Canadian Crossing

NFL in Winnipeg with no starters and an 80-yard field

No starters. An 80-yard field. No kickoffs. The NFL in Winnipeg was a night to remember and forget.

The CFL goal posts are on the goal line as opposed to the NFL goal posts found at the back end of the end zone. The issues with the patch in the south end zone for the CFL goal posts forced the game into an 80-yard field. Oakland had decided not to play its starters before the goal post issue. Green Bay decided to pull its starters after that decision.

The Oakland Raiders scored the only 12 points of the second half; Daniel Carlson won the game with a 33-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining. Oakland edged out the Green Bay Packers 22-21 at IG Field in Winnipeg last night. The Packers scored all their points in the 2nd quarter.

The 80-yard field wasn't the shortest in NFL history. The 1932 NFL playoff game between the Chicago Bears and Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans (later Detroit Lions) had 60 yards in between the goal lines inside Chicago Stadium instead of Wrigley Field.

Hello, Canada! 🤙🇨🇦@AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/RpLYP0C9UX

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 21, 2019

Aaron Rodgers was the biggest star potentially to take the field. Rodgers has not played in the preseason. The Green Bay star quarterback did make a dramatic entrance at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in a Canadian tuxedo.

Rodgers was introduced to the idea of the Canadian tuxedo via Cabbie aka Cabral Richards on TSN.

apologies to the citizens of Winnipeg, Manitoba... just a kid from Atlanta, Florida playing football in Oakland, Nevada with a low geography IQ @Raiders https://t.co/oh0i2tJbNR

— AJ Cole III (@AJCole90) August 22, 2019

AJ Cole III is hoping for a long NFL career as a punter instead of going back to school to learn to teach geography. Cole bought a shirt, reportedly via Amazon, that said "Winnipeg, Alberta." Alberta has Edmonton and Calgary, not Winnipeg. Manitoba has Winnipeg and Churchill, home of the polar bears.

The shirt maker didn't check to see if it was wrong. The player didn't check to see if it was right. At least Alberta is in Canada.

Jeopardy contestant comes up blank on Canadian cities

Getting an element Canadian and wrong reminded us of the Jeopardy player who told us under pressure that Edmonton was in Ontario; Whistler was in Alberta; and Moose Javians (Saskatchewan) live in Winnipeg.

Loud and proud for the North, @LWillson_82
—#HardKnocks airs Tuesdays at 10ET on @HBO pic.twitter.com/mawFbeVFBC

— Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) August 22, 2019

Luke Willson is a successful Canadian NFL player in his first season in Oakland. Willson grew up in LaSalle, Ontario near Windsor. He missed the first preseason game and only had a single catch for 4 yards last week. Willson didn't have any catches in Winnipeg.

The Upon Further Review podcast hosted on raiders.com interviewed Willson about Canada. Willson said he had never been to Winnipeg. He pointed out that the NFL is big in Canada. Willson noted that he was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts and has not been to a CFL game. To be fair, Willson grew up close to Detroit. He said the CFL draft happened 4 years past secondary school so he was drafted in his junior year at Rice University (Willson was red-shirted).

The Raiders started running back James Butler, who signed earlier this year with the Saskatchewan Roughriders but didn't stick around.

Hard Knocks from HBO is following the Raiders this summer. We don't anticipate too much coverage of Winnipeg.

Oakland, Green Bay to play NFL preseason game in Winnipeg

If the NFL is serious about building a relationship with Canada, the league should look into how much Canadians will invest in the product. We heard a lot of rhetoric from the Buffalo Bills Toronto series about exorbitant ticket prices for preseason and regular season NFL games.

The Oakland-Green Bay game easily sold out the $75 seats in the corners of the upper deck. The 40+ suites easily sold out. The average ticket price for the remaining seats (including parking, taxes, and fees) was reportedly just short of $200. All prices are Canadian dollars. U.S. media converts those numbers to American dollars but Canadians buy those tickets in Canadian dollars.

With about 2 weeks to go, the price of the 5,500-6,000 end zone seats went from $164 to $75 (both prices before taxes and fees).

The 3rd preseason game is considered the best of the preseason. Then again, CFL fans only get 2 preseason games in their league.

The better deal, and one that would have earned everyone more money, is to price the tickets so fans would want to buy them. You can’t make money off concessions and parking unless people show up. You get the nice visual of a large crowd in a beautiful facility.

We know the Blue Bombers are being compensated for providing the host venue. Not clear as to whether the compensation is tied to attendance.

The attendance was announced at 21,992. That number reflected purchases for the 40+ suites. They seemed to steer the fans toward where they would be on TV. The crowd didn't look too bad in the 33,000 seat stadium.

For future travel to the stadium, you can avoid parking costs if you take the #60 bus from downtown. The #36 and #51 buses also connect to the stadium.

Bills Toronto series is done

Wide receiver Mervyn Fernandez, who just got inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame earlier this month, also played for the Raiders. Fernandez played for the BC Lions from 1982-1986 and 1994 and for the Los Angeles Raiders from 1987-1992.

Fernandez traveled throughout Canada leading up to the game to promote the contest. The Oakland Raiders TV team interviewed Fernandez during the game.

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

The Boston Red Sox drew more than 16,000 yesterday for the continuation of a suspended game. Admission was $5, free for kids, with $1 hot dogs. The game only lasted 12 minutes.

