Football’s Back (With A Bang)…and so are we…

It’s nice to be back in the blogosphere once more after a lengthy hiatus. Much has changed in this little corner of planet earth, but we’re back again to celebrate another season of football, starting north of the border.

“Our” CFL team has always been the Saskatchewan Roughriders, ever since the glory days of Ron Lancaster and George Reed in the late ‘60’s. Last season, the Riders made it to the Grey Cup against Montréal and nearly won their second Cup in three years. It was an absolute thriller that came right down to the wire…with the Riders ahead 27-25, the Als attempted a field goal that would’ve given them the win in the final seconds, but the kick missed the uprights. But wait (there’s more), the Riders were penalized for having too many men on the field (Bruins’ fans know all too well how this turns out) and the Als didn’t miss the gift opportunity. Final score: Montréal 28, Saskatchewan 27. Hearts were crushed in the Prairies (and other places as well), wherever football fans appreciate heart, character and effort. After an interminably long offseason, the Riders returned to work with the bitterness of the Grey Cup still burning in their memories. And there was significant roster turnover during the offseason as stalwart DE’s Stevie Baggs and John Chick left for greener pastures in the NFL. The defense starts out the new year minus their two heavy hitters.

Game 1 v. Montréal (7/1/10):

What better manner of redemption could there be than by scheduling a rematch between these teams to start the season? Montréal traveled to Mosaic to face an angry Sea of Green, The 13th Man. The Als won the opening toss, but Anthony Calvillo was intercepted by Lance Frazier on the opening drive, setting the Riders up in good stead. Durant’s drive stalled and Luca Congi kicked a 17-yarder to put the Riders ahead early, 3-0. Calvillo came right back and hit Kerry Watkins on a 39-yard pass and Montréal went ahead 7-3. The Riders’ next drive stalled, and the defense was unable to contain the Als’ explosive passing attack as Calvillo connected with SJ Green on a 48-yard bomb and the Als extended their lead to 14-3. Montréal regained possession at the end of the first quarter at their 17, and (aided and abetted by an off-sides call) were able to move the ball out to midfield before the drive stalled.

On their first possession of the quarter, the Riders came back with a lengthy drive of their own and Durant ran it in from 9 yards out to tighten the score at 14-10. But there is no stopping Calvillo. Starting at their 40, he methodically worked the ball down field before connecting again with Watkins on a 3-yard play to put the Als ahead 21-10. After another Riders’ drive fizzled, Calvillo marched the ball deep into Saskatchewan’s end of the field (a pass interference call against Frazier and a face mask call on Omarr Morgan didn’t help). The drive stalled at the 9, where Damon Duval split the uprights and the Als were ahead by two touchdowns. With less than two minutes remaining, Durant started the Riders drive at the 44. After a couple of bootlegs, he managed to move the ball to Montréal’s 33, but the drive ran out of gas. The Riders needed to make some adjustments on defense (y’think?) as Calvillo simply picked them apart to the tune of 228 yards…(nasty).

The Riders went two n’ out on their opening drive of the second half. Calvillo then led the Als’ offense from the 27 to the Riders’ 44 on five straight completions. Their drive stalled but the Riders got the ball back deep in their territory, where (rather than giving the ball back to Calvillo with a short field) they conceded a safety to make it 26-10 Montréal. The Als were unable to move the ball beyond their 20, and Duval was pressured on the punt so he likewise fled for the safety of his end zone and the Riders picked up a pair, 26-12. On their next possession, the Riders successfully moved the ball into the Als’ end on a pass from Durant to Rob Bagg. Congi attempted a field goal from the 43, it went wide and Tim Maypray took the ball deep in his end zone and…took…it…to…the…house. 125-yard return! (Remember, sports fans, the CFL field is 110 yards long and the end-zones are 25 yards deep). The Als were now ahead 33-12 with three minutes left in the quarter. Encouraged by the loud support of the 13th Man, the Riders didn’t fold up their tents. On the ensuing possession, Durant connected with Prechae Rodriguez on a 43-yard touchdown pass and (after the Als went two n’ out) then hit Bagg on an 87-yard bomb, and the Riders were suddenly down by only a touchdown, 33-26, as time expired in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth, the Riders got the ball back at their 27, and Durant was able to move the ball to midfield on a series of scrambles and passes. From the 44, Wes Cates carried three straight times, culminating with a game-tying score from 10 yards out with 10:48 remaining. In five minutes, the Riders scored three touchdowns and the crowd at Mosaic was delirious. (With Calvillo, they would be wise to “curb their enthusiasm” and remember what happened at last year’s Grey Cup) The Als’ went two n’ out on their next series and the Riders took over at their 22 with nine minutes left. After moving the ball to the 37, Louie Sakoda punted away and Montréal took over at their 39 with plenty of time on the clock. It only took Calvillo three plays to move the ball to the Riders’ 25. At the 20, Calvillo tried to connect with Jamel Richardson in the end zone, but Chris McKenzie was nailed for pass interference, which put the ball on the 1. The old nemesis, Avon Colbourne, took it in from there and the Als went up 40-33 with just under four minutes remaining. Starting their next drive at the 18, Durant connected with Chris Getzlaf on a 55-yard pass that brought the ball to Montréal’s 35. After the three-minute warning, they were able to advance the ball to the 25 where it was 3rd-and-11, do-or-die time. Durant found Fantuz on a 17-yard pass and Cates followed with a three-yard run with 1:25 left on the clock. From there, Durant found Fantuz in the end zone and the game was tied 40-all with 42 seconds left. The Als started out at their 35 and plenty of time for Calvillo to move the ball into scoring position (in the CFL, the goal posts are at the goal line, like in the old NFL days). But the Green Mob drowned out his signal calling and they went backwards on penalties.

On to overtime (CFL overtime is similar to the NCAA’s), where the Riders won the toss and started out from Montréal’s 35. Three plays later, Durant found Fantuz from the 8, and a two-point conversion pass from Durant to Getzlaf made it 48-40. It was now Calvillo’s turn from the 35. He connected on a pass to Ben Cahoon for 16, then faced a critical 3rd-and-10 from the 19. His next attempt was incomplete—but the Riders were caught with too many men on the field (aargh!)—déja vu? Two plays later, Calvillo found SJ Green from the 5 and again for the two-point and Montréal tied the score at 48. The Riders failed to move the ball on their next possession. The Als got the ball back and Duval knocked in a field goal to put Montréal ahead, 51-48. This was no problem for Durant. On their next possession, he connected with Dressler for two passes, the winning touchdown from three yards out, and Riders came away with a thrilling 54-51 OT victory. It was an amazing win for the Riders. Maybe it doesn’t entirely take away the sting from last November, but it’s a pretty good start.

(I have witnessed thousands of football games from high school, college and pro in my life and times, and this one ranks in the top 25 of my life. Perhaps not as memorable as ’68 Harvard-Yale, or Super Bowl XXXVI, but this is a game that diehards will remember for years to come. Too bad that nobody much cares in the States, you guys missed an amazing game.)

Meanwhile…
While we’ve been occupied with various business and philosophical endeavors, we maintain a close eye on the local sporting scene and soccer. The World Cup is heading into the quarterfinals and the big surprise has been the failure of Italy and France (the ’06 finalists) to make it beyond the group stages. France’s performance was disgraceful. The team feuded with the coach and played devoid of passion. If a nation’s best players can’t be motivated to give it everything they have in the world’s most prestigious tournament they should never be allowed to don the national kit again. The tournament has been great theatre, almost like watching an All-Star Game every day for a month. Nevertheless, FIFA seriously needs to consider instant replay on controversial goal calls, as England and USA were denied goals that were clearly legit. The referees don’t have to give a reason for their dubious decisions and appear answerable only to the football gods. Team USA did fairly well, winning their group but ultimately getting knocked off by Ghana in the Round of 16. After the thrilling manner in which they advanced (Donovan’s goal in extra time against Algeria was one for the ages) it was crushing to see them fold in the knockout round.

