There was an entertaining game in the CFL on the weekend. Honestly. It was almost like yesteryear, when CFL offences were capable of producing points and when exciting finishes were the norm.
Sadly, if you were in Eastern Canada, you probably missed the CFL’s best game of the season (only good game of the season?) since it ended in the wee hours Sunday morning. But there was Sandro DeAnglis, dancing uncontrollably at midfield, after kicking a 53-yard field goal on the final play to give underdog Calgary a 27-24 triumph over previously undefeated Montreal.
It was dramatic, but it capped yet another predominantly dreadful weekend of CFL football, the ninth in a row. If you’ve been wagering on the unders in the CFL this year, you’re wealthy. But then, if you’ve been watching, you’re also bored.
The story on the weekend was this again: Two teams, Winnipeg and Hamilton, could not even score a touchdown while Saskatchewan came up with only one. The Tiger-Cats have emerged with all of two single points in their past two home games — and, for a team that had high expectations, they’re laughingstocks.
Not that offensive co-ordinator Joe Paopao finds it amusing. I’m told the Ticats are on the verge of firing him.
• B.C. has won four consecutive games and is proving to be the CFL’s strongest team, thanks largely to solid kicking by Paul McCallum, the league’s finest free-agent acquisition.
“My head’s in a better place in B.C. than it was in Saskatchewan,” McCallum explained. “I feel more comfortable now.”
Small wonder. In Saskatchewan, fans knew McCallum’s address, and, when they weren’t happy with his performances, they’d sometimes come by for a visit — and dump manure on his lawn.
• Word’s out on the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios: He’s chasing bad pitches, breaking balls out of the strike zone … I like seafood. And I’ve never been to Maine. I only make these comments in case the governor of Maine reads Metro. I mean, Boston slugger David Ortiz said he likes seafood and has never been to Maine, and the governor immediately sent him 41 lobsters and an invitation for an all-expenses-paid trip to his state … Minnesota’s Torii Hunter sticks his glove in a microwave after games in which he is charged with an error. “It’s not my fault,” Hunter said. “It’s the glove’s.” … And Hunter’s hot-hitting teammate in Minnesota, Justin Morneau of B.C., wears a Canucks T-shirt — with a Todd Bertuzzi photo on it — underneath his Twins jersey every game. He says it’s lucky — even though Bertuzzi was traded.
