Published Sep 23, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers players and coaches sat in front of their big screens on Monday and watched the CFL take a new direction.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The turn made at least one of them feel sick to the stomach.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I heard the news watching the press conference, I just had a really weird feeling in my gut when they announced it,\u201d special teams coordinator Mike Miller said, Tuesday. \u201cJust a little sickening. I didn\u2019t expect it. Just felt it in my stomach\u2026 like I ate something bad.\u201d<\/p>\n CFL commissioner Stewart Johnson and the nine team governors are force-feeding players, coaches and fans changes that erase some of the unique aspects of the Canadian game.<\/p>\n Shortening the field from 110 yards to 100 and moving the goal posts to the back of end zones make the game look more American.<\/p>\n B.C. Lions Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke, arguably the league\u2019s marquee player, called the changes \u201cgarbage.\u201d<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Miller, a guy from small-town New Brunswick who played 11 seasons and is coaching in his second, has a similar view.<\/p>\n \u201cEven just the shortening of the field, a lot of the stadiums they put the \u2018C\u2019 at centre and to me, that was for \u2018Canadian,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just shocked, obviously, with the news. It didn\u2019t sit well.\u201d<\/p>\n Head coach Mike O\u2019Shea is cut from similar cloth, wearing his homegrown heart on his sleeve at the best of times.<\/p>\n With parts of the game under attack, O\u2019Shea wasn\u2019t shy about his displeasure, praising Rourke for his heartfelt soliloquy in Vancouver a day earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cWe love the Canadian brand of football,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great game. I think everybody understands where I would stand. I\u2019ll say it. If we\u2019re going to be altering the game and removing uniquely Canadian items from the game, I would never be in favour of that.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s ours. Uniquely ours.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke\u2019s comments included this: \u201cWhat we\u2019re moving towards is not the Canadian football game that I grew up loving. We\u2019re getting away from that. And frankly that makes me pretty pissed off.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked which change drew most of his ire, O\u2019Shea pointed to the goal-post shift, which will all but eliminate missed field goal returns, one of the game\u2019s most exciting plays.<\/p>\n The Bombers just got a 128-yard touchdown from rookie Trey Vaval, plus another one for 71 yards, in their win over Ottawa last week,<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be highly unlikely that anyone\u2019s ever going to do that again once they move the posts,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cWe can get two in one game. And we\u2019ve scored on one, we\u2019ve had one scored against us. Let alone all the yardage that\u2019s been accumulated.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The CFL brass says getting the goal posts out of the way and shortening the field will produce more touchdowns.<\/p>\n Without hard evidence, O\u2019Shea\u2019s not convinced.<\/p>\n The lack of consultation \u2013 neither players nor coaches were involved in the decisions \u2013 has him as perplexed as anything.<\/p>\n \u201cI would think transparency would be important,\u201d he said. \u201cI have no clue why we wouldn\u2019t have been asked.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea\u2019s own boss, Bombers CEO Wade Miller, was one of the governors who voted for the changes. The league said it was unanimous.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019m disappointed in the people,\u201d the coach said. \u201cThe decision, the idea of it. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n Some players were less vocal about the changes, which will be implemented over the next two seasons.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cComing up here I\u2019ve grown to love the Canadian Football League for what it is, for what it stands for, the uniqueness of the game, the 55, the goalposts there \u2013 that\u2019s us,\u201d kicker and Texas native Sergio Castillo said. \u201cAnd I say \u2018us\u2019 because this is my home. It\u2019s been my home for the past 10, 11 years. We\u2019ll see how it plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n The one thing that definitely won\u2019t play out is returns like Vaval\u2019s last week.<\/p>\n \u201cThat kind of sucks,\u201d Castillo acknowledged. \u201cIt\u2019s taking a little bit away from what makes the CFL the CFL.\u201d<\/p>\n O-lineman Pat Neufeld is willing to take a wait-and-see approach. He\u2019s glad other unique aspects of the game are left untouched, at least.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Canadian you grew up loving this game and all the nuances to it, what makes it our game,\u201d the Regina product said. \u201cBut you also have to trust the league is trying to do what\u2019s best for the league, the growth of this game and where football\u2019s heading.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Receiver Nic Demski is taking a similar approach.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some stuff that you scratch your head at, but there\u2019s other things that make sense,\u201d Demski said.<\/p>\n The Winnipegger has mixed feelings about the goal-post move, lamenting the loss of field goal returns but welcoming more room in the end zone to catch passes.<\/p>\n Quarterback Zach Collaros says the changes aren\u2019t as radical as they could have been.<\/p>\n \u201cI will miss the 55 (yard line),\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all interesting. I had no idea this kind of stuff was coming down the pipe.\u201d<\/p>\n The worry for some is it\u2019s only the start.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that argument, too. Like if this happens now, what\u2019s next?\u201d Collaros said. \u201cI don\u2019t think you can cross that line, ever. The three downs, 12 players, yard off the ball, the waggle, the ratio, those things you can\u2019t (touch).\u201d<\/p>\n A day earlier, teammates and coaches may have said the same about the 55-yard line and the uprights at the goal line.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you see the shortening of the field and uprights in the back,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThen immediately you start thinking about a different brand of football.\u201d<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-165201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Special](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MikeMiller-scaled-e1758677284698.jpg\")
Special teams co-ordinator Mike Miller says he was sickened by the changes to the CFL. \u2002 KEVIN KING\/Winnipeg SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.6.0\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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