Eskimos' White leads them to controversial win, but they lose Reilly

The Edmonton Eskimos accomplished the first step towards defending their Grey Cup title Sunday, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 24-21 in the CFL's East semifinal, but it wasn't an easy win, an unquestioned win, or a win without cost. Edmonton dominated the first half on the scoreboard, leading 7-3 after the first quarter and 18-3 at the break, but that was after Hamilton failed to take advantage of multiple Eskimos' miscues; despite a blocked punt and other Edmonton mistakes, the Ticats went 0 for 7 on second-down conversions in the half and only notched one field goal. Hamilton woke up more late in the game, though, and had a chance to win it late, especially after Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly went down, but the Eskimos came out victorious thanks to a great performance from running back John White, a crucial interception from Kenny Ladler, a close non-call on what looked like a late hit, and an eventual field goal from Sean Whyte.

White's play in this one was really the biggest difference between the teams. On a windy day in Hamilton, neither passing offence did particularly well, and Reilly was certainly a far cry from the guy who led the league with 5,554 passing yards and posted a 70.8 per cent completion mark this season. On Sunday, he only completed 10 of 19 passes (52.6 per cent) for 133 yards, and backup James Franklin only completed two of four for 19 yards. Hamilton's Zach Collaros wasn't much better, though, completing 20 of 31 (64.6 per cent) for 231 yards with that late interception, and backup Jeremiah Masoli produced the biggest spark from the quarterback position, completing his only pass for 46 yards and rushing for a touchdown. The ground game did a lot to decide this, though; White rushed 20 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns, averaged 8.0 yards per carry, and set up the decisive late first and goal inside the final minute with a 23-yard-run (after recovering his own fumble on the previous play) that led to Whyte's chip-shot field goal to give Edmonton the lead with seven seconds left, letting them win after they picked off a Brandon Banks lateral on the subsequent kickoff return.

One element from this that will receive a lot of discussion going forward was on Hamilton's final drive. The Ticats tied the game at 21 with a rushing touchdown from Masoli, a perfectly-thrown two-point conversion from Collaros, and then a rare kickoff rouge, and they then forced Edmonton to punt into the wind late. The Eskimos' defence stood stout, though, and forced an incompletion from Collaros, which backed the Ticats up deeper thanks to a holding call. Edmonton defensive end Odell Willis hit Collaros after the ball was thrown, but it wasn't called on the field, and while Hamilton head coach Kent Austin challenged roughing the passer on the play, the command centre opted to uphold the on-the-field non-call.

From this perspective, that's the wrong decision; it looked like Willis launched late. However, it was close, and that is a tough call to make in real time. It's not certain that Hamilton would have won even with a call there, either; yes, they'd get a first down deep in their own territory, but there's still a long ways to go from there, and their offence wasn't doing much on the day. The non-call did set up Edmonton's win, though; the Ticats wound up in second and long, tried to throw deep, and had Ladler pick it off, leading to White's run and Whyte's field goal.

The Eskimos move on with this win and will face Ottawa in the East Final (in a Grey Cup rematch, and a clash of Edmonton HC Jason Maas with his old team) next Sunday, but they'll have a lot of questions to answer going forward. First, there's the issue of Reilly's health and if he'll be able to play. Franklin is a skilled backup, but Reilly's one of the league's best quarterbacks, and being without him would be a major loss. Beyond that, there's a lot for the Eskimos to clean up. There were too many fumbles and miscues in this one, and if Hamilton had taken advantage of just a couple of those, it might be the Ticats moving on. The Edmonton passing offence, so good for so much of this year, was also missing in action Sunday, and Hamilton demonstrated an effective plan to shut down top receivers Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker. The Eskimos will have a lot to work on this week if they want to get back to the Grey Cup. However, their hopes of being the first crossover team ever to appear in the championship game are still alive for now, and that's the important thing.

The Whole 110 Yards: The Comeback Boyd

Photo: Toronto Argonauts' running back Cory Boyd (South Carolina) dives into the end zone for the tying touchdown in the last minute of the Toronto - Edmonton clash last Friday. The Argonauts won 29-28. [Dan Riedlhuber, Reuters]

Welcome to another edition of The Whole 110 Yards! Here's my breakdown of all of Week 6's CFL action and previews of the coming week.

Game of the Week: Toronto 29, Edmonton 28

A slow-starting game between two teams that aren't all that highly-regarded turned into a barnburner Friday night. 3-2 Toronto came out strong and scored 11 points in the first quarter on the road against a 1-4 Eskimos team that only picked up its first win the previous week. The Argonauts led 19-7 at the half, and it looked like this might be a blowout. Edmonton turned it on in the second half, though, with Arkee Whitlock (Southern Illinois) plunging one yard for a touchdown on the Eskimos' first drive. Slotback Jason Barnes (Sacramento State) then made a ridiculous play, catching a 45-yard end zone bomb from fellow ex-Hornet Ricky Ray with his knees in double coverage. Early in the fourth quarter, Jason Goss (Texas Christian) then picked off Toronto quarterback Cleo Lemon (Arkansas State) for a 49-yard interception return, and backup quarterback Jared Zabransky (Boise State) checked into the game and ran a bootleg in to put Edmonton up 28-19.

After doing nothing for most of the second half, Toronto finally came back to life in the dying moments. Lemon and running back Cory Boyd (South Carolina) orchestrated a drive that led to a Grant Shaw (Saskatchewan) field goal, pulling Toronto within six. It looked like the Argonauts might run out of time, but after a defensive stand, they pulled off a 94-yard drive (aided by a superb catch from former Tennessee Volunteer Jermaine Copeland and two pass interference penalties). The drive was capped off by Boyd's third touchdown of the day, which came on a one-yard run with only 22.8 seconds left and sealed the victory for Toronto.

Once again, Toronto won without a superb performance from Lemon. He finished the day 23 for 34 for 292 yards and a touchdown, but also gave up that critical interception. However, he kept them in the game and turned in a similar performance to the more-famed Ray, who completed 24 of 35 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown.

It was Boyd who really got it done for Toronto, though. He had a 25th birthday to remember, rushing 25 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns and then adding another 46 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. He's leading the league with 648 rushing yards, but has also kept a very good 6.5 yards per carry average. Much of the Argonauts' 4-2 record so far can probably be attributed to him, and if he can keep this level of production up, it could be a good season for the Boatmen.

Calgary 27, BC 22:

This game didn't particularly look like a clash of a 4-1 team and a 1-4 team. B.C. actually led 10-7 after the first quarter, and they only trailed 17-13 at halftime. Things went off the rails in the third quarter, though, particularly when Dwight Anderson (South Dakota) picked off an errant pass from Travis Lulay (Montana State) and returned it 48 yards to the Lions' 10. That interception was particularly ill-timed, as it came right on the heels of B.C.'s Stanley Franks (Idaho) picking off Henry Burris (Temple) and it was followed by Burris finding former Lion Ryan Thelwell (Minnesota) for a touchdown that gave the Stampeders an 11-point lead. B.C. pulled six points back in the fourth quarter with Jarious Jackson (Notre Dame) working reasonably well in relief of Lulay, but he too threw a crucial interception that sealed the Lions' fate. The Calgary offence wasn't overly impressive, with Burris only completing 22 of 32 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted once, but they outshone the anemic B.C. offence and did enough to get the job done. They now lead the West Division with a 5-1 record, while B.C. is tied for last with a 1-5 record.

Montreal 30, Saskatchewan 26:

This was quite the game, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's followed the recent clashes between these two teams. Montreal led 10-7 after the first quarter and increased their lead to 17-7 partway through the second. However, Saskatchewan looked set to cut the lead to a single touchdown with a 42-yard field goal attempt from Luca Congi (Simon Fraser). The kick was wide, though, and Montreal's Tim Maypray (Virginia Military Institute) returned it 118 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point swing. Congi hit a field goal to narrow the gap a bit, but the Alouettes still led 24-10 at the half.

The Roughriders came out to play in the second half, though, particularly on defence. They held Montreal's high-powered offence to just 31 yards in the second half. Their offence then took advantage, adding three more Congi field goals and a touchdown pass from Darian Durant (North Carolina) to Wes Cates (California University of Pennsylvania) to pull within two points. Things then went wrong, though, as Andy Fantuz (Western) bobbled a pass from Durant and Chip Cox (Ohio) stepped in to intercept it. Montreal punted it back, but J.P. Bekasiak (Toledo) sacked Durant in the end zone to force a safety and a final Durant Hail Mary was batted down, sealing a Montreal victory.

It was an impressive performance from Durant, though, especially considering that he was fending off the effects of salmonella from eating undercooked chicken [Rob Vanstone, Regina Leader-Post via The Montreal Gazette]] after a July 10 game in B.C., as well as struggling with a thumb injury. He completed 35 of 62 passing attempts for 445 yards and two touchdowns, despite being picked off twice. If that's how he plays while feeling awful, the rest of the league had better watch out [Jamie Nye, NewsTalk 650] now that he's recovered.

