CMISL 2008 Schedule

[Shootmaster_44]

According to http://www.saskatoonsoccer.com/articles/2007105104551.html this is the 2008 Schedule:

2007/2008 CMISL Schedule:

Exhibition Schedule:

December 28, 2007 - Saskatoon @ Edmonton, Servus Centre (St. Albert)

January 4, 2008 - Saskatoon @ Edmonton, Servus Centre (St. Albert)

January 5, 2008 - Edmonton @ Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

January 6, 2008 - Edmonton @ Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

Regular Schedule:

January 13, 2008 - Calgary @ Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

January 19, 2008 - Winnipeg @ Calgary (Double-Header), Stampede Corral

January 19, 2008 - Calgary Tournament:

- Edmonton vs Saskatoon, Stampede Corral

- Edmonton vs Winnipeg, Stampede Corral

- Calgary vs Saskatoon, Stampede Corral

January 20, 2008 - Calgary Tournament:

- Calgary vs Winnipeg, Stampede Corral

- Winnipeg vs Saskatoon, Stampede Corral

- Calgary vs Edmonton, Stampede Corral

January 25, 2008 - Calgary @ Edmonton, Servus Centre (St. Albert)

February 1, 2008 - Winnipeg @ Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

February 3, 2008 - Winnipeg @ Saskatoon (Double-Header), Credit Union Centre

February 15, 2008 - Calgary @ Edmonton, Servus Centre (St. Albert)

February 22, 2008 - Saskatoon @ Edmonton, Servus Centre (St. Albert)

February 29, 2008 - Winnipeg @ Edmonton (Double-Header), Servus Centre (St. Albert)

March 2, 2008 - Calgary @ Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

March 7, 2008 - Calgary @ Edmonton, Servus Centre (St. Albert)

March 9, 2008 - Edmonton @ Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

[seether]

Yeah, I saw this a few days ago on http://www.drillersfans.com and it's mentioned that playoffs are a possibility as well

[Shootmaster_44]

I didn't know drillersfans.com existed. Looks like a good site. I wish the rest of the league had fans as interested as the Drillers.

[sKriSh]

That's more games than I thought they would play this year. Shootmaster, do you do the Wikipedia pages for the CMISL, because I'm the one who did the Calgary United page.

[Kevin McMillan]

quote:Originally posted by Shootmaster_44

I didn't know drillersfans.com existed. Looks like a good site. I wish the rest of the league had fans as interested as the Drillers.

I don't know about that, but they just happened to have one who happened to be a webdesigner and not much else to do one afternoon

Thanks though, I hope it gives Driller and CMISL fans alike a place to discuss and get news on the league... which has been unfortunately hard to find unless you dig for it.

[Shootmaster_44]

quote:Originally posted by sKriSh

That's more games than I thought they would play this year. Shootmaster, do you do the Wikipedia pages for the CMISL, because I'm the one who did the Calgary United page.

Yes actually I do the majority of them. I am in the process of redoing the Accelerators' page and redid the League's page.

I'm curious about one thing I've discovered. As Kevin mentioned it is nearly impossible to find news on the CMISL as the league hasn't updated its website since the showcase series ended. So I Googled the Saskatoon Accelerators to see if there was any mention in places I hadn't found. It looks like the Accelerators have a new webpage that will "launch" on Thursday at http://acceleratorssoccer.com. If you click on the Saskatoon Accelerators vs. Edmonton Drillers it takes you to a page that claims they will play an exhibition game on December 6th. I noticed the Prince George games were canceled, so the Drillers are available. What I wonder is, is that simply a place holder as the website doesn't launch until Thursday or is that actually officially scheduled?

I also like the fact they ditched the clip art logo and have a legit logo for this season. As I've mentioned before I'm not a soccer fan in general, so I'm disappointed that the logo is a traditional soccer logo, but I'm glad they revamped it.

[Kevin McMillan]

Nice find... I don't think I'd put too much stock into those dates, I'd imagine they are just dummy events to test out the scripts and see how everything looks/works.

[Shootmaster_44]

quote:Originally posted by Kevin McMillan

Nice find... I don't think I'd put too much stock into those dates, I'd imagine they are just dummy events to test out the scripts and see how everything looks/works.

I figured as much as the post I found that contained the schedule came from the Accelerators GM. But that was released before the Prince George games were postponed (or at least I assume so based on the date of the post on drillersfans.com).

[Kevin McMillan]

It's hard to say exactly when the Prince George games were cancelled, these guys haven't exactly been forthcoming or prompt with releasing information... not to mention their stories seem to change drastically from one telling to the next.

Ahh... minor league soccer, gotta love it!

[Shootmaster_44]

quote:Originally posted by Kevin McMillan

It's hard to say exactly when the Prince George games were cancelled, these guys haven't exactly been forthcoming or prompt with releasing information... not to mention their stories seem to change drastically from one telling to the next.

Ahh... minor league soccer, gotta love it!

Yeah no kidding. But I think the date you have on Drillersfans is right. I found an article from the PG paper from the same date.

I'm not sure if you're aware of the website or anything, but I have been posting every newspaper article I encounter on Oursportscentral's Indoor Soccer forum. Its at www.oursportscentral.com I'm hoping that Paul will be willing to add the CMISL as a legit league this winter. Basically, the league has "made it" as a minor league if it gets added to that site. Feel free to add any other newspaper articles you find to that thread. Last season, there were a few MISL fans interested in the league on there.

Finally, a little bit of self-promotion I finished the edits to the Saskatoon Accelerators and CMISL Wikipedia pages, so check them out and tell me what you think. I was hoping to add a rules section to the CMISL page, but I'm not that familiar with the rules for indoor soccer, so I didn't think I should attempt it. Basically I was trying to use the MISL page as a template for what the CMISL page should have on it.

[tarnado1555362291]

the Calgary tournament dates are already on Ticketmaster.ca.

[sKriSh]

Found this on Calgary United Soccer Association Page:

Calgary United Football Club of the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League will be having open tryouts for the 2008 season on Sunday, November 25th from 9:15 PM - 11:15 PM at the Calgary Soccer Centre on the Beta Field. For more information please contact Calgary United FC @ (403)243-7336.

http://www.cusa.ab.ca/league.php?scriptName=HOME&leagueID=1000

[avfc]

The Calgary United FC website has been updated today. www.calgaryunitedfc.ca Invite only try-outs for CUFC are being held on December 8th at the Calgary Soccer Centre West Field at noon.

[sKriSh]

Press release on the new site:

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Calgary, AB - On Friday, November 30 at 12:00 p.m. Calgary United Football Club will be holding a press conference to announce their 2008 CMISL schedule. The press conference will be held at the Calgary Soccer Center ( 7000 - 48 Street S.E. ) on the East Field. Calgary United Football Club players, coaches and owners will be on hand for interviews and photograph opportunities.

Calgary United Football Club is one of four Western Canadian teams in the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League, a league that allows local players to showcase their talents in front of Canadian fans. After last year's successful exhibition season hopes are high for the continuing growth of support in Calgary.

As part of the 2008 CMISL Season CUFC will be hosting an eight game tournament on the weekend of January 19-20 at the Stampede Corral with Winnipeg, Edmonton and Saskatoon making the trip to Calgary. Tickets for this tournament are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.ca

For more info please visit www.calgaryunitedfc.c

[avfc]

www.calgaryunitedfc.ca

[Kevin McMillan]

Kind of defeats the purpose to put a press release on your website announcing a presser to announce the very same schedule already available on said website.... no?!?!

lol

Nice to see the teams are getting a bit more serious regarding their web content

[redhat]

Do we actually have a team in Winnipeg? No really, a real team of semi-pro players

not ones that just got together for their buddies in the Senior league?

Apparently last year, Winnipeg had to "borrow" players from the visiting teams

to make it more fair/respectable.

And according to the above schedule, Winnipeg plays ALL AWAY GAMES?[:0]

[redhat]

Do we actually have a team in Winnipeg? No really, a real team of semi-pro players

not ones that just got together for their buddies in the Senior league?

Apparently last year, Winnipeg had to "borrow" players from the visiting teams

to make it more fair/respectable.

And according to the above schedule, Winnipeg plays ALL AWAY GAMES?[:0]

[Shootmaster_44]

quote:Originally posted by redhat

Do we actually have a team in Winnipeg? No really, a real team of semi-pro players

not ones that just got together for their buddies in the Senior league?

Apparently last year, Winnipeg had to "borrow" players from the visiting teams

to make it more fair/respectable.

And according to the above schedule, Winnipeg plays ALL AWAY GAMES?[:0]

As far as I know Winnipeg has a real semi-pro team. Essentially, the way I understand it is Edmonton is the only team that will feature true pro players, the rest will essentially be all-star teams from the local leagues.

But it appeared that Winnipeg was well done last year, based on the game I saw in Saskatoon. The franchise itself seemed to have a professional air about it. All the players had warm ups, the families had t-shirts and windsuits and the uniforms were sharp. The team looked like it had been playing together all season as they knew each other's tendencies etc. The coach seemed to actually have a pregame speech to give the team.

Contrast that with the Accelerators who had cheap looking uniforms and a bad logo. There was no merchandise in the stands or on the concourse to buy. The team was sloppy aside from the ringer the Accelerators borrowed from Edmonton. The coach looked like he was hanging out before the game. There was no pregame huddle or pep talk from him.

Granted, this year will be different for the Accelerators as they have a dedicated owner. They have already changed their logo and colours as per their new website (www.acceleratorsoccer.com). I expect they will have nicer looking uniforms and I should hope that the team has been practicing together already.

As for the no home games in Winnipeg, that's unfortunately right. The team was unable to find suitable times at the MTS Centre for their games. Apparently, a few of the dates they wanted concerts were booked and the rest of the dates were Moose games. So for this season they will be a road-only team, which is too bad. Basically, in the 2009 season all the gains that were made last spring will have to be remade as people will forget about them.

The one saving grace for the Alliance, is the possibility of home playoff games. An article I read in the Prince George newspaper mentioned the league having a one to two week playoff after the regular season is finished. My guess is the uncertainty of whether it will be a one or two week playoff hinges on the league getting a date at the MTS Centre or not. If Winnipeg cannot host a playoff game, my guess is the playoffs will be 1 v 2. If Winnipeg can host a game I'm guessing the playoffs will be a two round affair, with 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 with the winners playing in the finals.

The one thing I'm getting slightly irritated with about this league, is the lack of information coming directly from the league. The league's official website has not been updated since the final Showcase game in April. If it were not for message boards like this one, Drillerfans.com and the Calgary Soccer Community (http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=15&sid=bf89ed415b3277d34702bae509c607f4&mforum=calgarysoccer) I'd never be able to keep up on what is going on with the league. I certainly hope the league starts to issue a few press releases on its website that outlines exactly what is going on this season. Whether there will indeed be playoffs etc. In fact, simply posting this year's schedule would be a step in the right direction.

As an aside, tomorrow Accelerators tickets go on sale at 10 AM on Ticketmaster.ca. There are no prices listed on Ticketmaster but a 7 game season ticket (2 exhibition games, 5 regular season games) is available as well as single game tickets.

[sKriSh]

Saw this on the driller fans site:

Pro soccer sets long-term goal in Saskatoon

Written by Cory Wolfe

Thursday, 27 December 2007

Mel Kowalchuk envisions a day when fans flock to Credit Union Centre to watch professional soccer teams built with million-dollar budgets.

For now, he'll be content if a few thousand fans show up to see players who are getting paid gas money.

"We've got a long way to go and we're not egotistical enough to think, 'Oh, we're coming out and everything is going to be great,' " said Kowalchuk, president of the fledgling Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League.

"We're taking such baby steps and we're so humble that it's pathetic. But that's the way we've got to build it."

The Saskatoon Accelerators -- comprised largely of Saskatchewan players -- are poised to play a 10-game regular season against Calgary United FC, the Edmonton Drillers and the Winnipeg Alliance. The exhibition season begins Friday when the Accelerators visit Edmonton.

Kowalchuk described the CMISL product as a hybrid of outdoor soccer and hockey.

"Even diehard soccer fans will enjoy the pace of the game -- it's like human pinball," said Kowalchuk, who has an ownership stake in the Accelerators in addition to being league president.

"We're just saying, 'Give us a chance and if you enjoy the sport, come on back.' "

Last March, a Credit Union Centre crowd of 2,102 -- about 1,500 of whom paid -- watched the Accelerators sweep a doubleheader against Winnipeg. Kowalchuk said he hasn't calculated a break-even number for attendance, but he said all league partners are prepared to build slowly. That means modest compensation for the players.

"We've elected to pay them expense money," said Kowalchuk. "The expense money might be very low or it might be a couple of hundred dollars per game, depending on where they're coming from and what they have to do."

The arrangement allows players to maintain their amateur status and it saves the league about $50,000 in insurance costs, said Kowalchuk.

"Where we're going down the road, it will be (a professional league). But our first couple of years, we're going to go this route. We have to establish a few things."

Kowalchuk pegged the Accelerators' budget to be between $200,000 and $300,000 -- lower than Edmonton's, but higher than Calgary's. He confessed that CMISL members will have to prop up the Winnipeg franchise this season because it has to play all of its games on the road.

"We had an agreement with the MTS Centre that if they got a major concert -- and we have the same deal in Saskatoon -- we'd step aside," said Kowalchuk. "It turns out that Rascall Flatts is coming in on the weekend that we had designated for Winnipeg (to play host to a league tournament). The only other date we could have gone was Easter Friday and we thought that would be total financial suicide."

As a result, Saskatoon has eight home dates -- including exhibition games Jan. 5 and 6 versus Edmonton. The soccer matches fit around home games for the Saskatoon Blades, Credit Union Centre's primary tenant.

"The (Accelerators) have their own turf system that they'll put on top of the ice and they've designed the nets so they fit against the boards," said Scott Ford, the building's director of marketing and events. "It's really a quick conversion for us."

Ticket prices compare to those of the Blades: $14.50 for adults, $11.50 for students and seniors, and $7.50 for children. Based on the crowd at last spring's exhibition showcase, Ford said he expects the Accelerators to have a unique following.

"There was a bit of a crossover with the hockey crowd, but it looked like it was mostly a different crowd," he said. "It was great soccer to watch and very entertaining."

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=84aa8757-8a04-4998-a2d7-3100fabd1697

[ranul]

edmonton 5 saskatoon 1

[zico]

The score doesn't tell the whole story of this game. While the players put in a good effort and the game was more competitive than the 5-1 score suggests, the main story line was the pathetic condition of the turf the Drillers are using. Throughout the game large sections of turf came loose: players tripped and stumbled over exposed seams creating a VERY dangerous situation. More than one player slid partially under the turf! It really detracted from the game. While I hope for the best this was very poor start to the new season. I think the Drillers will have a tough time financially as the venue is located in the northern part of St. Albert, a long drive from central and southern parts of Edmonton. The single game tickets ($25/adult) are way over priced IMHO, although various package options are available.

[Guest Soccrman]

quote:Originally posted by zico

The score doesn't tell the whole story of this game. While the players put in a good effort and the game was more competitive than the 5-1 score suggests, the main story line was the pathetic condition of the turf the Drillers are using. Throughout the game large sections of turf came loose: players tripped and stumbled over exposed seams creating a VERY dangerous situation. More than one player slid partially under the turf! It really detracted from the game. While I hope for the best this was very poor start to the new season. I think the Drillers will have a tough time financially as the venue is located in the northern part of St. Albert, a long drive from central and southern parts of Edmonton. The single game tickets ($25/adult) are way over priced IMHO, although various package options are available.

crowd??

[fishman]

I hate to be a doubting Thomas, but hey, haven't we all seen this before?

Poor planning, inadequate marketing, lack of communication and then to top it all off, compromised player safety. That turf was an embarrassment, to be sure, but moreover, it was an accident waiting to happen.

Did the Edmonton group not train on the surface a number of times to test its safety, fit and finish? Come on, now.

I would like to support this endeavor, as I have a number of friends playing, but I can't stomach it. I would like to support Mr. Kowalchuk, Dr. Saik and the other investors, but I can't understand why people continue to build soccer through the indoor game.

They are entrepreneurs who feel money can be made on the indoor game. None of the principle investors have any strong background in soccer; I am not accusing any of them of being disingenuous with their intentions, but good God, can we just leave the boarded game behind us?

It might be fine as a supplementary piece of the puzzle in our country (although Futsal would be a vastly better choice), but I would be a guaranteed supporter if these investors were attempting to foster an outdoor league. Yes, I know they have said they are looking at that, but I can't see that happening. Not with $25 tickets in Edmonton sure to discourage even the most ardent soccer loving families.

I concur with several posters - a decent AMSL team could not just compete with the Edmonton franchise (or any of the other teams), it could very well win most matches. Professional players? Nik Vignjevic was fine in his day, but hell, he got kicked off his Premier team in Edmonton for his brutal attitude.

I hate to be a hater, and I am trying hard not to be, but when I see $25 tickets, turf that won't stay down, players falling all over the place, rosters filled with players that don't come close to representing the best available indoor players, investors who can't host a decent website (an absolute embarrassment), etc., I just can't help but seeing the glass less than half full with this effort.

[tarnado1555362291]

Calgary single game tickets for adults are $20.00, $30.00 for two game pack. I agree tickets are way too expensive for a startup league, especially when I can go see a high quality Calgary Hitmen game for $8.96.