Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

Hamilton officially became Whoville on Monday morning, the day after another heart-breaking moment on the local sports scene.

These people should be crushed, right?

First, Jim Balsillie took them for a ride all winter, promising an NHL hockey team that he was never going to be able to deliver. Then the football team hosts a playoff game for the first time in eight years, stages a heroic comeback in the final seconds, but then blows it in OT.

And the difference maker on the other side? B.C. Lions QB Casey Printers, who never looked half this good when he wore the black and gold in Hamilton for the past two seasons. Ouch!

But like the Grinch, we cup our hand to our ear and hear — for the most part — a happy tune emanating from Steeltown.

“I was very, very happy for our fan base and our city to have something to get excited about this week,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said. “You could feel it in the city.”

“Changing the culture, changing the tradition, and going back to the old-school Hamilton teams,” centre Marwan Hage said. “I don’t feel lousy.”

Not that it matters. Montreal wins by 25 points on Sunday, regardless of opponent.

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BELLEFEUILLE BRAIN CRAMP:

We never understand what happens inside the head of a football coach when the biggest game of the season comes along, and the offensive weapon that got his team to this point falls out of the coach’s game plan.

Here is the reason that Hamilton choked at home Sunday: after racking up 1,759 combined yards during the season for the Ticats, DeAndra’ Cobb had eight touches — seven carries for 34 yards, and one lousy catch.

A week ago, Edmonton’s Arkee Whitlock lit up the Lions defence on the ground. Ran through ‘em like a hot knife through butter.

And Cobb gets just seven rushes? C’mon.

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KICKIN’ KAMAU:

It’s likely not fair to boil a close playoff loss down to one play. But who said life is fair?

Kamau Petersen’s holding call late in the West semi-final was the tipping point for an Eskimos team that isn’t as good as the Calgary Stampeders, but was hanging around, hanging around, in position to get a break and pull off the upset.

The Eskimos just missed on a couple of long passes, and two big replay decisions that could have gone either way both went to Calgary. Both would have stationed Edmonton well within field goal range, in a game the Eskimos lost by three points.

But still, with 4:40 to play, Edmonton was on Calgary’s 47, down by three points, and in position to maybe just win a playoff game.

Whitlock runs for five yards on first down, but instead of second-and-five from the 42, Peterson’s hold makes it first-and 20, outside of field-goal range. It was the most blatant hold imaginable, a selfish, stupid play that even a CFL official couldn’t miss.

Edmonton never again saw field-goal range, and is packing up the gear today.

In the end, the CFL is well served by a Calgary-Saskatchewan West final. They were by far the two best teams out West, and ensure a fantastic week at Grey Cup in Calgary — no matter who prevails.

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THANKS HANK:

For those of us who mused that losing Daniel Sedin was actually like the Vancouver Canucks losing two players, here’s an apology to brother Henrik. He has 17 points in 17 games since Daniel went down.

Securing the twins two-three in the first round of the ’99 draft will go down as Brian Burke’s finest hour. Until he takes the Leafs to the Promised Land, of course.

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A BAD TEAM:

Why do folks in Edmonton enjoy the Toronto Maple Leafs travails so much?

Because if it weren’t for the Leafs, the Oilers would be the worst team in the country.

They’ve had injury and sickness problems up there with anyone in the league, for sure. But this roster couldn’t spell C-O-M-P-E-T-E if you spotted it the first five letters.

The Oilers had three days off, and blew a lead Sunday to an Atlanta club playing its third game in four days. Edmonton lost, 3-2.

“We got the lead, and we have to be able to finish a team off ... we have to be a lot hungrier,” Shawn Horcoff said.

How long have you been hearing that one, Oil fan? Pat Quinn is getting sick of it already, with his team a quarter of the way through the season and on pace for just 72 points.

“We (have) a lot of nights where we're saying if, and, but and when,” Quinn said.

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TIT FOR STAT:

Here is a stat for those who subscribe to the school of thought that says when a player is injured, the opposing player who caused the injury should sit out as long as the injured player is on the shelf.

Sheldon Souray returned for Edmonton Sunday after missing 16 games with a concussion, a result of Jarome Iginla’s stick sending him head-first into the boards on Oct. 8. During that span, Iginla had 10 goals and 15 points for Calgary.

The Flames scored 42 goals during that span. How many fewer points in the standings would Calgary have earned if it had only scored 32? Or 27, counting Iginla’s assists?