So here's a topic we haven't had a reason to look at since Thanksgiving!

It's Canadian Football League time!

(But...but I was just getting the hang of the Australian version!)

The opening game of the 105th season of the CFL took place last night, with the Montreal Alouettes beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 17-16. A funky ending to a close game when the Roughriders failed to score from up close at the end of the game...

That was just a warm-up for the game I'm listening to on TSN radio as I type - the Grey Cup rematch between the West Conference champion Calgary Stampeders (15-2-1, one of the great seasons in CFL history) and the East Conference champion Ottawa Redblacks (8-9-1, the first division champ ever with a losing record, for a team in its third year of existence). Given that set-up, of course, you've probably guessed that Ottawa won the championship last November in overtime, 39-33, after having a huge lead which Calgary made up the last ten points of within the last two minutes.

So tonight's game has a bit of  vengeance built in, especially when Ottawa raised their championship banner before the game. (The Stampeders stayed in the locker room during the ceremony, but still...) Ottawa did win a Grey Cup back in 1976 with a previous incarnation of a team - the CFL has gone through an interesting history of growth and shrinkage over the last three decades in particular - but this team is truly just in its fourth year. Year one - two wins, 16 losses. Year two? 12-6 and a trip to the championship game, where they lost to Edmonton 26-20. Last year, they returned to the finals and the rest is history.

If you're unfamiliar with the Canadian brand of professional football, you really should find some video and watch some.

Oh, wait! You could watch some highlights of that amazing Grey Cup game from last year right here!

Some of the details American-only fans will notice watching CFL football...

• There are twelve men on each side. But that's necessary, because...
• ...the field is significantly bigger. Much wider, it's also got twenty-yard deep end zones and 110 yards in the field of play (which means it has a 55-yard line - weird enough - and TWO 50-yard lines, which somehow scrunches my face up more!)
• There are only THREE downs to get ten yards, so punts happen on third down, so second down's the critical play in Canadian league play.
• Offensive player motion rules are MUCH more liberal! Multiple players can be in motion, and can even be running upfield as long as they haven't crossed the line of scrimmage before the snap!
• Kicking field goals is different for two reasons: the goal posts are on the GOAL line, like they used to be in the States, so attempts are ten yards more likely to succeed. In addition, there's the rouge, which is a single point given the kicking team if the ball does NOT come out of the end zone after ANY kick. So, no touchbacks - unless you're willing to give up the point. It's made for some very interesting end of game situations!

Watch this end game from 2010, with a 30-30 tie game between Montreal and Toronto, where a single point rouge would also make Montreal victorious... Then try to tell me that it's not worth your time watching a little bit of the northern pigskin with me!