This is a profile on Winnipeg parkour leader Tyler Crichton for our Broadcast Journalism class at Red River College. Please check it out and let us know what you think!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The Perfect Start
It was a great night at the stadium yesterday. The Bombers looked great and crushed Hamilton. If they keep playing like this we might finally be able to have a team we aren't embarassed of.... Although it would be nice if the press box had air conditioning!
Here is my game report from the official website.
Buck Pierce arrived in Winnipeg carrying the hopes of a fan base desperate for a top-level quarterback. Pierce certainly lived up to the lofty expectations in an impressive 49-29 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Bombers’ season opener on Friday night.
The former B.C. Lion went 17 for 25 in throwing for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also put concerns over his concussion problems aside as he ran for 89 yards including one dazzling 30-yard scamper and a gutsy 13 yard touchdown run that had the over 26,000 strong at Canad Inns Stadium on their feet.
Perhaps most importantly, Pierce genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself out on the field after years of injury problems and disappointment out west. Fist pumps and chest bumps followed almost every big play, as the Bombers’ quest for an elite signal caller appears to be over.
Pierce did have some help along the way as Terrence Edwards tore the Ti-Cat secondary apart for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns as he channeled Bomber legend Milt Stegall who was honoured at half time. Fred Reid was also solid; rushing for 98 yards on just 13 carries.
Despite their impressive performance in producing almost 472 yards, the offense wasn’t the only story for the Bombers.
Amongst all the talk about Pierce leading up to this season, it was almost easy to forget about the defense. The Bomber “D” served up a reminder of what they can do as they turned in a solid performance as well.
The defense held Hamilton to just 205 yards of total offense while sacking Kevin Glenn 6 times and getting after him all night. They also forced 4 turnovers. Linebacker Joe Lobendahn lead the way with 8 tackles and 2 sacks while newcomer Brandon Stewart had 5 tackles from the secondary.
If there was one black mark on the victory it was special teams. Marcus Thigpen ran the opening kickoff back 93 yards for a Ti-Cat touchdown and then took an Alexis Serna missed field goal back 118 yards to the house for an encore. Serna himself was a bit shaky in going 3 for 6 on his field goal tries but did make all 5 of his extra points.
While it wasn’t a flawless performance, it was a solid showing and new head coach Paul LaPolice can be pleased to pick up his first career CFL win as a head coach, getting a new era of Bomber football off to a positive start.
For Pierce, the victory and his gutsy play go along way towards proving to Bomber fans that he can be the elite quarterback they’ve been missing and showing the rest of the league that his injury problems are a thing of the past.
The Bombers will look to continue their winning ways when they host the Argonauts on Friday, July 7th right back home at Canad Inns Stadium.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Bombers Game Preview - The Regular Season Begins
Here is my take on the Bombers regular season opener against Hamilton. I smell a playoff place for the Blue this year...
After weeks of two-a-day practices, cramped media scrums and, of course, cuts, the new look Winnipeg Blue Bombers finally get the chance to play football for real as they kickoff the new CFL season on Friday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Bombers will take to the field eager to put the bad memories of last season behind them and get off to a good start under new coach Paul LaPolice. LaPolice, who will be working his first CFL game a head coach, spoke like a true signal caller in saying he isn’t concerned about the expectations on him or his team. He just wants them to go out and execute.
“Of course it’s exciting for me, but I’m more focused on the task ahead and putting together the best game plan in order to come away with the victory. It’s a long season and we have to be ready,” he said.
The game will feature a number of debuting players, including starting quarterback Buck Pierce, as the Bombers roster underwent a makeover following last year’s disappointing 7-11 campaign. Despite the new faces, the Bombers will still be lead by key returnees on both sides of the ball.
Many of those returning players still feel the sting of last years season ending loss to Hamilton that put to bed any hopes the Bombers had of sneaking into the playoffs. Defensive back Jovon Johnson says that defeat, capped off by Hamilton’s now infamous boat celebration, makes this game personal.
“For those of us that were here last year, we remember what Hamilton did to us in the last game of the season. We aren’t going to let that happen this year. Not in our house,” he said.
Meanwhile, Running Back Fred Reid says this group has to put last season behind them and make sure they pick up the victory against a key division rival.
