The NFL's American Bowl between the Packers and Bills
will be played in Toronto on Saturday and the GLOBE & MAIL's
Stephen Brunt writes, "The great dog and pony show returns
to Toronto ... the shtick the same but the circumstances
rather different." Brunt: "What has changed this year isn't
the hustle, but rather the grand scheme of things. However
you choose to look at it, the shape of Toronto's
professional football future will likely be decided in the
next 12 months. ... Whatever the ticket prices, no one would
argue with the fact that an NFL team in Toronto would sell
out without even trying. At the moment, the NFL will be
content to exploit that untapped football demand with the
exhibition game, and by encouraging Buffalo owner Ralph
Wilson to become more aggressive peddling tickets across the
border." Brunt adds that with the NFL expansion process
moving forward "without Toronto," the city's "best hope" is
for a relocated NFL team (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/12).
SLOW GO: The American Bowl in Toronto could be blacked
out, according to Gary Picknell of the TORONTO SUN. The
game will not be shown in Toronto or Buffalo unless it is
sold out by 4:00pm ET tomorrow. As of yesterday, a few
thousand tickets were available (TORONTO SUN, 8/12).
