Whiney Hank Strikes Again!

Who would have thought Orlando Steinhauer would have gone to the Cory Chamblin School of sloppy tackling?

That was quite the finish to the eastern final, but with one unpleasant side effect – the re-emergence of whiny Henry Burris.

Here in the province that most closely resembles a regulation CFL field, we are familiar with whiny Henry from his days with Calgary when he felt the weight of the world, or 30K plus Rider fans in not just Taylor Field, but his own ball park, mocking him at every opportunity.

To be honest, we enjoyed mocking him, because it doesn’t take much to get under Hank’s skin.

The Us against the World ploy was an obvious grab from his last Grey Cup appearance when John Hufnagel gave one of the greatest pre-game speeches I have ever seen. If Hank needs to use that to motivate him this week, so be it, but we got bigger fish to fry.

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After going 0-2, thanks to Hamilton at first chocking and then Calgary going through the motions, I can drop all pretense of knowing what the hell I am talking about. Of course, playoffs you have to go big or go home – right Hank? So, I make no apologies. I never saw Masoli playing so well, but that is a credit to Austin as a coach and as a lifetime Rider fan and owner of two shares, I know not to bet against him. Edmonton taking advantage of a depleted Stampeder squad was perhaps more easily forecast, but you never bet against the champion, at least until they are beaten.

So in talking with political prisoners held in the depths of Mordor – Winnipeg to those of you east of Thunder Bay – it looks like with the roughly 5 or 6 p.m. start, the temperature will start around the minus 7 or 8 range and all things depending, may go as low as -16. This is not as bad as previous days in Winnipeg spent outdoors lying drunk in some livestock enclosure, unable to speak one’s native language, but it will be interesting to see how Ottawa handles it.

 I remember in 2013 when Hamilton first got here in the city that rhymes with fun, the Ti-Cats had no idea what -30 was like and got frostbite from going all Randy Macho Man Savage on the practice field. It only warmed up to zero the day of the game, and while I would rule out a similar climate change shift for the dark side of the moon, otherwise known as Dollarama or Investors Field to those of you living to the right of Thunder Bay, it will be chillier.

I’ve actually sat in Dollarama Field, taking my seat only after offering my expertise with a trowel to fill some cracks from previous construction. The wind might be a factor in the first half, but if the temperature cools off as expected, the wind should drop off in the second half. This means you need a running game in the first half and a healthy supply of hot shots on the sideline for those wearing gloves. Neither team unleashed what could be considered a major rushing attack in their respective wins, but you would think that Edmonton might be able to run more than Ottawa, if only because of Mike Reilly being more mobile although Henry does have his moments.

So having played football in November, I would have to think after a tentative first half, the passing attacks will open up in the second half, but I would have to think the advantage goes to Edmonton just because they will be more acclimatized to this stuff than Ottawa is, although Ottawa does have Zach Evans and Keith Shologan, two former Riders who know what it’s like to play out here, along with Chris Milo, another former Rider who has kicked in the frozen tundra and learned to tell the tale. If it unfolds like I think the game could well be a repeat of the 1981 game between these two cities with Edmonton pulling out a 26-23 win.

So for the Schenley Nominations – sorry, I am a victim of my generation – Henry will win Most Outstanding Player – he is the last man standing and even though I am not a fan of whiney Henry, he deserves it; Simoni Lawrence gets the defensive player nod, not just because he deserves it, but I had a Siamese cat named Simon and the symmetry is just too perfect; Jamaal Westerman will win outstanding Canadian because a bone has to be thrown to the disconsolate bomber fans who dream of Danny Barrett running their offense (hint);  Jovan Olafioye will take the O-line honors because statistics show a greater likelihood of players named Jovan winning Schenley Awards;  Brandon Banks wins special teams because who is going to catch him?;  Derrell Walker will win rookie of the year because the western rep needs some Schenley love; and Rob Bagg will win the Jake Gaudaur award because anyone who comes back after I think three major leg injuries shows some kind of dedication.

I am going to go Montreal over UBC in the Vanier because despite deep pockets, Blake Nil usually chokes in the national final and Danny Machoccia has what looks like the Montreal chapter of the Hells Angels rushing the quarterback. I think the Vanier Cup should be paired with the Grey Cup and while Shaw/Access offers a Canada West game of the week west of Thunder Bay, TSN could enhance its football appeal and its Canadian appeal by developing Canadian University Football the way it developed the CFL years back.

With the various TSN channels, it could go regional and then perhaps national with a marquee game. I know earlier this year rich bastages in Saskatoon were trying out the notion of a national interlocking schedule with those games being featured. Not surprisingly, they wanted the Huskies on quite a few even though they haven’t won anything in about 20 years. But that is an excellent idea and could be expanded across the range of sports to include CIS hockey, basketball, and volleyball and even cross country running – couldn’t be worse than darts or NASCAR could it?

The low profile of the CFL Commish will only be mitigated at the Commish luncheon at the Grey Cup where we get the state of the league and what’s to come. The rule changes and the crazy reffing were creating havoc at the start of the season, although the playoffs, particularly in the east, seemed to reward the changes. Reffing is a common problem, no matter what the league, but and this involves working with the CIS and minor football, investments need to be made in refs who know what they are doing and where to look. The National Post likes to point to low ratings and attendance as alarms for the CFL and perhaps whose in the golden horseshoe of southern Ontario could expand on the need to better market the Argos, particularly to a diverse population.

The problem I understand is after David Braley gutted the team and Rogers attempted to drive a stake through their heart, the Argos still managed to somehow survive. The first step is having a proper marketing department, the second is to identify new audiences and how to attract them to games, and the third would be implementing something like Draft Kings or even better, a CFL version of Madden football. Multiple platforms help in accessing games, but so would being able to play the game on a big screen and getting into it that way. Another thing is to look at a version of arena football for the CFL for winter months. I bring this up because as a director of the U of R Rams, I see Canadian players go up to the CFL and unless they are an offensive lineman or Nic Demski, they sit on special teams or practice rosters. The reality is with eight games minimum season for CIS football players, versus 11 for NCAA, and a greater emphasis on academics for CIS players, Canadian football players lack the experience to move more comfortably into pro ranks.

An arena type league, centered in CFL cities, but expandable to places like Quebec City, Halifax, Saskatoon and Kelowna, would increase the reach of the CFL during winter months when there is hockey, but also provide Canadian players and perhaps practice roster players teams would like to see get more experience, an opportunity to play and improve their skills. Arena teams have smaller rosters so you wouldn’t necessarily have to run your major players through it unless they wanted extra cash.

Another thing I would humbly submit is while the CBA limits exhibition games to just two, people know two games is not enough to properly evaluate talent (hello Brendan Taman and former Rider QB prospect Johnathon Jennings). Controlled scrimmages between teams is a way to bridge that gap, particularly if you hold the scrimmages in say, London, Guelph, Brandon, Saskatoon, Red Deer, Lethbridge etc, to reach out to prospective fans and potential future players and fans.

The scrimmages, and speaking only from a Saskatchewan prospective, are fun to watch, more relaxing and if you have people selling food, drink, souvenirs and then have an autograph and pix session with players after the scrimmage, you build fan identification and loyalty. The overhead costs are transport for the teams and perhaps accommodation but it is a controlled atmosphere to evaluate players more fully.

Now for other CFL news, apparently Jeff Tedford is on his way out as coach of the BC Lions having received offers from NCAA teams as their season winds down. This would be a mutually beneficial decision for both sides as BC was not happy with what happened with the team and this could see the return of Wally Buono back on the sidelines. Let’s hope he has given up the walking on the field to midfield to talk to the refs since he is a living legend, sarcasm meter off.

The Rider search for GM continues with reports the Riders would like to talk to Ottawa assistant GM Brock Sunderland who has six years with the New York Jets, whose father is a scout with Tennessee Titans and started with Montreal. The other major candidate who apparently has been talked about/with is John Murphy, assistant GM with Calgary who also got his start with Montreal and currently lives in Louisiana and handles scouting in the US.

Rod Pedersen who is constantly pumping the tires of Jeremy O’Day says other candidates who have either stepped forward or whom the Riders want to talk with include Jim Barker, Danny McManus, Joe Womack, Tom Higgins and Glen Suitor.

I will refrain from heavy drinking until I learn more. What I would like to hear, and what guys like Pedersen are ignoring, is what plan a prospective GM has for the team, how we will get from Point A to B and what kind of coaching are we looking for and how we will avoid traps like Cory Chamblin in the future. Haven’t heard any of this yet, so accepting Jeremy O’Day on the basis of the word of the old boy’s network just isn’t enough to inspire me.

But enough of that, there is a Grey Cup to be played!