CIS CORNER: BLAKE NILL SHOULD JUMP THROUGH HOOPS FOR THIS GUY'S KICKING FOOT

How does U of Calgary football coach Blake Nill not try to get Henry Bekkering on the field this fall?

Bekkering (pictured), a 6-foot-6, 240-lb. Alberta-born baller whose dunking exploits led to an appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show, has transferred close to home to play basketball with the Calgary Dinos after a couple seasons of NCAA D-1 hoops in the States. The kicker, pardon the pun, is that he could be selected in today's CFL draft as either a kicker or a "supersized slotback," as Allan Maki put it today in a profile at globesports.com

(UPDATE, 3:56 p.m. The Stampeders have drafted Bekkering in the fifth round, 35th pick.).

Bekkering told Maki he is "not playing football for the U of C." That's cool, one can respect that, but last season's Dinos kicker, Aaron Ifield, was last in the CIS in kickoff average (41.92 yards). Ifield's 34.81-yard punting average was also in the bottom third (19th of 27) of the country.

If Bekkering ends up in school (he can attend a CFL training camp without losing eligibility), Nill could make a pitch similar to the one long-time Queen's coach Doug Hargreaves once made to one of his kickers, Jamie Galloway, who was a serious student and reluctant to make the time commitment to football. Hargreaves allowed Galloway to practise on his own and just show up for games. By the time he left Queen's, Galloway had earned two degrees and one Vanier Cup ring, along with the Golden Gaels career scoring record.

Understandably, Nill might not want to make that offer. Even if he did, Bekkering could still say thanks, but no thanks. It's tempting, to a sports nerd at least, to think that a coach would work something out to make use of Bekkering's kicking ability, while still letting him focus on schoolwork and basketball.

OTHER CIS NOTES

• University of Alberta long snapper Patrick McDonald, of Oakville, Ont., has been signed by the New Orleans Saints as a free agent. McDonald was a defensive lineman in the CIS but his NFL destiny would seem to be snapping the ball on kicking plays, just like former McGill star J.P. Darche has done for the Seattle Seahawks for the past seven years.
• Hey, the CFL draft starts in 40 minutes. There's some good players with ties to the 613 we'll be looking out for.

Yes, there are still going to be blogs on the CIS. This will be a tremendous disappointment to friends who keep urging to us to "be more mainstream."

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.