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The NHL announced its 2021 season 3 weeks before puck drop. The NBA announced its season start a while 6 weeks before opening tip-off. MLS is ready to start its season (6 weeks before its first games) but says it is still working out how to include the Canadian teams with border restrictions, and no plan announced there yet. MLB supposedly starts in 2 weeks and yet they just discussed last week a shortened season possibility, but no plan announced. NFL and NHL both postponed games on the fly and and did not ever discuss in advance what they would do to make them up - this stuff all happened as it came up. NHL still hasn’t answered the question of how they will make up all the games or what they will do if more get postponed. AHL cancelled its year last year too, so did all USports and CHL, who turn a pretty good buck for a “non-pro” league. They are just hoping for the best. And yet you expect the CFL to lay out the answers for you now 4 months before the season starts? And you seriously want to compare the CFL to every other league as if their operations are apples to apples scenarios? Here is a harsh reality check for all you fans who feel entitled to know the details of the CFLs multiple planned scenarios this instant. The big 4 sports all lost tons of money playing to empty houses. But the have massive TV contracts to offset those losses. The CFL makes peanuts compared to those leagues, and still has sizeable operating budgets to be able to function. They need fans to turn any kind of profit. Period. And they cannot dictate if fans are allowed to gather en masse right now. So until we get a view of where the pandemic sits come May with vaccinations and 3rd waves, no one can say for sure how the plan will shake out. For now, I see schedules out, players being re-signed, free agency in full swing, just like business as usual in every non-pandemic year. So sit back, digest the evidence that the season for now is a go based on what IS happening, understand just how fluid the situation is because of something none of us have ever lived through before, ignore a random unsubstantiated opinion piece from a media troll looking to stir up **** (if it bleeds, it leads, so they say, so saying “schedule announcement and playing signings show league looking to be on track” doesn’t generate as many hits) and quit jumping all over Ambrosie because he hasn’t laid out the master plan for all of us entitled fans who need clarity NOW, like he personally snuck the virus out of Chins and it’s totally on him if I don’t get my patio boozing or Rum Hut non-social distancing guaranteed by day’s end.

No it doesn't. They are so dependent on that 30% of crazy voters they need the Trump base. Republicans rely on the unwavering support of anti-abortionists, evangelicals, white supremacists and ultra wealthy. Lose any group they will never win again. The voters suppression is going ramp up immensely going forward. It is their only hope.

Not that I would ever do this... but the from what I hear the quality of internet streams for NHL , NFL, UFC any sporting event has improved so much over the last few years that at this point you can barely even tell that it's an internet stream. It's also (from what I hear) extremely easy to find streams of your favorite team and in some cases you can listen to the the home or the away team audio broadcast while watching.

Yeah except the CFL thus far is underselling and underproducing. Compare the CFL to every other pro sports league in North America. It is disgraceful.

I’m sure you don’t have a hot clue what Wade feels about any about of this.

You have the schedule in front of you right now. Nothing has stopped you from booking off work or getting your baby sitter arranged with 4 months to spare. I’m sure protocols have been discussed but are contingent on what the Provincial and Federal health authorities will decree is allowable come the spring. “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”- Dwight D Eisenhower And if the 2020 cancellation was expected as you say, how exactly was the rug pulled out from under your feet the first time? Simple rule in customer service where things that determine the outcome are ultimately out of your control - undersell and overproduce.

The vote will scatter. Some will go to the MOTR Alberta Party, others will go to the NDP & more far right ideological voters will look for the separatist option. Again, how much that goes to who is unknown. No doubt people are pissed off. The question is how much? I think enough to get the NDP elected. This is a government that lies, is not transparent at all, seems to be politically clueless & will continue to be driven by far right conservative ideology. I don't think they are able to adapt & change so I'm hoping their popularity continues to fall.

Jason Kenney = Ralph Wiggum seems about right although Ralph would make a better premier.

Well, it'd inspire some confidence in us and make the CFL look not only like it cares but that it can be trusted, IMO. This league has basically sat on its hands for nearly a year now, save for a single ham-fisted attempt to get federal gov't assistance that ultimately failed. Nobody was surprised 2020 didn't happen but we're into mid-February 2021 and little information or progress on a 2021 season has been given. The CFL operates with too much secrecy. That's not a sound way to get support from the public.

Time : Monday 8, TSN3 Stats : 8-5-1 @ 9-7-0 Streaks : L1 @ W3

If The Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corp. (CEEFC) can give 310 million to Goodlife Fitness to keep their butts outta the tank, then they can surely give same type monies to The CFL ( tho it would require probably 1/3 to half of that amount) as when you factor in all the people employed within in, as well as all the outside entities that have lost significant revenue due to the league not running it basically employs a huge number of people. This falls under the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) in an attempt to protect jobs. How is that any different really?...TV revenue accounts for all the "players" salaries so it's not like money is being given to American residents up here playing ball...It would go to the business of running the team's..vendors, suppliers...and all staff involved...Officials...TV Producers, camera crews..etc..etc..all Canadian parts of the actual business of the CFL..The money is there obviously and really 310 Million for fitness centers?..From experience running one before, monthly membership dues are pushed and promoted to project your monthly residual income to keep clubs running and pay staff..utilities..insurance..etc... Staff not working, lights being off, is a huge savings from normal monthly expenses, and from what I know they were in a bad place trying to complete their new facilities that were in construction..2 being here in Winnipeg....Construction originally stopped from first shut due to pandemic, but nothing has been done since, when it could have because they were out of cash..now where do you think a majority of that 310 million they are getting is headed?...Getting a handout to "expand" your business in these times, is a lot different than money needed to prop up established assets so you dont have to close doors. Why the Government doesn't see the CFL beyond the players salaries as Canadian loss of business and revenue from many angles is utterly laughable...not to mention propping up Airlines so there is no significant "loss of jobs"....thats more to ease the minds of investors more than anything...

All those other leagues have knew and their fans knew that they were going to play. The exact details remained up in the air, but they were going to have a season in some form. Here is a harsh reality check for you. After their **** ups last year they appear to have doubled down on waiting and hoping for the best case of fans in the stands, and that could kill this league. The fact that you appear to be OK with that just boggles the mind. What have these guys done to earn the benefit of the doubt?

you're right ....my mistake....he was in the lineup for 2 games ....He's on this road trip but won't play against the Oilers tonight....Maurice figures it might be just day to day with the 'mechanism' problem...I hope he gets back soon....we need him

by not responding the league is opening itself up for speculation that 'maybe ' the rumour has credibility....Just quash the bloody thing if there's no fact to it....Banks and now a few other players are picking up on it and it's not looking like this thing is going to go away...We don't need Ambroise to dispell it...get a league representative to address it....If that's too much bloody trouble then someone isn't doing their job

I remember back in the 80's I had a NY Yankee button up jacket. I used to call it my "Reggie Jacket". Older fans here might get the reference. It was a Saturday afternoon in 1982 & the Jays were involved in a late season series with the Yankees. I wasn't wearing it for that reason. I had bought it in Seattle a couple of years earlier when my friend & I went down to catch a Mariners series with those Yankees & I wore it often. There was a bar besides the bank I had just walked out of across the street from St. Vital Centre. A drunk staggered out, saw my jacket, started cursing me out & saying I was a traitor to Canada, among other things. Like I should be cheering for Canada. But he actually wanted to fight me. I just looked at this tipsy asshat & laughed as he staggered away. That's when this **** started for me with the Jays & every year my love for baseball just diminished. Especially when the big players in telecommunications took over in the 90's.

@mikemcintyrewpg · 7m #NHLJets hitting the ice for morning skate in Edmonton right now. Expected lineup: Copp-Scheifele-Wheeler Connor-Stastny-Ehlers Perreault-Lowry-Appleton Vesalainen-Lewis Morrissey-Poolman Forbort-Pionk Beaulieu-DeMelo And then either Thompson as 12F, or Stanley as 7D. Thompson getting back in the lineup makes me want to puke, but I’m also sick of the 7 D BS.

A story comes out that says the CFL may not play. Since we're the only league I know that didn't play in 2020 the track record is already there for not playing. Since we didn't, I think it's on the league to show they have some kind of contingency plan in place to actually play if stadiums are closed to the public. The Ghost of Randy Ambrosie is such a legend that the Ghost Adventures crew are out looking for him now. Glad you find the potential ruin of the league funny unlike the rest of us.

