Quote Originally Posted by AngeloV View Post
It would be suicide having a season opener going head to head with a Stanley Cup finals game, especially if a Canadian team was involved.
CFL Regular season starting on Canada Day weekend and the playoffs ending in November make the most sense to me.
Quote Originally Posted by argolio View Post
I think 18 is here to stay. Pro leagues rarely if ever reduce games. Goodell is desperate to take the NFL to 18.

I wouldn't count on much of a payday from the NFL.
Agreed on 18 games here to stay.
As for the NFL network - NBC Sports and the NFL Network are said to be interested, rumour floating around is that a deal could be close with the NFL. It would theoretically allow for more games to air on TV in the States, and CFL on ESPN games were comparable to MLS tv numbers FWIW.