CFL Rule Changes

TORONTO (May 23, 2018) -- Rule changes designed to improve player health and safety and eliminate illegal contact as a challengeable play will be in place when the Canadian Football League (CFL) kicks off its regular season next month.

The league’s Board of Governors has now approved the changes which were first proposed by the CFL’s Rules Committee earlier this year.

“The governors have again emphasized the importance of player safety to our league, as well as the need to protect game flow on behalf of our fans,” said Darren Hackwood, the CFL’s Senior Director of Officiating.

Here is a summary of the changes to the CFL rule book:
• Illegal contact on a receiver can no longer be a play coaches can challenge (and send to video review).
• The replay official will automatically review “potential touchdowns” – plays marked down short of the line when it when it appears obvious a touchdown has been scored.
• It will be illegal for any player to deliver a forcible block on an opponent while moving back towards his own goal line, sometimes referred to as a “blindside” block.
• Low blocks that occur outside of the “tackle box” – the area that extends from tight end to tight end and from the quarterback or kicker to two yards beyond the line of scrimmage – are outlawed.
• The definition of spearing is widened to include any situation where a player delivers a blow with his helmet as the initial or primary point of contact. (This does not apply to a low running ball carrier.)
• A loophole in the “sleeper” play rule is closed by making it illegal for a player who enters the game and remains outside the numbers to receive the ball in any manner, including a kick or lateral.
• What constitutes a quarterback making a legal pass behind the line of scrimmage is now defined as the passer having at least one of his feet on or behind the line of scrimmage instead of requiring that the release point of the ball be behind the line of scrimmage.
• The so-called “force out rule” is eliminated: a receiver catching a ball has to place at least one foot inbounds regardless of whether he was contacted in mid-air.
• The penalty for “pyramiding” – the practice of using another player to elevate one’s self to block a kick – is increased from five yards to ten yards.
• Allow the Replay Official to correct the game clock after a challenge to what the clock should read as a result of the challenge.

The Rules Committee, which includes several coaches and general managers as well as veteran official Al Bradbury and representatives of the Canadian Football Players Association, met in Winnipeg during Mark’s CFL Week last March.

The Board of Governors, which meets regularly throughout the year, includes the owners of privately held teams and the chairpersons of community-led teams.


(CFL)

What Did You Miss Tuesday?

 

Photo: Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press

--The Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Acadie-Bathurst 3-2 at the Mastercard Memorial Cup. If Regina beats Swift Current tomorrow, they will advance to play Hamilton in the semi-final with the Titan going to the final.  If Swift Current wins, the Quebec champs will go to the final with the Bulldogs playing the winner of a Swift Current-Regina tiebreaker game on Thursday. 

-- The San Jose Sharks and left wing Evander Kane have reportedly agreed to terms on a long-term contract extension.  The deal is apparently seven years worth 49 million dollars.  The 26 year old was traded to the Sharks at the trade deadline. He is eligible to be a free agent July 1. 

--Jake Harty's season is over before it started.  It is believed the Riders receiver, who signed as a free agent, suffered a torn ACL Sunday during training camp. 

--ESPN released its Fame 100 list on Tuesday. That list consists of the 100 most famous athletes in the world is compiled based on how often an athlete's name is searched online, earnings from endorsements and social media followers.  Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James and Lionel Messi are the top 3. No NHL or MLB player made the list. 

-- NFL owners gave temporary approval Tuesday for a proposal designed to make the kickoff safer. The new rule will be in place for the 2018 season but will be evaluated next spring based on injury numbers and other factors.

The primary changes include:

• The elimination of running starts for kickoff coverage teams
• A requirement that eight of the 11 men on the return team must be aligned in the "setup zone" within 15 yards of the ball
• No blocking within the "setup zone" until after the ball touches the ground if it is not first caught
• The elimination of two-man wedge blocks
• Kickoff team must have five men lined up on either side of the ball, a move that will limit schemes designed to get free runners in coverage down the field.

 If the numbers don't improve to the league's liking, more dramatic changes -- including the elimination of kickoffs -- would be on the table for 2019.

Rider Roster Moves

The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced the following roster moves:

SIGNED:
• International defensive back Daniel Davie
• National defensive back Tristan MacDonald-Doughlin

ACTIVATED:
• National defensive lineman Eddie Steele

RELEASED:
• International defensive lineman Nick James
• International defensive back John Ojo

RETIRED:
• National offensive lineman Jeremy Zver


(Ryan Pollock/Riders PR)

What Did You Miss Monday?

