The Lions learned a valuable lesson Friday night, securing home field advantage is truly one of the most important aspects of a CFL season. Such was the nature of their cold weather adventure in Calgary and the subsequent loss that came from it.
Fortunately for BC, they won't have to worry about the elements for the remainder of 2012 however long that path may take them, unless of course someone forgets to close the roof at BC Place.
The Bombers bowed out, officially eliminated from the playoffs this week, though for most Bomber fans that date probably arrived after the Banjo Bowl.
The Argos secured a playoff spot, the Tiger Cats stayed alive and the Eskimos fumbled their chance to seek a playoff position leaving the final week to shake it all out.
The week in review was follows:
British Columbia at Calgary
For the second week in a row the visuals from Calgary brought us back to the past, where all games were played on a frozen tundra late into October, the field was slick with ice, the air clouded by ice fog, the propane heaters going full blast (ask ).
Well maybe not full blast, at least on the Lions side of the field, where BC took at least one quarter to finally figure out that there was a football game going on in this arctic vista.
The Stamps jumped out to an early lead, that pretty well had the game put away by the time the first half had arrived, no doubt giving the Lions cause to just say hey thanks for the invite, but we'll just stay indoors for the second half.
But, troopers that they are, the Lions came out for the second half surrendered some more points, picked up a few more of their own and caught the last flight for the coast and the relative warmth of the rain forest.
The final score of 41 to 21was of no particular consequence other than to Jon Cornish as he continues to add some yardage to his amazing year and full credit to him for actually gaining traction on the ice flows of Alberta.
The game for the most part was as meaningless as a CFL game could be, Calgary we imagine will use it as a preamble for what they hope will be a CFL Western Final appearance in two weeks time, the Lions well, they had to put a line up out on the field, always good to see if the understudies are on the same page and if they remembered to pack their long underwear.
When the CFL drew up the schedule for 2012 we imagine they probably looked at the BC/Calgary game as perhaps pivotal to the final standings, in reality that game arrived a few weeks earlier when the Lions beat the Stamps in the climate controlled comfort of BC Place, they no doubt will be looking to that game for inspiration in the CFL West Final, not the frozen stumble festival of Friday night.
Winnipeg at Hamilton
Let it be officially recorded that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were eliminated from the CFL playoff race on October 27th, Bomber fans though most likely already knew that fact back around Labour Day.
The Bombers season of woe became final on Saturday in Hamilton, when the home town Tiger Cats kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a solid 28 to 18 victory over the Bombers.
Sure the Bombers have one more week on the schedule, but a quick scan of the injury list from Winnipeg for this weekend tells you that the Winnipeg Rifles might want to volunteer for duty, like everyone does when disaster strikes.
Winnipeg's loss of Saturday pretty well defined the season, they never quite could get it together on the field and injuries again knocked some of the key participants off the field. Buck Pierce, once again was forced to the sidelines due to injury, something that perhaps could have become a lottery feature this season on your Sports Action/select tickets, such has been the regularity of his departure from a CFL Game.
Hamilton, which as we have mentioned far too many times this year, can look like a potential Grey Cup champion on some days and a team that would be relegated to tier two if this were English soccer on others.
Saturday the potential Grey Cup team showed up for work, with their season on the brink of extinction the Cats rattled off the points to secure victory and stay in the hunt for a CFL playoff spot, which now would be a battle to hold off the charge of the Eskimos from the West for a crossover spot.
The Bombers play out the string at home against Montreal, the final game (so they say) at Canad Inn Stadium, next year a brand new start beckons at the new ball yard across town, we imagine the Bombers can't wait to get this season out of the way and look ahead to next year.
Hamilton can keep their playoff ambitions percolating when they travel to Toronto to play the Argos, if they win and the football stars align, they'll be back there next week for an eastern semi final, which would be a cash bonanza for the Argos, Hamilton being a tad closer than Edmonton to Toronto.
I Wonder who the Argos will be hoping for on Thursday night?
Toronto at Saskatchewan
The Riders continued to give the always involved Rider Nation something to worry about heading into the playoffs, a tendency to have very bad fourth quarters, a recurring theme this year which as of yet has not bee solved.
Ricky Ray finally looked secure in the Argo saddle again, the rust of his convalescence of the fall finally having come off, as the Rider defensive discovered through the course of the cold afternoon at Mosaic.
Ray completed four TD passes and accumulated 305 passing yards in the course of the game, an impressive performance that capitalized on some kindness from the Riders who continue to struggle after the half time rest period.
The Argo victory secures a second place finish in the East, not really something to crow about considering the mediocrity of the East this season, but in a season that seemed on the cusp of going terribly wrong a few weeks ago, pulling out a late game victory in the atmosphere at Mosaic Field is something to build on.
With the win the Argos will get a playoff home date, granted it's a semi final and not a final, but the path to potentially playing in the Grey Cup game that they are hosting is still very much a possibility for the Double Blue.
They host the Tiger Cats to wrap up the regular season, the fact the Cats are still in the playoff hunt will be good for a few extra seats sold on Thursday night, a Tiger Cat victory might even mean more fans making the drive down for the eastern semi final of next week.
The Riders know they are going to be in the playoffs, the only question being whether they make travel plans for Calgary or Toronto, travel agents will watch with interest the results this weekend from Vancouver and Edmonton as to an indication.
Regardless, unless they figure out their second half troubles, Saskatchewan won't need the travel agents after next weekend.
Edmonton at Montreal
For the first three quarters of Sunday's wrap to weekend eighteen, the Eskimos looked very much like the team that stumbled through the month of September, poor execution, no finish and few if any points on the board gave many cause to start clicking on their remotes as the view from Montreal looked ugly.
The Als, who had already clinched first place in the East still put on a bit of a clinic for the Eskimos, loading up on the first half of the game with what seemed like more than enough points to make the Eskimos trip to Montreal quite miserable.
Anthony Calvillo once again held control over the proceedings, which while good for the CFL, makes one perhaps second guess his appearance in what was a most meaningless game for the Als. Considering the Grey Cup hopes ride on his aging frame, a wee bit of rest might be helpful for the Montreal gunslinger.
Edmonton had no such luxury as a potential rest, with their playoff ambitions still very much in flux, the 27-25 loss in Montreal could by Sunday have been very, very costly.
The Esks were not in this game until the later stages, the first half a disaster of Eskimo football that only provided for only one point after thirty minutes of play, Montreal cruising it seemed with a 19-1 lead at the half.
By three quarter time even the most dedicated of CFL fans was no doubt clicking away at the remote checking out the offerings of the NFL, if they failed to check back in with Montreal they missed out on a pretty spirited comeback by the Esks that made the game much closer on the scoreboard than the actual play of the field might have suggested.
Still, a loss is a loss, and like many opportunities before this season, the Eskimos failed to grasp what was within reach, they now must sit and watch the results from Toronto of Thursday night, and then win at home on Friday night when Calgary comes to town.
A Ticat win on Thursday, combined with an Eskimo loss on Friday will send the Cats on to the Eastern Semi Final, the Eskimos fate clearly is still in their hands, however, it's that ever faithful rival from the south that will decide part of that fate.
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