My CFL Picks

Every year since I was about 9 years I usually give yearlyFL predictions. Of course back in my early years of predictions, I would always pick the Roughriders to win the Grey Cup. Unfortunately Tom Burgess, Warren Jones among others weren't able to lead the Riders to the promised land. But now that the Riders are perennial contenders, my picks seem to become a lot more accurate.

So Here's my picks for 2011, feel free to look back at November and laugh.

West

1 Saskatchewan 11-7

2. BC 10-8

3. Calgary 9-9

4. Edmonton 7-11

East

1. Montreal 11-7

2. Hamilton 9-9

3. Toronto 8-10

4. Winnipeg 6-12

West Final

Sask 37 BC 31

East Final

Ham 28 Mont 24


Grey Cup

Sask 34 Ham 25


I find it hard to believe that it's going to be Saskatchewan and Montreal in the Cup Final for the third straight year, and I think Hamilton has closed the gap between them and the Alouettes. And the biggest reason why the Riders finish top spot, Darian Durant wins the Most Outstanding Player of the year. It's just a hunch I have.

Now that the offseason is over, let's enjoy the 2011 season.

Catching Up With Keith Cassidy

After being caught up in the newsroom for the last week in flood coverage, I managed to get in some time in and place a call with Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy.

The audio is posted below. We discussed player movement. Cassidy is almost done with signing players to cards, there may be a couple signings over the next few days. He added the Bruins may add a couple of more veterans to the roster. The Bruins do have a couple trading chips in defencemen Brett Rock and Matt Szpak as both players have asked for trades closer to home.

We also talked about the schedule and an update on the progress of the Bruin facilities in Spectra Place.

Here's the interview I had with Cassidy earlier today.

Keithcassidyjune28 by blaineweyland

Weekend Watching

--Finally the preseason is over and now less than a week remains until the Riders begin the 2011 regular season. The Riders announce their final cuts yesterday, and really there wasn't any surprises. Maybe Brian Bullock and Jocelyn Frenette, but all in all the Riders look in good shape heading into the regular season. Their placekicking still needs to be settled, and it might be one of those positions the Riders judge on a week to week basis until Labor Day when Luca Congi comes off the 9 game list.

-- Judging by the preseason action the player who impressed me the most was RB Wes Cates. Even though Cates had a strong season last year, there were plenty of people who were calling for Hugh Charles. In the preseason Cates looked great catching the ball out of the backfield, blocking and of course running between the tackles. Providing he stays healthy for the entire season I think we can see another 1,000 yard season from Cates.

-- The NHL draft was on the weekend, and my team the Calgary Flames provided plenty of news. I'm going to miss Robyn Regehr in a Flames jersey. It seems like yesterday when I heard the news when he was in a car accident that damaged his leg, and there were reports his career could be done. Just over 6 months later, he made his debut in the NHL. Regehr provided lots of great memories in Calgary, but he must be looking forward to playing with Tyler Myers.

-- The Flyers hit the reset button with their trades. While the Flyers really need some stable goaltending, I don't think Bryzgalov on a 9 year contract is the answer.

-- I think the Devils were the team who were the winners of the first round. It seems like they've had some kind of luck lately. They went on a late season run, won the draft lottery and picked possibly the best player in the draft in Adam Larsson. I have a feeling the Devils will be bouncing back this season. (Sure helps that Zach Parise will be back for a full year)

-- Sometimes the Blue Jays are real good and sometimes they are really bad. Which means 81-81 this season.

-- What a finish on the UFC live card between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo. It appeared Barry had Kongo down for the count after a couple hard rights, and then Kongo on a pair of wobbly legs knocked Barry out. I recommend checking it out if you haven't already. It's just another reason why MMA is so great.

A Bunch of Bruin Bits

Roger Neilson Statue in Vancouver



The hardware continues to pile up for former Bruins goalie Joel Danyluk who picked up the Roger Neilson Award. Here is the release from sjhl.ca.

Joel Danyluk of the Estevan Bruins is the winner of the Roger Neilson award. This 20 year old goalie from Yorkton has a full understanding of what a community means to a hockey club. He works very hard to ensure that children who attended Bruin games received autograph's, souvenirs and the attention that they need to keep them coming back to the games. Joel was constantly involved in the community through school visits, helping out with minor hockey, volunteering at community events and making sure that this community knows that the Estevan Bruins Hockey Club as a whole depends on the community for support.

This award is voted on by the twelve coaches and team chaplains of SJHL teams, and it goes to the player who best displays fair play and dedication to the game of hockey. These attributes are both on and off the ice. The winner also has to show a commitment to the team chaplain program. This award is also known as the Hockey Ministries International Award.

Danyluk will be taking a leave from hockey next season to attend the University of Regina where he will be pursuing a degree in education. But before Danyluk hits the books, he'll be traveling overseas to Europe next month.

--The Bruins schedule has been released. You can go to the Bruins website to see the whole schedule. Here's a few games that I consider to be the highlights on the season.

Saturday September 17 vs Melville. The Bruins open up Spectra Place against the team who they got their last win at the Civic Auditorium. There will be plenty of fireworks that night.

Saturday October 1 @ Melville. The Bruins are the opponents for the Mils first game in their new arena.

Fri Oct.14- Sun Oct.16. The SJHL Showcase. Games for the Showcase hasn't been released yet.

Weds. Nov.30 @ Humboldt. The Bruins first game at the site of this year's RBC Cup, and a trip home for me.

Sun. Jan. 1 vs Weyburn. Bruins open up 2012 at home against their arch rivals.

Sat. Feb 18 vs Weyburn. Last game of the regular season.

In terms of broadcasting usually Bruins games on CJ1280 begin after the World Series, but it appears the opener against Melville will be broadcasted on Sept. 17.

It looks like the next game on the schedule will be November 5 in Melville inside of their new arena. The Broadcasting schedule will likely be released in July and August. Looks like the only rink I'll be missing this year is La Ronge.

-- Unfortunately I haven't been able to speak with Keith Cassidy about a Bruins update. Since I'm also the morning news guy at the radio station, I have been very busy with our coverage of the flooding situation in the southeast. Hopefully I'll catch up with him tomorrow.

-- I forgot to mention this yesterday, but major thanks to Dom Perrault and Ryan Ostertag for helping me out during my holidays. They deserve at least a shout out from me.

Back to Work

Beginning of Round 2 Carwin vs Dos Santos. Carwin was a mess.

My view for UFC 131

The beautiful Brittney


The lovely Arianny


Moments after Sam Stout knocked out Yves Edwards

Kenny Florian vs Diego Nunes


At the BMO downtown Vancouver, I didn't riot, but I heard it

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It's back to work for yours truly today after 9 great days in Vancouver. It was definitely an eventful 9 days on the West Coast. UFC 131 was the main reason why I made the trip and my first UFC event didn't disappoint. I thought the biggest reaction of the night was Sam Stout's knockout of Yves Edwards. The prelim fights were really entertaining and may have been better than the majority of the main card. The Rogers Arena wasn't sold out, I expect because of the Cup Finals and the absence of Brock Lesnar. It was still a fun night and I really want to go and see another UFC card soon, next time though, it will be in Vegas.

-- I was watching Game 7 at a friends house in downtown Vancouver. I was thinking about heading downtown to check out the game, but I figured I would head there after the game. But I ended up staying at my friend's house watching and listening to the downtown destruction. There's a lot of people in Vancouver who are embarrassed by the whole event, and really they should be.

-- The rest of the trip was spent on relaxing and soaking up the scenery. Along with a couple of friends we climbed up a 5 km mountain. (Quite the workout) I also sampled some great dishes in Vancouver. If you ever head to Vancouver head to the Kingstons Cafe in North Vancouver for the best Jamaican food ever. Best Jerk Pork I've ever had. But like all great holidays they come to an end way too quickly.

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There were some Bruins news while I was gone. Jon Ceci has committed to Simon Fraser University. It's great for Ceci to not only being able to play some post secondary hockey, but he's also playing close to home. All the best to Ceci at Simon Fraser.

The Bruins also released their schedule. The Bruins open up Spectra Place Saturday September 17 against Melville. I'll go into more details in my next posting about the Bruins schedule either tonight or tomorrow. Bruins also open Melville's new rink October 1. Go to the Bruins website for more details.

Holidays in Vancouver

I always say the worst time of the year for me is the end of the hockey year until I go on holidays. I'm happy to say the holidays have arrived and I'm more than excited for the next 9 days, as I'm heading to Vancouver.

I'm not a Canucks fan, but I'm excited about being in the same city as the Stanley Cup finals. I arrive just as Game 5 is starting. I'm more than excited to soak in the championship atmosphere.

-- The reason I'm heading to Vancouver is too check out UFC 131. I was looking forward to the Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar, but instead it's Dos Santos and Shane Carwin. I'm rooting for Carwin, but my gut is saying Dos Santos, but I'm looking forward to my first live UFC experience.

-- I likely won't be blogging on my holidays, I might depending if I have access to a computer, but I'll try and post some pics when I come back. I wish my camera was a 100%, but I'll post something when I come back at the latest.

-- Some tidbits about the Estevan Bruins. They'll likely announce their opening date at Spectra Place tomorrow or Monday at the latest, and my prediction of Sept. 15 was wrong, but I was close. This is a very exciting time for the Bruins.

-- Keith Cassidy will be moving to Estevan next week. There maybe some announcements about player signings to come with that. The Bruins have signed 7 players since June 1 and I'm thinking there will be at least 3 more. I know one player who hasn't signed yet, could be the Bruins best shot for rookie of the year next season. At spring camp, he was a favorite for Chad Leslie and showed plenty of promise. I'm sure I'll be talking to Cassidy soon after I come back.

-- If you haven't already take a look at the call of the year poll I got going on. Voting is going to go on for another month.

-- Take care everyone and enjoy the final games of the hockey season!

Goal Call of the Year

I've been wanting to do this all offseason, but I finally got sometime to put up online. I've always wondered what my best goal calls were during the season. So I listed 5 of my favorites and I will open up a poll throughout the month. So take a listen and give a vote to your favorite Blaine Weyland Goal Call in the 2010-2011 season.




1. Findlay Buzzer Beater.

Back in November the Bruins and the Kindersley Klippers were tied with only a few seconds remaining, Ben Findlay takes a last second rush and turns it into a buzzer beater goal.





2. Crosssss!

The next night in Battlefords when the Bruins staged a third period comeback against the Northstars. Troy Hunter makes a great pass in the corner and Mark Cross buries it.




3. Mr Dramatic

Jonathan Ceci scored nothing but clutch goals for the Bruins. One of them was a walkoff shootout winner in Melfort.




4. Blonde Bomber

Game 1 of the Survivor Series against Melville. Josh Jelinski scores less than a minute into overtime.





5. Oh My God!

Game 5 against Melville and Dominic Perrault scores the Overtime winner to give the Bruins a hard fought series.

Bruins Add 4 More

Along with the SJHL Annual General Meetings on the weekend, the Estevan Bruins were busy signing more players to cards.

The Bruins locked up local product Tanner Froese. Froese lead the Swift Current AAA Midget Legionnaires in scoring with 23 goals and 24 assists in 44 games. Froese also joined the Bruins late in the season as an AP.

The Bruins signed left winger, Austin Yano to a card. Yano had 15 goals and 20 assists on the year with the Moose Jaw Generals of the Sask AAA Midget League.

They also locked up defenceman Tyler Bell from the Regina AAA Midget Pat Canadians. Bell had 5 goals and 22 assists last season.

And they signed defenceman Denin Boesch to a card. Boesch was a member of the Yorkton Harvest and had 6 goals and 11 assists.

The Bruins aren't done in terms of signing players to cards, and are expected to announce some more signings in the next couple of weeks.

-- When I spoke to Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy about meeting new SJHL President Bill Chow for the first time, he said he was very impressed by his vision. He said if Chow accomplishes 50% of the things he said at the AGM then he'll do a bang up job.

-- The coaches worked out a tentative schedule. The schedule will likely be approved within a couple of weeks. Cassidy didn't reveal when the opening date of Spectra Place will be, but he added that he's very excited to be making the announcement soon. He added that the Bruins has to get approval from City Council as well since they will be holding a special opening ceremony on that date. I'll make a prediction, but don't take this as a fact. I'm guessing the opening date will be Thursday September 15 against Melville. This is just a guess, and knowing my luck it will be any date besides my prediction.

