CFL Finals Sunday

Later today the participants for the Grey Cup in Edmonton will be determined. They will be two different games but winners will be declared.

East Division

In the confines of Olympic Stadium, the Montreal Alouettes will host the Toronto Argonauts. Although the Argos surprised the CFL by beating Hamilton last week they really have very little chance to beat the Als. Toronto doesn't have a strong quarterback and has won many of their games in despite of that position. The Als are good at everything. Without any factor from the weather, they will run over Toronto.

West Division

Out on the very cold bald faced prairie the Calgary Stampeders will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It will be winter temperatures. The ball is going to be hard as a rock. Kicking and catching is going to be difficult and as such, the running game will make the difference. Both teams can run the ball. The Riders are not very good at stopping the run. I am sure they worked on it this week but most of their losses this year came due to not being able to get the ball back late in the 4th quarter, as their opponents ran it down their throats.

I realize I was not very good at picking winners last week but I hope this week will be a bit better, especially in the West.

Bad Words

Today the CFL fined Winnipeg Blue Bomber Head Coach and some of the players for negative comments made about the officiating in last Fridays 's loss to the Montreal Alouettes.

I understand why the comments were made and why the CFL had to react as they did.

When you see the play that garnered the criticism it is easy to see how members of the Bombers may be upset. It's pretty clear it was a bad call. Instant replay was added to try and get the calls right but it's hard to say they did in this instance.

On the flip side the CFL had to take some disciplinary action. They have a duty to protect the integrity of the game and the league so when people step out of line they must face the appropriate consequences.

The root problem seems to be the performance of the CFL officials. I'm going to assume that they want to do the best job they can. Unless there is a conspiracy to help or hurt specific teams (and if there is, it is a sad day) no official goes out to make a bad call. Assuming this, why does there seem to be so many bad calls being made this year?

No matter how talented any official is and how hard they try there are going to be mistakes. Officials are human and humans make mistakes.

Possibly the CFL has not adequately prepared the officials form the job at hand. The league is prospering, there is probably money in the coffers to better prepare and train officials.

The first step is for the league to accept they have a problem. Hopefully this outburst by the Bombers sheds some light on this reality. They don't have to come out and air the laundry list of problems. They may want to state publicly what they plan to do to improve the overall quality, but the most important thing is they admit and accept they have a problem and start to deal with it.

Ultimately the CFL has a responsibility to protect the sport and the league. If they don't help their officials perform better at a very difficult job then they are not protecting what they should.

It's Time!

The 2010 CFL season kicks off today. There have been a lot of changes throughout the league. As in every year there will be a surprise. I believe this year's will be the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They may not go all the way but they will have a legitimate shot at it all.

The Mike Kelly era had a very similar feeling to the Jeff Reinbold. When they moved on the 'experts' did not expect too much from the Big Blue. Moving on from the Mike Kelly era the 'experts' once again don't expect much. That's fine. Championships are not won on the TV set, they are won on the field.

The Edmonton Eskimos are in a bit of disarray. Their defense gave up a lot of big plays. I'm not sure if having the head coach run the defense as well is the answer. I come from the belief that you find good people and empower them to do their job. Taking over and pulling double duty may pay off in the short term but usually unravels over time.

I can't see the Saskatchewan Roughriders doing as well this year as they did lat year. I think their biggest key to success was having Paul LaPolice as the offensive coordinator. He did so well he is now the head coach in Winnipeg. The 'Riders were so good because of their systems. They highlighted the strong points of their personnel. In doing that they won football games. I don't think they will be winning on Labour Day or in November this year.

The CFL season has the potential to be very exciting this year. Some things will go as predicted, some will not. I will be watching, a lot.

CFL Playoffs - Round Two

Well I was one for two last week-end on an overtime loss by the Ti-Cats after they came back in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. The good part is this does not change my predictions for the finals this week-end.

East Final. The mighty machine known as the Montreal Alouettes will beat the BC Lions. The Leos had to go to overtime to beat Hamilton. They had to fly back to the left coast, prep and fly to Montreal for the game. The Als were relaxing and often win the East final.

West Final. This will go the way I though last week. The Calgary Stampeders will beat the Riders. Football is the only game in Regina and the city will be so wound up, it will be difficult for young Durant to live up to a win starved province's lofty expectations.

As for the Grey Cup I still think the Als will win. They are good no matter who is in the line-up. The two teams who really racked up yards against their defence are out of the playoffs.

We will know by suppertime on Sunday if I got it right this week.

CFL - How It Will Shake Out

I think part of having a sports blog is to look out to the future and prognosticate on some games, especially in the playoffs. On Sunday the CFL will start 3 weeks of excitement and here's how I see it shaking out.

East Semi-Final BC at Hamilton

BC has rotated enough guys through the quarterback position to ice a hockey team. Casey Printers thumb was smacked up last week but they say it is ok. The Ti-Cats have looked good the last two weeks and have found a way to win. I see Hamilton taking this one.

West Semi-Final Edmonton at Calgary

The battle of Alberta will heat up but ultimately the Eskimos have not looked so good since Labour Day and realistically don't have much of a chance against the the Stamps, who have been a bit streaky. I'll take streaky over tanking. Stampeders are going to win.

East Final Hamilton at Montreal.

Hamilton is much improved but the Als have shown it really doesn't matter who is in, when they want to win they win. Allouettes are headed back to the big game.

West Final Calgary at Saskatchewan

There is usually one upset in the playoffs every year in every sport. Sorry Rider Nation it will be your beloved Green Riders. I don't think that team has the fortitude to get though the West Final. The last time they finished first in the West I was still in my mother's womb. You are the only game in town and after two weeks of hype the team will be too set up to get it done.

Grey Cup Montreal at Calgary

Montreal is really good and Calgary will have the added pressure of playing at home. I see the Allouette machine taking this one.

There you go, this is my prediction of how things will go, on November 29, we will know if I was right.