Last weekend was a perfect 4-0 weekend for my predictions. I really hoped that I would be wrong about the Eskimo- Stampeder Labour Day game, but that would have been a big reach. So onward and upward to this weekend’s games.
First up to bat is tonight’s rematch between Calgary and Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium. There is little danger of a sellout in Edmonton for this game, and even less danger of an Eskimo win. So the fan apathy trend made famous by last weekend’s embarrassing non-sellout in Calgary will continue in Edmonton.
At least Edmonton fans have a reason to ignore the team these days, but Calgary is a horse of a different color. Calgary sports fans need to remember that their city has two major pro sports franchises and one of them is actually a winner. And both Alberta CFL teams should be a little nicer to ’Rider fans/customers if they want to actually sell out their parks.
Anyhow, Calgary will continue to humiliate the Eskimos this weekend. The Esks need to bring in the Red Cross for this disaster. The Eskimos are one of the biggest surprises of the season-and not one of those pleasant birthday party kind of surprises. More like a bad medical test kind of surprise.
The biggest game of the weekend is the Montreal at Hamilton game. The Cats are hungry and it may be Alouette on the menu. Als coach Marc Trestman is a smart coach and he will not put franchise quarterback Anthony Calvillo in harm’s way. Saturday’s early game will likely feature Adrian McPherson as Montreal’s quarterback. Hamilton is finally playing good football. They will be too much for Montreal to handle on both sides of the ball this weekend.
The B.C. Lions have an opportunity to win one in their new temporary Meccano set stadium. Their Empire Field home has not been kind to the Leos this year. They play the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday afternoon and hope to change that winless at home situation. It won’t happen against the Argos.
The Argonauts are a pretty good team this year and that will be enough to beat the Lions in Vancouver. The Argos have made many mistakes in their losses, so even a small drop in turnovers and dropped balls will make a big difference.
Toronto quarterback Cleo Lemon has to either cut down on bad decisions to throw into multiple cover schemes or take a seat on the bench. Even a West Coast game start that won’t end after midnight EDT helps the Argos as an eastern based team.
The Banjo Bowl on Sunday marks the back nine of the Bomber-Rider clash this year. Winnipeg will try to win one for Buck Pierce as the unlucky Bomber quarterback falls to yet another injury. Pierce’s misfortune is a golden opportunity for Stephen Jyles to establish himself as the number one quarterback in Winnipeg.
Sorry fellow ’Rider fans, I see a Bomber victory in this game. Jyles is a mobile quarterback with a fairly accurate arm, and he has a lot to prove against his old team. Jyles was derailed as a potential starter last year in Saskatchewan by the emergence of Darian Durant. Personally I never thought that Jyles was given enough of an audition for the number one job. Bombers win at home with Jyles.
More of Jim Sutherland at mystarcollectorcar.com