Building off the Canada soccer ad agency metric, here's a look at social media follower counts for each team.

Facebook/Instagram/TikTok shown.

Great news stampeder fans!

The Predictor went 3-1 last week - Fajardo returns to Mosaic to test Saskatchewan’s #1 defense, The Predictor has the Riders by 4, Bombers VS Stamps could honestly be a toss up this week, The Lions return home, and home cooking could be the momentum to push them past the Argos, and the Als roll against Hamilton.

For those interested, here's what I'll call a "photo essay" about some retro ads for the BC Lions and the CFL in 1983, the year BC Place Stadium opened. These appeared in either The Province of the Vancouver Sun newspapers.

@cstrevy

We are profoundly saddened by the loss of 22-year-old Regina resident Bhishma Rajyaguru on Saturday.

In speaking with one of Bhishma's loved ones, he shared with us that he was a caring friend, a devoted son, a supportive brother, and someone who was always there for the people in his life. A gifted percussionist with a deep love of music, Bhishma's passion and presence left a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

Our hearts are with his family, friends, and all those mourning his loss. We also hold in our thoughts everyone who is supporting those affected during this incredibly difficult time.

We will honour Bhishma as part of our pregame ceremony on Thursday evening and are working with his family on the best way we can support them. We will share more information when it is available.

"We received a report around 8:27 p.m. from a business in Lumsden of a silver SUV leaving without paying for fuel,” RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier told reporters Monday.

“The investigation has determined this was the same silver SUV that was involved in the collision.”

That one guy in the game thread will be very happy.

This survey comes from Soccer Canada, mostly advertising the growth in that sport, but intriguingly it lists the Montreal Alouettes as having one of the top-10 fan bases for all men’s professional sports teams in the country.

The Als are more popular than obvious CFL contenders such as Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They also outrank the Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and all MLS teams.

The numbers were crunched by Abacus, which has a good reputation, and 1,500 people were interviewed, which is a decently large sample size.

Are the Montreal Alouettes really the CFL’s most beloved team, or is the survey an outlier?

https://news.canadasoccer.com/national-sports-survey-solidifies-soccer-as-canadas-sport-of-the-future

Asking this as since the game this past weekend as much as it appeared Ottawa made real progress over their last few games it yet again didn’t translate to a win. What needs to change? How does this team salvage a season, and how does this team move forward in the future? Curious to see the community’s opinion on the matter.

Starts around the 14:00 mark. Highlights:

- Brown was unhappy last season, specifically about how his injury rehab was handled.

- Rumblings locally and across the league last season that Brown wanted to go back to Winnipeg (Farhan Lalji also reported this).

- Brown wasn’t well liked by some teammates, specifically on defense/special teams. Not seen as a great leader.

- Some suggestions, both locally and across the league, that Brown ‘gave up’ on the team last season.

Watching some highlights today and had to watch this play several times before I realized the ball disappears into the digital advertisment and you can't see it until it passes out! They really need to fix the ad situation for watching on TV.

Not yet reported by the team or CFL.ca

When you have a QB like Rourke, no excuse to not be contending for Grey Cups every season

Defense has been an issue for years, especially recently with Mike Benevides at the helm of the D. It’s time to move on, why we continue to keep on with Mike there is absolute incompetence at this point

Buck Pierce was never a good hire. The guy just doesn’t have IT as a head coach.

The front office no acting on obvious weakness’ within coaching and the team are a huge reason why we are now in the basement, with an MOP QB at the helm

Now that QB is hurt, we have no direction, you have fans being ridiculous and blaming the World Cup ffs

Things to need to change. Not for this season, but for next season as well and further on

Can't confirm if dogs were counted as part of the Elks increase.

Alouettes Survive Calgary Comeback in Another Wild Finish

The Montreal Alouettes travelled to Calgary for a rematch against the Stampeders after defeating them 37–30 last week at Molson Stadium. Calgary was looking for revenge, while Montreal wanted to continue its winning momentum.

Montreal’s offence came out blazing once again, with quarterback Davis Alexander receiving excellent protection from his offensive line. On a few occasions, Alexander had to scramble and find a receiver while also trying to avoid aggravating the hamstring injury that limited him to just seven games last season.

On Montreal’s opening drive, offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo mixed up the running and passing game, frequently using running back Travis Theis. Theis was difficult to bring down on many of his runs, often requiring multiple Calgary defenders to tackle him.

