* Also, Stampeders statistician Darryl Slade has published his second book and it's on the shelves a

Over the weekend in Calgary I was taking photos and jotting down notes for the Monday Morning Goalie column but after the Riders' painful 36-30 loss to the Stampeders in the western semifinal, I didn't feel too much like putting it together. I'm also pretty sure you weren't interested in reading dinner cruises in baltimore it either. However there was some good stuff there so I decided to post it today:
The trip was doomed from the start. Friday night was miserable, as you can tell by the picture from the tarmac dinner cruises in baltimore at the Regina Airport. There was an issue loading the equipment which caused an hour delay at this end and there was a further delay once we landed in Calgary. All this occurred while the Stampeders were home snuggled dinner cruises in baltimore in their own beds. That's why it's called homefield advantage.
We got to the Westin hotel just before midnight and this nice note was waiting in my room from Lindsay Sandomirsky, the hotel's Sales and Marketing Director. More on that further dinner cruises in baltimore down in the column. It felt like home!
Odell Willis posed for a shot outside the locker room. Tough to say if he'll be back in 2013 although Chamblin said Tuesday they'd like to have him back. Although high maintenance at the start of the year, he seemed to have settled down by Labour Day. However he didn't have a sack after Week 13.
There were tailgaters outside McMahon Stadium however as you can see, there weren't many of them. Will the Roughriders ever allow tailgating? Team President Jim Hopson had this to say to the Globe and Mail last week: "We've dinner cruises in baltimore talked to the province and they don't want to make a change in the liquor laws and have tailgating at ball tournaments and hockey games. We're a little bit reluctant (to do tailgating). dinner cruises in baltimore We want to have a good family environment at our games."
And finally, kickoff. As you can see the stadium wasn't nearly full and there wasn't a ton of green either. The game just didn't have the excitement or vibe that we were used to for Rider games in Calgary. Not sure why. Did the forecast scare people off? Is the Rider Nation losing steam? You tell me.
* Apparently that Rider loonie is still somewhere under the turf at McMahon Stadium. A stadium worker, originally from Saskatchewan, winked and told me that the day before dinner cruises in baltimore the game. It was placed there before dinner cruises in baltimore the 2010 West Division Final, which the Riders won, but the luck ran out in 2012. I'd still prefer to keep it there.
* The weather this time of year always makes travel dinner cruises in baltimore dicey but I suppose we don't have to worry about it any longer. The voice of the Rams Michael Ball was due to land Saturday at noon for the 2:00 Hardy Cup kickoff between the Rams and Dinos but there was a storm forecast for all weekend. Carm Carteri and I were prepared to broadcast the game on 620 CKRM but thankfully Ballsy and colour commentator Marco Ricci got there in time. They called the Rams games all year and deserved to call the last one.
* With the temperature below-zero for Sunday's WSF many people asked why the western game didn't kickoff before the eastern game, while the sun was still up. The answer? The people dinner cruises in baltimore who make those decisions, the suits in Toronto, don't have to play in the games nor sit on the cold metal bleachers outside.
* The Riders stayed at the Westin for this road trip to Calgary and it was, in a word, magnificent. How can you go wrong with a Keg and a Starbucks right in the lobby? Plus I got a note in my room from Lindsay, the Sales and Marketing Director from the Westin who said she's a lifelong Rider fan who's wanted to the Riders to stay there forever. Her father "Stan from Saskatoon" is a regular caller into CKRM's sportstalk shows. She even left a bucket of beer in the room! How did she know?? Here's hoping that's the Riders' new Calgary headquarters, although I enjoyed dinner cruises in baltimore the Marriott too.
* More proof the weekend in Calgary sucked: my rental car was a Volkswagen Gulf and I left the lights on overnight dinner cruises in baltimore Saturday. Sunday morning in freezing temperatures, dinner cruises in baltimore the battery was dead. What an absolute pain in the neck that was. Fortunately the Westin staff helped with a boost.
* People are scratching their heads over CFL attendance right now, and not just in Calgary. I'd say the things that have plagued the WHL the past number of years have caught up to the CFL. Everybody has a mancave now with a big screen TV and it's hard to pry a guy out of there to buy tickets to go outside in the winter. It's a problem that the marketing people need to solve. Glad that's not my job.
* It's too bad Jon Cornish's personality has been exposed. It's hard to appreciate his on-field prowess now, given the ridiculous stunts he's pulled. Carm Carteri and I were walking up the ramp from the field to the media facilities on Saturday and Cornish was walking down the other way. Carm said "Hi Jon", but he never even acknowledged us and kept walking. I checked to see if he had earbuds in. He didn't. Can't even say hi.
