Riderville Report May 5

By Greg Urbanoski

The dust has settled from the Riders CFL draft capping a week which saw a new location for a stadium and the introduction of new Rider uniforms.

First let’s review the draft. Ben Heenan was the Rider first round pick, which in the end was understandable, even though the Riders are well stocked at the guard position. It’s interesting to see the Riders operate this year, with a greater emphasis on public relations, as Heenan’s selection was announced at the Husky breakfast in front of a packed house. This was a nice touch in building fan interest in Saskatoon as well as providing great video as Heenan was taken by surprise by the announcement.

From here on in the draft got interesting very quickly. Linemen went fast and furious, and players ranked highly prior to the draft, but signed with the NFL, found themselves dropping in the draft if not drafted. The Riders swung a trade with Calgary to move up and draft linebacker Sam Hurl of the University of Calgary.

You may well ask…who is Sam Hurl? Well he is a good linebacker with the Dinos, a Canada West all-star. What made this pick puzzling was his position. The Riders seemed determined to go with all import linebackers prior to the draft, but Hurl was drafted to provide some spark on special teams.
The Riders currently have one Canadian linebacker in Mike McCullough, who spelled off Jerrel Freeman last year but the depth behind McCullough is limited to Dan Huclak, who also doubles as a long-snapper. The Riders though have other options for long-snapper, including Alex Krausnick-Groh, a draft pick from last year who is being groomed for centre, and Nick Hutchins, who is also a guard in training.

NO GO FOR BUSES

School bus routes outside P.A. canceled due to spring snowstorm

4h ago

Trades in Sask.

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

18h ago

Weather issues

Old man winter returns for one more round

18h ago

Hurl fits in with the Riders desire for greater speed that will help on special teams coverage. If he fills out and learns the defense, he may well step into regular playing time in two to three years time. The Riders also drafted Kevin Regimbald-Gagne from Laval. This pick also raised some eyebrows as it seems the Riders are looking to get a Canadian starter at linebacker to make up for the loss of a Canadian at receiver. This now becomes a ratio issue for the Riders and if McCullough makes the team this year, this could be his last year. The Riders are determined to have a starting Canadian and a back-up and these two players could play a very big role in making those changes a reality.

Ismael Bamba was a surprise pick in the sense he was more highly ranked as a receiver, but fell to the sixth round before the Riders picked him up. Bamba could well make the Riders as the Riders are looking for speed and hands. That could spell the end of Jordan Sisco, who was drafted a couple of years ago, and has struggled ever since he returned from a stint with the Indianapolis Colts. At the Rider mini camp, Sisco had problems breaking from close coverage provided from the Rider defensive backs, and with Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin emphasizing speed; I find it hard to believe Sisco will make the team.

Now the Riders will be looking at signing those Canadians who fell through the cracks in the draft. Those players will not count against the roster limit for pre-season, and if you remember Rob Bagg, a few of those players can crack the line-up. One name is Dominic Noel, and then there is Bryce McCall of the Huskies, who can help provide some hitting and depth in the defensive backfield. It will be interesting to see how the Riders approach this part of the game and who they sign.

In other Rider news, the dome is dead. The City of Regina has come up with a proposal for a new stadium to be built on the Exhibition Grounds, 33,000 with an open air approach instead of a domed stadium build on the former CN yards in downtown Regina.

There are a couple of reasons for this. The city is negotiating with CN to buy the former yards but the amount of land under discussion is less than what work for a CFL stadium. Add to that problems with parking and traffic in such a cramped area, and that is one strike against the stadium.

The City was also the victim of Mayor Pat Fiacco’s rhetoric. Following the election of the Saskatchewan Party, the air was full of state of the art stadium, a can-do spirit that filled the province and said go with the dome and get ‘er done.

The problems started when the federal government said it was not in the business of stadium building. With no federal funding Fiacco said the city would go with a private partnership that would provide up to 75 per cent of the cost.

Well, despite the boom in Saskatchewan, the problem is there were no private companies, especially those involved with the cyclical resource sector, willing to put up 75 per cent of the roughly $450 million needed for a domed stadium with a retractable roof. No matter how much people talked themselves into the belief this was best option, the truth is no one other than taxpayers had enough to pay for it.

The City of Regina has raised its borrowing limit from the province and wants the province to partner with a loan to help cover the cost of construction. There are those who say since the new stadium is open air, why not stick with Taylor Field and put money into it to keep it operating?

The problem with that is Taylor Field is probably put together from designs from three different eras. The east side toilets are basically a trough, the concessions are not the greatest, but the stadium does have the best atmosphere in the province for football and concerts. For the Riders to remain in the cycle for hosting Grey Cups, which brings millions into the province, it needed a stadium with services more up to date and able to host concerts like U2, which bowed out of coming to Regina because the stadium could not technically handle the requirements of its last tour.

People in Saskatoon do not want provincial money going into a new stadium in Regina, citing the need for new bridges in their city. Personally, I feel Prince Albert needs a second bridge more than Saskatoon, which is rapidly becoming the whiniest city in the country.

I have no problems with the city wanting to put money into Taylor Field, because Lambeau Field in Green Bay is an open air stadium that also has been upgraded and renovated over the years to meet NFL stadiums and it is older than Taylor Field. Of course, Green Bay has the benefit of getting NFL TV money, which makes these projects more worthwhile and affordable.

Ultimately though, I feel the province should put money into a new stadium because it is not just a stadium for Regina, but for the province. After living in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, North Battleford and Prince Albert, I can honestly say the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the most important and unifying force in this province. More so than the Legislature, what happens at Rider home games affects people in the province on an emotional basis and provides us with an identity those who leave the province take with them no matter where they go.

The only requirement I would have for the new stadium is it be built acoustically in such a way that fan noise drowns out everything the opposition brings to the field. If we get concerts like the Rolling Stones or U2, so much the better, but this new stadium should be the showcase of the province.
What was less inspiring was the release of the new re-designed Rider uniforms. Only in

Saskatchewan would the release of new uniforms provoke heated debate and discussion. I was underwhelmed by the new uniforms, considering them akin to golf shirts and right now pretty happy with my collection of 12 game worn jerseys that I’ll be wearing instead.

The funniest things about the uniforms was the Rider logo on the lower back of the jersey, which was rapidly dubbed the “Tramp Stamp” referring to a tattoo worn in a similar location by certain people. People seem to like the Rider uniforms of the 1980s and the classic retro look of the 1960s. I like those uniforms but today the players want less of a sleeve to avoid giving their opponents something to grasp onto. But those uniforms have those strips which just look sharp and again, what do I know, I own a black game worn jersey and damn it looks sharp.

So that was the week in Riderville, and training camp is five weeks away. I can’t wait.