Winnipeg Blue Bombers

In a close game on Friday night, the Toronto Argonauts prevailed over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The final score was 23-16. In a very strong effort from both teams, the Argos came away with their first victory of the season, leaving the Bombers to lose their home opener

Derick Armstrong played amazingly today. As seen on all the highlight reels, he made an amazing 37-yard catch in the first quarter with the Argos' DB Willie Middlebrooks holding him in an almost bear-hug position.

This catch was the highlight of the first quarter, and fans went wild at this spectacular reception. Also, Alexis Serna made his first CFL field goal. At the end of the first, the Bombers had a 3-0 lead.

At the start of the second, Glenn lost six yards on a sack, making it third down. Serna punted, and after getting by four close tackles, Toronto PR Dominique Dorsey returned the punt 39-yards after finally being tackled by Serna.

The Argos were able to make a first down, but after that, they had to kick a field goal from the 24-yard line. Mike Vanderjagt came out to kick the field goal, but missed it left by a hair. It was so close that from the TV, I thought it was a tie game.

With 7:34 left in the second quarter, Cam Hall sacked Kerry Joseph and the ball was fumbled. The ball was jumped on quickly by DE Tom Canada. The Bombers were unable to connect for a first and goal, and Kicker Alexis Serna connected for a 22-yard field goal, his second of the night.

On one of the most exciting plays for Argos fans, QB Michael Bishop waited for a doggy pile on a 3rd-and-1, and ran around the pile to gain 19-yards. After two completions, Vanderjagt stepped up for another field goal attempt, and this time went wide right. This time, you could tell he missed from your TV sets.

However, with 1:14 left before halftime, Michael Bishop was able to connect with Jamal Robertson. After shaking off a few defenders, the Argos had a 52-yard touchdown and were up 8-6, thanks to their RB Robertson.

At the beginning of the third quarter, it seemed that the refs may have been favoring Toronto. After a 32-yard gain by Armstrong, Toronto challenged that Reciever Romby Bryant was down before he lateraled to Armstrong. However, the call was reversed to a seven-yard gain for Bryant because of a forward lateral.

Is it just me, or was it illegal for the refs to change the call for something other than the challenged issue?

In an unfortunate play for temporary punter Alexis Serna, the snap was poor and Serna had to pick it up off the ground. It was too late, however, as he tried a punt and was blocked by Safety Wayne Shaw and recovered by WR James Robinson at the four-yard line.

Jamal Robertson then ran in the four-yard score on second down. But this play was challenged by Winnipeg, as it appeared that the player's knee touched the ground before he got back up and ran it in.

The referees reviewed the play and the call was unchanged. After seeing the replays on TV, it was clear, however, that this call was correct.

With one second left in the third quarter, Derick Armstrong had another amazing play. Glenn threw the ball to Armstrong in a last-second attempt, and Armstrong caught the ball hairs away from the sideline, and then was pushed out by DB Willie Middlebrooks. 

There was quite a bit of commotion from the Toronto players close to the play that Armstrong was forced out. After a review from the officiating booth, Armstrong was found to have both feet on the ground, and the 30-yard gain was counted. The score was 15-9 for the Argos at the end of the third quarter.

Only 1:10 into the fourth, Roberts had a one-yard touchdown after the Derick Armstrong catch moved the Bombers up to the 13-yard line, making it a 16-15 lead for them.

With 8:50 left in the fourth, the Bombers' QB overthrew Terrence Edwards, and the ball landed in the hands of Argos CB Byron Parker, who returned the interception all the way to the 27-yard line before being pushed out of bounds by Offensive Lineman Ryan Donnelly. Vanderjagt would then miss a 51-yard field goal.

With 5:51 left, Alexis Serna would take a knee in the endzone, putting the Argonauts up by one point, the score being 17-16. This gave the Argos the ball at their 35-yard line.

After a 22-yard pass interference penalty against DB Kelly Malveaux, the Argos goy their first three points from Vanderjagt, who connected on a 49-yard attempt.

On a desperate 3rd-and-8 attempt for the Bombers with 2:24 left, Kevin Glenn would be intercepted by CB Byron Parker. He was then horse-collared by Terrence Edwards, gaining them 15 yards. Mike Vanderjagt then put the Argos up by six with a 44-yard field goal.

The Bombers got the ball back with 1:25 on the clock. They moved all the way up to Toronto's 39, but after a time delay call on Kevin Glenn, it was a 3rd-and-20 from Toronto's 49-yard line.

The Bombers would be intercepted with 0:49 seconds left by DB Willie Middlebrooks. After three knees taken by QB Michael Bishop, the Bombers wrote a loss in their home opener as the Toronto Argonauts prevailed in a six-point, 23-16 point win.

Player of the Game

I have to give this to Derick Armstrong, who had two key catches throughout the game, and ended at an astounding seven catches for 116 yards, with his longest being the 37-yard catch in the first quarter. Congratulations to Derick Armstrong on such a strong performance.

-Chris Allen

sources: youtube.com

Watch CFL Highlights on on Youtube. Just search CFL TV under the Channels section.

Week one is done and the scoring is up.

The CFL season began in Hamilton, where the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Tiger-Cats 33-10.

Montreal QB, Anthony Calvillo, went 25-37 for 293 yards and 2 TDs.

Hamilton QB, Casey Printers countered with a 15-21-completion rate for 203 yards.

Chris Allen has more on the game here.

Henry Burris', Calgary Stampeders, had a strong start to the season taking down the BC Lions 28-18.

Burris went 22-for-32 for 274 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT.

BC's quarterback tandem did not do as well, as Buck Pierce and Jarius Jackson split time due to an apparent injury to Pierce.

Pierce went 9-for-14 for 160 yards and 1 TD while Jackson went 8-for-18 for 95 yards and 1 TD.

In a tight game, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fell to the Toronto Argonauts 23-16.

A late game drive by the Bombers resulted in another Argonaut defensive shutdown.

Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph split time, with Bishop scoring a TD and going 6-for-14 for 111 yards.

Kevin Glenn had a strong game going 32-for-48 for 321 yards yet also had three INTs.

In the Saturday match-up, Saskatchewan defeated Edmonton 34-13 at Mosaic Field.

Marcus Crandell threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Adarius Bowman to seal the deal for the Roughriders who start off their defense of their Grey Cup title with a victory.

Ricky Ray went 25-for-37 for 249 yards while Crandell went 19-for-29 for 278 yards.

For more information, visit www.cfl.ca or www.tsn.ca/cfl

This has been the CFL Rewind.

I'd like to start by saying congrats to Kerry Joseph to winning last years Most Outstanding Player award and winning the Grey Cup. But now, a new season is on the rise and therefore there will be a new MOP.

Here is a list of what is going to be each teams choice for their teams MOP:

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Jesse Lumsden - Lumsden finally has a season that isn't injury plagued. He has a fantastic season but doesn't get much recognition because his team didn't make the playoffs.

Montreal Allouettes: Ben Cahoon - Cahoon has a great season this year as he co-leads the league in receiving touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also does not get much recognition due to the lack of his teams success.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Kevin Glenn - Glenn has another good season this year, but not quite as good as last. Although it wasn't as good, he still receives a lot of recognition due to his great year.

Toronto Argonautes: Kerry Joseph - Joseph has a great season but his stats aren't quite as good as last year due to the fact that he has to share minutes with Michael Bishop.

East Finalist: Kevin Glenn

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Andy Fantuz - Fantuz co-leads the league in touchdown receptions with Ben Cahoon and has a great year, similar to last year but without the dropping every pass stint like last season.

Edmonton Eskimos: Ricky Ray - Ray has a fantastic year leading his Eskimos back into the playoffs after missing them the past two seasons. He leads the league in passing touchdowns and has a great year.

BC Lions: Joe Smith - Leading the league in overall touchdowns, Joe Smith has a great year. He completes this feat in only 14 games as he misses some do to knee problems.

Calgary Stampeders: Henry Buris - The comfort of having Dave Dickenson behind him calms smilin' Hank down as he leads the league in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, leads the league in passing yards and comes second in passing touchdowns as he leads his team to the leagues best record.

West Finalist: Henry Buris

Kevin Glenn makes it to the finals for the second straight year in this award. Unfortunately, he comes up short again. Henry Buris has a fantastic year putting up the best stats of his life while leading the Stamps to a 13-5 record and making a Grey Cup appearance but later losing to the Argos.

Winner: Henry Buris

If you haven't yet bought your plasma HDTV, you might want to do it before tomorrow night.  Why, you ask?  That's when the 2008 CFL season kicks off with the Montreal Alouettes marching into Ivor Wynne Stadium to take on the Hamilton Tiger Cats at 7 PM ET.

Just to let you know, the game will be on TSN HD.

After the match at Ivor Wynne, the scene shifts to the second part of the opening night double header in Calgary where the BC Lions play the Stampeders at 9 PM ET.

