We are definitely doing something very different for the 2023 MLS season, given the new Major League Soccer media landscape.
MLS has prevented U.S. English and Spanish language outlets from carrying Canadian MLS teams since 2020 (outside of the 2020 Orlando tournament) during the regular season. The difference was that Canadians could watch Toronto FC, Club de Foot Montréal, and the Vancouver Whitecaps on TSN and TVA Sports while Americans could watch the home feed for those teams via ESPN+.
All of that is pretty much gone as most U.S. and Canadian rights have slipped behind the paywall of the MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. You don't get the games if you are an Apple TV subscriber without paying the extra charge.
If you relied on your local team coverage in the United States to watch a Canadian team, you are out of luck. No more local MLS telecasts in your market. That goes for the Seattle Sounders as well as FC Cincinnati. You would still have local radio coverage but the idea of listening to soccer on radio is better than white noise for going to sleep.
The relative good news for our Canadian readers is that TSN and RDS will have a limited schedule of games featuring the Canadian teams. The Canadian outlets will show a lot fewer MLS games than ever before but they will get more local games than U.S. soccer fans, meaning zero. A MLS press release says the Canadian outlets will have "at least one match per week featuring a Canadian team."
Canadians will have to pay for the MLS Season Pass through Apple TV to get the other games. The CTV games, which was a way to grow the sport in Canada, are no longer a reality.
There will be U.S. national games involving Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1 as well as Spanish language outlets. ESPN is not a part of the MLS package. Then again, that package will be limited and almost certainly won't include Canadian teams.
Club de Foot Montréal has a new logo for 2023 as well as a new coach. Hernán Losada, who briefly coached D.C. United in 2021 and very early in 2022, has been hired to replace Wilfried Nancy, who left to coach the Columbus Crew.
Columbus sent Montréal undisclosed compensation to acquire Nancy as well as assistant coach Kwame Ampadu, fitness coach Jules Gueguen, and video analyst Maxime Chalier, who followed to Columbus.
Across all competitions, Nancy had a 38-25-16 record in Montréal.
We don't mean to ignore the changes on the pitch for Club de Foot Montréal (they lost a lot of good players) or any changes for Toronto FC or Vancouver FC. MLS doesn't really give us a reason to care.
Questions we might theoretically have such as "do we need Apple TV to watch the 'free' games" are nice but pretty irrelevant. More confusion than we can keep track off leading to the start of the season on Saturday. We get that MLS wanted the money from the Apple TV deal but driving local support away from soccer won't help you grow the sport.
Editor's note:This story has been updated to reflect an extra Calgary Flames game on TNT (28), the removal of HNIC from the feed (17), an additional Ottawa game (22), and an extra Winnipeg game (23).
TNT gives the U.S. audience an all-Canadian matchup with the Vancouver Canucks in Calgary (14). The U.S. network had an all-Canadian game last season and gave that to John Forslund. Hoping not to have a repeat of that assignment. Edmonton travels to Dallas (21) in a matchup where ESPN was so fascinated, that network carried both Oilers games in Dallas but couldn't set foot in Edmonton.
ESPN had a game involving a Canadian team in November but is dark in December.
NHL Network has some Hockey Night in Canada love with Toronto Maple Leafs road games in Dave Randorf country (3) and the U.S. capital (17). The U.S. channel also some HNIC love for the rematch of the 1993 Stanley Cup finals at the Bell Centre (10).
The Ottawa Senators are involved in the other NHL Network game with a Showcase game in Minnesota (18).
ESPN+/Hulu went from 1 game in October to 0 in November to 3 in December. The U.S. network is still afraid to come to Canada but is willing to show the Edmonton Oilers on the road in Minnesota (1) and Seattle (30). The U.S. network loves to show Canadian teams in Dallas, proving so with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third-largest city in Texas (6).
Rogers Sportsnet is keeping the Toronto Maple Leafs to itself on December 3. As we've noted, Sportsnet does this on occasion to boost its Sportsnet NOW subscriptions. The Maple Leafs will likely struggle in western Florida that night while CBC shows the high-flying scoring of Montréal at Edmonton. If I were glued to the couch in Canada, watching the Habs and Oilers would be more fun.
CBC and Citytv are not showing Hockey Night in Canada on December 31. The networks are carrying New Year's Eve programming. The games are available on various Sportsnet channels.
The NHL will take a holiday break from December 24-26.
TNT
December 14 Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p December 21 Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p December 28 Calgary @ Seattle, 10p
NHL Network
December 3 Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p (HNIC) December 10 Los Angeles @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC) December 17 Toronto @ Washington, 7p (HNIC) December 18 Ottawa @ Minnesota, 2p (Showcase) December 22 Washington @ Ottawa, 7p December 23 Winnipeg @ Washington, 7p
ESPN+/Hulu
December 1 Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p December 6 Toronto @ Dallas, 8:30p December 30 Edmonton @ Seattle, 10p
Hockey Night in Canada
December 3
Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p/Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p/San Jose @ Ottawa, 7p/Washington @ Calgary, 10p/Arizona @ Vancouver, 10p
The start of Toronto Maple Leafs games feels very different without Martina Ortiz Luis singing O Canada at Scotiabank Arena.
We've seen Luis on Wynonna Earp so we know she has more ambitions than just anthem singing. Her inflections on O Canada was beautiful and truly unique. Good luck to Martina Ortiz Luis in her career.
Ryan Reynolds would need a sugar daddy or sugar mama, in his words, to be a part of the ownership of the Ottawa Senators. The challenge is intriguing. The Canadian actor is part owner (with Rob McElhenney) of Wrexham AFC in Wales, a team in the lowest level of professional football in England. Their ownership is featured in Welcome to Wrexham.
The hope is that new ownership would be tied to a deal for a new Ottawa-based arena at LeBreton Flats. There may be fewer people working in downtown Ottawa these days but a downtown arena will do wonders for the Ottawa-Gatineau area.
Rogers Sportsnet will carry all 3 versions of the Battle of Alberta on a national basis in Canada. The fact that there are only 3 games involving these exciting rivals is a true shame, especially after such an amazing playoff series this spring.
Other than the all-Canada division of 2021, the U.S. outlets have shown Connor McDavid type speed to avoid broadcasting the Battle of Alberta. So we can't be surprised that TNT and ESPN showed no interest in carrying any of those games. TNT is willing to come to Canada while ESPN still hasn't been on Canadian soil. The NHL Network also came up empty (again) in not showing this rivalry.
ESPN hasn't shown Calgary anywhere but does have 2 Flames games scheduled this year.
U.S. fans should note that December 27 is the final Battle of Alberta game. ESPN+ will have the game via the Rogers Sportsnet feed.
"(Ottawa GM Pierre) Dorion’s worked hard to see what’s out there, and I believe he’s come across two challenges. One is that he’s dealing from position of weakness and teams are trying to hijack him. Two is that there are plenty of players who can block a trade to Canada, and it’s possible that’s happened. It’s not an Ottawa issue, but a Canada issue."
Elliotte Friedman said what was in our minds. We thought the end of the primary portion of the pandemic meant Canada was a slightly more desirable destination.
Higher tax rates, though paid in American dollars. Pressure-filled markets and media coverage. Snow and lots of it. More customs experiences.
This spring marks the 30th anniversary of the Stanley Cup being presented to a Canadian team: Montréal Canadiens in 1993.
Players want to win the Stanley Cup. They will play in Canada if they think that team will win the Stanley Cup. Think of the significant number of NHL players who weren't alive when the Habs won the Cup or not old enough to remember.
The guys from Triumph hosted the Hockey Night in Canada intro on November 12, which was the Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend. Triumph has a documentary out called Triumph: Rock and Roll Machine. We will have a review some point soon. Worth a watch to learn some Canadian music history.
Harnarayan Singh has been the primary fill-in for Rick Ball on Calgary Flames telecasts on Rogers Sportsnet West while Ball is out with a pulmonary embolism. John Bartlett also stepped up for some Flames games out east.
He returned on November 12 on Hockey Night in Canada, his first game since the first game of the season. He is also doing road games, which is a bit of a surprise. As we said last month, our thoughts go out to Ball, his family, and friends during his continuing recovery.
Ball also made a trip to After Hours to talk with Scott Oake and give thanks to all the well wishing people.
Speaking of After Hours, Scott Oake had a special co-host in Las Vegas last Saturday. Gary Lawless was a journalist covering the Winnipeg Jets before the Golden Knights hired him. The After Hours co-hosts haven't had journalism experience such as what Oake has, but the co-hosts aren't employed by the team whose player and coach appear on the show.
I get the whole deal with Lawless being on while Oake is in Las Vegas, but Lawless being employed by the team should be disclosed.
If Scott Oake had Sara Orlesky on after a Winnipeg Jets game, her employment status should be disclosed. When you have former journalists and the implication is that they are a journalist, that dispels actual journalism. This may seem a matter of semantics but as lines blur, disclosure is paramount.
Tara Slone landed on her feet in the South Bay with the San Jose Sharks in a content position similar to what Sara Orlesky is doing with the Winnipeg Jets. The former Hometown Hockey host was let go when Rogers cancelled the show over the summer.
Sharks fans and South Bay residents should hope Slone ends up in a bar playing music. Slone was the lead singer of Joydrop and has had a solo music career.
Her music cred came in handy when having bands on Hometown Hockey. Sorry that the show was gone and glad she found a good NHL opportunity. Hard to imagine a kitchen party in San Jose but here's to trying.
ESPN signed recently retired defenseman P.K. Subban to their coverage. Subban will work primarily as a studio analyst and also work as an occasional in-game analyst.
Subban has charisma that will take him far in a broadcasting career. ESPN is smart to have him start out mostly in the studio to get more experience.
November 6 Toronto vs. Carolina, 5p Mike Monaco/Brian Boucher/AJ Mleczko ESPN November 8 Edmonton @ Tampa Bay, 7:30p Dave Randorf/Shane Hnidy/Nabil Karim TNT November 12 Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 1p Stephen Nelson/Mike Rupp NHL Network November 16 Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT November 19 New Jersey @ Ottawa, 1p Stephen Nelson/Kevin Weekes NHL Network November 23 Ottawa @ Las Vegas, 10p Alex Faust/Shane Hnidy/Jackie Redmond TNT November 26 Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 1p E.J. Hradek/Kevin Weekes NHL Network November 30 Edmonton @ Chicago, 9:30p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
TNT got smart and brought in Dave Randorf. This was in part because Randorf covers what was the home team (8). Still, Randorf understands the idea of a national telecast, a difficult task at times for some U.S. national announcers.
Randorf is one of the few announcers who has called a national game in Canada and the United States.
ESPN had audio issues with AJ Mleczko at ice level. Unfortunately, we could hear Brian Boucher just fine. ESPN should work harder to have Ray Ferraro on the few games they cover with Canadian based teams.
The TNT primary crew was in Edmonton on November 16. Olczyk is now on the West Coast so being out west isn't a stretch. Albert, Olczyk, and Jones are good announcers to have in a dog game and that game (16) was a dog.
I liked the days of Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes calling games so having Weekes on a showcase game is great. Stephen Nelson is growing on your humble narrator and has an edge over E.J. Hradek.
Shane Hnidy, former Winnipeg Jets analyst on TSN3, called 2 games on TNT, the latter involving his current employer. Randorf and Hnidy are good guys but looks bad to have them work games with their present employer in a national telecast.
