Five reasons why the CFL East semifinal could produce something strange

If you look at recent history, Sunday's CFL East semifinal should contain more thrills, chills and fireworks than an Ed Hervey press conference.

After all, the last time the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats met the game went down to final seconds. That was two weeks ago when the Ticats, having already cut into a big Montreal lead, scored on Brandon Banks' 107-yard missed field goal return to win 27-24.

Go back three years to the last time these two met in a playoff game and you'll find one of the most thrilling football games ever played. That East semifinal produced a league playoff record 96 points and ended with Hamilton upsetting the Alouettes 52-44 in overtime -- with the teams scoring 38 points in a wild fourth quarter.

But that was then and this is now. There are so many oddities in this game that just about anything could happen -- even more than in your average CFL contest. Here's a sampling of the strange things that could portend eerie possibilities:

The Terror of Tiny Towns: Guelph, the city the Ticats have called home since Ivor Wynne Stadium was levelled to make way for something less crumbling, is the smallest city to host a CFL playoff game since Sarnia, Ont., way back in 1935. Attendance records aren't clear, but even though only 500 of the 13,000 tickets were left unsold on Friday and a sellout is expected the game will probably be the least-attended in almost 80 years. Add in the fact that Sarnia's opponent in 1935 came from Hamilton and things get even more interesting. This also marks the first CFL post-season game ever held in a city that ends in ``uelph."

Six Degrees of Bart Andrus: Many may remember Andrus as the former Toronto Argonauts head coach who, even after 18 weeks of coaching, claimed that the biggest difference between Canadian and American football was that ``in Canada, you can punt on any down." But Andrus has left a legacy and it will be on display Sunday as five of his former players will be on the field. Hamilton defensive back Dee Webb played under Andrus in Toronto while third-string Ticat quarterback Jeremiah Masoli played for him with the defunct Omaha Knighthawks of the defunct United Football League. Alouettes linked forever to Andrus include quarterback Troy Smith (Omaha) and two former Argo all-stars that Andrus got rid of: Arland Bruce and Byron Parker.

The Shadow of Ryan Dinwiddie: Smith will be the most unseasoned quarterback to start a CFL playoff game since Ryan Dinwiddie made his starting debut in the 2007 Grey Cup game. Smith has a world of experience by comparison -- three starts -- but turning to a guy who was working as a university coach in August isn't exactly business as usual. Though he has shown some promise in his first CFL season Smith might be a little concerned about Dinwiddie's fate: he gave up a Grey Cup record three interceptions in losing to Saskatchewan.

Fear the checkerboard: No CFL playoff game has ever been played on a field with a red-and-black checkerboard end zone. No one, absolutely no one, knows what that might portend.

The rain in Ontario falls mainly on Guelph: The weather forecast is calling for a 40 per cent chance of rain, which everybody on the Ticats knows means a biblical downpour with a strong possibility of animals entering two-by-two. So much rain has fallen on the royal city during football games this year there are mushrooms growing on the scoreboard. Lifeguards will be on duty.