1* Edmonton +3.5 -115
Two plays I love this week:
Hamilton +4 -108
I know what WPG has done recently but Hamilton has been just as good. I'll take an offense humming on all cylinders +4 at home every single time.
Edmonton +3 -113
Team was embarrassed last week. I look for them to respond at home. Still have some hopes alive. I have SSK rated much lower than the market and I'll fade them all day laying 3 on the road.
Hulu, don't be down on your 'Cats, they are still in it man, they have an easier sched than the Argos and could catch them and own the tiebreaker. IMO they are still in the running to become the 1st ever East team to win the crossover, they have easier sched than the Green team and even if Elks go 3-0 'Cats can still pass them. Fridays game vs Bombers and saturdays Sask/Edm game will go a long way to determine who's going where, a perfect outcome would be 'Cats win and Elks win would tighten things up real good.I like Hamilton too based on the way they have been playing lately. Winnipeg has reeled off a string of wins but they haven't looked dominant like they have in years past. The only thing holding me back is that Hamilton's already slim playoff chances took a major hit last week with both Sask and Toronto winning. The cats are all but mathematically eliminated now which makes me wonder if they are "all-in" on this game. Coaching may decide to sit some guys that are nicked or maybe give Tualia some extended reps.
Appreciate the notes!Week 18
Winnipeg @ Hamilton
Bomber win guarantees at least West semi-final home game, Bombers win Sask loss clinches 1st they own tie-breaker with BC
Ti-cats win keeps playoff chances alive, even a loss keeps them alive
Calgary @ BC
Stamps loss eliminates them from playoffs as they don't own any tie-breakers
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton
Sask win clinches playoff spot if Hamilton loses
Elks loss eliminates them from playoff contention
Hulu, don't be down on your 'Cats, they are still in it man, they have an easier sched than the Argos and could catch them and own the tiebreaker. IMO they are still in the running to become the 1st ever East team to win the crossover, they have easier sched than the Green team and even if Elks go 3-0 'Cats can still pass them. Fridays game vs Bombers and saturdays Sask/Edm game will go a long way to determine who's going where, a perfect outcome would be 'Cats win and Elks win would tighten things up real good.
Haven't really any payed attention this week is Ford starting ?What a disaster this season has been for me. Nevertheless, we soldier on...
1* Edmonton +105
Both teams eliminated but I think Tre Ford still has something to prove here and he has the ability to do it against this sad sack Stamps defence.
Yes its Ford vs Matt Shiltz.Haven't really any payed attention this week is Ford starting ?
I woke up this morning and this had gone to 4 which wasn't surprising but now it has reversed course and gone to 6! I don't get it. I'm not seeing any news that would account for such a line move. Justin Hardy is out for Ottawa and Austin Mack is back for Montreal but those have been known for days. I'm not seeing it.1* Ottawa +4.5 -110
Davis Alexander getting the start for the ALs who have absolutely nothing to play for here. Yes Alexander went 3-0 as a starter this season and showed some capability but his wins came twice against bottom-dwelling Hamilton and vs a Sask team during their 0-6-1 stretch. Ottawa is playing to retake 2nd place from Toronto who temporarily claimed it on Friday by beating Winnipeg.
Additionally, the redblacks get back a couple of defenders in Frankie Griffin and Brandon Dandridge who should help solidify the defense which has been struggling in their absence.
Its just too many points for 2 teams with very different motivations.
Regardless of opinions, you didn't just get post of the year but post of the decade in my book1* CAL / HAM under 51.5 -110
These meaningless games often go under so I'm taking a flier on this one as it has a somewhat high total.
Back in 2017, I stumbled into an in-game thread on this forum with my head spinning and announced that my US based girlfriend of a few months was unexpectedly pregnant. As a person in my mid 40s who didn't want, nor had planned on having kids, it was like someone had poured battery acid on my brain. I remember @B.A.R. @KJ and others consoling me but honestly, I was distraught.
7 years later I wouldn't have it any other way. My girlfriend has turned into an excellent mother and partner and will be receiving her Canadian citizenship in a few weeks. My little girl is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine it without her.
I remember when my dad first took me to a Tiger-Cats game back in the 80s. He wasn't much of a sports fan but he ran a business in the city and had a strong sense of civic engagement. He saw it as his duty to support the hometown team even if the nuances of football were lost on him. The experience was very different in those days. People were drinking like fish, fights broke out multiple times per game with police carrying out combatants faster than you could watch. Things were being thrown on the field, at opposing players and officials alike. Fans were cursing, swearing and saying the most vile things I had ever heard at the opposing players. The whole place seemed so "alive" to a sheltered kid growing up in the burbs. I remember watching people carry six, clear plastic cups of beer (the max they would sell one person at a time) while drunkenly staggering up the steps and my young brain wondering why so many of these grown men liked apple juice so much. My favourite player quickly became Grover Covington, not so much because he was one of the most fearsome defensive ends of all time, but mostly because his name was Grover and I was very into Sesame Street at the time. Watching his son play in the NFL and now for the BC Lions, things have come full circle.
Dad has been gone for 25 years now but the fondest memories I have are sitting next to him at the old, delapitated stadium. The venue has been rebuilt but to this day, when I sit there under the lights on a warm summer evening, I often think of him and how proud he would be that the team and league (who were perpertually on the verge of bankruptcy) had somehow survived. I feel a duty to his memory to help keep that tradition going. Its what keeps me ponying up thousands of dollars every year for seasons tickets.
Tonight I will take my daughter to her first Ticats game. Like a young Hulu, she will have no idea what is going on down on the field, but the lights, the people and all the action will have her wide-eyed I'm sure. I don't know if she will become a football fan but I hope that we can start a new tradition of dad and daughter time, going to the old ballpark to watch our team battle through thick and thin. I'm proud to pass the torch to a new generation and I hope this team and league, and most importantly, her memories long outlive me.
Long live the Ticats and the CFL. And most importantly, long live family!
Best read of the day...1* CAL / HAM under 51.5 -110
These meaningless games often go under so I'm taking a flier on this one as it has a somewhat high total.
Back in 2017, I stumbled into an in-game thread on this forum with my head spinning and announced that my US based girlfriend of a few months was unexpectedly pregnant. As a person in my mid 40s who didn't want, nor had planned on having kids, it was like someone had poured battery acid on my brain. I remember @B.A.R. @KJ and others consoling me but honestly, I was distraught.
7 years later I wouldn't have it any other way. My girlfriend has turned into an excellent mother and partner and will be receiving her Canadian citizenship in a few weeks. My little girl is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine it without her.
I remember when my dad first took me to a Tiger-Cats game back in the 80s. He wasn't much of a sports fan but he ran a business in the city and had a strong sense of civic engagement. He saw it as his duty to support the hometown team even if the nuances of football were lost on him. The experience was very different in those days. People were drinking like fish, fights broke out multiple times per game with police carrying out combatants faster than you could watch. Things were being thrown on the field, at opposing players and officials alike. Fans were cursing, swearing and saying the most vile things I had ever heard at the opposing players. The whole place seemed so "alive" to a sheltered kid growing up in the burbs. I remember watching people carry six, clear plastic cups of beer (the max they would sell one person at a time) while drunkenly staggering up the steps and my young brain wondering why so many of these grown men liked apple juice so much. My favourite player quickly became Grover Covington, not so much because he was one of the most fearsome defensive ends of all time, but mostly because his name was Grover and I was very into Sesame Street at the time. Watching his son play in the NFL and now for the BC Lions, things have come full circle.
Dad has been gone for 25 years now but the fondest memories I have are sitting next to him at the old, delapitated stadium. The venue has been rebuilt but to this day, when I sit there under the lights on a warm summer evening, I often think of him and how proud he would be that the team and league (who were perpertually on the verge of bankruptcy) had somehow survived. I feel a duty to his memory to help keep that tradition going. Its what keeps me ponying up thousands of dollars every year for seasons tickets.
Tonight I will take my daughter to her first Ticats game. Like a young Hulu, she will have no idea what is going on down on the field, but the lights, the people and all the action will have her wide-eyed I'm sure. I don't know if she will become a football fan but I hope that we can start a new tradition of dad and daughter time, going to the old ballpark to watch our team battle through thick and thin. I'm proud to pass the torch to a new generation and I hope this team and league, and most importantly, her memories long outlive me.
Long live the Ticats and the CFL. And most importantly, long live family!
Crazy isn't it?Best read of the day...
Crazy to think this was that long ago (daughter entering your life ..)
The back nine has a lot more than fifty shades of gray too. Age is mental my friend, the rest of life will remind you if you need a timeline.Crazy isn't it?
One thing I've learned about life is that the back nine goes a whole lot faster than the front nine.
That game was almost an instant classic. Toronto lead 38-6 going into the 4th and Ottawa almost came back to tie it. They executed 2 successful onside kicks but couldn't manage the third. Good ol CFL...no lead is safe.Ottawa @ Toronto o50.5 50/92
I think you can do it.Season Results through Week 20
Sides 25-17-1 +0.835*
Totals 5-8 -5.38*
Parlay/Tease 3-3 -0.03*
Live/2H 8-6 -0.165*
Props 0-1 -0.55*
Futures 2-0 +0.50*
Overall 43-35-2 -4.79*
Really shitty few weeks, no two ways about it. With only 9 games left in the season I'm not liking my chances of getting back into positive territory. But dammit I'm gonna give it my best shot.
I still have Toronto to win the Cup for +770 in my back pocket and they're still my dark horse choice to win it all this year. That bet alone could save my season. Its gonna come down to the wire.
A couple of small futures bets...
0.2* Toronto to win Grey Cup +750
I mean why not? They are getting healthy for the stretch run with McManis and Brinkman coming back and Kelly is starting to look comfortable. They can beat anyone in the west and I have a sneaking suspicion they could waltz into Montreal and upset the ALs like the ALs did to them last year.
Thanks for the notes. .Okie dokie here we go...
2* Winnipeg ML -200
1* Parlay Montreal +3.5 / Saskatchewan ML +198
So Winnipeg needs this game vs Montreal to secure first place and the all-important first round bye in the west playoffs. Which is not to say that Montreal will lie down. Jason Maas has been saying all the right things "there are no meaningless games" for instance. But the reality is that after losing his LT for the season in last weeks meaningless tilt at BC, he is not going to risk his star players for a full game. The Bombers are off a bye and have had 2 weeks to prep for this game. I just don't see a way Winnipeg doesn't win here.
The parlay is a partial hedge with a chance for a middle. If Winnipeg were to lose, that opens the door for Sask to take first place by beating Calgary. I took the +3.5 for Montreal because it leaves the door open for a middle if WPG wins by 1-3. In that case, even though Sask's game becomes meaningless, I still think they have a better than even chance to win. They are in front of the home fans where CFL teams rarely let down and they are playing the league's bottom dwellers. Calgary is hapless and hopeless. From what I saw of them in person last week, they have quit on Dikenson. I watched the body language on the sideline all game and there was no heart there at all. They've been out of the playoffs for weeks and just want the season over with.