The week leading into the Labour Day weekend starts a bit early with the first of 2 games involving the Toronto Argonauts. The B.C. Lions come to BMO Field in their game before enjoying the Labour Day weekend.
The newest CFL rivalry will be in Montréal on Thursday as Ottawa arrives in La Belle Province.
The Prairie battle gets under way Sunday at Taylor Field. It will be a raucous time for players and fans alike.
Labour Day features the same teams playing each other, but the timeslots are flipped so the Battle of Alberta comes first followed by the southern Ontario clash in primetime under the lights at Tim Hortons Field.
TSN
Wednesday
BC @ Toronto, 7:30p
Thursday
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7:30p
Sunday
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan, 3p
Monday
Edmonton @ Calgary, 3p
Toronto @ Hamilton, 6:30p
Bye week: None
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The single game suspension against Montréal wide receiver Duron Carter has been upheld. The game he will miss is against Ottawa, the team involved in the original incident. Rare is the time in sports where justice is that poetic.
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Labour Day weekend is the most joyous time in the CFL. Rivalries make the Canadian football experience that much more exciting. The Prairie teams get together. The Battle of Alberta gets fierce. The southern Ontario teams get intense. And quite frankly, the Ottawa-Montréal rivalry is getting intense. The B.C. Lions don't have that natural rival, though the Atlantic Schooners may be a future partner.
This is the last Labour Day weekend rivalry battle at Taylor Field in Regina. Yes the game is on the Sunday on Labour Day weekend, in part so fans can drive back on Monday. This rivalry gets lost in the shuffle at times. But watch these two teams if you can make the time. There is something about watching the CFL in the Prairies.
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Labour Day weekend, along with the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, are the 2 times the CFL misses having the CBC as part of its TV package. For those who may not remember, in the last years of the CFL on CBC, the network would carry Saturday afternoon games but shined brightly by carrying both games on Labour Day and Canadian Thanksgiving.
You didn't need cable, and this was back in the analog days when more Canadians could get CBC without cable. The U.S. audience that also got the CBC could also enjoy Canadian football on those Canadian holidays.
Speaking of the CFL on CBC, glad to see Mark Lee got to work some events during the 2016 Rio Olympics. Good to hear his voice. I enjoyed his calls on the CFL and NHL, though apparently I'm in the minority on the latter.
Steve Armitage, who also worked on the CFL on CBC, sat out of the 2016 Rio Olympics due to heart problems. Armitage was very much missed during the Olympics, and hope he gets better soon.
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Catching up on ESPN2 ratings for the August 11 game with the Alouettes in Edmonton. The 9p ET start drew 112,000, a bit low but this was during the Olympics.
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Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor: Saskatchewan @ Edmonton; Hamilton @ Calgary
Gord Miller, Duane Forde: BC @ Ottawa; Winnipeg @ Montréal
Mark Lee was outstanding in Rio. It's too bad he doesn't have a role in TSN's coverage of the CFL.
Really the only thing that was a bit of an unnatural fit for him was doing NHL hockey. Not sure why, but that's what has prompted most of the dislike for the guy.
Posted by: Tyler | September 02, 2016 at 11:20 AM