Who's going to be in the Grey Cup?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay, it’s 8 p.m. CST, and the last set of games in the CFL regular season just began with a kick-off in Winnipeg. So who’s going to be in the Grey Cup?

Personally, I don’t remember a season where the play-off positions in the West were this fluid this late in the season. Of the eight teams, four are still in the hunt, and a fifth, Montreal, is badly seeking a win to break its losing streak before going into the first play-off game. So five of the eight teams looking for something this weekend.

Winnipeg’s sealed first in the East, and Hamilton’s got second. Saskatchewan is out of it. :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning:

That leaves:

Calgary’s playing Winnipeg right now. The game doesn’t matter to Winnipeg, and is crucial for Calgary, if they don’t want to be eliminated. However, comparing the way Calgary’s been playing to the way Winnipeg’s been playing, I think the Bombers have it.

Saturday, Toronto plays Hamilton. The game’s meaningless for Hamilton, which has second spot in the East no matter what, but T.O. needs a win badly to take the cross-over spot in the Western Division. I think T.O. may have the edge here.

The other Saturday game is Saskatchewan at B.C. The game’s meaningless for Saskatchewan (heavy sigh), but B.C. needs it to avoid elimination. Normally I’d say B.C., but then I remember that the Esks only scored 1 point :stuck_out_tongue: against Saskatchewan last week. (The Esks other two points :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: came from Saskatchewan, on a safety, for a grand total of 3. :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :p) Plus, the Riders seem to view this as a grudge match for last year’s close-out in B.C. place, so who knows?

Then, on Sunday: Montreal needs to snap the seven game losing streak to get some momentum for the play-offs. They’re playing the Esks in Edmonton on Sunday. The Esks want a win to seal up first place in the West. Neither team’s been playing well (Saskatchewan beat both of them recently, which I regret to say, is a sad comment :smiley: ) I’ve got no idea which will win, but I think the home advantage will help Edmonton.

Finally, mid-week there’s the make-up game between B.C and Hamilton, at Hamilton. Again, meaningless for Hamilton, but could be decisive for B.C. I think B.C. might have the edge, depending on what happened in the game with the Riders.

The strangest stat is that going into the final set of games, B.C. could conceivably be first in the West, with a bye into the Western final, which would be at B.C. Place; or B.C. could be out entirely.

The other weird thing is that it’s conceivable that Toronto, which is in the East, could represent the Western Division in the Cup, against Winnipeg, which is physically in the West, representing the Eastern Division.

Personally, although it pains me to say this (<ahem> are you listening, Pipeliner?), I think Winnipeg will be in the Cup. I’ve got no idea for the Western team.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

2

I see both Montreal and a sadly Lou-less BC turning it around and making it to the big game. Montreal has a lot of pressure to make it a home town Grey Cup, and I think they’ve got the talent to come through. I have a feeling that Winterpeg will choke.

BC has the talent (now that everyone is healthy again) to get on a hot streak and make a run through the playoffs. Of course, given my record on such pronouncements, they’ll choke and get their butts handed to them by the Green Riders. BC has shown enough flashes of brilliance during the regular season that I believe they can still turn it around. Maybe.

We need Looooooooooooooooooooooooo.

3

Damn, I so want to comment on this. Is football, but I don’t get to watch it down here in toasty Chicago.

I mean its no NFL, or NCAA, but its a damn nice third choice.

Just for kicks I’ll say Hamilton.

4

Okay, so my first prediction’s already been proven wrong - Stamps over Winnipeg, 22-15, nailing down a play-off berth.

Now, it’s just a question of BC or TO for the final spot. BC has to win one more game than TO to get a berth, and it’s got two games to go, compared to TO’s one game.

5

Hey, Omni - what about internet radio? CKRM 620 in Regina will carry the Sask-BC game tonight, which is at 7:30 PST - any chance you could pick it up via the net?

[Piper, who knows nothing about internet radio…]

6

Injuries? you want to talk injuries? how about the Riders having to send in their fourth string quarterback into a game a few weeks ago because 1, 2, and 3 were all injured! At least we’ve got two able to play again for tonight, but it’s been a rough season…

However, you’re right about the Lions - they’ve pulled things out of the hat before under Allen (like a Grey Cup last year) so I’m not counting them out.

7

Right, 3 of the four games of the weekend are over, and the play-off situation is a bit clearer now.

Toronto lost yesterday afternoon to Hamilton (31-20), but B.C. lost to Saskatchewan (GO RIDERS!). Even though the Riders’s season is over, they went out in style. The Lions were leading 10-0 early in the game, but the Riders then went on to earn 42 unaswered points. Final score: Riders 42, B.C. 10. Just wait til next year!

uh, where was I?

oh yeah, playoffs. So, the contest between B.C. and T.O. for the final playoff berth is unchanged from a week ago: T.O. currently has one more point in the standings than B.C., so it holds the spot, but B.C. has the make-up game on Tuesday against Hamilton - they have to win or they’re out. B.C.'s loss also means the Esks have first place in the West, with a bye into the final, so the Western semi- will be Calgary hosting either T.O. or B.C.

8

Ack! 42-10 for Saskatchewan! I knew I shouldn’t have made a prediction.

Damn Lions. I’m glad I decided not to go to that game. I’d have been tearing my hair out. I can’t figure out what their damn problem is. They’ve got talent - but they seem reluctant to act as a team.

::grumble, grumble::

9

I’ve always been a Roughriders fan. Or maybe that was Rough Riders. I always forget which is which.

10

Piper, I’m sure I could get it, but there’s a couple problems. First, its on friday nights, I’m usually not online then for obvious reasons. Second, I like listening to games on the radio, but its really only fun when you already know the players. For me, when I’ve seen the players before, especially when its the home team, its really easy for me to get involved in a radio broadcast since its easy for me to visualize the plays. However if I don’t have any idea what positions the players play, or who the “stars” are a radio broadcast is underwhelming.

11

My prediction is Newfoundland 13, Moose Jaw 7! :smiley:

But seriously ladies and germs . . I LOVE Canadian football, it is so much more exciting than the American version, watching Doug Flutie lead the Argos to the Cup on ESPN 2 made me a huge fan, but they never seem to show the damn games in the states anymore.

12

By the way . .when is the Grey Cup . . and will it be broadcast in the States?

13

The Grey Cup is on Sunday, November 25, at the Olympic Stadium in Montréal. (Affectionatly known as “The Big Owe” because of its shape and the unpaid bill, a quarter century later.)

Dunno if it’s on any of the US channels, but if you’re close enough to the border you might be able to pick it up via satellite. It’s broadcast on the CBC/Radio-Canada.

Better yet, why not come? It’s a blast, and there may still be tickets available. For more details, check out the CFL Grey Cup page.

The Beloved and I will be there, partying our little hearts out, if that’s any inducement. :smiley:

(Oh, and Newfoundland crashed in the pre-season, so they won’t be there.)

14

[sigh] Of course, you would mention the Grey Cup where T.O. tromped all over the Riders…

15

I just have to post in this thread, being a Grey Cup baby, born in Moose Jaw the day the Riders won the Grey Cup in 1966. Woohoo! Go Riders! (They’re out of the playoffs? Who cares? =)

16

Right - anyone got any predictions on the first round of play-offs?

B.C. at Calgary: frankly, neither one’s been doing all that well. Home field advantage and a longer rest may favour Calgary.

Montreal at Hamilton: I think the Als have collapsed for the season, while Danny Mac is just clickin’ along. Hamilton advances.