Watch Hamilton Tiger-Cats Vs. Montreal Alouettes Live Online: Canadian Thursday Night Football
The first NFL Thursday night game won’t come until September 10, but fans can watch Thursday Night Football, Canadian style, live online tonight, July 16, when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats come off an early-season bye-week to face the Montreal Alouettes in Montreal — where the Hamilton has not won a game in 13 years.
But with Montreal struggling in the early going of the 2015 Canadian Football League season, and showing signs of a dysfunctional locker room as well, Thursday’s showdown could be the TiCats chance to notch their first road win over the Alouettes in their last 18 tries.
To find out how to watch the Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Montreal Alouettes Thursday Night Canadian Football League matchup live online, see the streaming link in the final paragraph of this article. Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the 25,000-seat Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
The Alouettes stagger into the game at 1-2, amid rumors of tension in the locker room — and at the center of those rumors is defensive back Michael Sam, who has yet to suit up for a game and is not expected to be in action Thursday either.
The problem has nothing to do with the fact that Sam is the first openly gay pro football player in either the CFL or NFL, and everything to do with his superstar-level $100,000 contract, which he continues to collect despite skipping out on training camp in the preseason for two weeks for reasons that remain mysterious, and then after being welcomed back by the Montreal organization no questions asked, being unable to get into playing shape in time for the season.
In fact, Sam is expected to miss the first six games — or one-third of the 18-game CFL schedule — while still collecting on his contract, a hefty one for a league in which most players are paid in the low-to-mid five figures.
“I truly believe he didn’t come here in the best football shape,” said Montreal Coach Tom Higgins. “I truly believe he didn’t understand what it takes to play in the CFL. You have to be able to run. He feels he’s too heavy. He’ll have to watch his diet, work hard and see if he can bring his weight down.”
The Canadian brand of football relies far more on speed and stamina than the NFL game. In the CFL, the field is 10 yards longer — plus each end zone is also an extra 10 yards deep — and 11.5 yards wider. Receivers are allowed to start moving before the ball is snapped, and the defense must line up one-yard back from the line of scrimmage.
But the Alouettes have other problems as well, including promising but mistake-prone rookie quarterback Rakeem Cato, a 23-year-old out of Marshall University who is still getting his feet wet in the CFL. Cato started the season Number Three on the Alouettes depth chart, but was pressed into action by injuries and will make his third CFL start on Thursday.
Can the Tiger-Cats finally win one on the road against the Alouettes? Or will Montreal even their 2015 CFL record at 2-2 by sending Hamilton home hurting once again? To find out, watch live on ESPN3, the online-only service of ESPN, which will stream the Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Montreal Alouettes Canadian Football League Thursday Night game live online at this link. ESPN3 is free to subscribers of most major internet service providers and many minor ISPs as well. For a full list, check this link.
[Image: Claus Andersen/Getty Images]
