Site Progress Delayed; CFL News Abounds

Published on May 13, 2008 11:29 PM by dbo.

After a good start, I haven’t posted here in a while due to other commitments. I have plans to implement some features at CFLdb to provide some other methods to publish CFL information which will alleviate the need for me to post about every CFL story. Those features require a theme update and with the season approaching, I have a couple weeks to get that done. Look for those changes by June 1st.

As for the CFL, there have been news on a number of fronts.

Stadiums

David Naylor on globesports.com realized that the CFL is on the verge of a construction boom if the number of proposed CFL stadium projects go through. Montreal has a project in place to revitalize and increase the capacity of Molson Stadium to 25,000. Projects in the proposal stage include Winnipeg’s new stadium tied to new private ownership, a revitalized or new stadium for the conditional Ottawa franchise and ongoing plans in Regina to make improvements to Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. Hamilton has also put their city leadership on notice for the requirement of substantial investment in the existing stadium or a new stadium. Long shots for major stadium investments are Toronto, with media pressure for them to move to BMO Stadium which requires major stadium renovations and expansion, and B.C., whose stadium is fine, but may receive an upgrade to the dome of B.C. Place Stadium due to the 2010 Winter Olympics. This leaves Calgary and Edmonton as the only cities where stadium renovations are not a topic surrounding the local team. The Stampeders do in fact have a wish list of upgrades for the University of Calgary owned McMahon Stadium, however the situation is not as critical as other centres.

League News

An arbitrator has overturned the League’s suspension of the B.C. Lions’ Jason Jimenez handed out last year. The arbitrator ruled the contact on Calgary’s Anthony Gargiulo in question was accidental. This is the second suspension handed down by CFL commissioner in 2007 overturned by an arbitrator.

Don Matthews has been informally advising the conditional Ottawa franchise ownership group. Jeff Hunt downplayed any possibility of Matthews coming out of retirement to hold an official capacity with the club when it takes the field.

The Canadian Football League Players Association is investigating possible collective bargaining agreement infractions. The issue appears to be over teams failing to offer new players one-year plus option contracts rather than multi-year contracts. The CFLPA may seek to have an arbitrator overturn the contracts if they feel the collective agreement was violated.

Players

Free agent running back John Avery is continuing his stand-up comic career as he waits for a CFL team to call with a contract offer.

Former CFL quarterback and current TSN commentator Matt Dunigan has a new gig as host of the series Road Grill on the Food Network, which debuts on May 19.

A few Toronto Argonaut players tried out Trish Stratus’ new yoga studio last week.

Miscellaneous

From April, David Naylor reports that current CFL commissioner Mark Cohon’s legacy will come down to how he handles the arrival of the NFL in Canada and the resulting health of the CFL. While this will be a huge challenge for Cohon and the league, his legacy is a little to early to be predicted, even against such major developments as the NFL’s arrival in Canada. Already Cohon has established a stronger league office, both in the boardroom and on disciplinary actions, brought in a strong Ottawa ownership group after the NFL’s announcement and effectively enforced the league’s SMS. Unlike pundits, Cohon does not need to try to deal with scenarios that may happen in five years, but manage the current situation as it evolves.

While the Bills games in Toronto are well received, no one can predict with certainty what will happen with the possibility of recession hitting Ontario, Buffalo fans increasing season ticket numbers and Ralph Wilson’s death far from imminent.

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Site Progress Delayed; CFL News Abounds was published on May 13, 2008 11:29 PM by dbo.

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This article is categorized under cfldb.ca and tagged with players and stadiums.

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