Canadian Crossing

2016 CFL Week 15 preview

Winnipeg hosts Edmonton on Friday Night Football. The Saturday doubleheader is once again disjointed. Calgary goes to Tim Hortons Field to take on the Tiger-Cats. Ottawa travels a long way to Vancouver in the late game.

The required Sunday afternoon Montréal Alouettes home game features the Toronto Argonauts and the debut of the new Als head coach.

Saskatchewan gets a much needed week off.

TSN

Friday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Calgary @ Hamilton, 4p
Ottawa @ BC, 10p
Sunday
Toronto @ Montréal, 1p

Bye week: Saskatchewan

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Given how tight the races are, tiebreakers could be very vital. Tiebreakers only matter within a division since crossover teams need more points and there is no crossover with a tie.

Here is what we know up to this point on CFL tiebreakers.

East tiebreakers

Hamilton over Toronto
Hamilton over Montréal
Ottawa over Montréal
Ottawa over Toronto

Toronto has a 1-0 lead over Montréal. The Alouettes need to beat Toronto on Sunday by more than 13 points to win the tiebreaker on point differential.

Hamilton and Ottawa still have not played each other.

West tiebreakers

Calgary has a tiebreaker over every West Division team.
Edmonton and Winnipeg have the tiebreaker over Saskatchewan.

Edmonton beat B.C. 27-23 last week. The teams play October 22 in Vancouver.

B.C. is 1-0 against Saskatchewan; the teams play a home-and-home series to finish the season.

Tonight's Edmonton-Winnipeg victor will have the tiebreaker.

B.C. and Winnipeg still have not played each other.

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Winnipeg entered the game with a 7-game winning streak. Calgary had won 9 straight. First time ever in the CFL that both teams coming into a game had at least 7 wins in a row.

We could see these two teams in the West final in Calgary.

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders have a 2-game winning streak. The incentive to win in the last year at Taylor Field, a team finally gelling, with more luck instead of less luck earlier, teams taking the Riders for granted. Any way this has happened, if Saskatchewan is on your schedule, be careful.

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Mylan Hicks was not a Calgary Stampeders player for very long and on the practice roster but was seen as one of the group. Hicks' tragic death was a shocker especially at the hands of a gun. The police have a suspect under arrest. Our hearts go out to his family, teammates, and friends.

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Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor: BC @ Edmonton; Hamilton @ Saskatchewan
Rod Black, Matt Dunigan: Toronto @ Ottawa
Gord Miller, Duane Forde: Winnipeg @ Calgary

2016 Toronto Raptors preseason schedule

Date	Opponent	City	Time
October 1	Golden State	Vancouver	7:30p
October 3	Denver	Calgary	8p
October 5	L.A. Clippers	Los Angeles	10:30p
October 13	Cleveland	Cleveland	8p
October 14	San Lorenzo de Almagro	Toronto	7p
October 19	Detroit	Detroit	7:30p
October 21	Washington	Washington	7p
All times Eastern.

 

The Toronto Raptors start their 2016 NBA preseason schedule with a pair of NBA Canada games. The Raptors take on Golden State in Vancouver on Saturday and Denver in Calgary on Monday.

The team stays out west for a game in Los Angeles Wednesday against the Clippers. The Raptors only make a single appearance in the Air Canada Centre with an opponent from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

The Toronto Raptors are coming off the best year for the NBA in Canada with a strong playoff run and the 2016 All-Star Game north of the border for the first time.

Canadian film review: Sleeping Giant

Male adolescence isn't always a pretty sight. Sleeping Giant, the debut film from Andrew Cividino, fills the screen with male adolescence.

Taunting, teasing, daring, and plain ol' wrestling occupies the time for cousins Nate and Riley as well as Adam, our protagonist in the story. The male adolescence is set in front of what summer should look like and sound like on the big screen. The film was shot in cottage country in Shuniah and Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the shores of Lake Superior.

The male role models in the film don't help these teenagers. Adam's father has a bit of immaturity of his own, even as he tries to be a father figure to Riley. The other male is Brad, who deals them pot and living off the accolades of one very long and dangerous cliff jump.

The women in the film contribute very little. Adam's mother has little to do. Taylor is Adam's platonic friend who is seen more as a sex object by the boys. Her female friend Shauna doesn't speak in the entire film.

But Sleeping Giant isn't about the adults or the women: the film is about these three boys.

Film review: Closet Monster

2015 TIFF Canadian film wrapup

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

The scenes are a bit raw but they need to be to show the rituals of what many young boys go through in figuring out life and their place in it.

This is a film filled with people who are searching for something that they don't have. Adam is seeking peer acceptance and splitting off from the influence of his parents.

The film is based from a short film that starred Nick Serino and Reece Moffett, who play Nate and Riley. Serino and Moffett are cousins in real life. Serino won the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Jackson Martin plays Adam. The three of them do very well with scene time that is very demanding.

The pace of the film can be a little slow but that pace reflects the perception of summer of being endless and slow in the moment, especially as a teenager.

Sleeping Giant won the Best Canadian First Feature Award at TIFF 2015 and was also selected as one of Canada's Top Ten films of 2015. The film won 4 Canadian Screen Awards.

Cividino gives us a very powerful film with primary characters that are very real and almost too believable. Raw but you want to know what happens.

Sleeping Giant is currently streaming on Netflix in the United States.

video credit: YouTube/Zurich Film Festival

2016 NHL preseason schedule

Canada's phenomenal success in the World Cup of Hockey aside, we also have NHL preseason hockey.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are hitting the road given the aforementioned World Cup of Hockey, but they aren't going too far for most of those games. The Maple Leafs start out their preseason in Halifax, but will also play in nearby St. Catharines and Hamilton in Ontario.

Lumby, B.C., the Kraft Hockeyville winner, will host Los Angeles and Edmonton, otherwise known as the Milan Lucic Bowl, on October 2.

Les Canadiens will once again play a preseason game in Quebec City with Boston as the opponent on October 4. On that same day, the Battle of Ontario will be in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

London, Ontario hosts an all-American matchup in the afternoon on October 2; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario will do likewise at night on October 5.

Rogers Sportsnet will carry 11 preseason games. The telecasts will run on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 360 except for Kraft Hockeyville, which airs on Rogers Sportsnet.

The NHL Network live games are marked with an asterisk. There are a pair of games that are joined in progress marked with 2 asterisks. The network will likely pick up the Rogers feeds, especially for Kraft Hockeyville.

September 26
Ottawa vs. Toronto, 6p (Halifax) (SN1)
New Jersey (ss) at Montréal, 7:30p
Calgary (ss) at Edmonton (ss), 9p
Edmonton (ss) at Calgary (ss), 9p

September 27
Ottawa at Buffalo, 7p
Washington at Montréal, 7:30p
Calgary at Winnipeg, 8p
Vancouver at San Jose, 10:30p

September 28
Edmonton at Vancouver, 10p (SN1)

September 29
Buffalo vs. Toronto, 7p (St. Catharines, ON)
Ottawa at Montréal, 7:30p
Minnesota at Winnipeg, 8p*

September 30
Toronto at Buffalo, 7p (SN360)
Edmonton at Winnipeg, 8p
Vancouver at Calgary, 9p (SN1)**

October 1
Montréal at Ottawa, 3p

October 2
Dallas at Florida, 3p (London, ON)
Montréal at Toronto, 7p (SN1)
San Jose at Vancouver, 8p (SN360)
Winnipeg at Calgary, 9p
Los Angeles (ss) vs. Edmonton, 9p (Kraft Hockeyville @ Lumby, BC) (SN)*

October 3
Ottawa at Winnipeg, 8p
Arizona at Vancouver, 10p (SN1)*

October 4
Boston vs. Montréal, 7p (Quebec City)
Anaheim at Edmonton, 9p
Toronto vs. Ottawa, 9:30p (Saskatoon, SK)**

