Ok, as a journalist there is one accusation that people make all the time about the newspaper business that eats my grapes and that has to do with censorship.

 

The number one complaint I get is that newspapers only report bad news. That is both true and false. Which would you rather read about...the plane that slammed into the side of an airport or the plane that landed safely like the other 40 billion planes each day. Also, what about people winning lottery, etc. Is that bad news? (ok, so it's bad news if I don't win the lottery).

 

I bring up this point because at work we had a phone call (I will not name names) regarding an article written that was bad news. They were complaining that we should have never ran the article. Ok, fine, if we don't run the article then the public is censoring the media...yet people complain that the media is already censored and no one is getting the truth.

 

It's as the old movie line goes, "You want the truth...You can't handle the truth."

 

Well, I can't leave my blog with talking about some kind of sport (or game in this case). I was watching Daniel Negreanu's Protege  on Sportsnet lately and I can't believe it...Negreanu has turned poker into a reality show. All I have to say is Daniel....I'm disappointed.

 

I discussed this the other day with Funkmaster J. People are natural stupid and, in this case, hypocrites. If you want to try and censor the media, fine, but don't go around saying that the media tells nothing but lies.

 

Now that I got that out of the way I want to explain a few things from a couple of comments from my last entry (geez, I turn my head for a second and several comments pop up...who knew).

 

FunkyG: I'll be back in K-town around mid-August and I'll probably be in Lethbridge in late September. I will add you when I get the time, but I am a VERY busy person.

 

Kim: I think this is a case of I know who you are, but you don't know who I am. Not a surprise, I didn't leave a lasting impression on many people around Kindersley (in some cases, thank god). Also, around my blog, everyone is a friend. I try and keep this a peaceful environment (key word: TRY).

 

Anywho, I know this blog was kinda bland...but I swear it will get better.

 

-Brother Punk-

Sorry for the delay people, I got my motorcycle learners permit, so that has been taking up most of my life. But for this blog I thought I'd do I bit of an update from my last blog because...well...I was WAY off.

 

Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-1)-What can you say about these Riders. One game they look like a high school football team, the next they pull out a win (granted it was the last 17 seconds of the game). The roughies are a complete underdog. Hopefully they can also get the attendance up at Taylo........Mosaic Staduim at Taylor Field. I think they will pick up the last playoff spot in the west, but no home playoff e.

 

Calgary Stampeders (2-1)-Yes, they did beat the Ticats, but they didn't deserve the win. If they would have played that way against any other team, their asses would have been handed to them on a silver platter. Oh year, I still hate Burris too. My prediction they will finish second in the west.

 

Edmonton Eskimos (1-2)-Well, as my good friend Kim pointed out in my last entry, Edmonton looked bad against the Bombers...REALLLY BAD. Honestly, I don't think that this is the old Eskies and the bad play will be a continuing storyline. Time to rebuild in Edmonton. Prediction: missing the playoffs or make the crossover.

 

B.C. Lions (2-1)-I think they are the best team in the west right now. Granted, yes, they did lose to the Riders, but there is such parity in the league that no one can win it all. I believe they will be first place in the west.

 

Toronto Argonauts (1-2)-I hate to say I told you so, but...I told you so. Ricky Williams is a bust! He is better off curling up on his couch (with his bong of course) and watch the NFL from the comfort of his own home. The argos don't look good, but at least Damon Allen is injured. As I say, at his age, a broken finger will put him in the ICU. Prediction: third in the east.

 

Hamilton Tigercats (0-3)-Boy was I off on this one. They made so many adjustments in the off season that, on paper, they looked good. Obviously not though. At least you have to respect that they haven't been blown out of all of their losses. They need to start geling together quick, though, or it will be a long season. Prediction: Last place in the east and no cross over for them.

 

Winnipeg Blue Bomber (2-1)-WOW, it's bizarro world. The team that looked weakest on paper is one of the best teams out there right now. Two things happened in their game against Edmonton: 1) The eskie played bad, really bad and 2) The Blue Bombers exploited that and played the best game they've played in a long time. Are the Riders regretting giving away Kevin Glenn? I think so. Prediction: second in the east.

 

Montreal Alouettes (2-0)-As much as I hate to say it, they are the best team in the east right now. The only problem Montreal has is that they have no depth on the bench. If Calvillo goes down, who is going to replace him...Nealon Greene...HA! Prediction: first in the east.

 

Well, thats all folks.

 

-Brother Punk-

 

p.s. Anyone know of a cruiser motorcycle of sale in the Weyburn area...I'm looking to buy (its worth a try).

Well, the CFL season is just around the corner and I figure I'd take a look at the teams going into the new year.

 

Saskatchewan Roughriders-What can I say. I have to bite the bullet and say that the Riders might do a LITTLE BIT better than I predicted over the offseason. They were able to pick up Kerry Joseph and Jason Armstead in the Ottawa dispersal draft. Armstead is a good pick up, but I think Joseph needs to prove himself because he has a great receiving corps to work with. As for kicking, as much as I hate to see McCallum go, who is this Luca Congi and why is he kicking 53 yard field goals at Taylor Field during pre-season. Watch out because Congi could be the real deal. The weakness will be the running game of this team because Kenton Keith has been causing problems off of the field and after him the roughies don't have much. My prediction is that the Riders will be contending for the last playoff spot in the west, but no home playoff game once again.

 

Calgary Stampeders-They really haven't done much in the offseason except pick up a few minor additions to the roster. They will have a decent team with Smilin' Hank at the helms with their offence. They will be battling Saskatchewan for that last playoff spot.

 

Edmonton Eskimos-Well, to show I'm not completely prejudice against Edmonton, I think that they will be the top of the class in the west. They no longer have the quarterback contraversy that plagued them a year ago. They have relatively the same team, which has always been strong.

 

B.C. Lions-Just like Edmonton, they have gotten rid of the quarterback contraversy and are ready to play. They also got rid of a team distraction in Duncan O'Mahoney and traded up for Paul McCallum. Paul will have a great year this season and I still believe that the change of scenery will do him good. I think they will be taking second place in the west.

 

Toronto Argonauts-YOU SIGNED RICKY "POTHEAD" WILLIAMS. Really, give your head a shake, the guy has been suspended numerous times in the NFL for drug violations, get the hint. This a a terrible ploy to get butts into the seats of the Rogers Centre. As I heard before, if Ricky wanted to smoke pot and play football he should be playing in BC with the Lions (no offence Funkmaster J). Damon Allen equal dinosaur and it is time to take this horse out to pasture. I think that the Argos will finish in second place in the east.

 

Hamilton Tigercats-What a difference a year can make. They acquired Josh Ranek from the dispersal draft, Corey Holmes from Saskatchewan and signed Terry Vaughn, Kwame Cavil and Jason Maas during the off season. They went from one of the wrong teams in the CFL to one of the best. I honestly believe that he will finish in first place in the east this season.

 

Winnipeg Blue Bombers-They also, basically, have the same team as last year. They did add all-star lineman Barrin Simpson to the roster and a new coaching staff, but I don't think it will be enough. They did move over to the east with the demise of Ottawa, but I don't think it will make a difference. They will finish last in the east.

 

Montreal Alouettes-Ok, first off, what the hell is an "Alouette" anyways. I'm still trying to figure that out. Alright, two words tell me all I need to know about this team "Nealon Greene". Any team that is dumb enough to take Nealon Greene in a trade is stupid. C'mon now. Other than that, they should rename their stadium Jurassic Park because this is a team full of dinosaurs. They have had the same team for years and the players are getting older so injuries are going to be a problem this season. I suspect they will finish third in the east.

 

Ottawa Renegades-KABOOOOM!!!!!!! Get out your shovels because they are six feet under.

 

As for this year's Grey Cup, I'm not even going to try and predict it. It is too early and a lot of these teams are evenly matched as I'll leave it at that.

 

-Brother Punk-

 

 

Well, the Stanley Cup finals are among us once again after a year of waiting through that unneccessary CBA lockout.

 

Anyhow, as you may have guest, as a Flames fan I just can't get behind the Oiler...I just can't do it. But bias aside, I don't think Edmonton can take the cup this year and hear is why.

 

1) Rollie the Goalie is out for the remainder of the series. Let's face the facts here. If it wasn't for Rolofson (sp) Edmonton wouldn't be in the Stanley Cup. Look at the series against the Ducks. Sure, the Oil swept the series, but all the games were full of mistakes on both sides of the red line.

 

2) I said, even before we knew that Edmonton was going to be in the final, that the series between Buffalo and Carolina was going to decide the Stanley Cup. Caroline looks good, really good. They have two guys, Andrew Ladd (Calgary Hitmen) and Cam Ward (Red Deer Rebels), who I have see play junior hockey in the WHL and they will be stars in the NHL. A matter of fact, Ward is looking like no one can beat him right now. Edmonton makes too many mistakes and injuries (aka Rollie) are starting to catch up with them.

 

3) They're from Edmonton (ok, that one was bias).

 

Anyways, my prediction is Carolina in seven games. And those who say "well, Edmonton cheered for Calgary during their playoff run" I say "where you hit by a car along highway 2". I specifically remember a guy in Edmonton who painted his car in the Flames colours and it got vandalised, Edmonton would never cheer for Calgary.

 

This brings me to my second point, the "Blue Mile" verus the "Red Mile". Way to take our idea Edmonton, real original. At least in Calgary, nothing got vandalised and no one got hurt on the Red Mile (granted we did get to see some frontal nudity, but I ain't complaining about that). Now, all you see on the news is about the vandalism and injuries that are taking place along the "Blue Mile". WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT PROBLEM EDMONTON.

 

Anyways, I'm done my Edmonton bashing...and to my friend Funkmaster J...I told you I ain't dead yet.

 

-Brother Punk-

Ok, I am back. It's been a while, but I've been busy with work, curling, etc. but it's all good. I won $125 at the Weyburn Spring Spiel and I'm going for my motorcycle training this summer.

 

Anyhow, I know everyone is wondering "Brother Punk, who is going to win the Stanley Cup?" Well, to be honest with you, I haven't watched much of the NHL playoffs. In a perfect world, I would like to see a Calgary-Ottawa Stanley Cup final, however, I don't think that will happen.

 

So, I guess the whole "Brother Punk not watching hockey" comes as a shock to some of you. Well, I have been watching a lot of baseball lately, in particular, the Blues Jays. They have a really good team this year, currently with a record of 12-10 and tied for second in the AL East with the Yankees. Here is my list of Jays players to watch for and which ones are overrated.

 

 

Greg Zaun: A power-hitter at the catcher position...that's crazy. Zaun can smack a few out of the park when it is needed and, oh yeah, he's a damn good catcher as well.

 

Frank Catalanotto: First off, let's get this straight, no, Frank is not a power hitter. What makes him good is that he is a contact hitter. He can get you those singles and doubles to get players of base. He is also a smart outfielder as well. That last game I saw him play, he tried to dive for a ball and missed. He was smart enough to keep him body infront of the ball thought and kept an extra-base hit into a single.

 

Alex Rios: The Jays are a tough team when you got Catalanotto on one side of the field and Alex Rios on the other. I will not deny that Rios is a good batter, but what impresses me is his defence. Standing at 6 foot 5, the guy can move. He is fast, which is what the Jays need in the outfield.

 

Gustavo Chacin: The big man on the mound. There are two factors that make Gustavo a great pitcher. First off, he is one of the hotest pitchers the Jays have right now. He can easily pick up wins. Second, he is a lefty. Left-handed pitchers, in general, are hard to find and to get a great on like Gustavo finding a needle in a haystack.

 

B.J. Ryan: The Jays closer and a really good pitcher. What impresses me the most about B.J. is his deliver. There is no hesitation during his wind-up, he just throwing the ball, which can catch a batter off guard. Watch out for him.

 

 

A.J. Burnett: The Jays signed this pitcher for a ton of money during the off season and what has he done? He was injured throughout training camp, took a couple of losses during the regular season and got injured again. He was not worth the money.

 

Josh Towers: Speaking of losers, this guy needs help on the mound. He just took his fifth loss today against the Yankees to start the season 0-5 with an ERA of 10.45. He guy is like a lame horse, put him out of his misery.

 

Eric Hinske: This guy is basically taking up roster space. With Aex Rios in Right Field why don't they trade Eric Hinske? He isn't the greatest hitter or defensive player. The Jays can do better and gave with Rios on the field.

 

Bengie Molina: This is one that I really don't want to put on the over-rated list, but I have to because the Jays have a better catcher in Greg Zaun. Bengie is another power-hitter at the catcher position, but his defense needs work. When he is trying to throw out a stealing base runner at second base, he always throws the ball in the wrong spot and it is kind of disappointing considering he has been in the league since 1998.

