Greg takes home $63 for his first place finish. Finishing in second was the Davin Bull Dogs, coached by Brent Gessner, who receives $18 in prize money. Leaping into third in the final week was Kerri’s Kool Kats, holding off Playoff Picks and PlayoffJunkie. Kool Kats coach Kerri Hysuick takes home $9.

Account balances are up to date. Winners can contact me about paying out prize money. Overtime Central congratulates all the winners and thanks all participants. See you next year!

2006 CFL Grey Cup Quarter Scores

For all those that need to check Grey Cup pool tickets, here are the quarter scores for the 2006 Grey Cup between the Alouettes (East) and the Lions (West).

2006 Grey Cup Review – Montreal vs. B.C.

A lacklustre CFL season was capped off with an unspectacular Grey Cup, with only two touchdowns scored by both teams combined. The game was close late, however, with Montreal almost scoring a touchdown with just over 4 minutes left which would have pulled them within 6 points.

Week Coverage and Pre-Game Shows

Typical coverage was provided all week, but perhaps due to no big storyline in the match up and the excitement drop in games this season, there was no substantial coverage until the end of the week. The CBC‘s Saturday coverage returned to the basics of years past, a little analysis, a replay of last years Grey Cup and the Grey Cup parade. The replay was handled fairly well, with an edited version airing which did not leave any boring, uneventful sections in the game.

TSN also did a great job in their Saturday night preview show. TSN is positioning itself as the proper rights holder for the CFL and I expect great things from them if they do expand their coverage with all rights to CFL games in 2008. Sunday’s coverage on TSN‘s The Reporters was typical fare, and the Grey Cup got the lead off spot for once. I did not see the TSN preview show Sunday morning believing it was a repeat of Saturday’s. If not, someone please correct me.

CBC started their coverage three hours before game time, which is about right. Some interesting twists to their coverage were appreciated. I did not miss Brian Williams’ annual talk with the commissioner and appreciated Elliotte Friedman as a host. The Rocket Ismail segment was well done, though it could have gone into more detail, especially on his background, his departure, his career in the NFL and his feelings for the CFL for those that did not know any of the story. The on-field explanation of the B.C. attack and the Montreal methods of defending was a first for CBC I believe.

Gill Deacon providing an atmosphere meter from the crowd before the game was new, but needs some work. Gill and news-channel reporters all week constantly questioned individuals why this week is such a big event. Instead of questioning it as if they just arrived from another planet, they should just accept it and move on. I have never seen a reporter at the Super Bowl ask people why they are there. Deacon’s interview with Nelly Furtado would have been best left out, no fault to Deacon. Interviewing the half-time act is weak at best, and unless they have something interesting to say about the CFL, Canada and the like, it should be avoided.

The Game

The game was well covered. The use of 32 cameras really adds to the production values, and it was seamless with none of the technical glitches expected from a CBC broadcast using unfamiliar technology. The CableCam, I thought, was used sparingly, with few instances of it used in motion to reveal something about a play. This may have something to do with the lack of big plays in the game. A few times the CableCam was in the shot of the sideline camera showing the live play. Those people who do not like the score graphics on the screen would have been annoyed with those instances.

Mark Lee and Chris Walby had their best game of the year, with the Walby-isms kept to a minimum. Darren Flutie provided quality information from the sideline, and was used too infrequently.

The game was a defensive battle, with Montreal unable to string multiple plays together in the first half. B.C. had more success moving the ball and had the field position advantage for most of the first half. After a long half-time Montreal came out with a good third quarter to make a game of it and move me closer to the edge of my seat.

The critical play happened in the fourth quarter when on 2nd and goal from the 1 yard line Robert Edwards fumbled after being stuffed in the backfield. Montreal challenged the play but withdrew the challenge before officials could make their way to the video booth. Walby heavily criticized Montreal for not challenging; feeling that the replay showed that Edwards’ knee was done before the ball came out. The replay he was using to claim this, however, had the ball blocked from view by a player when it was coming loose. Other replays showed the ball coming out sooner, but did not have as good a view of the ball carrier’s knee. This inconclusive evidence is why Montreal would have lost the challenge. If it had occurred a minute later, it would have been automatically reviewed and Montreal would not have had to challenge. However, it could be said that Montreal did not need to save its challenge for the one minute remaining before all plays would be reviewed.

Unfortunately, Montreal did not get the ball back until late, and by then needing at least two possessions, they ran out of time. B.C. took the game, finishing off a great year for them.

Post-Game Activities

I did not watch the post game presentations intently and did not even know about the Grey Cup breaking until the next morning. I was not surprised about the Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian awards going to Dave Dickenson and Paul McCallum. For MVP it is hard to find someone else, but Dickenson’s numbers hardly say MVP. I tried to look for a defensive player, but none stood out. However, for sure Ben Cahoon’s performance on Montreal’s side should have earned him Most Valuable Canadian. Eleven receptions for 137 yards to lead all receivers far outweigh McCallum’s record tying six field goals, none of which was a pressure packed game winner.

