Eastern and Western Semi Final Game Thread

[TheLionKing]

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pag ... ric_e.html

It's going to cold day in Calgary.

Interesting by-line between Edmonton and Toronto. Ricky Ray facing his former teammates; Kerry Joseph and Cory Boyd returning to Toronto. Who will be smiling after the game ?

Going to stay home and watch the teams pound each other.

[sj-roc]

Not sure about the rest of you but I'll be giving the ESF a pass due to the scheduling conflict with Nov 11 services. For a league that prides itself on saluting our veterans you'd think they could get their act together on avoiding this, if only as purely a business move to help their TV ratings. The problem is that this issue really only impacts western viewers so the power brokers in Toronto who make these decisions can't be bothered to do anything about it. The funny thing is they went with Sat SF & F games in 2008 (see here for example) when Nov 11 wasn't even on a Sunday.

[WestCoastJoe]

Not sure about the rest of you but I'll be giving the ESF a pass due to the scheduling conflict with Nov 11 services. For a league that prides itself on saluting our veterans you'd think they could get their act together on avoiding this, if only as purely a business move to help their TV ratings. The problem is that this issue really only impacts western viewers so the power brokers in Toronto who make these decisions can't be bothered to do anything about it. The funny thing is they went with Sat SF & F games in 2008 (see here for example) when Nov 11 wasn't even on a Sunday.

I was surprised that both games were scheduled for this special day.

One year November 11 coincided with a Lions practice. Wally, some of the players and some of the fans walked across the street to the Legion for a local ceremony.

[ziggy]

I'll PVR the games but find it hard to fathom why they scheduled them when they did and I sent an email to the CFL stating that. I read a TSN thread and it seems Saturday was inconvenient because the CIS playoffs were scheduled (not sure that affects many) and later Sunday games were inconvenient for the East (no mention that Edmonton will kickoff at 11am their time), because they would be too late. I think with a little planning they could have played one, or both games on Saturday .

I'll be at the Cenotaph showing my support to the 80 and 90 year old veterans, who were truly inconvenienced. I don't think the scheduling was meant to conflict with Remembrance game, I just think they dropped the ball and forgot the C in CFL is for Canada and Canada has time zones.

[Coast Mountain Lion]

Well they probably reasoned when scheduling the eastern game that it would start at 1pm in Toronto, Hamilton or Montreal or noon in Winnipeg, safely beyond 11:11. But they didn't factor in the possibility that a team from the west might be involved. It'll be an 11:00 start for fans in Edmonton, and hopefully they can delay the start long enough to at least get in a minute of silence before the game begins.

[Rammer]

Eskimos without Sherritt, he is nursing an ankle injury. Can't see that being an easy player out of the lineup to replace.

Does an Eskimo loss sit well with Tillman, or does he count on revenge with an Eskimo loss.

[Rammer]

Esks score on their initial drive of the season for the first time in 2012. A steady dose of Joseph, Charles and finished off with a classic Koch TD, all recruits of Tillman.

[SammyGreene]

QB sneaks remain an adventure with Jarious. Lions have been so much better with Reilly.

Yikes, rows of empty seats at midfield on visitors side. Have a feeling Braley didn't buy the rights to this game.

[Rammer]

Two back to back TD's by the Argo's now have put the Esks on their heels, as the score is 14 to 7 for the Argos 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter. Owens sure is dangerous returning the ball, making guys miss with his shiftiness, and scores a 59 yard punt return TD.

[JohnHenry]

I think it was a late arriving crowd in Toronto, its pretty filled-in now. Should be over 28k fans. They usually only have one will-call wicket open at Skydome, with long lineups for playoff games as they are bought independently from seasons ticket packages.

Pretty exciting game so far, lots of intensity. 35,000+ already sold for next week's game at Big O.

[SammyGreene]

Blowout in TO.

And just think the "red hot" Stamps beat these guys 4 times from Labour Day onwards.

[David]

Difference to me in the first half was the play of the O-lines. I thought the Argos would struggle without Wayne Smith but instead, it's been the Argos applying constant pressure on Joseph. I thought Toronto's O-line held up remarkably well against that dangerous Eskimo front 7. Great play calling by Milanovich too.

The crowd on the Argos' side of the field sure filled up well after the first couple of drives! I don't think it's as strong on the visitor's (non-camera) side, but attendance should be something close to 30K.


DH

[TheLionKing]

Cory Boyd's fumble opened the door for the Argos as they scored 31 unanswered points to take a 31-7 lead into the 3rd quarter.

[WestCoastJoe]

Nichols looks like such a great young gunslinger. And the injury looks horrible. Why the kid didn't start most of the year ... Guess they had to go with Jyles and Joseph because they wanted to be "mobile."

I was sure Nichols was gonna put up a TD to make it 17 points.

Love that SkyCam.

[TheLionKing]

Eskimoes tumultous season coming to an end 42-18 with 2 minutes left. Argos offensive line dominated Eskimoes' defensive line.