From the Editor’s Desk: Welcome to Week 1!
As I sit here writing this article, I can’t help but think to myself, how is it already Week 1?!
Sometimes it really does feel like the off-season drags on as we wait for the winter months to thaw out and for our first cold bevvy at a CFL stadium across the country.
But this year the off-season flew by, for me anyways.
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Perhaps it was all of the cool, exciting things that the CFL has done over the winter months that kept me busy (and kept me from staring out my window at the snow daydreaming about football). The league had its first CFL Combine with a brand new format and it launched five free Game Zone games to go along with two new streaming services (CFL Preseason Live and CFL+). And, my personal favourite because I love stats, the CFL partnered with PFF, as it was revealed earlier this week. What an off-season!
And now, I’m sitting here on the day of our first game of the regular season and I can’t wait for things to get going.
Week 1 is always super exciting because it’s a completely fresh slate and truly anything can happen. Will Winnipeg dominate once again? How will Eugene Lewis fair on his new team? When will it stop being weird seeing Bo Levi Mitchell in a Ticats jersey? The answers to those questions will start to become a bit clearer starting this week.
With the new season also comes the new CFL Fantasy game. If you haven’t signed up, make sure you do so before kickoff tonight! Click here to sign up and pick your team (and while you’re at it, play the other Game Zone games too!)
My CFL Fantasy team for Week 1 is as follows:
QB – Nick Arbuckle ($6,000)
RB – William Stanback ($13,000)
RB – Kevin Brown ($12,100)
WR – Eugene Lewis ($14,000) CAPTAIN
WR – Nate Behar ($8,000)
Flex – Terry Godwin ($3,800)
Defence – Saskatchewan Roughriders ($7,700)
For those who have been following me for a while, I never choose a defence in CFL Fantasy. I don’t find that spending the $$ is usually worth it. However, this season the Kristina strategy goes out the window since you must select an entire team in the new CFL Fantasy game. Don’t fret though, I say to myself, this is fine (insert dog sitting in room of fire emoji).
I’m only joking. Setting a full roster is a good thing and will be worth while this season with the new game to add an extra wrinkle for us. Just like the head-to-head league option and the captain feature. I’m really excited about both of those new additions to the game.
I decided to go really cheap at quarterback so I could afford some higher-value options (hi, William Stanback and Eugene Lewis). We’ll see if that pays off. Kevin Brown was a bit more expensive than I would have liked to spend on a running back but decided to give him a shot.
Before you check out my picks for the week, I want to say this: Week 1 is hard. Unless I go 4-0, then it’s easy, peasy.
KRISTINA’S PICKS
BC at Calgary
Thursday, 9:00 p.m. ET
This one will be close, I think, but I’m giving the edge to Vernon Adams Jr. and co.
PICK: BC
Hamilton at Winnipeg
Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET
I’m not picking against Winnipeg. Sorry, Hamilton.
PICK: Winnipeg
Ottawa at Montreal
Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET
I made this pick before Jeremiah Masoli was ruled out of game one, but I’m still thinking Ottawa gets it done based on their defence.
PICK: Ottawa
Saskatchewan at Edmonton
Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Was this pick based on wishful thinking that Edmonton would snap their home losing skid? Perhaps. Was it also based on the fact that I think Edmonton will be much improved this season since Taylor Cornelius has some *fire emoji* receivers to throw to and I like the Elks defence? Also, perhaps.
PICK: Edmonton
