CFL NOTEBOOK: AMBROSIE ADDRESSES ALOUETTES OWNERSHIP

Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says he has received assurances from the Montreal Alouettes majority ownership that nothing has changed with the CFL club.

Minority owner Gary Stern created a huge stir Monday when he announced he was stepping away from the franchise’s day-to-day operations and surrendering his spot on the CFL’s board of governors.

Stern and partner/father-in-law Sid Spiegel purchased the Alouettes from the CFL in January, 2020, with Spiegel taking a 75 per cent ownership stake. Spiegel died in July 2021 but his estate controls the majority ownership of the Montreal club.

Stern also stated Monday he was keeping his 25 per cent stake in the franchise.

Ambrosie said Stern informed him Sunday of his intentions. The CFL commissioner remains upbeat about the Alouettes’ fortunes after speaking with representatives of Spiegel’s estate.

“It has been exceptionally encouraging,” Ambrosie said. “They (majority ownership representatives) have had three core messages and they haven’t wavered from them.

“They’ve said it’s steady as she goes. They’ve got a good management team in Montreal and they want to continue the operation. They talked about winning football games being a big priority, which clearly demonstrates they understand our business and want to entertain their fans. From my perch, it’s been a really good week … in some respects it’s been very uplifting with their focus on those three priorities for today.”

Montreal (4-6) will chase a third straight win Friday night when it hosts the Ottawa Redblacks (2-8) to kick off the CFL’s Labour Day weekend. The Alouettes are second in the East Division, two points back of the front-running Toronto Argonauts (5-5), who visit the third-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-8) on Monday.

But questions remain regarding Montreal’s long-term future. The CFL was forced to operate the Alouettes in 2019 before eventually selling to Stern and Spiegel.

“You can only deal with what’s in front of you and that’s what we’re doing,” Ambrosie said when asked about the Alouettes future. “Again, what we’ve got is the message we’re getting from the representatives of the majority owner and that’s it’s steady as she goes.

“Beyond all of that, we’ve been thinking a lot about how do we create a better, stronger future for the league. We’re focused on two things: The best product on the field and the strongest business off the field.

“I think if we do that, regardless of what decisions our owners might make over time, if we stay focused on building a great business and the best brand of football in the world, I think we’re going to be absolutely fine in all of our markets and the new markets that we’ll ultimately find our way to.”

Ambrosie will be in Montreal on Friday, then head to Regina in time for the Roughriders-Winnipeg Blue Bombers contest at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday.

MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes’ bye week was anything but peaceful.

The Alouettes (4-6) were destined for a positive break following a 29-28 thriller win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Since then, fullback Christophe Normand was arrested by provincial police for alleged child luring. The Alouettes suspended Normand, then released him on Aug. 30.

Alouettes minority owner Gary Stern announced that he was stepping away from day-to-day operations and resigned from his CFL board of governors role.

Finally, the Alouettes pulled the trigger on two trades. General manager Danny Maciocia’s most eye-catching move was ending the quarterback debate for good and sending Vernon Adams to the B.C. Lions for a 2023 first-round draft pick.

Maciocia said that he explained the team’s situation with the players, and none of them had questions. For him, the page has been turned and Montreal is “dialled in” on an Eastern Conference clash with the Ottawa Redblacks to start Labour Day weekend on Friday night.

“The thing with me is that I’m transparent with these guys.” Maciocia said. “I know what they know and if I don’t think they know a particular thing, I’ll address it.

“So I just walked them through the whole transaction with (Adams) and they’re well aware of it because I’m sure (Adams) shared it with them. The ownership piece, (president) Mario Cecchini addressed it and there were no questions.”

The Redblacks (2-8) fell to the Alouettes 40-33 in their first matchup of the year on July 21 but are looking for a historic 100th win by an Ottawa team over Montreal. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle is now under centre and high from a 25-18 win over the Edmonton Elks in Week 12.

Ottawa will count on a second straight big game from returner DeVonte Dedmon after the 26-year-old returned from a stint with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. The CFL’s most outstanding special teams player last season racked up 70 yards from three punt returns in last week’s win over the Elks.

(CP)