GUNGA GALUNGA

It's a cold, cold empty feeling knowing we're shut out. 

And, powerless to do anything about it.

Circumstance sometimes, dictates surrender to what is beyond our control. Quite frankly, THIS.... is a tough one.

Brings to mind an experience, that as a young buck, seemed just about as urgent and painful in the frustration of it all. 

Right at that moment.... on the verge of complete ecstacy and eternal bliss.... the sound of the front door slamming shut-- signalled Betty's parent's untimely return and with it-- their coitus interruptus... intervention. 

BLUE-- is also the feeling now. We can't watch the game and thus can't evaluate what happens at RT.  CFL'us interruptus? 

Not like it's Pestilence, War, Famine or Death.  The sun will 
still rise tomorrow, and a that crack of dawn we draw 
comfort knowing the Dalai Lama..... the flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking..... will be present on the links and just as he does every day, he'll haul off and whack one -- big hitter, the Lama -- long, into a ten-thousand foot crevice, right at the base of a glacier.* 

We'd rather be watching the Riders

Anyway ya SLICE it, CFL'us interruptus SUCKS!  

We'd like to express our profound gratitude, appreciation and satisfaction to the shot callers at TSN. That and congratulate Commissionaire Cohon on a big balled, job well done-- managing the presentation, access and promotion of the CFL product. 

This display of dedication and commitment to the product and the fans is duly noted. Might only be pre-season to the-- heartless swine TSN bean counters-- but for us fans who are geographically unable to witness the spectacle; however the beans add up, is little consolation.

CBC's out of touch, arrogant bureaucrats  didn't consider the CFL worthwhile until after labor day, either.

The Society will wait for regular season broadcasts before commenting further.

With the pending drama at RT-- involving both Heenan and Valdez,  which holds considerable consequence for the season opener-- THIS is a bitter pill.

The double whammy is-- circumstance now puts us at the mercy of  the ball watching, sound bite seeking-- media.  

Not much to work with but we'll do what we can with what we got. 

We did watch the EE game online with an emphasis on #65. Reticent to comment on much beyond "Big Deal Ben", because when we returned to get in-depth with the others, the broadcast was no longer available. The interweb remains a never ending, unsolved mystery. 

Had a few extra looks at Watman, Best, LaBatte, Clark, X and Valdez. So, not much to offer other than based on very casual observations.

1.  Watman. For his first CFL live action, looked like he can hack it-- physically, technically and appeared half way assignment sound. Looked tentative at times, which at this point, falls within the parameters of ok.

2.  Both Best and LaBatte had some good and some bad. NO WORRIES! First exhibition game, assume they'll clean it up.

3.  X. So far so good. Appears the sophomore  jinx isn't in his head. Hope that proves true. The dude is Uber athletic and looks to have more sand than last season. Still early and too few observations to say for certain but he looked sound.

4.  Clark. Some good some bad. Center might not be his best option. Certainly big enough and strong enough. Would benefit from improving body control and mastering the technique. He's not all that far off. Compared to a few others in the league, he's "in there".

5. Valdez. For us-- this was the lost opportunity. Only looked at a handful of plays more than once. Obvious he knows how to play the position. Could be an option but really didn't see him of enough vs enough defenders to pass judgment.

6.  Big Ben.

Being thrown out there at RT on short notice was a tough assignment. 

Based on stance, kick step and overall foot patterns in 7 step drop back protection it's apparent he hadn't been prepped this offseason to play RT.

The technique details, foot patterns, geometry and dealing with a Rush End's skill sets in space is a very different thing from playing guard. He did struggle with footwork which created problems. That said, #65 still looked like a football player even when his feet betrayed him.

Hope somehow, some miracle occurs, that we have the opportunity to witness how he does in this game vs some of the best in the league. Quite the compelling drama. 

Gonna leave the scalpel on the tray and gloss over the 7 step drop back pass set technique details. What's important to note, is that the MARGIN for OT's, between job well done and bust, vs the league's best Ends is a VERY THIN HAIR, the black silky kind that typically grow below Asian females' navels. #65 doesn't enjoy the body and arm length that Valdez does or that you like to see in an OT, but neither did the Right Honorable Mr. Gene Makowsky.

Generally requires a significant number of repetitions for a guy to become adequately proficient and efficient with the OT set and footwork in 7 step drop back protection. Everything else Ben did  at RT was largely adequate. But CFL wins and loses are typically determined-- based on the OT's VS Rush & Quick End's 7 step protection battles.

In light of all the recent chatter about how poorly some fans and some media believe Ben played and how many now consider Neufeld the answer-- as a gauge--  it bears noting, that in an ill-prepared adventure, with results not unexpected, #65's first big show out there at RT was eons superior to #53's first outing.

How much the efficiency improved in a very short time frame is one of the more interesting story lines of this game. Tragically, we fear we may never know.

Anatomy of a 7 step drop back RT bust.

(Edit revision: In another swiss cheese hole moment, we forgot to mention these shots were done half assed. When we went to do it right; the images had disappeared.)

The EE Rush End got a tremendous get off, no doubt anticipating the snap count. Ben's kick step was horribly inefficient. That's the margin right there and  "all she wrote". 

From that point of wasting precious time and energy and not achieving where the kick step needed to place his right foot at the correct angle combined with the R's get off, it was all about geometry and the highly probable outcome.

That's one fine line alright.

This is an indicator of Ben's starting point at RT. We hope, in the future, this event is nothing more than an amusing antidote along the lines of laughing about the first time getting thrown from a horse.

For those fortunate enough to be at the game, count your blessings, and enjoy the ride.

Eye witness reports will be most appreciated. 

That said, one more time. In this, the year of our digital lord -- 2013-- with the all of the easily accessible IT now available, how is it possible, throughout our fair Dominion and our prospering Province that this game is not available?

This does not compute!

* courtesy, more or less from "Caddy Shack"