Time to add glitz and glamour to CFL draft

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2022 (1278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the years I’ve covered the Canadian Football League, I’ve received many emails from readers outlining ways to grow the game.

One of the more common suggestions, at least when it comes to garnering additional eyeballs on the three-down product, is to provide more glitz and glam to the annual CFL Draft. It’s a suggestion — often dripping with frustration — that outnumbers all others in my inbox.

As a print reporter, I don’t have much opportunity to jazz up the draft, other than to possibly get the talented folks who lay out the pages — both in hard copy and digitally — to give it some extra love. I learned my lesson, though, a few years ago when I dedicated a ton of time researching and writing on a former Blue Bombers first overall pick, only to have that player fizzle out prior to his second season.

I’ve often wondered if that’s why TSN, the CFL’s official TV broadcaster, doesn’t roll out the red carpet for its coverage because they don’t see the value. To be fair, TSN does dedicate prime airtime to the draft each year, though the live TV commentary and analysis is limited to the first two rounds, with rounds three through eight covered online at TSN.ca.

Which brings me to a thought I had earlier this week, echoing the popular quote from the baseball movie Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will come. What if the CFL and TSN combined powers — and money — to really put on a show for the draft?

Would flying players out, having them called up to the stage to put on a jersey and shake the hand of the commissioner create enough buzz to justify the cost? The CFL loves to talk about how big it is, and how proud it is of its Canadian players. Why then does it mail it in on a chance to really showcase its homegrown talent?

It’s an interesting debate. And likely has a simple answer: if it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense.

It would be cool idea for the CFL to consider. Maybe even make it part of a rebranded CFL Week, where other events could occur in and around the draft. What do you think?

With that, let’s get into the most recent edition of CFL Rundown, with news, notes and analysis from the week that was in the three-down loop.

1) For those interested, the CFL Draft is scheduled for next Tuesday, May 3. Show starts at 7 p.m. CT. The supplementary draft is on May 5.

2) In case you missed it, the Blue Bombers have decided to lift the requirement that all fans be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 to enter IG Field, effective May 1. Feels like the right move at this point in the pandemic, which was only confirmed by the fact I have yet to receive an email from a single angry fan outraged by the decision. In speaking with Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller shortly after Monday’s announcement, the complaints have been few.

3) The Edmonton Elks are apparently weighing the option of giving up the first overall pick in the draft. Elks GM and head coach Chris Jones said earlier this week that he’s received several calls from multiple teams wanting to move up in the first round, adding that whoever wants the top pick, the offer is “going to have to be something good.”

4) I’ve talked to a few people over the last couple of weeks and the consensus is the draft isn’t very deep this year. Linebacker Tyrell Richards, who played his college ball at Syracuse, is said to be a slam dunk first overall selection, and certainly would help out the Elks. Would a team be willing to package their first pick, as well as a second and possibly more, to take Richards? Would that be enough to sway Jones?

5) It was no secret the Elks were a tire fire last season, finishing 3-11, including 0-7 at home. That level of ineptitude led to many reports about a rocky locker-room culture. That included former player Eddie Steele, who was let go from his role as a game-day analyst for making disparaging remarks against the club and since-fired GM Brock Sunderland. Well, this week Elks defensive back Aaron Grymes, in an interview on 980 CJME in Regina, said the toxic environment had much to do with losing, but that it was only magnified by a lack of players being vaccinated and other issues around COVID-19 health protocols.

6) Anyone else remember all the hype thrown at former NFL quarterback Delvin “Duck” Hodges after he signed a three-year deal with the Ottawa Redblacks last fall? Last Friday, Hodges, at just 26, announced his retirement from football. There’s a lesson to be learned here.

7) The Saskatchewan Roughriders have named Michael Ball as the team’s new radio play-by-play voice. Ball, who has 16 years of experience calling games for the University of Regina Rams, replaces Derek Taylor. Taylor spent three years with CKRM, the Roughriders radio broadcast partner, but will be starting his new gig this season as the voice of the Blue Bombers on 680 CJOB.

8) I mentioned a few weeks back that I thought getting a team in Eastern Canada sometime in the foreseeable future felt like a pipe dream. I might have to soften my stance a tad after news broke Tuesday that tickets to this year’s Touchdown Atlantic game between the Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts sold out in less than an hour. To be clear, Acadia University’s Raymond Field, where the game will be played, has only 10,000 seats, which was expanded from 3,000. Still, that’s pretty quick, and the CFL is already talking about adding more seats.

9) Calgary Stampeders QB Bo Levi Mitchell, one of the league’s premier players, has added his voice to the four-down debate. In an interview with The Green Zone in Regina, Mitchell didn’t hold back his feelings that the CFL should add an extra down. Mitchell isn’t one to shy away from an opinion, controversial or otherwise, but there’s one point he makes that seemed out to lunch and that’s suggesting CFL diehards “will remain diehards no matter what.” Clearly, Mitchell hasn’t been reading Twitter.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton