https://www.tsn.ca/naylor-many-questions-but-few-answers-on-a-2021-cfl-season-1.1543725

The Canadian Football League has been outrageously quiet since it pulled the plug on its season more than two months ago, leaving behind a wake of speculation about where things are headed next.

With the reality setting in that COVID-19 is likely to still be around in some form next summer, there is real concern about what the 2021 season might look like or if it will occur at all.

There are teams that believe it is vitally important to play in 2021 and that without a season the CFL is in danger of being mothballed. Whether every team believes that is another question. And there is a lot to sort out before anyone can accurately predict what a season might look like and how much pain the teams are collectively willing to stomach to make it happen.

The league and its franchises are currently running through various scenarios for next season, trying to get a handle on true costs of each and working at ways to trim budgets and save money. That’s likely to continue until the league can truly choose a course of action, which feels like next April at the earliest.

Why? Well, there’s not much point in fully committing to a scenario that’s seven months away if that scenario might be totally unrealistic by the time you get there.

There has been no 2021 business plan presented yet, only regular updates to the presidents and governors about what the league is doing to prepare for the unknown.

It should be noted that teams will need to make decisions about retaining assistant coaches with expiring contracts by December, which will be the first real economic commitments to a 2021 season. Restrictions on signing players will need to be lifted well before the opening of February free agency, where players are likely to meet a cautious market – one in which signing bonuses will probably be absent.

There’s a collective bargaining agreement to amend, if not renegotiate, with the players, which will require some kind of pressure point because it always does. But the league can’t sit down with the players until it gets a true handle on revenues and it can’t do that until it chooses a course of action.

Will CFL teams be allowed to have full stadiums next summer? It doesn't seem likely. But just what percentage of capacity will be allowed – if any at all – is impossible to guess. It seems as if the league is counting on the restrictions that currently prevent fans from being in stadiums being lifted. But to what degree?

When will we see a schedule? Good question. Or could we see multiple schedules for different scenarios? Never say never.

Could it be a 21-week, 18-game season played in home stadiums? Unlikely, given the losses teams are expected to take with reduced numbers of fans in the stands. Could we see a return to the 10-week bubble? Maybe. A nine-game schedule played in home stadiums before fans? Perhaps.

The point is no one knows, so demanding answers to questions that can’t possibly be answered right now is a waste of time.

All we know is that there’s going to be a lot less revenue for teams to operate with under any scenario, not just because of crowd restrictions but also due to older fans choosing to stay home for their safety. The CFL’s fan demographics do it no favours in this regard.

Getting consensus on a best course of action won’t be easy for the CFL’s nine teams. Back in the summer, there were teams that were willing to play without government support and teams that weren’t. And just like then, the biggest challenge commissioner Randy Ambrosie faces now is finding a scenario they can all live with.

Adopting a revenue-sharing model so that each team absorbs the same amount of red ink would certainly make consensus-building easier, which many believe should be the direction for the future, COVID-19 or not.

The other elephant in the room is federal government, which many in the CFL believe left it high and dry last summer after months of back-and-forth talks where the league believed it was making progress.

Is the CFL prepared to go down that road again, knowing it doesn’t control the timeline and larger forces can change things in an instant? Perhaps, although it’s not as though the feds don’t have a long list of people coming at them with their hands out.

There will be voices demanding the owners suck up the losses of playing a season under any circumstance, as owners have done in other sports. But the business calculation in sports such as MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA is different because of the percentage of revenues those leagues derive from television.

Losses sustained by playing in those leagues can also be viewed as investments towards protecting massive franchise values. That’s not the case in the CFL, where teams can’t just float money on the backs of their franchise values, and where one third of the teams are publicly owned.

It would be beneficial for the league to soon announce its formal commitment to play some kind of season in 2021.

But beyond that, get ready for months more of waiting with lots of questions and speculation but very few answers.

9 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Does anyone know if the two argoblows coaches currently suspended is because they refuse to get vacced or do they hate CJ so much they don't want to be on the same coaching staff with him or both?

I remember hearing something on a TSN broadcast but they were fairly vague on the details.

The exact details have not yet been released. And probably will not be. 

If they were not released because they refused to get vaxxed, MLSE and the argos implication that it was the cause of their release would be action worthy imo. 

I hope, especially for young, that its not the case. But at this point having heard nothing from them I would tend to believe it is the cause. 

Edited September 21, 20214 yr by wbbfan

Well that escalated quickly:

 

 

Dave Naylor

 

@TSNDaveNaylor

 

Chis Jones is running the

@TorontoArgos

defence as of today and will be calling plays this Friday against the

@MTLAlouettes

. #Argos #CFL

5 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

Well that escalated quickly:

 

 

Dave Naylor

 

@TSNDaveNaylor

 

Chis Jones is running the

@TorontoArgos

defence as of today and will be calling plays this Friday against the

@MTLAlouettes

. #Argos #CFL

Ah, yes... "consulting."

