It’s not Watergate, but it is Golden Gate — andit seems to be ascandalous story for the CFL.
According to league sources, trouble in the upper echelon of Golden Gate Capital Corp. of Toronto has caused the company in recent days to drop from leading candidate to a questionablecontender in the ownership sweepstakes for the next CFL franchise in Ottawa.
Golden Gate, which is being fronted by Ottawa 67’s president Jeff Hunt, had impressed the CFL’s franchise committee to the point where it had been generally perceived as a lock in the bidding for a new club, which the league hopes to launch in the capital in time for the 2008 season. However,sources have told Metro that serious charges have been laid against a high-ranking executive with Golden Gate, causing the league to become more than a trifle concerned.
For legal reasons, I’ll refrain from divulging more details at this time. But stay tuned. It’ll all come out sooner or later.
• Speaking of Ottawa, the Senators have been established by Las Vegas oddsmakers as 8-to-1 favourites to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Carolina, Buffalo, Detroit and Anaheim are next on the list, all at 10-to-1.
The other Canadian teams: Calgary, 15-to-1; Vancouver, 21-to-1; Montreal, 22-to-1;Edmonton, 23-to-1,and Toronto,37-to-1.
The longest shots are Washington and Chicago, both at 100-to-1. Remember, though: Last season, Buffalo was a 100-to-1 underdog — and the Sabres reached the semifinals.
The consensus about the Maple Leafs: They have not improved, have a dearth of quality goaltending, little offensive talent other than Mats Sundin and a general manager (John Ferguson Jr.) who is out of his element and on the proverbial hot seat.
And there’s concern in Vancouver that the free-agent departure of Anson Carter will dramatically reduce the Canucks’ offensive production.
• Justin Morneau, the B.C. native ranked as a top candidate for MVP honours in the American League, earned $385,000 US this season, which means about 580 major-leaguers were paid more than him. Look for Minnesota to avoid an arbitration hearing by offeringMorneau something like a five-year contract worth $40-million … Boston’s looking for a pitching coach and plans to ask the Blue Jays for permission to talk to Brad Arnsberg. Arnsberg worked with Boston ace Josh Beckett when the two were with Florida … And John Gibbons will be back as the Jays’ manager, but there’ll be a shakeup to his coaching staff, with, as Ireported some time ago,Ernie Whitt being unloaded as bench coach.
• Marty York’s column appears Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
