The NFL season is poised to kick off soon – in fact, the first games may well have been played by the time you read this – but our neighbors to the north have already seen their league’s season pass the halfway mark.

The CFL’s regular season runs 21 weeks to allow each team three bye weeks; this past weekend marked 12 of those weeks in the books; we’re a little over halfway home. Initially, this piece was going to run last week, following Week 11, but considering how much football we already had – the NFL preview, Rich Kimball’s UMaine Black Bears preview – we thought it worthwhile to wait a week before checking in on the CFL.

Even with that extra week in play, this still gives us an opportunity to take a look at how the CFL season is progressing before the NFL and college football settle in to dominate the rest of the 2019 pigskin conversation.

Here’s a check on the progress of the nine CFL squads; please note that due to the schedule’s placement of bye weeks, different teams have played different numbers of games thus far.

(x = playoff team as of Week 12’s completion)

It’s June. The sports landscape is in flux. Baseball is in full flower, but both the NBA and NHL have just crowned their champions, bringing their respective seasons to a conclusion. And while the NFL is a year-round sport in many ways, we’re definitely in the league’s largest lull right now.

But all is not lost! There’s football being played! And not just Women’s World Cup football … although it is an international game.

The CFL’s season kicks off on June 13, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats playing host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. All told, each team plays 18 games in 21 weeks; the whole thing wraps up with the 107th Grey Cup, to be played in November at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

The Canadian game has its quirks and differences from what we see on Sundays in this country, but it’s those quirks and differences that make it fun to watch. It’s a fast-paced, wide-open game that offers plenty of action and excitement.

And if you’ve ever considered that you’d like to give the CFL a try, but can’t seem to find the games to watch, fear not: a new broadcast agreement means that ESPN and ESPN+ will be making every single league game of the season available on one platform or another. No more barriers to entry – just settle in and get your football fix.

Here’s a quick look ahead to the 2019 CFL season.

We’re basically halfway through an NFL season that has had some great moments and more than a few not-so-great ones. While it has been fun, we’re still weeks away from games that have any sort of real implications with regards to the postseason.

However, in the league’s neighbor to the north, the playoffs are upon us.

The CFL postseason is set to begin, with six teams vying for the right to hoist aloft the Grey Cup. This year’s championship game – the 105th in the league’s history – is set to take place on Nov. 25 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

So who’s going to win?

We’re basically halfway through an NFL season that has been weird and unpredictable (in a not-great way) and ultimately not all that interesting. We’re still weeks away from games that have any sort of real implications with regards to the postseason.

However, in the league’s neighbor to the north, the playoffs are upon us.

The CFL postseason is set to begin, with six teams vying for the right to hoist aloft the Grey Cup. This year’s championship game – the 105th in the league’s history – is set to take place on Nov. 26 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.

So who’s going to win?

While the NFL season is poised to kick off soon – keep an eye out for The Maine Edge’s annual NFL preview from yours truly next week – the gridiron of the Great White North actually just passed the halfway point of its season.

Looking ahead to the Canadian Football League season.

Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga picked by Edmonton Eskimos

Calgary, Ottawa face off for CFL championship

Previewing the CFL playoffs

MONTREAL I'm not sure just when I decided that my first in-person professional football game experience was going to be a CFL matchup.