HELLO, Roy Lyster of New Westminster, B.C. Congrats on the million bucks.
Ignore the social media suggestions that would have you sending some of that windfall to Janarion Grant and Isaiah Wooden for being the ones who scored the touchdowns that won you the money.
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Because, how could you ignore all the other guys whose work went into those kick return touchdowns? Paying them too? Then what are you left with, right?
Nah. Stick a couple ‘thank you’ cards in the mail, Roy. That’ll suffice.
Here are the Week 5 takeaways.
A MOUNTAIN OF REGRETS CAN PALE IN COMPARISON TO JUST ONE BIG REGRET
They say, in football, that you can’t win games in which you beat yourself.
They say, in football, that you can’t rack up a crapload of penalties and expect to win.
The BC Lions left Montreal, on Saturday night, with a stats sheet that held them accountable for 146 penalty yards on 11 infractions.
Yet they were winners, by a score of 21-20.
Time after time, the Lions gave away field position or had plays pulled back — including a touchdown run by quarterback Nathan Rourke — as they struggled to play catch-up with the Alouettes.
And when a Montreal field goal gave the Als a 20-18 lead with just 28 seconds left, it appeared that the Lions were going to fly home with suitcases bursting with lament.
But when Als offensive lineman Pier-Olivier Lestage — one of the most dependable linemen in the CFL over the last half decade — got flagged for objectionable conduct on the field goal play, the Als were forced to kick off from their own 15-yard line.
And that was helpful in allowing Rourke and the Lions to engineer a very nifty mini-drive so that placekicker Sean Whyte could nail the 43 yarder for the win.
Regrets? The Lions had a few. But then again, too few to mention.
“Not nearly clean enough,” said BC head coach Buck Pierce after the game. “Too many penalties.”
Okay, not too few to mention, then.
But when you win, all those regrets don’t weigh so heavily.
THEY REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT
“The Calgary Stampede is about to start. It’s the Stampede Bowl. We think you should stampede.”
“Okay, we will.” Aaaaaand, scene.
The Calgary Stampeders put it all together on Thursday night in a 37-16 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers to kick off Week 5.
Offence, defence, specials. All great. Especially defence, with pick sixes (picks six?) from Damon Webb and Derrick Moncrief. All systems go.
A reminder: These weekly takeaways are not a predictor of what’s to come but instead a snapshot of what has just happened.
What just happened? The Stamps just announced their presence with authority.
There are no “trap” games for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They’re too well-coached, their culture of effort, week-in and week-out, is too well-entrenched. If you beat the Bombers, you earned it.
The Calgary Stampeders earned it and showed they deserve to be in the conversation when it comes to contenders in the West Division, that’s what happened.
And if they win in Week 6, in Regina?
Boy-howdy, the stampede might really be on.
CONFIRMED: THEY HAVE TRACTION
Speaking of understanding the assignment, Exhibit B from Week 5 would be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Since Wimbledon is currently on, allow me a tennis parallel here.
It’s only a break of serve, the saying goes, if you follow up by holding your own serve the next game.
Hamilton’s win over Montreal was a break of serve, snapping them out of a season-starting funk following an oh-and-two start to the season.
Playing a banged up team that was on a short week meant the Ticats would have lost their traction had they left Toronto with a loss on Friday night.
Well, they have traction, taking care of business against the Argos with 415 yards of net offence keyed by a spectacular performance by receiver Kenny Lawler (six catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns).
“I knew that we were going to be a good team,” said Lawler after his dominating performance. “And it’s up to us to make it great. It’s starting to come along.”
On Friday night, it came along a little more as the Hamilton Ticats consolidated their break.
AIN’T NOTHING LIKE FINALLY WINNING TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD
The ‘E’ in Edmonton’s ‘double E’ logo stands for “Exhale,” today.
So does the second ‘E,’ for that matter.
In beating the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Sunday night, the Elks put to rest a long streak of losing in June and July, one that had stretched back to the 2022 season.
A quick breeze through the Elks’ post-game media availabilities clearly illustrates a great sense of joy and relief in Edmonton, with an abundance of giddiness evident.
“Appreciate y’all,” mugged a lighthearted Justin Rankin at the end of his Q and A, one in which he pronounced that “you ain’t never seen nothin’ like it,” when asked about his partnership with fellow tailback Javon Leake.
If a drought of biblical proportions is ended, let it be written: The running backs shall lead them.
Rankin starred with a TD reception of 45 yards and a 76-yard run for another major, while Leake busted a punt return for 94 yards and a touchdown, and made perhaps the best contested catch of the season, so far, on a bomb from quarterback Tre Ford.
There were other factors in a satisfying game for the Elks; Ford posting a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 and members of the defence quickly and repeatedly meeting at the agreed upon muster point, which would be the ball carrier.
Finally, the Edmonton Elks can breathe a little easier, which should make them interesting to watch in the weeks ahead.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, KEVIN MITAL
LOOK AT THE MOVES FROM KEVIN MITAL!
A big grab from the Canadian to move the chains.#CFLGameDay
📅: @TorontoArgos vs Tiger-Cats LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN, RDS
🌍: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/XxhurgEkJS— CFL (@CFL) July 4, 2025
As the Toronto Argonauts head to port for a very much needed bye week, the struggling defending champs are dealing with a 1-and-4 start amidst a bit of an existential crisis.
“I just feel like we gotta find our identity as a team,” said head coach Ryan Dinwiddie after Friday night’s loss to Hamilton.
Maybe they can look to Kevin Mital for cues.
The second-year receiver is popping in 2025, building off incremental growth from his rookie season — and a touchdown catch in last year’s Grey Cup — to emerge as a breakout player.
With eight catches for 104 yards and a touchdown against Hamilton, Mital has plunked himself down in the top 10 in receiving yardage. He’s caught 27 of 29 balls thrown his way this season.
Beyond that, says Nick Arbuckle, Mital is doing all kinds of dirty work in blocking whenever he’s not being targeted by the Toronto quarterback.
Arbuckle marvelled about Mital’s willingness to hustle to a block point, late in a game that was already lost. It was a block that led to a first down conversion on a drive that later ended with Mital catching a six-yard pass for the major.
“To do that when we’re down three scores, with a minute and twenty left in the game,” said Arbuckle, “you’ve already (run) a ton of routes and you’re tired but still have that football mind and the energy… that’s one play that epitomizes just what he’s brought and what he continues to bring in his development.”
AND FINALLY… “Sometimes emotions get the best of you and I can understand that better than anybody.” — Montreal head coach Jason Maas on Lestage’s late-game penalty.