It cannot be defended as one of the best Grey Cups in history, but I am confident that next year the CFL will return to form with exciting, wide-open play from start to finish.

Do the Tyrannical Two Get a Bad Rap?

Of course, the headline is in jest, but we are talking about the Tom Wright-opponents David Braley and Robert Wetenhall. Tom Wright handled his final Grey Cup with grace and dignity much like his first when he was announced as commissioner at the last minute after objections (reports say) by David Braley.

Stephen Brunt believes all the CFL fans who have villain-ized Braley and Wetenhall over the Wright affair should actually show appreciation to these franchise owners. They have taken losses and kept the CFL alive when no one else was willing to step up for those franchises.

While these pages have been critical of Braley and Wetenhall, I do not overlook their contributions to the CFL. I too believe Braley is very deserving of a successful B.C. Lions franchise and one of those who deserves credit for the survival of the CFL the last 20 years. Also on that list of persons deserving credit are anyone who has had ownership of a CFL franchise in the last 20 years, especially American franchise owners and even Bernie Glieberman. The NFL provided a cash infusion in 1997, without which the CFL likely would not exist. As important have been the fans, who have turned through the turnstiles, bought souvenirs, watched on television and funded both the private and community owned franchises, keeping them from reaching that point of insolvency. I know one person who has added up what he has spent on the CFL the past 15 years and the total comes to over $15,000. That may be nothing to David Braley, but not everyone can be as fortunate as he is, and $15,000 is a nice mortgage payment to anyone across the country I think. I personally wrote a cheque (which was cashed) to the CFL office during one of their ownership forays in Ottawa in the early ’90′s to keep the franchise (and the CFL) going. Fans have bled money plenty on this league as well.

My problem with the way the situation was handled is the shortsightedness of the decision. Much has been made of the fact the CFL has had nine commissioners the last 15 years. Wright was by far the best of them. Braley had a say in keeping or hiring all commissioners from 1996 on, including Wright. If, as Brunt says, Braley was concerned about Wright’s business skills, why not take the effort to split the role, leave Wright as the figurehead face of the league and fans and sponsors identify with and hire the guy you want to drive the revenues at the rate you want? After three years, the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. Little has been said about potential candidates for the position, but I highly doubt anybody can grow revenues at a faster rate than currently, which is growing at a natural rate corresponding to the return of acceptance of the CFL.

Unless the new commissioner’s mandate will be to drive revenue by granting expansion franchises at $5-7.5 million a pop, he will have a very hard time creating the profitable business for Braley to cover his losses the last 10 years. Wetenhall believes that revenue can come from US expansion franchises, but that counts only the money expansion brings in and ignores the lack of growth it provides the CFL. No increase in Canadian TV revenue, no American TV contract, and a reduced share of league dispersments (unless you expect American franchises to not share in the Canadian TV contract).

While private owners do have their private money invested in the team that is no reason to discount the vote of community owned teams. For league issues, if a community team is standing in the way of progress, that is not what their mandate from their fans is. For individual team issues, they need to work together and not force every franchise into the same hole. It is not in the interest of the game and community franchises to try risky efforts to grow the game, like American expansion, just so they can retrieve lost money and exit before the league collapses. This experiment was tried already and we do not need to repeat it unless there is a plan to address the issues with it.

Tom Wright is gone, and the next commissioner may do great things in driving revenue for the league, getting Wetenhall and Braley to that point of profitability they are seeking. If it is slower than they expect, will they resort to driving risky plans, whether expansion or otherwise, to try to achieve those revenues? As trust holders of the great Canadian game and businesspersons, they owe the public strong, detailed plans of their ideas. This will help overcome fan distrust of the two most private owners in the league, who on fleetingly give glimpses to fans of their CFL vision currently.

CFL Notes

The minor rise in Grey Cup ratings in a year where the consensus has been the product was not as exciting as years past and general viewership was done points to a change of attitude around accepting our own game. The average viewership of 3.202 million people was 1% higher than last year. I definitely feel there are fewer people who will avoid the CFL over embarrassment that is Canadian.

Alouettes re-sign players before salary cap deadline.

Stamps sign Boerigter. CFL play should rise with players returning to the league. That is if Calgary can find a quarterback to develop a rapport with Boerigter.

Winnipeg says 2006 Grey Cup a success. The game was a sellout, and all-receipts counted should wipe out the Bomber debt. That should lead to them being profitable next year barring unforeseen circumstances. A debt free team is much more attractive for David Asper to buy a piece to help drive new stadium plans.

The CFL needs to fix the game in the offseason. Luckily the drop off was so abrupt, it cannot be ignored for years like the NHL. I hope to express my thoughts on changes required in an offseason article.

Unlike a normal CFL commissioner search, very few candidates are known, but apparently there is no shortage of them. One leaked candidate is NHL senior VP for broadcasting John Shannon. He is thought to be a frontrunner, though his skills do not match up with what the aforementioned David Braley wants in a new league head.

The CFL should address betting on air to make games more interesting says one scribe. What do you think? Better to keep an arms length or embrace it?

Will Toronto be ready for the Grey Cup return in 2007? Only time will tell now. The game may be a sellout, but the city atmosphere is what they will be judged on.

94th Grey Cup

CBC has sold all the commercial time available for the Grey Cup and will have unprecedented global coverage of Sunday’s game. With one game, the CFL/CBC cannot screw it up and schedule games three hours apart like the Semi-Finals and Finals. The CBC saying it is a CFL decision shows what kind of partnership they have. As a broadcaster, should they not be working with the CFL with explanations that this will provide more and proper coverage? If the CFL was offered eight hours of coverage by scheduling an hour between games would they turn it down?

Strong audience numbers are expected and the production values will be up to par with 32 cameras and a High Definition broadcast. The CableCam returns for the second year and promises a better look at the game from a higher vantage point in Canad Inns Stadium.

The week started slow with the arrival of the teams Tuesday. The coaches’ press conference brought little substance. Very disappointed that there has been very little coverage of the match ups besides the old fallback of Cavillo has to prove he can win big game. Winnipeg has yet to welcome the Grey Cup festivities, leaving some Argo fans to try to liven things up. Perhaps the CFL needs to go to smaller markets less frequently, or does hosting the first make any other just another Grey Cup?

With a partnership with web start-up geosmack, the CFL offers a lame 3D virtual tour of Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg prior to the Grey Cup. The geosmack EarthSkin software requires the Google Earth software. I am sure geosmack EarthSkins have many uses, but I wonder what anyone would get out of viewing a 3D model of the stadium.

Get a position-by-position break down of the Grey Cup finalists before you make your trades in the FSN Future Shop Pick 10 Playoff Edition contest.

The Grey Cup week brings with it lots of league talk and speculation, and the focus this year has been on Danny Barrett rumours and opinions, Eric Tillman, and racism and Roy Shivers. Saskatchewan is not even in the game, can you believe it?

Interesting fact: Montreal kicker Damon Duval married Alouette President Larry Smith’s daughter this spring.

State of the League Address

As expected, very little can be learned from the annual commissioner State of the League address by Tom Wright. Despite the still growing popularity of the game (increased attendance, increased Alouette numbers on RDS, increased sponsorships, outdrawing TV competition) the private owners seem bent on destroying the league in efforts to get a big windfall. Rumours that David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski are looking to sell the Argos after two and a half years of ownership may be directly related to the direction other owners have taken the league in voting out Wright, increasing a salary cap, blocking expansion, talking about US expansion and making a protection for market entry deal with the NFL.

Interestingly there was mention of a league wide code of conduct which could be approved tomorrow. No details as to what this means, it may have been questioned in the media Q & A session, but no additional info was available at the time of this post.

Update: Apparently this is just the rule preventing CFL clubs from signing NFL players under contract or suspension. Hardly news.

Ten Questions Facing the CFL

Stephen Brunt and David Naylor propose ten fundamental questions the CFL must address in determining the future of the league. It is likely the league is not even listening and if they cannot even acknowledge these questions then the future does not look bright. The most disturbing is question 10. “Is the threat of the National Football League real?” The fact that surprises and disturbs me is that there are CFL owners willing to make a deal with the NFL to save the league. Such a deal would obviously turn the CFL into a farm league. This has all kinds of ramifications, from whether a farm system can use very different rules to whether there will be any interest in such a CFL outside of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, assuming Toronto is interested with an NFL franchise. The NFL will not provide prop-up money without getting something in return, and if the franchises lose support, how long will the NFL be willing to write the CFL‘s ticket? The owners making such a move for protection seems to predict an NFL move to Canada since there would be no resistance.

With no league resistance challenging such a move, there would be no government intervention on anti-competitive behaviour, especially with the American-in-Canadian clothes Stephen Harper in office. If this does come to pass, and my childhood CFL is destroyed and the NHL a shell of its former self, I will be like Taylor in the Planet of the Apes “You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!”

Memo to CFL: Kill Video Review

The calls are in for the CFL to abolish video replay reviews of plays, but will they listen? Overtime Central was opposed to the implementation from the start, but since it was likely the CFL would implement a system, we tried to influence the implementation (no luck there, but considering our readership that is not surprising). Still, the CFL implemented a flawed system that slowed down the game this season and led to un-reviewable calls being reviewed such as fumbles after the whistle had blown the play dead. The system must be severely scaled back for 2007 to one challenge per team per game. To prevent the abuse of retractions, they must not be allowed, or only allowed within a reasonable amount of time, such as 10 or 15 seconds. The set of challengeable plays must be more strictly defined as those that occur during the whistle. Challenging an unchallengeable play will cost the coach his challenge and timeout. Coaches will be required to know the rules or be penalized. To help accomplish this, the list of challengeable calls needs to be reduced and simplified. These things will improve the game, provide a challenge system for plays that the system was intended, and leave judgement calls such as whether a player’s knee was a half an inch above the turf before the ball came out to the officials.

CFL Notes

Not being officially implemented provides the first loophole for CFL salary cap. This is starting to look like how things were run in the early 80′s, with big spenders counting on a large TV payoff. When reality hits there may not be a CFL for us to watch. Some trust holders those franchise owners are.

Jim Popp got his CFL start as an assistant coach in Saskatchewan. Two seasons with Don Matthews (’93/’94) as Director of Player Personnel/Scout/Assistant Coach before he followed Matthews to Baltimore in 1995. Who remembers that?

The best commissioner of the CFL since G. Sydney Halter (yes, I am aware of Jake Gaudaur) and instead of a lifetime appointment they show Tom Wright the door. Yes, the CFL looks foolish replacing commissioners at the drop of a hat. Therefore, when you find someone that is the best you will ever find, you keep him. Yes, I am very bitter about this.

Shutting down CFL looks to be a possibility, if only for one week. At first, you think it is some dummy’s idea to provide an equal bye week to all teams, same time during the season with no long breaks or multiple games in a short span. They have actually thought it through though and are considering a skills competition week during the break. This is acceptable if they arrange for the skills competition with the Players Association and networks. If not, it takes the CFL off the radar for a week right prior to when it needs to carry momentum against its fall competition. The other option, a 20-week season with two bye weeks per team is worse however. In an even-team league, there is no need for byes. Sure, because of stadium schedule dates this year because of Ottawa folding it was necessary, but the CFL has never had bye weeks as an 8-team league. There is no proof bye weeks make the play any better, either during the season or in the playoffs. If there is no bye week for an All-Star Skills competition then an 18-week season with no byes and a late season start of around July 4th or 5th is necessary.

As predicted, promised and needed, the CFL implements a rule to honour NFL suspensions.

Tyrone Jones is in Winnipeg for the Grey Cup, dying of cancer. This has to be the worst news year for the CFL I can remember.

“Pinball” Clemons has confirmed he will coach the Argos in 2007. Keeping the Argo defence together and settling their quarterback controversy will be large off-season questions in a year when they host the Grey Cup.

Next Tuesday is decision day for area residents around Molson Stadium on McGill University campus in Montreal. If at least 191 residents sign a register of opposition to the proposed stadium upgrade, it will be forced to a referendum.

The growing number of nationalities represented by CFL reflects Canadian multi-culturism, especially the three large metropolitan areas. It is probably true that football is more attractive as a sport to immigrants compared to hockey due to the unique skills hockey requires that many Canadian kids pick up at a young age.

The Last Ricky Williams Notebook Entry

Will it be the last? Unless Ricky returns to the CFL, it probably is. Some called Ricky’s attitude to the end “nonchalant”. It appears Williams really enjoyed his stay and was a model teammate.

No Majority for NFL Team in Toronto

A survey conducted by the Toronto Star showed 50% of greater metropolitan Toronto area residents say they oppose to bringing an NFL franchise to Toronto. The survey also revealed 76% of residents have no interest in the NFL, the highest of any league in the survey (which the CFL appears to be excluded from), 50% against a franchise in the 18-34 age group, 42% against in men aged 18-34 and 40% against in men aged 18-34 who consider themselves NFL fans.

While it can be said a franchise could be successful with 60% of 18-34 male NFL fans in Toronto, the greater message in the survey is that the people of Toronto will not be ready to fund any public infrastructure to land an NFL team. People only have to look at the current San Francisco ’49ers situation, who have announced they are negotiating to move the club to a new stadium, perhaps in Santa Clara, California. Infrastructure costs for the City of San Francisco to incur with the building of a stadium at the current Candlestick location was expected to exceed the $600-800 million USD cost of the stadium. Los Angeles is proposing building a new stadium inside the walls of the Los Angeles Coliseum at a cost of $800 million USD. Dallas is constructing a new 75,000-seat retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas at a projected cost of $650 million USD, half of which is funded publicly by voter approved sales, hotel and car rental tax increases. These staggering figures should send any Torontonian running, for there will certainly be a call for an at least partially public funded stadium after a NFL franchise comes to Toronto. Anyone who believes a franchise could survive playing out of the SkyDome is not realistically looking at the other stadiums in the NFL, and the plans for new ones. The NFL likes (requires?) large, cash-sucking stadiums paid for with public money and Canada would be no different. Expecting seat licenses to pay for such a stadium seems a little steep for the Toronto market (can they sell 20,000 seats at $40,000 a license for an $800 million stadium). It is for certain Canadian investors could not afford a $1 billion dollar franchise cost and then finance a $1 billion stadium cost.

Suspiciously, the Toronto Argonaut stadium deal kyboshed last year after they agreed to stay at Rogers Centre may be related to a future Toronto NFL bid. Paul Godfrey, the point man for Toronto NFL interests, would know that a stadium being built for the Argos would hurt his chances of getting public money and approval to build a new stadium for a NFL franchise once one was landed. The Argo deal with the Rogers Centre was brokered by none other than Paul Godfrey, CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, owned by Rogers Media, which also owns the Rogers Centre. The deal promised the Argos something better than third-class citizen treatment, and once the deal was signed that has turned out to be largely vapourware.

