Semi-Final Games, November 11, 2018

[WestCoastJoe]

Schedule

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[WestCoastJoe]

BC @ HAM -- Gotta be Ham, but ya never know.

WPG @ SSK -- Tough one to call. Riders seem to be playing without a passing attack. Gotta be Peg.

[WestCoastJoe]

Standings, after the regular season

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[WestCoastJoe]

CGY -- Dickie and Claybrooks back on track. Bo sharp.

SSK -- How far can you go with RPO, and without a passing attack?

OTT -- Steady job by Campbell, Thorpe and staff.

WPG -- Hoping for good play from Nichols.

BC -- More wins than Ham, but not as well coached, it seems to this fan.

HAM -- I expect Jones and Glanville to have their Xand Os in good order.

EDM -- Whither Maas? No Maas? I think he can coach. Maybe he can sort out his anger issues.

MTL -- Go, Johnny. I think Sherman can coach.

TOR -- What happened to Trestman? A coach has to have fire in the belly, even if it is not necessarily shown on the outside. His team looked listless, just like him.

[JohnnyMusso]

I predict Lions will lose in Hamilton and lose big. I hope they can be competitive, but Lulay does not look sharp and produced ZERO points now in 2 halves of football and thrown 4 INT. On defence, they cannot stop the run and Hamilton will for sure run the ball until Lions prove they can stop it. Braley will have the team over for one last big dinner with Wally.

I am going with the Riders. They are tough at home and Winnipeg always finds a way to lose in the playoffs. Even without Zach, they will find a way to pull it out.

[JohnnyMusso]

Lulay named the starter today for the playoff game on Sunday. No surprise there.

[Don Miller]

Lulay should be put on a short leash. Jennings has moved the ball with his ability to move out of the pocket and find a receiver. Last two games Lulay has not looked very good. Overthrowing receivers and tentative at times. Jennings also provides a run threat to Hamilton. Hamilton's linebackers are very active and could be beaten with counters running through the b and or c gaps. Rainey may be able to break it outside if the blocking is there. O line and D line have to win the line of scrimmage. I am hoping it is not a blowout. Is it Jekyl or Hyde showing up in steeltown?

[TheLionKing]

I have mixed feelings about the game. Which Lion team will show up this Sunday: the one early in the season or the one that went on a winning streak ? Lions have not played well the last 3 games. Offence struggling (all season long), defence can't stop the run, and now the coverage teams giving up huge yardage. Definitely not heading into the post season with momentum. My gut feeling is that the Lions will lose again and in the manner that unfortunately many of us have endured namely not ready to play from the opening whistle, undisciplined penalties, poor tackling, dropped passes, bland predictable offence. I cringe everytime Lulay drops back to pass. His passes aren't crisp. It tends to wobble inviting interceptions. Of course, I would love the Lions to prove me wrong and goes on a 3 game winning streak.

[Gridiron Ernie]

Re the Bomber/Rider match-up -- I was happy to read today that Zach C. has been taking his usual regular reps at the pivot position in practice. That bodes well for both his personal well-being and for the betterment of the coming contest. I'll be cheering for the Bombers (with their many ex-Leos playing and/or coaching) but want to see a good game of football, and Collaras might help to that end. Of course I don't want him to help too much! But I'll be happy to see him pass inspection and make the game-day roster.

[WestCoastJoe]

Re the Bomber/Rider match-up -- I was happy to read today that Zach C. has been taking his usual regular reps at the pivot position in practice. That bodes well for both his personal well-being and for the betterment of the coming contest. I'll be cheering for the Bombers (with their many ex-Leos playing and/or coaching) but want to see a good game of football, and Collaras might help to that end. Of course I don't want him to help too much! But I'll be happy to see him pass inspection and make the game-day roster.

Good to hear about Collaros.

This fan has no preference regarding the outcome. I like O'Shea and LaPolice. Andrew Harris is a personal fave. Glad to see Biggie doing so well. I think Jones is excellent at defence, not so much at offence, since he has farmed out the Xs and Os to McAdoo. Maybe leaning Winnipeg's way a bit.

[Figaro]

November 11, 1918, the First World War ended. Over 61,00 Canadians died in that war with over 172,000 seriously wounded. November 11 became a day in which the young country of Canada could remember the lives and deaths of those young men who went to war - a good or a bad war depending on historical revisionists. Because the date was so close to Thanksgiving, the parliament of our country moved the date for Thanksgiving to give prominence to the November 11th date. Another World War took 44,000 Canadian lives and shattered the lives of 54,000 wounded young men. Korea took fewer in number but not less in value to the families who did not see their brothers or fathers ever again as did Afghanistan and other theaters of war.

November 11th is not a holiday. People are given the day off so that they can show respect and remember the people who fought and died for this country - not a day off to go to football games or shopping across the border. I am incensed that the CFL (and TSN) found it appropriate to have football games scheduled on this day. Here in BC, the Lions will be playing in Hamilton at 10:00 (BC time) on Remembrance Day. I will be taking my grandchildren, a number of whom are named after the men in their families who fought and died, or were wounded or came home forever changed from the young men who left their families to go to war because their country asked.

I have written the CFL and TSN about their decision to play a game on such a hallowed day - especially a league that likes to honor our soldiers at least at one half-time a year. I am taping the game on Sunday as I have much more serious patriotic duties to perform - I will be attending the ceremony at my local Cenotaph - imagine, there is not one community in our country that doesn't have a cenotaph so far-reaching were the tentacles of war.

I love football and I love my BC Lions - but I must pay respect to those who "paid the ultimate sacrifice" instead of cheering my Lions at 11:00 - on the one-hundred anniversary of the end of World War One. I wish TSN and the CFL would show more respect.

[TheLionKing]

I too get upset when I people treating Nov. 11 as a holiday, going Christmas shopping etc. Can't businesses take 2 minutes out of their schedule and have a moment's silence to honour those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country ? End of rant.

[B.C.FAN]

I love football and I love my BC Lions - but I must pay respect to those who "paid the ultimate sacrifice" instead of cheering my Lions at 11:00 - on the one-hundred anniversary of the end of World War One. I wish TSN and the CFL would show more respect.

I understand people's desire to pay their respects to veterans at Remembrance Day ceremonies on Nov. 11. I've done that myself, although not recently. This isn't a CFL or TSN issue. Aside from a brief flirtation with Saturdays in the 1980s, CFL playoff games are always scheduled on Sundays in November. Every seven years or so, Remembrance Day falls on a Sunday. That was the case in 1984, 1990, 2001, 2007 and 2012. Games are always scheduled in the afternoons locally so they don't conflict with Remembrance Day services. The only reason this is an issue this year is because the Lions qualified as a crossover team and are scheduled to play in Hamilton at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. That's not something that can be predicted and scheduled in advance.

[JohnnyMusso]

Figaro while I understand your feelings in this matter, none of the leagues are cancelling any games. In the United States, it is Veterans Day on November 11 and NFL will still hold all its games and the stadiums will be packed. The CFL traditionally holds its playoffs on Sundays, which just happens to be Remembrance Day. People can still honour the vets and the dead who served. I wear a poppy every year to honour my grandfather who fought in WW1 and who I am named after, but I have never attended a ceremony. It does not mean I am disrespecting him or others; I just choose to honour him in my own way and do so every year.

Also my father who belonged to the Legion told me a long time ago the poppy comes off after the ceremony ends. It is not supposed to be worn all day or many days after which many people do. But people do not know. I knew one man who wore it all year round.

I think the CFL will pay respect to the vets in some way on the day. TSN carries the games, so I cannot criticize them anymore than the US networks who will carry the NFL games that day. They have a contract and may get sued if they do not honour it

Also there are so many immigrants now who do not understand what the poppy means or what Remembrance Day means. Many will not wear a poppy or acknowledge the day in any way. The malls will be packed and people will watch football, hockey, etc. It is just the way it is now. I accept it. I remember a time when there was no shopping on Sunday and malls were closed on Remembrance Day, Easter, etc. Now only closed Christmas and how long that lasts who knows. It is a different world now and many people will be working on Sunday.

As for how people choose to spend Remembrance Day it is up to them and I cannot judge them for it. I respect how you will spend it, but for those of us who will watch the Lions on Sunday, we can still honour our grandfathers and others in our own way. It does not mean we are being disrespectful by doing so. I will always be grateful to my grandfather for his bravery, commitment and love of his country and honour him that day and other days.

[WestCoastJoe]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

''In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.''

-- Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

McCrae fought in the Second Battle of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium, where the German army launched one of the first chemical attacks in the history of war. They attacked French positions north of the Canadians with chlorine gas on April 22, 1915 but were unable to break through the Canadian line, which held for over two weeks. In a letter written to his mother, McCrae described the battle as a "nightmare",

''For seventeen days and seventeen nights none of us have had our clothes off, nor our boots even, except occasionally. In all that time while I was awake, gunfire and rifle fire never ceased for sixty seconds.... And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way.''

— McCrae[7]

Alexis Helmer, a close friend, was killed during the battle on May 2. McCrae performed the burial service himself, at which time he noted how poppies quickly grew around the graves of those who died at Ypres. The next day, he composed the poem while sitting in the back of an ambulance at an Advanced Dressing Station outside Ypres.[8] This location is today known as the John McCrae Memorial Site. -- Wikipedia

With honour and respect for all those who have served and are serving our country in the Armed Forces. It is not always about national expansionist plans. This Canadian is proud and happy that when our people serve these days, it tends to be as peace keepers. My father served our country in WW II.