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The follow-up inquiry would not have been necessary if the league and the team could get their stories straight. It shouldn’t be that difficult, should it?

• Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press had a forehead-slapper of a stat in a recent column. Wiecek noted that the Calgary Stampeders’ Bo Levi Mitchell has quarterbacked his team to the same number of victories (five) at Investors Group Field as Drew Willy, who has been demoted as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ starter in favour of Matt Nichols.

• Spotted after Roughriders practice on Tuesday: Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant signing autographs and chatting amicably with a group of fans. In how many other leagues are the marquee players so accessible and cordial?

• For the record, all four of my Roughriders predictions this season have been wrong. It was much easier to forecast the results in 2015, trust me. In any event, let’s try again. On Friday, the Roughriders will defeat the host Montreal Alouettes 23-10. The Jones-led Saskatchewan defence is due for a breakout game and the Montreal offence is struggling.

• Much was made of the Roughriders’ horrors in third-and-short situations, but they have found an effective remedy. After going 2-for-6 on third-and-short over the first two games, the Green and White has not faced one such situation over its last two contests.

• On Saturday, the Edmonton Eskimos somehow squandered a 31-6 third-quarter lead and lost 37-31 to the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Roughriders fans will be endlessly grateful that Hamilton did not rally from the 31-6 deficit it faced in the 2013 Grey Cup game, which was played on Taylor Field.