While the CFL still faces challenges ahead of a potential 2021 season, commissioner Randy Ambrosie had reason for optimism Monday.
Ambrosie spoke about the league’s return to play next year during a fan state-of-the-league address that kicked off Grey Cup Unite, the league’s virtual version of the presentation of events traditionally held during its annual championship week.
In August, the CFL cancelled its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic after failing to secure financial assistance from Ottawa. The league had hoped to play a shortened campaign in Winnipeg but had maintained it needed government funding to stage a shortened season.
Buoying Ambrosie’s confidence was a report Monday that a second company, Moderna, was touting positive results for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Last week, Pfizer Inc. suggested its vaccine appeared to be similarly effective.
“Honestly, you want to talk about a good omen for Grey Cup Unite,” Ambrosie said. “It set the day on a much more optimistic foundation.
“It gives us all reason to believe that optimism is not misguided, that there are better days ahead . . . not just for all of society but better days for the CFL as well.”
Ambrosie said the CFL could be in a position to release a 2021 schedule soon.
“In the not-too-distant future, CFL fans from coast to coast to coast will get a chance to pick their spots, mark their calendars and make sure they’re going to be front-and-centre for CFL football in 2021,” Ambrosie said. “Yes, we have to look after ourselves, we have to look after each other, we’ve got to get through this pandemic but I think there’s a lot of reasons to feel good about 2021.”
That includes staging the 2021 Grey Cup game in Hamilton, as scheduled. This year’s CFL title contest was slated to be held in Regina but the Saskatchewan city will hold the 2022 championship.
Ambrosie’s address was certainly long on optimism but short on specifics. But that’s not a surprise considering the uncertainty surrounding the novel coronavirus, be it what the numbers will be like next summer or when a vaccine might be widely available.
There’s also the status of the Canada/US border – which currently remains closed – and how that could impact American players coming north to play football. Also unclear is if the CFL does resume play whether fans will be allowed to return to stadium and if so, how many.
That’s certainly an important factor as the league’s nine franchises rely heavily upon ticket sales to generate revenue, a fact Ambrosie reiterated again Monday during his address.
“We will plan for some scenario of less than full potential attendance,” Ambrosie said. “It will, in my mind, be a critical element but exactly what that percentage will be, again, we’ll be to a degree guided by our conversations with public health officials.
“We’ll pick a percentage of capacity and that’s where we’re going to start. If we can have more, we’ll have more and if we have to have less, then we’ll have less.
“But to clearly fit into the category of reasonable, rational and credible, there’s going to have to be some notation that we may not be able to have 100 per cent of fan capacity but I still believe we’re going to come up with a scenario everyone will rally around and be something that gets us back on to the field in ’21.”
The 2021 season will be the final one included under the current collective bargaining agreement between the CFL and CFL Players’ Association. While it will have to be agreed upon by both sides, Ambrosie said a pandemic clause could be included in a future CBA.
“I think it’s safe to say that the pandemic is going to readily change the way businesses write contracts,” Ambosie said. “I think we’re going to see pandemic clauses inserted into regular everyday contracts.
“I think it’s certainly something that we’ll have to talk to the players about. I think the most important thing we can do now is how do we shape the future together? How do we create an alignment of interest? How do we make sure that we’re all rowing together so that ultimately the league is getting stronger, that our foundation is strengthened.”
Ambrosie said where there’s common ground, though, is all parties wanting football to return in 2021.
“In all of my discussions . . . I think everyone wants to play,” he said. “We want to get back on the field and we know how important it is.
“The message we want to send (Monday) is we got knocked down but like great football players we’re going to get right back up and get right back into the huddle and look forward to the next play. This (2020) wasn’t great for us and for the world but we’re focused on the future in a very positive way.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2020.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
