First & Goal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/10/2009 (5832 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five storylines that jumped out while observing the past week of Canadian Football League action:

1. Nobody asked me, but…

It says here CFL governors should be pressing for a modification of the league’s overtime format. For the record, yours truly loves the current setup with each team getting two possessions starting at the opposition 35-yard line — although the individual statistics shouldn’t count — far more than the NFL’s sudden-death deal, which is often determined by who wins the coin toss.

But it was a shame to see last Sunday’s instant CFL classic between the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders end in a 44-44 tie. All that extra work and no winner declared? That’s criminal. Play until there is a decision. All that said, it does set up a dandy final weekend of the regular season with the Stamps visiting Regina…

"If I had to write it, I wouldn’t have written it ending in a tie," Stamps defensive tackle DeVone Claybrooks told the Calgary Herald. "But now the scene is set up. We take care of business, they take care of business — I mean, TSN couldn’t write a better script."

2. Update from La Belle Province: QB Anthony Calvillo will practise when the Alouettes return to the field today in preparation for Saturday’s game in Winnipeg against the Bombers. The veteran pivot exited the win over Hamilton with tightness in his left calf and has been icing it daily. But a decision on how much he plays on the weekend — or if he should play, given that the 13-2 Als have locked up first in the East — will be a daily discussion up until kickoff.

"Based on what he said after the game, I assume he’s going to be ready," Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman said Tuesday "I expect that he’ll start and play."

Calvillo said he’ll test how well he can run and plant in practice before deciding if he’ll take the field. If he can’t, the Als’ No. 2 man is the impressive but relatively untested Adrian McPherson.

"It’s healing a lot faster than I thought," Calvillo said. "It’s still sore and tight, but right now, I’m happy with the progress. Right now, everything’s still up in the air.

"If I feel I’m healthy, I want to play."

3. He can pound on all the doors he wants and distribute some fancy-shmancy flyers promoting his ideas, but nothing likely helped Chris Szarka’s political ambitions like last Sunday’s three-touchdown performance in the 44-44 tie with the Stamps.

Szarka, the 34-year-old Saskatchewan fullback, is running for Regina city council.

"That election doesn’t have anything to do with how many touchdowns I score," Szarka told the Regina Leader-Post. "It has to do with what I want to do in the community. It might give me some free publicity as far as getting on the Jumbotron a few times, but they are two separate issues."

Yeah, right. A popular Roughrider runs for three scores with a civic election just a week away on Oct. 28? Might not help, but a day like that sure as heck won’t hurt at the polls, either.

4. Bomber fans criticizing the release of Kevin Glenn last spring — now fuelled by his 506-yard performance last Sunday in Montreal — and those who were eager to see him vamoose River City should debate this little nugget we unearthed:

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Glenn may have been 29 of 44 for 506 yards and three TDs in Montreal, but his Ticats lost the game. Similarly, in Glenn’s best game as a Bomber, he threw for 453 yards in a game against the Argonauts in September 2007 — a contest Winnipeg lost. Also worth noting, in Glenn’s five best passing games as a Bomber — ranging from 393 yards to the 453-yard effort — the team’s record was 1-3-1. Discuss among yourselves…

5. And, finally, the ballots for the first round of the CFL Most Outstanding Player awards will soon be distributed to seven local media members. First round determines the nominees for each team. The second will declare divisional representatives before the final vote for the overall winners.

We’ve got our thoughts rolling around in our head, but have yet to scratch any names down just yet for the Bomber nominees. If you’re interested in sharing your picks for Most Outstanding, Defence, O-line, Canadian, Rookie and Special teams, email them to the address listed below.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca