BC Place Half Time Reopening Show

What was that? Electric guitarist, tenor sax, bongos? I don't know who co-ordinated that, but I hope that most of the people in the stadium went for a beer. Where's the tried and true half time events like mascot soccer (who doesn't love Smiley the No Frills banana?)? Stadium does look nice though.

CFL Predictions, Week 14, 2011

Montreal Alouettes at Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Looks like Bomber quarterback Buck Pierce is out with bad ribs (like in the Polynesiantown episode of SCTV). Montreal is favoured by a solid 7 points on the road, so I'm assuming either Anthony Calvillo is back this week or the oddsmakers really like the backup Adrian McPherson and dislike Bomber backup Alex Brink. Or maybe the fact that Bomber running back Fred Reid is gone for the season. The Bombers still have a good defence, so I'll say they'll cover the spread but lose. Are the Bombers on track for an epic Red Sox like collapse for the rest of the season? Who knows.

Corruption People 24, Injured People 18

Edmonton at BC

BC is favoured at home by a healthy six points, has a win streak going and will have a big crowd as they return to BC Place. The Eskimos have basically sucked since starting the season with five straight wins. I'm not sure if I'm a total believer in the Lions, but they can tie the Eskimos with a win. Lions fairly easily

Dome People 31, Oilsands People 20

Saskatchewan at Calgary Stampeders

The Riders plainly suck this year. Calgary has looked inconsistent, but can score points. The Stamps are favoured by 5.5 points this week, which seems a little small considering they're at home. Stamps easily.

Inconsistent People 35, Pilsner People 21

Hamilton at Toronto,

The Ticats are on the road against a bad Toronto team and favoured by 3.5 points. Sure the Argos beat the Bombers last week at home, but Winnipeg players basically imploded as the game went on and were left with only the long snapper healthy at the end. I'm assuming that won't happen to Hamilton this week, plus the Ticat offence looked pretty lethal last week on the East Coast. A loss ends the Argos playoff chances, slim as they may be, so I'm sure they'll play some spirited defence but still lose.

32 Bratina People, 16 Suck People

CFL Power Rankings, Week 14, 2011

1. Montreal Alouettes
There's certainly concern for quarterback Anthony Calvillo's status, however Montreal is basically the only consistent team. Big point differential doesn't hurt either.
2. BC Lions
One could make an argument that the Lions should be number one. They did hammer the Riders the past week, but that doesn't say a lot. Have also scored way more point than they have allowed.
3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Beat the Stamps badly in a quasi home game, but this team is still up and down. Explosive offense sometimes, but the regular use of Marcus Thigpen should make the offense more consistent. Defence still gives up long bombs, but also makes the occasional sack to end a drive.
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Are the Bombers regressing to the mean? With running back Fred Reid out for the season and down to their third string quarterback in the last game and to top it off, losing by a single point to Toronto, things aren't looking that hot for Winnipeg. Defence still good.
5. Calgary Stampeders
Not a good defence and mediocre overall of late. Burris still good, but good enough to carry this team to the Grey Cup? Who knows?
6. Edmonton Eskimos
Lost at home to Montreal, have been poor overall since starting the season with five straight wins. Not that great a team, especially when Ray isn't on fire. Which he isn't every game.
7. Toronto Argonauts.
Wow the Argos aren't ranked last. I didn't really expect that, but gritting out a win over Winnipeg showed some character and good defence. Reasonable running game and improved quarterbacking over Cleo Lemon, but this is still a bad team. Just not the very worst.
8. Saskatchewan Rough Riders
Totally blown out by BC. Playoff hopes pretty much done. Worse than Toronto. Not good times in Riderville.

Winnipeg Down Running Backs, First Place Still Up For Grabs?

There's a report on cfl.ca that Winnipeg Blue Bomber running backs Fred Reid (second in rushing yards) and Carl Volny are both done this year with ACL injuries after the Toronto game. Since the Bombers rely on running, especially on first down, that's gotta hurt. Winnipeg has won two more games than the Cats and hold the tie breaker over the Cats with six games left. Normally it would be unlikely for the Cats to end up more wins than the Bombers, but with the injuries Winnipeg could implode down the stretch.

One caveat, running backs in the CFL are a fungible commodity, so finding a new one won't be that hard (De'Andra Cobb?). Reid was one of the better running backs in the CFL, so replacing him with someone close to his ability will be tougher.

Thoughts on Touchdown Atlantic in Moncton

Just finished the drive back from Moncton after attending the Touchdown Atlantic
game. Certainly coming from Hamilton, seeing the 55 to 26 victory over the Calgary Stampeders made for a better drive home that's for sure. The stadium itself wasn't bad. I sat in one of the endzone sections. The view was worse than a seat between the goal lines, but acceptable. Concessions were a little understaffed, but you really can't expect much for a one off game. Regular cans of Canadian and Coors light were $6. Didn't seem like beer sales ended at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The crowd wasn't super into the game, likely due to most fans not having a true home side to root for. The crowd was excited for the various big plays that occurred in the game, but probably hoped for a tighter game towards the end. A good number of Hamilton fans made the trek to Moncton, but the vast majority of people seemed to locals (or relatively local). The Stamps also had a surprising number of supporters. Weather was superb, sunny and realitively hot for late September. The grass was in excellent condition and didn't seem to be a huge factor in the game. Flyby was two helicopters.

I also attended the Saturday night Tigertown in the Empress theatre which turned out to be an intimate venue, with Pigskin Pete MCing. A lot of Hamiltonians were in attendance. CHML colour commentator John Salavantis spoke, as did Mayor Bob Bratina (I resisted the urge to yell out LRT forever while he was talking). The cheerleaders performed briefly and then a few hung around selling their charity calender. We were promised that Ticat president Scott Mitchell would speak, but I left pretty late and I never saw him so I'm not sure what was up with that. Molson cans were $4.50 which was good considering I consumed a solid number. The band Pogey was excellent. Tigertown to me seemed quite well done, so props to the team.

I'll have another post about the game itself tomorrow. Which was most enjoyable.

CFL Predictions, Week 13, 2011, Down East Edition

Montreal at Edmonton,

Edmonton has the slightly better record at 7 and 4, with the Alouettes a game back. The Esks are at home hence them being slight 1.5 favourites. Montreal lost against Winnipeg last week, but it was close and Edmonton doesn't have the Bombers defence. I'm going against the odds and picking the Alouettes.

Tabernac People 29, Tar People 24

BC at Saskatchewan

This game has real playoff implications, with the 5 and 6 Lions battling the 4 and 7 Riders on the road for the third playoff spot in the West. There's possibilities of cross-over as well, so both teams should be motivated. Both teams are relatively hot, but I'm more impressed with the Lions. The Riders are slight two point favourites at home. If this were in BC, I'd pick the Lions in a landslide, but I'll chose the Riders as slight favourites at home.

25 Rapeseed People 22 Sushi People

Winnipeg at Toronto

I'm not what sure what the oddsmakers are up to, but the Bombers are only 3.5 point favourites at Dead Ted's Dome. Maybe they're big fans of Steven Jyles. Sure he's a big step up from Cleo Lemon, but the Bombers are coming off a big road win in Montreal. It'll be a beating, and Jyles will be running for his life.

Portage People 34 Suck People 19

Calgary at (sort of ) Hamilton

Earlier today it was even odds, but when I last checked the Stamps are favoured by a single point. Ostensibly the Cats are the home team, but I'm doubting that's much of an advantage when the game is in Moncton. I suppose the fans will try and cheer for the Cats, but I'm sure they'll just jump on the bandwagon of whatever team is winning. Calgary lost last week and looked lame, but the Cats have lost badly the last two weeks and looked like the 3 and 15 teams a few years ago. That's generally not good. I expect the Cats to play better this week, but not enough to win. Interestingly the game is on grass, but I have no idea which team has the advantage with it.

Spur People 33, Balsam People 28

Could the Ticats Miss the Playoffs This Year?

After back to back losses for the Tiger-Cats, things have become murkier with regards to where the team ends up in terms of playoff position. At first glance, at 5 and 6 the Cats look good for at least third in the East. The 2 and 9 Argos are essentially out of it barring a miracle run over the last seven games.

The problem for the Cats is the cross-over spot, where the fourth place West team has a better record than the third place East team (or vice versa). The Lions now have the same record as the Cats and are considerably hotter now. The Eskimos and Stampeders both have 7 and 4 records and are likely to have better records than the Cats at the end of the season. Now the Saskatchewan Roughriders have a 4 and 7 record after winning three straight and are only a game back of the Cats.

For the cross-over the other division team has to have a better record, i.e. in division teams tied on points get the playoff spot, so the Cats do have an advantage. However the upcoming "home" game in Moncton against Calgary has become more important. If the Cats win, they either tie or stay close to Montreal and hosting a home playoff game is still possible, especially with a game remaining in Montreal. If the Cats lose and the Riders win (although they're playing BC which complicates this scenario) the two teams would then be tied. Henceforth, if the Riders even end up with a single point more at the end of the season they would be in over the Cats.

Certainly this makes for more excitement in the league, and is part of the reason for the crossover. For the Cats it makes this next game against Calgary crucial. Win it and beating Montreal is still possible. Lose and the possibility of losing out on a playoff spot becomes more likely. Too bad the Cats aren't getting the full home field Ivor Wynne advantage this weekend.