Toronto Argonauts Thread

cyris

On a Soma Holiday
Dec 6, 2008
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3rd Planet From Sun.
I'd argue the 3 downs is a more exciting brand of football.
To each their own but if I wanted to watch 4 down football I’d go to Buffalo or Detroit to watch it. Both are within reasonable driving distance for me.
I like the Canadian game if they go to 4 downs I won’t be renewing my seasons tickets.
This seems like a great way to alienate your core fan base to try to appease people who still won’t care because it isnt the NFL.
 
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robertmac43

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Mar 31, 2015
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I like the Canadian game if they go to 4 downs I won’t be renewing my seasons tickets.
This seems like a great way to alienate your core fan base to try to appease people who still won’t care because it isnt the NFL.
I'm on the exact same wavelength here. Changing to 4 downs is not going to bring anything more to the league. Argo's attendance does not double with that kind of a change
 
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ACC1224

Super Elite, Passing ALL Tests since 2002
Aug 19, 2002
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CFL should not change what makes it unique.
With the wide field and lining up a yard off the ball it won’t be hard to get 10 yards in 4 plays.
 
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keonsbitterness

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Sep 14, 2010
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CFL should not change what makes it unique.
With the wide field and lining up a yard off the ball it won’t be hard to get 10 yards in 4 plays.
Many NFL d-lines now line up 1/2 yard or more off the ball on obvious passing downs, and sometimes more often. Back when I was a kid they lined up helmet-to-helmet practically every down.
 

ACC1224

Super Elite, Passing ALL Tests since 2002
Aug 19, 2002
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Many NFL d-lines now line up 1/2 yard or more off the ball on obvious passing downs, and sometimes more often. Back when I was a kid they lined up helmet-to-helmet practically every down.
You're right, gives them a bit of room before engaging the line.

I grew up in the Niagara area and when I was a kid we played a yard off the ball in our league but head on head during exhibition games against the US(Tonawanda, Cheektowaga, Gowanda). Those US teams would kill us and that yard made such a difference. I would get sacked on a hand off. :laugh:
Good times, I loved playing football.
 

hockeywiz542

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May 26, 2008
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CFL needs to clear plenty of hurdles in coming months - TSN.ca

Ambrosie’s tenure during the COVID-19 pandemic has been characterized by three things – a failed attempt to stage a 2020 season, an occasionally fractured relationship with the CFL Players Association, and a dance with the owners of the XFL about potential collaboration.

None of those stories played well with the league’s traditional fans, making him often the lightning rod for frustrations and criticism, things that would be hard to just shake off from the centre of the storm.

What the pandemic did, however, was force Ambrosie to talk bluntly about the league’s economic challenges, dropping the league’s traditional fake-it-til-you-make-it approach that all is well under the hood.

Which is no small part of what sent the CFL down the road with the XFL in conversations that would have brought more change to the league in one swoop than in all of its previous existence. Everything from the rules to the business model to the make-up of the players would have had to change overnight.

Ultimately, the league decided not to go there, and the XFL is making plans to relaunch without the CFL in February of 2023. But the fact that the CFL got as far as it did down that road is telling in itself.

The question now becomes how a commissioner who has been blunt and honest about the business of Canadian football intends to change it.

The league’s global player initiative is still years away from providing meaningful monetary returns. It is apparently ready to adopt a broader definition of revenue sharing than ever before. And there is the anticipation that the CFL will get a windfall as the legal gambling market matures.

But beyond that, how does the league get to a place where it can actually create value in its franchises so that people will want to own them?

Philanthropy as a business model is inherently risky as there’s always a day when an owner says “enough” and walks away, as some fear Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment may one do with the Toronto Argonauts. MLSE’s enthusiasm for the XFL collaboration fed speculation it may want out of the CFL business, although there’s no tangible evidence of that being imminent.

To succeed in their business of operating a professional sports league, the CFL must find ways to reverse the demographic trends that have been happening for years, with its fan base aging out and not being replaced from the other end. That’s a theme that’s come up a lot this season, including in public from the chairman of the Edmonton Elks.


And then there is the matter of the game and its entertainment value which dipped considerably in 2021.

In short, CFL games this season were lower-scoring, with less offence, often filled with turnovers and sacks.


It hasn’t been pretty football to watch, which leaves the league with a choice: attribute the diminished quality of the game to the pandemic and do nothing. Or get out the wrench and start playing with the parts.

There is reason to believe it’s not just about the pandemic, with the league trending in a defensive direction before the year-long stoppage in play. And many point to an Ambrosie initiative to eliminate padded practices in 2017 as one of the culprits, making it all extremely challenging to develop offensive linemen, who are instead forced to learn on the job at their team’s expense.
 

hockeywiz542

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CFL announces two fines from Eastern Final - CFL.ca

CFL announces two fines from Eastern Final

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — The CFL announced the following fines on Wednesday:

Toronto Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson has been fined for an inappropriate on-field incident with a cameraperson following the Eastern Final on Sunday, December 5.

Toronto Argonauts defensive back Chris Edwards has been suspended for six games for his role in a fan altercation following the Eastern Final on Sunday, December 5. The suspension will commence in the first regular season game for which Edwards is eligible.

As per league policy, the amount of the player fine was not disclosed.
 

hockeywiz542

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May 26, 2008
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2022 Offseason Tracker - Toronto Argonauts

2022 Offseason Tracker

By Adam Krueger

December 29, 2021

The CFL offseason has offcially begun! Players who are eligible for free agency can now extend their contracts or they’ll hit the open market on February 8, 2022.

Here is the full list of the 2022 Argo free agents and their current extension status.
 

hockeywiz542

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May 26, 2008
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Tiger-Cats to announce new ownership structure - TSN.ca

The Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats will announce a new ownership structure on Sunday, one that sees long-time owner Bob Young remain in the picture while welcoming investment from one of the city’s iconic business brands.

Under the creation of the Hamilton Sports Group, which includes the Tiger-Cats, Canadian Premier League (CPL) soccer franchise Forge FC and the master licence for 23,000-seat Tim Hortons Field, Young will serve as chairman and remain the largest single shareholder.

Entering the picture will be Hamilton-based steel company Stelco, which will take on a large minority share of the new business.

Stelco’s chairman and CEO, Alan Kestenbaum, is a minority shareholder of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and will represent the company’s ownership in the Hamilton Sports Group.

Additional shares are being taken on by executives Scott Mitchell (current Ticats/Forge CEO) and Jim Lawson, the CEO of Woodbine Entertainment.

The new structure is the first significant change to the Tiger-Cats ownership since Young rescued the team from bankruptcy in 2003. Since that time, he has stewarded the team through a redevelopment of its business that includes the move to Tim Hortons Field in 2014.

Under the leadership of Young, Mitchell, CFO Doug Rye, president of business operations Matt Afinec and newly appointed president of football operations Orlondo Steinauer, the Tiger-Cats have turned themselves into one of the CFL’s best-run organizations.
 

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