Hamilton 37, Toronto 32

What. A. Game. If you love football, you loved that game. It had everything: it was exciting from start to finish, it literally went down to the last second of the game and the crowd, what there was of it, was LOUD! No words I use will do it justice. Simply put, it was a classic.

Positives

I might have to retire praising Justin Medlock, because I could do it every week. He is the best Ti-Cats Kicker since... We are constantly giving players nicknames, and I'd like to give Medlock one: Money. Because that's what Medlock has been so far in 2011.

And speaking of money, Avon Cobourne is worth every penny the Ti-Cats used to pry him from Montreal. He didn't have a dominating performance, but Cobourne just hits the hole hard and refuses to not pick up positive yards. I like everything he does, and while his numbers aren't out of this world, his on-field attitude is infectious.

The Cats traded Arland Bruce because they wanted to get Aaron Kelly and Bakari Grant on the field. Well, I can see why. Grant is turning into a great possession Receiver, and Kelly is quickly becoming a big-play threat. Add those two to Chris Williams, and the future looks very bright at the Receiver position for the Tiger-Cats.

And what would a Receiver discussion be without talking about Dave Stala. Stala has already surpassed his previous single-season high of six touchdowns by scoring his seventh in just his seventh game. He also continues to catch everything thrown his way. Stala is the glue that holds this receiving corps together and is Kevin Glenn's most reliable pass catcher.

Speaking of Glenn, he takes his fair share of abuse from Tiger-Cat fans, but over the past five games he has nine touchdown passes to just one interception. If Glenn goes the rest of the season with a 9:1 TD-to-INT ratio, the Cats will win more than they lose. Heck, if he has even a 4:1 ratio, the Cats will win more than they lose.

Negatives

For much of the season, the Defense has been the better unit, but not lately. Giving up 32 points and over 350 passing yards to a struggling Argo team is inexcusable. And for the second week in a row, the "D" was gashed on screens and dump-offs. Hopefully, the bye week will help Corey Chamblin find a way to defend those plays.

I would also like to see Stevie Baggs be allowed to be Stevie Baggs. The Cats didn't bring him in to drop back in coverage; they brought him in to hit Quarterbacks. Let Shakespeare make plays, please!

Not to pile on the Defense even more, but Marcel Young got beat a few times tonight. I won't be too harsh, because he is a rookie, but he needs to get better in coverage. I once wrote off Bo Smith, and have had to eat crow about that, so I'm more willing to let Young grow before throwing him under the bus.

Attendance tonight was announced as 24,347. Are you kidding me? To the 24,347 fans, both Ti-Cat and Argo, that turned up: good for you. To everyone else: what are you waiting for?

Final Thoughts

Who needs Labour Day when we have games like tonight's? Labour Day is a marketing hook; the game on the field is great regardless of what date it's played on.

That said, the Tiger-Cats have some issues they will have to deal with before they are ready to take on the best team in the CFL in two weeks. Hopefully, the bye week allows for corrections to be made, because Winnipeg is a much better team than Toronto, and the Cats will have to bring their A-game to defeat the Bombers.

But on a positive note, the Cats have put considerable distance between themselves and Toronto. Beating Toronto is always sweet, but it's even sweeter when it buries the Argos deeper.

The Cats now head into their bye at 4-3. It will be two weeks before we see them again, and that next game should be a beauty. If it's 1/10th as good as tonight's game, we are all in for a real treat.