TrueBlue4ever

Remember that he would have had an extra 2.5 hours of pre-game drinking, and it kind of operates like Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" where there more he drinks, he more he evolves. Barney would go from happy to lush to "Jabba the Hutt-speak" to "Truth Barney" where he would be so drunk he'd actually act more sober. So Cactus would become more coherent with more time to drink. And I purposely just write "Roberts" for the INT rather than the full name, because Cactus would take that shortcut rather than butcher the name sometimes.He Had many quirks, got to roll them out piece by piece rather than doing the same schtick every week - this week was "hyperbole" Cactus. But thanks all for reading. I don't know how he did it after losses though, I had little motivation to do it after the Edmonton and Calgary losses. Which reminds me, kudos to Do or Die for his Odds and Sods, win or loss.

I must admit I "hear" his voice in my head when I am typing it out. Kind of like hearing "I see a little silhouett-o of a man" and not being able to read it without singing along in the voice of Freddie Mercury in your head.

[Channelling my inner Cactus - a.k.a. getting my drink on]: Well fans, that was quite a game we saw tonight, and the fireworks literally started before the opening kickoff, when a classic Prairie storm rolled through Investor's Group Field and delayed the start of affairs with a spectacular lightning storm and downpour the likes of which has not been seen since Noah paired up all those animals for a cruise so many years ago [writer's aside- ol' Jack never shied away from hyperbole]. But it was definitely worth the wait for the Bombers and their fans, who did some storming of their own, blasting out of the gates with a pick 6 interception 2 minutes into the game and we were on our way. And before you could blink, there was another touchdown, and another, and a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt, and when you add it all up it was 34-0 at halftime and all that was left was the salute to Milt Stegall and seeing how long his kids could stay awake throughout the second half. Now the Happy Honker award has always been about the player or players who did that little something extra special that made a difference in the game, made it just that extra bit memorable in some way. well, we had no shortage of candidates today all all aspects of the club were on full display. We had Matt Nicholls going 17 of 19 in the first half with 2 touchdown passes as he secured his spot as the new #1 quarterback, so he deserves a small honk. We had Roberts with that interception that got the whole thing rolling for the defence, so he gets a honk from the crowd as well. We had a blocked punt but the special teams and Justin Medlock was perfect again, so they get a honk. And of course Milt Stegall will always be an honorary Happy Honker award winner, and he once again delivered on his promise that when the Bombers honour him, he guarantees and comes through with a home win every time, so a big honk to him. But there are 3 separate things that stood out to me tonight that deserve extra mention, that rise above as it were and each deserve our accolades, although only one can truly claim the Happy Honker Award. Kevin Fogg had his second unofficial punt return for a touchdown tonight - I say unofficial because of course he got robbed of his first one by a careless penalty, so I was all set to give it to him, when once again a late penalty flag after he had already crossed the goal line denied him once again. So he will have to wait until he actually gets one that counts before I can give him the award. And Clarence Denmark on any other night would win this hands down, coming out of a forced absence after being unceremoniously cut from Winnipeg and then Saskatchewan, sitting at home when the injury-depleted Bombers came calling, and on one a a half days practice not only suited up and didn't look out of place, but also scored a touchdown, not any touchdown but the winning points no less, in a triumphant return to River City. So special mention to him…BUT…none of those people will win the Happy Honker tonight, even if all were deserving candidates. No, tonight was about one thing, and that was the weather. In all my years I have witnessed many things, and seen games delayed for various reasons, from fog at the Grey Cup in 1962, to torrential downpours and lightning strikes in 1984 and 1986 in Winnipeg, to franchises folding in 1987 that forced the league to re-create it's schedule, to those dreaded and horrible terrorists attacks in 2001. But I have never seen three games delayed by weather for one club at home in one season, much less in 4 games. And this one was especially unique in that it held up the start of the game over 2 and a half hours on a weeknight, and opening kickoff occurred when most people would be ready to get in their cars to head home and tune in to me on the radio to give the Happy Honker award at the game's end. But instead we had to wait, and wait we did, with Bob Irving ably stretching the pre-game show from 2 to 4 and a half hours in his usual seamless and brilliant fashion, and then staying on to field calls for an hour after the game was done. And not only did the majority of fans who arrived before the game, whose numbers totalled over 24,000 at the start and were estimated to still be around 17,000 once kickoff actually arrived, stick around through all of that inclement weather, but many fans who actually were still at home when the game was first delayed, rather than just pack it in and call it a night with the game on TV at home, chose to drive out to the stadium at 10:00 p.m. and arrive for the modified start time, and once everyone was in the stands, they brought a noise and energy that was louder than anyone could imagine a crowd could deliver after such a long wait. And the club rewarded their patience and their passion with the most complete home game this club may have ever seen since they moved into IGF some 3 years ago. So for all of those fans who stuck around for that long delay, for all of those fans who made a point of coming out to the stadium to watch the game at 10:00 p.m. after the delay, and especially for all of those volunteers in the stadium at the vendors, in the parking lots, on the cheer squad and the ticket booths, to the bus drivers getting people home at this late, or is it early hour, this game was truly about the great support that all of you give to this club, no matter what. And you all deserve the Happy Honker Award tonight. So for everyone still at the game at 1:00 a.m. when it ended, either fan or employee, this Happy Honker goes to you. Give yourselves a honk!!!

I don't remember that one, and I never missed a game in those years, but there was a game against the other Roughriders (Saskatchewan) in 1986 I believe where lightning hit the northwest corner roof at the old stadium - THAT cleared the field fast and they waited for about 15-20 minutes and a downpour and then played on.

Chris Williams - OTT

I stand corrected. My apologies.

OK, I'll give this another go (maybe this will be my schtick): Well folks, the Blue Bombers limped into this game with a record of one win and four losses, and if you listened to the experts all week, they didn't stand much of a chance against the Edmonton Eskimos, who were coming into this game having lost a game to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats where they gave up a 25 point lead, and were in a bad mood because of it, no doubt. Well wouldn't you know that the Bombers, led by new quarterback Jeff Nicholls (sic) took the ball on the opening drive and put up a major score thanks to a big catch from Winston Dressler (sic) and a touchdown run on a 3rd down gamble by running back Trevor Harris that really set the tone for the kind of game it was going to be. And we had a big night from kicker Trevor Kennard, er, Justin Medlock who was a perfect 5 for 5. And we saw Harris run for over 100 yards and that touchdown he scored. And we saw a couple of sacks from the defensive line tonight that helped the cause. But the big plays I saw tonight came from the Bomber secondary, who because of injury were hastily cobbled together and facing maybe the best passer in the league in Mike Reilly, not to be confused with ex-Bomber coach Mike Riley, who led this club to glory the last time they won the Grey Cup so many years ago. BUT I DIGRESS........... This unit played hard all night, breaking up passes and covering the dangerous duo of Adarius Bowman and Darrell Walker (sic) all night long like a blanket, We saw Bruce Johnson return and make some key plays knocking down passes, and Kevin Fogg had the task of covering Bowman most of the night and did a wonderful job of keeping him at bay and more than once delivering a big hit to break up the pass and leaving Bowman lying on the ground in pain. And he returned punt to boot, not to be forgotten. But as you know, the Happy Honker Award goes to the player who did that something extra special during the game, and with the way the secondary played tonight after being thrown together so quickly and against an opponent so ready for redemption, the Happy Honker Award comes from a member of this group. In the second quarter of this game Eskimo receiver, what's his name??? #3 - Nattee Ad-jay, did I say that right [Bob Irving injecting "yes, Natey Adjai, Cactus"] went up for a pass that was high but in his hands, and would have been a big first down catch for Edmonton at that point. But Bomber defender #35 Terrence Frederick timed his hit perfectly and broke up the pass, and hitting Adjai so hard he was a non-factor the rest of the contest. And then again, late in the 4th quarter with the Eskimos coming on and looking like they might score to get close to the Bombers, Fredericks again appeared in front of a Mike Reilly pass intended for Derel Walker (writer's note: he'd usually get the name right after a few chances) and intercepted it 43 yards to cap things off and snuff out the threat, and the Bombers were on their way to their first win at Commonwealth stadium in a decade. So for those two big plays and for being a part of a secondary which controlled the game so well all night long, the Happy Honker Award goes to #35 Terrence Frederick. Let's hear you fans! (forgetting that it is a road game and no Eskimo fans driving home will be honking, or even tuned in to the CJOB broadcast).

I give the o-line a lot of credit for this win (and the kicking of Medlock, and the defensive secondary's punishing style, and the d-line for it's pressure, etc. - all played a factor) as I haven't seen that passion and aggression form that group all year, and I believe it had a major effect on the psyche of Drew Willy and his comfort in the pocket. My enduring memory of Willy's play this year so far was the second half of the Edmonton home game where he was skipping four yard passes into the turf at the receiver's feet, surely a sign of his lost confidence to complete even a simple pass. What Nicholls offered in this game was a decisive QB who trusted his reads and got the ball off strong and fast. Early on there was no time for the Eskimos to get to him because of a quick read and release. He threw 12 yard routes consistently instead of "4 and go get the other 6 we need", spotted the open man in zone coverage and got the ball there decisively quite often, knew when to throw it away, knew when to take the sack, bought himself time with scrambling, and didn't beat himself up when he missed on an overthrow. He continued to follow the game plan and hit the deep ball a couple of times quite well. No underthrown balls, none without zip on them, maybe only one dangerous pass into multiple coverage that I can recall. He looked confident. That is what Willy's game has been missing, and that's why you can say (despite all of the other aspects that assisted in this win) that Nicholls was the difference.

I mistakenly read this as "handful of negative posters running the forum". Freudian slip?

Actually it was the reverse. 7 carries in the 1st half, 15 in the 2nd plus the one reception. They didn't go away from him at all, they just didn't get the big gainers like they did in the first half. He was more of a clock-killer in the 2nd half.

If only they gave the ball to White instead of McCarty, and if only the game was 15 seconds shorter (seriously, Derel Walker from the 2?)

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over that loud sucking sound. I think it was coming from the Bombers. And, oh yeah, John White.

Go to Calgary at season's end, offer Huf any and everything to come here and be the end-all be-all if he wants. Head coach and GM, player personnel too if he wants. That's the splash of hope this franchise might need at this point. There were some quiet rumblings he wasn't thrilled to have to give up coaching for Dickenson to stay there. Maybe he still has the coaching bug.

Hmm, Calgary has won 7 straight in Winnipeg (on top of 22 of their last 25 in Calgary against the Bombers), have won 13 consecutive games coming off a bye, have Bo Levi Mitchell playing against the second worst pass defence, second worst time of possession team, and worst overall defence. Let's go with Marquay McDaniel.

I would be in favour of this.

Another nail in the coffin.

Can't argue with that logic. Same for me.

So my brother lives in Toronto (problem #1) and has always enjoyed the NFL, enough so that he plays fantasy football every year. I have always plugged the CFL, but he finds it less exciting, and picks out the flaws in the game (to be fair, they certainly exist) and the league in general. So with the Argos move to BMO he says he is willing to really give the game a try. However, he has noted that some games he has seen (Calgary-Ottawa the latest) have real dull stretches in them, and a game he sees some promise in (Edmonton-Sask) is on too late for him to stick it out to the end. His big beef is with how the league markets itself (and I've told him if you compare to the NFL all the time, anything will look lousy). He says he simply wants some competency. Two examples he cites are the new jersey launch and the CFL website. He can't believe the league would launch a new look jersey for each team, and have one team (*cough* Bombers) not have the jersey available for purchase at the time if the launch. Secondly, he goes to the cfl.ca website the morning after the game and still does not see updated standings or even proper game stats for the match. I can't really argue against either of those flaws, but any suggestions on how to convince him that this game is worth getting behind? He says he wants to give it a fair shot, but wonders if being in Toronto where no one would care enough (even on the league website) is the problem, or is it a deeper problem with the game experience itself? Any suggestions on how to convert this lukewarm new fan and sell him on what the CFL has to offer? What is the best argument someone would have?

I think (hope!!!!!) he meant Bomber_fanaddict and not me.

You called?

Let me give this a shot (channelling my inner Cactus Jack): "The happy honker award doesn't go to the player who was the best or most dominant in the game, or had the best stats, but rather goes to someone who did something a little extra special during the game, maybe that one play that stood out or made a big difference at an important time, and changed the game. Well, with the game close near the end of the second quarter, the Bombers had just scored a touchdown on a defensive interception play by Mitchell Leggat [writer's note - that butchering of his name was deliberate - Cactus often mangled syntax when he was waxing poetic. He came from the old school where a little imbibing during the broadcast was not only practiced, but almost mandatory, kind of like Do or Die and his gin] to pull ahead of the Hamilton Tiger Cats for the first time. After successfully making the convert the Bombers lined up for a kickoff to Brandon Banks, the dangerous and dynamic diminutive returner for Hamilton, when Justin Medlock kicked the ball towards the out-of-bounds stripe. When out of nowhere Maa-cho Harris [he'd mess up the syllables there too] hustled down filed and scooped up the ball for the Bombers, recovering it deep in Hamilton territory in the process, and setting up an eventual Drew Willy to Ryan Smith touchdown pass with a minute left in the first half to open up a big 12 point lead going into the locker room, and that would prove to be the big lead the Bombers would need to hold on and win the game in the end. So for that big turning point play, the happy honker award goes to the big special teams player Maa-cho Harris." He might have also given it to Ryan Smith for that magic trick reception for the TD, but he loved the swing in momentum play that seemed kind of big at the time but maybe not the "TSN turning point"obvious type, but on reflection was a really big play to stop or start a key drive. Leggett's overall performance was more player of the game good, and too "good" for happy honker status.

Maybe I don't suck at this. The Bomber tacklers, however………...

That sounds about right, but feasibly 10th best. I figure in the West, Mitchell and Reilly clearly ahead, In the East, Collaros, Ray, both Burris and Harris right now are definitely ahead. Jennings I'm not sold on long term, but hard to say right now he's not on par given early results. Lulay may be better, but with all his injury troubles haven't seen enough of him lately to say yes. Durant could be better than him, but who knows where he is after his injury last year. Tate when he last played as a starter regularly was better than Willy is now, but it's been so long kind of hard comparison now. Glenn is better today, but let's see tomorrow, probably won't be. His competency changes like the weather. And I still put Willy ahead of Masoli - we'll see if that changes after July 7. But it is quite telling that in a nine team league he might rank 10th or worse, especially when so many QBs changed teams so recently and Winnipeg has missed so many opportunities to land any of them. How was Harris such a quiet free agent signing after 33 TD passes last year?

I'm sorry. There was a cat in this picture? I didn't notice.

I suck at this. Let's try speedy B - Brandon Banks.