So it's opening day for the 2009 CFL schedule. :yeah:
I have to admit I'm more than a bit worried about the Blue & Gold this year. They've junked the entire team and started from scratch. This was a team that was in the big game 2 years ago, so I'm not convinced it needed to be blown up.
But this is the CFL, so there's always tons of NFL rejects and undrafted players that have the potential to be Canadian stars, so it could work...
And as usual, I see that Hamilton is getting crushed by Toronto. :(
:mad: This thread has nothing to do with energy-savings.
Quote from: Habbaku on July 01, 2009, 08:50:29 PM
:mad: This thread has nothing to do with energy-savings.
Come into the light - watch 3-down football. :hug:
I am very concerned about the Lions this year. Younger CC and I went to the pre-season game and it was not pretty.
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 01, 2009, 09:01:15 PM
I am very concerned about the Lions this year. Younger CC and I went to the pre-season game and it was not pretty.
If it's like the NFL pre-season games aren't really indicative of anything though.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 01, 2009, 09:02:52 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 01, 2009, 09:01:15 PM
I am very concerned about the Lions this year. Younger CC and I went to the pre-season game and it was not pretty.
If it's like the NFL pre-season games aren't really indicative of anything though.
This is true.
Bomber pre-season games looked great. That did nothing but worry me.
The Als are killing the Stamps. 20-0 in the 2nd. :o
Yet another season of the Blowout Football League.
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 09:57:29 PM
Yet another season of the Blowout Football League.
With the current score of 20-14 you have spoken too soon. -_-
Quote from: Barrister on July 01, 2009, 10:13:25 PM
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 09:57:29 PM
Yet another season of the Blowout Football League.
With the current score of 20-14 you have spoken too soon. -_-
The game isn't over yet. It's still possible that we could see yet another blowout.
Terna Nande is starting for the Lions! :yeah:
Whatever team has the most Udub Huskies is the one i'm rooting for.
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 10:21:55 PM
Quote from: Barrister on July 01, 2009, 10:13:25 PM
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 09:57:29 PM
Yet another season of the Blowout Football League.
With the current score of 20-14 you have spoken too soon. -_-
The game isn't over yet. It's still possible that we could see yet another blowout.
40-27 counts?
Quote from: Grey Fox on July 02, 2009, 06:12:59 AM
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 10:21:55 PM
Quote from: Barrister on July 01, 2009, 10:13:25 PM
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 09:57:29 PM
Yet another season of the Blowout Football League.
With the current score of 20-14 you have spoken too soon. -_-
The game isn't over yet. It's still possible that we could see yet another blowout.
40-27 counts?
13 points in the CFL is like 2 points in the NFL.
Quote from: katmai on July 02, 2009, 03:39:32 AM
Whatever team has the most Udub Huskies is the one i'm rooting for.
Cody Pickett plays for Toronto
Kai Ellis plays for Edmonton
So um...you have two teams tied with 1.
Quote from: Valmy on July 02, 2009, 08:02:18 AM
Quote from: katmai on July 02, 2009, 03:39:32 AM
Whatever team has the most Udub Huskies is the one i'm rooting for.
Cody Pickett plays for Toronto
Kai Ellis plays for Edmonton
So um...you have two teams tied with 1.
actually Joe Lobendahn is with Winnipeg as well.
Ridiculous turnovers.
So far a really really ugly game.
Old kicker for sale..... cheap!
Quote from: Neil on July 02, 2009, 07:48:49 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on July 02, 2009, 06:12:59 AM
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 10:21:55 PM
Quote from: Barrister on July 01, 2009, 10:13:25 PM
Quote from: Neil on July 01, 2009, 09:57:29 PM
Yet another season of the Blowout Football League.
With the current score of 20-14 you have spoken too soon. -_-
The game isn't over yet. It's still possible that we could see yet another blowout.
40-27 counts?
13 points in the CFL is like 2 points in the NFL.
yeah scoring sucks. we should all watch soccer (the "world music of sports" ) instead maybe? no thanks.
This could be a looooong season. But even with all the sacks and turnovers BC still should have won on that last throw from Buck.
Good game if rather sloppy. I'm not impressed with Durant's decision making or his on-field reactions so far. Granted I only caught the sloppy second half, but still.
