Sunday, 20 November 2011
99th Grey Cup
BC vs Wpg in Vancouver. Who is going to win ? The smart money is on BC. No one called me smart !
Thursday, 17 November 2011
CFL Division Finals
“Epic” and “classic” are two of the most overused terms on the planet, but last week’s 52-44 Hamilton win at Montreal was truly one of the most epic and classic games in Canadian Football League history.
The most notable performance came from Alouette quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who put up 513 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause.
His Hamilton counterpart, Kevin Glenn, had a good game of his own – going 23-of-32 for 275 yards and one touchdown, with backup pivot Quinton Porter contributing 34 yards and one TD pass while Glenn sat out a couple of plays after getting his bell rung.
Hamilton running back Avon Cobourne contributed 97 yards and a touchdown, while Montreal’s Brandon Whitaker had 79 yards and a rushing TD of his own.
In terms of offence vs offence, it was a battle for the ages.
It’s on defence, however, that the Tiger-Cats will have to shore up if they expect to make it through Winnipeg and all the way to Vancouver for the 2011 Grey Cup.
As evidenced by Calvillo and Whitaker, the Montreal offence shredded the Hamilton defence. And while Hamilton was able to do the same to Montreal’s defence en route to a win, the Ticats can’t expect to run over Winnipeg’s Swaggerville D this Sunday.
The Blue Bombers were dominant on the defensive side of the ball for nearly all of the 2011 regular season, with the league’s third-best points-allowed total, which was a big reason they finished first in their division.
Winnipeg allowed just 432 points against, while BC had the league’s top defence at 385 points allowed and Edmonton finished second with 401.
The Bombers allowed an average of 25.4 points per home game, but that includes a surprising mid-season 45-23 thrashing at the hands of the Roughriders. Take out that one sub-par game, and the Bombers averaged 23 points allowed at home.
Considering that Tiger-Cats had allowed the most points of any playoff team, 478, this season, and Montreal put up 44 last week, the matchup is clear: The Eastern Division Final will come down to Buck Pierce and the Winnipeg offence against the Hamilton defence.
But hope should not be lost in Tiger Town.
While Hamilton’s defence hasn’t exactly been the best in the CFL, neither has been the Bomber offence.
Winnipeg finished with the lowest-scoring offence of any playoff team at 432 points for, and has relied heavily on its defence to carry it.
It’s also worth noting that Sunday’s game will officially mark the close Canad Inns Stadium (nee Winnipeg Stadium) forever, as the Bombers move to new digs next year.
***
While Winnipeg was the surprise of the East, winning their division after a 4-14 2010 season, the Eskimos might have been the surprise of the whole CFL this year.
Winnipeg was a different story than Edmonton. After losing over half their games last year by five points or less, it was clear the Blue Bombers had all the pieces in place to make a run – which they made good on this year.
The Eskimos, on the other hand, just seemed like a mess.
They ended the year 7-11, with the second-worse offence in the league and the worst defence by very, very far.
To put it into perspective, the 2010 Eskimos allowed 545 points; no team allowed 500 points in 2011, and while four teams allowed over 500 in 2009, not one was over 506. In fact, you’d have to go back to 2008 to find any comparable to how bad Edmonton’s defence was last year.
That’s what makes this year’s Eskimos so special – they turned their defence around by 144 points and finished second in the CFL.
Then, there’s the story of the Lions.
BC entered the season as favourites, went 1-6 to start the year, then reeled off eight-straight wins and ended up 11-7 and atop the Western Division.
Quarterback Travis Lulay proved the Lions right in deciding to ride his arm into the future, as he finished behind only Anthony Calvillo in most quarterback categories.
In his first full season as BC’s full-time starter, Lulay put up 4,815 yards and 32 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions and completed nearly 60 per cent of his passes. He is the Western nominee for league MOP and will be playing in front of a packed-to-the-rafters BC Place full of rabid Lion fans on Sunday.
As impressive as Lulay has been, however, it was the team’s defence that really turned the Lions’ season around.
After stumbling out of the gates and allowing over 30 points against in each of their first four games, it seemed like no matter how many points Lulay et al would put up, the defence couldn’t make the stops it needed to win.
Four months later, the Lions finished with the CFL’s No. 1 defence, finishing in the top two of 16 of the league’s 25 defence stat categories, while allowing just 21.4 points against per game.
Chalk that up against Edmonton’s second-best 22.3 allowed per game and you have the league’s top two defences lining up against two of the league’s most aggressive offences.
Let’s hope the new roof is open at BC Place on Sunday, because there are going to be some fireworks going on.
(Courtesy CFL.ca Field Pass)
The most notable performance came from Alouette quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who put up 513 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause.
His Hamilton counterpart, Kevin Glenn, had a good game of his own – going 23-of-32 for 275 yards and one touchdown, with backup pivot Quinton Porter contributing 34 yards and one TD pass while Glenn sat out a couple of plays after getting his bell rung.
Hamilton running back Avon Cobourne contributed 97 yards and a touchdown, while Montreal’s Brandon Whitaker had 79 yards and a rushing TD of his own.
In terms of offence vs offence, it was a battle for the ages.
It’s on defence, however, that the Tiger-Cats will have to shore up if they expect to make it through Winnipeg and all the way to Vancouver for the 2011 Grey Cup.
As evidenced by Calvillo and Whitaker, the Montreal offence shredded the Hamilton defence. And while Hamilton was able to do the same to Montreal’s defence en route to a win, the Ticats can’t expect to run over Winnipeg’s Swaggerville D this Sunday.
The Blue Bombers were dominant on the defensive side of the ball for nearly all of the 2011 regular season, with the league’s third-best points-allowed total, which was a big reason they finished first in their division.
Winnipeg allowed just 432 points against, while BC had the league’s top defence at 385 points allowed and Edmonton finished second with 401.
The Bombers allowed an average of 25.4 points per home game, but that includes a surprising mid-season 45-23 thrashing at the hands of the Roughriders. Take out that one sub-par game, and the Bombers averaged 23 points allowed at home.
Considering that Tiger-Cats had allowed the most points of any playoff team, 478, this season, and Montreal put up 44 last week, the matchup is clear: The Eastern Division Final will come down to Buck Pierce and the Winnipeg offence against the Hamilton defence.
But hope should not be lost in Tiger Town.
While Hamilton’s defence hasn’t exactly been the best in the CFL, neither has been the Bomber offence.
Winnipeg finished with the lowest-scoring offence of any playoff team at 432 points for, and has relied heavily on its defence to carry it.
It’s also worth noting that Sunday’s game will officially mark the close Canad Inns Stadium (nee Winnipeg Stadium) forever, as the Bombers move to new digs next year.
***
Winnipeg was a different story than Edmonton. After losing over half their games last year by five points or less, it was clear the Blue Bombers had all the pieces in place to make a run – which they made good on this year.
The Eskimos, on the other hand, just seemed like a mess.
They ended the year 7-11, with the second-worse offence in the league and the worst defence by very, very far.
To put it into perspective, the 2010 Eskimos allowed 545 points; no team allowed 500 points in 2011, and while four teams allowed over 500 in 2009, not one was over 506. In fact, you’d have to go back to 2008 to find any comparable to how bad Edmonton’s defence was last year.
That’s what makes this year’s Eskimos so special – they turned their defence around by 144 points and finished second in the CFL.
Then, there’s the story of the Lions.
BC entered the season as favourites, went 1-6 to start the year, then reeled off eight-straight wins and ended up 11-7 and atop the Western Division.
Quarterback Travis Lulay proved the Lions right in deciding to ride his arm into the future, as he finished behind only Anthony Calvillo in most quarterback categories.
In his first full season as BC’s full-time starter, Lulay put up 4,815 yards and 32 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions and completed nearly 60 per cent of his passes. He is the Western nominee for league MOP and will be playing in front of a packed-to-the-rafters BC Place full of rabid Lion fans on Sunday.
As impressive as Lulay has been, however, it was the team’s defence that really turned the Lions’ season around.
After stumbling out of the gates and allowing over 30 points against in each of their first four games, it seemed like no matter how many points Lulay et al would put up, the defence couldn’t make the stops it needed to win.
Four months later, the Lions finished with the CFL’s No. 1 defence, finishing in the top two of 16 of the league’s 25 defence stat categories, while allowing just 21.4 points against per game.
Chalk that up against Edmonton’s second-best 22.3 allowed per game and you have the league’s top two defences lining up against two of the league’s most aggressive offences.
Let’s hope the new roof is open at BC Place on Sunday, because there are going to be some fireworks going on.
(Courtesy CFL.ca Field Pass)
Sunday, 13 November 2011
CFL Semis
Thx to Rod Pederson for these stories.
