If you have been a football fan for any amount of time, you have heard of a ‘game-ball.’ The idea behind a game-ball is that provides recognition for someone whose contribution went a long way in the team winning. Often a game-ball handed out by a coach, or a captain. Sometimes television personalities or sports writers will give out game-balls in their segments or articles.

I am going to be doing something a bit different. Yes, I will hand out a game-ball after each Winnipeg Blue Bomber game, but I will also hand out a jock (all figuratively of course).

The ‘jock,’ is going to go to someone who stunk it up! Maybe it was on one play, or through the course of the game. The idea of the jock, is that it will be the opposite of the game-ball.

For the Bomber’s official highlight video, click here.

Game-Ball: Marc Liegghio

While the Winnipeg defence could have got the game ball for the second week in a row (I could probably choose them every game and not be wrong).

Nevertheless, this week’s game ball goes to kicker Marc Liegghio. (If Chris Walby ever reads this he will be irate. He believes that kickers should just go and do the job. And I do not necessarily disagree with Walby. However, when teams fail to score touchdowns, kickers need to put the points on the board).

That is exactly what Liegghio did against Hamilton, he put points on the board!

Winnipeg scored 19 offensive points. (Actually I am going to call it 20 points because Willy J scored on an interception, for 6 points, and Liegghio kicked the point after.) While there was some discussion on whether the offence or defence gets credit for the point after on a defensive touchdown, it is the offence.

Out of those 20 points Liegghio scored 14 of those. He went three for three on field goals, punted and received three singles, kicked the point after on the offensive touchdown, and kicked a point after on the defensive touchdown.

This is going to be controversial, and conventional wisdom will disagree with me (comment with statistics if I am wrong) but I like the single. In fact, I think more teams should try for them. The common thought is that you can pin a team deep, get them to go two and out, and flip the field. Yet, as I unscientifically give it the eyeball test, it seems that most teams do not get pinned deep very often They find a way to get out of the whole. Then they punt it, and the field was not flipped. So I like the single. Go for points, I say!

Quite frankly, if you would have asked me if I think Liegghio could produce the way he did, based on his body of work after the first two games, I would not be convinced. Yet, for that game against Hamilton, the Bombers do not win the game if Liegghio does not produce. Or, at very least it is a much tighter score and Hamilton does not deflate mid game like they did. Hope, is a powerful weapon. Liegghio took Hamilton’s hope away.

Jock: ???

Remember the purpose of the ‘jock,’ is to be a humorous take. As the season goes on, and tempers get gong in the rivalry games, it might get a bit more serious.

So who gets the jock?

Let’s look at some of the Ti-Cats stats to see who should have got it.

*Dane Evans went 25/42 for 237 yards. He threw no touchdowns, but did throw 2 interceptions.

*Tim White was the leading receiver catching 6/8 for 78 yards.

*Steven Dunbar (who got light up by Bighill) caught 6/15 for 53 yards.

*Michael Domogala went 4/6 on field goal attempts.

*Simon Laryea punted 7 time for 329 yards with an average of 47 yards.

*Lawrence Woods returned 3 kick for 94 yards with an average of 31.3 yards (not terrible).

There were only two players with rushing yards (Hamilton just does not run the ball)

*Dane Evans with 1 carry for 3 yards.

*Sean Thomas Erlington had 6 carried for 29 yards.

What doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is that while Domogala missed 2 field goals, he also had an illegal kick out of bounds. That gave the Bombers the ball at the 50 yard line!  He was going to get the jock for the illegal kick out of bounds, and his poor field goal kicking. Yet somehow, even after the game was over, someone would emerge from the shadows more worthy of the jock.

But this week Hamilton’s social media team tripped over themselves to get the jock.

Maybe they get paid per content like I do and felt they had to put some more content out. But sometimes, quality trumps quantity. A lesson that Hamilton’s social media team forgot!

After their loss in Winnipeg, Hamilton’s social media team put out a Performer Of The Game. Looking at the above stats, who would you have given the performer Of The Game To? I am not sure that I would have given any Performer Of The Game. I would probably just move on.

Seriously?! 5 receptions for a total of 30 yards, and a long of 7 yards! That gets Performer Of The Game? Leading receiver, Tim White, even produced more catching 6 of 8 for 78 yards.

He was fourth in reception yards! Even if you add his rushing yards, or 6 carries for 29 yards, he only totaled 59 yards! The only excuse the Hamilton social media team has it that they were at the game a spent too much time at the Rum Hut, or were building a beer snake.

Let me know if you spot them!

The jock should have gone to the kicker, but this week Hamilton’s social media team tripped over themselves to get the jock.

In all fairness, Hamilton did a better job in their post game analysis. You can read it here.

What did I get right? What did you disagree with? Let me know in the comments.

Written by a Bomber fan, for the Bomber fans