 Today's newsletter previews this weekend's playoff games in the CFL and Canadian university football. Also, Canada's (?) Freddie Freeman wins World Series MVP and our top curlers remain undefeated at an international event in Alberta. Plus, a look at some athlete Halloween costumes.
Let's get into it. | | | The Canadian football playoffs are here | | | There's a lot going on this Saturday for fans of three-down football. The CFL playoffs kick off with the East and West Division semifinals, while the Canadian university post-season ramps up nationwide with the semis in each of the four U Sports conferences.
Here's a quick overview:
CFL
Reigning Grey Cup champion Montreal (12-5-1) and Winnipeg (11-7) are enjoying first-round byes after winning the East and West, respectively. They'll host the division finals next weekend against the winners of this Saturday's pair of matchups.
The East semifinal, at 3 p.m. ET, pits visiting Ottawa (9-8-1) against Toronto (10-8). The Argonauts went a league-best 16-2 last year behind quarterback Chad Kelly, who was voted the CFL's Most Outstanding Player. But they got rocked by Montreal in the East final, and Kelly was suspended for the first half of this season after a former Argos strength and conditioning coach filed a lawsuit alleging she was sexually harassed by Kelly and wrongfully dismissed by the team (the suit was settled through mediation). In nine games since his return, Kelly has thrown 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for five TDs.
Kelly has just one CFL playoff start under his belt — that brutal 38-17 loss to Montreal last year in which he threw four interceptions, lost a fumble and was stuffed on a couple of third-and-short tries. Meanwhile, this will be the first playoff start for Ottawa's Dru Brown. The former Winnipeg backup finished third in the league in passing yards while throwing 18 TDs and 10 INTs in his first year with the Redblacks.
The West semifinal, at 6:30 p.m. ET, sees Saskatchewan (9-8-1) hosting B.C. (9-9). The Lions started the season 5-1 with a red-hot Vernon Adams Jr. at quarterback, then turned to Nathan Rourke when the CFL's 2022 Most Outstanding Canadian returned from his stint as an NFL reserve to step in for the injured Adams.
Now Adams has the job back after throwing for 385 yards in B.C.'s regular-season finale against Montreal. He'll have to tread carefully against Saskatchewan's larcenous defence, which finished second in the CFL with 24 interceptions — eight of them by Rolan Milligan Jr., the CFL leader in picks.
U Sports
Defending Vanier Cup champion Montreal heads into the playoffs ranked No. 1 in the country after going 7-1 in the regular season. The Carabins face McGill (3-5) in the Quebec conference semifinals on Saturday while No. 3 Laval (7-1) meets Concordia (2-6). Laval handed Montreal its only defeat of the season back in September and lost the rematch by one point in OT, so that would make for a great conference final matchup next week.
In the Ontario semis, No. 2 Laurier (8-0) meets No. 8 Queen's (6-3) while Western (7-1) squares off with Guelph (6-2) in a matchup of the No. 4 and 5 teams in the nation.
In the Atlantic conference, it's No. 6 Bishop's (8-0) vs. Acadia (2-6) and St. FX (5-3) vs. Saint Mary's (4-4) in a matchup of unranked teams.
In the West, No. 7 Manitoba (7-1) faces Regina (3-5) while 2023 Vanier Cup finalist UBC, ranked No. 9, takes on No. 10 Saskatchewan in a battle of 5-3 teams.
The winners of Saturday's games will square off in next week's conference finals. The national semifinals are on Nov. 16 and the Vanier Cup takes place Nov. 23 in Kingston, Ont. | | |  | Chad Kelly and the Argonauts are trying to bounce back from last year's frightful playoff defeat. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press) | | | Quickly… | | | Some other things to know:
1. Winnipeg's Brady Oliveira and Hamilton's Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award.
Oliveira, who won Most Outstanding Canadian last year and was the runner-up to Toronto's Chad Kelly for MOP, led the league in rushing yards for the second straight season as the Blue Bombers went 11-7 and topped the West Division for the fourth straight time.
Mitchell was the CFL leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32) this year, but his Tiger-Cats (7-11) finished last in the East and missed the playoffs. Mitchell won the outstanding player award in 2016 and '18 with Calgary. Here's more on the various CFL award finalists.
In other CFL news, commissioner Randy Ambrosie's decision to step down next year reportedly came after the league's board of governors voted 5-4 in favour of removing him.
2. Canada's (?) Freddie Freeman won the World Series MVP.
It's fair to question whether a guy who was born and raised in California can be called "Canada's." But Freeman's dad and late mother both hailed from Ontario, and he's played for Canada in two World Baseball Classics. So why not claim him, especially after the Dodgers first baseman set World Series records by homering in each of the first four games — including the first walkoff grand slam in World Series history — and piled up a record-tying 12 RBIs as Los Angeles closed out New York with a 7-5 victory in Game 5 last night at Yankee Stadium.
Freeman hit a two-run single during the pivotal fifth inning, where L.A. erased a 5-0 deficit thanks to a string of Yankee miscues. The most egregious was pitcher Gerrit Cole's failure to cover the bag on a slow grounder to first — a lapse that enraged Yankee fans and, surely, fundamentals-obsessed baseball coaches everywhere.
Freeman, playing on a bad ankle, outperformed $700-million dollar teammate Shohei Ohtani, who finished his first post-season with just three homers and no stolen bases in 16 games after becoming baseball's first 50-50 man in the regular season. Ohtani gritted through the last few games after separating his shoulder in Game 2.
Ohtani was the biggest prize in free agency last year, and this time it'll be the Yankees' Juan Soto. The 26-year-old outfielder is expected to command more than $500 million after smacking 41 homers with a sparkling .419 on-base percentage.
One betting site says Toronto has the fifth-best odds of landing Soto. But, if we learned anything from the Ohtani sweepstakes, it's probably best if Blue Jays fans don't waste their days tracking private jets and restaurant reservations this time around.
3. Brad Gushue completed a perfect round robin at the Pan Continental Curling Championships.
Gushue's rink, which recently added former Brier champion skip Brendan Bottcher in the second position, beat China 7-4 today in Lacombe, Alta. to finish 7-0 in the preliminary stage. Canada will face Japan's Shinya Abe in the semifinals tonight.
On the women's side, Canada's Rachel Homan was playing Japan's Miyu Ueno this afternoon in a battle of 6-0 teams. Both rinks have qualified for the semifinals on Friday morning. Here's more on today's results. | | | That's it for today. Talk to you tomorrow. | | | | Not subscribed? Sign up here to get the Buzzer delivered to your inbox. Got an idea, question, comment or other feedback on the newsletter? Drop us a line at thebuzzer@cbc.ca. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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