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You are here: Home / Archives for Canadian Football League

Meet Me In The Middle: A few thoughts on the CFL CBA talks.

May 17, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

CFL_LogoThe current stalemate between the CFL Players Association and the Canadian Football League has resulted in strike ballots being sent to CFLPA members. After the latest round of meetings it’s been reported through “sources close to the negotiations” that no progress was made with the clock ticking towards the expiry of the current deal.

In any contract negotiations the best offers usually don’t come until the eleventh hour. And a strike vote is a tool that the CFLPA has at its disposal to show the league how serious they are about what they are fighting for.

The new TV deal with TSN is what is making this negotiation a tough one. With so much more money available, the players want to be rewarded for years of taking less for the good of the league. The owners want to keep costs under control and make up for years of losses some have incurred on the way to the stable league we see today.

The two main issues seem to be the return of revenue sharing for the players, as well as the proposed increases to the league’s Salary Management System. It has also been reported that the league wants an 8 –year deal, a number the players association isn’t fond of.

There are of course a plethora of other issues, including roster sizes, player safety, practice roster salaries etc. which may prove to be easier to resolve once the bigger issues are agreed to.

The big question is, how do they do that? Clearly there has to be compromise on both sides.

To start, the league needs to make a meaningful offer to the players judging by this tweet from former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Doug Brown:

CFL labor dispute in a nutshell: Each club gets $2.7 mil in additional TV revenue in 2014, yet CFL proposes only $100k cap increase. Fair?

— Doug Brown (@DougBrown97) May 16, 2014

Hardly, and if that number is correct it’s no wonder why the players are talking strike. Give the players a real increase and share the wealth, because in the end without them, there is no show.

In return, the players may have to give up their demand for revenue sharing, at least this time around. The league is asking for an 8-year agreement. Cut that in half with an agreement that revenue sharing will be on the table for the next agreement, if the league is still on solid ground.

Players should share in revenue, especially when their names are used to sell the jerseys and other merchandise and for the work they do off the field in their communities to promote their teams and the CFL. The league wants to take baby steps here, so give up the revenue sharing in return for a solid increase to salaries…for now.

The players have issues with player safety, and those should be taken seriously. One only has to look south of the border to see the litigation going on for former players who suffered head injuries. This should be a fairly easy issue to resolve.

Of course I am no lawyer. I’ve never been in a union, or negotiated a labour deal. What I’ve proposed are just my thoughts on what may get a deal done. I know that there are complications to these issues that go beyond my knowledge, but it does seem like a bit of common sense to me. I can’t even take sides in this negotiation because I feel the players need to be rewarded and at the same time, I’ve watched as owners like David Braley and Bob Young have lost millions keeping teams and this league alive.

Like any negotiation, both sides want and need a deal that is the best they can get. To get there, they’ll have to meet in the middle.

The sooner, the better.

Filed Under: CFL/League, Den Talk, Featured, News Tagged With: Canadian Football League, CBA, CFL, CFLPA

The BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast – Episode 25

April 9, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

In Episode 25 Brian and Mojo recap the latest news from the Lions Den. Lowell Ullrich, BC Lions beat writer for The Province newspaper and TheProvince.com joins for some Lions talk and they to talk to CHED 650 Eskimos colour man Dave Campbell for an update on the off-season of the Edmonton Eskimos.

To stay up to date with our podcasts, blogs and other Lions news, follow us on Twitter @BCLionsDen

Please leave us a comment on the site and let us know how we’re doing. You can also leave us a ranking and a review on iTunes, we would really appreciate it!

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Filed Under: 2014, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, Den Talk, Featured, Interviews, News, Podcasts, Social Media Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Canadian Football League, CFL, CHED 650, Dave Campbell, Edmonton Eskimos, Lowell Ullrich, Podcast, The Fifth Quarter, The Province, TheProvince.com

Possible Pass Interference Review Has Some Throwing A Flag

March 18, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

officials

It was announced today that the CFL is considering a few rule changes for the upcoming season, most notably the ability for coaches to challenge pass interference calls if they have the challenges to do so.

Football purists are balking at the consideration, saying that it will slow the game down even more, and that the officials should be trusted with what comes down to a judgment call.

Our friend over at CFLDaily.ca, Tyler Bieber brings up a solid point in saying that educating officials is the key to fixing the issue. There is no question that should be a major goal of the CFL and certainly already is on many levels. This doesn’t solve the issue of human error, however.

We can talk about CFL officiating all we want and I’m sure we will continue to do so as fans and analysts of the game. But I’ll be the first to admit that these guys get it right a lot more than they get it wrong. They all make mistakes, some more than others, and that’s the reason that video replay was brought in. Human error is something that we will never get rid of, it’s simply not possible. But with the technology we have today, we can at least try to reduce the amount of times it has an impact on the game. After all, the age old saying is “may the best team win,” not “may the most fortunate team win.”

Of course video review doesn’t always seem to get it right either, as we have seen over the years, but I with a penalty where the punishment can have such a big impact on the game like pass interference; I think it’s a great idea and one that should at least be explored.

Some fans are saying it will slow the game down, but I don’t see that. Coaches will still only have so many challenges per game at their disposal. If they choose to use it on a questionable pass interference call, so be it. Presumably it would only be an option if a flag was thrown on the play, not to determine if one should have been.

Others have suggested that reviews should not be applicable to penalty calls, that these calls are judgments on the part of the officials. If that’s the case then we may as well get rid of reviews on fumbles as well and just go with the call made on the field. Views get impaired, mistakes are made…it happens.

I’ve seen too many games where a pass interference call has decided the game, and many times the infraction was highly disputable.

Reviewing pass interference would be a bold move for sure but if it ensures he right call is made, what’s the harm in that?

Filed Under: CFL/League, Den Talk, Featured Tagged With: BC Lions, Canadian Football League, CFL, Officiating, Pass Interference, Tyler Bieber, Video Review

The BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast Episode 24

March 12, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

reid-intenseIn Episode 24 Angus Reid of the BC Lions joins Brian and Mojo to talk about his retirement, his career and what’s in store for him in the future. They also talk to Tyler Bieber of CFLDaily.ca about league news and his top prospects for the CFL Draft on May 13. Recent Lions news is also discussed.

To stay up to date with our podcasts, blogs and other Lions news, follow us on Twitter @BCLionsDen

Please leave us a comment on the site and let us know how we’re doing. You can also leave us a ranking and a review on iTunes, we would really appreciate it!

Listen:


Listen and Subscribe on iTunes


Filed Under: 2014, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, Featured, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Angus Reid, BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Canadian Football League, CFL, CFL Draft, CFLDaily.ca, Podcast, Tyler Bieber

The BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast – Episode 5

July 18, 2013 By Brian Wawryshyn

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In Episode 5 of the BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast Brian and Mojo throw around the events of last week’s game against the Edmonton Eskimos, and look ahead to the rematch at BC Place Stadium in the 2nd game of the back to back. Your social media questions are answered and once again we give out a little swag from our friends at Sports & Stuff.

To stay up to date with our podcasts, blogs and other Lions news, follow us on Twitter @BCLionsDen

Please leave us a comment on the site and let us know how we’re doing. You can also leave us a ranking and a review on iTunes, we would really appreciate it!

Listen:


Filed Under: 2013, 2013 Game Recaps, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, Featured, Game Recaps, Podcasts, Social Media Tagged With: BC Lions, Canadian Football League, CFL, Edmonton Eskimos, Game Recaps, Podcast

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