Touchdown Pacific kicks off the Labour Day weekend for the CFL on Saturday night. The Ottawa RedBlacks travel to British Columbia to Royal Athletic Park in Victoria instead of BC Place in Vancouver. This game will indeed by on the CBS Sports Network in the United States.
The primary prairie teams have Sunday night to themselves as the Blue Bombers travel to Regina. The teams also met in Week 7 in Regina.
Toronto goes down the Queen Elizabeth Way to Hamilton for the Labour Day game. The teams also met in Week 7 in Hamilton with a rare Ticats win.
Unlike the other 2 major rivalries, this is the first Battle of Alberta in 2024 as the Elks and Stampeders match up in Calgary. This is the Labour Day nightcap.
CBS Sports Network has all the games on Labour Day weekend in the United States.
Montréal enjoys the Labour Day weekend to finish up the summer in La Belle Province.
CBS Sports Network
Saturday
Ottawa @ BC, 7p
Sunday
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Monday
Toronto @ Hamilton, 2:30p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 6p
TSN
Saturday
Ottawa @ BC, 7p
Sunday
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Monday
Toronto @ Hamilton, 2:30p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 6p
Bye week: Montréal
Nice to have a special CFL game without the pressure of putting a team in that city. Victoria, BC is hosting a CFL game but there is virtually no way a CFL team will end up in the British Columbia capital.
Victoria is not normally a late night spot downtown after the game but as we noted in our latest travel notebook, the city offers some fun in the evening.
Royal Athletic Park is a short walk away from downtown with a slight elevation going away from downtown. We are thrilled that CBS Sports Network is carrying the game.
We know that BC has quarterback issues, among other things lately. Nathan Rourke is from Victoria and will start the game.
If you are going, enjoy Victoria and then explore Vancouver Island.
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WALK-OFF ROUGE 🚨
— CFL (@CFL) August 23, 2024
Argos only needed a single point to win... and they got it!#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/vkvuxF9f5K
The beauty of the CFL is deeper end zones — 20 yards — to give the offence more chances to score. Except that BMO Field in Toronto doesn't have regulation size end zones. They are 18 yards, still larger than puny NFL end zones of 10 yards.
The short end zone cost the Toronto Argonauts in 2019 as Chris Rainey caught the ball after a Sergio Castillo miss but stepped on the back line, giving the BC Lions a narrow win.
Saskatchewan had a strong 1st quarter but 2 quick interceptions helped Toronto back into the game. The Roughriders defence was legendary on the goal line to prevent Argos touchdowns.
Saskatchewan's game management was quizzical at the end. A timeout called with 31 seconds negated a first down reception. The timeout also limited the ability to run out the clock, though a run play would have helped knock off some time off the clock.
Not that the Roughriders wanted another tie but that looked more tempting as Lirim Hajrullahu's missed field goal gave Toronto the win.
Brett Lauther went perfect in field goals in a bounce back week for the Roughriders. Toronto's Chad Kelly went 24-for-39 with 322 passing yards and an interception. That was the most passing yards the Argos had this season in a game.
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The BC Lions have lost 5 games in a row. Their defence, which had been the pride of the team, has been missing for some time. Dru Brown compiled 390 passing yards with 3 touchdowns. Nick Mardner caught 2 of those touchdowns for 95 overall yards. The big play with a 64-yard TD pass, the majority of which was YAC (yards after catch).
Nathan Rourke was a lot better, going 22-for-31 with 234 passing yards and 1 interception. Sean Whyte had his beautiful 46 consecutive made field goals streak come to an end thanks to a block from Ottawa's Jovan Santos-Knox.
Ottawa remains undefeated at home, something Montréal can't even claim.
The BC Lions could use some help in the past rush. Canadian defensive lineman Mathieu Betts (BC Lions) got his walking papers from the other Lions team, as in Detroit Lions. Betts had 2 solo tackles and a sack in 3 NFL preseason games. While Betts was a CFL free agent, he did return to Vancouver.
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Before Friday's game in Winnipeg, Zach Collaros had 24 game-winning drives while Bo Levi Mitchell had 21 game-winning drives. The Blue Bombers slept walked through most of the second half while the Tiger-Cats took the lead. Winnipeg had one good drive in the second half, which was enough for the comeback win. Kenny Lawler caught the winning TD pass as he had struggled since returning from injury.
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The Edmonton Elks had a formula when they lost. Play close but never getting enough momentum. The Elks 3-game winning streak was snapped in a new way: have a big lead and then don't score in the second half. Edmonton had the 17-6 halftime lead. The running game was excellent with Kevin Brown and Justin Rankin. McLeod Bethel-Thompson looked unbeatable. Cody Fajardo did not look like himself.
