Regardless of how talented Montreal is as a team compared with the rest of the division, Toronto shared its loss with every other East rival, meaning making the playoffs is still a dream worth keeping alive.

MONTREAL ALOUETTES It's the kind of performance Montreal fans have been dying to see, a complete game in all three areas and for four quarters. And no better time to do it than against the Als' biggest threat in their division.

GAME NOTES: A rematch of the season opener and last year's Grey Cup title game takes center stage this week, as the Montreal Alouettes entertain the Saskatchewan Roughriders at McGill Stadium on Friday night.

Saskatchewan, which is tied with Calgary atop the standings in the Western Division at 4-1, may have won the first game of 2010 over the Als with a thrilling 54-51 overtime final, but the fact remains that Montreal is the one that is still defending its trophy from last season when it captured the league title with a narrow 28-27 final.

Edmonton, which finished an even 9-9 during the 2009 regular season, kicked off the new campaign with four straight setbacks and was the last team in the league to record a win, thanks to a narrow 28-25 decision over British Columbia at home last week. However, even with the victory the Eskimos have now turned the page on general manager Danny Maciocia who was fired on Saturday. In a move that was apparently made prior to the win over the Lions, president and CEO Rick LeLacheur said it was in the best interest of the team long term and also says there is no timetable for naming a replacement.

The triumph for Edmonton almost didn't happen, given the lengthy interruption brought on by a massive storm that delayed play for about 40 minutes and even caused a

Except for a season-opening win against a woeful Edmonton club, little has gone right for the Lions thus far as they find themselves tied for last place in the Western Division with the aforementioned Eskimos at just 1-4. The last three weeks have seen the Lions play some tight games, but each time the squad came out on the losing end, as it did again against Edmonton last weekend by a score of 28-25.

In a game that was delayed about 40 minutes due to poor weather conditions that actually knocked out power at the stadium, BC scored 15 of its 25 points on the night in the final quarter, but it was the defense that let the Lions down late in the meeting.

Despite losing two in a row and four of the first five games of the season, Hamilton has actually jumped three spots in the most recent power rankings to fifth, but that has more to do with the inept play of other clubs in the league rather than with how the Ti-Cats performed last week.

Against Saskatchewan last time out, the Hamilton defense did a fairly decent job keeping the Roughriders out of the end zone, but what the visitors couldn't stop was a kicking game that accounted for seven field goals and a couple of extra points that put the home team on top by a final of 37-24. Quarterback Kevin Glenn posted strong numbers with 31-of-45 passing for 425 yards and three scores, but he was also picked off twice. Having a monster game was receiver Arland Bruce who

Saskatchewan, which is tied with Calgary atop the standings in the Western Division at 4-1, may have won the first game of 2010 over the Als with a thrilling 54-51 overtime final, but the fact remains that Montreal is the one that is still defending its trophy from last season when it captured the league title with a narrow 28-27 final.

The Roughriders, still just sixth in the current power rankings in the CFL, have scored no less than 20 points in every game this season and toppled Hamilton last weekend by a final of 37-24. However, the final score for Saskatchewan might be a bit misleading given that the team secured all but 14 of those points from the kicking of Luca Congi. The kicker knocked through all seven of his field goal attempts, his

Bruce earned the Offensive Player of the Week honor after his big performance in the Tiger-Cats' loss to Saskatchewan.

He tied the CFL record with 16 receptions and recorded 272 receiving yards -- sixth-most all-time in a single game. Two of his receptions were for touchdowns.

Steven Jyles, starting his second consecutive game in place of the injured Buck Pierce, threw for 227 yards and a score on 17-of-30 tosses, as Winnipeg (2-3) suffered its third loss in the past four games. Terrence Edwards grabbed six passes for 162 yards and a score in the defeat, while Fred Reid rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Congi was perfect in the game and one field goal shy of tying the CFL record, as the Roughriders (4-1) rebounded nicely from a 40-20 loss at Calgary last weekend.

Cates scored twice in the second half from one-yard away, while finishing the game with 66 rushing yards on 13 carries and 75 receiving on five catches.

The move was apparently made prior to Edmonton's 28-25 decision over British Columbia on Friday, the club's first win of the season.

"We were in a hole at 0-and-4 and we all committed to take this a week at a time," Edmonton president and CEO Rick LeLacheur said. "We didn't have a board meeting until Wednesday.

Ray completed 25-of-34 pass attempts with one interception for Edmonton (1-4), which was off to its worst start since 1965. Kelly Campbell and Andre Talbot each pulled in a touchdown pass, while Fred Stamps had 118 yards receiving. Noel Prefontaine made 4-of-5 field goals in the victory.

Travis Lulay, making his second CFL start, threw for 134 yards and rushed for 62 more and a score for BC (1-4), which dropped its fourth game in a row following a season-opening win over Edmonton.

Cobourne rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries and hauled in eight passes for 116 more yards, as Montreal (4-1) won its fourth game in a row to take over sole possession of the Eastern Division.

Anthony Calvillo also had a big night for the Als, converting 30-of-36 pass attempts for 394 yards and a pair of scores. Jamel Richardson added two touchdown catches for Montreal, which outscored Toronto, 24-0, in the second half.

In his only season at Indiana State last year, Walters was in charge of the Sycamores' quarterbacks and wide receivers in addition to his duties as offensive coordinator.

