Twelve men on the Field: 2011

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Quick Snaps British Columbia Lions - December 2011

Items of note that don't get the full blog treatment, but offer up news and background on the British Columbia Lions.

December 26-- B. C. Lions named Postmedia team of the year after miracle season
December 23-- Lions show teeth as story of 2011
December 23-- Two Lions find their pride in family gatherings
December 15-- Lions asst. coach Jacques Chapdelaine may go back to Bishop's
December 14-- Lions Mike Benvides banked on blind trust
December 14-- He's made to measure
December 14-- Sadly, Sweats Still Suit Benevides
December 14-- Coaching staff have 'first rights of refusal'
December 13-- Benevides gets promotion with Lions
December 13-- Mike Benevides takes Lions' coaching reins
December 13-- New Lions coach Benevides "blessed" to have GM Buono in his corner
December 13-- Benevides thrilled to take over Lions
December 13-- Grey Cup champs hand coaching reins to Mike Benevides
December 13-- Mike Benevides' All-Canadian coaching career about to take the next important step
December 12-- Lions set to name Benevides head coach
December 12-- "Little Wally" to replace Buono as Lions head coach
December 11-- Buono expects to lead more balanced life
December 8-- GM Buono shows he's pass master
December 8-- Looking at the Lions: McCallum a must
December 8-- Search for the next coach of the Lions begins
December 7-- Lions on defensive with potential free agents
December 7-- Lions Wally Buono can opt for maximum stability
December 7-- Buono can opt for maximum stability for BC Lions
December 6-- Buono Voyage: B. C. Lions coach leaves the field after 22 seasons
December 6-- It was a pleasure being in Wally's World
December 6-- Curtain closes on coaching career
December 6-- Lions won't be the same without Buono
December 6-- Chronology of a legend: The sideline life and times of Wally Buono
December 5-- Wally Buono hangs up the whistle, sticks around as Lions GM
December 5-- Khalif Mitchell to audition for three NFL teams
December 5-- Wally Buono retires as B. C. Lions coach
December 5-- Buono ends coaching career on top
December 5-- Wally Buono through the years
December 5-- Wally's wisdom will be missed
December 5-- Passing half the baton
December 2-- After 0-5 start, Lions finish season with a 13-2 run...

Friday, December 02, 2011

Ahoy Captain Milanovich, the Good Ship Argonaut welcomes you aboard!

The negotiations were seemingly kept well under wraps, with little word leaking out of Toronto during Grey Cup week that the Argonauts were on the cusp of hiring on a new field boss.

In fact, the early reports out of Toronto had it that the Argonauts were eyeing a well known CFL name for an assistants job, the task of finding a head coach still seemingly off to the future.

But with the Grey Cup glow finally dimming on the west coast, the Argoanuts grabbed some headlines from the BC Lions with the announcement that Scott Milanovich, most recently the offensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach of the Montreal Alouettes was trading in le rouge, blanc get bleu, for some double blue.

With the announcement, Jim Barker moves back to his General Manager's duties, leaving behind the ever present head aches of the day to day on field direction, though with the task of bringing the Argos back to CFL relevance will continue on, with an emphasis on finding the quality players required to turn around the Argos dismal past year.

The hiring of Milanovich is no doubt a good start to that goal, his record in Montreal speaks for itself, one of the most dominant of CFL offences for much of the past decade, it was only this year where the Als began to struggle, an inevitably when age catches up to roster positions.

Still, from an offensive point of view, the Argo challenge will be large, there's no Anthony Calvillo on the depth chart, some might even suggest that there's no Adrian MacPherson, who perhaps as an understudy to Calvillo has yet to come into his own in the CFL.

Whether Steven Jyles is the QB for Milanovich to set his future roster with remains to be seen, one tempting option could be for the Argos to acquire Henry Burris, seemingly on his way out in Calgary, though discussions with the Stamps could be a tad frosty for Barker going forward.

The Stamps were just a little bit outraged to learn of discussions between the Argos and their defensive coordinator over the last few weeks, discussions which led to Chris Jones leaving the Stamps bound for Toronto, a move which saw the Argos fined this week by the CFL for tampering.

And while we can sympathize with the Stamps on the poaching, we imagine it's indicative of the Argos newfound dedication to improve all aspects of their play from this past season, piracy if you will but considering the new head coach made his mark in the NFL as a back up quarterback with Tony Dungy's Tampa Bay Bucaneers, a little bit of swashbuckling probably can't hurt the cause.

Perhaps the Argos can incorporate an eye patch into their logo, just to set the new tone of business.

The moves out of Toronto this week should prove positive in the long run, knowledgeable football men taking on the key positions, bringing with them experience and connections (a training camp visit and motivational speech by Dungy would certainly bring some focus to the Argos in 2012) that makes for a helpful combination for a team that seemed adrift for most of 2011.

The captain has the off season to chart his new course, one that the Argos hope will include a home date the last weekend of November.

Globe and Mail-- Milanovich agrees on deal to be new Argos head coach: report
Globe and Mail-- CFL fines Argonauts $5,000 for tampering
Globe and Mail-- Argps add Calgary defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones to staff
Globe and Mail-- Hufnagel blind-sided by co-ordinator's move to Argos
Globe and Mail-- Argos could benefit from Milanovich as coach
National Post-- Argos fined for tampering after contact with ex-Stampeders co-ordinator
National Post-- Argos keep focus on the field
National Post-- Stampeders file grievance in Argos reported hiring
National Post-- Argos hire Scott Milanovich as head coach
Toronto Star-- Scott Milanovich takes over Argo coaching reins
Toronto Star-- Argo coaching soap opera hits new heights
Toronto Star-- Argo head coaching mystery continues
Toronto Sun-- Argos can't get QB wrong
Toronto Sun-- Argos get the coaching thing right
Toronto Sun-- Milanovich to choose own staff
Toronto Sun-- Dungy gives Argo coach thumbs up
Toronto Sun-- Barker scrapes coach off his plate
Toronto Sun-- Stamps confirm Jones T. O. move

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Cleaning out the management lockers in the CFL

The week following Grey Cup has featured a bit of coaching housecleaning for CFL clubs.

The broom came out in Hamilton where the Tiger Cats parted ways with head coach Marcel Bellefeuille, praising him for bringing them to where they were this year, but suggesting that they didn't think that he could push them over the top and on to a Grey Cup berth.

The fact that the Cats kept tinkering with their line up through the season (new faces, old faces going to new places) seemed to wreak a little havoc with Bellefeuille's planning, making it hard to build up any consistency through the year.

Something that would seem to be the mark of an office a little further up the food chain in Hamilton.

Still, as we've learned from the firing frenzy in the NHL this week, most times when things got wrong its easier to get rid of the coach as opposed to the no performing players, just ask Marcel Bellefeuille.

Hamilton Spectator-- Bellefeuille saw it coming
Hamilton Spectator-- It all came down to a question of confidence
Toronto Sun-- Obie, Mitchell must share blame
Toronto Sun-- Ticats fire Marcel Bellefeuille
Toronto Star-- Ticats fire head coach Marcell Bellefeuille
Globe and Mail-- Tiger-Cats fire Marcell Bellefeuille
Globe and Mail-- Ticats' Corey Chambliss could be the big winner in coaching shuffle
Canada.com-- Marcell Bellefruille out as Ticats coach
National Post-- Hamilton Tiger-Cats fire head coach Marcell Bellefeuille
TSN-- Tiger-Cats fire head coach Bellefeuille

Winnipeg also made a change, terminating the employment of their offensive coordinator, with Jamie Barresi seemingly getting the can tied to his butt for the Bombers offensive woes in the last half of the season and in Sunday's Grey Cup loss to the Lions.

The Bombers offense never quite reached Swaggerville proportions, that term seemed to be based mainly on the exploits of the defensive unit. The Bombers offensive output through 2011 for the most part followed the blue print of the first half of the Grey Cup game, not much yardage, not many points.

Whether that was solely the fault of Barresi or perhaps included a larger group of thinkers would seem irrelevant at this point, somebody was to pay for the anemic offerings of the Blues O unit, to that end Barresi joins the ranks of coaches seeking employment (how many CFL coaches are wishing that Ottawa was joining the league this year?)

The move to remove Baresi has made for much commentary int he Winnipeg media, still feeling the pain of a season that came up one game too short.

Winnipeg Sun-- Barresi fires back
Winnipeg Sun-- LaPolice's swift justice
Winnipeg Free Press-- Barresi's no scapegoat, Bombers head coach insists
Winnipeg Free Press-- Legitimate co-ordinators have control of situation
Winnipeg Free Press-- Bombers looking for a new direction: LaPolice
Canada.com-- Bombers axe offensive co-ordiantor Jamie Barresi
TSN-- Blue Bombers fire Barresi as Offensive coordinator

Still to be determined, who will take the reins over in Saskatchewan after the dismissal earlier this season of Greg Marshall and the retirement for the second time of his replacement Ken Miller, any number of dream candidates are on the minds of the Rider Nation, anxious to see their team return to dominance in the CFL West.

Regina Leader Post-- Tiger-Cats join Riders in search for a head coach
Regina Leader Post-- Roughriders continue search for a head coach
Regina Leader Post-- Busy off season for Riders GM Brendan Taman
Globe and Mail-- Austin not likely to return to Regina

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

There's no feud, like the old feuds...

You have to have a bit of sympathy to both the Lions and the Bombers this weekend, if it wasn't the kids trying to steal away the spotlight, it was the septuagenarians grabbing some of the buzz from Grey Cup Weekend.
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The now much documented punch up between Angelo Mosca and Joe Kapp has gone beyond the realm of You Tube, gaining wide exposure in the US, with two high profile appearances one on Monday Night Football featured on Chris Berman's Cmon' Man segment of the weekly Monday Night show.
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Berman did pay tribute to some actual Canadian Football later on in the Monday Night show, rolling the highlights of the Bombers/Lions game during the half time three minute reel, but for entertainment value it would seem that the slug fest of the seventy somethings was the main attraction.

One of the other notable mentions was on the on Fox News prime time program with Shepard Smith, who featured the dust up as his closing item on his 7 pm news program.

Beyond that, we're pretty sure it made a wide range of "local" sports casts across America over the last few days.

While the actual nastiness does in reflection seem kind of foolish, at the moment we have no doubt of the earnest nature of both men, who clearly still carry the burden of animosities some forty years old now.

You have to wonder what Willie Fleming would think of it all.

There indeed is no feud like an old feud.

Makes you kind of wonder just what it takes to make someone snap and who might next make it to the YouTube roll of fame...

The 99th Grey Cup

He was the Most Outstanding Player of the year in the CFL and by the time the Grey Cup would come to an end, Travis Lulay would be named the Most Outstanding Player of the game, but in the first half there were moments when Lions fans must have been wondering what was going on with their rising star.

The Lions quarterback missed on a few chances to put the Bombers away for good in the first half, a string of throws that went high and away brought the Lions march towards their championship to a halt a few times, resulting in two and outs and stalled drives.

As things turn out, Lulay wasn't playing at 100 percent, banged up in last week's Western Final he came into the championship game with a fair share of his own bumps and bruises, not enough however to keep him out of the lineup, finally getting untracked in the second half, more confident and more accurate.

The 99th Grey Cup was the defensive game anticipated, the Bombers D holding the tide of the Lions attack off, keeping their squad at least close for a possible comeback, one which in the end came up about four yards too short on a last minute onside kick for field position.

Before those dramatics however it seemed as though the Lions were on the cusp of blowing the roof off of the newly refurbished BC Place, the 14-6 lead at half time not telling the full story of the Lions control, but as documented a lack of finish in the red zone left points on the board heading into the half time Nickelback break.

While the Canadian rockers rattled off a few selections of their library, the Bombers were making adjustments to their game plan, one which had seen an anemic offence incapable of taking advantage of their teams defensive work.

Up until the fourth quarter all of the Bomber points came off the foot of kicker Justin Palardy, who went 3 for 3 on the day in field goals.

The Lions came out of the half time break much more focused on their offensive output, Lulay suddenly finding his range and accuracy hooking up with Kierire Johnson and Arland Bruce for touchdowns.

The Bombers could have seen the entire game turn around if not for a bobbled interception off the fingers of Odell Willis, who had his hands on a Travis Lulay pass and had nothing but empty field in front of him to the Lions end zone, but as fate would dictate it was not his time to make the game changing play.

Instead, the Lions kept possession and sent the ball down filed, leaving the Bombers to formulate another attempt at a long field drive.

As time was winding down in the fourth the Bombers did make things closer, a pair of quick TD passes with less than four minutes to play from Buck Pierce brought the Bombers to within eight points.

The failed onside kick attempt, spelled the end of the Bombers comeback bid, Paul McCallum sealed the Lions win with a final Field Goal marking the final score BC 34 , Winnipeg 23 and with that the Lions would claim their sixth Grey Cup, their first in front of a home crowd since 1994.

A remarkable end to a season that started off with many questions, as the Lions staggered out of the first quarter of the schedule, falling to 0 and 5 from the Canada Day weekend season kick off and then turning around 180 degrees to lay claim to the CFL West title and now the Grey Cup.

The Bombers who took the early charge in the first half of the season struggled towards the end, grasping first place in the East more to the lack of focus of the Alouettes than of their own domination, still with their berth in the Grey Cup came acknowledgment of their success this year, one which offers up hope of better years to come perhaps.

99 Grey Cups are now in the books, Number 100 destined for Toronto in 2012. An event we imagine that will come with all trappings of a centennial celebration and with a little luck a championship game to mark such an occasion.

Vancouver Province-- BC Lions are 2011 Grey Cup champions

Vancouver Province-- Lions defence set the table for Grey Cup feast

Vancouver Province-- BC Lions' Buono savouring leading the pack

Vancouver Province-- Workmanlike win for BC Lions, nothing special

Vancouver Province-- Cup champs - Who knows where Lions go now?

Vancouver Province-- On Buono, Lulay and the future for B. C. Lions

The Kids put on quite the show

Canada's weekend festival of football got off to a rollicking start at BC Place on Friday night as the McMaster Marauders and the Laval Rouge et Or put on a fascinating battle for Canadian college football supremacy.

The Marauders totally dominated the Laval squad in the first half, a most convincing bit of football that Laval probably hadn't seen in its previous five CIS championship games, Hamilton's university team racked up the points and shut down Laval's much vaunted offence, sending shock waves back into the dark of night in Quebec, where the Rouge Et Or have become the Gold Standard of the Quebec conference.

Head coach Glen Constantine, seemed a bit lost for words as he headed off to the dressing room to talk to his troops, but whatever he cooked up between the first half ending interview and the return of the Rouge et Or to the field must have been one heck of a speech.

In the second half, Laval came out on fire, chipping away at the McMaster lead, gaining back yardage, collecting points and setting the Marauders back on their heels in the final thirty minutes, the shock of a huge lead disappearing etched on the faces of the McMaster players in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Still, McMaster didn't surrender, even when near disaster reared up its head with a potentially game winning last minute field goal attempt by Tyler Crapigna going wide and taken out of the Laval end zone, setting the scene for one of the wildest of playoff finishes that any league has ever seen.

The teams traded off scoring plays in a double overtime session, the hopes of Laval finally dashed with an interception by McMaster's Steven Ventresca and a follow up field goal of redemption for the McMaster kicker, who found his range and put the Marauders into the CIS history books with a 41-38 Vanier Cup victory.

It very much was two games played in sixty minutes plus, one half belonging totally to McMaster, the defending CIS champs from Laval owning the final frame, the rubber match of the championship was the Overtime, which McMaster seemed to will itself to win after their second half collapse.

It was a testament to Laval's championship status that they battled back and a celebration of the McMaster program which has been building in Ontario. The Marauders head coach, clearly understands what his team needed to do to wrestle the championship away from Laval, though he probably had hopes that it wouldn't result in a nail biter of a final as Friday provided.

The game made for a wonderful showcase of the Canadian game, offering up to football fans a reminder that there is some great football for the viewing in their hometowns, as close as the nearest university campus.

The path to Vancouver's Vanier Cup showcase provided for some great playoff action over the last few weeks, from all corners of the country, Canadian football was showcased at a very high level, the eventual participants in Friday's finale, having taken a pretty tough road to get there.

Prior to the Vanier Cup there was some talk of a super conference of the top teams of the CIS, a pretty tempting option considering what Friday night brought for us.

Still, the success of the CIS is the spirit of competition and community that all of the CIS teams bring forward each season, hopefully if the Super Conference idea ever takes flight, there will also be a way to keep the game resonant on campuses across the nation.

Friday offered up some snapshots of what should be some key players of the future for the CFL, in particular the ever evolving nature of the Canadian Quarterback question seems to need some push at the professional level.

Watching the performances of McMaster's Kyle Quinlan, and Laval's Bruno Prud'homme, in addition to the success of Hec Crighton winner Billy Greene from UBC, the pivot position in Canadian college football is in good hands, one hopes that there's an opportunity to come in the CFL for Canadian QB's to have their shot at CFL success, as we saw on Friday, there's some entertaining football to be had, if only a chance is provided.

TSN-- Vanier Cup thriller attracts large audience on TSN and RDS
TSN-- McMaster wins first Vanier Cup
TSN-- Grey Cup Diary: CIS, Vanier Cup steals the show on Friday
Hamilton Scores-- Vanier Cup efforts bring Marauders more honours
Hamilton Spectator-- Mac Marauders their way to the Vanier Cup
Hamilton Spectator-- 'One of the greatest games' ever seen
Hamilton Spectator-- Marauders make history
Hamilton Spectator-- McMaster Marauders make triumphant return
CTV-- A Vanier Cup for the ages
Vancouver Province-- Marauders' double trouble for Laval
Toronto Sun-- McMaster wins Vanier Cup in double overtime
Toronto Sun-- Winning matters, owners don't
Globe and Mail-- McMaster stops Laval in Vanier Cup thriller

Standing out on the wide field (CFL edition)

In the lead up to the 99th Grey Cup, the CFL and its fans gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Thursday night to recognize achievement and excellence in this 2011 season.

The Gibson's Finest Awards were distributed at the CFL's gala event Thursday night, an evening which brought both college and professional played together in celebration of the three down game.

The Gibson's award nominees and winners were:

Outstanding Player

Anthony Calvillo, Quarterback, Montreal Alouettes
Travis Lulay, Quarterback, British Columbia Lions

Winner-- Travis Lulay, Quarterback, British Columbia Lions

Defensive Player

Jovon Johnson, Defensive Back, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Jerrell Freeman, Linebacker, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Winner-- Jovon Johnson, Defensive Back, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Top Canadian

Jerome Messame, Running Back, Edmonton Eskimos
Sean Whyte, Kicker, Montreal Alouettes

Winner-- Jerome Messam, Running Back, Edmonton Eskimos

Outstanding Special Teams Player

Paul McCallum, Kicker, British Columbia Lions
Chad Owens, Kick Returner, Toronto Argonauts

Winner-- Paul McCallum, Kicker, British Columbia Lions

Most Outstanding Rookie

JC Sherritt, Linebacker, Edmonton Eskimos
Chris Williams, Wide Receiver, Hamilton Tiger Cats

Winner-- Chris Williams, Wide Receiver, Hamilton Tiger Cats

Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman

Jovan Olafioye, Offenseive Lineman, British Columbia Lions
Josh Bourke, Offensive Lineman, Montreal Alouettes

Winner-- Josh Bourke, Offensive Lineman, Montreal Alouettes.

Tom Pate Memorial Award
Kevin Glenn, Quarterback, Hamilton Tiger Cats

Commissioner's Award
Larry Reda

Full reviews of the nominees can be found here, details on the award winners can be found here.

The CFL's 2011 All Stars were announced last week, the list of those players can be found here.

Vancouver Sun-- B.C. Lions QB Lulay named CFL's most outstanding player
The Province-- Lion King: Lulay named CFL's most outstanding player
TSN-- Gibson's Finest Player Awards
Toronto Star-- Lions quarterback Lulay captures CFL's outstanding player award
The Score-- Lions QB Travis Lulay wins CFL's outstanding player award
Globe and Mail-- Lions' Travis Lulay wins CFL MVP
Sportsnet-- Lulay's efforts rewarded
CTVBC-- Lions' Lulay captures CFL's outstanding player award
CBC-- Lions QB Lulay named CFL's outstanding player
Canada.com-- Rising Star Lulay named CFL's Most Outstanding player
Canada.com-- Emotional venting over award nominations
Winnipeg Sun-- Bombers' Johnson named top defensive player

Standing out on the wide field (college edition)

Prior to the weekend's festivities on the football field, the CFL and the CIS honoured those athletes that excelled in their respective leagues this season.