Quote from: Judas Iscariot on July 03, 2009, 11:33:00 PM
Good game if rather sloppy. I'm not impressed with Durant's decision making or his on-field reactions so far. Granted I only caught the sloppy second half, but still.
The whole game was pretty shameful. 15 turnovers? Would have been 16 if not for a poorly-timed facemask penalty. Another thing that bothers me about the CFL is the amount of penalties, especially with Proulx's crew. They're pretty liberal with their calls, which affects both teams equally but really kills the pace of the game. And the way they drag out the last 3 minutes of the game for half an hour.
Out of Durrants three picks, I only saw the last two. One was a total error in judgement, where he just tossed the ball right at the defender. I mean, looking off the defence is good, but you should still glance in the direction where you're going to throw the ball. The last one seemed to me that the ball got away with him and he just flubbed the throw, since it was right in between two 'Riders players. Either that, or he couldn't decide which one he wanted to throw to. There were also a couple of marginal throws where he seemed to underthrow his receivers. He's got some work to do, but he should be serviceable as a CFL QB.
What really pleased me about the Roughriders was their defence. The pressure really worked for them, although they need to make sure that the defensive guys are rushing the quarterback, not some place three yards behind him. Still, any time you can get 9-10 sacks in a game is always good. How much of that is a Lions O-line in transition, we'll see. Pierce looked decent when he wasn't on his back.
You know, the hard camps and short preseasons were on display last night. Everybody was kind of inept, and everybody was a little bit fragile. Plenty of players getting injured in Week 1, most notably Jesse Lumsden and Geroy Simon. Well, it'll all be made good once the NFL starts cutting guys in August.
The game was even worse then the pre-season display of incompetance against Edmonton.
If the Lions cant replace of holes in the OL this is going to be a long painful season and Buck Peirce, who is injury prone at the best of times, wont last the first few games.
This is going to be a very long season for BC fans. They made it interesting at the end. But they were playing Hamilton and still lost.
Could this be the first year there is an eastern team that crosses over into the payoffs?
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 11, 2009, 09:46:47 AM
This is going to be a very long season for BC fans. They made it interesting at the end. But they were playing Hamilton and still lost.
Could this be the first year there is an eastern team that crosses over into the payoffs?
I was going to say: That was pretty embarassing. BC has showed some resiliance the last two weeks, but they aren't able to do what needs to be done. Their O-line, which looked like a bunch of homos against the Riders, was able to pretty much negate Hamilton's pass rush. Either the Riders are that good, or the Ti-Cats D-line is completely useless. Pierce did better job with the ball, although that last pick was pretty boneheaded.
The season is still too young for playoff predictions, but I would be surprised if both BC and Edmonton remained utterly helpless for the whole season, whereas I don't expect Hamilton or Toronto to win all that many games. Especially Hamilton, whose coaches should have the secondary executed. After that big pick, everybody was trying to intercept balls all day long, and they let BC back into the game with shoddy tackling caused by trying to jump routes that they had no business jumping. And Tisdale, who got the pick, was the worst of them all. I have no problem with trying to make big plays, but when you try and be a hero on every down, and start letting things slip, you're going to get torched.
Tisdale int was a result on #35s pressure on the QB anyway. Dude didn't do shit.
Quote from: Grey Fox on July 11, 2009, 10:21:05 AM
Tisdale int was a result on #35s pressure on the QB anyway. Dude didn't do shit.
Well, he caught it. That's more than you can say about, say, Jermaine Copeland.
And the Bombers handle Calgary rather nicely. :cool:
Buck Pierce just lost his job.
Quote from: Neil on July 16, 2009, 08:54:09 PM
Buck Pierce just lost his job.
He just got it back. Not because Pierce was good. He was just less bad last night.
Like I said at the beginning of the year, this is going to be a very long season for Lions fans. We need to import an offensive and defensive line after the NFL makes its cuts.
le Fors is making me pine for the days of Kevin Glenn... :(
I didn't watch last night's late game (and I turned off the brutal asswhipping of the Bombers halfway through), but looking at the boxscore, it doesn't seem to add up. OK, Reynolds ran for about 140, but Burris only threw for 160 yards. How does that turn into a 48-10 blowout? Is BC's defence just letting them march?
Yeah, Jackson has highs of goodless and lows of utter worthlessness. Pierce, on the other hand, is consistently bad. For a team that a few years ago had Dave Dickenson and Casey Printers feuding to start for them. The CFL sure is volatile. Then again, given the line play of the Lions, they should probably address that before they go out and cut Printers a big cheque.
Quote from: Neil on July 25, 2009, 11:16:10 AM
but looking at the boxscore, it doesn't seem to add up. OK, Reynolds ran for about 140, but Burris only threw for 160 yards. How does that turn into a 48-10 blowout? Is BC's defence just letting them march?
It was an incredibly bad game after the first quarter. After that the BC generated no offense to speak of and turned the ball over 3 times all leading to major scores. Another bone headed coaching decision to punt the ball from the 2 yard line instead of conceding a safety gave up another major score.
All of that combined with terrible B.C special teams play gave Calgary a very short field for the last three quarters.
Really, I don't like giving up the safety as much as I used to. Given the CFL tendency towards blowouts, it's not often important, but now that you're doing the safety kick from the 25 instead of the 35, and you're allowing the other team to build a special teams wedge, it's usually not worth it. You're only getting maybe 5-10 yards of field position out of the safety as opposed to the punt.
Quote from: Neil on July 27, 2009, 12:12:08 PM
Really, I don't like giving up the safety as much as I used to. Given the CFL tendency towards blowouts, it's not often important, but now that you're doing the safety kick from the 25 instead of the 35, and you're allowing the other team to build a special teams wedge, it's usually not worth it. You're only getting maybe 5-10 yards of field position out of the safety as opposed to the punt.
After punting from the 2 you are basically conceding a field goal so why not take the safety?
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 27, 2009, 12:38:04 PM
Quote from: Neil on July 27, 2009, 12:12:08 PM
Really, I don't like giving up the safety as much as I used to. Given the CFL tendency towards blowouts, it's not often important, but now that you're doing the safety kick from the 25 instead of the 35, and you're allowing the other team to build a special teams wedge, it's usually not worth it. You're only getting maybe 5-10 yards of field position out of the safety as opposed to the punt.
After punting from the 2 you are basically conceding a field goal so why not take the safety?
Depends on what you think of your special teams unit and defence. A 45-yard punt would leave them with a 47-yard field goal, if your D can hold, and in the CFL 47 yards is a very long field goal. Plus, there's always the chance that they'll muff the punt, allowing your special teams guys to make a big play, or that you'll block their field goal. I'm not overfond of just surrendering points for such a small number of yards.
Quote from: Neil on July 27, 2009, 12:56:35 PM
Depends on what you think of your special teams unit and defence. A 45-yard punt would leave them with a 47-yard field goal, if your D can hold, and in the CFL 47 yards is a very long field goal. Plus, there's always the chance that they'll muff the punt, allowing your special teams guys to make a big play, or that you'll block their field goal. I'm not overfond of just surrendering points for such a small number of yards.
Your defense could also force a turnover or a big loss. They could also blow it with some penalties.
Quote from: Neil on July 27, 2009, 12:56:35 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 27, 2009, 12:38:04 PM
Quote from: Neil on July 27, 2009, 12:12:08 PM
Really, I don't like giving up the safety as much as I used to. Given the CFL tendency towards blowouts, it's not often important, but now that you're doing the safety kick from the 25 instead of the 35, and you're allowing the other team to build a special teams wedge, it's usually not worth it. You're only getting maybe 5-10 yards of field position out of the safety as opposed to the punt.
After punting from the 2 you are basically conceding a field goal so why not take the safety?
Depends on what you think of your special teams unit and defence. A 45-yard punt would leave them with a 47-yard field goal, if your D can hold, and in the CFL 47 yards is a very long field goal. Plus, there's always the chance that they'll muff the punt, allowing your special teams guys to make a big play, or that you'll block their field goal. I'm not overfond of just surrendering points for such a small number of yards.
