THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. MISSING OUT ON FIRST MIGHT NOT BE BAD FOR RIDERS: The first-place team in the West has lost out in the West Final or Grey Cup in 26 of the last 36 seasons which means that only 10 first place finishers out of the West since 1982 have gone on to win the Grey Cup. The same is true for 2^nd and 3^rdplace finishers out of the West over that same time period. Maybe I’m just trying to find a silver lining on the Roughrider loss in Calgary or maybe it’s true that finishing first in the West just isn’t all that important.

2. HOME PLAYOFF GAME MORE CRITICAL: It’s a big drop-off for teams that don’t get a home playoff game. Only 4 teams from the West over that same 36-year stretch have won back-to-back playoff games on the road before finishing off the trifecta in the Grey Cup. It tells us home-field advantage matters a whole lot, even if the bye week doesn’t. And if the Riders can clinch a home playoff game before the regular season finale, they can use that final game like a bye anyways and just use their backups.

3. BO LEVI MITCHELL: Still think he’s plenty good enough to START in the NFL. The CFL is better with him than it is without him and having him in the league would add to the intrigue of beating the Stamps, which the Riders are still infinitely capable of doing, as we learned Friday night. There appears to be consensus that Bo’s window to sign in the NFL closed last offseason. I’m not so sure.

4. COLD OCTOBER FOOTBALL: I wonder if this will make all the whiners start calling for a September playoff schedule and Grey Cup.

5. MIKE REILLY’S FAILED SEASON: There’s plenty of egg on the face of the BC Lions and their playoff elimination. General Manager Ed Hervey is taking the brunt of it and so is rookie Head Coach DeVone Claybrooks. The best thing that organization can do is to keep it all status quo for 2020. The Leos have played a lot better since fixing their offensive line with new O-line coach Kelly Bates. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a Grey Cup contender. That organization has way bigger fish to fry in getting the Indo-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian fan to engage with the brand that is currently playing in front of family, friends and old grey-hairs at BC Place.

6. MAAS BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS: The Edmonton Eskimos don’t worry me in the slightest. They’re not a legitimate threat. They’re just not good enough. Period.

7. PINBALL CLEMONS: It’s hard to not like any decision that puts Pinball in charge. This can work if the Argos play the good cop (Pinball)-bad cop (Corey Chamblin or whoever the next head coach is) with the players. But just like the BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes, the Argos biggest priority needs to be connecting with the new Canadian to re-engage fan interest in their brand. Pinball would be better utilized in that capacity.

8. ALOUETTES OWNERSHIP SOLUTION: The location of where the Alouettes play at McGill University is among the most beautiful in North America. And it’s situated close to downtown which is a critical part of any stadium in that city. The facility itself, is old and rundown. The new Montreal Expo ownership group in waiting needs a downtown location. The University and city of Montreal should give them the keys to this stadium to bring it up to 2019 standards and retractable for both baseball and football. And they should be forced to own the Alouettes as well. Problem solved.

9. REGINA THUNDER: Regina’s best football team other than the Riders, sorry U of R, will play their own home playoff game on Sunday, 1 pm at Leibel Field. The matchup against the Edmonton Huskies is as good as you’ll find anywhere in the country and the atmosphere at Leibel Field on the shore of the Wascana is off the charts. If you don’t want to pay the big $$$ to see the Riders or just want to try something new, I hope you’ll check this out.

10.BOOK OF THE WEEK: Merril Hoge’s ‘Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football’ shows us the other side of the argument. I’m not sure Merril is the right guy to deliver this message since he had to retire from the sport due to suffering brain damage, himself. but it’s never a bad idea to look at both sides of the argument in order to form your own, objective opinion.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)