TBURGESS

Loans become handouts when those who receive them can't or won't pay them back. Assuming that the CFL is in financial trouble, which is a good assumption IMO, they won't pay the loan back and it will eventually be 'forgiven' because the Feds don't want to be a reason that the CFL goes under. Most folks vote the party, not based on any specific policy. Even if a CFL loan is popular, it in itself, won't be enough to flip peoples votes to Liberal, which means it's not that big a deal to the Liberals. Most Federal elections are already decided by the time they make it to the Manitoba/Saskatchewan boarder anyway. The CFL was told to include the CFLPA and come back with a plan. I thought they already did that a few months back. I remain unconvinced that the Liberals will bail out the CFL.

I doubt the Feds are going to save our CFL. They would have given us money early on if they were going to. The XFL talks are about getting the needed funding from the Rock and his group. Without funding, the CFL will likely die. I get that us CFL fans want the game to remain the same, but the XFL isn't going to give the CFL many concessions, if they bring the money, they make the rules. The CFL will be negotiating about what they are allowed to keep from the Canadian game, not about what the XFL will have to change in their rules. Americans always believe there way is the right way and the XFL will be no exception. They're going to want 4 downs, 11 men, US sized fields, etc. They know that's the way to interest the American fan and there are 10 times as many of them as there are CFL fans. Without enough of those fans on board, the XFL/CFL merger will die no matter how much money the owners have.

If that's what it takes to save the CFL, then I do.

The ratio can't exist with US teams. That doesn't mean that Canadians can't play in the US, it just means that x number of jobs won't be given to Canadians, they will be given to the best available players. Those who are saying that removal of the Canadian ratio means losing a lot of fans are wrong IMO. Some folks will stop watching for a game or two. Some will stop watching forever, but not many. Most will complain then watch anyway. I'm old enough to remember the US expansion. I was mighty pissed that the US teams didn't have the ratio. I still watched every game and went to the Grey Cups each year. When baseball had its strike, I stopped watching baseball and haven't ever gone back. When the Jets left Winnipeg, I stopped watching hockey and never went back, except for a few playoff games a year and the Olympics. I don't have cable any more. I have an android box that puts out 4K to HDMI. Add in a HD antenna and TSN's streaming during CFL/NFL season and I've got everything I had with cable for $20 a month. (FTR:My Internet is $60/month @300) My ROI was less than 2 months.

IF this is an 'expansion' then the ratio will have to go, just like it did during the US expansion all those years ago. The US labour laws won't accept X number of foreigners. Canadian teams with ratio rules would be at a huge disadvantage, so the ratio would have to go in Canada too. Field size isn't as big a deal to me as it is to many others. If the US stadiums can't fit a CFL sized field, then that would be something I'd be willing to give up to save the CFL. I wouldn't even care if different fields were different sizes. Basically, as close to the CFL size as possible and I'm happy. What I don't want to give up is the 3 downs for 10 yards, the 2 point conversions, the 'halo' instead of the 'wave the arms, don't hit me', the Kick Off rules, etc. Those are the things that make the CFL different and special to me.

He's definitely been a disaster on the business side of the business, but he did fix the rules side early on, so he's not a complete disaster.

My first reaction was What the F???? My second reaction was WHY? IF... It just means cross promotion, then this is much ado about nothing. IF... It means CFL rules played in both countries, then I'm for it. I don't care about field size. I know it would mean killing the ratio, but it's not the passports that matter, it's the rules. IF... It means 4 down, NFL rules in both countries, then I'd rather let the CFL die.

Objectively, the Riders were better than us in the 2019 regular season. Best team in the West and a play or two away from going to the Grey Cup. They weren't a terrible team and they didn't suck. That's just the story a few regular posters want to tell every year.

