The Ottawa RedBlacks, without firing a shot, are in first place in the CFL East Division. The Eastern teams proved that West is the best right now in the CFL, though none of the East teams started at home. Yes, Edmonton and Winnipeg are undefeated after Week 1.
The Ottawa RedBlacks make their CFL debut tonight as another Ontario team comes to Investors Group Field. Montréal hopes for better things at home against a BC squad that lost at home last weekend, while Hamilton stays out west at the undefeated Edmonton Esks.
ESPN2 has another Saturday afternoon contest welcoming the Grey Cup champs in the home debut for the Toronto Argonauts at Rogers Centre, the first CFL game there since the East final last year.
Calgary would rather be playing after the Stampeders domineering win over Montréal, but the team gets the week off.
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ESPN2
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Toronto, 3p (TSN simulcast)
TSN
Thursday
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Friday
BC @ Montréal, 7p
Hamilton @ Edmonton, 10p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Toronto, 3p
Bye week
Calgary
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Canada Week on MMQB on Sports Illustrated was a success, even if they never cover the CFL again. The response to the features was overwhemling and overwhelming positive. What a celebration of the CFL from an unlikely source.
Peter King ran into a few issues in his travels, like missing the beginning of the game in Calgary and lots of flooding in Regina. Still, King got some good stories and a drink in Medicine Hat.
There are certainly pitfalls to covering the first week of the CFL season. 2 exhibition games often means some not-as-good football, and King had 2 clunkers in terms of games.
Sounded like Jenny Vrentas and King had a good time at the CFL games.
Here are the rest of the articles in case you missed them in the Twitter feed.
Thursday focused on how some CFL players, including Jon Cornish, have second jobs.
Friday, Jenny Vrentas checked in from Investors Group Field for the Winnipeg blowout win in the CFL opener.
Monday, Peter King reports back from his travels to Calgary and Regina over the weekend.
On Canada Day, readers weighed in on potential CFL coverage in the conclusion to the series.
You can access the whole series here.
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Genius is getting something before you have the need. Or B.C. knew Travis Lulay would need more time to recover. Either way, signing Kevin Glenn was a master move, especially since the Lions put Lulay on the 6-game injured list.
Glenn's veteran experience, crucial since B.C. also lost Thomas DeMarco in the off-season, will help the Lions through the early part of the schedule. B.C. fans note: the new agreement reduced the 9-game injured list to 6 games. So if Lulay is ready sooner, he can return to B.C.
Glenn threw too many interceptions in Week 1, but that could be a chemistry issue with his new team.
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Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor handled the CFL's Opening Night in Winnipeg as well as the Edmonton-BC game in Vancouver. Rod Black and Duane Forde called the games in Calgary and Regina (both sites where Peter King was this weekend).
Black and Forde did very well in welcoming the U.S. audience to the Canadian football game. They explained some of the basic rules, noted the CFL/ESPN deal. Black welcomed ESPN early in the telecast, then noted later that the telecast was on ESPN2.
ESPN went to SportsCenter at halftime. Jonathan Coachman said the "CFL was new to ESPN." That is only right if you limit your world thinking to 2014. The halftime was spent on the NBA and World Cup with no CFL highlights.
ESPN2 had a couple of glitches in the 2nd quarter. The channel started a commercial after TSN started a interview with Calgary Coach Jon Hufnagel about the quarterback situation. That happened with about 10 min left in the quarter. Then with 19 seconds left, the screen went dark and then to commercial. We lost about 6-7 seconds and a play; the ball went backward from the Calgary 41 to the Montréal 51.
The second incident might have been a TSN issue.
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Toronto struggled, the Montréal offense looked anemic, and Hamilton needs some work. This was only Week 1, but a Weak 1 for the East.
Sean Whyte got a lot of practice punting on Saturday. The Alouettes switched offensive coordinators in the preseason, and Troy Smith kept overthrowing his receivers. The ESPN2 audience did not get a close game.
Calgary did pull off a 102-yard TD pass from Bo Levi Mitchell to Maurice Price at the end of the first quarter. The Stampeders held the Als under 100 offensive yards … for the whole first half. NFL fans can't see a 102-yard TD pass.
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My Comcast DVR TV listings never updated for the Montréal-Calgary game. The listings for the next CFL game were in the system, though. I knew the listings were incorrect, but other potential fans might have assumed the game wasn't on. Not a great way to start the season.
I sampled the other games on ESPN3. Watching them with the Roku box is much more enjoyable than accessing the service online. Drawback? Sitting through commercials isn't fun.
ESPN3 offered a replay of the Montréal-Calgary game. If you have cable or DVR issues, you might be able to access a previously lost game.
Thanks for the tip on the MMQB coverage. Hooked up Apple TV - the games look great! The broadcast appears nearly as good as the Directv signal. I still have to time shift, and Apple TV enables me to fast forward past commercial breaks, which are left in the replay.
Posted by: Tim | July 03, 2014 at 01:52 PM
Apple TV sounds good. I can get a good picture with the Roku box, but the fast forward isn't all that great. I should experiment more with that. I might need to get a stronger wifi signal as the live feed keeps cutting in and out (commercials play mostly intact).
Posted by: Chad | July 04, 2014 at 07:11 AM