October 5
Buffalo vs. Carolina, 7p (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)
Arizona at Calgary, 9p

October 6
Toronto at Montréal, 7:30p
Winnipeg at Edmonton, 9p
Calgary at Vancouver, 10p (SN360)*

October 7
Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30p
Detroit vs. Toronto, 7p (Hamilton, ON) (SN360)*

October 8
Toronto at Detroit, 7p
Winnipeg at Minnesota, 8p
Vancouver at Edmonton, 9p (SN360)

(ss) -- split squad; all times Eastern

Xavier Dolan's latest film is Canada's Oscars entry

Canada nominees for Best Foreign Language Film
Film	Year**
War Witch	2012
Monsieur Lazhar	2011
Incendies	2010
Water	2006
Barbarian Invasions*	2003
Jesus of Montréal	1989
The Decline of the American Empire	1986
* Oscar winner **Year of the film, not the ceremony.

Xavier Dolan has now made 6 films and 3 of them have been the Oscars nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.

Dolan's latest It's Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde) is Canada's entry in the Oscars category for 2017.

The filmmaker also was nominated for I Killed My Mother (2009) and Mommy (2014).

It's Only the End of the World features French actors Nathalie Baye, Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, Gaspard Ulliel, and Vincent Cassel. Baye also starred in Laurence Anyways.

Our curiosity is heightened as to whether this film continues to fit the recent pattern. Purely French-Canadian films haven't made the cut while those films with an outside story do make the cut.

Felix and Meira, Mommy, and Gabrielle were the last 3 nominees but none made the cut to the top 9 much less the top 5. Rebelle, Monsieur Lazhar, and Incendies each made the top 5 cut. This will be especially poignant since Dolan's last film Mommy didn't come close.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

It's Only the End of the World finished second at Cannes. Mommy tied for third at Cannes and won the Cesar for Best Foreign Film.

Dolan's film nomination will shines extra light on the young director. Let's hope more people start discovering his work, all of his work.

The 89th Academy Awards will be on February 26, 2017

2016 CFL Week 14 preview

Friday Night Football starts with the Battle of eastern Ontario in the nation's capital. The western matchup late has the B.C. Lions in Edmonton.

The Saturday doubleheader isn't continuous as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in Calgary. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats travel to Regina in the late contest. Have a nice, sit-down dinner in between the games.

The Montréal Alouettes get a much needed week of rest to adjust to the new head coach.

TSN

Friday
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
BC @ Edmonton, 10p
Saturday
Winnipeg @ Calgary, 4p
Hamilton @ Saskatchewan, 9:30p

Bye week: Montréal

This chart is about replacing Anthony Calvillo as quarterback, but this chart is also a pattern for the woes of the Montréal Alouettes since the legendary quarterback retired. Coaching changes stemming from coaches way over their heads; offence coordinators rotating in and out. Jacques Chapdelaine, the wide receivers coach and special assistant to the offensive coordinator, takes over as interim head coach, putting Jim Popp back to strictly GM duties.

Chapdelaine has a lot to cope with in the role. The Montréal Alouettes hve lost 4 games in a row with the last victory coming August 19. The offence has been boring and ineffective. Rakeem Cato has been the starter in the last 2 games and the Als have a single offensive touchdown. Cato has been known for the off-field friction than anything on the field. The only TD last week was when Duron Carter blocked a punt and picked up the ball on his own block and scored a touchdown.

The defence is good but really tired. Chapdelaine has offence in his blood, having been an offensive coordinator for B.C., Edmonton, and Saskatchewan.

Montréal needs a good steady coach, something the team hasn't had since Marc Trestman. The Als need a good steady quarterback, whether that is Cato, Vernon Adams, or QB TBD. Chapdelaine might be a fine start; the Alouettes can't get much worse.

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers scored the last 27 points of their game against Toronto. In the first meeting between these two teams, attended by your humble narrator, the Toronto offence barely showed up in the second half. Same in this game though the Argos did get an early 3rd quarter to go up 29-19, but Toronto went scoreless after that major score.

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The Toronto Argonauts gave a nod to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the upset OT win over Edmonton. The home field advantage helped as the Roughriders still don't have a road win. The win pulled Edmonton into a tie with Toronto at 5-7 for the potential crossover, and ties don't count in the crossover.

Saskatchewan has 3 more home games at Taylor Field with the home finale October 29 against the B.C. Lions.

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Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor: Edmonton @ Saskatchewan
Chris Cuthbert, Matt Dunigan: Montréal @ Hamilton
Rod Black, Duane Forde: Toronto @ Winnipeg
Gord Miller, Glen Suitor: Ottawa @ Calgary

screen grab: TSN

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, parents visiting Canada west coast

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, along with their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will make a visit to the west coast of Canada.

The fun for the Royal Family starts in Victoria on September 24 and continues to Vancouver on Sunday. Other British Columbia destinations include Great Bear Rainforest, Kelowna, and Haida Gwaii. The family will also visit Whitehorse and Carcross in the Yukon.

Prince William traveled to Canada twice before he married Kate Middleton. The 2011 trip was Princess Kate's first trip to Canada. This will be the first trip for the children to Canada.

On that 2011 trip, the newly married couple were in Ottawa for Canada and also visited Montréal and Quebec City in Quebec; Charlottetown and Summerside on Prince Edward Island; the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife; and Calgary for the Calgary Stampede.

Breaking down 2015 WIFF Canadian films

I saw Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, a documentary on Haida Gwaii, last November at the Windsor International Film Festival. The beauty of the island is stunning and the family will visit it at a good time of year.

My timing is off having visiting Victoria about a month ago. The city turned out to be even more beautiful than I originally thought. The family is exploring areas out west that I would love to check out including Kelowna, Haida Gwaii, and Whitehorse. After telling people I've been to all 10 provinces, some tease me and ask, "When are you going to the territories?"

Royal couple protesters in Quebec stem from long-standing English-French battle

Prince William and Kate arrive in Canada

Don't forget Canadian TV options for Royal Wedding coverage

The west coast wasn't a part of the 2011 trip, so covering this part of Canada will be a unique experience for the royal family.

Royal baby has to wait in a long line to be relevant to Canadians

They will focus their engagements on young people as well as the issue of mental health. Conservation, cultural issues with the First Nations, agriculture, education, and emergency services are also on the itinerary for the royal family.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet the family during the trip. Trudeau has lived in British Columbia and his family vacations in Tofino, another amazing place.

2016 TIFF Canadian film wrapup

We're not surprised that the Toronto International Film Festival surprises us. At this time last year, we had barely heard of Closet Monster and Sleeping Giant.

This year, the major Canadian film prize winners are also relatively unknown … for now. The Best Canadian Feature Film for TIFF 2016 is Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves (Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) from Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie. The jury remarks notes point out its "uncompromising, electrifying portrait of youthful idealism and democratic exhaustion in contemporary Canada, and for its capacity to stir both heart and mind."

The subject matter, the 2012 Quebec student protests, is something I know a bit about from having seen some of it first-hand in Montréal. But I also know that I saw a tiny percentage of what was happening in La Belle Province. The film is 183 minutes, longer than Laurence Anyways and 3 minutes longer than Blue is the Warmest Colour.

The Best Canadian First Feature Film honour went to Old Stone (Lao shi) from Johnny Ma. The jury noted "its remarkably mature, powerfully rendered portrait of an innocent taxi driver caught in a proto-capitalist China." The film explores what happens when a hit-and-run driver does the right thing in China, but at great financial sacrifice. In the country, drivers get a small fine if the victim dies, but lifelong compensation commitments if they are injured.

We'll keep an eye out for those films. We are also anxious to see what the Windsor International Film Festival will pick up from TIFF in terms of Canadian film. Even if the new Xavier Dolan film It’s Only the End of the World feels more French than French-Canadian, we are still keen of seeing the film that finished second at Cannes.

Two Lovers and a Bear from Kim Nguyen starring Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany (love hearing that) and Bruce McDonald's Weirdos with Julia Sarah Stone and Emmy-nominated Molly Parker are still high on my list (here is a take on the Canadian soundtrack of that film via the Toronto Sun). Mean Dreams from Nathan Morlando with Sophie Nélisse and Josh Wiggins is also on the list. But like the winners of the major prizes, we are prepared for pleasant surprises.

Tatiana Maslany wins the Lead Actress Emmy for Orphan Black

TIFF 2016 Canadian film preview

Film review: Closet Monster

TIFF 2016 releases Canadian film lineup

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews coverage

Often when people criticize Canadian films for not telling Canadian stories, their criticism is about not telling their specific Canadian story. Well, CTV offered Canadians a chance to tell their story in Canada In A Day.

On September 10, CTV invited Canadians to film their lives for a day, which the channel will later use for a special. Those who want to participate have until October 10 to submit their films.

The questions that could be addressed in the film would be: What do you love? What do you fear? What do you hope for? What does Canada mean to you?

While September 10 was the target for a day, presumably you could still do a film and upload the film by October 10. For more details, click here.

These amateur efforts will be definitely be Canadian films telling Canadian stories by Canadians. And no more excuses about not telling your story.

 

Best Canadian Feature Film
Year	Film	Director
2016	Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves	Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie
2015	Closet Monster	Stephen Dunn
2014	Felix and Meira	Maxime Giroux
2013	When Jews Were Funny	Alan Zweig
2012	Laurence Anyways	Xavier Dolan
2011	Monsieur Lazhar	Philippe Falardeau
2010	Incendies	Denis Villeneuve
2009	Cairo Time	Ruba Nadda
2008	Lost Song	Rodrigue Jean
2007	My Winnipeg	Guy Maddin
2006	Manufactured Landscapes	Jennifer Baichwal
2005	C.R.A.Z.Y.	Jean-Marc Vallée
2004	It's All Gone Pete Tong	Michael Dowse
2003	Les Invasions Barbares	Denys Arcand
2002	Spider	David Cronenberg
2001	Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)	Zacharias Kunuk
2000	Waydowntown	Gary Burns
1999	The Five Senses	Jeremy Podeswa
1998	Nô	Robert Lepage
1997	The Sweet Hereafter	Atom Egoyan
	The Hanging Garden	Thom Fitzgerald
1996	Long's Day Journey Into The Night	David Wellington
1995	Live Bait	Bruce Sweeney
1994	Exotica	Atom Egoyan
1993	Kanehsatake: 270 Years Of Resistance	Alanis Obomsawin
1992	Requiem Pour Un Beau Sans-Coeur	Robert Morin
1991	The Adjuster	Atom Egoyan
1990	H	Darrell Wasyk
1989	Roadkill	Bruce McDonald
1988	The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick	Allan Goldstein
1987	Family Viewing	Atom Egoyan
1986	Le Déclin De L'empire Américain	Denys Arcand
1985	Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga Of Hal C. Banks	Donald Brittain
1984	La Femme De L'hôtel	Léa Pool
Best Canadian Feature Film (1991-present); Excellence in Canadian Production (1984-1990).

 

