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Countdown to kickoff: 2013 Grey Cup game-day notes

ian denomme

The 101st Grey Cup kicks off in less than an hour in Regina. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are trying to win the Grey Cup for the first time since 1999 while the Saskatchewan Roughriders are trying to win in front of their home fans.

Here are some noteworthy items as kickoff approaches.

--The weather: The temperature at kickoff is expected to be 0C with the winds making it feel like -7. That’s a considerable improvement from the frigid weather earlier in the week. By the second half, when the sun goes down, it could feel like -11.

Here’s a look at how the weather conditions could affect the game:

--Tickets: Since Wednesday, ticket prices have dropped 15-25 percent, according to data from SeatGeek provided to Yahoo Sports. As of Saturday night, the cheapest ticket on the resale market was $200. Perhaps due to the lack accommodations in Regina, the resale market has been slower than expected.

--Meeting No. 7: This is the seventh time teams from Hamilton and Regina have met in a Grey Cup game. The Ticats and Riders faced off in 1967, 1972 and 1989 – a game some call the greatest Grey Cup ever. The Regina Roughriders and Hamilton Tigers played in 1928, 1929 and 1932. Hamilton teams are 5-1.

--Back-to-back Grey Cups: Three Tiger-Cats players (Brian Bulcke, Evan McCollough, Brandon Isaac) and Saskatchewan’s Ricky Foley played in the 2012 Grey Cup. Foley has a chance to win, at home, for the second year in a row.

--Golden years QB: If the Tiger-Cats win quarterback Henry Burris would become the second oldest Grey Cup winning QB. Burris is 38 years, 154 days and would trail only Damon Allen who won in 2004 at 41 years, 116 days.

--Regina’s third Grey Cup: This is the third Grey Cup to be held in Regina. The first was in 1995 when Baltimore beat Calgary 37-20, the only time an American team won the Grey Cup. The second was in 2003 when Edmonton beat Montreal 34-22. The Roughriders could become the third consecutive team to win the Grey Cup at home. The Lions won in Vancouver in 2011, the Argonauts won in Toronto in 2012.