WHEW!

In the Polo Park Mall in Winnipeg this morning, probably every third person was decked out in Bomber Blue & Gold. I felt so bad for them! But, to their credit, the Bombers went out and beat a (Anthony Calvillo-less) Montreal Alouettes' club.

I made it back to the hotel in Portage just in time to see the 4th quarter of the Riders and Lions... and I tell ya, these guys are hard on the heart! But what a huge win, 33-30 in overtime over B.C. to get back into a share of first place with Calgary. After a Rider FG on their first OT possession, the Lions were 8-yards away from a win, but Casey Printers (who was outstanding in his first action in almost a year), threw an interception in the endzone, picked by Rider DB James Patrick to seal it for the Riders.

So, Saskatchewan has guaranteed themselves a spot in the WEST DIVISION playoffs with the win. All four teams could still make it thanks to the cross-over, but fourth place Edmonton (7-9) can't catch either the Riders or Stamps (9-6-1), being 5 points back with 2 games left. BC's now third at 8-8, and can't finish first, as the Riders and Stamps meet in the last week of the season, and somebody's gotta win, meaning the Lions could pass one team but not both.

Remaining schedules:

Riders
@ Hamilton Sat/Oct/31
vs Calgary Sat/Nov/7

Stamps
@ B.C. Sat/Oct/31
@ Saskatchewan Sat/Nov/7

Lions
vs Calgary Sat/Oct/31
vs Edmonton Fri/Nov/6

By my math, regardess of what happens next week, the Riders and Stamps matchup at Mosaic Stadium on November 7th will still decide top spot. Let's say the Riders lose in Hamilton and Calgary beats B.C. The Stamps would be two points up, but a Rider win to wrap up the season would leave them tied in the standings, but whoever wins that final game will get the season series (tie breaker).

This is going down to the wire! The Riders are THIS CLOSE to hosting the West Final for the first time since 1976!