Author: The Maestro

CFL Beat: Week 21

The Maestro -
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The playoff picture is now finally set! We have one "meaningless" week of football - but I do hope all the same that it's mildly entertaining. Not too much on the news this week, but expect to see a few more notes once the regular season officially concludes and we

CFL Beat: Week 20

The Maestro -
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We have mostly just the West playoff picture left to settle now that we're down to our final two weeks of the regular season. Thanks to Hamilton's last-minute loss last Friday to BC, Montreal is guaranteed to host the East semifinal, leaving just questions about our West division winner and

CFL Beat: Week 19

The Maestro -
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With Canadian Thanksgiving now done and dusted, any vestigial remnants of summer are now completely gone, and with it, the grim reminder of no holidays until late December. It's time like these where we need football more than ever to carry us through the beginning of these long, dark nights.

CFL Beat: Week 18

The Maestro -
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With four weeks left in the regular season, there's still a final playoff spot up for grabs. Will it be the Saskatchewan Roughriders? Probably. Will it be the Stampeders or Elks? Almost definitely not. Will it be the Ottawa REDBLACKS making history and earning the CFL's first-ever East to West

CFL Beat: Week 17

The Maestro -
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With five weeks to go in the regular season, we have half of our playoff spots still up for grabs right now. While the third seeds may possibly get shuffled around, the biggest remaining question at this point in the year is to see which of two very good teams

CFL Beat: Week 16

The Maestro -
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The fall is now officially here. The leaves start to turn, the plaid shirts are out, and the den is fully kitted out for just lying underneath a couple of blankets to watch football all weekend long. I know that your basic fall girls enjoy the season for different reasons

CFL Beat: Week 15

The Maestro -
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September may honestly be the perfect month. With the back-to-school routine now established and with football Sundays in session, I can also now fill out my Fridays and Saturdays perfectly. Some people tell me the weekend weather is beautiful, but as all good football fans know, I have no idea

CFL Beat: Week 14

The Maestro -
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School is back, and I'm still in denial about it. Unlike in the South, it's highly unusual to be teaching when the humidex hits 104 degrees... so the start of this school year has been especially unpleasant from a weather perspective. I sure hope some In league news this week: The

CFL Beat: Week 13

The Maestro -
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Hi folks! It's me! I'm finally back from my whirlwind European vacation, and let me tell you - the jet lag has been REAL. Perhaps it had to do with all the cheap Euro booze or the desire to keep avoiding the reality of getting back to the classroom for

No Exit: Your 2023 New England Patriots Season Preview

The Maestro -
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SCENE: A locker room in retro Foxboro Stadium style. A massive, oversized, but dinged up Lombardi Trophy stands alone in a dusty display case.   ROBERT KRAFT [enters, accompanied by the LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANT, and glances around him]: Hm! So here we are?  LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANT: Yes, Mr. Kraft.  KRAFT: And this is what

CFL Beat: Week 9

The Maestro -
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Some personal news: I am headed off on vacation to Europe for three weeks tomorrow with Lady Maestro! It's my longest and furthest trip ever - greatly looking forward to Paris, Normandy, Brussels, the Austrian Alps, and Munich. It also means that for the first time since the [Door Flies

CFL Beat: Week 8

The Maestro -
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We're officially through the first third of the CFL season, and since my complaint recently about the lack of parity in the league, we've had some steps to return to a bit more equilibrium. We've been fortunate to have some really good ball through these first seven weeks, even as