This is the peak of football season - especially for Canadian fans. Sunday's Grey Cup will mark the end of the Canadian football season but this week, there just couldn't be any more football and it's all important.
The Don Boscoe Eagles, coached by Toronto mayor and village idiot Rob Ford, easily handled the Northern Red Knights 31-0 in the so-called "Toronto Bowl" to earn a spot in the Metro Bowl semi-finals this week against the St. Andrews College Saints. The winner earns a trip to the Metro Bowl at the Rogers Centre on November 27th. Whether the Eagles make it to the final game or not, the Toronto high school football season is almost over and that probably means that Ford will be spending more time at City Hall. It was a good run while it lasted.
Last year's Vanier Cup was one of the best football games of the year and should be a good one again this time around as the same two teams, McMaster and Laval, earned trips to Friday night's big game at the Rogers Centre. The Vanier Cup was first awarded in 1965.
In US College football, the BCS standings were turned upside down as 2 of the top teams lost for the first time this season. The Oregon Ducks lost at home to Stanford and Kansas State fell to Baylor. Things are looking good for Notre Dame who remains undefeated and will almost certainly earn a trip to the BCS National Championship game with a win on Saturday at USC. The University of Buffalo Bulls won for the third straight week with a 29-19 win at UMass. Grand Island Native Alex Neutz lead the way with 9 catches and a touchdown.
The 100th Grey Cup is now set for the Rogers Centre on Sunday. The Toronto Argonauts managed to hang on for a 27-20 win in the Eastern Final at the Big Owe before over 51,000 fans. Alouettes receiver Brian Bratten seemed startled to have the tying touchdown pass bounce off his chest on a third down play in the dying seconds to seal the win for the Argos. Calgary won in Vancouver in the Western final to earn their trip. CFL rules require that Toronto hosts and plays in the Grey Cup game every 30 years. The 1982 game featured wet and windy weather as the Edmonton Eskimos earned revenge for their 1952 defeat at Varsity Stadium. I have already ordered my tickets for the 2042 Grey Cup game which will be played at the 90,000 seat RIM Stadium (I'm bullish on the BlackBerry 10) which the Argonauts share with Toronto's wildly successful NFL team which moved here from Buffalo following the 2016 season.
And, on the Bills big win in prime time last Thursday. We left Toronto around 2pm in fine clear weather and, despite the pesky Buffalo afternoon rush hour traffic on Route 5, arrived in good time to Drive 5 ready to tailgate in the dark. The entire parking surface area of Drive 5 has now been asphalted which makes it seem somewhat more civilized than the gravel surface it replaced. But the asphalt absorbs nothing. And it's too bad because we now know that the gravel served to absorb the considerable amount of liquid which ends up on the ground during a tailgate party and the slope of the parking lot now means that the liquid runs in long streams throughout the entire surface area. Thankfully, the liquid is all beer - in one form or another.
The Bills defence showed up in a big way in the first half and, despite red zone difficulties, CJ Spiller and the offence played well enough to get the win. Jairus Byrd, the "ball hawk", made a fantastic interception late in the fourth quarter by sprinting full speed toward the sideline and making the catch fully extended and right in front of our seats. They would need one more pick to seal the win. I walked in the door at 3am.
Next up for the Bills: a trip to Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on Grey Cup Sunday. Luck isn't going to win the game for the Bills but they will have to find a way to deal with him if they are to make a run at a wildcard spot. If they can win this one, 2 easily winnable home games against Jacksonville and St. Louis follow.
Enjoy this week football fans. It doesn't get any better than this.
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