Commish bullish on league

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/07/2011 (5242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It wasn’t an official state of the league address, but CFL commissioner Mark Cohon spoke to reporters in Winnipeg Tuesday on all subjects involving the three-down game.

His message — the positive spin that most in his position try to project — was that this humble eight-team operation was experiencing a significant uptick in status. Cohon was throwing around terms like “momentum” and “building” like he was Anthony Calvillo with all kinds of time in the pocket.

Nowhere across this league are those terms more relevant than in southern Manitoba, where Cohon has watched the Blue Bombers get through the initial shock of the NHL’s return to Winnipeg better than expected.

A new stadium going up.

Record season-ticket sales.

Undefeated through the first weekend of he season.

“We’ve had a real bump (here),” the commissioner said. “It seems like there’s this momentum that’s happening in Winnipeg right now — the Jets, the Bombers, what’s happening at the new museum (Canadian Museum for Human Rights). “The water’s rising.”

Cohon paused and corrected himself, realizing he used a poor metaphor in a flood-ravaged region of the country.

“That’s probably a bad expression right now.”

Yeah, it was, but we’ll accept the penalty and replay the down.

If a little foot-in-mouth awkwardness is the worst thing that happens on Cohon’s watch these days, he will happily take it. Here’s what the CFL big cheese had to say on some other hot topics around the league:

On the next TV contract:

The current contract with TSN expires in 2013. Teams receive about $1.8 million a year from the deal, but many observers feel the league is in a strong position to negotiate a stronger pact next time around. Talks haven’t started, but Cohon is getting his ducks in a row by putting together a broadcast committee and hiring an outside consultant.

“With the way young people are watching the media, it’s not just your TV, it’s your iPad, it’s your iPod, it’s your BlackBerry. So we have to think about all those different mediums that will happen over the next 10 years.”

On the drug-testing policy:

Last year was about education. This year the league has started testing. The tests are confidential, Cohon said, and if a player fails a test, he is subject to automatic testing moving forward. If the player fails a second time, he has to sit out three games. Has a player tested positive yet? Cohon won’t say, citing an agreement with the players’ union. “By the end of the year, 25 per cent of players will be (randomly) tested.”

On expansion to our nation’s capital:

Ottawa in 2014 — that’s the plan, according to the commissioner. Cohon said the cost of resuscitating the football market there is $500 million, and the ownership is committed to seeing the project through. “Hopefully, they’ll break ground in spring.”

On the possibility of adding a tenth team in Atlantic Canada:

Touchdown Atlantic is a go again, with Hamilton and Calgary butting heads in Moncton in September. Cohon said the game could serve as a trial for the Ticats, who may need to vacate their home for a spell in 2013 (Ivor Wynne Stadium is getting a much-needed facelift). Before expansion to the Maritimes is considered, though, Cohon preaches stability. “We want to make sure all of our (existing) teams are financially strong.”

On the overall strength of the league:

Six of the eight teams break even or turn a profit. The two that don’t are the Argonauts and Tiger-Cats. The teams are slowly coming back and the CFL hopes staging the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto — and all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it — will kick-start the interest there.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca