Canadian Crossing

2015 Women's World Cup notebook: Canada eliminated in quarterfinals

Canada had the advantage of playing at home before a record crowd against England. But the new BC Place Stadium roof could have cost the Women's World Cup team a chance at the semifinals.

Canada had the first half sun advantage against Switzerland but couldn't take advantage. England took full advantage of the sunshine, scoring 2 quick goals and holding on for a 2-1 win over Canada, eliminating the "home" team in the quarterfinals.

We had mentioned the sun earlier concerning the Switzerland match, also citing my own personal experience sitting in the sun in that corner for a BC Lions game. The 7:30 pm Eastern start times lead to a higher sun in Vancouver. At that time of the day, the sun is a factor early in the first half, moving its way up to the crowd at the end of the first half. Of course, Vancouver is going through a drought so there is plenty of sunshine in a place known for cloudy days in the winter.

We know Canada had that advantage in the earlier game but England had the advantage on Saturday. There is likely a rhyme and reason for which team goes where. In Vancouver at that time of the day, the advantage can lead to a victory. England didn't score on Canada when the Canadian goal was in the shade.

Christine Sinclair scored Canada's lone goal on Saturday in the 42th minute, her 9th career World Cup goal. Sinclair finished the World Cup tournament scoring 2 of the team's 4 goals and assisted on another goal. She played a part in 5 of the last 6 Canada goals in World Cup competition with 4 goals and an assist.

Josee Belanger (Switzerland) and Ashley Lawrence (Netherlands) were the other 2 goal scorers for Canada.

Jodie Taylor's goal in the 11th minute for England was a disaster for Canada right from the start. Sinclair's inbound pass went to an England player. Lauren Sesselmann, who has played a great tournament on defense, stumbled and gave up the ball in the back end. And Taylor shot from a sliver of shade into the bright yellow sun in front of Erin MacLeod.

Canada had more trouble 3 minutes later when on a free kick, Lucy Bronze sneaked past Allysha Chapman to put the header for the second goal. Fox colour analyst Danielle Slaton wondered if the sun played a factor in that goal (yes, it did).

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Based on previous World Cup tournaments, Canada was going to have trouble. The United States is the only host country to advance past the quarterfinals, having done so twice. And once Canada went down 2-0 on England's first 2 shots, no team ever won a knockout game while trailing 2-0.

Given that Canada hadn't scored 2 goals in a single game, and had the lowest offense output of any team in the quarterfinals, chances weren't good. For what it was worth, the England lead was the only time in the entire tournament that Canada trailed.

The game against England was also the only time Canada gave up more than a single goal in a game.

Canada played really good defense but generating offense was a struggle. The team should be plenty proud of what was accomplished. Just generate a bit more offense and Canada can compete on the world stage.

• CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

We've seen 3 Canadian attendance records in this tournament for a crowd to watch any Canadian national team. The Vancouver crowd on Saturday was 54,027, breaking the old record by 172 fans. The previous game in Vancouver drew 53,855, a 797 jump from the opening day crowd in Edmonton of 53,058.

The attendance for the second game in Edmonton was 35,544, but that number suffered from a dramatic lightning storm at the beginning of the match.

The Canadian team drew 45,420 at Olympic Stadium in Montréal for its final opening round game.

The 5 Canadian games drew 241,904 for an average attendance of 48,380.8. We'll have more about the overall attendance figures at the end of the tournament.

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Ottawa hosted its last game in the Women's World Cup when the U.S. defeated China 1-0. Montréal gets its last game tonight, leaving Edmonton and Vancouver to finish the Women's World Cup.

The United States will play in 5 Canadian cities in the 2015 Women's World Cup. The team has gone from Winnipeg to Vancouver to Edmonton to Ottawa and now Montréal. The U.S. team has brought great crowds with them; if a U.S. fan saw all their games in person, that person would have a nice collection of Canadian cities to have visited.

The U.S. will play one more game after Tuesday night: a win sends the team to Vancouver, a loss to Edmonton.

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Canada could have been playing Japan, the defending champs, on Canada Day in Edmonton. The patriotism would have run rampant if those elements had come together. England will play Japan in Edmonton on Wednesday while the U.S. and Germany battle in Montréal this evening.

The winners play Sunday in Vancouver while the losers battle for 3rd place in Edmonton on Saturday.

CTV will carry the semifinals in Canada. TSN will have the 3rd-place game while CTV has the finals on Sunday. Fox will have the U.S. semifinal while Fox Sports 1 carries the other semifinal. Fox will have the 3rd place game and the gold medal game.

Orphan Black Season 3 wrapup: Hoping Delphine will return

Now that we are safe from potential spoilers of the end of Season 3 of Orphan Black, the potential loss of Delphine feels particularly sad.

Season 3 brought the certain death of Paul, who at times was definitely against the sisters but at times, tried to help out Sarah in particular (thinking for awhile that she was Beth Childs). The producers made sure to us all that Paul was definitely dead.

Delphine was told by Doctor Nealon that she would not live out the night. And Delphine took that very seriously, trying to make amends to Shay and, of course, one final kiss with Cosima.

Being shot once in the stomach could spell death for a character. But when you are shot in the final episode of a season and you aren't truly blown apart, there is a door hanging open.

Co-creator John Fawcett doesn't think the door is that open. This is what he said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

"I know this will be upsetting to many fans but the story in our minds has always been a tragic love story. Listen, I didn't want to say one way or the other. For us, I believe this is a horrible thing that had to happen. And I know that it's hard and I know that it's emotional and I know there are going to be a lot of people out there going “WHY?!?” But trust me, this was a necessary move to make. And it's necessary in Cosima's story and it's necessary going forward in subsequent seasons — in season 4 and season 5."

What is unsaid in that interview and the fact that Delphine wasn't there for a big chunk of Season 3 is that Evelyne Brochu is a rather busy actress. Brochu stars in the CBC drama "X Company" and that show has been renewed for Season 2. The actress is also in high demand in films, having done films such as "Cafe de Flore"; "Inch'Allah"; and "Tom at the Farm."

• 'Orphan Black' returns for Season 3 on Saturday

• My Canadian Valentines 2015

We had to wonder when Delphine starts out in the first episode of Season 3 and announces that is leaving for awhile. Delphine tries to play it cool in the scene where she says goodbye to Cosima but her anguish and tears after the door is shut brought tears to us as viewers.

Despite some odd turns and initial distrust, Delphine keeps referring back to the idea of vowing to protect all the sisters, not just Cosima. Clearly, this is done as a sacrifice to her romantic feelings for Cosima.

Later in Season 3, Delphine says to Cosima that "she is French" and understands Cosima taking on a lover. We also see Delphine threaten Shay with a razor blade when she thinks Shay turned against Cosima and his sisters over the copy of "The Island of Doctor Moreau."

Here are some particular reasons why the (potential) loss of Delphine is so sad.

• Delphine ran plenty of interference against those who want to bring harm to the sisters. Whatever you might have thought of Cophine (Cosima and Delphine) or Coshay (Cosima and Shay), Delphine was fighting the good fight and she is an ally you don't want to lose.
• Cosima and Delphine were an amazing ideal couple: go back to Season 1 to see that magic. Even Fawcett admitted that "You can still feel those embers burning between Cosima and Delphine." Could Cosima and Shay have that magic? Coshay fans see the potential. However, true intimacy comes from sharing secrets, and we all that Cosima can't share a lot with Shay about her background. Delphine knows Cosima's secrets and still loves her.
• Delphine brought a French Canadian sensibility to a Canadian TV show in a Canadian TV industry that is mostly separate based on language. Delphine speaks English just fine but with a Quebecois accent. We even see that element come up as part of her character that shows up in among other things, denying jealousy, as we noted earlier. Between Delphine and Megan Draper from "Mad Men," Evelyne Brochu and Jessica Paré gave English Canadians and "Americans" a flavor of Quebecois, a joie de vivre from French Canada, rarely seen on the screen by those audiences.

Ksenia Solo is a lovely actress in portraying Shay and we wish nothing but the best for Shay and Cosima in future seasons. Perhaps the two can develop a trust about Cosima's path and health issues. But it won't be like Cosima and Delphine.

With Brochu's schedule, there may be limited room to show Delphine in flashbacks or memories or even a dream sequence. But if that doesn't work out, we will have Seasons 1-3 and some great memories.

photos credit: Orphan Black

Canada faces England in Women's World Cup quarterfinals

Josee Belanger played a key role in the stellar defense of the 2015 Canada Women's World Cup squad. Canadian coach John Herdman moved Belanger up on the field to try to generate some badly needed offense.

Belanger scored the only goal as Canada edged out Switzerland 1-0 in the Round of 16. #8 Canada now faces #6 England tomorrow in the quarterfinal at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver. England edged out #11 Norway 2-1 Monday in Ottawa.

Belanger was able to move up thanks to the return of Rhian Wilkinson to the starting lineup after a hamstring injury. Wilkinson and Christine Sinclair both assisted on Belanger's goal.

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Both countries share Queen Elizabeth II and that doesn't even factor in Australia in the other bracket. England just won its first World Cup game outside the initial group. Canada has been there before but not with this squad.

