It’s my Parting Shot for T-F-P and C-F-L playoff picks, both for this weekend’s division semi-finals and right through to a Grey Cup winner…..
First, by way of review, The Fearless Predictor came up one correct pick short of a 60 per cent success rate. I knew I was fated to fall short of 60 per cent when Montreal beat Toronto in the first game of Week 21 last Friday evening. However, of course, I got the next three games of the weekend right to finish the season with 48 correct prognostications and 33 misses, which works out to 59-and-a-quarter per cent correctness!
As Maxwell Smart would’ve said on the old T-V show, missed it by that much!
On to playoff picks, starting with Saturday’s East semi-final with Winnipeg going to Toronto. Both teams were 9-9. Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly appears to be good to go after being listed as a full participant in practice Tuesday. Kelly left the Argos’ Week 20 match-up with Ottawa early in the first quarter with a lower body injury before resting in the team’s season finale last weekend. The Bombers’ situation seems far more up in the air. Franchise signal-caller Zach Collaros didn’t take part in the first two practices of the week after leaving last week’s win over B-C in the third quarter. After sustaining a rib injury, Collaros gave way to Dru Brown who helped orchestrate 31 unanswered points in a playoff-clinching win. These clubs split their season series. The crossover team can win the semi-final game, just not the final. That will be the case again this year as I’m picking Winnipeg by less than a field goal!!
The West semi-final features the Saskatchewan Roughriders going to B-C, both 10-8 in the regular-season, in a re-match of last year’s West final that the Green and White won in Regina. This one is in Vancouver where the Lions won both times over the Riders this season. That will be the difference, even with Saskatchewan getting as close to full health as possible. It’s the Roughriders’ secondary and overall defence that isn’t up to the task of slowing down Nathan Rourke and all of his weapons on offence, no matter how healthy they are! Hence, I’m going with B-C by more than a touchdown!!
From there, Montreal waffles Winnipeg in the East final, the Lions stun the Elks in Edmonton in the West final – leading to B-C winning the Grey Cup Game in Calgary on November 15th in Calgary by more than a field goal over the Alouettes! Remember, The Fearless Predictor was bang-on with the World Series winner – Milwaukee over Tampa Bay in five games, a prognostication made before the baseball playoffs started on September 29!!
That’s my Parting Shot. I’m Les Lazaruk…and it turned out nice again!
