Sports. Football Fever: CFL round one playoff preview By David Hollinshead, Contributor he Canadian Football League playoffs have begun, and the entire West Division is invited. Due to the league’s crossover rule, if the fourth -placed team in one division has a better record than the third-place team in the other, the team will join the other division. Such is the case with the Edmonton Eskimos, whose record of 7-10 in week 17 clinched their playoff spot after the Hamilton Tiger-Cats dropped a close game against the Toronto Argonauts 43-40, leaving them with a 6-12 record. Edmonton struggled all season at the quarter- back position. After trad- ing all-time leading passer Ricky Ray to Toronto for Steven Jyles, General Manager Eric Tillman raised a lot of eyebrows, considering it left the team without a legitimate starting quarterback. The position had Jyles rotating with 39-year-old veteran Kerry Joseph—with both of their performances being inconsistent. The interesting thing is what happened in their week 17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes where Jyles didn’t play due to injury, and Joseph left the game with a hand laceration in the fourth quarter, opening the doors for third string Matt Nichols. Down by 16 points, Nichols threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, including one at the last second to bring the Eskimos within two, looking to tie the game. Nichols overthrew Cary Koch and the game ended with a loss, but brought excitement to an Edmonton offense that has lacked explosiveness all year. This brings in yet another quarterback controversy. Who do you start in your playoff game against Toronto? Head coach Kavis Royals Roundup By Josh Martin, Sports Editor his week the men’s soccer National Championships are taking place on Cunnings Field in Town Centre Park, Coquitlam—hosted by your very own Douglas College Royals. The Royals are coming into the cham- pionships after capturing the PACWEST Provincial Championships Gold two weeks ago against the VIU Mariners— which will serve as a big confidence booster heading into Wednesday afternoon’s action “It's big from a seed- ing point of view for Nationals. We wanted to come in as the third seed rather than the 20 seventh. We also wanted to show we deserved to be in the CCAA Nationals and not just be there on merit of hosting the tournament,” says team captain Dylan Myers. “Hosting is huge, based on the fact that we're in control of a lot of what we do. Sleep in our own beds, eat our own food, and play at our home field. Also, we’re looking at having our biggest fan base in college history, so obviously that will fuel us for the game. “To be honest, we’re trying to keep things as regular as possible. Although it's a big tourna- ment, we're treating it like any other game.” The Royals will face their first test of the Reed has said that Joseph is still their man, but if the game comes down to a shootout, there is no way that Joseph will be able to keep up and Edmonton will surely lose Despite having a .500 record at 9-9, Toronto has allowed 46 more points than it has scored. That screams inconsistency on both sides of the ball. Ricky Ray was thrust into a change of scenery and had to pick things up quickly in a new Toronto system, and first time head coach Scott Milanovich might still be figuring out the kinks. This offense also cut running back Cory Boyd mid-way through the season, despite his league leading rushing yards because he wasn’t an effective enough receiver as now starter Chad Kackert. Toronto has all the cards in their favor to win this game if they can solve a stingy Eskimo defense. In the West, the tournament on Wednesday afternoon against the NAIT Ooks at 3 p.m. on Cunnings Field. The men’s volleyball squad beat the VIU Mariners in back-to-back games this past weekend, 3-0 on Friday, and 3-2 on Saturday. The Royals are absolutely dominating the standings with an unbeaten record of 8-0 and 16 points—double the points of the second placed Capilano Blues. They play this Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p-m. in Victoria against the Camosun Chargers. The women’s volley- ball team lost in their back- to-back games against the Mariners at 3-0 apiece, this past weekend. They are sixth in the standings with Calgary Stampeders will be taking on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Being a contender for first in the West doesn’t usually have a quarterback controversy underneath it, but such is the case in Calgary, who could start either Drew Tate or Kevin Glenn and have success. Having the best offense in the west will help against the Roughriders, who have the second-best defense in the league. Calgary’s defense is no pushover either at third in the league. The key for Calgary will be not allowing the big play. Saskatchewan’s whole plan of attack revolves around running Kory Sheets into the ground and throwing screens to 10-yard passes. It’s a gimmick that is effective and hard to stop, but if you can get in quarterback Darian Durant’s head, you can dictate what he does. Calgary will also have to own the time of a 2-6 record and 4 points. They face the Chargers on Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday at 1 p.m. The men’s basketball team started their season off with a revamped team that has some big holes to fill as they recently lost their two leading scorers from last year; Ravi Athwal and Harmeet Mahal who both offered a combined 38-point average. The new team features only three return- ing athletes and eight local high school players. The Royals will have a lot of work to do this season as they lost their first game of the year, this past Friday, 93-61 against the Langara Falcons. This Friday they will face off against the VIU Mariners in New possession clock. With Jon Cornish coming off one of the greatest seasons for a Canadian, running him effectively to keep your defense off the field will be substantial for your defense to keep fresh. Saskatchewan’s defense will have its hands full. Playing too aggressive on Cornish will open up downfield for guys like Romby Bryant and Nik Lewis, but playing man coverage will open holes on the line. Saskatchewan will need to try and confuse Glenn by throw- ing zone blitzes at him and giving him different looks. Disciplined play on the defense, and a methodical offense give the Roughriders the best chance to win, but too many mistakes and the Stampeders could blow right by them. Westminster campus at 8 p.m. The Royals will also face the Camosun Chargers on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Douglas. The women’s bas- ketball team is coming into their second year under Head Coach Curtis Nelson, and will look to improve after a year of fin- ishing in eighth place and not qualifying for the play- offs. The young team will look to veterans Ainsleigh Mensah, Patti Olsen, and Amonda Francis for lead- ership and guidance. The Royals lost their first game of the season 60-46 against the Langara Falcons last Friday. They host the Mariners this Friday at 6 p.m. and the Chargers on Saturday at 1 p.m.