Hamilton 28, Winnipeg 7

Now that is more like it. From the opening whistle until the end of the game, the Ti-Cats simply dominated all three phases of the game. At no point did Winnipeg look like they belonged on the same field as the Cats. The Cats just seemed to want this game more than Winnipeg.

Positives
There are a lot of good things to rave about, but I need to start with Kevin Glenn. I can't recall watching a QB play that efficiently since Joe Montana was slinging passes for the 49ers. He had seven incompletions all game and didn't have one until his 15th pass of the night. Simply put, Glenn's performance was dominating.

As a former O-Lineman, I need to give some love to the Hogs. They absolutely manhandled the Bombers' front seven. At no point did Glenn look uncomfortable, and he had plenty of time to find his third and fourth read on almost every play. Simeon Rottier, who was absolutely killed by fans after his poor performance in Week 1, has shown everyone why he was the #1 pick in the draft. He has looked great the last two weeks.

Does Dave Stala ever drop a pass? His speed leaves much to be desired, but when the team needs to get the yards for a first down, it goes to the new Polish Hammer (Ivan Putski will always be the original).

Welcome to the Hammer, Mo Mann. Catching two TDs (and completely juking one Bomber out of his jock) is a great way to endear yourself to the Ti-Cat faithful.

The Defense plays the bend-but-don't-break style, but tonight they really only allowed two or three drives by the Bombers. The Bombers had just over ten minutes of possession time in the first half and went two-and-out on their first three series.

Negatives
There were not many, but one was Sandro DeAngelis. I know that he is only 50% (10 of 20) when kicking at Ivor Wynne in his career, but if he wants to be in Hamilton, he's going to have to change that, and fast. He went 0-2, and that makes four misses and one block in his seven attempts at Ivor Wynne this season. Not good, not good at all.

The running game was better this week, but it still doesn't make me feel comfortable. Deploying both Cobb and Thigpen could lead to some great things, but right now the running game still isn't much to write home about. Hopefully this performance will be the beginning of something good, but only time will tell.

C'mon, Marcus Thigpen! What are you doing? How dare you not return a kick for a TD. I am majorly disappointed in his performance this week (please note my tongue firmly planted in my cheek).

Final Thoughts
This was the first game this season where the four first-time season ticket holders all attended a game together, and lo and behold, the Cats get the win. Fear not Tigertown, there are no trips to Spain (Sarah) and no multiple games against Winnipeg left (Emily), so it should be clear sailing from here on out.

Seriously though, this was just an all-around dominating performance by the Tiger-Cats. There wasn't one moment during the game where I didn't think the Cats would pull it out. They looked better, they played better, and it showed on the scoreboard. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out, but a win is a win is a win, and this was a great win for the Black & Gold.

With the next two games on the road against the two 2009 Grey Cup participants (July 22nd at Montreal, July 31st at Saskatchewan), the Cats needed this win to avoid going 0-fer the month of July. The next two games are going to be tough ones, but if this team is as good as was claimed before the season started, they need to go into these places and win.

But next week is next week, so let's savour this win and be glad that the Cats finally got off the schneid.

Lastly, congrats to Ryan "6 Pack" Lapadat, "Furious" Pete and the over 1,000 people who did the Oskee Wee Wee cheer on the field at halftime for breaking the world records. Also, I hope everyone will enjoy their free slice of pizza from Pizza Pizza. A win has literally never tasted so good.