TORONTO (Nov. 16) — Any person beyond the age of 40 would have to agree that newspaper coverage of sports is dying. Slowly and excruciatingly. Which sadly jibes with the pattern, today, of instant information and reaction; ushered in — and usurped — by the world wide web and social media. In my teenage years, I could hardly wait until the morning after a Maple Leafs, Blue Jays or Argonauts game to pick up copies of the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun and the Globe and Mail. There was no Internet and no way to procure reaction until the following day. The ink–stained pages were replete with game stories; sidebars and columnists offering stout, unfiltered opinion.

All of whom became household names in the city.

Fast–forward to November 2024 and two of the three local dailies aren’t in Vancouver for the Grey Cup. Even with the Argos playing. Imagine such a veteran scribe as Steve Simmons of the Sun having to watch the game on TV. No person in the Toronto media follows the CFL more closely — and writes about it more often — than Simmons, now 67. The league thought so highly of him that Steve was inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. The Sun, which once led the land, by many miles, in sports coverage, thinks so highly of Simmons that it told him to relax in his den while the Argos tackle perennial Grey Cup participant, Winnipeg.

Only the Star had the desire to staff the CFL title match… but don’t get excited. Columnist Bruce Arthur now lives in Vancouver (another indictment of the industry). What we don’t know is whether the paper will accord Bruce cab or transit fare on Sunday (it won’t pay to have a reporter at BMO Field for Argo home games). As would I, Simmons has evidently told his cheap employer to “stick it” regarding Grey Cup coverage. There is no columnist in the country that football fans so–readily follow. Yet, while the Argos and Blue Bombers prepared in Vancouver, Steve posted columns on a stolen Wayne Gretzky jersey and Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman–Larsson playing his 1000th game in the National Hockey League.* Both interesting stories. Neither the subject Steve should be writing about this week. The Sun, so long the voice of record for CFL coverage here, has abandoned the league.
*As a further “F–You”, Simmons led off his popular Sunday notes column (which I receive beforehand via email) by imploring the Hockey Hall of Fame to finally induct Team Canada 1972 hero (and former Leaf) Paul Henderson. No mention of the Grey Cup until much later.

Look at the newspaper’s sports website as of 3 p.m. today. The Argonauts did not exist:

Good God, even the Globe and Mail — Canada’s NATIONAL NEWSPAPER — offered no evidence (below) of the Grey Cup on its web–front this afternoon. Can you imagine the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post or USA Today, the voices of national record south of the border, ignoring the Super Bowl the day before the game? It is absolutely disgraceful how poorly we treat our national institutions here in Canada. Our inferiority complex pertaining to the U.S. has no boundary. I can guarantee that even on TSN, Monday morning, the chatter will be as much about the Kansas City at Buffalo game in the National Football League (and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce sideshow) than about the Grey Cup. And, TSN is the CFL’s broadcast partner; its perennial savior.

Look, I’m not an idiot. I understand that young people today — in the coveted 18–35 advertising demographic — have likely never picked up a physical newspaper. Such action would be akin to buying a typewriter for letters and documents. Difference is, typewriters are obsolete; virtual antique items. Newspapers are still very much in evidence. So, why further cheapen the product with a travel ban for the title game involving a local team? How friggin’ often does it happen around here? The Sun, our city’s first and only tabloid, has been about sex and sports. Today, you can still find a scantily clad female on one of its back pages. Nowhere, can you find coverage of our country’s national football championship… beyond the overused Canadian Press wire stories. Honestly, it’s sad.*
*As of 2:30 Suinday afternoon, neither the Sun nor the Globe and Mail had a mention of the Grey Cup on its web front. Pathetic.

NICK DID THE TRICK…

This is a photo I took on Aug. 21, 2021 during the Toronto Argonauts home opener against Winnipeg. To this point in time, it remains the highwater mark of Nick Arbuckle’s career in the CFL. As starting quarterback for the Argos coming out of the pandemic, Arbuckle was terrific against the defending Grey Cup champions. He passed for 310 yards and a touchdown as the home side earned a 30–23 upset victory. Can such a circumstance repeat on Sunday?

GREY CUP PREDICTION: The Blue Bombers, unsurprisingly, were a nine–point favorite (as of 4 p.m. today) for their Grey Cup clash with the Argonauts. Winnipeg would have been favored even if Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly were available… but only by two or three. The wide spread results from back–up Arbuckle having to face future Hall–of–Famer, Zach Collaros, after Kelly broke his leg last week. But, hey, the CFL is a delightfully wacky enterprise. Strange sh** always happens. So, why not a 27–22 Argonauts victory on Sunday. Yes, that’s my call.

MORE FROM THE VAULT…

Speaking of obsolete newspapers, I dropped more than a hundred bucks last weekend at the Toronto Sport Card Expo for 29 copies (above) of The Hockey News dating from May 8, 1970 (two days before Bobby Orr’s famous overtime, Stanley Cup–winning goal against St. Louis) to the issue of June 1972. Quite an active period for the sport, during which four teams (Buffalo, Vancouver, Atlanta, New York Islanders) were added to the NHL while the rival World Hockey Association was about to begin its seven–year lifetime of tormenting the established league:

 
The Hockey News edition of Feb. 4, 1972 (above and below) came out one day before my bar mitzvah. I had turned 13 the previous night. The NHL was planning on another expansion, two years later, that would incorporate the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts. The Leafs, as per usual in the Harold Ballard era, were scuffling. Included, was a game in Montreal that nearly destroyed my bar mitzvah enthusiasm. 

 
As long as I have my faculties, I’ll remember the absolute shock and dismay after the Toronto at Montreal game of Jan. 19, 1972. I watched it on CTV, as part of the network’s Wednesday night NHL coverage. Look at the summary (top–left); the final score… and time of the only goal. 🙁 The Leafs followed up with a loss against the old Minnesota North Stars at the Met Center in Bloomington (top–right).

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