First start may be Jyles’ last chance

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/07/2010 (5800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Let me begin this initial post-holiday effort with a small confession…

Upon returning from a 10-day absence even more braindead than usual, the first sentence yours truly pounded out was hardly comprehensible.

In fact, it went like this:

Juytan bcuhx xzqyrprtha ut sneelguts angya an auqo*7 byt1r.

Using years of journalistic training — and moving our fingers so they properly aligned over the keyboard — your sun-stroked agent soldiered on, only to discover the time off has left the mental notebook overflowing with half-ideas and mini-rants. And so, with that in mind we give you ‘What I learned about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Canadian Football League while on my summer vacation’:

— If I’m Steven Jyles, the man who’ll take the first snap for the Bombers this Saturday against the Edmonton Eskimos in place of the injured Buck Pierce, I’m as amped up as a nine-year-old on a sugar high for the chance to open some eyes again. And I’m also trying NOT to look beyond the weekend as to my long-term future for fear the pressure might mess things up considerably. The straight goods: Jyles is 27 — less than a year younger than Pierce — is now with his third CFL organization and this start could be his last chance to prove he can make the progression from clipboard caddie to regular.

— It’s about Pierce — would the cynics please hold off on the "told-you-so" comments after his injury in Hamilton? The Bombers knew the injury risk when they signed him, they just hoped he wouldn’t break down this early in the season. Jury’s still out on the Pierce-Jyles combo, but it’s certainly an upgrade over Bishop-Bramlet.

— Memo to the Saskatchewan Roughriders: please, please don’t ever do that red-and-black jersey thing again. What’s next, the Blue Bombers in green and yellow?

— I’m hearing rumblings about Edmonton head coach Richie Hall being in trouble after an 0-3 start to the season. That likely just makes the Eskimos even nastier this weekend and the Bombers should know now about facing a cornered animal.

— So the CFL has admitted they screwed up that Kevin Glenn fumble call in Hamilton’s win over Winnipeg last Friday. Our take: good on CFL director of officiating Tom Higgins to take the blame on this one, but the mistake wouldn’t have changed this reality: the Bombers were punted all over the park by the Ticats.

— Just for the record for the readers who emailed or called the office in my absence, I wasn’t kidnapped and didn’t get demoted or fired — near as I can tell (my security card for the building still works and nobody’s come to collect my laptop). Glad to be back and sorry to disappoint those who were doing cartwheels while I was away.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Wrap

Weekday Evenings

Today’s must-read stories and a roundup of the day’s headlines, delivered every evening.

Sign up for The Wrap

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

— These Empire Field facts courtesy The Province newspaper: The temporary home for the B.C. Lions seats 27,683; took 50 workers just 111 days to build while the turf was installed in a record 10 days. All this for $14 million. Two things: 1. why can’t somebody do the same in Moncton, Halifax or Quebec City to boost the CFL’s membership and stop the asinine Bombers vs. Ticats four times before mid-August schedule? And, 2: the $14-million price tag should have doubters less concerned about what the Bombers will get for their $120 million.

— Debate Casey Printers’ play among yourselves while mulling over these numbers: since joining the Lions last September, he is 2-6 as the starter and 0-4 at home.

— It’s way too early to call the trophy engraver but never too soon to debate this: Is Toronto’s Jim Barker the early front-runner for coach of the year? Nobody had a bigger mess to clean up than the man who was also a finalist for the GM gig here in Winnipeg, and Barker has the Boatmen at 2-1 and playing some entertaining football.

— And, finally, after watching a ton of football on the TV during my break, a special thank you to Rona for their new commercial this season. Admittedly, the salute to Carlo — the guy who built a rain-collection system for his backyard all by his lonesome — is already a little tiresome and it’s still only July, but it sure as heck beats last year’s lame spot featuring the dum-dum who constructs a deck inside his house. Small victories, couch-potato nation. Small victories.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca