The CFL knows how to party on Labour Day weekend. Rivalries are renewed and fans are paying more attention.
The 200-km distance has helped a new rivalry between Ottawa and Montréal. The teams start out Thursday at Molson Stadium. The prairie teams once again meet in the new Mosaic Stadium on Sunday. Their last meeting was extremely memorable.
Labour Day weekend has the relatively new pattern of the Battle of Alberta in the late afternoon in the east with the Battle of Southern Ontario in prime time in the east. Those games are in Calgary and Hamilton, respectively. The Tiger-Cats are eager to get off to a new start with a new coach.
Canada and the United States share Labour Day but ESPN2 won't break stride to carry the Labour Day games. The NFL season doesn't start until Thursday.
The BC Lions need a bit of relaxing during the long weekend.
TSN
Thursday
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7:30p
Sunday
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan, 4p
Monday
Edmonton @ Calgary, 3p
Toronto @ Hamilton, 6:30p
Bye week: BC
Nik Lewis needed 9 catches in Montréal against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to set the all-time receptions mark. Lewis ended up with 10 catches to pass Geroy Simon for the all-time mark.
The record-setting catch came on a crucial 3rd down to keep the Alouettes in the game. Lewis added a reception in overtime.
The CFL had a nice ceremony after the game. CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie was there to honour the receiver with a large plaque.
"Greatness is being able to be consistently good. Being consistently where you’re supposed to be. Blocking consistently well. Catching the ball consistently. And doing all the little things. If you’re consistently good, greatness is right there on the horizon," Lewis said after the game, reflecting on how he was able to set the record.
This is the 14th season for Lewis, spending the first 11 years as a member of the Calgary Stampeders before moving on to Montréal. Lewis set the record wearing a Montréal uniform, just like Ben Cahoon, who held the mark before Simon set his own record.
Lewis has gone over 1,000 yards in 10 different seasons. That is a great example of consistency.
The CFL is weird, man... pic.twitter.com/z72ijSebIP
— Stadium (@WatchStadium) August 25, 2017
We often don't think the Americans are paying attention to the CFL when the ESPN2 cameras are off. Thanks to the Internet, some Americans are following along.
The Montréal Alouettes had just tied the game with seconds remaining in regulation. The Als kicked off to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Winnipeg receiver grabbed the kickoff and lateraled it back to a teammate. The other player kicked the ball knowing the first guy was onside, meaning that the onside player could pick up the punt and run for a game-winning touchdown.
A Montréal player fielded the punt and kicked the ball toward the end zone, hoping for a single point and an Alouettes win.
As Duane Forde noted in the call, the third kick by a Winnipeg player actually gave Montréal a chance to win the game. The Als were called for no yards on the final kick, so the scoring would have been nullified.
Overtime was pretty exciting though not as interesting as the conclusion in regulation. As Rod Black put it, "this is CFL football at its finest."
We don't often agree with Black, but Winnipeg and Montréal do need to play each other more often. Both of the games this year were exciting all the way through, games that non-fans of those teams would want to watch again.
Winnipeg came from behind at home with 2 majors in fewer than 100 seconds. Montréal erased a 10-point deficit at home to tie the game and force overtime.
Though the Blue Bombers won both games, the Als have been really close both times. The Blue Bombers started their current 5-game winning streak in the first win over the Alouettes.
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June Jones makes his CFL head coach debut with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at the Labour Day Classic. There was going to be pressure anyway on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in going winless and up against the hated rival from up the Queen Elizabeth Way.
Art Briles changed the perspective of how little that matters. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced the hiring of Art Briles to be an assistant coach on Monday. By Monday night, the decision was overturned.
Pressure poured down from fans and sponsors. Social media was loud and clear. Sports Illustrated was on the story.
Briles was fired as Baylor’s head coach in May 2016 for not reporting on multiple rape allegations while the head coach at Baylor University. There were 52 alleged rapes in 4 years by Baylor football players.
The CFL press release, since withdrawn, didn't mention any of that crucial points. Tiger-Cats CEO Scott Mitchell's justification of the hiring was disturbing to the team and the league.
The consensus online was that even at 0-8, Tiger-Cats fans would rather lose without Briles than win with him. Bravo for that stance.
People make horrible choices for reasons we may not understand. Hamilton Tiger-Cats management was very tone deaf. Other people rose up to object. The fact that the reversal was so quick was a very good sign that this should never have happened in the first place.
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As for Jones, he replaces Kent Austin who, as vice president of football operations, fired himself as coach. Jones has been with the Tiger-Cats since August 2 as an assistant coach.
Austin guided the Tiger-Cats to 2 Grey Cups since 2013, winning one East Divisional title and making two Grey Cups, losing to the Roughriders in 2013 before falling to the Stampeders in 2014.
Jones played quarterback in the CFL late in his playing career. He did serve as an offensive assistant for the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1986. Jones was a quarterback for the 1982 Toronto Argonauts. He did coach future CFL players, including Chad Owens and Timmy Chang at the University of Hawaii.
Jones picked Jeremiah Masoli to replace Zach Collaros as the starting quarterback for the TiCats. We found out this week that the Tiger-Cats had QB Johnny Manziel work out for them in Buffalo. The team cited "too many red flags" in Manziel's tryout. Manziel has his own issues with a domestic violence charge in 2016.
Jones might have only been here for 10 games even before the Art Briles controversy. Jones could go 10-0 and not be back after the Art Briles debacle.
The last Hamilton Tiger-Cats win came on October 21 with a 39–36 (2OT) win in Ottawa.
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Edmonton was struggling last week but finally got on the scoreboard with a major. The Esks went to kick the extra point but it was blocked. Saskatchewan wide receiver Duron Carter was in the end zone just in case.
Carter ran back the ball all the way to the other end zone for 2 points for the Roughriders. On a normal CFL weekend, that might have been the most unusual play. But not this past weekend.
How big was the Saskatchewan win on the road. The Roughriders last road win came on October 15 last year, a 29-11 win at BMO Field. You have to go back a lot further to find the last road win against a West Division opponent: The Roughriders beat the BC Lions 20-16 in Vancouver on August 24, 2014.
photo credit: Paul Chiasson, AP
Twitter grab: @WatchStadium
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