CONTEST: 2016 Grey Cup

[GA Russell]

It's that time of year again! It's time for the annual Grey Cup contest.

Past winners have included Noj (twice), indestructible, Bright Moments, brownie, paul secor, Soulstation1, danasgoodstuff, B. Clugston and ejp626.

Here are the rules:

1) Pick the winning team.

2) Pick the number of total points scored by both teams (aka the tiebreaker).

Since approximately half of us will pick the winning team, picking the total points is necessary to win the contest. Your total points prediction must be a number which is a multiple of five (5).

The winning tiebreaker will be the one closest to the correct answer. If two are equally close, the winner will be the lower pick.

If two people pick the same thing, the first to make the pick will be the winner.

THE PRIZE: A $17.00 Mosaic Records Gift Card. The $17.00 represents one CD of a Mosaic box set.

Deadline: Sunday Nov. 27, 6:00 pm eastern

*****

The Grey Cup game: The Grey Cup is awarded to the world champion of what I think is the greatest game in the world, Canadian rules football. That is to say, the champion of the Canadian Football League.

The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909. They have played for it every year since then except three years during World War One. Therefore, this year's will be the 104th Grey Cup game. Fans from throughout Canada will attend the game.

This year's game will see the Western champion Calgary Stampeders face the Eastern champion Ottawa Redblacks.  

The Stampeders went undefeated in 1948.  One of their players that year was one of the first great black pro football players, Woody Strode.  He later became an actor with a significant role in Spartacus.  This year, the Stampeders lost their first game, and did not lose again until their last game when they gave most of their starters the day off.  For the past month or so, Canadian sportswriters have speculated that the 2016 Stampeders are the best team ever.  Their quarterback is Bo Levi Mitchell, who played for Eastern Washington U.  He is expected to be the unanimous choice for Most Outstanding Player . 

The Ottawa Redblacks were an expansion team two years ago, and have been the Eastern champions last year as well as this year!  Ottawa last won the Grey Cup in 1976 when their team was the Rough Riders.  This year, the Redblacks became the first team in league history to finish first with a losing record (7-8-1).  The Redblacks' quarterback is 41-year old Henry Burris, who played his college ball at Temple.  They have an excellent backup in Trevor Harris, who played for Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.

The location of the game is chosen years in advance. This year's game will be played in Toronto.  Eastern fans always root for the Eastern champion, and Western fans always root for the Western champion.  Toronto is an Eastern city, but it traditionally has been considered a neutral site because it is so easy for all Canadians to travel to. 

The game will be carried live in the US on ESPN2, starting at 6:00 pm eastern Sunday.

You can listen to the game here:

http://www.tsn.ca/radio

(To listen to the game, you will need Windows Media Player which you can download for free. So you might want to plan ahead if you don't already have it.)

You can study articles analyzing the upcoming game as well as articles about the season as it unfolded in the CFL thread, which I will be updating during the course of this week.

Good luck everyone!

*****
Here's my pick:

Calgary - 50

The fact is, if Calgary is one of the greatest teams ever, and since Ottawa finished with a losing record, if Ottawa wins this game I think it would be fair to call it the biggest upset in Grey Cup history.

[JohnJ]

Good timing, I seem to be first!

 

Calgary - 55.

[sidewinder]

 Calgary 60

Thanks GA 

[kh1958]

Calgary 65

[T.D.]

Calgary 45. Earliest I've ever managed to enter!

[danasgoodstuff]

Ottawa 40

[ejp626]

Ottawa 55 -- it has just been one of those years...

[Soulstation1]

Calgary 80

[Hardbopjazz]

Calgary 35

[Bright Moments]

Calgary 25

Edited November 23, 2016 by Bright Moments

[GA Russell]

2 hours ago, Bright Moments said:

Calgary 50

Great to see you Evan!  You can't have 50 because that's my pick.

If you want Calgary, what is available now is

everything 30 and under

40

70 and 75

everything 85 and above

[BFrank]

I'm always late to this party, but I'm gonna go with:

Ottawa, 60

 

Wish me LUCK!

[Big Al]

Ottawa 45

 

Year of the upset

[JSngry]

Calgary 520

[sidewinder]

5 hours ago, JSngry said:

Calgary 520

[John Tapscott]

Calgary 70 

[GA Russell]

My calculator tells me that at this point, if the Stampeders win, and the combined score is over 300, then JSngry would win.

For example, OT for the Grey Cup is like American college ball; except that when you score a TD in OT, you have to go for the two-point convert.

So if the teams are tied at 50 at the end of regulation, they would need to go to the 14th OT period.  It could happen in the Canadian league!

Does anyone want to challenge my arithmetic?

Edited November 24, 2016 by GA Russell

[medjuck]

Ottawa 50

[B. Clugston]

Calgary 40

[GregK]

Calgary 15

[GA Russell]

Here are the tiebreakers I see to be still available.  Please speak up if I have made a mistake.

Calgary

5 and 10
20
30
75
85 through 515
525 and above

*****

Ottawa

5 through 35
65 and above

[GA Russell]

Last call!  The deadline to play is in less than an hour.

Good luck everyone!

I'm going to the sports bar across the street which serves pitchers of Labatt's Blue.

[sidewinder]

1 hour ago, GA Russell said:

I'm going to the sports bar across the street which serves pitchers of Labatt's Blue.

Travesty - I would insist on a pitcher or 3 of Rickard's Red. With a bucket of hot wings..

[ejp626]

I think I was actually in a position to repeat until Calgary scored 10 points in the last 2 minutes to send the game to overtime.  Nonetheless, another huge upset in a year just full of them. 

[Big Al]

Drat! Got the team but not the points.