(pictured: 'John Frenzy' himself. The initimable John Lynch of the 620 CKRM Saskatchewan Roughrider broadcast crew)
It appears the only person that I know who really cares about the fact the CFL does not have a Commissioner is me.
The CFL is the only professional Sports League in North America and maybe the World that does not have a Commissioner or the equivalent of, at the top of the organization running the show and making the difficult decisions that occur on a daily basis.
This is hardly strange water for the CFL as instability at the top of the Canadian Football League since the post-second world war era has been a trademark as no less than thirteen highly qualified men have held the job with only two and possibly four giving it any kind of sustained leadership.
There was the first Commissioner prominent Winnipeg Lawyer G. Sydney Halter who led the league from 1958 to 1966, Jake Gaudaur former Ti-Cat player Coach and General Manager who took the reins from 1968 till 1982 and most certainly has to be considered the architect of several of the rules regulations and operating procedures now in place.
After Gaudaur's retirement characteristic instability followed in the league office for a year before prominent Calgary Lawyer Doug Mitchell assumed the top job for five years and came up with several innovative new ideas including the league having their own TV network.
The fourth most highly regared Commissioner appears to be the Leagues last one Tom Wright who served but four short years in the top job only to be squeezed out by a power play in 2006 for what still appears to be unknown reasons. Wright's contribution are considered by many to some of the best ever with his negotiation of a TV contract which has every game televised and is the most lucrative in CFL history.As well his persistence saw the begining of instant replay.
In between these four key men have been several wannabees who just did not have what it took or simply did not like the job once they were in office because of the interference of the variuos teams. At any rate The NFL over this same period of time 1958 till the present has had four Commissionaires Bert Bell, Pete Rozelle, Paul Tagliabue ,and Roger Goodell, the NHL has had four as well and Major League Baseball Eight.
The questions are obvious. Why did the CFL not have somebody ready to step in on January one of this year? Who runs the League re: monitoring Salary Cap situations? Who carries on negotiating with Ottawa interests re: a ninth franchise for 2008? There is no doubt about the fact that the League's image suffers as well from having no one at the top who can be referred to as their leader..
It is a sad but repetitive scenario for the CFL that I hope comes to an end shortly as the powers that be state that a highly qualified person will be running the league within a very short time.
The question still remains how come that person is not in office now?
The CFL is the only professional Sports League in North America and maybe the World that does not have a Commissioner or the equivalent of, at the top of the organization running the show and making the difficult decisions that occur on a daily basis.
This is hardly strange water for the CFL as instability at the top of the Canadian Football League since the post-second world war era has been a trademark as no less than thirteen highly qualified men have held the job with only two and possibly four giving it any kind of sustained leadership.
There was the first Commissioner prominent Winnipeg Lawyer G. Sydney Halter who led the league from 1958 to 1966, Jake Gaudaur former Ti-Cat player Coach and General Manager who took the reins from 1968 till 1982 and most certainly has to be considered the architect of several of the rules regulations and operating procedures now in place.
After Gaudaur's retirement characteristic instability followed in the league office for a year before prominent Calgary Lawyer Doug Mitchell assumed the top job for five years and came up with several innovative new ideas including the league having their own TV network.
The fourth most highly regared Commissioner appears to be the Leagues last one Tom Wright who served but four short years in the top job only to be squeezed out by a power play in 2006 for what still appears to be unknown reasons. Wright's contribution are considered by many to some of the best ever with his negotiation of a TV contract which has every game televised and is the most lucrative in CFL history.As well his persistence saw the begining of instant replay.
In between these four key men have been several wannabees who just did not have what it took or simply did not like the job once they were in office because of the interference of the variuos teams. At any rate The NFL over this same period of time 1958 till the present has had four Commissionaires Bert Bell, Pete Rozelle, Paul Tagliabue ,and Roger Goodell, the NHL has had four as well and Major League Baseball Eight.
The questions are obvious. Why did the CFL not have somebody ready to step in on January one of this year? Who runs the League re: monitoring Salary Cap situations? Who carries on negotiating with Ottawa interests re: a ninth franchise for 2008? There is no doubt about the fact that the League's image suffers as well from having no one at the top who can be referred to as their leader..
It is a sad but repetitive scenario for the CFL that I hope comes to an end shortly as the powers that be state that a highly qualified person will be running the league within a very short time.
The question still remains how come that person is not in office now?
10 comments:
Sweet new blog ... Lynchy
Gotta push it into a real 'Frenzy rant' tho
"Revoke Braley's franchise"!
LOL!
I think its obvious, its hard for private owners to be punished if they are making the rules and there is no commish to come down on them. Even if a commish did come down on them, they would have the commish voted out anyway
I think its obvious, its hard for private owners to be punished if they are making the rules and there is no commish to come down on them. Even if a commish did come down on them, they would have the commish voted out anyway
Hey John. I see where a lot of last years Riders have resigned. That's great. Ritchie Hall is staying. That's positive. I guess all the hype that players were going to leave is just that. I hope we have a good year. It's our turn.
Great blog John. I look forward to checking in. Have a great '07 pal.
SMaz
Hey John Boy......Big Shep sent me here. Keep up the great Blog. I'll be back.
Great blog John. Good luck.
Does anyone really think that Ottawa deserves a third chance? They mucked up the first two and a Grey Cup to boot. Anyone remember the Grey Cup without a parade in Ottawa? Why not a team from Halifax?
Too bad we lost the Wright one as our comish. Imagine the nerve of that Wright guy. Finally having a solid business plan for the future of the league, record setting TV revenues, an enforceable salary cap, excellent labor relations with the players association, and team parity within the league. Sound business practices that caused some few private clubs Owners to insist that Wright leave.
Experiments like the failed expansionism of the 90s or the owners allowing the Gliebermans to do whatever at the expense or rather to the embarrassment and credibility of the CFL were not accidents. Owners appointing commissioners who did not understand the Canadian game and owners that endorsed and enforced failed business practices and proven failures are responsible for the dismal performances of our proud CFL.
In the history of the CFL this is a crucial time to ensure the continuity of the league. A strong commissioner that understands the Canadian element and has a vision to enhance our uniqueness will require the support of all the owners. We need that commissioner now to maintain what has been accomplished. More important the CFL needs the owners to allow an effective leader do his/her job.
Good to see you've got a blog now. I've heard you on the radio for years and years.
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