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Now that we can scramble outside for a few hours, before the torrential rains arrive, it kind of makes television and computer screen viewing boring. 

Instead of watching animals and birds on screen, we get to see them in reality… not virtual reality, but reality reality. 

But, soon enough, we’ll be back at our screens, watching others who are bent on entertaining us for millions of dollars per episode or per game. 

I’m a true CFL fan, so the start of this season is rather exhilarating and it started last weekend, although the prized ‘Riders didn’t see action. They needed extra time to find a second quarterback. And by the looks of their pre-season antics, coach Jones needed to find a whole lot more than a backup QB. 

The NHL second season is over, the Jays keep hinting they’ll get on a run, any day now, while the Raptors …well, they play that handball game. 

So we have the CFL to rely on for a few months, while the NFL gathers up their teams of millionaires and multi-millionaires who play for billionaires in sucker-funded stadiums at prices real fans can’t afford. 

I like the lunch-bucket CFL, where players appreciate the fans and the job and the decent, but not unholy, paycheques. You can almost believe they play for the love of the game. 

I hear the Countess of Wessex was presented a Roughrider pendant for her troubles, while visiting Regina last week. That was kind of a blackmail way to conscript a new Roughrider fan. What if she preferred the Argonauts? Or, heaven forbid, the Lions?

One CFL flaw is the selection of team names. There is really, only one original name in the whole bunch, and that includes, the aforementioned Argonauts. Some guy named Jason beat them to that title. Argos need another handle. Any suggestions? 

Same for the Eskimos. That team name is no longer appropriate according to today’s sensitivities. I doubt if Edmonton Inuit would go down any better. New name please!

B.C. or Vancouver Lions? Sorry, that name was taken decades ago by some team in Detroit, some big cats and a well known international service club. Try again B.C. And, while you’re at it, why not get your current billionaires into a room and dig up another franchise, preferably in the Okanogan where there’s lot’s of money and good Canadian football talent, so why not use it?

Roughriders? Sorry Saskatchewan, Teddy Roosevelt beat us to it, and besides, we also stole the fight song from Wisconsin. Time to be original. Let’s get a new name for  the new stadium. Just think of all the additional memorabilia sales. There would be the new and the retro. 

Alouettes? The birds beat ya to the punch. Sorry.

Stampeders? That too is old school cowboy reflections. How about Rustlers? They steal most of their players from other teams anyway.  

Tiger Cats? Tigers are cats aren’t they? Make up your mind Hamilton. What are you? You can’t use two names. 

Or can you? 

The Ottawa Twocolours have done that. This is the silliest moniker of all. Did someone ask the owner what his favourite colour was and he couldn’t make up his mind? Red or black, you can’t have it both ways. It isn’t soccer guys, but, it is Ottawa. 

So that leaves the lovable Blue Bombers as the sole survivor with a somewhat original name. I have no idea why they are blue or why they think they’re bombers. But at least the name is original in its concept. They still won’t win the Labour Day Classic or Banjo Bowl. That’s all we’ll give ‘em.