 

Roy "Doc" Halladay: I like the guy, I really do and this is a borderline "Over-rated" listing that I know a lot of you will disagree with. Doc was a deserving Cy Young Award-winner in 2003, but he has been injury prone the last couple of years. Now, last year I can't really blame him too much because a line drive nailed him in the leg and broke his tibia. Like I said, this is a borderline pick and IF Doc can stay health he give the Jays defense a HUGE boost.

 

Anyhow, that is my baseball rant, hopefully I will be back really soon with more...but not hold your breath.

 

-Art Van DeLay, Van DeLay Industries-

 

NOT WAIT...IT'S BEEN TOO LONG.

 

-Brother Punk-

I know this is coming a little bit late, but I want to congratulate the Gushue rink for winning the Gold medal at the Olympics to become the first mens Canadian curling team to win the gold medal. There are a couple of issues I would like to address about this though.

 

Firstly, I will admit, I was pretty critical about Russ Howard joining that team on a full-time basis during the Olympic Trials in Halifax. I still think it was an unethical thing to do, however, in the end it worked. Howard got his gold medal and I think that Gushue and his rink and learned a lot of matured (or Howard became more immature lol) for the old man.

 

I also want to address this idea the Russ Howard with the oldest Olympian to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Everyone keeps saying this yet it is untrue. The IOC looked into it and found the an athlete was 72 years-old and won a gold medal in some rediculious event like Deer Hunting in the 1920s. If you want to be more correct about Howard, say he is the oldest athlete to win a gold medal in the modern Olympics.

 

I found it interesting that the IOC looked into the past and found that the first curling medals were not given out in 1998 in Nagano. They found the one of the first winter Olympics featured curling as an event, but quickly died off. It is good to see that the sport is going strong now.

 

Last, but not least, I want to address Gushue's last rock in the 6th end. If you want to get a gold medal, you MUST make those draws for seven points (ok, if you can't tell by now, I'm being sarcastic about that last remark). I don't blame him for missing that shot, my adrenaline would be going crazy as well because, hell let's face it, six points, the game is over. It's good to see Mark Nichols curl 97 per cent at the Third position during that game. Third is not an easy position to throw high percentages, but he did it. Cheers Mark!

 

So congrats to Gushue and stay away from The Rock for a couple of weeks because it is going to sink is booze from all the partying.

 

"Until next time, he's an Olympic gold medalist, he's..."

 

-Brother Punk- 

Ok, first things first. I did give my blog an overhaul and I didn't use anyone's suggestions (ok, Funkmaster J helped a little bit on this one). Anyways, after being called a bandwagon jumper on my last entry I thought I should clear a few things up.

 

Just because I am fed up with the Riders management and give the no chance in winning next season does NOT mean I'm not going to cheer for them. I've always said the Riders are a guilty pleasure...you know they aren't going to win, but you cheer anyways.

 

The problem with the riders situation is frustrating. The board of governors for the team told Shivers if he didn't make any drastic changes this year he wouldn't have a job. The only change he has made this off-season was getting rid of McCallum (which I still think is a bad move).

 

I think McCallum is getting a back rap here people. Let's think about this logically for a second, this is the guy who holds the CFL record for the longest field goal (which happened at Taylor Field which is a nightmare to kickers who aren't used to the wind)...one yard short of the NFL record and has led the team in scoring numerous times and he had big shoes to fill when he joined the team because the great Dave Ridgeway retired and did a fair job to begin with. He misses one pressure field goal and loses his confidence the next season and everyone wants his head, it's not fair to judge him on a season after that (and, by the way, all of the kickers in the league struggled as well). Also look at the guy off the field. He does a lot of work within the community and loves it in Regina. Why are we so hostile towards that? I think this move is best for him though (although I hate to see him go). Maybe a change of scenery will help him get his confidence back.

 

This is the not first time that management has screwed over the fans. Do I have to remind people of how management forced players like Bobby Jurasin and Don Narcise even when they were still good players.

 

All I have to say is, just wait until we play the BC Lions and this move comes to bite us on the ass. Maybe if we rub a lamp with a magic Genie we can wish for a real Quarterback (and maybe more wishes while we're at it). But, please, stop calling me a bandwagon jumper. I will continue cheering for the team even if they suck.

 

Anyways, I've bitched and complaint long enough. Talk to ya all later.

 

-Brother Punk-