What has happened to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers? And doesnt it seem that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are getting better and better? Those were the two questions I was thinking about while leaving Studio 6 and heading home after Friday Night Football - Hamiltons most recent win and Winnipegs most recent loss. For the Bombers it has been a combination of things coming together at the most inappropriate moments in time. Quarterback, injuries, Canadian talent or depth and leadership are all issues. Trust me when I say being a Bomber is no fun right now in a city that embraces football the way Winnipeg does. While Buck Pierce will be getting another shot, I think Max Hall does deserve another opportunity. His negative plays came at a point in the game that he had to "press" to make plays. But playing the same team again could be beneficial to him and help him get into the flow quicker and gain confidence. His receivers have to step up and catch everything and the defensive backs for Winnipeg must use better technique as there are way too many pass interference penalties. In the big picture, there is something wrong with the scouting system in Winnipeg. Five quarterbacks in 18 months of football and not one is close to dominant. Hamilton has two, Burris and LeFevour, Saskatchewan has two, Durant and Willy, Calgary has three, BC two, Toronto has Ray and Collaros and even Edmonton with Mike Reilly as No. 1 is going to continue to improve. Because with all the quarterbacks in North America, why cant the Bombers find one? Legitimate question. With Hamilton, they are getting there. C.J. Gable and Chevon Walker are being used very intelligently by Kent Austin. Greg Ellingson as a receiver is an immense surprise. But No. 1 to me is the edges of protection for Henry Burris. Brian Simmons, U of 0klahoma. Great feet and technically sound with consistency of performance. Joel Figueroa, U of Miami. More of a mauler as a player but good and getting better. They still do miss Chris Williams and his returns with speed. Speaking of speed on Saturday maybe there was too much of it. I was pretty must astonished when it came to the two games and injuries. Honestly, not much you can do. I dont remember any of the impact hits being dirty or illegal. Just brutal. And for Calvillo it has to be concerning. In 2010 he had a sternum injury that caused him breathing issues. In 2011 it was a Marcus Howard hit that I thought Calvillo would not recover from, remember that one? Last year a shoulder issue affected his play. And now a shot to the head that took him out of the game. Anthony Calvillo is respected by everyone for that rare combination of ability, courage and class being at such extremely high levels. If he were to retire I would almost be relieved. He wont though. The Riders were fortunate to beat Montreal and now play Edmonton next. For a team at 6-1 they need to improve all of a sudden. In BC, the uniform switch was magnificent. Looked good, played good, all good. Some of the players had an extra look of intimidation around them, almost an aura. My compliments to the Lions on an exceptional marketing move which was perfectly executed. All in football noticed and I hope it creates a solid revenue stream for the organization. And they won too! There was Sunday night football to end Week 8, Edmonton at Toronto from the Rogers Centre and both quarterbacks put on a show. I guess we almost expect it from Ricky Ray but still to go 30-of-35 is an astonishing level of efficiency. It was brought to my attention that some of the throws were not that difficult in length and congestion but my response would be, well then why dont other quarterbacks have that type of completion percentage? The answer is because they cant do it as well as Ray can. With Edmonton at 1-6 I realize any positive comment may sound ridiculous but Mike Reilly is getting better and better. Hes more confident and completing more passes for greater distance. Actually it has been fun to watch, enjoyable to see an athlete improve as a season is moving forward. I hope Eskimo fans dont lose patience with the Kavis Reed regime. I do think he is the right man at the right time with the right people. In an eight-team league there is a greater "grace period" to get it together because the playoffs are almost always possible come October. It just becomes disheartening when the team you follow does not have winning success yet sometimes look good while losing. Tough three games for Edmonton also with the Roughriders and then back-to-back with the Stampeders. Week 8 is done moving into Week 9, almost mid-season. Teams know what their strengths and weaknesses are, and now have to maintain their strength, improve the weakness and ask the Gods of football if their team can stay healthy for three more months. Please. Oakland Athletics Shirts . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Oakland Athletics Pro Shop . You can watch all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. Pineda won his second straight start last Wednesday against Chicago, as he held the Cubs to just four hits over six scoreless innings to run his record to 2-0, while lowering his ERA to 1. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/.com) - Colorado forward P. Oakland Athletics Store . Patty Mills scored 15 points, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds in limited minutes, and San Antonio trailed for only 11 seconds late in the first quarter of a 103-90 victory over Portland on Wednesday night. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights.With a 2-0 series deficit and no Carey Price, Michel Therrien expects nothing less than a positive response when his club takes on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. While the team lost 3-1 on Monday night - a relative improvement from their 7-2 drubbing in Game 1 - the Montreal Canadiens head coach was impressed with the effort his players gave against a tough Rangers squad. "I want to give credit to the Rangers for what they did well," he told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday. "The Rangers defence did a good job of boxing players out, blocking shots and preventing second chances. We just need to keep working the way we did yesterday. Things can change very fast if we keep creating chances. The most important thing is that players follow the game plan and stay alert. If we keep doing that, things will turn around." The Canadiens - trailing by two games for the first time in these playoffs - have held the lead for just 17 seconds over the first 120 minutes played. Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves in Game 2, including 19 in the third period. "I liked the engagement level of our team in Game 22," Therrien added.dddddddddddd "The first game was emotionally and physically tough for us, but we regrouped really well. On Monday, we played with energy and we pushed the pace. Im anxious to see the guys tomorrow and I feel optimistic for the rest of the series because of the way we competed." The Canadiens will now try to become the 20th team in Stanley Cup playoff history to win a series when losing the first two games at home. Fittingly, the Habs and Rangers have been a part of last three instances its happened - Montreal lost 4-2 to Carolina in 2006 after winning the first two games in Raleigh, the Washington Capitals beat the Rangers 4-3 after New York took the first two games at the Verizon Center in 2009 and Montreal won the first two games at Bostons TD Garden before losing 4-3 in their 2011 series with the Bruins. Still, Therrien is a full believer that his team can win once theyre reset in a couple of days. "Its a challenge to play in New York, but weve won many games throughout the years at Madison Square Garden," he explained. Therrien did not say which goaltender - Dustin Tokarski or Peter Budaj - would start in Game 3. ' ' '