The labour Day Classic is upon us!

The stage is set, the players are ready, the fans are pumped and the game is set to begin!
Despite having been moved to the East the Bombers fans will be in Regina in droves, no doubt about it. The only doubt in their minds is, "Will Kevin Glenn be ready or not."

Bomber fans don't have to worry much, though, with his favourite target, Milt Stegall, returning after 4 games with a rib injury he will be poised to put together a big performance.

Last year Holmes electrified the home crowd with an 89 yard punt return for a touchdown. The Riders never looked back from there. Perhaps the one bright spot for the Bombers was the 68 yard TD strike early in the second from Glenn to Stegall. But it would prove to be too little to spark comeback by the bombers. That TD would prove to be big for Stegall, giving him 118 career TD catches, to pass Allan Pitts (117)

Stegall had a big game last year with 125 reception yards, he did, however, have one TD stripped from him, one by the Riders' defense, the other by the refs. His effort was not enough to garner a win for his team, who suffered their 8th loss of the season (3-8); the Riders improved their record to 4-6.

This year is different, both teams share identical records of 5-5. Winnipeg is tied for second spot in the East with Toronto while the Riders sit at 3rd in the West. A win by either team will prove to be huge or the respective clubs, it would put the Riders in a tie for second, barring a loss by Calgary, and would move Winnipeg to within 2 points of Montreal (should they lose to B.C. on Friday).

The Riders are riding high after having scored 95 points in their last two outings against the hapless Hamilton Ti-Cats, while allowing only 23 behind pivot Rocky Butler. At the same time, Winnipeg is coming off a three game losing streak, while Glenn and Stegall have been on the sideline with injuries. Winnipeg will be playing desperate football on Sunday; they must avoid a fourth straight loss, while the Riders will be looking for their third straight win.

Danny Barrett has been tight lipped as to who will be starting against Winnipeg's rather tough defense. Some are hoping that Butler will get his chance at piloting the offence to their third straight win, while others are pulling for the talented Joseph. Winnipeg will be tough to run against who are currently ranked first against the run, giving Keith a tougher opponent this week than the last two against the Ti-Cats. Winnipeg is also ranked number one in total points and yards allowed, so the Riders offence will need to be on top of their game.

The Rider's defense has also had some bright spots since their slow start to the season, especially from rush end Fred Perry, who currently leads the league with 11 sacks. So this week will not be an easy one for Glenn, unless he is able to gain some protection from a stable pocket, we all know he won't be running much with a very constrictive knee brace.

This week we should expect a high flying deep offence from the Riders, look for them to start slow from the opening gun behind Kerry Joseph. But as the game wears on, the Rider lines will start to take over, and Glenn will be forced to throw early, either causing mistakes or even interceptions. The Rider secondary will have a big game and possibly even score a TD. I would expect to see the Riders take over in the second half and take the win with a final score of 38-24.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the long week-end!

Under Miner.