Sponsored Video: Savour Every Moment

Here's a new short film called "Savour Every Moment" it apparently debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City but I'm not nearly cultured enough to know about that... and if you read this blog I doubt you are either.

This film is all about pets and inviting us to discover the joys of life and the fun they have. Personally I have a hamster and fish (neither by choice) and they aren't nearly as active or exciting as the ones in this film.

Anywho, you should check it out. If you are a pet lover you will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Petcurean, but all thoughts are my own

Thoughts on the CFL Draft

The CFL Draft went this morning and while I'm sure the lack of my live draft day blogging left a gap in the coverage we all seem to have survived.

Many people have been asking me me thoughts on the Riders' draft day and to be honest I thought it was bad. About the only way the Riders could have managed to screw up the first round was by taking another interior lineman and that's exactly what they did. It was probably for the best I was on a cell phone at the time as it did not contain an emoticon that accurately captured my anger. Don't get me wrong Cory Watman is a great prospect (one of the top OL in this class) but we already have 3 quality guards and an established centre... drafting another interior OL didn't even crack the top 3 in terms of need especially when quality players were available at other positions: DL, safety, offensive tackle... you know the places where we currently don't have depth. Adding to what is currently our only real area of strength in terms of Canadian depth was a poor use of a top pick. 2nd or 3rd round, fine but not 4th overall especially when we didn't have a second rounder to address the other needs.

I was also not a fan of trading our 3rd round for three 5th rounders as we then did. Given that we had relatively few picks and our Canadian depth is not all that abundant, I get the idea of trading for more picks. The problem is that in doing so we were left with 1 pick in the top 37. You can't expect to build quality Canadian talent like that (the Bombers tried that for years under Taman unsuccessfully). It's choosing quantity over quality. Plus I bet half those 5th rounders don't even make the team so the net gain will be minimal at best. A better use of the 3rd round pick would have been to draft Chris Mercer. Not just because he is a local kid but because he is a quality prospect at OT... something we actually need.

Even more maddening was that we used our first of four picks in round 5 on.... you guessed it, an interior OL!! Matt Vonk is another prospect I like but on this team we already have so many interior OL I don't see what we do with him... unless Cortez has developed a new offensive play that requires 2 centres and 4 guards. We just seem so intent on drafting guards and could are less about actual needs. I don't get it.

Here are some random thoughts on the other draftees:

WR Alex Anthony - As a 5th rounder i actually like this pick. Well regarded receiver that will hopefully push for a spot.
DL Levi Steinhauer - I know nothing about him other than he comes from the U of S, I somehow doubt he will provide the depth along the DL that we need.
TE Spencer Moore - Another one I don't know much about but is well regarded as a special teams player.
LB Thomas Spoletini - This was a weak year over for LBs so forgive me for not expecting much from one taken this late. Think Kevin Regimbald-Gagne from last year.
OL Eric Armitage - This one is actually a tackle so on the basis of actually fulfilling a need I like it. As a 7th rounder my expectations are low but you never know.

Monday Morning Senitmonies: Draft Day Silence

Sorry to those of you looking for a post today but there will liekly not be one. Normally I would be doing live Draft Day Blogging but thanks to some scheduling conflicts (not the least of which is the CFL doing the Draft on a Monday) I will be in class all day tomorrow and generally unavailable for draft commentary. I`ll catch up as soon as I can.

Honestly, with some of the top end talent in available in Round 1 short of blowing our pick on Brett Jones (I`ll say it again... we dont need another local interior OL), I don`t think we can go wrong in round 1. Guess we will see.

Guest Writer

Regular reader Ray did up an article on a few different topics including Tebow and the CFL draft and asked if I'd post it up on my blog. The beauty of having 7.3 readers is that you can grant their requests pretty easily. Also, this whole having other people write stuff for me is way easier than doing it myself. What's the best kind of sourcing? Outsourcing.

Any way have a read...

CFL : Tebow in CFL(?), CFL 2013 Draft, Kyle Quinlan Canadian Quarterback 

By: Ray Beauregard

  The CFL’s all-time leading passer, Anthony Calvillo, is coming back for another season with the Montreal Alouettes but he is 40 so it’s time the Alouettes start seriously thinking about grooming a replacement. Calvillo though, is like fine wine, he doesn’t look like he is even close to being done but age indicates otherwise even if he can keep playing, there comes a day to retire form football. Montreal owns the rights to former Heisman winner, Denver Bronco, New York Jet, and first round draft pick, Tim Tebow who was just released from the New York Jets. He only threw eight passes this past season and in 2011 had a horrid 46.5 completion percentage, but did have 12 touchdown passes compared to six interceptions and an eye-popping 660 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns while also leading the Denver Broncos to that playoff upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Maybe Tebow will get one more shot in the NFL but the chances are really up in the air, 50/50 that an NFL team will take a chance on him. The CFL on the other hand would welcome him with open arms, although he would obviously have to compete for the back-up job behind the future hall of famer Anthony Calvillo but he would be great trade bait for Montreal and a team like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers could really use him and would give up a lot in a trade if Tebow was 100 percent playing in the CFL. I think he would be great for the CFL, his name alone sells tickets, and I think he would do great in the CFL even though CFL and NFL great Warren Moon doesn’t think so. Moon told a Houston radio station KILT-AM that Tebow wouldn’t succeed in the CFL because of his weak arm strength. Moon’s argument that the field is bigger but if anything I think that would be a huge advantage for a player like Tebow. The CFL’s bigger field will be easier for Tebow to throw the ball, he would have way more room to maneuver on a bigger field which in turn will give him more time to make the right throws.

--- Well if the whole Tebow thing doesn’t work for the Als, they still signed Canadian quarterback Kyle Quinlan this past off-season, which is an interesting topic. Quinlan was in camp with the Als after going undrafted in 2012. He went two for four for 45 yards in his only action but was released during the team’s final training camp cuts. Quinlan re-signed with the Als this off-season after a terrific 2012 CIS season where he took McMaster to their second straight Vanier Cup and won the Hec Crighton Trophy awarded to the best football player in the CIS. With the Als signing of Quinlan, he becomes just the second Canadian quarterback in the CFL, the other being Brad Sinopoli of the Calgary Stampeders and he is the team’s third quarterback. The Alouettes signed Quinlan for two-years so they obviously have plans of grooming him behind Calvillo and who better to back-up and learn behind than the professional football’s all-time leading passer.

--- Calgary Dinos defensive tackle Linden Gaydosh is getting a lot of hype as the potential first overall pick in the upcoming 2013 CFL Draft. The Hamilton Ti-Cats could draft the 6-foot-4, 314 pound Gaydosh from Peace River, Alberta with the first pick on Monday. Alberta has a lot to offer in the 2013 draft. Minor football through High School football is just amazing in Alberta. There’s some fellows in the CFL that I played with and against including stellar Eskimos LB Corbin Sharun, super skilled B.C Lions WR Marco Iannuzzi, B.C Lions kicker Hugh O’Neil, and Montreal LB Curtis Dublanko. When Dublanko gets his shot in this league, he is going to be one hell of a player, nobody ever hit be nearly as hard as Dublanko did. Then there are some guys I played with and against that deserve their respected shots this season either as draftees or free agent signees including Saint Marys talented receiver Kevin Wuthrich. The former CJFL Edmonton Wildcat was signed as an undrafted free agent with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2009 and scored a receiving touchdown in the only game action he seen during the pre-season before being released in the final cuts. Well after a couple years of maturing into a very solid receiver for the Saint Marys Huskies, the speedy Wuthrich would be a valuable non-import receiver for any CFL club. Another fellow is another Saint Marys player, Safety Neil King. King is the younger brother of LS Ryan King of the Edmonton Eskimos and was a 2011 AUS All-Star. Both Wuthrich and King played on the Sherwood Park high school football powerhouse Bev Facey Falcons. And a sleeper to

---  K well here is my First 5 pick 2013 CFL Mock Draft

1, Hamilton -- DT, Linden Gaydosh, Calgary – If D’Aguilar didn’t just receive two NFL tryouts, I’d say Hamilton should draft him or maybe they should anyway. Lots of Canadian players that sign in NFL and get drafted anyway eventually come to CFL after a couple NFL seasons mainly on the practice roster. Argos could get Cory Greenwood after he was released by Kansas City, Toronto drafted him 3^rd overall in 2010. Gaydosh will provide good Canadian depth on the defensive line and will be a beast one day along with Laval’s Arnaud Nadon-Gascon.

2. Winnipeg – OL, Matt Sewell, McMaster – Sewell is too good to pass up here even though he just signed with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Again, Sewell could be one of those players to get into the CFL a few seasons after being originally selected. Blue Bombers are in dire need of help on offensive line, just look at all the sacks and injuries to Buck Pierce. If they want immediate help on offensive line then they should select Eastern Michigan’s Corey Watman or Regina’s Brett Jones.

3. Montreal – WR, Seydou Junior Haidara, Laval – Might as well stack up at either offensive line or receivers, can never have too much Canadian talent in the CFL. Can’t argue with the Rouge et Orr Vanier Cup winner Haidara at this spot.

4. Saskatchewan – DL. Stefan Charles, Regina – Offensive line is a priority and again, I’ll go back to Greenwood argument and add to it with Matt O’Donnell, who is now an Eskimo after a couple seasons in the NFL and after being drafted in the 2^nd round, 15 overall of the 2011 draft.  Charles, who played his college ball at Regina, signed with the NFL’s Titans. If that happens not to work out, Charles would be a great fit in Riderville.  

5. Montreal – DL, Andy Mulumba, Eastern Michigan – Finding a defensive tackle should be a priority and Popp doesn’t seem to care if they already signed in the NFL judging by his pipeline of picks which include the Broncos Phillip Blake and the Dolphins Vaughn Martin. The Montreal product Mulumba has too much talent to bypass at this spot, even though he signed the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. It will either be Mulumba or Ben D’Aguilar at this spot.

CFL Mock Draft Version 2

Since my first go at this on Monday, the CFL decided to add a 7^th round to the draft. I have rethought a few selections. I also found a couple errors. One was the omission of Jesse Joseph (the guy is on the CFLs’ top prospects list, whoops).   I was also advised of an error in one of my picks in Ryan White, turns out he was drafted last year (at the least he wasn’t dead). So here is an updated version of my mock draft with slightly fewer glaring errors.

Round 1

1 – Hamilton – DL Linden Gaydosh: Gaydosh is still the consensus #1 pick. Many offers being made by teams for this pick (Edm offered Ted Laurent) and some talk that the Ticats would prefer Sewell over Gaydosh. I still bet they take him but regardless Gaydosh will be the top pick

2 – Winnipeg – LB Mike Edem: Still no sense on what the Bombers will do. They really want Gaydosh but if they can’t trade up for him, Edem is the logical choice given his versatility and immediate impact.

3 – Montreal (via Edm) – WR Seydou Junior-Haidara: He’s the best receiver in the draft, he’s local and Als need a receiver. It’s a no-brainer. They could probably wait and take him with their next pick but won’t want to risk losing him.

4 – Saskatchewan – DL Ben D’Aguilar: With Ricky Foley and Keith Shologan starting on D-line, the Riders are in need of Cdn depth. Despite having 2 NFL tryouts lined up, D’Aguilar is worth the risk.

5 – Montreal – OL Matt Sewell: His NFL deal drops him a few spots but Als can afford to be patient and with their all Canadian OL, taking the best available OT is a smart move.

6 – BC – OL Cory Watman: BC really wants a top end DL but there are a few of those to be had. Top end OL prospects are a scarcer commodity. Their interior OL is old and injury plagued… adding Watman to last year’s picks Norman and Fabien will shore the OL up nicely.

7 – Calgary – DL Brent Urban: With no real pressing needs, the Stamps can afford to wait out Urban’s last year of college. 

8 – Toronto – OL Nolan McMillan: The Argos have a history of making high risk picks early on players who they rarely see for a couple years (if ever). McMillan is tremendous prospect at tackle. He has a year left of college but that won’t concern the Argos.

9 – Ottawa – OL Brander Craighead: With the franchise’s first ever pick, they will wisely look to starting stocking the shelves along the OL.

*** A few caveats on Round 1. As I mentioned the #1 pick is being shopped around and may change hands. Edmonton still wants to move up. BC moving up to add another first rounder still makes sense but is looking less likely. One way or another expect the 1^st round order to undergo some change.

Round 2

10 – Edmonton (via Ham) – OL Brett Jones: If Hervey can’t get into the first round to get a top end DL he will take the safer option and try and strengthen the OL.

11 – Winnipeg – OL Matt Vonk: DL is an option for this pick but still think shoring up the OL is a better option.

12 – BC (via Edm) – DL Ellie Ngoyi: Patience will pay off here for the Lions as they will get the DL they need to back-up Westerman without using a 1^st rounder to get it. Ngoyi is a raw talent but the Lions will gladly develop him.

13 – Calgary (via Sask) – OL Matt Albright: The Stamps are one of those teams that believe you can never have too many OL. Albright’s stock has been on the rise.

14 – Montreal – OL Hunter Steward: The Als will continue stocking the future OL shelves by taking a promising redshirt junior in Steward.

15 – Hamilton (via Edm via BC) – OL Chris Mercer: Mercer’s stock has risen to the point where if a team wants the budding young OT they will need to act early. After passing on Sewell (who they reportedly want) in round 1, Mercer will be a nice consolation prize.

16 – Calgary – LB CO Prime – The Stamps have lost a couple special teamers/depth LBs this past offseason (Antwi, Calixte) and need to re-stock. Despite likely having to wait until September to get him on the field, Prime is the best available and the Stamps can afford to be patient.

17 – Toronto – DL Andy Mulumba: Toronto needs help on the D-line with all their offseason departures. They are willing to risk Mulumba's NFL interests.

18 – Ottawa – DL Connor Williams: After taking an OL in Round 1, the RedBlacks will look to start addressing the other side of the trenches.

Round 3

19 – Hamilton – DL Jesse Joseph

20 – Winnipeg – DL Stefan Charles

21 – BC (via Edm) – LB Nicolas Boulay

22 – Saskatchewan – OL Josh Prinsen

23 – Montreal – DL John Miniaci

24 – Edmonton (via Ham via BC) – WR Yannick Morin-Plante

25 – Calgary – WR Mike DiCroce 

26 – Edmonton via Tor – WR Natey Adjei

27 – Ottawa – DL Kalonji Kashama

After round 3 it’s pretty much a crapshoot, so take this for what its worth (particularly when we get to round 7)

Round 4

28 – Calgary (via Ham) – DL Mike Klassen

29 – Winnipeg – DB Cameron Wade

30 – Montreal (via Edm) – WR Simon LeMarquand

31 – Edmonton (via Sask) – RB Steven Lumbala

32 – Montreal – OL Jakob Piatrowski

33 – BC – DB Patrick Chenard

34 – Calgary – DB Tolu Akinwumi

35 – Hamilton (via Tor) – DL Hosam Shahin

36 – Ottawa –LB Bo Lokombo

Round 5

37 – Hamilton – Dl Jean Alexandre Bernier

38 – Saskatchewan (via Win) – DB Jermaine Gabriel

39 – Edmonton (via Sask via Edm) – DB Kris Robertson

40 – Edmonton (via Sask) – DL Brent Wheeler

41 – Montreal – WR Steven Alli

42 – BC – OL Shane Bergman

43 – Hamilton (via Cal) – OL Kevin Croft

44 – Toronto – OL Robert Ravenbergen

Round 6

45 – Hamilton – DB Michael Daly

46 – Winnipeg – WR Chris Dobko

47 – Montreal (via Edm) – DB Mike Spense

48 – Calgary (via Edm via Sask) – OL Eric Armitage

49 – Saskatchewan (via Edm via Mtl) – WR Nick Anapolsky

50 – BC – RB Brendan Gillanders

51 – Edmonton (via Cal) – OL Cameron Thorn

52 – Toronto – K Brett Lauther

Round 7

53 – Hamilton – WR Alex Anthony

54 – Winnipeg – FB Isaac Bell

55 – Edmonton – LB Kareem Ba

56 – Saskatchewan – FB Matt Burke

57 – Montreal – OL Taylor Servais

58 – BC – DB Ryland Smith

59 – Calgary – DB Matt McGarva

60 – Toronto – WR Guillaume Rioux

CFL Draft: What Do The Riders Do?

With just days to go before the CFL Draft, a big question among the 7 people in the province who care about the draft is "What Will The Riders Do?". The draft is always really difficult to predict but I will do my best... I mean it is kinda my gimmick.

The Riders now have 5 picks after the league added a 7th round to the draft yesterday. Believe me if Taman had known about this in advance he likely would have traded the pick away. Four picks seems to be his max... though I guess anything is better than the year we only had 2 picks and used them both on Regina Rams.

So we have a 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th and now 7th. So what guys will we be targeting in the draft? Well logically given that we plan to start 2 Cdn DL and this is a draft will a lot of high end DL talent we should be targeting a DL with out first pick. That said apparently we have our eyes set on LB Mike Edem. now don't get me wrong Edem is a hell of a talent and many expect him to switch to safety (which would allow him to back up Butler) but I think that would be a mistake. If we had a 2nd round pick that we could use to address our DL need then I would be fine with it but we don't and by the 3rd we won't be getting a top end DL. Ideally D'Aguilar would fall to us at #4 but that's not a guarantee. Another option is Ellie Ngoyi as he is the next best available DL who has not signed an NFL. I like that option but don't see it. I'm betting on either Edem or D'Aguilar with our first. Just please don't take Brett Jones. Another local interior OL is not what we need.

Unfortunately our draft strategy is severely limited by 2 factors. 1) we have few picks and 2) our Cdn depth is fairly thin. That means that we can't afford to use a pick on a redshirt junior (which sadly leaves a lot of great talent of our draft board) and we can't risk taking guys who won't be in camp (i.e. Charles, Sewell, Mulumba, Prime) which also takes some talent of our board. Its a vicious cycle that we can't break out of. We can never build for the future.

Outside of DL we also need OL depth, particularly at tackle. If I asked you who our back-up tackle was I'm not sure you could answer, which highlights the need. We should be able to land a quality OL in the 3rd. It would be great if a guy like Chris Mercer slipped into the 3rd. But if not him another tackle like Matt Albright or Josh Pinsen. We could use another safety (though my preference would be to wait until round 5 for that since we already have Butler, Newman and McCall.

With our 6th rounder I would like us to take a flyer on a receiver. Like Bamba last year, a decent one will fall to the 6th. Nick Anapolsky, Stephen Adekolu or Anthony Alex perhaps. Our bonus 7th rounder should be used on a fullback. There are 2 promising ones and I bet one will last until late in the draft: Isaac Bell and Matt Burke. A couple DLs who might be available late and of interest too are John Miniaci  and Jean Alexandre Bernier.

That's how I see it but I guess we will have to see what actually goes down.

CFL Mock Draft 2013

Well here goes nothing...

Round 1

1 – Hamilton – DL Linden Gaydosh: With Gaydosh not getting an NFL offer so far this one becomes a no-brainer for the Ticats.

2 – Winnipeg – LB Mike Edem: Bombers are the toughest 1^st round team to predict as this pick could go a lot of ways. Given Edem's versatility in being able to back up Henoc Muamba at LB and likely Cauchy Muamba at safety. My best guess is they go with Edem.

3 – Montreal (via Edm) – OL Matt Sewell: The Als are not in need of Sewell immediately but do need to ensure a future supply of Canadian tackles if they want to continue their much envied all-Canadian OL. Sewell’s NFL will not scare off Popp.

4 – Saskatchewan – DL Ben D’Aguilar: With Ricky Foley starting on DE, the Riders are in need of Cdn depth along the DL. Despite having 2 NFL tryouts lined up, D’Aguilar is worth the risk.

5 – Montreal – WR Seydou Junior-Haidara: With their 2^nd first rounder of the day, the Als will address a position of need by taking the top receiving prospect in the draft who has the added bonus of being a local Laval product.

6 – BC – DL Ellie Ngoyi: Lions really want to give 2012 first rounder Jabar Westerman more playing time. That will require a Cdn back-up.  Ngoyi may not be the highest profile DL prospect but Buono has a keen eye for talent and Ngoyi’s immediate availability will entice him to pull the trigger.

7 – Calgary – DL Brent Urban: With no real pressing needs, the Stamps can afford to wait out Urban’s last year of college. 

8 – Toronto – OL Nolan McMillan: The Argos have a history of making high risk picks early on players who they rarely see for a couple years (if ever). McMillan is tremendous prospect at tackle. He has a year left of college but that won’t concern the Argos.

9 – Ottawa – OL Brander Craighead: With the franchise’s first ever pick, they will wisely look to starting stocking the shelves along the OL.

*** Two caveats on Round 1. #1 I know Ed Hervey would like to continue his aggressive streak and trade the Esks up into the 1^st round. #2 I think BC would really like to land both an OL and a DL in round 1 (like they did last year). Buono has a history of making moves for multiple first rounders. Montreal and Toronto strike me as the most likely to trade back.

Round 2

10 – Edmonton (via Ham) – OL Brett Jones: The Eskimos OL was beyond abysmal last year so they should look to add the best available OL prospect with their first pick.

11 – Winnipeg – OL Matt Vonk: Given their choice to once again roll with the ever-fragile Buck Pierce, the Bombers will need to build up the line tasked with protecting him.

12 – BC (via Edm) – OL Cory Watman: Depth at the interior of the BC OL is pretty thin so Buono will target a reliable guard in Watman.

13 – Calgary (via Sask) – OL Matt Albright : The Stamps are one of those teams that believe you can never have too many OL. Albright’s stock has been on the rise.

14 – Montreal – OL Hunter Steward: The Als will continue stocking the future OL shelves by taking a promising redshirt junior in Steward.

15 – Hamilton (via Edm via BC) – LB CO Prime: Most teams will want to drop Prime’s stock due his deal with Indy but Hamilton has their shelves stocked from last year’s draftees that didn’t report and can afford to wait on one of the better LB prospects in the draft.

16 – Calgary  – DL John Miniaci: Stamps have a hole to fill with the departure of Bulcke and Miniaci is a good fit. 

17 – Toronto – DL Andy Mulumba: Toronto needs help on the D-line with all their offseason departures. They are willing to risk Mulumba's NFL interests.

18 – Ottawa – DL Connor Williams: After taking an OL in Round 1, the RedBlacks will look to start addressing the other side of the trenches.

Round 3

19 – Hamilton – OL Jakob Piotrowski

20 – Winnipeg – DL Stefan Charles

21 – BC (via Edm) – LB Nicolas Boulay

22 – Saskatchewan – OL Chris Mercer

23 – Montreal – DL Hosan Shahin

24 – Edmonton (via Ham via BC) – WR Yannick Morin-Plante

25 – Calgary  – WR Mike DiCroce 

26 – Toronto – OL Shane Bergman

27 – Ottawa – DL Kalonji Kashama

After round 3 its pretty much a crapshoot, so take this for what its worth

Round 4

28 – Calgary (via Ham) – OL Josh Pinsen

29 – Winnipeg – DB Jermaine Gabriel

30 – Montreal (via Edm) – LB Kyle Norris

31 – Edmonton (via Sask) – WR Steven Alli

32 – Montreal – DB Patrick Chenard

33 – BC – RB Steven Lumbala

34 – Calgary  – WR Natey Adjei

35 – Hamilton (via Tor) – DL Mike Clausen

36 – Ottawa –LB Bo Lokombo

Round 5

37 – Hamilton – DB Tolu Akinwumi

38 – Saskatchewan (via Win) – DB Cameron Wade

39 – Edmonton (via Sask via Edm) – DB Kris Robertson

40 – Edmonton (via Sask) – WR Simon LeMarquand

41 – Montreal – OL Robert Ravenberger

42 – BC – DB Michael Daly

43 – Hamilton (via Cal) – WR Chris Dobko

44 – Toronto – K Brett Lauther

Round 6

45 – Hamilton – DL Jesse Alexandre Bernier

46 – Winnipeg – FB Isaac Bell

47 – Montreal (via Edm) – OL Cam Redl

48 – Calgary (via Edm via Sask) – OL Kevin Croft

49 – Saskatchewan (via Edm via Mtl) – WR Nick Anapolsky

50 – BC – WR Alex Anthony

51 – Edmonton (via Cal) – OL Ryan White

44 – Toronto – LB Kareem Ba