Porter Changes Tune

I was fairly hard on Quinton Porter when he said that he "need[ed] more chances to start" when talking to a Portland, Maine newspaper.

I thought that Porter was rather delusional to think that he should be starting ahead of Kevin Glenn. I also thought that after the season that Glenn had in 2010, it was very disrespectful of Porter to imply that he should be above Glenn on the depth chart. I stand by those criticisms, and I do not think I was out of line in what I said at the time.

However, it seems as if Porter is changing his tune, slightly. He recently told Mark Master of the National Post that he needs to "quit complaining" about his position and just play the game. He still wants to be a starter, but he seems to understand where he stands currently with the Ti-Cats.

The main thing I take away from this is that Porter seems to be taking the next step in his maturation process. His physical tools were always there, but I often wondered about his mental makeup. It seems as if he has grown exponentially over the off-season, and perhaps he is ready to take that next step needed to compete at the highest of levels.

He says he doesn't want to be a career backup, and I have no problem with him saying that, because it shows that he wants to excel. Porter has all the tools to dominate, and I have all the faith in the world that he will one day excel tremendously in the CFL. I just hope when he does, he does so in Black & Gold.

Bo Smith, Matt Kirk Not Ready For Camp

Both Bo Smith and Matt Kirk will begin Training Camp on injured reserve, as neither is ready to come back from injuries that ended their 2010 campaigns.

Kirk suffered a foot injury last season and has been slow to recover. He is a very important cog in the defensive front seven, especially because he's a Canadian.

Smith ruptured his Achilles tendon last year after returning to the Ti-Cats following a stint with the NFL's New York Jets. I have been very critical of Smith in the past, but was pleasantly surprised with his play last season. It seemed his time with the Jets was time well spent. Smith came back a much better player. He had turned into a reliable and solid contributor, and I was unhappy to see him go down.

It is unknown when either player will return to the field. Hopefully sooner rather than later, but unfortunately that doesn't seem likely.

TSN Training Camp Preview Show

Training Camp for all players from all teams begins on Sunday, and TSN is taking full advantage of the start of camp by offering a Training Camp Preview Show of its own.

The show will start at 5:00PM on TSN.

This is the first year for such a show – TSN usually has a season preview show in late June – but with TSN now showing preseason games on the network, a Training Camp preview makes perfect sense to kick off their CFL coverage for the upcoming season.

A myriad of topics will be covered over the one-hour broadcast. I'm most curious to see what the CFL on TSN panel thinks of some of the biggest free-agent signings of the off-season, especially the move of Avon Cobourne to the Ti-Cats from the Alouettes. I also wonder if the off-season feud that has been brewing between the Cats and Als will be covered. It was one of the more interesting developments during the downtime between seasons.

TSN continues to provide excellent CFL coverage, and adding the Training Camp Preview Show is a continuation of that excellence. I know where my eyes will be at 5:00PM on Sunday.

Ways to Grow the Game: TSN Radio

In an ongoing attempt to find ways to make the CFL a larger, more successful professional sports league, I will be looking at ideas that can push the CFL to the forefront of pro sports in Canada and North America. I have titled these articles "Ways to Grow the Game."

It's been a while since I did one of these, but it's been a while since I thought of anything that would fit the premise.

The relationship between TSN and the CFL has been tremendous. The league has garnered its highest exposure ever, with TSN attracting larger audiences leading to record-setting ratings for CFL broadcasts.

Right now, the CFL is hotter than it has ever been, and the desire for CFL-related programming is at an all-time high.

TSN launched TSN Radio 1050 back in April, and since the partnership between the CFL and TSN has been so successful, a logical program for the station would be a two- or three-hour block of CFL talk.

The station would not have to look far for personalities for the program. Both Mike Hogan and Dave Naylor are currently employed by TSN, so put those two together and let them go. It would be must-listen programming for all CFL fans.

I can envision a weekly show every Wednesday discussing the past week and previewing the week ahead. How many people out there that follow the CFL would make sure to listen to that show every Wednesday? I know I would!

I realize that radio is not the most innovative of mediums, but TSN has sunk a lot of time and effort into making TSN Radio a big deal. TSN Radio has already acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast Toronto Argonauts games and have announced "Argos All Access," hosted by Mike Hogan. TSN Radio sees at least the Argos as a worthwhile investment, so it would seem like a putting together an all-CFL show would be a no-brainer. The appetite is there for more CFL programming, and adding a CFL show to TSN Radio would be a great way to continue to grow the game.

On the Eve of Camp, the Cats Make Moves

The Ti-Cats made a number of moves today, but none bigger than the release of Jykine Bradley and the signing of former Arkansas Razorback and USC Trojan Quarterback Mitch Mustain.

Mustain is a known commodity to fans of US college football. However, he is most known for never really seeing the field. Mustain was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, but was unable to beat out players such as Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley after Mustain transferred to USC. I'll be interested to see what he does at Training Camp. Mustain has all the talent in the world, so he will at least push Jason Boltus for the #3 position. I would expect Boltus to retain his spot on the depth chart, but Mustain won't make it easy on him.

The other big news is the release of Jykine Bradley. This wasn't much of a surprise considering that Bradley missed a lot of last season with a neck injury. It seems that Bradley was just the odd man out. Bradley will always been known for delivering crushing hits. The guy hit harder than many Linebackers. I wish him all the best.