Kelly's Zeroes Might Not Be A Hit In Winnipeg
The following from Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal:
Kelly’s Zeroes Might Not Be A Hit In Winnipeg
New coach keeps putting foot in mouth
His embarrassing penchant for mixing podiatry with gastronomy is already working against Winnipeg head coach Mike Kelly.
He established precedent early on the job by slagging former Blue Bombers executive Brendan Taman and subsequently bungling the first of what may well be a litany of apologies. The latest mea culpa, issued Friday by team president Lyle Bauer on behalf of his head coach, underlines the fact that even the most innocent whiff of verbal flatulence will stick to Kelly until he earns the benefit of the doubt.
Playing to a room of Bomber faithful, Kelly joked last week about taking talent in trades with Canadian Football League teams in Saskatchewan and Edmonton.
"We kind of raided the toothless, green, watermelon-helmet-wearing people from the crotch of Canada," said Kelly, whose love affair with microphones and the sound of his own voice may well be the root cause of his ongoing problems.
The last bit about the country's crotch had already been raised by one of the fans in attendance and Kelly drew a big laugh by recycling it. Reaction in the rectangle, how-ever, was indignant and wholly overblown, with Riders fans firing off e-mails of outrage to Bauer. Had Kelly not soiled the sheets so publicly so early in his tenure, the Bombers might have been able to laugh this one off. Instead, they were left with little choice but to distance themselves from the comments, lighthearted or not.
This is just the tip of the tongue-wagging in Winnipeg. Kelly's is a large, loud personality and it will be the lever on his season. Win early and often and his cockiness will have to be tolerated.
Lose early and there won't be a hole big enough, not even on the perennially rebuilt streets of Winnipeg, in which he could effectively hide from eager critics looking to exact a pound of flesh.
That is the risk one runs by making himself the story, which Kelly has done even as he has remade the Bombers roster. He couldn't simply make a change at quarterback; he foolishly diminished the market value of erstwhile starter Kevin Glenn by declaring former Eskimo Stefan LeFors his new man, then cut Glenn and sparred with him in the media over an alleged unwillingness to renegotiate his deal, a point the pivot disputes. Kelly also argued needlessly with the CFL over a long-standing rule prohibiting off-season workouts.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sport...605/story.html
Kelly’s Zeroes Might Not Be A Hit In Winnipeg
New coach keeps putting foot in mouth
His embarrassing penchant for mixing podiatry with gastronomy is already working against Winnipeg head coach Mike Kelly.
He established precedent early on the job by slagging former Blue Bombers executive Brendan Taman and subsequently bungling the first of what may well be a litany of apologies. The latest mea culpa, issued Friday by team president Lyle Bauer on behalf of his head coach, underlines the fact that even the most innocent whiff of verbal flatulence will stick to Kelly until he earns the benefit of the doubt.
Playing to a room of Bomber faithful, Kelly joked last week about taking talent in trades with Canadian Football League teams in Saskatchewan and Edmonton.
"We kind of raided the toothless, green, watermelon-helmet-wearing people from the crotch of Canada," said Kelly, whose love affair with microphones and the sound of his own voice may well be the root cause of his ongoing problems.
The last bit about the country's crotch had already been raised by one of the fans in attendance and Kelly drew a big laugh by recycling it. Reaction in the rectangle, how-ever, was indignant and wholly overblown, with Riders fans firing off e-mails of outrage to Bauer. Had Kelly not soiled the sheets so publicly so early in his tenure, the Bombers might have been able to laugh this one off. Instead, they were left with little choice but to distance themselves from the comments, lighthearted or not.
This is just the tip of the tongue-wagging in Winnipeg. Kelly's is a large, loud personality and it will be the lever on his season. Win early and often and his cockiness will have to be tolerated.
Lose early and there won't be a hole big enough, not even on the perennially rebuilt streets of Winnipeg, in which he could effectively hide from eager critics looking to exact a pound of flesh.
That is the risk one runs by making himself the story, which Kelly has done even as he has remade the Bombers roster. He couldn't simply make a change at quarterback; he foolishly diminished the market value of erstwhile starter Kevin Glenn by declaring former Eskimo Stefan LeFors his new man, then cut Glenn and sparred with him in the media over an alleged unwillingness to renegotiate his deal, a point the pivot disputes. Kelly also argued needlessly with the CFL over a long-standing rule prohibiting off-season workouts.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sport...605/story.html
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