A different approach would have drawn a joyous crowd. What if the tickets were set up to draw a huge crowd? What if the NFL decided to have some fun and play an exhibition on a CFL sized field. The NFL and CFL played exhibition games with different sized fields from what one of the leagues was used to doing. If the NFL can play on an 80-yard field, why not a 110-yard field for a contrast.

The argument for not using Mosaic Stadium was the quick turnaround between NFL and CFL. The Saskatchewan Roughriders look like geniuses for not hosting the NFL. If the NFL had more imagination, they could have played on a CFL field in Regina.

Let's not put NFL games in Canada with people who don't understand the country and have no imagination. Imagine what the impact would have looked like with a full stadium and the joy of playing on a larger field.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The halftime show was Winnipeg band Attica Riots. The set didn't make the cut for the NFL Network.

TSN, RDS, and the NFL Network picked up the Oakland Raiders feed via KTVU-2 Oakland and KICU-36 San Jose. The crew made some references to Winnipeg and Canada. Beth Mowins made a joke late in the game about Green Bay being "3rd down and Alberta" referring to Cole's shirt.

photo credit: KTVU/Oakland and KICU/San Jose / Oakland Raiders/NFL
Twitter captures: @packers; @AJCole90; @Raiders

2019 CFL Week 11 preview

ESPN brings the U.S. audience west to Edmonton and east to Moncton this week. The week starts on Friday with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Edmonton. The NFL is in Winnipeg tonight and we will cover that tomorrow.

ESPNews is in Moncton on Sunday for Touchdown Atlantic. The matchup would have been hot a decade ago as Montréal plays in a Toronto "home" game in the Maritimes. The game originally was scheduled for 7:30 pm Atlantic time but has been moved to 1 pm Atlantic time. That is 1:30 pm in Newfoundland and 9 am in British Columbia.

The Saturday doubleheader has East teams going West with Ottawa at Mosaic Stadium in the early game. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are in Vancouver in the nightcap.

Calgary gets a break before the Battle of Alberta.

ESPN2

Friday
Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p

ESPNews

Sunday
Montréal @ Toronto, Noon

TSN

Friday
Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p
Saturday
Ottawa @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Hamilton @ BC, 10p
Sunday
Montréal @ Toronto, Noon

Bye week: Calgary

CFL once again comes to Moncton for 2019 Touchdown Atlantic

We published a 2019 Touchdown Atlantic preview earlier in the week. Moncton is a really nice place. Looking forward to seeing the place where I was in 2013 for the last Touchdown Atlantic game.

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In the Montréal-Ottawa battle, the RedBlacks had an advantage by winning in Calgary. The Alouettes hadn't won against the Stampeders in Calgary since Canada Day 2009.

Montréal trailed Calgary by 11 points before Vernon Adams Jr. engineered a comeback to force overtime. Both teams exchanged touchdowns but were thwarted on the 2-point conversion. In the second overtime, the Alouettes got a touchdown. Eric Rogers looked like his foot was on the back white stripe before his other foot touched in the end zone.

Montréal is now 1-1 in overtime games this season, the only 2 in the CFL in 2019. The Alouettes are 2 points up on the RedBlacks with a game in hand.

Andrew Harris is now the all-time Canadian CFL player in yards from scrimmage. Harris passed Ben Cahoon (13,368) to claim the top spot.

Milt Stegall on the CFL on TSN panel noted that Harris is getting better with age, rare among running backs. Harris started with the BC Lions, Winnipeg's Thursday opponent. While Harris was good in Vancouver, coming back to his hometown of Winnipeg has boosted his career.

Harris has well over 1,000 yards on the season with 819 yards on the ground and 322 yards through the air.

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The Lewis Ward streak ended at 69 straight field goals. The 31-yard attempt wasn't filled with high winds or a bad snap. The Ottawa crowd gave Ward a standing ovation even with the miss.

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Trevor Harris and Mike Reilly. The last 2 CFL quarterbacks to play without a significant injury. Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols is on the 6-game injured list. Nichols was injured on a hit by BC defensive end Shawn Lemon.

Chris Streveler will start in his absence. Brandon Bridge, aka Air Canada, doesn't have a team.

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BC likely won't be involved in a division tiebreaker this season. The Lions have already lost the season series with Edmonton, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg. The Calgary tiebreaker won't be decided until the final game of the season. The Stampeders have a +4 advantage in the first game.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Rod Black played up the Canadian National Exhibition angle along with TSN in Toronto. Argos fans to that game got into the CNE for free with a game ticket.

The Toronto attendance was 16,490 from the opening day of the CNE. This is the first time in the 3 home games that Toronto announced its home attendance.

As for the game, Edmonton brought out touchdowns to field goals for Toronto in the first half. The Esks aren't a great road team but improved to 2-3 on the road this season. Edmonton had not won in Toronto since 2016.

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On the August 13 Waggle podcast, Donnovan Bennett talked about interviewing Canada basketball players about the dumbest question you have had about Canada. Davis Sanchez weighed in about Americans not understand the distances between certain points in U.S. vs. Canada, as if Americans thought Canada was farther away.

Bennett said to a man, the Canada basketball players said "Do you live in an igloo?" Bennett added his one from going to school in Buffalo, right next to Canada. "Where do you park your canoe?"

We feel shame for Americans who are that ignorant about Canada and hope CanadianCrossing.com is changing some of those impressions.

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TSN had a bit of fun with the announcer teams. Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor were in Winnipeg. Rod Black and Matt Dunigan were having corn dogs in Toronto. Cuthbert went east to meet up with Duane Forde in Ottawa while Dustin Nielson and Suitor were in Calgary. That makes 2 of 8 games for Nielson and 0 for Gord Miller.

Kate Beirness is done as is Thursday Night Football for the season.

There were audio issues with the panel on the Saturday telecasts. They sounded like issues with TSN since we could hear the music but not the panelists.

photo credit: ESPN+/TSN/CFL

CFL once again comes to Moncton for 2019 Touchdown Atlantic

How long has it been since the CFL was in Moncton? Your humble narrator attended the last Touchdown Atlantic in 2013.

The 2013 version struggled to sell out with much speculation that the 2013 version would be the last Touchdown Atlantic ever.

A new commissioner (Randy Ambroisie), decent prospective ownership for an Atlantic Schooners franchise, and a strong desire to have a 10-team league does make a difference.

The CFL folks looked at Halifax, Antigonish, NS, and Saint John before coming back to the Université de Moncton campus.

There isn't a real option in Halifax. We did note last month that the Halifax Wanderers soccer team have a "stadium" in the Commons. The Moncton stadium gives the largest potential capacity of the options.

As we noted in 2013, sitting on the "good side" in Moncton shields you from the sun in the late afternoon, gives you the only concessions, and actual restrooms. Sitting on the "bad side" in Moncton brings you back to watching high school football, no concessions, and a long line for porta-potties.

The ticket prices started out ridiculously high. The price I paid for the worst seat in the house (literally) was much higher than I've paid for much better seats in actual CFL stadiums. The prices came down for the 2019 version; those who bought early literally paid the price.

The other "fun" part of that excursion is that you couldn't see the yard markers until the sun went down far enough.

The original starting time for the 2019 Touchdown Atlantic was 7:30 pm ADT. The kickoff has been moved to 1 pm ADT.

Analysis: Could Moncton host a permanent CFL franchise?

CFL hits Moncton, showcasing New Brunswick, but U.S. can only see the game on ESPN3.com (2011)

The 2013 version featured the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and their well-traveled fans against the Montréal Alouettes, who were supposed to have Anthony Calvillo. I remember running into a lot of Tiger-Cats fans in downtown Moncton. There wasn't a lot in downtown Moncton so the black and gold were easier to spot.

The game itself featured CFL uniforms from coast-to-coast. I remember Ottawa Rough Riders jerseys; the RedBlacks didn't start until 2014. That was a fun experience seeing a rainbow of CFL support.

CFL travels have sent me to every league city

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

This region would support an actual team. Rooting for out-of-region teams is nice but doesn't have the same feel. The Montréal Alouettes are a logical draw for their relative proximity but also for the French-speaking people of New Brunswick who would watch the CFL on RDS. The Alouettes are not as good as they were in 2013 but better than they have been in recent times. Toronto, the team sacrificing a home game, is by all definitions the worst CFL team in 2019.

This is the Argos second game of the CFL season against a fellow East opponent. The Alouettes have been a pleasant surprise.

The temptation would be to make this a regional team similar to the Green Bay Packers playing some of their game in Milwaukee. Halifax needs to justify 10 home dates for a stadium.

Shannon Park would be a great site for a new Halifax stadium that could be used for multiple purposes. The imagery of the ferries crossing from Halifax to the skyline being seen on national TV (and even into the United States) is something people in Halifax should look forward to seeing.

The Touchdown Atlantic is a good way to remind Canadians of this part of their country. The Atlantic Schooners would showcase the sports passion of people in the Maritimes. For the first time, the Touchdown Atlantic game will air on U.S. television.

TSN and RDS will show the 2019 Touchdown Atlantic game. ESPNews will carry the TSN feed in the United States.

photos credit: me; CFL

2019 CFL Week 10 preview

The BC Lions are in for a tough visit in Winnipeg to start out the CFL week. Edmonton goes to Toronto on the opening day of the 2019 CNE. A game ticket gets you into the fairgrounds. Got to help Toronto's attendance any way you can.

The Saturday doubleheader is East-dominant with Hamilton in Ottawa in the late afternoon and the Alouettes in Calgary in the late afternoon out west.

ESPN2 picked a bad weekend to go dark. ESPN+ has the entire weekend in the United States.

Saskatchewan gets to bake some Saskatoon berry pies in its week off.

TSN

Thursday
BC @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Friday
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7:30p
Saturday
Hamilton @ Ottawa, 4p
Montréal @ Calgary, 7p

Bye week: Saskatchewan

"The weather protocol states that if there is a stoppage greater than 60 minutes after the game becomes official at the midway point of the third quarter, the game will be considered final, and that two points will be awarded to the leading team."

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were up 17-10 with 2:41 remained in the third quarter. The delay ran from 9:06 pm to 10:06 pm Eastern. The late game in Edmonton started on time. TSN would have split the feed if the Roughriders and Alouettes kept playing.

"The weather protocol was negotiated into the CFL and the CFLPA’s collective bargaining agreement this past spring." This also came from the CFL statement.

We thought the end of the game in Montréal might be on ESPN2 but that wasn't the case.

MLB sets the mark at 5 innings (4½ innings if the home team is winning). Setting limits might be a good idea: 60 minutes is not long enough for a delay while 2 hours would be better. This could lead to Montréal not making the CFL playoffs.

