Bienvenue to the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving Monday only has a single game this year and no U.S. TV despite the open holiday opportunity.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats travel to Winnipeg for the lone Friday night contest. Saturday sees a pair of local 4 pm fall starts with Saskatchewan at BMO Field early and the Ottawa RedBlacks in their prime time slot at Vancouver.
The Canadian Thanksgiving game features Edmonton at Molson Stadium to play the Alouettes in a battle of intense losing streaks.
Calgary enjoys a hearty Thanksgiving weekend with extra turkey.
TSN
Friday
Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Toronto, 4p
Ottawa @ BC, 7p
Monday
Edmonton @ Montréal, 2p
Bye week: Calgary
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The Montréal Alouettes actually beat Calgary in 2017 with a 30-23 win on July 14. The Stampeders started relatively slow but have been red hot since then. The Als have lost 7 in a row. The 59-11 beating the Als took in Calgary shows how far the teams have been since July 14.
The Calgary offence excelled against the weaker East teams at home with a combined 119-12 over Hamilton (60-1) and Montréal (59-11).
The last Montréal win was over the Toronto Argonauts 21-9 on August 11.
Saskatchewan and Edmonton are 8 points ahead of Montréal. The Alouettes can only gain 8 more points on the season. A team can't tie in points in a crossover so a Roughriders/Esks win or Alouettes loss means Montréal's only playoff path is outlasting Ottawa and Hamilton for 2nd place. This from a team that started 3-4.
The Alouettes are the only CFL team that is winless on the road. Even Toronto is 2-5 on the road.
The Canadian Thanksgiving game features a team with a 7-game losing streak (Montréal) and a team with a 6-game losing streak (Edmonton).
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Saskatchewan started horribly this season but the Roughriders learned to win on the road. The Roughriders still have to get past the BC Lions, though Saskatchewan owns the tiebreaker. There was no reason to think the Roughriders would win in Ottawa. The RedBlacks had a 3rd-string quarterback and a 17-point lead. Ottawa left points on the board before the Roughriders comeback.
The rouge that decided the game came on a punt. That was one of the more exciting punts since Ottawa was desperate to get the ball out of the end zone. Saskatchewan prevailed on the play and in the game.
Congratulations to Kevin Glenn on career win #100. Some have doubted you but you have persevered and brought the Roughriders out of the West cellar.
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The Toronto Argonauts are at .500 and leading the East. The Argos pulled off the comeback win for the team's initial triumph at Tim Hortons Field. Ricky Ray and the Argos offence played things really cool down the stretch in a very ugly win.
Toronto is in such good shape that the Argos only need 3 points in the last 4 games to win the East. Toronto has 14 points to 11 for Ottawa. The RedBlacks only have 3 games remaining and can max out at 17 points. James Wilder Jr. had an okay game last week but the previous 2 weeks helped the Argos build a 3-game winning streak.
Montréal can't catch Toronto for the division title. Hamilton can max out at 16 points. Toronto has the tiebreaker over every team in the division.
As for Ottawa, the RedBlacks are 5 points ahead of Hamilton and Montréal, but Ottawa has 3 games remaining to 4 for Montréal and 5 for Hamilton. The RedBlacks have the tiebreaker over the Alouettes but have to play Hamilton at TD Place to decide that tiebreaker on October 27.
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers posted a huge win in a place that isn't too easy to play in Edmonton. Chris Randle's Pick 6 late sealed the deal for Winnipeg. Matt Nichols, who got his start in Edmonton, and Andrew Harris lead a very talented offence. The defence is quite talented. While Justin Medlock isn't on his usual impressive track, there are still plenty of field goals.
The Blue Bombers have won 8 of their last 9 games. Winnipeg is 6 points ahead of Edmonton and Saskatchewan, where each team can gain a max of 10 points. The Blue Bombers have the tiebreakers over both clubs.
Edmonton acquired C.J. Gable from the Tiger-Cats to help the Esks running attack. Alex Green did well for Hamilton 2 weeks ago. Still, a lot of talent to go away from Hamilton.
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The game in Edmonton was marred by a significant attack. An officer working on traffic control near Commonwealth Stadium was struck by a Chevrolet Malibu whose driver crashed into a barricade and hit the officer, sending him flying 4.5 metres into the air.
The suspect then attacked the officer with a knife, stabbing him several times. Later that night after the Esks game, the suspect then allegedly drove a white U-Haul van and hit pedestrians on on Jasper Avenue and the nearby sidewalk.
Const. Mike Chernyk was treated for stab wounds to his head and face and abrasions on his arms. He has been released from the hospital. 4 pedestrians suffered injuries from "broken arms to brain bleeds" — 2 of those pedestrians are out of the hospital.
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Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor stayed east while Rod Black and Duane Forde were out west.
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