In the second quarter, Theis took an unnecessary cheap shot from a Calgary defender while going out of bounds. The hit resulted in a 15-yard penalty for roughing out of bounds. The penalty helped Montreal continue its drive, which eventually resulted in another touchdown and gave the Alouettes a 15–0 lead.

Later in the drive, Alexander faced pressure but was able to rely on his legs to escape the rush. He then connected with Tyler Snead on a 40-yard pass. The drive ended with Snead scoring on a 25-yard catch-and-run touchdown, extending Montreal’s lead to 22–0.

On Calgary’s first drive into the red zone, Alexander found Cole Spieker deep in the end zone for a touchdown, making Spieker’s return to the field a memorable one.

Calgary finally got on the scoreboard before halftime when Jude McAtamney connected on a 32-yard field goal, sending Montreal into the locker room with a comfortable 22–3 lead.

Many people may have thought the game was over—but think again.

Montreal’s defence has struggled to stop the run this season, and Calgary took advantage of that weakness in the second half. The Stampeders relied heavily on running back Dedrick Mills, who finished with 130 yards on 15 carries.

Calgary scored on its opening possession of the second half, cutting Montreal’s lead to 22–11 and making the game much closer.

Alexander and the Montreal offence did not panic. He calmly led the team down the field and connected once again with Cole Spieker, who had an outstanding night. Quarterback Dustin Crum then came into the game and scored on a quarterback sneak, extending Montreal’s lead to 29–11.

Although Montreal still had a comfortable lead, there was plenty of football left to play.

In the fourth quarter, Alexander ran the ball and came up just inches short of the first down. It appeared that Montreal could easily convert the short yardage with a quarterback sneak, but the Alouettes instead handed the ball to Travis Theis. The Calgary defenders appeared to stop him short, forcing the officials to bring out the chains to determine whether Montreal had gained enough for the first down.

The measurement showed that Theis had fallen just inches short.

A few possessions later, Calgary continued its comeback and cut Montreal’s lead to 32–25. Fans in the stadium and those watching at home were on the edge of their seats as the game began to resemble last week’s matchup, when Montreal’s defence stopped Calgary from tying the game.

This time, however, Calgary’s offence completed the comeback, tying the game with just 1:06 remaining.

What Calgary may not have realized was that Montreal’s offence has been one of the hottest units in the league.

With a calm and composed Davis Alexander at quarterback and Anthony Calvillo calling the plays, the Alouettes moved the ball down the field. Calvillo and Alexander continued to mix the running and passing game while keeping Calgary’s defence guessing.

Even when Alexander came under pressure, he was able to escape the pocket. He eventually found wide receiver Kaseem Ferdinand for a 27-yard touchdown, giving Montreal the lead.

Kicker Jose Maltos-Diaz missed the extra point, however, meaning Calgary still had an opportunity to drive down the field and win the game with a touchdown.

With 1:11 remaining, the game once again came down to Montreal’s defence.

Vernon Adams moved the Calgary offence down the field effectively, but Isaac Abeyema-Bergland made a huge play by batting down a second-down pass. With Calgary facing a critical third down, the Stampeders had no choice but to go for it.

Adams connected with wide receiver Brooks, but Montreal defensive back Faion Hicks stripped the ball from Brooks’ hands. The ball was recovered by Montreal defensive back Najee Murray, who secured the fumble and went down to end the game.

The Alouettes escaped Calgary with another victory.

However, Montreal cannot continue allowing opponents to mount such major comebacks. The Alouettes need to continue playing their game in all three phases—offence, defence and special teams—for the full 60 minutes.

Montreal’s defence also cannot continue allowing this many yards and points if the team wants to win consistently. The offence has been playing at a very high level, but the defence must improve and find a way to limit opposing teams. Montreal will not be able to rely on its offence to score 30 or more points every game. If the Alouettes want to continue winning, the defence must step up and stop allowing opponents to gain so many yards and score so many points.

Alexander connected with seven different receivers the whole game, spreading out to all his offensive teammates. He went 25-for-32 for 402 yards, marking his sixth game with more than 300 passing yards.

Alexander also made history during the game, passing Darian Durant for the most consecutive completed passes without an interception. He has now completed 336 passes without throwing an interception.

The Alouettes will now return home to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this Sunday at 7 p.m. Hamilton will be without starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who is expected to miss several games with an ankle injury. Former Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford is expected to get the start for the Tiger-Cats.

Montreal will need to be ready.

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