CFL News

[Big Chris]

Anyone want to follow the goings-on with the Canadian Football League during the off season? Lots of things could happen in the next two months with the new player agreement with the NFL expected to come to pass by the new year. Hopefully my Bombers will finally do something of substance this winter after doing virtually nothing last year.

Okay, the ball is now rolling, let's talk CFL!!!

[Blaney077]

Hello everyone. I think I might be one of the very few South Floridians that actually care and watch the CFL on a regular basis. I remember watching it on ESPN in the old days and one of my favorite teams and still is the Saskatchawan Roughriders. I am so proud that they almost made it to the Grey Cup and look forward to a great 2004 season.

I was wondering what the QB situation is going to be for next year. I know that they have a little bit more room to spend because their debt is down to like only $1.5 million thanks to a great Grey Cup 2003.

I was wondering if the CFL is going to expand into Halifax. I think they need to wait on expansion. First, you have two teams that have brand new owners and I think they need to see if the market is going to support Toronto and Hamilton. Both have great history and have won in the past. I think that the Ottawa Renegades team has done a fantastic to get competitive in such a short time and think that in year three that they are going to make the playoffs.

Well, hope that we can all talk more CFL as the season moves on and hope that each enjoys a great holiday!

Blake

[Big Chris]

Halifax won't get a team until they get a staduim. Another problem is that the maritimes region in Canada is the poorest in the country with the biggest unemployment rate in the G8. I think Quebec City will be a better potential site once they get the stadium built for their university team.

Ottawa is shocking everyone with their development. A lot of their success has to be credited to Kerry Joseph. This guy has the best arm of any QB I have seen since Deiter Brock in the 70's and 80's. Montreal has pretty much shot it's bulk and it now an aging lineup with a coach notorious for destroying teams after he wins for a couple of years. (Mathews is known to burn all of his bridges, make foolish trades and run a team's best prospects out of town and then quitting.) This means that Toronto and Ottawa will be the dominant teams in the East for years to come.

Marcus Brady has proven that he can be very successful in the CFL when Damon Allen retires. One more year with Allen as his mentor will do him a world of good and expect Toronto to have another solid year.

The West will be a freeforall next year though.

[Jamie]

Thanks for reminding me of Dieter Brock

I have always thought that he had one of the best names for a football player.

I remember him because he played CFL during that brief period when they showed CFL games of the American networks during the first big NFL strike in the 80's.

I always hoped he'd make it to the NFL. Did he ever play there?

[FLcat]

Brock was the starting QB for the L.A. Rams back in (I think) '85. He was nothing special, his QB rating was toward the bottom of the list, and didn't return the following season.

[Big Chris]

Dieter Brock played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1974-1983 and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1983-1984 leading the lowly Cats to the 1984 Grey Cup where they lost to the Bombers 47-17.

In 1985 at age 34 he went to the L.A. Rams of the NFL and was their starting QB the whole season leading them to an NFC West crown. (It was mostly on the legs of Eric Dickerson but a division title is a division title.) He then led the Rams to the NFC Championship game where he and the Rams got HAMMERED by the great Bears squad at Soldier Field. He took a nasty sack late in that game that ruined his back effectively ending his career.

Dispite all of his records and accolades and Hall of Fame inductions in both the Blue Bombers HOF and the Canadian Football HOF he will always be remembered for saying, "there's nothing else to do in Winnipeg but go to the Zoo" during his infamous 1983 holdout.

[firewolff]

Has anyone heard anything regarding the upcoming season? Due to budget constraints I only get what Comcast calls Expanded Basic cable so I hope the CFL ends up on a channel such as TNN, ESPN2, or Spike since I don't get digital channels.