TAKE IT FROM BO
Get a new deal done, Bo Levi Mitchell says at CFL awards night
EDMONTON — As he collected another CFL outstanding player award, Bo Levi Mitchell had a not-so-subtle message for the league and its players: Get a deal done.
The Calgary Stampeders quarterback was named the CFL’s top player Thursday night during the league’s awards banquet at the Winspear Centre.
The CFL and CFL Players’ Association will begin talks this off-season on a new collective bargaining agreement. The present deal expires in May 2019.
Negotiations the last time around were testy before a deal was eventually hammered out.
“I think I can speak for every single person here,” Mitchell said. “To the CFL, to the CFLPA: Get the damn thing signed.
Balloting was conducted by members of the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches. A total of 60 voters participated.
Mitchell’s first top player award came in 2016. But his focus is firmly on the Grey Cup game Sunday when Calgary faces the Ottawa Redblacks.
The Stampeders are in the title game for a third straight year but are 0-2 over that span. Mitchell led Calgary to a CFL championship in 2014.
“We’re judged, first and foremost, by championships,” Mitchell said. “I believe winning a Grey Cup won’t be revenge or redemption for the last couple of years but it will build on a legacy that this organization has put together over decades of work.
“It’s going to be an amazing feeling if we can get that done as a team.”
Mitchell, 28, had a CFL-high and career-best 35 TD passes in leading Calgary (league-best 13-5 record) atop the West Division. The Katy, Texas, native threw for 5,124 yards. He also had 42 completions of 30-plus yards and a TD-to-interception ratio of 2.5, both league bests.
Mitchell received 47 first-place votes to become the ninth multiple winner in CFL history.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, the CFL’s second-leading passer with 5,209 yards, was a finalist.
Winnipeg linebacker Adam Bighill claimed top defensive player honours. The five-foot-10, 230-pound Blue Bomber received 57 first-place votes for his second award after winning in 2015 with the B.C. Lions.
Bighill had 105 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and a CFL-high four forced fumbles in his first season with Winnipeg. Bighill spent the ’17 campaign with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and thanked former B.C. head coach Wally Buono for giving him his chance to play professionally.
Hamilton linebacker Larry Dean, who had a career-high 105 tackles, was a finalist.
Ottawa players captured three honours, including two for kicker Lewis Wards (rookie, special teams). Slotback Brad Sinopoli was top Canadian.
Ward made 51-of-52 field goals (league-record 98.1 per cent), including a pro football-record 48 straight that will carry over into 2019. The undrafted Kingston, Ont., native earned 50 first-place votes in rookie balloting and 43 for the special-teams honour.
“My big thing for people who want to pursue their goals is don’t quit,” Ward said. “Just because it doesn’t happen when you want it to doesn’t mean it can’t.
“The easiest way doesn’t always last the longest so you’ve got to put the work in and do the hard work that it takes.”
Sinopoli, of Peterborough, Ont., earned his second top Canadian award after winning in 2015. He had 116 catches — a singleseason record for a Canadian — for 1,376 receiving yards with four TDs as Ottawa (11-7) finished atop the East Division.
Sinopoli, who received 32 firstplace votes, has cracked the 1,000yard plateau the last four seasons. Not too shabby for a player who reverted to receiver after winning the Hec Crighton Trophy as a quarterback. “It was a tough pill to swallow when someone tells you you’re not good enough to do something you’ve obviously been doing for a while,” Sinopoli said. “But in football the biggest lesson is when someone asks you to do something ... really try to own that role.
“Things usually blossom from that.”
Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris, last year’s winner and the CFL’s top rusher for a second straight season, was a finalist.
Bombers tackle Stanley Bryant earned the top lineman award for the second consecutive year. He registered 44 first-place votes to become the first multiple winner since Montreal’s Scott Flory (2008-09).
Hamilton guard Brandon Revenberg was a finalist.
Saskatchewan’s Chris Jones claimed top coach honours with 41 first-place votes. Ottawa’s Rick Campbell, the ’15 winner, was a finalist.
In his third season with the Riders, Jones led the franchise to a 12-6 record and second-place finish in the West Division. That matched the most victories for the franchise since 1970 and earned Saskatchewan its first home playoff game since 2013.
Jones is the first Rider coach to win the award since Corey Chamblin in 2013. He credited his coaching staff and players for the honour. “We’ve just got a really really good group (of coaches) that’s dedicated to each other,” Jones said. “They’re like brothers, they fight like brothers but when we walk out of the room we’re together.
“Our players, we work them ... they put the work in.”
Pierre Vercheval, a former CFL top lineman and Canadian Football Hall of Famer who’s now broadcasting football, received the Commissioner’s Award for outstanding contribution to Canadian football. Buono, who retired at season’s end, claimed the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership award.
Buono, 68, spent 46 CFL seasons as a player, coach, GM and league governor. The Canadian Football Hall of Famer and member of the Order of Canada won a record 282 regular-season wins and seven Grey Cups, five as a coach. “Football is a game that you get paid to win,” Buono said. “Therefore in 46 years I’ve only been a winner seven times.
“I have no complaints other than I didn’t win enough Grey Cups. Other than that, I wouldn’t do anything different. I’ve been very blessed.”
Edmonton Eskimos long-snapper Ryan King received the Tom Pate Award, given annually by the CFLPA for sportsmanship and community service. B.C. fullback Rolly Lumbala claimed the Jacke Gaudaur Veterans’ Trophy for exemplifying the qualities of Canada’s veterans.