Tuesday Morning QB (Division Semi-Finals)
The crossover has always been an interesting part of the CFL as it allows a western team to move to the east in the playoffs.
More often than not that crossover comes into effect because the east is just not good enough.
It gives the western team a chance to play in the playoffs thanks to their record and their play throughout the regular season.
Otherwise, it would see the third-place team in the east play despite some terrible records while a team that is better than them has to sit and watch.
It was established to bring some fairness to the process, although it still doesn’t go far enough for many analysts who believe that there should only be one division.
The way that these teams get the crossover should inform how they do as they have had the tougher schedule and have still come out with a good enough record.
Sometimes these teams even head into the eastern playoffs with a better record than every team in the east.
It seems as though they are the better team so often that it is surprising to see that there has never been a western team to make it through the east.
The Grey Cup has remained a matchup of east versus west no matter how good the team from the west is.
After the inclusion of the Ottawa REDBLACKS the west has had a lot of chances at trying to break the streak of the crossover.
There has been a western team in the eastern playoffs for years now as the eastern playoffs have been reduced to a two-team battle.
It is almost as if the east only really has two playoff spots left especially as the west continues to build more contenders.
With those two spots, there have been arguments about whether or not they are even deserved as in 2016 and 2017 teams with a 9-9 record have won the eastern division.
This year was slightly different as the top two teams in the east certainly deserved their top two spots.
Although the Ti-Cats did finish with a losing record there was little doubt that they were one of the better teams in the league.
If it weren’t for a few bad games against Ottawa and some late struggles they could have easily had a winning record.
Meanwhile, the REDBLACKS were a rare site with an 11-7 record to take the eastern title and host the eastern final.
In the west, the battle had a lot of casualties with a lot of good teams fighting right until the end of the season.
Out of that battle came the BC Lions who finished in fourth place and took home the crossover with a 9-9 record.
It was one better than the Ti-Cats who they would face in the semi-finals looking to take that path that no western team had ever taken before.
The Lions were a team looking like the better of the two at the end of the year with the Ti-Cats struggling and the Lions looking like they could make a serious run.
For some, this was a strong possibility of giving the CFL the first ever all-western Grey Cup game.
That crossover is always tricky though and it struck in a big way this year as the Ti-Cats easily got past the Lions.
From the start of the game, the Lions were outmatched as the Ti-Cats marched quickly downfield on their first possession and then recovered a fumble on the Lions first offensive play.
It went bad so fast for the Lions and they were just another team in the crossover footnote of the CFL.
All of the hype gave way to a bit of a surprise as the Ti-Cats proved something to everyone watching, they are here to compete for the Grey Cup.
They will head to Ottawa for the eastern final where the REDBLACKS are waiting to show why they took the eastern crown.
They are by far the best team in the east but that doesn’t mean they are guaranteed a win in the eastern final against a team with a lot going for them heading into this game.
On the other side, the Calgary Stampeders are hoping to make it three in a row as they try to solidify themselves as the best team in the CFL.
They will take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who got by a surging Roughrider team that just didn’t have it on the day.
The Bombers are clearly playing the underdog role in this one as the Stamps have been the best team in the league for years while the Bombers are just beginning to meet their potential.
Commonwealth Stadium awaits as the possibilities are there for underdogs to face off against each other or the best and everything in between.
Fourth Down
Staying Put
As the Argonauts continue to do their research for the upcoming season and who will lead them on the sidelines a few teams have ensured their stance. The Edmonton Eskimos missed the playoffs for the first time in the Jason Maas era leading to some people believing that his time on the sidelines might be over. That isn’t the case as the Eskimos confirmed that Maas would be staying put for the 2019 season giving him a shot to make up for the bad season. Although the Montreal Alouettes never were rumoured to be firing their head coach they went and confirmed that the 2019 season will see Mike Sherman return looking to lead them back.
Another Step
Maritime Football Limited is the best chance that the east coast has for getting a team CFL team. This group has seemingly provided the financial backing a new team would need and are now taking the steps to get a team. Two weeks ago they announced plans for a new stadium that would be going in front of the city council for approval. It is one major step towards a team in Halifax while the other would be finding out if there is a fan base. That is the next step in the plan as Maritime Football Limited has launched a season ticket campaign in hopes of showing that a team can survive and while they do that they look to try to drum up excitement by launching a naming contest.
The Sport Addiction 