CFL Week 4 Predictions

Saskatchewan… you’re killing me kids.

What is going on in the West this year? BC, you’re hurting my heart. I for some odd reason think you will balance the scale out, but wow, hurry up. Sask on the other hand, glad you enjoyed your winning seasons while you could. I wonder how those All Dressler chips taste now.

Nothing saddens me more than to see two supposedly great teams “shit-the-bed” at the start of the season – oh wait, no it doesn’t. I like seeing the underdog race out of the gate, and for that, I applaud Edmonton. 3 wins. 3 wins to start their season. I don’t care if they lose every other game this year, 3 wins when everyone thought they would be sitting where Saskatchewan is right now. Congratulations Esks, you’re doing Edmonton proud. Coach of the year? Too soon? I digress.

While I’m not happy to do this, as a girl who was at the game Damon Allen broke this record, Anthony Calvillo broke Damon Allen’s all-time TD passes record in Friday night’s 40-17 home win over the Argonauts. Ouchhhh. But good for him, and congrats Als fans on a big win (not that I was surprised). On the other side of Ontario, Winnipeg put up a good fight, but unlike the Als who have a solid QB, the struggle continues for the Bombers to put up points to match their extraordinary D. Pierce – out due to injury, Elliot – out due to injury, Goltz – long shot TC guy who was resigned. While Pierce is expected to start against the Argos on Saturday, if he can’t lead the reins, it will be up to third-stringer Alex Brink to take the charge. Ummm, ahhh, yikes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but all I keep thinking is, “why did you give up Jyles?” – and yes, he’s injured too. All I can say is, I wouldn’t want to be playing for the Bombers as QB… dun, dun, dun.

Week 4 – I’m excited. Toronto finally has their home opener, although don’t even get pumped that I’m going to pick the boys in double blue. Edmonton sees Calgary and I think it will be a great rival game (battle of Alberta!). And of course, Sask will remind me of the little kid whose ice cream was toppled over – so sad.

Hamilton vs. BC: Hamilton takes this match, as I just can’t foresee BC stepping their game up any time soon. I was really impressed with Hamilton last week, should have given them more credit. I predict Glenn and his offence to continue to play their game, and watch BC’s defence struggle to keep up.

Winnipeg vs. Toronto: Even with their “so who’s playing QB?” plight, I believe Winnipeg takes the W. This will be a battle of the D’s and whoever can put points on the board quicker, will come out victorious. I could get in trouble for this pick, but I’ll be at the cottage. Enjoy the game, Toronto!

Edmonton vs. Calgary: I’m sticking with my boys. That is all. Edmonton wins in a close game.

Saskatchewan vs. Montreal: Greg Marshall, there’s always a place open to drown your sorrows in Montreal. Have fun after, big guy.

That’s it for me this week, 3/4 is great and all but I want 100% picks this week. Oh, and Argos fans, I promise I’ll pick them at some point.

CFL Week 3 Predictions

It feels so good to be right…

Week 2 proved to be very good to me – 3/4 games correct, I’ll take it! I have to give it to you all, the amount of people who told me I should give my Miss Argo 2006 tiara back had me praying to the football Gods that Winnipeg would win (just so I could show my face again). They did, and normally I don’t like to brag, but that first W felt good. But that wasn’t all that I noticed this week…

Two things I’d like to point out – the Eskimos and Calgary’s offence.

The Esks are continuing to surprise everyone, and I mean literally shocking the West. If you said they’d be 1st place at ANY point this season, you’re lying (even I didn’t think that). The last time the Esks were undefeated going into week 3 was in 2005 when they won the Grey Cup (but don’t plan the parade just yet). Ricky Ray continues to prove why he’s one of the top QB’s in the league, completing 21 out of 31 passes, totalling 388 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. With a team playing in all new positions, I’d say those are some pretty good numbers. Oh, and see that Henry Burris, no interceptions. Which brings me to Calgary’s offence. Clearly they can put points on the board, 34 to be exact, but Henry Burris continues to give up easy interceptions – 3 in total this game. Get a better handle on that and I do believe they will be the ones to give the Alouettes a run for their money. Oh, and Joffrey Reynolds is one seriously sick RB – that is all.

This week I see one game that could go either way, and with that being said, here are my picks for Week 3.

Calgary vs Winnipeg: I am going to give it to the West (not that I want to). I think Henry Burris can get down the amount of interceptions and walk away with this game, if he wants to. They are a solid team, and unless the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Offence plays a more solid game, Calgary maintains the lead, and at no fault of the Bombers defense.

Toronto vs. Montreal: Boo, hiss, booooo. Yep, I know I’ll hear it again. The Alouettes take this game and Toronto sits 1-2 going into their home opener.

Saskatchewan vs. Hamilton: I truly believe Sask is going to get their act together and climb out of bottom spot in the West. While I believe these teams are well matched, Hamilton’s offence will not be able to put enough points on the board to get them through this one.

BC vs. Edmonton: I am still riding the Esks train, and believe that at home, they will go toe-to-toe with a 0-2 BC. If they continue to play their game, running and throwing the ball, this team should sit at the top of the West again next week.

That’s it for me, kids. This week kicks off on Thursday night with what I predict will be the game of the week to watch.

CFL Week 2 Predictions

Hardy har har. A little former CFL Cheerleader is going to make predictions.

Craig Boyko Photography

Yep. Let’s continue.

I watched bits and pieces of most games in week 1, mostly because I was on vacation and no where near a TV for longer than a few minutes at a time, but what I did see was the TSN Season Preview. I mostly agreed with what was being said, including the fact that Shawn Gore will blow up this year (biased, go Newtonbrook Secondary School), however I do believe that Ian Logan is underrated (until today) in the Secondary, and that Coach Kavis Reed and his Esks will be the best team to watch develop this year. I’m going to make every attempt to keep this a-rollin’ all season long and give rationale for my choices. I will never give scores, I find that silly and don’t want to be a fool – plus I hate numbers and math. And yes, I will choose the Als for games, but keep in mind, I can’t stand them and will make that known right now. So, with that being said, let’s get started on the season I like to call…

“Anybody but the Alouettes”

Match-Ups:

Toronto vs. Winnipeg: Winnipeg takes this in a close fought game. The Bombers defense last week showed they’re a solid force to be reckoned with, and when you can keep putting points on the board, that’s a beauty combo. Toronto and Winnipeg see each other a lot in the beginning of the season, and I expect both teams to take their Home Opener.

Calgary vs. BC: The Lions trample on the Stampeders, and pump up the hometown crowd who is looking for their team to be in the Grey Cup this year at home. The Alouettes were almost beat by BC last week, and I believe the talent BC has, along with their crowd, will be the edge they need to knock over Calgary and have them sitting at the bottom of the West in week 2.

Montreal vs. Saskatchewan: Hate to break it to Sask, but this Grey Cup rematch will again go to the East. No other rationale besides the Als being good, and Sask looking a little shaky.

Hamilton vs. Edmonton: Edmonton takes it in a VERY close game. I think both teams can make waves this season, and both have a lot to prove. But I am sticking with the Esks this week hoping rookie HC Kavis can pull out another W.

What do you think CFL fans? You can tell me I’m crazy, knock yourselves out. Just make sure you’re supporting our Canadian league and watching this week.

I’m so glad it’s football season.

We Are Family

The boys club. I remember when that simply meant no girls allowed. Now, it means a multitude of things, however the boys clubs that resonates closest with me – is a football club.

The Toronto Argonauts have taken a lot of heat in the media recently as they have released numerous players with very little regard for the personal side of business. From Khalil Carter’s public tearing down of the organizations loyalty to those without an NFL title attached to their name, to the recent publicly debated hot topic on Off the Record -July 10th, 2008- of Michael Bishop being put on Waivers – it isn’t looking so pretty. But does it have to? After all this is a business, and how many times while growing up did the boys club oust its members. Problem is, this boys club has branded itself as a “family friendly” club, and living up to that has proven to be a tough task during the start of the 2008 season.

Over the past few years, the Toronto Argonauts Football Club have stated over and over again that they are a family… right. Now in light of my current situation with the organization, I am merely going to prove that brand loyalty is essential in building a relationship with fans – those are the people that pay the boys salaries by the way.

Here is the simple breakdown. You tell fans that the team is one big family. They, resonate with this idea and in turn buy into the brand. From here, they purchase season tickets, team merchandise and even show up to team events. What does this mean? Cash for the owners, and pay cheques for the players. Now here is the problem with this equation. When you do this, you create a relationship with these fans, this is called brand loyalty. When fans start hearing that you are not living up to this brand, they no longer trust you. Not trusting your brand means not buying into the brand and so on and so forth. This means no money.

Not a smart move. Brand loyalty is organization survival. Especially for the Toronto Argonauts who have struggled with establishing and maintaining a good brand, the last thing they want is the public questioning their intentions. I would love to say this is just a game, but it isn’t, it is a business – and a personal one at that. The flipside to this is that you have a lot of voice boxes – players and in the CFL, cheerleaders – who don’t buy into verbal diarrhea. Releasing a player from a team who claims to be a business is one thing, releasing one from a family – whole other ball game.

Family – a group of people who are related that treat each other with a special intimacy or loyalty. (Does related by double blue blood count?)

Last time I checked, releasing players means releasing families or trading them off to another part of the country. That isn’t business, that’s personal. As one family to another, wouldn’t it be appropriate to sit down your player and let them know why they are leaving your family? Maybe too much to ask, but hey you were the one who brought everyone to the Sunday dinner table.

Currently this boys club mentality has leaked into the girls club. “It’s business, it’s not personal,” tends to be the mind frame running consistent within their head office. Maybe they missed the class on the Golden Rule, “treat others as you want to be treated,” but treating those who represent your brand with anything less than respect doesn’t cut it. Your brand can lose loyalty from within and in turn that projects outwards losing loyalty from fans.

This post is not to discredit the organization as a whole. I believed in this brand for two years. However, the intention is to be a slight wake-up call for whoever may stumble upon it. Brand loyalty is important, that’s why the real boys clubs do so well.