5 hours ago, Geebrr said:

Nobody outside of Saskatchewan buys this trash explanation.

 

Just like no one outside Canada bought Ben Johnson’s “tainted water bottle” original excuse, no one outside San Francisco believed Barry Bonds, no one outside the USA believed Carl Lewis or Lance Armstrong, and no one else outside Winnipeg believed Andrew Harris. Fan bases are funny that way. 

11 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

Ah, yes... "consulting."

I'm thinking Mr. Dinwiddie might be looking over his shoulder a bit.

13 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Just like no one outside Canada bought Ben Johnson’s “tainted water bottle” original excuse, no one outside San Francisco believed Barry Bonds, no one outside the USA believed Carl Lewis or Lance Armstrong, and no one else outside Winnipeg believed Andrew Harris. Fan bases are funny that way. 

"I don't know how to piss" is a new level of bullshit.

47 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

I'm thinking Mr. Dinwiddie might be looking over his shoulder a bit.

That would too bad , i think he has done a good job and has shown a lot of promise as a rookie coach.

20 minutes ago, bb1 said:

That would too bad , i think he has done a good job and has shown a lot of promise as a rookie coach.

Yeah, but it'd be an upgrade for him to go some place with more than 3 fans any way. 

John Hodge@JohnDHodge

A.C. Leonard tells the media that he was at the team's facility until 2:00 a.m. trying to provide a sample for drug testing.

The game ended at 7:00 p.m. local time.#Riders | #UniteInGreen | #CFL

Couldnt piss in 7 hours?!?!? LMFAO

Edited September 21, 20214 yr by Bubba Zanetti

Do you think the league “manufactured” the extra game suspension for abuse because they wanted to discourage future players from refusing the test by making the suspension worse than testing positive? 

1 minute ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Do you think the league “manufactured” the extra game suspension for abuse because they wanted to discourage future players from refusing the test by making the suspension worse than testing positive? 

Manufactured.....???really...You actually believe the league operates in a clandestine manner???really

2 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

John Hodge@JohnDHodge

A.C. Leonard tells the media that he was at the team's facility until 2:00 a.m. trying to provide a sample for drug testing.

The game ended at 7:00 p.m. local time.#Riders | #UniteInGreen | #CFL

Couldnt piss in 7 hours?!?!? LMFAO

Wasnt it 11pm before? Dont know why they keep piling on more BS. 

Just now, Stickem said:

Manufactured.....???really...You actually believe the league operates in a clandestine manner???really

As if the PA would be ok with the CFL doing that lmao. AC has had some new event and excuse every day. If it didnt happen he'd be screaming that on every media platform. 

4 minutes ago, Stickem said:

Manufactured.....???really...You actually believe the league operates in a clandestine manner???really

Not sure if this is sarcasm or legit, but it seemed odd they gave him 2 games and then delayed the extra game for a week and a half when the entire incident including the abuse was one thing all at the same time. Why not give out 3 games all at once?

Just now, TrueBlue4ever said:

Not sure if this is sarcasm or legit, but it seemed odd they gave him 2 games and then delayed the extra game for a week and a half when the entire incident including the abuse was one thing all at the same time. Why not give out 3 games all at once?

Maybe they needed to complete their investigation? Discuss with the PA? 

2 minutes ago, JCon said:

Maybe they needed to complete their investigation? Discuss with the PA? 

The refusal is an automatic suspension. But the incident with the official was not. They may have waited on evidence, an investigation, and had the PA weigh in or investigate them self. Its not really surprising. 

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Wasnt it 11pm before? Dont know why they keep piling on more BS. 

As if the PA would be ok with the CFL doing that lmao. AC has had some new event and excuse every day. If it didnt happen he'd be screaming that on every media platform. 

A guy gets a 3 game suspension missing lots of scratch and he or the PA doesnt file a grievance? 

3 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Just like no one outside Canada bought Ben Johnson’s “tainted water bottle” original excuse, no one outside San Francisco believed Barry Bonds, no one outside the USA believed Carl Lewis or Lance Armstrong, and no one else outside Winnipeg believed Andrew Harris. Fan bases are funny that way. 

I lived in san fran area when Bonds was doing his thing...people all knew and believed it...trust me hahaha

Comparing what AC Leonard did and Harris, which one is worse?

22 minutes ago, Booch said:

I lived in san fran area when Bonds was doing his thing...people all knew and believed it...trust me hahaha

Maybe the word “believe” should have interpreted as “accept”. I was in San Fran too, and a lot of folks in the fandom and on the club were happy to ignore the noise surrounding him when he played for the Giants and was a star there. Perhaps my socIal circle was different from yours. Both could easily exist. 

12 minutes ago, Saidin said:

Comparing what AC Leonard did and Harris, which one is worse?

Both violated the policy, both got 2 game suspensions. From a black and white static punishment point of view, they are equal. From a subjective morality point of view, it will completely depend on who is answering the question. 

Edited September 21, 20214 yr by TrueBlue4ever

Leonard was worse, he abused an official and refused a drug test which is the same as failing one. Harris failed a drug test.

hamilton v ottawa tomorrow.

with all the drugs that are legal, I dont get why steroids are illegal.

I remember a favre interview, he had some injury, he said oh, no problem ill just get it shot up before the game. some legal drug. 

 

dont players routinely , legally, take drugs to mask pain, speed healing?

its actually comical...in a way, being concerned about health in an extremely violent sport.

where people break legs, arms, wrists, skulls, playing within the rules. 

look at the nfl guys. no way many of them arent on something.

re ben johnson:

 

"Carl Lewis has broken his silence on allegations that he was the beneficiary of a drugs cover-up, admitting he had tested positive for banned substances but claiming he was just one of "hundreds" of American athletes who were allowed to escape bans. 

"There were hundreds of people getting off," he said. "Everyone was treated the same." 

Lewis has now acknowledged that he failed three tests during the 1988 US Olympic trials, which under international rules at the time should have prevented him from competing in the Seoul games two months later."

fix was in.

 

Edited September 21, 20214 yr by Mark F

2 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Maybe the word “believe” should have interpreted as “accept”. I was in San Fran too, and a lot of folks in the fandom and on the club were happy to ignore the noise surrounding him when he played for the Giants and was a star there. Perhaps my socIal circle was different from yours. Both could easily exist. 

Both violated the policy, both got 2 game suspensions. From a black and white static punishment point of view, they are equal. From a subjective morality point of view, it will completely depend on who is answering the question. 

Oh I agree with u...many didn't want to accept it...and like it is with sports...a guy can do no wrong when on yuur squad...but is a bum when he leaves haha...where abouts u live..I we as basically in El Sobrante for the most part...

 

 

 

2 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

Leonard was worse, he abused an official and refused a drug test which is the same as failing one. Harris failed a drug test.

Harris tho...technicaly showed trace amounts of a substance nobody in football would use...and is very very hard to even get now..and not worth the bang for the buck...only player who might use what he was flagged onnis maybe a big ol lineman who wanted to bulk up..and then only in the off-season as u would have next to no aerobic capacity on it..a rb..db.. receiver would never use that even in off-season and from my experience (don't go off on me now Tburgess ) is why I know Harris showing of it was unintentional...as it would have made him worse and not better in season.

Yeah technically it was a fail...but it was also an amount that was insignificant too...and he took test..one of many he has taken each year..every year for a while now without issue...therein lies the difference

13 hours ago, Mark F said:

hamilton v ottawa tomorrow.

with all the drugs that are legal, I dont get why steroids are illegal.

I remember a favre interview, he had some injury, he said oh, no problem ill just get it shot up before the game. some legal drug. 

 

dont players routinely , legally, take drugs to mask pain, speed healing?

its actually comical...in a way, being concerned about health in an extremely violent sport.

where people break legs, arms, wrists, skulls, playing within the rules. 

look at the nfl guys. no way many of them arent on something.

re ben johnson:

 

"Carl Lewis has broken his silence on allegations that he was the beneficiary of a drugs cover-up, admitting he had tested positive for banned substances but claiming he was just one of "hundreds" of American athletes who were allowed to escape bans. 

"There were hundreds of people getting off," he said. "Everyone was treated the same." 

Lewis has now acknowledged that he failed three tests during the 1988 US Olympic trials, which under international rules at the time should have prevented him from competing in the Seoul games two months later."

fix was in.

 

You make some good points. Steroids are a powerful tool for recovering from a serious injury. In general im very libertarian when it comes to drugs. On face value Id have no problem with steroids being legalized in pro sports, or atleast some thing that you could get exemptions for and get strong support and guidance with. 

Pain killers are a big problem imo. But there is no easy answer for that, especially in the NFL and pro sports. 

I think the issue that will prevent that from happening is the re injury rates among athletes. Pro athletes put a great deal more strain on their body than average joes do. For an average joe the risk of a follow up injury due to steroids is pretty low and worth the risk. For pro athletes I think its too high. Its causes joints to be especially prone, namely neck discs and knees. Which are pretty serious concerns for athletes as it is. 

Frankly, I didnt care too much that bonds juiced up. Most of baseball was juiced at that point in time, and today the pitchers are juicing the balls like never before. Baseball always has some dirty cheating secret. There is no clean era. So I cant really thumb my nose at one era and not another. We all knew in the homerun era that guys were juiced to the ****. And more people watched than ever. To have watched then go and shun the players would be a great hypocrisy. 

Bonds was a world class selfish ass. Rafael palmeiro claimed the moral high ground, lied in court, and was juiced for a considerable time.  You can judge them for that. Neither one is half as bad as some one like ty cobb though. 

 

14 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

get strong support and guidance with. 

exactly. 

Edited September 22, 20214 yr by Mark F