CFL mourns the passing of an icon

“I look back on my life and my career and feel like the luckiest man in the world. Few people get to spend their days doing something they love with those they love.” - Bob Ackles (1938-2008), a quote posted on the BC Lions website Sunday, following the news of the passing of Bob Ackles.

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The news is still shocking to hear as the day comes to a close, that after learning that Bob Ackles, the President and CEO of the BC Lions and an unabashed defender of Canadian football passed away on Sunday morning of an apparent heart attack.

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The story of Bob Ackles is one of the great stories of Canadian football, rising from the ranks of water boy in the debut season of the BC Lions, he went on to run the Lions through different eras of development, in the successful years and the lean ones, struggling to rebuild a tarnished and damaged brand.

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With his passing his mission in part was complete; the Lions have once again become one of the flagships of Canadian football and the BC Sports scene. Yet it is perhaps a larger mission that now must be handed off to other hands, that of continuing to trumpet the special place that Canadian football has in this nation and how important the CFL has been and continues to be to the fabric of the land. Ackles had become the point man to stem the potential NFL invasion of Canadian territory, a position that now requires some reinforcements.

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His accomplishments in football stretched far beyond the CFL, he moved on to the NFL with stops with the legendary Dallas Cowboys and stints with the Phoenix Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, he also spent some time with a rather mercurial little experiment the XFL, a league which was fronted by Wrestling’s Vince McMahon, providing for surely one of the most diverse of executives when compared with the not quite so bombastic Ackles.

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Thankfully for the CFL, the XFL days were short and Ackles responded to David Braley’s request to return to BC and help to rebuild the Lions, who had fallen into troubled times, potentially taking the entire league down with them.

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Braley to his credit knew when to step back a bit when he brought Ackles back to the Lions Den, leaving it to him to rebuild the relationships that had been damaged, reconnecting with a lost segment of formerly faithful Lions fans who had grown disillusioned with the gong show atmosphere of Lions football before Braley took over.

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It was with Bob Ackles at the helm that the Lions once again returned to success on the field, at the gate and in the consciousness of an entire province. It’s to those contributions that his loss is being felt across the province and indeed across the CFL family today.

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CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon summed up the numbness across the league with his statement on Sunday, "It was our league that virtually adopted him when he was just a boy, and it's our league that has looked to him as a man for counsel, inspiration and leadership by example," Cohon said. "As much as the CFL has meant to Bob, he has meant so much more to us."

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To get just a small understanding of that importance to both Canadian football and Canada, give a listen to the CKNW sports talk programming of Sunday night, a three hour tribute to the life and times of a great Canadian sports figure. Check out the CKNW audio vault and select the 9 pm to Midnight hours from Sunday, it was a very emotional and informative three hours saluting the Ackles eras in British Columbia.

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Mr. Ackles leaves behind a wife Kay, who he made quite famous from his book “The Water Boy”, two sons, Steve and Scott, Scott a CFL success story in his own right with as the team President of the Calgary Stampeders.

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His passing will also be mourned by the Ackles grandchildren, as well as his many friends, co workers and fans.

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He was enshrined in both the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame, worthy achievements for the dedicated football man and devoted Lions executive.

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Bob Ackles went from carrying water onto the field for the BC Lions, to carrying an entire league on his shoulders, seeking to continue to stake its place on the Canadian sports scene.

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His passing is an untimely one, leaving the league shy one valuable resource when it is most needed.

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Many will be needed to take his torch, but few will be able to hold it as high, as effectively and as proudly as “The Water Boy” did over these many years.

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There’s a variety of material on the net tonight, outlining Bob Ackle’s contribution to Canadian football, here are a few of them:

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BC Lions website--Lions mourn loss of Bob Ackles

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Vancouver Sun-- B.C. Lions CEO dead at 69

Vancouver Sun-- Lions mourn 'Mr. Football'

Vancouver Sun-- Ackles an inspiration 'in every way'

Vancouver Sun-- Province lost 'great British Columbian': Premier

Vancouver Sun-- Photo gallery

Vancouver Province-- B.C. Lions president Bob Ackles dead at 69

Vancouver Province-- Remembering Bob Ackles

Georgia Straight-- BC Lions president Bob Ackles dies aged 69 of a heart attack

CBC News-- B.C. football icon Bob Ackles passes away

Globe and Mail-- Ackles was the consummate CFL success story

Globe and Mail-- CFL stunned by death of a giant

Canwest News-- Lions legend dead at 69

National Post-- Lions legend Ackles dead at 69

Edmonton Sun-- "Water Boy" will be missed

Winnipeg Sun-- Lions prez will be missed

TSN.com-- CANADIAN FOOTBALL BUILDER ACKLES PASSES AWAY

Canadian Press-- B.C. Lions president and CEO Bob Ackles dies at age 69 of heart attack

Dallas Morning News-- Former Dallas Cowboys executive Bob Ackles dies

AZ Central-- Former Cardinals, CFL executive dies

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Canadian Football website-- CFL Mourns the Passing of Bobby Ackles

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Vancouver Whitecaps soccer club salutes Bob Ackles

Vancouver Canadians baseball club salutes Bob Ackles

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The above piece first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about the CFL check it out.

One of the CFL’s greatest legends passes away

One of the icons of Canadian football passed away on Tuesday, after a battle with throat cancer, his passing brings to an end an era of football very different from the game today.

Jackie Parker, Ole Spaghetti legs or the fast freight from Mississippi State, as he was known as, was one of the defining players of the Canadian game, from his debut in an Eskimo uniform in 1954; Parker was one of the dominant players on both sides of the ball through the fifties and sixties.

He played for three CFL teams in his amazing career in the Canadian game stretching from 1954- 1968, donning the colours of the Eskimos, the Argonauts and the Lions before he called it a career. Named as a multiple all star and inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Parker seemed to define the game when he took to the field.

Parker brought crowds to their feet in every stadium he played, equally skilled as a quarterback, halfback and a defensive back. He came to Canada from Mississippi State, a Tennessean who moved to the land to the north and became a fixture for decades to follow.

It was an era when the CFL regularly would outbid the NFL for players, offering a better salary than the norm from the American league of the day. Hard as it seems is to believe now with an NFL that is an industry all to itself, but back in the fifties the CFL represented stability and pretty good living. And some pretty damn fine football.

When Parker’s playing days would come to an end he made the move into the coaching ranks, becoming an assistant coach with the Lions in 1968 and taking on the head coaching job in 69. He served as General Manager of the Leos from 1971-75, a major figure in the Vancouver sports scene.

He left the football wars for a bit, returning in 1983 as head coach of the Eskimos until two games into the 1987 season. From there he would become the living legend of Canadian Football, a testimony to the skill and desire needed to excel in the game.

His passing leaves a bit of a void in the bridge between eras of the Canadian game, many of today’s CFL players probably have little knowledge of his achievements or the joy he brought to CFL fans from coast to coast during his hey days.

As the CFL heads towards its annual Grey Cup festival and the chance to celebrate all things great about the game, there will no doubt be more than a few moments dedicated to the memory and memories of Ole Spaghetti legs, one of the true greats of the Canadian game.

The press file on Parker's passing

Hall of Famer Parker dies

Jackie Parker, 74: CFL Legend
Former MSU football great Parker dead at 74
CFL Legend Jackie Parker passes away at 74
Legend dies
Legendary Eskimo Parker passes away
Parker, Legend dies of cancer
CFL mourns the passing of a Legend

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field Blog, for more CFL items check it out.

Beer Baron Brush Off

The CFL is apparently not in any hurry to hand over the keys to a franchise to the Beer Baron of Ontario Frank D’Angelo. The owner and face of Steelback Beer and Cheetah power drinks to name a few, has been told by the CFL, thanks but no thanks to his quest to buy the dormant Ottawa Renegades franchise.

Which when you consider the lack of many monied applicants for the franchise is a bit of a surprise. D’Angelo who is a rather brash self promoter, was the first one into the franchise pool earlier this year when the Rens folded, going so far as to having designed his own uniforms and proffered up the name Steelbacks as a prospective franchise name.

He appeared this afternoon on Bob McCown’s Prime Time Sports program on TheFan and Sportsnet, and sounded a bit bewildered at why his application had been tossed aside without what even seems was a serious look.

His entry into the mix, certainly raised a few eyebrows (not to mention alarm bells) as many looked at the bid as just another loopy promotion for his beer brand, similar to his legends of hockey television commercials and those strange little televised sessions with Ben Johnson.

However, D’Angelo held to his course, talking the talk of wanting to bring back football to the nation’s capital, suggesting that he was just what the capital needed to make football work again in Ottawa.

When he first outlined his bid, the franchise derby consisted of three participants, one fronted by Ottawa 67 owner Jeff Hunt which was considered the favourite and subsequently ended up withdrawn when the money man behind the bid at Golden Gate Capital, developed a serious illness, leaving Hunt with a bid but no money behind it.

The other option for the CFL was a bid prepared by Jesse Palmer’s Dad, Bill Palmer who is fronting an application on behalf of a group of American investors. Now with D’Angelo’s bid being dismissed out of hand, that Palmer bid may be the only one left on the table for the CFL, leaving them to dictate terms and not the league. In effect the CFL has gone from feast to famine in only a few short months.

While you could possibly understand the fear that the self promoting D’Angelo might have struck among the fellow lodge members of the CFL (a group with more than a few large egos, each one thinking they are bigger than the next) but the last time we checked Canadians still drank beer, so if anyone was going to be flush in cash, it would be this guy.

If nothing else, if they didn’t want him for Ottawa, they should have at least given him the opportunity to work out a business plan for any other city that might wish to join the CFL brand. While Halifax and Quebec City probably would be out, since he would want to be in the business of selling beer, perhaps the perennial entry of London or Windsor to the CFL could get a boost with a booster like D’Angelo.

It would have been a risk letting his brand of marketing run its course in building up a football team, (check out his video page dedicated to his travelling rock band) but considering the way things have gone in Ottawa with the last number of hucksters of the game, the league has done worse than a Frank D’Angelo.

Maybe he would have been the worst thing the CFL ever saw, or perhaps, he would have been the kick in the backside the league occasionally needs. Lord knows their going backwards in the franchise department these days, not many seem to want to step forward to sign up and bring some cash.

D’Angelo said he would. The CFL will have a lot of explaining to do if Ottawa somehow falls through the cracks again, especially if there is someone looking for an excuse to throw his hard earned money in with the rest of the gang of eight. From three solid possibilities to one, and one we know the least about, only in the CFL it seems.

As usual the CFL once again leaves itself open to criticism over its inner workings, just as it prepares to head into the best two weeks of its schedule and the always popular Grey Cup Week.

Just once we’d like to see this group find a way to bring some positive news to Grey Cup week and not the strange and worrisome missives that seem to spring up each year.

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about the CFL check it out!

Don't annoy the Gopher!

The Headlines and front page of the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon Star-Phoenix tells you all you need to know about Sunday’s semi final victory by the pride of Saskatchewan.

Danny Barrett’s Roughriders once again overcame the odds and will be heading for a CFL Western Final match up with the BC Lions.

Taking charge of a second half of football built on the legs of Kenton Keith and the arm of Kerry Joseph, the Riders knocked the Stampeders off their game completely. Silencing two thirds of the thirty something thousand fans and letting the remaining 10,000 shower their neighours with giddy glee as the Riders dominated play for the final two halves of football.

Calgary once again stumbled on the way to where they were supposed to go. Henry Burris frustrated beyond his belief as passes were gobbled up by Rider defenders and Joffrey Reynolds left to bemoan a plan of attack that seemed to forget he was in the line up.

Last year it was a loss to their bitter rivals to the north that sent the Stamps packing early on in the playoff season, this year it’s those stubble jumping, gopher loving rubes of the flatland that have sent the Cowtown slickers to their winter homes early.

Saskatchewan which had more than its fair share of turmoil at mid season, looked as though they were a team possessed in the second half as they charged out of the dressing room and just took the game away from a Calgary team that by games end appeared shell shocked on the side lines.