I don't know if the rumour about scrapping 21' and re-upping again in 22' has any legs but obviously it must be circulating around the league....One way to end the rumour is for the league and in particular the commish to come out and call it bull$hit, before this thing has any credibility....The silence on this from the league is deafening

Didn't a bunch of prima donnas "threaten" to retire last spring too? Nobody cares about you, Banks. People care about the CFL

1. Given the uncertainty yet again, I am so happy we won the cup in 2019. 2. The league needs to figure out how to have a 2021 season. Enough is enough.

Well for basketball, I'm a Celtics fan going back to the days of Bird. Also have a fondness for the Timberwolves given proximity, annual trips for games there and them being on local TV (NBC) back in the day. I agree on things changing though. I think within the decade (likely sooner) everything will be available via a streaming service and you'll be able to pick and pay.

Why is Sports radio dying? Well, say there are 3-4 time slots a day for local sports the same headlines are beat to death in every time slot unless there is breaking news of some kind in the sports world. In a one horse town like Calgary or Winnipeg where the CFL matters not but the NHL does just how many times can you flog to the listening audience in creative ways that the Flames or Jets lost/won the night before. How can a station continue to talk non stop hockey on July 17th or August 6th when the off season is in full swing & no one cares about the Flames? Yet they do. Add in Blue Jays baseball talk & it's enough that I turn the station to something else. Forcing Blue Jay games down our throat here in Calgary as they're owned by Rogers which also owns Rogers Sportsnet's The Fan 960 so that means to the Burghers in Toronto running Sportsnet feel that (naturally) every Calgarian wants to listen to Blue Jay games every day of the MLB season. Which is not true. Especially when they're not in playoff contention. I used to be a baseball fan but Rodgers Sportnet killed the game for me. I hate the Blue Jays. I hardly follow baseball anymore. I was a big Cincinnatti Reds & Baltimore Orioles fan back in the 70's. Always talking Maple Leafs hockey. Rodgers thinks that the love of the Leafs in Toronto carries across the country so Calgarians also love the Leafs & Jays as much as the Flames. Which we know is not true. But there's The Fan 960 talking Leafs hockey when not the Flames. Or Jays baseball. Sprinkle in a little NBA Raptors during their season along with the NFL & gone is local sports coverage. Talking HS, junior & university sports. Not having local athletes get a small whiff of coverage locally, That is all gone when the coverage here on The Fan 960 is Flames & NHL all day, baseball NFL football & Raptors followed by American sports talk radio after hours & on weekends unless there is a Flames game. CFL coverage is there but it's miniscule. I tuned out a decade ago. I couldn't stand The Fan 960's format. Too much of the same hockey talk from one time slot to another. Too much Toronto bullshit on local radio. We get enough of it in our news & political coverage in this country's media. So, I just said buh bye to sports radio. I think a lot of people across the country have as well. It wasn't the talent that turned me off but the content.

People don't trust Kenney especially when it comes to the health file, education & the environment. They backed off of coal development last week after huge criticism of their coal development plans for the Eastern slopes of the Rockies. They reinstated the moratorium they had removed without public consultation last May on coal development that the PCs brought in to protect the slopes in 1976. They cancelled most but not all leases for development that have been approved since. Now they say that Albertans have spoken & they will have public consultation which is just a code word for going thru the motions & approving development anyways no matter the opposition. Nope, can't be trusted on everything & anything they do or say. Kenney' & the UCP popularity is in the high 20%. They are ideologically driven & even with the low numbers will continue their assault on Albertans. Their spring budget comes out in about a week. I expect higher taxes & cuts, cuts, cuts to the Big 3, Health, Education & Advanced Education such as colleges & universities. And it'll be done with glee & enthusiasm.

