ROUGHRIDERS’ ARCENEAUX PROVES HE IS A TRUE PRO
■ The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ mantra, under first-year head coach Craig Dickenson, is “team before self.” Veteran CFL receiver Manny Arceneaux has clearly taken those words to heart. The Roughriders announced early this week that Arceneaux would be supplanted in the starting lineup by Jordan Williams-lambert for Saturday’s highly anticipated West Division clash with the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers. So there was Arceneaux after Tuesday’s practice, spending additional time on the field while assisting Williams-lambert with his preparations. It was a classy gesture by the consummately professional Arceneaux.
■ The timing of Arceneaux’s demotion raises eyebrows, considering that he scored on a 55-yard bomb — his first touchdown as a Roughrider — in Saturday’s 41-16 victory over the host Toronto Argonauts. Consider, too, that Saskatchewan has an 8-1 record with Arceneaux in the lineup, compared to a 1-3 slate without him. Why mess with a winning formula?
■ History has demonstrated that a touchdown catch does not guarantee job security. Let’s rewind to Aug. 20, 1988, when the Roughriders defeated the visiting Calgary Stampeders 24-21. Late in the fourth quarter, Kent Austin hit Tim Kearse with a 19-yard, game-winning touchdown pass. The very same Tim Kearse had kept the drive alive with a 13-yard catch on thirdand-six. It mattered not. Kearse was released soon after that.
■ And then there is the case of Ron Robinson, who caught two touchdown passes in his final game with Saskatchewan — a 50-19 loss in Winnipeg on Sept. 24, 1983. Late in the game, Robinson dropped a sure TD pass. Three days later, he was dispatched to the Montreal Concordes for a fourth-round draft pick.
■ The last laugh belonged to Robinson, who returned to Taylor Field on Oct. 9 of that year and caught eight passes for 138 yards and one TD in a 40-23 Montreal victory. On Fan Appreciation Day, the Roughriders’ record dropped to 3-10. Good times ...
■ Toronto’s Corey Chamblin has lost 27 of past 31 games (playoffs included) as a CFL head coach.
■ The sight of a Mexican or European player standing on the sideline while occupying a token roster spot is not the best look for the CFL. This is a slap in the face to legitimate players who actually belong on a roster. Not a single team could find a spot for Weston Dressler or Rob Bagg — both of whom wanted to continue their playing careers in 2019 — but virtual mannequins are wearing uniforms and collecting paycheques/dust.
■ Is it a risk for the Roughriders to throw big dollars at quarterback Cody Fajardo? Perhaps, considering that he has started only 12 games in the CFL. But it was a far bigger risk for the Roughriders to re-sign the fragile Zach Collaros in February. The Green and White had paid Collaros $430,000 the previous season, in which his touchdown passes (nine) were outnumbered by interceptions (13). If the Roughriders can spend that much on Collaros, a vastly superior quarterback (namely Fajardo) is certainly worthy of a comparable salary ... or even more.
■ The Argonauts are an easy target due to their poor record (2-11) and their attendance woes. A mere 9,819 spectators trickled into BMO Field on Sept. 20, when Calgary won 23-16. That crowd count was a reminder of Nov. 11, 1973, when there were 9,873 eyewitnesses for a CFL playoff game — in Regina!
■ Yes, it is true. After averaging 20,153 fans per regular-season home game, the Roughriders lamented a four-figure attendance count for the 1973 Western Conference semifinal, in which the B.C. Lions fell 33-13. The weather was not a deterrent. Instead, many regular attendees balked when the Roughriders’ peak ticket price was increased to (gasp!) $10 for the playoff contest. Now the facility fee costs more than that.
■ So let’s review, shall we? The new Mosaic Stadium is “roofready,” but the installation of a cover would dislodge the Roughriders for a year. As a result, the much-trumpeted roof-readiness proved to be meaningless. The new pigskin palace, which has 33,350 permanent seats, was built to be expandable to 40,000 for major events, such as a Grey Cup. Yet, the capacity will be capped at 35,000 for the 2020 CFL championship game because it has been deemed to be impractical to go any higher. That is just lovely.
■ Nice people who deserve a plug: George Reed, Larry Fuller, Jason Tiemann, Jim Gallagher, Garry Tollefson, Paxton Reschny, Grace Reschny, Dennis Hendricksen, Kyla Will, Bill Wunsch, Dick White, Skip Olshefsky, Howard Liou, Bob Ulrich and Guy Lafleur.