Saturday, November 05, 2011

CFL Gameday: Winnipeg at Calgary (November 5)

Saturday's McMahon Stadium showdown between the Bombers and Stamps will add one more piece to the final product of the CFL playoff picture,  with the top spots in  both the Eastern and Western Conference still unresolved, this afternoons contest provides the opportunity for one or the other team to keep the quest for First alive.

As the two teams take to the field, the names of the starting quarterbacks on the day are certainly different than what many would have imagined at the start of the season.

Winnipeg is taking to the field with Alex Brink at the helm, taking the place of the injured Buck Pierce for this pivotal final game of the regular season, across the field Drew Tate will be at the helm of the Stampders offence, Tate has supplanted long time Stampeder Henry Burris as the top signal caller now.

The game could highlight some of the key aspects of both teams over the last few weeks, a tough Winnipeg Defence seeking to shut down a Stampeder offence that has rediscovered a bit of spark under Tate.

For Brink, the learning curve continues, today's game perhaps a confidence builder heading into the playoffs,  the Bombers have already adviser that they believe Pierce will return to the QB duties for those playoffs, but the experience gained this afternoon could be more than beneficial moving forward into the post season.

For the moment however both Brink and Tate will be hoping to secure a higher seeding for their team as the league schedule comes to a wrap later tonight, for Calgary the road only leads to second now and even that requires a bit of help. Calgary will finish second to the Eskimos if they beat the Bombers and the BC Lions lose to Montreal tonight, should the Lions win, the Stamps tumble to third and a semi final date with the Eskimos next weekend.

Winnipeg will claim first place with a victory over the Stamps, should they lose they could still gain top spot with an Alouette loss tonight.

Game Time 2 PM MT (4 ET, 1 PT) McMahon Stadium TSN

Pre Game

Calgary Sun-- Winter wonderland
Calgary Herald-- Stamps' focus is solely on Bombers
Winnipeg Free Press-- Things looking very bad for Blue
Winnipeg Sun-- Blue's big chance
Globe and Mail-- Bombers-Stamps clash key to CFL Playoff picture

Quick Snaps Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Quick Snaps Calgary Stampeders


Post Game


Winnipeg 24 at Calgary 30
Attendance-- 30,845


Calgary Sun-- Stamps hang on to beat Bombers
Calgary Herald-- Stamps roll into playoffs with third straight win
Winnipeg Sun-- Bombers lose, back into 1st
Winnipeg Free Press-- Bombers crash in Cowtown, finish first
Globe and Mail-- Stampeders hang on to beat Bombers
National Post-- Stampeders stay hot to end season with third straight win

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