Quick Slants: Tre Mason, Alouettes Wings, and Here Comes The Money
Published: Friday, Jun 1st 2018, 4:06am
by: Greg McCulloch (@GregOnSports)
Quick Slants looks at some of the weekly stories in the CFL and beyond.
In Case You Forgot about Tre
It always seems the day after we record the Riders seem to make a move, and sure enough the day after we recorded Episode 77 they went and signed Running Back Tre Mason.
In college, Mason was an absolute stud at Auburn and holds the record for most yards (304) and touchdowns (4) in the SEC Championship game. After losing the National Championship game to Florida State he declared himself for the NFL draft forgoing the remainder of his NCAA eligibility.
He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 3rd round of the 2014 draft and made the Pro Football Writers All-Rookie team.
After that season his production dropped, and he apparently dropped off the Earth. He didn’t report to camp in 2016 and the Rams put him on the reserve list and finally released him prior to the 2017 season. During that time he had some minor run-ins with the law, including an ATV chase, and his own mother was concerned for his well being.
So with all of the behind him he finds himself in Saskatoon fighting for a spot on the Riders roster
However, the question is where does he fit?
Jerome Messam with his passport and resume is a presumed starter, Marcus Thigpen has looked incredible despite his “old” age for a running back, Zac Stacey showed well in the first exhibition game and there is still the highly unlikely return of Trent Richardson.
Right now, it appears like he and Stacey are fighting for the 3rd RB spot behind Messam and Thigpen. But at just 24 years old, he has a lot of gas in the tank if he finds that drive he had at Auburn we could be looking one hell of a story.
Als Earning Their Wings
As much as I like to give it to the Alouettes when they do something stupid, I must give them props when they do something cool.
When the Alouettes started training camp this year, all the players were given blank white helmets and a shirt that said: “Earn Your Wings” with the 4 main logos of Alouettes past.
When the players make the team they will then earn their wings and have a helmet made to look like the 1946 Alouette teams. They will wear those for all of June, then switch to the “French Horn” lark of 1970 for the month of July. In August it will be the “Delta” logo from 1974, then after Labour day, they will switch to the logo they have had since Baltimore Stallions moved to Montreal.
This a great idea because nostalgia sells to sports fans, especially if you have had some rough seasons reminding the fans of better days can sometimes help.
However, with the way, the team played last year, and the way things are going this offseason maybe they should just be the Montreal Concordes again.
Here Comes The Money
This is a strange feeling I am legitimately excited about a Tiger-Cat vs Argos preseason game.
Sure, I want to see how former University of Regina Ram QB Noah Picton does. He’s a great guy and honestly not that much taller than me if he can succeed it will be a great story. However, it is more than likely his reps will be kept to a minimum as he is sitting 4th on the depth chart.
But know whose reps won’t be kept to a minimum? Johnny Freaking Football!
Let me make it clear I am not buying the hype about how good he will be. Nor am I believing he will be in the CFL next year if there is even one iota of NFL interest.
What I am excited for is the amount of publicity that this is getting the CFL everywhere. There will be CFL preseason highlights shown on ESPN Sportscenter. There was training camp coverage in USA Today.
This is unprecedented and love him or hate him if the CFL does work out a new US TV deal with either NFL network or ESPN, Manziel could be the factor that puts it over the top.
And that is good for the whole league
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