Limb and a prayer

I am nothing if not bold.

And not bold in the corporate advertising sense when they use the word to describe a new steaksauce's taste alongside the word "zesty." Because, let's be honest: I may be bold, but I am far from zesty.

(I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Bold in the sense of predictions. Understanding whole-heartedly that even if I can brag about boldness in my predictions, I rarely get to brag about success in my predictions. That's the thing, if you step far enough out on a limb, you rarely get a chance to come back and talk gleefully about it.

But here's a few I have entertained in the past few days.

Bold Prediction No.1: Ricky Williams will not lead the CFL in rushing this season.
Bold Prediction No.2: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will finish 11-7 this season.
Bold Prediction No.3: On June 23, 2006, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in their regular-season home debut, will hold Ricky Williams to under 100 yards rushing.

Now, the latter of the first two is decidedly less bold than the former, but not all that lacking in brashness when you consider how immersed in suckitude the Bombers were in 2005. I think 11-7 has a nice ring to it and I'd certainly be pleased with that mark. I will be seeing the Blue in their first regular-season action on Friday night at Winnipeg Stadium (we don't have to use the corporate name, you know), and I will form a report on first glimpse from that. In the meantime, I'll reserve judgment on Nos.2 and 3 except to say that I'm encouraged by what is in camp this season.

But as for No.1, it's a prognostication that many people would utterly disagree with, evidenced by the lambasting I took when I shook hands on a 10-dollar bet of the like.

So here is my theory.

Ricky Williams is indeed a tremendous talent and would likely be Pro Bowl material in the NFL this season all things being equal. Let the rest of this argument not go on without understanding that I acknowledge the aforementioned's potential to completely annihilate this league in his one kick at it.

I just don't think it's going to happen that way.

I'll fully acknowledge that perhaps 50 per cent of my logic stems from my just-now-devised Theorem of Mass Hysteria that says, paraphrased: If the entire population is convinced it's going to happen, be prepared that it won't. The most recent proof of this came in the NFL Draft (re: Bush, Reggie).

Are we not underestimating the talent of the defensive players in the CFL? And are we not overlooking the very different styles of play from what Ricky has gotten used to and what he'll experience in the CFL?

The CFL has always had this air of inferiority hanging over it whenever an NFL star comes north. And you know what happens when they get here? Usually not much.

Jim Zorn, who's on the Seattle Seahawks wall of fame for God-sake, was a complete bust; Albert Connell breezed through with hardly anyone noticing, Dexter Manley was as expected (old and useless) and, Lawrence Phillips — with arguably the same athletic pedigree as Williams — had a measure of success but was far from becoming the historical back he hastily christened himself when he arrived.

This is where I see Ricky fitting in, somewhere in the middle.

First off, linebackers in this league aren't just pylons. They're athletic, very quick and they're damn sure not going to be comically diving and missing by five feet as he sprints untouched down the field like some poorly-produced sitcom scene. This isn't Rudy "Sweet Feet" Huxtable people.

I can't back up my gut feeling with statistics, except to suggest that the Argonauts are the pass-happiest team in the pass-happy CFL. Hence, Ricky won't be getting 30 carries a game, likely. That said, I don't even really believe that to be a strong argument. After all, you'd be a fool to not use your most dangerous weapon repeatedly.

No, I can't and don't feel the need to back up my gut reactions with these things called facts. Just suffice it to say, I'm confident that Ricky won't get off like everyone and their mother is predicting. Leading me to...

Still, the Argos are suddenly loaded at the RB and we're just to expect that incumbent John Avery and young gun Jeff Johnson, who the team was in love with late last season in a relief role, are suddenly not getting the ball ever?

I just think we need to tone it down a bit before we go predicting a 2,000-yard season with 36 TDs or something ridiculous. He's very good. I get it.

Bold Prediction, No.3:

If I'm way off base on either of Nos.1-2, I will delete records of this blog and deny any and all existence of the words stated herein.

But I'm predicting that won't be necessary.

Go Blue.

I'd know that face anywhere...

You know the theory.

The one that says you can go your entire life without ever hearing a word, a name, a person, a place or whatever it may be. Then, once you hear it once, you hear it at least three more times in the next week, month. You can't avoid it.

That's how I feel about Lordi.

