GA Russell

Evan! Great to see you again! It's been a long time.

Thanks for this, Jim! Griffith Stadium was the site of the first game my dad took me to. May, 1959, the Senators against the Kansas City Athletics; Camilo Pascual and Harmon Killebrew against Ralph Terry and Roger Maris,. And those Briggs hot dogs were the best!!!

Ken Johnson has died. https://www.bing.com/search?q=Ken+Johnson+baseball&filters=tnTID%3a%22EA2465E5-A9CC-4957-986E-8D7C442B24F2%22+tnVersion%3a%221173293%22+segment%3a%22popularnow.carousel%22+tnCol%3a%222%22+tnOrder%3a%22f73ec9af-da82-46ca-afc4-ed99ddfe378e%22&FORM=HPNN01

Finals Plays of the Week http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/120327/autostart/true ***** The league will collect interesting articles it finds this week here. http://cfl.ca/article/103gc ***** The league announced today that it will stream the CFL Awards ceremony (Thursday, 8:20 pm eastern). http://cfl.ca/article/GCLive ***** TSN recalls the first Grey Cup game played in Winnipeg, the '91 game. That's the one that is famous because it was brutally cold. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/party-in-the-peg~756723 ***** Mark Fulton analyzes Hank's pass to Ellingson. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/23/putting-the-pass-into-perspective-the-burris-bomb-by-the-numbers/#comments

Unless I am mistaken, the numbers still available are... Ottawa - everything 35 and below - 60 - everything 75 and above ***** Edmonton - everything 40 and below - everything 75 and above

Thanks everyone!

Guys, I see that you're aiming high. The Grey Cup is often a high-scoring affair, but Noj won once by picking a low score because it was the only thing left available to him!

I saw Herbie's acoustic sextet in 1969 or maybe 1970. Is anyone aware of a CD of a live performance of that band? And, I suppose, do you recommend it? Thanks!

Jeff Tedford may return to the US college ranks next year. http://www.tsn.ca/report-ncaa-teams-contacting-tedford-1.398521 ***** This week the league will stream seven press conferences, the commissioner's State of the League address and a post-game players' press conference for you to enjoy. http://cfl.ca/article/GCLive

Thanks Jeff!

HBJ, that what I picked! You'll have to pick something else. Anything else! I'm reminded of the story that in 1896 there were two cars in the state of Ohio, and they hit each other!

It's that time of year again! It's time for the annual Grey Cup contest. Past winners have included Noj (twice), indestructible, Bright Moments, brownie, paul secor, Soulstation1, danasgoodstuff and B. Clugston. Here are the rules: 1) Pick the winning team. 2) Pick the number of total points scored by both teams (aka the tiebreaker). Since approximately half of us will pick the winning team, picking the total points is necessary to win the contest. Your total points prediction must be a number which is a multiple of five (5). The winning tiebreaker will be the one closest to the correct answer. If two are equally close, the winner will be the lower pick. If two people pick the same thing, the first to make the pick will be the winner. THE PRIZE: A $17.00 Mosaic Records Gift Card. The $17.00 represents one CD of a Mosaic box set. Deadline: Sunday Nov. 29, 6:00 pm eastern ***** The Grey Cup game: The Grey Cup is awarded to the world champion of what I think is the greatest game in the world, Canadian rules football. That is to say, the champion of the Canadian Football League. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909. They have played for it every year since then except three years during World War One. Therefore, this year's will be the 103rd Grey Cup game. Fans from throughout Canada will attend the game. This year's game will see the Western champion Edmonton Eskimos face the Eastern champion Ottawa Redblacks. The Eskimos have won the most Grey Cups in my lifetime. Warren Moon played for them his first six years as a pro, winning five Grey Cups. The Ottawa Redblacks were an expansion team last year!!! This will be Ottawa's first trip to the Grey Cup game since 1981. Ottawa last won the Grey Cup in 1976 when their team was the Rough Riders. The location of the game is chosen years in advance. This year's game will be played in Winnipeg. Eastern fans always root for the Eastern champion, and Western fans always root for the Western champion. Winnipeg is a Western city, so normally I would expect the majority in attendance to root for the western team (Edmonton). However, Ottawa will certainly be Canada's sentimental favorite because Ottawa's teams have stunk for so many decades. Throughout the year, the league's two best teams were the Edmonton Eskimos and the Calgary Stampeders. Both teams finished the season with 14-4 records. Edmonton soundly defeated Calgary in the Western Final Sunday 45-31. The Eskimos have now won nine straight games. The Redblacks won only 2 games last year, and surprised everyone by finishing first in the East with a 12-6 record. The Eskimos' quarterback is 30-year old Mike Reilly, who played his college ball at Central Washington. The past two years, he has been voted by the players as the toughest player in the league! The Redblacks' quarterback is 40-year old Henry Burris, who played his college ball at Temple.. Burris is the Eastern nominee for Most Outstanding Player. That award will be given out Thursday. The game will be carried live in the US on ESPN2. You can listen to the game here: http://www.tsn.ca/radio (To listen to the game, you will need Windows Media Player which you can download for free. So you might want to plan ahead if you don't already have it.) You can study articles analyzing the upcoming game as well as articles about the season as it unfolded in the CFL thread, which I will be updating during the course of this week. Good luck everyone! ***** Here's my pick: Ottawa - 50 The fact is, I don't think the Redblacks have a chance. The Eskimos are a far better team. But because the Redblacks are the sentimental favorite, I will be pulling for them, and I will pick them.