“We have to play these guys so much in the first chunk of the schedule so we want to make sure they dread every single game. We’re going to come out hard and show them what we’re made of this year,” said Reid.
The visiting Tiger-Cats will be aiming to build on last years promising season which lead to their first playoff birth since 2004.
They will be lead by former Bomber quarterback Kevin Glenn who looked solid in the Ti-Cats lopsided preseason defeat of Winnipeg last week at Ivor Wynne. Glenn will take charge of an offense that features bonafide stars at running back and receiver in DeAndra’ Cobb and Arland Bruce III.
While much of the focus will be on the two offenses, defense should play a key role in this one as the Tiger-Cat “D” finished near the top of most main statistical categories last season, including finishing 2nd in both points allowed and touchdowns allowed. The Bombers defense will hope to win the turnover battle as they were tops in the CFL in interceptions last year.
The game kicks off at 7 P.M. at Canad Inns Stadium. If you missed out on tickets, the game will air on TSN and can be heard on CJOB 680.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Stay Tuned
Hey guys, hope you liked those other articles. Stay tuned for lots more and for my back catalogue of articles from the Projector, the school paper here at Red River College where I am the sports editor.
Also, the reason it says "posted by Manitoba Soccer Association" is because that is my account name on my other blog promoting the MSA. Follow that one to. It's going to be big.
http://manitobasoccer.blogspot.com/
Keith
Tennis Manitoba Article #2
This is the second article I wrote for Tennis Manitoba. It is also being looked at to feature in some newspapers here in Winnipeg. The article looks at an international caliber tennis tournament that is happening right here this summer. Exciting stuff!
“Having an ITF here will definitely be nice since I won't need to worry about the hassle with hotels, flights and meals,” she said.
“When I am away travelling for tournaments it can often take time to adjust to the new courts and get comfortable with the surroundings, so I am excited to be able to play a big tournament without having to worry about all the things I would in a different city,” she added.
The tournament, sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation, aims to provide young players from our province with the opportunity to test themselves against some top quality juniors from a number of different countries such as India, Hong Kong, Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
The event will be Manitoba’s first international tennis tournament since the 1999 Pan Am Games and act as the third leg of a western Canadian “tour” for the ITF, which will also feature tournaments in Vancouver and Edmonton.
The tournament is open to both under-18 boys and girls with singles and doubles categories. For those failing to qualify for the main draw, satellite tournaments will be held to ensure that those traveling don’t leave without getting a change to play.
Organizer Bruce Waschuk said the tournament itself was set up as a North American affair before it grew into something bigger.
“The tournament here was really our chance to bring together some top junior players from Canada and then from the States and it just so happens that we have close to 20 different countries,” he said.
Waschuk said the chance for our players to have a tournament like this here at home is one that top players and potential entrants alike shouldn’t take for granted.
“This could be your one chance to play in an international event and do it in your own backyards and be able to tell your friends. It’s a chance that most players don’t get in their lives,” he said.
Evann Waschuk agrees with her dad, and said she’s looking forward to the challenge of playing the best.
“Like any other big tournament it’s a great chance to test myself against other players, especially since there will be many international players I haven't played or seen before,” added the Vincent Massey Collegiate student.
Having an ITF event is clearly seen as a major step forward for junior level tennis in Manitoba as it will give aspiring players a chance to watch high level, international play, something Bruce feels that prospective players just don’t get to see on a regular enough basis to grow the game.
“Young kids, when they aspire to be an athlete, can see football all over and go and watch hockey but what does a tennis player look like? That’s what we want to show them,” he said.
Waschuk added that putting these talented players on display to inspire the next generation of tennis youngsters to get involved with the game is what would really make the tournament a success in the long run.
“We hope it’s an event that some kids will come and watch and think someday I can maybe play this event and then boost tennis in Manitoba. That’s the big goal.”
Registration for the tournament runs until June 22nd and requires an International Player Identification Number, which can be obtained through the ITF website, which does require a registration fee that can be paid online.
For more information on registration and the tournament in general visit JoinTheTour.com or the official Tennis Manitoba website.
Tennis Manitoba Article #1
I am working as a freelance reporter for Tennis Manitoba over this summer. This was the first article I wrote spotlighting a junior tournament here in Winnipeg. The organizer has some interesting views on tennis here...
“It was excellent. High participation, lots of younger players which is always the right way to start,” he said.