In Calgary this morning, they now have something in common with their northern relations in Edmonton, a case of wonderment as to how things went so wrong, so fast. The post mortem in Southern Alberta will ask a number of questions about preparation for the game, a game plan that seemed to deviate from that which put them in the semi final in the first place and the inevitable question about whether Henry Burris will ever be the one to lead this team past a semi final match.

For Saskatchewan, the delicious irony of smiting the QB who spurned them a few years ago could only have been topped by the way this team pulled together to overcome the odds of success. For Barrett, a coach who is on the hot seat in the football mad province, the victory was particularly sweet. His team, which has always been a closed knit group, seemed even more unified than ever as they stood on the sidelines and saluted their traveling band on fanatics who made McMahon stadium sound like a suburb of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field.

For Barrett and the Riders there’s little time to savour the victory, it’s back to work and plans for a trip to Vancouver for a much anticipated game with the Lions. The Riders have been the victors twice in three regular season games the past year, and won’t be traveling to Vancouver in any awe of the Lions. Factor in the devotion of their fans, many of home have re-settled in BC and Sunday should be a wild day at the False Creek football emporium.

A victory in Vancouver on Sunday will set up a Saskatchewan travel agents dream weekend and a horror show for Winnipeg. Those crazy Rider fans may just invade their long time rivals hometown and make Winnipeg Rider friendly.

Only the Lions stand in the way the plans to avoid a similar fate already under way and with the Riders coming off such an emotional win, a betting fan wouldn’t necessarily make the Lions the favourite as the weekend final approaches!

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items on the CFL check it out.

Gopher ban in Cowtown

Gainer can't Go!

Is that the story from Calgary, the famed mascot of the Saskatchewan Roughriders cannot cross the provincial boundary this Sunday?

The Prairie Dog will have to sit by the television Sunday afternoon as the Riders take on the Stamps in the Western Semi-Final, a casualty of the Riders finishing third in the West and missing out on the home playoff date they've been looking for all these years.

While Gainer is left out, the Riders will still find a fair amount of support at McMahon stadium on Sunday, on any given game day the Rider faithful come out of the woodwork to support their team, sometimes splitting the stadium in half between red and green supporters.

With a playoff spot in hand and a chance to advance to the Final, the invasion will be on as the legions of Green Rider fans load up the cars and buses for the trek to Calgary. The ticket will be a hot one this weekend, with those looking to profit from their ducats thankful that the Riders are coming to town, bringing with them their excitable fans.

A crew that will make some noise on Sunday with or without their cheer leading gopher, Ralph the Dog had best watch out. Parts of his own dog house are going to be no go areas on Sunday!

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field Blog, for more items about the CFL check it out!

Update Nov 1: Gainer the Gopher can pack his bags, the Stamps have relented and allowed him to travel to Calgary, for this weekends playoff game. But the Gopher is still under strict orders, he can't stand on a sideline, (we wonder if he can burrow underneath one though?). The game hasn't even started and already the Riders have the Stamps on the run!

Two games from their destiny

By far the dominant team in the CFL over the last couple of years has been the BC Lions, with perhaps the strongest line up, the most reliable quarterbacking collection and the one of the most knowledgeable and well prepared coaches in the league.

Last year the blue print called for a Lions victory at home, the Party on the Pacific sidetracked a bit by the Edmonton Eskimos, who dispatched the Lions in the Western final, in their very own home. It was not a happy day for a program that had worked hard to make a bid for the Cup on their own turf, at their own party. A lesson learned, of which they try to remember as the their playoff destiny unfolds.

With that opportunity lost, Buono and his coaches got to work on the job at hand retooling the Lions for the 2006 season. And for the most part they improved the squad in every category. They control the defensive play game in and game out, offensively they can rattle off the points regardless of who takes the snaps. While they lost four games on the year, they are still considered the favourites to be standing on a cold field in Winnipeg in three weeks time.

The Lions have given the team a week off, while the coaching staff are taking the week to prepare for either Saskatchewan or Calgary and if they are looking at the year in review they may wish to cheer on the Stamps this Sunday. Of the four losses on the year, two were at the hands of Saskatchewan, one to Calgary and one to the recently eliminated Eskimos.

