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Here it is:
http://www.tsn.ca/orridge-steps-down...ioner-1.722497
A real shame. I liked what he was doing.
As Naylor says, it hasn't been a good fit. Hasn't been since day one IMO. He had a tough act to follow in Cohon.
Dave Braley can probably fill in for now. :)
Orridge was a failed commissioner , his lack of knowledge/history and passion for the CFL seemed obvious to me.
As an American , and not growing up as a fan, I think was his Achilles heel. (through no fault of his own)
I suspect the league can make an improvement with the new appointment.
I liked some of the things Orridge did. But he did have his stumbles.
I would have been fine to give it another year to see if he improved, but the league decided otherwise.
Perhaps(I hope) they already have a highly qualified candidate lined up. Maybe that's why they made the move.
Or with Bell and Tanenbaum becoming owners, they have a line on someone.
If the search committee drags this out and we don't have a commish come Grey Cup, the media will have fun with that!!
Chris Overholt would be the ideal choice from the COC might be tough to take him away from that gig though.
Whoever replaces orridge has to have knowledge of the cfl game and its fans and be ready to drag the owners kicking and screaming into the 21st century and give us non tsn locked online streaming and better promote the league across the country.
They need someone who is extremely polished and comfortable speaking in public (among other attributes). Orridge was the opposite of that.
scott mitchell is a good choice. knows the league. knows the issues. knows whats going on in GTA. knows TV side. knows agents/players side.
I was the one who raised the question "Does Orriidge Deserve the Criticism He is Getting?" in a thread nine months into his term in office because of his lack of knowledge of the CFL game and his poor communication skills, which were reflected in his numerous repetitions of "um" during his introductory speech and subsequently. In a league, and especially in a city where one has to compete forcefully and effectively its passion for the game in order to get attention, having a commissioner who has an intimate understanding of the game and the ability to communicate a vision for its future is essential.
Maybe I was dreaming, but I seem to recall Suitor actually wanting to take on the job before Orridge showed up out of the blue. At least Suitor knows the CFL game and the League.
Even though he was a bit of a turncoat after leaving as the president of the Argos, I can't think of a better fit than Keith Pelley.
Had a feeling that Orridge wouldn't be around for the full term of his deal. As Dave Naylor mentions: it was never a good fit.
I hope Tom Wright is at least spoken to, and I wouldn't mind seeing Pelley back on the CFL's side. While not a CFL guy, I'd still like for the league to speak with Jim Little (even though the League probably couldn't afford him. I really loathe the idea of Glen Johnson's name being brought up in the 3downnnation piece, and I hope that whomever the next Commish is, they are smart enough to give Johnson the boot.
Mitchell has a lot of enemies around the league, I believe, so I doubt he's a serious candidate. His dad was no great shakes as a commissioner although he had a tough act to follow and arrived just as the league was trending way downward.
Rider fans must be going nuts about their forum being down at the moment.
Even though he was likeable, Wright was responsible for the poor TV contract signed during one of the renewals.
It came out how he did not even speak to CBC or any other possible suitors who after the fact made it known of having interest.
For me that's a poor negotiator.
I don't think Orridge ever had the support he needed from the board to have success but overall, he wasn't as bad as everyone makes it seem.
i heard that the CFL was just going to simulcast Roger Goddell's decisions for the remainder of the year.
You can't blame Wright for that without also blaming Pelley who took the lead in those negotiations. I have no interest in seeing either of those gentlemen return to the league as Wright fiddled while Ottawa burned and I don't see Pelley as being overly committed to the CFL.
Most boards are appointed by senior management and the management can control their boards. The CFL board appoints management and therefore controls them. There is the added complication of corporate, community and individual type of ownership with a variety of objectives.
The timing is curious, just like the GM, HC changes recently. It was far from a successful Grey Cup and Toronto transition. I wonder how much influence the Commissioner's office had on those events. If he was a very strong advocate them, than those plus a number of other issues may have led to his removal.
Pure speculation.
Suitor was lobbying for the job yesterday on TSN 1150. If it was a job interview, it would have been a massive fail. Kept repeating the same simplistic mantra -- get someone who knows football to go into boardrooms and sell the game.
I'd like to know what he thinks qualifies him to take on such a role. He has played in and televised the league. So have Schultz, Dunigan, Climie, Stegall, Forde, Walby, Benefield and many others. Do any of them have qualifications that would make them viable commissioners of what amounts to a business with nine owners who can seldom agree on anything?
Suitor is a swell guy and all a big CFL fan plus a former player - "knows" the league for sure; but wether he has any business acumen is a big question, plus he is rather limited in speaking ability IMO; of all the above guys you described, Duane Forde is easily the most well spoken IMO; Climie maybe 2nd plus he is a lawyer as well.
I'd rather see an ex-player who has been in constant contact with or working with the league for years, get the job over some clueless about Canadian football guy in a business suit. BOG myopic clowns probably just want a yes man.
Shouldn't this be in CFL room?
I have had dealings with Jock here in Ottawa, and I too would endorse such a move