Finishing out Week 1 of CFL play are the Toronto Argonauts playing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium while the Edmonton Eskimos march into Regina to take on the defending Grey Cup Champion Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Yet this will be an entirely different Roughrider squad that took home the Grey Cup last season.  With the loss of QB Kerry Joseph, the Riders are looking to Marcus Crandell to lead the offensive charge.

Compared to many seasons previous, the 2008 CFL season boasts many top name quarterbacks that could help the league's overall scoring to go up during the 2008 campaign.  With veterans Anthony Calvillo and Ricky Ray back, along with Winnipeg's Kevin Glenn and Toronto's two-pronged QB attack with Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph, the CFL could be looking at an offensive outburst this season.

Despite many proven quarterbacks playing, the BC Lions hopes rest on the arm of Buck Pierce.  After passing Jarius Jackson on the depth chart list during training camp and the pre-season, Pierce has earned the recognition of legendary head coach Wally Buono after the departure of Dave Dickenson.

The kicking drama in Winnipeg continues to grow with the injury to punter Duncan O'Mahony.  While getting up in the middle of the night in his house, O'Mahony stubbed his toe and broke it.  Rookie Alexis Serna will take the role of both punter and field goal kicker against Toronto on Friday.

To get more info on the going-ons in the CFL, check out Kelly Bundle's "CFL Quick Fix".

For CFL This Week, I'm Matt Eichel

Sources:

www.cfl.ca

www.bluebombers.com

www.riderville.ca

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that preseason games are a waste of time.

Preseason games are a great way to separate the players in your training camp that you want to keep and the players that you want to release. It is great to view other team's backup players, and check potential threats if a starter is injured in the regular season.

What I am trying to say is—don't predict a team's season by their preseason games. As I said earlier, most CFL teams are playing their backups, trying to decide how the team roster will be filled, and the placing of players on the depth chart. Starters are starting games, but not usually finishing them.

For example, in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' first preseason game against the Hamilton Tigercats, seven quarterbacks in total played during the course of the game—three for the Bombers and four for the Tigercats. Teams are checking out all players to separate the best from the rest.

Therefore, don't trust the scores of the preseason. For example, the Tigercats beat the Bombers 12-10. However, it is being predicted that Bombers are Grey Cup favorites, and Tigercats are looking to have a last place finish again, even though they acquired QB Casey Printers.

So, you make the final decision about preseason games. If your team is scouting backup players to fill a position or deciding who should start and who should be a backup, then don't trust the preseason scores to predict your teams success this year.

However, if your team keeps your starters out all game and loses, I would be worried, because all the other teams are using backups. If your starters can't beat the backups, how can they beat the starters?

-Chris Allen

Sources: bleacherreport.com (CFL Preseason: Hamilton 12, Winnipeg 10 by Matt Eichel)

In front of a sell-out crowd on 29,553 fans, rookie Alexis Serna kicked a game winning 17-yard field goal with one second left in the fourth quarter to win the game for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 19-16.  The Montreal Alouettes relived the nightmare that they had only months ago when they were eliminated from the playoffs because of a game winning field goal by former Blue Bombers Kicker Troy Westwood.

The first half of play was a very low scoring half, with only a field goal by the Bombers and two single points from the Alouettes off of two field goal misses by Alouettes kicker Damon Duval, who was 0 for 3 at the end of the night. The score was 3-2 at the end of the half, and both teams made QB changes, hoping for some offensive scoring in the second half of play. The only thing the first half was full of was penalties, with 13 in the first half. There were 9 penalties in the second half.

The third half was also very dull, with only a field goal from Serna, putting the Bombers up 6-2 at the end of the third quarter. Serna was four for four at the end of the day. Once the fourth quarter started, it  was truly a fight to the end for both teams.

Montreal QB started the fourth quarter scoring with a 37-yard TD pass to S.J. Green, putting the Alouettes up 9-6. Alexis Serna then tied it up for the Bombers with a field goal, leaving 7:47 left on the clock. With the scores tied, Bombers backup QB Ryan Dinwiddie threw a 5-yard pass to Kerry Johnson for the lead, making it 16-9 for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 

However, the Alouettes would answer with a TD of their own only two minutes and thirty-three seconds later, when backup QB Adrian Mcpherson threw a deep 60 yard pass to Keith Gooding, tying up the game with just under two minutes to play.

The Bombers potential new starting kicker then sent the crowd home happy with a 17-yard field goal, capping off a fourth quarter full of scoring with a 19-16 win for the Blue Bombers. According to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers website, however, Ryan Dinwiddie was voted as player of the game by Bombers fans. Dinwiddie was 9 of 14 for 167 yards on the day.

