Ray goes down in the first quarter in the Montreal game. Argos prove to be useless without him.
As the cold weather looms, if Ray doesn't get better, we could be facing the familiar scenario of Montreal walking into the Grey Cup game without breaking a sweat. Perhaps the western cross-over team would pose the biggest challenge to the Als. (Which raises the nightmare scenario - from the league's perspective - of an all-western 100th Grey Cup game in downtown Toronto.)
Interesting to note that Montreal has not beaten Hamilton in the playoffs since the 1970s. (Source: my own recollections.) This includes at least three post-season meetings (that I can recall) since the Als came back home in '96.
That fact, along with the 30% chance on any given day that the "good" Ticat team will show up, is almost enough to give one a faint hope for the post-season. If only we could actually get there.
Sorry to destroy your faint hope but the Als actually beat us in the Eastern Semi-final in 1996. If I recall, it was an easily forgettable game played in front of a couple thousand people at the Big O. If it makes you feel any better, our QB in that game should have been a certain Mr. Calvillo.
Still we've won the last 3, and might I add, each in absolute classic fashion! Ossy's 54 yarder, the 3rd down toss to our linebacker Joe Hagins, last year's shootout! All in my top 5 ticat moments.
Anyways, I'd rather see the Argos in the Grey Cup than a cross-over team. I'll route for the West in the Cup itself but no team has ever crossed over and ended up making it to the Cup, and if its the Argos who need to defend that honour then so be it. Anyways, as bad as we are, I don't see Edmonton or Saskatchewan as any bigger a threat to Montreal than we are and I do believe we'll sneak in as the 3rd place team. The cross-over needs to win outright in the standings, all tie-breakers go to the home division. The game at Commonwealth could decide it all.