While each squad is different, the defeat of Switzerland was the first win for Canada over an European squad at the World Cup.

England lost to France 1-0 and beat Mexico 2-1, both in Moncton, and edged out Colombia 2-1 in Montréal in group play.

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Belanger nearly got a goal in the first half hitting the ball from long distance into the sun field. Swiss goalkeeper Gaelle Thalmann probably didn't see Belanger's early shot on goal that went off the post.

Canada had an advantage in the first half shooting into the sun. The configuration of the roof combined with the 4:30 pm local start time produced an intense sun field. I know that sun issue first hand having seen a BC Lions game that started at 4 pm local time. Saturday's starting time is the same time as the Round of 16 match.

The TV coverage has been good or definitely not bad. We didn't get a replay of that near miss; perhaps the replay wasn't great given the high sun concentration but that was a play that needed a better angle.

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Julie Stewart-Binks, a sideline reporter for Fox, measured the turf temperature at BC Place Stadium at 130 degrees. Unlike the previous outdoor scenarios, not all of BC Place was in the sun. We don't know whether her measurement was in the sun. Still, that is really extremely hot for the players.

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Hopefully, this won't be an issue but Kadeisha Buchanan, perhaps Canada's best defensive player, and Christine Sinclair both received yellow cards in the match against Switzerland. Canada can't afford to lose either player but also needs them to play at the level where they have been in the tournament.

We saw 2 U.S. players get a second yellow card in its last game in what were fouls in other games and not yellow-card worthy. Sadly, the pace of the game can be in the hands of the referees.

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The difference was 797 fans, but the Canadian women's team set a new attendance record to see a Canadian national team. The crowd of 53,855 in Vancouver surpassed the opening day crowd in Edmonton of 53,058.

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Moncton is done with the World Cup tournament. Friday's game in Ottawa is the last one in the nation's capital. Of course, Winnipeg was done after the Group of 16.

After this weekend, the only game east of Alberta will be the U.S.-China-France-Germany bracket final from Olympic Stadium in Montréal on Tuesday.

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The United States has played in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Edmonton with a date in Ottawa today. If the U.S. beats China, the team will play in Montréal. The only Canadian city that the U.S. would definitely miss would be Moncton.

We can't expect the crowds would be as pro-U.S. as the Winnipeg crowds simply out of logistics. However, even the Edmonton crowd was pretty loud for the United States. The attendance definitely will get a jump in Ottawa and perhaps Montréal.

France gets another taste of French Canada in Montréal in the quarterfinal today. If France handles Germany, the U.S.-China winner is next up also in Montréal.

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CTV will carry 3 of the 4 games, leaving France and Germany for TSN on Friday afternoon. Fox will carry the Friday games, including the U.S. with Fox Sports 1 carrying the Saturday games.

Canada can only appear on Fox for a medal round game.

You might have heard from Fox that coverage on Saturday starts at 6 pm Eastern. Fox Sports 1 will run 90 minutes of coverage following the previous match and previewing the Canada-England match.

2015 CFL Week 1 preview

Those in the States can feel pretty Canadian for Week 1 of the 2015 CFL season, at least for the first 2 days. ESPN2 will have the opener from Molson Stadium in Montréal and the 2014 Grey Cup rematch in Calgary.

The battle of the Prairies was originally featured on the ESPN2 schedule but got dropped. We knew the Toronto Argonauts "home" opener in Fort McMurray, Alberta, wouldn't have a U.S. TV outlet. ESPN has been reluctant to show games from really small stadiums, such as last year's Tiger-Cats game at McMaster.

ESPN3 will have the Saturday games; if you missed the Fort McMurray exhibition game, check out the stadium on the computer just for the novelty.

BC gets a chance to watch the rest of the league start as the Lions have the week off.

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ESPN2

Thursday
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7:30p
Friday
Hamilton @ Calgary, 9p

TSN

Thursday
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7:30p
Friday
Hamilton @ Calgary, 9p
Saturday
Edmonton @ Toronto, 5p
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan, 8p

Bye week

BC

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The Toronto Argonauts will host Edmonton in the home opener … from Fort McMurray in Alberta. Yes, that is Toronto's home opener, not the one for Edmonton.

Stadium availability is a gigantic issue. Rogers Centre has the 2015 Pan Am Games and MLB Toronto Blue Jays. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton has the FIFA Women's World Cup. Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton is out for the Pan Am Games.

David Braley, outgoing owner of the Toronto Argonauts, is getting reimbursed for moving the game to the gateway to the oil sands. If the game had been played nearby Toronto, the money flow would have gone backward, not forward.

