A true Hamiltonian (although he lived in Burlington).
David was a Westdale and and a McMaster grad who saved the CFL by owning and supporting 3 CFL teams in Hamilton , Toronto , and Vancouver . He will be missed . God bless you Mr. Braley and may your memory be a blessing .
Pat Lynch (the old Westdale, Mac and TiCat fan)
Happy travels Mr. Braley and sincere condolences to his friends and family.
After having read Steve Milton's column:
I believe that the CFL should name an award (in his memory) after him. Perhaps CFL executive of the year would be appropriate?
Stephen Brunt's perspective:
If what alot of what Brunt writes in that piece is probably accurate,
and if it is true that in some ways Braley held the League back,
It is now time for this Leagues executives to get this League thriving.
( in my David Braley gruff voice)
AND THEY GAWD DAMNED BETTER GET IT RIGHT!!!
I do see Brunt's point of view and it's hard to be critical on the heels of his passing.
Though there likely won't be a league today without him, he's been a mixed bag too. The off filed success in BC during the early 2000s was because of who he had working for him in Ackles. Aside from a bump when BC place was renovated, it hasn't been the same.
As I've said in other threads, he's a sustainer but not an innovator. RIP none of the less.
Like any other public figure, Braley's record is mixed. But having "saving the CFL" and "doing more than anyone else in the past 30 years" on your record would seem to outweigh the shortcomings.
I read the Brunt article and the first thing that hit me was the timing . Braley has recently passed and Brunt is dumping on him , now ? That shows a lack of class from a writer that I always liked .
Pat Lynch ( a disappointed Brunt fan)
Yeah, the timing is suspect, and in poor taste. To me, it looks like Brunt has been holding onto these stories for YEARS, and hasn't been able to report them until now, due to a fear of reprisal from the powerful David Braley. It's no big secret that he ran his teams on shoestring budgets, with absolutely zero marketing.
No surprise, but there hasn't been a word said on his passing on any Rogers platform...
This is just absolutely incredible
Well done Mr. Braley. Despite some of the criticisms levelled at him, you can’t fault his dedication to the league. Let’s hope the league can generate some revenue in 2021 so this money stays in the kitty a little longer