THE LEAGUE IN QUESTION

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(photo by jfd)

You don't need to be a caller to Les amateurs de sports or other
talk-radio to ask questions about our national sport (even if it's
technically lacrosse), and the same can be said for la la Ligue
Fédérale des As. And we can't convince Ron Fournier to talk about
anything but the saint flanelle anyway.

It goes without saying that the LFA has gone through a lot of changes
since the inaugural season was launched in September. Injuries, a
change in schedule and personal issues combined with a number of
absent players has meant that the first third of the season hasn't
gone exactly as planned by the player-coaches of each team.

Even if management has made a sustained effort to balance the teams
each week with replacement players, that doesn't mean teams are as
good or as bad as the final score has indicated, because many of the
games have been decided by replacements.

So is the parity shown in the standings, with three points separating
first from last, a real indicator of the state of our league, or is it
misleading? That is the question. And since I hear all the rumours,
opinions and questions raised by our players, I can assure you opinion
is as varied as the personalities that make up our league.

Soon, the coaches and the founding members of the LFA will be asked to
share their view on balance in the league, and adjustments may be made
to level out the competition.

The addition of four new players might help, but we may consider
trades if the new recruits aren't enough to steady the ship. It's not
that we haven't had some close games this year, but we have to take a
close look at each team to make sure we make the right decisions for
the months ahead.

JFD (AS TRANSLATED BY LES PERREAUX)