Week 12 Rankings

Standings going into final week of the season:



Final season standings for teams that finish tie with the same record are decided by their head-to-head record against each other, but if the season series is split at one game a piece, like the way it would be if the Chargers and Eagles win their games this weekend, then it is decided by those teams' record against the other top teams. And if the standings are still tie after that tie-breaker, then it could get a little more complicated.

Depending on what is decided, those teams should be prepared to play a short wild-card game up to 3 or 5 touchdowns to decide their ranking among themselves, unless of course one team decides to voluntarily give up the higher seed and just head right into the playoffs.

Three Cheers For Ten Years

Halfway through November and the 2008 CFL regular season is drawing to a close.



With just two more weeks to go the Colts stand a top the standings with an 8-1 record, followed behind closely by the Raiders at 8-2. The red-hot Colts victory over the Raiders this past weekend basically puts the Colts in the driver's seat, and while the top spot could still go to either of these teams, what would be real interesting is if these two teams finished with the same record having split the regular season series at one game a piece.

The Colts and Raiders have put together some of the most impressive seasons of any team, but the other four teams are having a difficult time battling it out for the last two spots in the playoffs. Even at this point, any of the four teams could still find themselves out of the playoffs. Should the Bengals lose their final two games, they could find themselves tied with the Eagles, Chargers or even both, with the regular season series evenly split.

At 3-7 the Titans have the longest shot at trying to get into the playoffs needing to beat the Raiders in their final game and needing the Chargers to lose their last two games, while needing the Eagles to win only one of their final two games. All this would give the Chargers, Eagles and Titans the same record, but trying to figure out what team would have the playoff-seeding advantage is the difficult part considering what their series record against each other would be.

While not yet over, this season we've seen the fall of old time greats like the Titans' Captain Nemo who had his season cut short with a devastating finger injury and Chargers' Captain Snoopy who left his team during part of the most crucial time of the season and let his team decide its own fate without him. Likewise, we've seen the rise of new faces like Gomez of the Raiders and Eric of the Colts. And even witnessed the brief return of former CFL captains Frank and Unitas.

It's been a somewhat erratic season at times, and no doubt the quickest in the CFL's 10-year history, but the oh-so-dreadful end is drawing near and before you know it one team will finally hoist the trophy at year's end and retire into the winter as the season's greatest.

Rankings At Midway Point

Brand New Draft, Brand New Season

Pre-season will begin Sunday, August 24th.

The regular season schedule will also be finalized that day and depending on how the league ends up being structured (with two divisions, or just one), the regular season could be 10 to 14 games long.

One proposal is having two conferences with each conference having two teams from their respective church. The teams would play each team in their conference twice and each team from the other conference once, for a 10-game season.

The team with the best record in each conference would get a bye week in the playoffs, and the second and third seed in each conference would play a wild-card/playoff, for a chance to meet the top seed in the conference championship game.

Another option is having one big conference with everyone playing each other twice, for a 14-game season. The playoff structure would be somewhat similar to the previous scenario, but all these terms and structures will be resolved at pre-season.

The regular season begins next week on Sunday, August the 31st, and the season schedule and times will be posted by the start of the week hopefully.

Vida Division announces Draft results

BENGALS
Team Captain: Ismael Jr
Rnd 1. Edwin
Rnd 2. Daniel
Rnd 3. Aldo
Rnd 4. James
Rnd 5. Byron
Rnd 6. Hilberto

GIANTS
Team Captain: Christian
Rnd 1. Carlos
Rnd 2. Alexis
Rnd 3. Geo
Rnd 4. Sam
Rnd 5. Mike
Rnd 6. Ismael Sr

COLTS
Team Captain: Brian
Rnd 1. Javy
Rnd 2. Jose
Rnd 3. Ozzie
Rnd 4. Alex Q.
Rnd 5. Steven
Rnd 6. Alex B.

RAVENS
Team Captain: Danny
Rnd 1. Sebastian
Rnd 2. Manny
Rnd 3. David
Rnd 4. Tito
Rnd 5. Angel
Rnd 6. Israel

2008 Draft Results

The CFL conducted the '08 Draft a few weeks ago and with the number one overall selection, Snoopy drafted arguably one of the most prolific wide receivers in the CFL over the years, Sanchy. It was no surprise Armando quickly selected Zok with his second overall pick, a capable quarterback and receiver, though some have questioned his abilities after a knee injury which resulted in a considerable decline in his production the last several seasons.

