Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Canadian Football League 2019
One of the Greatest punt and Kickoff Returners of all Time-"Gizmo" Williams
The Canadian
Football League has just completed its sixth week of play. I know I
am not alone when I admit that I am a football fan. I also enjoy the
National Football League from the United States.
There are
many reasons why the level pf play is better in the NFL rather than
the CFL. That is a given. Most of their players grow up playing
football all year long, in places like California and Florida. They
receive far more coaching, even in elementary school. (You might find
8 to 10 coaches on the sideline.) College football is far more
important to Americans than is the game to Canadian college fans.
That is why
there is an import rule in he CFL. Teams are only allowed to field a
limited number of American-born players. And now we are finding
Mexican-born players in the league, primarily soccer-style kickers.
This is mainly because the television network, TSN, is carrying the
games throughout North America and Mexico. Perhaps world-wide. I am
not sure about that. Fifty years ago, Neil Armstrong might have
watched the British Columbia Lions from his spacecraft before setting
foot on the moon.
After five
weeks of play, the Hamilton Tiger Cats Football Club has emerged as
the team to beat in the East. They are 4-1, and they are enjoying
spectacular play, especially from Brandon Banks.
In baseball,
the most exciting base hit is a triple. With home runs, you can sit
back and relax, once the ball has left the ball park. With a triple,
you are on the edge of your seat, most of the time, until the runner
slides safely into the base. In football, the most exciting play is a
kick return. Shame on the NFL for removing most kick off returns from
the game. They have instituted “touchbacks” on most return
situations, supposedly to cut down on injuries. Hogwash.
Hamilton's
Brandon Banks runs back kicks. If you put the ball in his hands, he
will run. Last week he scored three touchdowns as the Tiger Cats
defeated the Calgary Stampeders at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. His
first touchdown was simply spectacular. He grabbed a missed field
goal in the end zone and romped 115 yards for a touchdown. Over his
career, he has returned 13 kicks for touchdowns. Elusive always, he
weighs 150 pounds, just after dinner.
His effort
garnered him an award as one of the top performers of the week in the
CFL. He also had two receiving touchdowns in the game.
The Montreal
Alouettes have surprised more than a few experts recently. They lost
their first two games, but have won the next two, keeping them in
second place in the league. They owe a good deal of their success to
their quarterback, Vernon Adams. He also won one of the top
performers awards. He passed for two touchdowns, and ran for two
more, as the Als defeated the Ottawa REDBLACKS 36-19.
In a recent
game between Western and Eastern teams, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
rocked the Toronto Argonauts 48-21. Toronto has yet to win a game
this season. The Blue Bombers are now 4-0, and are led by Winnipeg
native Andrew Harris, also a CFL Top Performer. As a running back in
the game against the Argos, he had 123 all-purpose yards, 116 yards
from scrimmage, and seven in the air on five catches.
A note of
caution. There are still 14 games remaining for most teams, before
the playoffs to determine the Grey Cup finalists. In the CFL,
anything can happen, (and usually does!). Just plain exciting
football, above the 49th parallel.
James Hurst
July 2019.
# posted by James Hurst @ 9:05 AM 
