2012 CFL Season

[JQK]

Dear TSN, do not alienate your fanbase - understand it. The 5 most popular sports for Canadian viewers are

1. Hockey (so air some CHL games if there are no NHL games)

2. Football

3. Baseball

4. Basketball

5. Soccer

Golf should be relegated to a specialty channel, as it is a niche sport for viewership among Canadian audiences. You very nearly lost me as a viewer tonight. Fail to take heed of this warning, and you will likely lose many more viewers than just myself.

You'd be surprised how little your, or anyones, viewership means to the corporation itself.

Remember, you're not the customer.

[Magnus]

I'm not the customer? I can understand that TV networks pay the leagues for the right to air their games, but the TV networks are paid by subscribers to air their content. Ergo, those subscribers are the customers, and they should get what they pay for, especially if it is advertised on TV Guide that 'X team vs Y team' is airing at 7:00 on (specific network, not their affiliate which you need an advanced cable package to watch).

Anyway, it seems like a difficult road for Toronto to claim 1st in the East at the end of the season, but I figure they at least have a decent chance. Here's how I hope it will break down.

Week 15 - Argos W over SSK (8-6), Als W over WPG (9-5)

Week 16 - Argos W over Als (9-6)(9-6) I figure this week's game is a must-win for Toronto to have any chance of gaining 1st place in the East.

Week 17 - Argos W over WPG (10-6) Als W over SSK (10-6)

Week 18 - Argos W over SSK (11-6) Als W over EDM (11-6)

Week 19 - Argos W over HAM (12-6) Als W over WPG (12-6) *(Argos gain higher seeding due to winning season series 2-1.)

That calls for 5 straight wins by Toronto to end the season, which is something they have not come close to so far this season, but considering the opponents, I think there is a reasonable chance of it happening.

[NEW.ERA]

You need a healthy Ricky Ray. I don't expect Jarious Jackson to go all beast mode.

[Magnus]

Unexpected events in Montreal today, with the Bombers leading the Als midway through the 4th. As an Argonauts fan, today I say Go Bombers.

Edit: 26-16 Bombers.

BOMBERS WIN!

[Magnus]

So, talk about an odd twist - with both Montreal and Toronto losing this week, next week's showdown pits one team at .500 against another (with just one more win) for first place. The CFL sure is strange sometimes.

[walby2]

As a Bomber fan, I cannot believe that they pulled off the upset.

In my prediction pool I took Montreal thinking this game would be the lock of the year... but between Montreal looking uncharacteristically inept and the Bombers executing their gameplan well, it turned out to be quite a day for the big Blue!

[officeglenn]

TSN kicked off their "Engraved on a Nation" documentary series tonight with "The 13th Man," exploring the passion of Saskatchewan Roughriders fans, mostly through the lens of the infamous too-many-men penalty in the 2009 Grey Cup. Very well done; catch a replay if you can. Up next is "Stone Thrower: The Chuck Ealey Story." Ealey was before my time, but the previews look pretty compelling.

I'm not the customer? I can understand that TV networks pay the leagues for the right to air their games, but the TV networks are paid by subscribers to air their content. Ergo, those subscribers are the customers, and they should get what they pay for, especially if it is advertised on TV Guide that 'X team vs Y team' is airing at 7:00 on (specific network, not their affiliate which you need an advanced cable package to watch).

Ultimately, no, the viewers are not the customer. Whatever a television network makes in subscription fees is a drop in the bucket compared to what they make from advertisers. It's the same in any media; hell, the newspaper I work at is given away free, so we make all our money off advertisers.

Essentially, you are what they are selling to advertisers, so they'll put on whatever they think will attract the most eyeballs. And frankly, if I'm a TSN exec and trying to figure out what that is, I'd go with a once-every-two-years golf event featuring some of the best players in the world over a regular season CFL game, of which there were three others that same week, to put on the marquee channel. Even if I were deciding what goes on the front page of the sports section of a national newspaper or what is up first on a national sports broadcast like Sportscentre, the Ryder Cup wins out every time in that situation.

You call golf a "niche sport," which it arguably is, but those who love it really love it, and pour tons of money into it. And if I'm an advertiser, that's definitely the type of person I want to market to.

