Morning-After Thoughts (Week 18)

Three-way tie in the West; two-way tie in the East. So much for the final week of the season not having any drama. It is going to have plenty. Nothing was decided this past week. It will all come down to last week of the season for five of the six playoff teams.

1. After nearly 60 years of hosting football games, CanadInns Stadium played host to its final regular-season contest. It looks like a great place to watch a game, and hopefully the atmosphere is ported over to the new stadium next season.
2. Maurice Mann suited up for his first game in Double Blue, and was almost invisible. Expect more of that in the future. Mann is a go-to Receiver in his own mind, and Argo fans are going to be very disappointed next season.
3. The year of terrible officiating continues. How could the refs miss the obvious hit in the back by Dominic Picard on Kenny Mainor that resulted in Mainor receiving a 15-yard penalty?
4. Continuing on the refs: can someone explain to me how the catch that Chad Owens made is any different than the one Chris Williams made in Montreal? Owens's was (correctly) called a catch; Williams's was (incorrectly) called incomplete. Looked pretty darn similar to me.
5. More ref stuff: what was with the Keystone Kops routine at the end of the Argo-Bomber game? Winnipeg fans were deservedly angry at what transpired. It was brutal. Someone needs to slap the taste out of Murray Clarke's mouth for being so bloody useless.
6. On a more positive note, congratulations to Byron Parker on setting the career record for interceptions returned for touchdowns. Just two weeks after tying the record, Parker broke it with his ninth interception touchdown of his career.
7. I have seen some nasty hits in my time, but the hit that Johnny Sears leveled on Steven Jyles has to be one of the nastiest I have ever seen. It'll be interesting to see what the fallout is from this. Will Sears be suspended? Will the Argo players that Winnipeg Head Coach Paul LaPolice said threatened Sears be disciplined? Should make for an interesting week when it comes to this story.
8. With Andy Fantuz being shut down for the season, one has to wonder if he has played his last game in Green & White. A free agent come February, Fantuz might try the NFL again, or perhaps sign with another team, but until Fantuz signs his name on a contract with the Riders, the rumours will continue to swirl.
9. It's not every day that you a 108-yard punt, but that's exactly what Chris Milo did on Saturday in Regina, That ties the CFL record for longest punt. The previous record holder was former Argo Punter Zenon Andrusyshyn.
10. The Riders may have found the heir apparent to Wes Cates in Brandon West. He ran hard against the Ti-Cats.
11. This was my first chance to hear Rod Smith do play-by-play, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I know he did a game earlier this year, but for some reason I didn't get to watch it.
12. Holy crap! A Jamal Robertson sighting! And he played pretty darn well too.
13. And a Paris Jackson sighting too! Was it throwback day in BC or something?
14. Travis Lulay will be the West nominee for Most Outstanding Player. I have made this point before, but Lulay has 28 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions and has thrown for 4,500 yards. The only Quarterback who has more yards and touchdown passes, and less interceptions is Anthony Calvillo. Expectations for Lulay were high entering the season, but he has exceeded them in every way.
15. The Lions made sure that Jerome Messam did not reach 1,000 yards against them. I suspect that because of Messam's ties to BC, the Lions made it a point to deny him. Messam will still get to 1,000 yards, but BC sure didn't want him to do it against them.
16. Can someone come up with a better nickname for Brandon Whitaker than "Two Way," please? It's terrible, and in slightly misleading. Being a two-way player means you play Offense and Defense, not that you can catch and run. Someone find Whitaker a new nickname, please.
17. Speaking of terrible nicknames, did I actually hear Matt Dunigan say that Sean Whyte's nickname is "Legatron"? That has to be a joke, right?
18. Jamel Richardson continues to stat his case for MOP. The man they call Optimus Prime – a nickname I am fine with, by the way – is the first player in CFL history to have at least 100 receiving yards in 12 games in one season. Richardson has had my vote for MOP since mid-season, and unless something amazing happens next week, he'll keep my vote.
19. Nice to hear that Matt Dunigan is on board with every scoring play being automatically reviewed. Hopefully, Dunigan can use his soapbox to get that changed made.
20. I was on a pretty hot streak recently, but that all ended with a pitiful 0-4 showing this past week. That said, I don't that any pundit did better than 2-2 in Week 18. The BC win is one most people got right. But I doubt highly that there were many, if any, that nailed Toronto (over heavily favoured Winnipeg), Saskatchewan (over moderately favoured Hamilton) and Calgary (over heavily favoured Montreal). Anyway, after that showing, my overall record is down to 39-29. Not bad, but 50 correct picks is now officially out the window. Maybe next year.