Both the pro game and the college game had many stand out moments this past season, featuring a collection of players that rose to the top of the lists from coast to coast.

The celebration of football excellence took place on Thursday night with a combined Awards show, recognizing the best in Professional and college football in Canada.

Looking at the potential stars of tomorrow for the CFL, the CIS award nominees and winners were:

Hec Crighton Trophy
Player of the Year

Atlantic- Kyle Graves, QB, Acadia
RSEQ- Simon Charbonneau-Campeau, WR, Sherbrooke
OUA- Michael DiCroce, WR, McMaster
CWUAA-- Billy Greene, QB, UBC

Winner- Billy Greene, QB, (UBC)

Presidents' Trophy
Defensive Player of the Year

AUS- Tom Labenski, LB, Acadia
RSEQ- Max Caron, LB, Concordia
OUA- Ryan Chmielewski, LB, McMaster
CWUAA-- Sam Hurl, LB, Calgary

Max Caron, LB (Concordia)

J. P. Metras Trophy
Outstanding down lineman

AUS- Jake Thomas, Defensive Tackle, Acadia
RSEQ- Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, Defensive End, Laval
OUA- Osie Ukwuoma, Defensive End, Queen's
CWUAA- Akiem Hicks, Defensive End, Regina

Winner-- Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (Laval)

Peter Gorman Trophy
Rookie of the Year

AUS- Jacob Leblanc, Defensive Tackle, Mount Alison
RSEQ- Jeremi Doyon-Roch, QB, Sherbrooke
OUA- Tyler Varga, Running Back, Western Ontario
CWUAA- Jordan Arkko, offensive lineman, Saskatchewan

Winner-- Tyler Varga, Running Back, Western Ontario

A full review of the College side of the Awards, including interviews with the nominees and winners can be found here.

The CIS also announced it's 2011 edition of the All Canadian Teams, that list can be found here.

The Province-- Hec Crighton Award winner: UBC's Billy Greene honoured with ...
Vancouver Sun-- UBC pivot Billy Greene claims Hec Crighton as CIS top player
Globe and Mail-- UBC's Billy Greene collects Hec Grighton Trophy
Ubyssey-- UBC pivot Billy Greene named CIS MVP wins Hec Crighton trophy
Toronto Sun-- Best in the CFL, CIS
TSN-- UBC Quarterback Greene wins Hec Crighton Trophy
Canada.com-- UBC's Greene named Hec Crighton winner
Toronto Star-- UBC pivot Greene wins Hec Crighton Trophy
The Score-- UBC's Greene wins Hec Crighton Trophy
24H Vancouver-- UBC's Greene wins Hec Crighton

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The 2011 Grey Cup

From the training camps of May we arrive at the final game of the 2011 season, a showdown between East and West, featuring the two teams that through the test of the 2011 season came out on top of their respective divisions.

The Bombers and Lions join in the battle Sunday afternoon, the 99th contest for Lord Earl Grey's Cup, a much anticipated showcase of two of the leagues top defensive squads, two teams that at times looked unbeatable, the Bombers at the start of the season, the Lions at the end of it.

Both have had slumps, the Lions in particular suffering a skid that by the end of July had many wondering if Wally Buono may finally have come to the end of his reign as one of the CFL's longest serving head coaches.

Buono's team turned around a horrible season starting in August and never looked back, rattling of win after win, introducing CFL fans to a fellow named Travis Lulay, who simply went on to shine brightly in this 2011 season.

The Bombers, led by Buck Pierce, made their stand for first in the East a number of times, all be it backing in to first on the final week of the season, but then claiming the Eastern title in a most convincing fashion against the Tiger Cats last week.

That victory brings them into the Lions Den, where Vancouver stands ready to celebrate a national championship should their Lions prove victorious by games' end. The culmination of a pretty good little party over the last few days, with more than a few surprising events along the way to keep things interesting to say the least! (to name a few, a wild Vanier Cup and what seems like a WWE exhibition between Joe Kapp and Angela Mosca )

But today the focus is on the end of the CFL season, an entertaining five months that brought saw a bit of a change of the guard from perennial champions and offers a few concerns for the league's largest market, though for today all is put on the back burner to watch the Lions and the Bombers settle the question of who will be champion for 2011.

