Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
One expression I have never liked is when someone refers to something as being a “learning experience.”
There’s a lot of range in that term. One of the more double edged terms out there if you ask me. Studying Algebra is a learning experience, of course so is ordering the Surf & Turf Special at a strip club. In both cases you’ll learn something all right. We use that term to help justify when we have done something really stupid. I once was engaged after knowing a girl for about six weeks. When it inevitably ended in disaster everyone said, “Hey it was a learning experience.” No it wasn’t. I didn’t learn a thing. I knew it was trouble going in, I figured it would all work out and it didn’t.
Which brings me to the point of that mini rant … Cleo Lemon’s interception at the end of the third quarter of Toronto’s eventual loss to Montreal. Anyone who watched that game knew that was the turning point of the game. The Argonauts were a short field goal away from forcing the Alouettes to need two touchdowns to win.
Instead Lemon held on to the ball too long, tried to make a play where there was none and gave all the momentum to Montreal after dominating them for two straight quarters. That one pass ended any chances for a home field playoff game, it gave Montreal back their mojo heading into the playoffs and puts into serious doubt Lemon’s future with this team.
Does that sound like an overreaction on my part? Maybe. But at this point in the season, with so much on the line you just don’t make that throw.
What happens next for Cleo will go one of two ways. If he continues to make similar mistakes he’ll be let go sooner rather than later. The flip side is that he will finally realize that he shouldn’t try to do everything himself and learn to play within the flow of the game. The problem with Cleo is he’s not good enough to “do too much” and carry his team. Henry Burris, Darian Durant and Anthony Calvillo these guys can get away with that. They can make the cardinal mistake of trying to do too much and win games consistently. They have the skill set and experience.
So for better or worse this will be a learning experience for Cleo Lemon.
Now since I like poking fun of Ben Cahoon … here is my weekly Ben Cahoon cheap shot that is completely unwarranted since the guy is a class act:
“Were not used to seeing Ben Cahoon go deep” Courtesy of Rod Black. Of course that’s code for you’re really, really slow.
Speaking of people speaking about Cahoon … a quick message to all you kids of legal drinking age. If you’re looking for a great drinking game while watching the Alouettes play a meaningless game next week may I suggest you take a shot every time someone on the broadcast crew mentions Ben Cahoon when he has nothing to do with what’s happening on the field? Of course you must make sure you are in a safe place and have secured a designated driver or some over form of safe transportation home.
Looking back, the best moment of that game may have been Chad Owens’ 63 yard punt return with just over 11 minutes to go in the second. Not so much for the spectacular return but rather for Chip Cox’s tackle of Owens. Cox just flashed out of nowhere to somehow catch Owens. The best part was Chad popping up and giving Cox an ‘atta boy’ hug for catching him. You could see Cox smiling right before TSN went to break. A nice moment.
Unfortunately that loss made the Tiger Cats / Stampeders game less compelling. Hamilton knew they had secured a home playoff date. As a McMaster Grad the best thing I took from Calgary’s victory was the return to the playing field for Jesse Lumsden. Here’s hoping he can stay healthy and contribute for the Stampeders deep into the playoffs. The CFL is just that much more fun with a healthy Lumsden.
I think all CFL fans owe a big thank you to the B.C. Lions for turning around their season and giving us two meaningful games to finish the regular season.
Finally if you’ll bear with me a moment I have a quick basketball thought that should, I hope, tie in with the CFL. I wrote about this early in the season but it bears repeating with the ‘Spurned Lover Bowl having taken place between the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last year it would have been at least a mildly interesting game with Chris Bosh taking on Lebron James. This year it’s a battle to see who can finish with a better lottery position.
But with Lebron and Bosh bolting for Miami and other stars (Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul) biding their time until they can leave for more desirable destinations the league is becoming sharply divided. On the one side you have about 6-8 cities where the league’s elite want to play (Miami, New York, Los Angeles and … okay maybe it’s not as high as eight) and every other city where the collective fan base is just waiting for their franchise player to depart while their team becomes more and more irrelevant. Throw in an impending lockout and being a NBA fan is well, kind of depressing.
That’s one of the reasons I love the CFL. You just don’t hear about high profile players demanding to be traded to bigger markets like Toronto or cooler places to party like Montreal. In some ways this league is like my sports security blanket, my comfort food, heck you could say they’re my safe word in some sort of freaky sexual relationship … okay maybe I should have stopped my analogies one sooner.
Clearly I’m still scarred by Lebron’s decision, the Raptors bleak hopes for 2010/11 and the league as a whole. At least for the next five weeks I have the end of the regular season and the playoffs to keep me going.
