I cannot say I’m surprised. Or unhappy.
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What were the issues that led to this?
I don’t have any info on that. But as a listener, Michael Ball was a combination of the worst of Rod Black and Glen Suitor. Way over the top, and not a lot of knowledge.
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He’s also 
crazy on social media which the high muck a mucks in Saskatchewan probably didn’t like.
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Agreed. Ball was a legend…in his own mind, and over-the-top opinionated. Just call the game and hide any lack of knowledge.
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I’ve listened to Riders radio broadcasts for years. I’m in Toronto. “Ballsy” and to a lesser extent his side man Luke Mulinder have become an embarrassment. Homer Hyperbole is their trademark. I stopped listening to Riders radio last year.
As a shareholder, I have been acutely embarassed. For a professionally conducted CFL radio broadcast, check out the Tiger Cat crew. A most enjoyable listen.
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Next time you visit that facility bring along a 450ft tape measure and see if there is enough field for CFL football.
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Just eyeballing it and I’m saying “no way” hence my criticism.
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Exactly. Very few stadiums down here that have any excess space anymore. At one time many pro football teams played in venues that also accommodated baseball, and some of them would have suited, but nowadays teams are very reluctant to share their “house” with anyone else, so we can forget about flexile, multipurpose venues. Best to look for a really flat sod field, and rent every folding chair in the state.
I’ve actually seen more than “very few” that can accommodate a CFL field because some facilities have a track around it. They are easier to find in North Central and North East areas than the North West though.
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Just thinking of a Black/Suitor clone gives me the hives. Ball must have been really special!
But even the 3rd last guy in Sask’n, Derek “Wrecked” Taylor has been a bit of a let-down in Winnipeg. No doubt, Taylor is the best stats guy with a pbp microphone in Canada, perhaps North America but he’s a super shill, a hot dog of unparalleled renown - and so over-the-top he’s almost a full circle deadbeat. That said, obviously Better than Ball - but still can’t stand up to Bob “Knuckles” Irving, the now retired Bomber legend who’s still only 73/74 but sounds old and worn out when his old radio station begs him (they do it often) to come on and play “Voice of the Bombers” on a myriad of CFL/Blue Bomber issues.
I listened to the Riders broadcasts over the web for years. Rod Pedersen for twenty years was the Gold Standard for Saskatchewan Roughriders to enjoy.
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Bob Irving is legendary.
…and a few defunct phone booths to accommodate CFL crowds…except maybe in Tranna. Looks to be about 10K seats, max!
My only question is: how did he last two years? An old adage is: a fool’s wisdom is in his silence. Problem with Ball: he wouldn’t shut up.
Well said. The “back-breaker” for me was the game last year (can’t remember which one) when Ball announced that the officiating was a “Clown Show”. There was a clown show that game. In the radio booth.
You may be right about that, but I was thinking mostly about the Twin Cities Metro area. When I was growing up Metropolitan Stadium was home to the Minnesota Twins, the local NFL team and later on it also accommodated two incarnations of “major league” soccer. Not far away, the Metropolitan Sports Center was home to the Minnesota North Stars and two ABA teams; not simultaneously; one moved away and another moved in. The U of Mn had its own football stadium, hockey rink, and basketball arena.
Nowadays the Twins and the NFL team have their own venues. The NBA and NHL teams each have their own arenas. There is a deicated stadium for pro soccer now also. The U of Mn now has two hockey arenas; one for men’s hockey and another for women’s.
Most metro areas with so many pro and major college teams are larger than Mpls/StPaul, but we have all these venues and none of them are intended to be “multipurpose.”
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yeah strictly in Minnesota it’s very few for sure. I think I only saw one stadium there.
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