steve simmons

[Will]

I've said this before on here, but I've always felt that the Tiger-Cats get better treatment from the PTS crowd than the Argonauts. At least since the relationship between the Argos and Rogers broke down.

Yeah, on Friday, he and "Too cool for the Room" Bryan Douchbag Hayes were signing off on the TSN drive show, when Hayes said that Argos football was next. Simmons said, "and I'm going home to watch the Argos"...Hayes sarcastically "Good for you"...Simmons "that was a lie".

That's the thing that bugs me; Simmons didn't have to say anything. Why the need to take a shot?

For the record, whether it makes any difference or not, Simmons exact quote on the Reporters was "not a lot of people care about the Argos​."

[Neely2005]

The coverage of the CFL and Argos on TSN 1050 is certainly disappointing at times. Quite a while ago I happened to have TSN 1050 on the radio, and I think the show was "Macko and Cauz". One of them said to the other, "Toronto demands the best, and that's why the Argos don't work in Toronto". The team was hardly failing at the time.

Obviously TSN 1050 has the Argo radio rights and TSN has the TV rights. That said, they don't exactly promote their product the way Rogers does their Blue Jays property on Sportsnet 590 The Fan and Sportsnet TV. Bell (who owns TSN) even owns part of The Globe and Mail, and their CFL coverage is either very little or even nonexistent at times.

If Toronto demands the best how the hell do they explain the support that the leafs get???

Aside from Mike Hogan I've been very disappointed in how TSN1050 covers the Argonauts. I expected so much more from them.

Speaking of Brunt, here are a few salacious snippets from his G&M columns over the years:
---------

So it's the CFL, a haven for NFL drug users. That's going to be the perception. (Check out the stories from the United States this week about the Boston signing. Look at how many link him with Williams.)

---------

And you can bet the house on this - one way or another, there won't be a single unsold seat for any of those (Bills in Toronto) games. There can't be, since it would undermine the whole point of this exercise, which is to demonstrate that Toronto is a city desperate and ready for four-down football, full-time.

As the organizers explain it, those sellouts are virtually assured right now, even before the campaigning has fully begun. At a news conference yesterday where the Bills and Rogers confirmed that the first game will be a preseason encounter against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 14, Adrian Montgomery of Rogers said they already have more ticket demand than seats available - with new requests coming in at the rate of 3,500 a day.

Some time within the next two weeks, the NFL regular-season schedule will be released, identifying the Bills' other opponent in Toronto. The lottery closes on April 24. Only after that will those lucky enough to win the chance to buy tickets be told how much it's going to cost.

----

The Argos, believing there was nothing to be gained from throwing themselves in front of an irresistible force, have cut, with the assistance of commissioner Mark Cohon, the best deal they could with the Toronto backers of the NFL games.

Larry Tanenbaum, Ted Rogers et al don't really have much to gain, except for the appealing optics of having the local CFL team bless the Bills' plan to play eight games in Toronto over the next five years. So the fact Cohon and the Argos secured dibs on the first 20,000 seats for their season-ticket holders could be considered a modest victory.

-----

Back in the fall, when news broke of the Bills' plans for Toronto, the Ticats opted to stay out of the fray. It wasn't happening immediately in their own backyard, and the Ticats' ownership was less convinced of the inevitability of the NFL's progress northward than were Sokolowski and Cynamon.

When the tentative deal was presented to them last week, they didn't like the look of it. Even after Cohon went back and extracted another 5,000 tickets for Hamilton to offer to its subscribers, it wasn't enough to persuade Young to sign off.

------

With the Buffalo Bills coming to Toronto to play two games a year starting next fall, and with all signs pointing to the NFL franchise relocating to Toronto right about the time 89-year-old Ralph Wilson departs this Earth, Cohon has been presented with a challenge that in the past was purely theoretical. He will almost certainly be the one to deal with the arrival of the great colossus. That, and not any marketing or television initiative, or the return of a dead franchise, will define Cohon's term as the commissioner.

--------

One constant, then and now, was Paul Godfrey, who was the keynote speaker at a Grey Cup event, and did his best not to look like the cat who had just consumed a canary, secure in the belief that the CFL's imminent demise meant that his National Football League dreams were on the verge of becoming reality.

------

Back in 1989, the big game was also played in Toronto. Before kickoff, there was a Saskatchewan pep rally at Maple Leaf Gardens in which provincial icon Wendel Clark was the star attraction.

When the faithful left the rink for the trip to what was then called the SkyDome, an oblivious city wondered who these strange folks were, why they were dressed that way, where they could possibly be headed. A few hours later, on the streets outside the stadium, what may have been the greatest Grey Cup game played might as well never have happened.

-----

Just more than a year after Tanenbaum, Godfrey and Ted Rogers told a news conference they were turning up the heat on their campaign to bring the NFL to Toronto, the issue reached the tipping point this week. It's no longer a pipe dream. It's a touch down in T.O.

"I do think the NFL is coming," Wright said this week. "And if there isn't a well-thought-out and collaborative plan, then it will have significant consequences for the CFL. You have to have a plan and make sure the NFL is part of that plan.

Coming up with smart, unified stands on complex issues has never been a strength of the CFL board of governors. And last week provided a glimpse into the challenges Cohon faces when B.C. Lions owner David Braley suggested fans in Western Canada might boycott Rogers products if Ted Rogers played a role in bringing an NFL team to Toronto - despite the fact Rogers is a major CFL sponsor. Meanwhile, others in the league suggested the Argos might survive a post-NFL world by moving to a phantom stadium in Mississauga.

"I would be putting a [co-existence] plan in front of the NFL commissioner right away," said Mark Harrison, the president of Trojanone sports marketing in Toronto, which handled sponsorship for Toronto's last NFL exhibition game in 1997. "Because if the NFL is not partners with the Argos, there are no Argos."

One month after Goodell was introduced as the new NFL commissioner, Godfrey, Tanenbaum and Rogers held a news conference in Toronto to formally announce they were teaming up to bring an NFL team to Toronto. Another member of their group, Rogers Communications executive Lind, is a Cleveland Browns season-ticket holder.

-----

In their release, the Bills describe Toronto as "the northern sector of our market," which effectively erases the international boundary as any kind of a barrier, and means that in the National Football League's eyes, any claim by the Canadian Football League or the Toronto Argonauts to territorial rights simply doesn't exist.

No need, then, to give the CFL or the Argos a heads-up as to their plan. Both were absolutely blindsided by the news - news that will, as an unhappy, surely unintentional byproduct, go a long way toward undermining whatever happy vibes they might enjoy when the Grey Cup returns to the Big Smoke next month.

Unless the CFL commissioner receives some kind of ironclad reassurance from his NFL counterpart Roger Goodell that his league will be looked after, unless the Argos owners come up with some new rationale for losing money running a team in a market where they will eventually be squeezed out of existence, the only option will be to fight.

The NFL could have worked on neutralizing any potential resistance by cutting a deal that would be beneficial to all. Maybe they don't think it matters, and maybe, in Toronto at least, it won't.

But there have been other times in history when American interlopers expected to be greeted with a scattering of rose petals, and instead were met with a nasty surprise.

-------

Yep, they're going to be expensive (Bills tickets). And, yep, Toronto is a great big city where all kinds of things are expensive. Mass affordability isn't the issue - it's whether there are 50,000 people willing to pay what Rogers Communications chief executive officer Ted Rogers is asking.

If there are, it doesn't really matter who can't pay the piper, and if there aren't, the organizers will have seriously misread the market - which, frankly, is hard to imagine.

-----

Two months have passed since that remarkable press conference at the Rogers Centre, when the eponymous owner of the joint sat shoulder to shoulder with Ralph Wilson and cracked jokes about how he'd bought the publicly-funded stadium at a fire sale price.

Rogers, who at first glance seemed even frailer than Wilson, was positively comedic, cracking one-liners - though some of them might not have been entirely amusing to those who send Uncle Ted a cheque every month to pay for their various communications needs.

"There will be some tickets priced under $100 [Canadian]for the game," Rogers's lieutenant Lind said.

"Two of them," Rogers interjected.

Some of the field-level tickets in the new Yankee Stadium in New York will be selling for $2,400 (U.S.) a piece, Wilson marvelled.

"I like it," Rogers chimed in.

-30-

Well it would be interesting to hear Brunt respond to these quotes now!

[Neely2005]

Simmons has always trolled Argo fans and clearly he still easily causes a fuffle. Sadly it's easy to trash the Argos when truth helps the trashers. FACTS are that except for a few blips ... the Argos have been small attendance team struggling even to survive. The few Argo fans screaming bloody murder from the back row does not change the perception to the masses. Argo fans can cry about media but it's easy for media to ignore a team that barely scrapes 20K a game if they are lucky.

The good part is that the turn will begin next season. Until then the trolls will continues since the fishing is real easy in the sensitive Argoland river.

Funny how TFC gets similar REAL attendance and much worse TV ratings and somehow they're perceived as a smashing success by the media and the general public.

[Scooter McCray]

25 years ago Steve Simmons called for the mercy killing of the CFL. 18 years ago Steve Brunt said that the Grey Cup would never be a big event again. It's a good thing nobody pays attention to these guys. They would have missed out on a lot of good football in the interim and a hell of a lot of great athletes that make a difference. These guys earn paycheques covering the league when they honor it with their attention.

HUG ROGERS!!!!

Funny how TFC gets similar REAL attendance and much worse TV ratings and somehow they're perceived as a smashing success by the media and the general public.

900,000 viewers ON TV and 20,000 in stadium with zero marketing and Blue Jay hysteria on a fever pitch. Imagine the possibilities.

HUG AND MALACHI CRUNCH ROGERS

[AngeloV]

HUG AND MALACHI CRUNCH ROGERS

LMFAO!! Malachi crunch.

[Scooter McCray]

LMFAO!! Malachi crunch.

Forgive Rogers for they know not what they do. Karma is real and it's worse than when Pinky Tuscadero got Malachi crunched in Happy Days.

[Ron]

Funny how TFC gets similar REAL attendance and much worse TV ratings and somehow they're perceived as a smashing success by the media and the general public.

The casual fan does not know TV ratings and 20K in a 25K stadium looks a lot better than 20K in a 50K stadium. If TFC played in the Dome at those numbers they'd be a team that nobody cares about too.

HUG AND MALACHI CRUNCH ROGERS = comment of the year!

[Downtownfan]

I posted this a long time ago, but I think it is appropriate in this thread...


Understanding ICFLHaS

There is a disease stalking the Canadian sports landscape.

A seasonal malady, this mental condition usually spikes in November, but this year’s outbreak has been particularly bad. On bulletin boards, in comments sections, in print and on the airwaves, a small but vocal group of sufferers give voice to their illness: Irrational CFL Hatred Syndrome, commonly known as ICFLHaS (pronounced Ick-Flas).

A strange disease, ICFLHaS has been known to render its victims completely illogical, counter-factual, and frankly, quite sad. Akin to a form of cognitive dissonance, ICFLHaS prevents sufferers from having fun and causes them to become increasingly embittered, confined to their basements watching television while desperately betting on Pro-Line, most cut off from real football experiences.

The core of the illness is its irrationality, examples of which abound: ICFLHaS sufferers are known to deride the CFL because it has nine teams, yet love the NHL’s Original Six era. They hate the fact that the league is “only” Canadian, and therefore not “the best in the world” (though it is clearly the second best football league in the world). Imagine telling a Swede or a Frenchman that they shouldn’t support the Swedish Elite hockey League or the French national soccer league, because it is second rate! Man, those millions that watch and attend Japanese baseball must be insane, given its second best status.

