GNU_Linux Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 2021 season hangs in the balance The mere thought of another year without the Canadian Football League due to the COVID-19 pandemic is something many fans north of the border will not be able to stomach. It would be a bitter pill to swallow, yet it is one that we may be forced to gulp down. In less than three months, May 23 to be exact, the CFL is planning to kick off its exhibition season by having the Calgary Stampeders host the B.C. Lions. On June 10, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are slated to visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a rematch of the 107th Grey Cup in the league’s regular season opener. There is a chance that neither of those games, and many more, will be played in 2021. Without a war chest to tap into, the gate-driven CFL failed to secure government funding last year that would have enabled it to play games safely without fans in attendance. Talk of a bubble format and a shortened season after Labour Day came and went just as quickly as the 2020 calendar evaporated into our memory bank. Despite the numerous hurdles that still must be cleared — the health of players, coaches and fans (hopefully) and funding chief among them — Commissioner Randy Ambrosie remains optimistic that the league will return to the field this year. “Personally, I’m very confident that we’re gonna get back on the field this year,” Ambrosie proclaimed in a recent interview on the Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio, 900 CHML. “The word ‘guarantee’ is difficult, but I feel very, very good today that we’re on track to play football this year.” Ambrosie and the league’s nine teams are currently working with the CFL Players’ Association on a return to play protocol that will spell out how the 2021 season will play out amid the pandemic. The protocol, similar to what has been utilized by North America’s four major professional sports leagues, will include a seven-figure COVID-19 testing plan, a schedule that would become fluid in the event of an outbreak, and steps that would eventually allow fans to attend games. But even Ambrosie admits that it will be “certainly very difficult” if the CFL can’t have fans attend games in person. “Some of the answer lies in what happens with the vaccine rollout,” said Ambrosie. “We all know that the sooner that we get vaccinated the more likely it is that the provincial health authorities will let fans into our stands.” When that happens, however, remains a mystery despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s repeated promise that every Canadian who wants to receive a COVID-19 vaccine will get one by September. It has been reported that the league lost between $60 million and $80 million by not playing any games in 2020, so you can’t blame the owners for not wanting a similar financial statement this year. Pending approval of its return-to-play protocol, the CFL and its nine teams must determine if they can conduct a season, even a shortened one, without an external funding source and zero fans in their stadiums. If the answer is no, any optimism about a 2021 season will fade away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 On 12/02/2021 at 15:55, Torpar said: Personally I don't like teams that have the same first letter of the city and the team nickname, I'm sure there is a name for it. But having an EE name would allow them to keep their logo Alliteration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 On 05/03/2021 at 16:11, Zen Archer Esq. said: Alliteration. That's the word, it just sounds very 5 a side team like when teams do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Slightly old news now but the CFL and XFL are now “collaborating” though neither have given much explanation to what that actually means. A merger plus the Nova Scotia team would bring the league to a decent number of 18 teams. Might mean CFL dropping the 12 man game and narrowing the fields to accommodate play in the US stadiums, I can’t see the XFL teams adopting CFL rules. Personally I hope the league stays all Canadian teams, ideally with another couple of teams joining the Schooners, I’d rather not see Tampa Bay Vipers winning the Grey Cup but it may be what’s needed to keep the league alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 (edited) CFL & XFL reportedly considering an inter-league championship game The XFL and CFL could be headed for a long-term merger. In the short term, the two leagues are discussing interleague games and a potential championship game. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, "Both leagues would play their regular seasons—there could be 'interleague' games, similar to MLB — and once the respective XFL and CFL champions are crowned, they'd face off in an interleague championship game." That followed a press release from the CFL and XFL that the leagues have "agreed to work together to identify opportunities for the leagues to collaborate, innovate, and grow the game of football." McCarthy added that the two leagues could potentially combine for an All-Star Game and that a merger is reportedly the "long-term objective." More than a few leagues have attempted to carve a niche into the football space, though the NFL and NCAA haven't left much room for those leagues to succeed. The XFL was attempting its second go-around last year when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to suspend operations in April 2020, with no plans at the time to return in 2021. "It's done," a prominent XFL staffer told ESPN's Kevin Seifert and Field Yates at the time. "It's not coming back." The league filed for bankruptcy in April 2020, though an investment group led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson agreed to buy the XFL in August. The CFL has had a longer run, operating since 1954. But like every other professional football league since the formation of the NFL, it hasn't truly been a competitor or attracted the world's top players. The route to upper echelon football has remained playing college football before being drafted to the NFL. Or as McCarthy noted, "During a non-pandemic year, the nine-team CFL generates revenue of $240 million vs. $12 billion for the NFL." An XFL-CFL merger would be unlikely to take a bite out of the NFL's monopoly, though it would be interesting to see if a more prominent league might convince younger players to consider bypassing college, as the debate over whether the NCAA should pay its athletes rages on. Basketball prospects, for example, have increasingly chosen to bypass college to play overseas or in the NBA's G-League. It wouldn't be surprising if a similar option eventually opened up to young football prospects, regardless of a CFL-XFL merger. Edited April 15, 2021 by GNU_Linux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen_power Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 I don't care what they call it, i just want to be able to go back into the stadium and drink overpriced shite lager while freezing my cock aff and cheering once in a while 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanFan Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 On 