After today, I have just one more day of summer band camp left to direct. I’m so close to freedom, I can almost taste it. Lady Maestro is away camping having her bachelorette weekend, and I fully intend to catch every spare second of sports I can from the peace and quiet of my basement couch. I cannot wait to lounge this summer. I deserve to pamper myself.

In league news this week:

• The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced shortly after last week’s game that starting QB Trevor Harris is out long-term due to a fractured tibial plateau in his knee; he’ll have surgery in Regina to repair the damage. With an average recovery time of 6-12 months, it feels fairly safe to say that Harris is totally done for the year, and that’s a huge loss for a Saskatchewan team already in a dogfight for the final playoff spot in the West.
• With both Bo Levi Mitchell and Matt Shiltz now on the six-game injured list, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced the signing of QB Antonio Pipkin, who was most recently with the BC Lions last year, before he became a free agent this past off-season. Pipkin’s played 27 career CFL games in Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto, and BC, and he’ll dress as the #3 behind rookie Taylor Powell and sophomore Kai Locksley.
• Kenny Lawler will make his season debut for Winnipeg this week against Edmonton, having finally resolved his immigration issues stemming from a DUI charge from the 2021 season. While Winnipeg already has an absolutely elite receiving corps, Lawler will still improve it even more. Having led the league in receiving yards two years ago, he’s still 29 and should have several more productive years ahead of him.
• Apparently the CFL has had some excellent Canadian TV ratings this season – according to 3DownNation, average English-language ratings are up 46% from Week 1 to Week 6, and it’s been the highest-rated slate of games since Week 2 of the 2021 season. Even more remarkable was the Calgary-Saskatchewan game, which actually outdrew the Toronto Blue Jays for the first time in a very long time. TV ratings are a stupid, fickle metric of course, as they really do a terrible job of factoring in streaming viewers – but I hope that the league will find a way to capitalize on these recent positive trends. I’m not holding my breath, however.

Onto the games!

WEEK 6 RECAPS

Hamilton 37 vs. Edmonton 29: Another home game, another loss for the Elks, who are now the owners of the highly auspicious North American pro sports record of 20 consecutive home losses, dating back to October 2019. Hamilton came alive in the second half of this game and scored 24 unanswered points to put them ahead in the third quarter. Taylor Cornelius was yanked in favour of Jarret Doege in the second half, after giving up an absolutely egregiously bad pick-six to Ti-Cats DB Stavros Katsantonis. While Hamilton battled back extremely well, it was a big blow to lose Matt Shiltz late in the third quarter, and he heads to the six-game IL, leaving the Tabbies with few remaining QB options. Edmonton now drops to a dreadful 0-6.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

Toronto 35 vs. Montreal 27: Another win, and the Argonauts are 4-0 to start the season for the first time in 40 years. Chad Kelly threw 3 TDs and ran for another while tossing just one interception, and receiver Damonte Coxie made an absolutely incredible one-handed grab in the endzone to launch himself to the top of the SportsCentre highlight reels. For Montreal, Cody Fajardo found some excellent chemistry with receiver Tyler Snead, who caught all three of his touchdown passes on the day – but up against some strong pressure from the Argos’ D, also threw two interceptions. To Montreal’s credit, they battled extremely hard against Toronto, tying up the game multiple times in the second half, but Kelly’s toss to David Ungerer in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining gave Toronto the hard-fought road win.

PICK: Toronto

RESULT: Toronto

Winnipeg 28 vs. Ottawa 31 (OT): Ottawa has, at times, been lousy. But at this point, they’re Crummy. And fans are absolutely thrilled. After a slow start, the REDBLACKS fought back valiantly, with fourth-string QB Dustin Crum, now thrust into the starter’s role, leading the charge in the second half. Down 16 late in the game, Ottawa DB Brandin Dandridge snagged a Zach Collaros pass and returned in 25 yards for the pick-six, and with a successful two-point conversion, the REDBLACKS were now just eight points back with little time remaining. After forcing a Winnipeg punt, Ottawa got the ball back and had one final opportunity to try and tie the game. Cue the Crumback, folks. With no open receivers, Crum called his own number and ran the ball in from 12 yards out, then found Nate Behar in the end zone for the two-point conversion… and with nine seconds left, we had a tie ball game. In overtime, the Bombers opened with possession and kicked a field goal after Zach Collaros was sacked and lost 11 yards, but Ottawa managed to pull off the miraculous comeback when Dustin Crum again called his own number and scampered 29 yards for the winning score of the game. What a crazy game. We’ll be remembering that one for years to come no matter what Crum turns out to be in the CFL.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Ottawa

Calgary 33 vs. Saskatchewan 31: What a bummer of a game for the Riders – truly a worst-case scenario. Trevor Harris suffered his broken leg after getting rolled on by Stamps OL Derek Dennis, and while Mason Fine performed admirably in relief of him, the Stamps avenged their Week 3 loss to Saskatchewan with a walk-off 50-yard field goal by Rene Paredes to seal the deal. Saskatchewan was lucky to get two amazing return TDs from Mario Alford, who showed yet again why he’s one of the league’s elite kick returners – but with Harris in the game, the offence had difficulty moving the ball. They also had a late Hail Mary TD from Mason Fine to Tevin Jones that had the home fans convinced they’d eked out another win – right up until Paredes split the upright for the Stamps, that is.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Calgary

BYE: BC (4-0)

WEEK 7 PREVIEWS

Edmonton (0-6) vs. Winnipeg (4-2), Thursday, July 20th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Boy, the Elks are screwed. I think I’ve said that consistently over the last several weeks, but it really is remarkable to see how much of a hole they’re in just a third of a way into the season. Did Tre Ford kick Chris Jones’ dog? Is that the reason why the coach is so reluctant to start him at QB? Or is that Canadian passport more of a reason why? I don’t think it’s the latter, but I’m struggling to think of any other possible reasons. Guaranteed second year or not, Taylor Cornelius is clearly not it for Edmonton. Something’s gotta give. Going into Winnipeg is probably not what this team needs right now. With the way the Bombers collapsed so unexpectedly last week, it seems pretty likely that they’re not taking Edmonton lightly this week, no matter how atrocious they are.

PICK: Winnipeg

Toronto (4-0) vs. Hamilton (2-3), Friday, July 21st, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): In another fortunate stroke of luck for the Argos, the Tiger-Cats will be forced to start rookie QB Taylor Powell for this game, as both Bo Levi Mitchell and Matt Shiltz are on the six-game injured list right now. That’s a tough blow for a Tabbies team that hasn’t had good luck with injuries this year. With the Argos continuing their run as the league’s only unbeaten team, I don’t really see this Hamilton team, particularly in their current state, breaking this streak any time soon. The Double Blue truly are humming on all cylinders right now, especially QB Chad Kelly, who posted the highest single-game player efficiency rating of the entire CFL season, as measured by PFF – he finished the game with a 93.4, not to mention a passer rating of 141.7.

PICK: Toronto

Saskatchewan (3-2) vs. BC (4-1), Saturday, July 22nd, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): With QB Trevor Harris almost certainly done for the year, this is the first we’ll see of Mason Fine under centre for the Roughriders this season. Saskatchewan may be in a playoff spot right now, but up against a tough Lions team, and with Calgary nipping at their heels (not to mention fewer injuries right now), their fortunes could soon well change. The Lions looked like their old selves against Montreal before their bye week this past week, and with their strong performances at home, I see no reason to pick against them in this situation. So long as Vernon Adams, Jr. doesn’t go full Mr. Hyde, I guess.

PICK: BC

Ottawa (2-3) vs. Calgary (2-3), Sunday, July 23rd, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): Back in Week 2, the Stamps claimed victory over the REDBLACKS in part due to an atrocious game at QB by Nick Arbuckle. With Dustin Crum the starter for the time being moving forward, I think we’re going to see a much different Ottawa team against these Stampeders than we did back in June. It’s true that Calgary remains effective at running the ball, so even with a strong Ottawa run defence, they’ll have their hands full. Ultimately, the team that wins the turnover battle is probably going to walk away as the victor in this one. Dustin Crum sure has had some magic to him these last couple weeks – I’d really love to see if he’s for real or simply just a flash in the pan. I really, truly am rooting for him, though.

PICK: Calgary

BYE: Montreal (2-3)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Collaros, WPG – 1615
2. Adams, Jr., BC – 1540
3. Fajardo, MTL – 1401

Passing TDs

1. Collaros, WPG – 11
2. Adams, Jr., BC – 9
3. Harris, SSK – 6

Rushing Yards

1. Oliveira, WPG – 416
2. Butler, HAM – 329
3. Morrow, SSK – 322

Receiving Yards

1. Mack, MTL – 458
2. Schoen, WPG – 431
3. Julien-Grant, MTL – 415

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, CGY – 46
2. Dean, SSK – 37
3. Morgan, EDM – 36

Sacks

1. Betts, BC – 9
2. Jefferson, WPG – 7
3. Vaughters, CGY – 5

Interceptions

1. Houston, WPG – 4
2. Evans, MTL – 3
3. Daniel, TOR – 3

Field Goals

1. Ward, OTT – 15
2. Whyte, BC – 13
3. Castillo, WPG – 13

PICK POOL

This has really turned into a race for second place. BC Dick is just absolutely crushing the field after this week. We’ve got some serious work to do here. Not a perfect score to be seen this past week.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=221760

Enjoy the games, everyone.