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The CFL, it would appear, is bent on committing suicide, one flag at a time.

They don’t call it the “Canadian Flag League” for nothing. The game and the officials who run it are at war and the game is losing. Badly.

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I reached this conclusion after I forced myself to watch all four CFL games over the weekend. Forced, because the game I fell in love with back in 1970 has been replaced by a flag-tossing contest.

Watching the CFL today is like being chained to a theatre seat and forced to watch Frozen without earplugs. It’s an endless succession of procedure penalties, offside penalties, holding calls, no-yards calls and replay reviews.

It’s unwatchable and it’s driving fans away. This comment I received from reader David Bernstein is fairly typical of the response: “I don’t know how I did it,” Bernstein wrote, “but I watched the entire Als game on TV Thursday night and an excruciating time it was. The incessant flags, interminable reviews, incredibly inane commentary and dismal production values are wearing me out. I am a big Als fan … but I don’t think I can watch another CFL game on TV.”