Sportsnet wins NHL broadcast rights. What does this mean for the Jays?

[Spoonovic]

numbers rose the last few years due some renewed excitement....it's funny...people out here talk about the jays like people in Toronto talk about the CFL....yeah...I used to watch the jays...not much anymore...it's been so long since they had a winner.....if they actually made the playoffs and or even competitive throughout the year....their viewership has a lot of room to grow...

 

I've yet to meet a CFL fan who is in their 20s.

[JugglingPitches]

The CFL is not even worthy of discussion. It's an amateur league filled with players who aren't good enough for the NFL and most of whom were fringe players in college at best.

 

How it gets so much coverage can only be explained by the need to fill air, and with this new deal TSN is unfortunately going to have a lot more air to fill.

[TRM]

I think this results in TSN getting the Raptors and that in combination with them hyping the s*** out of Wiggins/Thompson/Olynyk/Nicholson/Bennet etc. leads to them making basketball remarkably relevant.

 

They made the CFL a big deal, we know they have the best and most polished broadcast abilities. Is it really that much of a leap to think that if they direct all of their focus on it, that they can't make it huge given the upswing in Canadian talent right now?

 

Hell, if Ujiri lives up to his potential and his billing, and the Raptors become good, I don't have a hard time believing that the Raps could outrelevant the Leafs and hockey in Toronto and maybe even Canada in this circumstance, a la early 90's Jays.

[KingKat]

The CFL is not even worthy of discussion. It's an amateur league filled with players who aren't good enough for the NFL and most of whom were fringe players in college at best.

 

How it gets so much coverage can only be explained by the need to fill air, and with this new deal TSN is unfortunately going to have a lot more air to fill.

 

Look I like to mock the CFL as much as anyone but this is just ignorant. It's not merely filling air, it's being watched. I don't get what people see in it either but clearly a lot of people see something. The fact that it actually draws more viewers than the Jays is a real eye opener to anyone like me who kind of assumed that with the NFL's offensive renaissance and the prevalence of its coverage, the CFL would just fade into irrelevence.

[KingKat]

I think this results in TSN getting the Raptors and that in combination with them hyping the s*** out of Wiggins/Thompson/Olynyk/Nicholson/Bennet etc. leads to them making basketball remarkably relevant.

 

They made the CFL a big deal, we know they have the best and most polished broadcast abilities. Is it really that much of a leap to think that if they direct all of their focus on it, that they can't make it huge given the upswing in Canadian talent right now?

 

Hell, if Ujiri lives up to his potential and his billing, and the Raptors become good, I don't have a hard time believing that the Raps could outrelevant the Leafs and hockey in Toronto and maybe even Canada in this circumstance, a la early 90's Jays.

 

The NBA will always be the toughest league to promote in Canada due to its schedule miroring the NHL schedule. Add the fact that the Raptors don't have much cultural currency (the whole identity of the team is tied to a twenty year old movie for crying out loud) and there's just not much to work it. The Raptors didn't get popular in NHL strike seasons so they're not going to suddenly get popular now even if TSN promotes it as well as they have promoted the CFL because that league had deeper roots and a better schedule.

[Angrioter]

I think this results in TSN getting the Raptors and that in combination with them hyping the s*** out of Wiggins/Thompson/Olynyk/Nicholson/Bennet etc. leads to them making basketball remarkably relevant.

 

They made the CFL a big deal, we know they have the best and most polished broadcast abilities. Is it really that much of a leap to think that if they direct all of their focus on it, that they can't make it huge given the upswing in Canadian talent right now?

 

Hell, if Ujiri lives up to his potential and his billing, and the Raptors become good, I don't have a hard time believing that the Raps could outrelevant the Leafs and hockey in Toronto and maybe even Canada in this circumstance, a la early 90's Jays.

 

 

Oladipo >> Bennett, Right?

[saskjayfan]

The CFL is not even worthy of discussion. It's an amateur league filled with players who aren't good enough for the NFL and most of whom were fringe players in college at best.

 

How it gets so much coverage can only be explained by the need to fill air, and with this new deal TSN is unfortunately going to have a lot more air to fill.

 

that is a typical response of a guy who knows nothing about the league. How can you even comment on the league if you have never seen any games..lol. "CFL players were fringe players in college at best" Darian Durant was a four year starter at UNC and is the Tarheels all time leading passer. You are clueless when it comes to the game of football.

[flafson]

I've yet to meet a CFL fan who is in their 20s.

 

I'm 27 so there, you have me

When i was in the eastern final there were quite a few family with young kids and teenagers. But as you said, most CFL fans are indeed older.

[JugglingPitches]

that is a typical response of a guy who knows nothing about the league. How can you even comment on the league if you have never seen any games..lol. "CFL players were fringe players in college at best" Darian Durant was a four year starter at UNC and is the Tarheels all time leading passer. You are clueless when it comes to the game of football.

 

Listen, I get that you live in Saskatchewan and have nothing else to look forward to than Riders games, but don't make assumptions. First of all, I am a huge NFL and college football fan (go Steelers and Tigers), and if you're going to misquote me at least don't put my actual quote right above your misquote. I said MOST CFL players are fringe college players at best. ALL of them are not good enough for the NFL. If Durant is so great what the hell is he doing playing in a dump like Saskatchewan making $300k a year when he could be making the NFL minimum of $420k if he could even crack a roster and sit on the bench?

[flafson]

Look I like to mock the CFL as much as anyone but this is just ignorant. It's not merely filling air, it's being watched. I don't get what people see in it either but clearly a lot of people see something. The fact that it actually draws more viewers than the Jays is a real eye opener to anyone like me who kind of assumed that with the NFL's offensive renaissance and the prevalence of its coverage, the CFL would just fade into irrelevence.

 

That's because you don't watch the CFL so you don't know the difference. That's true to probably anyone else who dismiss the CFL.

It is true that most CFL players are players who couldn't establish themselves in the NFL.

Truth is, CFL and NFL are different. CFL is a quick passing game and NFL is a slow running game.

Therefore, the tool set needed in the CFL and NFL are a bit different. The main difference would be size, you don't need as big of a linebacker, you need a linebacker that can both stop the run game and stop the passing game and that often requires speed.

The second big difference, the field is wider and longer so you need a QB with a stronger arm that will throw a huge pass every few minutes.

For those reasons, a common end result in the CFL will be something like 34-31 while a common result in the NFL will be 17-13.

[JugglingPitches]

There really is no limit to what the human mind can attempt to justify.

 

If you threw the Jacksonville Jaguars, the worst team in the NFL, out onto the field against the Grey Cup Champion Roughriders, the Jaguars would win every time. That's all you need to know about the CFL.

[z3r0s]

There really is no limit to what the human mind can attempt to justify.

 

If you threw the Jacksonville Jaguars, the worst team in the NFL, out onto the field against the Grey Cup Champion Roughriders, the Jaguars would win every time. That's all you need to know about the CFL.

 

I would have to agree.

[KingKat]

CFL is a quick passing game and NFL is a slow running game.

 

I call bs on that. This isn't the nineties. The NFL is a passing game now. Look at the NFL leaderboard for passing seasons. Eight of the top ten seasons of all time have come in the last two seasons.

 

[TABLE=class: stats_table nav_table]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]1.[/TD]

[TD]Drew Brees (32)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5,476[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2011[/TD]

[TD=align: right]NOR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]2.[/TD]

[TD]Tom Brady (34)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5,235[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2011[/TD]

[TD=align: right]NWE[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]3.[/TD]

[TD]Drew Brees (33)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5,177[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2012[/TD]

[TD=align: right]NOR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hl]

[TD=align: right]4.[/TD]

[TD]Dan Marino+ (23)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5,084[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1984[/TD]

[TD=align: right]MIA[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]5.[/TD]

[TD]Drew Brees (29)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5,069[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2008[/TD]

[TD=align: right]NOR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]6.[/TD]

[TD]Matthew Stafford (23)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5,038[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2011[/TD]

[TD=align: right]DET[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]7.[/TD]

[TD]Matthew Stafford (24)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4,967[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2012[/TD]

[TD=align: right]DET[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]8.[/TD]

[TD]Eli Manning (30)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4,933[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2011[/TD]

[TD=align: right]NYG[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]9.[/TD]

[TD]Tony Romo (32)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4,903[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2012[/TD]

[TD=align: right]DAL[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=align: right]10.[/TD]

[TD]Kurt Warner (30)[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4,830[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2001[/TD]

[TD=align: right]STL[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/pass_yds_single_season.htm

[saskjayfan]

There really is no limit to what the human mind can attempt to justify.

 

If you threw the Jacksonville Jaguars, the worst team in the NFL, out onto the field against the Grey Cup Champion Roughriders, the Jaguars would win every time. That's all you need to know about the CFL.

 

First off...there are over 100 division one teams in the College football...There are 32 NFL teams...only a handful of roster spots turn over every year. Only a handful of stars make the NFL...a few more play the cfl and many college football stars never progress to play professional football because it's not that easy to crack either an NFL or a CFL roster. You can understand sabermetrics for baseball, but a much more simplistic statistical principal relating to football escapes you? Most CFL players are not fringe college players.

 

Secondly, you do not understand the fundamental differences between the two games. They are different games that require different skill sets. The NFL is a league where power is more important than speed at many positions. This makes sense as the field is 15 yards more narrow and there is no motion to the line of scrimmage. If you think that if suddenly the CFL rules were the ones that had 100 plus million dollar pay roles and that all the NFL players would simply migrate maintain their spots you are mistaken, because many NFLers are not suited to the CFL game. There is plenty of empirical evidence to support these arguments.

 

Ricky Williams not only didn't come to the CFL and rush for 2000 yards, he wasn't close to being the best running back in the league. 2 years after this he rushed for over 1000 yards in the NFL. How do you explain this? Vince Ferragamo made it to the superbowl as the starting qb for the rams....he went on to the cfl where he crashed and burned as one of the worst qbs in the league..he returned to the NFL and had success following his CFL stint. Dexter Manley, Mark Gastineau.....coming at 32 and 33...surely weren't too old to dominate the CFL...nope...they couldn't do a thing in the CFL.....quinten griffin started games at running back for the broncos...couldn't even make it out of training camp with the riders...sinorice moss...started for the giants...came to the riders...talk about a terrible cfl receiver...shaun king, cleo lemon, mike McMahon all brutal qbs...these are just a few examples...there is a list a mile long.

 

Cam Wake played in the CFL...if the talent difference was so huge between the 2 leagues how would it have been possible for him to go to the nfl..not only make an NFL roster and then go on to take joey porters job and then later lead the entire league in sacks. Jerrel Freeman was the riders defensive player of the year and the very next year goes to the colts and not only makes the team but sets the colts single season all time tackles record and was their defensive mvp..again how is this possible. Brandon browner...cfl player...good db, but there were many other dbs of similar quality....he goes to the nfl and makes the pro bowl. How is this possible given your assertions? The difference between Browner and other CFL dbs..is he was taller and stronger..not faster than other cfl dbs...and without motion to the line of scrimmage they play a lot of press coverage, where there is very little press coverage in the cfl unless you're playing for chris jones.

 

No one is denying the elite athlete's are in the NFL. You take Calvin Johnson...size, speed, athleticism, football iq, and good hands. The guy has it all.....but most teams in the NFL don't have a Calvin Johnson. There is a big drop in talent from a calvin Johnson to the 20th best receiver in the league..most receivers have a few of the talents..they may be big, or fast, or have great hands...few have all the skills. Size his a huge requirement for most nfl receivers although their are a few exceptions. You take the difference in talent between the number 20 receiver the 50th best receiver..the gap in talent narrows...from 50 to 80 the talent difference is negligible and difficult to differentiate...

 

In the CFL you have a guy like Ben Cahoon. His skill sets were smarts and elite hands. He has some of the best in pro-football period. He wasn't fast, or big. In the NFL game beating the jam prevented him from playing. If there had been 32 teams playing cfl rules with 100 mil payrolls and 9 teams playing nfl rules with 5 mil payrolls ben definitely would have had a job in the league paying more money because with motion to the line of scrimmage and his smarts he was able to make plays. Google his highlights and you'll see a guy who caught the ball while taking huge hits. It was remarkable the way he was able to make catches and take the hits he took and still be able to hang on to the ball. His hands were far better than many receivers who played NFL football. Weston dressler has 4.4 speed, but he's a midget. He is a great route runner and has good hands...with the motion and bigger field he is an incredible cfl receiver and a lot of fun to watch.

 

You take the to 15% of players in the NFL out of the equation.....there is a lot of parody in the level of talent. The difference between the CFL and NFL is not that big and there are players with skill sets that suit the NFL game and those that suit the CFL game. Many NFLers can not play the CFL game and many CFLers can not play the NFL game and there are a lot of CFL players with great skill that are simply overlooked...some for their entire careers..others the move on and make an immediate impact(see wake and freeman). These are not my words...these are the words of Warren Moon as he described the 2 leagues in a talk I heard him make 2 years ago. I'll go with the hall of fame qb who played in both leagues and has a better understanding of the game than someone like you.

 

If you are a fan of football..I don't see why you wouldn't watch both leagues as their are exciting plays made by players in both leagues. Many are more drawn to fantasy football than the actual game of football itself. I'm more of a fan of the game. How can you watch this clip and say there's not talent and exciting plays in the CFL....give me a break.

 

[saskjayfan]

I have this argument with my Pops atleast twice a year, he's 70 though.

 

The Riders would beat the jags if they played cfl rules...they would lose if they played nfl rules...chad henne would throw 4 picks if you played cfl rules..

[mitchf]

To think the Jays might not be impacted is a bit short sighted. When SN already has commitments to the Jays and to major junior hockey on their regional networks, the spring when the chl playoffs, memorial cup, nhl playoffs and Jays are in full swing all at the same time, one of those properties is bound to get bumped to a channel that might not be as widely available.

 

I also wonder how much more Rogers is going to start charging for their sports packages with all this new, live programming, which of course will be picked up for by the consumer.

They'll play on SportsnetONE. Who cares? They're never NOT going to air a bluejays game on TV.

 

NHL playoffs will probably push them off their main Sportsnet broadcast, but when hasn't it?

 

The CHL has absolutely zero effect on the Blue Jays.

[KingKat]

 

The CHL has absolutely zero effect on the Blue Jays.

 

The memorial Cup bumps Jays off the main Sportsnet altogether every year. Of course the impact has been lessened since the creation of SN1.

[JugglingPitches]

First off...there are over 100 division one teams in the College football...There are 32 NFL teams...only a handful of roster spots turn over every year. Only a handful of stars make the NFL...a few more play the cfl and many college football stars never progress to play professional football because it's not that easy to crack either an NFL or a CFL roster. You can understand sabermetrics for baseball, but a much more simplistic statistical principal relating to football escapes you? Most CFL players are not fringe college players.

 

Secondly, you do not understand the fundamental differences between the two games. They are different games that require different skill sets. The NFL is a league where power is more important than speed at many positions. This makes sense as the field is 15 yards more narrow and there is no motion to the line of scrimmage. If you think that if suddenly the CFL rules were the ones that had 100 plus million dollar pay roles and that all the NFL players would simply migrate maintain their spots you are mistaken, because many NFLers are not suited to the CFL game. There is plenty of empirical evidence to support these arguments.

 

Ricky Williams not only didn't come to the CFL and rush for 2000 yards, he wasn't close to being the best running back in the league. 2 years after this he rushed for over 1000 yards in the NFL. How do you explain this? Vince Ferragamo made it to the superbowl as the starting qb for the rams....he went on to the cfl where he crashed and burned as one of the worst qbs in the league..he returned to the NFL and had success following his CFL stint. Dexter Manley, Mark Gastineau.....coming at 32 and 33...surely weren't too old to dominate the CFL...nope...they couldn't do a thing in the CFL.....quinten griffin started games at running back for the broncos...couldn't even make it out of training camp with the riders...sinorice moss...started for the giants...came to the riders...talk about a terrible cfl receiver...shaun king, cleo lemon, mike McMahon all brutal qbs...these are just a few examples...there is a list a mile long.

 

Cam Wake played in the CFL...if the talent difference was so huge between the 2 leagues how would it have been possible for him to go to the nfl..not only make an NFL roster and then go on to take joey porters job and then later lead the entire league in sacks. Jerrel Freeman was the riders defensive player of the year and the very next year goes to the colts and not only makes the team but sets the colts single season all time tackles record and was their defensive mvp..again how is this possible. Brandon browner...cfl player...good db, but there were many other dbs of similar quality....he goes to the nfl and makes the pro bowl. How is this possible given your assertions? The difference between Browner and other CFL dbs..is he was taller and stronger..not faster than other cfl dbs...and without motion to the line of scrimmage they play a lot of press coverage, where there is very little press coverage in the cfl unless you're playing for chris jones.

 

No one is denying the elite athlete's are in the NFL. You take Calvin Johnson...size, speed, athleticism, football iq, and good hands. The guy has it all.....but most teams in the NFL don't have a Calvin Johnson. There is a big drop in talent from a calvin Johnson to the 20th best receiver in the league..most receivers have a few of the talents..they may be big, or fast, or have great hands...few have all the skills. Size his a huge requirement for most nfl receivers although their are a few exceptions. You take the difference in talent between the number 20 receiver the 50th best receiver..the gap in talent narrows...from 50 to 80 the talent difference is negligible and difficult to differentiate...

 

In the CFL you have a guy like Ben Cahoon. His skill sets were smarts and elite hands. He has some of the best in pro-football period. He wasn't fast, or big. In the NFL game beating the jam prevented him from playing. If there had been 32 teams playing cfl rules with 100 mil payrolls and 9 teams playing nfl rules with 5 mil payrolls ben definitely would have had a job in the league paying more money because with motion to the line of scrimmage and his smarts he was able to make plays. Google his highlights and you'll see a guy who caught the ball while taking huge hits. It was remarkable the way he was able to make catches and take the hits he took and still be able to hang on to the ball. His hands were far better than many receivers who played NFL football. Weston dressler has 4.4 speed, but he's a midget. He is a great route runner and has good hands...with the motion and bigger field he is an incredible cfl receiver and a lot of fun to watch.

 

You take the to 15% of players in the NFL out of the equation.....there is a lot of parody in the level of talent. The difference between the CFL and NFL is not that big and there are players with skill sets that suit the NFL game and those that suit the CFL game. Many NFLers can not play the CFL game and many CFLers can not play the NFL game and there are a lot of CFL players with great skill that are simply overlooked...some for their entire careers..others the move on and make an immediate impact(see wake and freeman). These are not my words...these are the words of Warren Moon as he described the 2 leagues in a talk I heard him make 2 years ago. I'll go with the hall of fame qb who played in both leagues and has a better understanding of the game than someone like you.

 

If you are a fan of football..I don't see why you wouldn't watch both leagues as their are exciting plays made by players in both leagues. Many are more drawn to fantasy football than the actual game of football itself. I'm more of a fan of the game. How can you watch this clip and say there's not talent and exciting plays in the CFL....give me a break.

 

 

TLDR.

 

But to answer your question in your final paragraph -- because the CFL is horrible football and I would rather watch professionals.

 

Don't worry, the older generation that actually watches the CFL won't be around forever. Younger fans are very sparse and the CFL will eventually be unable to sustain itself.

 

I love how you think I don't understand football though, based on one true comment I made in a thread on a baseball message forum.

[JugglingPitches]

The Riders would beat the jags if they played cfl rules...they would lose if they played nfl rules...chad henne would throw 4 picks if you played cfl rules..

 

The Riders would lose regardless of the rules. And by a wide margin, too.

 

But hey, if you enjoy amateur football, to each their own.

[Cooler Heads Prevail]

did forget about curling lol big question is what are they going to do with all there nhl play by play broadcasters.Wonder if sports net will pick them up..

 

Curling gets huge ratings its a big sport in Canada.

[TRM]

Curling gets huge ratings its a big sport in Canada.

 

Do you understand the meaning of the word huge?

[saskjayfan]

TLDR.

 

But to answer your question in your final paragraph -- because the CFL is horrible football and I would rather watch professionals.

 

Don't worry, the older generation that actually watches the CFL won't be around forever. Younger fans are very sparse and the CFL will eventually be unable to sustain itself.

 

I love how you think I don't understand football though, based on one true comment I made in a thread on a baseball message forum.

 

what true comment did you make..lol You are disagreeing with the opinion of hall of famer Warren Moon....does that mean you know about football and he doesn't?..lol

 

What comments did I make that were untrue? Was Ricky Williams not a failure in the CFL? Was Cam Wake not a success in the NFL. Is Freeman not a success in the NFL. Are they not professionals?

[saskjayfan]

This guy is out to lunch on the cfl.. that is quit the long and attempting to be convincing post but you're still completely wrong.. there's no way the riders would beat the jags even if they played cfl rules

 

Chad Henne would not be a good qb....what exactly in my post is completely wrong. What part was incorrect. I never denied the top skill players are in the states....as far as the jags go the have drew...and not much more.....qb is the most important position in football.....the riders would lose to some nfl teams in the cfl format...but not the jags...

[JugglingPitches]

what true comment did you make..lol You are disagreeing with the opinion of hall of famer Warren Moon....does that mean you know about football and he doesn't?..lol

 

What comments did I make that were untrue? Was Ricky Williams not a failure in the CFL? Was Cam Wake not a success in the NFL. Is Freeman not a success in the NFL. Are they not professionals?

 

I didn't read your novel so I can't comment on whatever you wrote. Warren Moon can say whatever he wants. So can Jose Canseco or Tim Thomas. Just because he played the game doesn't mean he's right. The CFL is inferior. I would even suggest at least a good 50% of the US college football teams could beat or hold their own against the best CFL teams.

 

If a player goes on to have success in the NFL after the CFL, that only illustrates my point. If they're good enough, they leave the CFL. If they left the NFL to come to the CFL, a) they didn't do it voluntarily, they did it because they were cut from the NFL, and if they failed in the CFL who cares? There could have been a multitude of issues that caused that and I don't care to go through them all because this is a stupid conversation.

[JugglingPitches]

Chad Henne would not be a good qb....what exactly in my post is completely wrong. What part was incorrect. I never denied the top skill players are in the states....as far as the jags go the have drew...and not much more.....qb is the most important position in football.....the riders would lose to some nfl teams in the cfl format...but not the jags...

 

If you really think that you are delusional. I know football is literally the only game in town in Saskatchewan so I can understand your need to convince yourself that the CFL is legitimately a professional sports league and that any team in the league can hold a candle to even the worst NFL team, but in reality the fact that we are even having this conversation is indicative of how poor the CFL is. If the CFL were truly even remotely on par with the NFL we wouldn't be arguing about it.

[KingKat]

Reasons to like the CFL

 

- Well established franchises that have been around forever and that Canadians identify with.

- It's a different game. Whether it's a better game is of course highly subjective. The traditional argument that the CFL is more of a passing game doesn't really hold water with the explosion of passing in the NFL (it's also my understanding that the CFL has become more defensive in recent years but I wouldn't really know 'cause I don't follow it). In any case, how the CFL is different from the NFL and how that affects pass/run divisions is ultimately irrelevant. The important thing is that it the CFL has enough fundamental difference (3 downs, 12 players, big field) to be branded as uniquely Canadian brand of footballl that people can identify with (despite the fact that the pool of players is largely made up of players who started their careers with aspirations of playing NFL football). The CFL is different enough that people who identify with it can tell themselves it's better football and that's all that really matters in the end.

 

Reasons to like the NFL

 

- The talent pool is better. Not necessarily across the board better but unquestionably better. There are certainly exceptions. Warren Moon got an opportunity in the CFL because the NFL didn't give opportunities to black quaterbacks, Flutie because up until the Buffalo Bills, no team in the NFL adapted their offense enough to allow such a short quaterback to prosper. Are we likely to see anyone as good a those two in the CFL again? Maybe not but there will always be players who unjustly slip through the cracks of the NFL system. Good on the CFL for scooping them up. Conversely maybe a bruiser runnning back like Reggie Bush can't prosper in the CFL the way he did in the NFL but pointing out the exceptions is just splitting hairs because no one can reasonalby argue that the overall talent gap isn't there. Maybe you think that the worst NFL team would be handicaped enough to lose in a game of three down football but even if that piece of pure speculation could possibly be proven true, would it really change the fundamental difference in talent? No it wouldn't so who cares really.

- The NFL is the best league at playing the most popular sport in North America i.e. four down football. The NFL is the biggest of the big leagues. It's the league that football players aspire to play in, even many if not most of the ones who currently play three down football. There may be a niche that prefers to watch the undercard, but a lot of people want to see the main event and they did so even when the NFL was a lot less explosive than it is now. The stars of the NFL are superstars and even in Canada, names like Peyton Mannning and Tom Brady have way more currency than whoever the current CFL star is.

- The NFL also has plenty of well established popular franchises. From NFL films to the wall to wall coverage that's available now, the NFL definitely permeates the Canadian consciousness despite the presence of the CFL. Everybody's heard of the Cowboys, Steelers, etc.

[guylaroche5]

only saskajay could turn a topic about rogers sniping the NHL from TSN and CBC into a CFL vs NFL debate. i swear this happens on a bi-monthly basis

 

as for what this means to the blue jays, imo absolutely nothing. more games on SN1 but thats about it. as for what it means to the rest of the market including tv package prices, phone prices etc that's a whole different argument.

 

i'm really curious to see how TSN reacts to this, maybe they fork out some cash and get some jays games on there with jim hughson (barf) commentating? who knows but i'm definitely curious. they're not gonna be able to fill the void with god damn curling all day... my prediction for tsn is:

 

+ soccer (including champions league and epl)

+ basketball (it's gotta happen)

+ cdn nhl teams (you gotta assume they're gonna go extremely hard for all the cdn teams, there's no way they can think the leafs and jets alone are gonna be enough)

+ baseball (it's a longshot for the jays but i definitely could see an increase in other games, especially AL east ones)

+ more analysis shows like that's hockey 2nite

+ possibly more NFL games but it's hard to really show more games when you only have two channels

+ darts, curling, track and the other fringe sports stuff

 

overall i think they're gonna be fine, it's a huge blow but they will survive. the increased cash they get from not paying the NHL could also go into getting more coverage for stuff like the olympics/world cup etc

[Abomination]

WTF^^^^^^^ Did you even read the article? SN has exclusive rights to the NHL, especially the Canadian teams. TSN.......no more hockey?!

 

Not only that, but national rights (which hopefully ends this blackout bs)

[guylaroche5]

WTF^^^^^^^ Did you even read the article? SN has exclusive rights to the NHL, especially the Canadian teams. TSN.......no more hockey?!

 

i did and i know for a fact that TSN still has regional packages to the maple leafs and jets for next season (around 30 games for the leafs, 60 for the jets)

[Howard Roark]

blahblahblahsixmillionwordthesisduetoextremebutthurtblahblah

 

Holy f***ing s*** man, just write a f***ing novel why don't you?