During the actual game, Saskatchewan got both touchdowns from fumbles after hitting the quarterback. Earl Okine and Charleston Hughes scored for the Roughriders and Antonio Pipkin and Matt Shiltz were the targets. The Alouettes major score came on a 101-yard punt return by Shakeir Ryan.

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The BC Lions dominated the time of possession in the 3rd quarter with about 11 of the 15 minutes. The Lions were up 34-19 early in the 4th quarter.

Hamilton scored the final 16 points, including a late touchdown from Dane Evans to Brandon Banks. This was likely the Lions best game of the season but also the second loss where BC blew a large lead.

The short turnaround and Mike Reilly struggling with a bad ankle will not help the Lions.

The Hamilton comeback is a reminder that shutting off games late in the 3rd quarter has repercussions.

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Winnipeg snapped its 2-game losing streak thanks to the phenomenal performance of Janarion Grant in his CFL debut. Grant had 306 kick return yards and a pair of punt return touchdowns of 76 and 83 yards in the first half.

Calgary falls to 5-3 along with Saskatchewan and Edmonton, a game behind the Blue Bombers at 6-2.

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The lone ESPN2 TV game was a boring affair. The first half was exciting by comparison with an Ottawa 12-10 lead.

Ottawa went 23 minutes in the second half before getting a first down. Edmonton scored the only points of the second half with a major somewhat late in the 4th quarter.

The RedBlacks had a chance at the end but couldn't pull off a major of its own.

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2019 is the Year of the Return with 18 returns for touchdowns already this season. The 18 returns is the best mark in recent years and we aren't at Labour Day yet. The last 3 years have seen 15 (2018), 16 (2017), and 13 (2016).

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The game Saturday in Hamilton was the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Game. Jon Cornish, the legendary Canadian running back for Calgary, was among the 2019 inductees. The hall used to be in downtown Hamilton but was moved to Tim Hortons Field. I would love to take in both a hall visit and a game.

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Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor ruled the west in Winnipeg and Edmonton. Rod Black and Matt Dunigan were in Montréal Friday night. Black and Duane Forde held command in Hamilton on Saturday. Rod Smith got a Thursday off.

The CFL on TSN panel were onsite at Tim Hortons Field for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame activities.

photo credit: RDS/CFL

2019 CFL Week 9 preview

ESPN2 peeks in to carry the latter half of a Friday night doubleheader. Perhaps we will get to see the end of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Montréal before Ottawa travels to Edmonton to visit a few old buddies.

Calgary is in Winnipeg on Thursday night while the BC Lions hang out in Hamilton on Saturday night.

Toronto gets to rest after its first win before the 2019 CNE comes to town.

ESPN2

Friday
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 10p

TSN

Thursday
Calgary @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Friday
Saskatchewan @ Montréal, 7p
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 10p
Saturday
BC @ Hamilton, 7p

Bye week: Toronto

The Argos lost on a rouge in the previous home game. Toronto's decisive advantage in its first win of the season was on a rouge.

The Winnipeg strategy at that point of the game wasn't to get a point. The rouge cut the Toronto deficit to 6 points, which proved advantageous after a last-minute touchdown and a conversion. Points matter whenever they come in a game.

Winnipeg blew a 20-point lead for its second straight loss. The Blue Bombers stayed east and worked out at the University of Guelph, coach Mike O'Shea's alma mater. The eastern air didn't help as Winnipeg lost to Hamilton and Toronto. Winnipeg is undefeated in the west and at home.

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Montréal had a chance to win the tiebreaker over Ottawa. The injury to Vernon Adams Jr. hurt the Alouettes chances to hang on to the lead as the RedBlacks had a comeback to tie and force OT. Montréal fumbled in its OT scoring chance. That was the first OT game of the 2019 season.

Adams remains out with a "minor concussion" and won't play against Saskatchewan.

The season series tiebreaker won't be determined until the final weekend of the season. If the teams tie on November 1, Montréal gets the tiebreaker with a +14 in head-to-head battle.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Dane Evans had a solid game in his 2019 debut as a starter for Hamilton. The offence struggled early; not having Brandon Banks was a factor. The Tiger-Cats had a chance for a win but the Saskatchewan 10-point last-minute comeback was the difference.

Calgary outlasted Edmonton in the first Battle of Alberta. The Stampeders join Winnipeg and Hamilton at 5-2 in the CFL standings.

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The BC Lions acquired offensive lineman Justin Renfrow in a trade with Calgary. The Lions need a lot of help on the offensive line. One blocker might not make a difference. The fans in Vancouver hope the move will help.

Winnipeg wide receiver Chris Matthews was on the field in Toronto. Matthews was reportedly the victim of a recent stabbing in Winnipeg. Glad Matthews is much improved.

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Rod Smith and Duane Forde held court in Toronto on Thursday. Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor were together in Regina on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday. Rod Black and Forde hung out in Montréal on Friday.

2019 CFL Week 8 preview

The Thursday doubleheader starts out with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Toronto as ESPN2 returns with a CFL telecast. The quick turnaround for the second half of the doubleheader has Hamilton in Regina against the Roughriders. Simoni Lawrence won't play thanks to the second of a 2-game suspension for his horrible hit on Zach Collaros in the CFL opener.

The CFL's newest rivalry is in the spotlight Friday night as Ottawa travels 200 km east to Montréal. A rare August peek into the Battle of Alberta is on deck on Saturday in Calgary. Both teams are 4-2, good for second in the West, a game behind Winnipeg at 5-1.

