Does Cohon have the cojones to stand up to Braley?

[Will]

While I think he was doing his best to remain passive during his interview with Bob McCown several weeks ago it was clearly evident that the commissioner is not happy with the way the Argos are currently being run. The team seems to be run on what could be described as a shoestring budget. There is also speculation that Braley has been making the sale of the team difficult because of the asking price. If this is the case, does Cohon have the balls to stand up to Braley to ensure that what needs to get done gets done?

[rdavies]

It's a matter of having enough brains to respect the guy who has bailed you out time and again and gently pleading your case.

[ArgoRavi]

While I think he was doing his best to remain passive during his interview with Bob McCown several weeks ago it was clearly evident that the commissioner is not happy with the way the Argos are currently being run. The team seems to be run on what could be described as a shoestring budget. There is also speculation that Braley has been making the sale of the team difficult because of the asking price. If this is the case, does Cohon have the balls to stand up to Braley to ensure that what needs to get done gets done?

First of all, I do appreciate that Braley stepped up and saved the team back in 2010. However, it is time for him to let it go as he is killing the franchise through neglect at this point. As I said in another thread, the value of the Argos has to be falling with every home game and I just don't understand Braley's "endgame" at this point. I wish that the league could simply revoke the franchise and then sell it to MLSE but the only way the franchise can be revoked, from my understanding, is if Braley were to miss a payroll and I don't think he would do that. All Cohon and the other owners can do is try to apply pressure but Braley seems to be a stubborn man. I really wish that there was some kind of answer as the Argos will be lucky to draw over 20k for any home game this season.

[AngeloV]

For the long time viability of the Argos in Toronto, I sure hope so. I have tweeted him tonight basically pleading with him to revoke the franchise and just give it to MLSE. Tonight's crowd seemed like a throwback to the Sherwood Schwartz days. But at least he had a lucky loonie lottery. No way in hell Braley gives some luck fan a chance to walk out with any of his money.

[Wobbler]

I don't see any evidence that we're pinching pennies *on* the field, at least. We didn't hesitate to sign Anderson, and Farhan Lalji tweeted a reminder today that Ray is still rather expensive.

Ricky Ray had his contract reworked last week. Guarenteed 470k this season, incentives should get him over 500k. #Argos #CFL

— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) July 12, 2014

[AngeloV]

I don't see any evidence that we're pinching pennies *on* the field, at least. We didn't hesitate to sign Anderson, and Farhan Lalji tweeted a reminder today that Ray is still rather expensive.

Ricky Ray had his contract reworked last week. Guarenteed 470k this season, incentives should get him over 500k. #Argos #CFL

— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) July 12, 2014

Keep in mind there is also a salary floor, so you can't really pinch pennies on player salaries.

[Qman]

Keep in mind there is also a salary floor, so you can't really pinch pennies on player salaries.

I think some higher-end players like chad had it in their contract that they would get % increase by the amount the cap goes up, while others like ricky just had a handshake deal and had their contracts increase with the cap.

[Will]

The problem the past few seasons has not been on-field, although this edition of the defense has be concerned.

[BATKINSON001]

The problem the past few seasons has not been on-field, although this edition of the defense has be concerned.

I am worried about this as well. I hope tha cohon can take the team off Braleys' hands and they don't fold or anything dire as such.

[Gill The Thrill]

He's meeting payroll...hey, that's just a minor detail and unimportant to his commitment....try telling that to the players and their families.

You can't compare Braley to Schwartz...I don't see ridiculous tributes to Muhammad Ali, and Garth Drabinsky promotions with Tony Hawk fans all over the stadium...at least the money he's putting in is directly related to team expenses.

They need better commercials...those superhero radio commercials were a frigging embarrassment as far as I was concerned. Too condascending in how comical they were, and would make me wonder why I'd try supporting that team if I was not already a fan. Sell the league and it's players with a direct approach, not in a ridiculous parody approach.

[OV Argo]

The answer to this question is NO.

[Ron]

Hey lets revoke the franchise and give it to MLSE. The same MLSE who have said they won't own them playing out of Skydome. Let alone there are 8 other clubs that do not want to foot the bills Braley is paying right now.

But hey ... as ravi said ... thanks David for allowing us to even have a team to watch but time for you to took all your money and buzz off. The fans are not happy with the attendance. (even though every fan knew the attendance would be in this range)

Me thinks fans have to stop the panic and just watch it all transpire over the next 2 years ... because nobody won't know jack for that long anyway.

[1argoholic]

If the team keeps getting run like this the long storied history of this franchise will be done. It's not like we have ten years to work something out. No one is stepping up to buy and build a new sweet Argo stadium. The team is getting left behind. I don't feel panic as much as just flat out sadness that it's come to this. Riding home on the GO with a train full of happy TFC fans shows that times are changing and the Argos are getting screwed over by their owner.

[Argo57]

If the team keeps getting run like this the long storied history of this franchise will be done. It's not like we have ten years to work something out. No one is stepping up to buy and build a new sweet Argo stadium. The team is getting left behind. I don't feel panic as much as just flat out sadness that it's come to this. Riding home on the GO with a train full of happy TFC fans shows that times are changing and the Argos are getting screwed over by their owner.

