CFL eyes shortened season with September
start
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| William Powell jets downfield for the Roughriders. |
On Wednesday, the CFL presented an update regarding its 2020 season in the face the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that is gripping the world. Had there been no pandemic, CFL main training camps had originally been slated to open on Sunday around the country.
As for the first announcement on Wednesday, the CFL said it
is expecting to start the 2020 regular season on Sept. 1 at the earliest. Teams
will play a shortened regular season with the number of games to be determined.
The circuit announced that barring the creation of a vaccine
for COVID-19 there won’t be any regular season games held during the summer
months.
As a result, the CFL has cancelled Touchdown Atlantic slated
for July 25 in Halifax, N.S. That regular season contest would have seen the
Roughriders face the Toronto Argonauts at Huskies Stadium on the grounds of
Saint Mary’s University.
Due to playing a shortened regular season, the CFL announced
the 2020 Grey Cup won’t be played on Nov. 22 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, which
is the home of the Roughriders. The CFL has decided give the hosting rights of
the 2022 Grey Cup to Regina.
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| Roughrider DT Makana Henry (#74) rushes a quarterback. |
The circuit said the 2020 Grey Cup could potentially be
played in December.
The 2021 Grey Cup is still slated to be held in Hamilton.
With the COVID-19 pandemic having wrecked havoc on travel,
tourism and the economy, the CFL noted the traditional week long Grey Cup
Festival leading up to the CFL’s championship game would not have the size and
scope it would normally have.
The CFL noted that continuing government imposed restrictions
on assemblies, travel and border crossings all played into the decisions that
were made on Wednesday.
The circuit’s announcement noted a number of provinces and
municipalities have decided to prohibit all sporting events featuring large
gatherings until Sept. 1.
The CFL said the September start is one scenario the league
is looking at and noted a cancelled season is still possible. A determination
on possibly cancelling the 2020 football season has not yet been made.
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| The Roughriders hope to have celebrations on the field in 2020. |
Following the release of that announcement, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie held an
online town hall with season ticket holders.
“I think we’ve learned three things trying to run a pro
sports league during a pandemic,” said Ambrosie during the online town hall. “The
first is that certainty is really hard to come by.
“There are lot of scenarios to consider, but in the end,
public safety and the safety of our players is the most important
consideration. All of that has gone into the announcements that we’ve made
today.”
Phase two Sask. reopening offers some
relief, other notes
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| There were lines to get into some stores at Midtown Plaza on Wednesday. |
On Tuesday, phase two of the Government of Saskatchewan’s
reopen plan for the province took hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic
that grips the world. With that move, retail stores, hair salons and malls were
allowed to reopen, but they have to follow strict health protocols laid out by
the provincial government.
After living through major lockdown restrictions for about
the last nine weeks, life at least in Saskatoon seemed a little more regular.
Traffic as you drove through the city seemed a lot more
normal, which brought out the good and the bad. I am sure a number of people
experienced their share of frustrations with driving.
Parking in downtown was a challenge, and the City of
Saskatoon announced recently all paid parking zones would be enforced starting
this coming Monday.
Confederation Mall is in my neighbourhood. Going in for a
bank trip on Tuesday, it felt like a relief to see Warehouse One, Winner’s and Tim
Hortons inside the mall were all open along with the $1. Store Plus.
I went and bought a lottery ticket at the $1. Store Plus,
and the clerk, who I often talk to there, said that was the first lottery
ticket he had sold in two months. Due to the fact no one else was in the store at
the moment, we proceeded to have a quick five minute chat to catch up.
I proceeded to check out Lawson Heights Mall on Tuesday and
Midtown Plaza on Wednesday. When I went into both places, I would say about 65
per cent of the stores were open.
There were staff working in some of the stores that were closed, and they appeared to getting things ready for a reopening.
There were staff working in some of the stores that were closed, and they appeared to getting things ready for a reopening.
While the stores were open, it was obvious that life wasn’t
normal. Most stores had arrows spelling out which way people should walk.
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| A video game store at Midtown Plaza was popular on Wednesday. |
At Midtown Plaza, it was easy to see which stores were
popular. About four of five stories had customers lined up waiting to get in.
Most of the other stores appeared to be quiet.
Most of the business in Midtown’s food court weren’t open. I
walked past where the new Saskatchewan Roughriders retail store was and
wondered if it will ever open.
Still, it seemed like seeing the stores opened gave a glimmer
of optimism, and any type of optimism in the current day is a good thing.
- On Monday, the iPolitics site reported the CHL, which is the umbrella that the WHL, OHL and QMJHL all operate under, is lobbying the Canadian federal government for financial aid for its 52 teams located in Canada. Susan Smith, Raphael Brass and Tim Barber of Bluesky Strategy are registered to lobby on the CHL’s behalf.
- On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan reported the WHL has contracted two lobbyists from the Vancouver-based Bluestone Consulting Group to lobby the Government of British Columbia with regards to returning to play. Mark Jiles, who is the principal owner of Bluestone, and Rob Nagai, who is Bluestone’s vice-president, will be lobbying on the WHL’s behalf.
- The WHL continued to roll out its league awards via an online format this week. On Tuesday, Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips claimed the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the goaltender of the year. On Wednesday, Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs took home the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the defenceman of the year.
- On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame cancelled its 2020 induction dinner and ceremony slated for Sept. 26 in Regina due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 induction class, which has yet to be announced, will be carried forward as the class of 2021. The organization wanted to all the inductees to be able to gather together with family and friends in person, which is extremely difficult to do with the various travel restrictions around the world.
- On Tuesday, Softball Canada cancelled all its fast pitch and slo-pitch national championship tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10 Canadian championships were scheduled to be held in six different provinces between late July and early September.
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comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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