The tournament, which has been running for nearly a decade, featured under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 competitions for both singles and doubles in boys. The same went for the girls save for the under-16 category, which had to be cancelled because of a lack of participation.
Despite this setback, the tournament featured 73 entrants, an impressive tally which is above average for tournaments around this time of year according to Kylar.
The event offered valuable qualifying points towards the provincial standings, which can eventually be used to gain entrance into the Prairie Regionals featuring the top four players each from Manitoba and Saskatchewan for the different age ranges. From there, the top 3 overall will move on to the prestigious national championships.
The two big winners from this year’s event were Kevin Kylar, who won the under-16 title as well as the under-18 for both singles and doubles with partner Mickey Rogers and Earinpreet Hirkewal who won the under-12 and under-14 championships.
Kylar said the players were amongst Manitoba’s premier up and comers.
“Well Kevin is my son so I know a lot about him. He is ranked number one in under-16 and number three in under-18. They haven’t updated the national standings but I’m sure he would move into the top 20 there,” he said.
The other kid [Hirkewal] is also really good. He’s ranked number one provincially in both the categories he won so he is definitely playing well to,” he added.
Kylar said that despite the success of his tournament, he did have some concerns about junior tennis in our province.
“Well, I think the system isn’t perfect yet. There is too much of a discrepancy between the levels they’re playing at and therefore the marginal ones are hesitant to enter unless you give them a chance to get in and not get clobbered,” he said
“Overall tennis is up but competitive junior tennis is down,” he added.
Despite this, Kylar said the number of young people he sees playing the game is a definite plus and with numbers like we saw at his tournament, the sport may well be on the rise here in Manitoba.
For his part, Kylar said that while it may not be as competitive, participation in tennis is still strong.
“I’m a tennis pro and I see close to 200 kids participating in the winter lessons. There’s lots of kids playing for sure,” he said.
Next up for the juniors was the World of Water Junior Open at Kildonan Tennis Club, which took place this weekend, and the Tuxedo Junior Open happening from June 10-14.
Despite this, Kylar said the number of young people he sees playing the game is a definite plus and with numbers like we saw at his tournament, the sport may well be on the rise here in Manitoba.
For his part, Kylar said that while it may not be as competitive, participation in tennis is still strong.
“I’m a tennis pro and I see close to 200 kids participating in the winter lessons. There’s lots of kids playing for sure,” he said.
Next up for the juniors was the World of Water Junior Open at Kildonan Tennis Club, which took place this weekend, and the Tuxedo Junior Open happening from June 10-14.
Blue Bombers Game Report - Preseason Week 2
This is the report from the preseason game against Hamilton. It was featured on the official Bombers website.
After the optimism surrounding their impressive win over Montreal last week, the Bombers took a step back with a disappointing 38-20 loss to the Hamilton Tiger Cats on Sunday afternoon. While losing is never ideal, the coaching staff will be more focused on the performances they saw from certain players as they prepare to finalize their roster this week before the real games begin.
On offense, the Bombers simply didn’t move the ball with the same fluidity as we saw a week ago, but they did get a solid performance from Steven Jyles. Jyles did his best to spark a quarterback controversy on the back of a 9 for 14, 152 yard outing where he also threw a touchdown and used his legs to good effect. Most impressive was his chemistry with young receiver Terence Jeffers-Harris who went a long way to ensuring his spot on the roster with 3 catches for 79 yards and a touchdown including one dazzling 53-yard march down the sidelines where he showed the speed and strength required to be a successful pass catcher in the CFL.
The young receivers were the big story for the Bomber offense all afternoon as Chris Davis and Canadian Cory Watson chipped in with a combined 7 catches for just under 100 yards as well and looked to put pressure on veterans like Adarius Bowman and Terrence Edwards who had a couple uncharacteristic drops between them.
Defensively, it was no secret that the Bombers were closely monitoring the performance by their young defensive backs competing for the empty spots in the secondary left by the departing Lenny Walls and Jonathan Hefney. Newcomers Jerry-Ralph Jules and Donald Brown Jr. both staked their claims to fill the void. Jules lead the defense with 7 tackles while Brown Jr. had 5 stops and an acrobatic interception.