I had the exact same feeling on the Go heading to Burlington, heard some FC fans mentioning that last night was their 8th straight sellout crowd.
Like you Argoholic this team has meant so much to me since my childhood that I felt extreme sadness heading home, this franchise is very ill right now, hopefully something positive develops sooner than later, I think we all could use some good news!

[AngeloV]

I had the exact same feeling on the Go heading to Burlington, heard some FC fans mentioning that last night was their 8th straight sellout crowd.
Like you Argoholic this team has meant so much to me since my childhood that I felt extreme sadness heading home, this franchise is very ill right now, hopefully something positive develops sooner than later, I think we all could use some good news!

+1 on this.

The main reason for my ranting last night both on here and twitter was because I had a really sad feeling about the future of the Argos for the first time in my life. Personally, I have no problem with TFC getting good fan support. IMO, it just goes to show you what an MLSE owned Argos playing out of BMO can also do. Hopefully Braley doesn't allow the perception of the team to go so low, that nobody wants to own them.

[ArgoRavi]

+1 on this.

The main reason for my ranting last night both on here and twitter was because I had a really sad feeling about the future of the Argos for the first time in my life. Personally, I have no problem with TFC getting good fan support. IMO, it just goes to show you what an MLSE owned Argos playing out of BMO can also do. Hopefully Braley doesn't allow the perception of the team to go so low, that nobody wants to own them.

+1 on this. Part of the problem for the Argos is the lack of media attention that they get with Rogers outlets largely ignoring them. Again, with MLSE ownership, I suspect that this would be rectified.

[Gill The Thrill]

I noticed Rogers is advertising with the CFL again...so I don't know if that's really it. They have their logo on the field and have commercials during the game. I don't know if this was announced as much as their disassociation with Rogers was. With the Bills series being a bust and with many American groups coming out in support of buying the Bills and keeping them in Western New York, I could see interest in that wane big time as they look at refurbishing the dome for their baseball club.

As far as seeing TFC fans on the GO train....a sellout at their stadium is still a lousy crowd for a CFL game. I watched several seconds of that game and noticed a lot of the crowd disguised as empty seats, not as many as 16,000 in a 50,000 + dome but enough to notice on TV. So the corporate seats which MLSE is good for selling are sold, but it's not as if fans are clamouring to watch them....Nobody talks TFC soccer, (just like nobody talks CFL, in general in TO) but some do wear their gear as it's more accessible. I'm not a fan of the MLSE or of any form of monopolies, however they do know how to push product and brand even if that product or brand is not pulling it's weight on the field, ice or court.

When it comes to common fan notariety and what people talk about....there is generally 3 teams in this city, the Leafs, Blue Jays and Raptors in that order. Funny thing is that the Argos and the CFL on TV do much better than the NBA and MLS as far as ratings. Argo ratings on a good day compete very well with the Blue Jays whom are a strong 2nd to the Leafs in this city. I don't know how much longer they'll hold off the Raptors as the young kids love the Raptors and the shoe culture, and music culture (Drake) that come with it. But the CFL and the Argos still do much better than TFC and the MLS in general on TV. FC is on Sportsnet 360 half the time because of their low ratings. No way Rogers would put a TFC game ahead of a Blue Jay game on their main networks because of their low ratings...CFL ratings actually can compare to Blue Jay ratings, but TFC's are no way near Blue Jay ratings.

To answer the original question of this post...why would Cohon stand up to Braley? If he does, he's got a fire to put out and a lot of negative publicity that comes with it. Braley may not be building this franchise up, but what he is doing by paying all his bills and meeting payroll is buying the Argos and the CFL time in this marketplace...time to find a suitable owner and suitable stadium, who else was even stepping up to do that??

[Neely2005]

I had the exact same feeling on the Go heading to Burlington, heard some FC fans mentioning that last night was their 8th straight sellout crowd.
Like you Argoholic this team has meant so much to me since my childhood that I felt extreme sadness heading home, this franchise is very ill right now, hopefully something positive develops sooner than later, I think we all could use some good news!

The funny thing is that the Argonauts crush TFC in TV Ratings and the attendance is comparable but the Perception is that TFC is thriving and that the Argonauts are failing.

[argolio]

The funny thing is that the Argonauts crush TFC in TV Ratings and the attendance is comparable but the Perception is that TFC is thriving and that the Argonauts are failing.

If that continues, then sooner or later reality will match perception.

[Argo57]

The funny thing is that the Argonauts crush TFC in TV Ratings and the attendance is comparable but the Perception is that TFC is thriving and that the Argonauts are failing.

Aren't you the guy who started the thread yesterday regarding "the alarming drop in Argo attendance in 1 year" listing attendance this year vs last year??
Now you are claiming comparable attendance between the 2 organizations??

TFC attendance:
2014 average 22591 per game (103% of building capacity) a 25% increase in attendance from 2013!!!

Check your own thread, perception is in fact reality!!