On Sunday, September 19th, the Vancouver Whitecaps will travel south of the border to take on the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Vancouver will be traveling Down to Colorado to keep up with the fanatic playoff race in the Western Conference. Currently, the Caps are sitting in 9th in the west, and should they win against the Rapids; they will move into 8th and only one point shy of the six and seven seeds currently held by Real Salt Lake and LAFC. Getting a result will not be an easy task for the Caps as the Rapids are sat in third in the west, only three points behind Sporting KC, who are in first, but Colorado has also played two fewer games than Sporting.

Vancouver and Colorado have already played each other once before this season, and that came back in May at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Colorado got the better of the Caps that day, winning 1-0 on a super free kick in the 25th minute. There were no fans in attendance on that night in Utah, but there definitely will be this time around when the two sides meet in Commerce City in Colorado. Vancouver hasn’t beaten the Rapids since May of 2019, so Sunday will be a good opportunity for the Caps to get the monkey off their back.

However, history isn’t on Vancouver’s side in this fixture, as Colorado has gotten the better of the Caps in their head-to-head history. Out of the 25 games between the two sides, Colorado has won 11 times, Vancouver has won nine times, and there have been five ties. With the playoff race getting closer and closer in the West, these games coming down to the end of the season for Vancouver get increasingly more important. This will be a must-watch game for all Whitecaps fans.

The BC Lions have gotten off to a 3-2 start to their new CFL season and will go up against the 2-2 Montreal Alouettes on Saturday night at Molson Stadium in Montreal. BC has won their last two games, both against the Ottawa Redblacks, and look to improve upon their winning record this Saturday against the number two seed in the East Division. This season, BC and Montreal’s success have been coming from two completely different sources offensively. The Lions have been happy throwing, again and again, tearing their opponents apart through the air. They have done so via their quarterback Michael Reilly and his receiving core, most notably, former Dallas Cowboy, Lucky Whitehead. Receivers such as Bryan Burnham and Jevon Cottoy have also been considerable parts of BC’s offensive success this season.

On the other hand, Montreal has relied mainly on their running game to move the ball up and down the field. Despite playing with one or two fewer games than his competitors, Monreal’s starting running back, William Stanback, has rushed for the second-most yards in the CFL this season with 346 total. Further, Montreal’s 564 total rushing yards as a team this season is the first place in the CFL in that category.

This season, Montreal and BC have scored the first and second-most points per game in the CFL, so If you’re a fan of points, this is the game for you. A second reason you can expect points in this game is the way that these defenses match up against their opponent’s strength. BC’s run defense is middle of the pack in the CFL, nothing to write home about, and the same can be said about Montreal’s pass defense; middle of the pack and surely not good enough to keep BC’s stars at bay. With all that being said, it should be an exhilarating game on Saturday night between two of the leagues best teams

Cristian Dajome has been leading the way offensively for the Whitecaps all season long. His eight goals in 22 games leads the Caps, and he has also managed a total of four assists this season as well. The 27-year-old Columbian forward is in his second season at BC Place and has taken a big step up from last year. In 2021, Cristian has scored five more goals than he did last year and has the same number of assists he had a season ago. The season got off to a slow start for Dajome as it took him nine games before he found the back of the net in a 2-2 tie against rivals Toronto FC, but he has been on a tear since that moment. Excluding his first eight games where Cristian didn’t score a single goal, the Columbian has eight goals in only 14 games which is an incredible scoring rate for any player. In that span, his goal-to-game ratio sits at an impressive 57%, and the Caps have been in flying for over that stretch. This season, Cristian’s most memorable games have come in a 2-0 win over Montreal in May and a 2-2 tie against Minnesota in July. In both of those games, Dajome scored two goals and was the main factor in his team’s success. This season another memorable performance from the Columbian came against the team with the most point in the Western Conference and Vancouver’s arch-rivals just south of the border, the Seattle Sounders. In a game against the Sounders in June, Cristian Dajome got a goal, and an assist in Vancouver’s impressive 2-2 draw against the first-placed team. More recently, Dajome hasn’t scored a goal since his two-goal performance against Minnesota at the end of July but has still been managing to help his team put balls in the back of the net. On August 13th, Cristian assisted in a 2-1 win against another team fighting for the final playoff spot, LAFC. Cristian also provided an assist in Vancouver’s recent win over Austin. Cristian Dajome has been on a tear this season, and if he can keep this production up, the Caps are sure to be in the playoff picture come the end of the season.

