CFL vs. NFL: head to head on your TV.
While this has been true in Canada, the U.S. gets its turn on the opening week of the NFL season.
For the first time in over a month, an ESPN TV outlet will air the CFL. ESPN, the mothership, will carry both games, first from Molson Stadium in a battle of East teams coming off their 2nd win of the year. Then stay tuned to ESPN for the Banjo Bowl from Winnipeg.
In Canada, TSN2 will compete directly with the CFL with a NFL game in the early slot. CTV will have games in both slots under the new deal.
Edmonton looks for revenge in the revenge game against Calgary at Commonwealth Stadium Saturday night. The Friday night game at TD Place features a rested BC Lions team as the last team that has not played the Ottawa RedBlacks.
The Argos revenge game against Hamilton waits for the future since Toronto has a bye this week.
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ESPNews
Sunday
Hamilton @ Montréal, 1p (TSN simulcast)
ESPN
Sunday
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg, 4p (TSN simulcast)
TSN
Friday
BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Saturday
Calgary @ Edmonton, 7p
Sunday
Hamilton @ Montréal, 1p
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg, 4p
Bye week
Toronto
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Chris Berman is one of the biggest CFL fans in the ESPN complex in Bristol, CT. Yet his appearance at the opener of Tim Hortons Field was the first CFL game Berman had seen in person.
Berman and John Saunders joined Rod Black and Duane Forde in the TSN booth in the 2nd quarter at Hamilton. Unlike Berman, Saunders is familiar with the CFL being that he is Canadian and has worked for TSN.
"It's an honour (emphasis on "nour")," Berman noted.
Berman's surprise in watching a CFL game in person is hearing how loud the crowd gets on 2nd down (as opposed to 3rd down) and the excitement over whether a punt will or won't go into the end zone.
Both Berman and Saunders appeared on Ticats TV Live on the video system at Tim Hortons Field.
The 2 ESPN people tried a little play-by-play but Black isn't in any danger of losing his job to them. They didn't talk too much about ESPN carrying the CFL, but their presence wasn't accidental.
ESPN hasn't shown a CFL game on U.S. TV since August 1. The visit was part of gaining that momentum back. Too bad they let the momentum go in the first place.
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Took Ricky Ray longer in the game than expected, and in a losing cause, but the quarterback became the 6th player in CFL history to pass for more than 50,000 yards.
Ray is now the youngest to reach the 50,000 mark, Anthony Calvillo, the all-time leader, reached 50,000 yards 12 days later. Then again, Ray is still more than 29,000 yards behind Calvillo. Ray only needs about 3,200 yards to reach 3rd place on the all-time list. Damon Allen, Danny McManus, Henry Burris, and Ron Lancaster are also ahead of Ray.
Ray has played against all but Lancaster and Lancaster coached against Ray early in the quarterback's career.
Ray is the key reason why Toronto will be CFL contenders for years to come, and why Edmonton fans will always wonder why the team traded a future Hall of Fame quarterback.
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Every time a player has an issue with the NFL, the CFL is leaping to people's minds front and center. And in the case of Michael Sam, the CFL would have been a really good fit.
The Montréal Alouettes own the CFL rights to Michael Sam. Montréal would have been a great place for Sam off the football field, and the Als could use his help.
Since Sam is undersized at his defensive end position by NFL standards, Sam could have showcased his speed in a league where speed is more important to get to the quarterback.
The Dallas Cowboys signed Sam to the practice squad. The paycheck is better in the NFL even on a practice squad, but Sam could get to play in Montréal now to show the St. Louis Rams and the rest of the league that the team made a mistake in letting him go.
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Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor stayed out west this week in Regina and Calgary. Rod Black and Duane Forde stayed out east in Montréal and Hamilton. Assuming that pattern continues, the #1 crew will see a lot better football.
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