The Markcast®

The XFL 2023 draft is over, but what’s next for XFL 3.0? We welcome longtime friend (and listener) of the program Emory Hunt onto the program to give his extended thoughts on the XFL 2023 draft and what the players selected by the XFL in its inaugural draft say about the type of league the XFL wants to be. We also have a philosophical discussion and wonder what the XFL’s “vision” is moving forward and how it can co-exist with the CFL and the USFL as we enter 2023 and beyond.

Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun also joins the program for a CFL 2022 Grey Cup fallout chat. We discuss what’s next for CFL newly anointed superstar Chad Kelly, wonder if McLeod Bethel-Thompson is long for the CFL, recap the recent signings both on and potentially off the field for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and discuss the Toronto Argonauts Grey Cup celebration and why the rest of the CFL fanbase can’t ever seem to be happy for the “double blue”.

0:00 The Markcast Episode Promo
2:29 Show Intro
4:39 XFL Hires Wendy Bass and Brooke Campbell, Promotes Erica Muhleman
8:06 Emory Hunt XFL 2023 Draft Interview, What is the XFL’s Longterm Vision?
49:27 Ted Wyman, Winnipeg Sun CFL Off-Season Interview
1:17:11 Show Outro, Giveaway Updates

The XFL 2023 draft is complete and XFL rosters are close to complete! We're going LIVE the day after Thanksgiving to do full XFL 2023 roster breakdowns with Ric Serritella as we talk through the WINNERS and LOSERS of the XFL 2023 draft.

Rod Pedersen also joins the program to give his thoughts and reactions to the CFL 2022 Grey Cup, thoughts on the week's CFL events, and what's in store next for the CFL heading into their off-season, 2023, and beyond!

00:30 - Ric Serritella FULL XFL 2023 Roster Breakdowns and Analysis
1:12:25 - Rod Pedersen CFL 2022 Grey Cup Reax

We are going LIVE from Regina, Saskatchewan, and the 2022 Grey Cup on Saturday, November 19, 2022 from Casino Regina to preview the big 2022 Grey Cup CFL Championship game!!!

Mike “Pinball” Clemons, Jim Mullin, Rob Vanstone, Dan Ralph, Adam Gosse, Daniella Ponticelli, Darrell Davis, Darrin Bauming, Matt Baker, Carolyn Cody, Farhan Lalji, Dave Naylor, and more to preview Grey Cup 109!!!

Tune in or stop by Casino Regina live from 3pm - 530pm CST to see our huge panel of guests breaking down everything Canadian football before the big CFL Grey Cup Championship game on November 20.

0:00 Jim Mullin, President Football Canada
17:15 Rob Vanstone, Regina Leader-Post
27:10 Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
40:10 “Candid” Frank Stanisci
56:15 Dorothy Cicero, The Markcast®
1:04:40 Adam Gosse, P.A. Announcer for the Toronto Argonauts
1:15:22 Farhan Lalji and Dave Naylor, CFL on TSN
1:36:40 Daniella Ponticelli, 620CKRM sidelines & host Rider Games
1:45:20 Darrell Davis and Darrin Bauming, Bonfire Sports
1:53:35 Mike “Pinball” Clemons
2:02:22 Matt Bakers and Carolyn Cody, BC Lions

We're going LIVE to recap and break down the XFL's Quarterback Selection Show taking place on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 11am PST / 2pm EST.

All 8 XFL Head Coaches will officially announce their team’s quarterback and we will be there LIVE to break it down and give you instant analysis of who each XFL head coach selected for their XFL 2023 quarterback.

The XFL Draft is finally here and we are previewing every single thing you need to know about next week’s XFL 2023 draft from Las Vegas. XFL Board’s Greg Parks stops by to run down the XFL’s upcoming Quarterback Selection Show as well as the 2-day draft that will make up next week’s long-awaited “XFL Draft Week”! Wade Zanchetta of CF Perspective also stops by to preview the CFL East and West Division Finals with the BC Lions taking on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Toronto Argonauts hosting the Montreal Alouettes.

