Bombers begin in… Eskimos’ igloo

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This article was published 04/02/2009 (6405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is a marketer’s dream and a gift from the heavens for any sportswriter worth his weight in lager: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers — with an ex-Edmonton Eskimo quarterback and three former Eskimo coaches now on board — open the 2009 Canadian Football League season smack dab in the Alberta capital.

“That’s going to be fun, isn’t it?” said Bomber head coach Mike Kelly, the Eskimos’ receivers coach last season. “It’s two new coaching staffs, two teams with tremendous history, and we obviously have a certain ‘Eskimo’ flavour here right now… It’ll be exciting and it’ll be a good jump-start for the season in both cities.”

The 2009 CFL season opens on Canada Day with the Toronto Argonauts in Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats and a Grey Cup rematch in Calgary with the champion Stampeders playing host to the Montreal Alouettes. The Bombers lift the lid on their season the following night, July 2, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and line up against the Stampeders a week later, July 10, in their home opener.

Among the highlights of the Bombers’ 2009 schedule:

“ö Winnipeg plays Montreal four times, the Argos and Ticats three times, and a home-and-home series with each of the four West Division teams.

“ö The Bombers play their traditional Labour Day Classic-Banjo Bowl doubleheader with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, with the start of the Regina game at 6:30 p.m. rather than in the afternoon.

“ö There are three back-to-back matchups, including the series with the Roughriders. The Bombers also meet Toronto July 24 and July 30, and Montreal on Oct. 24 and Nov. 1.

“ö The Bombers play just three home games all summer and will be on the road for six games in the first half of the season. The payoff will see them at home for three of their last four.

“For the fans, I’m a bit disappointed we only play at home three times before our bye week,” Kelly said. “But that works tremendously in our favour once September hits and down the backstretch…

“We used to think it was a great advantage to play at the stadium, understanding that the wind and the weather will be changing… I’ve said how important it is to be able to run the ball effectively in the second half of the season. Well, we’ll be pretty tuned in for that.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

BLUE BOMBERS 2009 SCHEDULE

REGULAR SEASON

WEEK DATE GAME WPG TIME

1 Thursday, July 2 Winnipeg @ Edmonton 8:00 p.m.

2 Friday, July 10 WINNIPEG VS CALGARY 6:30 p.m.

3 Saturday, July 18 Winnipeg @ Hamilton 5:00 p.m.

4 Friday, July 24 WINNIPEG VS TORONTO 6:30 p.m.

5 Thursday, July 30 Winnipeg @ Toronto 5:30 p.m.

6 Saturday, Aug. 8 Winnipeg @ Calgary 8:30 p.m.

7 Saturday, Aug. 15 WINNIPEG VS MONTREAL 7:00 p.m.

8 Friday, Aug. 21 Winnipeg @ B.C. 9:30 p.m.

9 BYE WEEK

10 Sunday, Sept. 6 Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan 6:30 p.m.

11 Sunday, Sept. 13 WINNIPEG VS SASKATCHEWAN 3:00 p.m.

12 Sunday, Sept. 20 Winnipeg @ Montreal 12 noon

13 Saturday, Sept. 26 WINNIPEG VS TORONTO 8:00 p.m.

14 Friday, Oct. 2 WINNIPEG VS EDMONTON 6:30 p.m.

15 Monday, Oct. 12 Winnipeg @ Hamilton 3:30 p.m.

16 Sunday, Oct. 18 WINNIPEG VS B.C. 4:00 p.m.

17 Saturday, Oct. 24 WINNIPEG VS MONTREAL 1:30 p.m.

18 Sunday, Nov. 1 Winnipeg @ Montreal 12 noon

19 Sunday, Nov. 8 WINNIPEG VS HAMILTON 12 noon

“ö Home games in CAPS