Past history has also given the Riders a bit of a push when they play BC at BC Place, so when they pull out the pom poms on Sunday, Buono and the gang might want to look for the Red and White Ones.

However, if they take the counsel of Stephen Brunt of the Globe and Mail they’ll be wondering how many pairs of long johns to pack for the eventual trip to Winnipeg. Brunt wrote over the weekend that the Grey Cup is the Lions to lose.

Considering the caliber of the talent and the preparation they receive, it’s hard to argue with Mr. Brunt. He reviews the season for us and contemplates the future, the Lions and their fans are no doubt hoping he's on track.

Brunt: Grey Cup is B.C.'s to lose
STEPHEN BRUNT
Globe and Mail Update
October 29, 2006

This is what we know at the conclusion of the 2006 Canadian Football League regular season:

There is one very good, very well-coached team in Vancouver that this morning is the odds-on favourite to win the Grey Cup in Winnipeg three weeks hence. It's been the favourite all year, really.

There are five other teams in the playoffs, all of them with question marks, all of them obviously flawed.

The dispersal of the talent from the deceased Ottawa franchise at the beginning of the season, which was supposed to enhance the quality of play across the board, apparently did no such thing. A new interpretation of the blocking rules on kick returns, which no one bothered to adjust as the season progressed, all but mandated a flag on every play, eliminating the happy possibility of a return touchdown.

And a league that has always lived and died by the quality of its quarterbacking suddenly found itself thin at the position - only one quarterback as a most valuable player nominee, no realistic candidates - a turn of events that nobody saw coming.

Put it all together, and you wind up with some idea why this season has seemed so lacklustre, why so many games seemed to drag, why the three-down sport's one unassailable strength over the years - its entertainment value - was for the first time in living memory called into question.

The CFL has been called all kinds of things, some more valid than others, by those who liked to run it down, but until this season you didn't often hear it labelled "boring."

That, rather than the usual back room shenanigans, is the story heading into the playoffs, even with a lame duck commissioner and no replacement in sight, even with a return to Ottawa looking less likely by the moment.

If the post-season is going to redeem the year, some team other than the B.C. Lions is going to have to step up and mount a credible challenge. In the west, there's at least the possibility that one of Calgary, who at times have looked close, and Saskatchewan, now playing out the final days of the Roy Shivers(already departed)-Danny Barrett(soon to follow) era of unfulfilled potential, with give the Leos a tussle in the final.

It's an awful lot harder to find encouragement in the east, with the weekend games only confirming what's been obvious since the Montreal Alouettes began their long slide downward, that there wasn't a decent team among the four.

Winnipeg has Charles Roberts, the second best player in the league this season behind Geroy Simon, and that gives them hope of making a longshot run and winning two playoff games on the road. But with Kevin Glenn hurt in the final game against the Lions, that task becomes considerably more difficult.

The Bombers' first opponent, the Toronto Argonauts, proved on Saturday what's been obvious for some time, that they just can't stop the run - which could be good news for Roberts. Still, their pass defence is tough, and if they ever managed to make proper use of their resources on offence (John Avery, Ricky Williams, Arland Bruce..) they'd score plenty. Problem is, in the season in which he became professional football's all-time leader in passing yardage, Damon Allen seems to have finally grown old.

Anthony Calvillo is a young pup by comparison, but his slow fade this season has been a big part of the dysfunctional Montreal story. The Alouettes somehow slipped by Toronto for first place, winning a game they should have been out of by halftime, and maybe that will finally snap them out of a half-eason-long malaise. They'll be playing in front of a big home crowd for the Eastern Final, and know that Robert Edwards is running at full steam, but they're nothing like a lock against whichever team emerges from the semi-final.

There's still time to put everyone on the edge of their seats. There's still the chance to recreate dramatics like those in last November's spectacular Grey Cup game

It's getting late, though, and it's taken plenty of patience even for the hard core to remain committed thus far.

Time for the CFL to put on a show. It's long overdue.