Best Canadian First Feature Film
Year	Film	Director
2016	Old Stone (Lao shi)	Johnny Ma
2015	Sleeping Giant	Andrew Cividino
2014	Bang Bang Baby	Jeffrey St. Jules
2013	Asphalt Watches	Shayne Ehman, Seth Scriver
2012	Antiviral	Brandon Cronenberg
	Blackbird	Jason Buxton
2011	Edwin Boyd	Nathan Morlando
2010	The High Cost of Living	Deborah Chow
2009	The Wild Hunt	Alexandre Franchi
2008	Before Tomorrow	Marie-Hélène Cousineau
		Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
2007	Un Film Sans Fusil Continental	Stéphane Lafleur
2006	Sur La Trace D'igor Rizzi	Nöel Mitrani
2005	The Life And Hard Times Of Guy Terrifico	Louise Archambault, Michael Mabbott
2004	La Peau Blanche	Daniel Roby
2003	Love, Sex and Eating The Bones	Sudz Sutherland
2002	Marion Bridge	Wiebke Von Carolsfeld
2001	Inertia	Sean Garrity
2000	La Moitié Gauche Du Frigo	Philippe Falardeau
1999	Just Watch Me:	Catherine Annau
	Trudeau and The 70's Generation
1998	Last Night	Don McKellar
1997	Cube Vincenzo	Natali
As determined by the Toronto International Film Festival.

photo credit: TIFF

Tatiana Maslany wins the Lead Actress Emmy for Orphan Black

"I feel so lucky to be on a show that puts women at the center."

Tatiana Maslany can now add an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama to her many awards for the rainbow of characters she plays on Orphan Black.

Maslany thanked many people including Graeme Manson and John Fawcett for "this incredible dream job." We noted her thanks to Kathryn Alexandre, her acting body double.

This was Maslany's second straight Emmy nomination. She beat out Claire Danes (Homeland), Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder), Taraji P Henson (Empire), Keri Russell (The Americans), and Robin Wright (House of Cards).

"The Antisocialism of Sex" was the Orphan Black episode submitted for Maslany to the Emmys. In the specific episode, Maslany played Sarah Manning, Alison Hendrix, Cosima Niehaus, Beth Childs, Rachel Duncan, and Veera Suominen aka MK. Maslany also has played Helena, Katja Obinger, Janika Zingler, Aryanna Giordano, Danielle Fournier, Jennifer Fitzsimmons, Krystal Goderitch, and Tony Sawicki.

Maslany has won 3 straight Canadian Screen Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Dramatic Role. She was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2014, a Screen Actors Guild award in 2015, and a previous Emmy nomination in 2015.

Fellow Canadian Kiefer Sutherland read out the award for Lead Actress in a Drama.

Tatiana Maslany, Molly Parker get Emmy nods

Tatiana Maslany (finally) gets Emmy nod for 'Orphan Black'

Orphan Black Season 4 finale airs tonight

'Schitt's Creek' wraps up Season 2 tonight on Pop TV

'Room' 'Schitt's Creek' dominate 2016 Canadian Screen Awards

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

The other Canadians up for Emmys learned their fate last weekend at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

• Molly Parker was nominated for Guest Actress in a Drama for House of Cards. Margo Martindale from The Americans won the award.
• Michael J. Fox was nominated for Guest Actor in a Drama for The Good Wife. Hank Azaria from Ray Donovan won the award.
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won the award.
• Gaycation with Ellen Page was nominated for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. Born This Way won the award.

The Emmy goes to Tatiana Maslany but the publicity surrounding the award has great potential to draw more attention to Orphan Black. Emmy nominations are nice but Emmy awards are more meaningful to get people to notice this very cool show.

Orphan Black returns in the spring of 2017 for the final season on Space in Canada and BBC America in the United States. The 68th Emmy Awards aired on ABC in the United States and CTV in Canada.

screen grabs: ABC

2016 CFL Week 13 preview

The Montréal Alouettes travel to Tim Hortons Field for Friday Night Football. The Saturday doubleheader runs earlier than normal with Winnipeg hosting the Toronto Argonauts in the early afternoon and Ottawa going to Calgary in the not quite nightcap. After the huge trade, the game in Winnipeg will be even more significant.

The teams of green get the Sunday slot with Edmonton traveling to Regina.

The B.C. Lions reach a temporary halt in the schedule.

TSN

Friday
Montréal @ Hamilton, 7p
Saturday
Toronto @ Winnipeg, 2p
Ottawa @ Calgary, 5p
Sunday
Edmonton @ Saskatchewan, 4:30p

Bye week: B.C.

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The CFL quarterback trades this week sounded like something 10-year-old kids would come up while sitting on the floor.