SMS Stadium at Shell Place looked pretty nice on TV though the stadium only holds up to 20,000 fans. The exhibition game drew 11,825 and there is some concern that the game that counts might not draw as many people.

The Argonauts would have lost money playing in a Toronto area option but could have made up the difference by investing in the fan base. Given the lack of Argos fans in northern Alberta, the team could have played at any of the following locations:

• Varsity Stadium, Toronto Sure the place holds a few thousand on a good day, but the atmosphere could have been very exciting. The team already plays its home preseason game here. And the game would have stayed in Toronto.
• Ron Joyce Stadium, Hamilton The stadium holds only 6,000 fans and fans can't drink in the seats, but the McMaster stadium saw a few CFL regular season games last season. Toronto fans can reach downtown Hamilton via the GO train or bus, and then take shuttle buses to McMaster. The drive would be pretty short. Playing in Hamilton would be odd for the Argos, but not any more odd than Alberta.
• Alumni Stadium, Guelph The Hamilton Tiger-Cats played here when there was no option in Hamilton. Capacity was much higher for the Tiger-Cats, but 7,600 for CIS (university) football. A lot of Hamilton fans didn't enjoy the commute, but one time for Argos fans wouldn't be too bad.
• TD Stadium, London The 8,000 capacity puts this stadium in the running. Plus, the Argos could grow their fan base in nearby London.
• Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo The capacity would be way higher than needed, but the turnabout would make for a great story, given the Bills games at Rogers Centre. And Argos fans could finally have a decent tailgate atmosphere.

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The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup forced the CFL to adjust the early part of its schedule. The BC Lions took the first bye and plays in Ottawa in Week 2. Edmonton starts on the road and takes the bye in Week 2.

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You can find all of our CFL preview coverage here.

• Watching the 2015 CFL season on ESPN2

• 2015 CFL season preview

• Offseason shuffles leading up to the 2015 CFL season

• CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Ought to be a very cool and exciting CFL season. Here's to another summer of Canadian football.

Watching the 2015 CFL season on ESPN2

Date	Matchup	Time
June 25	Ottawa @ Montréal	7:30p
June 26	Hamilton @ Calgary	9p
July 2	Hamilton @ Winnipeg	8:30p
July 3	Calgary @ Montréal	7:30p
July 9	Ottawa @ Edmonton	9p
July 10	Montréal @ Winnipeg	7p
July 30	BC @ Winnipeg	8:30p
July 31	Saskatchewan @ Edmonton	9p
August 3	Toronto @ Hamilton	7p
August 6	Edmonton @ BC	10p
August 7	Montréal @ Ottawa	7:30p
August 9	Winnipeg @ Hamilton*	5p
August 13	Edmonton @ Montréal	7:30p
August 15	Ottawa @ Calgary	10p
August 27	Montréal @ Hamilton	7:30p
August 28	Toronto @ Edmonton	9p
August 30	Saskatchewan @ Ottawa	4p
All games on ESPN2 except for * on ESPNews. All times are Eastern. All feeds from TSN.

 

ESPN will carry 20 CFL games on U.S. television, including the 103rd Grey Cup from Winnipeg. However, 17 of those games will air before the end of August.

The ESPN family promised us 17 regular season CFL games plus the playoffs in 2014. We got 17 games in total: 14 regular season games, 2 (of 4) playoff games, and the Grey Cup.

Assuming 2 of 4 playoff games will air on television, this leaves 0 telecasts in September and October. ESPN2 will carry all but 1 of the announced telecasts with ESPNews stepping in on August 9. None of the games will appear on the ESPN flagship. 

All non-ESPN telecasts will air on Watch ESPN. Sling TV offers up ESPN TV channels, though the service has its limitations.

ESPN will integrate individual player profiles and specialty features, such as a CFL Rules 101 video voiced by ESPN's Trey Wingo.

The Montréal Alouettes lead the way with 6 telecasts while Hamilton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton have 5 telecasts. Every team gets at least 2 games, though Toronto and Saskatchewan don't have any home games on U.S. TV.

All the telecasts will be simulcasts of TSN feeds. ESPN has a stake in the ownership of TSN.

The CFL is emphasizing Thursday night games early in the season. 4 of the telecasts will be Thursday nights: Opening Night and 3 August Thursdays.

We understand the sad reality that going up against college football and the NFL is a problem for U.S. sports outlets. And Friday night games against high school football are pretty much illegal in the States to carry.

However, the CFL features doubleheaders on Labo(u)r Day and Canadian Thanksgiving — Mondays that are holidays in the States — and yet U.S. television hasn't shown much interest in showing those games. This year, there is only a single game on Canadian Thanksgiving so that wouldn't even interfere with Monday Night Football.

