CFL 2020 Season - Page 28

craner · #**541** Posted **Aug 18, 2020, 2:21 AM**

Love the CFL

elly63 · #**542** Posted **Aug 18, 2020, 10:59 PM**

Djeffery · #**543** Posted **Aug 19, 2020, 12:29 AM**

Marty standing by his story...

Marty York Retweeted
Marty York
@MartyYork
·
20h
Replying to
@HerbZurkowsky1
I will add only this: Still hearing there could b a shortened season + some $ coming from feds THIS YR. Not interested in arguing, defending or discussing. I dig #CFL but it's not my job 2 provide CfL scoops. Dismiss this if u wish but pls don't bug me 4 sharing what I'm told..

megadude · #**544** Posted **Oct 21, 2020, 5:27 PM**

I remember one guy in another thread said he would be getting the Bombers Grey Cup ring from China like I have been for my TO rings. Did you or any other WPG guys get one?

I was browsing and noticed the Bombers rings on the site for like $15 or so, all in.

esquire · #**545** Posted **Oct 21, 2020, 5:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadude

I remember one guy in another thread said he would be getting the Bombers Grey Cup ring from China like I have been for my TO rings. Did you or any other WPG guys get one?

I was browsing and noticed the Bombers rings on the site for like $15 or so, all in.

I don't have one, but they do look pretty good. The team itself is selling replicas for a wide range of budgets, they start at $50 and go up to $7,500 if you want diamonds

esquire · #**546** Posted **Oct 26, 2020, 6:35 PM**

BC Lions owner David Braley died today at the age of 79.

thurmas · #**547** Posted **Oct 26, 2020, 11:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

BC Lions owner David Braley died today at the age of 79.

Kudos for Braley keeping the CFL alive but he should have sold the Lions in 2011 after their Grey Cup win and the reno at BC place was made it almost brand new now almost 10 years later the Lions are worth almost nothing and will be sold for pennies on the dollar in probably the worst period in time to ever sell a CFL team right now this might really cripple the league trying to keep the Lions afloat as I know Braley's kids have zero interest in owning the football team.

Chadillaccc · #**548** Posted **Oct 27, 2020, 2:14 AM**

I'm sure it's been talked about already, but what effect has COVID had on the economic prospects of the team in Halifax?

isaidso · #**549** Posted **Oct 27, 2020, 3:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thurmas

Kudos for Braley keeping the CFL alive but he should have sold the Lions in 2011 after their Grey Cup win and the reno at BC place was made it almost brand new now almost 10 years later the Lions are worth almost nothing and will be sold for pennies on the dollar in probably the worst period in time to ever sell a CFL team right now this might really cripple the league trying to keep the Lions afloat as I know Braley's kids have zero interest in owning the football team.

I suspect money wasn't his first priority. It was keeping that franchise stable and attempting to secure its long term prosperity. The CFL might not have made it this far without owners like him. There are a lot of people that care deeply about the CFL, Canadian Football, and supporting this storied piece of Canadiana. Thankfully, some of them are wealthier enough to step in and carry the load through some difficult times.

svlt · #**550** Posted **Oct 27, 2020, 3:13 AM**

Not the priority for sure anymore, but they did just re-elect the only mayoral candidate that wasn’t actively opposed to exploring the stadium deal in the future. I think the proponents are still working on it and hoping when the pandemic passes there will be infrastructural investments to get it going.

VANRIDERFAN · #**551** Posted **Oct 27, 2020, 3:54 AM**

RIP Mr Braley, while you were very old school when it came to marketing your love of the league and game was crucial in its survival.

Fair Winds Sir!

esquire · #**552** Posted **Oct 27, 2020, 2:28 PM**

Over the years, Braley owned three different teams... two of them he even owned at the same time. He also reportedly loaned money to every team at some point except Edmonton. It's probably safe to say that no one put more money into the CFL than him.

Interesting factoid I gleaned from David Naylor's article remembering him... apparently Braley used to mention that he was the biggest private landowner in Ontario. Impressive if true!

VANRIDERFAN · #**553** Posted **Oct 28, 2020, 4:12 AM**

Harsh but true IMO.

https://3downnation.com/2020/10/27/s...y-of-the-dead/

excerpt:

“And the B.C. Lions — he held them for a long time — during the early years of his tenure when Bobby Ackles was alive and did a lot of outreach in the community, very well respected football guy and community guy, they thrived,” Brunt said.

“But talk to anybody in Vancouver now about where the B.C. Lions are in the local landscape and they’re third. There’s not four teams there unless you add the Seattle Seahawks in, which you probably should. They are way behind the Canucks, they’re behind the Whitecaps and their audience is old traditional CFL fans, it’s the ‘remember when’ crowd.”

esquire · #**554** Posted **Oct 28, 2020, 1:52 PM**

^ I respect Stephen Brunt more than any other sportswriter in the country so I would be inclined to take his words at face value.

But if true, I wonder why a shrewd businessman like Braley would treat his assets that way? He would have known that pro sports is all about image... that if you take that away, you're left with nothing but a bunch of balls, helmets and playbooks. As Brunt mentioned, the Lions kind of rose and fall with Bob Ackles, and after he died the gains that were made came undone.

I'm sure there was a good rationale for it, obviously a guy like Braley didn't do anything in business without a plan to gain big from it. Was he content to simply squeeze as much as he could from the franchises while putting as little as possible in, knowing that the occasional Grey Cup profits would keep him in the black? If so, that strikes me as a somewhat shortsighted way of looking at things. Unless he considered that to be as good as it was going to get for him? In which case, why stick around for so long?

VANRIDERFAN · #**555** Posted **Oct 28, 2020, 2:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I respect Stephen Brunt more than any other sportswriter in the country so I would be inclined to take his words at face value.

But if true, I wonder why a shrewd businessman like Braley would treat his assets that way? He would have known that pro sports is all about image... that if you take that away, you're left with nothing but a bunch of balls, helmets and playbooks. As Brunt mentioned, the Lions kind of rose and fall with Bob Ackles, and after he died the gains that were made came undone.

I'm sure there was a good rationale for it, obviously a guy like Braley didn't do anything in business without a plan to gain big from it. Was he content to simply squeeze as much as he could from the franchises while putting as little as possible in, knowing that the occasional Grey Cup profits would keep him in the black? If so, that strikes me as a somewhat shortsighted way of looking at things. Unless he considered that to be as good as it was going to get for him? In which case, why stick around for so long?

He was a shrewd businessman for autoparts and the 1970's. I have a feeling that the new ways of reaching out to that new young unicorn demographic was beyond his capability to grasp. Similar to my inability to understand folks who want autonomous cars and dispense with cursive writing

. Since he wrote the cheques and held the mantle of all decisions go through him, his decisions held sway. This power could be the main reason why the CFL has gone through a dozen commissioners in the past 20 years and why Randy Ambrosie was hung out to dry in front of the HoC committee.

All of this is just my opinion.

esquire · #**556** Posted **Oct 28, 2020, 3:15 PM**

One thing I will say is that the CFL is getting to a point where it going to be less able to coast on its past. The ranks of rich dudes who remember the glory days of the 60s, 70s and 80s are dwindling. Who will be the new David Braleys that will step up with their wallets at the ready?

The league is pretty lucky that the ownership situation is pretty stable at the moment except for BC which is now a big question mark (although there have been stories about legitimate potential owners interested in stepping up), and I'm still not really convinced the guys in Montreal are in it for the long haul. Other than that things seem to be in pretty good shape.

thurmas · #**557** Posted **Oct 30, 2020, 12:23 PM**

https://3downnation.com/2020/10/29/d...veral-seasons/

David Braley put aside money to allow the Lions to operate for ‘several seasons’

B.C. Lions’ owner David Braley focused on his team while he was living and wanted the franchise to be stable after he passed away.

Braley planned out what was going to happen for financially supporting the Lions.

“One of the advantages of the situation was that he didn’t go suddenly. David knew his health was failing and people close to him understood that his time was running out. There was lots of time to discuss how to handle his prized asset the B.C. Lions,” reporter Dave Naylor said on TSN 1040 radio in Vancouver.

“I’m led to believe that there’s a significant amount of money that’s been put aside, the kind of thing that would carry the Lions under normal circumstances through a number of years. Not just the next six to 12 months, but if for whatever reason the sale took a long time, we’d be talking about several seasons.”

The late 79-year-old purchased the financially-strapped Leos prior to the 1997 season. During his induction speech at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2012, Braley spoke of how proud he was going from 8,000 fans in the stands at his first game as owner to averaging 35,000 at the highest point of his tenure.

“As much as David Braley cared for them and wanted to ensure the long-term viability of the B.C. Lions during his life, he didn’t want that to end with his passing. The B.C. Lions are not in danger in terms of their existence over the next little while. The organization will be operating,” Naylor said.

“Because of the uncertainty of COVID, teams are burning through money a lot quicker than they would otherwise, so that throws a bit of uncertainty on it, but from my understanding that was very clearly laid out.”