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the field blog, for more Canadian Football news check it out.

Does the CFL need a defensive game plan for the Grey Cup?

The Winnipeg Sun has done a little investigating in the last few days and found that there may be some questions that need to be asked about security precautions for Grey Cup Sunday.

Paul Friesen wondered aloud what kind of security force might be required for Winnipeg in this decidedly new and more cautious era for major sporting events. The Grey Cup is the single largest one day sporting event in Canada and in a world that has gone slightly mad of late, might make for a target for those that wish us ill.

While it's highly doubtful that Winnipeg would be number one on a terroirsts list of targets, its still a relevant question in this day and age, one that an anxious public might want to be reassured over. As the Boy Scouts might say Be Prepared.

His findings tend to suggest a more low key approach, with little to no federal involvement in matters of security, leaving it mostly a City of Winnipeg concern. You can check out the article below and decide if you share his concerns, or feel he may be looking for something that most likely isn't there.

The safety danceCops, club defend turf
By PAUL FRIESEN
Winnipeg Sun
October 21, 2006

It began innocently enough: a reporter watching the Canadian body bags continue to pile up in Afghanistan, and wondering.

Wondering about Canada's increased role in the war on terror.

Wondering how terrorists view our country today, compared to a few years ago. Judging by the roadside bombs and suicide attacks, they don't like us much.

And wondering how all of this affects the single biggest Canadian sports spectacle of the year, the Grey Cup.

AFFECTING SECURITY

Has the threat of a terrorist attack increased? If so, how does that affect security plans for the game, to be played right here, Nov. 19?

Of course, I didn't have the answers to these questions. So I went to an expert, George MacLean, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Manitoba.

MacLean is a respected voice in the field, not a guy to fear-monger or blow things out of proportion.

The threat has definitely increased in the last 12 months, MacLean said, suggesting security for an event like the '06 Grey Cup should be stepped up considerably from previous years.

That means involving the military, intelligence agencies like CSIS, the RCMP and the federal and provincial governments.

Having one agency, the Winnipeg Police Service, running the show without those partners would be cause for concern, MacLean said.

Nothing against our own cops. They've done a fine job providing security for past events.

This Grey Cup, though, is a different animal. Probably all Grey Cups from now on, too.

Not that a terrorist attack is imminent. Odds are still high against it. Canada's a B-list target, MacLean pointed out.

But we should prepare for the worst.

The Sun learned we might not be preparing for the worst.

Grey Cup organizers from the CFL and the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers said national security agencies were not involved.

The RCMP, the military and CSIS all confirmed they were not part of the security plan.

So MacLean's concerns went public, in Friday's Sun, and a torrent of backlash ensued.

The story's misleading, police said.

The reporter didn't do his homework, screamed the Bombers.

Everything's under control, huffed the CFL.

And who's this so-called expert, anyway?

Funny thing is, nobody is saying the story is wrong.

The police defended their record of providing security for large events, even though that record doesn't need defending.

In the next breath, they said they couldn't divulge who they're working with.

Since when does naming the military, the RCMP or CSIS compromise security?

If this was all hush-hush, wouldn't those agencies have said, "Sorry, we can't talk to you?"

Instead, they said, "We're not involved."

It seems the CFL, the Bombers and even Winnipeg police are more concerned with defending their own turf than addressing MacLean's concerns.

They can shoot at the messenger all they want. As MacLean said yesterday, at least they're talking about the issue.

Which was the whole point from the start.

The above post first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about the CFL check it out!

34 in a row, but not one year more!

They are not taking the news that the Eskimos will miss the playoffs for the first time in 34 years very well in Edmonton today.

Many most likely feared that the Esks were just not going to make the cut this season, few probably actually had prepared themselves for the eventuality.

With two weeks still to go in the season, most probably figured that things would go down to the last game of the season and another last second drive to pull the game out of the fire. 39,553 in attendance probably figured that a visit from Saskatchewan in two weeks would be the ultimate test of the Esks resolve. Instead, they now have two weeks to vent and make plans for the playoffs, a second season that will not feature a green and gold participant.

Saturday afternoon, the Eskimos fell to the Toronto Argonauts 28-25, a game that highlighted many of the Esks troubles this year, untimely turnovers, missed assignments and a struggling offence all contributed to yet another loss on the season and elimination from the chase for the mug they brought home less than year ago.

Terry Jones who follows the Esks with a passion, wrote the obituary for a season. He has spent the majority of the season expressing concern for the most dominant football franchise Canada has ever seen, he certainly pulled no punches on the day that the CSI Edmonton force moved in to view the body..

Sad end to streak
Dysfunctional squad blows stunning run
By TERRY JONES
Edmonton Sun
October 15, 2006

EDMONTON -- Official time of death: 3:43 p.m. MT, Oct. 14, 2006. On the scoreboard: 13:46 of the fourth quarter.

One of the most remarkable records in the history of sports -- the Edmonton Eskimos' amazing 34-year run of making the playoffs -- died a miserable death at Commonwealth Stadium.

Quarterback Ricky Ray, who had ended the previous three years of his career here in a Grey Cup game, twice winning it, had the Eskimos in Toronto Argonauts territory with a chance to take a four-point lead and stay alive in the race for a crossover playoff spot.

INTERCEPTED

Instead, Toronto's Byron Parker intercepted his pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown.

The run was done, made official with a 28-25 loss.

"I feel like a failure. It's the worst I've ever felt in my career,'' said the quarterback.

"It was such a thrill reaching and winning those Grey Cups. To go from that kind of excitement and happiness to this ... this is the complete opposite. This is on the bottom.'' Ray said the last interception summed up the season. "You want to be the one out there making the plays to win the games. We were never able to get the job done when it mattered.

"I feel bad. It's definitely not a good feeling. You definitely don't want to be on a team that ends the streak. The good part of it was that I was on a couple of championship teams to help to extend the streak. At least that showed me just how amazing that streak is.''

Was, Ricky. Was.

A crowd of 39,533 left the stadium infuriated with their team, not so much for the end of the streak as the way they played looking at their last life.

All good things have to come to an end. But it was hard to watch this team, this season and this embarrassing ending and believe this is when and how it should have happened.

The Toronto Argos didn't win this. The Eskimos made a mess of another one and added a bunch more bullet holes in their mukluks.

A team which had averaged 3.8 points in the first quarter this season challenged themselves to show up for this one game. And they didn't. They managed two points in the first 15 minutes. A safety touch.

Criticized all year for an ultra-conservative offence, not running one trick play all year, coach Danny Maciocia saved them all season to unload in this one. Trouble is, none of them worked.

The difference, in the end, was Damon Allen's big play passes for 51 and 59 yards versus Ray's interceptions. A Tony Tompkins fumble on a punt return which turned into another touchdown didn't help Edmonton.

And then there was that last interception ran back for the touchdown. "We had a bust on that play,'' said Maciocia.

The whole damn season was a bust. Maciocia was a bust. His coaching staff was a bust. The pre-game preparation for a team which never managed to do anything from the start of a game was a bust.

The Eskimos' dysfunctional in-transition setup was a bust. Paul Jones's scouting was a bust. The new import talent was a bust. Tony Tompkins was a bust. The special teams units were a bust. The on-training-wheels offensive line was a bust. The aging defensive secondary was a bust. The aging receiving corps was a bust. And three times in the last month Ray was a bust with the game there to be won.

The remarkable record run had to end. But it didn't have to end this year. It didn't have to end this way. It didn't even have to end on this day.

The above post first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about Canadian football check it out!

Save the last dance for Gee

For the last five days or so, the war of words between the Lions and the Stamps increased in bellicosity by the day. Trash talking a staple of professional football, turned into a segment of Dancing with the Stars, as the Lions Geroy Simon under attack from the Stamps Nik Lewis and Jermaine Copeland over the ever popular Touch down pose that he makes after every touchdown he makes.

The Stamps were less than flattering in their comments, heating up the prelims to the Friday Night match and of course gaining as much media mileage as possible about the pose and the poser.

Once the ball got kicked however, the trash talking stopped and the thrashing began.

