I'm new to the CFL (and sports in general), but I've been looking at the teams and I decided to rank them by my preference. If anyone else has also done so, I'd like to see how you ranked them and maybe know your reasoning.

1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2. Toronto Argonauts
3. BC Lions
4. Montreal Alouettes
5. Ottawa Redblacks
6. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
7. Edmonton Elks
8. Saskatchewan Roughriders
9. Calgary Stampeders

https://x.com/DhaliwalSports/status/1857134812597022953

Looks like some big changes coming to BC.

Rumor also has Rick Campbell coming back to Edmonton.

Made the stupid mistake of planning a trip to Buffalo this weekend without confirming it was GC weekend, and of course the Argos make it...

Rogers Ignite doesn't work in the US, does anyone have any reliable ways of streaming in the US on mobile?

I believe yesterday was the first day of the team parties. Has anyone been to any of them yet? I would think Wednesday and Thursday are warm up days for the main event being Friday and Saturday.

Has anyone been and have any comments on which are good, lame or perfect in every way?

So I’m interested in attending the Grey Cup in Vancouver this weekend (live in the area) but since I’m under-employed I would like to see it for less. The tickets aren’t sold out. Anyone know when the best time to buy is? Right before the game starts? Scalpers? Stub hub? Any tips are appreciated - thanks!

Hello Northern brothers. I want to get into CFL becuase I want more football and my cowboys are not doing so hot rn.i have decided that the elks are my team because i really dig the colors.What is the best way to watch CFL games in the U.S, and if there is any other things I should know about the wonderful world of Canadian football.

The Montreal Alouettes had a great start to the season. After losing players like Tyler Snead, Cody Fajardo and the beginning of the season, each were on the 6 game injured reserve. Montreal also lost Stubblefield after the first game of the season, being out for the remainder of the season, put a lot of pressure on Rookie Bryce Cosby. Injuries kept mounting even when all star receiver Austin Mack, who was caught on the last day by the NFL Atlanta Falcons, also missed six games. Players never got into their rhythm. Fans did see the emergence of Davis Alexander who went undefeated when replacing Cody Fajardo for 5 games.

It’s a tough loss, but management have to get together and see the needs that will help Montreal bring back the cup.

Time will tell on who will stay and who will go for the Als, but also who will come in to improve the team’s weaknesses. Danny Macioccia and his coaching staff will look at their needs during the offseason. Let’s just sit back and enjoy an entertaining Grey Cup.

The Montreal Alouettes had a great start to the season. After losing players like Tyler Snead, Cody Fajardo and the beginning of the season, each were on the 6 game injured reserve. Montreal also lost Stubblefield after the first game of the season, being out for the remainder of the season, put a lot of pressure on Rookie Bryce Cosby. Injuries kept mounting even when all star receiver Austin Mack, who was caught on the last day by the NFL Atlanta Falcons, also missed six games. Players never got into their rhythm. Fans did see the emergence of Davis Alexander who went undefeated when replacing Cody Fajardo for 5 games.

It’s a tough loss, but management have to get together and see the needs that will help Montreal bring back the cup.

Time will tell on who will stay and who will go for the Als, but also who will come in to improve the team’s weaknesses. Danny Macioccia and his coaching staff will look at their needs during the offseason. Let’s just sit back and enjoy an entertaining Grey Cup.

I’ll be back writing blogs for the Alouettes next season, and as always I like to have your comments on games.

It was a pleasure writing to the CFL fans and Alouettes fans this season. I will continue blogging once free agency begins in January 2025.

Hey everyone! I’m looking for a sports bar in the South Florida area (Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale) that will be showing the CFL Grey Cup this weekend. If anyone knows of any bars that show Canadian sports or are planning to show the Grey Cup, please drop a suggestion! Thanks in advance!

Hi all, my flight to Vancouver is tomorrow! I'm a game watcher that loves to listen to the radio while at the game - catch commentary on the stats, milestones, what the replay showed, etc.

TSN has radio rights, but with all the TSN cuts over the last 3 years, no station left in Vancouver. Any chance that either TSN or one of the team's radio networks would have a broadcast that can be picked up inside BC Place? If so, what station would I be best to tune into?

Hi internet friends - I'm hosting my first Grey Cup party and would love to get some ideas for fun prop bets in addition to the typical ones about scoring, anthem length, Gatorade colour, etc. Pretty much only two guests at the party actually watch CFL football so I'm looking for fun ways to get everyone interested. Some ideas I had:

1. Will ***** (me) know the correct lyrics to at least one line of the half time show? (typically I only know music from the 90s)
2. Will Taylor Swift's boyfriend's roommate throw for two or more touchdowns?
3. Will *****'s parents be shown on the broadcast in the stands?
4. Will there be a rouge?

Would love any suggestions!

Also, I plan on making two pinatas - one Argo, one Bombers... Every time a team gets scored on, one guest gets to smack the pinata of the team that got scored on ... Any ideas for cheap adult inclusions for the pinata? So far I was thinking Halloween candies, edibles, lottery tickets but very open to suggestions!

I also plan to have a big sign with a brief overview of CFL rules vs. NFL rules and of course lots of food and drinks... But any other suggestions that would make the party wonderful?

I would love to see the Grey Cup go to the same province as the Vanier Cup each year, and even happen either the same weekend, or within a week. Maybe even give admission to the Vanier with the purchase of a Grey Cup ticket.

Seems like it would be an easy way to get people out to the Vanier who might otherwise never go, increasing stadium revenue, and eyes on the USports product.

You can't do it in the same city, as many USports locations don't have CFL teams. But the same province could be close enough.

I’m a bomber fan been one since I’ve been since I was 16 in 2010 just wondering other then our stadium which ours is the best one to go to if ever the chance I go see them on the road?

I know some of us follow USports so just curious what everyone thinks of the games this week.

I think the Rams defence will keep the score relatively low but Laval is just a much better team. 28-7 Laval.

I expect Laurier to dominate Bishops and rest key starters for the final 3 quarters. 35-0 at half time.

NOW! NEW AND IMPROVED WITH ACTUAL OBSERVATIONS! (Sorry for the screw up on the first attempt.)

1.      The Alouettes turned the ball over six times, throwing two interceptions and losing 4 fumbles. Only the interception by Franklin in the end zone on a two point convert attempt was due to exceptional defensive play. The pick six happened after Fletcher bobbled the ball directly into Franklins hands. While it was a great reaction by Franklin to hold onto the ball on a bang-bang play, the interception happened because of Fletcher’s error.

2.      One of the first thing we teach young players is four points of contact when carrying the ball. One tip of the ball pressed into the crook of the elbow, your hand covering the other tip and the ball pressed firmly against the forearm and the bicep. On Fletcher’s fumble he only had two points, the hand and crook of the elbow. Admittedly he might have thought he was about to break open for a long run but holding the ball loosely in one arm on contact is an unforgiveable error for a running back.

3.      Jason Maas found a flaw in the Argos normally stout run defence. Fletcher and Sean Thomas Erlington combined for 107 yards on 9 carries. I can’t remember the last time a Toronto defence allowed the opposition to average almost 12 yards per carry.

4.      I enjoy little things that tell me a player is a top of his game. At one point the Als were blitzing. Sankey saw Carey leak out of the backfield, broke off his blitz and got to Carey just as the ball did for a 4 yard lose.

5.      Either the Toronto D-linemen were timing their rush with unbelievable precision or the linesmen missed more than one offside against them.

6.      The Chad’s injury was strange. He did not seem to notice it until he stood up and took a step. The leg buckled in a spot it should not. He sat down and someone, possibly him, could be heard saying it’s broken. Through it all he was not showing any visible signs of pain.

7.      Polk may have hurt his right hip after going airborne on a tackle in the first half. He looked to be favoring it a few times after that. Hopefully it is nothing that will limit him next week. The Agros will need him playing well.

8.      I find it ironic that a potential MODP, Beverette, made the error that allowed Toronto to run out the clock. He played well and did not cost the Als the game. He did take away their last chance to salvage it.

9.      Dinwiddie is a coach who is good on details. When the clock is running with between 20 and 30 seconds left in the game and the winning team is on third down, teams generally go with three options. Punt, have the quarterback throw it deep and hope the clock runs out before it lands, or put someone quick behind centre and have them run around after the snap. Coach D added a fourth option. He had Arbuckle, in shotgun, take the snap, turn around and throw the ball to Daniels who was another 20 yards behind him. Nice.

1.      In general, both Riders and Bomber fans seemed more hopeful then confident going into this game. I expect the collective sphincter’s clenched even a little tighter after knowing the winner would be facing a back up QB in the Cup.

2.      On Lawler’s first TD, Reavis let him cross his face without pursuit when the DB in the outside zone was already occupied. With Lawler at top speed, Reavis had no chance of catching him before the end zone.

