2025 @CFL hot stove league

[GA Russell]

John, "Informed prediction" or not, I hope that you will again play the Grey Cup contest this year!

I suppose I should have provided the link for the contest!

[GA Russell]

The Ticats announced today that they will play next year at U of Guelph (17 minutes from Hamilton) while their new stadium is being built.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=409896

*****

This will be the third time the Argos have faced the Stampeders in the Grey Cup. Here's an article about the previous two games.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=409847

TSN had a show which called the '71 Argos the greatest team to never win the Grey Cup (because the Stamps beat them). If the Argos win on Sunday, they should call this team the worst team to ever win it!

Edited November 21, 2012 by GA Russell

[John Tapscott]

Yes, but with the CFL, the long season means a team can turn things around and change from being a poor team at the beginning to a decent, even Grey Cup winning team, at the end. Of course, it can work the other way too. I thought the Ti-Cats were going to have a good year (started off well), but then really floundered. As I said above, it seems the Argos are finally getting their act together at the right time. I will agree that they are certainly not one of the greatest teams to ever get to the Grey Cup. Not sure Calgary is either.

[GA Russell]

John, no doubt the Argos are playing their best ball of the year at the right time. But as I pointed out Oct. 23 in post #1344, Ted Michaels agreed with me in his power rankings that the Argos were (less than a month ago!) the third worst team in the league.

*****

Greg Xenakes Grey Cup pick

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4544960

*****

Here's a good sportsnetwork.com preview of the game.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4544951

[GA Russell]

Calgary fans today re-enacted 1948 by riding a horse through the lobby of the Royal York Hotel!

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410061

[GA Russell]

The league announced the finalists for the CFL Awards today:

http://cfl.ca/articl...2-player-awards

PLAYER

Jon Cornish (CGY)

Chad Owens (TOR)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER

JC Sherritt (EDM)

Shea Emry (MTL)

CANADIAN PLAYER

Jon Cornish (CGY)

Shea Emry (MTL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Tim Brown (BC)

Chris Williams (HAM)

ROOKIE

Jabar Westerman (BC)

Chris Matthews (WPG)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

Jovan Olafioye (BC)

Josh Bourke (MTL)

My picks:

Cornish

Sherritt

Cornish

Williams

Matthews

Olafioye

The CFL Awards were given out tonight. The winners were:

Owens

Sherritt

Cornish

Williams

Matthews

Olafioye

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4545213

[GA Russell]

At his State of the League speech today, Marc Cohon said that only two teams lost money this year. Presumably Hamilton is one of them. Normally I would expect that Toronto would be the other, and he did say that the southern Ontario market is a work in progress, but maybe the Argos broke even due to the fact that they are hosting the Grey Cup this year.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410113

[GA Russell]

Dan Ralph is picking the Argos!

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/11/25/cfl-pick-look-for-ricky-ray-to-calmly-lead-argos-to-victory/

[GA Russell]

4 Globe picks

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/who-will-win-the-100th-grey-cup-the-globes-team-make-their-picks/article5639875/

[GA Russell]

100th Grey Cup:

Toronto Argonauts 35....Calgary Stampeders 22

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410276

http://www.canada.co...8207/story.html

http://slam.canoe.ca...3/20380716.html

Chad Kackert had a heck of a game for the Argos, and the Stamps offense never got going.

The final score is closer than the game would justify.

Edited November 26, 2012 by GA Russell

[GA Russell]

Here's an article about last night's halftime performer, Justin Bieber, getting booed by the fans!

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/11/26/justin-bieber-booed-in-native-canada-by-football-fans/?intcmp=features

[GA Russell]

Here's more on the Grey Cup.