Week Coverage and Pre-Game Shows

Leading up to the games, the coverage was fairly average and basic all week. The CFL received very little play on shows like Off The Record, TSN‘s The Reporters and Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown. All networks and print coverage focused on the same few angles in their regular sports reporting, beating them to death. The CBC‘s Saturday and Sunday pre-game shows were average. Improved from last week in their flow and analysis, but they did not break any new ground.

2006 CFL East Final – Toronto at Montreal

• The opening kick-off is actually missed; CBC cuts to live coverage from the Game Story with the ball in the air.
• The building filled up in ten minutes, but only 33-34,000 expected? That is break even. Seems like the honeymoon is really over for the Alouettes in Montreal.
• Armitage: “He’s got a man wide open.” well after the catch is made.
• First turnover by Montreal – looks like Calvillo was pulling the ball out and lost the handle. The ball was falling to the ground by the time he saw Fletcher.
• Flutie: I doubt any offence calls naked bootlegs Sally Ran (sic) anymore. Keep up with the jargon.
• Final verdict: Replays have hurt the CFL. The 3rd quarter debacle better lead to some changes or the abolishing of the system (fat chance). The whistle ended the play and the Alouette player was never tackled, how could it be overturned? These plays were never the intent of the challenge system. No other sport allows reversals after the whistle to stand.

2006 CFL West Final – Saskatchewan at B.C.

• The CFL/CBC cannot wait 60 seconds to kick off the West Final? They are already 15 minutes over, but we get the double screen instead and no wrap up of the East game.
• Early chance for the ‘Riders after a turnover. Two more time count penalties. They were not prepared for the noise. Some running plays could have helped in this situation rather than trying to audible at the line.
• Speaking of the noise, what ever happened to the rule for opposing teams facing crowd noise, allowing them to go back to the huddle? I do not remember the exact details, but it was brought in with the introduction of B.C. Place stadium. I believe in home field advantage, but certain cities have too great an advantage. A rule to balance this levels the field in a very disparate-teamed league.
• Mark Lee asks “You gotta watch the football, right?” and receives silence. That is a great colour commentator partner.
• There goes Walby and his unique interpretation of the rules. Last week the ball was live, he says, because the pitch was behind the line of scrimmage. First, I do not remember any such play, and second, does he know what the line of scrimmage is? Me thinks Walby needs to attend one of those Football 101 classes for women (no offence to women, but that is what they are).
• Overheard before commercial: Walby – “Way to go guys, way to go.”
• Lee: “You never want to question whether a player is injured or not.” So why did you just do it prior to that statement?
• Walby rewrites history, saying Casey Printers started the Grey Cup 2 years ago but failed to get it done. History argues that Printers stayed on the bench the whole game, and coach Wally Buono was severely criticized for not replacing Dave Dickenson with Printers who had won the Most Outstanding Player award that year.
• Ratings will be down for both games likely. Unfortunate that the West Final could not have been closer instead of total dominance in all facets by the Lions.

Post-Game Coverage

The CBC post-game coverage was very quick. Sports coverage was very limited and focused on stories not relating to the game like whether this was Damon Allen’s last game, Ricky Williams’ last game, whether Danny Barrett will be fired. There was no coverage of the CFL on the Monday Off The Record show or Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown. Receiving heavy coverage around the Argo loss were comments by Arland Bruce III regarding the officiating. Continuing with the theme all year, the CFL received reduced and less than positive coverage through the playoffs.

Overall Review

Despite the stakes in these games, the visiting teams came out flat. Toronto turned it around with the insertion of the more mobile Michael Bishop, and if the replay system was not implemented, it might have been closer without the Ricky Williams fumble, which was so close, it would be hard to call it a fumble watching in real-time.

In Vancouver, the ‘Riders were unprepared for a team that came ready to play. They showed no ability to be able to counter things like the crowd, a blitzing defence, or the B.C. rushing attack. This led to the game being over at half time. A late 3rd quarter spurt by the ‘Riders kept some loyalists glued to their sets, but for all purposes the game was over.

A B.C. – Montreal Grey Cup match will hopefully provide an exciting close championship contest and fans glued to their sets from Quebec and Vancouver and across the country. We will have our review of that match up next week.

East and West Championship Finals Should Be Close

Two close championship finals predicted. I would expect the games, both indoors, to be higher scoring than that.

Both finals are highly anticipated, and the CFL is getting good coverage out of both of the West and East games. Looking at the storylines globesports.com has listed for Toronto at Montreal and Saskatchewan at B.C., I am wondering if these guys should not replace the CBC commentators. No more puns Walby and Flutie, please!

CFL: They Like Me, They Really Like Me

The media debunking a myth perpetuated by the Toronto media. This certainly is a turnaround for the CFL. This is not new either; this is something the figures have shown for years. While attendance has suffered, this has been because foreign owners did not connect with the Toronto fans. The current ownership duo has done a good job and the results have been seen in the rising attendance.

