Conference hbahba::cam_sports

	CALGARY, Alberta (UPI) -- The Canadian Football League ventured south
	of the border Tuesday, granting expansion franchises to San Antonio and
	Sacramento, Calif.
    
	The two clubs -- the first from the United States to join the CFL --
	will open play in 1993 in what is now a 10-team league.
	CFL Commissioner Larry Smith, after daylong meetings with league
	ownership and applicants, said owners voted 7-1 in favor of expansion.
	Details are to be announced Wednesday in Toronto.
    
	The league, which has been ailing financially in Canada, disclosed
	expansion plans in November, targeting mid-sized U.S. markets left by
	the demise of the NFL-sponsored World League.
    
	The San Antonio bid is backed by Larry Benson, who also owned the
	Riders in the World League. Benson once held a minority interest in the
	NFL's New Orleans Saints, owned by his brother Tom. The team, known as
	the Texans, will play out of the 65,000-seat Alamodome.
    
	Fred Anderson, majority owner of the World League Sacramento Surge,
	will own the unnamed CFL franchise in that city, using the 30,000-seat
	Hornet Stadium.
    
	The incoming teams will pay a $2.4 million expansion fee, using funds
	received from the NFL when the plug was pulled on the World League.
	Two other cities, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Albuquerque, N.M., have
	expressed interest in joining the league in 1994. The CFL also hopes
	interest will support expansion franchises in Montreal, which had a CFL
	team and later a World League team, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
	Smith has said unique CFL rules would be maintained: three downs, 12
	players per team on field, field dimensions of 110 by 65 yards with 20-
	yard end zones, unlimited backfield motion, single points awarded for
	missed field goals and punts downed in the end zone.
	Speaking at a break in Tuesday's meetings, Benson said Texas fans
	would have no problem adjusting to CFL rules.
    
	``This is a very professional league that's been around for a hundred
	years,'' Benson said. ``It's football. It's a bunch of guys banging at
	each other. It's not a novelty. It has unique rules that are not the
	same as the other professional leagues.''
    
	Benson said the CFL is an undervalued asset that will grow
	considerably in value. He said he will eventually raise the issue of
	holding the championship Grey Cup.
    
	The wider field and passing oriented game have allowed a number of
	players considered too small to play in the NFL to flourish in the CFL.
	Current stars include former Heisman Trophy winners Doug Flutie and
	Raghib ``Rocket'' Ismail.
    
	The CFL lost its franchise in Montreal before the 1987 season. Many
	other teams have faced financial peril and a number of Americans have
	purchased CFL clubs, including Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, who
	owns the CFL champion Toronto Argonauts with hockey star Wayne Gretzky
	and actor John Candy.
    
	Smith has said the break-even attendance for teams is 26,000 per
	game. The CFL operates with a salary cap of just under $2 million.
	A key issue to be resolved is quotas. Twenty of each team's 37
	players must be Canadian. Maintaining this arrangement on the two
	expansion teams would be difficult because of U.S. labor and immigration
	law. It's more likely an agreement will be struck guaranteeing 160
	Canadian jobs through the league, without further restrictions.
	Such a move could erode when the current collective agreement expires
	after the 1994 season. Larry Ryckman, the expansion committee chairman
	and Calgary owner, said the quota issue would not be resolved for week
	or two.
    
	CFL officials are said to have agreed on a formula for an expansion
	draft.
    

    The Sacremento Team will be called the Gold Miners.

>    The Sacremento Team will be called the Gold Miners.


Correction.

It's 

	The Sacremento Gold Miners, eh.


hth,
'Saw

    I thought every team in the CFL had to be called either Rough Riders
    or Roughriders.
    
    Confused,
    
    NAZZ

    Apparently the San Antonio franchise is on hold.  The CFL doesn't think
    that SA will be ready in time for the 1993 season so they are looking
    for another host city.

     Would fit right in. Kelly has experience in the CFL I believe. Might
    win something there...

