Consider the following.
Consider the fact that we are in week 15 of the schedule.
Consider the fact that every team has had a bye week so far.
Every team, that is, with the exception of the Tiger-Cats.
Consider the fact that some teams have had two bye weeks already.
I realise that some of you don't like bye weeks, and wish that the CFL would do away with them.
Fine.
Nevertheless, we must deal with the fact that some teams have been given 1 or 2 weeks or rest , and 1 team hasn't been given any.
Now, before some of you make the statement that the league did the best they could given the circumstances of Ottawa not playing, consider the following:
On Thanksgiving weekend, both Hamilton and Winnipeg will have a bye week.
This is Hamilton's first bye week.
That's right, 16 weeks straight before getting a bye.
Consider again the Thanksgiving weekend.
Why give any team a bye on this particular weekend.
Thanksgiving is a weekend that the league should be using to promote not only the CFL game, but the upcoming Grey Cup as well.
But no, instead we have three games that weekend and Hamilton gets their first bye.
Why couldn't the league alter the schedule a bit to make it more fair for Hamilton?
Obviously, the arguement that Ottawa's exit from the schedule does not apply here.
After all, the only thing required is for the person in charge of scheduling to take a look at the other Hamilton/Winnipeg games and see if one could be re-scheduled for Thanksgiving.
I suggest to you that the July 28 game in Hamilton is that game.
On July 28, the Tiger-Cats and the Blue Bombers could have been given a bye and that week's game could have been re-scheduled for Thanksgiving Monday in Hamilton.
Can anyone tell me any reason why the schedule was not set up this way?
This would have made the schedule more balanced and fair by giving the Tiger-Cats a bye week somewhere near the middle of the schedule just like every other team was afforded.