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On the Canadian side, the TSN and RDS TV deal was extended by 3 years to 2021. TSN has been the exclusive home since 2008. TSN has been broadcasting CFL games since 1986 and RDS has been a CFL broadcaster since 1989.

2015 CFL season preview

Calgary broke the recent streak of winning the Grey Cup on your home turf. If the Winnipeg Blue Bombers want to bring that streak back, the team will have to go from worst to first.

The 103rd Grey Cup will be November 29 at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. This will be the city's first Grey Cup since 2006 and the first in the new stadium.

Unless the Blue Bombers know something we don't, the home team will watch the Grey Cup from their homes or in the stands.

• Offseason shuffles leading up to the 2015 CFL season

• CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

There are no stadium issues in 2015. Hamilton and Ottawa have homes, and while Winnipeg has issues with its new stadium, games go on without interruption.

The only stadium currently in construction is Saskatchewan's new place. The new stadium in Regina is next to the current stadium so there won't be any drama over where the team will be playing.

Rule Changes

The most visually obvious change is that the kicking convert on a touchdown will move from the 12-yard line to the 32-yard line. The flip side of this move is that in going for the 2-point convert, the ball will move from the 5-yard line to the 3-yard line.

This will look ridiculous and will legitimately be criticized from south of the border (look at those crazy Canadians with their football).

However, one underreported asset is that the move makes it easier to return a blocked extra point for a 2-point conversion for the other team.

Calgary's Keon Raymond blocked an extra point against Saskatchewan in the 2012 Western Semifinal. The Roughriders were set at the end of the first half to take a 17-14 lead when Fred Bennett ran the ball back for 2 points. The game was tied at 16 as a result, and the Stampeders went on to win the game.

Here are the other major rule changes before the 2015 CFL season.

• To open up the offense, a defensive player can contact a receiver in front of him within five yards of the line of scrimmage. However, no one can create or initiate contact that impedes or redirects an opponent beyond the 5-yard mark.
• On a 5-yard no-yards penalty (where the ball hits the ground before the returner catches the ball), the penalty will automatically be added to the end of the return. If the return is negative, the penalty will be assessed from the point the ball was first touched by the return team. This gets rid of the awkwardness of calling a penalty that wouldn't result in movement of the ball. Having an actual penalty for this call makes a lot more sense.
• The offence can now signal to the referee that it doesn't want to substitute players, and then the officials will blow the play in immediately once the ball and yardsticks are set. This encourages more uptempo offences, especially near the end of games.
• There is a new 10-yard penalty for the 5 interior linemen on the punting team from leaving the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked.

New Commissioner

Jeffrey Orridge became the 13th CFL commissioner in the offseason. Orridge replaced Mark Cohon as commissioner.

Orridge was most recently the executive director of sports and general manager, Olympics for the CBC. He secured the media rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Games, and the 2018 and 2020 Olympics. His specialties are marketing and digital, 2 directions the league needs to pursue.

While Orridge is American, he and his family have lived in Canada since 2007 and Orridge is about to become a Canadian citizen.

The new commissioner also meant new sponsorship deals. "The 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw" is a phrase you'll hear a lot of in November. Shaw is the new CFL official telecommunications partner, which includes several sponsorship components. Starting after Labour Day weekend, the Shaw Road to the Grey Cup will run during telecasts and on digital platforms.

Whistle Sports has a content and sales partnership with the CFL for its millions of subscribers on various social platforms including YouTube and Facebook. The Andy Fantuz catching balls one-handed video with star quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell (Calgary) and Darian Durant (Saskatchewan) was a sample of what that partnership will become.

Offseason shuffles leading up to the 2015 CFL season

If you were playing attention to the NHL or hibernating over the winter, here is what you missed during the CFL offseason.

Michael Sam

We wanted to write a heartwarming story that compared Michael Sam to Jackie Robinson with Montréal being seen as a city embracing of breaking through barriers. At the end of the day, the Alouettes just wanted Michael Sam to help with the pass rush.

While Sam signed a two-year deal with Montréal, he currently resides on the suspended list. We'll let others speculate on what happened. Montréal would have embraced him on and off the field.

ESPN2 will have the Alouettes opener anyway; we might see something from the halftime report if ESPN covers the TSN breaks.

Chad Johnson, also on the suspended list, and Michael Sam would have set a professional football record for the most "Dancing with the Stars" alumni on the field.

From a football standpoint, Sam's perceived weaknesses for NFL teams might prove to be advantages in the CFL. Off the field, Montréal and the CFL look great for advocating inclusion as long as you can produce on the football field.