    Kelly played in the World Football League not the CFl..
    
    I think he played for Houston...
    
    REK

    Kelly played for the Houston Gamblers in the USFL.
    
    Dennis Faust
    

    I read that Las Vegas was awarded a CFL franchise.

    
    
    	Yabbut I thought I heard that there were 2 US cities looking into
    placing a bid for a CFL franchise.  One was Baltimore and the radion
    said that they wanted to name themselves (get this) "The Baltimore
    Colts"!
    
    I'm not sure but I thought the other city was Vegas(?) or some other
    tumbleweed place.  ;^)
    
    apologies to any ghila monsters I might have offended
    
    I remain,
    submitting a name for consideration;  The San Francisco Fluties ?
    Kev
    

Vegas done got a CFL team.

As for the "Baltimore Colts" that should about end any notion that they
might get a_NFL team.

TTom

    
    Yabbut if Vegas got one already, then it must have been some other
    Tumbleweed town ?
    
    all those cacti look alike anyway
    
    I remain,
    hoping the "lovely Roxeanne" stops by so we can discuss her horiscope 
    ;^)
    Kev
    

Me thinks it was  sacremento...

I know Portland was trying to get one...Anybody read the letter to SI about how
to spruce up the NFL game after SI did an article on the death of the NFL?

Metz

    Metz,
    	I think I saw the letter, widen field, expand end zone...
    
    	In effect adopt CFL rules...
    
    I was just thinking about that too, Baltimore might just have quite a
    successful franchise and Boston too (recall the old wfl team?)
    
    Bill

    Professional football appears to be returning to Baltimore.  No, the
    Colts aren't moving back.  The CFL is moving in a franchise. 
    Apparently they won't be named the Baltimore Colts since the NFL still
    owns the rights to that name and the guys in Indy are objecting too.

    Speaking of the CFL, FSU soph wide receiver Mumble Vanover signed
    a four year deal with some CFL team. Gets to polish his skills
    in a pass-oriented league, get mo' cash than he did at FSU, doersn't
    have to worry about academics and can come back to get his degree
    when he wants. Smart move, he'll be in the NFL after two years
    if he progresses.
    
    MikeL
    

    Tamarick is his first name.
    
    NAZZ

    [email protected] articles by Tue, 1 Mar 94: 

--------
Subject: Baltimore CFL Team To Be Colts
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 94 10:00:14 PST
 
	BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore CFL Colts will begin play in the
Canadian Football League this summer.
	Owner Jim Speros and CFL commissioner Larry Smith unveiled the
name at a news conference Tuesday. Smith called the name a
``perfect compromise.''
	The NFL had threatened to sue if Baltimore's entry tried to use
the name ``Colts,'' the nickname of the team that left Baltimore
for Indianapolis.
	Speros said he will discuss the name with NFL officials, but
expects no problems because the name is easily distinguished from
the Indianapolis Colts.
	Speros also displayed four possible logos, none similar to the
horseshoe that is associated with the NFL Colts. All four logos
depict a horse's head. The team colors will be royal blue and
silver.

    Before all this expansion by the CFL, we used to have ruled that
    stipulated that a certain number of players (I think 18) had to be 
    Canadian. I take it that this no longer holds true?
    
    
    Ted 

    the CFL is minor league, so who gives a sh*t.

  College is even lower minor league. It's down around rookie league but
that really seems to draw interest.

  Minor league can be fun. The games can be just as exciting as major league
games and it's fun to speculate as to who will make the big leagues.

  George

    
    big time QBs from the CFL did pretty good in the NFL...Moon,
    Theisman,...

    Moon never won the big one in the NFL but he was a heck of a QB.  Houston
    defence has always been too shredded wheat like as far back as
    I can remember.
    Sean
    

    During the QB Challange last weekend they had Moons Passing Yards
    at 52K+ (CFL/NFL), more then any other QB in the History of
    Professional Football.  With Minnesota (Cris Carter and CO) he should
    have a fairly productive year (Back to Back 4K season could put him
    over 60K career yards).
    
    								mab

    Is Minnesota going to use the "run and shoot" with Moon?