The magic of the second half led the Alouettes to another comeback win. Cole Spieker had 2 major touchdown catches in the second half: a 33-yard effort over the middle and a 22-yard sideline grab with the sideline running out on Spieker. The receiver finished with 5 catches for 107 yards.
Fajardo ended up with 22-for-34 in the air for 336 yards.
Yes, Boris Bede missed a field goal attempt in the second half on the turf of his original CFL home field. That was as close as the Elks got to productive offence. The Alouettes defence even stopped the Elks running attack.
Montréal celebrated the 1974 Grey Cup championship team. The Als defetaed Edmonton on a rainy day at the old Empire Stadium (pre BC Place) in Vancouver.
Austin Mack seemed destined to be in the NFL. Mack returned to the CFL and got some security with a rare (for non quarterbacks) 4-year contract with the Alouettes.
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Saskatchewan (5-5-1) has a ½ game lead over Winnipeg and BC (5-6) and 1½ games up on Calgary (4-6).
Winnipeg is 1-4 on the road and Mosaic Stadium should be loud on Sunday. The Roughriders are 1-0 over the Blue Bombers so far.
Calgary is 1½ games ahead of Edmonton. The Stampeders are 4-1 at home while Elks have 2 of their 3 wins on the road.
Toronto is 1-3 on the road while Hamilton is 1-4 at home. Psychologically, this is the best chance Hamilton has to beat Toronto.
Ottawa is 2-2 on the road while BC is 3-1 at home, though the Saturday game is in Victoria.
Here’s the thing that defenders of the rouge fail to admit: the kickers who ‘earn’ the point view it as FAILURE for 59 minutes.
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) August 23, 2024
🏈 If a kicker misses a FG he’s disappointed, so is his team.
🏈 If a punter fails to pin the opponent inside the 10 & the ball goes into the endzone,… pic.twitter.com/nl4BrkLQ2m
Twitter went wild over the way the Saskatchewan-Toronto game ended. Even Farhan Lalji, who is pro-rouge, has some doubts. As a convert who didn't understand all parts of the rouge for a long time, I have an outsider view that embraces all aspects of the rouge. You can be a CFL fan and not like some or all parts of the rouge.
If the reasons you dislike the rouge have to do with gambling or point spreads, I ask calmly to get a nicer hobby. Hug your spouse and/or kids. Take walks in the park during football season. Or just stick to the boring NFL game.
MLB has taken a lot of the fun out of the game. Forced designated hitter in the National League. Constraining many elements of the game. Setting high standards for when a position player can pitch. The fun strategy part of sports. Your humble narrator gravitated to the CFL because of the many points combinations you can get.
Lalji is right in one sense that teams don't think much of the rouge early in the game. Unlike Whose Line Is It Anyway, the points do matter, no matter when they are scored. They might just add up to victory.
Last season, @goelks lost on a rouge in the final minute. Rewarding #BrettLauther for a great kick. Strategy makes @CFL better.
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) August 24, 2024
The Saskatchewan Roughriders fans travel well and hadn't been in Toronto in 4 years. The Canadian National Exhibition was in town so ticket holders got free admission to the Ex. Chad Kelly returned for his first game. The Argos drew 19,327 to BMO Field, the second-largest crowd there since 24,812 attended the Argos' first-ever game on the lakefront.
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An independent arbitrator upheld the CFL’s indefinite suspension of defensive lineman Shawn Lemon for wagering on CFL games. The league suspended Lemon on April 24 over a $100 wager while with Calgary in 2021. The wager involved a game in which he played.
Lemon retired before the suspension and came back during an appeal. He played in 4 games this season with 6 tackles and a sack.
Lemon won a Grey Cup with Montréal in 2023 and played for the Alouettes before losing his appeal. If the Alouettes repeat, would his name go on the Grey Cup again?
As much as we like Shawn Lemon on the field, we have zero sympathy for his situation. Didn't seem worth what he lost.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
Saskatchewan @ Toronto: Rod Smith/Glen Suitor/Matthew Scianitti
Hamilton @ Winnipeg: Dustin Nielson/Duane Forde/John Lu
BC @ Ottawa: Rod Smith/Glen Suitor/Claire Hanna
Edmonton @ Montréal: Marshall Ferguson/Paul LaPolice/Kenzie Lalonde
Glen Suitor got some time out east to get some chemistry with Rod Smith. Maybe Suitor likes the rides in the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Dustin Nielson and Duane Forde worked together for the first time in 2024. Paul LaPolice is getting games Matt Dunigan would have had this year.
Glad to see Claire Hanna back on the CFL sidelines in Ottawa after her stint calling beach volleyball at the Olympics in Paris.
The CFL on TSN panel went back to 3 people on Sunday. This Sunday is the last one until Grey Cup day.
logo credit: CFL
Twitter capture: @CFL; @FarhanLaljiTSN; @canadian_xing
photo credit: TSN/CFL
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