Time To Vote For CFL All-Stars

CALLING ALL FANS: ALL-STAR BALLOTING NOW OPEN AT CFL.CA

"This brings together the three best things about our league: our game, our stars and our fans." - Commissioner Cohon



It's time for the most valuable people in the Canadian Football League - our fans - to help choose the best players in the Canadian Football League.

Balloting for the 2009 CFL All-Stars is now open at CFL.ca (www.cflallstars.com), and the choices are as difficult and exciting as they have ever been in the long history of our league. For example:

• Who's the best quarterback in the CFL? Is it Anthony Calvillo, who has led the Montreal Alouettes to the best record in the league so far, Henry Burris, the key to the Calgary Stampeders' Grey Cup defence, or perhaps Ricky Ray, who can read a defence in an instant like few in the history of the CFL?

• Who would you want to be your running back: the dominating Fred Reid, the punishing Avon Cobourne, or one of the surprising rookies, DeAndra' Cobb, Martell Mallett or Arkee Whitlock?

• And just try to narrow down your choices for linebacker, the most dominant defensive position in our game today. The top five tacklers in the league - Jamall Johnson, Barrin Simpson, Anton McKenzie, Markeith Knowlton and Javier Glatt -- are all linebackers. And then there's Siddeeq Shabazz, who hasn't only been stopping the ball; he has been taking it away.

"Let the debate begin, in our stadiums, on our fan forums, and most importantly of all, on the ballots available at CFL.ca," said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the CFL.

All-star balloting is one of the things that makes the second half of our season so terrific. It brings together the three best things about our league: our game, our stars and our fans. And this year, with so much parity across our league, a lot of the races promise to be close and exciting."

When you vote, you have the opportunity to enter contests to win great prizes from Scotiabank and SIRIUS Satellite Radio including trips to the 97th Grey Cup in Calgary.

Fans are limited to one vote per day and can vote for as many positions as they wish. Fans can start having their say today.

Later in the season, the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and eight CFL head coaches will add their ballots. The combined votes will determine the East Division and West Division all-star teams. Then fans, reporters and coaches get a second opportunity to choose from the divisional all-stars to determine the league-wide CFL all-stars, one of the highest honours players can earn.

The CFL All-Star Balloting website was created and designed by Indusblue, a Toronto-based interactive marketing agency.