TrueBlue4ever

Sometimes It feels like the Toronto attitude is “if the CFL doesn’t work in Toronto, then it won’t work anywhere, so we need to blow up the model and become NFL North”, which by all perceptions is what they really pine for. Maybe instead of doubting the product, look to places like Winnipeg and Saskatchewan and Montreal in its revival days and Calgary and Edmonton and figure out why it succeeds there and copy that, instead of assuming that if they can’t make it work, it’s everyone else who is the problem. So looking for opinions on this. Why does the CFL work so well in some markets and so badly in others? Do the largest cities just have too many other options for there to be interest, while the smaller cities where it’s the only game in town make it more attractive? Should the league just re-locate to smaller centres? Could those smaller places afford stadiums? Does the league need to slash budgets to one third of what they are, and is that feasible?

If wholesale Winnipeg can afford those prices, then Calgary and all their new oil money can afford it. This is the cost of sports today.

I’d say the difference is execution, not play call. Receivers are not dropping passes like they were in the first few games, Collaros is more in synch with them now, and Harris provided a spark to the run game and is now much closer to 100% then he was a few weeks ago.

One blocked punt TD Pick 6. Lather, rinse, repeat. Recipe for loss

Pricing is not that outlandish. Comparable in lower bowl centre field to Bomber games. And there are available lower bowl seats between the 25 and 35 yard lines for as low as $43. Optically, one of the problems is that the fans are seated largely behind the benches, while the cameras are pointed at the opposite side where there are fewer fans, so the stadium looks even more empty than it is (but make no mistake, it is not near full on the non-televised side either). My brother lives in Toronto and one big thing he says is the almost total lack of advertising and PR the Argo owners put into the team. No press means no buzz, and they are easily forgotten with everything else getting ink in Toronto. And Toronto still joneses for the NFL, as do a number of media members (look no further than Dave Naylor’s 4 down XFL cheering when those talks happened earlier). On Sportsnet tonight, the Argo win is behind 10 other stories, only 3 of which are live-game stories (one baseball and two pre-season hockey - specifically the Jets win and Ryan Reaves getting hurt). Even the NBA and soccer rate ahead of the game, and in their overall menu, CFL is behind the big 4, soccer and auto racing in hierarchy (lumped in the “other sports” category). TSN, the host broadcaster, at least has tonight’s game as its banner headline, and CFL is ranked only behind the NHL in hierarchy right now (but I have seen it as low as 8th in the off-season).

Amongst the 59 coaches with 579 career games or more (which is the number of games Maurice has coached the Jets), his overall percentage of .522 in his entire career ranks him 43rd all time. His winning percentage with Winnipeg is .578, which is 14th best for all coaches with 579 or more games.

Another mid-game interview from TSN. I love me some Pinball, but c’mom just do the play-by-play.

“Finding new ways to be bad at his job” He has a tough act to follow in Hnidy and especially Ferraro, so he isn’t likely to get a truly objective assessment as he grows into the job (this is his first job as an analyst I believe), but I find his worst flaw is making long points during the live play. More than one goal call from Beyak has been late because Sawyer takes a 2 second interjection and makes it a 15 second commentary. Needs to save that for after a whistle and let Dennis call the game.

Now that is the Freudian slip of all time! “The Can” Yep, and Trotz, Ruff, Arbour, Bowman, and Quenneville are the next 5. Good coaches are around long enough and have enough overall success to pile up the wins AND the losses. It’s more of a longevity award than a mark of ineptitude and failure.

Last week in BC the Bombers were IN 2nd down 19 times and converted to first down 12 times. Twice they converted after BC penalties. They were 4 of 5 converting when running on 2nd down. They were 2 of 5 converting when throwing for further than the first down marker (3 times incomplete). They never threw an incompletion when throwing short of the first down line. 4 of 6 times they converted to first down throwing short of the first down line and their receivers got the YAC yards necessary. The 2 times they did not, one was 2nd and 3 and Lawler got zero yards on the pass. The other time it was 2nd and 17 and Adams got 5 yards. The 4 times it worked, one was a screen play and the other 3 Collaros threw 2-4 yards short of the 1st down marker and the receivers got the YAC yards necessary. The one unique situation was a 9 yard pass to Lawler on 2nd and 10 and they converted the 3rd down gamble (so it technically counts as not converting on second down). So sometimes, just like a long bomb 50/50 ball, a QB will take the pass play the defence gives them (like 8 yards on 2nd and 10) and will basically say to his receiver “go get that first down with your legs”. It’s not like LaPo is the only coach to ever call that play, or that every receiver is even running a short route on the play call, but it is a QB choice where the throw goes and not an OC call, reacting in live time to the read and what the defence is giving them. And that short of the first down marker pass does work from time to time (in the BC game, it converted more often than not, and with more success than the longer passes on second down). But if that play call is so awful, I expect the same criticism of Buck Pierce (or any other offensive coordinator) every time it happens, whether it is his decision or Zach’s.

Am I wrong to read this and the name that springs to mind is “Tkachuk”?

Solid list right there. Good on you for Hal Patterson and Tom Scott, missed that pair.

BC - Darren Flutie was sneaky good, Fernandez, but Burnham makes circus catches look routine Cal - Nik Lewis, Tom Forzani was also fairly reliable Edm - Brian Kelly Sask - Narcisse, Jeff Fairholm and those weird orange fish cutter gloves Wpg - Goodlow, Poplawski, Rick House, Milt Ham - Tony Champion for the Grey Cup broken rib catch alone, Rocky DiPietro Tor - Terry Greer Ott - Tony Gabriel Mtl - Cahoon and Jamal Richardson

Do NOT ask Speedflex about that game!

So to answer my own earlier question, per Bob Irving’s Twitter account the club is looking to get him assistance with alcohol abuse, so fair to assume it was alcohol he was impaired by.

So, random question here. Was it ever confirmed what Lawler was impaired by? Everyone has assumed alcohol, but was it ever clearly stated?

I hear you there. The mandatory vaccine passport is a great comfort, knowing everyone around you has also been double vaxxed. And mask mandates are still in place. Not the worst way to have it going forward on an indefinite basis, frankly.

Here is Stefanson’s Twitter statement on vaccines. As a further FYI, when she was health minister she took an extended leave of absence for a medical matter - a surgery is all I know - hence her lack of visibility during the second and third wave.

2:43 to be exact. I hear the big screen is the way to see it, but socially distant of course.

Oxford’s dictionary: ”punchable face” adj. - noun A person’s smug appearance that invokes hostility and a desire to physically assault them.

Got my tickets for the Bond film opening night. Been waiting 18 months for this one. Hearing good and surprising things.

For now. But this was pre-ordained as Berdin did not need to clear waivers to go down and Conroe did, so there was really no other option.

And that is a problem with the testing system (as agreed to by the PA) not the player’s choice. Leonard knew the penalty, and made his choice, and now has taken the punishment. Given the rules in play, it seems unfair to force him now give a sample before he can be re-instated. Can’t change the rules on the fly. This may well need to be something that can be looked at in the off-season to close off any “test avoidance” loophole.

Was Harris required to give a sample before returning? Does anyone know? I know he was on the “mandatory” list after the positive, bit unsure what that exactly entails.