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  #5981  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2017, 3:29 PM
isaidso isaidso is offline
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Originally Posted by JHikka View Post
As much as I love USports the Panda Games are 95% students only going to yell shit at the other school. I ended up walking down Bank after the game and it was a sea of students from both schools. There's more interest in supporting your school/yelling at the other school than there is actual interest in football.
There is a lot of that at every university football game I've attended. Many of these people have never attended a football game in their lives and don't know the rules. It was on full display when Ottawa kicked a game tying field goal to end the 4th quarter and their fans rushed the field thinking the game was over.

It may largely be bandwagon support but this is how one builds interest in U Sports, the sport of football, and the CFL. Many will attend next year, may start paying attention to other regular season games, and/or try the RedBlacks.

A football culture develops over generations and it's big events like the Panda Game that are important in spreading the sport. Now if only we could get 7-8 other hyped matchups each season and then grow from there. We may never have anything that approaches the level of support a Notre Dame or Ohio State garner but we could one day get to a point where 20,000 at a U sports football game was quite common.

A good place to start: York - Toronto, Regina - Saskatchewan, Calgary - Alberta, Laurier - Waterloo, and McGill - Montreal. If Dalhousie ever re-instated football a cross town game featuring SMU and Dal would be a natural. If SFU ended their NCAA experiment and returned to the fold a SFU - UBC annual classic would be another.
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World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
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  #5982  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2017, 3:47 PM
isaidso isaidso is offline
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There's no reason why the Red and Blue Bowl couldn't develop into the equal of the Panda Game or bigger. Collectively there are 130,000 students at York and Toronto. Attendance is just a subway ride away. They'd have to bring aboard corporate partners and market it properly though. If it takes getting kids to go because it's part of the social calendar/an opportunity to party, so be it.

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World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
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  #5983  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2017, 3:53 PM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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Originally Posted by isaidso View Post
A good place to start: York - Toronto, Regina - Saskatchewan, Calgary - Alberta, Laurier - Waterloo, and McGill - Montreal. If Dalhousie ever re-instated football a cross town game featuring SMU and Dal would be a natural. If SFU ended their NCAA experiment and returned to the fold a SFU - UBC annual classic would be another.
I think Montreal are rivals with Laval. Regina and Sask got a crowd of 16.5k for opening the lower deck at the first test game at Mosaic.
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  #5984  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2017, 5:09 PM
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Originally Posted by JHikka View Post
"It appears that at least six CPL teams — in Hamilton, Edmonton (currently in the NASL), Ottawa (USL), Winnipeg, Regina and, most noteworthy, Halifax — could be ready to go next year. Respected soccer websites such as Waking the Red are treating that central half-dozen as very real."[Source]

Moncton

Halifax

"Beyond Hamilton and Winnipeg, Halifax, Moncton and Regina - who hosted a friendly between Spanish side Valencia and the New York Cosmos at Mosaic Stadium in July and a CPL summit at the same time - look to be furthest along the line in their pursuit of a CPL team."

"Saskatoon, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Quebec City, the Fraser Valley, Mississauga, London and Kitchener-Waterloo have also been linked with clubs to varying degrees."[Source]


"And there are supporters groups in Calgary, Fraser Valley, B.C., Halifax (Wanderers), Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. (Grand River Union), London, Ont., Mississauga, Ont. (Sauga City Collective), Quebec City, Regina (Pile O Bones), Saskatoon (Bridge City Firm) and Toronto.

Fans in Edmonton and Ottawa are watching to see whether FC Edmonton (North American Soccer League) and Ottawa Fury FC (United Soccer League) remain with their current leagues.

“It’s not just about ‘my local club in Winnipeg,’ it’s also about the good of the game across the country,” said Beirne.

The CPL is still in its formative stages, with 10 employees. But it has been sanctioned as a member of the Canadian Soccer Association, as have teams in Winnipeg and Hamilton." [Source]

I haven't seen any concrete commitment from sponsors but there'll of course be some desire for shirt sponsors and general league sponsors. I know the joke/half-hope was that Keith's would be the Halifax club's shirt sponsor, but I don't know how much validity there was in that and was most likely tongue-in-cheek. I imagine the sponsors, presumably like the league itself, will be more regional in nature instead of vast national brands. Remains to be seen.
I wonder where a Fraser Valley team would play. Only kind-of sizable venue I can think of there is Rotary Park in Abbotsford, but it might only seat like 1,000-2,000 people. My natural assumption would have been to get a team playing out of Swangard again.
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  #5985  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2017, 7:50 PM
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I wonder where a Fraser Valley team would play. Only kind-of sizable venue I can think of there is Rotary Park in Abbotsford, but it might only seat like 1,000-2,000 people. My natural assumption would have been to get a team playing out of Swangard again.
TSS Rovers of the USL PDL play out of there now and get about 800-1000 per game.
I think it would need to be Abbotsford for them to get the 3-5K per game I think they need.
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  #5986  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2017, 1:06 AM
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I think it would need to be Abbotsford for them to get the 3-5K per game I think they need.
I agree, and I think the rumour passing around was Abbotsford as well.
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  #5987  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2017, 3:47 PM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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Canada's Ellie Black captures silver in all-around gymnastics final
Nova Scotian finishes an agonizing 1/10th of a point away from gold
Kelsey Patterson The Canadian Press Oct 06, 2017

Halifax's Ellie Black was all smiles on Friday despite coming agonizingly close to making history.

Black won silver at the artistic gymnastics world championships, losing out to new all-around champion Morgan Hurd of the United States by just .101 points.

The 22-year-old would have become the first Canadian to win gold at the worlds.

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"I'm standing here with the silver medal, so I'm pretty happy with that," said an upbeat Black. "There's ups-and-downs in gymnastics, there are mistakes that are made. It's part of the sport. There's probably a bunch of athletes who would love to be in my position right now.

"I just feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity and to be here tonight."

Hurd, making her world championships debut, took home the gold with a final score of 55.232 points. She narrowly beat out Black, who had 55.132 points. Russia's Eremina Elena, with 54.799 points, finished third.

Brooklyn Moors of Cambridge, Ont., finished 15th with 51.965 points.

Historic result

The medal is Canada's first at the artistic gymnastics world championships since 2006, when Kyle Shewfelt (floor) and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (balance beam) each won bronze.

"It's incredible to go out there and have that performance in Montreal in front of our friends and family and fans," said Black, the five-time Canadian champion. "It was just an amazing night.

"There was a little more nerves because you want to have such a great performance in your home country, but it made it so much more exciting and so much more fun. It's a memory we're never going to forget."

The sold-out crowd of nearly 11,000 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium cheered Black and Moors every step of the way.

"It's such an honour to be competing with such amazing girls," said Moors, who was awarded the elegance prize at the end of the competition. "And the home crowd was amazing.

"I didn't set any expectations for myself. I went in and just tried my hardest."

Costly mistake on beam

Black began the finals with a 14.600 on the vault and a 14.233 on the uneven bars. She scored a 12.866 on the beam, after losing her balance on a few occasions. Those dropped points ended up costing her the gold.

Despite a less than perfect performance on the balance beam, Black entered the final discipline in first place, two tenths of a point ahead of Hurd.

"I knew what the general idea was going into the last rotation," said Black. "But I try not to focus on that because the only thing I can control is the routine I was going to put out there.

"I had a mistake on beam, and in the sport of gymnastics it always comes down to tenths. It wasn't a perfect day for anyone here."

Hurd comes through on floor exercise

The 16-year-old Hurd performed first in the floor exercises, scoring a 13.733.

Black needed a 13.534 or better on the floor to win gold, but she earned a 13.433 instead.