Building a pride in team is pride in community aura is much harder to do in Toronto for the CFL with limited opponents and a Canadian only presence compared to MLB or the NHL. Put Toronto in the Grey Cup however, and they all come out to watch.

Stephen Brunt then spins the same old story. No one is making money in the CFL. Despite the Argo claims that they are operating around the break-even point, he does not believe them. Sure, the Argos, Alouettes and other teams this year that claim profitability or breaking even at least could all be an effort to deceive potential buyers of a new franchise. I do not believe this to be the case. If you look at average attendance and average ticket prices teams are generating a low of $6.5 million to a high of $8.5 million in ticket sales. With leagues disbursements of approximately $1 million, plus local sponsorships, playoff games and other revenue (fundraising, concessions) teams have revenue to cover the approximate $4 million in player salaries plus front office salaries, lease costs, travel costs and other expenses. Montreal would be the lowest ticket revenue club, but have stated with their strong corporate sponsorships and a home playoff game, they could see a small profit (even with a ridiculous lease with the Olympic Installations Board). Therefore, unless owners pay themselves extremely large salaries, clubs should be close to break even at worst.

Tom Wright’s Eulogy

Commisioner Wright was available for a media conference call earlier this week to discuss his tenure which ends December 31, 2006. I was glad to see finally a reporter question the salary cap increase to $4.05 million. Although it appears even the smallest market teams have been overspending to old salary cap, this jump in salaries will make it hard to get any new franchises off the ground.

On another note, the Ottawa situation is raised with the statement that Wright showed “… an inability to see trouble brewing in Ottawa until it was too late.” In defence of Wright, this is a very simplistic view of the situation. If we can assume that the owners against Wright took this viewpoint, it is very easily exposed as a flimsy excuse. The league board of governors approved Bernie Glieberman’s purchase into the Ottawa franchise when the ownership group they approved to return the CFL to Ottawa fell apart with capital (no pun intended) issues. These issues were largely in part to Ottawa understanding there was a $2.6 million salary cap, but finding out to be competitive in attracting and keeping players they needed to spend closer to $4 million per year. After Glieberman commissioned an analysis of the franchise at the conclusion of the 2005 season, which recommended the removal of his son Lonnie Glieberman from any involvement with the club, he no longer had any reason to remain effectively the sole owner contributing capital and absorbing large losses with no sign of a turnaround visible in the near future.

There was always a lot of noise coming out of Ottawa with a fractured ownership group and the addition of the Glieberman’s back to the equation. Wright kept the franchise alive for one more year in a bad situation, with no other possible investors willing to join Bill Smith and no opportunity to take a long-term search for an ideal ownership group. The expectation of other owners seems to be Wright should have been inspecting the balance sheet of Ottawa on a daily basis, whereas if Wright asked for financial reports from any other owners they would tell him where to go. So naturally he went through with an international vacation that he likely had planned for sometime, and it happened to coincide with Glieberman’s announcement that he would not fund any more losses in 2006. Wright is criticized for this because “… signs to the contrary” were there prior to his trip. Without knowing exactly what Gliberman would decide and when, Wright was in an impossible position. Even if Wright had revoked the franchise in December or January, prospective owners would not have look favourably on a purchase with little time to close the deal and prepare for the season in order to avoid multi-million dollar losses their first year. It seems the only thing that could have been done to save football in Ottawa for 2006 would have been to start the search during the 2005 season, and since owners do not like to have franchises sold out from under them, they would have had to revoke the franchise and operate it under the CFL until new owner could be found, which could have been into the 2006 season, which the other owners would have not approved. It seems Wright was in a difficult situation. The irony of the situation is that the departure of the Ottawa franchise gave the anti-Wright owners the percentage of dissention they need to vote out the commissioner. To think it all started when the board that brought in the Ottawa franchise in 2001 lied to the new owners about the franchise operating costs. At least it seems the governors have cleaned up this aspect of their franchise search committee.

Roy Shivers

The only person to get an interview with Roy Shivers immediately after the Saskatchewan Roughrider win Sunday was Allan Maki. Saskatchewan media was shut out. Funny how Shivers knew Henry Burris makes mistakes when under pressure, but he still offered him a substantial salary and opportunity to compete for number one before Burris signed with Calgary. I hope that Saskatchewan fans will get over the Burris thing and see it as a blessing. Treat him as another QB, someone you are glad left rather than the last hope who snubbed us. Barrett, other coaches and players are still in regular contact with Shivers, so despite thoughts that Barrett has looked more independent since Shivers left, that is probably an illusion. Shivers seems adamant about Barrett walking away from the ‘Riders after the season (and hopefully a Grey Cup victory) so we can probably expect Barrett to obey. I do not understand what being bonded this much to Shivers buys Barrett and Richie Hall. The media criticism did not necessarily reflect the fan criticism, but managing the media is something you must do anywhere and especially in Saskatchewan. Circling the wagons with an “us vs. them” attitude only brings the media on stronger, especially when you form a pact for succession in an open, community owned organization.