The BC Lions get extra time to forget their troubles and enjoy the long weekend.

ESPN2

Thursday
Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7p

TSN

Thursday
Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7p
Hamilton @ Saskatchewan, 9:30p
Friday
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p
Saturday
Edmonton @ Calgary, 7p

Bye week: BC

Unlike the numerous injured CFL starting quarterbacks, Jeremiah Masoli is out for the rest of the 2019 CFL season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Bo Levi Mitchell, Zach Collaros, Antonio Pipkin, James Franklin, and Dominique Davis all may return; all but Davis went on the 6-game injured list.

Dane Evans is ready for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and did well enough off the bench in the win. The Hamilton defence was a very good reason why Winnipeg has a loss: 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. Hamilton signed quarterback David Watford, who played for Saskatchewan last season.

The question for several weeks was whether Winnipeg would lose before Toronto won. The consensus was that the Blue Bombers would no longer be undefeated before the Argos won.

The critique of the Blue Bombers has been that other QBs have better stats. Matt Nichols had 261 passing yards, more than Jeremiah Masoli and Dane Evans combined. The second half had minimal scoring as each team added a field goal in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

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CFL teams will often concede the safety even though the opponent gets 2 points. Ottawa opted for the safety late against Calgary, cutting the RedBlacks lead from 4 points to 2 points. The Stampeders hadn't scored a touchdown to that point in the game. By getting the safety, Calgary only needed a FG from Rene Paredes to win and the Stamps pulled out the 1-point win.

Ottawa Coach Rick Campbell figured that Calgary would need to advance the ball about 30 yards under either decision.

Calgary looked like it was headed for its only TD when Richie Sindani was on the path when Corey Tindal forced a fumble that was recovered by Sherrod Baltimore.

Jonathon Jennings almost led Ottawa to a win with only 125 passing yards.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

CFL shutouts are rare. Toronto was the first team to get shutout in 2019. The last time Toronto was shutout in a CFL game was August 7, 2009 in Montréal. I remember that day well since that was the only CFL shutout I've witnessed in person.

The last CFL shutout was a whitewash by Winnipeg over Saskatchewan in 2018.

Zach Collaros can help Toronto eventually. Saskatchewan dealt the injured Collaros to Toronto, where his CFL career started, for a conditional 4th-round pick.

Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge is now available to help out Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, or BC after Montréal released Bridge.

Ok internet, we agree. This new Gainer guy it pretty creepy.

Even without the contacts.

CC: @peta pic.twitter.com/IOErzMK5nR

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) July 21, 2019

Gainer got in trouble by grabbing a stuffed lion by the crotch when BC was at Saskatchewan. He was reportedly not invited on the return trip when Saskatchewan was in Vancouver.

We don't normally take positions in our CFL coverage, but we want the old Gainer back.

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Ryan Lankford started the 2019 CFL season with Ottawa. Lankford suffered a brain cramp when he let a punt go against Winnipeg and Justin Medlock made an awesome play to get the ball back for the Blue Bombers.

Ottawa released Lankford after the move. Lankford signed with the BC Lions. Lions fans have little to cheer about, though Lankford is an exception. Lankford returned a missed field goal for a 118-yard return for the major and an 89-yard kickoff TD return against Saskatchewan in Vancouver

Lankford isn't as bad as the screwup in Ottawa. The BC Lions hope Lankford has more of what they saw last week.

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The CFL schedule is often kind to teams traveling long distances. The Toronto Argonauts stayed in Alberta in between games in Calgary and Edmonton. The Argonauts were somewhat competitive in Calgary but regressed in Edmonton. The Argos are only 0-1 against the East versus 0-5 against the West. The Argos have 5 more games against the West thanks to the unbalanced divisions. Toronto's next East opponent is Montréal for the 2019 Touchdown Atlantic in Moncton.

Winnipeg is staying in southern Ontario after playing in Hamilton and tonight in Toronto.

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Rod Black and Duane Forde covered the big game in Hamilton this week. The Thursday Night Football pattern is giving Rod Black some rest as Rod Smith and Duane Forde were together in Ottawa. Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor once again were out west in Edmonton and Vancouver.

Twitter capture: @BCLions

2019 CFL Week 7 preview

Thursday Night Football is a true doubleheader with the Calgary Stampeders in the rematch of the Grey Cup rematch in Ottawa. The late game, likely a delayed start, has the Argos in Edmonton.

Friday Night Football has a battle of division leaders as Winnipeg travels to Hamilton.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders return the favour from last week and go all the way west to Vancouver in a late afternoon start at BC Place.

ESPN takes another week-long sabbatical from the CFL.

Montréal doesn't want a week off with a 3-game winning streak.

TSN

Thursday
Calgary @ Ottawa, 7p
Toronto @ Edmonton, 9:30p
Friday
Winnipeg @ Hamilton, 7p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ BC, 7p

Bye week: Montréal

The Ottawa RedBlacks, post Trevor Harris, are still an experiment in motion. Ottawa went with Jonathon Jennings though Dominique Davis didn't end up on the 6-game injured list (IL). As we've noted, Montréal, Saskatchewan, Toronto, and Calgary have placed a starting QB on the 6-game IL.

CFL shutouts are highly rare. A Richie Leone 75-yard punt produced the lone point for Ottawa. The Winnipeg defence without Adam Bighill was outstanding. Matt Nichols get the most of his game management. Winnipeg hasn't started 5-0 since 1960 when Bud Grant was the coach.

