Morning Coffee: Riders, Stampeders ready to rumble on CFL Friday Night Football

What’s the magic formula for the Toronto Blue Jays to win the American League East?

Let’s start the equation with no more miracle comebacks by the division rival New York Yankees.

The Yankees trailed the Seattle Mariners 5-0 entering the eighth inning of last night’s game in the Bronx.

New York was no-hit through seven innings.

Instead of laying down, the pinstripes rallied with three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to send the game to extra innings tied 5-5.

The AL MVP Aaron Judge capped the rally with a walk-off sac fly in the 10^th for the 6-5 win.

What a way to complete a three-game series sweep.

How improbable was the comeback?

The Yankees could be found as high as +3300 at FanDuel – an 2.9  per cent implied win probability.

Prior to last night, New York was 0-241 the last 241 times it trailed by five or more runs after seven innings.

The Yankees became the first team to win a game after being no-hit through seven innings and trailing by five or more runs since the 1977 Pittsburgh Pirates over the Montreal Expos.

Toronto’s odds to win the AL East aren’t going to get any better if the pinstripes are pulling off bigger comebacks than any team in baseball in more than four decades.

The Blue Jays are two games up on the Yankees with three games to go before the MLB All-Star Break.

Toronto’s odds to win the AL East climbed from +120 to +170 at FanDuel over the past 48 hours.

Next up, the Blue Jays get an opportunity to finish off the first half on a high note with three games against one of the worst teams in baseball.

Toronto is currently a -158 moneyline favourite for tonight’s series opener with Max Scherzer getting the nod opposite Luis Severino for the Athletics.

Meanwhile, the Yankees welcome the Chicago Cubs to town hoping they can take care of their business and get a little help from the A’s to close the gap atop the division standings before the MLB All-Star Break.

Every win will count in the American League’s tightest division race.

Speaking of tight division races, the West Division has emerged as the class of the Canadian Football League.

The top three teams in the West are a combined 10-1 straight up and against the spread this season.

Two of them are set to meet on Friday Night Football as the Saskatchewan Roughriders attempt to extend their perfect start against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.

This is Morning Coffee for Friday July 11, 2025.

Riders, Stampeders ready to rumble on CFL Friday Night Football

Trevor Harris is back for Saskatchewan.

The veteran QB returns following a one-week absence due to a head injury.

Even with the MOP candidate back under centre, the Riders passing attack could be in tough tonight.

Wide receivers Samuel Emilus and Shawn Bane Jr. are both banged up, while Kian Schaffer-Baker remains on the six-game injured list.

While KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Mayers will be back in the spotlight, Saskatchewan could elect to lean more on its running game with a more favourable match-up.

The Stampeders have allowed a league-low 20.3 points per game this season.

Calgary has one of the best secondaries in the CFL, but they have been vulnerable at times on the ground, including a Week 3 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks in which they allowed over 240 rushing yards.

The Riders have the league’s leading rusher in A.J. Oullette, who has paced the CFL with 347 rushing yards through four games.

The Stampeders have allowed an average of 117.7 rushing yards per game this season, making this another excellent opportunity for Ouellette to put up big numbers on the ground.

Meanwhile, Calgary has an impressive running back of its own in Dedrick Mills, who trails only Ouellette among the CFL’s rushing yards leaders.

Even if our very own Matt Cauz is looking to fade Mills with his rushing yards prop at FanDuel this week.

Mills has averaged 77.8 rushing yards per game.

Stopping the run will be a point of emphasis for the Riders, which rank second in the CFL in rushing yards per game allowed despite allowing James Butler to torch them for 123 rushing yards in Week 4.

Saskatchewan could be vulnerable through the air.

The Riders’ eighth-ranked pass defence has allowed over 300 yards per game through the air this season.

Vernon Adams Jr just threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns in an upset win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the Stampede Bowl in Week 5.

If Adams can exploit the vulnerabilities in the Saskatchewan secondary, Calgary will have a chance to pull off a second straight upset over a West Division rival.

Last year, the Stampeders and Riders split their season series.

As dominant as Saskatchewan has looked out of the gates, this is a Calgary team that is hungry to prove that it belongs among the best in the West Division, and another upset win tonight would move them into a tie for first place in the CFL standings.

The Stampeders are +188 to hand the Riders their first loss of the season tonight.

I’m not rushing to bet on Saskatchewan to lose at home, but the 5.5 points seems like a lot for the favourite to lay on Friday Night Football.

Perhaps it’s the fact that every CFL favourite that has won outright this season has also covered the spread.

Perhaps that is a trend that could end tonight.

I’ll lock in the Stampeders +5.5 as the first of two FanDuel Best Bets for Friday Night Football.

With notable wins under their belt against the Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Calgary should have the confidence to compete with the Riders tonight.

Even if they don’t pull off the upset win, they could keep this game close and cover the spread getting more than a field goal at FanDuel.

I’ll roll the dice on Adams and the Stampeders +5.5.

I’ll also take Ouellette over 75.5 rushing yards as FanDuel Best Bet.

Ouellette has been excellent out of the gates for the Riders, and he should be able to attack Calgary’s vulnerabilities against the run.

An extra week off during the bye to prepare for this match-up should only improve his outlook.

Factor in that Harris is returning from injury, the Riders are banged up at receiver, and that the home fans should be loud early on and it’s easier to envision another big game from Oullette tonight.

Hopefully, the CFL’s leading rusher can deliver another strong performance in a close game on Friday Night Football.

Have a great weekend, everyone!