Labour Day is a great holiday, the turn from summer into fall means that hockey season is only just around the corner. Before we get to the gladiators of the ice rink, there’s plenty of sport to both attend and watch this Labour Day weekend.
For those of you who like to have a bet on the sporting action, and let’s be honest, you’re in the wrong place if you don’t, then check out our best betting sites in Canada to get yourself set up for the weekend ahead.
If you are unlucky enough to be dragged away from the sporting action this Labour Day weekend by your loved ones then you can always check in on your phone and try a few free spins to see if you can get something out of the day stuck shopping with your wife and kids!
Whatever you are doing this Labour Day weekend, we hope you do it safely and most of all have a great one! Let’s break down what is coming up this weekend that you can both watch and attend if you so wish and have a little bit of an interest on with the bookmakers to boot.
Always a Labour Day weekend treat, the season heads towards the business end as the calendar flips over into September and fall is in the air. Four games are spread over the three days for those looking to get their football fix this Labour Day weekend.
Two teams in second place in their respective divisions heading into the game on Saturday, although neither of them has much of a chance of catching the leader. There have been glimpses of quality from both sides this season.
When they met in Vancouver in week 5, the Lions ran out 35-19 winners with their defence sacking Cody Fajardo seven times. Montreal’s offensive line is going to have to prove much stronger this time to prevent a repeat but being at home might help make the difference with the Lions 3-3 on the road and 1-2 against the East Division.
The Blue Bombers head into Labour Weekend knowing that a win here will secure them a playoff spot for another year. They play the Sunday game against a Roughriders side who have been fairly solid on their home soil this season but less good on the road.
They met at the Mosaic Stadium in week 2, the Blue Bombers coming away with the victory on that occasion 45-27 having only been up by seven points heading into the final quarter. The home team are capable of a shock, especially when their visitors know what is on the line but the Bombers will be short-priced favourites to get the job done.
The first of two games that make up the Labour Day Classic. Just a single loss on the season so far for the Argonauts heading into Hamilton for Monday’s game. The Tiger-Cats have been awful on their home soil this season, winning just a single game so the last team that they will want to see at this stage are the Argos.
If Montreal gets the job done on Saturday and Hamilton loses here, their chance of finishing second in the East Division will be all but gone. The team talk will no doubt be of playing for pride in the jersey but the Argos will smell blood in the water.
The Elks have finally put some wins on the board in recent weeks and could be visiting Calgary at a good time. The Stampeders only have three wins this season, just one more than Edmonton which adds a little more spice to the battle of Alberta to see who will finish bottom of the West Division.
Both of the Elks’ wins have come over Eastern opponents this season but there is no better time for them to gain their first win over an opponent from the West Division. Calgary were tied after three quarters with Toronto last week so they will take heart from that in a must-win game.
MLS action this Labour Day weekend will see a single game featuring a Canadian team on home soil. Toronto plays against Philadelphia Union on Thursday so is too early to get into this piece but Vancouver visits New York City straight after Montreal who heads to the Big Apple on Thursday.
The last two sides to play Toronto FC match off against one another at Stade Saputo on Saturday. Montreal beat them 3-2 at home while Columbus beat them 2-0 in Ohio. Seven points separate the sides at present with the Crew sat 5th and Montreal 8th in the Eastern Conference.
Their respective records at home and away would suggest that the game being in Canada means it’s an advantage to Montreal. So far this season on their own patch they are 9-3-0 while the Crew are a moderate 2-6-3 when they have been on their travels.
This is the first time that they have met this season, their other clash will be the final game of the season on October 21. Given the home team record in Ohio, Montreal will not want to leave it that late to book their playoff spot, a win on Labour Day weekend will be a big help to their claims.
A trip to Yankee Stadium is on the cards on Saturday for the Whitecaps as they look to climb the standings of the Western Conference. They sit 7th at the time of writing but they are only three points behind 3rd so are well in the mix for a high position once the playoffs come around.
New York City has endured a poor time of things in the East this season, just two teams below them which of course includes the hapless Toronto franchise. The other is Inter Miami who is starting to turn things around, in the cup action at least.
