Labour Day will forever be special for CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
Traditionally, it has kicked off the unofficial start of the second half of the league’s regular season, a time when games become tougher physically, much harder to win and directly impact the divisional standings. It’s something Ambrosie experienced firsthand as a CFL offensive lineman (1985-93 with Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton).
“You could just feel it was different,” Ambrosie said. “You kind of knew you had to tighten up your chinstrap a little more, the games were more intense and the rivalries were phenomenal.
“It’s a special weekend for the CFL.”
Action begins Saturday with the Ottawa Redblacks (7-2-1) playing the B.C. Lions (5-6) in Victoria before the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-6) head to Regina to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-5-1). Then on Monday, the Toronto Argonauts (6-4) visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-9) before the Calgary Stampeders (4-6) host the Edmonton Elks (3-8).
And all are important. Saskatchewan leads the West Division but Winnipeg can assume top spot with a fourth straight victory. The Lions have dropped five straight, while Calgary comes off the bye chasing its first win in three games against an Edmonton squad looking for a fourth victory in five contests.
The Montreal Alouettes (10-1) are on a bye week comfortably atop the East Division but Ottawa can pull to within three points with a third straight win. Toronto has won the last two Labour Day contests at Tim Hortons Field, but Hamilton has been victorious in nine of the last 12 matchups overall.
Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly makes a second straight start following his reinstatement Aug. 18. The CFL suspended Kelly on May 7 for the Argos two exhibition games and at least their first nine regular-season contests for violating its gender-based violence policy.
Kelly was 24-of-39 passing for 322 yards and an interception in Toronto’s 20-19 home win over Saskatchewan on Aug. 22. Lirim Hajrullahu’s single off a missed 40-yard field goal on the game’s final play earned the Argos the victory.
“This year, it (Labour Day) feels even more significant,” Ambrosie said. “You look at three teams in the West with five wins, one with four and another with three and you think ‘Wow this could be one of the most interesting second halves of the season we’ve ever seen.’
“It wasn’t long ago when I was being asked what we were going to do to fix the East Division? It’s just an undeniably important weekend, it really is the launch of the second half of the season and the push to the playoffs.”
Hajrullahu’s single has again sparked debate regarding a game being decided by a missed field goal that couldn’t be returned. Ambrosie said that discussion has been ongoing throughout his tenure as commissioner and expects it to continue in the off-season.
“Honestly, I like having the conversation with CFL fans because they’re so passionate about it,” Ambrosie said. “I think the most common argument I hear is if the ball is kicked out, in other words you can’t return it, should that be a point?
“They don’t want to get rid of the rouge but what if it’s not returnable is the one thing I hear from fans quite commonly.”
Parity has been an operative word this season, with 73 per cent of games having been comeback victories with nine teams having overcome 10-plus point deficits to record wins. And 67 per cent of games have been decided in the final three minutes, including all four last week when the average margin of victory was 3.8 points.
East teams are 18-9-1 versus their West counterparts, the .661 win percentage being the division’s highest in 50 years. And every Western squad is at .500 or below, something that’s not happened this deep into a CFL season since 2001.
Last week, Toronto drew 19,327 fans to BMO Field, the most for a regular-season game since its ’16 opener. But the CFL’s on-field product this season hasn’t always been clean with an average of 3.8 turnovers and 14.2 penalties per game.
The league has also made headlines off the field. In addition to Kelly’s suspension, last week an arbitrator upheld the CFL’s indefinite suspension of Montreal Alouette Shawn Lemon.
The CFL had suspended Lemon indefinitely April 24 for allegedly betting on games, including one he played in, while with the Calgary Stampeders in 2021. It added there was no evidence contests were impacted by Lemon’s wagering and that coaches, teammates and team personnel were all unaware of his actions.
In May, Lemon appealed the suspension, which allowed him to report to Montreal’s training camp and play with the CFL team. The six-foot-two, 242-pound defensive lineman helped the Alouettes open the season with four straight wins before another arbitrator ruled July 4 to reinstate the CFL’s indefinite suspension.
Lemon’s appeal was heard Aug. 2 and Aug. 5.
“It showed our suspension was appropriate,” Ambrosie said. “It’s clear this is an important issue, it speaks to the integrity of the game.
“We needed to send a strong message that you can’t be involved in gambling on CFL games and certainly not a game you’re involved in. It’s why we’ve seen across the world of sports that leagues have dealt with this harshly.”