Despite the many bright spots, there were a number of questions left unanswered for the Bomber coaches who saw their offense under projected starter Buck Pierce struggle badly to move the ball and pick up just one first down in almost 18 minutes of action.
There were no such struggles for former Bomber pivot Kevin Glenn who threw for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns in his one half of action to get some revenge on the team that let him go.
Glenn picked apart a Blue Bomber defense that struggled in giving up over 500 yards of total offense and failing to generate a pass rush for most of the afternoon. Marquay McDaniel, Dave Stala and Arland Bruce III all had big days through the air for the tabbies who finally look to be heading in the right direction after years of wallowing near the bottom of the CFL’s East Division.
For Paul LaPolice, some tough decisions will need to be made as he trims his roster down for the Thursday deadline. He can be confident he has the players on offense to play the system that was so successful for him last year in Saskatchewan as the Bombers still managed to gain just under 300 yards despite not looking their best.
On defense, things didn’t look as promising and many of those who played in Hamilton may have seen their last action in blue and gold as the Ti-Cats moved the ball too easily and starters like Doug Brown and Ike Charlton will be eager to get back into the fold.
The Bombers won’t need to wait long to get another shot at Hamilton as they open the regular season against this very same Tiger Cats squad on July 2nd at Canad Inns Stadium, hoping they can turn the tables and get their regular season off to a perfect start.
Blue Bombers Game Preview - Preseason Week 2
This is the preview for the Bombers second preseason game of the 2010 season. This time they took on Hamilton. It featured on The Bombers official site and on CFL.ca
Most eyes were firmly fixed on the play of the Bombers pair of new quarterbacks in last week’s preseason opener against Montreal. With their solid performance against the defending Grey Cup Champions, the focus now shifts to the Winnipeg defense, where a number of battles are being waged for spots at key positions ahead of Sunday’s game in Hamilton.
The competition for places is particularly fierce in the secondary. The area was one of the strengths for the club last season but key starters Lenny Walls and Jonathan Hefney have departed for Edmonton and the Detroit Lions respectively. The pair combined for 11 interceptions last year and leave some new faces scrapping to fill the void.
Guys like Brandon Stewart, LaVar Glover and Donald Brown Jr. may not be household names but have impressed with their hard work and play throughout camp. For Stewart, the most important thing is not losing sight of the task at hand as he tries to crack the roster.
“I have to keep playing my game and continue to do my job and make some plays. After that, it’s out of my hands,” said the former Stampeder.
Kavis Reed came to the Bombers from Saskatchewan with Paul LaPolice to act as Defensive Coordinator. He said this game is the last big chance for the defensive backs to show what they can do before cuts need to be made.
“We knew we were going to get a battle in the secondary and that’s exactly what we’ve got. We’re looking for one or two guys to stand out this week and make us think, hey, I belong back here,” he said.
The Bomber defense as a whole will likely come up against former Bomber pivot Kevin Glenn, who is expected to lead the Tabbie’s attack this year. The secondary will be tested by an improving Hamilton receiving corps lead by import Drisan James along with Canadians Dave Stala and Chris Bauman. Former Bomber Arland Bruce III did not play in Hamilton’s preseason opener against Toronto but may also get a taste of action as well.
The Tiger Cats won two of the three meetings between the two squads last year but Bomber Head Coach Paul LaPolice was pleased with what he saw last week and hopes for more of the same on Sunday afternoon.
“We’re happy with the way we played last week, but there are always things you can do to improve your game – especially in preseason. I think we’ve addressed a lot of those things this past week and we’re looking to build off what we were able to do well against Montreal,” he said.
Kickoff is at noon Winnipeg time on Sunday at Ivor Wynne Stadium. The game will be shown live on Shaw TV and can also be heard on CJOB 680.
Blue Bombers Game Report - Preseason Week 1
This is the report on the Bombers first preseason game of 2010. The new look team looked really good in hammering Montreal. It was featured on the Bombers website.
After years of struggling to find a consistent quarterback, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers suddenly look to have a few good ones on their hands. The Bomber offense moved the ball like a well-oiled machine as they got the Paul LaPolice era off to a great start with a convincing 34-10 win over the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday afternoon at Canad Inns Stadium.