ISU was outscored, 390-99, and shut out four times during a 1-10 campaign.

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS In the CFL, you can be sure of three things: lots of passing, exciting kick returns, and most of all, a Buck Pierce injury.

Winnipeg knew it had a talented, yet brittle quarterback on its hands going into the season. The gamble started off in the right direction, but Pierce is sidelined for 2-4 weeks with a right knee injury.

GAME NOTES: With their touchdown drought now a memory, the Montreal Alouettes turn their attention to the Toronto Argonauts as the two clubs, tied for the lead in the CFL's Eastern Division, tangle at McGill Stadium on Thursday night.

Even though Montreal finally put the brakes on an unhealthy run of being held out of the end zone, last week the team leaned heavily on the kicking game in order to get them over the hump. Damon Duval tied a career-high with seven field goals as he helped lead the Alouettes to a commanding 37-14 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Thursday. Duval finished the night with 22 points as Montreal logged its third straight win after losing the season opener to Saskatchewan in overtime, 54-51.

For the Stamps, last week's meeting with Saskatchewan was tough through the first 30 minutes, but once the second half began the entire complexion of the game changed and Calgary ran away with an easy 40-20 victory. Henry Burris, who was intercepted four times in the loss to Toronto a week earlier, came alive this time around by throwing for 285 yards and four touchdowns, while surviving a pair of interceptions.

Doing most of the damage down the field for Burris and the Stamps was Romby Bryant who caught seven balls for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns, his efforts earning him Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. Not to be overlooked was running back Joffrey R

Edmonton, which hasn't won the Western Division title since putting together a three-year run between 2001-2003, probably won't be raising another trophy anytime soon since the club is off to an 0-4 start for the first time since 1965. Despite having the most overall victories (591) of any club in the CFL since 1945, the Eskimos are currently suffering from a five-game slide dating back to last year.

Rick Lelacheur, president and CEO of the Eskimos, has made it clear that losing is no longer an option for this once proud team and that being embarrassed as they have is simply not acceptable. It remains to be seen what Lelacheur has in mind, but he has stated that the entire franchise is under scrutiny and changes could extend throughout the

The Roughriders, who erupted for 54 points during a season-opening, overtime win over Montreal, were limited to a season-low 20 points last weekend in their 20-point loss to Calgary on the road. For the first time this season, Saskatchewan failed to score the first points of the game and the team's defense completely broke down in the second half as it allowed 33 points.

Quarterback Darian Durant was held in check for much of the game, throwing his lone touchdown of the event late in the fourth quarter, once the outcome had already been decided. Durant finished the night 22-of-37 for 354 yards, but he was picked off three times and sacked twice.

Even though Montreal finally put the brakes on an unhealthy run of being held out of the end zone, last week the team leaned heavily on the kicking game in order to get them over the hump. Damon Duval tied a career-high with seven field goals as he helped lead the Alouettes to a commanding 37-14 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Thursday. Duval finished the night with 22 points as Montreal logged its third straight win after losing the season opener to Saskatchewan in overtime, 54-51.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who came up lame late in the first half but returned to action, also had a strong outing as he converted 28-of-38 passes for 309 yards and a pair of touchdowns, getting his team into the end zone f

CALGARY STAMPDERS Calgary quarterback Henry Burris entered week four looking to prove himself against the league's best team, and the result was a division prepared to listen.

After giving up four interceptions in a three-point loss to Toronto last week, Burris overcame two first-half picks and tossed four touchdowns in a 40-20 win against the Roughriders.

Bryant earned the Offensive Player of the Week for helping the Stampeders claim a lopsided 40-20 victory over Saskatchewan.

In the win, the wide receiver hauled in touchdown passes of 67 and 10 yards, both coming in the second half. Bryant finished with seven total catches for 116 yards.

Burris, who last week threw four interceptions in a 27-24 loss to Toronto, tossed a pair of picks in the first half to James Patrick before bouncing back to push Calgary (3-1) into first place in the Western Division.

Darian Durant had a rough game at the helm for Saskatchewan (3-1) as he suffered three INTs in the team's first setback of the season. Saskatchewan entered the meeting unbeaten in the last three battles versus the Stamps, putting up a 30-14 victory in Regina on November 7 of last season.

Jyles, who was making the start in favor of an injured Buck Pierce, finished the night 14-of-22 for 267 yards and a touchdown, but was also picked off two times in the win for the Blue Bombers (2-2).

However, Jyles replicated Pierce's instinct for running the ball, posting 63 yards and two scores on eight attempts.

Parker's pick was one of four turnovers registered by the Toronto (3-1) defense as the team logged its third straight win since opening the 2010 campaign with a 30-16 setback at Calgary on the first of July. With their third win, the Argos also matched their entire victory total from all of last season (3-15).

Toronto quarterback Cleo Lemon completed 19-of-28 passes for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while also surviving a couple of interceptions. Running back Cory Boyd added a game-high 148 yards on 19 carries as the Argos logged their first win over BC since posting a 22-16 triumph at home back on October 11, 2004, snapping a 10-game series losing streak in the process.

Johnson appeared in two games for Toronto last season and averaged 46.4 yards on 16 punts.

The 29-year-old Idaho State product played in 14 games for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2003 season and averaged 39.1 yards on 56 punts.