CFL picks for 2009 season

ok first off,
Congratulations to the Pittsburg Penguins, who won the Stanley Cup in game 7 over the Detroit Red Wings. I am happy Detroit lost!
hopefully my Flames will be the champions in 12 months

so the CFL season kicks off tomorrow, Canada day, with Hamilton playing Toronto, followed by Calgary playing Montreal, at McMahon
so here are my preseason picks for the standings

West Division - the west division again appears to be the stronger division. any of these teams could come out of the west, but Calgary is still the favourite. injuries may change things, but it seems every year lately that all these teams are in it. Saskatchewan should finish better than Winnipeg and Toronto and get a crossover spot.

1. Calgary (13-5)- defending champs didn't lose much, now know what it takes. they need to play as a team and continue to get consistent performance from guys like Lewis in the tough west division.
2. Edmonton (12-6)- Ricky Ray is always dangerous, now he has a good mix of run game and recievers, we'll see how the defence does. and how long it takes for Lumsden to get hurt... Edmonton is always in it, and BC will be right there with them all season long.
3. BC (9-9)- this is tough, they lost Cam Wake, so shouldn't be as good, but still have solid depth at quarterback and Wally seems to find guys to step in.
4. Saskatchewan (8-10) - this is a quarterbacks league, and Saskatchewan's QB needs some proving. Durant will need to find some chemistry with Fantusz, who is a great reciever. Im not sold on this team, but they do some some parts, tough battle with BC and Edmonton, but they will crossover and visit Hamilton

East Division - Montreal will be fired up to play hard and the other 3 continue to rebuild with new coaches and players. this division isn't quite as strong as the west, but Hamilton is starting to close the gap on the 4 west teams and Montreal. East will still be seperated and Winnipeg and Toronto are the toughest to figure out, I don't see alot of promise from either team

1. Montreal (12-6)- many players back and the coach will still have the memory of losing the cup at home fresh in their minds. The question mark here is does Calvillo keep going? he showed last year he is back, in a remarkable comeback. They get to beat up Toronto and Winnipeg again too
2. Hamilton (8-10)- of the bottom three in the East, Hamilton has the best chance of getting that home playoff game. Quinton Porter is the answer, ok well he looks like he could be. they need to keep developing him, Glenn is there to take some pressure off as well, but this team has some good continuity from last year and last season appeared to be getting better. they will keep up the trend and win some games by a few instead of losing them. Its been too long since Hamilton had a good season or hosted a playoff game.
3. Toronto (5-13)- close with Winnipeg, they still have a solid defence, it will be interesting to see how the new coach adapts to the Canadian game. Kerry Joseph needs to get back to his old form
4. Winnipeg (5-13)- with so many new players and a new coach, who is playing for this team now? it will take some time to fit the parts together and get some wins. head to head matchups with Toronto may decide who gets the first draft pick in 2010....


im going to pick my Stampeders to play the Allouettes in the Grey Cup, with the Stampeders winning again. back to back.