A return to a 16-game schedule is quite enticing for 2014 when Ottawa returns. It would be perfect really: Each teams plays the other twice, home and away. No reason to expand pre-season, two games is enough. BUT, there is no way the CFL can give up the revenue of two added games unfortunately...I don't see any way around that.
I do still like the idea of 3 divisions with the 9 teams:
West: Calgary, Edmonton, B.C.
Central: Ottawa, Sask and Winnipeg
East: Toronto, Hamilton and Montreal
Each team would have two games against teams outside its division, home and away (12 games)
Each team would play the other teams within its division three times (6 games)
That's how other sports leagues operate, more games against your division rivals.
The league is doing well and changing, this would be a perfect time to implement this.
So teams would give up an average of a million dollars for not hosting a game? TSN would have to ask for money back from the CFL because they are broadcasting fewer games? Advertisers would see their product advertised much less and they would pay teams less money?.
Do people actually think out these ideas before posting?
How about going to a longer season with more games.
3 divisions is stupid. Come playoffs what do you do...top from each then next bast record into the post season for a total of 4 teams? Or, do you go by overall record with say 6 making it...in which case, what is the point of divisions.
as far as going back to 16 games, A - loss of revenues, as stated, B - even when it was 16 it was still 20 with PS.
I say start the season a month earlier, have each team with 2 byes, and the GC held the 1st Sunday of November or last of October, thereby making some of the extreme weather pretty much mute for the big game. First Sunday being smarter as it doesn't clash with the World Series. Plus...we go an extra month of football then...really only 2.5 months without.
I am going to make three suggestions for the playoff format for 4 teams, 5 teams, and 6 teams.
Best of 3 series or two games total point aggregate was used in 50’s, 60’s and 70’s CFL playoff format. This could help with the revenue and fan interests. This could work for 4 teams playoff tournament but it might not work with 6 teams as it is for single elimination.
Suggestion #1
Total playoffs team: 4 teams
Divisional Champion automatic make the playoffs with one best 2nd place finisher.
You could use a single game elimination with this format or allow the two-game total point aggregate to maximum the revenue for the playoffs teams or the best of three format for the playoffs round.
Suggestion #2
Total playoff teams: 5 teams
Option A:
Divisional winners automatic make the playoffs with two wild card spots (potentially there could be all 3 teams from one division make the playoffs if they have better record than the rest of the league. The divisional winners would get the bye in the first week of the playoffs while the wild-card teams facing off in the first round. The winner of the wild-card plays against top team in the league unless the wildcard team record is better than lowest Divisional champion record.
Week 1 of playoffs: 5th seeded (second wildcard) at 4th seeded (first wildcard)
Week 2 of playoffs: Wildcard winner at 1st seeded Best divisional champion / 3rd best divisional team at 2nd best Divisional champion.
Option B:
I realize that the wildcard get the revenue with a home gate while the 3rd divisional winner won’t get to see a cent of their playoff revenue. It would not be fair for them. so I propose a slightly different playoff system: only top-seeded team get the bye in the first week of playoffs, giving the incentive to finish first overall in the league.
First round: single elimination game, wild-card game, the winner advances to second round, a single elimination game against the top-seeded Divisional team
Second round: single elimination game: wild-card team vs the top-seeded team.
Two games total points aggregate: 2nd best Divisional winner at 3rd best division winner for first game then the second game, the 3nd best Divisional winner at 2nd best Divisional winner.
Therefore, Week 1 of playoffs would look like this:
Wild-Card game: 5th seed at 4th seed
First Game: Divisional Champion B at Division Champion C
Week 2 of playoffs:
Single Elimination playoff game: Wildcard winner at Divisional Champion A
Second Game: Divisional Champion C at Divisional Champion B. Highest points scored in the two-game series advances to the Grey Cup.
Week 3: Grey Cup Championship game
Semi-final winners
Suggestion #3
Total playoff teams: 6 teams
Divisional winners automatically make the playoffs with next three best wild-card teams
First round:
Top two Divisional winners get first round bye.
Third best divisional winner automatic host a playoff game regardless of their record against the lowest wildcard team.
The best wildcard team get its home game against next wild-card team.
Second round: best divisional winner against the lowest CFL record while 2nd seeded team against the better record. Even the 3rd Divisional winner with the worst record than the wildcard team must face the top seeded team.
Grey Cup: semi-final winners’
Conclusion:
If I had a choice which format I would like, I pick suggestion #2 option B. I like this because it gives a greater variety of the playoffs match-ups will make the regular season more important to play for while giving the chance for those who didn’t win the division a chance to play for the Grey Cup. Also, it gives the incentive for all teams to grab the only playoff bye for the overall league champion. With this format, 55% of the league make the playoffs.
Sounds to me like the main reason that you want such a realignment and rescheduling is just to have nice pretty even numbers. You’ll need better reasons than that to convince me.
As far a s 16 games goes, I wouldn’t mind that at all. Don’t think we’d want any fewer than that, and I certainly don’t want any more than 18. Season is long enough, but if you want 16 games just so that everybody plays each other once all neat and tidy perfect anal-retentive world, forget it. Give me JUST ONE sound sporting or business reason why we should have 16 games.
And as for the 3 divisions of 3, makes absolutely NO SENSE whatsoever except that you get neat nice tidy evenly spaced divisions. That’s wonderful. Even though it screws up every sporting, rivalry and business aspect of the league’s operations it is somehow more important to have tidy even divisions? We have a whole other thread on this. No one can give a single good reason for 3 divisions. The only thing anyone can come up with to support this format is ‘3 x 3 = 9 all even steven’. What is this, a computer sim fantasy league?
Anyone tries to lift the Riders out of the West will have to get that past Edm, Cal and BC. There’s no way any of those 3 will give up their biggest draw on the schedule (other than Cgy vs Edm) and replace them with seeing each other 3 and 4 times a year. Now Winnipeg has a good thing going with the Cats. They’ve fostered that the past 7 or 8 years. Now you want to upend that too, but not give them Calgary or BC? And Ottawa’s biggest rivals over the years have been Montreal and Hamilton. Instead they will get 2 prairie teams come to town 3 times a year? huh?
This is the real world. We have 9 teams and we have east and west. 5 + 4 = 9. Deal with it.
Aside from expansion, I think realignment and format change threads come up the most…Prairiedog, please cut and paste this in to every similar thread that pops up from now on!
I saw this and I first thought this was an older thread, but no, the date read July 3rd. Was I going crazy? Did I imagine some sort of similar insanity except with Hamilton in the Central division…?
I see, it only say what you want it to say. Why do people try to deny what is printed and archived in a message board for anyone to see.
Deny all you want, but you can’t say there was “nothing about fewer games” in your original post when you posted “A return to a 16-game schedule is quite enticing for 2014 when Ottawa returns”. Posting the second part does not changed the fact that you did mention the idea of a 16 game schedule. Why lie? What are you gaining? What is so wrong with saying “yes I did say that, but I stated further in my post…”? What is so devastating that would make you lie about something that is posted for all to see?
You advised Khalif Mitchell on how to handle the throat slashing allegations last year didn’t you. :roll: