An even 10 for the CFL

For someone who lives in the deep south of the United States, I spend an inordinate amount of time in deep thought about the Canadian Football League.

I’ve loved the CFL since I was first exposed to it more than 50 years ago, and over time the game played on a field that’s 150 yards long and 65 yards wide has become my favorite style of tackle football. When the Toronto Argonauts meet the Winnipeg Blue Bombers tonight at BC Place in the 111th Grey Cup, I’ll be watching with great interest. Truth be told, I probably look forward to the Grey Cup more than the Super Bowl.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social

And even though the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are my favorite team in the circuit, I’m gonna find something to like about every club; I support the CFL as a whole, so I want all of its members to thrive.

And what I’d really like to see sooner than later is the CFL make the jump from nine franchises to 10.

Expansion to another Canadian market was something outgoing CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie hoped to accomplish during his seven-year tenure, but the stars (i.e. ownership groups) never aligned.

“I think the one thing I’ve learned is it’s hard, maybe impossible, to push your way into a market, a market has to pull you in,” Ambrosie said on Tuesday during his final “State of the League” news conference. “We’ve put down some breadcrumbs in markets like Halifax and Moncton and we had fantastic success this past season in Victoria (the “Touchdown Pacific” game). I wish it (expansion) would’ve happened these past few years but I think eventually it will and I think some of these breadcrumbs that I referred to might ultimately help to make that possible.”

A 10-team CFL would make things so much cleaner.

The East and West divisions would have five teams each (or maybe divisions would be scrapped entirely).

Better yet, its traditional 18-game regular season schedule would mean each club could play the others twice, which is perfect for people like me who have just a touch of OCD and crave a balanced slate.

Beyond that, it’d give fans a new team to cheer (or jeer).

The “Atlantic Schooners” were a conditional Nova Scotia-based franchise back in the 1980s, but basically never made it past the logo stage. The Schooners brand was revived in 2017 but – again – nothing came of it.

The area is still coveted by the CFL, but other cities have entered the chat as well.

“I’m very bullish on Quebec City, I’m bullish on Atlantic Canada,” Ambrosie said. “I also think that, as the country grows, markets like Windsor, for example, could potentially be open to our saleable branches. We’ve had conversations in that market about the possibility of hosting a game there.”

As a CFL fan in America I was thrilled with the U.S. expansion experiment in the 1990s, but I wouldn’t advocate for such a move now. It provided a much-needed influx of cash, but was ultimately a plan better in concept than reality.

You never say never, of course, but Ambrosie isn’t sold on another south of the Canadian border move, either.

“Personally, I’m not convinced that U.S. expansion is the way to go,” Ambrosie said. “I think we have something very special here with our Canadian content.”

For those unfamiliar with how CFL rosters are put together, teams have a “Game Rule Ratio.” On a 45-man roster, 21 players must be designated as Nationals (Canadians). That number can include one nationalized American. Such a rule would make little sense with a U.S.-based franchise.

“The Canadian ratio is going to be part of our league for many, many years to come and if you open yourself up to U.S. expansion, you’re going to have to make that change,” Ambrosie said. “You’re going to have to operate under different rules and I don’t think a great league operates under different rules — one set of rules that applies to everybody.

“Somewhere in all this great country of ours, there’s going to be a market that wants the CFL and is prepared to make the investment in a facility. I think our next best step to get to 10 is to do it in Canada.”

This is one Yank who agrees wholeheartedly. I have no idea what region of the country is the best fit and makes the most sense, but maybe we’ll get a chance to find out some day.

Regardless, I’ll still be cheering for the Canadian Football League –  even though the closest franchise to me is more than 900 miles away.

Talia and Carlton

Carlton looked at Talia sitting on the church pew and wished he could somehow comfort her. Instead, he found himself trying to process the off-kilter thoughts that popped into his head.

The way he balled up his socks and launched them into the dresser in the bedroom, basketball style, always bemused his wife. Then again, the list of his quirks – and minor transgressions – was a long one.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social

Aside from the Sock Incident of 2004 (“I was aiming for the top drawer and didn’t mean to break your cherub figurine,”) there was the Failure To Put  A Second Coat of Paint On The Garage Door Incident of 2007 (“I know it looks streaky now, but after it dries it’ll probably be fine”); the Undercooked Chicken Incident of 2009 (“I’m pretty sure the meat’s supposed to be purple and slightly cool when you cook it on a gas grill”); the I Didn’t Realize Mrs. Marsh Was Looking Out Her Window When I Peed By The Side Of The House Incident of 2011 (“I’m not sure I want to live in a country where a man can’t drain the weasel without some busy-body spying on him”); and the Whole Milk Incident of 2015 (“I swear to god, I thought it was 1 percent.”)

Carlton was careless and never had an eye for details. He probably deserved to be yelled at for some of the stupid things he’d done – although Talia never yelled because she wasn’t that kind of person. She was, in fact, about the best human being he’d ever met. He, on the other hand, wanted to be a better man but just didn’t quite have the energy to get there.

Oh, over the years he’d thought of himself as a relatively funny guy, and was convinced that was his best quality. But there was more to being an adult than making people laugh (although he truly wished that was all that was required).

Beyond that, he valued his abundant leisure time, which hardly lined up to the constantly-in-motion Talia. While she could always think of things that needed to be done and was ready to jump on any task, he was thinking of ways to put off doing them.

If he wasn’t getting paid to work, he surmised, he didn’t see much reason to work at all. And once he retired from the insurance agency, he figured he had a license to flop.

Lazy streak notwithstanding, he knew he was annoying. He absent-mindedly made a whistling noise while he read, smacked his lips when he ate, slurped when he drank and had a talent for finding that last nerve to get on.

What bothered him today, though, was how little he had cared about “couple time.”

He recalled a conversation he’d had with Talia just a couple of weeks earlier.

“I’m headed to the outlet mall. Why don’t you tag along?” Talia asked.

“Nah, I’m gonna hang around the house,” Carlton whined. “Just don’t have any interest whatsoever in peopling.”

“So, in other words, you’ll just sit around, drink beer and think deep thoughts?”

“Well, actually, most of the deep thoughts will be about beer. But you know I hate shopping, so there’s no point in me going … I’d just slow you down. And, I always get distracted by that cinnamon roll store. Man, those cinnamon rolls are so good they’re sexy.”

Talia shook her head and laughed.

“Well, sorry you aren’t going with me. Maybe next time. I’ll bring you back a cinnamon roll, though.”

“Thanks, hon,” Carlton said, while grabbing for the TV remote. “You’re the best.”

Carlton’s routine involved popping open a beer at noon, eating a frozen pizza, and then concentrating on sports – or one of those ubiquitous man vs. nature shows. It was how he capped off almost every day of retirement.

While Talia liked to hole up in the den to watch something on the Hallmark Channel, Carlton much preferred to sneak away to his man cave to drink more and watch men in caves.

He knew Talia had no interest in seeing a pair of modern day pioneers kill, roast and eat Bigfoot and then wash it down with a piping hot cup of repurposed urine, so he never asked her to join him. And he had no interest in sitting through a show about star-crossed opposites who hooked up during a meet-cute, had no money, but survived on the currency of love.

Thing is, she never complained – not once. She had always accepted him the way he was, even though he had a hard time doing the same.

Especially today.

So here he was, watching her grieve at his funeral, wishing he would’ve lived long enough to say, “Sure, I’ll watch that Hallmark Christmas movie with you. It’ll be fun.”

Sadly, those were words she’d never hear from him because ghosts can’t talk to the living.

Even worse, they don’t get do-overs.

IFA joins alt-football party

Ready or not, here comes the International Football Alliance.

While the second-tier United Football League is set to begin year two next March (and extend spring pro football’s latest incarnation into a fourth season), fans will soon be asked to make room for a summer league that’s even lower on the play-for-pay pyramid.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social

The seven-team IFA is scheduled to open on May 31, 2025, with the Alabama (Huntsville) Beavers hosting the Tampa Tornadoes in what is billed as the “IFA Kickoff Classic.”

The other flagship teams in the league are the Baltimore Lightning, Chihuahua Rebellion, Dallas Pioneros, Ohio Valley (Wheeling, West Virginia) Ironmen and San Antonio Caballeros.

Hal Mumme, famous for the air raid offense, will guide San Antonio. Following a long career in college coaching he’s had stints in alternative football with the XFL Dallas Renegades (2020) and The Spring League Linemen (2021).

And Art Briles brings plenty of on-field success to his job with Dallas. Briles compiled a 99-65 record while coaching Houston Cougars (2003-2007) and Baylor Bears (2008-2015),and led Estra Guelfi Firenze to the championship of the Italian American Football Federation in 2022.

(In the interest of background checks, you might wanna fire up the ol’ search engine and type in “Briles Baylor controversy” and “Mumme New Mexico State controversy.”)

The IFA draft will be held March 21-22, 2025, and consist of eight rounds. The first three rounds will be confined to international and dual citizen athletes, while four through eight will focus on U.S. players.

Each team will play an eight game regular season schedule followed by semi-finals and a championship game on August 16.

The Kickoff Classic begins a week earlier than the full slate of IFA competition, which gets under way on June 7.

When the formation of the IFA was announced in January, 2023, the plan was to start with six teams – three in Mexico and three in the United States. The Mexican entrants were to come from the defunct Fútbol Americano de México (Guadalajara Tequileros, the Rebellion and Cancun Sharks) while the Pioneros de Queretaro were relocating to Dallas. At various points, Las Vegas, El Paso, San Diego and Lakeland, Florida, were touted as possible U.S.-based sites.

Last month it appeared there would, indeed, be six teams in the inaugural season, but Ohio Valley was added in late October.

And in a bold move, the IFA is already accepting expansion applications for 2026.

It’s easy to be skeptical about this latest gridiron venture, and I certainly am. Aside from St. Louis, UFL teams have trouble putting butts in the seats – meaning that circuit has hardly taken permanent root in the sports landscape. But it does have major network TV contracts, and decent TV ratings are why it hasn’t gone cleats up like the myriad minor leagues that have come before.

The IFA, on the other hand, signed a deal with Right Now TV in January and in October announced that Lights Out Sports would serve as its streaming partner.

Gotta be honest … I’d never heard of either of them, so I have no idea what they bring to the table in terms of exposure.

Despite repeated attempts to reach a representative with the league I’ve gotten no response, so all I have to go on is what’s on their website.

Here’s the IFA mission statement:

We are bridging the gap in international professional football by delivering the highest level of American Football within the strategic locations of Mexico and the United States. We are implementing NFL-based standard rules of play, and creating a true international alliance. Together with our team ownership, teams, players, and fans, we will work to build a unified and solid football ecosystem to grow American football in a league without borders.

In theory, I like the concept, although “NFL-based standard rules of play” sounds boring. (You’ve gotta have some cool rule tweaks). Mexico has the largest NFL viewership outside the United States, and the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional – which has a loose working agreement with the Canadian Football League – just completed its ninth season. Since the IFA intends to have a mixture of Mexican and American players, this gives athletes south of the border another avenue of tackle football.

But whereas UFL players can actually make a living on that league’s salaries (roughly $50,000 per player for three months’ work), most IFA signees will earn just $400 per game, with active quarterbacks bringing in $1,500 per outing.

Obviously, that’s better than nothing, but it means earning an IFA roster spot is more about getting film than getting paid.

As I’m sure you know, the track record of upstart football is poor. If a league doesn’t carry the initialism of “NFL,” it usually goes from the cradle to the grave quickly.

Still – despite long odds – the stakeholders in the International Football Alliance think there’s a market for lower level summer pro football.

I guess we’ll find out.