CFL Western Conference Final!
Saskatchewan Roughrider kicker Warren Kean has a pair of galoshes to slip over his shoes, while Calgary counterpart Rob Maver plans to hover by the sideline heaters.
In a game where the football will become hard to catch and hang onto, the kicking game will be key in Sunday's CFL Western final between the Stampeders and Saskatchewan.
You can see the game on TSN and TSN.ca beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt.
Sunday's forecast for Calgary is for a high of minus-15 and scattered flurries. Expect temperatures to drop as the game progresses.
The combination of frozen fingers, a cold ball and nervousness over the high stakes of this game, which is a trip to next week's Grey Cup, will make scoring drives hard to sustain. Enter the kickers, who need to stay warm and loose on the sidelines and then perform on demand.
It's in the realm of possibilities that the West's representative in the CFL championship game will be decided by a field goal.
"If it's for the game-winner so be it," Kean said. "I'd value that opportunity. They are highlight reel.
"Every kick is an opportunity to contribute. Especially in games like that in weather like this, who knows what is going to happen?"
The cold conditions also pose challenges for the kickers.
"The ball is not going to come off your foot normally as it would," Maver explained. "When it's warmer, the ball compresses more and has more give to it and bounces off your foot accordingly.
"Certain things like trajectory and distance are going to be compromised in this weather because of the density of the ball and the air. The ball travels better in warmer air than cold air with snow falling down."
Neither Maver nor Kean feel the need for extra warm-up kicks into the practice net Sunday before heading out onto the field. In fact, both say they'd rather save their legs for the real thing.
Saskatchewan Roughrider kicker Warren Kean has a pair of galoshes to slip over his shoes, while Calgary counterpart Rob Maver plans to hover by the sideline heaters.
In a game where the football will become hard to catch and hang onto, the kicking game will be key in Sunday's CFL Western final between the Stampeders and Saskatchewan.
You can see the game on TSN and TSN.ca beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt.
Sunday's forecast for Calgary is for a high of minus-15 and scattered flurries. Expect temperatures to drop as the game progresses.
The combination of frozen fingers, a cold ball and nervousness over the high stakes of this game, which is a trip to next week's Grey Cup, will make scoring drives hard to sustain. Enter the kickers, who need to stay warm and loose on the sidelines and then perform on demand.
It's in the realm of possibilities that the West's representative in the CFL championship game will be decided by a field goal.
"If it's for the game-winner so be it," Kean said. "I'd value that opportunity. They are highlight reel.
"Every kick is an opportunity to contribute. Especially in games like that in weather like this, who knows what is going to happen?"
The cold conditions also pose challenges for the kickers.
"The ball is not going to come off your foot normally as it would," Maver explained. "When it's warmer, the ball compresses more and has more give to it and bounces off your foot accordingly.
"Certain things like trajectory and distance are going to be compromised in this weather because of the density of the ball and the air. The ball travels better in warmer air than cold air with snow falling down."
Neither Maver nor Kean feel the need for extra warm-up kicks into the practice net Sunday before heading out onto the field. In fact, both say they'd rather save their legs for the real thing.