"For the tiny North Atlantic nation of Iceland, however, mackerel are a harbinger of ocean warming. Until about 2000, mackerel were a rare sight in Iceland, an island whose people have survived for centuries by fishing. But today they are one of the country’s most commercially important fish, both in terms of value and volume. In 2016, mackerel was the third largest catch for Iceland and its third-most-valuable fish, bringing in $103 million or 8 percent of the nation’s total catch value. “This mackerel story is maybe one of the most marked ones... demonstrating the changes taking place in the fish stock in the North Atlantic in recent years,” said Ólafur S. Ástþórsson, a scientist at Reykjavik’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI), which advises the Icelandic government on catch levels. Rising ocean temperatures have altered fish stocks around Iceland, with southern species migrating northwards and northern species shifting even further north, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Iceland has also seen 31 new species of fish in its waters since 1996, including blue sharks, flounder, megrims and black devil anglerfish," The waters around Iceland have warmed between 1 to 2 degrees Celsius in the last 20 years, said Hreiðar Þór Valtýsson, a professor at the Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Akureyri. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heatwave-iceland-fish-idUSKCN1BW02T

This coming from a guy on January 6th said he was done, anything that comes out of his mouth should be taken with a grain of salt and the main street media should shun him and his insincerity.

I'm not sure if the addition of a defenseman is going to help what ails this team. I also have to wonder what the Jets would have to give up to get a worthwhile piece within the confines of their cap. Who's even out there worth a look right now? To me, it looks more like a system issue and some questionable deployment of personnel. The blue line pairings seem to rarely work. Their positional play in their own end is atrocious at times. Their puck movement out of their zone is inconsistent as hell. And when the forward lines decide to take a shift off and not bother defending, it exacerbates all the aforementioned issues.

So... I can book time off for games from work, plan my life to the best of my ability to attend as many games as possible as a season ticket holder? As a parent, I need to lineup a babysitter, as an employee, I need to make sure I have time off for the games. Even though the schedule is already out, if, for example, they plan on having any additional protocols that add time to the game, it'd be nice to know that in advance. Also, longer term it'd help build trust between the league and fans... although the 2020 cancelling was expected, if they don't keep fans informed and pull the rug out from them again, they only risk further alienating their fan base.

Holy cow are you guys ready to jump on Ambrosie at the first chance with no solid backing evidence. First, this is a 3DownNation post, and from everything I have read (and everything I have heard from the vast majority of posters here) their credibility is as solid as Qanon lately. Second, this “anonymous source” isn’t quoting anything official or citing an executive position and is basically stating a personal opinion of what they and they themselves think might be feasible. Their supposed cred comes from being “familiar” with the executive level of the league, whatever that means. That list could include any host of journalists who know who the league executives are but has no say in actual league operations. Third, that opinion seems based solely on the state of the Edmonton no-names, as regurgitated to an Edmonton reporter. Since they don’t have a full coaching staff, this source claims that, rather than being behind the 8-ball when all the other 8 franchises are operating as if the season is a go, in fact Edmonton is the “canary in the coal mine” who are not replacing staff because only they see the danger of no season and are cost cutting. As if their lack of staff has everything to do with this hidden agenda to not play, as opposed to Scott Milanovich bailing on his contract when the NFL came a-calling. It is trying to paint the “whatever name the fans vote for, it will be stupid”’s as ahead of the curve rather than behind it, and creates a false narrative of their disorganization as indicative of some inside knowledge over the league shutting down. Fourth, the opinion is not that the league will not proceed, but that in their mind it would be better to wait another year to guarantee full stadiums, a completely new CFLPA contract, and everybody vaccinated. Nothing in that sentiment is wrong. Having all that in place would allow much more stability than the band-aid plan that might come to pass (and which is how every other league is operating right now, before anyone jumps on this as a sign of CFL weakness - all leagues are drowning right now, the CFL just doesn’t have the deep pockets the big 4 do). What the report fails to touch on is what the harm in not playing would be. The article seems to suggest that the fans would be upset but other than that there would be no downside, when the reality is that shuttering another year would do economic harm beyond hurt fan feelings. So this article has a heavy bias towards “not playing is better” and spins it into “may not be feasible this year”, and the crowd here then spins it into “now the league is back-tracking” based on nothing other than a pre-determined dislike of Ambrosie, like it’s completely his fault a bat spread a virus in China. So the season may go, it may not, but this article offers zero evidence either way. And Ambrosie is not blameless for many things in the CFL, but let’s not manufacture outrage based on purely speculative opinion pieces with no credible intel.

I would watch 1000 losing Reinbold seasons before I watched a repeat of that shameful Burke turtle game.

