The Rookies

The classic PC game Scorched Earth provides an instructive model for the Blue Jays.

The Sports Illustrated report this afternoon that the Toronto Blue Jays have dealt Roy Halladay to the Phillies in a three-team deal confirmed what most Jays’ fans have known since the team’s early hot start last year fell apart; the team’s officially gone into rebuilding mode. However, the question remains as to just what that will entail, and the Jays’ recent history is not auspicious in that regard.
Read the rest of this entry →

I’m in Calgary this week for the Grey Cup, the CFL championship game, which features the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes. It should be a great one. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Pacific, and I’m planning to live-blog the game over at Sporting Madness. Before that, here’s a little preview to get you prepped for the game.

Media interview Roughriders' coach Ken Miller (centre) at a breakfast with the Grey Cup (background) this week

Saskatchewan:

Number of Grey Cups won: Three

Last Grey Cup victory: 2007

Coach: Ken Miller

How they got here: Finished first in the CFL West Division, then knocked off the Calgary Stampeders 27-17 in the West Final to advance to the Grey Cup.

Key player: Running back Wes Cates. Cates is a rushing and receiving threat in the Ray Rice mould, and a very good one. He was key to the Riders’ Grey Cup win in 2007 and was their top player last year. He’s had a down year thanks to injuries, but if he can get the Saskatchewan rushing game going, that could be the crucial key to their success. Otherwise, Montreal will be able to drop too many men into coverage and pick off quarterback Darian Durant.

Montreal:

Number of Grey Cups won: Six

Last Grey Cup victory: 2002

Head coach: Marc Trestman

How they got here: Finished first in the league with a 15-3 record, then demolished B.C. 56-18 in the East final.

Key player: Quarterback Anthony Calvillo. Calvillo won his third Most Outstanding Player award and his second one in two years this week. He may be 37, but he threw for 4,639 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 72 per cent of his passes and was only picked off six times. However, the Alouettes are a surprising 1-6 in Grey Cup games with Calvillo at the helm. Not all of that is his fault, but this edition of the team certainly goes as Calvillo goes. If he has a typically brilliant day, they’ll win. If not, he may drop to 1-7.

Alouettes' QB Anthony Calvillo receives his third Most Outstanding Player award Friday.

Thanks for reading The Whole 110 Yards this season! Be sure to stop by Sporting Madness for my other Grey Cup coverage and my live blog. I’ll have one final edition of the Whole 110 Yards posted early this coming week to wrap up the game and the CFL season that was.

Casey Printers will lead the B.C. Lions into the Eastern Final today.

Last week’s CFL playoffs saw a pair of thrilling games, with the B.C. Lions seeing off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Calgary Stampeders taking down their provincial rivals in Edmonton. That sets up a pair of intriguing matchups for this week. Time to break them down below.
Read the rest of this entry →

After a hiatus thanks to other work commitments, I’m back with another issue of The Whole 110 Yards, just in time for the start of the CFL playoffs today. I’ll be taking you all the way through the playoffs and will be bringing you on-the-ground coverage from the Grey Cup in Calgary in two weeks. However, we still have two playoff rounds to get through before then. Without further ado, let’s get to the breakdowns of the first round. Start us off, Jim Mora!

Read the rest of this entry →

Welcome to our Last Call for the evening. First, before we get to the sports links, we have a glorious music video for you.

Read the rest of this entry →

Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray (Sacramento State) gets a pass off before being hit by Saskatchewan linebacker Jerrell Freeman (University of Mary Hardin-Baylor) Sunday.

Welcome to another installment of The Whole 110 Yards. As always, check the CFL home page for statistics, video highlights and broadcast schedules. Comments, questions or suggestions? Leave them below, or send them to me via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook.

The Week That Was: This week saw plenty of action in the CFL, but the overarching theme was a all-but-decided East Division and an up-for-grabs West Division. There are still seven weeks on the schedule, but the 9-2 Montreal Alouettes have all but clinched the East title. They maintained their three-game lead at the top of the division with a 33-14 thumping of the 3-8 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Sunday. Meanwhile, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats strengthened their hold on second place in the East with a 24-17 win over the Calgary Stampeders Friday, improving their record to 6-5. Barring an unexpected implosion on the part of the Alouettes, a division title doesn’t appear in the cards for the Tiger-Cats, but they do seem set to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Read the rest of this entry →

Hamilton wide receiver Marquay McDaniel (Hampton) makes a catch Friday against Toronto defensive back Jason Shivers. The Argonauts rebounded to win 25-22 in overtime and improve their record to 3-7.

The Week That Was: It was an interesting week in the CFL, complete with Saskatchewan’s 55-10 thumping of Winnipeg in the Banjo Bowl, the Stampeders pulling off a late comeback to knock off the Eskimos and Montreal getting revenge on the Lions at home. All three results were significant, and both the Calgary-Edmonton and B.C. – Montreal tilts were excellent games. Still, my vote for game of the week goes to the Toronto Argonauts’ improbable 25-22 overtime victory against the Hamilton TIger-Cats. It was the first home win for the Boatmen under head coach Bart Andrus, and their triumph snapped a five-game, 405-day home losing streak that predated Andrus, stretching back to last season.
Read the rest of this entry →

Edmonton receiver Fred Stamps (Louisiana - Lafayette) hauls in a game-winning catch against Calgary Thursday.

It’s time for another installment of my weekly CFL column. Video highlight reels of each game, as well as scores, stats and U.S. broadcast schedules can all be found on the league home page. As always, if you have comments or suggestions for future columns, leave them below or e-mail them to me. Read the rest of this entry →

It was an incredible PGA Championship today, one that saw Tiger Woods lose his first major after leading at the start of the final round. He entered the day with a two-shot lead over both Padraig Harrington and Y.E. Yang. Most people figured Harrington would pose the real threat to Woods, as he won the championship last year and has three major titles to his name. The focus leading up to the tournament was on their anticipated duel, especially after they battled it out at the Bridgestone Invitational last week, and they didn’t disappoint. They were paired in the opening round and were almost neck-and-neck through Saturday, with Harrington cutting Woods’ one-time lead of four shots down to two by the end of the day. Their compelling performance prompted many golf scribes, including Golf Digest’s Dan Jenkins, to anoint their seemingly-inevitable duel as the story of the tournament going into today’s action.
Read the rest of this entry →

B.C. defensive end Ricky Foley sacks Saskatchewan QB Darian Durant Friday. The Lions won 35-20, increasing the storm of questions around the Riders' quarterbacking situation.

It’s the second week of my adventures in CFL column writing. Video highlight reels of each game, as well as scores, stats and U.S. broadcast schedules can all be found on the league home page. As always, if you have comments or suggestions for future columns, leave them below or e-mail them to me.

The Week That Was:

It was a crazy week in the CFL, complete with a shutout in Montreal, a clash of passing and running offences in Hamilton and a surprisingly close game in Calgary. Still, my vote for the most interesting game of the past week goes to the B.C. Lions’ 35-20 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Vancouver Friday night. This game had it all, but it deserves special notice for marking a potential turnaround. Heading into Saturday, the Riders were sitting pretty at 3-2 and looked like the best team in the West. Meanwhile, the Lions were reeling at 1-4 and had just came off a brutal loss to Hamilton. Only a few of us nuts thought they might win this one. The victory improves their record to 2-4, while the Riders fall into a three-way tie for first in the West at 3-3. The game itself was a roller-coaster ride, including five interceptions, a couple of fumbles and a bizarre special-teams play.
Read the rest of this entry →