Moving on to the quarterfinals, Uruguay-Ghana (7/2) was a heart stopper. The match was tied 1-1 well into the second stoppage time when the Ghanans made a final push on a set piece in the 121st. After a flurry in front of Uruguay’s goal, the goalkeeper was out of position and a Uruguayan defender was red-carded for a hand ball, setting up a penalty kick. But the Ghanan hit the crossbar and the match was decided by penalty kicks, where Uruguay prevailed. Earlier in the day, Netherlands came back from a one-goal deficit to upset mighty Brazil 2-1, propelling Big Orange to the semis for the first time since ’98.

The semis were something else. Holland and Uruguay went at it hammer and tong before Big Orange scored twice midway through the second half to take a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead. But the Uruguayans refused to quit (for more on this, please read Joe Posnanski’s recent post “The Meaning of Garra”). Uruguay scored in extra time to make it 3-2 and were desperately knocking on Holland’s goal when the referee called full time. Germany and Spain met in the next semi, as the Germans had steamrolled their way through the tournament and viewed this match as a stepping stone to the final. Spain, which had never made it to the final, displayed remarkable poise, ultimately prevailing on Carlos Puyol’s breathtaking header in the 73rd.

In MLS play, the Revolution have been downright awful (3-8-2-11) and are pretty much irrelevant, which is a shame because the National Team’s recent run in World Cup play kindled an interest in the Beautiful Game here in the States. (I know, “soccer fever” happens every four years in the USA then quickly fades away.) Matt Reis was recovering from surgery and recently returned to the lineup. His replacement, Preston Burpo, suffered a broken tibia and fibula in a horrific collision in late May. Taylor Twellman will miss another full season recovering from concussion symptoms. It’s so disheartening to see his only public appearance is serving as a World Cup analyst on CSNNE. One wonders whether the team’s greatest player will ever suit up again. Shalrie Joseph, who has single handedly tried to carry the team on his back, (did something stupid) and was away for a month. The Revs re-signed Steve Ralston (who went out last season after knee surgery) but he ended up getting hurt in a friendly Brazilian side Cruzeiro during the MLS World Cup hiatus. It’s not as if they’re getting hammered every match, other last month’s 3-0 disaster in Seattle, the Revs are usually one goal shy. The development of some of their young players has been encouraging. Kevin Alston is becoming one of MLS’ better young defenders and this year’s first-round pick, Zack Schilawski, scored a hat trick in one of his first matches with team. Overall, Revs have lacked a consistent offensive attack and have regrettably been a bore to watch.

…Friday nights match against RSL at Rio Tinto was a train wreck. In last year’s trip to Utah, Revs were annihilated 6-0. This time it was only 5-0. They played with zero intensity and passion. Right now, Revs are slightly less than an after thought.

The European clubs we regularly follow (Wrexham and Piacenza) are presently on holiday after both finished semi-respectively mid-table in ’09-’10.

The Bruins made it as far in the Playoffs as they did the season before and held a 3-0 lead over Philly in the Eastern Conference semis then suffered an epic collapse, losing four in a row and bringing the season to a screeching thud. They luckily scored the #2 overall pick in the draft and selected Tyler Seguin, a center who idolized Stevie Y as a kid and will wear his number 19. The B’s also made an interesting pre-draft trade, wheeling their first-round pick and Dennis Wideman to Florida for winger Nathan Horton. Wideman really struggled last season and was a target for the boo-birds every time he touched the puck, so perhaps it’s for the best that he plies his trade in another locale. Horton is a big winger who has underperformed in his years in Miami. Bobby Orr is his agent, so he understands that he can’t get away with a lackadaisical effort in Boston, or he will be hounded out of the building as was the case with Wideman. The B’s are also hard pressed against the cap ($59MM), and there has been talk of moving both Thomas and Savard (each of whom has waived their NMC’s). It ought to be a fun off-season for Bruins’ fans.

The Red Sox started out of the gate slowly but turned things around quite nicely and were only 1 ½ games behind the Yanks as of July 4th. Ortiz had a brutal month of April, before turning things around to earn Player of the Month honors for May. He’s pretty much plateaued since then. The real story of the team is how they’ve managed to remain competitive despite a rash of injuries. Adrian Beltre’s been a wrecking ball at the plate and on the field. He collided with Jacoby Ellsbury in April and Jeremy Hermida in May, causing both players to suffer rib fractures and extended DL time (both are still out). Mike Cameron is trying to play through sports hernia surgery and has been limited. Josh Beckett has been out of the rotation for almost two months (after signing a mega-extension in April). Dustin Pedroia suffered a foot fracture (fouling one off his foot) on the recent West Coast interleague swing and will be out until mid-August. Clay Buchholz pulled up lame while running the bases in San Francisco and will miss at least one turn while Victor Martinez suffered a fractured thumb on the final game of the trip. Jason Varitek broke his foot in the series finale against the Rays and he’s out 4-6 weeks and Manny Delcarmen (who’s been brutal of late) also hit the DL with a sore arm. The Sox have been able to stay in the hunt due to good starting pitching and key contributions from unlikely minor-league callups like Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava (who hit a grand slam in his first major-league at bat). Ultimately, water (and AAAA players) finds its own level, so the Sox are indeed fortunate to find themselves in the thick of things at the halfway point of the year. They’re holding their collective breaths to survive until the All-Star break without the bottom falling out.

…the Sox ended up being swept in St. Pete (7/5-7), but the series opener was clearly the killer. They chased Matt Garza from the game and were ahead 5-1 before Daisuke (sigh) fell apart and they ended up losing. Youkilis twisted his ankle in the second game and was replaced by the immortal Niuman Romero (a one-game wonder if ever there was). Papi was intentionally walked three times and the Sox fought hard, but lost by a run (with a runner on third-ouch!). In the finale, David Price started for the Rays against Wake (whose knuck didn’t knuck), and was every bit the ace. He was staked to a 6-1 lead before the Sox mounted a charge in the 9th, picking up a couple of runs. Who comes in to close things out? Garza. McDonald doubled in Drew to make it 6-4. The Mighty Papi strode to the plate and walked, but Youkilis lined out to center and that was that. Right now, the Sox are hanging on by their fingernails until the break. Give them credit, as they’re giving it their level best with a patchwork crew. The only silver lining in all of this remains the fact that the Yanks and Rays still have to duke it out 13 more times.

It’s also been a busy time in the NFL. It was a great Super Bowl as the Saints are aint’s no more. The Patriots have had a pretty quiet offseason to date, locking up Vince Wilfork to a long term deal, which was a great move, and with the exception of Jarvis Green (Denver) and Ben Watson (Cleveland), they were able to resign and tender all of their FA’s and RFA’s. But after having been emphatically blown off the field by the Ravens in the opening round of the playoffs, it’s painfully clear that Coach Belichick had a lot of holes to fill in this year’s draft. With four picks in the first 53 selections (in what was described as a “deep” draft), the Patriots needed to plug as many holes as possible in short order. No one knows how the wheels turn in Belichick’s Bunker. Last year, the Patriots traded out of the first round and picked up a number of promising players in the second (Brace, Butler and Chung). Belichick has stated that the biggest improvement in a player occurs between the first and second years. If such is the case, we’ll know pretty soon if the Class of ’09 produces studs or duds. This year, they traded down (twice) in the first round and selected cornerback Devin McCourty from Rutgers. They also drafted a pair of tight ends, an OLB/DE and an inside linebacker in the first few rounds.