Argonauts get sold

Bell and Larry Tanenbaum — ⅔ of the MLSE group — acquired the Toronto Argonauts from David Braley, who is now down to owning just one CFL team (BC Lions).

If the BMO Field renovations go as planned, this will be the final season for the Argos at Rogers Centre. The 2016 schedule might reflect a few Argos road games early in the season in case there are issues with the renovations.

Quarterback shuffle

The previous offseason was legendary for playing "which quarterback went to which team."

This offseason was extremely quiet, though Kevin Glenn is now with the Saskatchewan Roughriders to back up Darian Durant.

Glenn spent last season backing up Travis Lulay in BC. That meant playing the vast majority of the snaps. Glenn started the 2014 year in Ottawa but wanted out after the team signed Henry Burris.

Glenn started his CFL career with the Roughriders. He has also played for Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Calgary.

Former Hamilton QB Dan Lefevour signed with the Alouettes. Lefevour was passed over for Henry Burris and then Zach Collaros in Hamilton. His injured knee was a concern given that running is a key component to his game. The Alouettes could use some QB depth.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have extended quarterback Drew Willy's contract to 2017.

Ricky Ray is on the 6-game injured reserve list. Trevor Harris will get every chance to see what he can do. Adrian McPherson, long-time backup to Anthony Calvillo in Montréal, will likely be the backup QB.

Travis Lulay is making a huge comeback in BC. There is no Kevin Glenn or even a Thomas DeMarco to help out in Vancouver. As Lulay goes, so go the Lions.

Coaching shuffle

The offseason also wasn't as volatile as the previous offseason for coaches.

Jeff Tedford replaced Mike Benevides for BC. Tedford is a former CFL quarterback that was the former head coach of the California Golden Bears. He spent last season as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator in the NFL.

John Hufnagel will return as coach of the Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders, but will hand the reins to long-time offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson in 2016. Hufnagel will just be the general manager once Dickenson takes over.

Player moves

Montréal picked up some well-known names in the wide receiver core in the offseason. The Alouettes traded wide receiver Kenny Stafford to Edmonton for four-time CFL All-Star Fred Stamps. The team signed former Calgary receiver Nik Lewis after 11 seasons in a Stampeders uniform and Hamilton receiver Samuel Giguère.

Duron Carter, S.J. Green's receiving buddy, left to pursue NFL pastures, reducing significantly the number of references Rod Black will make about Cris Carter, Duron's NFL Hall of Famer father.

The Alouettes new receivers coach is pro football's all-time passing leader Anthony Calvillo. Calvillo's new immediate boss is Turk Schonert, the new offensive coordinator. Ryan Dinwiddie, last season's offensive coordinator, will coach running backs.

Als fans hope this coordination of responsibilities will go so much better in 2015, especially in the first half of the season.

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Ottawa also stocked up on veteran receivers in the offseason. Ernest Jackson (BC Lions) and Brad Sinopoli (Calgary) are the newest RedBlacks wide receivers. Henry Burris had troubles getting receivers to hang onto the ball in Ottawa's debut season. Sinopoli starts the season on the disabled list.

The RedBlacks added a potential spark in Chris Williams as a returner and receiver. Williams set the CFL on fire with Hamilton, but hasn't played in the league since 2012.

Spencer Watt jumps from the Argos down the QEW to Hamilton.

On defense, Toronto traded middle linebacker Shea Emry, who spent a season in double blue after time in Montréal, to Saskatchewan for former Argo defensive end Ricky Foley. Foley picked up a Grey Cup ring, one of 3 he owns, in his stint as a Roughrider.

The Alouettes released RB Brandon Whitaker, who made his way to Toronto. The Argos also brought back Chad Kackert in the backfield. Kackert was a coach while rehabbing. Running backs play a vital, though underappreciated, role in the CFL. Backs who can catch the ball out of the backfield force a defense to readjust.

Veteran slotback Dave Stala is another East veteran making the move to Toronto. Stala was a long-time receiver for Hamilton.

Even at a somewhat advanced age (45), Paul McCallum only missed 4 FG chances in 42 attempts last season. Yet the BC Lions wanted McCallum to retire. Paul McCallum played 22 CFL years, 11 in Vancouver.

McCallum is the last active player to have played for the Ottawa Rough Riders and the only CFL player to have played against all 3 Ottawa CFL franchises. If he stays in shape, chances are a CFL team will give McCallum a call this season.

Pat White was a running QB in Edmonton. But when he came into the game, you had to really pay attention. White announced his retirement at 29 years old.

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The CFL has a salary cap of $5 million for each team. Only 1 team went over the salary cap … by $8,939. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats cited a "record number" of injuries & 10 all-star bonuses for going over the cap limit. The team paid a fine equal to the total over the limit.

