Alright, Who's Playing This Week

So, if Montreal had been able to hold onto the ball (or the lead) I would have gone 4-4 last week. Pity. Additionally, last week's B.C.- Winnipeg game was much, much worse than Toronto-Hamilton. On that note, while I won't disagree that for some reason there have been a lot of bad CFL games this year, the pre-season NFL games that have been on so far have reinforced for me the superiority of the Canadian game. Here's how I see things shaking down this week:

Edmonton and B.C.: I still have concerns, but last week was a much better effort. The play calling was the best I've seen all year, and the defence didn't fold when it counted. The return game still needs work, but you can't have everything. B.C. is going to have to play better this week if they want to beat the Eskimos. I'm going to say that Edmonton has turned it around, and they'll come out with a win going into the bye week.

Montreal and Toronto: Toronto is coming off a big win last week, but I think Montreal will rebound from their last second loss. Look for them to take better care of the ball and convert more once in scoring position (something they were quite good at earlier in the year).

Hamilton and Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan didn't really play that badly last week, Roy Shivers' remarks notwithstanding. I'm starting to feel a little bit sorry for Hamilton fans, as it seems that they tend to play their worst games at home. That won't be a problem this week, as they're on the road. Jason Maas has never played particularly well in Saskatchewan, so I'm going with the Riders for this week.

My views on the interest in returning a team to Ottawa should come as no surprise. If it's going to be done, it has to be done right. There have been too many gong shows in the past 30 years, and I daresay that Ottawa public has rightly become a tad cynical about this. Additionally, I would strongly support a return to the Rough Riders name. It represents the history of the team in the city, and also a team which at one point was quite successful. I think it's important to tie in the previous legacy of success. Furthermore, it returns one of the unique characteristics of the CFL. I'm well aware of the snickers from people that aren't fans to begin with, however this league has traditionally got itself into trouble when it's become overly preoccupied with what the naysayers have had to say. I don't think that realistically having two teams with very similar names (that's right, I can tell the difference between a compound word and two words) has an impact on whether people follow a particular league or not. Indeed, if anything says bush league, it's allowing Disney to use a professional sports franchise as a marketing vehicle for a series of crappy movies starring Emilio Esteves and Joshua Jackson (you listening Gil Stein?). If team nicknames was a reason to avoid a league, I would have stopped watching NHL hockey in 1993 (Which actually would have made sense on another level, as the Oilers missed the playoffs that year).

Meanwhile, moving to a different version of "football" it's good to hear that England is off to a good start under the new coach. I obviously didn't watch the game, so I have no insight at all, apart from the fact that a 4-0 scoreline looks good, particularly in light of the fact that it was accomplished without you know who.

On the rugby front, good on the Canadian national rugby team for clinching a berth in the World Cup next year. The rest of the pool looks pretty tough (Australia, Fiji, Wales and probably Japan), but I think it's better to get qualification taken care of early. I'm not sure I like our chances of getting out of the group, but you never know what can happen. A year ago we lost to the Americans in the Churchill Cup, so a lot can happen.

On the topic of rugby, it appears that they are building a new stadium in Dunedin. Ordinarily, this wouldn't merit a comment by me, but it does mean that my dream of watching an All Blacks Test at Carisbrook will likely never be realised. Heck, I'm not even sure if there will be anymore All Blacks tests at Carisbrook, depending on when this stadium is to be built (though, you'd think they'd have a farewell one or something). If the last test has been already been played, then in close to 100 years of international rugby (the first international was played there in 1908), the All Blacks have only lost twice there. Once to the Lions, and once to Australia. I recognise that they don't play a test there every year, but that's still damned impressive. Here's to the House of Pain.