CFL This Week

Sun football reporter MIKE BEAMISH offers his Week 3 predictions:

THURSDAY

Saskatchewan at Toronto

4: 30 p. m., TSN The Roughriders are rolling lucky 7s ( Weston Dressler) on their slot machine. They’re hitting a big pay line with No. 89 ( Chris Getzlaf), too. Saskatchewan’s slotbacks, second and third, respectively, in CFL receiving yards, are thriving under new coordinator George Cortez, becoming the staples of a Roughrider attack that has averaged 37.5 points while winning its fi rst two games. While the Riders get a chance to go 3- 0 for the second consecutive season, it’s tempered with the knowledge that last year’s team went 5- 10 following a start that suggested greatness. Toronto’s off ence was unproductive until it was far too late against the Lions, but then the West Coast is always a graveyard for the Good Ship Argo. Pick: Roughriders.

FRIDAY

Calgary at Montreal 4: 30 p. m., TSN, RDS Anthony Calvillo was as fl ustered as he’s ever been last week after a 19- 11 loss to the Blue Bombers, throwing his team, his coaching staff and himself under the bus for a “disgusting” performance. It’s true that new coach Dan Hawkins is treading water in the deep end with no CFL experience. But Marc Trestman was in the same boat in 2008 and needed time to fi nd his bearings. By the end of his fi rst season, he was a coach of the year fi nalist and won it the following year, along with a Grey Cup. Is Hawkins another Trestman- in- waiting or a Bart Andrus ( Argos) who never did get it fi gured out? Pick: Stampeders.

SATURDAY

Winnipeg at Hamilton

3: 30 p. m., TSN The state- of- the- art fi eld became state- of- the- arc after the University of Guelph’s Alumni Stadium, the temporary home of the Tiger- Cats, was inundated by torrential rains last Sunday. Still, it held up better than the Ticats, who fell into a sinkhole early in losing 30- 20 to the Eskimos. While the forecast is for sunny skies Saturday, gloom lingers on the injury front, with several Ticats down, including Andy Fantuz, who had 10 catches for 155 yards in Week 1 but is expected to miss his second consecutive game. Bryant Turner, the Bomber tackle named defensive player of the week with two tackles and three sacks against Montreal, is now doing better after experiencing breathing problems that required him to be hospitalized. Pick: Blue Bombers.

B. C. at Edmonton 6: 30 p. m., TSN, TEAM 1040AM Chris O’Leary of Postmedia News supplies this interesting statistic: the Eskimos have never lost a game in Kavis Reed’s three- year tenure as head coach when the team runs 20 or more times in a game. That means Hugh Charles, Hugh Charles and more Hugh Charles, who had 119 rushing yards last Sunday against Hamilton and was named the CFL’s off ensive player of the week. The Lions, too, want to get the ball in the hands of Andrew Harris as much as possible. He had 152 combined yards last game against Toronto on 21 touches. A 20- touch game for Harris should translate to a winning formula, as long as the Lions’ defence racks up enough two- and- outs to keep Charles from being in charge. Pick: Lions. Last Week: 2- 2 Season: 5- 3