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/11/25/argos-close-out-magical-season-in-toronto-with-grey-cup-victory/

http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Bieber+booed+Lightfoot+lauded+during+splashy+Grey+halftime/7608071/story.html

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4546191

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/GreyCup/2012/11/27/20387281.html

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/GreyCup/2012/11/26/20386541.html

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410346

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410294

http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Argos+defensive+Ricky+Foley+named+Grey+Cups+most+outstanding/7608215/story.html

http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Kackert+comes+through+Argonauts/7608285/story.html

http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Bieber+booed+Lightfoot+lauded+during+splashy+Grey+halftime/7610031/story.html

[GA Russell]

Here's an article on today's parade for the Argos.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410367

*****

The Als have fired Jeff Reinebold.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410414

[GA Russell]

Ticat defensive coordinator Casey Creehan will take the same position with the Bombers next year.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410536

[alocispepraluger102]

http://deadspin.com/5964561/?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[GA Russell]

That' great, aloc! Saskatchewan is the butt of jokes in Canada, so this should get a lot of mileage.

For example, many years ago Saturday Night Live had a skit of The Wizard of Oz where everyone was a Canadian. The punchline was Gilda Radner saying, "There's no place like Saskatchewan!"

On the other hand, the Riders are the most popular team in the league. They are everybody's second favorite team.

[alocispepraluger102]

and this comment...........seeing the headline, the callers were eager to clarify their decision here in the comments section. However, upon clicking the link, each panicked and dumped a bucket of water on their computer.

[John Tapscott]

Org members should appreciate the name - Mosaic Stadium

[GA Russell]

The league announced its 2012 All-Star team today. There are nine Canadians, which is a lot.

2012 CFL All-Stars

Offence

Quarterback: Anthony Calvillo, Montreal Alouettes

Running Back: Jon Cornish, Calgary Stampeders

Running Back: Andrew Harris, B.C. Lions

Centre: Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Montreal Alouettes

Guard: Scott Flory, Montreal Alouettes

Guard: Dimitri Tsoumpas, Calgary Stampeders

Tackle: Josh Bourke, Montreal Alouettes

Tackle: Jovan Olafioye, B.C. Lions

Receiver: Weston Dressler, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Receiver: Nik Lewis, Calgary Stampeders

Receiver: Chad Owens, Toronto Argonauts

Receiver: Fred Stamps, Edmonton Eskimos

Defence

Defensive End: Charleston Hughes, Calgary Stampeders

Defensive End: Keron Williams, B.C. Lions

Defensive Tackle: Armond Armstead, Toronto Argonauts

Defensive Tackle: Bryant Turner, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Linebacker: Adam Bighill, B.C. Lions

Linebacker: Shea Emry, Montreal Alouettes

Linebacker: JC Sherritt, Edmonton Eskimos

Defensive Back: Korey Banks, B.C. Lions

Defensive Back: Ryan Phillips, B.C. Lions

Cornerback: Joe Burnett, Edmonton Eskimos

Cornerback: Pat Watkins, Toronto Argonauts

Safety: Kyries Hebert, Montreal Alouettes

Special teams

Punter: Rob Maver, Calgary Stampeders

Kicker: Rene Paredes, Calgary Stampeders

Special Teams Player: Chris Williams, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410855

http://cfl.ca/article/star-power-2012-cfl-all-stars-unveiled

*****

Alouettes offensive coordinator Marcus Brady will hold that job with the Argos next year.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=410840

[GA Russell]

The Eskimos released Cory Boyd yesterday.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=411179

[GA Russell]

Jerry Brown, the Dallas Cowboy who this morning died in the auto driven by his teammate, played for the Ticats last year.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/dallas-cowboy-charged-with-manslaughter-after-former-tiger-cat-dies-in-car-crash/article6136416/

[GA Russell]

Here's is the league's Scouting Bureau's original list of top fifteen candidates for the 2013 draft.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=75785

[GA Russell]

The Eskimos hired Ed Hervey as their new General Manager. Here's an interesting interview.

http://watch.tsn.ca/clip823887#clip823887

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=411355

[GA Russell]

BIG SURPRISE: The Ticats fired George Cortez today.

He was hired because of his great success as an offensive coordinator over the years. So in his one year as head coach, the Ticats led the league in offense while finishing last in the standings. That tells me that they needed a new defensive coordinator, not a new head coach.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=411431

[GA Russell]

Here is the new list released today of the Scouting Bureau's Top Fifteen prospects for the draft.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?id=82904

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=411486