Fans Question CFL

In an interesting twist on normal reporting, globesports.com‘s David Naylor answered questions online today about the CFL. Unprepared answers from reporters tend to reveal details and opinions that do not come out in articles covering a story or development. A few questions on interesting subjects are worth mentioning.

First of interest was Naylor’s comments on the commissioner search. He puts forward a very good evaluation of the CFL‘s position regarding their next commissioner. I would expect that the CFL board will restructure the commissioners purpose and power before hiring someone to that position to avoid the issue they see with commissioners wagging the dog when the owners feel the commissioner is just a tail. A figurehead position is all they want, someone to hand out the awards, be in front of the camera and wine and dine the sponsors, but leave all the business decisions to the board. This will leave the CFL with the second most lame duck commissioner, right behind the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Next, a fan brings up the quality of the product and puts the blame directly on the short pre-season since the expansion of the regular season from 16 games to 18 games. As a fan of the 1980′s CFL, this question writer should know that the CFL switched to the longer schedule in 1986. Some of the best, most competitive and exciting years of Canadian Football occurred after the switch from 1987 until 1993. There is no doubt that there are benefits to returning to the old arrangement, however there are more reasons why 4 by 16 game pre-season/regular season split cannot happen.

First, this creates a pre-season that is one quarter the length of the regular season. This is unbalanced compared to any other league. The equivalent would be a 40 game Grapefruit league schedule or 20 game NHL pre-season schedule. Second, as noted in the question, pre-season games are poor draws. In the CFL the lack of demand for tickets makes it very hard to draw fans to exhibition contests. This ultimately results in tickets being paid for by season ticket holders, but the walk-up crowd attending on complimentary tickets. Changing the pre-season to two home dates, resulting in twenty percent of their season ticket price being for meaningless games would affect the value of the tickets.

As usual, there is a solution to the problem between the two extremes. It is possible to add a third exhibition contest to improve the preparation before the season. An agreement with the Players Association to add a third pre-season game for players in their third year or less with the league could provide the game action to evaluate young players, freeing up more playing time for veterans in the pre-season to work on their timing. These games could be controlled scrimmages at alternate locations to get the CFL out into the communities and profits could be split between the clubs and the Players Association. Additional time in the pre-season by the starters, especially quarterbacks, will show fruit early in the season.

In a later question an old-timer brings up the argument that the quality of the CFL has declined simply because the league does not compare salary wise to the NFL. As such he eschews the CFL for the NFL because the quality is better. This is an age-old argument and it is a fallacy. The fact is one cannot compare the “quality” of the CFL with the “quality” of the NFL. They are different games, much more so in the last 25 years as the CFL game has evolved from a style that more resembled the NFL’s prior to 1980. The differences in the game require much different athletes and mind sets. The NFL’s appeal comes from either preferring that style of game or the spectacle that comes along with it.

Finally Naylor responds to a question on the Ottawa situation with some skepticism about the CFL returning to Ottawa. I have to agree with his evaluation on the CFL‘s intent to return to Ottawa requiring a big franchise fee. I have said before in these pages that this is no way to conduct business when your policies largely cause the demise of the previous franchise that you then pad your pockets with money from the next sucker to buy a franchise. I also agree that Palmer does not seem like the type who would gladly pay this fee just to join the club. If anything, he may pay an annual fee over a long period, but no large $3.5 million entry fee to saddle his group with debt out of the gate when they will need operating capital to get through the first three to five years. Here is hoping that the CFL is reasonable and flexible in their negotiations, as the lineup of potential ownership groups may disappear and Ottawa may never return.

CFL Enters Final Franchise Negotiations

Tom Wright announced this week that negotiations to return a franchise to Ottawa have entered the next phase. Interestingly Wright stated “I’m not going to comment on who or how many (groups)…” leaving speculation that there still may be a mystery group in the running for the franchise. Based on previous reports on the bidders, there should only be one group left, led by former Ottawa Rough Rider Bill Palmer, after the Golden Gate Capital group dropped out and the Frank D’Angelo led group was dismissed.

If Wright’s attitude and comments do not prove he is the perfect commissioner, then I do not know what else he could do. His comments give me hope that the CFL will not shoot itself in the foot by demanding a ridiculous price for the franchise. The danger may not be in the deal Wright and franchise search committee chair Ted Hellard negotiate, but in the board of governors voting the deal down because they do not get the franchise fee they want.

Ricky Williams

Ricky Williams will return to Miami according to his agent. There is no doubt in my mind that Ricky is sincere when he says his life and priorities are changed and that he does not use marijuana anymore. Yet, the belief across the border is that he will likely fail another drug test once he returns to the NFL. Marshall Faulk, as a Sportsnet NFL analyst, made a good point about Williams’ commodity value upon his return when he has had little playing time the last three years but concluded with stating that he needs to get his personal life straightened out. It is as if time is standing still for them, they cannot seem to understand his life is straight and has been for some time. The book on Ricky is that he is not committed to football, he just happens to be good at it so he does it. I do not think that is the case. If he really did not like football, would he talk about returning to the CFL to play any position he wanted? His mind is just different from others and he cannot focus on just one thing, he has many interests, and the CFL shorter days give him the time to do other things.

