Scruffy’s This N That

1 – HAS THE AMERICANIZATION STARTED?: I have spoken to many Rider/CFL fans over the last week about the changes to the CFL announced by new Commissioner Stewart Johnston on Monday. 

Like many of you, I had no idea what was going to come out of Johnston’s mouth this past Monday in that Toronto hotel room, and I was hoping my worst-case scenario of the league becoming NFL Canada would not happen which thankfully it didn’t. In a news conference that I think could have waited until Grey Cup week, Johnston, as you know, announced radical changes to the game. It stays Canadian as 12 men are still on the wide field playing three down football with a certain number of players on the roster being Canadian which are the main things, but the field will look like the ones south of the border. 

For the most part, I like what was announced as change was needed — desperately needed despite what some of you think. Change is something the CFL has been resistant to do since I started following it. You must refresh things every now and then. Those that know my thoughts on the CFL know I hate the rouge and have called for that to be scrapped for years. It is bush-league to reward a team for failure on a missed field goal. It is not a complete elimination of the rule, but I will take it even if it means the missed field goal return is getting kneecapped. Having benches on each sideline is something that should have been done years ago as it is terrible having them on the same sideline and damages the credibility of the league. Why the CFL didn’t mandate this years ago is a head-scratcher and is something I discussed in this column a few weeks ago.

I like the moving of the goalposts to the back of the what-will-now-be standardized 15-yard endzone as teams now have to get to the 35 to kick a 50 plus yard field goal. What I don’t like is the removal of the 55-yard line. I don’t understand the need for it with the exception that the field is now the same as an American field which to me is the first step towards Americanization. Johnston could have thrown cold water on that idea when he was asked by Justin Dunk if he would guarantee that the game wouldn’t go to four downs and he basically said no. 

Getting back to the game evolving with change needed. The NHL did it with the elimination of the red-line and the introduction of the shootout, the trapezoid behind the net and 3 on 3 overtime. MLB did it with the elimination of the shift, the designated hitter being universal. The addition of the pitch clock and now the automated strike zone.  The changes worked in those sports and time will tell to see if what was announced this week will work. I thought the comments Trevor Harris made on Tuesday encapsulated the situation perfectly. He wasn’t the only one, and yes I know some like Nathan Rourke weren’t happy. 

There are those that are saying these changes mean they are done with the CFL. If that is the case, that is a “you” thing. You are entitled to your decision just as I am entitled to call you petty for having that thought process.  Everything changes and as mentioned the bottom line is trying to make the game better and that hasn’t been done for years. Only two teams are making a profit and that is a huge problem that many don’t want to admit.  If you can’t handle that, that is on you.  Today, the game is still Canadian with some American flavour added to it. As long as the core pillars that have made the CFL a great game on the field, I am fine with what was said and what will happen. Off the field, the league is still a mess when it comes to a number of things that may or may not get solved with these changes. I’m not going to the worst-case scenario because no announcement has been made on removing those core pillars.  Now, if we could just get to one nine-team league and have overtime see the team start at midfield, I would be happy.

Admittedly, there is work to do now with university, junior and minor football. Hard conversations and decisions are going to have to be had and made. 

To close it off, you can debate the changes all you want but I ask this: The league, and some of its clubs, are having a hard enough time getting people inside their venues in what has been for the most part a season that has had some great games. Will these moves get the people in the younger demographic that aren’t going to games going to them? Those in the older demographic are claiming they are done now, and in a few years, it won’t matter if they are there or not. It is that younger crowd you need, and I just don’t know if all of this or anything for that matter accomplishes it. The league is still guilty of not marketing themselves properly. On the surface, the people in that department are not doing their job very well and either is the players association. That is where your real mess lies and that is the next area Commissioner Johnston needs to look at. He seemed to indicate while speaking with Rod on Thursday that the next announcements will surround the business side of the game. I am guessing we will hear about that during Grey Cup week.

2 – BACK TO THE PRESENT:  Time to put the talk of CFL rule changes on the backburner and concentrate on the stretch run of the 2025 season. After getting stomped by Montreal, the Riders get back to work after having last weekend off as they head to Commonwealth Stadium. On paper, this should be a Riders win but this isn’t Strat-o-Matic, and I think it will be a lot tougher to get out of the Alberta capital with a “W” than what you think.

Edmonton is a better team with Cody Fajardo at quarterback. They go into this game having lost their last two on a last-play field goal.  It will be tough, but the Elkimos can still make the crossover. They go in as the more desperate team and as we know sometimes that can really work in a team’s favour especially if the other team doesn’t have the same energy. The Riders, who have won their last seven at Commonwealth, know they are in the playoffs and that they will likely finish first with several weeks to go in the season. I think /=S=/ wins the game, but I will take Edmonton to cover the four-and-a-half-point spread as they have played a number of one-score games this year. The emotion factor will also be with Edmonton after the tragic death of owner Larry Thompson this week. 