Canadian parliament dissolves, won't meet before federal election

No more chances to introduce legislation. The record of the Harper Government is set. Parliament is done for the summer and won't reconvene before the election.

Minister of Industry James Moore is the latest cabinet minister to not run for re-election. Moore cited the health of his two-year-old son Spencer, who suffers from a rare bone disease.

Moore was the Minister of Heritage before switching to Industry. He also held a junior role as secretary of state. Moore also represented British Columbia in the cabinet in much the same way as Peter MacKay represented Nova Scotia.

Moore and MacKay join an impressive list of cabinet members not running for re-election. John Baird (Foreign Affairs); Shelly Glover (Canadian Heritage); Christian Paradis (International Development); and Diane Ablonczy (several minister of state and parliamentary secretary roles) are all not running for re-election in October.

Add Jim Flaherty (Finance) who resigned and died shortly afterward and there are a lot of key names as part of Harper's team who won't be in the next Parliament.

The traditional passing of the baton by parties that have been in power for some time doesn't look to be a part of the Conservatives playbook in 2015. The ship goes down or stays afloat with Stephen Harper.

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We thought Stephen Harper would be the only major player from the 2011 election in the mix for the 2015 federal election. Michael Ignatieff is teaching at Harvard University. Jack Layton tragically passed away in August 2011. And Gilles Duceppe left politics after the humiliation of the Bloc Quebecois in the 2011 election.

Madames and monsieurs, Gilles Duceppe has re-entered the building.

Sure the Bloc Quebecois is down to 2 seats, one of them belonging to Mario Beaulieu, who had been the leader. Beaulieu wasn't well suited to be the leader of a political party. The Bloc Quebecois had 4 seats in the 2011 election but lost 2 members in the interim time.

The political landscape has changed considerably for Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois. The publicly-financed per-vote subsidy helped the Bloc at its height but is no longer available. The Parti Quebecois took advantage of the backlash against then Liberal Premier Jean Charest, but Pauline Marois got greedy and lost her minority government in April 2014. The drive to get Stephen Harper out of power may be stronger than the potential separatist power return in Ottawa.

Presumably, Duceppe would run in his old riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie for the fall federal election.

A strong showing from the Bloc Quebecois hurts the NDP primarily, the Liberals significantly, and the Conservatives less than being poked by a comb.

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• John Oliver goes after Canadian Senate spending scandal but leaves red meat on the table

• Stephen Harper looks weak in debate shuffle

• 2015 Canadian politics preview

• Canadian politics coverage on CanadianCrossing.com

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The polls have the NDP and Thomas Mulcair out in front. If you wondered what happened to the Liberals and Justin Trudeau, you are not alone.

The NDP win in Alberta has given hope nationwide for the party. The Liberals bizarre and unexpected support of Bill C-51 did damage to the Liberals and Trudeau in the polls.

Trudeau recently came out and supports an end to 1st-past-the-post voting in his platform speech. What Trudeau is in favor of is representation in the House of Commons based on the percentage of vote your party receives, not how many ridings a party wins. The NDP has traditionally been in favor of this position, given its traditional 3rd-place finishes.

This new take would help the Green Party and Elizabeth May as well as other parties that come close in ridings but don't win.

If the winning coalition is Liberal-NDP or NDP-Liberal, you would have a combination that agrees on this subject, making it easier to pass that kind of legislation.

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The right to a speedy trial in Canada may only apply to the start of that trial if the Mike Duffy trial is any indication. There have been long breaks in this trial. The next major witness will be former Harper chief of staff Nigel Wright. You might remember that Wright wrote a $90,000 check to Duffy to cover his Senate expenses that he wrongly claimed.

Duffy is charged with receiving the check as a bribe, yet Wright wasn't charged with offering the bribe.

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There will be an official call for the federal election, some 35 days before October 19. Then again, the race has already started. No parliamentary sitting means candidates and MPs have plenty of time to court voters.

Rush gets the long overdue Rolling Stone treatment

Rush, perhaps the single-most recognized Canadian band outside of Canada, has had a long-heralded career worthy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mass appeal but at the same time, Rush doesn't seek or get the Limelight.

This is the band that went 33 years in between TV appearances in the United States (thank goodness for the Colbert Report). And now, Rush has finally made the cover of the Rolling Stone.

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart are on the cover of the July 2 edition of the magazine that hits newsstands today.

Rush has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide with 14 platinum records and 24 gold records. The band is celebrating its 40th anniversary. So clearly the band has done "okay" without TV appearances and magazine covers.

"A compromise is what I can never accept." — Neil Peart, drummer, Rush.

Appropriate, given Peart's role as lyricist (and outstanding drummer). This sums up the band Rush: 40 years of doing things the way they want to do.

In the Rolling Stone article, they talk about not wanting to do anything like the Kiss Army or having to do the same rap at every show about how great that city was.

In the live shows, the attention is in the details: Lee is using 26 different vintage basses on this current tour. There are 3 people in the band: often times, bands will tour with more musicians in the background. Rush tours with 3 band members: the 3 people in the band.

Unlike many rock bands that barely hang on, the members of Rush get along. "We're never mean to each other," says Lee, "so if we disagree, we pout. That's sort of the Canadian way. But we did used to love punching Alex when he said something stupid."

They even handled jealousy from other bands like quiet Canadians. There is a story in the Rolling Stone article about Rush being really nice to the Joe Perry Project in terms of soundchecks despite not being treated well by Aerosmith years before.

"Most bands were afraid of Rush," says longtime lighting director Howard Ungerleider. "They were being outplayed, and they hated it."

• Wal-Mart use of Rush's 'Working Man' smothered in irony

• Words is the theme of the inaugural Canadian Dinner Party

• Rush in the 'limelight' after making Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• 'Suck' is a rock and roll film with vampires, but mostly cameos from cool rock stars

• Rush makes first U.S. appearance in 33 years on U.S. TV

The band members have shown their sense of humour and Canadian-ness over the years. Geddy Lee helped out Bob and Doug McKenzie with Take Off at the height of Rush's career. Alex Lifeson was hilarious as a border guard in Suck. 

Neil Peart is flat out one of the best lyricist in rock and roll history. The drummer isn't usually the "words guy," but try reading Rush lyrics as a poem. If you read Peart's lyrics in poetry class, you shouldn't get any lower grade than an A-.

Having a rock and roll band for more than 40 years and being intact for all that time is unique and special in rock and roll. Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey before the band's first U.S. tour in 1974 but have been together since.

Amazing success, solid respect from their peers, and yet without the hype and trappings that led other groups to "bigger fame" and worse crashes. Rush after 40 years literally didn't need Rolling Stone to be one of the coolest bands on the planet, but we're glad the magazine finally stepped up and did it right.

Canada to play Switzerland in 2015 Women's World Cup Round of 16

Canada will take on Switzerland Sunday night in Vancouver in the Round of 16 at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup where the Group A winner meets up with the 3rd-place finisher in Group C.

While Canada had a relatively boring win and 2 draws, Switzerland lost to Japan 1-0, demolished Ecuador 10-1, and gave up a 1-goal lead, losing 2-1 to Cameroon. This is Switzerland's first trip to the World Cup.

The Canada-Switzerland winner will face England or Norway in the quarterfinals.

This is the second time Canada has ever advanced out of the group stage. In 2003, Canada finished 4th.

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Winnipeg is done with its responsibilities in hosting the Women's World Cup. Ottawa, Edmonton, and Vancouver will host 2 games in the Round of 16 while Moncton and Montréal each have a match.

CTV will have doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, including the Canada game on Sunday from Vancouver. TSN will have the other 4 matches. All the matches will be on Fox Sports 1 in the United States.

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Canada drew a healthy crowd of 45,420 at Olympic Stadium in Montréal for the final game in the opening round. The team reportedly has a large fanbase in Vancouver; with a Sunday evening game out west, we will be curious if the team gets closer to the 53,058 record set in Edmonton.

Ashley Lawrence and Christine Sinclair were the goal scorers for Canada. The defense did really well but the team need to close in and connect on goal-scoring opportunities. Switzerland scored 11 goals, though 10 in a game; that is more than 5 times as many goals as Canada scored.

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There isn't likely method in the madness of where teams end up from a location standpoint in the World Cup. But we are definitely amused as to France's path so far.

France played its first 2 games in Moncton, New Brunswick, a city where 32% of its citizens speak French (according to the Fox announcers) in a bilingual province. The final opening round game was in Ottawa, Canada's capital and a very bilingual city. Of course, Canada's officially French-language province, Quebec, is just across the Ottawa River from Ottawa.

In the Round of 16, France is playing in Montréal, a very bilingual city in a French-dominant province. France will likely stay in French-friendly cities such as Montréal and Ottawa until the medal round. 

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Colombia has played really well in great part due to goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda. However, Sepulveda received a 2nd yellow card in the 2-1 loss to England in Montréal. She made a play to stop the England push late in the game, but was caught with a flagrant miscue.

The United States might have beaten Colombia even with Sepulveda, but the U.S. team got a huge break.