2017 CFL Season

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I'll add that University of Washington sports has absolutely no presence or visibility whatsoever in Vancouver.

The Husky Marching Band has done a few Lions half time show, but you are right for the most part, you are correct. Just not the same affection for University sports in Canada

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by esquire

I try my best to avoid an eyeroll when I listen to someone talking about "my Broncos" or whatever, but I think I'd probably just outright guffaw if I heard a Canadian university graduate refer to "my Buckeyes", "my Longhorns" or whatever.

The "my" part is very odd. It's a fashion statement, I guess, and the more esoteric the choice of team the more fascinating and unique a person one must be.

I do remember that, when the Jets were in the WHA, we schoolboys would all have a favourite NHL team that was chosen without reference to proximity to Winnipeg. I liked Buffalo and the NY Islanders. I don't believe it would have occurred to me to refer to them as "mine" though. And these were mostly teams of the imagination, as you would virtually never see them on television (I believe I saw the California Golden Seals on HNIC once -- it was totally amazing to see the players as anything other than hockey-card images -- I'm not sure if I ever saw the Kings or Atlanta Flames on Canadian TV).

Coming back to football, the Vikings were certainly Winnipeg's home team in the Bud Grant era, but I don't remember much media coverage other than maybe making them the headline in the Monday wrap-up of NFL games in the paper.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by cjones2451

The Husky Marching Band has done a few Lions half time show, but you are right for the most part, you are correct. Just not the same affection for University sports in Canada

It didn't used to be that way. At one point, the University of Toronto football team had higher average attendance than the NFL.

1950 average attendance, University of Toronto: 25,593
1950 average attendance, NFL: 25,356

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Andy6

The "my" part is very odd. It's a fashion statement, I guess, and the more esoteric the choice of team the more fascinating and unique a person one must be.

I swear that must be the line of thinking.

Coming back to football, the Vikings were certainly Winnipeg's home team in the Bud Grant era, but I don't remember much media coverage other than maybe making them the headline in the Monday wrap-up of NFL games in the paper.

Through the 1990s and maybe into the early 2000s, former Free Press columnist Scott Taylor did his best to pump up the Vikings with weekly game reports. It never really took off and after Taylor was bounced we pretty well never again saw a local sportswriter trying to hold the Vikings up as a home team. But that said, there is a small cadre of Vikings fans from Manitoba who regularly head down to watch games, including this well known Vikings superfan from Transcona... he drives down for every game.

[elly63]

CFL ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
League to dedicate new resources to major push on ticketing and analytics.

Thursday, December 7, 2017 — TORONTO – The Canadian Football League announced today organizational changes that include the dedication of new resources to ticketing and analytics.

“Putting fans in seats – and in concourses or other social areas as fans’ tastes evolve – is a top priority for our league,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the CFL.

“Truly understanding what works and doesn’t work, based not on instinct but on real metrics measured in real time, must be the foundation of any business in this digital age.”

Ambrosie said the league is beginning the recruiting process for new talent dedicated to Data Analytics and Ticket Sales Management.

He also announced a new structure for the league office designed to position it for success.

“The CFL exists on two equally vital platforms: football and business. Football is our product, the core of all that we do. Business is our purpose, the thing that drives us,” Ambrosie said.

“We owe it to our governors, our teams, our partners and especially our fans to strive to reach new heights on both platforms.”

A new Senior Leadership Team for Football, reporting directly to Ambrosie, will now include: Kevin McDonald, the Vice-President, Football Operations and Player Safety; Ryan Janzen, who is promoted to Senior Director, Football Operations: and Darren Hackwood, who is promoted to Senior Director, Officiating.

With a combined experience of almost 40 years in the CFL, the trio will work with the rest of league’s football operations staff and the league’s coaches, general managers and players.

The Senior Leadership Team for Business will include Greg Dick, Christina Litz, Matt Maychak, Tyler Mazereeuw and Susan Jones Bouk.

Dick becomes the Chief Operations Officer and Chief Finance Officer whose responsibilities include Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Security and administration of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. The new Data Analytics function will report to him.

