the 4th star

“These last few days have been difficult. How could I possibly top what I’ve accomplished here in the last two weeks? I’d like to thank the Calgary Flames and the NHL for using my feel-good story to sell pre-season tickets and allowing me to create a public profile again. The future speaking engagements should help me quell my money problems. Today after much debate with my family and friends, I am officially retiring from hockey. Now I get to embark on a new chapter of my life, one where I will travel across North America shilling for my new tell-all book Playing With Fire, which is coming out next month. Hockey would have got in the way of that. As I left the Saddledome on Friday, I knew this part of my life had finally come to an end. I did everything in my power to create some buzz for the book and hopefully the interest in the (air quotes) comeback attempt (close air quotes) will sell a few more books and get me a few more appearances on Off The Record. To my fans, what can I say? Thanks so much for all your support, especially in the last two weeks. You should know that this (air quotes) comeback attempt (close air quotes) was all a ruse and I hope all of you will remember me when looking for a book for a Christmas gift. Please don’t be angry…I get to retire as a Calgary Flame — even though I was just here on a tryout basis and no contract was signed. For the last two weeks, I pulled on your heart strings. I made those of you who were doubters in the beginning, believers. Except for Brent Sutter, who almost let the cat out of the bag by saying that I was too slow last week. You fans, you believers, can read more about my positive, uplifting message in my new tell-all book Playing With Fire, which is due out in a couple weeks. Thank you.”

I meant to get to this on Sunday, but frankly I find it difficult to take personal time away from the NFL on the weekends. Trust me, I would be writing A LOT about the Giants if I thought any of you out there actually cared. Frankly, I know as much as you — which is nothing. Anyway, the above video is the shoot-out from Saturday’s Vancouver-Calgary exhibition game. The Canucks eventually won 2-1 on a nice goal by Mason Raymond (ed note— ugh), but the reason for the mention goes to Alex Edler.

The very, very quiet Swedish defenceman put in an early bid for the ‘stand-up guy of the year’ award when he answered Olli Jokinen’s bonehead attempt to send a message to the Canucks by blasting a slapshot into Roberto Luongo from point blank range with his SO chance. It was a total bush league move and I’m surprised Luongo didn’t race after the Finnish Flush after he made the save. Edler was the Canucks next shooter. As I said to my table, “I hope he (expletive) blasts it right at Kipper’s head.” Or maybe I just thought that. Either way, that’s exactly what Edler did.

The tit-for-tat action starts at the 3:00 mark.

A show of hands. Who out there thinks Damon Allen Michael Bishop will lead the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a Grey Cup this season? Is that a hand? Oh, sorry. You say you were just stretching…what about you? Let’s go, people! Time’s a wastin.’

Bishop is 33-years-old. Kelly has basically said that the only reason he’s here is that he gives the team the best chance of winning right now. This is the same quarterback who has been dumped by two CFL clubs and a player who is just as likely to throw for three picks as he is for three touchdowns. The Bombers have told fans that this season will be more about developing a young quarterback to help stabilize the future of the football product. Winnipeg was going to have its own Ricky Ray or Anthony Calvillo. Heck, the big boss with the big goatee told the masses that as recently as Friday.

Sept. 25, 2009
A message from Lyle Bauer
We also find ourselves in the position of trying to do something which has not been done by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers since the days of Dieter (Ralph) Brock. Develop and groom a young Quarterback who will be a star in the future. As you have seen this has been a strategy from the onset of the 2009 Season and continues to be with the addition of the young QBs we have recently brought in as well as those who our on our confidential neglist. This initiative in itself will have bumps along the way however we do believe in the long term it is the best to support the ultimate objective.

Emphasis mine.

Over the last few weeks, Winnipeg has brought in Casey Bramlet, Ricky Santos and some guy named Adam DiMichele. All young guys, all providing hope to the Blue fan who is tired of hearing about a new hope from some other club’s practice roster. Also in that time, we’ve heard head coach Mike Kelly throw Bishop under the bus — “The play from our quarterbacks needs to be better.” A week later, he says Bishop has been “outstanding.”

Bishop had a good game in Saturday’s 29-24 win over Toronto. The Argonauts are now officially the worst team in the league with a 3-9 record. At 4-8, the Bombers are only marginally better than that and it should be pointed out that TWO of the Winnipeg wins this year have come at the expense of that big smoking, sinking ship.

It’s been written before and I’m sure it will be written again, but the more Bishop plays this season, the less of an opportunity the Bombers coaching staff will have to see what one of their ‘quarterbacks of the future’ can do and the longer Winnipeg football fans will have to wait until they have some stability in that position. This year is a write-off. It is completely a throw-away season. Kelly is going nowhere (literally and figuratively) and the team will not have a better opportunity to look at their young stable in real game action to see if there is something to work with. But one good game after three dreadful performances by the team and by Bishop, everyone around the Bombers is now talking about the playoffs.

1. Bishop has a terrible month of September.
2. Kelly throws him under the bus.
3. The team brings in a bunch of young arms.
4. Bishop and Kelly have a fight.
5. Rumour has it TSN captured the fracas on camera, but decided to be a good media partner and not show it.
6. Kelly says Bishop has been “outstanding” since he’s been in Winnipeg.
7. Bauer asks fans to remember the “ultimate objective.”
8. Bishop has a good game against the worst team in the league.
9. Everyone is excited about the Winnipeg offence.
10. Young arms will now have to wait.

The old adage ‘Wait until next year’ is a scary proposition for Bomber fans. Let’s look ahead to the 2010 season, shall we? Let’s say Bishop finishes the ’09 schedule strong and the Bombers either come close or manage to slip into the playoffs in a couple months. In the off-season, Winnipeg cuts the short-term answer free and Kelly states that the quarterback job is up for grabs or hands the keys over to a young guy who hasn’t proven anything. Just like he did this year. Great. So fans will have to endure another season of quarterback questions and watch Kelly scramble to make changes on the fly? When you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards.

The “ultimate objective” is now on the back-burner. So, is everyone excited at the prospects of going through this quarterback merry-go-round next season? Oh, no arms raised? Yep, that’s right. Get ready to do this again, Bomber fans, as this year’s suffering is turning out to be all for not. Nice to see big picture thinking is alive and well at the Polo Park stadium. What a waste of time.