Summer camp is underway. It’s my eighteenth (and final) year of being involved with teaching summer music. I’m four days in and I’m more tired now than I have ever been at any point in the regular school year. Teaching nine-year-olds is a whole different ballgame compared to teaching high schoolers. I am looking forward to recharging at the cottage with some football on the radio to decompress a little bit.

In league news this week:

• The Ottawa REDBLACKS have lost key returner DeVonte Dedmon for likely the next 6 weeks; he was carted off the field last Sunday against Edmonton with a knee injury. That’s more insult to injury during what has been an abysmal start to the season.
• Former Alouettes DE Shawn Lemon, who was suspended indefinitely last year due to a gambling scandal that included betting on CFL games, is now, according to new commissioner Stewart Johnston, “eligible to apply for reinstatement”; this is a notable tone shift in the league’s new leadership, particularly when it appeared like Randy Ambrosie really wanted to throw the book at him last year. If successful in returning to the CFL, he’s also required to serve an additional two-game suspension for taking Phentermine, a weight-loss drug listed on the league’s banned substances list.
• The CFL suspended BC Lions DL Kemoko Turay for one game, for inciting a post-game brawl at the end of his team’s game last week against the Montreal Alouettes; Turay was caught on camera in the Montreal bench area punching Als defender Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund in the face. Adeyemi-Berglund was fined by the league for his involvement in the melee, as well as teammate M.J. Sherman.
• Former Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Tyrone Jones, who passed away the age of 46 due to inoperable brain cancer in 2008, is going to be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honour this year; Jones is the franchise leader in sacks, with 98, and helped the team win the 1984 and 1990 Grey Cups in his eight-year tenure with the team. A four-time All-CFLer and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 1985 season, Jones also played in Saskatchewan and BC, as well as a short stint with the NFL Arizona Cardinals.
• After many, many close calls, a man from New Westminster, BC, Roy Lyster, won the CFL’s Touchdown to Win competition for the first time since 1999. Sponsored by Save On Foods, one name is drawn every CFL game; if there are two kickoffs returned for touchdowns in the same game, the lucky winner gets a million bucks – and thanks to the wild game between the Argos and Ti-Cats, the (almost impossible) finally happened! We had one close call back in 2017, when the second kick return TD in a game between the Argos and Blue Bombers was called back due to a penalty away from the play and Karen Kuldys was denied her shot at riches and glory; she did receive two years’ worth of Bombers season tickets, free groceries for a year, and 500,000 reward miles. Enjoy your winnings, Roy!

Onto the games!

WEEK 5 RECAPS

Winnipeg 16 vs. Calgary 37: Well, the Stamps might actually, against all odds, be for real this year. In the inaugural Stampede Bowl (kicking off the famous Calgarian cowboy congregation), the home side absolutely demolished the favoured visitors handily. Of biggest surprise was just how human Zach Collaros looked – it was probably his worst game in years as he threw two pick-sixes on the night, to Damon Webb and Derrick Moncrief. Offensively, the Stamps were tidy, with Vernon Adams, Jr. finally throwing his first TD passes in red and white, while RB Dedrick Mills had 93 yards and a TD on 18 carries as well. Even having Brady Oliveira, the league’s leading rusher last season, could not help Winnipeg – he had 112 total yards on 19 touches but couldn’t spark much of anything for the away side.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Calgary

Hamilton  51 vs. Toronto 38: The offence showed up in a major way for the Tiger-Cats during this one, as Bo Levi Mitchell became just the eleventh quarterback in CFL history to break the 40,000 passing yards in a career milestone, while Kenny Lawler had three touchdown catches to lead the way for the black & gold. Most notably, the special teams also showed up for both sides – Janarion Grant had a long kickoff return TD for the Boatmen, while Isaiah Wooden responded in kind for the Tabbies; all this to say – the Argos secondary and kick coverage needs an overhaul. Through 5 games, it’s just not up to snuff thus far.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

BC 21 vs. Montreal 20: In an ugly, undisciplined, and penalty-filled game, it figures that lack of control would end up being the major story for how the Lions won. In the fourth quarter, Nathan Rourke threw his only touchdown of the game to Stanley Berryhill to put BC up for the first since the first half, but Montreal came back to grab the lead once again with just 28 seconds left to play, thanks to Jose Maltos’ second field goal of the game. However, with Montreal’s Pier-Olivier Lestage called for objectionable conduct on the field goal, BC got an additional 15 yards of field position to set up for a 43-yard game winner from Sean Whyte, which he nailed. Unfortunately, a brawl broke out at the Montreal bench at the same time that the Lions were hoisting Whyte on their shoulders for the gutsy win – a real damper on what could’ve been considered a statement win.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: BC

Ottawa 32 vs. Edmonton 39: The REDBLACKS played some sloppy, undisciplined football, and the mistakes they made really bit them hard. Elks RB Justin Rankin had a monster game, with 105 rush yards and 69 receiving yards to go along with one TD catch and another on the ground – the front seven couldn’t plug any holes at all. While getting Dru Brown back was a good thing for the REDBLACKS’ offence, they still committed far too many two-and-outs and couldn’t maintain a consistent rhythm. Finally, with the Ottawa D giving up a series of monster plays, their special-teams coverage once again was abysmal, with Javon Leake racking up a 97-yard punt return TD. Kalil Pimpleton did have a cool punt return TD of his own for Ottawa, but too little, too late. This Ottawa team should be better than its record shows, but they’ve been awful at staying focused and regulated.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Edmonton

BYE: Saskatchewan (4-0)

WEEK 6 PREVIEWS

Calgary (3-1) vs. Saskatchewan (4-0), Friday, July 11th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Calgary’s D looks really, surprisingly good, addressing the major concern that many pundits, myself included, had with the team as they entered into last year’s off-season. This is going to be another tough test for them as they go up against the league’s last undefeated team – while the Roughriders are indeed 4-0, they haven’t won huge in any of their games, and might be able to be exploited if Calgary can keep establishing the run. As much as the fabled crowds of Regina really haven’t shown up over the last couple of seasons in the numbers we’ve been accustomed to seeing, Mosaic Stadium remains a difficult place for visitors to play.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Ottawa (1-4) vs. Hamilton (2-2), Saturday, July 12th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CFL+): This is the start of a home-and-home series; if Bo Levi Mitchell has another game like he did last week – with five TD passes – watch out for this Ti-Cats team. Ottawa has been out of sorts all year – yes, injuries have definitely played a factor in that – but poor coaching and poor regulatory skills have just as much impact as absences from the line up. You have to be able to effectively control what is controllable – and Bob Dyce & co. have shown pretty much no ability to do that, not just this year, but over pretty much his entire tenure as the REDBLACKS’ top dog. A loss here should get this team asking the hard questions that quite honestly should’ve been addressed differently after last year’s spanking in the East semifinal.

PICK: Hamilton

BC (2-3) vs. Edmonton (1-3), Saturday, July 12th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Edmonton spent a lot of money on defensive signings in the offseason, and it looks like they finally were starting to gel last week against Ottawa. If they can keep the pass rush going then I really like their chances to get things turned around for the rest of the season. The Lions, despite last week’s win, still look a fragile, undisciplined team; Nathan Rourke is good, but definitely not at full health still. The Lions need more from him but also need to balance his long-term well-being – an incredibly difficult situation. Still excited to see two Canadian QBs face off every time – I think that this is going to be a far different result than what we saw in Week 1 in Vancouver.

PICK: Edmonton

BYE: Toronto (1-4), Montreal (3-2), Winnipeg (3-1)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Arbuckle, TOR – 1449
2. Mitchell, HAM – 1219
3. Adams, Jr., CGY – 1025

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, HAM – 9
2. Arbuckle, TOR – 7
3. Collaros, WPG – 6

Rushing Yards

1. Ouellette, SSK – 347
2. Mills, CGY – 311
3. Butler, BC – 303

Receiving Yards

1. Lawler, HAM – 483
2. Coxie, TOR – 406
3. Hatcher, BC – 386

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 43
2. Murray, MTL – 32
3. Judge, TOR – 31

Sacks

1. Chatfield, TOR – 5
2. Hendrix, BC – 3
3. Kendricks, HAM  – 3

Interceptions

1. Campbell, SSK – 2
2. Milligan, SSK – 2
3. Greene, CGY – 2

Field Goals

1. Maltos, MTL – 16
2. Ward, OTT – 12
3. Hajrullahu, TOR – 11

PICK POOL

Tough, tough week for me. Tough for a lot of us, really. Especially disappointed in the Alouettes for not closing that one out. Could be some costly points left on the board for a few of us…

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=243178

Enjoy the games, everyone.