Montreal Back Under League Control

[cromartie]

Second time in four years, as I recall.

There's a previous record of tire kickers but, unlike the 1980s, typically when the team is competitive the fans show up and the club breaks even.

Still, you'd like this to stop happening.

[Belize City Lion]

Good the CFL didn't let this go on any longer. From the time Stern walked away from "the estate" and later came crawling back it was obvious that the ownership situation was a bleep-show.

[Toppy Vann]

The reality is that the estate of the majority owner (75%) run by two lawyers if I got this right have different obligations that can - and have - conflicted with ownership of the Alouettes unlike how the estate of David Braley worked out in BC.

The CFL should write out what criteria they are looking for in a new franchise owner because whatever criteria they used last time seems lacking in retrospect and seems that the problem was foreseeable given the 75/25 ownership split.

Montreal and its fans were good last year and watching TV games was always good. Khari's firing looked suspicious and Maas hasn't exactly said he's learned the lessons from his past HC working with Edmonton but then again neither did Paul LaPolice it seems.

This is good 3 Down Nation Free Agent tracker reported the Mario Cecchini is interim President!

9:06 a.m. ET — The CFL finally broke its silence regarding the ownership of the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday, announcing that it has taken over the operations of the team on an interim basis. Mario Cecchini is back as the team’s president on an interim basis ahead of a new owner being secured.

In a statement the league said, “Multiple parties have already expressed serious interest in purchasing the Alouettes, including individuals, groups and businesses that reside or operate in Montreal or elsewhere in Quebec.”

Eliminating the President didn't help with the optics nor did Eugene Lewis saying he'd exit and Trevor Harris loving the coaching but hinting at going.

Lewis signed with Elks for $320k and for most teams in the CFL that's too much to pay for one guy and I can see any GM but Chris Jones passing on that.

Harris probably gets more with the Riders than the Als but who know if the unsettling ownership plays into this.

Cody Fajardo might get a new outlook and back on track, injury free. But if Maas won't run, he'll get battered again. In fact Riders were angry with lack of run calls.

[Sir Purrcival]

As I see it, the problem with CFL franchise sales is that there simply don't seem to be that many suitable buyers in any given market. As a result, it often seems that the CFL can't really be too choosy if the alternative is no ownership and being league run or worse, folding. "Maybe a sketchy owner is better than no owner" kind of thing. In BC, we have been lucky for the last 20 or so years. Remember the Pezzim era or even the Comrie era (wasn't exactly bad but wasn't too long lived either), Nelson Skalbania etc. That is just us. How bout the Glierbermans, Bruce McNall, Federik and so on. None of them stellar owners. Once in a blue moon can be an accident but more than that becomes a trend. I don't know the real explanation but I can guess that the problems range from insufficient cash flow to unsuited personality wise. By the latter I am generally referring to those who have motives for ownership that aren't really based on the welfare of the game.

Braley likely saved this franchise and he had to swoop in from Hamilton to do it. That is like lightning striking the same place twice. Whatever you may think of his ownership, there was no questioning his love for the game or his steadiness as an owner. His type seem all to far and few.

I hope Montreal can find a good solid long term owner. The league is saying that it has received interest from a number of interested parties but one has to wonder where all these parties have been seeing as the current ownership has apparently walked away and given the team over to league control. If there is indeed such a list of suitable buyers, one wonders why it had to get to this?.

Does anybody know if this move means that the former ownership group relinquishes any monetary recompense if and when the league sells the franchise to a new owner?

[Toppy Vann]

Does anybody know if this move means that the former ownership group relinquishes any monetary recompense if and when the league sells the franchise to a new owner?

Herb Zurkowsky story in the Montreal Gazette:

The league has initiated an accelerated and formal sales process, being led by its investment banking partner, Park Lane, a leading sports-focused advisory firm whose clients include major league sports properties throughout the world.

With this news, the Als no longer are owned by the estate of Sid Spiegel, the majority owner, or Gary Stern. The duo purchased the team from the league in January 2020. The CFL operated the franchise in 2019, taking over from the late Robert Wetenhall and his son, Andrew.

https://montrealgazette.com/sports/foot ... -ownership

I doubt the proceeds of the sale will go to the CFL however, if the CFL has costs here, it's reasonable that they could be recovered from the sale proceeds. But I'm speculating here.

I assume the estate run by two lawyers IIRC simply agreed to have the CFL takeover as they have no interest in running the team nor making the franchise less saleable.


Earlier story on Cecchini exiting:
https://montrealgazette.com/sports/foot ... ll-be-felt

It appears Cecchini was caught in the middle of a battle between the estate of Sid Spiegel, the Als’ 75 per cent owner, and Gary Stern, who retains the remaining stake. Two lawyers, who remain anonymous, control the estate. One of them informed Cecchini they weren’t in a position to extend his contract, perhaps the precursor to an eventual sale.

[Toppy Vann]

Dave Naylor with the story on how the Als were purchased by Wetenhall and the current owners. Interesting story and a good read.

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/dave-naylor-gary ... -1.1919629

Given Spiegel’s age and the fact that the owners were not local and had no experience in the sports entertainment industry, the pair seemed a curious choice.

Several groups had given the Als a close look, although it’s never been clear how many of them were willing to pay upfront money for the franchise. That was a problem for the CFL, since the eight other franchises had all kicked in roughly $1 million apiece to get the Als through the 2019 season and wanted as much of that money back as possible.

Also says there is current interest.

[cromartie]

As I see it, the problem with CFL franchise sales is that there simply don't seem to be that many suitable buyers in any given market. As a result, it often seems that the CFL can't really be too choosy if the alternative is no ownership and being league run or worse, folding.

This is also a problem with the NHL, unfortunately.

The NFL, as usual, has developed an ownership pipeline, wherein it typically only considers ownership groups or leaders of groups who have a stake in teams currently. The Rooney family encouraged this ownership development pipeline and would let perspective owners buy a stake in the Steelers as part of this process.

Now, it doesn't always produce the brightest bulbs from the bunch (see Haslam, Jimmy) but there's at least a pipeline in place and a quasi-apprenticeship program that lets people know what they're in for.

As opposed to the NHL/CFL method which involves a purely reactive process that involves pressing a panic button and retaining an investment firm to find the next rich guy. (or allegedly rich guy in some cases). Or leaving it up to the local owner to find the next local owner.

[Toppy Vann]

Just read on 3 Down Nation that the Als signed QB Mike Glass III who was last in some indoor league or whereever.

https://3downnation.com/2023/03/01/mont ... one-other/

Thought I recognized the name so Googled and now I recall it was from a college game where someone tried to take him out but missed and Glass gets up angry. It's in a Twitter thread with infamous fake flops that I must have seen that tweaked me to his name.

A Ref intercedes and it looks like a punch he tossed hit the ref but another angle makes it look a soccer style fake flop on the part of the ref as it looks like he clipped the peak of his hat.

The story is not in the 3 Down story but in this one where you can see the actual flop from several angles. He tossed some 51 passes that game.

Glass was ejected with 10 seconds left after throwing punches at two players and inadvertently hitting an official, who was trying keep players separated.

The official dropped like a rock, leading many on social media to speculate he flopped. Why any official feels the need to flop would e anyone’s guess, yet it does appear - based on some views - those people have a legit argument.

Glass later apologized for his actions late in the game.

I let God and my family down!

— Mike Glass III (@mglassiii) December 27, 2019

https://www.al.com/sports/2019/12/watch ... -flop.html

[Sir Purrcival]

Whoa, that was a flop for the ages. Looked to me that Glass barely brushed the peak of his cap. He stayed down for awhile after the fact as well.

[Hambone]

The staying down probably isn't a good look but I could see a guy going down if they tried to avoid an incoming haymaker they catch coming out of the corner their eye and are already a bit off balance. Players might brace themselves for a possible blow but officials not so much.

[Toppy Vann]

The staying down probably isn't a good look but I could see a guy going down if they tried to avoid an incoming haymaker they catch coming out of the corner their eye and are already a bit off balance. Players might brace themselves for a possible blow but officials not so much.

That's true. Also, the person can be off balance.

The irony in that schmozzle was the initial attempt to hit Glass with what looked to be an elbow possibly to the head missed.

If you look at the thread it leads to lots of the worst dives in sports - especially in soccer.

Also ironic is that refs in sports have started flopping. Also ironic is that they do this in sports with TV cameras everywhere making them look bad.

[Hambone]

Looking like Alouettes to Quebecor is a done deal.

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/report-cfl-reach ... -1.1929454

[B.C.FAN]

Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau was introduced Friday as the new owner of the Alouettes.

TSN link

[MacNews]

This is great news. Hopefully the Al's will have the stable ownership they deserve.

[Toppy Vann]

PKP as he is also apparently known owns the Als personally it seems, not Québecor.

Hopefully, this will turn out.

His Wikipedia page is quite a read from an admire of Karl Marx to union busting some 14 times to short term leader of the PQ to a few marriages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Karl_P%C3%A9ladeau

A good friend of Brian Mulroney it appears.

A Quebec nationalist at heart which is good.

He's freaking rich it seems.

Hopefully, it works out as the CFL needs a strong Montreal team.