The Bull Pen

I was very intrigued by the blog TSN's Chris Schultz posted on Monday.  You can read it here.

Schultz is wondering if scrapping the divisions in the CFL is the way to go.  While it would eliminate the guarantee of an East vs. West Grey Cup, it would open up more possibilities for playoff matchups and ensure the top two teams in the league received a first-round bye.

I'm intrigued by this idea.  I think fans are more open to it than they were 20 or 30 years ago.  Having East vs. West meet in the Grey Cup doesn't have the mystique it did when the CFL didn't play a full interlocking schedule.

But I wonder how the schedule would work in Schultz's no-division format.  You would want a balanced schedule, but 18 games doesn't divide evenly by seven opponents.  Plus, you'd want to preserve regional rivalries.  There's a lot more interest in Edmonton to see the Eskimos play Saskathcewan three times a year than there is to see them play Hamilton thrice.

So I'm proposing a mixture of the current system and Schultz's idea.  Keep the current schedule and divisions and give the first-place team in each division a first-round bye.  But use the overall standings to determine the rest of the playoff spots.

This is close to what happens now with the crossover, but finishing second in your division would not guarantee a home game.  It would reward a team for finishing atop their division and give them a bye, even if they don't have the second best record in the league.  It would also continue to emphasize regional rivalries and divisional wins during the regular season.

Would fans buy it?  I agree with Schultz when says, "You don't know until you try."