Shire on Sports

SASKATOON – Hey everyone. It was a busy weekend in the world of sports and for Saskatoon.

Here are some thoughts and insights to take you through the week:

PGA

-On the PGA tour, Weyburn’s Graham DeLaet finished tied for 21st this week at the Memorial Tournament. DeLaet finished the tournament at minus-1 which was nine shots better than Tiger Woods.

-Fellow Canadian David Hearn finished tied with DeLaet.

-Mike Weir also made the cut and ended up finishing tied for 53rd.

YELLOW JACKETS

-In the Western Major Baseball League, the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets opened up their season with a 5-2 loss to Swift Current. The Jackets dropped their second game of the year on Sunday, falling 7-5 to Medicine Hat.

-There seems to be some more optimism surrounding the Jackets this year. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008 and are really hoping to change that this year. However, they are off to a 0-2 start.

ROUGHRIDERS

-Saskatchewan Roughrider training camp opened on Sunday at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.

-Defensive end John Chick signed with the Riders on Sunday morning before  the first practice began. Heading into the weekend, there was much talk that Chick would sign with Saskatchewan, but Hamilton was also in the hunt.

-Riders GM Brenden Taman made Chick an offer and stuck with it. He couldn’t get into a bidding war with the Tiger Cats because Taman said he did not want to go over the salary cap. If Chick would have been available in February, Taman might have got into that bidding war, because there was more money available then. But the Riders signed Geroy Simon, Dwight Anderson, and that brought them closer to the cap.

-In the end, it all worked out for the Riders. They got Chick and Simon.

-Chick might have made a higher salary in Hamilton, but with Saskatchewan, he has the chance to have his own cereal, or protein bar, or what do you think? Comment below.

-More Rider stuff. Darian Durant comes into camp as the Riders No. 1 quarterback, of course. Kory Sheets is the featured running back, yet again. And running back Jock Sanders will also likely be used again this year. Sanders kind of came out of nowhere last year and was such a stud, before going down with an injury in the second half of the season. Sanders and Sheets in the backfield together would be scary good.

-Saskatoon Hilltops RB Andre Lalonde is at camp this year as well, as is Hilltops LB Brett Pisio. Definitely a great learning experience for both young men.

-Durant will have a lot to work with when it comes to the passing game. Weston Dressler is back. So are Chris Getzlaf, Taj Smith, Greg Carr and a healthy Rob Bagg. Add Simon in there and Durant has a plethora of weapons.

-Last year’s back-up Drew Willy will be competing with Levi Brown and Tino Sunseri for the No. 2 spot behind Durant. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. Brown looks to have the best arm of the group. But as we saw last year, Willy showed some promise as well. Sunseri was a standout at the University of Pittsburgh and might also be a good option.

-Huskies QB Drew Burko is also in camp with the Riders. He will be back with the Huskies this year, but the time spent in camp, learning from his fellow pivots and all the co-ordinators, is something so valuable for the 20-year-old.

-Local boys Scott McHenry and Jordan Sisco might be hard-pressed for playing time, but I’m sure they will be ready when called upon. Sisco has battled injuried the past couple of years. As for McHenry, he’s been quite reliable when he’s gotten the call.

-Global Saskatoon will have great coverage of Rider camp all week. Jack Haskins, Kim Thue and Derek Meyers will have you covered during Evening News at 6 p.m. and News Hour Final at 10 p.m. I’ll have lots of coverage each weekday morning on the Morning News from 6 to 9 a.m.

– I’ll also be at Rider training camp all week, so follow @TShireGlobal for more insights and feel free to ask any questions!