The Ticats didn’t just beat the Argos Thursday night at Rogers Centre, they assaulted them.
Led by Jesse Lumsden, the Ticats ripped apart the Argos defence for a mind boggling 311 yards rushing.
When is the last time a team ran for over 300 yards in the CFL? It almost never happens.
The golden boy from Burlington, Lumsden was incredible - rushing for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
I have known Jesse since his days at McMaster. As is his character, Lumsden gave all the credit to his offensive line. The Ticats offensive line did an incredible job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Lumsden had a lot of room to work with and hung some huge numbers on a defence that most people, myself included, think is the best in the CFL.
When you consider the Ticats haven’t won a game in Toronto since 2001, the kind of season they suffered through in 2007, and how bad the Ticats looked in week one, Thursday night's win over the Argos was epic.
It doesn’t mean the Ticats are heading for the playoffs, but it does mean that this football team is heading in the right direction.
Credit also has to go out to Charlie Taffe and his offensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille. They devised a simple and very effective game plan and stuck to it. Casey Printers didn’t put up huge numbers. Mainly because the Ticats ran the ball so well he didn’t need to.
Next week, the Argos will be in Edmonton. The Eskimos will get one look at the Thursday night’s game film and attempt to do the same thing the Ticats did; pound the football right down the Argos throat.
Until the Argos stop allowing people to chew them up on the ground, opposing teams are going to keep running the football.
The way Lumsden and the Ticats ran the ball against the Argos, who’s in and who’s out at quarterback is the least of their worries.
--Jim "Clubber" Lang
One of Sportsnet's most versatile reporters, Jim covers the Leafs beat, can be seen regularly on Connected and can be read weekly on Sportsnet.ca.
((This blog is posted through permission of the author...))One of Sportsnet's most versatile reporters, Jim covers the Leafs beat, can be seen regularly on Connected and can be read weekly on Sportsnet.ca.
Thursday – June 12 – It’s a typical start to my day. Wailing like a squadron of screaming
banshees, the kids wake up around 6:30am. I help get them ready for school and then start the day. After walking the dog, I get ready and head downtown.
Tough assignment today, covering the red carpet at the NHL awards. If you were to compare the hotness factor of NHL players wives and girlfriend to other major sports; the hockey players would score big. The Flames stud defenceman Dion Phaneuf stole the show by strolling down the red carpet with his new girlfriend; Elisha Cuthbert. A woman who is far hotter looking in person that you can possibly imagine.
While covering the red carpet, I noticed a fan brought along his dog and his parrot. During a live hit with Brad Fay, the dude with the pets puts the parrot on my shoulder. There’s always a first time for everything. Nik Lidstrom wins his 6th Norris Trophy. Alexander Ovechkin wins practically every award the NHL hands out. The NHL did a first class job putting on the awards. It was a great event from start to finish. The cookies in the media lock-up room were award winning.
Friday – June 13th – Back up at 6:30am and back to the daily routine of getting the kids ready for school. After walking the dog, I head to the gym to work-out. While huffing and puffing my way through the gym, I wonder how in the hell Chris Chelios stays in such mind boggling shape at the age of 46? Hockey players are a special breed. Then it was on to the Jays and the Cubs at Rogers Centre. Hot, muggy night with the roof closed at the ballpark. I was able to interview one of my favourite people in baseball, Reed Johnson. Like a lot of people, I still can’t understand why the Jays didn’t want this guy around any more. The Jays are able to beat the Cubs for a rare win in June.
Saturday – June 14th – After spending the day at kids birthday party for friends of ours, I was off to the studio to co-host the late edition of Connected with Jason Portuondo. Before I knew it, I was yelling so loud at the TV watching Tiger Woods weave his magic during the third round of the US Open that I almost blew out my vocal cords. Did highlights of Reed Johnson going yard against his old team as the Cubs beat the Jays. I get home just after 1:30am and discover that both kids have hopped into bed with my wife. All of a sudden I am loving the couch.
Sunday – June 15th – Father’s Day. At my request the family and I head off to Dairy Queen for a special treat. How can anyone not totally get amped up about going to DQ? After dinner with the family, I head back to the studio to co-host the late edition of Connected again with Porty. That means more magic from Tiger Woods. The newsroom went completely bonkers when Tiger drained that miracle putt on 18. Rocco Mediate was right, of course Tiger would make that putt.
Monday – June 16th - After taking the kids to school I get a call that Brad Fay is ill and they need to me to host the early edition of Connected. That means watching Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate dueling with each other for 19 holes of playoff golf. It was one of those days that you shake your head in disbelief that someone actually pays you money to do this. Not bad for a guy who is borderline ADHD.
Tuesday – June 17th - I interviewed Bills safety Donte Whitner for the first time as the team unveiled their “Bills in Toronto” logo. I don’t hate the logo. I don’t love it either. It’s missing a beaver or a moose or something. I can never get enough beavers. Whitner turned out to be candid, bright and insightful. Whitner admitted that during a recent interview on ESPN, he predicted the Bills would make the playoffs. When I asked him to clarify his remarks, Whitner wouldn’t back down. Whitner told me he was stunned that closed to 95 per cent of the team attended all of the Bills off season workouts. And he meant both the voluntary and mandatory ones. In the words of Whitner, most NFL teams will only get about 50 per cent of their team to show up for voluntary off season workouts. This year, the Bills had only a handful of players not make it to every workout. I wouldn’t start printing Bills playoff tickets yet; but it’s a great way to go into training camp.
Wednesday – June 18th – My oldest daughter Adriana decides to wake up at 5:45am. What a great way to start the day. It was about to get even better. On my way to cover the Argos day before the game walk through; I get nailed with a beauty speeding ticket. The fine officer clocked me doing 87 in a 60 zone. I thought I was in an 80 zone. This was a good cop and he was nice enough to knock my ticket down to 75 in a 60. No points, just money. Rich Stubler says something very revealing when talking to the media. He said he felt there was no camaraderie between the offence and the defence on the Argos the last few seasons. Some might call that a shot at Pinball; but that’s Stubler being his typical honest self. You ask the man a question, you will get an answer. It is his belief that building a tight bond between the offence and the defence is key for the Argos this year. I manage to get home without any more speeding tickets.
Thursday – June 19th – Nothing special. I was on call. Adriana “slept” in until 6:15am. Took the kids to school, walked the dog, typical stuff. Since I was “on call”, my trophy wife handed me a list of things to do the size of the New York City phone book. It got so bad at one point that I thought I was going to have to pee in an empty Tim Horton’s cup as I drove around running endless errands. That’s the only downside to being a sportscaster. When you’re home, you’re working.
Friday – June 20th – Living the dream as always. Up at 6:30am. Get the kids ready for school. Off to the gym for a quick workout. Hooked up with my man Mario, Sportsnet’s senior ENG cameraman and my personal Consigliere. We head off to talk to Rich Stubler about the Argos cuts. I love the guy but I still can’t believe he won’t name Kerry Joseph as his starting quarterback. Mario and I head back to the station as we get ready to put our Argos story together. When we walk in, someone in the newsroom tells us the Jays have fired John Gibbons and hired Cito Gaston. After we pick ourselves up off the ground and stop laughing; we realize that it’s not a joke; Cito is back managing the Jays. Because Barry Davis is being sent to Pittsburgh to cover the Jays traveling gong show, I agree to do double duty and anchor the 11pm show.
Eight days of work over nine days. Every day was different from the one before.
--Jim "Clubber" Lang
One of Sportsnet's most versatile reporters, Jim covers the Leafs beat, can be seen regularly on Connected and can be read weekly on Sportsnet.ca.
Tuesday started out as just another day at Sportsnet. Nothing huge was on the schedule, so I started working on a CFL season preview piece.
All of a sudden, word came down from the bad boys at Sportsnet that Damon Allen was retiring. Next thing I know I was working like mad to put together a Damon Allen career retrospective. Wednesday, Allen will say goodbye to the Argos and say goodbye to his remarkable 22-year football career.
Blessed with rare genetics, Allen broke into the CFL in 1985. Consider this. Allen was named the outstanding offensive player in the 1987, the 1993 and the 2004 Grey Cup. Allen threw for more yards than any other quarterback in the history of pro football.
Allen’s dad swung a hammer in the hot Southern California sun for years in order to provide a good home for his family. Allen’s dad also infused his sons Damon and Marcus with the kind of drive and work ethic necessary to make it in pro football.
Putting the piece together, it was amazing to see some of the old footage of a young Allen gliding around his offensive tackle to break off a long run. I say “glide” because that’s the only word I can come up with to describe the smooth way in which Allen used to run through CFL defences. I can still remember like it was yesterday when Allen came off the bench in the 1987 Grey Cup and led the Eskimos to an incredible win over the Argos.
After a solid stint with the BC Lions, Allen arrived in Toronto in 2003 amid whispers around the league that he was washed up. At the age of 41 he led the Argos to the Grey Cup and was named the game's top player. At the age of 42 he won his first and only Most Outstanding Player award of his career.
Approaching his 45th birthday, father time has finally caught to up the seemingly ageless Allen. I find it hard to believe the CFL will ever see another quarterback who plays as long and puts together the kind of epic numbers that Allen accumulated over two-plus decades of pro football.
I have had the pleasure to get to know Allen over the years. Of all the stories that come to mind when talking about his career, there is one that sticks out above the rest. Two nights before the 2004 Grey Cup, the Argos held a team dinner. Damon Allen stood up and looked each and every player in the eye and told them he didn’t want to win Sunday’s game for himself. He said he wanted to win that game for all of them. Receiver Michael Palmer told me next year at training camp that he got a lump in his throat when Allen gave his speech. It was a great example of the kind of leadership that Allen was never given proper credit for.
Allen is not a man or a player without fault. But no one can ever take away his incredible career numbers.
More importantly, no once can ever deny the fact that Damon Allen took his game to another level in the Grey Cup.
--Jim "Clubber" Lang
One of Sportsnet's most versatile reporters, Jim covers the Leafs beat, can be seen regularly on Connected and can be read weekly on Sportsnet.ca.