The problem with that math is you are forgetting the no yards rule (the thing I hate most about the CFL game). There is going to be at least a 5 yard return. Stopping a return for no yards is exceedingly rare. Even if you assume a very good punt of 45 yards (which would be amazing given all the pressure of punting form the end zone) that still puts the ball on at least the 42 which should be within the field goal range of every kicker. For our US readers the CFL uprights are put on the front of the endzone not the back like you are used to.
On the punt in question, the punt was short and they got a good run back. I think they took the ball on the 25 or 30 yard line.
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 27, 2009, 02:49:05 PM
The problem with that math is you are forgetting the no yards rule (the thing I hate most about the CFL game). There is going to be at least a 5 yard return. Stopping a return for no yards is exceedingly rare. Even if you assume a very good punt of 45 yards (which would be amazing given all the pressure of punting form the end zone) that still puts the ball on at least the 42 which should be within the field goal range of every kicker. For our US readers the CFL uprights are put on the front of the endzone not the back like you are used to.
On the punt in question, the punt was short and they got a good run back. I think they took the ball on the 25 or 30 yard line.
45 yards is a pretty average punt, but your point is taken on the no yards. They're going to get a return of at least 3-5 yards. Still, a 42 yard field goal in the CFL is far from automatic, as the wide field gives kickers headaches, and even with the safety touch, your opponent is still going to be starting on your side of midfield, within the theoretical range of their kickers anyways.
Fun little game going on between BC and Hamilton.
I have to say that I like that Hamilton is apparently no longer the doormat of the league. :thumbsup:
Crazy canuck: :console:
Everybody likes seeing an underdog turn it around.
So Bombers won this weekend. :yeah:
Sure, at 13-12 it was hardly a match for the ages, but a win is a win. And it looks like we have a new starter in the Peg - Michael Bishop. And they avoided falling to 1-4 like BC has.
Quote from: Neil on July 31, 2009, 08:45:29 PM
Everybody likes seeing an underdog turn it around.
Except when its the Maple Leafs.
Thankfully I don't have to worry about that happening anytime soon. :cool:
Quote from: Barrister on July 31, 2009, 08:42:20 PM
Crazy canuck: :console:
I have been saying this will be a long season since the pre-season. They are bringing in three veterans to try to shore things up. We will see if it makes any difference on Friday against Saskatchewan.
It can't be worse then the first time these teams played.
25-0, How's that for a blowout Neil?
The BC Sask game was fun to watch. Our section was invaded by a bunch of Green flag waving crazies from the prairies complete with watermelons on their heads and lots of beer in their guts. A lot of them had driven in for the game!
Lots of good natured banter between the BC and Sask fans. One of my favourite lines was with 30 seconds left in the game a girl sitting next to me turned to us and said "Its OK we won the Grey Cup". One of the guys behind me said, "but they sucked today. Face it, you just lost to a team that lost twice to Hamilton!" to which she responded, "Well at least I got a chance to kiss the Grey Cup. Have you kissed the Grey Cup?"
"Lady, have I kissed to Grey Cup!?! You don't want to know what I've done with the Grey Cup!"
Everyone broke up laughing.
CC: that's why I love the CFL. :wub:
Bombers down 13 - 0 to the Stamps. :cry:
*bump*
Labour Day Classic weekend.
'Riders are going down. :menace:
Quote from: Barrister on September 06, 2009, 03:02:45 PM
*bump*
Labour Day Classic weekend.
'Riders are going down. :menace:
It would appear not.
:(
All I care about is that BC put on a good defensive showing on Friday.
awesome.
outside 20-30K odd, blue painted, long suffering fans at the skydome, the CFL has NO profile in Toronto. Toronto FC is more popular. I miss the weekly football parties (beer and food and flavours) out west.
however, it's not like we have nothing else to do.
Maybe Toronto will adopt the Bills. After all, Toronto and mediocrity go hand in hand.
Quote from: Neil on September 08, 2009, 01:52:55 PM
Maybe Toronto will adopt the Bills. After all, Toronto and mediocrity go hand in hand.
I think that's the fiendish inevitability. tix start at $99 and go up $500 (VIP package). then they have the suites : 16 tix for $8-12,000.
in Buffalo tix start at $33 and goto $77. don't know VIP and suites.
