Are they starting their season earlier than usual? I surfed by cfl.ca and noticed that the first preseason game this year is May 30th.

May 30th!!!!

I remember when the CFL was in the United States, they started early, but I seem to remember that it was in mid to late June, not May.

Questions about the CFL from Americans are so rare that I have to seize the opportunity to respond

PCC, you're right, the season is starting even earlier than usual this year. Each team has only two pre-season games (I think in the NFL, it's still four games) which this year are being played in late May and early June. In the past, regular season games have started in late June or early July, but this year, it's mid-June (my Stampeders' first game is against Montreal on June 17...a Tuesday, which in itself is a change from the usual days). I have tried various CFL web pages to get a satisfactory explanation for this, all to no avail. I suspect the reason may be weather-related. As you probably know, our Grey Cup game is traditionally played on the last Sunday in November. It can be brutally cold in many parts of Canada by then, especially in a prairie city like Regina, where this year's finale will be held. The CFL probably thinks there is a better chance of tolerable weather in Regina if the Grey Cup were held a little earlier, so this year it is scheduled for Nov 16, hence bumping the entire CFL schedule to an earlier start. I don't know if this is a permanent change...the league loves to 'tinker' with various aspects of the game (eg, the tie-breaking formula) in an effort to draw more fans (not always successfully).