It's About Time

It's been a long time coming, but Earl Winfield will soon be able to call himself a Hall of Famer.

After years of being passed over for other, mostly deserving, players, Earl Winfield was one of six men announced as part of the 2013 class of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Joining Winfield is fellow Tiger-Cat Miles Gorrell, as well as former Argo Dan Ferrone, former referee Jake Ireland, former St. FX head coach Don Loney and former University of Alberta star Brian Fryer.

Those guys are all deserving, except Ireland, but for me, this is all about Winfield.

I have long called for Winfield's inclusion in the Hall of Fame and I an ecstatic that he will finally take his rightful place among the game's greatest players.

I will never understand why it took so long (Winfield retired following the 1997 season) for Winfield to finally get the call. The guy had the numbers – over 10,000 yards receiving, second-most punt return touchdowns in league history – and anyone who saw him play will attest to the fact that he was a difference maker. The only thing lacking from his résumé is a Grey Cup ring, and that might have been used against him, but that shouldn't have been. He entered the league in 1987, one year after the Ti-Cats won the Grey Cup, and left in 1997, two years before the team won their most recent championship. It's just bad timing that Winfield isn't a two-time Grey Cup champion.

But Winfield made an impact without winning a championship. He had perhaps the greatest Labour Day performance of any player in CFL history. No one will forget his 1988 game against the Argos. He was a special player and I always viewed him as a Hall of Famer. I'm glad those that decide these things finally came around to my way of thinking.

So a big congrats to all the 2013 inductees, but an especially big congrats to one of the greatest Tiger-Cats of all time, Earl "The Pearl" Winfield.

Congi Named Player of the Month; Milton Named to Hall of Fame

A couple of tidbits of information on this Wednesday evening.

We start with Luca Congi being named the Special Teams Player of the Month for September. Congi has been nothing short of fantastic this season, but especially so in September. He connected on all 15 field goals he attempted during the month and that helped stretch his consecutive made field goal streak to 21. He is nine away from tying the record set by Paul McCallum just last season. This is the third straight month that a Tiger-Cat has won this award – Chris Williams won them in both July and August – and Congi is the fourth Tiger-Cat – Burris was named the top offensive player for July – to win a player of the month award. A Hamilton player has been named a player of the month in each of the first three months and the team will try to make it four for four in October.

The other piece of news is that The Hamilton Spectator's Steve Milton will be getting inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in November during Grey Cup week in Toronto. Milton was selected by the Football Reporters of Canada to be inducted into the media section of the famed building in downtown Hamilton. I find that Milton is an excellent observer of the little nuances that mostly go unnoticed and I personally always look forward to reading and hearing his take on the team and the game. This is a well deserved honour and one that probably should have been bestowed long before this year. But better late than never.

Correcting a Mistake

I hold myself to a very high standard. I know that no one probably cares all that much when I make a tiny mistake, but I care.

Well, I made a mistake, and I have to own up to it. In fact, it's a mistake I've been making almost all weekend.

In my Morning-After Thoughts for this week, I took aim at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for omitting Damon Allen. I pointed out that former St. Mary's star Quarterback Chris Flynn was selected and that Allen was not. I tried my best to say that Flynn was still deserving, just not as deserving as Allen. It's a claim I stand by, but a claim that was unnecessary to make.

I was unaware, and I take full blame for not being aware, that the Canadian Football Hall of Fame changed its entry requirements prior to the selection of the 2011 inductees, a fact that was pointed out to me by Andrew Bucholtz, editor of Yahoo Sports' 55-Yard Line blog. The Canadian Football Hall of Fame now puts amateur players into their own category so that they will not have to compete with professional athletes for selection to the Hall.

That means that Flynn was not in direct competition with Allen for a spot in the Hall of Fame. So both Flynn and Allen could have, and should have, been selected to the Hall.

I stand by my anger that Allen was not selected. It is unfathomable that a player who holds the record for most passing yards in professional football history was denied entry in his first year of eligibility. Everyone who was selected is more than deserving, but I would love to hear the argument against Allen being selected.

I am sure that Allen will be enshrined next season, but that is beside the point. Allen should not have to wait one second longer than necessary to take his deserved place in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. I won't belabour the point any longer, as I doubt there are many people out there that disagree with me.

Anyway, I apologize for my earlier mistake, and I will try to not let it happen again. I don't mind being wrong with an opinion, but being wrong with a fact is something else entirely. Today, I was wrong with a fact. Sorry.

Hall of Fame Adds Seven

The CFL announced the 2011 Canadian Football Hall of Fame class, which will include Danny McManus, Joe Montford, Terry Vaughn, Chris Flynn and Ken Lehmann in the player category, and Gino Fracas and Don Matthews in the builder category.

When I read on Wednesday that the Hall of Fame announcement would be made this week, my first thought was, "Is this the year Danny Mac gets the call? What about Joe Montford?"

I'm not entirely sure what the process is for inductees into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (such as length of time, post-retirement, before someone is eligible), but I figured that McManus and Montford were due to be inducted soon.

Danny Mac is probably my favourite Ti-Cat of all time. In fact, I named him as the greatest Tiger-Cat of my lifetime (roughly 30 years) about a year ago. I stand by that opinion. I gave the #3 spot to Joe Montford, so to say that I hold both of these gentlemen in high regard would be an understatement.

Congratulations to all seven men, but especially to two of the greatest living Tiger-Cats I ever had the privilege of watching play.

The 2010 Hall of Fame Weekend

It was announced today that Saskatchewan will host the 2010 Canadian Football Hall of Fame weekend in August. It is the Riders' 100th Anniversary, and with former Saskatchewan great Don Narcisse entering the Hall, it seems fitting that the game would be played in Regina.

This marks the third time that Hamilton, which is home to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, will not be hosting the event. Last year the event was held in Winnipeg, and in 2003 the event was held in Calgary.

I understand the league's motivation for taking the Hall of Fame ceremony to different places, but at the same time, it seems odd. The Hall of Fame is in Hamilton, so it only makes sense for the game and ceremony to be held here.

I also don't understand the timing of the event. The NFL makes a big deal out of their Hall of Fame Weekend (granted they make a big deal about everything), and they do so during the pre-season. It helps to maximize coverage, and allows for the inductees and the ceremony to be the centrepiece. The game itself is secondary. The CFL would be wise to adopt this method. Pre-season games are sparsely attended, but if the Tiger-Cats' lone pre-season home game was to also be the Hall of Fame Game, I think attendance would spike, and the game and ceremony could be televised. This would be a great way for the league and the team to add another revenue stream. By having the game during the regular season, fans tend to be more concerned with their team's performance than with honouring the greats of the past.

I think the league is missing out on a great opportunity by holding the ceremony during the regular season. A pre-season, televised Hall of Fame Game and the accompanying ceremony could be another boon, both in terms of finances and in terms of visibility, for the league.

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Canadian Football Hall of Fame Adds Four New Players

I'd just like to take this time to give congratulations to the four newest members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame – Quarterback Tracy Ham, Defensive End Elfrid Payton, Punter (and Hamilton native) Bob Cameron and Wide Receiver Don Narcisse. There is a great article about the 2010 Canadian Football Hall of Fame class on the CFL website.

These are four very deserving individuals, and I am happy each man will take his rightful place in the hallowed halls of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in downtown Hamilton.