ESKIMOS 33 STAMPEDERS 19
Quarterback Ricky Ray piloted the Eskimos to the victory but the quarterback story belonged to Calgary. Drew Tate made his first playoff start for the Stamps but turned the ball over twice in the first half and was replaced by veteran Henry Burris for the second half. Burris, the 2010 CFL MVP, was unable to rally his troops to a comeback and their season ultimately ended in the Alberta capital. The Eskimos now visit BC in the 2011 WDF with a berth in the Grey Cup on the line.
TICATS 52 ALOUETTES 44
Hamilton upset the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes 52-44 in overtime Sunday at Olympic Stadium to earn a trip to the CFL East Final at Winnipeg. Ticats kicker Justin Medlock missed a 53-yard field goal with no time left, forcing overtime. It would have been a 43-yard field goal but the Ticats got called for a time count violation. In overtime, Quinton Porter scored on a touchdown run for the Ticats while Kevin Glenn tossed the two point convert to Chris Williams. On defense, Hamilton forced Anthony Calvillo and the Als to turn it over on downs in OT, and that ended the game. It was the highest-scoring game in CFL playoff history and it means there WILL be a new Grey Cup champion in 2011.
Semi-Final Sunday
TiCats at Als , while Stamps at Esks. Since the Riders aren't involved at all, I'm really not that interested in the outcomes. I would like to see a Wpg.- BC Grey cup though.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Another Rams season done
DINOS 16 RAMS 4
A major by Calgary running back Matt Walter late in the first half would prove to be the only other touchdown of the game.
Calgary will now host the winner of the UBC/Saskatchewan semifinal, which goes Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.
Steven Lumbala ended up with a game-high 113 rushing yards for Calgary, while Dzwilewski completed eight of his 16 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. Snyder caught four passes for 143 yards, most of which came on the long game-opening major. Sam Hurl led Calgary defensively with seven solo tackles, six assisted tackles, and a pair of sacks.
Regina quarterback Zach Oleynik was 18-for-35 and threw for 193 yards. Mark McConkey led all players with five receptions, while Jay Smith had a team-high 44 receiving yards. Adrian Charles rushed 14 times for 63 yards.
Jamir Walker had a pair of interceptions for the U of R, becoming the first Rams player to record multiple picks in a postseason game. Akiem Hicks led the Rams with 10 ½ tackles, pacing a U of R defence that held the top-ranked offence in the conference to its lowest offensive output of the season.
Chris Bodnar's field goal midway through the first quarter cut the lead to 7-3 after Snyder's opening play score, but the 39-yarder would be the visitors' lone points of the first half.
Stuck deep in their own territory late in the second quarter, the Rams bought themselves some breathing room by conceding a safety. Calgary, though, put together a quick seven-play, 75-yard drive that was finished off by a 21-yard Walter run to send the Dinos into halftime with a 16-3 advantage.
A 55-yard Bodnar rouge stood up as the only point of the second half. Both teams had chances in the red zone but were unable to convert, as Dzwilewski had a pass picked off by Walker on the goal line and a bad snap forced the Rams well back after driving to the Calgary 15-yard line in the waning moments of the contest.
Calgary will host the Hardy Cup next Friday night at Mosaic.
(Courtesy U of R Athletics)
This was sadder than the Riders loss.
The Riders lost 23-20 to the Eskimos to finish the 2011 season with a record of 5-13. Its the worst record the team has had since 2000 when they were 5-12-1. As you know, it was the end of Ken Miller's coaching days as he is resigning his position. Jason Clermont also ended any speculation of his CFL career continuing when he put this on his Twitter account shortly after the game.
Thanks #RiderNation and the @BCLions for a @CFL career that has fulfilled my childhood dreams. Taking @RenaeClermont to #GreyCup as a fan.
Jason finishes his CFL career having caught over 500 passes. He spent three years in Regina with his biggest catch being the double overtime winner against B.C in the 2010 West semi. He was named the Most Outstanding Canadian at the Grey Cup, he was named the CFL rookie of the year and he was the league's outstanding Canadian twice. I think its safe to say there will be a bust of his sitting at the CFL Hall of Fame in the not too distant future.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Bieber
Thanks to Jimmy Fallon.
Today news broke that a woman is claiming Justin Bieber is the father of her child from when they allegedly slept together last year. Tonight Justin set the record straight with an all new single:
Well that settles it.
Today news broke that a woman is claiming Justin Bieber is the father of her child from when they allegedly slept together last year. Tonight Justin set the record straight with an all new single:
Well that settles it.
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