Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League is a eight-team professional Canadian football league in Canada, whose franchises currently include the Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders and the B.C. Lions, based in Vancouver. Its current commissioner is Mark Cohon, the son of McDonald's Canada founder George Cohon.[1]
Grey Cup
The league's championship game is the Grey Cup. The 2008 Grey Cup will be played at Olympic Stadium, Montreal.
Broadcast rights
Starting in 2008, CFL games in Canada will be broadcast solely on TSN and its French-language sister station, RDS. Some games had been previously broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.[2]
NFL in Toronto
The league, which has weathered many challenges over the years, is now facing a new challenge from the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League, who have announced that they will be playing eight games in Toronto, Ontario over the next five years. [3]
History
The league was formed in 1958, as an amalgamation of several older leagues.[4]
Defunct franchises
For many years Ottawa was home to a franchise called the Ottawa Rough Riders. The Rough Riders suspended operations following the 1996 season. They were followed, from 2002 to 2006, by the Ottawa Renegades. Some discussions have taken place to bring a professional football team back to the city, but no team is expected before 2009 at the earliest.[5]
The league also briefly expanded to the United States, with only one US franchise, the Baltimore Stallions, winning a championship.
Notes
- ↑ Care, Tony. Meet the new boss, CBC Sports, cbc.ca, 2007-06-20. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ↑ CFL inks new deal with TSN, CBC Sports, cbc.ca, 2006-06-20. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ↑ Ralph, Dan. Bills to play 8 games in Toronto, Toronto Star, Canadian Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Bell-Webster, Josh (2008-01-19). CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE TURNS 50. cfl.ca. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Brennan, Don. Time for Hunt's club, Ottawa Sun, Sun Media. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.