Week 13 kicks off where it left off for Winnipeg and Edmonton with a Friday night rematch in the ‘Peg. The two teams are tied for worst place in the CFL and this game will determine which team is embarrassingly bad in 2013.
That honour will go to the Blue Bombers because this 2013 Bomber team desperately needs its plug pulled in what could be called a football team mercy killing. Nobody expected too much from the Bombers in 2013, but another victory by them would have to be investigated by the Vatican as worthy of miracle status.
The Eskimos have their mojo working a little bit after last weekend’s victory over the Bombers and should easily win in Winnipeg. Sure it constitutes little more than a moral victory for the Eskies, but Edmonton will edge closer to mediocrity with the win and that is an improvement for this sad sack team.
Times have gotten tough for the Eskimos since the glorious pre-salary cap days when they simply wrote bigger cheques than the rest of the teams while the Eskies held onto their and other teams’ stars. That was the real “Eskimo Way” and it tilted the playing field in their favor for decades.
Moncton hosts another CFL game on Saturday when the Alouettes and Tiger-Cats visit the Maritimes in a tough sell for a city much smaller than Red Deer. The idea of a permanent CFL franchise in Moncton is a joke and I question whether a CFL team would even survive in Halifax. Think Quebec City in the next expansion and think Ticat victory in this game.
The ‘Cats blew a game in Calgary, largely because their field goal kicker Luka Congi missed everything but the flight home to Ontario. Football is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of job and Congi has not done much lately, but ‘Cat field goals will not matter in this game because Hamilton quarterback Henry Burris will light up Montreal in Moncton.
Calgary hosts Toronto in the Missing Fans Bowl late Saturday afternoon. Last Friday was a beautiful balmy night in Calgary with a very good Stamp team hosting the ‘Cats in a half-full McMahon Stadium. It looks as though even the fair-weather fans have jumped ship in Calgary, both in a literal and figurative sense. I can only assume the Flames had a skate-sharpening seminar before a packed house in Calgary last Friday night.
Calgary sports fans are a complete embarrassment when they fail to sell out a measly nine home games for a home team with many decades of sports history in the city. The Calgary fans hate Rider fans, but at least they help the Stamps get their only sellouts of the season. For shame Calgary, for shame; you have an incredible team that doesn’t need a map to the playoffs and you don’t care. The Stamps will win another one in front of close friends and family against the Argonauts on Saturday.
Last but certainly not least is the first clash of the 2013 season between the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina. The Lions have lost quarterback Travis Lulay for the foreseeable future and will rely upon backup Thomas DeMarco and possibly even Buck Pierce to win the game.
The Lions recently welcomed back ex-NFL defensive end Chris Wilson to the pride and he will be a factor in the game. BC has turned up the heat on defence and I expect beleaguered Rider quarterback Darian Durant to dial down his game even more against the Lions. Durant is a journeyman quarterback wrapped in an inexplicable superstar designation by many unrealistic Rider fans and delusional media hype.
Much blame has been thrown at Rider coaches, receivers and O-line for Durant’s swan dive over the years and little blame has been tossed Durant’s way. He is a streaky, inconsistent quarterback who will never completely understand the position. Look for a Lion victory on Sunday afternoon.