Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that ESPN2 is not carrying Saturday's late game.
The traditional Grey Cup rematch is not on tap for the start of the 2022 CFL season. We do have a matchup of the teams that lost in the opening round of the 2021 CFL playoffs as Montréal travels to Calgary for a Thursday night game.
The Grey Cup champs are at home Friday night hosting Jeremiah Masoli and the Ottawa RedBlacks. A Grey Cup reunion of sorts.
The Grey Cup runner-up the past 2 seasons will be in the stadium hosting the 2022 Grey Cup. Hamilton travels to Saskatchewan for the opening game on Saturday.
The 2 teams from the West Division that didn't make the playoffs comprise the late game as the Elks are in Vancouver.
We were a bit surprised to find that the ESPN cable channels are not carrying any games in the opening week.
Toronto gets to watch the season unfold with a bye.
TSN
Thursday
Montréal @ Calgary, 9p
Friday
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Hamilton @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Edmonton @ BC, 10p
Bye week: Toronto
🚨 BC LIONS SEASON KICKOFF CONCERT 🚨
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) May 5, 2022
JUNE 11th | @OneRepublic kicks off the 2022 season IN STYLE! 🎙🎵
🔥 TICKETS: https://t.co/EMKc9S86QO#BCLions #RoarLikeNeverBefore pic.twitter.com/ETizQBZIqD
New BC Lions owner Amar Doman wants a new beginning for the franchise. Having a group such as OneRepublic open the season is a good sign. We talk a lot about struggles in Toronto with fan support but things haven't been rosy in Vancouver.
Closing the upper deck has been a bad sign. Those were great seats that were more financially accessible. The upper deck is reportedly open for the home opener.
Doman is fighting an uphill battle against concession prices at BC Place. He wants a tailgate party before each game.
The Lions have only had a single playoff game in the last 4 seasons and that was in the eastern portion of Canada. BC has missed the playoffs the last 2 seasons, which hasn't happened since 1989-1990.
2016 marked the last BC home playoff game and playoff win (same game).
The post Michael Reilly era quarterback core is talented but unproven.
While we don't pull for specific CFL teams on the field, we hope the Lions generate excitement to get that fan base back into BC Place.
Doug Ford and the PCs win a second term in Ontario
We did some extensive research last year of Canadian athletes who crossed over into politics. Add Neil Lumsden to that list.
Lumsden, at 69, is having a career change as the new MPP for the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek riding. Lumsden, representing the Progressive Conservatives, won 34.6% of the vote. Paul Miller, an independent after being kicked out of the NDP, held the seat since 2007. Miller finished a distant fourth.
Lumsden, who is in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, was a running back and kicker/punter for Toronto, Hamilton, and Edmonton from 1976-1985.
2022 CFL preview
Why the Canadian ratio is so important in the CFL
We updated our CFL preview with the ESPN press release. ESPN will have 20 regular season games on ESPN2 and ESPNews as well as all playoff games. All other CFL games will be available on ESPN+. All feeds come from TSN.
2022 CFL preseason schedule
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
ESPN+ ended up carrying 3 of the 4 CFL preseason games that aired on TSN. The initial preseason game (Toronto @ Ottawa) never materialized on the schedule. The other 3 games did appear on the schedule
Marshall Ferguson and Duane Forde were in Ottawa. Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor stayed out west in Regina on May 31 and Vancouver on June 3. Rod Smith and Forde were in Montréal on June 3.
As we noted, these are the primary people who will cover the games. Matt Dunigan and Farhan Lalji will fill in as needed.
logo credit: CFL
Twitter capture: @BCLions
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