Sports in Canadian culture

[Berklon]

Ochocinco?

That's exactly what I would expect him to say. No NFL team wants him and everything he says and does is to help promote one person - himself.

I wouldn't trust a word out of his mouth. If he said that water is wet, I'd have to seriously re-think what I know about water.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by Berklon

Ochocinco?

That's exactly what I would expect him to say. No NFL team wants him and everything he says and does is to help promote one person - himself.

I wouldn't trust a word out of his mouth. If he said that water is wet, I'd have to seriously re-think what I know about water.

How about from a CFL star receiver trying to make it with the Chiefs?

http://www.chiefsspin.com/so-far-so-...ston-dressler/

"Despite an impressive resume’, he finds himself adjusting again from his playing days at the University of North Dakota to the CFL to the NFL.

“I’ve never been in this situation before with an NFL team,” Dressler said. “Going up to the CFL I was in a similar position just learning a different game, so I’m trying to take everything I learned from that experience and use that in this experience just learning as much as I can and apply it.”

Given his professional playing experience, the transition could come easier since he possesses an understanding of underneath route concepts.

Nevertheless, Dressler is quick to identify the biggest difference to what he saw in Canada.

“I think the speed of the game is a little faster down here,” Dressler said. “As a receiver, I felt myself kind of rushing routes at times, feeling the pressure to get in and out a little faster.

“I’m trying to get comfortable with that, and then the spacing on the field is a little different coming from a bigger field in Canada. So getting used to that, getting the splits down and the spacing within all the route combinations.”

From what I read from Dressler's comments is that the speed is a bit faster in the NFL which is also helped by the smaller field size.
Not the huge difference espoused by Canadian NFL fanboys.

[elly63]

I just find it really funny the difference between "Canadian" NFL fans and American NFL fans. The two Canadian college kids getting all the hype (Duvernay-Tardif and Foucault) are getting the royal treatment from the Americans. And yet if it wasn't for that validation, more Canadian wannabees would be on the US sites saying they suck and won't make it.

The fact of the matter is they are there because they are as good or better athletes than their American counterparts, that's why they are there. They're have a big learning curve with experience, technique and the differences of the game so we'll have to wait and see but it's funny how the Americans see the potential and are positive while many of the Canadians who follow NFL are not.

As for the quote from Johnson, that is me posting a point made from somebody who's been there not people who know nothing, from Internet forums (myself included). What I've been reading of the man is the difference between the hype and the man, somewhat similar to Ricky Williams. Separate the hype of celebrity from the person/player.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

From what I read from Dressler's comments is that the speed is a bit faster in the NFL which is also helped by the smaller field size. Not the huge difference espoused by Canadian NFL fanboys.

Which is also one of the reason the Americans are looking at widening the field. Combine the speed in a more confined space and they are equating that to more serious injuries.

As for Dressler, there has been nothing but good things said about him at camp and he's been making all the big catches, but will the "politics" catch up to him. Size and to a lesser extent age.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Hell no, that's the absolute worst thing you could do. Put the Argos in the burbs and you might as well pack it all in now. Being downtown (and visible) is the only thing keeping the Argos from slipping off the radar completely. Put it in the burbs and Toronto will forget entirely that they exist. The Argos would go from 1 of 5 sports options to being not up for consideration at all.

This isn't reality. Nobody cares about the Argos here in downtown, they really don't exist here. I've lived here 5 years now and have never once had a casual Argos conversation with anybody and I work in the pro sports industry...

TFC, Marlies, even the Toronto Rock...once I've had casual sports conversations with. You see nobody waking around with Argos hats or any merchandise. The Argos are a non-factor in Toronto.

I've run into more Rider fans in Toronto then I have Argos fans, also more Ti-Cats fans by default. To put it bluntly the Argos just don't matter here. It's fan base IS IN THE SUBURBS so why is it so foolish to go where season ticket holders primarily reside?

This would provide unheard of places outside of Ontario such as Vaughn branding on a national level by having a professional sports team. Keep the name "Toronto Argos", have a stadium at the end of the subway extension for the few Toronto fans that are indeed fans. It's a perfect set-up.

[esquire]

On one hand, it seems that the Argos don't have much to lose by heading for the suburbs. When you consider how massive the GTA is, there really aren't a lot of sports offerings outside of downtown... I can think of the Mississauga Steelheads, are there any others? Given that their fanbase is supposedly mainly suburban, it makes sense on that basis too.

On the other hand, it is probably such a big risk that the Argos would have a hard time persuading anyone to put money down towards a stadium for them. If it turned out to be a bust after 3 years, there would still be another 20-odd years of payments left to make. And as we all know, Canada isn't quite like the US where you have local governments being played off one another to build free stadiums for pro sports teams (the Atlanta Braves are the latest example of those shenanigans).

It's really too bad that the Argos missed the boat (pun intended) on the York University deal. That would have given them the perfect opportunity to put their toe in the water (I've got to stop) of Toronto's suburbs without signing their lives away to do it.

[Stryker]

I think it'd be better to add another team. The lack of home games I think is a major factor in its lack of popularity. Even if they sold out every game you'd only be getting a fraction of the gta getting exposed to the game in a place that needs exposure.


The metro rivalry would huge if branded properly.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Stryker

I think it'd be better to add another team. The lack of home games I think is a major factor in its lack of popularity. Even if they sold out every game you'd only be getting a fraction of the gta getting exposed to the game in a place that needs exposure.


The metro rivalry would huge if branded properly.

I agree. Unlike the Leafs who stand to lose if their monopoly on NHL hockey in Toronto was ever broken, I think the Argos would stand to gain. The increased exposure of the CFL in the GTA would give them a boost, and I doubt it would really cut into their market that much anyway.

The Donald Sterling of his time, Harold Ballard, recognized that back when he tried to move his Ticats to suburban Toronto in the 80s... to Mississauga, I think it was?

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by Stryker

I think it'd be better to add another team. The lack of home games I think is a major factor in its lack of popularity. Even if they sold out every game you'd only be getting a fraction of the gta getting exposed to the game in a place that needs exposure.


The metro rivalry would huge if branded properly.

It would be great for the CFL if there could be a second team in the immediate vicinity of Toronto, but Hamilton is already close and should be that rival.

I think that given the current state of pro sports especially in Toronto, the Argos best bet for any sort of future is to be bought out by MLSE. They own everything else, would likely find a way to get them into BMO, and have the ability to market the team like nobody else. Obviously, having a major entity like MLSE at the table would give the league as a whole more credibility than having 1 guy own two teams.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Trevor3

I think that given the current state of pro sports especially in Toronto, the Argos best bet for any sort of future is to be bought out by MLSE. They own everything else, would likely find a way to get them into BMO, and have the ability to market the team like nobody else. Obviously, having a major entity like MLSE at the table would give the league as a whole more credibility than having 1 guy own two teams.

It doesn't necessarily have to be MLSE, just a committed owner with the means and ability to properly run the team.

I remember back in the 90s people were worried that the Lions were doomed because they weren't owned by the Orca Bay sports juggernaut that ran the Canucks and Grizzlies... they still managed to turn things around (in those years, the Lions were probably in as bad a shape as the Argos ever were) and are quite a well-run and well-supported team now.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Trevor3

It would be great for the CFL if there could be a second team in the immediate vicinity of Toronto, but Hamilton is already close and should be that rival.

I think that given the current state of pro sports especially in Toronto, the Argos best bet for any sort of future is to be bought out by MLSE. They own everything else, would likely find a way to get them into BMO, and have the ability to market the team like nobody else. Obviously, having a major entity like MLSE at the table would give the league as a whole more credibility than having 1 guy own two teams.

I'd argue that Hamilton is the only thing keepin the cfl on radar at all. Before Ottawa the perception of the cfl as a western sports thing is hard to miss.

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by esquire

It doesn't necessarily have to be MLSE, just a committed owner with the means and ability to properly run the team.

I remember back in the 90s people were worried that the Lions were doomed because they weren't owned by the Orca Bay sports juggernaut that ran the Canucks and Grizzlies... they still managed to turn things around (in those years, the Lions were probably in as bad a shape as the Argos ever were) and are quite a well-run and well-supported team now.

Fair enough, it's just really easy to look at MLSE and see a situation that would work. Any owner willing to throw down some money on marketing the team and get the CFL back on the radar in TO would be better than the current situation.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by elly63

As for Dressler, there has been nothing but good things said about him at camp and he's been making all the big catches, but will the "politics" catch up to him. Size and to a lesser extent age.

Early risers. Albert Wilson, who signed an undrafted free agent deal on May 12, and Weston Dressler, who joined the team on Feb. 4 from the Canadian Football League, turned heads virtually on a daily basis last week.

Both have worked as returners during special teams drills, but also impressed with their quickness and ability to catch the ball in traffic during the 11-on-11 portion of workouts.

Dressler, in particular, appears polished in his route-running skills working out of the slot and has shown good hands.

[SignalHillHiker]

Regionalism has broken apart Newfoundland's senior hockey league.

We'll be a collection of independent city states soon enough.

“East is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet,” began a poem written by Rudyard Kipling 125 years ago.

Well, east and west did meet for the last three years in the six-team Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (NLSHL), which had entries from the Humber Valley to Mount Pearl. But it looks as if that arrangement is ending, and that Kipling’s assertion is being reinforced, with word that the league’s four western-most clubs — the Clarenville Caribous, Gander Flyers, Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts and Western Royals — will leave the NLSHL, presumably to re-establish the old West Coast senior league, or some sort of equivalent.

http://www.thetelegram.com/Sports/Ho...ockey-league/1

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Dave Randorf has bolted from hosting the CFL on TSN to be part of Rogers new NHL coverage.

[esquire]

^ Too bad, I'll miss him. The TSN CFL panel in recent years has had great chemistry, but I suppose that an exodus of on-air people is inevitable given the Rogers-NHL deal.

[Prometheus]

Wow, that's shocking news, especially since TSN successfully defended all of their star hockey announcers and personalities. The CFL is now TSN's flagship property. Thus, it's strange they failed to retain their CFL on TSN star. He was a true wit and irreplaceable. As panels go, watching Randorf and the entire CFL on TSN panel was definitely more entertaining than watching Duthie and the NHL on TSN panel.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

As panels go, watching Randorf and the entire CFL on TSN panel was definitely more entertaining than watching Duthie and the NHL on TSN panel.

+1

The NHL panel is knowledgable but oh so dull.

I wonder who will replace Randorf on the CFL broadcasts? Not a lot of time to get up to speed on things before the season starts, although of course that might be delayed.

[Antigonish]

Originally Posted by esquire

+1

The NHL panel is knowledgable but oh so dull.

I wonder who will replace Randorf on the CFL broadcasts? Not a lot of time to get up to speed on things before the season starts, although of course that might be delayed.

It better not be Rod Black

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Antigonish

It better not be Rod Black

I was all set to agree, then thought about weighing that prospect against not having to listen to him do play-by-play all game long. But I don't think he's right for the job anyway.

I would love to see Rod Smith doing it (he used to a while back, I believe) but as a SportsCentre anchor it's probably unlikely. Maybe they'll move Farhan Lalji up. And I have to wonder if TSN will move one of its female personalities into the chair?