The rematch of the 2019 Grey Cup, a very distant memory, kicks off the 2021 CFL season tonight in Winnipeg against Hamilton.
The return of Friday Night Football has the BC Lions going east to Regina. The game is sold out.
The Saturday doubleheader is confined to the province of Alberta. Toronto is in Calgary early while Ottawa will be the first opponent of the Edmonton Elks in the late game.
The Montréal Alouettes have waited a long time to play. The team will have to wait a week longer.
ESPN2 has the first and last games of the weekend. The Friday game originally was on the U.S. schedule on ESPNews.
ESPN2
Thursday
Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 10p
TSN
Thursday
Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Friday
BC @ Saskatchewan, 9:30p
Saturday
Toronto @ Calgary, 7p
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 10p
Bye week: Montréal
2021 CFL preview
We spent an extra year on the CFL preview so we invite you to read all or most of our preview. Some readers are well versed about the league while others may be curious to discover Canadian football.
We are happy to have Canadian football back but we know the quality of football will be subpar for awhile. No preseason games. A lot of new people being shuffled in and out with teams.
Short-term solutions for TSN to replace Chris Cuthbert on CFL telecasts
The pattern had been established for years: Chris Cuthbert worked out west while Rod Black worked out east, most of the time.
Will Rod Smith call 2 games a week most weeks? Will Rod Black cut back his workload? They do have help with Dustin Nielson and Marshall Ferguson along with Farhan Lalji. The games are out west to start so the east-west dynamic isn't relevant.
The announcers might be a bit rusty, especially with the turnovers on CFL rosters. Be patient. Things should look good by Labour Day.
Matthew Scianitti of TSN has a lovely essay about how the CFL is about family.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
A reminder to our U.S. fans that ESPN+ will have all the games that do not appear on the TV side. In years past, repeats of TV games were on ESPN3. You can find out which games are on U.S. TV and the others on ESPN+. Any cable schedule will be subject to change.
The TSN feed is used regardless of whether the games are on TV or ESPN+. NHL fans should have ESPN+ for the fall.
The price of ESPN+ is increasing again, as of August 13. The current $5.99/$59.99 price goes up to $6.99/$69.99. The Disney Bundle price (ESPN+/Disney+/Hulu) remains at $13.99 per month.
logo credit: CFL
photo credit: TSN/CFL
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