We made it! The playoffs are here! It’s one of my favourite times of year for football; with most of my backyard leaves down relatively early this year, I should have more time and space to watch football than I have in years previous. Now if only I can deal with this pesky report card situation before my little Concertmaster is supposed to arrive in just over two weeks’ time… Hopefully we can have the season wrapped up pretty well in full before they make their appearance to the world.
In league news this week:
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- The Ottawa REDBLACKS have fired head coach Bob Dyce after three seasons at the helm. This was 100% necessary and inevitable, even with one season left on his deal; he may well be a tremendous human being and a leader of men, but no doubt that his actual in-game decision-making has been pretty much apocalyptically bad in pretty well his entire tenure as a head coach. GM Shaun Burke will have one final opportunity to hire a head coach, and he needs to get it right; as a lame-duck GM with one year left on his deal this feels like exceptionally weird timing, however. I personally think he should’ve also been given the axe due to some terrible results in his tenure here, but with the CFL’s asinine salary cap on coaching and football ops people, I have strong reason to believe that it may not be possible at this point. Regardless, OSEG, the owners of the REDBLACKS and the operators of the TD Place and Arena facilities at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, have operated in recent years like they truly believe the real estate portion of this agreement with the city is the only actual thing of value to the business. That’s not endearing themselves to fans in the slightest.
- The 2027 Grey Cup will be hosted at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders; the team last played host in 2022. That makes this four straight Western Grey Cups in a row; last year in Vancouver, this year in Winnipeg, 2026 in Calgary and 2027 in Regina. When will the East see another title game? Hard to say with stadium situations currently not sufficient to host in Ottawa and Montreal, not to mention marketing and attendance issues in Toronto…
- The CFL also confirmed this week as part of their announcement for the 2027 Grey Cup that the league will be moving up the start of the season by one week, resulting in a Grey Cup that will be played on Sunday, November 7th; while there’s probably some benefit to trying to play a bit more of the season in warmer weather, this will make the start of training camps more difficult for teams, as that mid-May start date is historically convenient for teams figuring out how to attract undrafted college players and other early-offseason NFL cuts in need of work for the summer. Ultimately, it feels to me like it’s creeping closer towards being spring football and catering more towards an American audience, which similarly worries me.
- In a crazy example of the rouge – soon to be lost forever to the sands of time due to the widespread rule changes to Canadian football that begin next season – the University of Guelph Gryphons eliminated the powerhouse Western University Mustangs 18-17 on a walk-off rouge in the Ontario University Athletics conference playoffs. Following a missed field goal that went wide left, with no time left on the clock, all the return man had to do was get the ball out of the end zone. It even would’ve been legal for him to kick the ball out of the end zone had he had the foresight to do so… instead, he was forced out of bounds inside, awarding the single point to the Gryphons as time expired, handing Western their earliest playoff loss in 22 years.
🏈FB HIGHLIGHT: Nothing says Canadian football like a walkoff rouge! @GryphonFB wins it on the rouge to pull off the upset on the road in dramatic fashion! #GryphonPride pic.twitter.com/Wb4KNMdsBI
— Guelph Gryphons (@guelph_gryphons) October 25, 2025
Onto the games!
WEEK 21 RECAPS
Ottawa 15 vs. Hamilton 35: The REDBLACKS ended their season with a whimper, as they barely put up a fight and allowed the Tiger-Cats to clinch the East Division title and a first-round playoff bye with the win. Tyrie Adams, in his second start for Ottawa, was benched for the second half, and replaced by Matt Shiltz, a longtime vet who hadn’t played since Week 2 of the regular season, when he threw three bad interceptions in a losing effort against Montreal… and proceeded to throw four more interceptions in what may well be his final game in the CFL as a quarterback. A big relief for Hamilton to get a week off; they’re going to need it, considering how strong the Alouettes are right now and the team’s difficulties in dealing with Winnipeg this season.
PICK: Hamilton
RESULT: Hamilton
Calgary 20 vs. Edmonton 10: Not the world’s most exciting matchup to end off the regular season, but the Stamps got the job done against the Elks. Calgary had four field goals from Rene Paredes and a rushing TD from backup QB Quincy Vaughn, while the Elks had one pass TD from Cody Fajardo and a field goal from Vincent Blanchard. Calgary had a 16-0 lead going into halftime, and kept the Elks most in check defensively through the final two frames; Edmonton may have ended the year on the outside of the playoff race looking in, but to their credit, it does feel like things are finally starting to turn around a little bit for this beleaguered franchise. Many big offseason moves loom; in particular, Tre Ford’s future as a quarterback for the Elks will be a significant question for which many pundits will be seeking an answer, myself included.
PICK: Calgary
RESULT: Calgary
Montreal 10 vs. Winnipeg 19: With the Ti-Cats having clinched the division the night before, the Alouettes rested a lot of key starters, including QB Davis Alexander; the Bombers, knowing they would be on the road regardless for their playoff game, followed suit by sitting Zach Collaros and a few others. In a battle of backups, Winnipeg ultimately came out on top, though it did cost them a season-ending injury to primary backup QB Chris Streveler, who’s now sadly done for the year from a nasty-looking knee injury. These two teams will face off again for the second week in a row this week, and both will look fairly different by playing their starters in this next go-around.
PICK: Montreal
RESULT: Winnipeg
BC 27 vs. Saskatchewan 21: Nathan Rourke had another brilliant game, with 368 passing yards, 3 TDs and a pick, and the Lions knocked off the division champs to earn the right to host the West semifinal this week. As I mentioned in previous weeks, this game was my pick for what I believe to be a West final preview, and ultimately, the Lions’ red-hot offence looks absolutely terrifying right now. Trevor Harris played the first quarter of this game for Saskatchewan, in part to try and avoid the rust building up too much, but was pulled early to keep him healthy for the West final; Jake Maier and Jack Coan both took some snaps again and Coan ended up sneaking in two TDs from short yardage. Ultimately, the Lions got the winning score when Rourke found favourite receiver Keon Hatcher in the end zone with just over three minutes to play; the Leos then had a big stop on D to force a turnover on downs and ultimately the victory.
PICK: BC
RESULT: BC
BYE: Toronto (5-13)
DIVISION SEMIFINAL PREVIEWS
EAST DIVISION SEMIFINAL
(C) Winnipeg (10-8) vs. (2) Montreal (10-8), Saturday, November 1st, 2:00 PM EDT (CTV, TSN, CFL+): Davis Alexander’s record as a starting QB in the CFL is now at 11-0, a truly remarkable figure. He’s the lynchpin of Montreal’s entire team; if they have an Achilles heel, it’s that the entire squad seems to completely fall apart when he’s not in the lineup. That’s quite the ability for a single player to influence a game in the manner that he does – but the Als need him more than anyone realizes. I think. The Blue Bombers have had a really inconsistent year compared to many of their previous seasons, though I also said some similar comments about them last year as they ultimately were en route to their fifth consecutive Grey Cup game appearance. No crossover team has ever made it all the way to the title game, let alone won it – and while we can’t rule out playoff magic that seems to happen every year in the CFL, it still feels like some really, really tough sledding for Winnipeg this week. If they do it, it’ll be by bringing the house at Davis Alexander on literally every single play. That might be their only option left. Stamina be damned, really.
PICK: Montreal
WEST DIVISION SEMIFINAL
(3) Calgary (11-7) vs. (2) BC (11-7), Saturday, November 1st, 5:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Lions have owned the Stamps this year. They head into the playoffs with the league’s top-ranked offence, and with the league’s most exciting QB to boot. Having already walloped Calgary twice, a playoff victory here would really, truly, once and for all, put to bed the question of whether BC kept the correct QB when they elected to trade away Vernon Adams, Jr. to Calgary, who now faces off against them for the third time this year. As good as the Stamps have been, and I still strongly feel they’re a feel-good story after having been written off by so many to start the season – my gut still tells me that the Lions are absolutely terrifying right now and are my personal pick to win this year’s Grey Cup. I don’t like anyone’s chances against them as long as Nathan Rourke is healthy.
PICK: BC
BYE: (1) Hamilton (11-7), (1) Saskatchewan (12-6)
REGULAR SEASON FINAL STANDINGS AND STATS
East Division Standings
| Team | Games | Wins | Losses | Points For | Points Against |
| y-Hamilton | 18 | 11 | 7 | 525 | 496 |
| x-Montreal | 18 | 10 | 8 | 445 | 430 |
| e-Toronto | 18 | 5 | 13 | 497 | 583 |
| e-Ottawa | 18 | 4 | 14 | 417 | 537 |
West Division Standings
| Team | Games | Wins | Losses | Points For | Points Against |
| y-Saskatchewan | 18 | 12 | 6 | 472 | 409 |
| x-BC | 18 | 11 | 7 | 559 | 499 |
| x-Calgary | 18 | 11 | 7 | 488 | 416 |
| c-Winnipeg | 18 | 10 | 8 | 459 | 424 |
| e-Edmonton | 18 | 7 | 11 | 422 | 490 |
x – clinched playoff spot
y – clinched division
e – eliminated from playoff contention
Passing Yards
- Mitchell, HAM – 5296
- Rourke, BC – 5290
- Harris, SSK – 4549
Passing TDs
- Mitchell, HAM – 36
- Rourke, BC – 31
- Arbuckle, TOR – 26
Rushing Yards
- Mills, CGY – 1409
- Ouellette, SSK – 1222
- Butler, BC – 1213
Receiving Yards
- Hatcher, BC – 1688
- Lawler, HAM – 1443
- McInnis, BC – 1256
Defensive Tackles
- Awe, BC – 117
- Jones, WPG – 104
- Sankey, MTL – 103
Sacks
- Betts, BC – 15
- Howsare, HAM – 13
- Hicks, CGY – 12
Interceptions
- McFadden, TOR – 6
- Peters, HAM – 6
- Katsantonis, HAM – 6
Field Goals
- Maltos Diaz, MTL – 58
- Hajrullahu, TOR – 57
- Liegghio, HAM – 52
PICK POOL FINAL STANDINGS
Well, it ended up being a very close final race – but Mr. Ayo held on to claim the 2025 pick pool title by a single point over runner-up SonOfSpam! Congrats on another great season to all; Mr. Ayo has been contacted by me about his prize which I hope will make it to his place within the next few business days though it is somewhat dependent on the rolling strikes going on at Canada Post right now. Cheers to all and looking forward to our 2026 competition already. Maybe ONE of these years I can actually win this thing…
| Rank | Total Points | Weekly Score | Win Percentage |
| Mr. Ayo | 53 | 3-1 | 65.43% |
| SonOfSpam | 52 | 4-0 | 64.20% |
| GA Russell | 51 | 4-0 | 62.96% |
| BC Dick | 47 | 4-0 | 58.02% |
| Gumbygirl | 47 | 3-1 | 58.02% |
| litre_cola | 44 | 3-1 | 57.14% |
| Game Time Decision | 44 | 3-1 | 54.32% |
| The Maestro | 44 | 4-0 | 54.32% |
| Don T | 39 | 2-2 | 48.15% |
| Horatio Cornblower | 39 | 3-1 | 48.15% |
| Ballsofsteelandfury | 33 | 3-1 | 40.74% |
Enjoy the games, everyone.
Brad Marchand took a leave from the Florida Panthers to fill in as coach of a friend’s U-18 team after the friend’s 10-year-old daughter died.
I’ve said a lot of nasty things about Marchand, all of which I 100% meant and which were accurate, but he deserves to have this spotlighted and weighed against his many, many, many egregious crimes against humanity.
I’d also appreciate it if whatever Powers That Be that decide these things could stop taking little kids when there’s a perfectly good 79+ Cheeto-looking motherfucker right there for the taking.
Oh yeah, hit me with that sweet rush of schadenfreude.
“It’s an unstructured mess,” a source with first-hand knowledge of the program told WRAL. “There’s no culture, no organization. It’s a complete disaster.”
https://www.wral.com/sports/belichick-coach-culture-chaos-oct-2025/
Anonymous Parent is always sure to be disappointed that someone else is responsible the situation their adult son find himself in.
With many parents, it seems that someone else is always repsonsible for the situation their son or daughter is in.
(unless, of course, the situation is a good one. in that case, well, that’s just due to good upbringing)
I am absolutely not supposed to be eating this.
Two churro donuts with vanilla ice cream made at the ice cream parlor next door.
The scene of the crime:
I think I have found my weekend activity – getting really stoned and watching the Speed Racer movie. I forgot how bright and hectic that movie is.
Ah the biannual daylight savings rants are here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br0NW9ufUUw
I think most people want the time changes to go away, but people are split on Standard or Daylight. I’m a night owl, so for me sunshine at 9:30 PM is good and sunshine at 4:30 is bad. Put me down for Daylight.
Depends on the location but the body will adapt to whatever they choose.
That’s great if you never have to wake up early, but we stopped doing sensible things like having school and work start later during the winter ages ago. There was nothing more soul crushing than spending the first 3-4 hours of my day in total darkness when I lived in Chicago. That little bit of sunlight I got right before going in to work was a lifesaver and it wouldn’t exist on Daylight time.
The argument I hear from Daylight time people is basically that they don’t like having the sun wake them up too early, which can be fixed with blackout shades.
If you get rid of Standard time you get a whole lot more seasonal depression, and a whole lot more traffic accidents in the morning while kids are getting to school (this is why they stopped permanent Daylight time when they tried it 50 years ago). None of that is going to be fixed without major changes in how society runs, and that’s not gonna happen any time soon
See, I’m the opposite. I hate driving home in the dark at 5:30. And I know I’m not the only one.
My old boss was telling me she liked getting up at 5 AM and watching the sun rise with her cup of coffee. To me that’s insane.
As for the kids getting hit by cars, the solution is what the solution here in my school district is/was; let elementary school start at 8:30.
It’s still dark at 5:30 pm either way in a lot of the country and sunrise isn’t until almost 8 am as is, so unless you have a 9 am start time for elementary, middle and high schools you’re still going to have lots of kids waiting for busses and walking in the dark.
Also, morning sunlight is more effective for improving mental health and preventing depression. It’s not that I didn’t like or even hated being in the dark for hours in the morning, it’s that it made me severely depressed to the point where I’m amazed I survived some of those years. I mean literally lifesaving, not figuratively lifesaving. I’ve never heard anyone on the Daylight time side describe any sort of serious mental or physical health effects, while there are plenty of people with much worse seasonal impacts than I had. Standard full time or keep switching, either is fine with me, but I will never be convinced that any of the positives of full time Daylight even mildly offset the negative health impacts.
And when you don’t like waking up early in the first place, why is it better to do it in the dark? Don’t you want the help staying awake? I’ve seen plenty of cars with sleepy drivers when it’s dark at 7 am, not so much at 5:30 pm no matter how dark it is.
Sounds like we should have one fucking clock for every day of the year — and then each individual can adjust their life accordingly.
If everybody worked at home that could, this would not be as much of an issue.
100%
And jobs that require being there in person like auto mechanics could have more flexible hours too since people would be able to patronize those businesses during hours they otherwise would be stuck in the office
It rules.
.
My inner thirteen-year-old thinks this classified ad has won the internet.
https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/brocock-atomic-butt-plug-25.1341027/
Perfection, right down to the brand name.
Their name is Brady. We voted and everything. It’s legally binding.
Middle of the pack, woohoo!
Congrats to Mayo Man on his very used fleshlight and partially-digested remnants of several Big Turks.
Western’s radio broadcast is the most disappointedly Canadian “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING” moment in recent sports history.
WESTERN SUCKS
I love a game-winning rouge. Gotta boot it out so they can try to boot it back through. I’m going to savour the last season of the CFL next year.
I am enjoying the end of a lot of things these days.
This you these days?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW6E_TNgCsY&list=RDMW6E_TNgCsY&start_radio=1