The Saskatchewan Roughriders

I knew that a few Riders would be in town at the Man Show this weekend. I ended up playing 18 holes of golf on Friday and missed players the show. So Weston Dressler and Luc Mullinder were in town and they often show up in other places. I was planning on Saturday to head to a new Canadian Tire and get Darian Durant on a #4 for the last Rider jersey I plan to make. Remember, he was the exception. We had an hour to kill before the Durant 1:00pm signing and headed to another mall. If I would have thought about it, The Rider Store is in this mall and chances are...
Sure enough, we walked in to see the traditional table setup in front of the Rider Store and that means someone is signing that day. There were 3 people in line to get all three players autographs. I ran to the vehicle and grabbed my #4 (the black is not attached so it looks off a little). Darian signed the #4 and I told him I was head up to Canadian Tire so this saved me a couple of hours. He asked were the new store was. I gave him my best set of directions, which probably was not good and even jokingly offered to drive him. I said to Durant, "With him and the controls, we'll get back there every time." He said, "Thanks!"
We got our pics with Darian and my wife went shopping for awhile. I walked around and headed back into the store to buy pics of the guys, what the heck kinda thing. Both guys signed for me and that was a day!

Getzlaf IP-Signed Jersey!

Chris Getzlaf, from the Saskatchewan Roughriders was in town along with Running Back Neil Hughes to sign autographs and meet the fans at our trade show. I am super sick with pneumonia so the best wife in the world went down to attend to business. The line was not too long but while waiting, she met an older man with a neat jersey. He told her the story of how his son met Jason Clarmont of the Riders in the winter. Most of the Riders have winter jobs in Regina so it's very common to come across some of them doing mostly professional jobs; Clarmont owns a real estate company in Regina. He gave the gentleman this;

A retro signed Rider jersey

look real close to this pic, save it, zoom in on his right hand. Grey Cup Ring!

These will be custom Rider jerseys, as usual. The Makowsky jersey is almost done. I really don't want to get into Rider jerseys, too expensive. $90 a jersey that never goes on sale and never on eBay. No one sells their jerseys. Durant is the only exception to this now. And he is easy to get...

My camera hates florescent lights, steady shot, blurry pic.

She bbm me with the message; "Done".
Cool...

More Walter Gretzky

The girls are Team Canada's Team and the World Junior Curling Championship,this year's Silver Medalist and Mike McCullough.

The thing I planned with Walter Gretzky was to bring up history with him. After all, that's what Wayne told about his dad; he loves history. The dinner was very informal and as stated before Walter was the host, he mingled with everyone. I managed to talk to him before dinner and had the pic of Wayne and I to show Walter. I said exactly what Wayne said, "You should talk to my dad, he knows everything about history." Walter looked at our picture and he started talking history. He was as passionate about it as I was, I teach it for a living. I commented on Wayne being a very classy man and he did a great job with him. He told me two or three stories about Wayne and I just smiled. He thanked me for saying that to him about Wayne, saying not many would have done that for him. He looked at the picture again and asked if he should sign it, I said that would be great. He shook my hand and continued on his way. That was a 15 min conversation with Walter Gretzky. My wife said he was really taken with me from that point. He came over to our table 2 times to check on us and ask us questions. She figured I made an impression on him and that's why he said he would send me some signed pictures of Wayne. He was a comedian when he spoke, very funny. But someone at our table wondered why he only told a few stories about Wayne. After his brain aneurysm, he remembers nothing about Wayne's career.

Trip to the Local Hobby Shop, GARBAGE, Kinda...

My trip to my fav hobby shop yesterday made me realize a few things. The UD Sp Game Used is GARBAGE! Yes, many packs later, I have never pulled an auto from a pack. I bought 3 yesterday and this was my loot. GARBAGE! So walking around the store I came across these fine items to add to my collection. Brayden plays his junior in town so I flipped this over to see the COA was from the Saskatoon Blades. $40...Cool. The Rider mini-helmet was a little more cash but Andy Fantuz is now a Bear so these items are going to be tough to find very soon. Now the funny thing, collectors are competitive people but wow...A fellow in the hobby shop was shooting his mouth off about the Schenn brothers. They claimed they had the best Schenn collection in town. Hmm, want to compare Gretzky jerseys collections too buddy....I just laughed and walked away....

Gene Makowsky Signed CFL Football and Rider Jersey

This time of year is usually -40 with the wind and yes there are snow banks as high as my deck. But you can also count on our trusty Saskatchewan Roughriders to attend community events all over Saskatchewan. Today, Gene Makowsky, Grey Cup Champ 2007, made an appearance at a cattle booth to sign autographs. Gene is from Saskatoon and is a trained teacher with a B.Ed Degree, the same as me. He subs in the off season and is a real pleasure to chat with. I went to high school and university with Gene, never spoke to him but there was some 800 students at my high school. I mentioned to him a few years ago that we went to high school and university and both are teachers. No longer was the conversation about the CFL football but school dynamics. I got a football signed by Geno and a few other Riders three weeks ago and he remembered the meeting. I do always mention the teaching thing and he it triggers his memory. Today was not different, he called me by name and we chatted again about teaching and he signed my jersey and football. I am not crazy about where he signed it but oh well. Gene is a great guy and it's always neat to chat with him.
Now I hope you finish reading this blog entry, April 9, we're having supper with Gretzky, Walter Gretzky.

Jersey Updates Weston Dressler

Found the Rider jersey on Kijiji for cheap so finished the Weston Dressler jersey. My wife was going to take it but ended up wanting the new jersey with black on the arm instead of the retro. She has a Dressler signed #7 too so her's will have white on black.
The Ranger 99 jersey needs the other 9 and the nameplate to finish. That will make 3... I really like the Starter brand jerseys too, kinda cool looking.

Darian Durant and Lance Frazier IP

Forgot about this one. Durant and Frazier were in the local Rider store two weeks ago signing for fans. I scouted the place out long in advance, bought the 8x10 hours before, laughed at the poor saps lined up for an hour just before. NHL'ers are always great signers, WHL'ers sometimes, Cowen take a lesson here. Both Riders apologized for loosing in the Grey Cup last month. I was about 10th in line and heard all of the people comment that these players were classy players. I was able to tell Durant something I really wanted to say. I told him, "You were the only player who could have got out of that to even try the throw." He looked up at me and thanked me. He will win a few Cups before he is done. He's not 30 yet, 2 trips to the Cup as a starter, 3 in total. He will only get better. Now, Andy please come back!