3.      Alford was within a hair’s breadth of breaking two long returns and could, possibly, have had two return touchdowns. On the first one, a shoestring tackle took him down with nothing but a lot of grass ahead of him. The second time, it was only Tyrell Ford’s speed that prevented Alford from getting the corner and turning up field.

4.      Special teams were the one bright for the Riders. They got great punt block in the second quarter from 23-year-old D-Tackle Caleb Sanders, an impromptu fake punt when Korsak took advantage of a breakdown in the Winnipeg punt coverage to run for a first down and a very good fumble recovery by Agent Zero when Whitehead muffed a punt.

5.      After last week’s great job by the officials and the command centre last week, they slid back a bit this week. Shaffer-Baker made a fantastic catch in the middle of the field. The tip of the ball touched the ground when he landed but the ball did not move at all in his hands. As I understand it, by rule, that is a catch. It was ruled incomplete and when Mace attempted to challenge, he was told the Command Centre had already looked at it and confirmed the call. Not impressive. Especially in a playoff game. Never mind and apologies to the CC. TheCatMak set me straight.

6.      Willy J has evolved his game from a being sack risk into being a giant pass destroying wall at the Line Of Scrimmage.

7.      The Riders were trying to pass against Holm all game and he played lights out defence. Whatever the Riders saw that made them think they could exploit him, they were wrong.

8.      The Bombers seem to have a simple signal for their hands team on returns. Waving their hands in a sort of elevated jazz hands.

1.      Being a television dependent CFL fan has become a lot more fun over the years. Unlike in my distant youth, all games are now televised and the advent of the PVR means you don’t even have to hold on till quarter time for bathroom breaks. Great time to be CFL fan.

2.      I don’t know why it occurred to me this weekend, but punters don’t get nearly enough credit for consistently kicking ball between the hashmarks and sidelines. It is not easy and yet rarely do we see any of the CFL punters land a ball inside, between the hashmarks or fade it out of bounds.

3.      I am feeling a little cheated. Not because any team lost or won on the weekend. And not because the Command Centre screwed things up, although, they did muff one call badly. No. I can’t shake the cheated feeling because, after a thrilling, unpredictable season where almost anything that could happen, did, we went into what promised to be a fantastic post season. While the Division Semi-Finals showed that the gap between the 2^(nd) and 3^(rd) place teams was still pronounced, the Finals left us with 4 teams that all looked perfectly capable of winning the Cup. With that in mind, I was looking forward to two great weekends of football. What we got this week were two duds of games and the promise of a subpar Grey Cup match up. I am pining for what might have been.

4.      The Chad’s injury is leading to some interesting conversations. A few, and thankfully, very few fans are saying good, it couldn’t happen to more deserving person, but I believe that most fans genuinely do not want to see an injury, especially one this severe, happen to any player. Still others are seeing the injury as redemption for him. He has come back, played well and now this injury must expunge his past sins. That part is hard for me to shallow. During the national anthem he was bouncing around and appeared to be joking with a teammate. Not a lot of respect for the country he is playing He just doesn’t seem to have any emotion self-awareness. It’s a pity that he never had a coach like Marc Trestman earlier in his career. From the stories I have heard, Coach Trestman started by teaching players that what they can do on the field is only a small part of how they impact the team and their own reputations. Until the Chad learns that nothing is going to redeem him.

5.      Dinwiddie is the perfect coach for a team going into the Grey Cup with a back up quarterback. In 2007 Winnipeg had Kevin Glenn injured at the very end of the East Division Final. Dinwiddie was the back up who had to step up and perform in the Grey up. At least he should have a good grasp of how whoever starts will be feeling.

Thanks for checking this out. If you’ve enjoyed this, please check out my show, The CFL Outsider on You Tube or your favorite pod catcher.

Just thinking of how much fun it was when the CFL train came through my city. My partner and I still talk about it a lot.

Maybe I’ll write the league and see if the new commissioner wants to run it again. Like obviously not every year but every 5 years or so would be fun.

Saskatchewan Roughriders double their roster and play a 36 game season.

This would mean a Riders' homegame every week and a Riders' roadgame every week. They would never play an intrasquad game, but us CFL brainiacs would get 5 games every weekend!

Double the Banjo Bowls, double the watermelon hats. Double the distant acquaintances from remote towns recognizing eachother far from home.

We'd still have 9 teams in the standings, so SK could make the playoffs every year (even at 16-22!) , but they'd have to pare down to a postseason roster and probably lose anyway!