"It's crazy that I was even competing here," said Hurd, who finished sixth in all-around after qualifications. "To think that I won is just the most surreal feeling in the world."

Black has a chance to win more medals over the weekend as she is also competing in three individual finals: vault, balance beam and floor exercises.

Moors (floor) and teammate Shallon Olsen (vault) are also in the running for medals in the individual finals on Saturday and Sunday.

Last edited by elly63; Oct 8, 2017 at 4:07 PM.
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  #5988  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2017, 4:04 PM
isaidso isaidso is offline
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^^ It's a tremendous achievement for Black. Canada has never produced a female gymnast that could challenge for an all around medal. I hope she sticks around for Tokyo but another 3 years may be too much to ask for. Most of her competitors will be teenagers.

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Originally Posted by elly63 View Post
I think Montreal are rivals with Laval. Regina and Sask got a crowd of 16.5k for opening the lower deck at the first test game at Mosaic.
Quite right so U Sports aren't starting from zero. In most cases one would need cities with 2 cross town rivals as university students tend not to travel to other cities for games.
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World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
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  #5989  
Old Posted Oct 9, 2017, 12:51 AM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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Originally Posted by isaidso View Post
Quite right so U Sports aren't starting from zero. In most cases one would need cities with 2 cross town rivals as university students tend not to travel to other cities for games.
3DownNation Podcast: Drew and Justin discuss officiating issues, the Godfather's future and the struggles of Jonathan Hefney.
Also Dunk says the Panda Game could be a blueprint to make USports more popular.

USports discussion starts at 17:35
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  #5990  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2017, 2:30 PM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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You don't hear/see this story too often (elly)

Montrealer who lit 1976 Olympic cauldron describes 'awesome' experience
Stéphane Préfontaine was 15 when he carried torch, lit cauldron
Kamila Hinkson CBC News Jul 16, 2016

While he was running through Montreal's Olympic Stadium, 73,000 people cheering him on as he moved toward the cauldron, the only thing Stéphane Préfontaine desperately wanted was to not mess up.

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Then he and Sandra Henderson, his running partner, got to the cauldron, went to light it — nothing.

"We got really nervous for a couple of seconds. We didn't know what was going on," he said.

They waited there with thousands of eyes on them for what felt like eternity.

"And then the whole thing lit, people cheered, it was overwhelming," he said.

A surprise honour

Préfontaine first fell in love with track while attending a summer sports camp in Maine as an 8-year-old boy.

At the end of the camp, they held a mini-Olympics and he cleaned up.

By the time he was 15-years-old, Préfontaine was a sprinter specializing in the 200 and 400 metres and dreaming of competing in the Olympics.

One day his track team, based out of Collège Brébeuf, received a visit from Olympic organizers looking for torch relay participants. Préfontaine was selected and paired up with Henderson, a runner from Toronto.

"The organizers were looking for youth because they wanted to show Canada was a young, forward-looking country," he said.

The pair practised running side by side around a track but were never told what role they would have in the ceremonies. All they knew was that they would possibly be in the stadium, or part of another event on Mount Royal.

They stayed in a hotel the night before the ceremony. The morning of July 17, 1976, Préfontaine was woken up at 5 a.m. and brought to the stadium where he and Henderson had their first and only rehearsal of the route they would run to the cauldron.

An amazing moment

Later that afternoon, they took their positions outside the stadium and waited for the torch runners to arrive.

"There were so many people outside the stadium. They knew something was happening but they didn't know what," he said.

They ran with the torch through a huge garage door and into the stadium. As they ran, spectators slowly started to notice their arrival, creating a wave of cheers that followed them until they hit the track.

"Everyone could see us and there was an explosion of sound. It was very impressive," he said.

They were trying to stay stone-faced and focused, but were slowed down by excited athletes stepping onto the track to take pictures.

Once the delay at lighting the cauldron was over, Préfontaine felt all the stress and pressure evaporate and tried to take everything in.

"That whole moment was very emotional," he said.

After their official jobs were done, the two runners were given passes to any event they wanted to see.

Préfontaine went to as many athletic events as he could. He also met then prime minister Pierre Trudeau and attended a gymnastics event with him. He was chauffeured to the Montreal Forum in a private limousine.

Now the president of an independent investment advisory firm, Préfontaine retired from running due to an injury when he was still a teenager.

So while his dream of running in the Games never panned out, he still holds a special place in Olympic history.

"It was awesome," he said.
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  #5991  
Old Posted Nov 13, 2017, 12:32 AM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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Watch: Dinos win Hardy Cup with last-second 59-yard field goal
Josh Beneteau spportsnet.ca November 11, 2017

The Calgary Dinos defended their Canada West crown on Saturday but it wouldn’t have happened without an incredible last-second field goal.

After a touchdown with 16 seconds to go in the Hardy Cup put the UBC Thunderbirds up 42-40, all hope seemed lost for the Dinos.

But kicker Niko DiFonte had other ideas.

The second-year arts major from Winnipeg launched a 59-yard kick just over the bar to secure the 43-42 win.

You have to see it to believe it.

That was DiFonte’s seventh field goal of the game and was definitely the longest of his career. In fact, it was the longest in U Sports history.

According to Martin Cleary of the Ottawa Sun, the kick broke the previous mark set in 1986.

The Dinos will now face the RSEQ champion Laval Rouge et Or in next week’s Mitchell Bowl with a spot in the Vanier Cup on the line.
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  #5992  
Old Posted Nov 14, 2017, 11:09 PM
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Talk about a coup. The St. John's Edge may sign local boy Carl English, who isn't famous internationally but is by far the most successful current basketball star from Newfoundland - he's played with lots of big European clubs. This is exactly the sort of thing that could make a basketball club a profitable venture here. And the audience will be mostly female.

St. John's Edge expected to announce signing of Carl English Wednesday morning



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None of the principals are confirming it officially, but The Telegram has learned that what has been anticipated for the better part of a month will take place Wednesday morning when the St. John’s Edge will reveal they have signed Newfoundland basketball star Carl English.

...

English has routinely drawn six-figure annual salaries as a professional and the Edge’s payroll for an entire season is just $170,000 for a 12-player roster. However, it has been suggested that hurdle could at least be reduced in size by having English take on other duties, perhaps with regards to coaching, management and/or community relations.
http://www.thetelegram.com/sports/st...orning-161767/
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  #5993  
Old Posted Nov 15, 2017, 2:56 AM
isaidso isaidso is offline
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Good luck to them. Nice to see basketball spreading to new markets. I know there are teams at Memorial but have no idea if people follow them in St. John's. I just figured out why they call that school MUN. :
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World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams

Last edited by isaidso; Nov 15, 2017 at 3:07 AM.
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  #5994  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2017, 12:42 AM
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Saskatoon Hilltops won the Canadian Bowl again for 2017 this last weekend.
At Twenty National Championship wins, the Hilltops in the Canadian Junior Football League are the most winningest team in Canada in a national league for the last half Century.



http://www.ckom.com/2017/11/11/hillt...canadian-bowl/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadi...ity_since_1947
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  #5995  
Old Posted Nov 18, 2017, 7:05 PM
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Quite the mismatch in the Uteck Bowl so far - Western are up 57-0 at the half
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  #5996  
Old Posted Nov 18, 2017, 8:40 PM
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Quite the mismatch in the Uteck Bowl so far - Western are up 57-0 at the half
I'm sure the Axemen are dead tired. It was only 3.5 days ago they defeated SMU in the Loney Bowl in overtime.

