Are you Ready for some...

Football. It was all football, all the time this past weekend and I was treated to three terrific contests live.

It started with SFU (a university team I help coach) knocking off the second-ranked University of Saskatchewan 27-17 at BC Place on Saturday. Pretty significant win for our team for a couple of reasons. First, SFU hadn't won a game since 2004, and have now won two of three to start the season to jump into a four-way tie for first place in the Canada West. Second, this was the first time the Clan have ever defeated the Huskies; getting over that mental hurdle against a perrenial powerhouse is immeasureable in terms of confidence for these kids. Especially when you consider our guys outscored the Huskies 24-1 in the 2nd half to erase a 16-3 deficit.

Later that night, I witnessed a hard-hitting affair between the Lions and Roughriders under the dome. The Leos won 28-23, the most significant thing to come out of this game was the utter disdain these clubs have for each other. Don't get me wrong; each team has a tonne of respect for the other. But these guys don't like each other and it shows. Rob Murphy and Kelly Bates were pushing and yapping with Scott Schultz and Maurice Lloyd. Tyrone Williams accused Glen January of punching him in the junk. This Saturday's rematch should be a brawl in Regina, and I can't wait to see it.

Sunday I was bookin' it down the I-5 in my speedy RX-8 in order to take in the Seahawks home opener against the 49ers. If you haven't been to an NFL game in Seattle, make plans to change that. The atmosphere is electric, the stadium is gorgeous and each game is choreographed so well from an operations standpoint. The weather was brilliant and so was JT O'Sullivan, the quarterback for my beloved 49ers. I couldn't believe I was watching this undrafted journeyman scorch the Seahawks secondary to the tune of 321 yards. Joe Nedney's winning field goal in overtime capped a perfect day in the Emerald City.
(Sidenote: Alice in Chains played with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at halftime. They collaborated on Led Zeppelin's Kashmir and it was outstanding.)

So here's what I've got for ya heading into this week:

The Jones Index

There are 27 guys playing in the NFL with the last name Jones. Here's how I rank the cream of the crop right now:
1. Felix Jones (DAL)
2 td's in his first 2 NFL games, one on a kickoff. He's a more explosive and versatile version of Julius Jones, who left Dallas in the offseason.

T-2. Julius Jones (SEA) and Thomas Jones (NYJ)
Think these guys are brothers by any chance? Each has a 100+ yard game this season and each has scored 1 touchdown. The scary part is they are separated by exactly 1 yard rushing through the first tow weeks of the season.

4. Walter Jones (SEA)
Cleared the way for Julius to rack up 127 yards and didn't allow a sack.

5. James Jones (GB)
First TD catch of the season gets James into the Top 5.


Fancy the Freshmen

Looks like a trio of rookies is going to get an extended look at Canucks training camp. Cody Hodgson has been the apple of Mike Gillis' eye since he drafted the 18 year-old in June. Hodgson stood out during prospects' camp and will be given every opportunity to crack the lineup. Same goes for Michael Grabner, although Grabner's a triggerman while Hodgson is all about the dishes. Third on the list of young guns to watch at camp is Jannik Hansen, who the Canucks have been waiting on since that impressive debut in the 2007 playoffs. Hansen was talked up heading into last year's camp, but broke his thumb and spent the rest of the season trying to thumb a ride back to Vancouver.
The interesting speculation has to do with who gets the boot if those youngsters can crack the roster. Gillis has barely whispered Taylor Pyatt's name during the offseason, so I wonder how high he is on the former triplet. Matt Pettinger's name has also been conspicuously absent from discussion, although he's a more natural fit on the 3rd line and could wind up playing with Kesler and Burrows.
Defensively, it looks like Lukas Krajicek's days are numbers. Maybe that's just how I see it, but Gillis said he wanted a tougher team and that's not exactly Krajicek's forte. Rob Davison appears to be the guy brought in to replace Krajicek, as he plays the rough and tumble game that Gillis is looking for. Also keep an eye on Kevin Bieksa as he is potential trade bait. I really like Bieksa's game and hope for the sake of Canucks' fans they keep him, but he's the only top four d-man without a no-trade clause and the Canucks are probably confident that Edler can slide into that slot.

Fall is in the Air...

So here's the summer in a nutshell. Got married, took a bit of time off, started coaching football at SFU. That pretty much sums up the last two months other than slaving away at my job - yeah, I know, it's pretty demanding to talk for a living.

But now, my sports senses have been revitalized. It's September. CFL's in full swing, college football is started and the NFL kicks off. Throw in baseball's stretch drive and NHL training camps and you've got reason to be invigorated if you have any sort of sports pulse whatsoever. Here's what I know right now:

Showtime

With all due respect to the Giants and Redskins scrimmage, the NFL kicks off in earnest on Sunday. Brett Favre makes his Jets' debut in Miami, Aaron Rodgers begins filming The Replacement in Green Bay, Tom Brady starts his rehab from last year's Super Bowl loss against a JV team from Kansas City, while NFL Hollywood (aka the Dallas Cowboys) visits the Dawg Pound in Cleveland (no, that's not where Michael Vick is incarcerated). The best thing about the NFL is that you can make a solid case as to why 22 of the 32 teams have legimate reason to be thinking postseason. Here's who I'm picking to make the playoffs:

AFC NFC
1. New England (13-3) 1. Dallas (14-2)
2. San Diego (12-4) 2. New Orleans (11-5)
3. Jacksonville (11-5) 3. Green Bay (11-5)
4. Pittsburgh (11-5) 4. Seattle (10-6)
5. Indianapolis (11-5) 5. Philadelphia (10-6)
6. Denver (9-7) 6. Carolina (10-6)

I know there are way trendier picks like Minnesota, Buffalo and Cleveland to consider, but I'm playiing a couple of hunches on this one. As for my guys in San Francisco, the 49ers will be better than people expect them to be, but it won't be enough for a playoff spot. I'm saying they win between 6-8 games and are back in the hunt for the postseason in 2009.

Scrambled Dave
Somebody needs to take the ball out of Dave Dickenson's hands. I've trusted this guy's judgment over the facts for the past couple of seasons, but he's been speaking from his heart instead of his head. Dickenson has been placed on the 9-game injured list with post-concussion symptoms following some big hits against the Eskimos on Monday. That outing marked the first real game action for Dave since last November. If you get concussed AGAIN in less than a half of football after resting for nearly ten months, you are not fit to play no matter how much you love the game. If Dicksenson had absolutely no life outside of football and was doomed to wander the earth in vain after his playing days, I might understand him playing until he couldn't stand up anymore. But we're talking about one of the brightest and most thoughtful guys I've ever met in professional sports, and he's got a young a family to boot. His brother is a coach in Calgary. Craig, take away his jersey, please.

Sundin = Pipe Dream
How many different ways does Mats Sundin have to say he's not coming to Vancouver without actually saying it? I can't believe that there are actually some fans who believe this is even a possibility (if any of you are reading this, I have some investment opportunities at a little firm called Enron to talk to you about). Mike Gillils made his best pitch to get Sundin and the big Swede said "no". He said it very politely, and the words were much more complimentary, but it ain't happenin'. Expect a team with much younger faces than you saw last year which should resutl in more excitement if not wins.