They mock the CFL for having had two teams named “Rough Riders,” yet slavishly follow big-time US college football, especially the 14 team-Southeast Conference— with three teams named Tigers, and two named Bulldogs. They laugh at the idea of Winnipeg having been in the CFL’s East division, ignoring the inconvenient fact that in the NFL, Dallas is in the East and Indianapolis is in the South.

Just as damaging is the ICFLHaS sufferer’s unwillingness to face reality. They refuse to believe that the CFL is the second most-popular sports league in Canada, whose televisions ratings are consistently much higher than all save the NHL; they are desperate to ignore the success of the Grey Cup, the largest annual sporting event in this country (and also to avoid the unpleasant failure of the NFL in Toronto, too), and the growth, stability and success of the CFL in recent years.

Perhaps the most virulent strain of ICFLHaS can be found among certain Canadian sports “journalists,” many of whom are actually paid stenographers of media-sports conglomerates. They continually point to the past financial problems in the CFL, ignoring the failures of the NHL (Phoenix, Atlanta, etc.), the NFL (how’s that NFL Europe working out?), or the NBA (where are the Vancouver Grizzlies?).

These jock-sniffers, who are so desperate to be close to professional sports that they became “journalists,” mock CFL players and their salaries as second rate and not good enough for the NFL, yet don’t realize that they themselves are—at best –second-tier journalists in North America—none of them write for the New York Times or work for ESPN. They are, without realizing it, the CFLers of the sports media world—could that be the cause of their ICFLHaS?

Thankfully, for most ICFLHaS sufferers, there is a cure: Fun. The great thing about the CFL and its fans is that they are in it for the fun. Sport is a form of entertainment, and the CFL provides some of the best sports entertainment in North America—genuine, real, sports entertainment. Now, if we could only get these ICFLHaS sufferers out of their basements and get them to a CFL game, they might just be able to cure themselves of this disease. After all, hating the CFL is as bizarre as hating Tim Horton’s, or curling, or maple syrup, or junior hockey or…

[Neely2005]

I posted this a long time ago, but I think it is appropriate in this thread...


Understanding ICFLHaS

There is a disease stalking the Canadian sports landscape.

A seasonal malady, this mental condition usually spikes in November, but this year’s outbreak has been particularly bad. On bulletin boards, in comments sections, in print and on the airwaves, a small but vocal group of sufferers give voice to their illness: Irrational CFL Hatred Syndrome, commonly known as ICFLHaS (pronounced Ick-Flas).

A strange disease, ICFLHaS has been known to render its victims completely illogical, counter-factual, and frankly, quite sad. Akin to a form of cognitive dissonance, ICFLHaS prevents sufferers from having fun and causes them to become increasingly embittered, confined to their basements watching television while desperately betting on Pro-Line, most cut off from real football experiences.

The core of the illness is its irrationality, examples of which abound: ICFLHaS sufferers are known to deride the CFL because it has nine teams, yet love the NHL’s Original Six era. They hate the fact that the league is “only” Canadian, and therefore not “the best in the world” (though it is clearly the second best football league in the world). Imagine telling a Swede or a Frenchman that they shouldn’t support the Swedish Elite hockey League or the French national soccer league, because it is second rate! Man, those millions that watch and attend Japanese baseball must be insane, given its second best status.

They mock the CFL for having had two teams named “Rough Riders,” yet slavishly follow big-time US college football, especially the 14 team-Southeast Conference— with three teams named Tigers, and two named Bulldogs. They laugh at the idea of Winnipeg having been in the CFL’s East division, ignoring the inconvenient fact that in the NFL, Dallas is in the East and Indianapolis is in the South.

Just as damaging is the ICFLHaS sufferer’s unwillingness to face reality. They refuse to believe that the CFL is the second most-popular sports league in Canada, whose televisions ratings are consistently much higher than all save the NHL; they are desperate to ignore the success of the Grey Cup, the largest annual sporting event in this country (and also to avoid the unpleasant failure of the NFL in Toronto, too), and the growth, stability and success of the CFL in recent years.

Perhaps the most virulent strain of ICFLHaS can be found among certain Canadian sports “journalists,” many of whom are actually paid stenographers of media-sports conglomerates. They continually point to the past financial problems in the CFL, ignoring the failures of the NHL (Phoenix, Atlanta, etc.), the NFL (how’s that NFL Europe working out?), or the NBA (where are the Vancouver Grizzlies?).

These jock-sniffers, who are so desperate to be close to professional sports that they became “journalists,” mock CFL players and their salaries as second rate and not good enough for the NFL, yet don’t realize that they themselves are—at best –second-tier journalists in North America—none of them write for the New York Times or work for ESPN. They are, without realizing it, the CFLers of the sports media world—could that be the cause of their ICFLHaS?

Thankfully, for most ICFLHaS sufferers, there is a cure: Fun. The great thing about the CFL and its fans is that they are in it for the fun. Sport is a form of entertainment, and the CFL provides some of the best sports entertainment in North America—genuine, real, sports entertainment. Now, if we could only get these ICFLHaS sufferers out of their basements and get them to a CFL game, they might just be able to cure themselves of this disease. After all, hating the CFL is as bizarre as hating Tim Horton’s, or curling, or maple syrup, or junior hockey or…

Lol, this disease seems to be spreading!

["Issues"Mcgee]

I posted this a long time ago, but I think it is appropriate in this thread...


Understanding ICFLHaS

There is a disease stalking the Canadian sports landscape.

A seasonal malady, this mental condition usually spikes in November, but this year’s outbreak has been particularly bad. On bulletin boards, in comments sections, in print and on the airwaves, a small but vocal group of sufferers give voice to their illness: Irrational CFL Hatred Syndrome, commonly known as ICFLHaS (pronounced Ick-Flas).

A strange disease, ICFLHaS has been known to render its victims completely illogical, counter-factual, and frankly, quite sad. Akin to a form of cognitive dissonance, ICFLHaS prevents sufferers from having fun and causes them to become increasingly embittered, confined to their basements watching television while desperately betting on Pro-Line, most cut off from real football experiences.

The core of the illness is its irrationality, examples of which abound: ICFLHaS sufferers are known to deride the CFL because it has nine teams, yet love the NHL’s Original Six era. They hate the fact that the league is “only” Canadian, and therefore not “the best in the world” (though it is clearly the second best football league in the world). Imagine telling a Swede or a Frenchman that they shouldn’t support the Swedish Elite hockey League or the French national soccer league, because it is second rate! Man, those millions that watch and attend Japanese baseball must be insane, given its second best status.

They mock the CFL for having had two teams named “Rough Riders,” yet slavishly follow big-time US college football, especially the 14 team-Southeast Conference— with three teams named Tigers, and two named Bulldogs. They laugh at the idea of Winnipeg having been in the CFL’s East division, ignoring the inconvenient fact that in the NFL, Dallas is in the East and Indianapolis is in the South.

Just as damaging is the ICFLHaS sufferer’s unwillingness to face reality. They refuse to believe that the CFL is the second most-popular sports league in Canada, whose televisions ratings are consistently much higher than all save the NHL; they are desperate to ignore the success of the Grey Cup, the largest annual sporting event in this country (and also to avoid the unpleasant failure of the NFL in Toronto, too), and the growth, stability and success of the CFL in recent years.

Perhaps the most virulent strain of ICFLHaS can be found among certain Canadian sports “journalists,” many of whom are actually paid stenographers of media-sports conglomerates. They continually point to the past financial problems in the CFL, ignoring the failures of the NHL (Phoenix, Atlanta, etc.), the NFL (how’s that NFL Europe working out?), or the NBA (where are the Vancouver Grizzlies?).

These jock-sniffers, who are so desperate to be close to professional sports that they became “journalists,” mock CFL players and their salaries as second rate and not good enough for the NFL, yet don’t realize that they themselves are—at best –second-tier journalists in North America—none of them write for the New York Times or work for ESPN. They are, without realizing it, the CFLers of the sports media world—could that be the cause of their ICFLHaS?

Thankfully, for most ICFLHaS sufferers, there is a cure: Fun. The great thing about the CFL and its fans is that they are in it for the fun. Sport is a form of entertainment, and the CFL provides some of the best sports entertainment in North America—genuine, real, sports entertainment. Now, if we could only get these ICFLHaS sufferers out of their basements and get them to a CFL game, they might just be able to cure themselves of this disease. After all, hating the CFL is as bizarre as hating Tim Horton’s, or curling, or maple syrup, or junior hockey or…

I was about halfway writing one of these myself and I'm glad I saw this, because this one is much better than what I had in mind.

A few years ago, I worked in a sports bar in Scarborough and I had many interactions with unfortunate sufferers of this disease. I had a drink with a guy who claimed to be a Broncos fan for decades. He was very quick to trash the CFL when I talked to him, but later in the conversation I mentioned the Lombardi trophy and he had the nerve to ask me, "what the hell is the Lombardi trophy?" I told him it was the big NFL trophy and he laughed in my face. He was convinced it was called the superbowl. I even pointed out that the trophy does not resemble a bowl at all, but that didn't seem to register. He promptly told me because I am only in my twenties, I have no understanding of pro sports. I just felt sad for the guy after the conversation. He was only on his first drink the whole time. I figured it was an indication of things to come, and boy was it ever!

[1argoholic]

This is some way for a DORK like Simmons who obviously has no confidence is real life to be a bully is some form. He can write crap from his mothers basement or talk crap on a very shitty show. The guy will always be scum.

[Will]

I was about halfway writing one of these myself and I'm glad I saw this, because this one is much better than what I had in mind.

A few years ago, I worked in a sports bar in Scarborough and I had many interactions with unfortunate sufferers of this disease. I had a drink with a guy who claimed to be a Broncos fan for decades. He was very quick to trash the CFL when I talked to him, but later in the conversation I mentioned the Lombardi trophy and he had the nerve to ask me, "what the hell is the Lombardi trophy?" I told him it was the big NFL trophy and he laughed in my face. He was convinced it was called the superbowl. I even pointed out that the trophy does not resemble a bowl at all, but that didn't seem to register. He promptly told me because I am only in my twenties, I have no understanding of pro sports. I just felt sad for the guy after the conversation. He was only on his first drink the whole time. I figured it was an indication of things to come, and boy was it ever!

Several forum members watched the disastrous 2010 Eastern Final at the Yonge & Eglinton Shoeless Joe's location. The staff was co-operative in putting the game on one of the televisions much to the chagrin of some middle-aged guy sitting with his Pro-Line betting sheet. There were maybe 5 to 10 of us there that day while the rest of the bar was fixated on whatever NFL match was playing on the screen. Nobody said anything untoward about a CFL game being on, but they were all just fixated. I'll reiterate what I also say that for some reason some anti-CFL types really feel the need to emphasize their hatred and also I fail to understand why people do not realize that they can like both leagues.

[doubleblue]

I have always wondered how much of Simmons writings and comments are on purpose just to stir up controversy. But he sure got under Brian Burke's skin. I think it was at Burke's farewell speech that he mentioned there was one guy in the media he would have loved to punch out. I think everybody figured it was Simmons. lol

I remembered reading once about Bob McCowan where he said that he found out early that he could get better ratings by being a jerk than by being a nice guy. Maybe Simmons thinks the same way.