ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHH-GOS! (SEE YOU IN '07)

It pretty much had to end that way for the Toronto Argonauts yesterday in the CFL Eastern Division final, with a 33-24 loss to Anthony Calvillo (pictured) and the Montreal Alouettes.

The Argos never really figured out who they were all season. Bringing in Ricky Williams when their offence and their personnel really wasn't really conducive to his style of running embodied that confusion. Luckily for them, it's the CFL, so you can get away with that for 18 or 19 games. By the time they figured out that, yeah, maybe it they should be Michael Bishop's team this season, they were down 20 points on the road against a fairly decent Als team.

As for next season, management wants to make a run at the Gre Cup next year. Damon Allen can still play a little if he's healthy (big if), but it's hard to imagine a 43-going-on-44 living legend hanging around to be a backup or part-time QB. Damien Cox has already lent his hand to starting the Casey Printers rumour mill, and Steve Simmons says the Argos have to sign the Als' Ben Cahoon, the best Canadian receiver out there.

As for Ricky, this space defended him all season on general principle, so we're not about to change it after his fumble set up the Als' clinching touchdown, Calvillo's 52-yard TD pass to Thyron Anderson that made it 30-10 late in the third quarter. It ain't the first time this cowboy backed the wrong horse.

WESTERN FINAL: B.C. 45, SASKATCHEWAN 18

That said, B.C. being in the big game should provoke some, uh, interesting and not at all nuanced reactions from Saskatchewan fans, seeing as their former kicker Paul McCallum (right) now has a chance to earn a Grey Cup ring -- two years after he cost the Riders a trip to the big game by missing a chip-shot field goal in overtime in the Western final against the team he now plays for. Talk about your Grey Cup week storylines.

The Lions are good, so good that head coach Wally Buono hasn't been able to figure out a way for them to blow it, as his teams have so often done, lo, these many years (see 1994 Western Division final).

Long-term forecast for Grey Cup Sunday is a low of -6C with winds of up to 15 km/h; in other words, balmy by the standards of Winnipeg in November. If it gets really cold, it might effect the dome-team Lions more, although it's not like there's a team in the CFL that's never had to play in freezing temperatures.

Now it can be said: The hope here for a Toronto-Saskatchewan Grey Cup was motivated more being our overriding imperative to be tongue-in-cheek and never side with the majority if it can avoided.

Early prediction: B.C. 33-28.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.