2025 @CFL hot stove league

[GA Russell]

Here's an article about Lawrence Tynes from the Canadian perspective:

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

The Argos released Troy Davis today, so I guess he's done.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

Jeff Garcia was chosen today for the Pro Bowl game in a couple of weeks. This will be his fourth Pro Bowl.

IMO, this is a "Please forgive us for not picking you last year" sort of thing. He had an amazing run with the Eagles last year, but the selections were made too early, and Tony Romo was picked ahead of him, which last year was a mistake.

This year Garcia played very little the second half of the season, with a back injury. Of course, without him Tampa Bay would not have made the playoffs.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

It was announced last year that Tony Proudfoot has ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the 1985 Grey Cup. Nice guy.

Today there is an article that says that his roommate Larry Uteck died from ALS in 2002.

Furthermore, The CFL Players Association says that 8 of its 15,000 members have ALS. The article says that in the general population only 2 of 100,000 have it.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...4796663-cp.html

[GA Russell]

Here's a surprise. The Riders have released Corey Holmes. They did not project him to be a starter, and he was making too much money to be a backup. I have to think that he will land a job without too much difficulty.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Sas...4800738-cp.html

[GA Russell]

Kerry Joseph took a big cut in salary last year. Well now that he is the Most Outstanding Player and the Grey Cup champion, he wants a big raise to get up to what all the other QBs are making.

He will have a tryout with the Saints this week. One problem: He already has five years in the NFL with the Seahawks (as a DB), so his minimum salary with the Saints (or anyone else) would be $600,000. He is 34 years old. NFL teams might not want to pay that much for a 34 year old who hasn't proven himself as an NFL QB. On the other hand, I have never heard of an NFL team not signing a player because the minimum salary was too rich.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

The NFL has approved the Buffalo Bills' petition to play in Toronto five regular season games (one per year) and three pre-season games over the next five years.

Argos and Ticats season ticket holders will be given the first opportunity to buy, but must purchase all eight tickets at once. This will certainly help the Argos' and Ticats' season ticket sales for this year!

I don't know if any Canadian businessman would take a chance on owning the Argos in Toronto if the Bills move there permanently one day, but my personal opinion is that the people who want to buy NFL tickets and merchandise do not currently buy Argos and Ticats tickets and merchandise. I think that the NFL fans and the CFL fans are two distinct markets. So if there is an NFL team in Toronto, the Argos would lose prestige by being put further back in the sports pages, but I don't think they would lose any revenue.

As I see it, Canada has a problem - There is a shortage of Canadian millionaires who want to own a pro sports team. So having an NFL team in Toronto may kill the Argos because no one will operate them. I can see the good ship Argonaut going down without a fight.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

Dave Dickenson is returning to the Stampeders.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

Milt Stegall has changed his mind, and will not retire. At this point he is the greatest player to have never won the Grey Cup, so I guess he wants one more chance.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[John Tapscott]

I don't know if any Canadian businessman would take a chance on owning the Argos in Toronto if the Bills move there permanently one day, but my personal opinion is that the people who want to buy NFL tickets and merchandise do not currently buy Argos and Ticats tickets and merchandise. I think that the NFL fans and the CFL fans are two distinct markets. So if there is an NFL team in Toronto, the Argos would lose prestige by being put further back in the sports pages, but I don't think they would lose any revenue.

As I see it, Canada has a problem - There is a shortage of Canadian millionaires who want to own a pro sports team. So having an NFL team in Toronto may kill the Argos because no one will operate them. I can see the good ship Argonaut going down without a fight.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

... there is no shortage of Canadian millionaires, only of those who don't want a sports team. Actually that's not true - they want an NHL franchise! I personally think the CFL would survive just fine without a team in Toronto.

[GA Russell]

... there is no shortage of Canadian millionaires, only of those who don't want a sports team. Actually that's not true - they want an NHL franchise! I personally think the CFL would survive just fine without a team in Toronto.

John, didn't the Ottawa Senators have difficulty finding a new owner after they went bankrupt?

And let's not forget that the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets were sold to Americans.

[John Tapscott]

... there is no shortage of Canadian millionaires, only of those who don't want a sports team. Actually that's not true - they want an NHL franchise! I personally think the CFL would survive just fine without a team in Toronto.

John, didn't the Ottawa Senators have difficulty finding a new owner after they went bankrupt?

And let's not forget that the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets were sold to Americans.

I guess I was thinking of last summer's fiasco when the Canadian owner of RIM (which makes the Blackberry) Jim Balslille offered a premium to buy the Nashville Predators NHL team and bring them to Hamilton, Ontario (where they would no doubt do very well). But of course, the deal fell through for a variety of reasons and the team is staying in Nashville (for now, anyway). With the Canadian $ at par now with the American $ an NHL franchise would almost certainly succeed in Winnipeg, and most likely in Quebec. In fact, there's talk of Winnipeg being an expansion or relocation site. The big problem is that the NHL Board of Governors doesn't want any more than six franchises in Canada. They'd rather have them in marginal American cities than in places like Hamilton. The Ottawa Senators are now owned by Canadian pharmaceutical billionare Eugene Melnyk and are doing very well.

[GA Russell]

There has been a lot of news in the past forty-eight hours, hasn't there?

Jarious Jackson has agreed to sign with the Lions for $200,000. a year, which seems low to me. He will be the Lions starting QB. Dave Dickenson is gone, and Buck Pierce is still recovering from shoulder surgery.

Dave Ritchie will retire from coaching if he is not hired to be the new Sask head coach.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

Val St. Germain has retired. He was in the league fourteen years. Last year he was with the Riders, so he goes out on top as a Grey Cup champion.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

The Argos cut both John Avery and Robert Edwards today. I have to think that both of them are done because of their knee problems.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

A.J. Gass is retiring, to be an assistant coach with the Eskimos.

http://tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=228627&hubname=

*****

The Bombers have cut Davin Bush. I expect him to find a job somewhere at a lower salary.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/Sports/Football...803278-sun.html

[GA Russell]

I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Ackles at the 1985 Grey Cup. He says that if the NFL puts a team in Toronto, the CFL will be unable to obtain a national television contract.

Since cable channels are national, why wouldn't the CFL be able to get a contract with one of them?

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...65-f727de5fd57d

*****

Dave Dickenson says that the Argos were his second choice. I didn't know that he is the league's all-time leader in pass-completion rate.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...4804588-cp.html

*****

The Bills' regular season games in Toronto will be in December, after the Grey Cup game.

"An NFL source said as many as 25,000 tickets will be available to Toronto and Hamilton season-ticket holders. Bills season-ticket subscribers will have dibs on 10,000 and the remaining 20,000 will be sold to the public by a lottery system."

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...806070-sun.html

*****

Dave Ritchie spoke last weekend with Eric Tillman about the Sask head coaching job. When Ritchie won the Grey Cup as the head coach of the Lions in 1994, Tillman was the Lions' General Manager.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...f3-ee75aab96849

[GA Russell]

The Ticats are not signing off on the idea of having the Bills play in Toronto. Bob Young wants all of the issues the CFL has with the NFL resolved before agreeing to any one of them.

This means that for the time being Ticats season ticket holders will not have the right to purchase the Bills tickets.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

Here's an article that says that Sean Fleming has retired.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...809187-sun.html

[GA Russell]

The Riders have hired their offensive coordinator Ken Miller to be their new head coach.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

Here's a good commentary from the Globe's Stephen Brunt about the Argos' and the Ticats' positions vis a vis the Bills.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ory/GlobeSports

[GA Russell]

The Argos have picked up Damon Allen's option, and he is working out every day as if he is going to play again this year!

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...4831113-cp.html

[GA Russell]

Sask has traded DE Fred Perry, who was a league all-star the past two years, to Edmonton for third string QB Steven Jyles. Do you figure it was a salary issue?

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

The Eskimos cut Trevor Gaylor this week.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...837311-sun.html

[GA Russell]

Jim Zorn was named the head coach of the Redskins Saturday. I haven't seen anything that mentions that he played for the Bombers in '86.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

The Ticats traded Brock Ralph to the Eskimos for Michael Botterill and DB Chris Thompson.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

*****

The Bombers traded Rob Pikula to the Lions for DB Sebastian Clovis. The Bombers have had problems kicking, and I'm surprised that they would let Pikula go before training camp.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[Chuck Nessa]

Did Tim Horton play for one of these teams?

[GA Russell]

Did Tim Horton play for one of these teams?

Chuck, Tim Horton was a hockey player. He played at the end for the Buffalo Sabres. I think he spent most of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[GA Russell]

Here's a good article about the players scheduled to become free agents Saturday:

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

Kerry Joseph took a big cut in salary last year. Well now that he is the Most Outstanding Player and the Grey Cup champion, he wants a big raise to get up to what all the other QBs are making.

He will have a tryout with the Saints this week. One problem: He already has five years in the NFL with the Seahawks (as a DB), so his minimum salary with the Saints (or anyone else) would be $600,000. He is 34 years old. NFL teams might not want to pay that much for a 34 year old who hasn't proven himself as an NFL QB. On the other hand, I have never heard of an NFL team not signing a player because the minimum salary was too rich.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

The Saints have decided not to offer Kerry Joseph a contract.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...3c-4a629c7d5887

[GA Russell]

Here's a Dan Ralphs article about the household names who have been cut for salary cap reasons.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Of course, they are household names because they have been in the league for a number of years. It looks like the real money will be paid only to the highest level performers, and everyone else will either have to eat humble pie or step aside for the young guys coming up.

[GA Russell]

Here's a Globe article on the top five free agents:

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[GA Russell]

Fairly big trade for both teams: The Argos have traded Jordan Younger to the Eskimos for Tyler Ebell and TJ Acree.

The Argos had by far the best defensive backfield in the league. But their defense is getting older. I guess they followed Branch Rickey's dictum that it is better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late.

The Argos have had a problem at running back for the past few years, and Ebell may be the answer to the problem. Acree is decent and may develop into a top receiver.

As far as the Eskimos go, they have been so bad the past two years that I think that any trade is a good one. They can't stand pat, and getting an all-star like Younger who still has some time left in him will have to mean an improvement in their defense.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

edit for typo

Edited February 16, 2008 by GA Russell