Wednesday, November 16th...

1 - Alouettes 30, Riders 14, sickening... oh well, as theDING would say, 'why not next year'?

2 - On the brightside, we're pretty sure Gainer the Gopher could kick the tar out of the Alouettes mascot.

3 - The heat is now on Rider GM Roy Shivers and coach Danny Barrett, and rightfully so. But all this talk of firing them is just plain silly. Rider fans have a short memory. It wasn't so long ago that Saskatchewan was the CFL's version of Siberia. We didn't have a chance at attracting free agents or undrafted NCAA players. The city of Regina does not make a good first impression... ever. However, with Shivers and Barrett, Saskatchewan is considered one of the top places to play, and much sought after free agents actually consider us as a valid option (or atleast they did until some idiot threatened kicker Paul McCallum's wife). There is no question that this years team underachieved, but for prospective players, Shivers and Barrett are the most attractive GM/coach tandem in the league.

4 - CFL Predictions:

Western Final - Edmonton 33 B.C. 16

Edmonton's Jason Mass is becoming a folk hero, and B.C. is collapsing at the worst possible time. Expect Rickey Ray to play better, but if he doesn't, Mass is in the groove. Dave Dickenson is beat up, and Casey Printers is a shell of the quarterback that won last year's Most Outstanding Player Award.

Eastern Final - Toronto 29 Montreal 21

Toronto's offense sucks, but not as bad as Montreal's defense. (Depressing how they held the Riders to only 14 points isn't it...)

5 - Today's quote:

'The toughest thing about running the New York Marathon is knowing which gun shot came from the starters pistol.'

- David Letterman -

6 - Today's sign of the Apocalypse: Politician Offers to Send Russian Soccer Fans to Quell Riots in France

'I am convinced that our initiative would restore total order and
calm the rioting in 48 hours.'

- Vladimir Zhirinovsky - (quote from article)

7 - Some thoughts on this: (A) This idea is brilliant, nobody finishes a riot quicker than a mob of angry soccer fans. 48 hours of uncontrolled rioting and they'd be forced to stop because there'd be nothing left to burn. (B) This article may seem like a fake, but Steve-O from Belair, Michigan vouches for it's credibility, and if it's good enough for the Average Joe from Northern Michigan then it's good enough for us.

8 - The Rider loss was sickening, but not as brutal as this.

'Voters just didn't respond to positive messages, but they
had a hunger for negative ads.'

- Unidentified Senior Liberal - (quote from article)

One Conservative Campaign planner agreed. And people wonder why politics is such a nasty game. Sheesh...

9 - Jim Reed Watch: We're still not taking him seriously...

10 - Puzzling question of the day: Sharia Law (used to settle desputes between Muslims) is discriminatory, especially against women. One-sided divorce laws, arranged marriages, and spousal abuse are just some of the problems women face. On the other hand, the Catholic Church won't let women become priests. Who do you think takes more flack from the media and intelligentsia? Check out this article to see the latest grenade to be lobbed at the Catholic Church, this one by Vickie Robertson. Robertson grew up in Halifax with close ties to the military, travelled for many years, and is now a married part-time student. The article has its pro's and con's:

PRO - 'The concepts of charity and a just society have been the basis
of the church's teachings for years. However, this admirable history
is overshadowed by predator priests and the unattainable covenants
that make Catholic guilt part of its folklore.'

CON - 'In the absence of laws, playing on an instinctive fear of death
is pretty clever. Behave and your soul lives forever; misbehave and
you go to hell. It's a good way to create civility in a lawless
society. Two thousand years ago, it made sense, but today, we have
laws, and I refuse to believe that we are born evil just waiting for
the church to preach it out of us.'

Overall Impression: Plenty of good points, especially about practicing what you preach. Especially liked the line 'religion is not about making life easier, and Catholicism is not a buffet – help yourself to the meat but skip the veggies'. However just as the good works of the Catholic Church have been overshadowed by countless sexual abuse scandels, the good points in Robertson's column are overshadowed by her poor assumptions about Christian teaching. M.O.F. gets the impression Robertson has an axe to grind.

11 - Better end this post on a good note: Penguins 3 Flyers 2 (OT)

Oh yeah!!!!

Until next time...

Man on Fire