0:00 The Markcast Episode Promo
2:22 XFL Board’s Greg Parks XFL 2023 Draft Preview
45:24 CF Perspective’s Wade Zanchetta Previews CFL East/West Division Finals
1:19:40 Show Outro

Links for next week's shows!!!

11/15 - #XFL2023 QB Selection Show Reax:
https://youtu.be/E1Qf0sV1u2Y

11/16 - #XFLDraft Reax:
https://youtu.be/28dklLeK0Hk

Inside The League’s Pre-XFL Draft Zoom Call with Doug Whaley and Russ Giglio:
https://youtu.be/VgjS74rAHGU

The new XFL and its Vegas Vipers franchise might be in trouble…Does anyone have a cornfield somewhere outside of Las Vegas that the XFL can use? Do we need to call Kevin Costner in to build a “Field of Dreams” for the Vegas Vipers?? The XFL just announced its 8 teams kicking off in 2023 but one of them STILL doesn’t have a venue to play in, we dive into the issues surrounding the XFL Vegas’ stadium woes. XFL “Insider” Mike Mitchell returns to the program to do a deep-dive into the XFL’s questionable and problematic foray into the Vegas sports landscape, plus we get his thoughts on ALL of this week’s new including the XFL’s new team names and repurposed old XFL team teams (RIP NY Guardians…) plus we talked the upcoming XFL draft!

Alan Snell of LVSportsBiz.com gives further insights into possible options in which the XFL Vegas Vipers could play their games in 2023 including the pros and cons of each. We also cover why or why not the XFL could or should play at Allegiant Stadium and why Sam Boyd isn’t an option for the alt-football league. Finally, we welcome CFL legend and all-time great Matt Dunigan onto the program for a long-awaited and truly well-worth-it CFL 2022 season recap and CFL playoffs preview. 

0:00 The Markcast Episode Promo
2:29 Show Intro
6:59 XFL “Insider” Mike Mitchell on New XFL Team Names/Logos, the Vegas Vipers’ Lack of a Stadium, and More!
1:29:12 Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Interview on XFL Vipers’ Stadium Woes
1:56:55 CFL Legend Matt Dunigan Interview, CFL 2022 Season Recap/CFL Playoffs Preview
2:33:47 Show Outro, Giveaway Winner Announced, New Giveaway Details!!!

On Monday, October 31st at 8 AM ET, the XFL will announce the names and logos for the eight teams that will take the field when the league launches in February 2023 and we are going LIVE to react to everything.

Join us and share your thoughts and opinions LIVE on the XFL's team names and logos reveal!!!

The XFL has promised that announcements are coming “over the next few weeks”, but with team names, logos, uniforms, TV schedule, rulebook, the Vegas stadium, or wherEVER the XFL Las Vegas team might play, and more announcements still needing to be made, has the XFL run out of time? We discuss the "XFL's Doomsday Clock" with Brandon Anderson and run down what DID happen this week in the world of the XFL including Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s recent appearance at the Axios BFD livestream promising XFL storytelling "365 days of the year".

Longtime friend of the program Roy S. Johnson returns to talk through the successes of the USFL’s season 1 Birmingham hub, why other cities might be interested in hosting their own USFL hub in the future, and where the negotiations stand between the USFL and the city of Birmingham heading into season 2. We chat through the XFL’s recently announced partnership with the NFL Alumni Academy with Director of Branding Charlie Boots and preview the 2023 CFL playoffs with CFL.ca contributor Pat Steinberg in a LOADED program.

0:00 The Markcast Episode Promo
2:29 Show Intro
6:59 XFL Town Hall Previews, Where is the XFL Vegas Team Playing?
34:37 Dany Garcia, Gerry Cardinale Axios BFD Reactions
56:08 Russ Brandon Emails XFL Fans, XFL News is Coming!
1:06:12 Roy S. Johnson, al.com, Was the USFL Hub Successful? Season 2 Plans
1:28:48 Charlie Boots, Director of Branding for NFL Alumni Academy Interview
1:49:00 Pat Steinberg, CFA.ca Interview, CFL Playoffs Preview
2:21:41 Show Outro, Giveaway Winner Announced, Second Giveaway Revealed!!!

