November 07, 2012

CFL Pick 'Em, Semi-Final Edition: The large mammals are hibernating, and the small mammals are getting scared off by their shadows. That's right, it's the beginning of the Canadian winter, which means it's time for the CFL Playoffs. Got a chip on your shoulder from the regular season pick 'em? Get your revenge inside. Sad because you missed out on the summer pickings? The winter pickings are full of killer bonus action. (And snow. Lots of snow.) Grab your longjohns and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 07:07 PM - 15 comments

Edmonton Eskimos (7-11) @ Toronto Argonauts (9-9) (Sunday, November 11)

The crossover rule is designed to reward a stronger division: if the fourth-place team in one division has a better record than the third-place team in the other, the fourth-place team crosses over and takes that playoff spot. So just how evenly matched are these teams? Edmonton has questions at quarterback; Toronto has questions everywhere else. Does home field advantage (and possible Grey Cup home field) give the Argos an edge over these Eskimos far from home?

TSN.ca Eastern Semi-Final Preview

Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-10) @ Calgary Stampeders (12-6) (Sunday, November 11)

Here's a more traditional playoff matchup: home favourite versus visiting underdog. To make things worse, the 'Riders come in on a four-game losing streak, while the Stamps have won four straight. Your only question: do you go for the spread, or the upset?

TSN.ca Western Semi-Final Preview

Kick 'Em In The Teeth Bonus

Pick the kicker who will score the most points this weekend. That includes place-kick field goals, drop-kick field goals, PATs, singles, and fakes.

2012 Kicking Stats

Las Vegas Posse Memorial Bonus

The combined over/under on total points scored for both games is 101.5. Will the actual number of points scored this weekend be OVER or UNDER that total?

Example pick: Edmonton by 21, Calgary by 14, Prefontaine, Over.

Good luck!

posted by DrJohnEvans at 07:07 PM on November 07, 2012

Relevant! Current weather forecasts for Sunday:

Calgary: Sunny with highs of 2, lows of minus freaking 16.

Toronto: INDOORS, suckers!

posted by DrJohnEvans at 07:11 PM on November 07, 2012

Thanks, DJE. I fully expect my coin-flipping luck to flip and net me the Costanza in the playoffs!

Toronto by 18
Saskatchewan by 3
Calgary's kicker (What the hell is a single?)
Under

posted by bender at 07:47 PM on November 07, 2012

Down in Australia, there has been a long standing ban on using mobile phones while driving. Edmonton by 6. But lately, police have observed a disturbing new trend. Older people, especially women, have been caught knitting while behind the wheel. Calgary by 15. Earlier to day, a highway patrol car chased an elderly woman who was knitting, pulling alongside, the police yelled out "Pull over, pull over!". Shaw (Edmonton). The driver looked up and replied "Thanks for asking, but actually it's a cardigan. " Under.

posted by owlhouse at 08:22 PM on November 07, 2012

Toronto by 4

Calgary by 6

Swayze Waters

Under

posted by tommybiden at 08:47 PM on November 07, 2012

Toronto by 7
Calgary by 16
Calgary's kicker
Under

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:30 AM on November 08, 2012

EDM by 6.5 CGY by 1 Paredes Under the under under.

posted by Folkways at 07:59 AM on November 08, 2012

Toronto by 10

Calgary by 10

Toronto's kicker

Over

Bender - a single is the CFL's reward for failure. Miss a field goal or fail to execute a good punt in your opponent's end and you receive a single point. There have been instances where failure actually resulted in a team winning a game.

posted by cixelsyd at 10:17 AM on November 08, 2012

an elderly woman who was knitting

When she watches the playoffs, her game plan is cable and ribs.

posted by beaverboard at 11:07 AM on November 08, 2012

Argos 4

Riders 3

Paredes

over

posted by argoal at 10:11 AM on November 09, 2012

Toronto by 6

Calgary by 7

Shaw

over

posted by Reever at 02:16 PM on November 10, 2012

Toronto by 6

Calgary by 16

Waters

Over

posted by andiemgarcia at 04:06 PM on November 10, 2012

Watching my Nittany Lions take a lead to the locker room at the half in Nebraska. We're optimistic, but the New England Calvinist sense of impending doom has us concerned. So too the CFL post-season pickem. We enter optimistic, but know our past performance has produced unspectacular results. Oh well, here goes nothing.

Edmonton at Toronto: Can an Eskimo survive in a climate-conditioned igloo? Can any structure that large be made entirely of ice blocks? The answer to the latter is obvious, and so is the answer to the former. Edmonton and Toronto both have suffered from some inconsistency this year, but Toronto will put it together this weekend. Argonauts by 12.

Saskatchewan at Calgary: Cold weather in Alberta would seem to foretell a defensive struggle. Dr. John works with the funny temperatures that sound really bad in the negative side. We're really talking about 35.4 degrees for a high and 3.8 degrees for a low. Now all of us who still use the Fahrenheit system fell a little warmer. So will the Stampeders who have been playing hot for the past 4 games, while the Rough Riders have been ice cold in their last 4. Calgary to ice this one early, Stampeders by 16.

Time now to pick a kicker (or is it kick a picker). I suppose that football, Canadian and US style, has to pay some homage to the original game of rugby. So too will we select one of the brilliant booters. I'll take Paredes.

Finally comes the over and under. 101.5 seems to be a lot of points, but it's really only a bit over 25 per team. Do we go with 2 games with moderate but close scores, do we look at one of the games becoming an offensive fireworks display, or do we get a couple of one-sided games with the losers being held way down and the winners content with winning with lower totals? My pick is that at least one of the games will have at least one team running up a high score. I'm taking the over.

posted by Howard_T at 05:41 PM on November 10, 2012

Edmonton by 7
Calgary (lead changes) by 12
Sandy Dee
Under

posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:10 AM on November 11, 2012

Tronto by 4

Calgary by 6

Waters

Under

posted by JPR at 12:02 PM on November 11, 2012

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