Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”
Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Questions, from this past week in sports –
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Winnipeg Goldeyes, Toronto Raptors, all curlers from Manitoba, and all Canadian athletes competing on the international stage.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: HUH?
2. Blue Bombers: Winnipeg 26 vs Stampeders 24 … The first-place showdown was won by the good guys and now the Bombers are 6-2, 4-0 at home, and 3-0 in the division. There are varying opinions on the final result but for me, a win is a win. Yes, the Blue Bombers won this game on the strength of the special teams and while we all know there are three phases to a football game, offence, defence, and special teams it doesn’t matter which phase wins the game as long as you win the game. Now, in saying that, I don’t think you can rely on TWO special teams touchdowns every game, at some point the Bombers offence is going to have to start carrying the load again.
The Good:
- Andrew Harris … he ground out a tough 100 yards rushing on 19 carries.
- Janarion Grant … TWO punt return touchdowns in his CFL debut.
- Justin Medlock … 4 for 4 including a 55-yarder.
The Bad:
- Paul Lapolice’s game plan and play-calling left a lot to be desired. He needs to call plays where Nichols gets the ball away quickly.
- The O-line basically faced a four-man rush all night and couldn’t give Matt Nichols much time to pass.
- The defence was soft and porous most of the night but did come up with a couple of interceptions.
The Ugly:
- Calgary’s punt coverage. It basically cost them the game.
3. NFL: Now that the organizers for the Green Bay Packers vs Oakland Raiders preseason game have reduced the ticket pricesI I kind of feel sorry for the fans that paid FULL price AND for lesser seats. Can you say fiasco? I think a Vikings game might have been a better draw. I still believe this is still Vikings country but I could be wrong.
4. Blue Jays: Bo knows baseball.
5. Blue Bombers: Matt Nichols is taking a lot of heat but I’m not sure there’s much more he can do. The Blue Bombers offensive line is actually quite offensive when it comes to pass protection. They do a pretty good jof of run blocking for Andrew Harris but teams are only rushing four men and putting big pressure on the QB and that’s including Harris in pass protection. Do the math, that’s four rushing on six, leaving eight men covering six. It’s no wonder everytime Nichols looks downfeild nobody is open. Thank goodness he has had those little check-downs to Andrew Harris for 4 or 5 yards instead of a bunch of sacks. A lot of this is on Paul LaPolice for not adjusting the game plan with more hitch screens to Whitehead and Demski like earlier in the season. In my humble opinion, most of the Bombers offensive woes stem from the loss of Sukh Chungh and Matthias Goossen.
6. CFL: The new CFL weather protocol SUCKS. Ending a 7-point game in the third quarter because of a one-hour weather delay is rediculous beyond imagination. I can’t believe either side agreed to this. BRUTAL.
CFL issues statement following shortened Week 9 game.
READ: https://t.co/JAWsNl9mWb pic.twitter.com/AzBAAXxtvA
— CFL (@CFL) August 10, 2019
7. Blue Jays: Last week when the Jays were playing every time Bo Bichette got a hit the cameraman would show his father Dante in the stands but I thought Bo’s mom Mariana was much much more interesting to look at. LOL.
8. MLB: There is a whole generation of younger Canadian baseball fans that don’t know that the Montreal Expos were once Canada’s team. It’s true.
9. Blue Bombers quiz: What do Chris Matthews, Kenny Lawlor, Drew Wolitarsky, Lucky Whitehead, and Nic Demski all have in common? Answer: They are all decoys for Andrew Harris.
10. WTA: Rogers Cup – In what was shaping up to be a monumental and possibly historic final between Bianca Andreescu and Serena Williams the unthinkable happened and Serena had to retire after only four games. So, it was historical in the fact that Bianca becomes the first Canadian women to win on home soil in FIFTY years but I’m sure Andresscu didn’t want to win it this way. I was really pulling for Bianca BUT I absolutely love Serena and it was heartbreaking to watch her go out this way. I feel bad for the people that paid big bucks to watch a 20-minute final. OUCH.
11. Blue Jays: For a kid that basically grew up in and around big-league clubhouses, I’m surprised Vladdy Jr. doesn’t speak good enough English to conduct a tv interview without an interpreter.
12. Important Dates:
Aug. 15: Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the BC Lions.
Sept. 16: Winnipeg Jets pre-season opener at Edmonton.
Sept. 18: Winnipeg Jets pre-season home opener vs Minnesota.
Oct. 3: Winnipeg Jets regular season opener at the New York Rangers.
Oct. 10: Winnipeg Jets regular season home opener vs the Minnesota Wild.
If you have any questions for Darryl or myself (Mitch) please give us a shout. You can use the comment section or use the #ASKWHTPOD hashtag on Twitter.
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Thanks, Mitch
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