The Stamps were never really in the game, a showdown for First place and home field advantage for the CFL Western Final. The Lions simply dominated the game from the outset, Buck Pierce continued to prove his place among CFL Quarterbacks with a masterful display of moving the offence and putting points on the board.

Pierce scored Touchdowns on the run, threw the ball for touchdowns and handed the ball off for touchdowns, by the time the night was finished the Lions were free and clear with a 39-13 victory. And Geroy Simon factored in as a big part of the night’s success, picking up his 10th consecutive 100 yard plus night.

Simon picked up some key yardage on timely receptions and scored an early touchdown, allowing him to model the “pose” for all the Stamps and their fans. His efforts once again should solidify his place as an odds on favourite to be a trophy holder at the CFL awards show during Grey Cup weekend in Winnipeg.

And judging by the way the Lions are playing of late, there’s a very good chance that he will be bringing his entire team roster with him for the Grey Cup game itself. With perhaps the most anticipated and important game of the season on the line, it was all Lions. The Stamps were but mere viewers of the solid game plan from Wally Buono and his coaches, such was the control of the play by the Lions on the way to Buono's 200th career win.

Eventually, the Stamps turned to Danny McManus to lead the offence in a mop up affair late in the fourth. McManus out there merely to give the Stamps something to feel good about on a night that all seemed to go wrong.

McManus had his successes; he passed with authority leading the Stamps down the field only to be turned away on a third and goal stand by the Leos. By then the score 33-6 looked to be a lock and the Leos had only to kill off the remaining 3 minutes and thirty seconds.

But a late game turnover allowed the Stamps to end the game on a positive note for themselves as an interception in the Lions end of the field allowed McManus to work the Stamps down the field again, giving Joffrey Reynolds the ball to carry in for the only major of the night for Calgary.

The Stamps picked up the final score on the night, but the Lions and especially Geroy Simon gained the Final word and the Last Dance.

All that is left now to prove for the Leos, is the chance to go to the BIG DANCE, in Winnipeg in late November, something that seems awfully close after the solid whupping laid on the Stamps.

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field blog, a site dedicated to the Canadian Football League.

The Don is done!

Where there’s smoke there sometimes really is fire! It was a couple of weeks ago that the Montreal Gazette first reported that Alouettes Head Coach Don Matthews wasn’t going to be on the Alouette sidelines for much longer.

It was a story that at the time was dismissed by Alouette executives, who claimed that Matthews had a job as long as he wanted it. Turns out that if true, Matthews may have only wanted it for a few more days, in a surprising development on Wednesday; the Als announced that Matthews had stepped down from his duties due to health concerns.

Roll back the clock a few years to his days in Edmonton and another press conference just before the 2001 season, where the Eskimo brain trust at the time told much the same story, Matthews was leaving his post due to unspecified health concerns. Shortly after that prognosis Matthews would be back in the CFL saddle, racking up wins and molding yet another franchise with his style of play.

The CFL’s dean of coaches, who has had remarkable success with six CFL teams (Toronto twice!) he won Grey Cups, finished atop the standings frequently and has crafted some of the most impressive records assembled in the CFL. He also was a rather difficult guy to get along with, especially with the ink stained wretches of the media.

The Al's GM Jim Popp, who two weeks ago told Brian Williams he had no plans to take over, actually does just that taking over the Als for the rest of the season, while the resumes begin to arrive. Already the names of Jim Barker, Danny Maciocia and Dave Ritchie, to name a few, have popped up as possible replacements for Matthews next year.

As for the Don, he always said when his time came he just wanted to walk off the field and disappear. If this is his final curtain call (and with Matthews nothing it seems is ever certain), it looks like he got his wish, whether he was pushed or walked away on his own steam remains to be seen. But as he exits the stadium he takes a pretty good record of success for a career with him, despite the hole that the Als are slowly trying to dig themselves out of as they head towards the playoffs.

More importantly he leaves in a whiff of mystery that will only add to his legend, something that might appeal to one of the most dominating coaches and more remarkable characters that the CFL has seen in years.

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field blog, a site which features news of the CFL.