The CFL again is specializing in shooting itself in foot – repeatedly

However, as the CFL cancelled the CFL week which was a great way to introduce fans to the stars and future stars of the sport, teams like the Riders are now looking at names from the past to drum up enthusiasm for the upcoming season. On April 30, the Riders will be bringing in Bobby Jurasin, Dave Ridgway and Ray Elgaard for an autograph signing session at Mosaic Stadium, followed a few weeks later by Kory Sheets being brought in for a session.

In the meantime, the league has been spectacular in shooting itself in the feet, repeatedly, first in capping the football administration side in personnel and money, then reducing the opportunities to identify and bring in new players. Then in a lame effort lifted by the soccer whizzes at TFC, the CFL comes up with the CFL 2.0 which spins the fantasy that Europeans will be fascinated and pay money to watch European football players play special teams in the CFL and turn the CFL into the money-making proposition that the Premier League is in England.

Of course that move seems to get the CFL off the hook for helping to grow the sport in Canada at the grassroots level and appealing to the various new ethnic groups calling Canada home. The CFL attitude says that since Canadian football players are not good enough, maybe they can play in pizza leagues in Europe and maybe gain some life experience that way, if not actuall playing time.

Now living in the football capital of Canada, it can be easy to say teams need to actually do some work in making the games fun for fans. That attitude though ignores the fact that each market in Canada is unique, including the Martimes if the Atlantic Schooners actually get their act together, and if fans can identify with the players, either through exposure on TV or in the community, that goes a long way to helping to build brand identity.

Instead of perhaps carving out more of an identity as a fan-player friendly league, the CFL has shown the short-sightedness that marks the reigns of owners like David Braley in BC, the Wetenhalls in Montreal, and the over-rated brilliance of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. So while the league talks tough in regards to the players and bouncing the negotiations back for a new CBA, it also has a basket case in Montreal as new ownership is sought out, preferably ownership that can actually pay bills and even better, get Kavis Reed out and perhaps into Edmonton as the CEO.

There`s a kid in Regina I know who while growing up played both football and hockey and would have loved to have continued to play football, but the CFL is not in the business of providing Canadian kids an opportunity to play quarterback professionally, so he decided to play hockey, ended up playing junior hockey and is now winding down his hockey career playing university hockey.

So just as hockey participation numbers have gone down because hockey is now considered to be a rich kids sport, because of the financial burden not just for equipment, but also paying for travel to tournaments, practices etc because the minor hockey system is full of parents and kids thinking they will be in the NHL some day – football is losing out at the grassroots level because with rare exceptions, Canadians might get to the NFL now and then and make some fat cash, but if they love football, they have to be an offensive lineman or maybe a receiver and if you are a quarterback – be prepared to move to another position.

That message will get even stronger, because if the CFL is dropping the Canadian ratio, including recognizing Canadian quarterbacks as counting towards the ratio, then the question will have to be asked if Randy Ambrosie sold CFL fans a bill of goods not worth the paper it is printed on or if Ambrosie is trying to pacify the Toronto, Montreal and to some extent the potential Vancouver axis of evil in the hopes of keeping them in the league.

That is an interesting scenario, especially if the CFLPA vote to strike and do it for say, May 18, the start more or less of training camp. With no Canadian NHL teams left in the hunt, the Raptors just a series loss from rebuilding again, and the Blue Jays pinning interest in Vlademir Guerrero Jr., the time is right for a CFL with some major offseason changes managing to establish some public attention. If there is a strike, then look at the CFL to establish a 10 game minimum schedule as perhaps the worst case scenario next to an outright cancellation which is just mutual suicide by the owners and the players.

In the meantime though, teams like the Riders apparently had a rookie camp in Florida and some of the players who impressed there have been announced in signings. Among them was quarterback Isaac Harker of the Colorado School of Mines, which produced another Rider quarterback once upon a time called Chad Friehauf.

You don`t think quarterback factory when you think of the Colorado School of Mines, but Harker has a masters in economics and has the brains it appears to have a shot of being a good quarterback. It`s whether he has the arm to handle the bigger Canadian field and if he can read coverages and make the correct call on the field.

Harker has been joined by receivers Donald Gray Jr., and Paul McRoberts from the NCAA. Gray comes from Mississippi State and McRoberts comes from Southeast Missouri. On offense the Riders also added running back Jamal Morrow from Washington State who has some size and shores up a position that saw the Riders lose Cameron Marshall to free agency and Tre Mason to major knee surgery until later on this season.

The more interesting move is the signing of defensive back LJ McCray who had stints with San Francisco, Carolina and Buffalo, but apparently only seeing action with San Francisco. McCray is six feet and had some injury problems, but if he is healthy, his size and experience will be a great addition to whatever defense Jason Shivers is building at Mosaic Stadium.

The question of whether Jon Ryan will resume punting for the Riders or not is also up in the air and after making an appearance at a Rider free agent camp, there has been some radio silence as perhaps Ryan is waiting until after the NFL draft and if he wants to make $1 million a season or better, than maybe his best bet is trying the NFL again.

Ryan would be a good PR move, but from what I hear, Josh Bartel appears to have the confidence of head coach Craig Dickenson, who last year handled special teams. For a team that consists of question marks, perhaps being a good teammate and even better, delivering what the coach is asking, goes further than just a nice PR move by bringing a local guy home.

In a sense, this is what the new CBA is taking the CFL – away from an emphasis on Canadian players and trying to address the wage disparity between Canadian role players and American players. But this is a conversation that is not taking place in public, and someone has to be asking those questions.

Ah, that is something that is the great unknown, at least until Monday when Derek Taylor, formerly of TSN, takes overs as the Voice of the Riders. The Riders media presence has been non-existent, at least compared to previous years when Rod Pedersen would go down with the team and broadcast from the Florida mini-camps. However the jump or get pushed option provided to Pedersen last year from some uh, poorly expressed thoughts, left Rider fans with no regular contact which in one respect could work in favor of a team looking to at least fly under the radar initially.

The primary difference between Taylor and Pedersen will be that Taylor at least has a nodding relationship to football and appears to have a handle on analytics, which asks the question of whether a team is getting its money`s worth from players. Pedersen, who I first met in PA, is from a hockey background and while he had a turn of phrase for moments like Grey Cups or say, Duron Carter running back a pick six against Bo Levi Mitchell, in terms of understanding the game and explaining it to his listeners, uh, well, Rod Pedersen is a better hockey announcer.

Whether CKRM and the Riders employ a similar financial relationship with the Riders underwriting a portion of Pedersen`s salary remains to be seen, but Taylor has the opportunity to write an entirely new relationship and perhaps shift the conversation from the sensational that Pedersen seemed to be comfortable with at times to perhaps something that works for CKRM, the Riders and more importantly, the fans.

Just having someone report on the team, intelligently, would be a major plus at this point. And with the CFL looking at a potential strike and perhaps moving the business model to uh, something more fanciful, it would help to have someone who can ask the intelligent questions like is the CFL proposed business model based in reality or wishful thinking, is there a role for Canadian players, international players and American players, and how can a sport whose fan base is getting older, somehow engage the imagination of people who think they are better than the game.

Another interesting factor for Rider fans is the hiring of Arielle Zerr as the new director of communications for the Riders, taking over from Ryan Pollock who went over to football operations. Zerr worked at CJME and seems to have been respected for asking tough questions of Chris Jones, and her appointment means the Riders are opening the door for more women to participate in the operations of the club.

It’s a good news story, but it seems to be swamped by the impending labour dispute. And that is something the league needs to be wary about as it postures with the its players while trying to sell themselves as people actually concerned about and in love with the game, as opposed to short-sighted opportunists who have no idea why people fell in love with this game despite the best efforts of the best and brightest owners to run the game into the ground.

In the meantime, the league seems to realize they need to provide something other than strike speculation. The CFL draft is set for May 2, following the NFL draft starting Thursday and the rush on undrafted free agents that will start on Monday by NFL teams on players who were not drafted.

However another factor will be the free agent binge CFL teams went on in February. Edmonton, BC, Ottawa underwent some major changes of personnel and quarterbacks appear to have been the big winners so far in 2019.

However those big salaries means unless the salary cap is expanded, which may not seem likely, then teams will have to cut players in order to try to fit under the salary cap. Edmonton is going to have to cut players, probably BC as well.

Winnipeg is also one of those teams that after some big free agent signings, like Adam Bighill and Willie Jefferson, is looking to shift either the fourth or fifth overall draft picks, which they currently hold. This draft is supposed to be a deep one, but if the number of Canadians is going down, and the salary cap is not going up, or if so, by not much, then teams that are close to the salary cap may decide to see if they can get other assets other than draft picks which may spend a year trying their NFL luck.

Part of the problem with figuring out the CFL draft is trying to determine what potential players will do or end up. A lot of players who were ranked highly in the CFL draft ended up being drafted later because they indicated they would try their NFL luck first and if they came back to Canada, it could be years later.

So holding the CFL draft after the NFL draft allows CFL teams to at least make more intelligent decisions, which looks good on paper. The question of where teams want to go in the draft will depend on a variety of factors , primarily what value do Canadians add to the CFL in this day and age?

That is something I never thought I would have to explain, never mind justify. But in an age where the Edmonton Eskimos trademark Edmonton Empire as they ponder whether to change their name because it may be racially insensitive, anything is possible.

Including that maybe Randy Ambrosie and the CFL know what they are doing.

Maybe.

by Greg Urbanoski

The CFL again is specializing in shooting itself in foot – repeatedly

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