The CFL has always been thought of as a scoring game, highlight reel tosses, lengthy rambles, lots of points, for this Grey Cup, there may indeed be a bit of scoring, but in the end, as it has all season, it will depend on how the Lions and Bombers' defences stack up that will tell us the tale of this 99th Grey Cup.

Game Time 3:30 PT, 5:30 CT, 6:30 ET BC Place Stadium, TSN

PRE GAME

Vancouver Province-- Preparation time is over, time to play the game
Vancouver Sun-- Battle of the big boys will likely decide Sunday champion
Winnipeg Free Press-- The deck may be stacked but history says...
Winnipeg Sun-- Bombers ready to make it happen
Globe and Mail-- Grey Cup quarterbacks have on shot at glory
National Post-- Lions, Blue Bombers comes down to defence

Quick Snaps BC Lions
Quick Snaps Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Twelve Men Prognostication

British Columbia 30
Winnipeg 24

Playoff record 4 - 4
Overall Regular Season Record 40 -72

POST GAME

Winnipeg 23 at British Columbia 34
Attendance-- 54,313

Vancouver Province-- Lions defence set the table for Grey Cup feast
Vancouver Sun-- BC Lions post rare Grey Cup triumph in front of hometown fans
Winnipeg Free Press-- Worst to first, but still cursed
Winnipeg Sun-- Bombers close but so far away
Globe and Mail-- Bombers can't penetrate Lions Orange wall
National Post-- Less than perfect, but B. C. Lions good enough to win Grey Cup
Toronto Star-- Lulay, Lions roar to victory inn 99th Grey Cup
Canada.com-- Lions defeat Bombers to win Grey Cup at home

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

CFL Divisional Finals

The road to the Grey Cup is almost complete and for one team, the drive to work won't be a very tough one.

The British Columbia Lions, hosts of this years Grey Cup punched their ticket into the national championship, with a convincing victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday, the back end of the two game eliminations to determine our Grey Cup participants.

In the east, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers overwhelmed the Hamilton Tiger Cats, showing some of that early season form that many CFL fans watched week after week.

The divisional finals, perhaps weren't as entertaining as the previous week's semi-finals, but in the end the two teams that most deserved their berth in the Grey Cup came through with the wins, the path to those victories can be reviewed below.

Hamilton at Winnipeg

Prior to the Bombers/Cats divisional final, much was made about the departure of Terence Jeffers-Harris, the square peg that just wouldn't fit into round hole of team chemistry that Paul LaPolice was trying to build in Winnipeg.

Jeffers-Harris was dismissed from further duties with the Bombers in the days leading up to the Western Final and in a move that did raise eyebrows but seemingly was cleared by the league, the Hamilton Tiger Cats picked him up. And while he would not be allowed to play in the Eastern final, his arrival in the camp of the Tiger Cats was hailed by the Cats as a great move, bringing with him what was thought to be much knowledge of the Bombers game plan.

If so, it seemed pretty clear by the first quarter that whatever plans Jeffers-Harris might have relayed to his newfound friends in Hamilton, weren't current ones, or perhaps TJ didn't pay as much attention as he might have thought.

At any rate, the Bombers with Buck Pierce back in the line up had little trouble dispatching the Tiger Cats, the highly touted Bomber defence wreaking havoc with the Cats offensive play. Ultimately sending Kevin Glenn to the sidelines incapable of playing any further due to injury, the curse of Canad Inn stadium rising up to ruin Glenn's dreams of a Grey Cup trip once again (the last time he was a member of the Blue Bombers).

The Bombers offence provided a return to form for Pierce, who without fear took to his feet to claim key first downs, showing leadership to an offence that has struggled at times, but not when it counted the most so far this season.

But the real story for the Bombers in their 19-3 victory was their defence, one of the tops in the CFL (the other being British Columbia) the Blue defenders for the most part shut down any thoughts the Cats might have had of playing football further into November.