Remember debating which was worse Reinbold in 97 or 98 or 2013 with Burke? Glad we are past those days.

Well, if you were caught off guard then so was CJOB. Give them a chance to change things. You can't expect things to change for them at the drop of a hat. Or a senior lady 75 years old who says our boys played hard so people should cheer for them even harder after a loss.

Geez, people, the volunteer intern just picked a random song and put it on. They had to get to their other duties of custodial jobs, responding to emails and making sales calls. This station isn't going to run itself!

that's a harsher spin than necessary......the alternate title of the song is "Time Of My Life" and is the song played at virtually every HS Grad in 1998....along with the final episode of Seinfeld. It's meant as a wistful "I had a great time..." song.......not a "Good Riddance" song. Look, what Bell did is awful, and there's no way around that. But the song choice is being spun the wrong way.

Good riddance really. Gonna be honest... Didn't care 1 bit about 1290 and still don't. The guys they had on air outside of maybe Hustler but even he could get annoying with the gambling stuff were not interesting or compelling. Ppl want Jets talk? Well you didnt really get that on 1290 anyways. What you had was several almost paid shills who would constantly tow the company line. Haven't listened to a post game show in years.. bombers or Jets.. usually off after the coach had a chance to speak. **** Bell tho.

IMO the only part of the game that was weak last season was at QB... the reason we were dominant in the play offs is because we actually had a proper starting QB. Our running game and o-line were strong all season and the defense was great. The return game was decent but with J Grant it was better in the play offs. Our season makes or breaks on how the QB's play. With sub par QB play we have a season similar to our last one.

Guys we are not banned from talking about Kodi Is it? TSN Vancouver gone but they still have Sportsnet Vancouver. TSN Hamilton gone but it's beside TSN Toronto. Only Winnipeg without one.

That is one of my big problems with Ambrosie. He should keep fans & media apprised on a regular basis instead of ghosting us. He never comes out when news is bad. Only when news is good. He also knows about the 3DN story of no season (how could he not?) & hasn't come out to say it's wrong. That alone is very concerning. He hasn't talked about possible contingency plans which is crazy. Is it possible there aren't any even after losing a complete season? if so, how can that be?? Ambrosie just doesn't have the instincts to know what the right thing is to do. As in, when to put out little brushfires before they become big ones. He's become a very polarizing figure. Fans either like him or hate him which isn't good for the CFL trying to stay relevant with its now obviously shrinking fanbase. See my comments about that very thing.

Whatever the plan's are (if in fact there are any) the fans should be advised of them....I know a lot depends on how these vaccinations go BUT for cripes sake list some of them (if there are any)...We saw a little bit of the 'no plan' scenario when we went to the feds. for cash with no bloody plan, and how that worked out...The least the league could do would be to keep the fans apprised about what is going on behind the scenes....We should at least expect that.....

It still feels like nine teams all on their own. It shows with free agency. Some teams claiming they don't have the money to be big spenders like Winnipeg & calgary while others like the Argos seem to be spending like crazy. Teams have to work together to come up with a business plan during the pandemic & not on their own. The cap should have been slashed by half temporarily. All contracts renegotiated. Any player not willing gets cut. And they can't sign with any other CFL teams. Is it fair? No. Is it right? No. But these are desperate times which calls for desperate measures. The CFLPA can go pound sand. But, nope. And here we are going into Year 2 of the pandemic & the CFL is still clueless.

That's the part that floors me. They did literally nothing... every other league van figure out a plan but not the CFL? Get ******.

These guys have had a year to figure this out but it looks like they didn't & learned nothing by missing the season. For Ambrosie to come out in December & lie to us that the season will take place makes me so angry. They had no plan. They sat on their asses & are still wanting government money in the form of a loan.

And people jumped on me because I said it was bullshit that having no plan to play without fans in the stands was a severe lack of effort on the CFLs part. **** you Randy Ambrosie. I swear to God if you kill the CFL on me.... And that whole line about guarantee packed stadiums..... how stupid are they? Out of sight out of mind. People will move on with 2 canceled seasons.

No kidding. Rudderless leadership from you know who & the BOGs!! Scarf Boy was stylin' & profilin' last December pronouncing the league was BACK(!!!!) & even released a schedule. We even believed him. Then we read this.