Thanks for the invite, hope we pass the auction

With winter finally banished from the Canadian mind set and the CFL prepares for a new season, Canadians from coast to coast are once again ready to glance towards their sports pages and tune into the all sports stations looking to talk a little football and review the changes to their favourite teams.

The summer time diversion which morphs into the fall obsession and the march towards the 101st Grey Cup, is almost ready for kick off,  the Canada Day weekend the traditional launch to the four months of ownership over a game that is truly ours and ours alone.

While some of the players hail from below the 49th, the nature of the game, the history of its past and its importance into the future continues to give cause to a little bit of national chest thumping, the weekly results of the summer and fall marking that path to the Finale, this year  a path that takes us to Regina for Grey Cup 101.

Before that though, there's lots of football to be enjoyed, TSN in a mark of scheduling brilliance, found that Friday Night Football in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals can work, especially when the NHL takes extended leaves of absence between games 1 and 2.

The Pre season kicked off this week, TSN along for the ride with the first of their Friday Night Festivals showcasing the Riders and the Eskimos.

It was a welcome reminder that even if the NHL hasn't quite awarded that shiny trophy of theirs yet, Football season is but weeks away.

On the way to the season kick off, there is the wrap up to training camps, the CFL's eight teams have welcomed returning vets, acquired what they hope are the key ingredients for a Grey Cup run and invited hopeful rookies all hoping to make their mark and secure their space when cut down day arrives.

While we refresh and update our efforts on the blog for the 2013 season, we'll start with a quick update on the Pre Season work of the CFL's eight teams.

The Pre Season Season Schedule can be found below, updated as the results arrive.

The CFL also features a full range of information through their website and twitter feed, invaluable resources for CFL fans looking for the latest details from the camps of their favourite team.

As we re-energize the Twelve Men Blog, you can also find our thoughts and updates on CFL developments through our twitter feed, where from time to time we'll even outline items not found on the blog.

We're hoping to make it a two punch approach for our CFL coverage this year, so besides bookmarking the blog, maybe give us a follow on twitter!

It's time for the shift of seasons, Football is back!


Pre Season Week Two

Friday June 21-- Edmonton 17 at British Columbia 22  (Recap) (Stats) (26,733)
Thursday June 20-- Calgary 24 at Saskatchewan 23 (Recap) (Stats)  (32,003) 
Thursday, June 20-- Winnipeg  0 at Hamilton 52 (Recap) (Stats) (12,732)
Thursday June 20-- Montreal 20 at Toronto 24 (Recap) (Stats) (6,204)


Pre Season Week One

Friday June 14-- British Columbia 32 at Calgary 27 (Recap) (Stats) (26,328 )
Friday June 14-- Saskatchewan 31 at Edmonton 24 (Recap) (Stats)  (26,623)
Thursday June 13-- Hamilton 33 at Montreal 26 (Recap) (Stats)  (20,514)
Wednesday June 12 -- Toronto 24 at Winnipeg 6  (Recap) (Stats)  (28,642)