With the exception of a field goal, the Cats were shut out, swarmed, pummelled and hit time after time, the Cats could gain no momentum, delivering another inconsistent performance, part of a trend all year long where one amazing game (in this case last week's semi final) would be followed by a dog of an effort that leaves one to wonder as to the fate of a number of players and the coaching staff.

But that's talk for the off season, there's still one more game to go, the biggest one on the CFL calendar and this year the East will be represented by the Bombers, as it should.

They were one of the top teams in the CFL through the year, even during their slumps, they remained competitive, their defence for the most part carrying them through the dark patches, now it carries them on to Vancouver for Sunday's season finale.

Winnipeg Free Press-- Cup beckons Brown, Buck
Winnipeg Sun-- Bombers all out blitz: A fine stadium send off
Hamilton Spectator-- Bombers freeze out Ticats 19-3
Globe and Mail-- Blue Bombers bound for Grey Cup
National Post-- Defensive battle sends Blue Bombers to Grey Cup over Ticats

Edmonton Eskimos at British Columbia

Always a class act, Wally Buono, the sage of CFL coaches, began his post game interview by praising the work of his opponent on Sunday, outlining the many assets that Kavis Reed brought to his Eskimos this season, all of the comments heart felt and correct, but for all his hard work and achievement through the year, on this Sunday in November Reed's team came up second best and with their convincing 40-23 divisional victory, the Lions put the exclamation mark on their return to prominence this year.

The Lions who as has been noted through the year started out this season in horrendous fashion, continued their remarkable turn around with a crushing defeat of the rising Eskimos, leaving no doubt that they were the best the CFL West had to offer, once they got the early season malaise out of the way.

The comeback season which began in August, brought us the debut of Travis Lulay as one of the CFL's top quarterbacks, a title that he provided ample evidence towards with a definitive performance in the Western Final.

Lulay threw for touchdowns, among the most poignant a highlight reel toss to Geroy Simon providing an emotional moment with bereaved trainer Bill Reichelt, when he wasn't throwing the ball he was controlling the clock and running for yardage including, his own long distance trot for a TD. providing for as complete a game as the Lions have provided for all year.

On defence, as has been the case since August, the Lions were a force to be reckoned with, they shut down Ricky Ray for the most part, the absence of Jerome Messam and his running game clearly a minus in the Eskimo playbook in the Western final.

Timely interceptions snuffed any thoughts the Eskimos might have had of launching any kind of a comeback, but in reality, what points they did obtain really only helped make the game look respectable, for the most part they were outplayed in all aspects of the game.

The Lions win, sets up the opportunity for BC to win the Grey Cup in their own stadium in front of what should be a loud and boisterous sold out crowd, bringing life to BC Place and perhaps if the fates shall allow it, taking some of the bad vibes of the Canucks' loss in the NHL playoffs of the spring.

Of course, the Bombers will have designs on changing that narrative, it's a big task ahead of them, clearly the underdog as they make the journey from Manitoba to the heart of Lions country, but a resilient team they have been all year, so perhaps they have one more win left in their repertoire, Sunday will give us an idea on that, offering up the hope of a fairly entertaining cap to the CFL season.

Vancouver Province-- Lions D line crushes Esks
Vancouver Sun-- B. C. Lions roll to 40-23 win in CFL West Final
Edmonton Journal- Lulay leads charge as Lions tear apart Eskimos
Edmonton Sun-- Esks fell short of goal: Reed
Globe and Mail-- Lions crush Eskimos in West Final
National Post-- Lions stomp Eskimos, will host Winnipeg in Grey Cup

Twelve men on the Field

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Quick Snaps Winnipeg Blue Bombers - December 2011

Quick Snaps Saskatchewan Roughriders - December 2011

Quick Snaps Calgary Stampeders - December 2011

Quick Snaps Edmonton Eskimos - December 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Quick Snaps British Columbia Lions - December 2011

Friday, December 02, 2011

Ahoy Captain Milanovich, the Good Ship Argonaut welcomes you aboard!

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Cleaning out the management lockers in the CFL

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

There's no feud, like the old feuds...

The 99th Grey Cup

The Kids put on quite the show

Standing out on the wide field (CFL edition)

Standing out on the wide field (college edition)

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The 2011 Grey Cup

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

CFL Divisional Finals

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