We decided to include the October 15 games since they appeared on the NHL Center Ice free preview.
The Sunday night block is defined as Heartland, Great Canadian Baking Show, and Moonshine. The Buzzr is a CBC Sports newsletter. My Life as a Rolling Stone: Sixty Years of Rock and Roll is only on CBC Gem.
Good to get some love for Season 2 of Sort Of in the CBC promos on CBC and CBC Gem.
The October 15 (early game) Family Feud Canada promo aired before the start of the 2nd period. The October 15 (late game) The National promo aired before the start of the 3rd period. The November 5 curling promo aired before the start of the 3rd period, which is a technical violation. Promos are supposed to run during game action. We know this game went fast but Rogers Sportsnet is supposed to air 6 promos, not 5.
The November 26 game also only had 5 promos. They had plenty of time and opportunities to get in that 6th promo but made other decisions.
The November 12 game was via the Citytv feed, not CBC.
October 15 early game: Fakes; The Buzzer (1st); Family Feud Canada; Sunday night block (2nd); The National; Summit '72 (3rd)
October 15 late game: Fakes; The Buzzer (1st); Family Feud Canada; Sunday night block (2nd); The National; Summit '72 (3rd)
October 29 early game: Sunday night block (1st); Summit '72; The National; Moonshine; Skate Canada International (2nd); Great Canadian Baking Show (3rd)
November 5 early game: Moonshine; Sort Of (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show (2nd); Mixed Doubles Curling Super Series; Sunday night block (3rd)
November 26 early game: My Life as a Rolling Stone: Sixty Years of Rock and Roll; The Fifth Estate (1st); Marketplace; Soccer North (2nd); Sort Of (3rd)
The Toronto Argonauts 6-game Grey Cup streak went up against the 3-peat hopes of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2022 Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The game itself was kind of a snoozefest in the first half though in typical CFL style, the end of the game was exciting.
The Argos bested the Blue Bombers in a 24-23 battle to win the 109th Grey Cup.
The kickers were definitely in the spotlight.
Toronto's Boris Bede missed a 36-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter but did get a single. That was theoretically the difference in the 1-point win. Winnipeg's Marc Liegghio missed a convert after Janarion Grant's Grey Cup record-setting 102-yard punt return.
Liegghio made a 45-yard field goal but had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked. Bede was 3-6 in field goals, missing from 36, 52, and 42 yards, one of those being a blocked field goal attempt.
The kicker could be to blame, depending on which team won the Grey Cup. Many Blue Bombers fans haven't been happy with Liegghio for some time.
Chad Kelly has had very few chances to shine as the Toronto backup quarterback. McLeod Bethel-Thompson barely was a .500 quarterback, going 15-for-28 for 203 yards before dislocating his thumb in the fourth quarter. Kelly went 4-for-6 for 43 yards with a key scramble that set up a late touchdown.
Zach Collaros was relatively human, going 14-for-23 for 183 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Collaros was dealing with an injured ankle. Credit to the Argos defence for putting considerable pressure on Collaros. The Argos defence had 4 sacks and 2 interceptions.
The idea of the same winning player winning the Grey Cup most valuable player award and most outstanding Canadian award seemed impossible. Andrew Harris changed that in 2019 and now Toronto middle linebacker Henoc Muamba pulled off the feat in 2022.
Muamba had a key interception late in the fourth quarter.
Getting back to the Grey Cup had been a long road for Muamba, who played for Winnipeg in 2011 when the Blue Bombers lost to BC. That was Muamba's rookie year and only Grey Cup appearance before last night.
Speaking of Andrew Harris, this was his 4th Grey Cup win and 3rd in a row.
Toronto's Robbie Smith, who just a few plays earlier had extended the game with a 15-yard face mask penalty, also blocked Legghio’s kick. A fine line between goat and hero.
The Toronto Argonauts did lose the Grey Cup in 1987 to Edmonton. Since then, the Argos won the Grey Cup in 1991 (Calgary), 1996 (Edmonton), 1997 (Saskatchewan), 2004 (BC), 2012 (Calgary), 2017 (Calgary), and 2022 (Winnipeg).
The Edmonton franchise has the only 2 streaks of longer than 2 straight Grey Cup wins since the modern CFL era started in 1954.
Years
Team
Streak
1978-1982
Edmonton
5
1954-1956
Edmonton
3
2019, 2021
Winnipeg
2
2009-2010
Montréal
2
1996-1997
Toronto
2
1968-1969
Ottawa
2
1961-1962
Winnipeg
2
1958-1959
Winnipeg
2
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats wouldn't mind just winning a single Grey Cup. The Ticats streak dates back to 1999.
The Toronto Argonauts are now 7-0 in Grey Cups over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. True, those previous wins came between 1937 and 1950. The Argos were victorious in 1937-1938, 1945-1947, and 1950.
Was odd not seeing Matthew Scianitti or Sara Orlesky on the sidelines at a Grey Cup game on TSN. Scianitti is in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup and Orlesky works for the Winnipeg Jets. Claire Hanna and Farhan Lalji did really well on the sidelines for the 2022 Grey Cup.
We should also note that this was a season free of screwups from the ESPN channels, ESPN+, and TSN. No audio issues from the TSN studio or technical issues from the ESPN folks. Hopefully, that will keep going in 2023.
CFL Commissioner Randy Ambroisie leaked out that the league will switch to Saturday playoff games though the Grey Cup stays on Sunday. If this sounds familiar, the CFL did this in 2008 and then switched back in 2009. We may start to care in about 11 months.
The 110th Grey Cup will be in November 2023 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
For the first time since 1986, Canada is relevant in a men's World Cup of football (soccer). Canada is in Group F in Qatar, site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Canada's opponents in order of appearance are Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco. Canada went 0-3 in games and 0-5 in goals in 1986, the only other World Cup appearance for the men's team.
