By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
I never really liked history class as a kid. Memorizing dates came easily enough, but as a student, I could never understand why we had to spend so much time learning about people who were past their prime or events that happened hundreds of years before we came to be.
I didn’t hesitate to question learning about the early explorers or our two World Wars, but I never once turned down a chance to study sports heroes from past generations. If you’re looking for the hypocrite in the room, you should probably be looking at me.
Whether it was reading books about Willie Mays or Walter Payton, or hearing stories about Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe, I was captivated by their legacies. From the Hall of Famers to the draft busts, it seemed to me like every player, coach, or trainer had a tale to tell. Some tales had grown over the years, but most seemed as genuine as ever.
My high school history teacher used to utter the cliché, “You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been,” and I knew exactly what he meant. No, I still didn’t care about the Middle Ages, but in order to understand how great Wayne Gretzky was, or the superhuman level Michael Jordan played at, you had to know each player that came before them.
With three weeks until the Ticats call the first pick in the 2008 Draft, let’s take a page from my history teacher Mr. Pullar, and look to the past at some of the best late-round selections in the last fifteen years of the draft.
1997 – 6th Round, 42nd pick, SSK
Dan Comiskey, OL, Windsor
The 11-year veteran has been named a West all-star on more than one occasion while splitting time between Saskatchewan, Edmonton, and a brief stint in Hamilton.
2000 – 3rd Round, 20th pick, B.C.
Brent Johnson, DL, Ohio State
The third round might not constitute as a sleeper, but if you redid the millennium draft over again, Johnson is likely going in the top three picks, if not first overall. The pass rushing specialist has 60 career sacks, in eight seasons with the Lions, including double-digit totals the last four years.
2000 – 6th Round, 40th pick, WPG
Matt Sheridan, OL, Manitoba
Lineman may seem nearly invisible on the field at times, and Sheridan certainly flew under the radar remaining on the board until the sixth round, but in his seven years in Winnipeg he has been named the team’s Most Outstanding Lineman twice and helped running back Charles Roberts become one of the best rushers in the league.
2001 – 4th Round, 26th pick, TOR
Kevin Eiben, S, Bucknell
The under-sized linebacker has shown that he is more than capable of holding his own on the Argos starting defence. In his six seasons, the 6-foot, 215-pounder has become a tackling machine, amassing 441 takedowns.
2005 – 6th Round, 45th pick, CGY
Brett Ralph, WR, Alberta
Although he might be the less touted of the Ralph brothers, Brett emerged in 2007 with a 53-catch, 695-yard, 3-touchdown campaign. To get production like that out of a sixth rounder is down right astonishing.
Notice a trend? Not a Ticat in the bunch. Hamilton acquired most of their young talented Canadians like Jesse Lumsden, Chris Bauman, and Marwan Hage, thanks to early picks in the first two rounds. Let’s hope to see some later round steals as Bob O’Billovich leads a capable group into the Ticats Draft War Room this year.
Are you excited for this year’s draft? Send your e-mails, comments, or Ticats questions to jboone@ticats.ca
Easier Said Than Done
(Quote of the Week)
“During that time I know there was a lot of people that probably got too many hotdogs, not enough hotdogs, too much change and not enough change because, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t too interested in selling hotdogs. What I focused in on as a 12-year-old was watching the Hamilton Tiger-Cats playing.”
Hall of Fame inductee John Bonk, explaining why he wasn’t the best hotdog vendor to ever work at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Bonk, who spent 13 years with the Tiger-Cats and Blue Bombers, may not be as well known as Pinball Clemons, Doug Flutie or Mike Pringle among this year’s Hall of Famers, but he is well deserving of the nod.
In Case You Blinked
(News from the Week)
Former Ticats director of player personnel Craig Smith signed on with the B.C. Lions this week, to serve as their eastern regional scout. Although his time in Hamilton came to an end, there are plenty of well-wishers in Steeltown Craig. Good luck in your return to B.C.