The RedBlacks are in 3rd place in the East thanks to the Montréal 3-game winning streak.

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McLeod Bethel-Thompson (Toronto - 4) and Nick Arbuckle (Calgary - 2) had their fair share of interceptions in the hot potato game in Calgary. The city was treated to hail before the game and a mix of rain and sun during the game. Fans in Eastern Canada must have confused by people wearing coats in late July.

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The Kavis Reed story has more layers than a lasagna hanging out with a baklava. The Darian Durant details are worth the read.

We knew what Reed did in Montréal was unusually bad. If 80% of what we've heard is true, this might be an all-time bad. The new owners will be thankful the CFL did what the league had to do.

The rules have changed for Alouettes home games at Molson Stadium. That was the first Saturday afternoon CFL home game for Montréal since 2007. The team had been limited as to when home games could be played. I can't find any info on what and why that has changed. Throw out the old restrictive rules because they don't apply anymore.

Calgary voters say no to 2026 Winter Olympics

2030 Winter Olympics in Calgary? The city of Calgary and the Calgary Flames have a tentative deal for a new arena to be built north of the Saddledome. There is no talk about a potential replacement for McMahon Stadium, home of the Calgary Stampeders. There was a proposal west of downtown to have replacements for both stadiums, but that had a few issues.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

ESPN2 isn't gearing its CFL schedule to spotlight Canadian music. The American audience was treated to a mini concert by the Northern Pikes as part of the Thursday Night Football concert series.

The CFL on TSN panel had fun with She Ain't Pretty, one of the band's biggest hits. They spun the fun to make fun of Milt Stegall instead of potentially targeting Kate Beirness. The chorus is pretty catchy: "She ain't pretty, she just looks that way."

Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor spent the weekend in Winnipeg and Regina. Rod Smith and Duane Forde were in Calgary on Thursday with Rod Black and Forde in Montréal on Saturday afternoon.

2019 CFL Week 6 preview

ESPN2 gives the U.S. audience some Thursday Night Football as the Toronto Argonauts get a taste of the Canadian Rockies by traveling to Calgary. The Argos appearance means Saskatchewan is the only team without a U.S. TV appearance in the 2019 season.

If your TV listings don't show the ESPN2 game, tape it anyway. This is the second CFL game this season where the game wasn't in my TV listings.

Friday Night Football has a tough inter-division battle as Ottawa goes west to Winnipeg.

The Saturday doubleheader has Edmonton in La Belle Province in the late afternoon and the BC Lions going to Saskatchewan in the nightcap.

Hamilton gets to enjoy more donuts in its week off.

ESPN2

Thursday
Toronto @ Calgary, 9p

TSN

Thursday
Toronto @ Calgary, 9p
Friday
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Edmonton @ Montréal, 4p
BC @ Saskatchewan, 7p

Bye week: Hamilton

The last time Hamilton beat Calgary was the 2011 Touchdown Atlantic game in Moncton. The Tiger-Cats outlasted the Stampeders 55-36 on September 25, 2011.

The streak was 14 (15 if you count the 2014 Grey Cup). Hamilton came out on the winning end Saturday against Calgary. Special teams dominated a game where there was only a single point in the 1st and 3rd quarters combined.

The Tiger-Cats had a kickoff (Will Likely, 115 yards) and a missed FG (Brandon Banks, 105 yards) return for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Jeremiah Masoli threw his first touchdown ever against Calgary, throwing 2 TD passes to Banks.

Calgary is on the road because of the Calgary Stampede.

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Montréal fans got a pair of wishes this week with a victory over rival Ottawa and the firing of general manager Kavis Reed. The surprise of the firing came in the timing (after a win) and reasoning (not for performance). The desire for Reed to go stemmed from poor decision making, chaos in some decisions, and an overall sense that Reed was in over his head. The new ownership can start fresh with former Winnipeg GM Joe Mack helping out on an interim basis.

"Joe Mack will now have oversight of all football operations, but the team will be jointly managed with (coach) Khari Jones," said Alouettes President and CEO Patrick Boivin.

Vernon Adams Jr. had a career high 327 passing yards in the Montréal win. The Alouettes are now 2-2, 2-1 in the East Division.

Montréal had lost 10 of the previous 12 meetings with Ottawa. If Toronto continues on its path, Montréal and Ottawa will battle for a playoff spot where the Als currently have the tiebreaker.

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Simoni Lawrence will sit out the next 2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats games, the result of his suspension for a dangerous hit on Saskatchewan quarterback Zach Collaros in the first quarter of the CFL season. Lawrence appealed his suspension and the ruling came down this week.

Lawrence will miss the Ticats home encounter with Winnipeg on July 26 and the August 1 road trip to Saskatchewan. He can return August 10 at home against the BC Lions.

Too often in sports, the suspension doesn't come against the team affected by the hit. Best for all parties if Lawrence doesn't go to Regina, especially since Collaros is still out of action. 

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The Toronto Argonauts got to keep a tie for the first 15 seconds of the game. Lucky Whitehead returned the opening kick 104 yards for a touchdown. Any thoughts of a trap game disappeared quickly. McLeod Bethel-Thompson did have 388 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Argos. He did have back-to-back tip-drill style interceptions late in the first half.

Winnipeg played another solid game, remaining the league's only undefeated team.