* It was great to see former Regina Pats villain J.D. Watt outside the stadium after the Rider game. He was dressed head-to-toe in Stampeders gear and I asked him if he lost a bet. The cowboy from Cremona, AB is playing dinner cruises in baltimore hockey at SAIT and getting his education. He gave me a big hug which cracked my back. He was only with the Pats for half a season but boy did we get along well! Great to see that guy.
* 620 CKRM is broadcasting BOTH the East Division Final and the West Division Final. Why? Because we sell SOOO many commercials for Rider Radio broadcasts that we couldn't fit them all into just one playoff broadcast this Sunday dinner cruises in baltimore so we needed to carry both games. Don't tell me sports aren't the backbone dinner cruises in baltimore of that radio station.
* It meant a ton for Rider quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan to wander up to me on the team bus after the game and say "Hey I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy the content on your blog. I'm a sporadic reader but I can tell how much work you put into it, and I really enjoy it." Wow ! That coming dinner cruises in baltimore from a veteran of 11 NFL teams! And I can tell you the God's honest truth, I didn't even think he knew who I was. Honest. I hope he's back in 2013.
* Also, Stampeders statistician Darryl dinner cruises in baltimore Slade has published dinner cruises in baltimore his second book and it's on the shelves at the Stampeders store. It's called "STAMPEDERS - GREY CUP OR BUST" and is a chronicle of the rich playoff history of Calgary pro football. Darryl signed a copy for me "To Rod, A Great CFL Man and Author", and gave it to Jim Hopson to get to me. We were treated so well in Calgary.
* So many CFL types and fans have asked me which CFL GM was ripped by that NFL scout last week when I was in the press box in Seattle. Honestly I'd rather dinner cruises in baltimore not say, but it wasn't the Riders' Brendan Taman. I prefer not to make anybody look bad here, unless I really want to make them look bad, and this is not one of those times.
* The AHL game between Oklahoma City and Abbottsford must have drawn big ratings on Saturday night on Sportsnet. Everywhere dinner cruises in baltimore I went in Calgary, the game was on TV. I think I speak for most Canadians that we'd enjoy some hockey on Saturday nights, no matter the league. Hopefully Sportsnet keeps it up.
* And please, replayed hockey games are as old and boring as last week's newspaper. Whether it's Team Canada Rewind or Classics on Hockey Night in Canada, we know the outcome !! Show something live for goodness sake.
* Of course we couldn't get out of Calgary, an NHL city, without getting filled in, in-depth, on both sides of the NHL lockout. The players are mad the NHL owners are "hiding money". That's one of the biggest issues dinner cruises in baltimore right now, I'm told. Settle in for a long fight.
* Today is Day 60 of the work stoppage and some are starting to crack. One TSN staffer, dinner cruises in baltimore not on-air, told me Sunday afternoon "If I see an NHL player, I'll punch him in the face". This guy is a freelancer who gets paid by the game and now with the CFL almost done, he's broke with bills to pay and a family to feed. But hey! Let's make sure the players get their fair share!! Sickening.
You bring up the argument as to why CKRM should be all-sports radio again. I, and many others, would love it. I know you have said that won t happen and that s too bad because management is obviously mot willing dinner cruises in baltimore to make the gamble.
The solution is easy and doesn t take a marketing guru to figure it out...start the season a month earlier. Problem solved. As for J.T. , he will be our second stringer for sure next year. That s about as good a bet as beating Derek Myers in a poker hand, guess he s what you call a fish at the tables here! ;) On the NHL strike. Who cares if the owners are hiding dinner cruises in baltimore money (which they can t really do, but whatever.) the players get their paycheck and that s all that should count! Personally I think they should get ZERO percent of league revenue, as the owners dinner cruises in baltimore don t get a percentage dinner cruises in baltimore of players advertising contracts? Works both ways! I agree on the NHL replays, nobody cares. I would rather them carry the AHL right now and the networks can broadcast a good quality game.
Probably the reason there wasn t many Rider fans in McMahon was because they are sick and tired of losing there. We have we lost something like 10 regular season games in a row there. It s not very hard for a Calgarian to give a Rider fan the gears. Oh well as long as B.C. Montreal or Toronto win the Grey Cup and Owens and Emery win the awards I ll be happy. BB
Watching the Barons play on Sportsnet was awesome! Why doesn t TSN pick up AHL and WHL games instead of old replays, just seems lazy. When Basketball was in their lockout I wonder if ESPN played old baseball games? My guess is no. J Dumba
I have to agree on the Go Jays Go chant, dinner cruises in baltimore but the question then becomes Go where? Maybe New Jersey? How about those WS champion Giants. Next up, a 49 er Super Bowl. As for hockey, please stay away. Now the Riders. Here s hoping BT has a great off season and Coach Chamblin comes back strong. Go Riders.
Thanks for the blogs this year. Good work. Perhaps the reason the Stamps have such poor attendance by Calgary people dinner cruises in baltimore is because of the attention