Photo: CHL Images

--The Swift Current Broncos are in a must-win position at the Mastercard Memorial Cup. Despite the heroics of Stuart Skinner, the WHL champs were beaten 2-1 by Hamilton.  Skinner stopped 54 of 56 shots, but one by Marian Studenic with 2:01 to play in the 3rd was the winner.  Hamilton is 1-1 and will play Acadie-Bathurst on Tuesday at 8.  Swift Current is 0-2 and plays 1-1 Regina Wednesday at 8 to close out the round-robin. 

--A Game 7 is needed in the NHL East final.  Braden Holtby stopped 24 shots in a 3-0 Washington win. Game 7 is Wednesday in Tampa. Vegas awaits the winner.  If Washington wins, the Stanley Cup final starts Monday in Vegas.  A Lightning win will see them have home ice advantage with the game still going on May 28. 

--Lou Lamoriello appears to be heading to New York. Multiple media reports say the former Leafs G-M will be hired by the Islanders in a hockey operations role.

--Canadian pitcher Nick Pivetta struck out seven over seven innings to lead the Phillies to a 3-0 win over Atlanta. The Victoria native is 4-and-2 on the year.

---Riders training camp continues in Saskatoon with Tuesday being Day 3.  Early on, it appears as if Cameron Judge, the team's first-round draft pick last year, will get an opportunity to start at weak-side linebacker.   Defensive lineman Rakim Cox tweaked his back while tying his shoes prior to practice and missed the day as a result. 

May 21st Stanley Cup Playoffs Morning Skate

SUNDAY RESULT 

Vegas 2  Winnipeg 1 (Vegas wins Western Conference Final)

HISTORIC RUN CONTINUES AS GOLDEN KNIGHTS REACH STANLEY CUP FINAL
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves – and stopped all 19 shots he faced over the last 40 minutes – to backstop the expansion Golden Knights to another series-clinching road victory in Game 5 against the Jets.

* In the last 50 years, only one other club from either the NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL/AFL reached the championship series or game in its inaugural season – the Blues represented the all-expansion West Division in the 1968 Stanley Cup Final. Find more historic comparisons below.

* The Golden Knights became the seventh team in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final after recording three series-clinching wins on the road. Five of the previous six went on to win the Stanley Cup. ICYMI: Fans back in Las Vegas gathered for a watch party outside T-Mobile Arena, just as they did when their club advanced with wins in Los Angeles and San Jose.

* This is the third consecutive year that a team will make its debut in the Stanley Cup Final. Debutant teams own an all-time series record of 11-17 in the Final, with the last three instances ending in defeat – the Sharks (2016) and Predators (2017) both lost in six games to the Penguins, while the Senators (2007) lost in five games to the Ducks. The Lightning (2004) were the last team to win the Stanley Cup in their first trip to the Final.

* The Golden Knights (12-3) became the 13th team to win at least 12 of 15 games to begin a postseason since 1986-87 when the Stanley Cup Playoffs became a four-round, best-of-seven format. Four of the previous 12 clubs went on to win the Cup (the three listed below and the 1993 Canadiens).

VEGAS JOINS ELITE GROUP IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS HISTORY

The Golden Knights became the 20th team from either the NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL/AFL to reach the championship series or game in their first trip to the postseason (via Elias†). Vegas is the sixth team in NHL history to achieve the feat, joining the 1917-18 Toronto Arenas, 1925-26 Montreal Maroons, 1926-27 Boston Bruins, 1967-68 St. Louis Blues and 1995-96 Florida Panthers.

* Like the Golden Knights, the Arenas and Blues advanced to the Final in their inaugural season, though under much different circumstances. Toronto did so in the first postseason in NHL history and St. Louis emerged from the all-expansion West Division during the first playoffs of the League’s expansion era in 1968. The Maroons (second), Bruins (third) and Panthers (third) all reached the Final within their first three campaigns.

* The 20-team list also includes the 2001 Baltimore Ravens – who began play as an NFL expansion team in 1996 after moving from Cleveland (where they had won four championships over 46 NFL seasons from 1950-1995) – and five NBA teams who joined from other leagues: the 1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors, 1946-47 Chicago Stags, 1947-48 Baltimore Bullets, 1948-49 Minneapolis Lakers and 1949-50 Syracuse Nationals.

* The remaining eight teams on the historic list started from scratch like the Golden Knights: the 1997 Florida Marlins (MLB; fifth season), 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers (NBA; seventh season), 1967-68 Oakland Raiders (NFL/AFL; eighth season), 1969 New York Mets (MLB; eighth season), 1968-69 New York Jets (NFL/AFL; ninth season), 2008 Tampa Bay Rays (MLB; 11th season), 1984 San Diego Padres (MLB; 16th season) and 1977-78 Denver Broncos (NFL; 18th season).

* Ten teams have finished their first trip to the postseason as champions, including the Arenas (1918) and Warriors (1947) in the inaugural seasons for the NHL and NBA, respectively.

* The Golden Knights needed 12 playoff wins to reach the Final, tied with the 1996 Panthers for the most of any of the teams referenced above. In fact, only four other clubs required more than five playoff victories to reach the championship series or game: the Trail Blazers needed 10 wins to make the 1977 NBA Finals; the Blues had eight wins entering the 1968 Stanley Cup Final; and the Marlins and Rays each won seven games before playing in the World Series in 1997 and 2008, respectively.

* As the NHL’s 31st active franchise, the Golden Knights are the third team to reach the championship in a league consisting of at least 30 clubs. The others: 2001 Ravens (NFL: 31 teams) and 2008 Rays (MLB: 30 teams).

† All-time for NHL and NBA; Since 1966 for NFL/AFL; Since 1969 for MLB


FLEURY HEADED TO FINAL FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR (FIFTH OVERALL)
Marc-Andre Fleury (31 saves) made at least 30 saves for the fourth consecutive game to improve to 13-5 in 20 career appearances in the Conference Finals and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year and fifth time overall.

* Fleury and teammate James Neal return to the Final after facing each other in the championship series last year – Fleury with the Penguins, Neal with the Predators. Lightning forward Chris Kunitz – the only active NHL player with four Stanley Cups – could join the trio in this year’s Final after winning with Fleury and the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

* Entering 2018, 37 different players in NHL history reached the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive years with different teams. Six of those players won the Cup each time: Eddie Gerard, Lionel Conacher, Ed Litzenberger, Al Arbour, Claude Lemieux and Cory Stillman.

* Gerard actually won the Cup in four consecutive seasons from 1920-23. He played for the original Ottawa Senators in each of those postseasons, but was loaned to the Toronto St. Patricks for one game during the 1922 Stanley Cup Final, thereby earning his name on the Cup when the team defeated the Vancouver Millionaires in the best-of-five series.

* Fleury earned his 74th career win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to tie Chris Osgood for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time list, three back of Mike Vernon (77) for seventh overall. One of 14 active NHL players with three Stanley Cups, Fleury entered the 2018 playoffs with a team-leading 115 games of postseason experience and is the only Cup winner on the Golden Knights roster.

SNEAK PEEK AT MONDAY’S ACTION

After losing Games 1 and 2 on home ice, Tampa Bay is now in position to join Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final as they take a 3-2 series lead into Washington for Game 6.

* Since 1942-43, when the final four began competing in best-of-seven series, only seven teams have won the Conference Finals/Semifinals after losing Games 1 and 2. Only one of those clubs did so after dropping the first two games at home: the Red Wings rallied to defeat the Bruins in seven games in the 1945 Semifinals.

(NHL Media) 

Something To "Mitch" About

Courtesy Keith Hershmiller

--Three games into the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup and we have seen some entertaining hockey.  A last minute win by the Pats, an overtime win by Acadie-Bathurst over Swift Current  and the Titan winning a shootout against Regina in a game that shouldn't have been as close as it was, but it got that way thanks to a determined host team.

John Paddock was right after Sunday's loss when he said the third period comeback in Sunday's 8-6 loss disguised a lot of crap, but one can't deny the Pats were one shot away from tying it in the final couple of minutes which might have blown the roof off the Brandt Centre.

There isn't a lot separating the four teams in the tournament and it is still anyone's guess as to who will win when all is said and done. Until that happens, enjoy what you've been seeing because it has been fantastic.

--NHL brass are all over the Brandt Centre as one would expect.  I am guessing many scouts are just gushing over the play of Acadie-Bathurst defenceman Noah Dobson.   The kid is everything that has been advertised and he will be a top 10 pick in this year's NHL draft if not top 5.  There isn't a lot he can't do and when he puts on another 10 pounds or so, he will be a huge force for someone.  He will look great in a Canadian uniform at the World Juniors later this year. With that event happening in Vancouver and Victoria, Canucks fans could very well get a glimpse into the future.

--Sportsnet's Daniel Nugent-Bowman ( a former Saskatoon Star-Phoenix employee) did his homework on what is a great story about the 1980 Memorial Cup.  That event was won at the Agridome by Dale Hawerchuk and the Cornwall Royals.  It will always be remembered though as the MC where Mike Keenan and his Peterborough Petes threw a game to avoid playing the Pats in the final.  Keenan has always denied it, but those who were there that night know that is not the case. It is probably the reason I have no time for Keenan, the teams he coaches and the Peterborough Petes.  It was one of the wildest couple of nights I have seen under the orange-top and I've seen many wild nights over the years.

--I knew it wouldn't take long and it didn't,  As I roamed the corridors at the Brandt Centre during the first intermission, I had two people ask me about the Riders release of Cameron Marshall.  I certainly didn't see that coming, and I don't know if the green-and-white did either. Marshall is still bothered by that knee that ended his season prematurely.  Many went in wondering how the Riders would find a way to share the ball with Marshall, Trent Richardson and Jerome Messam.  The signing of the Canadian running back now appears to be huge.

--Duron Carter says he is done of trying to get people to change their opinion about him. I agree with that 100 percent.  The guy can play and while he is a little out-there in his ways, it makes Duron Carter who he is.  If you want to like him now great, if not that's OK too. Duron Carter shouldn't care about changing people's attitude. He just needs to concentrate on winning football games and doing things that won't hurt his team.  He is one of those polarizing characters that the CFL needs.  If that stance and attitude prevents him from going to the NFL than maybe he does have to change, but I don't see that happening so accept him for what he is now and moving forward in his CFL career wherever it may take him.

--It took him a while to get here, but Johnny Manziel is now in the CFL. I still don't know if he plays a meaningful snap in a CFL game, but give him credit as he is going to try.  Others have had the opportunity to like Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick and they have said no.  Manziel isn't doing that. He is going to come to Canada and do what he can.  You have to like that he is going to try and seize the opportunity presented to him.  What will the Manziel factor do for football in southern Ontario.  Does it move the needle?  We will find out. 

--Some love it, others don't, but the Vegas Golden Knights are off to the Stanley Cup final in year one of their existence.  Do you ever wonder if Gerard Gallant just smirks when he thinks about how his time came to an end in Florida and where he is now.  For those that don't remember, Gallant was fired after a game in Carolina with the team saying he couldn't even fly home with them so he was put in a cab outside the Hurricanes rink.  A photo of him in the cab made its rounds again Sunday saying that cab is now driving him to the Stanley Cup final.   He has to be loving life as does former Brandon GM Kelly McCrimmon who is an assistant GM with the Knights.  Many say he is a shoo-in to be the GM of the new Seattle franchise when it starts play. I can't disagree with that.

--Jose Bautista was batting 5 for 35 (.143) in his comeback with the Braves so they ended that comeback and let him go.  Russell Martin is 16 for 105 (.152) and there is no talk of the Blue Jays getting rid of him  This is why Atlanta is in first in the NL East and the Blue Jays are three games under 500 and going nowhere fast.  That rebuild can start once they trade Josh Donaldson and one has to think that time is coming very quickly.

--The shift in baseball has become so tiresome. What is more tiresome is the fact batters won't lay down a bunt to get an easy hit.  This is A) proof that big-leaguers have forgotten how to bunt B) big-leaguers are too proud to bunt.  You can't tell me there is no better way to start a rally than by having someone bunt to get on to lead off an inning when the shift is on.  Is Jacques Lemaire responsible for this?

--That's all I got. Enjoy holiday Monday. 

What Did You Miss Sunday?

--The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champs from Acadie-Bathurst are 2-0 at the Memorial Cup.  The Titan got two goals and two assists from Noah Dobson in an 8-6 win over Regina. The Pats trailed the game 7-2 in the third before staging a furious comeback that fell short.  Regina is now 1-1.  On Monday, the Swift Current Broncos meet the Hamilton Bulldogs in a battle of 1-1 teams. 

--The Vegas Golden Knights are off to the Stanley Cup final.  The first year team ended the dreams of the Winnipeg Jets with a 2-1 win.  Winnipeg native Ryan Reaves had the winner.  Tampa tries to join them in the final tonight as they lead Washington 3-2. 

--Sweden needed a shootout to beat Switzerland 3-2 to claim the World Hockey Championship. It's Sweden's 11th world title and their third in the last six years.  Canada lost the bronze medal game 4-1 to the United States. 

--Riders training camp is open as are all CFL training camps.  On the first day, Duron Carter held court.  He admitted being in legal trouble is somewhat worrisome and that he is done trying to change people's opinion about him.  Carter added he is also looking for a Humboldt Broncos jersey. 

--In the morning, the Atlanta Braves informed Jose Bautista his services were no longer needed after a 13 game comeback that saw him hit just .143 (5 for 35).  In the afternoon, the Braves were down by 5 going into the bottom of the 9th against Florida, but scored six in the 9th to beat the Marlins 10-9