CFL 2021 Grey Cup odds Team Odds to win the Grey Cup (as of Feb 20) Hamilton Tiger-Cats +328 Saskatchewan Roughriders +446 Winnipeg Blue Bombers +502 Calgary Stampeders +503 Toronto Argonauts +637 B.C. Lions +900 Montreal Alouettes +900 Edmonton Football Team +1,000 Ottawa Redblacks +1,000 Odds courtesy of Sports Interaction Actually Hamilton and Riders, but I prefer Odds shark's take anyway: Who will win the 2021 Grey Cup? CFL Grey Cup Odds 2021 Team Odds Hamilton Tiger-Cats +300 Winnipeg Blue Bombers +450 Calgary Stampeders +500 Saskatchewan Roughriders +500 Toronto Argonauts +800 British Columbia Lions +850 Edmonton +900 Montreal Alouettes +900 Ottawa Redblacks +1400

Yes, the NFL and the premier league for that matter, makes and spends a ton of money. More than the CFL could ever hope for. That in itself doesn't make the NFL a bad comparison. Lets not pretend that any league that doesn't play football is a better comparison. The NFL had a season. They spent what was needed to 'protect' their players. The CFL can't afford to do that. They need the players and the fans to be vaccinated and the vaccination needs to work on multiple versions of Covid. I read that every team in the CFL lost $1 Million+ last year by not having a season. They chose that route rather than having a season and losing even more money per team. Another $1 Million loss per team would likely kill the league as the owners will shut them down instead of taking more losses. Owners need the probability of making money or at least breaking even to continue in the business. The Bell bailout was a stupid use of government money IMO. Bailing out other companies without strings attached would be equally stupid. Hopefully they have learned their lesson because they are making Air Canada pay people back for the flights that were cancelled. There was no federal money for a Winnipeg bubble. Don't expect there to be much, if any, to save our league.

The CFL's size isn't a plus or a minus. The TV money pays for the players salaries. The NFL played last year, so it's not a 'it can't be done excuse'. The NFL is THE comparison. Covid is the biggest problem with money as a close second. The CFL doesn't have the money or the top end management teams that NFL or the Premier leagues have. The CFL dropped the ball by going to the government, hat in hand, asking for money without a justifying the amount or having the players on board. It wasn't surprising that they were turned down. The first and second rounds of government money have been given out, which makes it much harder to get federal money now. I doubt that the liberals care much about saving the CFL, so they are going to have to save themselves IMO. On the good news front, Alberta says that everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by the end of June. With the 45 days between vaccinations, that means mid-August should see most people ready to get back to the stadiums in Alberta. If the non-vaccinated folks choose to go to games and get sick, it's on them.

No, but they are the best comparison. Pro football to pro football.

Wrong! I ignored fanboy on Feb 10. I actually I gave him a HaHa. It should have been over then.

It sure is, but flexyboy started it back up again.

So you're admitting we weren't a dominate team. Congrats! That's the first step.

Ambrosie doesn't want to talk about the 2021 season. There is no downside to publicizing the plan, assuming there is one. There is a downside to not publicizing the plan IE: If you don't tell people what is going to happen, they will make up their own stories and those stories are likely to be worse than the real story. We aren't the only ones talking about it. Pedersen says: If he's right, the schedule we have isn't going to happen.

They don't even need a best case scenario plan, just a worst case. Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Gotta say this doesn't shock me because they didn't let anyone know what the plan was for this year. Sucks for everyone if they can't get a season in, but the pandemic takes precedence over everything. Canada can't have 4 super spreader events a week. Maybe rapid testing at the door is an answer. Maybe only people who have been vaccinated (Vaccination cards?). Maybe 25% occupancy and masks for social distancing. Maybe all of the above.

Grey Cup champs, but not a dominant team during the regular season.... Now lock it.

You obviously don't understand what dominant means. We didn't dominate Regina. They were one or two plays away from beating us at the end of the game. They also shot themselves in the foot by putting their backup QB in to try to get a TD and failed horribly. Those plays was their mistakes, not our dominance. I'll give you Calgary and Hamilton in the playoffs, but we weren't a dominant team in the '19 regular season. We were average. I never said we lucked into anything. There's a ton of room between dominant and lucked in.

One game doesn't make you a dominant team overall. It means you were dominant on the day.

Dominant teams don't come in 3rd. They get a home game and win in front of their own fans. If we were weak at QB, then we weren't dominant. IMO the one dominant team in '19 was Hamilton and we dominated them in the GC.

I'd think that Hamilton will be favorites this year. Their QB situation is the best in the league by far. We weren't a dominant team in '19. We had a great playoff season to win us the cup. Much like the way Calgary beat us all those years ago when they came from 3rd in the West.

I'm a noted negatron who desperately wants to see the CFL this year.