Between a bench and a hot summer night

So for a while now I've been hearing a lot of complaining on air at the OUTRAGEOUS notion that the back-to-back (and possibly another back) Grey Cup champs didn't sell out their supposedly high capacity newly renovated stadium on opening day nor on Calvillo's record smashing day that coupled with a small ceremony for Ben Cahooooooon to get his ring (but not his number retired...yet). This, despite the fact it looked pretty full to me considering the bench seating and over-inflated numbers.

Instead of accusing us all of being terrible sports fans, or that we don't support the Als because we apparently all hate the CFL, how about understanding why the supposed max capacity stadium wasn't completely sold out? Because we DO support the Als. Because we DO enjoy the CFL. And I'll tell you why the arbitrary capacity number wasn't sold out completely. Never mind the benches are killer for people with back pain, that's all part of the atmosphere. The real reason is simple: Have you looked outside your window lately?

The traffic in this city is disgusting. The weather is disgustingly hot. The construction is disgusting. Combine all these and you really just want to stay home, crank the air conditioner and enjoy the game on your favourite comfy sofa.

I actually was interested in going to that last game. However I had my work Summer party to attend. If you want to know how disgusting it really is outside, it took me over 2 hours to get from my home in Dollard all the way to Botanical Gardens; a drive that should only take about 30 minutes. And I don't have air conditioning in there. At least I found a free spot to park on the street right by the gate. (And on that note, if you have outdoor plans make sure it is on a home game for the Als as their weather dominator will ensure you'll have clear skies). I caught the end of the game on my way home on the radio, and heard Chip Cox's awesome 108-yard nani nani fufu touchdown (tying a record himself). That'll look great on the Argo's reality show.

REPEAT!

CAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON! *hugs*

It's COOOOOLD in Edmonton, and probably colder in Saskatchewan right now.

The Montreal Alouettes have repeat as Grey Cup champions in what was an intelligent, defensive game that ended 21-18 in front of a gazillion frozen melon heads. It also illustrated CFL officials incompetence who were confused at the coin toss, but I digress. Though, it probably wouldn't have been so stressful a game to watch if Damon Duval could kick the damn ball properly... Be glad Durant raised your choke with a gag.

Memo to Rider fans: don't sing the Hey Hey Goodbye song before the game even starts.

Right after the game, TSN's crew started listing a bunch of excuses for the Riders. Well, we found out our quarterback has a lesion in his throat and that they'll have to remove half his thyroid. The stunned look on their faces was pretty amazing after learning that. Any more excuses? I wish Calvillo a speedy recovery. He's been through a lot...

Apparently it's going to rain on our parade though. My brother said, "See! Even Mother Nature is conspiring against the Als and is a Riders fan! Damn green!"

The 13th man

Pleky takes in the Grey Cup!

Last year, the 13th man was a horrible horrible monster towards the Canadiens in a time they needed them the most. The 13th man booed and ridiculed a team limping into the Playoffs on one leg, and were an overall despicable monster concerning half the players were in their final years in the CH. I was hurt to the point of nearly killing someone at the Bell Center during that 3rd game at what I witnessed. And when Price did his Patrick Roy imitation I was in tears at how horrible the 13th man continued their mean streak during the game, after the game, and the days after.

All week long I kept hearing how the 13th man will be the key to winning this game against the Beast of the East with the green invasion of Calgary. For a while it looked like the same old Als when it comes to the game that matters: chokers. And then Number 13 himself, Anthony Calvillo drives the Als back into the game. Finally, the 13th man dealt a devastating blow to the Saskatchewan Roughriders but it wasn't the same 13th man I was hearing about all week... Like the Bruins in 1979, it was a player causing a Too Many Men penalty in the most crucial hairline moment of the game. Because of that 13th man, Damon Duval gets to redo his field goal kick with the Als trailing 25-27. Only this time he succeeds and the Als grab the 2009 Grey Cup right from the Riders fingertips 28-27.

The cigars are out. The champagne is sprayed. Avon Cobourne gets the MVP, Ben Cahooooooooooon gets Most Outstanding Canadian (I love the little guy but mostly I just love yelling his name) and I get to see the giant Bryan Chiu hug his adorable and tiny little boy on tv (so cute!). Congratulations Alouettes! Grey Cup Champions 2009!

The Impacts are USL 2009 Champions. The Alouettes are 2009 Grey Cup Champions. Habs? There's still hope for you yet! Adopt the Als slogan and "Win the Day". If not, at least try! There's always a chance. Go Habs Go!

Blah blah blah: Flyer 2, Habs1

Awww... Ain't they cute?

The drama queens on the forums or I/O postings really are just that. Seriously, it wasn't that bad. Could have been better, but wasn't worse. Needed work on executions, and decision making is on the wrong side of a brain fart for the most part but the effort was there, the polish wasn't. However defense wasn't too bad tonight... Not great, but not terrible either. My brother agrees about cloning Hammer though. Halak regained control of his rebounds, only to let a few fly at bad moments but thankfully they didn't end up as goals this time. Still, faced as many as Price does regularily, and they weren't exactly of super quality. The ones that went in deserved it.

I think if the Flyers had come out full steam guns ablaze like Boston did on Thursday, well it would have been 6-1 Flyers. It's only November, so calling for Carbo's head or Gainey's head (wtf?) is super premature. I saw good things, and bad things, I still think some Bulldogs could bring in some life. Pleky's line needs to work on their setup and positioning. The powerplay could use someone with accuracy, and though Streit was honestly a better forward than defenseman, his powerplay specialty was built on accuracy and good thinking. Right now, I think Markov doesn't think well enough to handle it and the shots heading to the goal are just "shoot maybe it'll bounce in" types rather than actually vying for a goal. Perhaps we'll see Weber soon, as he's following his hero's lead as a powerplay specialist. Perhaps even D'Agostini could bring in some offensive punch. I'm still dreaming (or drooling) over the possibility of a Chips/Lapierre/Kostopoulos line, or Chips on the 3rd and Desharnais centering the 4th with TK and Lapierre as his wingers. The possiblities are there. Like last year, I think Bob waited for December/January to do some shuffling.

Sucks the presentation of our medal wining provincial athletes couldn't inspire a harder drive for a win. I mean, the whole arena from the benches to the rafters was at full volume as Chantal Petitclerc came out. She could probably beat both teams with only ONE of her hands. Anyhoo, with that, tomorrow's another day. To the Blues~!

If you were flipping channels...
- Vancouver 4, Toronto 2. What no shutout? Tsk! The first goal scored was by Wellwood. Haha~!
- Backup of the backup Clemmenson gets the Caps in a shootout. Devils win 6-5. Parise is the only one to bank it during the skills contest.
- Another shootout, Rangers 3 and Boston 2 with Drury as the only one to get it in past Thomas. Ryder's only call on the sheet? A 3rd period tripping penalty. Told ya last year wasn't all that suspicious...
- Buffaslugs lose 5-4 to the Penguinos. And no you can't blame it on Lalime this time 'cause Miller was in nets. Shots were equal around 24 a piece as well.
- Oh my... Sens pepper Joey Mac with 40 shots and still lose to the Islanders 3-2. Hey Sputza got a goal though. Looks like they tried a Third Period Bonanza, only to come out short.
- Currently 2-1 Dallas against Phoenix...
- THE BULLDOGS get a win though with 2 goals by D'Agostini, 3 assists by Lehoux, and a goal a piece for Chips and Maxwell. Patches, Aubin, and Wyman get an assist as well for a 4-3 win over the Rochester Americans. Shots were 31-17 Hamilton!

Also congratulations are in order for the Alouettes. That was a great comeback (of sorts) after 3 weeks of not playing. Larry Taylor made two awesome runs that left a bunch of Eskimos throwing their hands in the air with a "wtf" expression. The Als are going to the Grey Cup! First time they've gone when Montreal hosted it since 1979...

The Great Montreal Hat Trick

In all of Sunday's excitement, I forgot to mention that on Sunday, September 28th 2008, not only did the Canadiens-Bulldogs get that preseason game, but both the Impact and the Alouettes won their respective home games that day as well. For the Als, they clinched a playoff spot for the Grey Cup after destroying Saskatchewan 37 to 12 and are currently positioned in 1st place (tied with Calgary for 18 points). The Impact won against Seattle (apparently the previous champions) in a 3-1 game which qualifies them for the USL First Division semifinals. I don't think I ever heard of the Impact scoring more than 0-0 ties... But the Als! The Als really want to be in the Grey Cup, eh? It takes place in November, right here in Montreal.

Tonight, those hockey robots from Detroit are in town. Yannick Weber is still around. Carey Price is in nets. Defence will proceed to take 5 and call it a night. Good luck young man, the rink is yours. May the Schwartz be with you.