Why didn’t the Riders simply keep Dressler?
Robservations ...
Veteran CFL receiver Clarence Denmark, whose signing was announced Friday by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, should be a useful addition to the Green and White. Nonetheless, his arrival in Riderville does prompt this question: If the Roughriders wanted a 1985-born receiver with 1,000-yard credentials who is under six feet tall, why didn’t they simply retain Weston Dressler?
Dressler is reportedly making about $175,000 per annum with Denmark’s former team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Roughriders had released Dressler in January because he was to receive $240,000 in 2016. Clearly, Dressler was amenable to playing for less money, given the terms of his deal with Winnipeg. It is just a shame that he couldn’t command something in the vicinity of $175,000 in Saskatchewan instead of Winnipeg, considering all that he means to the Roughriders, their fans and the community.
Also on Friday, the Roughriders announced the signing of former Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive end Eric Norwood. Former Roughriders general manager and vice-president of football operations Brendan Taman was often maligned for signing other teams’ castoffs. Clearly, the new regime — led by Chris Jones — isn’t averse to bringing in rival teams’ discarded veterans, either.
The Roughriders’ new home uniforms are predominantly green and reasonably stylish. No objections here. And, actually, this antiquated scribe didn’t mind the 1991 “dill pickle” look. It didn’t hurt, mind you, that quarterback Kent Austin and his three premier receivers — Ray Elgaard, Jeff Fairholm and Don Narcisse — were fabulous fun to watch.
That is the kind of entertainment the CFL desperately needs to restore. It is fine and dandy to unveil new uniforms, but the product is paramount and it is in decline. Once upon a time, the CFL was synonymous with wide-open aerial football, but the league is losing its niche.
The CFL draft is a dreadful bore. With all due respect to all offensive linemen, they are not the type of players who will create widespread fan/viewer interest. Five of Tuesday’s eight first-round picks, including the top three selections, were offensive linemen.
Saskatchewan claimed NFL bound University of Manitoba Bisons defensive lineman David Onyemata to conclude Tuesday’s fourth round and the pick was termed a gamble. Maybe so, but the Roughriders have taken a substantially greater risk on draft day. In 1986, for example, Saskatchewan selected running back Rueben Mayes with the second overall pick. The North Battleford product went on to rush for 1,353 yards during a banner rookie season — spent with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. He never played a down in the CFL.
If the CFL would like its onfield officials to be perceived in a more positive light, perhaps coaches and players could actually compliment the striped crews during post-game interviews. I have been covering the CFL on a regular basis for 20 years and not once has anyone volunteered that “the officials had a really good game,” or something to that effect.
It is a reach to blame Alex Ovechkin for the Washington Capitals’ latest playoff failure when he averaged more than a point per game during a sixgame, second-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin had seven points during the series — five more than the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby.
How can ABC cancel “Nashville”? And just how many marbles are required for admission into an ABC programming meeting, anyway? Alas, while a great show such as “Nashville” disappears, television in general will continue to be polluted by a seemingly infinite number of eye-glazing reality shows.
If you have a craving for reality TV, watch a televised sporting event.
Nice people who deserve a plug: Connie Britton, Charles Esten, Hayden Panetierre, Colin McLeod, John and Monica Kurtz, Jason Roske, Brock Gerrard, Autumn McDowell, Vickie Krauss, Patricia Wilke, Damon Duval, Aaron Nagy, Lorne Harasen, Walter Simmons, Dan O’Toole and Mark Habicht.