DOG: It's Football Season!!

So I was using my Independence Day holiday to trim my hedges this morning and I took a break for lunch. Turned on the tube and found myself in a game of TV roulette by randomly selecting a channel trying to avoid more Michael Jackson coverage. That's when I chanced upon last night's game between the Edmonton Eskimoes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. What luck! This after just posting below how I am jonesing seriously for football.

Great game. Edmonton won 19-17. Found out that Jared Zabransky, from Boise State, who was cut by the Stillers in training camp last year is Edmonton's backup QB.

Until the NFL starts I will watch these CFL games. It's better than boring myself to sleep with baseball. I'm familiar with the CFL rules as a result of seeing numerous Baltimore Stallions games when they played here and won the Grey Cup back in '95. At that time former Stiller punter Josh Miller played for the Stallions. That was way before he made it to the NFL and became Bill Cower's favorite whipping boy.

A lot of good players have come up from the CFL. The Flutie brothers, Darren and Doug both had all-star careers in Canada. Doug won 3 Grey Cups with 2 different teams while Darren is the second leading receiver in CFL history. Warren Moon won 5 consecutive Grey Cups in Edmonton before coming to the NFL. Jeff Garcia got his start in the CFL. Bo Scott, from Fan's and my hometown, played for the now defunct Ottawa Roughriders before spending several years in the Cleveland Browns backfield with LeRoy Kelly. So it's definitely worth watching. In fact, this year we've got a little guy named Stephan Logan who last year was the star for the British Columbia Lions trying to make the Stillers. He's supposed to be an exciting return man, we shall see. He must be good. Because the folks in Vancouver are hoping he gets cut by Pittsburgh so they can resign him.

And that's another interesting thing about the CFL. Their regular season starts at the end of June. Which means they play for the Grey Cup around Thanksgiving or first week of December. But it also means the rosters they start the season with can and do vary greatly from June-August vs. September-November. That's because they scour the NFL rosters for those guys who didn't make the practice squads. Then they scoop them up and improve their rosters, sometimes dramatically. Anyway, if you're like me and can't wait for football, they're on TSN. Check your local listings for the game in your area.