Maverick - Season 3 - $29.16 + $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FNRA0KA ***** Maverick - Season 4 - $33.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CCYNYBO

Here are a few more items about today's games. Eastern Final http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/120223 http://3downnation.com/2015/11/22/ticats-lose-last-minute-heartbreaker-fall-35-28-to-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/22/ticats-season-comes-to-an-end-there-are-no-words-just-disappointment/#comments Western Final http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/120261 http://3downnation.com/2015/11/22/stamps-finish-hufnagel-coaching-era-with-loss-to-edmonton-in-west-final/#comments

Ottawa 35....Hamilton 28 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/hamilton-tiger-cats-ottawa-redblacks-20151122/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/r-nation-rising-redblacks-stun-ticats-late http://www.tsn.ca/redblacks-advance-to-grey-cup-with-miraculous-td-1.398024 Greg Ellingson caught a pass on second and 25 with about a minute to go in the fourth quarter, and took it 93 yards to the house to win the game. http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/120167 This will be an Ottawa team's first trip to the Grey Cup game since 1981. Ottawa last won the Grey Cup in 1976. ***** Edmonton 45....Calgary 31 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/calgary-stampeders-edmonton-eskimos-20151122/Stats http://www.cfl.ca/article/power-shift-esks-grey-cup-bound-with-win-over-stamps http://www.tsn.ca/eskimos-hold-off-stampeders-advance-to-grey-cup-1.398159 The Eskimos led 45-15 with eleven minutes to go in the game. The Stampeders then showed some spunk for a while, but the Eskimos didn't let them get close. ***** Next weekend is also the Vanier Cup - Saturday in Quebec City. The U of Montreal Carabines will play the U of British Columbia Thunderbirds. http://www.thespec.com/sports-story/6130231-thunderbirds-down-x-men-in-uteck-bowl-to-advance-to-vanier-cup/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/carabins-guelph-gryphons-vanier-cup-1.3329696

Western Final: Edmonton Eskimos 45....Calgary Stampeders 31 (final score)

After three quarters, Edmonton is clobbering Calgary 31-15.

Eastern Final: Ottawa Redblacks 35....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28 (final score)

Happy Birthday 2015 Don!

John Hodge picks the two home teams. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/22/east-and-west-final-picks/#comments ***** The Eastern Final has been a see-saw battle so far, with Ottawa leading 25-20 with 10:50 to go in the fourth.

Finals picks... Dan Ralph http://www.thespec.com/sports-story/6128693-cfl-picks-division-finals/ Justin Dunk http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/cfl-playoff-picks-depleted-stamps-can-shock-esks/ ***** I had the pleasure of meeting Warren Moon at the 1978 and 1979 Grey Cups. Here he discusses the '78 game and the Eskimos' chances this year. http://cfl.ca/article/qa-warren-moon-talks-esks-qbs-hank-and-more ***** Finals preview http://cfl.ca/article/cflca-game-notes-a-look-at-the-division-finals ***** Finals rosters updates http://cfl.ca/article/status-report-whos-in-out-for-sundays-division-finals

It says here that nobody watches TV shows when they air anymore, except ballgames and awards shows. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-abandons-same-day-ratings-842498 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-20/fox-to-stop-issuing-live-ratings-for-most-shows-on-its-network

Bon voyage Dan! Your new home looks lovely.

The seven contributors to the league's website makes their picks for the finals. I'm shocked that none picked the Stampeders. http://cfl.ca/article/prediction-time-cflca-writers-make-finals-picks ***** Mark Fulton analyzes Hank's past performance in the playoffs. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/20/post-season-burris-good-henry-vs-bad-hank-by-the-numbers/#comments ***** Tony Champion has joined the Ticats' staff to help out. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/13/milton-champion-the-hero-of-the-past-can-help-with-present/#comments ***** Here are more articles about the CFL Awards nominations. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/12/ticats-lawrence-banks-win-east-division-awards-an-update-on-the-qb-situation/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/12/burris-mitchell-lead-cfl-player-award-nominees/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/12/mitchell-paredes-set-to-represent-stampeders-at-cfl-awards-in-winnipeg/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/13/red-black-are-the-colours-of-cfl-awards-season/#comments