What do you think of the CFL?

[lefty]

:D

It's really not that bad.

Go Allouettes !!!! :lmao

[cherylsteele]

Didn't we have a team a few years ago
San Antonio Texans

[lefty]

Didn't we have a team a few years ago
San Antonio Texans

Canadian Football League ????

[IronMexican]

I watch all football. Never got a chance to catch the CFL, but if I could, I would.

[lefty]

I watch all football. Never got a chance to catch the CFL, but if I could, I would.

Interesting.

I used to think that CFL = NFL rejects (but Doug Flutie's path was : NCAA -> CFL -> NFL), but it's not that bad.

This year, the Grey Cup (Canadian Superbowl) takes place here in Montreal, and the MTL Alouettes are favorites to win the East.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Didn't we have a team a few years ago
San Antonio Texans

It was the San Antonio Riders and they were a World League Football team.

[Dr. Gonzo]

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1871/riders.GIF

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Actually, there was a CFL team called the San Antonio Texans. They played in the Alamodome.

Hell, I have a game-used ball sitting around here somewhere.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.oursportscentral.com/cflinamerica/humph.jpg

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.angelfire.com/blog/dgarcia879/SanAntonioTexansFOREVERMain.html

[lefty]

http://www.angelfire.com/blog/dgarcia879/SanAntonioTexansFOREVERMain.html

:tu

Whoa, a U.S franchise in a Canadian League?

Sure, they were/are franchises in American leagues (NBA-MLB) but I didn't know about the opposite.

Bizarro world.........

[cherylsteele]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Texans
We were going to have the last CFL franchise in the USA, but ownership didn't want to be the only one so they folded.
They were 12-6 and made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs.
They had decent attendence too.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

we got the hamilton ti-cats but we have been the worst team in the league for the last few years but we still sell out and i still go to almost every game

[lefty]

we got the hamilton ti-cats but we have been the worst team in the league for the last few years but we still sell out and i still go to almost every game

At least TigerCats sounds good for a football team.

But Alouettes....

[leemajors]

Interesting.

I used to think that CFL = NFL rejects (but Doug Flutie's path was : NCAA -> CFL -> NFL), but it's not that bad.

This year, the Grey Cup (Canadian Superbowl) takes place here in Montreal, and the MTL Alouettes are favorites to win the East.

Flutie was drafted out of college to the NFL, didn't stick and went to canada, then came back.

[DBryant88]

Cfl?????:lmao

[lefty]

Flutie was drafted out of college to the NFL, didn't stick and went to canada, then came back.

I didn't know he had 2 stints in the NFL.

Thanks for clarifying :tu

[lefty]

By the way, remember Jesse Palmer, the former NY Giant?
(Yes, the one who was in the Bachelor)
He almost joined a CFL team (Montreal), but ended up as an NFL analyst for Sportsnet.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

ticats sign kenton keith he used to play for the colts

[dg7md]

Any football is good football... even to some extent this stuck for the XFL.

Living in Texas though, we don't get CFL games which sucks.

[lefty]

Top 10: CFL/NFL Players

Depending on which side of the 49th parallel you grew up on, there’s a pretty good chance you stand for either three downs or four when you talk football. Several athletes have challenged the notion that you can't have your cake and eat it too by playing in both the CFL and the NFL. Here are 10 of the more interesting names to play pigskin in both leagues.

Note: All amounts of money are in U.S. dollars.


Number 10
Ricky Williams - Dolphins to Argonauts
Running back

Williams is an athlete with so much potential: He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1998, he was the first-round draft pick of the Saints, and in 2006, the Dolphins maintained his NFL rights while he played for the Toronto Argonauts. Unfortunately, Ricky attracts controversy like a Hollywood tabloid creates it; he has failed NFL drug testing four times. He also retired from the NFL in 2004, only to return in 2005. During his hiatus, he studied Indian holistic medicine and converted to Hinduism. It would appear from his dismal, injury-riddled start to the 2006 season with the Argos that he took advantage of the lax drug laws in the CFL. Due in part to the noise surrounding Ricky's signing, the CFL will no longer admit suspended players from the NFL. Ricky’s professional career, in both the CFL and NFL, has been a disappointment considering he is a Heisman winner.

How he’ll be remembered: He joined the CFL while he was suspended from the NFL in 2006. While in the CFL he rushed for a measly 40 yards, while league leader Joffrey Reynolds rushed for 90 yards. Also, Ricky averaged 4.8 yards per carry versus Reynolds' 5.9 yards.


Number 9
Joe Theismann - Argonauts to Redskins
Quarterback

Few people born after 1976 remember that Joe Theismann began his career in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts, despite being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1971. He led the Argos to the Grey Cup Final that same year. Vaulting to the NFL in 1974 with the Washington Redskins, he led Washington to victory several years later in Super Bowl XVII. Add an NFL MVP award, two Pro Bowl appearances and a myriad of Redskin records, and you have yourself a bona fide star who began his career in the CFL. Now a colour commentator for ESPN, he publicly criticized the Argos in 2006 for signing Ricky Williams.

How he’ll be remembered: As a tried-and-true NFL player, especially after his disparaging comments about his former CFL organization when it inked Williams.


Number 8
Mark Gastineau - Jets to BC Lions
Defensive end

Gastineau held the NFL’s sack record for 17 years after his 22-sack season in 1984 with the New York Jets. Gastineau practically invented the sack dance. His off-season life, however, was mired in trouble. Fearful that his anabolic steroid use would be discovered, he retired from the NFL in 1988 as the Jets’ all-time sack leader with 107.5. Two years later, Gastineau had a cup of coffee with the BC Lions, playing four games in the 1990 CFL season before injury forced him to quit. In the following years, he tried boxing, but most of the matches were fixed in his favour.

