Ok, I'm all set now. Website link in my profile has detailed and gambling-related analysis if anyone is interested. Hoping to get a CFL betting podcast up and running in the next couple of days as well.
1)
East:
Hamilton 11-7
Toronto 8-10
Ottawa 7-11
Montreal 5-13
West:
Calgary 12-6
Winnipeg 11-7
BC 10-8
Saskatchewan 9-9
Edmonton 8-10
2)
I'll go with Winnipeg over Hamilton. The Bombers finally get over the hump after Calgary has a bit of a reloading year.
3)
Jeremiah Masoli is now an established top-level QB and should have no problem leading the Ti-Cats to first place in the weak East.
4)
Hmmm, tough call here. I could see Bralon Addison having a big year in Hamilton with Saunders and Toliver no longer present. Calgary might be going with two Canadians as part of their regular receivers package, keep an eye on Richie Sindani. Brandon Rutley should be given the opportunity in BC, it will be up to him to seize it.
21 weeks in the books, let's survey the damage...
1) Well, I nailed CGY, WPG, and EDM. Whiffed badly on Toronto. HAM to win the East was the easiest money I've ever come across, no complaints there.
2) I still like my Grey Cup pick, surprisingly, although I'd flip it to HAM over WPG. Watching the Stamps last night, they look cooked. Almost losing to Danny O'Brien/Brandon Bridge with a home field playoff game on the line? Too many injuries and no run game at all. Unless the weather is perfect and BLM can really cut up that Bombers secondary, I think Winnipeg wins next week. Inability to run the ball in November has sunk many a team. And I've never believed Sask is really anything more than good but not great team that just kept facing opponents with injured QBs week after week. Now the health of their own QB is in question. I think it's pretty much a toss up who reps the West in the Cup now, and the Bombers might actually be in the best shape of the three right now, after looking completely dead in the water three weeks ago. Crazy.
Montreal will need a perfect day out of Vernon Adams to beat Hamilton (I'm assuming the Als blow out Edmonton unless Adams throws 4 interceptions). Two great offenses going head to head, but the Ti-Cats have a much better defense than the Als. In fact, I think Hamilton probably has the best offense AND defense in the CFL this year. Arguably special teams as well. Anything can happen in November, but they should be heavy favorites to win the Grey Cup. This is the best Hamilton team since the late 90's.
3) I think Masoli probably does win MOP if he'd stayed healthy. Same can be said for BLM. After that, Andrew Harris probably wins it if he doesn't fail a piss test. Vernon Adams could still win it, but I think the helmet swinging suspension and missing a few other games along the way probably costs him. I'd have probably given the thing to Willie Jefferson if he didn't disappear in the last month of the season.
4) Addison sure came through. Sindani was alright, but didn't have the impact I was expecting considering so many Calgary receivers got injured. Hergy Mayala passed him on the depth chart. Rutley didn't get much of a sniff due to a nice bounce-back year for John White, who I wrote off as finished.