The big issue that Vancouver has had is their record on the road, standing at just 2-5-3. New York City is a team that they should be beating but the fact that it is in the Bronx rather than at BC Place tempers confidence a little in their ability to get a result.
New York is a middle-of-the-road club at Yankee Stadium which will do nothing for the home fans in a city where second best is unacceptable. From the outside looking in, this match has a draw written all over it, we just hope that it is one with a few goals and not a 0-0 snoozefest.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays are on the road this Labour Day weekend, visiting the Colorado Rockies. This one is going to have to be a cookout and drink a beer with friends in front of the TV job rather than going to the ballpark.
That said, it is a great opportunity for the Jays to put some wins on the board, heading into Oakland after that to take on an Athletics team who have been treated so poorly by their owners. Things might not always be perfect in Toronto and certainly watching the team from afar the other year was far from perfect but every team’s fans should be thankful that they aren’t in Oakland.
Expected starters over the weekend are Hyun Jin Ryu, Yusie Kikuchi and Kevin Gausman. Ryu is well versed in the demands of playing at Coors Field, a long-time Dodger, he has not enjoyed his previous visits to the mile-high city. Six games have yielded a 1-4 record with an ERA above 7.
Woodbine is in action at present with action all weekend from Friday through to Monday. Post time is 1.05 pm on all four days so the action comes up nice and early allowing the evening to be enjoyed elsewhere.
It is free entry so the price is right and you might be able to come out with more money than you came in with which is always a plus any day! If you have not been horse racing before but would like to give the sport a try over Labour Day weekend then give our guide on mastering bets on horse races a look.
Mark Casse and Kevin Attard dominate the trainer standings so far in 2023 which is no surprise as they were the top two in 2022. They have a lot of runners but the quality of horses that they have at this level means that they still have an excellent percentage of runners making it into the money.
On the jockey front, Kazushi Kimura continues to ride Woodbine better than anyone for many years. Back in 2018 he was the champion apprentice in Canada, riding 152 winners during 2022 at Woodbine and has already got 74 on the board this year with the fall campaign still to come.
Canada’s own Emma-Jayne Wilson is having another excellent year, with 49 winners to her credit at the time of writing with the half-century surely only a matter of time over the course of this weekend.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup hits the second round this weekend with Team Canada boasting a perfect 3-0 record at the end of their opening group stage. Wins over France 95-65, Lebanon 128-73 and Latvia 101-75 have not seen the team get out of second gear.
Friday night should see Team Canada make it a perfect 4-0 at the tournament with the records from the opening round being carried forward into this second group stage. Brazil had wins over Iran and the Ivory Coast in their group but came up a little short when taking on Spain.
There was no disgrace in that defeat to the Spanish given they are a much stronger team. In front after the first quarter, they entered the final quarter only down 59-64 but they fell apart late on to go under by 78 points to 96, giving up 32 in the last frame.
This is the big one in the second round, played on Sunday against the defending champions. Spain has unsurprisingly found the group stages similarly easy to Canada and advanced with designs on going much further in the competition than just the second round of groups.
They had to work a little harder against Brazil than most people would have expected which will give Canada plenty of hope that they are going to be there for the taking. It would be a big scalp on the way to the quarter-final stage and should give Canada plenty of confidence as they enter the knockout stages if they can go through with a perfect 5-0 record.
There is plenty of sport to enjoy over the Labour Day weekend featuring teams from across Canada. It will all be accessible on TV so you can grab a beer and a burger and watch at home or venture out to one of the venues and view it in person.
Nothing beats watching sports live right in front of you; the atmosphere is just something else, even at a minor level. Get out there and perhaps try something new, you never know, you might find a sport that you enjoy more than you ever thought you would.
Whatever the plans are for this Labour Day weekend, we hope you enjoy and while we know that nothing compares to the NHL, we will get hockey back really soon with the first games of the pre-season coming up on September 22 so less than a month from now.
No matter who you are rooting for, there is no place better to watch hockey than live at a rink in Canada. We can’t wait to see the ice being laid down again so that we can get our hopes up unnaturally high. That is what sport is all about, sit back and just enjoy!
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