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By Medicine Hat News on October 18, 2016.

“Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me” â€” Charlie Brown by the Coasters.

In August, the CFL fined the Saskatchewan Roughriders $80,000 for practice roster and other infractions and reduced their salary cap by $26,000. Coach, general manager and vice president of football operations Chris Jones was unrepentant, saying everyone does it. Rider nation was outraged at the CFL, crying that this was a typical example of the way the league shows its flagship franchise no respect. Howls of protest were heard from Maidstone to Melville, from Canwood to Carnduff.

When I took the Riders to task for their behaviour, I was hit with a barrage of emails, most anonymous and obscene, for daring to criticize holy mother the football team.

One prominent spokesman in Saskatchewan said he didn’t care about the cheating. “We’re so sick and tired of losing around here, we’ll do what’s ever necessary to win.” OK, but don’t blame the commissioner for doing his job and don’t argue he was picking on poor little Regina. Jeffery L. Orridge has been spreading the misery around.

In a Sept. 24 game in Saskatchewan, Hamilton coach Kent Austin was seen flailing his arms. One hit an official. He drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the offence and the game continued. He thought that was the end of it but four days later the league fined him $10,000 and confined him to the press box for the next game against Calgary. It was the biggest fine ever levied against a coach.

The CFL press release said, in part, “… it is absolutely unacceptable for a coach to confront an official and make contact with him, even if that contact was inadvertent and accidental.”

I believe contact was accidental but the linesman threw the flag and Kent’s goose was cooked. I know it is easier to come down hard on any contact rather than try to decide on intent but the result isn’t always fair. Two years ago a Stampeder ran over a referee while trying to catch a pass. He didn’t see him. Surely the ref had an obligation to get out of the way but the player was ejected and fined.

Last Friday in a first place showdown with Ottawa, Hamilton was leading by a point with seven minutes left. Redblack Greg Ellison caught a pass and then dropped it. A Tiger pounced on it. Ottawa challenged, the command centre ruled an incomplete pass and Ottawa won 30-29. The next day the head of officiating said the command centre was wrong, it really was a fumble. I can image Austin almost bit his tongue in two keeping his mouth shut over that twist of his Ti-cat tail.

TSN got the league to agree to have open mics on the quarterbacks and coaches during enough games to involve all teams. Some were reluctant because they were afraid their opponents would have a guy in the spotter’s booth listening to the telecast, picking up the play calls and relaying them to the bench. TSN solved that with a sound delay.

Eskimo coach Jason Maas and QB Mike Reilly refused to do it for their matchup in Montreal. The team was fined $20,000 and Maas $15,000 for defying the league. The live mics have resulted in huge ratings with younger fans, a crucial demographic. That’s why eight of nine teams put their concerns aside and embraced the intrusion into their business. Maas put his personal feelings ahead of the good of the league as a whole.

The mics are a double-edged sword. The more excited and comfortable fans are watching on TV, the less likely they will sit in the cold at the stadium. Attendance is dropping, a real concern in a gate-driven league. But TSN calls the tune.

At the commissioner’s state of the league address at last year’s Grey Cup, media were taken aback at how little Orridge seemed to know about football. He has learned over the last few months, especially when it comes to protecting competitive balance and the bottom line.

Unlike Saskatchewan, the media in Hamilton and Edmonton were critical of the teams, not the league. And, unlike Saskatchewan, the Eskimos and Ti-Cats donned sackcloth and ashes and vowed to sin no more.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 44 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.