...the fourth place team in the West to have a better record than the second place team in the East? I'm looking at the standings and.....
Let's just say that there's an outside chance. If it happens, B.C. should get to host the Eastern semi (and it will be B.C.).
Yes its possible and no they shouldnt host!
There should not even be a crossover to begin with
No, as it stands now, the Lions would have travel out east, even if they do wind up with a better recrod than the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the East.
You're half right, ro. Yes it is possible, and no they shouldn't host. But the crossover has kept some terrible teams out of the playoffs.
If we had a non-interlocking schedule, I would agree with you a hundred per cent. But as it is, a team that goes 3-15 shouldn't make the playoffs just because another team that was as bad or worse happens to be in their geographic half of the country.
Then why have divisions?
A team with a better record missing the playoffs while a team with a worse record makes the playoff all the time(well, often) in every other sport and you never hear complaints. Why is it only the CFL that whines?
Plus!
The unbalanced schedule is exactly why there should not be a crossover.
Having a better record does not constitute a better team when you play some teams 4 times and other teams twice!
That being said, even with a 100% balanced schedule, its wrong and bad for the league!
If the Grey Cup this year were to feature 2 eastern teams, how many westerners would travel here to see the game? Far less IMO. The same would apply for 2 western teams playing in the west! The same would happen for TV viewing.... How many from one division would watch if the game featured two teams from the other division?
...people will watch the grey up no matter who is in it....
I really disagree!
You will, I will, but many many wont!
I would not care who is in the game, I would still watch. A Toronto-Hamilton GC game would be very fun to watch as would a Edmonton-Calgary game.
There is an argument for not having a crossover. In 1981, the Ottawa Rough Riders , with a 5-11 record made it all the way the Grey Cup final, and held a 20-3 lead in that game against the mighty Eskimos. They eventually lost the game, but in a one shot deal such as football anything can happen.
So?
If Ottawa peaked at the right time then more power to them.
Would it have been OK if say the Lions had crossed over with a 5-10-1 record and done the same thing?
The Grey Cup is East VS West!
Play better in your divisions and then there will not be a problem.....
Again, why is it ok in EVERY OTHER SPORT but such a whinefest in the CFL?
I said you could make an argument for eliminating the crossover... not that I would agree with that, but if you have the better record you should make the playoffs, especially in a smaller league like the CFL.
FYI- I dont really like it when it happens in any other league as well. It totally bush to have a good team miss the playoffs just because you are a different division or conference.
people want to watch the grey cup featuring the best two teams period. Nobody wants to see another sub .500 team like B.C. win it. Its a joke seeing a team with a horrible record in the playoffs.
I agree with ro, the GC game has always traditionally been about East v West.
I don't like the idea of that changing.
If the financial health of the CFL continues as it has been (I think things have stabilized since the Glieberman nightmare in Ottawa), I would like to see 5 teams in the West and 5 teams in the East.
Winnipeg could go back to the West where they belong and maybe stable franchises could be built in Ottawa and the Maritimes to make the CFL a coast-to-coast league.
That would be cool to see a team from the West meet the Halifax Explosion or the Rock of Newfoundland/Labrador in the 2012 Grey Cup--dare to dream!
We could have one potential crossover and a fully interlocking schedule (each team playing a home & home round-robin) if we had 10 teams and still keep the East-West rivalry.
Now, I know that divisions are divisions, but in my heart of hearts, last year was a West vs. West final. Manitoba will always be west to me, no matter how the CFL is divided 
Let's say Hamilton wins tonight, and then both they and Toronto lose all their remaining games. Hamilton will finish in third place at 3-15. Let's double the western records and say that B.C. finishes in fourth at 8-10. What's wrong with the Lions, who managed 8 wins despite playing most of their games against Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatchewan, taking the playoff spot of Hamilton, who managed to win just 3, despite playing Toronto and Winnipeg more than the Western teams did?
If the CFL ever manages to get two divisions of five teams, I will join the crusade against the crossover. The third-place team in a five-team division is unlikely to have a record undeserving of a playoff spot, even if the fourth-place team in the other division has a better record.
I disagree... The crossover is what makes it bush...
The big leagues deal with it....The CFL whines until they get their way!
And like I keep saying.....a better record does not make you a better team....
The worst team in a division should not make the playoffs!
Maybe not, but then when the other division has teams that have a worse record than the team that finishes last in the other division, what does that say about the quality of teams in the league?
BTW- BC has a 3-1 record agaisnt Eastern Divison opponents, and they play Hamilton next weekend. BC, I believe has a .500 record agaisnt the Als, the first place team in the division! They have beaten Winnipeg twice, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against the Argos and Cats, the two teams as of right now that hold 2nd and 3rd place.
It doesnt matter! It is one division against the other. If you cant win your in your division, you have no right to be in mine, regardless as to either record
So if BC wins the 4 games against the Cats and Argos that means they don't deserve the spot if their record is better? I totally disagree with that, if the Lions have proven they can beat those teams, they deserve the spot just on the fact that they have proven they are better than those teams-- they will have beaten all 3 and have the better record than them. One of them will get a playoff spot- and a home game despite the fact that BC will have beaten all three. If the Argos and Cats are tied at the end of the year for 2nd, the Cats are in because they have the season series already against the Argos.
Sorry but they dont deserve to be in a playoff game in another devison.....
You(they) are in the west....deal with it..or play well enough to make the playoffs in your division!
The crossover is for complainer who cant play well enough to win their division.
Like I keep pointing out..... it happens only in the CFL, (Yes I know you dont agree with the other leagues) but they dont whine and cry... they try to do better next year!
A championship game means the winner of division X plays division Y..... and division X does not "Cry" their way into divison Y