Another week and another zero put up by the Saskatchewan Roughrider passing offense. I think it might be time to re-evaluate the quarterback position. I like Darian Durant as much as anybody; but when he plays bad it is hard to find a quarterback play worse than him. Last year's stretch of four or five games (I don't remember how long it actually was) without an offensive touchdown wasn't entirely his fault; but he has to share part of the blame. Now, we have two games in a row this season with nothing to show (except for Kory Sheets last week against Edmonton). I'm not saying plant Durant on the sidelines permanently, but this past weekend against BC would have been a real good time to see what Drew Willy can do. It was a winnable game for three quarters despite the inept play at quarterback. That's why you change it up. Give yourself a chance to win. See if Willy can offer something a little better at halftime and go from there. He couldn't have been worse than Durant was on Sunday.
It's nice to see Quill Lake native Arlen Marshall get a head coaching job in the NCAA with Manhattanville. Arlen was a pesky player with the Humboldt Broncos and if he draws on any of his experiences that he had with Bob Beatty or Dean Brockman, I think he'll do just fine.
The sense of community spirit shown during the August 16th festivities surrounding Jarret Stoll Day was impressive. A lot of groups went 'all out' on their float in the parade and the city was totally abuzz on everything Jarret, LA Kings, and the Stanley Cup. Give yourselves a collective pat on the back. I didn't attend the social, but I'm told some of the outfits worn by those who did were Academy Awards calibre. Nice.
Along with Access Communications' Ron Irvine and Yorkton This Week's Calvin Daniels, I host a weekly program called Locker Talk (Access 7) at Tapp's. Last week we talked, too briefly, about Canada's showing at the Olympics, which Calvin and I both think was abysmal. Surprisingly, Calvin is pretty socialist in his views; but he remarked that being socialist is exactly what contributes to such disappointing results. We throw government money at everything, instead of concentrating on the sports we are good at. Calvin also points out that without doing that, maybe we don't ever see something as impressive as the women's soccer team. Point noted. But, let's take any money that has been given to the men's soccer program and put it into the women so that they can continue to be one of the world's best. Frankly, I'd be happy if governments stayed right out of sports (amateur or professional).
A few people have asked in recent days how our daughter is doing and I'm happy to report Mallory had the cast removed from her left arm/wrist on August 3rd and the right one should be gone by the end of the month. She broke both arms/wrists during a fall at Canora Beach on July 2nd. The genuine compassion and concern shown from people who only know our family on a casual basis has been very touching.
The Offspring has a new album out and long time fans will, undoubtedly, hate it. I'm not a long time, however. Count me in as a guy that likes their 'sell out' style of music.
It's been a busy rock music concert summer season for me, and it's given me pause to reflect on some of my favorite ones. The Shinedown show at The Odeon last month ranks very high on the list. A number of people I've talked to that were there, say the same thing. I saw Queensryche during Operation: Mindcrime and that is also one of my favorites that springs immediately to mind. In no particular order, I was also impressed with Bon Jovi (mid 1990s Halifax outside), Metallica (...And Justice For All tour), and Motley Crue (from around 2004 in Winnipeg). To show I'm not biased to heavy metal acts, Celine Dion puts on a great show even if I didn't like the music. Blackhawk is the best country act I've seen.
Best of luck to Keith Andrews, who stepped aside last week as a long time on-air host at Fox FM. Keith would fill in for Alex White (later Mark Nicholls) during the morning show and I thought we had a pretty decent chemistry. It was so good that a lot of people would ask us if we actually despised each other off theair (we played it up on the air that I really didn't like him that much). Keith is staying in Yorkton and should be fairly visible as he will be visiting local businesses on behalf of Culligan Water. Hopefully he puts in a good word for me next time they need a fleet of vehicles wrapped!
Nice person mentions this week to Jason Boyda and his staff of coaches on my son's football team, Pete Sheppard, Gerard Keewatin, Judy Hughes, and Lindsay Stanko.
