A much better week 9 for yours truly, unfortunately the same could not be said for my good pal Rick. Ricky took a 1-4 for a second straight week, while I rebounded with a 4-1 record. A little seperation now in the standings, as I sit 20-15 while Rick drops to 16-19.

Rick’s Picks
Arizona at St. Louis -3.5, St. Louis to cover…WRONG
Jacksonville -8.5 at Cincinatti, Jacksonville to cover…WRONG
Tampa Bay -7.5 at Kansas City, Tampa Bay to cover…WRONG
Green Bay at Tennessee -5.5, Green Bay to cover…RIGHT
Miami at Denver -4.5, Denver to cover…WRONG
Current Record: 16-19

Pat’s Picks
Baltimore at Cleveland -2.5, Baltimore to cover…RIGHT
New York Jets at Buffalo -5.5, Buffalo to cover…WRONG
Atlanta -2.5 at Oakland, Atlanta to cover…RIGHT
Dallas at New York Giants -7.5, Giants to cover…RIGHT
Philadelphia -6.5 at Seattle, Philadelphia to cover…RIGHT
Current Record: 20-15

I was thinking on Saturday, how in the world can anyone else in the CFL be Most Outstanding Player this season other than Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris? Then I remembered reading on TSN.ca that they believe the nominee for the West Division should be Lions defensive end Cameron Wake. And then, I started to get a little angry inside.

By the way, I waited until late on purpose, your bonus code this week is BACKCHECK. FAN Club members, use it well.

So, lets be straight. I’m not taking anything away from Cam Wake with the Lions, the guy is a complete freak and has totally dominated the game so far this year. There isn’t a tackle or guard that can touch this guy, he can flush a QB out of the pocket singlehandedly. And he’s a great nominee from the West Division for Top Defensive Player. But no one in the CFL has made their team work the way Henry Burris has done this year with the Calgary Stampeders.

Smiling Hank is the guy who runs this Calgary offence, and so many times this year, he’s been the guy to make sure this team is righting the ship in the 2nd half after poor opening halves. That hasn’t been the case as of late, but look back to the first half of the season and try and remember how many times the Stamps were down at halftime. Yet, Burris was able to keep things composed and complete key passes late in games, on 2nd and 3rd and long situations. Had it not been for Burris, we might be looking at a 10-8 or 11-7 team.

Some may herald Anthony Calvillo of the Montreal Alouettes, and again, taking nothing away from one of the greatest CFL quarterbacks ever, he hasn’t had the season Burris has had. Calvillo’s stats are better than those of Burris, but take into account who Calvillo is throwin against. When you get (yes I use the word get) to play Hamilton and Toronto 3 and 4 times a year, your stats tend to get a little padded. I’m very skeptical Calvillo could have put up the same numbers if he were playing Calgary and Saskatchewan 3 and 4 times a year.

To me, it’s a no brainer…Henry Burris is the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player. He should have been last year, and lets hope the ship gets righted this time around.