They know it's a long shot. Coming into Hamilton this week, Winnipeg needed to win the final three games of the regular season, while hoping either Montreal or Toronto falter. With a 29-22 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday accomplished, they will next face Calgary and then B.C.

``We take care of our business and other people help us out, we can host a game,'' said Winnipeg quarterback Kevin Glenn, who threw for three touchdowns in the win.

Winnipeg (8-8) is still in third spot in the East, but one win behind Montreal and two behind Toronto.

``We're one-third of the way there,'' said head coach Doug Berry. ``We can't control what the other teams are doing. All we, at this point, control is what we're doing. We've accomplished the first phase, now we've got to get to the next phase.''

Derick Armstrong, Kwame Cavil and Charles Roberts had Winnipeg's touchdowns.

Brock Ralph and D.J. Flick had Hamilton's touchdowns before a crowd of 24,955 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in the team's final home game of the season.

Winnipeg kicker Troy Westwood added an 11-yard field goal, while Hamilton kicker Jamie Boreham connected from 15 and 34 yards out.

Glenn completed 24 of 35 pass attempts for 325 yards and three touchdowns in a game which the Bombers seemed to be controlling until the late third quarter. That's when Hamilton sent in third-string quarterback Richie Williams, whose 20-yard scramble on his first play from scrimmage helped set up a field goal, and who hit Flick with a 48-yard touchdown strike to end the quarter with Hamilton suddenly up 22-17.

But Glenn engineered a seven-play, 61-yard scoring drive in the fourth that ended with a 14-yard shovel pass to Roberts for the touchdown. Glenn then hit Armstrong for the two-point convert and a 25-22 lead.

``I think that was a sign of character,'' said Glenn, who steered the offence without Milt Stegall as a target. ``That shows out offence is growing.''

Stegall, ranked second in the league in pass receiving with 1,194 yards, was a scratch for the game due to a knee injury.

Winnipeg defensive end Ron Warner later tackled Hamilton QB Williams in the end zone for a safety to make it 27-22. Then with less than three minutes left, Ticats punter Pat Fleming conceded a safety for the 29-22 score.

Coach Berry said that he wasn't happy with his team's play in the second and third quarters of the game _ especially after scoring two touchdowns in the first. But he was thrilled with the comeback.

``I thought we were really on fire to begin with and then we let ourselves get into that lackadaisical mode, not full concentration,'' he said. ``But I couldn't be more excited about us playing the level we played in the fourth quarter.''

Backup Kevin Eakin got the start for Hamilton (4-13), which was already eliminated from post-season contention, and completed eight of 18 pass attempts for one touchdown. The Ticats had planned to use their final two regular-season games to evaluate Eakin and Williams, who completed two of six pass attempts for 46 yards and one touchdown. Jason Maas finished his first season as Hamilton's starter with a 61.6 per cent completion average and 3,204 yards, but had just eight touchdowns compared to a league-leading 17 interceptions.

Greg Marshall early in the season, was blunt during the post-game news conference.

``I got one more game and I'm done,'' he said. ``You can ask all the questions you want, it'll come back to the same thing. The game's not very complicated. You gotta block 'em. You gotta tackle 'em and you gotta catch passes. And we didn't do any.''

Winnipeg began the game with a four-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Glenn hitting Armstrong with a 26-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes in. Two possessions later, the Ticats tied it when Eakin found Ralph on a six-yard touchdown pass, capping a 73-yard march that included runs of 23 and 18 yards by Jesse Lumsden.

But Winnipeg countered immediately with Glenn's 72-yard touchdown pass to Cavil, a former Ticat, who was alone on the left sideline for a 14-7 lead.

Westwood and Boreham traded short field goals in the second, with Westwood also conceding a safety as Winnipeg took a 17-12 half-time lead.

Glenn left briefly midway through the third after being shaken up on a play and backup Brad Banks came in. But Glenn returned on the next possession.

Hamilton also changed quarterbacks, with Williams coming in with 3:25 remaining and engineering 10 points before the end of the quarter.

NOTES _Hamilton is looking for a new Pigskin Pete. The chosen one will lead the Ivor Wynne Stadium crowd in the legendary ``Oskee-Wee-Wee'' chant. The Ticats' final home game against Winnipeg was also the last for Paul Weiler, who has worn the bowler cap and led the cheer for 31 years