Crucial End of Season Run Unseen by tens of thousands

**Edit: To the credit of the organization, they did lift the blackout LATE last week, although some people said they watched it fine. This week TELUS TV did not have the game until the second quarter, late, and Starchoice customers did..... All in all this is a matter of someone in management not getting the right information out in time---not a good excuse, especially two weeks in a row.***

There are few explanations for what's transpiring in the city that will host the 2009 Grey Cup which incidentally lines the pockets of owners with an extra game of 200 dollar tickets X 45,000 = over 1 million dollars extra.

For the second week in a row the Stampeders have blacked out the home game on national coverage, the first time they've blacked out in over a year, and the second time in as many weeks. Last week the team issued an explanation, not an apology, on why the game was blacked out which you can read here.

The reason? They didn't sell 90% of the seats. Why didn't they sell? Because the organization has ADDED Over 5000 seats. That means, last week the home game was the third highest attended home game of the season yet the game was blacked out because not enough seats for the NEW number were sold.


Read the rest of this entry »

The Stampeders are partnering with the Salvation army for this year's annual coat-drive. Bring a new or slightly used coat to the game and help someone stay warm this winter.

You'll probably have to go to the game since it's going to be blacked out as per the new seats at the Stadium and last week's debacle......

Stamps Ownership Add Seats Counting them For Blackout

Verdict? Unprofessional. This is a type of summer intern gaff that we expect under the Feterik regime, not today.

In a previous post game post you can read my thoughts on why the Stampeders may have made the call. Here were my options:

Turns out the answer to WHY is number four.

1) Sell outs aren't required to lift the black out, and I recall this year a low turnout for a frigid home game, maybe 25 000, that was still on TV? Reported attendance was 38, 600, the THIRD highest attended game of the season BUT the blackout wasn't immediately lifted.

2) Today the game was against the Roughriders, always a sell out. Albeit it was a 130 start, the fact it wasn't sold out suggests in the least it was close.

3) The Stampeders brass have ADDED 5000 seats. Are they now calculating black out figures based on an additional 5000 worth of seats they've put up for the Grey Cup? Without those seats the game is a SELL OUT. A monumental bad decision by ownership and Stamps fans can expect never to see another game on TV with the new seats.

The official statement by the Stamps: Read the rest of this entry »

Referees Try Their Best to Screw Great Game: Stampeders 44 - Roughriders 44

For the first time in a year, in a time when blackouts have been a rarity, the Calgary Stampeders organization blacked out a crucial game with playoff implications. The reason? Games are blacked out if the organization doesn't hit a certain level of ticket sales (doesn't have to be sold out), so apparently that 'level' wasn't met. Too bad, it was an awesome game that nobody saw.

****Apparently the game did come on but who sits around waiting for a football game to show up on TV hours later? Most people just forgot about the game and went and did something else. A professional organization doesn't make lame mistakes like forgetting to call TSN to life a blackout. Stupid.****

What's worse, is if you were at the game, it looked sold out except for the NEW seats that were added for the Grey Cup.

Those down for an early afternoon game in the house with the buddies should have gone instead of watching at home. The controversial decision raises a few questions considering some estimates were 40 000 tickets sold....

1) Sell outs aren't required to lift the black out, and I recall this year a low turnout for a frigid home game, maybe 25 000, that was still on TV? Reported attendance was 38, 600, the THIRD highest attended game of the season BUT the blackout wasn't immediately lifted.

2) Today the game was against the Roughriders, always a sell out. Albeit it was a 130 start, the fact it wasn't sold out suggests in the least it was close.

4) The Stampeders brass have ADDED 5000 seats. Are they now calculating black out figures based on an additional 5000 worth of seats they've put up for the Grey Cup? Without those seats the game is a SELL OUT. A monumental bad decision by ownership and Stamps fans can expect never to see another game on TV with the new seats.

5) Someone from the game tell me if it was really empty or if this was a dumb decision.....

Back to the game that nobody saw but was awesome in its own right.

Back and Forth Battle Setting up For Great Playoff Clash

Read the rest of this entry »

Jamal Richardson this Years Clabourne

Montreal lost in the Grey Cup last year and part of the fire that burned for Calgary was started by trash talk from Avon Coburne. If the Stamps will repeat this year they'll use Jamal Richardson and his loud mouth as fodder for the dressing room billboard. The dude caught three touchdowns in the first half alone and made a point tell the TV screen what he thought of Calgary and the West......

The potential Grey Cup match-up for two years in a row had its second regular season installment. In the first clash Montreal stomped the Stamps in the season opener. Calgary sought to redeem themselves in Montreal but got off to a similar start as they did in Game 1.

First possession for Montreal. Long pass, complete. First possession for Calgary, Henry Burris tried long pass, goes short, interception. Great start < -- sarcasm.

Montreal Head Referee Gives Gift after Gift


Read the rest of this entry »

The re-match between the Calgary Stampeders and Tiger-Cats had the home-team seeking revenge after their poorest showing two weeks ago in Hamilton. Calgary sought to improve their record and grasp first place alone in the West division with a win. It wasn't going to be easy in the cold weather but Calgary had something to prove.

The first half went much like the first half two weeks ago for the offence. Total offence was less than 100 yards as receivers and QB couldn't find any consistent click.


Read the rest of this entry »

In 2008 the Calgary defense struggled early on defence due to the number of rookies in the line up, particularly at the halfback position. In fact, that was probably their weakest component throughout the season. Not much changed at the start of 2009 with Calgary introducing new linebackers, a 3 new defensive linemen, and of course, new halfbacks.

Now we're past the mid-way point in the season, couple that with injuries, and 80% of the defense looks different from day one. And much like last year, the weakest component remains the halfback position. At the start the linebackers were in desperate need of help against the run but new additions in the middle have helped. At halfback the two starters at the beginning of the year, Tate and Amadi, are now out. The experiment continued with new additions Eubanks, who has performed well, and tonight Dean Webb who was torched every other play for monster gains and touchdowns all night long.

Eventually continous changes are going to kill this team, plain and simple. And why do we have to start rookies in the middle of the season, was Amadi really that bad? Is finding quality halfbacks that hard? Or maybe we have some players within who can step up.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Calgary Stampeders have acquired receivers Romby Bryant and Arjei Franklin from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a deal for receivers Jabari Arthur and Titus Ryan, plus defensive lineman Odell Willis.

Calgary also gets a third-round pick in 2010 and the rights to an unnamed negotiation-list player, while fourth and sixth round picks in 2010 also went to Winnipeg.

You expected Calgary to deal with the loss of Thelwell and Rambo no closer to returning. here is the break down of the trade from our perspective.
Read the rest of this entry »