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But coach Marc Trestman had a decision to make. He had to think about today, tomorrow, next month and next year. He chose not to dress Carter on Monday night. And he chose not to play him next Saturday against the Ticats. And it’s possible the Argos will be 3-8 by next week, three games behind the Tiger-Cats, with seven games to go by the time Carter arrives in Double Blue.

It’s not a lot of time left. And there’s not a lot to be hopeful or optimistic about. Maybe DeVier Posey will come back from the NFL, where he has been cut by the Baltimore Ravens. And maybe Carter will be ready in a few weeks to be on his best behavior. And maybe the Argos will have a dangerous receiving corps for the remainder of the season.

It’s a whole lot of maybes for the football team from here on out.

And the soccer team, man, what a disgrace they have been in this season without playoffs. MLSE decided when Tim Leiweke came in that they would fix their soccer problem by spending money. So they spent and spent and spent some more. And they got the best MLS team money could buy and won and lost a championship with that team.

This season, the money was as wasted as the Blue Jays season seems to be, and that’s with a baseball payroll of more than $160 million.

The salary-capped Argos can’t play that game. They have to work within the rules. And when ancient Ray went down, probably for his career, they had figure out what to do and figure it out fast. On the road, the Argos scored enough to win on Labour Day. Trouble was, they gave up 42 points. The score in the fourth quarter Monday: Hamilton 18, Toronto 0. That’s about as definitive an ending as you can get.

The hope of this sporting city now shifts to training camps that open soon, the Maple Leafs with John Tavares, the Raptors with Kawhi Leonard: Seasons upcoming where anything seems possible, and anything can be the stuff of dreams.

The Argos had that dream ending in the snow last November. The championship for TFC wasn’t so much dream but an expression of the obvious.

Both those titles, now, seems so very long ago.