the other press CFL Jordan Cripps Sports Editor With Wally Buono finally signing with the BC Lions after months of “negotia- tion” between the Lions and Stampeders, I realized just,why I’m not interested in supporting the CFL. Something that on the surface seems pretty simple becomes a month-long nightmare as the two teams haggle over whether the Stampeders are owed compensation. I think that if you forced an NFL fan to watch a CFL game, he or she would have to admit that the on-field product is more exciting than games in the NFL. It’s certainly not that I don’t want to see the CFL thrive, it’s just that a lot of what goes on at a league level makes it hard for me to take the CFL seri- ously. What it comes down to for me is credi- bility. Simply put, the CFL doesn’t have any. In fact, I’m surprised that the league has been able to overcome some of the impossibly strange events that have plagued the league in the past. This situa- tion was just the latest in a long string of public relations disasters for a league that can ill afford them. Is there any other sports league that can “boast” of having two teams, on separate Sports http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca occasions, draft players that are no longer among the living? This is the situation the CFL found themselves in during the mid 90s. In 1995, the Ottawa Rough Riders selected Darrell Robertson in a dispersal draft of players belonging to the defunct Las Vegas Posse (more on them in a bit). He was reputed to be a pretty decent play- er but, unbeknownst to them, he had passed away a few months earlier. Then, in 1996, just a few months later, oblivious to this mistake, the Montreal CFLers (as they were then known) drafted James Eggink in the league’s college draft. No league wants to publish this press release: “The CFL would like to apologize to the family of James Eggink who was chosen by the Montreal club in the fifth round. His name was left unknowingly on the draft eligible list and the League has since been informed that Mr. Eggink is deceased.” Not the kind of publicity the league was looking for. Unfortunately, bad draft decisions aren't the only problems to face the CFL. The league's aborted attempt at US expansion was a disaster for a number of reasons. The league was having trouble keeping the Canadian teams afloat. How could they expect the addition of teams in mar- kets where NFL and College football reigned supreme to change this? Were Shreveport, Las Vegas, Sacramento and San Antonio the answer? No. What hap- pened was that a number of US born CFL players, including Damon Allen, decided to leave their Canadian franchises for jobs with the new teams, thus weakening the Canadian part of the league and driving these teams into deeper economic prob- lems. As well, the US teams quickly dis- covered that people in the States didn’t want the CFL and many of the arenas remained empty. Perhaps the only positive that came out of this was that the league was able to get a closer connection to the NFL, which meant that they could get some credibility through this association. Above all of this, neither the league nor its member teams have had any sort of sta- bility in recent memory. The league has gone through three commissioners in the past year. Each time there was change, acrimony and dispute ensued. Michael Lysko’s very public firing was a big blem- ish on the league. Because of the way it Canucks Bandwagon Suffers with Recent Losses Jordan Cripps Sports Editor January 22, 2003 was handled, finding a successor was diffi- cult. Candidates wanted to be sure that they would be given more control than Lysko was given. All of this brings me back to the hiring of Buono by the Lions. Why does every- thing become more complicated in the CFL? Why did it take them a month to determine whether he was obligated to the Stampeders? At least the Lions finally got their man. Prior to their decent showing against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Vancouver Canucks had been unimpres- sive during a stretch that saw them regress into the bad habits that saw them win just 4 of their first 13 games. As 2003 dawned, the Canucks seemed to be on the right track, staying well above .500 even though they obvious- ly couldn't continue the play that saw them sit atop the league standings throughout November. After losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs on New Year's Eve, though, it seems that the Canucks are content to have a pretty good game, as they did against Ottawa and Chicago, followed by two or three poor performances. Yes, they have managed to avoid a three game losing streak all season, which is good, but in order to win in the playoffs, which is what they're hoping to do, they will need to avoid even a two game slide. It seems that ever since the game against the Leafs, there has been a lack of concentration amongst some of the players, especially on defence. Brent Sopel, not the wisest or most fleet of foot defenseman at the best of times, has had a disastrous stretch in which he has watched his +/- plummet faster than Enron stocks, cur- rently sitting at—17. Certainly the loss of Jovanovski has- n't helped him as he’s had to play more and also has seen time in situations he wouldn't normally play in. He did have a stronger outing against Chicago, scoring the game-winning goal. In Jovanovski’s absence, nearly the entire defensive corps, with the possible exception of Sami Salo, has struggled. Offensively, the Canuck’s top line seems to be having success only on the powerplay, and when at even strength they can disappear for long stretches. Yet it’s hard to fault a line that has been the team’s offensive catalyst for much of the season. They'll eventually regain their form and dominate once again. It’s not like they're playing poorly, they just arent having much luck converting their chances right now. One of the biggest changes in the Canucks fortunes has been the play of Dan Cloutier. He is still making key saves and I would never suggest that he’s the reason for the team’s recent mediocre record. At the same time, though, he has made a lot more mistakes in the past few games than he did during the early part of the season. Again, it’s hard to be too critical of someone that almost single-handedly earned the team the cushion they now have, allowing them to endure some minor setbacks. The central issue he’s having right now is his inability to han- dle the puck. One of the big clichés in hockey is that a goaltender skilled at handling the puck can serve as a third defenseman. This is very true. There have been a number of occasions in recent weeks where Cloutier’s inability to move the puck has led to a turnover and a goal. Every time the opposition dumps the puck in, I find myself holding my breath until it’s safely out of the opposition zone. Having said all this, I’m certainly not pressing the panic button. I just think that January is often a chal- lenging month for teams that have had early season suc- cess because they don’t feel as much pressure to perform well every night. I just hope that the Canucks don’t relax too much and fall too far in the standings. page 21 ©