Roy S. Johnson’s “USFL Effect” Article -
https://www.al.com/opinion/2022/10/usfl-effect-did-3-million-from-city-county-cvb-pay-off-will-league-return-to-birmingham.html

Alt-football fans are becoming IMPATIENT waiting for XFL news including team names and logos…the XFL IS working, but what are they working on? Guests on this week’s podcast include Coach Ron Mckie, former XFL Dragon Ernesto Lacayo, NFL Alumni Academy participant Brian Hill and long-time CFL journalist Rob Vanstone. XFL also sent out updated local activation event invites this week following the postponement of local fan events earlier this month due to Hurricane Ian, could XFL team name announcements coincide with those events? We'll see!

Lots of fun in the alt-football space this week as we bring on Coach Ron Mckie to break down offenses and schemes we will be seeing in XFL 2023 from some of its offensive coordinators and chat with Ernesto Lacayo former XFL 2020 Seattle Dragons kicker to preview the XFL’s upcoming specialist showcase and chat through the XFL’s recently announced partnership with the Indoor Football League. We also spotlight NFL Alumni Academy Brian Hill and the NFL Alumni Academy’s partnership with the XFL and talk to Rob Vanstone about the chaos coming out of Regina with the Roughriders sudden benching of star quarterback Cody Fajardo and hit other major storylines around the league headed into CFL week 20.

0:00 The Markcast Episode Promo
2:29 Show Intro
6:48 BREAKING: XFL Town Halls Announced!
8:07 Ron Mckie Previews XFL 2023 Offenses and Coordinators
38:44 Ernesto Lacayo Previews XFL Specialist Showcase, IFL-XFL Partnership
1:00:02 NFL Alumni Academy Spotlight with Brian Hill
1:10:59 Rob Vanstone Talks CFL Week 20, Cody Fajardo’s Benching
1:36:24 Show Outro

XFL 2020 Houston Roughnecks team president Brian Michael Cooper joins the program for a very special and long-anticipated episode this week! With the XFL returning for version 3.0 in February of 2023, new XFL ownership has made it clear they look to shape the future of the popular alt-football league in their new vision but are there elements that led to XFL 2020’s success that the new league can implement and grow upon? We look “Back to the XFL’s Future” to see what XFL 2023 can learn from XFL 2020.

We welcome former XFL 2020 Houston Roughnecks team president Brian Michael Cooper onto the program to give his thoughts on elements from XFL 2020 that could and potentially SHOULD be incorporated into the XFL’s third relaunch if the league hopes to capture the same fan devotion it did when it launched in 2020. Brian Michael Cooper and the rest of the XFL 2020 team presidents put in tremendous amounts of guerilla marketing ahead of the XFL's February 2020 launch both self-initiated and league directed, how does he think the new XFL's regime is stacking up?

Jeff Hamilton, president of the Football Reporters of Canada and Winnipeg Blue Bomber journalist makes a return to the program to chat through and preview CFL week 19. We discuss there BC Lions both with and without Vernon Adams Jr., how the Montreal Alouettes seemed to have lost any momentum they had heading into the East Division Finals, and the recent news that the Manitoba Government is offering up to $5.5 million to help bid in an attempt to host the Grey Cup in Winnipeg in 2024 or 2025.

Finally, the USFL and HUB Football just announced a new “data partnership” in an attempt to help find the best players possible for the other alternative football leagues' second season which will be kicking off in April. How does the USFL and HUB’s partnership differ from that of the XFL’s new relationship with the NFL Alumni Academy and did the USFL and HUB Football do enough with their newly announced partnership or is there still room to improve?

0:00 The Markcast Episode Promo
2:28 Show Intro
3:52 Bryan Scott Signed Football Preview, 2500 Subscriber Giveaway
5:14 USFL Announces Data Partnership w/ HUB Football, Thoughts
8:40 Brian Michael Cooper, XFL 2020 Houston Roughnecks Team President Interview
35:06 Jeff Hamilton, CFL Journalist, CFL Week 19 Preview
1:08:25 Show Outro