But the most stunning selection definitely had to be when Nemo selected Roque Favre with the 3rd overall pick. Though he helped deliver the Eagles their first Championship and quarterbacked the team with the most wins of any throughout the past two seasons, no one ever fathomed he would be taken so high and so early, but clearly Nemo thought otherwise. And with the final selection in the first round Eman took former Bears Captain Chaky and said he would fulfill his destiny and take Chaks to the Superbowl.

When it was all said and done, the Saints finished with one of the most impressive rosters, at least on paper, but many question how their play will translate onto the field.

Another team that finished with an impressive roster was the Raiders, but despite all their offensive firepower, many believe their biggest weakness could the be an absence of a reliable quarterback.

Likewise, the Eagles have been the center of ridicule as they came away without any definite quarterback and stated they would attempt to develop a quarterback in their fifth round pick Juan or try to have a quarterback by committee.

Nobody was overly impressed or unimpressed by the Titans roster, so perhaps the Titans may posses the most balanced roster. The season will get underway sometime in August with the Titans opening up against the Eagles, and the Raiders taking on the Saints that same weekend. Pre-season will begin in a little over a month (with probably only one pre-season game), so by then hopefully everyone will have a little better idea of how their team functions and stacks up against the others.

2008 Draft Order Selection

Results from this past weekend's CFL Draft Order:


This season the CFL has installed two new captains that will replace former Raiders and Bears Captains, Frank and Chaks. While Frank has stepped down indefinitely to pursue his soccer career, Chaky has only stepped down as Bears Captain and will be included in the Draft Pool and remain as CFL Commissioner until his untimely death.

Armando will head the CFL Saints and Snoopy will head the CFL Raiders, though Snoopy's team name may change prior to the draft.


The big winner in the draft order selection? Well, according to the draft value ranking below, Snoopy (aka Jimmy) will be getting the best value in this season's CFL Draft, so the pressure's already on this first year Captain to come through with solid selections.


The draft is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 18 and Captains will have until Draft Day to scout players, confirm their status for the upcoming season, conduct player interviews and negotiate trades.

Probowl: Old School vs. New School?

After delaying and pushing the 2008 Probowl into the first week of April, the CFL finally scheduled this year's CFL Probowl for Sunday, April 6, at 5pm at Mr. Toado Field (Vittum Park). While many players have been looking forward towards having the top players from what we'll call the "Old School" (players from the Raiders, Titans and Eagles) play against the top players from the "New School" (players from the Ravens and Patriots), that may not be the case after all because of a conflict of schedule with players from the New School. It should be made clear that this conflict of schedule was not an attempt by the New School players not to play in the game because "they were supposedly scared of losing" because that was clearly not the case.

The New School players were very willing to play, and indeed are still very willing to play, but their soccer season that begins this weekend (and that will continue in the coming weeks), conflicts with the scheduled date and time of the CFL Probowl. So maybe one day this friendly and historic battle for momentary bragging rights will take place, but until then the show must go on. The CFL has fallen behind from certain standpoints, and really can't afford to delay things much longer as many players have expressed their sheer displeasure at the speed in which preparations for the Draft have been made.

So without further delay, the CFL will hold the '08 Probowl this Sunday with the Captains, more importantly, discussing and determining the specifics around the '08 Draft either before or after game. Based on the Tentative '08 Player List compiled below, the "Old Schoolers" can field 5 teams of five-players or 4 teams of six-players, with the latter probably being more realistic. But of course this depends on whether the "New Schoolers" want to have their own draft or just have one league-wide draft. The New School has alluded to possibly bringing in 4 teams and having their own conference, but that's still up in the air. All those details will definitely be resolved in the next week or two, but in the mean time preparations for the Draft must be made where they can, so this week the CFL will check with the players on the list below to confirm their status for the '08 season.

Tentative '08 Players List (Old Schoolers*):
Armando Vega
Daniel Alas
Daniel Garcia
David De Leon, Jr
David Sanchez
Edder Nava
Edgar Alas
Ernie Mac
Ernie's Cousin
Emmanuel Ramirez
Hector Aranda
Jamal
Jesus Menchaca
Jesus Valencia
Jonathan Alas
Juan
Marco
Meño Morales
Naser Musleh
Pancho Garcia
Rene Menchaca
Robert
Roque Favre
Roque Menchaca
Rudy
Sergio Ramirez

*While it may be easier to refer to the players from their corresponding teams as SDA Players or Vida Players (denoting the respective church players attend or are associated with), the CFL does not want those phrases to connote a church-vs-church mind set or an us-verses-them mentality as some Captains have noted last season. Yes, the fact of the matter is there are predominantly two groups of players that come from mostly two churches, but we hope using the terms "Old School" and "New School" will reduce division while helping to describe what group of players the CFL refers to in the two-component structure of the '08 Draft/Probowl at this time.

Draft Registration

Unlike previous CFL Drafts in years past when the event was held hastily and even practically spontaneously, the 2008 Draft will be much more controlled and structured in order to try to obtain a greater commitment from everyone involved for the dozen or so games during the season. While few captains expect every single player on their roster to make it to every single game since unpredictable and more important events do come up, every player wants a teammate who wants to play, who wants to compete, who wants to win, and not a teammate who misses a game just because they didn’t feel like playing.

So in preparation for the 2008 draft, those who want to play in the upcoming season can now begin registering, signing up, enrolling (whatever you want to call it) with any of the captains by informing them to place your name on the "CFL Players List" for 2008. Registration is open to anyone willing and capable of playing, and once the list is compiled and the registration deadline is set, the CFL will shortly afterward finalize captains, teams, and draftees. It’s important to note that in addition to registering, the CFL will now require the season fee to be paid before the draft and not during the season. This will eliminate the need of having the Chief Financial Officer chase down players who haven’t paid and threatening delinquent individuals with suspensions that he has no authority to even enforce. So unless the player fee is received by the CFL, that individual will not be eligible for the draft or upcoming season, though players with financial hardships could possibly have the fee waived by explaining their situation to the CFL Committee before the draft.

Collecting the fees before the draft will further demonstrate the player’s commitment to the upcoming season and more importantly allow the CFL to purchase game equipment like belts, flags, whistles and field paint as well as a championship trophy and outing, and depending on the funds available additional game balls, penalty flags, and disposable hand warmers for all players during the colder games. The exact amount of the fee has not yet been determined but it will at least be $10. A few players have suggested $12 or $15 in order to buy better flags and equipment but that is still being debated since some captains consider that excessive. A decision will hopefully be made in a week or two. Any further information regarding the draft will be posted as it is received.

First Changes Made To The '08-'09 Season

This off-season, the CFL competition committee agreed to a standard field size instead of the previous inconsistent and adjustable field parameters stated in the CFL Rules & Regulations manual. The previous field parameters consisted of a field 78-yards long and about 25-30 yards wide, but in order to promote more uniform playing conditions the competition committee approved a more practical and slightly shorter field 70-yards long and 28-yards wide, evenly split into ten 7-yard sections. These new approved field measurements in the CFL are more inline with the dimensions of the other two pro-football leagues in the U.S., the National Football League and Arena Football League. The CFL field now sports a length-to-width ratio of 10-to-4 (70 x 28 yards), more aligned with the NFL's length-to-width ratio of 10-to-4.4 (120 x 53 1/3 yards), and even closer to the AFL's length-to-width ratio of 10-to-4.29 (66 x 28 1/3 yards). One other issue that the league's competition committee was considering was moving up the spot from where kickoffs take place from the 2-PAT line (currently) to the 3-PAT line which has been proposed. This would increase the chances of a team recovering an onside squib kick/throw from the 3-PAT line (unless it is fair-catched on a high throw/kick, in which case the kicking team would have to allow the the returner the space and opportunity to make the fair catch) and would probably lead to a onside kick recovery percentage more similarly inline with the NFL's onside kick recovery percentage of about 20-25%. This "kickoff line" issue will be resolved in the coming weeks, but a poll has been posted in case any players wish to submit a vote or opinion which will be taken into consideration as the competition committee decides to accept or reject the new proposal.

Ravens Soar Over Raiders In CFL Superbowl VII

On a field where the CFL's never hosted a regulation game before, in conditions that were quite possibly the worst ever for a CFL Superbowl, the high-powered Raiders met the short-handed Ravens for the '07-'08 Championship. The bad ground conditions made for an extremely slippery game as large patches of the field looked more like reflective mirrors than grass, dirt or snow, but against the Raiders wishes, the game would not be post-poned another day. Both teams took the field as the Ravens and their captain, Edwin, playing against doctor's orders and risking further injury, eagerly looked forward to playing in the biggest game of their young careers. Fast-forward into the game and at more than halfway to the winning score of 72-points, the Raiders extended their lead 41-34 over the Ravens on Tank's touchdown. Things looked bleak for the Ravens but definitely not hopeless. If the game was up to 50-points, the Ravens might have been hitting the panic button after Tank's touchdown, but good teams find ways to be great when it matters most. Down by 7-points, the Ravens put together an incredible run and scored 20 straight unanswered points putting them ahead 54-41. Fast-forward further, and by the time the Raiders reached 54 points, the Ravens had 61. To make things worst for the Raiders, their captain, Frank, suffered a demoralizing injury to his leg that wasn’t as severe as Edwin’s injury in the Ravens playoff game, but was just a debilitating. With the Raiders down 54-61, Frank stepped out of the game and saw the Ravens score immediately thereafter making it 68-54. The Raiders took possession of the ball on the following drive and drove the ball past midfield, but on a pressured play, and in the blink of an eye, Bryan of the Ravens/Patriots made the play of the game and perhaps of the year and picked off a pass intended for Ernie and ran it back all the way to the endzone for the game-ending score putting an end to the ’07-’08 season and crowning the Ravens Champs. (Note: To view videos, click light blue link above and download for best viewing experience. More videos available on the CFL Films site.)

Theatrical Masterpiece?

About a week and a half ago the CFL finally unveiled that much anticipated CFL DVD at a small screening during halftime of the NFL Superbowl and to everyone's delight the film was received with overwhelming accolades! A theatrical masterpiece? Everyone can decide for themselves, but while the final production is definitely not a historic epic on the scale of Lord of the Rings or a kind of ingenious visual production never before seen, most can probably agree its certainly very impressive considering the extraordinarily small level CFL Films operations in. Many more things can probably be said and debated, but after premiering the final product we close in saying we are extremely enthusiastic about 2008's "cinematic" prospects, so without further ado we present the general public with the main portions of the 2003 CFL DVD. (Note: For best viewing experience, right click and download the light blue link in the title above the flash players, this will allow you to view the videos as an ipod video file)

CFL Highlights:



Cast & Credits:



Blunders & Bloopers (Bonus):

Second most anticipated SUPERBOWL SUNDAY of the year!

After 20 weeks of blood, sweat and tears; the season comes down to one last game. One last game where two fierce teams are determined to prove they're the best. A game that determines 8 months of bragging rights and respect. One final game... the SUPERBOWL. At the start of each season every player on every team has the hope of playing in this very game. Many even go to bed at night with the vision of catching that final TD Pass of the year. All can hope and dream but reality is; only two teams can play in this game. And for the "other" 4 teams reality has set in quick. On the field this year it'll be the Ravens and Raiders entertaining us on SUPERBOWL SUNDAY. Although many fans and spectators expected the Ravens to be here, not the same can be said about the Raiders. Despite finishing the season as the 2nd seed entering the playoffs, many considered them playoff underdogs against the defending champion Eagles. The way the Eagles ended their regular season they seemed unstoppable!
But they were stopped. Many predicted "Mando Moss" taking over in this one. But he was shut down. Most fans wanted to see a Hollywood showdown between the Eagles and Ravens. But the Raiders had something to say about that. After entering the playoffs on a downward spiral many questions arose about the legitimacy of this team. But now theirs only one question left to be answered. It’s obvious the pressure this weekend is on a Ravens squad that has never been here before. A Ravens team that seemed immovable and yet self-destructing at times, especially in crucial situations. The question for them is; which Ravens team will show up this Sunday evening? Much speculation has been raised about the health of the Ravens QB, and whether he will be ready to go after suffering a knee sprain just 2 weeks prior in their game against the Titans. Although Edwin has expressed much confidence in Ismael as their backup QB, Javi has stated that after knowing Edwin and his love for the game, he highly doubts the star QB will miss this One. Although the Ravens might be slightly favored in this game, they understand they won’t exactly be "fan favorites" come Sunday. The Ravens will get the ball first, but home field advantage will definitely belong to the Raiders. Will the Ravens walk away with the trophy in only their second season in existence? Or Will the Raiders finally be the team to shut up the much hated Ravens once and for all? Get your popcorn ready!

One And Done

When a team’s journey abruptly comes to an end of such a long and rough season, many players are left upset, angered or disappointed as they try to figure out just what went wrong, but end of the road this season makes that failure even more bitter and frustrating because there’s absolutely nothing these players can do to make anything better next season since there is no next season, at least not as a team. The two-year journey for Titans and Eagles ended with their “one-and-done” playoff appearance this year and in that span the Titans finished the regular season 2nd and 4th overall while the Eagles finished 1st and 3rd overall in ’06 and ’07 respectively, with the main and most important difference perhaps being the Eagles Championship in 2006. So while history will remember the Eagles successful, at least for one year, the Titans and Eagles will share in the Patriots misery this year as they digest their failed season.

The "story", behind "THE STORY".

With 12 games of football in the books, you would assume that each team knows exactly where they stand heading into the playoffs. At this point one could argue that only the Patriots know exactly where they stand (not qualifying for postseason play with 2-10 record). How the season began would be absolutely no indication of how the season would eventually end. Lets begin with the Raiders, who started their season in stride with a 6-2 record before losing 3 of their last 4 games. Or how about a Titans squad who came on strong in the middle of the season, (5-3 after 8 games) before falling into a bottomless pit and ultimately holding the 2nd worse record in the league. And we can’t forget about those mighty Ravens who couldn't keep a stable roster for most of the season and fell twice to a 4th seeded Titans team. I believe this has been a season in which no team has been able to separate themselves from the pack and be a dominant force by any stretch of the imagination. But wait! Maybe there IS hope! A midst all the chaos maybe there IS a Cinderella story? If there is going to be any "feel good" story this season, it would have to be the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. That's right I said it, the Eagles! Despite starting the season 1-4 and having all kinds of roster questions, the Eagles led by superstars "Mando Moss" and "E-man"; never lost hope. Instead, they kept on fighting. After a very disappointing 4th loss in 5 games, Armando like any true team leader would do; was compelled to try and spark his teammates. After a phone conversation with long time friend and team captain "E-man", the two decided to hold a team meeting the very next day. Team sources indicate that a very emotionally driven Armando gave a heck of an inspiring speech that day. That speech seemed to spark a fire that would eventually light up the entire Eagles organization. Since then, the Eagles are 6-1 and no doubt the hottest team in the CFL. Whether it was that amazing speech or simply roster consistency… no one knows, but what IS clear is that the Eagles seem to be the only team storming into the playoffs with a full head of steam. To cap off this remarkable run and add confidence to an already confident team, they beat the 1st seeded Ravens that were talking plenty of trash heading into the season finale. With that said, it seems there’s only one thing left for them to do; continue to play Eagle football. Playing like they have been, who could possibly get in their way? No one....... right? Well the way this season has gone so far, I believe very few fans would be bold enough to actually make any kind of predictions. It seems the safest Super bowl prediction at this point, would be a showdown between the Ravens and Eagles. But then again... you just never know. Ladies and gentlemen that’s why the games MUST be played! Lets all have fun out there.

History In The Making

Its been years in the making, almost five in fact, but the long awaited CFL DVD from 2003 will finally make its video premier next weekend! Initial reactions have been tremendous and includes reviews like "stunning" and "mind-blowing". As it turns out though, it probably wont be the visual masterpiece that the CFL envisioned, but despite devastating setbacks including the damage and destruction of critical computer hardware and the irrevocable loss of valuable footage, the compilation nonetheless is "magnificent" to say the least. Finishing touches are being put on the CFL DVD (including a few bonus segments, time permitting), but ready or not, the CFL DVD will debut at halftime of the NFL Superbowl with videos from the DVD being posted on the website the following week. Furthermore, based on preliminary results and on what producers and directors have seen of the footage, the CFL is definitely planning to have a 2008 CFL DVD next season! And now that the video production capabilities of the CFL have been improved, we fully expect to be able to release quarterly CFL segments or "music video highlights" throughout the 2008 season, and the complete '08 CFL DVD weeks after the end of the season, and not years afterward. So be ready to be shocked and awed!

The Improbable Finish?

What happens in the CFL playoffs if three teams finish with the same record? This question has been frivolously proposed before, but the possibilities of such a finish not only seems probable, but now inevitable. A win this Sunday by the Raiders and Titans over the lowly 1-9 Patriots would give them the same 7-5 record as the Eagles who are presently ranked second in the standings. A three-way finish almost happened last season but the Falcons barely escaped finishing with the same 5-9 record as the Chiefs and Bears. Of course the team with the better series record against the other tie team would be seeded higher, but if a three way tie were to occur by Eagles, Raiders and Titans this season, there is no official tie-breaker rule in the CFL for this scenario since each team has won and lost a series to the opposing two teams. How would the CFL resolve this dilemma? Maybe there should just be a paper-scissors-rock resolution, or maybe team names should just be pulled out of a hat, or maybe the team with the best record should just decide who they want to face in the first round of the playoffs? In preliminary discussions, not many captains and players favor the previous options, but there are one or two other options that the CFL believes are more viable. One option would be to have these three teams play each other once up to 22 points (3-touchdowns and a 2-point conversion) in one day, taking into account the margin of victory should they also split wins and losses among each other that day. The other option would be to settle this dispute by ranking the team with the better record against the first ranked team higher than the other two. In this case, since the Titans beat the Ravens twice, they would be seeded second, leaving the Raiders and Eagles to settle who would be ranked third, and since the Raiders won the season series against the Eagles, they would be seeded third and the Eagles fourth. The latter option sounds a little simpler and may make the most sense, but a single victory by the Patriots this weekend would alleviate the need for any such option.

Ravens And Eagles Waiting In The Wings

Last Saturday, in dangerous and sub-zero temperatures, the Ravens tried to put an exclamation point on their very impressive '07-'08 season against the rapidly rising Eagles but as it turns out the Ravens ended their spectacular season on a very sour note. The Eagles, who have arguably been the hottest team in the league the past few weeks having gone 6-1 in their past seven games, escaped with a somewhat unimpressive victory against the shorthanded Ravens squad 50-43 who were without Hernan who's incidentally the league over a 3-game stretch with 12 (non-quarterback) touchdowns in that span. The Ravens have lost several key players in the past few weeks, most notably Brian, who in all likelihood will win the '07-'08 Defense Player of the Year honors. So its no surprise the Ravens are heavily petitioning the league to find permanent replacements for the post-season. A decision will probably be made regarding the Ravens roster this weekend, though it may be unlikely the Captains will just agree to simply giving the Ravens the best players on the Patriots squad to fill their roster, but who knows. So with all control of who they'll face in the post-season now out out of their hands, all the Ravens and Eagles can simply do is await the results of this Sunday's final two games of the regular season.

Great '07, Even Better '08?

A win this weekend by the Eagles would guarantee them a spot in the playoffs, while a loss would leave them open to the possibility of still finishing with the worst record in the league. But the story of this weekend probably isn't whether the Eagles will be the last team to clinch the final playoff spot or not; the story is how close these playoff contenders are to each other. Two and a half games separate first place from fourth place with 3 games or less to go for these teams. Not since 2004 when the Titans, Raiders and Eagles finished with 8, 7, and 6 wins respectively has a playoff seeding been so close at this point in the season. Things will probably be a lot clearer Sunday night after all these games are in the books, but regardless of how the season winds down, the level of play, and of the players themselves, has probably never been higher thanks in large part to the two expansion teams and the dismantling of the Bears this season. There are high hopes for the '08 season, and even though the end of the '07 season is still a little ways off, many players and captains have been discussing several questions about the '08 season, primarily who will be captains besides Frank, Eman and Nemo and how the draft will be conducted. There have been several reports of the unrelenting and un-aging Papa Bear Chaky Menchaky possibly retaking his role as captain (though some might say that is probably more doubtful than likely), and there has also been talk of several first-rounders possibly making the jump to captain-hood in '08. Mando Moss of the Eagles or Zok of the Titans are definitely good candidates, but a few of the captains have expressed their concerns and doubts about these players' ability to lead a team. In any case, perhaps before deciding who the captains will be or the number of teams next season, the CFL must first decide how the draft will be conducting. In other words, whether two separate drafts will be take place with the two expansion teams in one draft and the original CFL teams in another as some players have suggested, or whether it will be just one entire draft for the whole league regardless of what team they played for previously. Several players and captains have discussed both possibilities, but either scenario just probably depends on who returns to play in '08. The CFL always loses a couple players after every season, but also usually adds a few new ones too. The majority of captains seem to favor having one single draft if the expansion teams/players return for the '08 season, but whether that happens or not will not effect whether there will be a draft or not. Most of these decisions will probably be made in the next few days or weeks after the CFL Superbowl, if not in the days leading up to it, but the two-year deal that essentially freezes rosters over that period will expire once the last touchdown of the Superbowl is scored, so all this uncertainty is going to make for an interesting and intense off-season.

Ugly loss for da Pats as they fall to 1 - 8

Another week and yet another devastating loss for the Patriots who keep playing hard, but continue to get blown out by there opponents. They entered this game with the right attitude; an upset win against arguably the best team in the league could have given them hope, confidence and the momentum needed to make a late season run at the fourth and final playoff spot. Unfortunately for Christian and the rest of the Pats, it didn’t turn out that way. Even with the help of veteran/MVP self proclaimed "Mando Moss" starting at WR, it was clear from the get go that the Pats simply didn't have the fire power needed to keep up with a very good Ravens team. Watching them as they walked off the field after a 50 - 7 smack down on that gloomy Sunday afternoon, one would even suggest that they might have given up on their season. Even if they do physically show up for the rest of their schedule you would have to wonder if their minds and hearts are still in the game. If any positives came from this game it was the obvious need for a complete draft come next season as well as the surprising play of Danny who made a couple of impressive catches that might have caught the eye of some team captains. But if the Pats have any hopes of winning another game this season they must solidify the QB position as they have had 3 different players perform miserably at that position this year. Its clear Christian could be a star player in this league for years to come, but definitely not as a QB! The Ravens on the other hand go into next week with ONLY the QB position secure, not knowing for sure exactly who will still be on their roster for the remainder of the season. Definitely not a good situation for them, considering their hopes of being a 1st seed heading into the playoffs. Edwin made it clear that his team would not take their game against the Pats lightly, or any game for that matter. Knowing that with a depleted roster, wins could be harder to come by as the season progresses. The concern was obvious Sunday after the game when Edwin made a few phone calls, scrambling for players and permission from the league to possibly fill a roster spot or two. The madness starts immediately for the Ravens next week as they take on a Raiders team with plenty of weapons and a chance to prove to everyone that they are in fact the best team in the league right now. My bet is that both teams will show up hungry for this anticipated game 3 match up, as it has the potential to be one of the best games this season. Lets all hope for a good one!

Titans On The Verge Of A Grand Collapse?

Those in attendance during Week Thirteen's Titans-Ravens game witnessed one of the most despicable acts ever to ever occur during a CFL game! On what turned out to be the final play of the game Titan's Captain, Nemo, hiked the ball, dropped back and out of no where handed the ball over to the closest Raven! Stunned spectators and dumbfounded Titans waiting for the pass in the endzone looked on as Nemo walked off the field! Why would anyone, much less a captain, ever commit such a loathsome and disgraceful act? Nemo has yet to comment about the incident, but you don't need to be a genius to see why the game was practically over being down 46-29 on a fourth and two from mid-field. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds against the Titans at that point in the game, every single player who has ever fought or bled to win a game will tell you that nothing could ever justify what Nemo did, no matter how much they were down! At worst they go down blazing, and at best they complete one of the greatest comebacks this season, but sadly they'll never know. Perhaps Nemo couldn't see well anymore since the field had poor lighting conditions and his vision was probably poor from the glass lens he lost earlier in the game, or maybe he was just tired, cold and scared? Whatever the reason, Nemo violated the integrity of the game and will be fined an undisclosed amount for his conduct. The CFL said in a statement, "This was the first time anything like this has ever happened so it is difficult to determine exactly how he should be disciplined, but one thing is certain, any other players who intentionally throw a game in the future will be suspended for a minimum of one game and possibly for the remainder of the season depending on how serious we deem his actions to be." The CFL is also conducting an investigation to see if Nemo profited financially as a result of his actions during his last game or from gambling in any CFL game he's played in. The Titans now stand at 5-4 with three games to go. What effect will Nemo's actions have on the Titans the rest of the season? Is their season over? Have they thrown in the towel? Even though the Patriots are 1-7, the Titans could still finish last in the standings. The mighty, mighty Titans will have their work cut out for them this Sunday against the Raiders, but a win against the number-one ranked team will quickly erase any controversy and doubt from their past game.