The biggest stink so far in Foxboro has been Logan Mankins’ refusal to sign his RFA tender and hold out of OTA’s and minicamp. Because of the uncapped season, Mankins was one of the players scheduled for UFA status, but because he lacked the requisite service time, he was classified as an RFA and has been vocal with his displeasure. Sounds as if he’s got a beef with the NFLPA, not the club. The Patriots made a decent offer to retain his services, but Mankins is looking for the type of score Evans made with the Saints. The Patriots aren’t likely to be doling out big bucks when the landscape of the next CBA remains so distant. This labor uncertainty also has a tremendous impact on Brady’s contract situation, which expires at the end of this year. So far, Brady and the Patriots have been unable to work out the parameters of a new deal, and that doesn’t bode well moving forward. Fans around here are in various stages of denial regarding Brady’s future with the team, but the handwriting’s on the wall for anyone who’s watching closely. The guy’s life has changed dramatically in the years since he came to the team ten years ago. He’s originally from California and now has a wife and a couple of kids who live there. He’s not going to be one of those old jocks who make the Boston area “home” after his playing days are over. He was recently seen shaking hands with a member of the Lakers at the NBA Finals and (based on the media and fan reaction) you would’ve thought that he was best buds with Attila the Hun. Folks around here ought to appreciate what the signature player of this franchise has done over the last decade, because he’s not going to be around much longer.

The biggest news of the offseason was the Eagles’ trade of McNabb to Washington for a second-round pick. Shanahan didn’t waste a lot of time revamping the team and it’ll be interesting to see how this pans out for both teams. On the other hand, Haynesworth doesn’t appear willing to buy into Shanahan’s new 3-4 scheme and after all that bonus money spent, the ‘Skins may be looking to unload this malcontent.

The Raiders concluded that JaMarcus Russell was a bust and pulled the plug on this pantload right after trading for Jason Campbell. How much guaranteed money did this guy walk away with? (Enough to keep him in Skittles and Vegas junkets for the next 500 years) There’s an old Sicilian expression that a leopard doesn’t change his spots. If Mr. Davis and the Raider hierarchy did a little due diligence around Mobile and Baton Rouge they would’ve quickly learned that this kid was an unmotivated physical freak before they plunked down the hefty bride price. Russell turned out to be a multimillion-dollar arm with a two-cent head, as was the case with Ryan Leaf a few years ago. Like Leaf, Russell has also run afoul of the law down in Mobile, getting pinched for possession of a ”mixture which includes syrup codeine, grape flavoring, alcohol, Jolly Ranchers or all of the above is known as Purple Drank, sizzurp or Lean.” (from Randy Cross’ ”Post 4th of July Notes”, National Football Post, 7/6/10). I guess we can safely conclude that today’s generation has moved on from the glory days of eight-tracks and six packs…

The other (tabloid) news that was splashed about involved the Steelers’ Roethlisberger, who behaved like a Neanderthal and was rightly suspended 4-6 weeks to start the season and ordered to undergo training to learn how to behave like a human being. Seriously, you’d have to think that, in this “TMZ” era of trash “journalism”, famous people would fully comprehend the degree of notoriety they face every time they show their face in public…Michael Vick’s 30th birthday bash “at the club” apparently was less of a celebration and more of a cause for concern as one of his co-defendants from the “Bad Newz Kennelz” case (who showed up uninvited at the party) took a bullet from an “known but unarrested” shooter…you see, nobody wants to be a “snitch”. Meanwhile, our inner cities continue to be killing fields...

The LeBron/ESPN Conundrum:

Like a lot of kids who grew up in and around Boston in the ‘60’s, I was spoiled by the success of Bill Russell and the Celtics. Many the winter nights I followed their exploits via the “unbiased” voice of Johnny Most on the old transistor. Our generation simply took it for granted that the C’s would be in the finals every year. Think about it: from ’56-’69, the Celtics won the championship eleven times. Eleven titles in thirteen years! With the exception of the Yanks and Canadiens (our most hated rivals) or Lombardi’s Packers, no team in professional sports can rival that accomplishment. We’ve all been blessed to witness great athletes whose teams had modest “dynasties” (Jordan’s Bulls, Gretzky/Messier’s Oilers and Brady’s Patriots) but Russell and the Celtics remain the platinum standard of professional team sports.

