SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — It is Grey Cup weekend in Calgary and the 107th edition of the Canadian Football League's championship game is set to get underway Sunday at 7 p.m., Atlantic Time.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers are set to meet in what has become one of Canada's most-watched television events. The Tiger-Cats had a 16-3 (won-lost) regular-season record while the Blue Bombers were 13-7. Those records indicate that there is not much to choose between the two teams, which should make for a great game that will be televised by The Sports Network (TSN).
The Calgary Stampeders won the 2018 Grey Cup.
Grey Cup notes
The Toronto Argonauts are the most successful team in CFL history, having won the Grey Cup 17 times in 23 appearances. The Argos are followed by Edmonton, which has won 14 times in 23 games. Winnipeg has the most appearances with 24, but has won only 10 of those, with the last coming in 1990. Hamilton has eight Grey Cup wins in 20 games, with its last win coming in 1999.
Toronto has been the host city 48 times and that is by far the most by any Canadian city. Vancouver is next with 16 while Hamilton has hosted the event 10 times. Saskatchewan will host the 2020 game while Hamilton will be the host city in 2021.
The first televised Grey Cup game was back in 1952 when television was in infancy in Canada. Toronto television station CBLT paid $7,500 for the broadcast rights.
Many fans will be cheering for the Bombers on Sunday and if for no other reason than to see Winnipeg fan Chris Matthew be able to wear pants again. Those who watch the news saw where Matthew made a pledge back in 1991, when the Bombers lost in the Grey Cup game, that he would wear shorts all the time until they won the Grey Cup again. That was 18 years ago and Matthew has kept his promise, even during those frigid Winnipeg winters. Hopefully, for his sake, the Bombers win on Sunday.
NHL
The firing of Mike Babcock as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs is not a surprise as it became obvious the Leafs were just not playing the way they are capable of. There is no disputing that there is an abundance of talent on the Leafs, but are they the type of team that can win in the playoffs?
Three straight first-round eliminations would indicate that something is missing and that something is a lack of grit and toughness. A few games ago, an opposing player took a run at Leafs’ star Auston Matthews and no other Leaf came to his rescue. When asked why in the post-game news conference, Babcock asked who?
In other words, Babcock thought they didn't have anyone to do the job and that was a direct shot at general manager Kyle Dubas as well as his players. They all should be on the same page and it became clear that Dubas and Babcock were not. Babcock demands a lot from his players and his message wears thin through time. Dubas thinks they have the team to win and only time will tell.
New Leaf coach Sheldon Keefe is more of a players’ coach and he has had success at both the major junior and American Hockey League levels. He won an AHL championship with many of these same players, so that familiarity will help Keefe going forward.
The Leafs do not have any salary-cap space to add a player or two without getting rid of the same, which makes it difficult to add that missing piece. What you see is what you get unless Dubas can work some magic with this roster.
It will be interesting to see what happens for the rest of the year in Toronto.
Locally
There are 138 former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) players playing university hockey in Canada, including 39 rookies who played in the QMJHL last year. Players are scattered amongst 17 universities in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes.
The Saint Mary's Huskies have 15 former Q-League players on their roster and that is the most for any Maritime university. Dalhousie is next with 13, UNB has 12, ST FX has 9 while both the Universite de Moncton and UPEI each have eight.
Western Capitals
The Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals continue to sail along in top spot in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. They take an impressive 19-3 (won-lost) record into Saturday’s home game against the Campbellton Tigers.
The Caps have yet to lose on home ice this year and they are 11-0. They have not tasted defeat in over a month and their last loss came at the hands of the Tigers on Oct. 14th in Campbellton by a 4-3 score.
The Caps are the ninth-ranked junior A team in Canada and are the class of the MHL. They will have to watch out for those Tigers, who would like nothing more than to come to Summerside and hand the Caps their first home-ice loss.
Have a great week!
Joe MacIntyre is a local life insurance broker. His column appears every Saturday. Comments and suggestions can be sent to [email protected].