21/04/2021 at 12:20, Zen Archer Esq. said: Unless Hamilton needs the money immediately, why not move it to a dome for this year? Dec. 12 in Hamilton could be absurdly cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 CFL/XFL wouldn't start until 2023 TSN CFL Insider Dave Naylor talked with Rod Smith on TSN about the latest details surrounding the potential collaboration between the CFL and XFL. He said a collaboration if it happens, wouldn’t start until 2023. He also discusses how there are several Committees between XFL and CFL officials talking about the different parts of their partnership. It is important to note that these discussions are under non-disclosure agreements so not much has been said. But he does know a little bit about how the structure behind these talks are taking place. “different committees that involve people from the CFL and from the XFL side of things, including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who’s involved in this, where they’re looking at different areas, trying to study the business and see what the benefits are for either side of what a collaboration would look like. And so before they get to some of the logistical issues, they need to drill down and say, OK, how does this affect the bottom line business of the XFL side, of the CFL side?” He goes on to talk about how the likely hood of a collaborative XFL/CFL season would not happen until 2023. “Based on my conversations, I think there’s a strong likelihood that if the two leagues were to come together, we’re talking about a 2023 collaboration. Just as we look at where we are on the calendar right now. In May, if a season was to start, say, in March or April between the CFL and XFL, that gives us less than a year. You can look at the latest incarnation of the XFL. They had all their coaches hired within 10 months of the start of the season. So I think when you look at the challenges, the CFL now going to play the Grey Cup, hopefully, this season in mid-December, I think it’s much more likely that we would see a collaboration if it happens for 2023.” This coincides with reporting from our own Mike Mitchell that the idea of a 2022 season is a no-go. That doesn’t mean in 2022 there will be no XFL news. In the build-up to the 2020 kick-off in 2019, Bob Stoops, Pep Hamilton, and other XFL Head Coaches were announced in February. Also, Team Presidents started being put in place in March as well. So there will be a lot of action with the XFL at the beginning of 2022. XFL fans should enjoy the CFL 2021 season because soon after, lots of announcements from the XFL should start to happen. Especially if both leagues plan to play together in some capacity in 2023. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-redblacks-suspend-player-as-toronto-police-investigate-alleged-homophobic-attack-1.5463557 I'd like to think his career is done now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen_power Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 On 10/06/2021 at 10:29, Torpar said: https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-redblacks-suspend-player-as-toronto-police-investigate-alleged-homophobic-attack-1.5463557 I'd like to think his career is done now "2S"LGBTQ"2"+ Are they just going to keep adding letters and numbers onto this until it encompasses every character in the ASCII hexadecimal code set? Still, you'd hope he'd never play again... So anyway... https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/updated-list-of-former-xfl-players-on-2021-cfl-rosters/ Looking forward to August now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 I'm sure First Nations people have used the term 2 spirited for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen_power Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 2 hours ago, Torpar said: I'm sure First Nations people have used the term 2 spirited for a long time. I mean, I get it...but surely at some point you've got to draw the line and say that this encompasses everything? Canada obviously doesn't have the greatest "inclusivity" culture outside of the metro areas but sometimes I feel they go too far in the other direction trying to appease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 16 hours ago, mugen_power said: I mean, I get it...but surely at some point you've got to draw the line and say that this encompasses everything? Canada obviously doesn't have the greatest "inclusivity" culture outside of the metro areas but sometimes I feel they go too far in the other direction trying to appease Yeah it does seem a bit excessive at times. Someone set up a crowd funding page for the victim of the beating that's reached $35,000 already, good for them and all but it's medical treatment would be covered by OHIP anyway. Moving on, good that league is starting again, I'm usually just a casual viewer at the weekends when there is no hockey on but I may actually try and get to a game this season, haven't been to an Argos game since they moved to BMO Field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen_power Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 2 hours ago, Torpar said: Yeah it does seem a bit excessive at times. Someone set up a crowd funding page for the victim of the beating that's reached $35,000 already, good for them and all but it's medical treatment would be covered by OHIP anyway. Moving on, good that league is starting again, I'm usually just a casual viewer at the weekends when there is no hockey on but I may actually try and get to a game this season, haven't been to an Argos game since they moved to BMO Field Yeah I'll be aiming to be down at a couple of Stamps games for definite...the wife is a big fan (fuckin redneck ) so its a good excuse to go down, get pished and shout some profanity 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 2 hours ago, mugen_power said: Yeah I'll be aiming to be down at a couple of Stamps games for definite...the wife is a big fan (fuckin redneck ) so its a good excuse to go down, get pished and shout some profanity Stamps games look fun at least, well pretty much every stadium in the league but Toronto looks like a decent day out, my favourite Argos memory is shown below... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen_power Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 On 15/06/2021 at 12:04, Torpar said: Stamps games look fun at least, well pretty much every stadium in the league but Toronto looks like a decent day out, my favourite Argos memory is shown below... is that fatboy Ford asking if the Weeknd is pregnant? Amyway, Argos (lol catalogue store) at Stamps on 5th August...tickets still around for about $39 each, thinking I'm going to go...capacity crowd and no masks, fucking great! Last time I was there I'm sure it was $8.75 for a 473ml can of beer...assuming that will be an even $10 this year to try and make up for lost profits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 There is or was talk of the Argos joining the new improved XFL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 ...a total incorporation of the CFL was mooted at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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