Over the past 20-30 years, the BC Lions have been a pretty consistent member of the CFL Playoffs, and the way this season is going, their familiarity with the tournament will continue. After struggling through their last season (in 2019), going only 5-13, and finishing dead last in the west division, the Lions are back to their winning ways in 2021. The Lions have beaten the Calgary Stampeders once and the Ottawa Redblacks twice and now sit with the second-best record in the west division behind only defending champions, Winnipeg Bluebombers. Though Quarterback Michael Reilly and wide receiver Lucky Whitehead have been the stars of the show so far from BC, the Lions have been receiving excellent contributions from players all over the field. The defense has been among the best in the league, while BC’s passing game has put up numbers better than just about every other team in the league through the season’s first five games. The Lion’s dominance reached its peak in this early season last Saturday in a 45-13 win over the Ottawa Redblacks at BC Place Stadium. Quarterback Michael Reilly through for 319 yards and four touchdowns in the blowout win while his gang of receivers had a field day on the outside. Former member of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, Lucky Whitehead, was running whiled through the Redblacks secondary like he had been doing to teams all season long. Whitehead finished the game with 82 yards on only three receptions and even ran back a missed field goal for a touchdown in the first half. Receivers Bryan Burham and Jevon Cottoy have also torn secondaries apart all year with their excellent route running and football intelligence. Bryan Burham and Jevon Cottoy are second and third, respectively, in the receiving touchdowns this season as quarterback; Michael Reilly has been dotting them up in the endzone all season long. The Lions are off to a hot start and will be looking to keep that going in the coming weeks as they face division rivals, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Calgary Stampeders in weeks to come.

It’s been over two years since the Vancouver Canadians have played baseball in Nat Baily Stadium, but that is soon to change. Vancouver has released their schedule for next season, and on April 19th, 2022, the Vancouver Canadians will be back at the Nat for the first time in 963 days. The COVID-19 virus knocked out minor league baseball in 2020, and in 2021 (last season), the Canadians were playing their home games, south of the border, in Hillsboro, Oregon. One new exciting thing about the Vancouver Canadians next season that will keep fans coming to the Nat regularly is that Vancouver has moved up to the High-A-West League. Moving up into the High-A-West League will mean many good things for baseball fans in Vancouver, Better quality baseball featuring better quality players, and there will be more baseball being played. Vancouver’s schedule has gone from a 66 game schedule the last time they were in town to a 132 game schedule, with the season starting in mid-April. There is, however, one possible problem the Canadians will have to face with the season starting so early, filling seats in the colder rainier months at the Nat Baily Stadium. Because Vancouver was playing in a lower league with fewer games for the past two decades, the season wouldn’t start until the middle of June, and well, the weather was nice enough to keep fans coming to the games. Now, however, Vancouver will have the task, for the first time since 1999 when the Canadians played Triple-A, to fill seats in the rainier months of the year, like April and May. If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t put it past the Canadian’s staff to manage to get an excellent turnout to games all year long. Vancouver has always had good attendance in years past, and now that the team is finally back after two years and playing in a better league… fans should be racing for the doors of Nat Baily Stadium.

Saturday night’s game between the BC Lions and the Ottawa Redblacks at BC Place stadium ended before it even began. The Lions were looking for their first home win of the season and made no mistake about it. BC put up two early touchdowns in the first quarter via an eight-yard reception by Keon Hatcher, his first CFL touchdown, and, moments later, a 38-yard catch and run made by Jevon Cottoy. Ottawa managed to get one touchdown drive put together in the first quarter after that, but it did little in the grand scheme of things. The Lions marched back down the field their very next possession and, quarterback Michael Reilly hung a 39-yard bomb down the field to the receiver, Bryan Burnham, waiting in the endzone for the score. The second quarter began the way the first quarter ended, the BC Lions getting points on the board. Less than a minute in the quarter, Lions’ receiver, Lucky Whitehead, returned a missed field goal attempt out of his own endzone all the way back for a Lions touchdown making the score 28-7 in favor of the home team. Later in the quarter, Ottawa was able to get a little bit of momentum via a converted fake punt on third down and a couple of  Lewis Ward field goals to cut the Lions’ lead down to 15. However, the Lions’ stuck again before the half, putting the game out of reach for the Redblacks. In a crazy sequence involved 3 offensive turnovers in less than a minute of game time, the Lions forced a fumble near Ottawa’s goalline, threw an interception back to Ottawa seconds later before picking off Redblacks’ quarterback, Dominique Davis, and returning the interception all the way back for a touchdown. BC went into the half up 35-13. The second half featured only 10 points total, all of which being scored by the already dominating BC Lions. Bryan Burnham made an incredible 10-yard touchdown catch and run in the third quarter before Lions’ kicker Jimmy Camacho put the finishing touches on an impressive win with a fourth-quarter field goal.

With the win, the Lions are now tied for second place in the West Division with a 3-2 record in this young CFL season. Next Saturday, the Lions will be in Montreal to take on the Alouettes before returning home on September 24th to host their division rivals, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The BC Lions have gotten off to an excellent start in their 2021 CFL campaign. They now sit at second in the West after winning their last two games, both against the Ottawa Redblacks. Their success this season is thanks in large part to the success of the Lions’ passing game between quarterback Michael Reilly and his primary receivers, Lucky Whitehead and Bryan Burnham. Through five games this season, Michael Reilly has already thrown for 1293 yards (third-most in the league). Receivers Lucky Whitehead and Bryan Burnham have benefitted from Reilly’s numbers and have made the most of his production this season. This season, New Jersey native Bryan Burnham has made a team-high 24 catches for 401 yards, suitable for fifth-most in the league. Further, Bryan’s three touchdown receptions through his five games this season puts him in second place in the CFL in that category behind only Montreal’s Jake Wieneke. Despite Bryan Burnham’s production this season, it’s been BC’s 29-year-old receiver, Lucky Whitehead, who has stolen the show through Lion’s first five games. Lucky’s 421 yards on 24 receptions are good for third in the CFL’s receiving yards category this season, while his 178 yards-after-catch put Whitehead in first place in that category in the entire league. Lucky Whitehead has also been electric on special teams this year. Last Saturday, he returned. a missed field goal against the Redblacks out from ten yards deep in his own endzone all the way back for a touchdown. One thing that both Lucky Whitehead and Bryan Burnham have in common this season, and give credit to Michael Reilly for this as well, is their massive yards-per-catch average they have been enjoying. Out of receivers who have made more than 10 catches this season, Lucky Whitehead leads the CFL in yards-per-catch with 17.5, while Burnham is third in that category with 16.7. If you want to take that stat even further, they are first and second in yards-per-catch this season among receivers who have made at least 20 catches in this young season. If BC’s quarterback-receiver chemistry stays this hot all season, the lions are sure to make a push for the CFL playoffs. The sky is the limit this season at BC Place.

The Vancouver Whitecaps haven’t made the MLS Cup playoffs since 2017; with eleven games remaining in their 2021 season, the playoffs are within reach for the Caps. Vancouver currently sits in 9th place in the Western Conference, two spots out of a playoff position. The Caps’ 29 points are just one point away from Real Salt Lake, which currently occupies the West’s 7th and final playoff spot. Vancouver is only 2 points away from the 6th seeded Minnesota. With the playoff race being so close this season in the Western Conference, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Vanni Sartini coached side found themselves in a playoff spot come that time of year. Despite coming off a 1-0 loss to Portland, the Caps have been in good form over recent games. Before their loss last Friday, Vancouver had won four straight games beating teams such as Real Salt Lake and LAFC, who are currently ahead of the Caps in the standings. Looking back further, before their loss on Friday, the Whitecaps hadn’t lost an MLS game in over two months. You read that correctly; the White Caps have only lost one game in the past two months of MLS action.

Vancouver got off to a rocky start this season, but their recent form has put them in a prime position to reach the playoffs. Over their next eleven games to close the season out, Vancouver will play only against Western Conference opponents meaning they have the opportunity to take down the teams ahead of them in the standings themselves. The Caps will decide the fate of the Caps. Notable upcoming games for Vancouver include this Sunday’s game at DGS Park against third-place Colorado before facing off against the top two teams in the conference on back-to-back weeks, the Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC. If Vancouver’s playoff push comes down to their very last games, it will undoubtedly be entertaining; Vancouver will face fellow playoff hopefuls, Minnesota and LAFC, before ending their season in BC Place stadium against their arch-rivals, Seattle Sounders.