3 – NFL WEEK 4: Week 4 already? Didn’t the season just get started? Here are some notes heading into this weekend’s play. 

• Micah Parsons returns to Dallas Sunday night when the Packers come to town. Green Bay hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the first three quarters of a game all season and Parsons leads the NFL in pressures with 14 despite playing less than 65 percent of the team’s defensive plays this year.
• Giants QB Jaxson Dart makes his NFL debut at home against the 3-0 LA Chargers. Only five quarterbacks have ever beaten a 3-0 team in their debut with one of them being former CFL’er Jeff Garcia.
• The best matchup of the weekend may see Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Philadelphia can start 4-0 for the third time in the past four seasons (2022-23) while Tampa Bay can begin 4-0 for the fourth time in franchise history and the first since 2005.
• The Baltimore Ravens (1-2) and Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) are set to meet on Sunday , marking the seventh time in the past eight seasons, including playoffs, the two teams have squared off. Five of the previous six meetings have all been decided by seven-or-fewer points.

4 – PREMATURE CHAMPAGNE PARTIES: All teams going into the MLB playoffs are doing it, but can someone please tell me why a team is celebrating clinching a playoff spot when there is so much more to accomplish? The Blue Jays clinched at worst a wild-card spot and not the American League East last Sunday in Kansas City. A couple of days before, the Cubs clinched a wild-card spot, and this week Seattle poured the bubbly twice after clinching a playoff spot and then the AL West the next night. I know the playoff structure has changed, but to me the only time you are popping the corks and partying the night away is if you win the LCS or the World Series. You could argue winning a division title, but just getting in isn’t a reason to celebrate. Then again, maybe in today’s world it is.

5 – AUTOMATED STRIKE ZONE: Change is coming to baseball, and this will be a good thing if done properly.  There are too many games these days where we are seeing a terrible call or calls behind the plate from the home plate umpire.  I think it is unrealistic to demand perfection from whoever is calling balls and strikes, but there are times in all games when a strike is called that shouldn’t be or a ball is called that shouldn’t be.  Teams will have two challenges per game, and it won’t delay things as the automated system will be similar to line calls in tennis.  The fan and the TV audience will see it almost immediately and we move on. It is a system that many say has worked great in the minors so let’s see how it works in the majors. This will remove some anger amongst batters, pitchers, managers and fans, but it won’t take it all away. 

6 – THE FINAL WEEKEND: Two days to go in the baseball season and lots of questions to be answered. Will Toronto or the Yankees win the American League East? Will the Guardians amazing September run give them an American League Central title? Are the Tigers, who had the best record in baseball just a short while ago, going to even make the playoffs. Are the high-priced Mets going to make the playoffs or is Cincinnati? The drama is going to likely go down to the final outs before the seeding in each league is determined. Meanwhile in Seattle, the Mariners and Dodgers are playing one another. It would not surprise me one bit to see those teams playing it out in a few weeks for the World Series. 

7 – THE NHL’S BEST DIVISION IS…..:  We are just a few days away from the puck dropping on a new NHL season. For good reason, the Florida Panthers are favoured to win their 3^rd Stanley Cup in a row which would put them in that dynasty range. Things are not starting well on that quest for them as Alexsandr Barkov is done for the season with a knee injury suffered in practice along with Matthew Tkachuk not being healthy for a while. As we get ready to start the season, what division would you say is the best. 

I’d have to go with the Central. You have Winnipeg, Colorado and Dallas who should all fight for first again, a Nashville team that can’t be as bad as last year as well as a Utah team that should compete for a playoff spot along with very good teams in Minnesota and Dallas. Safe to say that whatever teams have the most success playing divisional opponents in the Central will move on to the Stanley Cup chase. Thoughts? 

8 – THE TOP 50: Like they do with the CFL, TSN asked a variety of hockey people to give them their top 50. No surprise to see Connor McDavid at number one followed by Nathan McKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Cale Makar and Nikita Kucherov. Auston Matthews at 7 though? I would have Sidney Crosby ahead of him for sure. Sid was 12 for what it’s worth. What I found interesting is that for the first time, more Americans were on the list than Canadians as it was 16-14. Guessing if all stay healthy, we will see all of those 30 on the ice in Italy going for gold at the Olympics. How fun will that event be? We got a taste of it in the Four Nations, but it will and should be better with more on the line.

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Methinks if Texas quarterback Arch Manning wants to turn pro and start life in the NFL next season that he will do it with the New Orleans Saints which is where his grandpa played. That Saints team is some kinda bad.
• Are we ever going to see Chad Kelly play another down in the CFL?
• The Alouettes are simply a different team with Davis Alexander under centre
• Did NFL fans say their league was being too Canadiana when they adopted the two point convert and the movement of the PAT to make it more difficult? 

That’s all I got. Have a great week!