What to know for the new CFL season

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A new season of Canadian football kicks off tonight with the B.C. Lions visiting the Calgary Stampeders, followed by three more games through the end of the weekend. Here are some basics to know as the journey to the 110th Grey Cup game gets started:

Winnipeg is favoured to recapture the Grey Cup.

Last year, the Blue Bombers seemed destined for the CFL's first championship threepeat since Warren Moon's Edmonton teams captured five in a row from 1978-82. Winnipeg opened the season with nine straight wins before ending up with a league-best 15-3 record and defeating B.C. in the West final. But they couldn't finish the job, losing the Grey Cup game 24-23 after the underdog Toronto Argonauts blocked a field goal in the final minute.

So, the Bombers have "unfinished business" as star linebacker Adam Bighill put it when he signed a two-year extension. Quarterback Zach Collaros also re-upped last fall after throwing a league-high 37 touchdown passes and winning his second consecutive CFL Most Outstanding Player award. He can become the first to take three in a row since Doug Flutie reeled off four straight in the early '90s. Winnipeg is once again the betting favourite to hoist the Grey Cup, with the odds implying Toronto, B.C., Hamilton and Calgary also have a decent shot.

Toronto's repeat hopes may hinge on a new QB.

They say defence wins championships. And, indeed, the key to the Argos' success last year was a ball-hawking D that led the CFL with 48 takeaways during the regular season and intercepted two passes in the Grey Cup win over Winnipeg.

Canadian linebacker Henoc