Hamilton 29, Winnipeg 22:

There were a couple of interesting stories in this one. Hamilton kicker Sandro DeAngelis (Nebraska) had been struggling horribly this year, only hitting 58.3 of his field goals before Saturday's clash, but he went three-for-three on the day and credited the improvement to a discussion he had with former Tiger-Cats kicker Paul Osbaldiston about wind trends at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Winnipeg kicker Alexis Serna probably wishes he received the same advice; he was one for three on the day and was released later this week [Adam Wazny, Winnipeg Free Press]. Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) and Winnipeg pivot Steven Jyles (Louisiana - Monroe) both turned in tremendous performances. Glenn completed 24 of 41 attempts for 371 yards and three touchdowns while being picked off once, while Jyles was 24 for 35 for 349 yards and two touchdowns. The real star was former Minnesota Golden Gopher Arland Bruce III, though, who's turned it on for Hamilton lately after a slow start to the year. He reeled in 11 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, leading the Tiger-Cats to the win in the process. If he can keep that up, the Tiger-Cats' prospects look bright.

Former College Star of the Week: Jared Zabransky, Boise State

One of the great things about college football is the upsets, and in recent years, one of the most memorable ones is Boise State's 43-42 win [Spencer Hall, Every Day Should Be Saturday] over 7.5 point favourite Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Their quarterback for that game just happened to be one Jared Zabransky. You've probably seen these highlights of the game a million times, but they never get old (and yes, that is current Hamilton wide receiver Drisan James who's also prominently featured!).



Zabransky signed with the NFL's Houston Texans as a free agent after that game and then went to the Pittsburgh Steelers before winding up with Edmonton in 2009. However, he hadn't had many opportunities to run the kind of trick plays he did with Boise State until he spelled Ricky Ray for one play in Friday night's game (skip to 3:23).



Welcome back, Lord of Trickery. Good to have you in the CFL.

Off-Field Story of the Week: The Hamilton stadium mess. This has been an issue for a while, but it exploded this week when Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young withdrew from the stadium discussion Monday [Mark Masters, National Post]. Mayor Fred Eisenberger and council opted to go on without him and build at the West Harbour site Young believes is unsuitable for the team. That's led to speculation that the Ti-Cats could move anywhere from Ottawa to Moncton to Burlington to Quebec City [Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator], and even tiny Milton, Ontario is throwing its hat into the ring [Masters]. There's a long way to go still, but unless things get worked out, Hamilton could build a stadium that sits vacant much of the time and have their CFL team leave anyway. This is going to be one of the most interesting off-field stories to follow this year.

Matchup of the Week: B.C. at Saskatchewan (9:00 p.m. Eastern tonight)

This should be an interesting one. The 1-5 Lions are off to their worst start ever in the Wally Buono era, so they'll be desperate to turn it around tonight. They're going to their third different starting quarterback of the year, former Notre Dame pivot Jarious Jackson. However, they're in a tough spot in Saskatchewan, facing a very talented 4-2 Roughriders team that now has quarterback Darian Durant back at full health [Murray McCormick, Regina Leader-Post]. The always-intimidating Rider fans should be fired up for tonight as well. Adding more fuel to the fire, legendary Saskatchewan receiver Don Narcisse was welcomed into the CFL Hall of Fame todayCP] along with Tracy Ham, Bob Cameron, Joe Pistilli and Elfrid Payton. The inductees will be honoured at tonight's game as well, which will add yet another interesting touch to this one. In the end, I think the Roughriders will be just too much for B.C.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Other games:

Hamilton at Winnipeg (8:30 p.m. Eastern Friday; I'll be running the CFL.ca Friday Night Football Live Chat with the usual gang for this one.

Pick: Hamilton

Montreal at Toronto (7:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday)

Pick: Montreal

Edmonton at Calgary (8:00 p.m. Eastern Sunday)

Pick: Calgary

Last week: 2-2

Season: 8-9

Thanks for reading The Whole 110 Yards! Tune in again next week for another edition.

Softball, Wakamatsu and the blame game

I was in an amateur slo-pitch softball tournament in Revelstoke, B.C. over the weekend, and it brought some interesting ideas to my mind. For one thing, I left a lot of skin behind on the diamonds diving for fly balls in the outfield and sliding into the bases. As a result, I've got some rather painfully bunged-up knees and elbows. Conventional sports logic would suggest that it's hardly woth it to take that pain for so little gain; this was a rather unimportant tournament in the grand scheme of things. Yet, there was no question about it at the time; you do what you need to play hard and win, regardless of the stakes or the level competition. At the same time, though, it was refreshing to be participating in a sport that was just for fun.

The most interesting element of the tournament was that there wasn't a lot of blame passed around, though. Yes, people on every team screwed up, but the focus was on encouragement and getting it right the next time rather than assigning blame and finding scapegoats. That marked a refreshing change from the world of professional sports, where so much of the analysis focuses on who did what wrong.

