The LFL's Toronto Triumph franchise in action in 2011.

The Lingerie Football League's inaugural season in Canada went about as poorly as it could have. In addition to the league's pre-existing issues with attire, player selection and not paying its athletes, several new ones popped up with the LFL's lone Canadian franchise. Despite all that, the LFL not only is keeping its Toronto franchise for 2012, it's still planning to expand across Canada, and the first shoe fell on that front Thursday with the announcement of a new, as-yet-unnamed team in Abbotsford (approximately an hour's drive east of Vancouver). A city-owned arena striking a deal to bring a LFL team to town suggests that the problems of the LFL, and particularly the issues it ran into in Toronto, have been largely ignored across the country.

Mark Cohon (L) with Pinball Clemons and Pierre Vercheval in Parliament in 2010.

CFL commissioner Mark Cohon's contract is set to expire in March, but both Vancouver radio station News 1130 and TSN are reporting that he's agreed to terms on a new deal. If that's accurate, it's a great move for the CFL (as I argued last year). The league has been on a clear upward trend since Cohon took over in 2007, is on solid footing in most markets, continues to draw excellent television audiences and appears to have financial stability across the board. Cohon has shown talent for solving problems as they come up, a vital skill in this league, and he's also demonstrated a commitment to hearing the fans' voices, which will be crucial to the CFL's continued success. A new deal for Cohon would increase the league's stability, show that it's moved above some of the petty squabbles of the last decade and set it on track for what's looking like a positive future.

It's worth noting just how far the CFL has come in five years. When Cohon took over in 2007, the Ottawa Renegades had been suspended just the previous year, and there were significant financial issues facing several other markets (most notably Toronto, where the David Cynamon/Howard Sokolowski partnership was primarily staying afloat thanks to secret funding from B.C. Lions owner David Braley). The league wasn't drawing massive TV revenues, as its games were split amongst CBC, TSN and RDS, and it was only two years removed from the gong show of announcerless games on CBC (thanks to a union strike). Merchandising revenues weren't anywhere near as high as they are now, the prospect of a Toronto NFL franchise loomed on the horizon, and expansion was right out of the question: the bigger debate was if other teams were going to follow Ottawa into the ether.

Saxon Lindsey (L, with Laurier's Shamawd Chambers) hopes to get a CFL shot.

For some, the path to a CFL career is simple: star in high school, earn a scholarship to a big CIS or NCAA school, excel there, earn an E-Camp invitation and get drafted. For others, like Guelph Gryphons' receiver Saxon Lindsey, there are more bumps in the road. Lindsey's path has been filled with obstacles, but he said those are worth crossing in pursuit of the dream of playing professional football.

"It's been a dream of mine since high school to play the sport I love and get paid for it," Lindsey said. "When I was in high school, I really wanted to play university football. Now I want to go to the next level."

Justin Hickman flattens Toronto's Dalton Bell Nov. 3.

One of the common paths from the CFL to the NFL is to lead the northern league in sacks: Cameron Wake did it in 2007 and 2008 before joining the Miami Dolphins, Phillip Hunt parlayed a league-best 16 sacks in 2010 into a job with the Philadelphia Eagles and Justin Hickman became the latest to follow that path Wednesday. Hickman, a Hamilton Tiger-Cats' defensive end who tied Odell Willis for the league lead with 13 sacks in 2011, has reportedly signed with the Indianapolis Colts, where he'll team up with fellow CFL import Jerrell Freeman. The implications of his departure seem likely to go well beyond just the Tiger-Cats, though, as Hickman was set to become a free agent on February 16; with him out of the picture, less teams will be able to plan on acquiring defensive line help in free agency, and the market for the remaining free agents at defensive end may rise.

Ricky Williams evades Hamilton's Ray Mariuz in a June 2006 game.

With Baltimore Ravens' running back Ricky Williams announcing his retirement from the NFL Tuesday, it's worth taking a look back at the time he spent in the CFL. The popular perception on both sides of the border is that Williams' 2006 campaign with the Toronto Argonauts was a failure both for him and the league, and it's easy to see where that comes from. Williams was hit hard by injuries that year and only finished with 526 rushing yards and 127 receiving yards, he didn't draw particularly massive crowds or take the team to the Grey Cup, and his signing drew criticism from many sides and even led to a new rule preventing CFL teams from signing players under NFL suspension. Still, there's a strong case to be made that Williams' time in Toronto was good for him, the Argonauts and the CFL.

Paris Jackson celebrates winning the Grey Cup with his daughter.

From some perspectives, the news that wide receiver Paris Jackson signed a contract extension with the B.C. Lions is a little curious. Jackson's a talented Canadian receiver, and although he's 31, he still made plenty of plays at crucial times last year, including a 30-yard catch against Winnipeg in the 2011 Grey Cup. Yet, he was used primarily as a backup for most of the season and only recorded seven regular-season catches for 117 yards; many players in that situation would look to take their talents somewhere else where they might see more playing time. That's not what Jackson chose, though, and a one-on-one conversation I had with him after the Lions' Grey Cup win illustrates why; his love for Vancouver and for his team shone through, and that love appears stronger than the chance to perhaps play a bigger role elsewhere.

The New York Giants may have completed one of the most improbable and unprecedented Super Bowl runs ever with a stunning 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday night, but they still have one opponent to top in trophy celebrations. That would be the CFL's 2011 Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions, and specifically, linebacker James Yurichuk, who teamed up with helicopter pilot Bradley Friesen, cameraman and editor Dan Rizzuto and videographer Jeremy Deichen to take the Grey Cup to the top of some of B.C.'s mountains and film the whole thing. After putting out preliminary footage in December, the team recently released their final video of the experience, and as you can see, it includes a challenge for the NFL's champions to step their celebratory game up:

It's pretty amazing to see what Yurichuk and his group were able to do with Canadian football's highest prize, and it's perfectly appropriate. After all, the Lions' franchise was named after the twin feline-shaped peaks that guard the northern entrance to Vancouver, so a Grey Cup celebration in the B.C. mountains seems to follow logically. There's certainly much more synergy and imagination than the traditional Super Bowl trip to Disney World, so if you asked me to vote on the filmmakers' #mouseormountain hashtag, I'm definitely going "mountain".

New Bombers' OC Gary Crowton drew mixed reviews at LSU.

New Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive coordinator Gary Crowton is an unconventional hire, as he hasn't spent any time in the CFL previously. He does have plenty of experience at high levels of football, including numerous stints at big NCAA schools such as LSU (where he helped win the 2007-08 national title), Oregon and BYU and a year as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator. However, many of those who have watched him closely in those positions haven't been particularly impressed, and his stock seems to be at a particular low right now. I spoke with Carter Bryant, the sports director at LSU's 91.1 KLSU radio station, and he said Crowton's offence frequently didn't accomplish much for the Tigers, especially in the past few years.

"Crowton was last in the SEC in offense in 2009 and then 11th (second to last at the time) in 2010," Bryant said. "His main problem was with the quarterback position, which has been a disaster since the Ryan Perrilloux saga was ended in 2008. But also a lack of identity hurt him as well."