Litz becomes Chief Marketing, Digital and Strategy Officer, a title which recognizes her leading and expansive role within the organization. To ensure a strong link between football and business, the Senior Leadership Team for Football will meet regularly in a forum chaired by Litz. Promotions within her department include Vanessa Morbi to Vice-President, Marketing and Digital; Kelly Shouldice to Vice President, Content; and Sully Syed to Senior Director, Technology.

Céline Séguin, promoted to Senior Director Events and General Manager Grey Cup, will oversee newly combined Grey Cup and Events functions and report directly to the Commissioner.

Maychak becomes Chief Communications Officer responsible for media relations, public affairs, government relations and issues management.

Mazereeuw becomes Chief Revenue officer and adds the Ticketing Sales Management function to his key role as the league lead on corporate partnerships. Owen Welsh is promoted to Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships.

Jones Bouk, a consultant to the league on People and Talent matters, is a trusted advisor to the Commissioner and a resource to the entire league office.

Ambrosie also congratulated Glen Johnson whose retirement as the Senior Vice-President, Football was announced earlier this afternoon.

“Glen steps away after a 28-year-association with the CFL that put him on the field officiating 11 Grey Cup games and in our boardroom as we fashioned the future of our business,” Ambrosie said. “I am glad he has agreed to consult with our league as needed and we all wish him well.”

[25grapes]

Gotta love Randy's take the bull by the horns mentality.

[osmo]

Canada has very weak alumni infrastructure and culture. Thus lack of culture then bleeds into lack of interest in Canadian sports such as the CFL that is not getting new fans who are going to schools with very prominent football culture such as your Bishop or Queens.

You can't knock the USA Colleges in this situation as they have excellent alumni culture with folks staying up to date on their schools and making trips to homecoming or big rival games each year. CFL would benefit greatly if it had the same alumni culture that would carry over fans from Usports. CFL in older days also made a splash when they could get Hugh quality USA NCAA prospects that would carry over many Alumni into taking interest in following their players.

The Riders are the only team with a fan base that reminds me of a USA College where even from away the fans still stay locked in and give their time and money back to the team when they can.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by esquire

Now THAT is commitment! LOL!

I'm am kind of hoping that the only permanent tattoo is that stupid barbed wire one. But I have a feeling that the shield and Thor tats are real as well. Idjit.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by isaidso

It didn't used to be that way. At one point, the University of Toronto football team had higher average attendance than the NFL.

1950 average attendance, University of Toronto: 25,593
1950 average attendance, NFL: 25,356

When my mother was at Queen’s in the 1950s the whole school would get on the train to go to the away football games in Montreal or Toronto or London. You have to remember that pro football was long just a relatively minor and not especially important outgrowth of college football, kind of on the level of Seniors golf vs. the PGA tour.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

I'm am kind of hoping that the only permanent tattoo is that stupid barbed wire one

I wonder if that TV commercial helped killed them off because you don't seem to see them like you used to, same as the "tramp stamp"

A while back there was a commercial where a father and son were mountain climbing and then a guy comes climbing beside them with the ubiquitous barbed wire tattoo. The father looks over, then says "Nice tattoo", the writer of the commercial obviously taking the piss out of everybody having them.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by 25grapes

Gotta love Randy's take the bull by the horns mentality.

He mentioned the ticketing scheme in one of his addresses. He had been with other leagues' officials talking about what they do and I believe he was inspired by some things the PGA do. He mentioned something else as well IIRC, perhaps the NBA.

[elly63]

Commish, Riders’ Brandon Bridge to meet in December about Canadian QB and the ratio
Justin Dunk 3downnation December 8, 2017

Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge and CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie are set to meet in December to discuss national quarterbacks with regards to the ratio.

Bridge and Ambrosie had a discussion about non-import quarterbacks and the ratio at the Riders Plaza of Honour event in late September. And in October assured the 25-year-old Mississauga native that a face-to-face chat would happen.

“I’m really just trying to open up doors for Canadian players that want to play quarterback. That’s my whole goal and that comes from winning,” Bridge said after coming off the bench to lead a comeback win in Toronto last season.

Bridge went 92-0f-138 for 1,236 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions while leading the Riders to a pair of wins in 2017, both on the road. He sparked the Riders offence in the East Final, completing 11-of-21 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown in the team’s defeat. That TD toss was the first by a Canadian in a post-season game since Russ Jackson in the 1969 Grey Cup.

Ambrosie, like Bridge on the field, has been very active in his first season as commissioner.

The CFL’s new boss has acted quickly on issues such as replay and limiting challenges and admittedly done a lot of listening to people heavily involved and passionate about the league around the country. Ambrosie has visited every CFL stadium, putting the mileage in to prove he wants to grow the three-down game nationwide.

Canadian quarterbacks and the ratio has become a hot-button topic with signal callers like Bridge and Calgary’s Andrew Buckley emerging as players with great potential for long-term careers in the CFL. Currently, pivots born in our home and native land are not seen as nationals on game day rosters. The emergence of Bridge and Buckley as Canuck pivots has caused reason for a longer discussion and examination surrounding their possible involvement in a team’s Canadian equation.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by elly63

Commish, Riders’ Brandon Bridge to meet in December about Canadian QB and the ratio
Justin Dunk 3downnation December 8, 2017

Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge and CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie are set to meet in December to discuss national quarterbacks with regards to the ratio.

It's a tough issue because all it will do is replace a lot of Canadians who can play with Canadians who can't or, at any rate, don't. Unless Ambrosie can work out some sort of appropriate incentives, teams will just stick a token Canadian QB on the roster as a third or fourth stringer who never plays and dump their Canadian wide receivers or an offensive lineman.

[snowmobile]

I was curling in an event here in Winnipeg a few weeks back and we were drinking with our opponents before the game and one of them mentioned they wanted to have college football on the club's t.v. So I go over to get the remote and switch on Laval vs. Calgary national semifinal, they all roll there eyes at this and change it to Michigan vs Maryland and proceed to watch none of it.

The way people think nowadays is "how many likes will I get at a Bisons game vs gophers"

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by snowmobile

I was curling in an event here in Winnipeg a few weeks back and we were drinking with our opponents before the game and one of them mentioned they wanted to have college football on the club's t.v. So I go over to get the remote and switch on Laval vs. Calgary national semifinal, they all roll there eyes at this and change it to Michigan vs Maryland and proceed to watch none of it.

The way people think nowadays is "how many likes will I get at a Bisons game vs gophers"

I am sorry but the quality of CIS football to that of U.S college is night and day. Laval may be great but look at Acadia being beat 81-3 by Western its a complete joke. Check out Acadia's roster and you have players listed at 150 lbs they have a 205 lb middle linebacker and olinemen at 225 lbs its ridiculous.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I am sorry but the quality of CIS football to that of U.S college is night and day. Laval may be great but look at Acadia being beat 81-3 by Western its a complete joke. Check out Acadia's roster and you have players listed at 150 lbs they have a 205 lb middle linebacker and olinemen at 225 lbs its ridiculous.

There's clearly a big difference between the CIS and the NCAA but ideally Canadians would not roll their eyes at their own universities and sports.

But that's not the point. I just wanted to mention that I seem to see massive leads like that in the NCAA too, so I'm not sure that can be used as a strike against the CIS. Anyone in the top 10 playing an average school generally wins by at least 40.

[MonctonRad]

I enjoy going down to Sackville and watching a couple of Mount Allison Mountie games every fall. It's great atmosphere. Sure, a small university like MTA won't be able to field a national contender, but that's kinda beside the point. It's still football, and reasonably good football too. It's important to support Canadian university football and not just drool over the American game.

[esquire]

The problem with U Sports from a competitiveness standpoint is that there are too few football teams to create a tiered system along the lines of what they have in the US. What we have here is the equivalent of having, say, Ohio State playing a small community college from Boise.

[elly63]

West coast shocker: Stefan Ptaszek accepts job at UBC
Justin Dunk 3downnation December 9, 2017

Stefan Ptaszek is taking his talents to Kits Beach.

The former McMaster Mauraders head coach has spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but will return to the Canadian university ranks as the OC of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

In doing so, the 46-year-old is turning down at least one head coaching opportunity – sources say the University of Toronto coveted the 46-year-old for their top job – in order to take a coordinator position. But after two years with the Ticats and having already won a Vanier Cup at Mac, Ptaszek is ready for a different challenge.

“For my personal health, the UBC offer is the one,” Ptaszek said. “A year to catch my breath, not that it’s going to be easy, but it’s right in front of you: get first downs and touchdowns. It’s not head coaching where you’re fundraising, recruiting and all that other stuff. I’ll help recruit and get ready for the season, but I get some time with my family.”

While Vancouver – and Kitsilano Beach – are a long way from his home in Dundas, Ptaszek has worked out a family-friendly arrangement with head coach Blake Nill that will see him stay in Ontario until just before the start of the 2018 USports season.

“I get six months right now to be the best dad and husband I can be and head out to Vancouver in the summer and start supporting Coach Nill and the Thunderbird program,” Ptaszek said. “I sat down with my family and picked the option that was going to be the best for my three children and my talented wife. That’s always going to be the trump card.”

UBC and Ptaszek agreed to a one-year deal but both sides are open to making it a long-term relationship.

While Ptaszek has spent the majority of his coaching career in Ontario, he actually got his start with the Thunderbirds while doing his MBA in 2001 when then-head coach Jay Prepchuk hired him to be special teams coordinator and receivers coach. After finishing grad school and coming back to Ontario, Ptaszek was hired as the offensive coordinator at Wilfrid Laurier University for three seasons (2003-2005), winning two Yates Cups and a national crown in 2005.

That success earned him the head coach job at McMaster University where he spent 10 years (2006-2015), winning three Ontario University Athletics championships and one Vanier Cup title in 2011. During that time the Marauders set a Canadian University football record for the longest win streak at 21 games. And he was the CIS Coach of the Year in 2012.

Then an opportunity with the hometown CFL team came about and Ptaszek took the offensive coordinator position with Hamilton. He learned under two former CFL quarterbacks and offensive minds in Kent Austin and June Jones.

“Two brilliant guys that I got to work with and they were so different,” Ptaszek. “Kent’s offences and ways to break down defences were as layered and as cool as you’d ever see and there was a brilliance to it all. With June, there was a simple brilliance to it and the rules, it’s not complicated even a little bit. There are pieces that all football players can execute, the rules actually aren’t that hard and once they’re implemented right it’s really tough to defend.”

Ptaszek will leverage the new teachings in his offensive philosophy and scheme.

“June was such a huge protection guy and I learned a ton from and I never thought this before, but as an offensive coordinator your first job is to protect your quarterback and then you go from there. When you start to build a game plan, that’s where you start and I absolutely believe that having watched June go to work,” Ptaszek said.

The 18 game CFL season is a marathon compared to the eight-game USports regular schedule and that should make things easier on family life.

“You get a little beat up, especially in Ticat land it was not always the smoothest ride,” Ptaszek said. “A USports season will be an exciting, pleasant change.”

UBC has an elite passer in place to run Ptaszek’s scheme that has produced some gaudy quarterback numbers. Michael O’Connor enters his fourth year as a Thunderbird since transferring from Penn State University. From his CFL experience and being around some special quarterbacks, Ptaszek feels O’Connor could be a Canadian who possesses pro calibre traits.

“He is the real deal,” Ptaszek said. “He can make all the throws, I’ll tell you that.”

For Ptaszek, coaching O’Connor at UBC while still being able to spend time with his family is the ideal combination at the perfect time. Not quite a day at the beach but close enough.

[elly63]

Winnipeg native and Riders receiver Nic Demski scheduled to work out for NY Giants
Justin Dunk 3downnation December 8, 2017

Canadian receiver Nic Demski has a workout scheduled with the New York Giants in December.

At six-feet, 208 pounds, Demski has speed (4.56 40-yard time) to go along with a solid frame.

The 24-year-old was injured in the Riders Labour Day weekend win over Winnipeg on September 3 and he didn’t see game action after that. He started the season with two strong games, but an ankle injury and subsequent lower body setback slowed his production and kept him off the field. Demski practised with the green and white to end the season meaning he was healthy.

In nine regular season games, the University of Manitoba product recorded 19 catches for 222 yards and one touchdown and 23 punt returns for 227 yards with a long of 63.

During Demski’s draft year he attended Cleveland Brown’s rookie mini-camp.