Quote from: saskganesh on September 08, 2009, 02:56:56 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 08, 2009, 01:52:55 PM
Maybe Toronto will adopt the Bills. After all, Toronto and mediocrity go hand in hand.
I think that's the fiendish inevitability. tix start at $99 and go up $500 (VIP package). then they have the suites : 16 tix for $8-12,000.
in Buffalo tix start at $33 and goto $77. don't know VIP and suites.
$99 bucks for nosebleed endzone tickets, watching the Argonauts attempt to play football?
It's a wonder that anybody goes to a game.
Surely they don't charge $99 for Argos games?
I think sasks was referring to the prices for the handfull of Bills games played in Toronto.
Quote from: Barrister on September 08, 2009, 03:21:43 PM
Surely they don't charge $99 for Argos games?
I think sasks was referring to the prices for the handfull of Bills games played in Toronto.
Ah. Actually, one wonders if the Bills are any better than the Argos. Judging from their moves in the preseason (firing your offensive coordinator in the preseason?), they probably aren't.
Quote from: Neil on September 08, 2009, 04:49:51 PM
Quote from: Barrister on September 08, 2009, 03:21:43 PM
Surely they don't charge $99 for Argos games?
I think sasks was referring to the prices for the handfull of Bills games played in Toronto.
Ah. Actually, one wonders if the Bills are any better than the Argos. Judging from their moves in the preseason (firing your offensive coordinator in the preseason?), they probably aren't.
But "better" has little to do with image-conscious Toronto. The NFL is the big time, the 'world stage', and such is where Torontonians would prefer to be, rather than the affordable and entertaining Argos games.
Quote from: Neil on September 08, 2009, 03:19:40 PM
Quote from: saskganesh on September 08, 2009, 02:56:56 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 08, 2009, 01:52:55 PM
Maybe Toronto will adopt the Bills. After all, Toronto and mediocrity go hand in hand.
I think that's the fiendish inevitability. tix start at $99 and go up $500 (VIP package). then they have the suites : 16 tix for $8-12,000.
in Buffalo tix start at $33 and goto $77. don't know VIP and suites.
$99 bucks for nosebleed endzone tickets, watching the Argonauts attempt to play football?
It's a wonder that anybody goes to a game.
no those are for the NFL Bills, who have big league glamour and novelty.
Argos prices are CFL level reasonable.
Quote from: Barrister on September 08, 2009, 05:09:24 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 08, 2009, 04:49:51 PM
Quote from: Barrister on September 08, 2009, 03:21:43 PM
Surely they don't charge $99 for Argos games?
I think sasks was referring to the prices for the handfull of Bills games played in Toronto.
Ah. Actually, one wonders if the Bills are any better than the Argos. Judging from their moves in the preseason (firing your offensive coordinator in the preseason?), they probably aren't.
But "better" has little to do with image-conscious Toronto. The NFL is the big time, the 'world stage', and such is where Torontonians would prefer to be, rather than the affordable and entertaining Argos games.
we should put a CFL team in Buffalo :D
Quote from: saskganesh on September 09, 2009, 08:25:14 AM
we should put a CFL team in Buffalo :D
Last time you put a CFL team in the US they won the Grey Cup...do you really want to experience that humiliation again?
Quote from: Valmy on September 09, 2009, 08:29:04 AM
Quote from: saskganesh on September 09, 2009, 08:25:14 AM
we should put a CFL team in Buffalo :D
Last time you put a CFL team in the US they won the Grey Cup...do you really want to experience that humiliation again?
It wasn't humiliation - I was quite proud of the Baltimore Stallions. :huh:
Quote from: Barrister on September 09, 2009, 08:38:44 AM
It wasn't humiliation - I was quite proud of the Baltimore Stallions. :huh:
Well alot of people down here were upset when the Blue Jays won the World Series. What is wrong with you guys? Where is the Haterade?
Quote from: Valmy on September 09, 2009, 08:40:59 AM
Quote from: Barrister on September 09, 2009, 08:38:44 AM
It wasn't humiliation - I was quite proud of the Baltimore Stallions. :huh:
Well alot of people down here were upset when the Blue Jays won the World Series. What is wrong with you guys? Where is the Haterade?
we save the hate on for hockey. see Coyotes, Phoenix.
speaking of which, the bankruptcy auction is apparently tomorrow.
Quote from: Valmy on September 09, 2009, 08:40:59 AM
Quote from: Barrister on September 09, 2009, 08:38:44 AM
It wasn't humiliation - I was quite proud of the Baltimore Stallions. :huh:
Well alot of people down here were upset when the Blue Jays won the World Series. What is wrong with you guys? Where is the Haterade?
We have gotten used to American teams winning the Stanley Cup so you shouldnt expect any serious emotion over an American team winning the Grey Cup.
Quote from: crazy canuck on September 10, 2009, 12:27:15 AM
We have gotten used to American teams winning the Stanley Cup so you shouldnt expect any serious emotion over an American team winning the Grey Cup.
Good point. Canadians have no pride left to shame. :(
Go Stallions!
Here's a good reason why PCs are better than Macs: If your CFL team is getting it's ass whipped so badly that you want to kill yourself, the Mac's patented magnetic release cord won't bear your weight, making it unsuitable to use as a noose.
I bet BB wishes that he had a PC around the hosue right now.
Quote from: Neil on September 13, 2009, 04:36:09 PM
Here's a good reason why PCs are better than Macs: If your CFL team is getting it's ass whipped so badly that you want to kill yourself, the Mac's patented magnetic release cord won't bear your weight, making it unsuitable to use as a noose.
I bet BB wishes that he had a PC around the hosue right now.
If I would have killed myself because of a poor Bomber performance it would have been done a long time ago. :rolleyes:
Quote from: Barrister on September 13, 2009, 04:39:18 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 13, 2009, 04:36:09 PM
Here's a good reason why PCs are better than Macs: If your CFL team is getting it's ass whipped so badly that you want to kill yourself, the Mac's patented magnetic release cord won't bear your weight, making it unsuitable to use as a noose.
I bet BB wishes that he had a PC around the hosue right now.
If I would have killed myself because of a poor Bomber performance it would have been done a long time ago. :rolleyes:
I suppose that's true. These days, there's no team in the CFL that's money every year, the way Edmonton was for so long.
Too bad the BC defence broke down for that one play against Montreal.
Would have made the race in the West more interesting if BC had come back to .500.
Bishop has all the tools, but he just cannot put them together enough to be a good quarterback. I bet he's out of football after this year.
Quote from: Neil on September 13, 2009, 04:40:23 PM
Quote from: Barrister on September 13, 2009, 04:39:18 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 13, 2009, 04:36:09 PM
Here's a good reason why PCs are better than Macs: If your CFL team is getting it's ass whipped so badly that you want to kill yourself, the Mac's patented magnetic release cord won't bear your weight, making it unsuitable to use as a noose.
I bet BB wishes that he had a PC around the hosue right now.
If I would have killed myself because of a poor Bomber performance it would have been done a long time ago. :rolleyes:
I suppose that's true. These days, there's no team in the CFL that's money every year, the way Edmonton was for so long.
Alouettes.
Quote from: Barrister on September 14, 2009, 11:01:32 AM
Quote from: Neil on September 13, 2009, 04:40:23 PM
Quote from: Barrister on September 13, 2009, 04:39:18 PM
Quote from: Neil on September 13, 2009, 04:36:09 PM
Here's a good reason why PCs are better than Macs: If your CFL team is getting it's ass whipped so badly that you want to kill yourself, the Mac's patented magnetic release cord won't bear your weight, making it unsuitable to use as a noose.
I bet BB wishes that he had a PC around the hosue right now.
If I would have killed myself because of a poor Bomber performance it would have been done a long time ago. :rolleyes:
I suppose that's true. These days, there's no team in the CFL that's money every year, the way Edmonton was for so long.
Alouettes.
Hard to say. They tend to have their stats padded by having three terrible teams in their division. I suppose they're usually roughly as good as the better teams in the West.
QuoteLeprechaun's luck goes south
Kinda hard not to feel sorry for sorry ex-coach Kelly
By: Randy Turner
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.winnipegfreepress.com%2Fimages%2F578%2A433%2Fkellymug.jpg&hash=007541a9f65a30faddd5fbe7b971e43934bbefeb)
Former Bomber coach Mike Kelly's booking photo from Thursday morning.