Buck Pierce was very impressive in his Blue Bombers debut, leading the home team to touchdowns on each of their opening two drives. The first was a marathon 11 play 104-yard march culminating in a four-yard run by Fred Reid. Pierce capped off the second possession with a 26-yard toss to speedster Brock Ralph in the corner of the endzone. The former Lion was 6 for 10 for 105 yards in just over a quarter of action but perhaps the real story was what he did with his legs. Pierce showed no fear in pulling the ball down and running, including one 21-yard scamper where he refused to slide despite his well documented concussion problems. The move will surely do no harm in endearing him to Bomber fans desperate for a quarterback to get behind.
Steven Jyles took over for Pierce at the start of the second quarter with a tough act to follow but promptly lead the Bombers on a 68-yard scoring drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Daryl Stephenson. The Bombers should have had another score when Jyles’ perfect pass hit Bowman in the end zone only to have the ball slide through his hands and fall incomplete to end another good possession.
Even Adam DiMichele got in on the act as he lead the Bombers on an 82-yard drive capped off by Emmanuel Marc’s short run. Marc had 49 total yards on the drive and was the real star of the second half for the Bombers after entering in replace of Reid. He had 8 rushes for 46 yards and two catches for 38.
Alexis Serna completed the near perfect day for the Bombers scoring-wise by making both of his field goal attempts including a 48 yarder to cap things off in the fourth quarter.
While the offense was the big story, the Bomber defense played their part as well, holding the Alouettes to just 98 yards of total offense in the first half and 222 for the game. Bernard Hicks lead the way with five tackles, while defensive end Phillip Hunt had three tackles and added a sack. The Alouettes did get a decent performance from former Florida Gators pivot Chris Leak as he competes with Adrian McPherson for the backup job in Montreal. Leak played all of the final three quarters, threw for 181 yards and was one of the few bright spots for an Als team who struggled on both sides of the ball for much of the game in the absence of many key veterans, most notably quarterback Anthony Calvillo.
Despite their struggles, the defending champion Alouettes will likely not put too much stock into the loss and feel confident they can get back on track once their starters re-enter the fold.
Meanwhile, the Bombers and new coach LaPolice can take many positives from a game where they looked better on both sides of the ball than they had at many times throughout last season and appear to have moved towards solving their well-documented quarterbacking issues.
The two teams meet again on August 19th, this time at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal and with real points on the line.
Blue Bombers Game Preview - Preseason Week 1
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers aim to put the memories of last year’s disappointing 7-11 record behind them as they kick off the 2010 CFL season with their first pre-season game against the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes on Sunday at Canad Inns Stadium.
The Bombers will feature a number of new faces after the house cleaning performed by new Vice-President and General Manager of Football Operations Joe Mack. The biggest change comes at the head coaching position where Mike Kelly has been replaced by former Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice.
LaPolice says while the games don’t count in the standings, the preseason is an important time and, as always, getting a victory is the ultimate goal.
“Preseason games are good because it gives us an opportunity to evaluate guys and try different players in different situations. Of course, football is still football so we’re excited to take the field and would ultimately still like to come out with a win,” he said.
While much of the focus will be on the new Bomber’s boss, the spotlight will also be shining bright on the two new quarterbacks brought in by the club in the offseason. A problem position for years now, the team will hope one of Buck Pierce or Steven Jyles can step in and fill the void left by the departing Michael Bishop.
For his part, Pierce says he’s more excited to simply play a game than worry about competing for the top job after missing much of last season with concussion problems.
This is a preview of the Bombers first preseason game in 2010. It was written for the official Winnipeg Blue Bombers website and was also featured on CFL.ca
“I’m excited just to get out there and play football again. I feel comfortable with what we’ve done as a team so far in camp and I’m ready to go,” said the former Lions pivot.
Jyles – who came to Winnipeg from the rival Roughriders just like his head coach – sees the game as a chance to show the coaching staff what he can do.
“You can only show coaches so much during practice and the rest comes when they see you during an actual game. I’m looking forward to showing the coaches what I’m capable of doing on Sunday,” he said.
The Alouettes come in off the back of their dramatic Grey Cup win last year over LaPolice’s Roughriders and will be aiming to start their march towards another title. They will be playing without veteran centre Bryan Chiu, who retired last week after a stellar career where he made seven CFL All-Star teams and played all of his 13 seasons with the team. Montreal won three of the four meetings between the two teams last season.
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