Game Day Thread MTL @ HAM, Thu Jun 4 2026

[Tecno]

Do you have to kick off after a FG within 3 mins til Half Time?

No.  That only applies in the final 3 minutes of the game.  It's a weird case where the 3 min rule changes differ between halves.

2025 book: rule 3, section 2, article 2

[Tecno]

Banks, worthy CFL HOFer. Good for him.

a) They paused the game mid-quarter to talk to Banks?  Seemed much longer than the usual 1.5-2.0 minutes allowed for in-quarter, non-3-min-warning breaks?

b) Have they ever pre-announced a HoF pick before?  Is that a thing?  Not saying I don't like it, but precedent yada yada.  After all this first and foremost is a show / entertainment.  Home fans will like this, and I'm fine with it.

c) Ya, good for Speedy B.  He was never a bad guy, always pretty fair.  From memory the worst anyone ever had to say about him was he could come off as whiny.

[Tecno]

Why is Lawler 2nd on the DC?

Point (a) in the first post of the thread.  It's the DNA 25-snap rule added like 3-4 years ago.  They used it most of 2025 on Tim White.  After 25 he can only play if another IMP comes off -- which would probably be Wheatie.  It's basically a league-allowed ratio cheat code.

You start* 8 Canadians then they dont have to play the rest of the game?

No.  This only applies to ONE guy... the guy they specify as DNA.  And he can only come in when one of the (many) specified DNS's goes off.  And only for 25 snaps.  This does NOT apply to the entirety of the starting NATs.

I dont think refs are counting how many Canadians are on the field every play

Yes they are!  And in realtime, because they have to warn the bench when they get close to 25 snaps!

And then the 2 teams that use this "trick" the least at the end of the season get the extra 2RDPs.  Always us and some other team.

[Tecno]

Referee blind to pass interference. Rough start with the officials.
I don't blame Scotty to challenge this at all.

I thought the ball was uncatchable.  It was pretty far away from Kenny's jump point.  It seemed to me Kenny thought he wasn't going to make it and instead put the brakes on to draw DPI.

Definite contact.  But what happens if it's clearly DPI but uncatchable?  By rule that's not DPI.  So can they give them IC instead or is it just no penalty?

[Tecno]

Half full stadium. Just pathetic.

The shots during the Speedy B thing showed the camera side and it was pretty well attended.  I think what we're seeing here is yet another case of "everyone wants to sit on camera side to avoid the sun, and then the cameras are facing the empty undesired side".

Although, usually HAM can fill up the "bad" side better than that.  I've noticed their fan base dwindling for about 4 seasons.  Maybe the very good 2025 season didn't help that as much as you'd think.

To make it look better for TV, every team needs to have the "SSK price premium" to sit on the "good" side.  AFAIK only SSK does that.  It's 10-20% savings to sit on the bad side.  It helps even out the crowd, helps ease up overburdening one side's concessions/etc.  And it makes it look better for TV.  I think it should almost be league-mandated, as should allowing fans on the field after the game.  Near zero-cost ideas that improve the product.

[Tecno]

Why do we have to criticize ex Bombers?

I'm not for piling on.  However, when it's a guy who just left, we're all sitting here anxious to see if:
a) he turns into the next Big Thing, meaning we were stupid to let him walk
or
b) he stinks up the joint, meaning we made the right call to ditch him

That's really all there is to it.  I guess (b) is preferable, otherwise we have to admit a mistake and wonder what might have been.

We'll see if the team rallies around Wheatie or shuns him.  If you are going to make changes, you're going to do it early in the year so you can get the next man up up to speed.  Sucks that Wheatie blew it in week 1.

Bonus: ask yourself: where is Patterson, the loser of the GC...

[Tecno]

and a bare bum

And the CFL female viewership just shot up 50%.  Promise them a QB bum every game and it might go up 100%!

[Tecno]

great opening game !!

You bet.  But Johnston thinks the product sucks and needs major overhauls     

[gobombersgo]

[Tecno]

Extra thoughts:

- both teams got their FBs massively involved.  Lots of work for Litre, for example.  I want that for us with Ike & Daniels getting many touches.

- HAM D legit mean and prepared.  Love to see it.  DB corps suspect, as I said pre-game, but everyone was riled up and ready to inflict pain.

- Sterns whiff on a totally catchable mid ball -- another one we're ok with having let go?  Needed to catch with his hands, not wait for the gut hit.

- Can a team just keep committing blatant DPI at 1st & G from the 1 to stop a TD and drain the almost-gone clock?  Like MTL was doing to end H1.  No punishment at all for doing that.  Forced HAM to run it even when they wanted to pass.  Interesting scenario.

- M.Mitchell looked ok but totally caused that pick-6 by not coming towards the ball.  How many times a season do we see that.  Situational awareness.  Makes up for it with a sensational, tough rail grab a couple of plays later.

- MTL & HAM both so fast at ball release and making reads.  Wow.  I just don't see how we can match that, in terms of both play design and arm strength.  Alexander on some RPO passes it's just one fluid in-the-basket-then-whip-up-and-ball-gone -- no defense possible.  Also throwing before they are certain a guy will be open/there / timing routes -- we don't do that either.

[Tecno]

3-person booth?  Is this a first?

Looked crowded in the booth.  But I thought it went well.  Nice to get more takes on things.  Is this going to be an every-week thing?  I don't think they have enough people for this!

Maybe this is the phase-out "training" in anticipation of Rod or Forde leaving next year?

Brit did almost nothing on the sidelines.  Like why was Theis gone 2/3rds of the game.  Holy smokes, go find out and tell us!  Where was Loves-Me-Some-HAM Scianeti?

[The Zipp]

The shots during the Speedy B thing showed the camera side and it was pretty well attended.  I think what we're seeing here is yet another case of "everyone wants to sit on camera side to avoid the sun, and then the cameras are facing the empty undesired side".

Although, usually HAM can fill up the "bad" side better than that.  I've noticed their fan base dwindling for about 4 seasons.  Maybe the very good 2025 season didn't help that as much as you'd think.

To make it look better for TV, every team needs to have the "SSK price premium" to sit on the "good" side.  AFAIK only SSK does that.  It's 10-20% savings to sit on the bad side.  It helps even out the crowd, helps ease up overburdening one side's concessions/etc.  And it makes it look better for TV.  I think it should almost be league-mandated, as should allowing fans on the field after the game.  Near zero-cost ideas that improve the product.

from John Hodge:

Last night's reported attendance in Hamilton: 18,577.

If you don't count 2021 (COVID) or 2013-14 (Ron Joyce Stadium), it was the team's worst-attended home-opener since 2003.

Surprising and disappointing considering this team is a Grey Cup contender.

[blue_gold_84]

Last night's reported attendance in Hamilton: 18,577.

That's not good news.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'm not for piling on.  However, when it's a guy who just left, we're all sitting here anxious to see if:
a) he turns into the next Big Thing, meaning we were stupid to let him walk
or
b) he stinks up the joint, meaning we made the right call to ditch him

That's really all there is to it.  I guess (b) is preferable, otherwise we have to admit a mistake and wonder what might have been.

We'll see if the team rallies around Wheatie or shuns him.  If you are going to make changes, you're going to do it early in the year so you can get the next man up up to speed.  Sucks that Wheatie blew it in week 1.

Bonus: ask yourself: where is Patterson, the loser of the GC...

Wheatfall looked great up to that last play, made some nice catches and was running the Bombers long forgotten sweep effectively.  Can't remember if they let him go or cut him lose, but either way he would have ended up on the PR here as a backup if he couldn't prove he was better than Tim White.  I think he'll do well in Hamilton with BLM, just has to learn to protect the ball better.