Category Archives: CFL Football

Go Stamps!

COMMENT OF THE DAY: Smoke signals show the Bombers are stuck with Buck for now…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/04/02/mb-fire-canad-inns-stadium-winnipeg.html

Last night, a “massive” fire broke out at Canad Inns Stadium, where someone set the artificial turf shed ablaze.  Police believe it might be related to a garbage-can arson at a nearby Red Lobster (amazingly, I think I’ve actually eaten there, if it’s the one I’m thinking of), but perhaps it’s simply a sign from team management.  Hey, are the Bombers Catholic?

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But don’t worry Winnipeggers, as those who covered the conclave can confirm, black smoke means negotiations are still underway.  Hell, I’m sure the Stamps’ll give you Kevin Glenn back! ;) :(

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COMMENT OF THE DAY: If Marc Trestman takes the Bears job, he could cost a couple commentators their job…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4681946/gannon-trestman-cutler-would-be-good-fit

Could the CFL’s most successful current coach be coming to Chicago?  Jimmy Johnson says he’s already there, Rich Gannon says he should be, whereas this Bears fan offers his conditional endorsement:

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Personally, I think it’s a good fit.  Both the Bears and Marc Trestman’s Als have a recent history of playing pretty well in the regular season, but coming up short in the playoffs.  Unfortunately for him, however, you don’t get awarded double penalty yardage in the NFL when the opponent has 13 men on the field. ;)

Stampeders’ TD horse belatedly named Grey Cup MVP by Toronto alt-weekly

Posted by gruesomegreg on

The Calgary Stampeders may have left Toronto empty handed, but their trusty steed Marty, a stand-in for regular TD horse Quick Six, was awarded a Menchie by alt-weekly The Grid two days ago.  In a brief writeup, the alt-weekly noted that “The Ikea monkey got more press, but it was Marty—a 15-year-old horse from a Stouffville petting zoo—who really shook up the city” when he was initially denied, and later granted, entry into the Royal York Hotel.  “See, Toronto? Loosening your harness can be kinda fun,” The Grid concludes.

Interestingly enough, no Toronto Argonauts appear to have won a Menchie award this year.  Not that it takes the sting out of losing the Grey Cup or anything… :(

I betcha Rider Nation freaks out when they hear the Talking Heads, too…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Rider Nation flew into a panic this holiday season, placing a few “frantic” phone calls to the fire department in the belief that their beloved Mosaic Stadium was ablaze—but it turned out just to be the image of a fireplace on the video board.  As the CBC reports, “For weeks, the cheery image of the burning log was displayed on the video scoreboard at the Saskatchewan Roughriders home venue west of the downtown.  The flaming log was also shown on banner screens across the stands.” 

But where there’s fire, there’s smoke—and perhaps a little Rider green, if ya know what I mean.  Regina’s deputy fire chief Gerard Kay told the CBC “the callers were very descriptive, reporting ‘a very bright flame. In some cases the smell of smoke.’”  Erm, you might wanna check your son’s room in the basement to see where that smell’s coming from, buddy… ;)

In any case, the Riders have agreed to change the image to “something a little more appropriate” that won’t have the 13th man crying foul.  “It’s funny, someone jokingly said, ‘Y’know, I don’t know about that Yule log. Someone is going to think the stadium is on fire,’” team CEO Jim Hopson told our national broadcaster. “Sure as heck, someone thought the stadium was on fire.”

Know what else is funny?  At this moment, some 53 per cent of CBC poll respondents want the old Yule log back.  Burn Baby Burn!

The agony of defeat… (with pictures)

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Man, I gotta say I’ve been in a bit of a funk since Sunday.  My Grey Cup memories from ’08 were nothing but good times, seeing the Stamps go into Montreal and beat the Als in the big game–but this year, it was totally different.  From the early going, it was quite clear that Calgary did not show up to play against Toronto; costly turnovers in their own zone, missed opportunities at the other end, a paltry 53 yards rushing…  About the only area the Stamps played pretty well was special teams, with Paredes, Maver and Taylor leading the way.  But hey, if you’re kicking four field goals and punting six times, you’re probably not putting enough points on the board to win; as was the case for Calgary.  Ironically, their 22-point output was the exact same as in the 96th Grey Cup–but giving up 17 points to Toronto in the second quarter made all the difference.

Anyways, congrats must go to Toronto.  There were a lot more Argos jerseys than I expected to see in the crowd, and hopefully having one winning team in town leads to a boost in attendance next season.  But then again, I hear the Jays are supposed to be pretty good next year, too…

Anyways, I did manage to take a few pictures for prosperity.  A couple years from now, after a conflict-of-interest lawsuit against Eric Tillman causes the Argos to forfeit the 100th Grey Cup (c’mon, they got Ricky Ray for nothing!), I can always say I was there when the Stamps won it all. ;)

I was seated in Section 134D, which meant I had a pretty good view of the action–when it was on the south side of the field:

On the other hand, this was my view of the other side.  I had to look up at the Jumbotron to see if the ball crossed the plane of the end zone…

That said, I did snap a couple decent shots of the Calgary player introductions:

The pre-game show, however, was a different story.  I was actually seated behind the stage, which was facing away from me, so I only really got a side-view of some of the action.

Likewise, I only saw the side of Burton Cummings…

…but hey, cheerleaders!

I also had to watch the halftime show on the Jumbotron.  Hey, the beer line wasn’t that long…

Alas, this was about as close as I came to Justin Bieber:

On the other hand, when I decided to make my exit with just under five minutes left to play, the Mounties happened to be bringing the hardware right down my aisle–with Toronto’s names already engraved on it, no doubt.

COMMENT OF THE DAY: Justin Bieber—just the beginning of the CFL’s brand makeover?

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/11/26/heckling-the-hecklers-tweeters-defend-justin-biebers-grey-cup-halftime-performance/

I came.  I saw.  I booed Justin Bieber.  Alas, the 100th Grey Cup was awfully disappointing from this Stamps fan’s perspective—more on that tomorrow, though.  But let’s just say that the CFL’s choice of halftime entertainment was none too popular.  With the game sold out several months in advance, the fact is football fans were going to sit through (or go grab beer during) whatever act the league chose to book for its halftime show; it’s not like the stands would be suddenly filled with 12-year-old girls.  And nothing says centenary celebration of a great Canadian game like a flash-in-the-pan, teen-pop sensation, am I right?  But hey, that was just the first of many moves by the CFL to engage a younger, female demographic.  Apparently, this National Post commenter is privy to some inside league information…

(Uh, what’s a Lalaloopsie?)

Time to revisit my Grey Cup prediction…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Don’t get me wrong, as a Stamps fan, I wanted to say “Calgary all the way!” when I first made my playoff predictions a couple weeks back.  But I admit, I got caught up in the quarterback confusion, and with visions of Rob Johnson fumbling in my head, ultimately decided that Drew Tate did not have what it takes to be Inkmaster Grey Cup champion–at least not in this injury-plagued season.  But as it turned out, Tate played great in pulling off a last-minute win over the Riders–then he broke his wrist in practice, forcing the Stamps to go back to Kevin Glenn in the West Final.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Some 303 yards, 3 TDs and 34 points later, Glenn and the Stamps were headed to the Grey Cup–and so am I, having shelled out some big bucks for second-hand tickets.

On the other hand, I had pegged the Argos for a Grey Cup appearance when I first made my picks, assuming–correctly, as it were–that Montreal could be beaten on its home turf.  I even nailed the margin of victory in the Eastern Semi, though I was four points per side off from the actual score.  But then I predicted that both East Final participants would put up a lot more points than they actually did, before Toronto would fall to B.C. in the Grey Cup final.  Then again, they aren’t playing the Lions, so it’s time for me to revisit my prediction for tonight’s game.

Looking back at the schedule, the Stamps and Argos played a couple close games this season.  In fact, their Week Two matchup, which I attended, was decided by a last-second field goal, as the Double-Blue walked off with a 39-36 victory before a meager crowd of 20,682.  Then in late August, on the not-yet frozen tundra of McMahon Stadium, the two teams put forth a much lower-scoring affair; though once again, Toronto prevailed, 22-14, on a 300-yard passing day from Ricky Ray and five(!) Swayze Waters field goals.  But hey, that was three months ago.  After that loss, the Stamps reeled off four straight wins, and would only lose two more games (to Saskatchewan and B.C.) the rest of the way.  On the other hand, the Argos stumbled down the stretch, going 5-6 to end the year–with three of those wins coming over last-place Hamilton.  True, they have won four in a row, including two playoff games, but you could argue that they’ve had an easier road to get here.  After all, Edmonton finished last in the West, and Calgary beat the Esks four (that’s right, four!) times this year…

While the Stamps dominated Edmonton this season, and the Argos beat ‘em pretty bad in the first round, it’s worth noting that the Esks were without their franchise quarterback, Ricky Ray, who they traded to Toronto in the off-season.  Likewise, Stamps starter Kevin Glenn was an off-season acquisition, though he wasn’t handed the job until Drew Tate went down in Week Two.  That said, while the QBs have just settled in to their new cities–it will be interesting to see what happens to Glenn next year, though–they’re quite familiar with the opposing teams.  Ricky Ray is used to seeing the Stamps at three times a year, and had a respectable 4-5 record against Calgary on Labour Day–not bad considering it was always a road game for the Eskimos.    Speaking of the Labour Day Classic, Glenn lead the Ti-Cats to lopsided wins over Toronto in 2009 and 2010, before the league gaffed by not scheduling the traditional Argos-TiCats matchup last season.  However, Hamilton almost became accustomed to early playoff exits under Glenn, to the point that he was made expendable.

Last year, after leading his team to an improbable win over Montreal in the Eastern Semi, Glenn threw for just 113 yards in the snow as Hamilton lost 19-3 to Winnipeg.  His last best chance to reach the Grey Cup came in 2007, where he threw for 201 yards in a Winnipeg win over the Argos, but broke his arm late in the game and missed the final, in which the Bombers lost to Saskatchewan.  So now, after 12 years in the league, he finally gets his chance in the big game.  Of course, Ray’s been here a few times before, and has won a couple rings, but while there’s no question that most teams would take Ray over Glenn in any situation, I wouldn’t count out the feel-good, first-time veteran storyline.  I mean, chances are Tate regains the starting job next year, and provided that he proves to be more durable than a current Bombers QB *cough*Beat-Up Buck*cough*, he could send Glenn to the sidelines for good.  Thus, this could very well be KG’s last chance at leading a team to the Cup–and I’m sure it isn’t lost on him.

I gotta say, I see a lot of parallels between this year’s game and 2008, the Stamps’ last Grey Cup win.  For one thing, there should be a lotta Bomber blue in the stands, as Winnipeg is coming off a Grey Cup loss last year, just like they were in ’07.  Of course, the Stamps were also the de-facto road team in the 96th Grey Cup, facing the Montreal Alouettes in a raucous Big O–which they ultimately silenced with their shutdown defence and frequent second-half field goals.  Like the man he was traded for last year, Henry Burris came into the game with a reputation as a shaky, unpredictable quarterback who had never really succeeded in the postseason.  But after a Western Final where Calgary held B.C. to a whole lotta field goals, he came through in the big game, throwing for 328 yards and rushing for 79 en route to being named Grey Cup MVP.  The final score, coincidentally, was 22-14, the same as the Week Eight game between the Stamps and Argos this season…

That said, I think it’s gonna take a few more points to pull it off tonight.  The Stamps averaged just under 30 points per game this season, while the Argos have been red-hot since Ray returned from injury.  Going back to their Week Two shootout, Glenn completed 15-of-19 passes for 172 yards and two scores in just over three quarters of football, erasing a nine-point halftime deficit by answering Toronto’s big plays with several of his own.  And based on last week’s impressive road win, I think it’s safe to say that given a full four quarters, Glenn can put up even more points, ending his season right where it began with a Grey Cup win.

It’s also worth noting that the man who kicked the game-winner in Week Two, Noel Prefontaine, is now Toronto’s punter, having ceded the placekicking duties to the awesomely-named Swayze Waters, who made a respectable 32-of-43 field goals in this, his rookie season.  But on the other side, Calgary’s Rene Paredes was darn-near perfect, connecting on 40 of 43 attempts.  Did I mention that Sandro DeAngelis–another Canadian kicker–hit five FGs for the Stamps in ’08, and was named Most Valuable Canadian?  Likewise, I think Paredes kicks Calgary to victory in this one.  Just don’t expect Glenn to run for 80 yards.  Stamps 32, Argos 26.

OMGz! I’m going to my first Justin Bieber concert on Sunday!!!!!!111

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Yes indeed, got my tickets FedExed to me yesterday.  Not only will Justin Bieber be there, but so will Carly Rae “Call Me Maybe” Jepsen–and teen heart-throb Gordon Lightfoot, too!

Of course, I’m referring to the Grey Cup halftime show, where the Canadian folk balladeer will set the stage for a couple teen-pop sensations younger than his grand-kids in the oddest generational halftime clash since Aerosmith shared the stage with Britney Spears and ‘N Sync at Super Bowl 35.  Then again, if you add up Lightfoot’s age and Jepsen’s, you get 100.  The Biebster is just overkill!

That said, I’m morbidly curious as to how the mom-deafening, paparazzi-pushing pop-star with go over with a crowd half-full of half-drunk Riders fans too bombed to leave their seats.  Rumour has it that the mere mention of his name at the East Final at Montreal drew a hearty round of boos.  I know I’ll be bringing my camera in case someone rushes the field.  I mean hey, they never show that shit on TV!

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On a side note, those laminated, holographic tickets are pretty fancy-schmancy, eh?  Perhaps not worth the $475 apiece I paid for them on StubHub (original value: $325), but certainly a nice little keepsake from the event–even if Flutie’s wearing his Argos number on the left.  I’m pretty sure they just had plain old paper tickets in Montreal in ’08.  Then again, there’s nothing really commemorative about the 96th Grey Cup–unless you’re a Stamps fan, of course. ;)

Oh, and from what I recall, Theory of a Nickelfault was the halftime entertainment that year.  But I didn’t see a second of their set, as I spend 25 minutes wandering the concourse in search of an ATM, to no avail.  On the other hand, the Big O might be the only stadium I’ve been to that actually has a smoker’s exit.  Only in la belle province, hein?

You can take our horse off the sideline, but you can’t take the horses off our helmets!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

The Calgary Stampeders might hafta hold their horse on Sunday, unless an 11th-hour agreement can be reached to allow Quick Six, the Stamps’ touchdown steed, to run wild within the Rogers Centre.  As Global News reports, “The horse’s rider Karyn Drake said she was told Monday afternoon that she would not be travelling to Toronto for the Sunday game against the Argos due to rules at the Rogers Centre.”  Rule number one of Rogers Centre: No fun allowed in Rogers Centre!

The unjust ruling has a host of Calgary celebrities, from Theo Fleury to Ralph the Dog, up in arms.  Perhaps Ralph said it best, tweeting “So Toronto doesn’t want my pal Quick Six at Grey Cup, eh? Too bad, the 42 guys with a white horse on their helmet are still coming. #WinItAll”  Darn tootin’!

It’s worth noting that for Calgary’s last Grey Cup appearance, which came in 2008 at Montreal’s Big O, a last-minute agreement was reached between the team and the stadium, allowing Quick Six to gallop his stuff.  Mind you, his presence was hardly required, as the Stamps scored just one major en route to a 22-14 win.  Methinks this one stands to be slightly higher-scoring, however…

COMMENT OF THE DAY: Who needs the Grey Cup when you’ve got Rob Ford?

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://www.straight.com/article-837051/vancouver/reflecting-bc-lions-loss-calgary-stampeders

As a Vancouver alt-weekly laments the B.C. Lions’ loss to Calgary in the CFL Western Final, one Lions fan offers his support to the Stamps in the Grey Cup:

(Frankly, I think having Rob Ford would negate the need for comedy troupes more so than football championships…  But the Stamps are still gonna win on Sunday!)