Courtesy Edmonton Journal:

Back in 1991, cartoon character Homer Simpson stayed home one morning from a barbecue hosted by neighbour Ned Flanders to watch the Canadian college draft on TV.

But there was a major problem with the storyline: the CFL draft was not on any television station — even though Homer might have appreciated the event, held via conference call, for its sheer comic relief.

Today, Homer could take in the draft on the Internet as the CFL attempts to buff up an event that has been, in years past, anything but polished.

“He could come over to my place and watch it on my couch,” CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said magnanimously on Tuesday in a break from final preparations at the TSN studio in Toronto.

The wild and crazy legend of the CFL draft includes tales of general managers drafting dead guys, forgetting to hit the mute button while ripping the selections of other teams and accidentally hanging up when it’s their turn to pick.

One former head coach even drafted a player from his perch on the toilet. No kidding. In 1997, Don Matthews slipped into a bathroom adjacent to the Toronto Argonauts’ boardroom.

“All of a sudden, it’s draft time and we’re the first team on the clock, via a trade,” said Saskatchewan Rough-riders general manager Eric Tillman, the GM in Toronto at the time.

“As Nick Volpe is about to announce our selection over the speakerphone, a voice booms from the washroom, ‘I’m Don Matthews and I speak for the Toronto Argonauts.’ That pick was made by Don, who was sitting on the toilet.”

Read More…