    
    One of the best football games of the weekend in any league was the
    BC Lions win over Calgary in the swirling snow in (I assume) Calgary.
    
    Darren Flutie (3 TD receptions) of the Lions beat Calgary (and his
    brother) with a TD reception as time ran out.
    
    Great game.....

    
      I think you'd have to be a Boston College alum to believe that
     something a step above arena football was even close to being
     one of the best games of the weekend. BU-UNH, Denver-Atlanta
     maybe but a CFL playoff game? No way.

    
    I am a BC alum, proud of it. Maybe you're right. The BU/UNH game had to
    be one for books....
    
    

    Well CNN gave Flutie's game and catch the play of the day this morning.
    Tommy where did you watch the Denver game, Dish?
    
    Jimbo

>How's Flutie doing in the CFL?  He's probably ready to win another 
>championship.

I don't believe so.

Unless I'm mistaken, I thought I had one night late on WFAN that Flutie's
team is not in the champsionship game this year, but that an American
team is (Baltimore?) for the first time.....

I haven't had the time to look around for corroboration.....


'Saw

    
    
    
    	Darren Flutie and British Columbia won the Gray Cup over the
    weekend...
                                      
    

  Two weeks ago there was a Flutie bowl and Doug Flutie's team lost to British
Columbia with Darren Flutie making the winning catch.

  That lead to the British Columbia v. Baltimore final mentioned in -.1

  George

  Actually when Doug Flutie played for the Patriots he did ok. As I recall they
won most of the games he played but he was still judged too short and had to
leave the team.

  At any rate, that pass in Miami was a career in itself. He'll always be
folklore in Boston. 

  George

Groaner, if George hadn't already given it away, I would have tried to
leave you with the impression that you're all alone in this topic.

If I'm not mistaken, Doug Flutie has been the CFL Player of the Year
every season but his rookie season.  There are a number of ways to
interpret that, and not all of them are negative.

FWIW, when I still lived in the US 20 years ago, I watched some CFL
football on the tube and found it much more entertaining than the NFL.

Steve

Of course it doesn't mean the players are better.  They aren't, by a
long shot, though there have been a few CFL players who have come into
the NFL and had success.

The fact that an expansion team won a title may mean that, for the first
time in the history of North American professional sports, a league gave
an expansion team a shot at more than the marginal players.

And you make my point, Groaner, when you say you enjoy NCAA football more
than the NFL.  The rules matter.  Playing the game right can overcome an
apparent quality advantage.  In principle, we'd rather watch the best,
unless the best make themselves less watchable.  I tried watching the
NFL when I was in the States in October (lacking baseball and hockey)
and I couldn't do it (admittedly the local teams were the Rams and the
Raiders).

I don't know why you knock Doug Flutie.  To the best of my knowledge, I've
never seen him play.  I gather he's small.  I'd say it's quite an
accomplishment to be CFL Player of the Year repeatedly, as a small
quarterback.

Steve

    I found the CFL game Monday night much more enjoyable than the nfl
    game.  Can't say I necessarily like the cfl rules though.

>    I found the CFL game Monday night much more enjoyable than the nfl
>    game.  Can't say I necessarily like the cfl rules though.


Some of their rules make it a little harder to follow.  The rule where
you can have men in motion TOWARDS the line of scrimmage kind of bugs me,
because it is distracting...

The three-down rule makes the game go a little faster I think.

I find it enjoyable to watch.


'Saw

I always felt it was more enjoyable JUST BECAUSE of the rules, which
put more of a premium on finesse and less on brute force.

It must be said that I haven't seen a CFL game in many, many years, and
I assume it has evolved, just as the NFL has.  I mean, 20 years ago, I
could watch an entire NFL game without losing consciousness even once.

It's pushing 8 PM here, time to go home.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Steve