To save the long story about how I ever found about out this... uhhh ... unique Scandinavian band, suffice to say that I've heard repeatedly about the fearsome Finns over the past couple of weeks, culminating in ...

This story.

As it relates to my blog, this story and this band and the fact I'm putting it on my little space has nothing to do with anything. I simply thought it was quite funny and it makes my point...

Finnish people are crazy.

A place to stand, a place to grow....

Onterri-erri-erri-o!

With a tip of the hat to the catchy old propagandist Ontario tourism board song, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers inked NFL castoff Onterrio Smith to a reported one-year-with-option deal while he serves a suspension down south.

Current Bombers running back Charles Roberts did his expected routine of raising hell about the much-anticipated deal and even reportedly demanded a trade in the process. Roberts is pretty much the boy crying wolf on the Bombers, a guy who has stomped his feet and gone public with his beefs in the past to the point where no one even really bats an eye when he throws out another idle threat. Now, that comment isn't said with any malignancy, it's just that Roberts has made a habit in the past of rocking the boat but with very little muscle behind his punch. Roberts is in a great situation in Winnipeg, he knows it — we all know it — and the Bombers aren't stupid enough to compromise the abilities of arguably the best RB in the league by putting him on the backburner.

However, it will be interesting to see how the Bombers use Smith and still get Roberts the number of touches he needs and should garner. One media outlet suggested he'd be used in a Keith Stokes-esque capacity, which would mean lining up in a slot, returning kicks and occasionally coming out of the backfield.

Whatever. Just get it done.

The Bombers have made, thus far, the biggest splash in the CFL off-season by signing — to date — the biggest name of the spring free agency period (statement subject to change; Re: Williams, Ricky). In fact, you could make an argument that the 25-year-old is the most marquis of signings since Dexter Manley signed on with the old Ottawa Roughriders. Or Andre Rison with the Toronto Argonauts? Albert Connell to the Calgary Stampeders? Big statement? Sure, but off the top of your head name a guy who's come up here from the NFL with such pedigree, pomp and circumstance.

Smith, if he ever gets his stuff together, is a bonafide NFL back who the Vikings were elated about having when he came out of Oregon. (Side note: He was also good enough to crack my fantasy football team as a rookie. Very impressive.)

What accompanies Smith's arrival in the Peg City is the expected condescension of those who say the CFL shouldn't be welcoming players like Smith and Williams who have each had much-publicized drug run-ins that have stalled promising, even all-star, careers in the NFL.

Get over yourself and look at what the CFL is. The Bombers could have an "Original Whizzinator" promotional night for all I care, as long as the guy packing the prosthesis helps put W's in the standings. This is also a league that houses the Hamilton Tiger Cats who, once upon a time, put steroid-addled sprinter Ben Johnson on its negotiation list just because he was fast.

No one in that league should be able to look themselves in the mirror and keep a straight face when they suggest that the league itself would even consider not bringing these guys in. The CFL is not only highly reliant on ticket sales and walk-up crowds but also constantly champing at the bit to get any kind of marquis name in its ranks, which is why Rison, Manley, Connell et. al. have found a home here if only for a brief time.

Now, this will come off as some hypocrisy on my part because I've always bragged about the Pittsburgh Steelers being a class organization that drafts and sign only class act athletes and coaches, and that that is one of the great things about being a fan of them. Terrell Owens, for example, would never be signed by the Steelers nor, for that matter, would Onterrio Smith quite likely. In fact, I found the Dallas Cowboys signing of Owens not only embarassing, but about as predictable as the sunrise. America's Team, if you haven't seen it before, is a mess with a nice track record of complete jackasses. But I digress.

Yet, the difference being — and it's a big one — is that that's the NFL, where you have your pick of the litter of talented players by the thousands waiting to play. Guys like Onterrio Smith and Ricky Williams don't come the CFL's way every day and any organization in this league would be insane to pass up the chance. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers aren't the Pittsburgh Steelers and that's fine with me.

Regardless, Smith is good. Very good. If I were running the Bombers and you had told me a few years ago, when he was at Oregon, that he would be a Bomber some day, I'd have jumped up, said "when" and then began printing his jerseys. And I'm not the only one.

This is professional sports folks, and in this particular case talent trumps all.