After 18 weeks in the CFL:
Ted Clarke: 4-0 last week; 38-22 overall
Peter James: 4-0 last week; 44-20 overall
Mark Nielsen: 3-1 last week; 40-20 overall
Today
Montreal Alouettes (7-10) at Toronto Argonauts (11-6)
TSN 4 p.m.
Clarke: Like all games this week, this means nothing in the standings. Ricky Ray won't play and Troy Smith and the Alouettes will find a way. Pick: Alouettes by six.
James: The Argonauts will rest the CFL's most accurate quarterback ever, but even without Ricky Ray they have enough weapons to beat the Alouettes. Pick: Argos by six.
Nielsen: The shine came off the Als' new quarterback, Troy Smith, in a hurry as the Tiger-Cats came from behind to beat the Birds by a field goal last week. Toronto, meanwhile, had an easy time of it in a 36-21 win over Winnipeg. The Argos will continue their winning momentum at Rogers Centre. Pick: Argos by 10.
Calgary Stampeders (14-3) at B.C. Lions (10-7)
TSN 7 p.m.
Clarke: The Stamps have the luxury of resting their pick of QBs. All three are good enough to pull out a victory. Sorry Lions fans. Pick: Stampeders by three.
James: Both teams will be resting players as the playoffs approach, but the Lions can make a statement with a win. Pick: Lions by three.
Nielsen: Much of the Lions' hopes are being pinned on Buck Pierce continuing his winning ways after engineering a comeback win over the Eskimos last week. However, the Stampeders are a much tougher team and will want to end the regular season on an upbeat note before hosting the Western Final in two weeks time. Pick: Stampeders by 10.
Saturday
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-8) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-14)
TSN 11 a.m.
Clarke: The Ticats are getting set to host a playoff game against Montreal and the Bombers are likely without their starting quarterback. Need I say more. Pick: Tiger-Cats by 12.
James: The Bombers may be more focused on scouting which quarterback they want to trade for in the off-season rather than winning this game. Pick: Tiger-Cats by six.
Nielsen: The Tiger-Cats buried the Blue Bombers 34-17 when they met in Guelph in Week 9. The Bombers' play has improved significantly since then while the Tiger-Cats have been the CFL's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season. Consider this one the upset of the week. Pick: Blue Bombers by nine.
Edmonton Eskimos (3-14) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (11-6)
TSN 2 p.m.
Clarke: Kory Sheets is over his temper tantrum. He's about to get to get his fill of Eskimo pie. Pick: Riders by 14
James: The Roughriders are preparing for what they hope is a long playoff run, the Eskimos are preparing for what they hope isn't an off-season house cleaning. Pick: Riders by eight.
Nielsen: These two teams are in their respective places in the standings for a reason. The Roughriders will win this one and by a big margin as they take out their frustrations from last week's loss to Calgary on the woeful Eskimos. That, and Korey Sheets will get 100 yards. Pick:Riders by 17.
