Well here we are happy marcast Monday back regularly scheduled, you know CFL weekend
recap, but I thought we would do something fun today obviously, you know
games for the week nd of Little Love meaning last unless you're a drown the
Argonauts fan going for history here. So we decided to kind of put together
a special panaday. Let me bring into normal normal folks here. First off,
Jason Evan, how are we doing doing good? Read? You're ready
to talk some playoff football? Yeah, talking playoff football. We'll talk games
of the weekend. Bob Dice being renewed here. I saw Tim Ban just
post out, and then I decided, here let's get Ryan. I think
Cliffe is still getting set up. We got Ryan Mallentine here. Last I
spoke with this gentleman. We were sharing a beer together under the Brooklyn Bridge
in New York, New York and Vegas. Bryan, how are you doing
good man? Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. A good night
that night and a great night, a great time in the CFL right now,
Yeah, it'll be good. I figured I wanted to get a special
guest, and then we have both Cliffe and Ryan get back to me back
and forth Cliffe here as well. We can talk both you know, East
and West CFL playoffs. Cliffe. How are you doing, sir? Doing
good? So we're good. So we're here today, I guess first breaking
news off the bat. We've talked for weeks here about Bob Dice and kind
of his future. Jason, are you surprised him being renewed to the Ottaway
here at tim Banane and I saw aj Jackie back posting it as well.
Yeah, I'm not completely shocked because of the you know, obviously the CFL
operations cap just generally how teams do it these days. They don't want to
deal with the subsequent penalties for having years left on the contract. So not
shocked at all, even though that wouldn't be the decision I would have made
adding that question for you. Uh, yeah, I'm not too surprised either.
I think you know Dice. I mean, obviously, look, game
management this year was a bit of a problem. But you know, again,
like I remember when Farhan came on your show and you know, he
talked about Ottawa and he was kind of saying like, well, you know,
if you do make changes, like who is going to replace you know,
the person that is leaving, you know, are prepared to make that
jump, and ultimately they decided that, you know, it's not going to
be much changed. So yeah, ultimately, I think, you know,
another year with Dice, Like, given his you know, just the level
of experience that he has in the CFL, I do think, you know,
he's deserving of another shot. It might be surprising to some, but
yeah, ultimately, like Jason said, with the operations cap and just you
know everything else, I mean, it was a trying season for Ottawa's It's
been for the past, I guess a couple of years, so you know,
onto the next one. Yeah, Ryan, do you view that?
And then outaway? To me kind of feels like a wasted year here.
We had the Missoli experiment last year and obviously we on there with that with
Marino and everything, and then this year running back and like it feels like
they're very staggingant right now. Yeah, I think Ottawa is in a bit
of a holding pattern admittedly, but I also think it's it's stort sighted to
fire a coach after one season. You know, Bob Dice has had one
year. Let's let's give him, you know, let's get him into a
second camp. Get him into a second year, let him find a rhythm
a little bit. If he's still not doing getting the job done for the
team next year, then maybe you look at replacing him. But I think
firing a coach after one season is always something that feels good for fans,
But I don't know that it's great for the continuity of the of the team.
Obviously, Cliviy, you know better for the Allettes here having a weaker
autaway team. But what do you make that. I know you guys obviously,
you know have eyes on everything, but obviously the East a lot well.
I'm also surprised to the fact that they had Kahari Jones and Baron Miles,
who were both former Alouett's coaches, go to Ottawa to try and revitalize
things there and help out Bob Dice, and it didn't work, unfortunately.
And that's unfortunate to say, because they're both excellent coaches, they're both excellent
coordinators. But I mean sometimes it's just not the right fit or for whatever
reason, they just can't keep the room. And I have a feeling besides
the injuries, I think that was a lot of the problem was I don't
know if Kahari was truly able to implement his plan. I mean it worked
with his coaching style works definitely, like you saw what happened with fern Adams,
but for some reason, with Jeremia and Massoli, Dustin Frum and everybody
else that played quarterback for the Red Blacks, it just didn't seem to be
the right fit. So speaking of Ottawa and everything, and obviously, like
I said, we'll kind of get through this real quick, that Toronto historic
kind of victory here going up over Ottawa. Jason, what did you make
of that here at home Ottawa closing out the season and everything else, but
kind of the accolades that went along with the Argonauts. Yeah, well,
like you, I didn't have the chance to watch a lot of these games
this weekend. But at the end of the day, I congratulation to the
Argonauts for obviously pulling off the regular season record. But I mean, at
the end of the day, it doesn't matter unless they ultimately win the Great
Cup. But I feel like that's the thing that you know, I'm going
to take a look at it today in a video I'm going to be doing
later on where I'm compared to the regular season Junkernauts and if they ultimately ended
up winning the Great Cup. The last thirty years, and you know a
lot of these teams that historically have had great records in the CFL in the
regular season. You think back to those Calgary teams. You know, Ryan
will test to that last ten years or so, they've had a lot of
you know, disappointing losses in the Great Cup or before the Great Cup.
So ultimately it does not matter the regular season record if Toronto doesn't finish the
deal here. Yeah, Ran, We've had a lot of talk on here
and I just you know, the game management the Toronto and here the duke's
getting the start again. We didn't see a lot of Brian Scott see more
of him kind of down the pike here. What have you made of how
Toronto's kind of game man as we did with him? Well, I think
they're trying to keep their players healthy and at the same time trying to keep
players fresh, and it becomes difficult when you look at these CFL seasons and
having to keep guys from I mean, they've been clinched for what six games
or something. You know, it's not like they've they've had any kind of
worry or time or stress in this last little bit. But they also need
to keep their guys on the field. I mean, you know, I
understand Chad Kelly didn't play against against Ottawa this weekend, But now when you
look at it, when was the last time Chad Kelly fired a pass that
mattered. By the time he gets to the East Final, it'll been a
calendar month. And are you able to stay fresh? Are you able to
stay ready to go? If that's the way you're going. And that's why
I think you see a lot of those teams that have these great regular season
records and the fall in the playoffs because there is no intention to their game
late. So I do think they were chasing the record and that gave them
something to go for. But at the same time, I don't know that
they really cared if they went or lost these games down the stretch from a
consequence standpoint. So well, it'll be interesting to see if they can they
can manage that and flip that switch in the East Final. I've heard that
and I know and they've had it. We want to go one and know
every week, Evan, do you have any updated thoughts here? I mean,
now that we've gone through this whole experiment, and everyone that's been on
the shows every week, you know, it's kind of gone back and forth
about what the right way. But now that we've we've made it here in
Toronto's off next weekend and they're going to be facing either Montreal or Hamilton.
Like, how have you graded how they've handled this? I mean, I
think, you know, again, it's a tough spot, right because you
know, you clinch for the playoffs so early, you get that spot,
you lock up the East whatever. But you know if you sit chat like
you can't sit Chad Kelly for a month, you know and just not play
him, and then he sits there going into the playoffs and you know he
hasn't played in the month, like that's impossible. So we've definitely seen I
think maybe a bit more of him. Like I know last week in that
Saskatchewan game, it took a long time for Dinwiddie to take him out really
until he started hobbling, you know, and then had to come off and
then didn't. Whitty said, okay, we'll put Dukes in, and then
obviously Duke's played this game in Ottawa. But yeah, I mean, you
know, right, Now I just I don't know. I don't see Toronto.
I mean I understand, you know, they haven't really the past couple
of games, like it feels like they haven't played a meaningful game in a
while, But I still don't really see him, you know, given given
anything up, like the only team that has a chance. Like I know
Mike Mike Mitchell, who you know, covers the argos, and we were
talking about that. He said, like, maybe Hamilton has a shot just
because you know, obviously their offense has been reworked under Scott Mollenovitch and that
you you've seen the increase there in their production since he came in and took
over for Tommy Condell. That team looks a lot more complete now. So
there's a possibility, right that, There's always that chance, And I mean,
you know that'll be an interesting game, I think nonetheless. But boy,
if Toronto goes down, you know, after a sixteen win season,
you know, I will be very surprised. So yeah, Clivey, what
do you make of this? We had Darrel Davis on last week. I
mean he's calling for the ty Cats upset for Montreal and that that would make
Jason happy. I obviously I like the you know, the outlets, not
just because I like you guys, but what do you make in here of
the East? Because to me, and we'll get to Ryan and Sam Peter
scaring me with BC, I mean I'm very terrified for that game. But
what do you make of this in the East, because I think this is
pretty interesting matchup. Well, I mean Montreal is arguably the hottest team in
the East right now, but Hamilton is no slouch either. I mean they,
as you said, they are built to compete and built to win as
it is Montreal. From what I saw this past Saturday at Molson Stadium,
I mean, yes, obviously there is I think both sides were taking it
kind of light because the game meant nothing in the standings. I have a
feeling Matthew Schiltzo is going to be the big factory. He didn't play at
all with his past Saraday and I'm wondering if they're keeping him and Tim White
for the Eastern semi final because I from what I saw from Bolivi, he
just did not look like the Bolivi we've all gotten to know over the years.
But to me, I think Montreal has what it takes to win.
I think Cody Fajardo, Jason Loss. Their plan is working. It's it's
not perfect by any stretch, but I think what they've been able to accomplish
this year is nothing short of incredible. And truthfully, if Hamilton wins,
it's only going to feel the narrative that because Jagarrett David is playing for them,
and he's been in every Great Cup game winner lose his entire career,
and as of now, he still is very much a member of the Hamilton
Tiger Cats. So if Hamilton makes to the Great Cup, it's because they've
got Jagarrett Davis in their lineup. Uh, see what do we making here?
Bo's back? You know we had all these question marks here and everything.
He's back now and obviously this game isn't like a true test. Okay,
what do we have going on? But now that we're finally here,
going in the next week, and what are you make? Well, I'll
piggyback of what Cliff. What Cliff said, I think that it has to
be Matthew Schiltz behind center for the majority of the game if they're gonna want
to win. I think that I really don't like the matchup of bow Lee
by Mitchell against that Alouette's defense, I think Daalaht's have an outstanding defense.
And I think that you know, the Tiger Cats against with bow Lee by
Mitchell or Taylor Powell, they just didn't look very good. Obviously a meaningless
game. They didn't have Tim White, they didn't have James Butler. But
I think in general, the previous matches we saw this season, we saw
Mitchell. Actually Mitchell didn't play any of the games other than this this past
week against the Alouettes. But the previous couple matchups, the the Alouettes won
while visiting Tim Morrinsfield and pretty convincing fashion. So I don't really like the
tier cats chances of going in here and getting a win unless Matthew Schiltz is
behind center. Right. What have you made of the Hamilton's season? You're
very odd and you know, we're getting bow back and we got the quarterback
that kind of got us to the dance and balancing all that. What have
you made of how the Ti Kats have handled this? Well? The Ti
Cats didn't really come out of the gate in the way we were all expecting.
We thought that the tig Cats would be a good team. They loaded
up in free agency, but then some injury troubles got in the way and
they struggled and really had trouble at the quarterback position. But coming down the
stretch, if you look at their recent record, I know they lost to
BC and I think they fell to Hamilton Montreal this past weekend, but again
in a game where you're really not showing anything outside of those two losses.
You know, they lost to Toronto in the back to backs, but they've
won a lot of games in the back half of the season, so it
wouldn't surprise me to see them pull the upset here over Montreal. I think,
for me, a lot of that has to do with Jason Moss and
Cody Fajardo's history of not necessarily performing when the lights are the brightest, whether
it be Mass's a head coach or Fijardo as a quarterback. You know,
you think back to the the donk off the off the upright a few years
ago, that that would have sent Saskatchewan into a Great Cup, but instead
Winnipeg. Winnipeg gets the victory there because Fijardo hit the upright. So there,
there's there's just it's more of a historical context that make me concerned for
Montreal. But I think you've either got Jaguarrett Davis making his way towards another
another great Cup, or where you've got the resurgence Sean Lemon leading leading the
way on defense for Montreal. So I mean, I think this will be
probably the more entertaining of the two games this weekend, but I think I
think it really could go either way. I think for me, this one's
a coin flip. That's so funny that the upright thing, because I think
that was a year like that was twenty nineteen, right, that was before
you know, obviously then we got into everything in the XFL and all that,
and then but then yeah, that was like the Cody Legs totally kind
of based on that. I the Montreal is just a weird team, you
know. To me, we've talked a lot on here in Jason's point out,
you know, they can beat anyone that's not Toronto and BC, you
know, and it's it feels to me like like the Chargers last night,
Like hey we beat the Chicago Bears. It's like okay, like that's that's
awesome. Like you were able to put up Evan. Now that we're at
this point, you know, with Montreal. I know that my boy James
Letcher had another big kick return here at you know, friend of the show,
bounce here coming in for the weekend. What do you what do you
make of this year not going in? I mean, yeah, you know,
I think I've been saying it for a long time. I think Hamilton
has what it takes, just with the way that they've been playing, you
know, on the back half of this season to beat Montreal, and I
think it won't be too difficult for them, you know, now that being
said. A big question for Hamilton that's already been talked about a bit here
is you know, the quarterback situation. You know, obviously in the game
this weekend, it was kind of you know, it was a meaningless game
for both teams. They didn't really want to show obviously what they you know,
had fully or whatever. You don't want to give away all your stuff
before the playoffs. So it was a mix of Taylor Powell and Bollievi Mitchell
and obviously Bolivian Mitchell has been playing pretty well, i'd say, since you
know he came back from that injury. You know, honestly, there was
a time where I wondered if Bolievi was ever gonna play again this season or
maybe even again for the ty CAATs. I don't know, there were there
were a lot of questions there, but in this game, in particular,
h Taylor Powell played better, and you know, obviously I don't think that's
their plan in the playoffs. I think, you know, they might they
might go back to they'd love to play two quarterbacks. You know, Hamilton's
done that in the past. Jeremiah was solely Dane Evans. I think,
you know, it would be uh, it would make sense to roll with
with Schiltz and Bolievi in this game, but you know, yeah, Bolievi
didn't didn't look the best in this game that was meaningless. So you know,
going into playoffs here, you know you wonder like who's gonna get a
majority of the reps? Do you trust Schultz more because you know, he's
obviously been around for a while, a veteran guy now, So there's definitely
some questions there. But I like Hamilton, and to be honest, I
you know, like I said, I mean, they have I think they
have what it takes to really make a run there. And you know,
I getting past Toronto, you know, might be a bit different. And
I don't know, like they're a good team, I don't know if they
have enough to get that done. But in this game, I mean,
I just can't get over the fact. Look, I know Montreal, Like
it's interesting because again we've talked about all season how they can beat they can
beat anybody that's not as good as them, but they can not beat anybody
that's better than them. So they're kind of right, they're right in the
middle in terms of you know, if it's Toronto Winnipeg, BC, can't
do it. But if it's you know, Hamilton, Ottawa, you know,
Saskatchewan, whatever, no problem. So I don't know, like Hamilton,
Like they've beat Hamilton before, right, they beat them this week,
so it's not completely out of the question. But playoff football is a bit
different, and you know, given it just feels like this team, you
know, during the regular season there were certainly some missed opportunities despite them still
being an eleven win team, which is a great accomplishment. So there's a
lot there. But and definitely, i'd say out of all the games,
I think that one, you know, could definitely it might have the most
swing. I guess you could say in either direction like I don't see,
I don't see. Let's say b C Calgary having that same type of like
you know, fifty one, forty nine or whatever you want to call it,
toss up. I think it's a bit more clear cut there. So
definitely one of the more interesting games to watch, to say the least.
Yeah, I hear Tim. We had their early lines here in Montreal here
two and a half and then BC KLIVI Tim was on and I had him
on. We I just I should have had you on here during the season
as well. This has kind of in my retrospective life here. But you
know, Tim happy, like this really could have been a disaster here coming
on. You got new ownership, but moss is coming in in Pajar are
they don't getting XIL from Saskatchewan? Like what's been your overall this? You
know? I would think as a Montreal Alowlett's fan, you have to be
pretty thrilled with where we're at right now. Oh. I think Alowett's fans
absolutely have to be thrilled with what's going on because everybody and their mother pretty
much predicted the worst for Montreal after going through the upheaval of ownership and new
head coach and bringing Cody Fajarduin free agency after his lesson instellar run in Saskatchewan.
As it ended, I mean, there's a lot of question marks and
truthfully, it hasn't been perfect, but Yalowettes really have answered all those questions.
They've they've met every time the bell rang, they've met it and they've
been able to accomplish quite a bit in spite of all the extracurriculars, if
you will, and it's pretty remarkable of what they've been able to do.
So I think truly this team has been put together the right way. It's
not perfect, and yes, they until they beat the top tier teams like
the Toronto's, the BC's and Winnipeg's, they haven't shown anything yet. So
I mean, I think they're going to be motivated to do so they're gonna
show it again. Is Hamilton again who they've basically swept the season series this
year. I mean, I know the playoffs is a different animal altogether,
but I think right now they've got the momentum, they've got that feeling and
speak with the players after the games, they I'll say the same thing.
The goal is to go want to know every week it's to stay focused and
they know what they have to do. It's just a matter of going out
and executing, and by and large, this team has been able to do
that. So I do feel confident that Montreal's playing at home in front of
their fans, and all indications that are going to be it's going to be
very close to, if not completely sold out for the Saturday's game. I
think Montreal takes that momentum and keeps it going. Will it be able to
beat Toronto? Possibly, But I mean, let's focus one thing at a
time. They know they have to beat Hamilton, they know they haven't gotten
the best of them this past Saturday, So you're just gonna have to leave
it all out there, simply put. Both Hamilton and Montreal are gonna have
to bring everything they've got if they want advance to the Eastern Final. I
see, it does feel like, you know, I don't know, Montreal's
kind of been a little bit of a roller coaster, a Hamilton here on
the upswinger, and it does feel like both of these powers, it's kind
of peak power for both of these teams right now. Am I reading that
correctly? I think so. Oh sorry, no, you're right again.
There's something always something about the latter part of the season where both of these
teams just seem to know how to click into place, like they were struggling
for most of the year, especially against the top tier teams. But they've
both teams, in their own way, have got the momentum. I just
think Montreal has a slight edge, especially since they've beaten Hamilton all three games
they've played against each other, so you really can't count either team out.
That's I guess part of the beauty of the playoff picture right now is that
you look at Hamilton, you look at Montreal, and you could easily say
you can make a case for either one of those teams advancing to the Eastern
Final. Jason, Yeah, what do you think here? It really feels
like I guess it's been weird and we talked this every year in the East
and everything, but both of these kind of an extending right now. Yeah,
for sure. I think one thing that I want to point out is
that, you know, Montreal, obviously they have that thing where they they
can't beat anybody that's above them or whatever. They can't beat the top three
teams in the CFL, so they're eleven to zero against everybody else. But
Hamilton has not beaten Montreal or Toronto this season, and I mean usually in
football, I find it's increasingly hard to beat a team the more times that
you play them. So if Toronto were to play Hamilton at fifth time,
they're gonna have to try to go five and oh against Hamilton. And you
know, with Montreal, it's gonna have to try to go to four to
o against Hamilton. So I mean it's gonna be interesting to see from that
perspective if Montreal can get it done again against Hamilton as well. So yeah,
I think it's gonna be a very interesting game. And like you said,
I think that you could argue that the East has been stronger than the
West this year in general. I think, you know, even you look
at Ottawa, they were able to win some games against the West Division this
year. I think that, you know, Hamilton has really picked it up
over the second half of the season. But when it comes to this matchup,
I really do like the Alouettes in this matchup. Ryan, you know,
in terms of Hamilton here and I were you were you pro getting rid
of bow LEVI like, how did you how did you sort all this stuff
out going into this season. I don't know that I was pro getting rid
of Bow, LEVI, but Bow is not the Bow that he used to
be, and I'm not sure that Bow has changed his mentality, his gunslinger
mentality of I can get it through triple coverage, I can fire that deep
ball, I can have that I can make that pass. I don't know
that his brain and his mindset have matched what his body is capable of doing.
From you know, a couple of seasons of consecutive shoulder surgeries. There
there was a point in Ricky Ray's career where he went from being the deep
ball gunslinger that he was in Edmonton to being the seven eight yard drop offense
magician he became in Toronto. And while he could still occasionally hit a deep
ball, that wasn't his first thought. I think Bow could be very successful
if he went to that mindset. The problem is is, I don't think
he's got that mindset shift yet, so so I'm not I wasn't necessarily in
favor of Bo going in the way that he went, But at the same
time, I also recognized that he wasn't the quarterback he once was, and
so maybe it was time for a fresh start, a new look, and
maybe that would give him that mindset shift. I don't know that it has,
but that's that's what I thought was best for him at the time.
Well, I think it's also hard because I mean, he really hasn't had
a lot of opportunity, you know, this year, the kind of Yeah,
he's also been injured most of the year, so that hasn't helped for
sure, Jason, is this the bow experiment here? I mean, is
it Gray Cup or bus here? At this point, they're like, how
do we kind of settle out of this year moving forward? Well, if
he goes on to win the Great Cup this year, all will be forgiven
with how this whole season's turned out for him, because this is what they
brought him in to do, to bring that veteran experience to get them over
the hump. Because Hamilton's had good teams. They've had teams that have been
capable of getting to the Great Cup, but they just cannot get across the
finish line. And maybe having the experience of Bowlie by Mitchell can help them
get there. But like I said, I think it's an uphill battle having
to win both road games to get to the Great Cup, and ironically,
if they got to the Great Cup, the home game would be the Great
Cup. But I think that it's going to be very difficult for the tired
Cats because I think I was reading that a third place team in the East
Division hasn't made the Great Cup since I believe the Alouettes in nineteen seventy something.
So it's gonna be an upper uphill battle for Hamilton. Evan. Anything
else, we'll starty shift to never hear to the West. But anything else
you're talking to Montreal Hamilton. I mean, just on the topic of Bolivi
Mitchell. I mean I think people, you know, just with the way
this season's gone, the fact that he hasn't played, I mean, people
are very quick to forget what he used to be. And I know it's
been a long time, you know, maybe since we've seen him you know,
quote unquote in his prime. But you know, Calgary was like in
the playoffs every year for a reason, and you know this year obviously a
bit different. You know a lot of people didn't expect to Calgary to maybe
get in, at least I didn't. Just with the way things were going
obviously, But anyway, yeah, I mean believe I wouldn't I wouldn't count
him out yet again, I know it's been kind of up and down.
He might not be the same player. You know, obviously this game that
he played this week wasn't so great. But he's flashed some stuff here in
these past or the last couple of games here at the end of the season
that do look you know, kind of like vintage bow Levi for lack of
a better term. So if he if he can show that against Montreal,
I think that, you know, it doesn't guarantee that Hamilton wins, but
it'll we make the game a lot more entertaining. Yeah, I don't know.
Hey, Jason, do you feel I don't know. We were talking
here and Mike Mitchell, like we said in the in our chat about you
know, Hamilton having to go and beat Toronto or whatever. I mean,
how do you feel now whoever comes out of this game here going into Toronto
would have to face Well, I feel like it's interesting when you talk about
Toronto's perspective in this, I think that they would rather see Montreal than Hamilton
just because of you know, the history of Hamilton kind of you look back
at the twenty twenty one East Final and how they went in there and upset
them. I think that there's a little bit of a fear in the back
of Argo's fan's minds when it comes to that. But I think in terms
of the business side of you know, the people in the Toronto Argonauts organization,
they would like to see Hamilton make that game because I think it would
maximize the amount of tickets sold and stuff like that. So it'll be interesting
to see. I think that regardless, Toronto will be a heavy favorite to
win that game, but I do think they would rather see the Alouettes.
I think that even though the Aloettes have played closer games against the Rigos this
season than the tire Cats have, I think that's just in the back of
their mind that you know, they would have to ask them to do would
again a fifth time. So I think it's gonna be very interesting to see
how it plays out. Cliffy'll give you a found a word here on the
Alolettes so that it will shift over a little bit. Anything else about this,
Yeah, I think there is a lot to prove. As we keep
talking about the narrative of yet you're good, but are you good enough to
go to the Great Cup? Is just lingering overhead with Montreal. I mean,
yeah, a lot of people think that they can beat Hamilton, and
they very well could. As I said, we can make an argument for
both teams in the Eastern semi final. But I truly believe Montreal is they've
got what it takes to get to the Eastern Final, and I definitely think
they owe it to themselves to be competitive in the Eastern Final, because yes,
they have played Toronto pretty close at Personal Molson Stadium earlier this year,
though Thet's got dog walked essentially by the Argos at Bimo Field, and last
year they were a converted touchdown away from going to the Great Cup beating the
Argonauts. So that's got to be a motivating factor as well. Cody Fajara
wants to prove that he is that guy. Jason Moss wants to prove that
he is that guy as well for this, Like, there's a lot on
the line for the Alouettes and it all starts on Saturday, but to them,
I think it truly is Great Cup or bus Like if they do not
make it to the Great Cup, this will be looked at as a lost
season, and it's unfortunate to think that because given everything they've gone through this
year, they should be extremely proud of where they are, and I think
deep down they are. But at the same time, you want that ring.
You want to prove to everybody, yeah, I am good enough to
be a Great Cup winning quarterback or head coach or wherever you are within this
organization. You want to prove that you do you are that person. So
to me, I think that's what's going to be motivting the Alouettes and I
think that's really going to give them what they need to get past Hamilton and
give a great match to Toronto as well. And yeah, I would not
be surprised to see Montreal in the Great Cup if only for those reasons.
But you've got to be able to do it. You've got to be able
to execute. That's truly the thought right now is, yes, you're good,
but are you good enough? And it's a question I've been asking all
season of this team and so far the answer is they are good, but
are they good enough to beat those top tier teams. If you can do
that, you know what the reward is. So at the end of the
day, it's on yellow. It's to show that yes, they are who
they say they are. Well, I think it too. And also,
you know, we would cement Cody I don't know to me at least when
we came into the league, and I always felt like Cody was kind of
in that upper tier at least just in terms of visibility and what, you
know, more than like a Nick Arbuckle of that. And maybe Nick used
to be you know, everyone knows kind of our place and covering the league
here, but like you know, that would have Cody kind of be in
that, you know, as kind of they couldn't make or couldn't do or
whatever. In terms of Calgary here, Ryan, we had Jamie Nye on
two weeks ago screaming that's when ye know that their fans didn't even want them
to make the Great cop and they wanted to lose and make their way out
of it. Calgary's in now. You're muted at Calgary's in now? And
what are we are we happy? I mean, because this has been not
another great season. I mean, I don't think there's anybody that's gonna say
that they're unhappy that Stampeters made the made the playoffs. As a Stamps fan,
there's that kind of like a sado mastic, sadomasochistic relationship between the Riders
and their fans that that has gone on for generations. Uh, And so
you know, the idea that they didn't make the playoffs and so we can
rage accordingly is a is a Saskatchewan thing. That's definitely not a Calgary thing.
Calgary fans have made. You know, the Stampeters are now in their
eighteenth consecutive season of making the playoffs. There are now a full generation of
fans that have never not seen the playoffs in Calgary, so they definitely wanted
to be there. Fans definitely wanted to be there. They know, you
know, the expectations are not high for this team headed into the playoffs,
but they just making the playoffs and knowing that that street continues allows them to
rebuild for next year. And there's that kind of anything they do as a
bonus at this stage, you know, feeling to the team. There's obviously
disappointment in how the team went, but if the disappointment in Calgary is still
a playoff spot, that also matches fans expectations here in in Cowtown, you
know, they they expect to make the playoffs even if you're a bad team.
Yeah, jasically six and twelve here, and you know, I saw
a lot of everything about all this stuff. You know, Hey, we're
XFL fans here, were us of bel fans. We're used to teams with
losing records making the playoffs here all the time. Jason kind of what your
overall she thought your Stampeter season now that we're here, Yeah, it's been
a really struggling season for them. I feel like they've had so many injuries.
I mean, they're injured list is crazy, and really everybody's gotten hurt
except for the quarterback. And you know, Jake Mayer, I think is
the only quarterback in the league to start all eighteen games this season. So
I mean it's supporting from that perspective to see where the record is considering they've
had their quarterback healthy the whole year, whereas the rest of the league hasn't.
But I think that, you know, the receivers outside of Reggie Bagleton
have not produced the way that they've wanted to. They've had a lot of
injuries in that regard. You know, Jaleen phil Potter, guy that they
are really counting on coming end of the year, but he couldn't stay healthy,
didn't really be health, wasn't really healthy at the beginning of the season.
So I think at the end of the day, it's been a really
struggling season for Calgary, But like Ryan said, they aren't the team that's
gonna miss the playoffs that break that playoff streak. So I think at the
end of the day, that's an accomplishment of itself that they're able to just
keep that streak alive for another year. Kulvy, we came out last week,
we talked about it a little bit. I'll get Evans updated thoughts on
them, But first to you, you know, same same standings as last
year, same playoff bracketing that what do you make here? Going in here
running it back? How does that feel as a CFL fan? It speaks
to just how bad these teams want it And it's kind of funny to see
the exact same lineup, if you will, from twenty twenty two to twenty
twenty three. But a lot of people that's why you play the games.
Really, it's because a lot of people were expecting Hamilton to be this outstanding
team with Bolivia leading the charge and Saskatchewan. You know, they were expected
to to be gangbusters this year and it just didn't work out. Blame it
on injury, blame it on whatever. At the end of the day,
you've got to play the games and you got to win, simply put.
And for the team that didn't make it, like no doubt, they're wondering
what the heck happened, and I'm sure they've got any number of reasons why
it didn't work out for them. But for the teams that are in it
again this year, even if it's the exact same lineup as it was in
twenty twenty two, you still got to play the games and there's still a
possibility that we could see the exact same thing happen again this year, or
we can see completely different once again. That's what makes the Canadian Football League
so much fun is that it's not so cut and dry. It's not so
simple as saying, yeah, it's gonna be Winnipeg Toronto again. It could
be You're absolutely right, but it could be completely different. That's what makes
this so much fun. Evan, what is the biggest surprise for you this
season and how everything maybe preseason you know, perception going on to now and
you're muted year. That's a good question. There were a lot of surprises
I think, you know, Saskatchewan not getting more wins there and again,
you know, a lot that goes into that, but Saskatchewan I was definitely
surprised about, I think once the season got going again, like Calgary being
in this position, because I was really pulling for Saskatchewan. I I thought
that again, even if they lost a couple guys and you know, even
if things weren't perfect, that they would still you know, get in the
playoffs and have some breathing room. But you know, similar story to last
year obviously, where you know, they just lose all those games you know
after September fourth or whatever that you know date is that I'm sure Ryder fans
don't want to talk about, but you know, uh, it's just yeah,
it's one of those things you know where obviously now that's cost you know,
Craig Dickinson his job unfortunately. So all those things I think were you
know that that was a surprise that Saskatchewan wasn't able to do as well,
and then Calgary you know, being in the playoffs now I think is almost
equally surprising. The other thing too, that you know isn't brought up a
lot, or maybe that I haven't brought up a lot, is Ottawa.
I thought Ottawa was this was gonna be their breakthrough year. You know,
you get my solely back, he's healthy, you know, things look good.
I had had some questions about Bob Dice obviously, now he's been renewed
to try and you know, keep that whatever momentum they have going, even
if it's little. You know, you're coming off a four win season.
But I really thought this was gonna be Autawa's ear to piece things together.
And I feel like I've been saying that, you know, ever since I
really started covering the CFL in depth, you know, which is over two
years ago. It just feels like every year I'm like, this is it,
Like, you know, Red Blacks are gonna get something going, and
I'm not. I'm not even talking about like great Cup at all. I'm
just talking about playoff, you know, not being a four win team,
you know, at the bottom of the East, who you know is having,
you know, once again, a plethora of issues and it's kind of
I think, ultimately, what's disappointing is you go into the offseason with more
questions than answers, you know, and that's at the end of the day.
You know, sometimes if you're not succeeding on the field, that's what's
gonna happen. So those I think, you know, Saskatchewan and Ottawa,
I would say, at least for me, the biggest surprises. I know,
for a lot of other people, it was Montreal. You know,
I think a lot of people expected Montreal to be one of the you know,
worst teams in the CFL for you know, lack of a better term.
I just think that again, everyone viewed Montreal as being in rebuild mode.
But you know, they had enough there. You know, I didn't.
I don't know if I expected them to be in playoffs either, but
I think they had enough there to to certainly do something. And well,
they won eleven games this year, so clearly they've they've done a good job.
And you know, the fact that there's a lot of new faces there,
Jason Moss, Cody Fajardo, et cetera. The fact that they were
able to to, you know, get eleven wins in year one under that,
I think that's a good sign. Again, you know, playoffs are
a different game. We'll see what happens here, you know, on Saturday
between between them and Hamilton. But yeah, overall, I think that's that's
where I'm at with in terms of surprises or at least things that I didn't
expect ran same to you going into the season compared to now. The biggest
surprise, well, I think, I mean, I'm surprised stam Peders record
six and twelve isn't exactly what I expected out of the stam Peters. But
I do think that injuries did play a major part in this. I think
they made some offseason decisions that completely backfired. I think getting rid of Derek
Dennis and Sean Lemon definitely didn't help. But you know, the loss of
James Vodds to injury, I had a couple injuries along the offensive line at
the tackle position that didn't help, even with the tackles that they do have,
and those receiver injuries. I mean, just you lose Malik Henry and
Jalen Philpott for the year early in the season, then and then the team's
rookie of the year, Clark Barnes, goes down in the midway point,
and they're just trying to find anybody that can catch a ball down the stretch.
So I think Calgary's record for me was a big shot. I did
not expect the Sketchwan to be good excuse me, this year, nor Edmonton.
I think they were right where I thought they would be. I thought
Hamilton would be better than they were, especially in the early part of the
season. So that was a bit of a shock to me. But it
seems like this season was ready for a runback just like last year. You
know, every team that was good was good last year, and they didn't
really lose a lot of players. There wasn't substantial movement from free agency or
you know, big offseason acquisitions or trades or anything like that. So it
didn't surprise me to see this bracket be the same as it was last year.
Jason, for you, here, we'll go around the horn and then
we'll get to the bcv A Lions game. Here. Yeah, my most
surprising team has to be the Alouettes, who I actually predicted to be the
worst team in the CFL this season. I think the biggest thing that we
didn't see going into the season is I thought the receiving corps was really lacking,
but then Austin Mack really came out of nowhere and became this star and
one of the best receivers in the league. So I think also another thing
that we underrated with them is the ability of Jason Moss as an offensive play
caller. I think their offense has been a lot better than what I expected.
I thought it was probably gonna be the worst offense in the league coming
into the air, but they certainly have not been that. And I underrated
their defense as well. I think their defense has been one of the top
three units in the league this year as well. Now for Calgary, I
think as well was disappointing for me as well, because I actually had them
at second place in the West coming into the year. I thought that,
you know, Jake Mayer was going to be a guy that continues his ascension
as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But obviously that didn't happen.
He's kind of fallen flat this year. But I think there's some external
factors and I still think Jake Mahor can be a starting quarterback in this league.
But I want to see what they decided to do going into the offseason.
But yeah, I would have to go to those two teams. I'll
give mine here and then on one that we'll get to the matchup. I
just I'll say, really proud and I've said this here, but really proud
of Vernon Adams. I think last year and he was on preseason talking about
kind of how challenging it was for him last year, and I'm you know,
I'm paying rent in Montreal and I'm paying paying in Tacoma and I'm here
in BC and try to do like put him in a really hard position.
I wasn't really impressed with him last year. I thought, you know,
BC had such a huge lead in the standings because of Nathan Rourke, like
we just basically needed not to fall off a cliff. And I was just
really concerned this year, like what does it look like, you know,
like with Jake Mayer with all the pressure kind of being put on and super
just proud of Vernon and I think that except for that one game against Toronto,
I think he's really played lights out and just cool to see him playing
good, meaningful football where you know, if he had never gotten that opportunity
or god knows what happens with Montreal and kind of all that other stuff.
We'll get to Ryan here with it, but we'll toss to Cliffy first.
In terms of this BC Calgary matchup, I'm a little scared here. I
don't you know. I know that you can talk okay, meaningless games and
BC dropping to Calgary here a couple of weeks back at what do you make
of this Western playoff matchup? I'm like you, I'm a big Erneron Adams
guy. I definitely think he wasn't given the opportunity to do what he does
best in Montreal. And I said even at the start of the year,
let Vernon cook and good things are going to happen for the BC Lions,
and sure enough, that's exactly what's happened. I think he truly he's still
Vernon Adams though, in the sense that he's got that gunslinger mentality and sometimes
he takes too many chances, but that's what makes him big play va and
I think that's going to be the big factor with him is the way this
BC offense is is like a runaway freight train in a lot of ways,
in the sense that they just they get it done. They just barrel over
and they score points. And I think that's where Calgary is going to be
really tested if nothing else is, because yeah, they've got offense as well.
I mean, I will definitely not bet against Reggie Bagleton as far as
offensive production goes for Calgary. But I think BC has all the tools truly,
like kind of like in Montreal, like they just got to get it
done. They just got to execute because Vernon Adams when he's on, he
is almost unstoppable. Ryan. For you here, I said, I was
very upset following the BC Lions e the lost year, and I understand,
and you know, to me, it felt like we were accepting second place
and like Winnipeg's going to win anyway and it doesn't matter. I don't you
know. If I'm a BC fan trying to build the local fan baser,
I would like to see a victory of the last couple of weeks of the
season. But what do you make of this, because to me, I'm
very fearful of this matchup. It was interesting to me that before the game,
Vernon Adams came out and said we're preparing to play on November fourth,
So it wasn't even it wasn't even during the game where the Lions seemed to
give up and accept second place. It seemed like they had done that even
beforehand before Calgary came in. And I also wonder if this isn't BC trying
to choose their opponent, thinking that they would rather play Calgary than play Saskatchewan.
And you know, at that point you might get what you paid for
in that instance. I think with Kadem carry healthy and BCS aversion to stopping
the run game. You know, you look last in the last game,
I think Calgary had two hundred and eighty someone rushing yards between everybody combined.
That's a substantial amount of yards on the ground. Peyton Logan can break and
score at any time, any given play. I really like the idea of
Calgary coming out of this game and winning it against BC. Vernon Adams can
can be big play va, but he can also have a five interception day,
you know, and and you never know which Vernon you're gonna get.
Vernon traditionally has played very well against the stam Peters, but they got to
him with pressure, just three and four man pressure in that last game.
So if all of a sudden, the if all of a sudden the stam
Peters have been able to put things together and BC doesn't play like V is
capable of playing. Calgary could come out of this game. And I do
think whichever of the two teams wins does go into b C, or it
does go into Winnipeg and beat the Bombers. I've been standing on that all
season. I think the Bombers are vulnerable in a playoff matchup, even more
so, even more so because they haven't had anything to play for for a
month, and I think that all of a sudden, this could be the
year of that the dynasty comes to an end in Winnipeg. I'll give you
much like if it had been at Montreal last year had made it to the
Great Cup. I think we have a much better live Great Cup show in
Hamilton and BC is there. I think we could probably pull up a few
more connections there. So nothing else I am hoping for that well, I
mean, I think we've got a better Great Cup if it's Calgary versus Hamilton,
and somehow you've got believe I Mitchell against his old squad. I think
that's the best possible storyline of what's left in these matchups. I think I
think the most fun you might have in a Great Cup week is the idea
of Bowlie by Mitchell going against the stamp Peters Because as much as it is
to have the stamp Peters East versus the stam Peters West with Toronto and Calgary
in a Great Cup, I think it would be much more fun to have
that that bow go that that bow versus Calgary Great Cup And as bad as
six and twelve has been in the regular season, and I don't deny that,
you know, it would also be a little what's more CFL than a
six and twelve team making it to the championship? Well, HASI we really
need the Marcats Bowl, We really need them the Lions versus the ty Cats.
I think that's where the America wants has the updated thoughts on this?
I know I was pretty heated here following all the BC's stuff and now that
we've had a little bit any any updated thoughts here at BC houst in Calgary.
Well, I think a lot of it comes down to the game script,
because if BC can start fast, you know, get out to a
lead, I don't think Calgary's a team that's positioned to beat you and come
back with the passing game. I think that if Calgary can get a lead
early in this game and keep the running game involved and just go downhill on
the Lions. I think they have a shot to pull off an upset here,
But in general, I still think BC is probably going to win this
game. I don't think that they really had the true motivation, like you
said, to try to win that game the last time these two teams met.
So I still think I'm gonna go with the Lions to win this game.
But at the end of the day, there is a formula for Calgary
to go in there and get a win. Interesting here, just enough,
just I'm checking the schedule here trying to figure this out. So BC hosting
Calgary and then I'll be at the cracking game later that evening We're hosting the
Calgary Flame. So could really be a could really be a Calgary kicking the
snot out of Seattle and Reed's hopes and dreams across the board here Evan updated
thoughts here BC Calgary. Yeah, I mean to put it very bluntly,
I don't think Calgary. Let me put it this way, I think BAT
has a greater chance of going into Winnipeg and beating them than Calgary does going
into BC and beating the Lions. And I don't say that, you know,
with any disrespect. It's just you know, Calgary, like I know,
they've flashed a bit here at the end, right they beat Saskatchewan,
you know, to get into the playoff position, and then Saskatchewan lost.
You know, there was that whole thing. But I don't know, man,
I just like even with the flashes, and you know, we've seen
a lot of those flashes this season. Again, the one thing that I
think that's kept Calgary in it. And you know, at least like preseason
when I was looking at stuff, like Calgary has a lot of talent,
and they have you know, you could argue that they might have more talent
than even some of the I don't know, upper echelon of teams, or
at least some of the other playoff teams. I don't know if you're matching
Toronto or Winnipeg, but in terms of just you know, high upside,
high ceiling guys, Calgary has a lot of those. You know, I'm
looking. I've looked at the roster several times. It's very I like the
way it's constructed. But with that being said, you know, BC,
I just I understand BC it's very hot or cold, you know, And
a lot of that that we've seen this year is based on the performance of
Vernon Adams. I know I've brought it up before, but since we're going
in the playoffs, I'll bring it up again. And this is nothing against
Vernon either. Everyone knows how much I love Vernon. You know. This
is like a pro Vernon Adams show. I think we can all agree with
that. But anyways, you know, the thing with him is, you
know, when Vernon gets rolling, I mean he gets rolling, you know,
like he won't stop. But you'll see these games and it doesn't even
like we always bring up that Toronto game earlier in the season. I forget
exactly when that was, but his sixth interception game. We always kind of
use that as the prime example, but it's happened other times against you know,
lesser opponents, for example, when Ottawa played it. You see place
a bit more recently, Vernon, you know, through an interception and it
was like, okay, it's fine, you know, shake it off.
But then he just kind of kept doing it, you know, and it's
kind of a I really think it's a mental kind of roadblock where you know,
it's one little mistake that kind of kills, you know, all of
his momentum and you know his big plays, which is you know, what
he's known for. I think I the reason I like Vernon more than anybody,
and what I'm excited to see in the playoffs is, you know,
and maybe it's just across the CFL in general, but really really with him
more than anybody, he almost just plays like backyard football. You know.
I just like him because he can just go out there and sling it like
there's no tomorrow. You know, it's just dot here, dot there.
You know, it doesn't really matter who the receiver is, like, I'll
get it done. You know, just goes out there and has a time.
You can tell he really has fun doing it. So I'm excited to
hopefully see that Vernon in the playoffs. But you know, I understand that
as much as I'm sitting here saying, well, Calgary doesn't really have a
chance. Anything's possible, right, I Mean, I think the one thing
you know that I'll give Calgary credit for here is they just played each other
just kind of like how you know, we talked about Montreal and Hamilton coming
off their game BC and Calgary played last week, you know, and that
game didn't go very well for BC. A lot of people were surprised by
that, you know, Vernon it was this whole We're going to try and
get him the five thousand yards, that he falters early, they pull him
for safety reasons. Dane Evans comes in, Dane Evans doesn't look great either.
So, you know, Calgary I think with that again, is that
an accurate representation of what BC is going to bring to the table this weekend.
I don't think so. But at the same time, Calgary had an
opportunity there to kind of exploit some of BC's weaknesses, and you know,
having the opportunity to do that, you know, a couple of weeks or
whatever before the playoffs, you know, that might give him a bit of
an advantage. It certainly might make the game more competitive. I'm very firm
on a BC win, and if that does not happen, I will be
more surprised than you know, maybe even like I said, you know,
outcomes further down the road. You know, we're talking East West Final,
Great Cup. I don't know, but it's definitely going to be surprising to
me if the Stamps go in there and make a statement, Cliffy, do
you agree with Ryan's whatever the right word is the prognostication that whoever goes into
Winnipeg is going to deep throw on the Bombers. You know what. I
can see where Ryan's coming with this, and he's he's not wrong in his
assessment. I mean, I think Winnipeg. I don't know, A lot's
been made of how well Brittie la Vera's played this year, and a lot
of people were upset that zach Claro's isn't going to get a chance to have
that opportunity to be a three peat winner of the MLP Award. And is
it coming down to just the style of play that zach Claro's does and how
he responds on game day. It's once again it's something that only zach Claro's
and Brittiella of eric In answer as far as how they prepare for each game.
But is the fatigue starting to set in just a little bit like that?
I don't want to say great Cup hangover, because Winnipeg has have been
absolutely outstanding this year, but how bad do they want it? I guess
and I see where Ryan's coming from when it comes to that, Like I
mean, I won't say they're prime for an upset, but if this,
whether it's BC or Calgary that goes into the Western Final, they're going to
be on a high. They're gonna be on a momentum. And will Winnipeg
be ready for that? Like it's easy for them to say, yeah,
we've been hosting the Western Final now, I think it's the past three seasons
they've been hosting the Western Final. It's kind of become, you know,
par for the Coors, our status quo. Even for them, the possibility
for an upset is definitely something to consider. I mean, I think Winnipeg's
a very good team, there's no question. But I think that, yeah,
whoever's got the hot hand is going to win that game, and it
could very well be the winner of BC and Calgary. Yeah that whole the
whole mop thing with Zach Klaros and you know, going crazy, that's a
conversation for another day. But I guess, yeah, Ran, what's here?
I thought, Ryan get a reaction to that. Let's get Ryan sas
on that before it gets because we'll put this the better here to see.
But that, I mean, Dunk was still going crazy about that on Friday,
night I saw, Yeah, Dunk's a quarterback, so Dunk will always
say it's the quarterback. Brady Olivera had two thousand yards from scrimmage and was
dominant all season. Zach Kalaros, Zach Claros is suffering from comparisons to himself
in this situation because he wasn't the Zach Klaros from last year or the year
before. He was okay, but not great. Was he outstanding, not
by comparison to other players at his position in the league this year. So
that's why for me it was Brady Olivera. That's not that's not a question.
But Dunk as a quarterback, you know that that's obviously gonna be a
great topic to generate discussion. And of course Dunk is the quarterback, is
gonna is going to root for the quarterback. Yeah, you know, it's
uh, there's just like I don't know, I have great respect and I
think it's a difference of like a Canadian versus American thing too, Like I
put on my self identity of being an American a lot lower on like how
do I identify myself on like a day to day basis, or I think
that like someone like dunk or or like being the Canadian I think the ranks
higher and you're like, this is how I like personally identify, So I
just, you know, I think that goes into it as well. But
you know you would think you going Brady on that. Before we get out
of here, let's go around the horn. Let's start with Jason predictions for
the final two and then you know, you kind of whatever, do your
little playoff predictions. Jason. However, you I met know you're gonna do
a whole video about it too, But we'll go around the horn here.
Yeah, like you said, I'll be doing a full video breaking this all
down and also predicting the award winners as well. But as for my Great
Cup matchup, I'm gonna go with the one. I'm gonna go with Winnipeg
and Toronto. I think it's gonna be a great clash of Titans, and
I think that at the end of the day, I'm gonna go with Winnipeg
to win this time. Toronto historically has had a really good run in Great
Cup games. I believe they haven't lost one since nineteen eighty something, the
ones that they've been in, So it would kind of go against the trend
of history. But I'm gonna go with Winnipeg to get revenge and win it
this year, and then we'll good to you. Yeah, I don't know
if I have a prediction going all the way to the Great Cup yet,
I definitely have some ideas, and I'm sure we'll talk about more of those
next week, depending on how you know these next two games go the first
round of playoffs here, but I think, you know, based on everything
that I've said, you know here today, I'll take Hamilton over Montreal in
the upset. I think it'll be very close either way. I just think
Hamilton again has a tiny bit more momentum right now. They might not be,
you know, the more complete team, the more full team, but
I just I really like what they've done here in the second half of the
season, and I really don't think that that can be overlooked. And then,
like I've already said, with BC and Calgary, I think BC,
you know, in the right circumstance, I think they could drop forty on
Calgary. Again. I don't mean that in any disrespectful way. I just
think that, you know, the Lions, like they again, once that
team gets rolling, the they really they really get rolling. So I'm excited
to see what Vernon can do in that game. And obviously that you know,
the rest of his receivers seems like they have an endless amount of guys
that he can throw to. And then, you know, I know,
we don't talk a lot about defense here much, or maybe we should more
going forward, but you know, seeing guys like Matthew Betts, who you
know, broke the Canadian sack record, you know, seeing guys like him,
you know, take care of business and maybe be the closer in that
game, that's equally exciting. So I think I'm gonna take BC and Hamilton
for the two games coming up here. Ryan, what do you got?
I mean, I I think Calgary can take it all the way. I
don't see why not. All they have to do is hold on to a
pass. This team has has led the league all season and drop passes and
and Jake Mayer's numbers have suffered as a result. He finds open receivers,
he hits them in the hands, and if this is the time of year
where you're able to catch a ball, then all of a sudden the stam
Peters can get it done. They showed just two weeks ago that they can
drop forty on BC and and limit their offense to the point where you did
chase Vernon Adams away from chasing a five thousand yard season, and Dane Evans
was completely ineffective in his own right. I think BC has the opportunity to
get open. But you know, who knows what stam Peters team will show
up this week. If it's the good version of the stam Peters, then
all of a sudden, they've got themselves the potential of a victory out in
the East. You know, again, if the only thing I wanted to
see this season was a Calgary Hamilton Great Cup, then I'm gonna have to
continue rooting for Hamilton. With apologies to my good buddy Cliff, but I
think I'm gonna have to keep rooting for Hamilton to get there, just so
that we can have that storyline that weekend, because I think Winnipeg Toronto is
a rematch is boring, you know, from a storyline perspective. I don't
know that there's that kind of you know, hatred there or fuel to the
story beyond just Hey, these are two good teams, and the best teams
made it and that's boring to watch, you know. I think it's way
more fun if we watch two teams that struggled all season, one of them
come away with a champion. And why can't it be the Stampeders with the
fewest wins to qualify for a playoff spot in the eighteen game era? Accepting
the US expansion years which we which we ignore cliff final thoughts, predictions review,
well again, I with with respect to everybody else, as I stand
on what Darnelle Sank said that he said we're gonna win the next five games
and we're gonna win the Great Cup. And so far he's kept his word.
They've won the last five games. Now they've got to do the second
part and win the Great Cup, and it starts against Hamilton. I think
he'll be a fun match. I think he'll be very competitive, and I
think Montreal has just that much more to get past Hamilton. Despite the fact
Garret Davis is playing for the Tiger Cats and has made the Great Cup every
year of his career, I think that streak comes to an end on Saturday.
My heart is going for a BC Montreal Great Cup. To me,
that's a no lose situation for me because, like I said, a big
Burnams guy, so I'd be happy to see him play for and win a
Great Cup. And of course i'd want Montreal to be in a Great Cup.
But my head is saying though, realistically, I'd say would have to
be Toronto versus whoever wins is the Western Final, because any number of those
teams can win that game. But when Toronto makes it to the Great Cup,
they don't lose, and until that happens, you have to go with
them. So my heart b c Montreal. My head will say, you
know what, I'll be fun Calgary Toronto and unfortunately, as we've seen over
the years, when Calgary plays Toronto in the Great Cup, Toronto invariably wins.
Well, I look, I just want whatever is the best Great Cup
show whatever, ye maybe we get Pinball back on if Toronto's in there.
I mean, there's lots of algamations where we could get some good guests on.
Ken did have a question about the location of the Great Cup show before
we get out. I'm working with trying to get us in with one of
the team one of the team locations there. You can probably guess which team
in terms of kind of that whole fan activity. Otherwise, there's a bar
there across the street from the convention center we're going to be at. Right,
it's the Anchor Bar, right, I'll see there. That's our back
TSN rented out the entire George Hamilton where we were at two years ago.
It was such a good location. They say, hey, we're going to
write that out. So we'll either be at Anchor Bar. We're kind of
TVD scheduled there, or else. I would like to get in with the
teams just because I think more people would be milling around. But either way
we'll be there. It could be convenient for everyone and hopefully the guests and
stuff as well. I appreciate Ryan and Cliff hopping on here during the day,
and obviously Jason and Evan here for doing this every week here for the
last twenty one weeks. We'll see you guys next week. Look for XFL
USFL hopeful news this week. We'll do all that kind of stuff. And
then Naylor owed me an interview last week and he was traveling for the Bills
game. So maybe we'll get Naylor on this week because he owes me that.
So like can subscribe. Thanks to everyone and we'll see you next time.
Thank you very much.