THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. DAVID BRALEY BEARS BLAME FOR FEDS REFUSAL OF CFL BAILOUT: The CFL’s ultimate sugar daddy spent decades happy to be known as the champion who saved the Canadian Football League and kept it going through some of its darkest days. No one can take that away from David Braley or his family however, let’s call a spade a spade. When David was a Senator in 2012, the federal government coughed up 5 million dollars for that year’s 100^th Grey Cup Festival for it to be a ‘cultural event’. The Grey Cup week proceeded to look a lot like all other Grey Cup weeks before it. David Braley cashed that $5-million dollar cheque and our friends in Ottawa still remember that. The biggest obstacle to a CFL bailout is the possibility of any one of the league’s owners cashing that cheque, spending the money and then getting out of dodge. David Braley had a lasting impact on the CFL and not all of it was good.    

2. MLSE BEARS BLAME FOR CFL NOT PLAYING IN 2020: There’s no question their pockets were, and still are, deep enough to fund the entire league to play without fans in the stands for a season or two. It’s great that they fund the Argonauts but it would be nice to see them do a little more than the absolute bare minimum.

3. MLSE HAS REASON TO WANT TO OWN THE CFL: Chairman and 25% owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Larry Tanenbaum, has dreamt for years about landing an NFL franchise for Toronto. That has not and will not change. Part of his strategy has been to prop up the CFL to convince provincial and federal politicians that the NFL is nothing to be afraid of. Owning the Canadian Football League would give Tanenbaum and his organization the “social conscience” to pursue the National Football League. I don’t actually believe any of the rumors about MLSE owning the league but could totally see how that organization could justify it from a business standpoint.

4. LOAN FROM REDBIRD CAPITAL WOULD BE DEAL WITH THE DEVIL: Absolutely zero need to accept any conditions from this outfit. CFL owners have to remember, “They came to us!” Not the other way around. Don’t ever forget that.

5. DID YOU KNOW?: That CC from CC & Lorie goes by the real name of Wayne Whitten? Me, neither. When I worked in the Rawlco radio newsroom, then-News Director Murray Wood referred to CC as “Wayne”. I was like, “Wayne? Who’s this Wayne guy?”

6. ALOUETTES NEW OWNER: Gary Stern and his father-in-law bought in just before COVID hit. They’ve lost a reported nine million bucks already and he hasn’t even enjoyed a game, yet. He’s not backing away, either. Montreal Gazette sportswriter Herb Zurkowsky recently quoted him as saying, “I’m not hiding. I told you I’m in. I’m committed. I’m not running anywhere. We’re funding it.” Someone invite this guy to Regina and buy him a beer, will ya?!

7. RADICAL CHANGE FOR BASEBALL: Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny is worried about the aging demographic of Major League Baseball fans and has suggested the sport must be open to radical change in an effort to connect with a younger audience. Are you kidding me? An entity that has continued to roll and pay multi-million-dollar salaries right through the coronavirus needs radical change? As if! Stop worrying about making sports attractive to people who don’t like sports. Take care of your diehards and the rest will take care of itself.

8. ASTRAZENECA VACCINE: Sign me up. If it gets this nightmare over faster, than I’m all in.  

9. RETWEET OF THE WEEK: “The CFL was far from a broken institution when the 2019 Grey Cup ended. The future looked solid. Covid changed everything.” –Bob Irving  

10. FILM OF THE WEEK: MLB Network’s BILLY is a hilarious and sometimes sad tale of legendary Yankee Manager Billy Martin’s rise and fall. Easy to find on YouTube and a great watch for any sports fan who loves characters in the game.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)