Blue Bombers look for payback in rematch with Stampeders, this time in Winnipeg
Two weeks ago, Calgary handed Winnipeg its first loss of the season, 37-16 in the inaugural Stampede Bowl. On Friday night, the Stampeders (4-1) face the Blue Bombers (3-1) at Princess Auto Stadium.
Calgary is coming off consecutive weeks of handing division rivals their first losses. Last week, the Stampeders defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-10 in a game that was pushed back a day due to bad air quality in Regina.
It's been quite a start for Calgary, which posted a 5-12-1 record in 2024 to finish fifth in the West Division.
This season, the Stampeders have allowed just five touchdowns in 68 drives (7.4 per cent) and only four touchdowns in the opposition's 11 trips into the red zone.
Calgary is also tied for the league lead in takeaways (13) and 30-plus yard completions (11). The Stampeders are second only to B.C. (410) in net offence (409.6 yards per game) but boast the CFL's top-ranked ground game (130.6 yards).
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. is second overall in passing (1,453 yards). He's tied with Toronto's Nick Arbuckle for most 30-plus yard completions (11) but is tops with a 10.5-yard average per pass attempt.
Adams has also rushed for 132 yards on 16 carries (8.3-yard average) and a touchdown. A win Friday night would give Calgary the season series versus Winnipeg.
The Bombers are especially tough at Princess Auto Stadium. Not only are they the league's lone unbeaten team at home (2-0), but they've won eight of their last nine overall there.
Calgary has also lost eight straight in Winnipeg, its last win there coming in 2017, although Adams Jr. is 5-3 over his career versus the Bombers and threw for 428 yards and three TDs in last week's win over Saskatchewan.
Rookie Damien Alford, who Calgary took first overall in the 2025 CFL draft, had six catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start.
What's more, Winnipeg is 12-0 coming off a bye week since 2021, and Collaros sports a 10-7 record versus Calgary.
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Canada's Rebecca Marino eager for 'electric feeling' of playing National Bank Open
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The 34-year-old Vancouver native received a wild-card spot in the main draw earlier this week and will be one of a record-high eight Canadian women competing at the hard-court event. 'It's very rare we get opportunities to compete in tournaments at home, and the National Bank Open is the largest event we have,' she said. 'So it's really just exciting to play at home, in front of family and friends there. It's really incredible.' The Canadian contingent includes a mix of up-and-coming players such as Carson Branstine and Victoria Mboko, and longtime favourites Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu and Genie Bouchard. Bouchard recently announced that the tournament will be her last as a professional tennis player. Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., is also set to retire after the men's tournament in Toronto. Both are players Marino has grown to know well during her career and, if a tribute video is played on the big screen, she expects to be among those in the stadium wiping tears from their eyes. 'It's interesting seeing my peers start to retire,' she said, noting that both Bouchard and Pospisil have been 'integral' to Canadian tennis. 'They had a huge amount of Canadian pride. So I think it's going to be really special for them to compete one last time in front of the home crowd. It's pretty crazy, but I'm very happy for them. It's like a celebration.' Marino has no plans to hang up her racket. Currently ranked No. 118 in the world, Marino is pleased with how she's been playing, even through the grass season — which she admits is not her favourite. She conquered the tricky surface at the Ilkley Open, a WTA 125 event in the U.K. last month, where she made it to the final before falling to American Iva Jovic. 'I've embraced the grass, and I've learned to love it,' Marino said. 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Learning to accept the ebbs and flows of the sport has been a process for Marino. After hitting a career-high No. 38 in June 2011, she stepped away from the professional game in 2013 after dealing with depression and cyberbullying. She went back to school, joined the University of British Columbia's rowing team, and learned how to believe in herself. Five years later, Marino returned to tennis with a new outlook. '(The time away) allowed me to reflect and re-centre my identity and how tennis is a part of that, and not this whole part of my identity,' she explained. 'It's a piece of the Rebecca pie, so to speak.' Adjusting her perspective allowed Marino to fall back in love with her sport. And as long as she's in love with tennis and feeling healthy, Marino plans to keep playing. 'When I came back to tennis, it allowed me to appreciate it in a different way. And it was 100 per cent my choice. I wasn't just going through the motions of it. I wanted to be there. 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