.
They're the old dogs and the Riders are the new kids on the block.
The Als were laughing, holding and posing with the Grey Cup yesterday throwing superstition to the wind.
That scared me. They know they don't need luck.
They fully intend to kick the Riders' ass on Sunday.
----
We'll have a home crowd going for us at McMahon Stadium, and we'll also see what type of pregame speech Ken Miller can come up with to make these boys want to run through one more wall for him.
I'm not selling the Riders short just yet. Marc Trestman's pregame speech was paltry and vanilla compared to John Hufnagel's firey address last year at Grey Cup in Montreal.
Tick, tick, tick. We're getting closer to kickoff.
----
Trestman pulled Carm aside yesterday and asked him to apologize to Darian Durant on his behalf for calling him "Damien" twice on Wednesday.
He said he was operating on one hour of sleep and wasn't "with it".
Carm said he would but it won't matter.
Darian's peeved about it. He told the media he wasn't, but he told me privately that he is.
Let's play the "disrespect card" to the hilt. More fuel to the fire.
----
10,000 watermelons have been delivered to Calgary grocery stores because of the demand by Rider fans.
----
It'll be +11 Celsius at game time Sunday, and +2 by the end of the game.
----
Saw Henry Burris on Off The Record last night saying Rider fans should show respect to the Stampeders.
Hank, ENOUGH!!
----
One more thing:
I've been getting scathing reviews for playing up the "Calgary Hates Saskatchewan" thing this week.
Well guess what? Those naysayers can shove it.
I've been hearing this stuff against my province and our people ever since I lived here and I'm done with biting my lip.It's NOT good-natured ribbing. What they're saying is cruel, and we don't say those types of things about them.
Saskatchewan and the Riders are on top now.
Deal with it!
----
You'll see in one of the photos above what my travel bags are for this trip. A briefcase and a napsack.
So, I don't have room to bring people merchandise back.
Nor can I get people tickets to the game.
You'll have to try someone else. Sorry!
----
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