CFL Notes

Although the Bombers are stating that Grey Cup ticket sales will not be hurt by Winnipeg’s early exit from the playoffs, I am not so sure. They are down to 3,000 tickets left which they expect to go quickly once the finalists are decided, but I wonder how many tickets are available in the papers and eBay? Cold weather and no local presence may convince some to stay home, giving the stadium a partially filled look, which is bad no matter whether it was a sell-out or not.

Grey Cup rings are being sold left and right. Allan Maki gets to the bottom of the story.

Elliotte Friedman has praise for Kenton Keith for a season-turning performance in Sunday’s West Semi-Final. Unlike what Shiver’s thinks, I know Keith is a great back, but he has been inconsistent his whole tenure. For the ‘Riders to get over that hump and finish first or second, they need Keith to be consistent all year. It sounds like Keith has figured out Regina though, and if he wants to go out, he will do it in another city where he will not be a target.

John Avery gets his comedy break on a new show. I saw his act on a sports feature last year and it was mostly material on how poor the CFL and CFL players are.

Tom Wright confirms blocking rules will be reviewed. Oh, thank you, thank you, and thank you.

Maurice Lloyd is the newest part of ‘Rider big play defence. If Roy Shivers could have found quarterbacks they way he finds defensive players, the ‘Riders would be a CFL dynasty right now.

Jackie Parker’s passing was marked by memorial service at Commonwealth Stadium. I only knew him as a coach and from old black-and-white snippets, but there was no doubt he was a huge figure in Canadian sports history.

Calgary’s Buratto fired. I am not sure if I understand this. At least Tom Higgins dodged the bullet this time after a loss to the ‘Riders.

Why does the CFL always have to take it on the chin before the blame is directed where it needs to go? CBC first published under the title “Foster children being forced out of hotels for Grey Cup“, which was later updated to better reflect the blame on the government, not the hotels or Grey Cup, with “Minister promises beds for foster children displaced by Grey Cup”.

Montreal faces salary cap decisions. If cap issues cause a lot of player movement on all teams, all bets are off next year.

A Toronto-Saskatchewan Grey Cup seems appropriate. The CFL usually gets the best thing for it when it needs it the most.

2006 CFL East Semi-Final – Montreal at Toronto

• “Pinball” Clemons catching the punt on the sidelines and taking off with it shows the kind of unpretentious atmosphere the CFL provides.
• The crowd looked like at least 30,000 to me, but apparently, the Argos could only muster 26,214 with only a week to sell tickets.
• The Semi-Final stadium signage sure helps dress up the stadium to give it a better feel.
• Steve Armitage is calling the game. The CBC cannot be serious about the CFL when Armitage and Mark Lee are your only play-by-play guys. They do not exactly have the legacy of Don Whitman, but for reporters to be calling for Whitman’s return is ridiculous. Whitman is past his prime and that is why he lost his job to Chris Cuthbert years ago. What would he be like now years later?
• Is it me or does the CBC like to show two plays, go to commercial, show two plays and cut to commercial?
• It is too bad Ricky Williams big catch and run was called back on a holding call. Best play for Ricky all season.
• Winnipeg took a procedure call at Toronto’s 5-yard line on 3rd and 1, trying to draw Toronto offside. Showing no confidence in their offence just getting the first down, they cost themselves 4 points, the margin of victory.
• The first half was a little slow, but overall the game was outstanding with great plays (Armstrong’s catch, Bruce’s run), lead changes, storylines (Roberts, Stegall, Bishop) and a down to the wire finish.

2006 CFL West Semi-Final – Saskatchewan at Calgary

• Bad transition to the next game. “Can I get some water, please?” Friedman is overheard saying after congratulating the panel on a good job.
• Mark Lee – awful. Chris Walby – incomprehensible. You cannot tell me these are the best guys available.
• A punt return touchdown. The return game may play a part in the playoffs after taking the season off.
• Just before the half, with the ‘Riders driving, the debate starts about if the ‘Riders will go to the end zone before kicking a field goal. Did they think that they would really set the ball position for a field goal? Not much to take credit for afterwards. In fact minus points for suggesting that positioning the ball to the middle of the field for the field goal try was an option.
• The crowd is supposed to be loud. I cannot hear it. Turn up the crowd noise CBC. It sounds like the crowd noise is coming from a bar in Saskatchewan.
• Calgary was the only team to use the instant replay in both games. They won their first in what becomes a judgement call as to whether there is evidence that Thurman’s knee was down. Calgary lost the second challenge and their timeout on Burris’ fumble where video could not show anything in the pile.
• Nice finish for ‘Rider fans, watching time tick away on Calgary. However, a late touchdown by Calgary could have kept the score closer and interest in the game. Still, a great game that came down to the last minute.

Overall Review

Two high scoring games start the 2006 CFL playoffs. When real meaningful games are on the line you know the game is never over. Coaches and players will turn bad starts or momentum swings around when you are playing for advancement to the next round. We expect much more excitement the rest of the way.