To make them play again so quickly is criminal.......
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  #5997  
Old Posted Nov 19, 2017, 2:05 AM
isaidso isaidso is offline
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The weakness of the AUS Football conference continues to be a big problem. 2007 was the last time they had an entrant in the Vanier Cup. An AUS team hasn't won it since 2002. Western 81 Acadia 3.
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World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
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  #5998  
Old Posted Nov 24, 2017, 6:33 PM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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Alberta running back Ed Ilnicki named USports’ most outstanding player
3Down Staff 3downnation.com November 24, 2017

University of Alberta running back Ed Ilnicki won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in Canadian varsity football on Thursday as U Sports announced its year-end awards.

Ilnicki, a five-foot-10, 220-pound running back from Spruce Grove, Alta., set a single-season Canada West record with 1,468 rushing yards. He also led U Sports in rushing touchdowns (11) and carries (196) as he helped the Golden Bears reach the post-season for the first time since 2010.

He is the first non-quarterback to win U Sports’ most outstanding player award since Windsor running back Daryl Stephenson in 2006.

“Ed embodies everything that is good about university athletics,” Alberta head coach Chris Morris said. “He is a true scholar and has been a four-time Academic All-Canadian. He’s been a dominating and relentless competitor, who in 2017 ran for more yards than anyone in Canada West history. He is a young man of impeccable character who tirelessly serves his team and community.”

Wilfrid Laurier receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Laval quarterback Hugo Richard and Acadia running back Dale Wright were the other finalists.

While Richard lost out in the Hec Crighton Trophy, Laval was well represented at Thursday’s awards ceremony. Rouge et Or linebacker Adam Auclair was named the defensive player of the year, while teammate Mathieu Betts was voted the outstanding down lineman for the second straight season.

Regina linebacker Nick Cross took top rookie honours, Western linebacker Nick Vanin claimed the Russ Jackson Award recognizing excellence in football, academics and citizenship, and Acadia’s Jeff Cummins was selected coach of the year for the second time in his career.

The U Sports football season ends Saturday, when Laval and Western meet in the Vanier Cup at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field.
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  #5999  
Old Posted Nov 24, 2017, 6:55 PM
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FC Edmonton withdraw from the NASL and cease professional franchise operations effective immediately

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EDMONTON — Tom and Dave Fath, owners of FC Edmonton, announced today that the club is leaving the North American Soccer League (NASL) and discontinuing professional franchise operations effective immediately.

“Although we believed in and have supported the NASL business model, our franchise has proven to be unsustainable in the Edmonton market. Our decision today is further reinforced by the continuous uncertainty being forced upon the NASL by the United States Soccer Federation," FC Edmonton co-owner Tom Fath said. "We sincerely hope the road to long-term stability can be found for the NASL as the NASL pursues the lawsuit against the USSF in the US courts.”

The Fath brothers joined the NASL at the league’s founding meeting in November of 2009, with FC Edmonton beginning exhibition play in 2010. The club played its first official league match on April 9, 2011 against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, earning a 2-1 victory. Since that time the club has played over 200 league games and made it to the post-season twice in seven seasons.

Tom and Dave added: “Regardless of our decision today, we must express our sincere thanks to the players, coaches, loyal fans, sponsors and our very hard-working administration team for their commitment and dedication to professional soccer in Edmonton. We also want to re-assure local youth soccer that we remain committed to our FC Edmonton Academy.”
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  #6000  
Old Posted Nov 24, 2017, 7:41 PM
elly63 elly63 is offline
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Originally Posted by FrankieFlowerpot View Post
“Although we believed in and have supported the NASL business model, our franchise has proven to be unsustainable in the Edmonton market. Our decision today is further reinforced by the continuous uncertainty being forced upon the NASL by the United States Soccer Federation,"
That's either a good way to get out of the NASL and into the CPL or doesn't give much hope for the CPL, not sure which.

FC Edmonton withdraws from North American Soccer League
FC Edmonton Nov 24, 2017

Owners Tom and Dave Fath announced today that the club is leaving the NASL and discontinuing professional franchise operations effective immediately.
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