BC at Edmonton,
This is an important game for both teams, make no mistake. Both are mired at 6 and 7, with BC on a one game winning streak and Edmonton on a two game losing streak. Edmonton is favoured by four at home. Ricky Ray wasn't doing much early in the season, started doing OK and is now back to Suckville (which is actually in New Brunswick, ha!). This does not bode well. On the other hand the Lions have Buck Pierce and third stringer Casey "Hey I'm not hurt now so I shouldn't suck" Printers. Buck Pierce's melon kind of reminds me of a Bernoulli trial in probability theory, whereas the question is not whether the coin is heads or tails, but whether Pierce sustains a concussion in the game. Since that probabilty seems to increasing with time, I am always a bit leery of taking the Lions, as without Pierce and with Jarious Jackson on the shelf the Lions will play as poorly as Dalton McGuinty creates private sector jobs in Ontario (yes that's almost Bart Andrus bad). When Edmonton this year has looked their worst, they always seem to bounce back with a win, so somewhat capriciously, I take the Smos.
Edmonton 40, BC 31
Toronto at Saskatchewan,
So the Riders are favoured by 10.5 at home. Seems apt as the Argos do have a tenacious defence, however inevitably the Argo offense will make some egregious turnover and cough up some points. That's what you get for having an aging rodeo clown as your primary quarterback and a surly backup who fires the ball to random locations on the field, apropos of nothing. Also having a coach that looks like Count Floyd isn't going to help your cause either. Riders easily
Saskatchewan 36, Toronto 7
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ticat Season Ticket Renewal 2010
So I saw the scuttlebutt on the ticat.ca forums about the season ticket renewals for 2010 coming out already. Obviously I thought it was a little strange that it came out with still one third of the season to go. For this season I think I had to pay some time in February and for paying in full early I got 10% off a pair of section 5's. I suppose last year if they tried to get people to renew during the season people would have laughed. Consecutive seasons of suck will do that to you and a fan needs a few months before optimism starts creeping back.
So this is quite curious and it has me wondering why they want the money so ridiculously early. Part of it seems to be get season ticket holders to pay for the theorized home playoff game (which not so amusingly is suddenly looking a little tenuous, even with Mike Kelly coaching the Bombers). Selling playoff tickets in November in Hamilton has never been easy, so I can sort of understand the thought process. Hopefully there is no other reason why they want money in October for a season that starts in late June.
I've helpfully posted the renewal form in case anyone is interested.
So this is quite curious and it has me wondering why they want the money so ridiculously early. Part of it seems to be get season ticket holders to pay for the theorized home playoff game (which not so amusingly is suddenly looking a little tenuous, even with Mike Kelly coaching the Bombers). Selling playoff tickets in November in Hamilton has never been easy, so I can sort of understand the thought process. Hopefully there is no other reason why they want money in October for a season that starts in late June.
I've helpfully posted the renewal form in case anyone is interested.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
CFL Power Rankings
1. Montreal
2. Calgary
3. Saskatchewan
4. Hamilton
5. Edmonton
6. BC
7. Winnipeg
8. Toronto
Montreal is obviously head and shoulders above the rest of the league, although Toronto surprisingly was able to at least somewhat keep up with them. Calgary did not look impressive winning by a single point at home against Hamilton. Their offense in the fourth quarter was anemic, however they got the win and have the second best record. Saskatchewan lost to BC on the road, but with the third best record I will stick with BC. Hamilton did not look too terrible on the road in Calgary, with a surprisingly dominant defence. Edmonton losing to Winnipeg hurts, however I still like their quarterback situation better than BC's. Winnipeg wins and has managed to get back into the race for the playoffs, even with Michael Bishop quarterbacking. Toronto looked better than Hamilton against Montreal at home, but as per usual could not get it done. The boatmen likely have the worst one two quarterbacks in the league and that's saying something this year.
2. Calgary
3. Saskatchewan
4. Hamilton
5. Edmonton
6. BC
7. Winnipeg
8. Toronto
Montreal is obviously head and shoulders above the rest of the league, although Toronto surprisingly was able to at least somewhat keep up with them. Calgary did not look impressive winning by a single point at home against Hamilton. Their offense in the fourth quarter was anemic, however they got the win and have the second best record. Saskatchewan lost to BC on the road, but with the third best record I will stick with BC. Hamilton did not look too terrible on the road in Calgary, with a surprisingly dominant defence. Edmonton losing to Winnipeg hurts, however I still like their quarterback situation better than BC's. Winnipeg wins and has managed to get back into the race for the playoffs, even with Michael Bishop quarterbacking. Toronto looked better than Hamilton against Montreal at home, but as per usual could not get it done. The boatmen likely have the worst one two quarterbacks in the league and that's saying something this year.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Cats in Niagara Article
Interesting article about the Cats trying to build support in the Niagara region. Currently fans from Niagara represent the equivalent of 500 season tickets and the Cats would like to get that up to 1200. Pretty good strategy, although more than doubling will probably be difficult.
This line was interesting "In 2009, the team’s casual walk-up sales are up 40 per cent, corporate support is up 20 per cent and merchandise sales have risen 80 per cent." The corporate I can see. The walkup was probably helped significantly by the success of the Labour Day game compared to last year. Merchandise is interesting, although I am sure winning at home more often this year gives a big bump. No one wants to be wearing the colours of a 3 and 15 team.
I also found this stat interesting, "that strategy no longer works, considering the business of the CFL has grown exponentially and the cost of running a team has doubled in the last eight years, Mitchell said." Kind of strange, although 8 years of inflation is probably close to 50% anyways. Probably a case of spending money to make money, because the salary cap certainly hasn't doubled in eight years.
Cohon had a quote about television ratings, "Some of the highest-rated games are Ti-Cat games and the resurgence of the Ti-Cats has really helped us in Southern Ontario." This is good, although you would prefer people coming to the stadium, but people watching drives merchandise sales.
This line was interesting "In 2009, the team’s casual walk-up sales are up 40 per cent, corporate support is up 20 per cent and merchandise sales have risen 80 per cent." The corporate I can see. The walkup was probably helped significantly by the success of the Labour Day game compared to last year. Merchandise is interesting, although I am sure winning at home more often this year gives a big bump. No one wants to be wearing the colours of a 3 and 15 team.
I also found this stat interesting, "that strategy no longer works, considering the business of the CFL has grown exponentially and the cost of running a team has doubled in the last eight years, Mitchell said." Kind of strange, although 8 years of inflation is probably close to 50% anyways. Probably a case of spending money to make money, because the salary cap certainly hasn't doubled in eight years.
Cohon had a quote about television ratings, "Some of the highest-rated games are Ti-Cat games and the resurgence of the Ti-Cats has really helped us in Southern Ontario." This is good, although you would prefer people coming to the stadium, but people watching drives merchandise sales.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Calgary Game
The Calgary game was disappointing considering how the game ended, with Calgary having a festival of two and outs and Hamilton failing to get the tying point. Calgary was kept scoreless in the fourth quarter and did not get a single touchdown.
Porter was 22 for 33 for 262 yards with a single pick, compared to Burris' 14 for 30 for 132 yards with two picks. Hamilton's defence really seems to have Calgary figured out this year. There's an argument to be made for starting Glenn next game. We could, although I'm not totally convinced that Glenn would have fared that much better so at this point count me agnostic on this point. From the stats however, the one QB who should not be starting next week would appear to be Henry Burris. At least Porter seems to have clued into Stala's existence with six passes for 53 yards.
Winnipeg is looking better, but hopefully we can turn things around. Michael Bishop reminds me of a worse Henry Burris, so hopefully the Ticats defence can do enough to help the offense win the game.
Porter was 22 for 33 for 262 yards with a single pick, compared to Burris' 14 for 30 for 132 yards with two picks. Hamilton's defence really seems to have Calgary figured out this year. There's an argument to be made for starting Glenn next game. We could, although I'm not totally convinced that Glenn would have fared that much better so at this point count me agnostic on this point. From the stats however, the one QB who should not be starting next week would appear to be Henry Burris. At least Porter seems to have clued into Stala's existence with six passes for 53 yards.
Winnipeg is looking better, but hopefully we can turn things around. Michael Bishop reminds me of a worse Henry Burris, so hopefully the Ticats defence can do enough to help the offense win the game.
Moncton!
It was already pretty much known that Moncton was going to get a series of CFL regular season games, but New Brunswick premier Shawn Graham let the cat out of the bag. Drew Edwards is reporting that the Cats will not be the team losing the home game next year. Likely the Argos will be the team giving up a home game in return for guaranteed revenue from the league for the event. The Argos will probably choose an opponent that doesn't historically draw well, which probably means the Riders and Cats are out. Winnipeg is a possibility, as is BC, which would be humorous from a time zone perspective. The Argos giving up a game likely makes things more flexible for them with regards to sharing the dome with the sad sack Jays and one would expect that the home game chosen would be one where two home games in a row are scheduled. Plus the other benefit for the Argos is that they are likely to still be a mediocre team next year, with a better possibility of improvement the following year.
For the Cats, it would not shock me for them to the team to have their home game in Moncton in 2011. Considering the attendance from the past two home games against the Stamps and Alouettes which were on consecutive weeks, losing one of these games would reduce Bob Young's losses by increasing attendance for the other eight games, especially removing a back to back game. Burlington Minor Football had a huge turnout to the Calgary game, moving these tickets to the Montreal game would have made for a relatively big number. For opponents, the Cats shouldn't have the Argos (obviously), the Alouettes, or the Riders. Winnipeg, BC or Calgary would seem to be the logical choices. I have relatives near Moncton, so I would even consider getting on a WestJet flight from Hamilton airport to spend a few days out there and catch the game.
Incidentally, the 60,000 plus crowd last week for the Smos at home against the Riders is a remarkable accomplishment. I looked at which team was the best road draw in 2008 in a blog post, with Saskatchewan the clear winner. With this crowd, the Riders will be even farther above the next best team for 2009.
For the Cats, it would not shock me for them to the team to have their home game in Moncton in 2011. Considering the attendance from the past two home games against the Stamps and Alouettes which were on consecutive weeks, losing one of these games would reduce Bob Young's losses by increasing attendance for the other eight games, especially removing a back to back game. Burlington Minor Football had a huge turnout to the Calgary game, moving these tickets to the Montreal game would have made for a relatively big number. For opponents, the Cats shouldn't have the Argos (obviously), the Alouettes, or the Riders. Winnipeg, BC or Calgary would seem to be the logical choices. I have relatives near Moncton, so I would even consider getting on a WestJet flight from Hamilton airport to spend a few days out there and catch the game.
Incidentally, the 60,000 plus crowd last week for the Smos at home against the Riders is a remarkable accomplishment. I looked at which team was the best road draw in 2008 in a blog post, with Saskatchewan the clear winner. With this crowd, the Riders will be even farther above the next best team for 2009.
CFL Power Rankings
1. Montreal
2. Calgary
3. Saskatchewan
4. Edmonton
5. Hamilton
6. BC
7. Winnipeg
8. Toronto
Montreal proved this week why they were the class of the league with their utter dismantling of the Ticats. Calgary beat BC and is looking more solid as the second best team in the league. Saskatchewan proves they can win on the road, while Edmonton wasn't blown out, unlike Hamilton. BC, still mediocre, but better than the last two teams. Winnipeg ends up beating Toronto to win the battle of the wanker teams.
2. Calgary
3. Saskatchewan
4. Edmonton
5. Hamilton
6. BC
7. Winnipeg
8. Toronto
Montreal proved this week why they were the class of the league with their utter dismantling of the Ticats. Calgary beat BC and is looking more solid as the second best team in the league. Saskatchewan proves they can win on the road, while Edmonton wasn't blown out, unlike Hamilton. BC, still mediocre, but better than the last two teams. Winnipeg ends up beating Toronto to win the battle of the wanker teams.
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