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) and Jonathan David (Lille) led the Canada squad.
Midfield stars include Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto) and Atiba Huchinson. Hutchinson would be the oldest player ever to play at a World Cup at 39 years, 9 months, and 3 days.
Canada will not be at full strength. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau fractured his leg while playing for LAFC in the MLS Cup. His team had a better day, pulling off the comeback. Centre back Scott Kennedy suffered a shoulder injury with German club SSV Jahn. Toronto FC centre back Doneil Henry was injured during warmups before a friendly match with Bahrain.
The goalkeepers will be Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade) and Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United) along with CF Montréal goalkeeper James Pantemis, who replaces Crepeau.
John Herdman will lead the way as head coach of the Canadian men's national soccer team.
Times listed are Eastern time. Qatar time is 8 hours ahead of EST.
CTV and TSN have the coverage in Canada with both outlets carrying the Canadian matches. The Bell Media outlets have extensive pregames for the Canada games and coverage starting 15 minutes before the times listed in the above table.
Fox Sports has the coverage of games in the United States. JP Dellacamera, Cobi Jones, and Geoff Shreeves will have the first Canada match on Fox. Dellacamera and Jones call the other Canada matches on Fox Sports 1.
The tournament starts tomorrow though Canada won't play until Wednesday.
Canada played Morocco in 2016, a friendly game that Morocco won 4–0. The countries played 2 other matches against each other. The only time Canada played Belgium was a friendly game in 1989. Belgium won 2–0. Canada has never played Croatia.
Canada, ranked at 41, is the lowest seed based on October 2022 FIFA rankings in Group F. Belgium is ranked at 2, Croatia is at 12, and Morocco ranks at 22.
Toronto Life has a bandwagon guide for those catching up on football (aka soccer).
The Canadian women's team in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup learned its opponents: Australia (co-host), Ireland, and Nigeria in Group B.
The women's team has made 8 World Cup appearances since its debut in 1995. The team's best result was 4th in 2003. The women's team is the defending gold medal champions from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Twitter captures: @CanadaSoccerEN; @Sportsnet photo credit: FIFA
The Toronto Argonauts have the Grey Cup rematch they wanted in 2021. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are looking to do something very rare in the modern era: win 3 Grey Cup titles in a row.
Toronto and Winnipeg will play in the 109th Grey Cup to determine the CFL champion at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Argos running back Andrew Harris has some very unfinished business, having signed with Toronto after leaving Winnipeg. Harris has 3 Grey Cup rings, 1 with the BC Lions (2011) and the Blue Bombers (2019, 2021).
This is the first time since 2018 that both top seeds made the Grey Cup. Calgary defeated Ottawa that season for the Grey Cup.
While this is the first trip for the Argos to the Grey Cup since 2017, Toronto has won the last 6 Grey Cups as a participant, a streak that goes back to 1987.
Due to the quirk in the scheduling where not every team plays each other home and home, the only time these teams met was on July 4 where Winnipeg edged out Toronto 23-22 at BMO Field. The Argos missed an extra point late in the game.
ESPN2
Sunday Toronto vs. Winnipeg at Regina, 6:30p
TSN
Sunday Toronto vs. Winnipeg at Regina, 6:30p
Ja'Gared Davis has been to every Grey Cup since 2016 when he first started playing to the CFL. The defensive end still hasn't had to buy a ticket to the CFL title game.
Davis played for Calgary (2016-2018) and Hamilton (2019, 2021) before moving on to Toronto in 2022. Despite playing in the last 5 Grey Cups, Davis only has a single Grey Cup ring with the Stampeders win in 2018.
Hank Ilesic has the record with 7 consecutive Grey Cups (1977-1983). Ilesic won 6 of those 7 Grey Cups (Edmonton 1978-1982, Toronto 1983). He started with Edmonton in 1977 straight out of high school as a punter.
Ryan Dinwiddie is in his first Grey Cup as a head coach for the Toronto Argonauts. Dinwiddie's first Grey Cup as a player came in his first CFL start. He came in off the bench for Kevin Glenn for the 2007 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers won the East but Glenn suffered a broken arm in the East final.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders snapped a 18-year streak by winning the Grey Cup in 2007.
Mike O'Shea has won 2 Grey Cups as a head coach for Winnipeg. O'Shea's 4 other Grey Cups were with the Toronto Argonauts. He was a part of the Grey Cup winning teams in 1996, 1997, and 2004 as a linebacker and 2012 as a special teams coordinator with the Argos.
Dave Naylor plays a bit of "what would have happened" in terms of Zach Collaros and the 2 teams in this year's Grey Cup.
But in terms of moments than changed CFL history you only need to go back to October of 2019.
That’s when then Argos GM Jim Popp negotiated a contract with Collaros whom Toronto had acquired from Saskatchewan a few weeks earlier.
Collaros hadn’t dressed for Toronto while healing from a head injury he suffered while playing for the Roughriders. But Popp was betting on him to be the Argos starting QB in 2020.
He scheduled a meeting with Argos president Bill Manning to get the deal approved. But when he got there, Manning fired him and the Collaros contract was never signed or registered to the league.
Three days later, the Argos new management team traded him to Winnipeg. The rest, as they say, is history.
A reminder that Jim Popp is a football talent genius. Anthony Calvillo played for Las Vegas and Hamilton in the CFL before landing in Montréal. Collaros had several stops in the CFL before finding a really good match in Winnipeg. Some people questioned whether Collaros could come close to where he was at that point in his career.
Winning back-to-back Grey Cups in the CFL modern era (since 1954) is pretty rare. Only Edmonton has had a longer streak in that time: 5 times (1978-1982) and 3 times (1954-1956).
The Ottawa team with the streak was the original Rough Riders.
Winnipeg went 14-2 in 1960, the only year between 1958-1962 where the Blue Bombers didn't make or win the Grey Cup. Winnipeg lost 2 out of 3 to Edmonton in the CFL playoffs and didn't advance to the 1960 Grey Cup.
The last time these teams played each other in the Grey Cup was the 1950 title game known as the Mud Bowl at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. The Argos posted the last Grey Cup shutout 13-0 over the Blue Bombers.
We hope in great earnest that the Grey Cup revelry has returned in 2022. Sometimes, the Grey Cup week parties were more amazing than the actual game. The folks from out east aka the Atlantic Schooners would even have a party. A team that has never existed has represented at the site of the Grey Cup.
Hopefully, if you are in Regina this week, you will find things relatively close to normal in a 2019 kind of way.
This is the first Grey Cup in the new stadium in Regina. Surprisingly, Regina has only hosted 3 Grey Cups at the old Taylor Field: 1995, 2003, and 2013.
Terry Williams made CFL playoff history with his 126-yard return on a missed Winnipeg extra point. The Lions got 2 points that could have made a huge difference.
Montréal and BC played rather well in the division final. Both Toronto (34-27) and Winnipeg (28-20) played better and stronger when they needed to do so.
The idea of building on 2022 to go further sounds a little corny but may be the case for both of those teams. The Alouettes getting past Hamilton was huge psychologically and the Lions defeating a tough Calgary team will give some encouragement to the fan bases in Montréal and Vancouver.
Nathan Rourke won't make the Grey Cup. If there was a 3rd place bowl, we could have called it the Vernon Adams Jr. Bowl since the quarterback played for both teams in 2022.
Rourke became the first Canadian quarterback to lead his team to a playoff victory since Quebec-born Gerry Dattilio did it in 1980 for the Montréal Alouettes. In 2018, Brandon Bridge was the first Canadian QB to start a playoff game since Dattilio in 1984.
Not wanting to move ahead to 2023, yet Hamilton acquiring the playing rights for American quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. The Tiger-Cats still need to sign the long-time Calgary QB when free agency starts in February. Hamilton gives up its 3rd-round pick in 2023, 5th-round pick in 2024, and future considerations.
Mitchell will show up as part of the CFL on TSN coverage.
ESPN2 will have Grey Cup with pregame coverage a week from Sunday starting at 5:30 pm Eastern with a simsub of the TSN feed.
Though we have listed this before now, recapping the music artists for Sunday: The Grey Cup halftime show will feature Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, Jordan Davis, and Canada's own Josh Ross. Canadian indie-alternative band Valley will play during the pregame show. Teagan Littlechief will sing O Canada in Cree, English, and French.
Rod Smith and Duane Forde with Claire Hanna were in Toronto for the East final. Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor with Farhan Lalji were in Winnipeg for the West final.
Smith said some beautiful words to the crew he was working with in Toronto. Heart on his sleeve. Smith and Suitor will call the Grey Cup while Nielson and Forde should be calling the Grey Cup on radio.
Home teams reigned supreme in the division semifinal games. Those home teams are now the road teams in the 2022 CFL division finals.
Toronto and Winnipeg are the home sites once again, just like in 2021. The opponents are very new. Montréal won its first playoff game since 2014 and the BC Lions have a playoff win for the first time since 2016.
The Alouettes drought is more substantial. The last time Montréal defeated an East team in the playoffs was the 2010 East final over the Toronto Argonauts.
In the days of Anthony Calvillo (Montréal) and Damon Allen (Toronto), the two CFL franchises had some amazing playoff games. The last time they played each other was in the 2012 East final at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.
The season history doesn't give an accurate picture. The teams played each other down the stretch but didn't show everything they had.
Toronto won the season series with Montréal 2-1. The Argos won 20-19 on June 16 at home. The teams split the last two games of the season with the road team winning both games. Toronto won 24-23 on October 22 and Montréal won 38-33 on October 29.
Winnipeg won 43-22 in Vancouver on July 9. That was the only full game Nathan Rourke lost as a starter as the Lions quarterback. BC won 40-32 in Vancouver on October 15 while the Blue Bombers came out on top 24-9 at home on October 28.
ESPN2
Sunday Montréal @ Toronto, 1p
ESPNews
Sunday BC @ Winnipeg, 4:30p
TSN
Sunday Montréal @ Toronto, 1p BC @ Winnipeg, 4:30p
You can't stop @walterfletcher_ ...you can only hope to contain him! His incredible touchdown is our @BudweiserCanada play of the week!
The Alouettes got the great start the team needed with a 22-6 halftime lead. Montréal has a strong running attack with Walter Fletcher and William Stanback, the latter having missed most of the regular season. The Alouettes won 28-17 on Sunday.
Alouettes fans are used to having the general manager come down to coach in the Jim Popp era. Danny Maciocia did the same though vowing not to coach in 2023. This is a jump start the team needed. Maciocia had great coaching success in Edmonton in what feels like a long time ago.
The Tiger-Cats started with Dane Evans with Matthew Shiltz arriving in the second half. Hamilton's problems continued in the playoff game with turnovers and not scoring touchdowns.
This was Montréal's first playoff win over Hamilton since 1996.
Hamilton continues the longest drought between Grey Cups, the only CFL team not to win the Grey Cup in the 21st century. The Tiger-Cats had reached the Grey Cup in the last 2 seasons in 2019 and 2021. The last Grey Cup win in the Steel City was in 1999.
Montréal has the second longest streak without a Grey Cup with the last win coming in 2010.
We had some standout performances on Sunday on all sides of the 🏈
Nathan Rourke didn't look 100% back to the form that wowed CFL fans. Rourke still had great numbers in the 30-16 win over the Calgary Stampeders. The BC Lions great defence was on display. Holding Calgary to field goal attempts until the final 2 minutes of the game shows that the Lions are not just Nathan Rourke.
The Stampeders gambled badly on a 3rd down conversion where on the subsequent drive, BC converted on a trick play in a short yardage situation. Calgary needed a strong run game to stay in the game yet Kadeem Carey only had a single rushing attempt in the first quarter.
Bo Levi Mitchell may have played his last game with Calgary, according to the experts. Switching quarterbacks seems to be the equivalent of switching NHL goalies. Not the players fault but the easiest change to make. Mitchell did lead Calgary to its only touchdown, albeit with fewer than 2 minutes left in the game.
The Lions had lost 5 straight playoff games to the Stampeders. The previous last playoff win for BC over Calgary was the 2000 West final before winning the Grey Cup.
BC Place was a festive party place on Sunday. Sarah McLachlan sang O Canada. Steven Page performed at halftime. The upper deck was open and the announced attendance was 30,114. No East stadium could fit that large of a crowd. The capacity of the Winnipeg and Calgary stadiums isn't too much larger than that crowd.
Owner Amar Doman has done a great job in revitalising the franchise. There is much more work to do. A nice example to help out Toronto and Montréal. Playoff wins help, though not in Toronto.
The Toronto Argonauts are opening the upper east side of BMO Field for the East Final due to high ticket demand. The original ticket manifest for the game was 19,000. Those seats have since sold out.
Note the split on the U.S. side for the television coverage. ESPN2 carried the transition time between the games last week. ESPNews will carry the transition into the West final for the U.S. audience.
ESPN2 will have Grey Cup with pregame coverage a week from Sunday starting at 5:30 pm Eastern with a simsub of the TSN feed.
The Grey Cup halftime show will feature Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, Jordan Davis, and Canada's own Josh Ross. The initial release implied (inferred?) that Davis was also in that band. Punctuation is important.
Country music, well, modern country music makes sense in a Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Valley, a Canadian indie-alternative band, will play in the pregame show.
Teagan Littlechief will sing O Canada before the 109th Grey Cup, performing the national anthem in Cree, English, and French.
Rod Smith and Duane Forde with Matthew Scianitti were in Montréal for the East semifinal. Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor with Farhan Lalji were in Vancouver for the West semifinal.
The same configuration will be in place on Sunday for the division finals, except Claire Hanna will be in for Scianitti since he is off to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
Paul LaPolice went back to his backup job in the CFL on TSN studio coverage. The former Ottawa head coach may only do this temporarily, though LaPolice is also good at that job.
logo credit: CFL Twitter captures: @MTLAlouettes; @BCLions
Western Final: TBD at Winnipeg Western Semi-Final: Calgary at BC Eastern Final: TBD at Toronto Eastern Semi-Final: Hamilton at Montrealhttps://t.co/QZ7r7dQ4tF
The 2022 CFL playoffs have 6 teams: 3 in the East and 3 in the West. This is the second year in a row where that is true. The crossover seemed to be a part of the CFL playoff picture in the late 2010s.
Winnipeg and Toronto have byes and await their opponents for home games in those cities on November 13. Those were the sites of the CFL division finals in 2021. The difference was that Hamilton pulled off the road upset while Winnipeg came out on top.
The 2022 Grey Cup will be in Regina, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a team that missed the playoffs.
Montréal won the season series over Hamilton 2-1 with each team winning at home. The Tiger-Cats won 24-17 on July 28 in the Steel City. The Alouettes edged out a win 29-28 on August 20. Montréal got the tiebreaker with a 23-16 win on September 23. In the 3 games, the Alouettes scored 1 more point than the Tiger-Cats.
The West semifinal produced the opposite result, where the road team won every game in 2022. The Lions posted a 41-40 win in Calgary on August 13 in what was the most exciting game in the league in 2022. BC pulled out a 31-29 overtime win on September 17. Calgary had the widest margin of victory in Vancouver with a 25-11 win over the BC Lions on September 24. The Stampeders had a +11 point advantage despite losing 2 out of 3.
Nathan Rourke played the first quarter for the BC Lions last Friday. That makes an already intriguing West semifinal that much more interesting.
ESPN2
Sunday Hamilton @ Montréal, 1p Calgary @ BC, 4:30p
TSN
Sunday Hamilton @ Montréal, 1p Calgary @ BC, 4:30p
The BC Lions playoff drought is on some level related to 2018. The Lions crossed over because BC won a tiebreaker with Edmonton. The Lions went into Hamilton and lost 48-8.
2016 marked the 20th straight playoff year for the BC Lions, longer than any current streak. BC hosted a playoff game that year in the West Division. The playoff drought in Vancouver has been severe.
This is the first indoor CFL playoff game since 2016. In 2012, 3 of the 4 CFL playoff games leading into the Grey Cup were played indoors.
The BC Lions under new owner Amar Doman get a well-deserved break in hosting the 2024 Grey Cup in Vancouver. The West Coast city has hosted the Grey Cup 16 times, the most recent time was 2014.
Given that a West team crept into the East semifinal 2016-2019, 2014, 2012, and 2009, Hamilton and Montréal couldn't get together too often in the CFL playoffs. Yet Sunday's game will be the 4th game the 2 teams have played in the East semifinal since 2011.
Year
Road
Home
Score
2021
Montréal
Hamilton
12-23
2013
Montréal
Hamilton
16-19*
2011
Hamilton
Montréal
52-44*
*game went into overtime
This doesn't bode well for the Alouettes, the team that lost all 3 of these playoff games.
The 2013 game was the infamous wind game in Guelph, ON.
Team
Total
Home
Road
BC
8
5
3
Saskatchewan
6
4
2
Winnipeg
5
1
4
Ottawa
5
2
3
Montréal
4
2
2
Toronto
4
2
2
Edmonton
3
2
1
Hamilton
3
0
3
Calgary
2
2
0
The BC Lions had the biggest bounce back on the field and ESPN cable appearances. Almost half of the BC games were on U.S. cable TV, including 5 in Vancouver. Saskatchewan had 6 games with 4 at home on ESPN2 or ESPNews.
The Ottawa RedBlacks, worst team in the East, got 5 appearances along with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, best team in the West.
For the second year in a row, Tim Hortons Field, home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, did not get on TV. Calgary was only shown at home.
June 16 Montréal @ Toronto, 7:30p ESPN2 June 17 Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7:30p ESPN2 June 18 Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 9:30p ESPNEWS June 24 Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p ESPN2 June 25 Toronto @ BC, 10p ESPN2 June 30 BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p ESPN2
July 2 Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p ESPN2 July 8 Ottawa @ Saskatchewan, 9:30p ESPNEWS July 9 Winnipeg @ BC, 7p ESPNEWS July 14 Edmonton @ Montréal, 7:30p ESPN2 July 22 Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p ESPN2 July 23 Toronto @ Saskatchewan, 7p ESPNEWS July 29 BC @ Saskatchewan, 9p ESPN2 July 30 Winnipeg @ Calgary, 7p ESPN2
August 6 Hamilton @ Toronto, 7p ESPN2 // Edmonton @ BC, 10p ESPN2 August 13 BC at Calgary, 7p ESPNews August 26 Saskatchewan @ BC, 10:30p ESPN2
September 23 Hamilton @ Montréal, 7:30p ESPN2 September 30 Ottawa @ BC, 10:30p ESPN2 October 10 Ottawa @ Montréal, 1p ESPN2
5 of the final 6 CFL seasons in the 2010s had a crossover. Hasn't been one since 2019. 2015 was the sole season in that stretch where there was no crossover. There were 3 East teams all above .500. In fact, the 3rd place BC Lions in 2015 were a playoff team under .500.
2015 was also the first year all 3 Ontario teams made the playoffs since 1983. Ottawa had a 12-6 record and Hamilton and Toronto tied at 10-8.
This season, the East semifinal will be Hamilton (8-10) at Montréal (9-9). By contrast, the Lions and Stampeders were both 12-6. BC hosts the West semifinal because of winning the tiebreaker with Calgary.
Saskatchewan didn't waste time adjusting its coaching roster. Craig Dickenson stays as head coach. 3 assistant coaches are gone: Jason Maas (offensive coordinator), Stephen Sorrells (run game coordinator and offensive line), and Travis Moore (receivers).
The offensive line blocking was a key negative for the Roughriders. Cody Fajardo's injuries did not help plus the awkward, reluctant inclusion to finally give Mason Fine some time.
Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor did 2 games out west with Farhan Lalji on Friday in Winnipeg and Brit Dort on Saturday in Calgary.
Marshall Ferguson and Duane Forde started out the tripleheader with Matthew Scianitti in Toronto. Rod Smith and Matt Dunigan with Claire Hanna were in Ottawa for the middle game.
Winnipeg may only have one more road trip: Regina for the Grey Cup. The Blue Bombers finish the year with the BC Lions in town on Friday night.
The teams have clinched their top (Winnipeg) and secondary seeds (BC).
The CFL ends the season with a Saturday tripleheader.
The East teams start out that tripleheader with Montréal in Toronto. The Alouettes would like a win to finish at .500.
The middle game features Hamilton in the nation's capital to battle Ottawa. The Tiger-Cats only have 1 road win and going to a place where there have been 0 home wins in Ottawa.
Saskatchewan travels to Calgary for the season finale to wrap up the tripleheader. The Roughriders would like to end the season with a win, not having had one in September or October.
Edmonton is done, very much done with the 2022 CFL season.
The CFL playoff positions are set with a week to go for the first time since 1996. That was the season after the failed American experiment in the mid 1990s.
TSN
Friday BC @ Winnipeg, 8:30p Saturday Montréal @ Toronto, 2p Hamilton @ Ottawa, 5p Saskatchewan @ Calgary, 8p
Bye week: Edmonton
FINAL: TOR 24 - 23 MTL.
The Toronto Argos clinch first place in the East by one point after the Alouettes were given a penalty for too many players on the field. pic.twitter.com/j3S1WGHvNr
The Internet had a bit of fun with how the Toronto Argonauts clinched the CFL East Division. Forget about the Montréal Alouettes coming up empty on a drive close to the Toronto end zone or the safety they gave up that would have made the difference.
Boris Bede missed the field goal attempt wide right. The ball was not run out. The Alouettes were called for too many players. Duane Forde mentioned the 2009 Grey Cup, which Montréal won, in part, due to Saskatchewan having 13 men on the field.
The Toronto Argonauts deserved to win the East Division title and will wait after this week to November 13 at BMO Field.
The BC Lions clinched home field in the West semifinal, the first CFL playoff game in a domed stadium since 2016. Even without Nathan Rourke, the Lions have still played strong defence and had just enough offence
The team has played well against Winnipeg and Calgary this season.
The quarterback switch in Regina didn't gain too much for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A 6-game losing streak, something Edmonton and Ottawa haven't done, proved damaging.
The last Roughriders win came on August 26. The crossover dreams have been extinguished. For the second year, the CFL will have 3 East teams in the playoffs.
Cody Fajardo may have a new destination in 2023, even if the quarterback wasn't the problem.
The Hamilton win eliminated the Ottawa RedBlacks highly slim playoff hopes. If the Tiger-Cats win the second road game of the year, Hamilton goes into the CFL playoffs at 8-10. Worse case scenario: Tiger-Cats are in the playoffs at 7-11.
Ottawa did hang in when things were terrible. Bob Dyce has made good marks toward being named the permanent head coach.
