COVID-19 : How it could impact Lions/CFL

[BC 1988]

Premier Horgan has just announced that Dr. Bonnie Henry has approved an NHL hub city plan for Vancouver. The NHL may not select Vancouver as a hub city but the plan could serve as a model for the CFL, resolving the quarantine issue by having all players quarantine together in a bubble for 14 days, travelling together by private bus from the hotel to arena and back and not having any outside contact. The 14-day quarantine would nicely coincide with a CFL training camp period (without preseason games).

As for David Braley, he has been clear that the Lions have been working with B.C. Place and the province to come up with a plan to use both decks of B.C. Place with social distancing measures that could allow up to 10,000 fans per game. That may be a tougher sell but it should definitely be Plan A.

Horgan gives 'OK' to NHL teams coming to Vancouver for group quarantine

Premier Horgan will be on with Sekeres (and Halford for Crossover Week) at 5pm. Maybe Dr Henry "approved it" but will the NHL agree to the 14 day quarantine? The EDM proposal made a public appeal to the Federal Govt to exempt the 14 day requirement because of NHL objections. I think there is a good chance the NHL will go with 2 USA hubs, due to the question of what you do when the playoffs have to move to one final bubble.

I agree the CFL would have a better chance of working with those requirements--once everyone is over the border, they stay here.

[B.C.FAN]

Rod Smith interviewed Randy Ambrosie today for TSN's new weekly CFL show. "I am optimistic that we are going to find a way to play this season," Ambrosie said in his most definitive statement yet about the 2020 season. He said the league is evaluating several scenarios and hopes to narrow them down to one or two most likely options soon, and then will sit down with its partners to see what they can negotiate. He admitted it won't be easy to play without fans in the stands.

Unfortunately, Smith wasn't well prepared. He said he's assuming there will be a quarantine period for athletes coming across the border and at least a month for training camp and maybe some exhibition games. That's an unrealistically long timeline. The more likely scenario is that teams will run a shortened training camp with no preseason games. If they can get federal approval to quarantine players and staff in a bubble during camp as outlined in Vancouver's NHL hub city proposal, they could bring players together around mid-August, hold training camp under quarantine and kick off a partial season on Labour Day weekend, with teams playing in their home stadiums in front of 8,000 to 10,000 spectators where allowed with social distancing restrictions. That is what David Braley and Rick LeLacheur have been discussing with B.C. Place officials.

I wish the league would quickly narrow down the options and state them publicly to give everyone more clarity. There's still time to negotiate the details with players, broadcasters, sponsors and other partners and make all the necessary logistical arrangements but players and fans are becoming anxious about the lack of specific information.

Ambrosie: 'I am optimistic that we are going to find a way to play this season'

[BC 1988]

I wish the league would quickly narrow down the options and state them publicly to give everyone more clarity. There's still time to negotiate the details with players, broadcasters, sponsors and other partners and make all the necessary logistical arrangements but players and fans are becoming anxious about the lack of specific information.

Fully agree. It felt like they were doing nothing 2 months ago, now it feels like they want to go through dream scenarios until the clock ticks down to the drop-dead date. I realize the major challenge they face is that the East is nowhere near progressing like the West is for COVID counts, and that makes it difficult to plan for games played in every home city stadium (along with the lack of large capacity in most of them to make physical distancing practical.)

It's ironic that Braley is arguing for what he feels is best for the league, but may result in no season at all. We might not have much longer to wait now, either way.

[SammyGreene]

Yikes, not exactly complimentary words to Ambrosie from the CFLPA's Brian Ramsey.

https://twitter.com/RamsayCFLPA/status/ ... 0767154177

Bottom line is this all comes back to the CFL being essentially broke and needing government assistance to do anything. All I have heard is they have been encouraged to explore their available programs.

Ambrosie was called out by MPs six weeks ago when he made his case to Ottawa and the CFLPA was nowhere in sight. Sounds like not much has changed since then. The players deserve better given it's their livelihoods at stake and their careers are all too short to begin with. They. deserve better.

If the July 1st deadline Braley suggested is accurate then no way can I see any kind of a season proceeding and then we hold our collective breaths to see what the fall out of that would be.

[Sir Purrcival]

Find unflattering words from the Players Association somewhat amusing. After all it is their members that stand to lose their jobs if the league fails. And the biggest issue that I can see at this point is how CFL players who live in the United States are going to get into Canada. As it stands currently parents of children who live on either side of the Border can't even get across to be with their families. And to add to the general difficulty, the latest statistics from the US show that the virus is on an uptick again. Whether that is due to demonstrations or perhaps lifting of restrictions too quickly, who really knows? They've just announced that the border is going to be shut longer then the June 21st deadline. I don't see how you get around the Border closure if the United States continues 2 struggle with it's response.

[Hambone]

I think all many of the players want is for the CFL to *poop* or get off the pot so they can get on with their lives. NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS all have a plan. MLB is trying. Seems they're mostly haggling over how much or their players can expect to earn which is tied to the length of schedule they can agree on. CFL players are totally in limbo not knowing if they should make work commitments outside of football, perhaps retire and move on to life after football etc. It's not as easy to land work in the real world when you don't know how long you can commit to; 12 months or maybe only a few weeks.

[maxlion]

There is no chance that the Lions will get permission to have 10,000 people in BC Place in 2020. It would be reckless and out of sync with our new reality. Not sure why Braley would waste time on this idea.

I've mentioned before but would just reiterate that many players would not come for a half season. The reduced salary, the quarantine requirements, the health risks would make players think twice about playing this year. For example, would Reilly come? If I was him, I wouldn't! This means that we would be scraping the bottom of the barrel for players just to fill a roster. With no training camp, the level of play would likely be way below what we are used to.

The CFLPA would need to be totally on board to maximize player participation. So far, there is no sign that of league and PA working together on this.

[BC 1988]

Watching the first edition of CFL 2020 on TSN, it was kind of painful--mostly just a reminder of what is supposed to be on right now. Farhan was only on a couple of minutes and he made the most of it--savagely attacking the league for it's treatment of the players. He was harsher than CFLPA's Ramsey who was on next. Listening to Ambrosie, I found it more interesting looking at the old time football picture he was sitting in front of that had some strange Grey Cup--clear with green liquid sloshing around in it? Pretty much everyone who is asked (including a couple of players on the show) say hub city is what they are expecting/waiting for.

I guess everyone but Braley, who is either trying to will games with fans, or wishing we had Texas Governor Abbott in charge here. Big $$$ are at stake and nothing stops Texas football (not even surging COVID-19).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 180765001/

Seriously though--I get what Braley is doing--hoping the numbers get so good, the health authorities will accelerate opening up-but there is no indication of any chance of that this year. That strategy makes everyone in the league--particularly the players--just tools sitting in a box waiting on a moments notice to be used. You can't tell everyone we are/are not playing one week later. The physical distancing exercises the Lions are reported to be modeling in BC Place don't come with any actual schedule (maybe for 2021?).

At least the 2013 HAM-MTL playoff (in Guelph) and 2016 BC-WPG playoff were worth re-watching. They probably don't have the rights, but I'd rather see some pre-1990 games if you are going to show old games.

[BC 1988]

https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1976690
This article, although it's subject is NHL Return to Play (from a epidemiologist's pov) has some interesting opinions at the end about the timeline to bring fans back to venues.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/13/spor ... index.html
Contrast that with this surprising event in NZ. With no new cases for over 20 days and only 22 total deaths, they decided to allow attendance (with no social distancing or masks) at a 20,000 fan event. They are also planning some loosening of their border restrictions. (Hopefully they aren't pushing their luck).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... s-cup-team

[maxlion]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/13/spor ... index.html
Contrast that with this surprising event in NZ. With no new cases for over 20 days and only 22 total deaths, they decided to allow attendance (with no social distancing or masks) at a 20,000 fan event. They are also planning some loosening of their border restrictions. (Hopefully they aren't pushing their luck).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... s-cup-team

Thanks for sharing this article. It is good news for countries such as NZ that have effectively eliminated the virus, but it should not give any hope for North American sports fans.

New Zealand is an example of a country that has taken fundamentally different approach to dealing with the virus than Canada and the United States. Whereas our approach has been to manage the virus, they decided to eliminate it. While NZ can now resume life as normal with very little risk, we are stuck indefinitely in a cycle of uncertainty and fear. Reaching the point where NZ is at today would take a fundamental change in our approach, but there is no sign of that occurring.

As the recent cases in China show, even countries that appeared to have eliminated the virus still have risk. However, they have the experience and tools in place to address new outbreaks.

It just goes to show that the CFL is really at the mercy of broader public health and political choices. Under different leadership, the CFL could be playing in front of live crowds today.

[Sir Purrcival]

Being on an island provides several advantages if you are trying to eradicate a disease. The place in essence becomes it's own quarantine and control of the coming and goings are quite a bit easier when you physically separate from all other land mass. Here on Vancouver Island, we have had cases but it seems like there was much less of an impact here than on the mainland a scant 30 miles east. There is no way the incidence numbers are the same if Vancouver Island was a part of the mainland. NZ not only has that advantage but has the benefit of being somewhat remote from other places and with a population of only 5 million, you can manage situations much easier. You just don't stroll over to NZ. Not to diminish their efforts, I wish we were in as good a shape, but their location works to their advantage. Quick action and determination shows what is possible. Here in Canada, we were worried about China but in reality, we should have been worried about the US. It is the closest high density region. Their response to it was fragmented, hindered by political infighting, grandstanding, denials... and even still with over 100,000 fatalities, they are still on different pages of the playbook all over the country. Clearly, they were and are the greatest risk to this country. That is why when you read stories about Americans lying about their intentions and coming up for a holiday, it is so infuriating. All the hard work can be undone by a few self centered morons.

[maxlion]

Being on an island provides several advantages if you are trying to eradicate a disease. The place in essence becomes it's own quarantine and control of the coming and goings are quite a bit easier when you physically separate from all other land mass. Here on Vancouver Island, we have had cases but it seems like there was much less of an impact here than on the mainland a scant 30 miles east. There is no way the incidence numbers are the same if Vancouver Island was a part of the mainland. NZ not only has that advantage but has the benefit of being somewhat remote from other places and with a population of only 5 million, you can manage situations much easier. You just don't stroll over to NZ. Not to diminish their efforts, I wish we were in as good a shape, but their location works to their advantage. Quick action and determination shows what is possible. Here in Canada, we were worried about China but in reality, we should have been worried about the US. It is the closest high density region. Their response to it was fragmented, hindered by political infighting, grandstanding, denials... and even still with over 100,000 fatalities, they are still on different pages of the playbook all over the country. Clearly, they were and are the greatest risk to this country. That is why when you read stories about Americans lying about their intentions and coming up for a holiday, it is so infuriating. All the hard work can be undone by a few self centered morons.

I completely agree with you when you say that quick action and determination are key.

Being an island helps, but government policy is more important. Being able to control comings and goings is different from actually doing so. Nothing is preventing infected people from visiting Vancouver Island and causing new outbreaks. I'd say that it is inevitable.

The US response has been disorganized, but the Canadian numbers are not much better on a per capital basis. China and Vietnam, on the other hand, have essentially eliminated the virus.

[BC 1988]

Premier Horgan has just announced that Dr. Bonnie Henry has approved an NHL hub city plan for Vancouver. The NHL may not select Vancouver as a hub city but the plan could serve as a model for the CFL, resolving the quarantine issue by having all players quarantine together in a bubble for 14 days, travelling together by private bus from the hotel to arena and back and not having any outside contact. The 14-day quarantine would nicely coincide with a CFL training camp period (without preseason games).

As for David Braley, he has been clear that the Lions have been working with B.C. Place and the province to come up with a plan to use both decks of B.C. Place with social distancing measures that could allow up to 10,000 fans per game. That may be a tougher sell but it should definitely be Plan A.

Horgan gives 'OK' to NHL teams coming to Vancouver for group quarantine


Another cause for optimIsm:

Yesterday on Twitter Farhan expanded on what the league revealed about their modeling for proposals (which has the been the main reason for the delays).


Farhan on the TSN Edmonton Morning Show today says the damage done to league/players relationship could result in players rejection of a plan for return to play. (Dave Naylor right now on with Sekeres talking about this). The problem with a lack of communication is not just with the players, but also team ops, even the GMs aren't kept in the loop. He says mid-July could be a likely drop-dead date.

He added the league is realistically down to two proposals, with the front-runner being a single hub Western city. (option two appears to be 2 Western hubs, travel costs now make that less likely). He also said the group 14 day quarantine in the NHL proposal would be used.
https://www.tsn.ca/radio/edmonton-1260/ ... -1.1486142

[Huge Talent]

Would be cool if they used bc place as the hub venue, and allowed season ticket holders to attend. They could probably manage a few thousand per game.

[Murdoch]

Interesting comments from Justin Dunk regarding Ambrosie. Making the big money and flying by the seat of his pants apparently. Mentions Scott Mitchell and Wade Miller as the key decision makers for the league which makes me wonder about the many senior and junior vice presidents listed in the CFL staff directory. 60 +. Assume they are paid positions.

This is likely the biggest crisis the league has ever encountered. Believe they will continue to struggle until they start to put the fan first. Focusing on self interest first is what I am seeing.

Also tough to believe they have to pay so much to a commissioner. Seems like a job that many would do just as well for much less.