-- Normally CJ1280 doesn't start Bruins broadcasts until the conclusion of the World Series. But it appears we'll be covering the first game in Spectra Place. Stay tuned throughout the summer when more details become available.

The Showcase is Coming

The big news from that was announced from the SJHL AGM (at least from an Estevan perspective) was the announcement that 2011 SJHL Showcase from October 14-16. For three days all 12 teams will be in Estevan playing 2 games a piece. From the city of Estevan, this is a big deal with a lot of money getting pumped into the local economy. Not only from the visting 11 SJHL teams, but as well the league officials and the scouts that will be visiting the Energy City.

With the Bruins hosting the Showcase, they'll likely get to play Friday night and Sunday night. The Bruins should actually get to be the home team for once in the showcase. The last 2 years the Bruins have been the road team for both of their games in the SJHL Showcase. It should be exciting weekend for the SJHL in Estevan.

Andersen Commits to York

Ryan Andersen and Mark Cross were quite the duo in Estevan the last 2 seasons, and that will continue for a few more years.

Andersen has joined Cross and has committed York University. Andersen scored 27 goals and 28 assists for 55 points in 56 games this past season. Andersen is also the last Bruin player to score a goal inside of the Civic Auditorium.

Locker Talk Preview

This week on Locker Talk, I'm joined by Bruins Defenceman Dominic Perrault.

We talk about the offseason, we take a final look back at the 2010-11 season which was highlighted by Perrault's 2 goal effort in Game 5 of the Survivor Series against Melville which was highlighted by his OT winner.

We discuss the hiring of Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy, look ahead to 2011-12 season. I get his thoughts on possibly wearing the C this season for the Bruins, and his thoughts about playing inside of the brand new Spectra Place this season.

The replay of Locker Talk can be seen tomorrow at 12:00 noon on Estevan Access 7.

Bruins Begin To Reload

Keith Cassidy has been very busy over the past couple of days traveling throughout Manitoba and Saskatchewan getting players signed to cards. The first official names to sign up are Tyler Kauk from the Winnipeg AAA Midget Thrashers and Ben Johnstone from Carlyle.

Keith had a chance to take a little break today, to talk about those 2 players and more.





Kauk wasn't at the Bruins spring camp since he was busy with the Thrasher's run to the Telus Cup. I got to meet Johnstone, and he's a great character kid, who shouldn't have a problem blending in with the team.

-- There aren't too many coaches who sign a 5 year contract, but there aren't too many coaches like Bob Beatty. La Ronge is really lucky to have him.

Bruins Begin Recruiting Process

June 1 is a very exciting day for Junior A Hockey teams across the country as they begin signing their players to cards.

Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy and Director of Player Personnel Rick Oakes are very busy today locking up some future Bruins. Cassidy is traveling through Manitoba and Saskatchewan today getting players to sign the cards.

No names to officially report today, but from what I've heard this recruiting class could be the biggest and deepest for the Bruins.

I had the chance to speak with Rick Oakes today. We talked about the importence of this recruiting class, last year recruits, working with Cassidy, and Oakes scouting role with the World Junior A challenge.





I'll probably have some names to report likely tomorrow.

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Stanley Cup Finals finally get started tonight. It seems so long ago since the Conference Finals were completed. I picked the Bruins to make it to the final and I guess their my pick in the finals. I'm saying Bruins in 6. Nathan Horton wins the Conn Smythe.


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It's an end of an era for Saskatchewan Roughriders as the club released Chris Szarka today. The fullback has been a member with the Green and White since being drafted in 1997. Szarka was one of the most popular players in Riders history.

In his prime Szarka was a very useful tool in the Riders whether he carried the ball, making a catch out of the backfield, or more importantly providing a huge block. Szarka was a classy representative of the Riders. There's no doubt he's heading to the Plaza of Honor in a couple years.

Disappointed to hear the news about Rob Bagg suffering an ACL injury last week, and is on the 9 game injured list. This likely means Jordan Sisco will have to step up in a big role this year, and there's a good chance we'll see another American in the starting receiving core.