Commissioner defends league, a hotel horse and pancake breakfast ahead of Grey Cup

Finally, there are signs of life here at the 104th Grey Cup week in Toronto.

CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge spent an hour with the national media Friday morning trying to deflect questions about the lack of Grey Cup buzz here in Toronto, the impact of concussions on current and former players, and criticism about officiating.

Half an hour after that, the commissioner held a question and answer session with fans where he fielded similar questions about the lack of Grey Cup buzz in Toronto, poor officiating, and concussions.

• CFL commissioner refuses to admit link between football and CTE

Are you sensing a theme here?

The good news is the commissioner says the league is looking at a new hybrid system when it comes to teams and cities bidding to host the Grey Cup.

Next year's game has already been awarded to Ottawa.

Based on what the commissioner said, it looks like Regina's new stadium could be hosting a Grey Cup in 2018, followed by Hamilton in 2019.

The Nissan Street Festival kicked off at noon today, and fans were lining up at the Calgary Grey Cup Committee's pancake breakfast/brunch/lunch for their signature piggies-in-a-blanket creation.

Fans from across the country dropped by for a bite, and to have their pictures taken with Stampede royalty.

Hotel horse

It wouldn't be a Grey Cup without Calgary's representatives parading a horse into a downtown hotel for a photo op celebrating the tradition that started here in Toronto back in 1948.

Next time you're staying at the Holiday Inn on Carlton Street, check the carpet to make sure it was cleaned properly.

I'm making a pit stop at the Calgary Stampeders first and only practice at BMO Field on Saturday morning before the big game.

From there, I'm heading down the road to Hamilton to cover the University of Calgary's bid to win the Vanier Cup against Laval on Saturday afternoon.

I've already set an unofficial Grey Cup week record with 329 tweets and not a single beer, unless you count the sample of Budweiser's new non-alcoholic brew I had at the street festival.

It's called Prohibition, something that hasn't been in effect at a Grey Cup now for more than half a century.

CFL Grey Cup preview

8 years ago

Duration 26:25

CBC Sports' CFL experts Malcolm Kelly and Devin Heroux look ahead to Sunday's championship game

• MORE ALBERTA NEWS | Albertans are the outliers when it comes to Trump, poll suggests
• MORE ALBERTA NEWS | Door-to-door sales of energy products to be outlawed in Alberta