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CFL commissioners have mostly been firemen. They’ve mostly raced around trying to put fires out.

That’s why Randy Ambrosie has been such a study as he heads into his third season in the job.

Ambrosie is not just racing around trying to put the fires out, he’s also running around creating new flames to fan.

While the collective bargaining with the CFLPA is underway, Ambrosie has been flying abroad with his CFL 2.0 project, trying to reel in a 10th franchise in Atlantic Canada, put out the fires in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver and inspire interest, particularly in younger fans, while facing the start-up of two competing start-up pro leagues in the U.S.

Any criticism he’s faced has been for not devoting all his time and energy to getting the new CBA in place.

“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he told a gathering of about 200 fans at the Jasper Avenue Boston Pizza for ‘Randy’s Road Trip,’ his tour of the nine CFL cities, the second edition of which reached stop No. 9 in Edmonton Thursday.