The Edmonton Elks finish the season with 17 straight home losses.
The current Ottawa incarnation has a worse scenario in contrast with the Elks. The RedBlacks now have lost 22 of the last 23 at TD Place. The RedBlacks last home win was over a year ago on September 28, 2021 with a 34-24 win over Edmonton. The previous home win was June 20, 2019 with a 44-41 win over Saskatchewan. That victory gave Ottawa a 2-0 mark to start 2019 and only won 1 other game the rest of the season.
The RedBlacks still have a shot at a home win on Saturday.
D'oh. While Modern Family showed actual CFL footage and joked about poutine, no American show loves the CFL more than The Simpsons. A few weeks back, The Simpsons had some fun in the Lisa the Boy Scout episode. 3 Down Nation has a good wrapup.
The Simpsons aired for years on Global TV. Citytv picked up the show from 2018-2021. Rogers still has the rights but runs new episodes on Disney+ in Canada.
The show is available on Fox stations via cable and satellite.
Djordje Mihailovic scored a goal for CF Montréal in the 85th minute in the Eastern Conference semifinals in the 2022 MLS playoffs. Down 3-0, the goal wasn't noteworthy as NYCFC advances to the Eastern Conference final 3-1 at Stade Saputo.
The game was the franchise's first home playoff loss after winning the first 5 home MLS playoff games. This was only the second loss for Club de Foot Montréal in the last 17 games, playoffs included.
NYCFC, the #3 seed, advances to Philadelphia to play the Union next Sunday.
Miahilovic also scored a goal in the CF Montréal playoff win against Orlando City SC. Ismaël Koné scored the only regulation goal in last week's playoff game.
The playoff win was the first for CF Montréal since 2016 and the first for any Canadian MLS team since the 2019 Eastern Conference final for Toronto FC.
Wilfried Nancy should get a lot of votes for the MLS coach of the year with the work he did for this franchise.
We noted in our coverage that the Club de Foot Montréal will look very different. There will even be a new logo for the 2023 team.
ESPN's Adrian Healey referred to Montréal as the "capital of french speaking Quebec" in both ESPN telecasts. This sentence makes sense to an anglophone audience. Quebec City is the capital of Quebec and is objectively more French than Montréal. Not saying right or wrong to Healey's comment. Would be an intriguing debate.
We have a return to division matchups for the next-to-last regular season week in the 2022 CFL season.
Ottawa starts off a home-and-home series with the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton to start out Friday Night Football. The RedBlacks slim playoff hopes require a win. So does Hamilton's larger playoff hopes.
The BC Lions travel to Edmonton for the final Elks game of 2022 in the nightcap. The Elks don't want to wait until 2023 to win at Commonwealth Stadium.
Toronto goes east to Montréal for the final home-and-home series on a late Saturday afternoon start time. An Argos win means a bye and hosting the East final.
Calgary and Saskatchewan meet for the first time in 2022. The first of 2 games in a row starts out in Regina. The Stampeders are in the playoffs but want to host a playoff game. The Roughriders want to make the playoffs.
Winnipeg may not want a rest but the Blue Bombers can pick apples and rake leaves.
TSN
Friday Ottawa @ Hamilton, 7p BC @ Edmonton, 9:30p Saturday Toronto @ Montréal, 4p Calgary @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Bye week: Winnipeg
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats picked an amazing time to win the team's first road game of 2022. The Ticats pulled off the comeback win in Calgary to improve to 6-10 overall. Hamilton has to hit the road to win in the playoffs.
To give you an idea of the depth of time since the Tiger-Cats were victorious in Calgary, the streak was almost as long as the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff round in the chase for the Stanley Cup (spring 2004).
This was a scenario where the Saskatchewan Roughriders were rooting for Calgary while the BC Lions were thrilled with the result.
Hamilton and Saskatchewan are 6-10. One of these teams will travel to Montréal (likely) or Toronto (maybe) for the East semifinal. The Alouettes clinched a home playoff game with the comeback win over Ottawa. The Argonauts had their "you really need to see the last 3 minutes" kind of game, extending the Edmonton home losing streak to 16 games. Toronto won in Edmonton for the first time since 2013.
The Argos didn't score a touchdown until fewer than 4 minutes left in the game and the winning touchdown came in the final minute.
Toronto and Montréal finish the season in a home-and-home series. The Argos only need a win in the last 2 games to host the East final.
Saskatchewan is going with Mason Fine at quarterback over Cody Fajardo in the last home game of the regular season. The Roughriders hope to play one more home game in 2022, i.e., the 2022 Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium.
Thanks to Winnipeg resting a few key players, especially Zach Collaros, the BC Lions are a game up with 2 to play over Calgary and have the tiebreaker to host the West semifinal. The Lions know the difference between a warm dome in Vancouver versus a cold early November day in Calgary.
Even though the RedBlacks lost yet another home game, Ottawa has a chance to make the playoffs at 6-12 if the RedBlacks sweep Hamilton AND Calgary sweeps Saskatchewan. That would require Ottawa to win at home in 2022, something that has not happened so far.
Duane Forde went from doing 3 games the previous week to 1 game last week. Marshall Ferguson and Forde with Claire Hanna were in Ottawa early on Friday night.
Dustin Nielson got to see both major Alberta cities, joining Glen Suitor with Farhan Lalji on Friday in Calgary and Matt Dunigan with Tom Gazzola on Saturday in Edmonton.
Rod Smith was in Vancouver with 2 people from the Calgary telecast — Suitor and Lalji — on Saturday night.
Tom Gazzola was new to us but works out of Edmonton. We will be highly curious about the 2023 CFL sideline reporters lineup.
Dave Naylor was in for Matt Dunigan both days on the CFL on TSN panel.