However, newly acquired punter Duncan O'Mahony had a rough start, but finished off strong. O'Mahony fumbled the ball on his first punt, and it was recovered by the Alouettes only 7 yards away from the end-zone. Fortunately for O'Mahony, QB Anthony Calvillo was unable to connect to a receiver in the end-zone, and the ball was turned over on downs.

“It was a start and I’ll move forward from there, I can only get better. The hurdle I have to overcome now is my fitness and just getting reps. I missed three weeks of training camp, and that’s where you get into the swing of things,” said O’Mahony.

On the defensive side, the crowed seemed to be very pleased with Cam Hall. Hall had 6 tackles in the first half. Kevin Glenn also played his first game since injuring his left, non-throwing arm in the Eastern Conference finals game last year against the Toronto Argonauts, where Glenn injured his arm trying to recover a botched hand-off to Charles Roberts. Glenn was 12 of 20 for 119 yards with 2 interceptions.

The next time these teams face is on July 4th, in Montreal. The Alouettes must be hoping that in their next game, the Bombers do not have yet another game winning field goal with only seconds left.

- Chris Allen

Sources: www.cfl.ca    

www.bluebombers.com

Get your season tickets, grab your beers, and hold on to your hats crazy Riders fans because the 2008 CFL Season is about to get interesting.

Already, many have made their picks on the outcome of the coming CFL season as has BR CFL Columnist TJ Zwarych in his 2008 CFL breakdown.

As expected, pre-season action has been lackluster but only to provide coaches and upper management with the views they want of their prospective teams coming into this season.

In Montreal, Alouettes GM Jim Popp announced a coaching change last December bringing in Marc Trestman as head coach.  Trestman's resume is impressive, including many stops in the NFL as offensive/quarterback coach with the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, San Fransisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins from 1985-2004.

The hiring of Trestman is in the hopes that the Alouettes can rise to the top of the East Division after a sudden drop from their perennial first place finishes, which included a 2002 Grey Cup victory.

In Toronto, with the departure of former head coach Michael "Pinball" Clemons, Rich Stubler steps into the role of Argos coach.  Stubler inherits an offensively potent team that just got a little more potent with the arrival of 2007 CFL Player of the Year QB Kerry Joseph from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Along with QB Michael Bishop, the Argos are poised to be one of the top teams in the East.

After the release of K Troy Westwood, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers seem to have solved their kicker situation after signing K Duncan O'Mahony.  Along with rookies Alexis Serna and Brian Monroe, the Bombers have a healthy group of talented kickers vying for the top job as CFL BR Reporter Chris Allen explains the Bombers kicking situation.

In BC, after the departure of QB Dave Dickenson to Calgary, Wally Buono's Lions are set in the QB position with both Jarius Jackson and Buck Pierce vying for top spot.  With great wide receivers such as Geroy Simon, the Lions are a potent threat in any situation.

After an impressive finish with a Grey Cup victory last season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are feeling the pangs of the salary cap, having lost star QB Kerry Joseph and having to rebuild only a year after winning it all.  Most of their defensive line still remains intact, yet the Riders are predicted to fall in the standings this coming season.  TJ Zwarych has more on the Riders upcoming season.

In Hamilton, there is not much hope from many that the Tigercats will do much more than they have for the last few seasons, even with QB Casey Printers at the helm.  Hopefully, head coach Charlie Taaffe will be able to rebuild the Tigercats back into perennial competitors.

Finally, in Alberta, both the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos are in the middle of the pack.  In Edmonton, head coach Danny Maciocia hopes to repeat with Ricky Ray at the helm of their 2005 Grey Cup championship.  Along with WR Keith Stokes now in the Eskies lineup, the Esks are looking to make some noise in the West.

In Calgary, there are always rumblings that the Stampeders are due for a breakout season.  Without a Grey Cup championship since 2001 (third longest drought besides Hamilton [1999] and Winnipeg [1990]), the Stampeders with QB Henry Burris are looking for answers are more than a few mediocre seasons.  With outstanding wide receivers such as Jermaine Copeland and Ryan Thelwell, the Stamps are poised to take a run at first spot in the West.

For the CFL This Week, I'm Matt Eichel.

Sources:

www.cfl.ca

www.tsn.ca/cfl

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have announced their signing of veteran punter Duncan O'Mahony today.

O'Mahony, native Canadian, comes from the University of British Columbia.

The rookie Grey Cup winner has played with the B.C. Lions, Calgary Stampeders, and the Edmonton Eskimos. This, however, is not the first time that O'Mahony has been acquired by the Bombers.

On May 21, 2006, O'Mahony failed to show up for the Blue Bombers training camp.

His family released a statement, saying they were worried about his welfare.

O'Mahony was found the next day. He had planned to meet up with a friend for dinner at the Calgary airport. O'Mahony never showed, and missed his flight to Winnipeg as well. His bags were taken off the flight.

The Bombers General Manager, Brendan Taman, had stated that Duncan would not play for the Bombers "due to the nature of the situation."

"His career right now is secondary to… the fact that he obviously needs some help or some guidance," Taman said.

O'Mahony seemed worried about leaving his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia. It seems that Taman must have been worried about his state of health.

O'Mahony was born in Kilkenny, Ireland; so it must be the luck of the Irish that he got another chance with the Blue Bombers.

Let's hope he can find his way to practice tomorrow.

I usually like to start my article with big introductions, but I really can't think of how this one could start with one.  Here is how I think the standings in the 2008 regular season and playoffs will go down.

Western Conference:

1st Place: Calgary Stampeders: 13-5

Losses: BCx2, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg

The Combination of Dickenson and Burris works well. It pushes Burris to do better without having to worry about losing many games because he knows he has Dickenson behind him.  Dickenson, being the season veteran, coaches while calming down Burris so he can lead them to first place in the league.

2nd Place: BC Lions: 10-8

Losses: Calgaryx2, Winnepegx2, Edmonton, Torontox2, Saskatchewan

Buck Pierce is going to stay healthy this year and have a fantastic season. Unfortunately Joe Smith will get injured for 7 games and they will fall short of Calgary.

3rd Place: Edmonton Eskimos: 9-9

Losses: Calgaryx3, BCx3, Saskatchewanx2, Toronto

Ricky Ray will have a full season until the last 3 games. He will suffer a broken right hand. Except for this time, Jason Maas will be backing him up. In the last 3 games Maas will go 3-0 to lead them to the playoffs.

Eastern Conference:

1st: Toronto Argonauts: 13-5

Losses: Calgaryx2, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg

The one-two punch of their to fast cannon arm quarterbacks in Joseph and Bishop works phenomenal. They lead them to first place in the east both playing one half every game.

2nd: Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 9-9

Torontox3, Edmontonx2, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Montreal, Hamilton

Kevin Glenn has another great year, not quite as good as the last but great none the less.  Charles Roberts legs start to run out as he starts to have injury problems but they still receive home field advantage.

3rd: Saskatchewan RoughRiders: 8-10

Losses: Calgaryx3, BCx2, Edmontonx2, Toronto, Winnipeg, Hamilton

Marcus Crandell goes 1-3 in his first four games and they switch quarterbacks to Darian Durant. Durant has a very good season and takes the RoughRiders to the playoffs in a cross-over with a 7-7 record.

West Playoffs:

Edmonton beats BC 27-21

Calgary beats Edmonton 19-14

East Playoffs:

Saskatchewan beats Winnipeg 30-24

Toronto beats Saskatchewan 31-17

Grey Cup:

Toronto beats Calgary 22-17

Mike Vanderjagt Grey Cup MVP (5-5)

So there you have it. That is my prediction for the 2008 CFL regular season and playoffs.

In the CFL, you will find passionate, die-hard fans who will do anything to cheer on their favourite team.

The craziest of them all, without a question, are those who love the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Riders fans, proudly supporting their only professional team, aren't afraid to do anything.

They travel from coast to coast. From BC to Montreal, look into the stands and you will always find a sea of green.

The Roughriders were the 2007 Grey Cup Champions, ending a drought of 18 years. The fans took over the city of Toronto, even holding their own parade. It's been said that the game would not have been sold out if Saskatchewan was not in the finals.

There is something about the team that just draws you in. if you're not even a football fan, being at a Roughrider game is more intense than an NHL game.

The enormous fan base extends from out of Saskatchewan. There are even people in Alberta, who have a choice of Edmonton or Calgary, but prefer the Riders.

The proof was shown last year with record merchandise sales. The Roughrider organization sold more than all other CFL teams combined and tripled.

This year, they have already set new recording, and the season hasn't even begun. The capacity at Mosaic Stadium (formerly Taylor Field) is 28,800. At this point, the season ticket sales stands at approximately 22,000!

That is not the only record shattered. Tickets for the Labour Day Classic, between Saskatchewan and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, sold out in less than an hour, with only about 200 tickets for Blue Bomber fans.

They may add extra bleachers to fit 2000 more fans for that game, but don't be surprised if the Rider fans grab those up.

This looks to be one heck of a season, with pre-season games starting June 13. Can the Saskatchewan Roughriders repeat as Grey Cup champs? The fans sure seem to think so.