"Drew Willy isn't doing anything and Toronto needs a veteran quarterback." "Kevin Glenn isn't the future in Montréal; give the young QBs a chance to play." And then magically both scenarios happened.

Just after Dan LeFevour went 27-36 for 329 yards and a touchdown, the Toronto Argonauts sent DB T.J. Heath a 1st round pick in 2017, and a 3rd round pick in 2018 for Winnipeg QB Drew Willy. Winnipeg then acquired QB Kevin Glenn from Montréal for a 4th round pick in 2017.

The Toronto Argonauts have churned out quarterbacks that auditioned with the Argos and then went elsewhere. Zach Collaros, Trevor Harris, and Mitchell Gale have that commonality. Those QBs made their mark filling in for Ricky Ray. After the latest injury to Ray, the Argos overpay in the hopes that Drew Willy can be better than all of the QBs that left.

If anyone can salvage Willy's career, Scott Milanovich and Jim Barker are the duo. Drew Willy showed promise in a pair of seasons as the backup to Darian Durant in Saskatchewan. He had a good start with Winnipeg in 2014 with a league-leading 6 games with at least 300 passing yards. Willy's 2015 season started strong with 1,434 yards before being injured in Week 7.

This year, Willy and the Blue Bombers got off to a bad start. They couldn't get far upfield and Willy needed a bit more time to get rid of the ball. After a 1-4 start, Willy got replaced by Matt Nichols and Winnipeg has won 6 straight for the first time since 2001.

A few factors: Willy is not as bad as what we saw in 2016; Nichols is that good but never got a solid chance. Kevin Glenn will serve as a nice veteran QB backup and can help Nichols be even better. And honestly, there are many reasons why Willy will be better in Toronto: better O-line, less external pressure, and a better fit for the offence in Toronto.

Heath is coming off a pair of interceptions against Hamilton, has 5 on the season, tied for the league lead. He turned 29 on the day of the trade and will help strengthen an already good Winnipeg defence.

With Ricky Ray's career in jeopardy, the Argos had to do something. Dan LeFevour led the Argos to their first home win since July 25. And Toronto will get some benefit from Drew Willy. But the Argonauts paid too much now and in the future for what they hope is a better fit for Willy and the team.

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Montréal's quarterback carousel might turn out to be genius but the results aren't visible yet. The Alouettes traded Brandon Bridge to Saskatchewan earlier this season. Montréal gave up its 1st-round pick next year to the B.C. Lions for Vernon Adams.

Rakeem Cato has the job now though the Alouettes got a defensive touchdown before finally scoring an offence TD with less than 5 minutes in the game against the Lions.

LeFevour was one of the pair of injured Alouettes quarterbacks from Opening Day 2015; Jonathan Crompton is still recovering. The Montréal plan may be Adams and who else follows. Kevin Glenn wasn't part of the future and now the young QBs will be on display for the rest of this season. The way the Alouettes are going though, the B.C. Lions will enjoy getting that high pick in the draft.

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Winnipeg had to trade Drew Willy at some point. Usually, when you know a team is in that situation, the other trading team controls the cards. Winnipeg GM Kyle Walters ended up with a better hand than Toronto. The Blue Bombers saved on the salary cap now and in the future in trading Willy. They got help now and in the future for a team that needs to strengthen through the draft.

The team gave up a lower draft pick to get a veteran QB who will likely do better if Nichols goes down. Even if Willy does bounce back in Toronto, Winnipeg won this deal on so many levels.

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Saskatchewan scored a field goal on its first drive against Winnipeg. This is a stark improvement over the Roughriders 1st quarter track record, but the team needed to get that touchdown in the first drive. The lost momentum didn't help in the loss to the Blue Bombers. An early TD would help take the sellout crowd out of the game.

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Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor: Montréal @ BC; Calgary @ Edmonton
Rod Black, Duane Forde: Hamilton @ Toronto
Rod Black, Matt Dunigan: Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg