CFL This Week

Sun reporter MIKE BEAMISH offers his Week 14 predictions :

It’s unknown if B. C. Lions quarterback Buck Pierce will handle any snaps in Winnipeg on Friday, but he’ll definitely be getting his hands on some ribs and other saucy, barbecued delicacies.

FRIDAY

B. C. at Winnipeg, 5 p. m., TSN Trap game? Stranger things have happened. With just fi ve days between games in Regina and Winnipeg, the Lions fl y east again after just two practices to take on the luckless Blue Bombers, who want a piece of their former starting quarterback, Buck Pierce. “Hopefully, we get some live reps against him,” DE Kenny Mainor told the Winnipeg Sun. “They never let us hit him in practice. I don’t let up on any quarterback, only ones in gold jerseys.” Pierce, reacquired on Sept. 8 from the Blue Bombers, fi gures to get some playing time. But Thomas DeMarco is expected to start for the Lions and deservedly so, following his veteran performance at crunch time last Sunday in a 24- 22 win against the Roughriders. Max Hall will start for the Blue Bombers and he’ll need maximum protection against a Lions’ D- line that is coming on strong. Pick: Lions

SATURDAY

Calgary at Hamilton, 3 p. m., TSN

Henry Burris has thrown for 3,765 yards in 12 starts, which puts the veteran Tiger- Cats quarterback nearly 700 yards ahead of his closest pursuer, Mike Reilly of the Eskimos. “You could tell that Henry had lost his edge ( in his fi nal season with the Stampeders, in 2011),” said TSN’s Matt Dunigan. “What that missing ingredient may have been, we may never know. But a change of environment is often times exactly what a player needs.” Two weeks ago, Burris nearly knocked off the Stampeders in Calgary, throwing for 408 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 26- 22 loss. The Lions, especially, will be hoping for another breakout game from Burris, who could directly help B. C. in its quest to overhaul the Stampeders for fi rst place in the West. The 9- 3 Stamps are just one game ahead of the Lions and the reeling Saskatchewan Roughriders. Pick: Tiger- Cats

Toronto at Edmonton 6 p. m., TSN The Argos have been packing and unpacking for four weeks in a row now, since their last start in the friendly confi nes of Rogers Centre on Sept. 3. By the time they play Hamilton at home on Oct. 4 — after the Blue Jays depart following an incredibly disappointing season — the Argos could complete a 4- 0 run on the road. Coach Scott Milanovich has been working wonders with a team which has been missing Ricky Ray, Chad Owens and Chad Kackert for extensive periods. Their absence has allowed fi llin players to gain valuable playing experience, which has resulted in Toronto becoming an even deeper team while thrusting Milanovich into leading coach of the year consideration again. That said, the Argos will have to be on guard against the Esks, with Mike Reilly, last week’s off ensive player of the week, matched against this week’s choice, Zach Collaros. Pick: Argos

SUNDAY

Saskatchewan at Montreal, 10 a. m., TSN Old men still getting it done: Mariano Rivera, Henry Burris, Geroy Simon. Simon, at 38, was the best receiver on the fi eld last Sunday against the Lions, making fi ve catches for 60 yards, two of them in brilliant fashion. His career total of 1,017 receptions ties him with retired Ben Cahoon for the CFL’s all- time lead. And what more fi tting place to break the record than Molson Stadium, where Cahoon and Anthony Calvillo played pitch- and- catch for so many years? That said, the ultracompetitive Simon has no time to linger in refl ections on personal accomplishments, what with the Riders on a three- game slide and in danger of losing contact with the Stampeders and Lions for fi rst place. Geroy is not a happy camper when his team goes south. But with the Riders headed east this week, Saskatchewan’s skid fi gures to end in Montreal. Pick: Roughriders Last Week: 2- 2 Season: 31- 17