Example of the kind of attention Ricky Williams brings

but anyone who knows why the CFL doesnt have a drug-policy understands....it costs $5million a year...something the CFL cannot currently afford.

Onterrio Smith is no Ricky Williams!

Very few things that happen ever receive unaminous consent or dissent. This Ricky Williams thing is fun no matter what he does.
If he tanks that will please some and if he stands the league on it's ear that'll please others. It's just another chapter in the CFL's long soap opera.

Enjoy him while he's here,
cause it's only for a year.

Heightened US coverage would be a bonus, but will it really mean anything to us? More important is that this could help revive the CFL in the Toronto papers, some of which don’t seem to be overly interested in following the league.

Hopefully we won’t see too many headlines like “What Ricky Ate for Breakfast”, “What Ricky Drove to Practice”, “What Ricky Did After the Game”, etc… now that Act 1 of this little drama is over, let the man play.

anyone whos listening to fan590 today, knows its been all cfl/argos all day.

and all the toronto newspapers have had nothing but positive stuff to say. toronto sun has had about 3 articles a day about this.

cfl buzz is huge right now. apparently argo tickets are selling like hotcakes…which is what this league needs. especially going into a grey cup year in media-capital toronto in '07.

Perhaps they’ll go to write about Williams and discover an entire football league instead. :lol:

I don’t expect to see 4 or 5 stories every day, but daily coverage should be the norm in every CFL city.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5648652

Interesting article here on Ricky and other NFL RB's that have tried up here.

its been said, on the fan590, that the first argo game of the season ( against your ticats ) will be covered by media all over north america.

and, no i dont expect 3-4 stories a day, i do expect the argos / cfl to make more front pages than last years 4,and higher priority in the sports sections ( meaning page 1 ) and the leading story on tsn or sportsnet shows.

The question also is will he have an injury free season this year. We play tackle in Canada. If an outside linebacker has a highpriced drug user in his sights Ricky could be in for a surprise.

First of all, it's absolute crap that dope is illegal when tobacco and alcohol are just as harmful yet legal. Secondly, the CFL should have a drug policy to protect the players and young fans who look up to them.

My beef with this signing is it makes the CFL look like a second-rate circus. If I was a fan of the European hockey leagues all the NHLers went to play for during the lock-out, I'd feel the same way. Both leagues would have gained a lot of integrity by respecting the "big leagues".

Good luck to him, but this signing is a cheap marketing gimmick that reflects poorly upon the entire league.

i know one thing, the CFL has plenty of LBS that think they should be playing in the NFL and probably some of them could but due to politics or just bad timing it didnt happen . You would have to think that they would love to get a good shot in on Ricky and if there is a lot of media maybe they will be playing for scouts ?? All in all he will up the level of play and intensity in every city he plays in . Has to be a positive in my books .

The reason onbody made a big deal over Onterrio Smith signing is that Smith isnt that amazing. Ricky lead the league in rushing once, was voted to the pro bowl like 4 times, and he won the Heisman. What did Smith do? he was the backup in Minnesota. The most controversy about this is what to do with Charles Roberts now?

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I am glad that he signed with the Argo's rather then with another team in the league. If a player of his supposed ability is going to choose to play in CFL, it should be with what is considered by most the flaghsip team. He will get the most exposure in Toronto.

Like others who have mentioned here, I hope he does well, but not too well. Great performances will keep interest up, however if he is by far and away the best player in the league, it makes the rest of the players look like have-nots.

What I hope he does for the league is snowball everything for the better. Increase ticket sales league wide, which will increase franchise values, which will increase player salaries, which will increase the quality of players coming to the CFL from the states, which will increase the popularity of the league, which will increase franchise values, etc. etc. etc.

I also think the Tiger-Cats should be wise to consider putting everybody and anybody on their neg list. you never know who might become available.

Devourer

8)

Thanks very much drummer_god
for taking the effort of assembling
these informative articles for us.

Hopefully, some of the many posters
who would likely forgive their own son,
grandson, brother or other relative

if they took the same journey Ricky took

will read one or all of these articles
and stop demonized Ricky for his missteps
and focus on who he is as a man today.

Bash the CFL for permitting the signing
of suspended NFL players but

Don’t bash Ricky Williams

it doesn’t look good on you, folks.

This is a ONE YEAR GIG; a side show; an anomaly. It will be something for the ESPNs and Jon Stewart to use in comdedy bits. The mighty running back with eccentric tendencies on hiatis in the Great White North playing in a perversion of the NFL. That’s how our league is being perceived.

If the Argos make it to Grey Cup in a cold and snowy Winnipeg, you can bet those hightlights will make the US sportscasts, but not much else.

If we had any respect for our league we’d all see this signing for what it is: a crass marketing gimmick. In one year’s time, Ricky will be forgotten, a new guy in the Argos camp and this incident will be another bizarre chapter we’d have been better without.

It's not about publicity for the CFL in the southern states - no one cares.

It's about selling seats at stadiums in Canada and more corporate sponsorship. The more people watch the CFL the more businesss takes notice and decide to advertise with the CFL.

I'm sure people in Ottawa and potential owners will take notice and realize what they are missing. Ricky Williams can only hep the CFL, I'm sure a lot of people will be coming out to the stadium to watch him and more tuning in on TV. I think the TV ratings will probably go up this year.

As Ockham wrote this is a one year gig, but it's one year that the Argos have really improved their chances of winning the cup,
which is the main focus of all teams, so good on them.
Personally I don't care how this whole thing is perceived in the States. The Argos have raised their profile in the city and that's a GOOD thing. Once Toronto starts watching the games again they'll get turned on to how exciting the CFL is and hopefully continue to support them in coming years. It is an aberation down in the States and they'll continue to mock us but so what.
We do our share of mocking them.

To expand on the last two posts made here, which were both very good posts, let me say this. There might not be very much more attention paid to the CFL by Americans simply because one of the NFL's best is playing here. But that may not even matter. It's attention from people north of the 49th parallel who did not previously watch it who'll be paying attention. Any game in which Williams plays will have greater attendances and television ratings. And so every team in the league will be bringing in more money.

And you know, this reminds me of when Doug Flutie player in the USFL. I found out after reading part of one of Donald Trump's books, that when he owned the New Jersey Generals, he suggested every USFL team pay a part of Flutie's salary. He suggested this because Flutie was that good for the league. This idea didn't go over well, and Trump did not expect it to succeed. But I hope the owners of the blue team do not have this same idea.

Anyway, this could also have some long-term benefits as well. People who did not previously watch CFL football who did not previously watch it might find out how entertianing it is. And they'll continue to contibute to television ratings and attendances. They'll come to see Ricky Williams, and stay for the actual CFL games.

Some good points, ruff, but check out Joe Theisman on the Fan this morning: www.fan590.com