[Stampman]

Well this weekend sucked--CFL-wise, excpet for the one game I didn't care who won (Als vs Bombers)

The others sucked...

Score-wise that is.

Not the football that was played.

[officeglenn]

Ottawa city council votes to build new stadium; team could be in place as early as 2014. [TSN]

[NEW.ERA]

Welcome back! Winnipeg can go back West.

Ottawa Raccoons, that's my suggestion for team name. Have him look like a mashup between the Rough Riders and Renegades.

[pollux]

I hope they'll consider adding a tenth franchise soon to balance out the East and the West.

Halifax or Quebec City should be the next city to have a CFL team.

[Magnus]

You call golf a "niche sport," which it arguably is, but those who love it really love it, and pour tons of money into it. And if I'm an advertiser, that's definitely the type of person I want to market to.

True. I get the impression that the general audience for golf is a crowd old enough to be able to afford a set of golf clubs and expensive greens fees and tee times, as well as club memberships. No wonder NHLers play golf in the off-season - they too can afford it. I'm still mad, though. I hope nobody decides to air golf when the Grey Cup is supposed to be showing. Well, unless Montreal is playing in it. They can go to hell.

[JQK]

I'm not the customer? I can understand that TV networks pay the leagues for the right to air their games, but the TV networks are paid by subscribers to air their content. Ergo, those subscribers are the customers, and they should get what they pay for, especially if it is advertised on TV Guide that 'X team vs Y team' is airing at 7:00 on (specific network, not their affiliate which you need an advanced cable package to watch).

The advertisers are the customers. You are the product. The stations (radio/tv) are selling you to the advertisers.

[walby2]

I hope they'll consider adding a tenth franchise soon to balance out the East and the West.

Halifax or Quebec City should be the next city to have a CFL team.

As a fan, I think 10 teams would be the perfect number for a Canadian league. This way the growth of teams doesn't outstrip the availability of Canadian talent, yet you provide enough variety for the fans. For instance, Watching the Bombers play divsional rivals like Montreal 4 times over an 18 game schedule (plus once in the preseason) can be a little repetitive.

I think Quebec is out of the picture because they're putting so much money into a new NHL arena right now in order to get a team back. They're probably a little stretched at the moment. Halifax would be the most logical place for a new team, but unfortunately they can't seem to get their act together enough to build a new stadium. Hopefully that will change soon.

[walby2]

And if I can brag for a moment... Bomber QB Joey Elliott was named CFL offensive player of the week following Winnipeg's HUGE UPSET win over Montreal on Thanksgiving Monday.

His reward? A chance to ride the pine as starter Buck Pierce returns to action this week vs. Calgary. Former Bomber DT Doug Brown questioned the Bombers on sitting Elliott given his success in Montreal, but I can see the logic of the decision. Pierce is a good QB and the Bombers have a good chance of winning, provided he can finish the game healthy. For now Pierce is the starter and deserves the chance to take on the Stampeders.

Here's a shot of Elliott from Monday's game:

[Lee.]

Yeah. Saying Pierce should be the started provided he stays healthy is like saying Saskatoon could be the new Miami provided it was in south Florida. He's made of sticks, and has only finished what, 17 games since he got to Winnipeg?

I like the guy, but at some point he's really got to sit down and start examining the possibilities that exist for him after football.

[NEW.ERA]

We see what can happens when Pierce is healthy, and we see what happens after Joey Elliott plays well.

I think your playing with fire, if you lose you're done. I say ride the hot hand, but guess that doesn't matter anymore.

[walby2]

Whoops, looks like the latest word is that Buck Pierce wasn't medically cleared so Joey Elliott will get the start vs. Calgary.

I would go so far as to say that leading the Bombers to a win on Saturday will effectively allow Elliott to lock up the starting QB job for next season.

[NEW.ERA]

Elliott is the QB for this team. As much as I hate for what is happening to Buck. Get out, well you still can.

[Lee.]

Let Buck back up. Let Brink handle short yardage, let Buck be #2 and tutor Elliott, and let Elliott be #1. Buck can eventually transition into a QB coach or whatever, but he has to stop trying to be the man.