The 2024 CFL season returns to tradition with a Grey Cup rematch on Opening Night. The Grey Cup champion Montréal Alouettes travel to the newly christened Princess Auto Stadium (the old IG Field) to take on the West Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Thursday game will also run on CBS Sports Network using the TSN feed.
A balanced schedule (yay) is also a return to tradition with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Calgary on Friday night. Bo Levi Mitchell back at McMahon Stadium couldn't have happened last season — even if Mitchell had stayed healthy — since the Tiger-Cats weren't scheduled to play in Calgary.
Ironically, this is the only game not shown on U.S. TV in Week 1.
The green battle starts out early on Saturday night as Saskatchewan, with its new running back AJ Ouellette, travels to Edmonton, where Ouellette's former Toronto teammate McLeod Bethel-Thompson makes his Elks debut.
William Stanback makes his BC Lions debut as the team travels to Toronto for Sunday night in a battle of playoff division finals losers. Both weekend games run on the CBS Sports Network.
Ottawa has a new quarterback in Dru Brown yet will rest until next week to start the RedBlacks season.
CBS Sports Network
Thursday
Montréal @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 7p (tape delayed)
Sunday
BC @ Toronto, 7p
TSN
Thursday
Montréal @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Friday
Hamilton @ Calgary, 9p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 4p
Sunday
BC @ Toronto, 7p
Bye week: Ottawa
The Elks home opener would have run opposite Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final featuring the Edmonton Oilers. Though the NHL team will be nowhere near Edmonton, the conflict would have been frustrating.
Reminded us of the CFL-NHL conflict in Winnipeg in December 2021. The Maple Leafs were scheduled to play the Jets in downtown Winnipeg on December 5 at 6 pm local time. The NHL moved up the game by an hour; the CFL moved the start of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers West Division final from 3:30 pm CST to 3 pm CST. That was unofficially the Sara Orlesky doubleheader.
The CFL game was scheduled for 5 pm MDT and now will be at 2 pm MDT. The NHL game is at 6 pm MDT.
At press time, CBS Sports Network hasn't acknowledged the time shift so we don't know if the U.S. outlet will carry the game. CBS Sports Network is slow to update information. We will update this story as needed.
Editor's note: CBS Sports Network will show the Elks game at 7 pm EDT tape-delayed in the original time slot. Would have been more fun to know this sooner.
2024 Stanley Cup notebook: Edmonton plays Florida for the Stanley Cup
2021 CFL division finals preview
The CFL on CTV (a fun phrase) is 7 exclusive Saturday afternoon CFL contests at 3 pm Eastern. This is every Saturday in September and October (not October 5). If you saw a 4 pm Eastern game on a Saturday afternoon, the time of the game will move up an hour and be on CTV, not TSN.
CTV and TSN will carry the East semifinal, East final, and the Grey Cup in Vancouver.
You never quite know who you might find available after roster cuts. The Saskatchewan Roughriders took advantage and signed 2022 CFL All-Star defensive back Marcus Sayles. The BC Lions released Sayles after their final preseason game.
Sayles had spent the last 3 seasons with the Lions and 2 previous seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Some backup quarterback news: Saskatchewan went with Shea Patterson and rookie Jack Coan behind Trevor Harris. The Saskatchewan Roughriders released quarterbacks Mason Fine and Antonio Pipkin as well as Canadian receiver Brayden Lenius.
Dakota Prukop left Winnipeg for BC and then the Lions released Prukop in the preseason. Edmonton signed Prukop to be the 3rd quarterback for the Elks.
BC had a minor signing late in camp of defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor. His brief career with the other Lions, the Detroit Lions, was not meaningful except for a 1-year suspension by the NFL for betting on games during his rookie year. The NFL did reinstate Taylor and no team in the league signed him.
Given the whole Shawn Lemon betting allegations scenario, this looks bad with slightly different circumstances. The CFL has historically been seen as a place American players with troubles can go play. Ricky Williams and Johnny Manziel leap to mind. Manziel's recent comments about voluntarily exiting the CFL are likely accurate and mostly sad. If you don't know much about his brief time in the CFL, you can find (above video) his unbelievable terrible debut for Montréal against the team that signed him, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
These are some of the best calls made by @nielsonTSN1260. #CFL pic.twitter.com/q0grlEGXTJ
— CFL Fan (@CFLFan13) May 30, 2024
Found this collection of Dustin Nielson CFL on TSN calls. The Taylor Cornelius left-handed throwing interception (What is he doing?) is a classic in part due to Nielson's reaction. If you need to get hyped up for another CFL season, the video could put you in a cool mood.
Early in the 2023 CFL season, Bell Media jerked Nielson around after ditching TSN 1260 in Edmonton. Nielson's day job at the time (as the morning host). There were significant gaps where Nielson was missing after the radio format change. Glad to see that eventually rectified.
For those who are fresh to the experience, all games not on the CBS Sports Network in the United States are on CFL+. The 48-hour tape-delay system definitely makes for a better experience.
We will weigh in more on this as the season progresses.
Asking American CFL players to pour a cup of milk🥛
— Made In Canada (@MadelnCanada) June 1, 2024
“It’s milk in a sandwich bag” 🤣
pic.twitter.com/se74JnvGDI
I could watch videos all day consisting of Americans trying to figure out bagged milk. This looks like the Toronto Argonauts training camp. A lot of Americans come to Canada to improve their football career and learn some cultural differences, well, at least in Ontario.
2024 CFL preview
There are no starting Canadian quarterbacks in the CFL at the start of the season. The days of Nathan Rourke and Tre Ford as starters seem to be gone. No one signed Michael O'Connor, despite the many QB injuries in 2023.
Rourke is in the NFL and Ford is the primary backup to Edmonton starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
2024 CFL preseason schedule
Jonas Brothers is the halftime act for the Grey Cup in Vancouver. They won't have to freeze unlike other halftime acts at the Grey Cup. Surprised we know this so early in the process.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
Rod Smith and Duane Forde matched up with Farhan Lalji in Ottawa in the preseason game on May 31. Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor were out west with CFL on TSN newcomer Shantelle Chand on May 31 in Vancouver. We will do our best to get this information during the season.
logos credit: CFL
Twitter capture: @CFLFan13
video credit: ESPN/CFL
Comments