I think elements of that approach could perhaps benefit professional sports, though. Yes, there's a need to identify past mistakes, but it seems often that changes are made not to better prepare a team for the future but as punishment for their past failures. One example that happened yesterday was the Seattle Mariners' decision to fire manager Don Wakamatsu; as Jerry Brewer of The Seattle Times wrote, the move seemed to be more about finding a scapegoat for the team's disappointing season than any belief that Wakamatsu wasn't the best manager going forward. Last year, he demonstrated a great ability to work with and develop players; this year, he received remarkably little support from head office and was saddled with an inferior lineup sure to cause problems, including a rebellious Eric Byrnes and a almost-useless Ken Griffey Jr. who refused to admit his declining skills. As Joe Posnanski wrote, many people (including me) bought into the Mariners in the off season, creating artificially high expectations that probably weren't realistic. When the team failed to live up to those, a scapegoat was sought and Wakamatsu was chosen.

In contrast, a pair of CFL teams have made smarter personnel decisions that have looked at the future as well as assigning blame for the past. The Edmonton Eskimos recently fired general manager Danny Maciocia after the team's first victory of the season. There was an element of blame for past failures there, but also a recognition that Maciocia might not be the best person to move the team forward; their issues clearly were at least partly due to their personnel, and had been for several years. The B.C. Lions also have looked to the future thus far, electing to keep head coach and general manager Wally Buono despite the team's 1-5 start. It's a rare unsuccessful year for Buono, and his team's been close in almost every game. The Lions do have issues, but they have plenty of talented players and their future could be very bright. So far, they've wisely focused on what's best for that future rather than assigning blame for the past, and that's good to see. If only the Mariners had followed suit, their future might look brighter than it does right now.

Find all the best pubs for the next match at YellowPages.ca.

Lumsden finding success off the gridiron

Jesse Lumsden isn't here at this week's Grey Cup, but he's having plenty of sporting success this weekend. Lumsden, the former CIS star with the McMaster Marauders and current Edmonton Eskimos' running back, picked up a gold medal with Canadian legend Pierre Lueders in the two-man bobsled event at the European Cup in Koenigssee, Germany.

This isn't quite as unusual as it sounds. Other athletes in individual team sports have made the transition to Winter Olympics events very successfully, many of them as bobsled brakemen. One example is the man who partnered with Lueders to win a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics, Lascelles Brown. The Jamaican-born Brown (insert Cool Runnings joke here if you like) was a stellar athlete growing up, but he didn't start his bobsled career until 1999. He raced for Jamaica in the 2002 Olympics and then gained Canadian citizenship in time for the 2006 Olympics. Even though he wasn't competing for Jamaica, he became the first Jamaican-born athlete to win a Winter Olympics medal.

The move from football to bobsled isn't an easy transition by any means, but Lumsden has done well so far and is in the running for a place on one of the Canadian Olympic squads in 2010. His CFL impact was limited this year thanks to an early injury, but he's talked about coming back next year. It will be interesting to see if he pursues his dreams in bobsled, football or both.

Friday Night Football: Lions - Eskimos live blog

It all comes down to this. The 8-9 Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions face off for the third and final playoff spot in the CFL's West Division. The winner's in, while the loser has to hope Hamilton beats Winnipeg on Sunday. To add even more drama, this is the last game that will be played in B.C. Place until 2011. The action starts at 10:30 Eastern; 7:30 Pacific. Come join me then for the live blog!

Friday Night Football: Lions-Eskimos live blog!

I'll be live-blogging tonight's CFL clash between the B.C. Lions and the Edmonton Eskimos here and at Out of Left Field. It should be a good one with plenty of playoff implications, given the logjam in the West Division. Come join me below at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific!

CFL playoff coverage

Just thought I'd mention that I'm doing CFL coverage today over at Out of Left Field. East final preview is here, West final preview here and a East final recap is here; I'll put a West final recap up there later tonight, hopefully between periods of the Queen's-McGill game (which will be live-blogged here, as previously mentioned).

CFL: Week IV Picks

Hopefully I'll be able to get/keep weekly CFL picks going here. Here's the first (brief) version: more detail to come in future weeks!

Tonight: Hamilton (1-2) at Calgary (2-1) (TSN, 9 p.m. ET):

Pick: Calgary

Rationale: Calgary's solid offence and quality defence should be enough to beat a Jesse Lumsden-less Tiger-Cats team.

Tomorrow: Winnipeg (0-3) at B.C. (1-2) (TSN, 10 p.m. ET)

Pick: B.C.

Rationale: B.C. and Jarious Jackson finally looked like they were supposed to last week on the road, where they demolished Winnipeg: this week should be round two.

Saturday: Montreal (2-1) at Saskatchewan (3-0) (TSN, 7 p.m. ET)

Pick: Saskatchewan

Rationale: No one's looked able to beat Saskatchewan yet, and I don't think the Alouettes will be able to break that streak.

Sunday: Edmonton (2-1) at Toronto (1-2)

Pick: Edmonton

Rationale: The Eskimos have looked much better than expected so far, and Ricky Ray should be able to pick apart an old and slow Argo defence that has underwhelmed.