it’s my Parting Shot for my Monday Musings…..
Once again, there can be nothing to be upset about if you’re a real tried and true member of Rider Nation today! The Saskatchewan Roughriders are 10-2 after Saturday’s 21-13 Banjo Bowl victory in Winnipeg. In other words, a sweep of the Blue Bombers to start the “real” portion of the C-F-L season, now that Labour Day has come and gone! Add in a Calgary loss in Edmonton and the Green and White have a two-game lead over the Stampeders for first place in the West Division! The Riders have a Magic Number of 2 to clinch a playoff spot – any combination of Saskatchewan wins and/or losses by either B-C or Edmonton means the Roughriders are guaranteed a playoff spot. Clinching first and a bye into the West final requires a lot more work!!
Another thing that Roughriders fans can’t belly-ache about, at least for this week, is Brett Lauther! Yes, he missed a convert – but those aren’t nearly as automatic at 33 yards as they used to be when they were just 12 yards. Check out the league stats, the other eight C-F-L place kickers have all missed at least one conversion! Besides, Lauther made all five of his field goal attempts on Saturday in Winnipeg while the, so-called, gold standard for place-kicking – Sergio Castillo of the Blue Bombers – missed two of four attempts! Leave Brett Lauther alone – he’s fine!!
The N-F-L regular season is underway with 15 of 16 games having been played. The one game I really care about goes tonight as my Minnesota Vikings go to Chicago. My mood tomorrow will depend on how tonight’s contest goes!
It’s unfortunate that fans of the Prince Albert Raiders – and even the Saskatoon Blades – haven’t figured out that winning in the pre-season isn’t nearly as important as evaluating the talent that you have on the roster before the regular season starts. Except when it comes to playing at home against the arch-rival!! Hence, on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre in P-A, the Raiders dressed close to their best-possible lineup in a 7-1 victory over the Bridge City Bunch while the Blue and Gold responded in kind on Saturday in Warman – yet were fortunate to come away with a 3-2 overtime triumph! Those games still don’t mean anything when it comes to how things will go during the season!!
That’s my Parting Shot. I’m Les Lazaruk…and it turned out nice again!
