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The situation in the East is simply fantastic for fans of the CFL. All Week 20 games in the East matter as to who is in the playoffs and that’s how you want it to play out. I will be on site at the marque game of the week, Montreal at Hamilton. I am looking forward to seeing Hamilton’s new stadium and the facilities they have for the players and coaches. I can remember when I worked for the Ticats, Jamie Barresi and I shared an office which was fine except for when we had to meet with the players there. The players sat on the floor and watched practice and game film on two TVs we jerry-rigged to play the same video. We had to do this because the room had a weird shape and the guys closest to the exit could not see the big TV. The big TV was actually one I had at my house and had brought in to be able have a bigger screen! I have heard nothing but great things about this new facility that will provide the players with a professional work environment they deserve, looking forward to seeing that. Speaking of Coach Barresi, he is now the head coach of the University of Ottawa, and led them to a 5-3 finish and a first round playoff win over Windsor. He will now come home to Hamilton to take on McMaster this weekend in the second round of the playoffs. I am not sure that this situation has ever happened in the CFL. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats can finish first place, second place, or be eliminated from the playoffs! You don’t often have to prepare your team for all those possibilities within a week. But I think there is a very interesting coaching situation for the Cats, let’s talk about it. Hamilton’s playoff scenario is this: if they beat Montreal by eight points or more they clinch first place; if they win by less than eight points or Toronto loses they earn second place; and if they lose and Toronto wins, they are eliminated from the playoffs. Teams that finish in first place statistically have a greater chance of going to the Grey Cup, so does Hamilton change the game plan to put themselves in first place? I think I would. Let’s say Toronto wins the game Friday and Hamilton is eliminated with a loss, this is the harder scenario. Hamilton starts the game basically down 7-0 to the Als for first place. Do they become more aggressive to make up the point differential and go for first place? Aggressive might be a fake punt or special play on Teams to be able get a few extra offensive scoring possessions. Could it be a more aggressive defensive scheme or pressure package trying to limit Montreal scoring? Third and goal from the two-yard line early in the game, usually you kick the field goal but do you go for it to make up the points to try to get first place? All these things mentioned have a risk that when not executed can hurt your chances of winning the game, which is the ultimate goal for Hamilton because they would be eliminated if Toronto wins. Late in the game this will be employed but early in the game is when it could easily affect the outcome. Certainly late in the game, if Hamilton is up by three, you will see the best of both teams, because Hamilton will actually be trying to drive the length of the field and score a touchdown with the lead. That situation does not happen often. These are the decisions that a head coach must have a good understanding of not only at the end of the year, but at the beginning of the year. In 2009, when I was the offensive coordinator of the Saskatchewan Roughriders we were in the first of a four-game series with an opponent. It was late in the game and we were winning but I called a few more passes and scored a late touchdown. A coach from the other team after the game sought me out on the field and took offence to my offence (funny?) of scoring a touchdown when we could have taken a knee at the end of the game. I looked at him somewhat surprised and said we are playing you four times and there is the very real possibility that we will end up tied at the end of the year and the next playoff tie breaker is points scored. That is why we were scoring points late in the last drive, we don’t know how we will end up, so you assume you will be tied. Points-scored has to be thought of when you play an opponent twice or four times because you could be tied at the end. Playing someone three times, points is not an issue (unless there was a tie) because someone usually finishes 2-1. Back to Hamilton, let’s assume Toronto loses and a loss by Hamilton will not affect their playoff chances, they would have second place locked up no matter what happens in their game. Now you can see the Ticats being aggressive and be ready for anything that can help them score points. No huddle to get more plays, going for it on third down, onside kicks. Mistakes or poor execution of those plays can also hurt your field position which can help Montreal’s opportunity to score, so executing these calls is key. If you have a chance, look up Head Coach Kevin Kelley and the Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, a coach who calls for onside kicks every kickoff and will not punt throughout the season. The guy must be crazy and must lose every game right? A state Championship, a loss in the finals, and a semi-final appearance in three years tells another story. Although some of his data may not correlate with the CFL, he believes on kickoffs the difference in the field position is only about 15 yards if an onside kick is recovered by the receiving team and coach Kelley’s teams recover one out of every three onside kicks which is a turnover, and we know turnovers are one of the most telling stats in winning football games. In the CFL, a failed onside kick would probably be a 30-yard difference in field position which is certainly a reason not to do it every time. Kelley never punts because his philosophy is you have to score more points to win the football game and you cannot score without retaining possession of the football. That is why he will always go for it on fourth down, to keep possession of the ball. So if your team is in a fourth and 3 situation four times in a game and they average 5.5 yards per rush, why not go for it? Kelley believes he will make three out of four conversions and will keep the football. Interesting thoughts and I thought of this philosophy this week to see if the Ticats would employ some of these tactics to get to first place. Either way it will be a great weekend for football, punt or no punt. . Trailing 5-4 in the third set, the 12th-ranked Isner fought off two match points and evened it at 5-5 with consecutive aces. The former University of Georgia star had his only service break of the match to go up 6-5 before firing the last four of his 30 aces to close out Ginepri, an Atlanta resident ranked 281st. . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. . On the day the club activated Casey Janssen from the 15-day disabled list, his return from a strained oblique that cost him the first six weeks of the regular season, it announced Sergio Santos would be placed on the disabled list on Monday with discomfort in his right forearm. . -- One shot came out of bottom of a cactus, the other from the base of a desert bush with rocks scattered around it. . Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. TORONTO -- Its been a bad three-game stretch for the Blue Jays and the numbers tell a bleak story: three straight home losses, 29 runs given up on 42 hits and 13 walks. Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. "Tomorrow comes quickly and early," Jays manager John Gibbons said hopefully, "So we need to get back out and play some good baseball." Its sorely needed. Torontos pitching staff has a combined earned-run average of 4.70 with 99 walks. And the Jays are hitting .247. Boston slugger David Ortiz hit his 50th career homer against the Jays and right-hander Jake Peavey scattered five hits over seven innings in a tidy outing to earn his first win after four non-decisions. A unanimous NL Cy Young Award-winner in 2007, Peavey struck out seven and walked two. The lone blemish on the Peavey scoresheet was a Juan Francisco home run -- his first as a Blue Jay -- in the seventh inning. The six-foot-two 245-pound designated hitter muscled a moonshot that landed in the right-field boxes just under the 500 level. Buehrle (4-1) was trying to become first Blue Jays starter to win his first five starts of the campaign. Instead he wobbled early as the Red Sox (11-13) recorded their 300th career victory against Toronto before an announced crowd of 29,411. The 35-year-old left-hander came into the game with a 4-0 record and MLB-leading 0.64 ERA. Buehrle had allowed two runs in 28 innings, striking out 19 and walking only five batters. The opposition was batting .210 against him. On Friday, he gave up seven runs on 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings, throwing 101 pitches that included 64 strikes. Buehrle walked three, had no strikeouts and saw his ERA increase to 2.16. "Hes been so good. Thats baseball, youre not going to be perfect every time out there," Gibbons said. "Hell bounce back. He was just off tonight, its that simple." Buehrle pointed to his walks and some bloop hits that found holes and eluded defenders. "Youve got to have the luck on your side. I wasnt hitting my spots as good as I was in the past. And when I did they got some base hits. But overall, too many strikes in the middle of the zone and they took advantage of it." Boston outhit Toronto 16-6 with all nine Red Sox starters registering hits on the night. The roof was closed on a wet, windy evening in Toronto. But down the street, Raptors fans braved the elements at Maple Leaf Square to watch Game 3 of Torontos NBA playoff series against the Nets in Brooklyn on the big screen outside the Air Canada CCentre.dddddddddddd. That ending was closer but no more satisfying to locals. A leadoff walk and four hits in the second inning put the Jays behind 4-0 as Boston sent seven men to the plate and Buehrle threw 30 pitches. An A.J. Pierzynski sacrifice fly, Will Middlebrooks single and Dustin Pedroias two-RBI single kept the Boston scoreboard ticking. The inning snapped Buehrles streak of 0-23 with runners in scoring position. An Ortiz home run to deep right field made it 5-0 in the third. It was Ortizs fifth homer of the season and the 436th of his career, moving him within two of tying Andre Dawson and Jason Giambi for 40th place on the MLB all-time list. The Ortiz blast was also his 33rd at the Rogers Centre. Only Alex Rodriguez (36) has hit more in a visitors uniform here. Torontos Jose Bautista doubled in the fourth and has now reached base safely in all 23 games this season. The feel-good story ended quickly when he was caught stealing third, with one out and Edwin Encarnacion on first. Dioner Navarro then popped up to end the threat. "Ive got no idea," Gibbons said when asked what Bautista was thinking. "Its not smart winning baseball. Im sure he wont do it again." Said Peavey: "That was a shot in the arm for us." Middlebrooks, returning to the Boston lineup from a strained right calf injury that had sidelined him since April 4, doubled home Pierzynski in the sixth to make it 6-0. Buehrle exited one hitter later after walking the No. 9 hitter, Jackie Bradley Jr. Neil Wagner followed Buehrle and soon had to deal with the bases loaded, with two out, after a Jose Reyes error and Ortiz walk. Wagner walked Mike Napoli to make it 7-0, after the Boston first baseman had fouled off a string of balls with the count full, before striking out Jonny Gomes. The Jays had men on first and third with two out in the sixth but Peavey struck out Bautista and Encarnacion to snuff out Torontos first threat of the night. Boston manager John Farrell called it a key moment. "Jake gets two big strikeouts to end their threat, to keep the momentum on our side." The hard-throwing Wagner, who complicated matters with two walks and one hit batsman in 1 1/3 innings, was followed by Todd Redmond. The Jays sent Wagner to Triple-A Buffalo after the game, calling up pitcher Chad Jenkins. Bradley, who had three extra base hits on the night, made it 8-1 with a two-out RBI double off Redmond in the ninth. Chris Capuano pitched the eighth for Boston, striking out the side. Andrew Miller worked the ninth, giving up a single while striking out two. ' ' '
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