ESPN2 has another Thursday night doubleheader and a late Friday game just like last week. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats host Winnipeg in the first half on Thursday. The Argos go west to Vancouver in the nightcap.
Calgary's trip to the nation's capital will be on TSN only. Both countries will show a battle of green as the Roughriders go northwest to Edmonton.
Enjoy the games on U.S. TV while you can because the network will take a break until July 25.
Montréal needs a break and gets one this week.
ESPN2
Thursday
Winnipeg @ Hamilton, 7p
Toronto @ BC, 10p
Friday
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 10p
TSN
Thursday
Winnipeg @ Hamilton, 7p
Toronto @ BC, 10p
Friday
Calgary @ Ottawa, 7p
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 10p
Bye week: Montréal
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Duron Carter helped give the CFL some publicity on both sides of the border but not in a good way. The 3rd quarter TD catch didn't seem out of the ordinary. The major score did give the Montréal Alouettes some badly needed momentum. Unfortunately for Carter and the Alouettes, his soiree after the catch was the problem.
Carter strolled close to the Ottawa bench and then made contact with Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell. If this were the Canadiens and the Senators, Campbell might have been called for 2 minutes for a dive. Still, there was no reason for Carter to be anywhere near Campbell.
Matt Dunigan in the studio noted that both teams share the same sideline in all the East home fields. Rod Black seemed to think Carter's antics stemmed from the hit he took in the end zone as he made the TD catch.
The CFL suspended Carter for a game, which will be July 15 since the Alouettes have a bye. Montréal fined Carter an undisclosed amount. Carter and Ottawa defensive back Jerrell Gavins were both ejected from the game. The CFL also fined Gavins for punching an opponent and an inappropriate gesture after his ejection. Campbell was also fined. The league also fined Redblacks safety Jermaine Robinson for the high hit to Carter on the TD catch.
Montréal had to finish the game with only 4 receivers in a 5-receiver setup since S.J. Green was injured earlier in the game. Green is out for the season with a complete tear of his medial collateral ligament (MCL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and his meniscus in his right knee. Running back Tyrell Sutton is on the 6-game injured list with a MCL injury.
The Alouettes closed to within 14-12 on the convert and 14-13 on the subsequent kickoff. The RedBlacks scored the final 14 points of the game for a 28-13 win. Carter's antics did help the shift in momentum.
This is not typical CFL behavior, even if casual observers might wonder otherwise.
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Calgary 3rd-string quarterback Andrew Buckley scored on a 1-yard TD run becoming the first Canadian QB to score a touchdown since, well, last week. As we noted last week, Montréal Alouettes backup QB Brandon Bridge became the first Canadian QB to score a CFL touchdown in 20 years.
Progress comes slow but the fact that Canadian QBs are on the roster is a huge step. Buckley may not get too much playing time since Drew Tate is the backup QB and Bo Levi Mitchell has been very healthy. But Buckley has replaced Tate as the short-yardage quarterback for the Stampeders.
Given Montréal's recent QB woes, Bridge is more likely to get substantial playing time this season.
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The new CFL "What We're Made of" promo (above) is running on ESPN. Strong look with power and showing players in motion. We are also getting the standard CFL rules promo from ESPN. The individual players promos are also running, however, given that Jonathan Crompton has been injured and invisible, seeing his promo felt a bit weird.
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The audio kept cutting in and out of the Toronto-Saskatchewan game in Week 2. Like most issues, this was likely a TSN issue but we weren't certain.
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The CFL ratings in the United States can't tell us much after Week 1. The Montréal-Winnipeg game was split in two thanks to the lightning in Winnipeg. The first segment drew 221,000 with 185,000 for the rest of the game. The Calgary-B.C. late Saturday game drew a respectable 193,000 number; The conclusion of the Ottawa-Edmonton registered at 178,000.
According to Douglas Pucci aka SonOfTheBronx, ESPNews is not rated by Nielsen, so we don't have U.S. numbers for the Hamilton-Toronto game. In Canada, the game did really well with 692,000 viewers on TSN — a 46 percent increase over last year's opener.
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Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor: Toronto @ Saskatchewan; Winnipeg @ Calgary
Rod Black, Duane Forde: Ottawa @ Montréal; BC @ Hamilton
video credit: YouTube/CFL
photo credit: TSN via ESPN2/CFL
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