But we’re in a different age now, where the Cult of Personality is king. LeBron James is a marvelous basketball player, of that which we could all agree. During the NBA season, ESPN Sportscenter usually replays LeBron’s slam dunks for approximately fifteen minutes of its hour broadcast. Of course, they replayed little or nothing of how he quit on his team in the Eastern semis against the Celts in May. Other than an ill-fated trip to the finals in ’09, his teams have won exactly how many titles? That’d be, uh, zero. So now he’s a free agent and ESPN has the audacity to furnish “The King of Nothing” his own primetime special to announce his next destination. Tell me, what is the difference between this and the Alan Freed payola scandals of the ‘50’s?

Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski hit a grand slam in his recent commentary. Jason Whitlock was also on point. Everyone with a Twitter account is breathlessly following LeBron’s every move, posting every time he even farts, for goodness sakes. With all due respect, WTF is this? The last time ESPN so obsequiously fawned over a jocker was when the world learned that Tiger Woods spent less time working the putting green and more time chasing any and every skirt that came within his radar with his pants down around his ankles. After his carefully crafted perfect husband/father image imploded last November, ESPN sent out Tiger’s designated bum kisser to ask a few pre-arranged creampuffs. Of course, no one ever got to the heart of the matter: What motivated Woods to obliterate a marriage to a beautiful wife and two precious children by years of unfaithfulness with a litany of paramours, and how mind-numbingly stupid could he have been to believe that none of these women would’ve ever blown the whistle? Apparently, the “Between The Lines” crew must’ve been asleep or chasing less powerful and politically correct targets.

Before that, Brett Favre was in his first (or was it second?) unretirement honeymoon. The “Worldwide Leader” dispatched poor Shelley Smith and a cameraman to the middle of Nowhere, Mississippi by some outhouse in the woods for weeks at a time desperately trying to get a glimpse of the Great Favre. They simply embarrassed themselves then, but L’Affaire LeBron amounts to a complete and utter sellout to any pretensions of journalistic integrity. Rather than reporting on a story, they’re in bed with the story. Who benefits? LeBron, Nike and ESPN. Cleveland’s Finest will be on red alert if his next stop is not Cleveland, as there will be a lot of very angry people who will take to the streets.

Moving forward, how will it be possible for ESPN to cover anything regarding LeBron in a “fair and balanced” manner? He’s practically one of the family now. Surely ESPN could replay a bowling tournament or a poker game before they insulted the intelligence of the viewing public with a slick infomercial. Who do you think will be running the ads? Wanna bet that Nike gets a big piece of the action? (At least this time they won’t have to resort to resurrecting voices from the dead to push $300 sneakers-made in Third World sweatshops—on the public). Various media reports indicate that all the advertising revenues from the broadcast will be donated to charity. Big deal, the sneaker, jersey and sports drink corporate giants will make that up within fifteen minutes.

As Orlando’s Coach Stan Van Gundy astutely noted in the July 7th Orlando Sentinel,

"It takes 15 seconds to say, 'I've decided to stay in Cleveland,' but we've got another 59 minutes and 45 seconds to, what? Promote LeBron James? As if we don't do that enough."

I admit it, I’m old; but not so old as to forget those great athletes who placed the will to be a champion over the will to score the most points or to make themselves the story. In the last 50 years around here, we’ve seen some great individual talents work within a team concept to produce championships, most notably being the Kid from Parry Sound. As far as LeBron goes, maybe I’ll sit up and take notice after he actually grabs a brass ring or two and proves that he is up to the task of being a cohesive team player. Until then, he’s just another passing celebrity in the news. Like Coach Van Gundy, I’ve got some re-runs to catch. ESPN? fuggedaboudit…