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Edmonton had another lopsided win over the BC Lions. Mike Reilly kept getting chased all night. When Trevor Harris did get hurt, the timing toward the end of the first half meant he didn't miss a play. Edmonton fans are used to their starting quarterback staying healthy. After all, Reilly, last year's Edmonton quarterback, didn't take off for a down.

Best TD celebration of the week went to Edmonton receiver Natey Adjei, who stuck the football under his jersey. Turns out Adjei's wife is due in August.

The CFL on TSN panel got on Duron Carter for the BC woes. The team has worse concerns than Carter, though Davis Sanchez and Milt Stegall are correct to point out that Carter needs to perform better.

40 years ago today I did my first sportscast at CKWS in Kingston. Didn’t pronounce the M in Schmidt but otherwise I survived. Thanks to Kingston legend Max Jackson for giving me a chance. He said you’ll never forget that. I haven’t. #boomgoesthedynamite pic.twitter.com/KYQBDt6Evf

— Chris Cuthbert (@CCtsn) July 7, 2019

Congratulations to Chris Cuthbert for celebrating 40 years in sports broadcasting. Cuthbert has been a part of hockey, football, and Olympics for a very long time. He isn't the flashiest play-by-play guy but is highly consistent and you always learn something by watching him.

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We are rooting for the Atlantic Schooners to get off the ground and play football in Halifax. The criticism has been that there is no stadium and not huge enthusiasm for a stadium in the HRM. The Halifax Wanderers are playing in a "stadium" in the Commons. The Wanderers won its home opener of the Canadian Premier League season before a sold out crowd of 6,113.

The good news is that Halifax is supporting a team. Football should be next.

First CFL regular season game coming up from Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/QZtq3LeYJM

— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) July 13, 2019

Dustin Nielson made his CFL regular season debut Saturday with Matt Dunigan in Ottawa. The plan is for Nielson to call 8 regular season games. The broadcasting future may be people such as Nielson and Derek Taylor, the new Saskatchewan Roughriders radio voice.

I thought Nielson did a good job in his debut. Instant critique: Nielson used the "he wanted that one back" for the RJ Harris fumble that Tommy Campbell recovered. Nielson wanted that one back. He can solidly call a game; we need to see more of his personality.

Rod Black and Duane Forde were in Hamilton for their only game this week. Cuthbert and Glen Suitor handled the games in Vancouver and Winnipeg.

ESPN+ covered the halftime analysis of the game in Vancouver with an extra commercial break. Instead of acknowledging the mistake, they kept the break going.

Speaking of Canadian CFL announcers, we ran across this tidbit via The New York Times on Cuthbert and Gord Miller during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Twitter captures: @CCTSN; @nielsonTSN1260

2019 CFL Week 5 preview

ESPN2 wakes up from its CFL coma with a Saturday doubleheader. The Alouettes travel 200 km west to Ottawa in the late afternoon game. Calgary travels to Hamilton in the nightcap. That was the matchup I wanted to see live years ago.

Edmonton visits its old buddy Mike Reilly in Vancouver on Thursday Night Football. The winless Argos travel to undefeated Winnipeg for the Friday night game.

Saskatchewan gets to enjoy Saskatoon berries in its week off.

ESPN2

Saturday
Montréal @ Ottawa, 4p
Calgary @ Hamilton, 7p

TSN

Thursday
Edmonton @ BC, 10p
Friday
Toronto @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Montréal @ Ottawa, 4p
Calgary @ Hamilton, 7p

Bye week: Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan, Montréal, Toronto, and Calgary have already placed a starting QB on the 6-game injured list. Matt Nichols did come out of the game for Winnipeg Friday night but will start for the Blue Bombers.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson started for the Argos at QB as James Franklin went on the injured list with hamstring trouble. Nick Arbuckle and Cody Fajardo helmed the battle with Calgary in Regina.

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Montréal and BC won their first game of the year. Hamilton and Ottawa lost their first game of the year. Winnipeg, the last undefeated team, hosts Toronto, the only winless team.

William Stanback ran for 203 yards, the first Alouettes RB to pull off 200+ since Mike Pringle in 1998. Speaking of old, offensive lineman Luc Brodeur-Jourdain retired after the game. Brodeur-Jordan played on the Grey Cup winning teams for Montréal in 2009 and 2010.

The Stanley Cup made an appearance in Regina at Mosaic Stadium. Tyler Bozak (former Toronto Maple Leaf), Brayden Schenn, and Jaden Schwartz were with the Stanley Cup on the field at the Saskatchewan Roughriders game. Schenn had the cup in Saskatoon; Bozak and Schwartz were sharing 2 days in Regina. Schwartz mentioned that they took the Stanley Cup to the legislative building. 

The players had their St. Louis Blues hockey sweaters and then stripped those off, revealing Saskatchewan Roughriders jerseys. Bozak is in the middle with Schenn to our left and Schwartz to our right.

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BC and Toronto were headed for a snooze fest with 6 total points in the first half. The Lions took command up 17-9 early in the 4th quarter before the Argos came back with a late flourish. BC drove down for what appeared to be a winning field goal drive.

Toronto Coach Corey Chamblin initially didn't have a defender in the end zone. CFL fans know that if Toronto could have run out a miss, the game would go to overtime. After BC got pushed back on a penalty, Chamblin sent out Chris Rainey into the end zone.

Regular readers know the CFL story we've told about a wild Montréal-Toronto finish where Toronto punter Noel Prefontaine gets knocked out of the end zone. Rainey channeled that as BC kicker Sergio Castillo missed the field goal. Rainey accidentally stepped on the back line, ending the game with a 18-17 BC victory.

The end zones at BMO Field are only 18 yards deep rather than the standard 20 yards in Canadian football. That extra 2 yards cost the Argos a win on Saturday.

Davis Sanchez on The Waggle podcast pointed out that the Argos should have had 3 players in the end zone.

Rainey did have a 79-yard TD punt return in the first game against his old team.

Justin Medlock might have won the award for the most Canadian play, beating out Castillo's winning rouge. Medlock, who earlier missed a pair of field goal attempts, punted the ball and was able to recover his own punt since Ottawa didn't touch it. Medlock knocked the ball out of bounds, allowing Winnipeg to retain possession.

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Rod Smith and Duane Forde handled the Thursday game while Chris Cuthbert and Matt Dunigan were together on Friday night. The regular crews were in place in Toronto with Rod Black and Forde and Regina with Cuthbert and Glen Suitor.

Mike Benevides filled in for Milt Stegall on the CFL on TSN panel.

photos credit: TSN/CFL

2019 CFL Week 4 preview

Happy Fourth of July to our American readers. We are launching our CFL preview a day early to get ready for the holiday. There was a July 4 where I watched a CFL game in Vancouver and the BC Lions played the U.S. anthem.

ESPN is taking the holiday off for the CFL weekend. ESPN+ is always the backup.

Hamilton goes to La Belle Province on Thursday Night Football after the teams played each other last week in Hamilton.

Winnipeg works its way east to Ottawa on Friday.

The CFL has a pure Saturday doubleheader with the BC Lions also going east to Toronto with Calgary's trip to Saskatchewan in the nightcap. The latter match is the first battle of the Dickenson brothers as head coaches.

Edmonton gets to enjoy long amounts of daylight up north.

TSN

Thursday
Hamilton @ Montréal, 7:30p
Friday
Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Saturday
BC @ Toronto, 7p
Calgary @ Saskatchewan, 10p

Bye week: Edmonton

You might think those over-the-top CFL comebacks are out of a Hollywood ending. The Calgary starting quarterback (Bo Levi Mitchell) is trying for a comeback down 11 points with under 3 minutes left in the game. The little-used backup quarterback (Nick Arbuckle) steps into the game, goes 9-for-9 leading the Stampeders to a TD pass, a fabulous onside kick, and a run TD.

The BC Lions had taken the lead with a Mike Reilly TD run to go up 32-21. The Lions had a 22-1 lead earlier in the game. If Hollywood tried a lame ending, the collective entity couldn't write something like what actually happened.

I tuned in just before Reilly scored that TD run. Even if you know the CFL is capable of such a comeback, you wouldn't believe it even if you saw it.

We had the first mic game on Canada Day. The concept is cool on paper. The issue is the things we want to hear (trash-talking, what players say after the whistle) aren't audible. We do get to hear the quarterback cadence: once is terrific but after 6 times, you want to lower the volume.

The new variance is having a key defensive player mic-ed up.

We know that coach-quarterback communication will be limited to our ears. Matt Dunigan has said they change the cadences because they know about being on TV. I'm all for an enhanced experience, but if we are going to have mic games, I want more than cadences.

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Edmonton scored 7 times; Winnipeg 4 yet the Blue Bombers won. Game management indeed.

Lucky Whitehead might be the new exciting CFL player. The league is built for speed. If you are watching in person, you will watch him on almost every play.

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Hamilton started 0-8 in 2017 so a 3-0 start feels really good to Tiger-Cats fans. The team has outscored its opponents 105-24 in the last 2 games. Despite a 31-point win over Montréal, the Tiger-Cats played a less-than-perfect game.

The Tiger-Cats go easily go 4-0 after this week. We could consider that in the first 3 games, Hamilton didn't have to board a plane. The opponents were a beatup Saskatchewan team (Simoni Lawrence) and the recognised 2 worst CFL teams. Still, Hamilton fans should be happy with a good start, something the Tiger-Cats rarely do.

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Cody Fajardo is no longer the QB who comes in to run a 2nd-and-short play. Fajardo threw for 430 yards at home against his former team in Toronto. He looks a lot smoother than anyone Toronto has in the QB position.

The Canada Day game got heavily extended with a 2 hours, 4 minutes delay with lightning in Regina.

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The CFL doesn't have to root for its biggest cities to do well for ratings, unlike the NHL. The top 3 Canadian cities — Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver — are a combined 0-7. Every other CFL team has at least a victory. The season is still young. The top 2 cities had the worst records in the CFL last year. The league might benefit from competitive teams in those cities, but the league isn't worried like the NHL would be.

Short of a tie, there will be a winner on Saturday, or possibly Thursday if the Alouettes offence can make an impact.

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The Reklaws played in Winnipeg on Thursday Night Football. Last season, the Reklaws were supposed to play the opener in Winnipeg but a horrible weather evening prevented that from happening. Good to see a clear night in Winnipeg with a CFL game on ESPN2.

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Rod Smith and Matt Dunigan made their 2019 booth debuts in Winnipeg on Thursday night. Rod Black and Duane Forde did their part in Hamilton. Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor took the Canada Day weekend games in Calgary and Regina.

photo credit: TSN/CFL