How he’ll be remembered: As an NFL brute. His time in the CFL was largely a mistake.

Number 7
Marv Levy - Alouettes to Chiefs
Head coach

The face of the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1997, Levy began his head coaching career with the Montreal Alouettes in 1973 and won two Grey Cups. He is the only coach to have competed in four straight Super Bowls with Buffalo, and the only one to lose all four. He coached at the high-school level, the college level, the CFL, and the NFL. He is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2006, Marv returned to Buffalo to become the GM and vice president of football operations.

How he’ll be remembered: As a Buffalo Bill for life.


Number 6
Lawrence Phillips - Dolphins to Alouettes
Running back

Phillips goes down as possibly the most talented player in the last 20 years to blow his career because of his bad attitude. A college star, he ran into trouble early on with his University of Nebraska team, both with the coaching staff and in his personal life. Despite this, he was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 1996 NFL Draft. Phillips was known for flashes of brilliance on the field, but constant insubordination when he was off it. When Dick Vermeil, the Rams’ head coach, cut Phillips in 1997, he said that Phillips was possibly the best running back he had ever coached.

Phillips next played for the Miami Dolphins, the Barcelona Dragons of the NFL Europe League and the San Francisco 49ers before crossing the border to join the Montreal Alouettes, with whom he won a Grey Cup in 2002. But he managed to be cut from the Als and, subsequently, the Calgary Stampeders. Post-football, he leaves a litany of court appearances and a whole bunch of what-ifs in his wake.

How he’ll be remembered: It certainly won’t be for his football.


Number 5
Robert Edwards - Dolphins to Alouettes
Running back

A star running back for the Montreal Alouettes since 2005, Edwards is lucky to even be playing football after his left leg was nearly amputated following a freak accident in the 1998 NFL rookie game in Hawaii. In 2005, he was third in CFL rushing yardage, and he is a testament to tenacity and commitment. He ran for 1,115 yards as a rookie for the New England Patriots in 1998, but with continued success in the CFL, there’s no telling if he plans to return to the NFL.

How he’ll be remembered: As a CFL feel-good story; it doesn’t feel like he’ll head back to the NFL anytime soon.


Number 4
Andre Rison - Raiders to Argonauts
Wide receiver

One of the few players to win the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl (with the Toronto Argonauts in 2004 and with the Green Bay Packers in 1996), Bad Moon Rison played for seven teams in the NFL and one team in the CFL until his release from Toronto in 2005. According to his own website, Rison is trying out for various Arena Football League teams in the hopes of a comeback.

How he’ll be remembered: Despite success in the CFL, Rison has a deep-rooted history in the NFL.


Number 3
Raghib “Rocket” Ismail - Argonauts to Raiders
Kick returner and receiver

This guy was hype -- in every sense of the word. He shunned the NFL in 1991 when he signed an $18.2 million contract with the Toronto Argonauts. To put that figure into perspective, the salary cap that year was $3.8 million per team. But thanks to a curious exemption clause for marquee players, The Rocket was media fodder when he landed in Toronto. When he returned a kickoff for a touchdown in his first game, a CFL legend was born. He not only won the Grey Cup that year, he was also named the game’s MVP. He lasted only one more season before heading to the NFL for the next eight years.

How he’ll be remembered: Although most of his career was spent in the NFL, Ismail’s legendary debut in the CFL will remain the highlight.


Number 2
Doug Flutie - Argonauts to Bills
Quarterback

Flutie is probably the most recognizable face to play for both the CFL and the NFL. He retired in 2005 and will always be remembered in the U.S. for his Hail Mary in 1984 while playing for Boston College. He has a laundry list of awards in the CFL, including the single-season passing record (6,619 yards), single-season touchdown passes (48), six CFL Outstanding Player Awards, and three Grey Cup MVP awards. Although he never achieved the same success in the NFL, he was famous for his scrambling and his rushing touchdowns, and he goes down as one of the more well-liked football athletes of his generation.

How he’ll be remembered: He’s a CFL icon. Even though he drop-kicked his way into the history books in his final game with the New England Patriots, he’ll always be one of the great quarterbacks of the CFL.


Number 1
Warren Moon - Eskimos to Oilers
Quarterback

Warren Moon has no parallel. He is simply the best player to ever play in both leagues, and the only person on the planet to be enshrined in both the CFL and NFL Halls of Fame.

Moon faced harsh racism in the early ‘70s as an aspiring QB: Despite being one of college football’s rising stars and being the MVP in the 1978 Rose Bowl, no team drafted him. So he took his superior skill set to the Edmonton Eskimos and proceeded to win five consecutive Grey Cups.

His career in the NFL with Houston, Minnesota, Seattle, and Kansas City is littered with accolades: nine-time Pro Bowler, two-time passing-yards leader and fourth all-time in the NFL with 49,325 passing yards. Combine his NFL and CFL stats in the categories of completions, yards and touchdowns, and Moon shatters all NFL records. Just think: If the NFL had drafted Moon, he could have been the greatest QB the NFL had ever seen. A trailblazer, Moon goes down as the greatest North American pro quarterback we’ve ever seen.

How he’ll be remembered: Moon is the poster boy for both leagues, as he is the only player whose legacy lives on on both sides of the 49th parallel.
four downs or three?


From superstars to super-busts, players who cross over between the CFL and the NFL are a unique breed. It can end a career or it can be a new beginning. So who will be the next star to jump ship and ply his trade banging helmets with a whole new set of guys? Your guess is as good as mine.

http://ca.askmen.com/sports/fitness_top_ten_60/70c_fitness_list.html