On Sunday, the Calgary Stampeders (11-7) will go on the road to take on the Edmonton Eskimos (11-7) in the CFL Western Division Semi-Final.
The Eskimos won the season series 2-1, but the Stampeders won their only matchup at Commonwealth Stadium, 30-20 in Edmonton on September 9.
But this is a much different Stampeders team than what was put on the field by Head Coach and General Manager John Hufnagel two months ago. Since then, Hufnagel has replaced Henry Burris with Drew Tate at the quarterback position and Joffrey Reynolds with Jon Cornish at running back.
Still I cannot ignore the fact that in the Labour Day rematch, Burris passed for 316 yards and Reynolds ran for 80 yards.
But since Tate has taken over the starting role in Calgary, the Stampeders are 3-0.
The big news in Edmonton is the health of running back Jerome Messam, who, according to TSN, is questionable with a lower-body injury that flared up during Monday’s practice. Messam became the first Canadian to rush for 1000 yards since 2000 this season. The game can be seen Sunday on TSN at 2:30pm.
By the way, my gut is telling me the Stamps will win. I feel the veteran leadership, healthier offensive line and playoff experience for the Stampeders is key and will get them through on Sunday.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
Saturday–NCAA Football–(2) Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech–ABC–10am–The Cowboys are undefeated at 9-0 and could be tested from a formidable Texas Tech Red Raiders opponent that has a winning record at 5-4. Three weeks ago they became the only team this season to beat Oklahoma as they shocked the Sooners 41-38. But over the last two weeks the Red Raiders have been hammered 41-7 to Iowa State and 52-20 to Texas.
Saturday–NCAA Football–(6) Oregon @ (3) Stanford–ABC–6pm–This will be my first look at Heisman Trophy favourite Andrew Luck, the quarterback for Stanford. Many football experts feel he will not only win the Heisman, but go no.1 overall in the NFL Draft (unless the pick goes to the Colts because I cannot see them taking Luck if Peyton Manning has anything to do with it). The Cardinal, like the Cowboys are undefeated, but many NCAA football experts, including ESPN’s Michael Wilbon are picking the upset.
Saturday–NHL–Calgary Flames @ Colorado Avalanche–CBC–8pm–In a Northwest Division battle, these are two teams that are playing in Denver for the second time this week. Last Sunday, the Flames won 2-1 as Curtis Glencross scored the game winner in the second period. The Flames (6-8-1) are four points back of the Avalanche (8-7-1). With the Flames being in Chicago tonight, expect Henrik Karlsson to get the starting nod.
Sunday–CFL–Eastern Division Semi-Final–Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Montreal Alouettes–TSN–11am–In order for the Alouettes to advance to the Eastern Final in Winnipeg they will need to play significantly better than they did last week in British Columbia. I just don’t think they can do it. I know the Tiger-Cats lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts over the last two weeks of the season, but the Alouettes were so bad, it reminded me of the old Montreal Concordes.
Sunday–NFL–Buffalo Bills @ Dallas Cowboys–CBS–11am–The Cowboys will once again have DeMarco Murray in their lineup at running back as Felix Jones is still out with a high ankle sprain. Last week, Murray had his second 100 yard performance in three weeks, as he ran 139 yards in a 23-13 win over the Seahawks. The Cowboys improved to 4-4. The Bills meanwhile are coming off an abysmal offensive performance against the Jets, and in my opinion aren’t a 5-3 football team.
Sunday–NFL–New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers–FOX–2pm–In one of the most intriguing games of the day, the 7-1 49ers host the 6-2 Giants. San Francisco’s defense might just be the most underrated in the entire NFL. They have only given up 118 total points, the least in the entire league. Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning will have a significantly more challenging time reading the 49ers defense than he did the Patriots’ defense during the second half last week.
Sunday–NHL–Edmonton Oilers @ Chicago Blackhawks–WGN–5pm–The Oilers close out their six game road trip in Chicago, who leads the Central Division at 10-4-3. I was very impressed with the play of Ray Emery in the Blackhawks’ net this evening in their 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. But I think we’ll probably see Cory Crawford get the start. The Oilers need to pay a close attention to Chicago defencemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith who provide a significant amount of offensive skill from the blueline.
Sunday–NFL–New England Patriots @ New York Jets–NBC–6pm–In a battle of AFC East division leaders, both teams are at 5-3, the Patriots are coming off a disappointing loss to the Giants last week. If they are going to avoid losing to a New York based team two weeks in a row, and for the third time this year (already lost to the Bills), they need their defense to wake up and get a stronger running game. The combination of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead and Stevan Ridley are just not getting it done for Bill Belichick.
Tags: andrew luck, bill belichick, brent seabrook, british columbia lions, buffalo bills, calgary flames, Calgary Stampeders, Chicago Blackhawks, colorado avalanche, cory crawford, curtis glencross, dallas cowboys, demarco murray, drew tate, duncan keith, Edmonton Eskimos, Edmonton Oilers, eli manning, hamilton tiger-cats, heisman trophy, henrik karlsson, Henry Burris, indianapolis colts, jerome messam, joffrey reynolds, john hufnagel, jon cornish, michael wilbon, montreal alouettes, montreal concordes, new england patriots, new york giants, new york jets, oklahoma state cowboys, oregon ducks, peyton manning, Ray Emery, san francisco 49ers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, stanford cardinal, texas tech red raiders, toronto argonauts
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