Gotta say, I've never seen the ex-head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a police mug shot before.
But I'd have given anything to know what exactly was going through Mike Kelly's mind as he posed for the photo, with sort of a Mona Lisa smile.
Regardless, it was an ending that was unthinkable, no matter how much the endless string of controversy and confrontation that preceded Kelly's ultimate demise.
Of all the emotions that Kelly evoked during his brief tenure with the Bombers, pity wasn't one of them. So why did I find myself feeling sorry for him on Thursday, when the team's board of governors cut Kelly loose, only to find out about his arrest following a domestic dispute at his home near Philadelphia?
It's not because Kelly deserved a better fate. What happened to him was inevitable, now or later.
It's just that, no matter what your opinion of his brief body of work with the Bombers, only a cold-hearted hater would find any solace in the sorry ending to Kelly's final chapter.
Because if it's not glaringly apparent by now, he wasn't even close to being qualified to run a professional football organization, with all the diplomacy, experience and political savvy that job entails. Not to mention a basic understanding of how CFL offences work in the 21st century. This was the Peter Principle on steroids.
But even if you were leery of Kelly's skimpy resumé upon arriving in Winnipeg, no one could have envisioned his own personal dream come true would devolve into such an ugly mess.
After all, Kelly was on top of the world last December, and for good reason. Here was a guy who a few years before was canned by a small U.S. college, only to be given the reins to one of the CFL's more storied franchises. Countless of Kelly's peers would have brained their own mother for the job. And Kelly, with his previous links to the Bombers, seemed more in love with the position than most.
Yet one tumultuous year later, he's unceremoniously axed and he's holding an ID slate for the Bridgeport, Pa., police department. With what appears for all the world to be a smirk on his mug shot.
Pride goeth before a fall.
On Friday, Kelly told Global Winnipeg he was embarrassed, confessing that the charges had left him "completely and totally numb." He apologized to Bombers fans, saying they "deserved better." Fair enough. But like most of Kelly's misadventures, it was too little, too late.
So how did a dream become such a nightmare? In many ways, it's not Kelly's fault. He didn't hold a gun to anyone's head to get the job. That burden rests on former president and CEO Lyle Bauer, whose distinguished tenure on Maroons Road -- all he did was save the franchise, period -- ended with his resignation Thursday and will forever carry the caveat: Yeah, but he's also the guy who hired Mike Kelly.
Despite Bauer's stubborn defence of Kelly until the end, even the big man must have been privately flabbergasted by how his blind faith in Kelly became so betrayed. Seriously, you give a man such a gift and this is how you get repaid? Even as Bauer gracefully exited the stage, his years of dedicated service were morphed by the Kelly bombshell.
And what of Kelly's future? People often say that you know a football player is done when he's released and no one else calls. Kelly is toxic. After waiting his entire life to get the Bombers job, he'll be hard pressed to find another one in the CFL, regardless of the outcome of the charges against him. (Hey, let's see if Bauer, who is rumoured to be headed to the executive suite of the Calgary Stampeders, finds a place for Kelly in Cowtown. Yeah, right.)
How sad.
In the end, I'll remember Mike Kelly as Jeff Reinebold with a temper. Because you always have to note that, apart from a few well-publicized blow-ups, Kelly could be as endearing as Reinebold. Just never as lovable.
But then Reinebold was also a bit of a tragic figure when the end came for him, too. The job beat him up and left him for broke on a dirt road. You came to realize that it wasn't necessarily his fault that he was overmatched. Reinebold was a classic case of a great salesman and self-promoter who lacked almost every other tool for the job he was given.
Yet the lasting memory of Reinebold was the flip-flops, his Peter Pan persona, his innate ability to fill a reporter's notepad -- and above all, the adoration that for the most part remained among tortured Bombers fans who stuck by him despite some gawdawful football.
With Kelly, I'll remember a polarizing force of a man with a penchant for self-destruction. I'll remember how joyful Kelly was the day he was hired. And I'll remember the image of his mug shot taken the very day he was fired just one year later.
And I'll always wonder: Why in the world is this man smiling?