School is finally out for me, and we’re heading into a long weekend with a full slate of CFL action this week. I’ll be in the Muskokas with my old college roommates and their wives and children too – our first full-group get-together in a long, long while. There will be much beer consumed, and I will be following along with this week’s slate of games on internet radio. Let’s go!

In league news this week:

• Calgary signed veteran LB Adam Bighill to their practise squad earlier this week; a three-time Grey Cup champ, three-time CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player award winner, and six-time CFL All-Star, the Stamps are hopeful that Bighill, at age 36, might have a tiny little bit of gas left in the tank for them later this season. Regardless of what may happen this year, you can put Bighill’s name in pen for induction to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame once his waiting period has passed.
• The Tiger-Cats released LB Kyle Wilson in a surprise move earlier this week; a member of the organization since 2020, he had a good season last year with 88 defensive tackles, 2 sacks, a pick, and a forced fumble; at age 29, I still think he has some miles left in him so this appears to me to be a cost-savings move more than anything football-related.
• Longtime Seattle Seahawks TE Luke Willson, now a football analyst for TSN, has had some pretty spicy takes online about his opinions on the CFL and the state of Canadian football. Despite playing his entire football career in the NFL, his opinions – specifically on how he feels the Canadian game needs to adapt and change with the times, and more specifically needs to look more like American rules – are at least driving traffic and viewership for parent company Bell Media in roughly proportionate combinations of love and hate. While I personally don’t disagree on many of the comments he made – in one instance referencing the absolutely absurd number of penalties in last week’s Toronto-Saskatchewan game ensuing in some “sloppy football” and bad for promoting viewership – I think we also have to take this with a grain of salt, particularly when his own pro football experiences require millions of people to be exposed to such franchises as the New York Football Giants on a weekly basis. That said, I also agree that better marketing needs to be done for the CFL – I have long been of this opinion – in particular, a Hard Knocks or Drive To Survive type of behind-the-scenes series could be an excellent step forward. With a media expert in Stewart Johnston now the commissioner of the league, I think there’s more of a possibility of this happening than in previous seasons.

Onto the games!

WEEK 3 RECAPS

Montreal 38 vs. Edmonton 28: Davis Alexander had a monster showing in this one, with three TDs and 254 pass yards, before going down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the third quarter, but is in fact nothing serious, to the delight of Als fans. The Als’ D racked up five sacks on Tre Ford and the Elks, but took their foot off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter of this game, and let the Elks rack up 22 points in the final frame. I think it’s still too early to fully evaluate the Elks – always tough when you have Montreal early in the schedule to terrorize your offensive line – but I also don’t think QB protection is the issue here despite giving up five sacks. Tre Ford went 27-36 for 308 pass yards, two TDs, and a pick, plus 31 rush yards and a ground TD – a good showing, overall considering the amount of pressure thrown on him – though we also need to acknowledge being able to move a little more freely once the Als had a big lead. Of more concern to me is the state of the Elks’ D again – in particular the secondary.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Saskatchewan 39 vs. Toronto 32: This was a pretty wild one. Saskatchewan had a big lead for much of the game, until the Argos clawed and scraped their way back late in the fourth quarter; Nick Arbuckle found Kevin Mital in the end zone for a late TD, which cut the Rider’s lead to two, and then tied it up on the subsequent two-point conversion with less than thirty second left in the game. Unfortunately, home fans were sent away heartbroken when longtime return ace Mario Alford scored a 99-yard kickoff return TD to win it for the visitors immediately afterwards; a tough blow for the Argos, who now drop to 0-3 for the first time since 2019.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

Ottawa 20 vs. Calgary 12: With weird weather in Calgary – temperatures below 8 degrees, including driving rain and howling wind, the REDBLACKS played some conservative offence and ran the ball a ton on the way to their first victory of 2025. More impressively, the team managed to find a way to win starting their third different QB in three weeks. With Dru Brown still injured and with Matt Shiltz’s stinker of a game last week, Dustin Crum played it safe and got the job done. Crum threw for just 111 yards on the day, but rushed for 64 more, while RBs William Stanback and Daniel Adeboboye each racked up multiple long runs to pound the rock. Big credit also needs to be given to the REDBLACKS’ D – they forced five turnovers on the Stamps, including a late goal-line interception on QB Vernon Adams, Jr. by S Charlie Ringland, and also had a key goal-line stand to keep QB PJ Walker out of the end zone in the second quarter.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Ottawa

Winnipeg 27 vs. BC 14: The Blue Bombers are like kryptonite for the BC Lions. Whatever the nature of the game, they just cannot seem to get it done. Even with a relatively mediocre night from QB Zach Collaros, returning to game action for the first time in 2025 (2 TD passes and 2 interceptions), the Bombers cruised to victory. Winnipeg’s D also chipped in thanks to Jamal Parker scoring a 60-yard pick six off a fumble recovery. The Lions’ offence looked out of sorts with Nathan Rourke unavailable for this game – if this team is going to ride or die by his presence, they’re going to need to do a much better job protecting him in future, as Jeremiah Masoli, in his first start at QB for the Lions, had a tough night with two interceptions of his own.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

BYE: Hamilton (0-2)

WEEK 4 PREVIEWS

Edmonton (0-3) vs. Winnipeg (2-0), Thursday, June 26th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): I don’t think this game is going to do a lot of favours for the visitors. Despite a strong offensive fourth quarter last week, the D struggled mightily earlier and it was too much for the O to overcome late. Perhaps the Bombers missing RB Brady Oliveira again might help things for the Elks, but rookie Michael Peterson has looked similarly sharp as a rusher thus far as well. I don’t know what it’s going to take – at least it looks like the QB situation is finally better – but if that secondary can’t turn things around this week, you’re going to see the grumbling return, which is not what a new ownership group wants so early, particularly with all the front office and coaching changes the team literally just made this offseason.

PICK: Winnipeg

Montreal (3-0) vs. Hamilton (0-2), Friday, June 27th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Ti-Cats’ pass game is great. Their receivers are some of the league’s best, and they’ve shown some really good chemistry with Bo Levi Mitchell to start the season. That unfortunately hasn’t mattered much due to their D letting them down again early this season – perhaps coming off an early bye week with some extra rest, and a friendly home crowd might help matters a little bit here, but I’m not holding my breath. Montreal hasn’t lost to Hamilton since July 28, 2022 – that’s a seven-game regular season win streak, plus two playoff games as well. The Als continue to roll, and Davis Alexander looks like an absolute stud. Credit to their scouting department on getting him signed – he’s the early-season frontrunner for Most Outstanding Player.

PICK: Montreal

BC (1-2) vs. Saskatchewan (3-0), Saturday, June 28th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): Yes, the Roughriders are undefeated so far this year, but they have definitely looked human out there. That vaunted defense has bent on numerous occasions, but fortunately hasn’t broken outright yet for them. If Nathan Rourke is healthy this week, that may finally change for Saskatchewan. Despite the 1-1 record with him as a starter, Rourke’s four TD passes are tied for third in the league, and his 11 rushes for 112 yards and a TD score are impressive as well. The Lions are already in a difficult spot to start the year – I don’t think this team is a playoff team without him under centre, but they also can’t afford to rush him back early and risk re-injuring anything. The coaching staff can only cross their fingers and hope that splitting first-team reps this week means he’ll be good enough for Saturday.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Toronto (0-3) vs. Ottawa (1-2), Sunday, June 29th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): It’s a pre-Canada Day celebration in the nation’s capital, where the Argos – who dismantled the REDBLACKS in last year’s East semifinal – are the visitors for the first time this season. Still unclear at the time of writing this Beat if Sex Pest Chad Kelly will be healthy enough to start this one for Toronto as he continues to recover from the broken leg suffered in last year’s playoffs – all I know is that the offence is absolutely not as sharp with Nick Arbuckle under centre; however, last week’s defeat was not on the offence at all. This is a big four-point matchup, and with Dru Brown now looking healthy and set to go for the first time since Week 1, that would give the home side a notable advantage on O this time around.

PICK: Ottawa

BYE: Calgary (2-1)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Arbuckle, TOR – 841
2. Harris, SSK – 806
3. Alexander, MTL – 803

Passing TDs

1. Alexander, MTL – 5
2. Harris, SSK – 5
3. Arbuckle, TOR – 4

Rushing Yards

1. Mills, CGY – 218
2. Ouellette, SSK – 208
3. Peterson, WPG – 172

Receiving Yards

1. Hatcher, BC – 294
2. Lawler, HAM – 249
3. Coxie, TOR – 248

Defensive Tackles

1. Thurman, SSK – 22
2. Awe, BC – 21
3. Anderson, EDM – 18

Sacks

1. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL – 3
2. Chatfield, TOR – 3
3. Hendrix, BC – 3

Interceptions

1. Moxey, HAM – 2
2. Coldon, OTT – 2
3. Greene, CGY – 2

Field Goals

1. Maltos, MTL – 11
2. Paredes, CGY – 9
3. Hajrullahu, TOR – 7

PICK POOL

Well, Ayo made a mistake, at last… but so did the rest of us, and his lead on the group continues to grow. Much to be done here.

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

Enjoy the games, everyone.