CFL on TSN Announcers and Commentators Panel

CFL TSN panel for the 2023 season play callers consists of:

• Rod Smith 
• Farhan Lalji
• Dustin Nielson 
• Marshall Ferguson

Smith, a Canadian sports commentator and host of TSN’s Sports Centre, is currently working as a lead play-by-play announcer for the CFL on TSN.

Smith has been part of the TSN team since 1987, joining as an editorial assistant for SportsCenter. After gaining the four-year experience, Smith became a reporter in 1992 and has presented SportsCenter since 1995.

Similarly, Rod also served as the commentator for Long Track Speed Skating during the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver. His exceptional work as a sports commentator earned him a nomination for the Gemini Award in the category of Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer.

Next year, at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, Rod fulfilled the role of play-by-play commentator for Aquatics. His remarkable performance led him to win the first Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer in 2013.

Additionally, before completing his studies at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in 1986, Smith previously enrolled at Queen’s University, where he played as an offensive lineman for the Golden Gaels. 

TSN Sports reporter Farhan Lalji started working for TSN in 1997 as an anchor of TSN’s Flagship sports news program, SportsCenter. Presently, he holds the role of Vancouver Senior Football Reporter for SportsCenter, which is TSN’s leading sports news and information program.

As a Vancouver Bureau Reporter for SportsCentre, Lalji presently focuses on reporting on the Canucks, Lions, and Whitecaps FC, alongside covering various sports stories in the Vancouver area.

Before Joining the TSN, Lalji worked as a sports and weekend news anchor for the CBC from 1995 to 1997 and also a producer and reporter on the Sports Machine at CKWX Radio in Vancouver.

Moreover, Farhan has won the Best Sports TV Reporter award in Vancouver five-time in 2012, 2015, and 2017 at the Paul Carson Broadcast and Media Award. 

Marshall Ferguson is currently a host and play-by-play announcer for the Sports Network in Hamilton, Ontario after spending six years as TSN 1150 Hamilton as Morning Drive host and Hamilton Tiger-Cats play-by-play announcer.

Since 2019, Dustin Nelson has served as a play-by-play announcer for the CFL on TSM. He is also known for hosting the Neilson Show, which has consistently ranked among the nation’s top-rated sports shows over the last five years.

CFL TSN commentators for the 2023 regular season are:

• Glen Suitor
• Duane Forde
• Matt Dunigan

CFL on TSN sports broadcaster, Glen Suitor currently serves as a lead color commentator since 1998. Prior to his broadcasting career, Suitor played eleven seasons for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

He began his broadcasting journey as a sports director and morning co-host with CJME-AM radio and CIZL-FM from 1991 to 1993.

Before the 1995 season, Suitor retired from CLF and worked as a full-time television game analyst alongside Gord Miller. Currently, Suitor serves as the lead game analyst and is paired alongside Rod Smith.

Suitor and Chris Cuthbert, renowned game analysts and play-by-play commentators were honored with the Gemini Award for Best Analyst and Play-by-Play.

Additionally, Suitor received four nominations for the Canadian Screen Award in the category of Best Sports Analyst, and won the Award for his exceptional work during the 100th Grey Cup game in 2014. 

Former CFL player and Canadian Television broadcaster, Duane Forde worked as a game analyst for CFL on TSN broadcast since 2008.

Likewise, He serves as the secondary analyst, calling games alongside play-by-play announcer Rod Black and then with Rod Smith.

Before starting a broadcasting career, he played twelve seasons for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, and Hamilton Tiger-Ctas.

Matt Dunigan has been in the media field since 1999. Dunigan debuted as a secondary color commentator for CFL on TSN.

As a former professional football athlete who played Canadian Football League at Edmonton Eskimos as a quarterback from 1983 to 1987.

Moreover, Dunigan was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and ranked #39 among the CFL’s Top 50 players in the modern era by Canadian Sports Network.

TSN all-star Studio Analyst team for the 2023 season are:

• Matt Dunigan
• Milt Stegall
• Dave Naylor
• Paul LaPolice
• Davis Sanchez
• Jim Baker

Milt Stegall is a former professional gridiron football player for Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL for three seasons and 14 seasons with Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Canadian Football League.

Since 2009, Stegall serves as a studio analyst on the CFL on the TSN studio panel and remained a prominent member of the CLF analyst team.

Dave Naylor is a Canadian sports journalist and reporter who cover the Canadian Football League for TSN Occasionally. He also writes columns for TSN.ca and hosts a radio show on TSN. In 2015, Naylor was honored with inducted into the Media Wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Paul LaPolice is a well-known Canadian football coach. Paul most recently held the position of head coach for the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL.

Paul has excelled as an assistant coach, guiding his team to two Grey Cup championships, with the most recent victory in 2019 as the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

He began his broadcasting journey in 2012, initially as a guest analyst. Subsequently, from 2013 to 2015, he worked full-time for the CFL on TSN, where he hosted a program named “Coach’s Playbook” and appeared occasionally on the TSN panel.

Former Canadian football player, Davis Sanchez played in both the NFL and CLF as a cornerback. He co-founded TSN Edge and currently serves as an NFL and CFL game analyst at TSN.

In 2017, Sanchez joined TSN 690 as a game analyst for the Alouettes radio broadcast. The following year, he became an analyst for TSN’s CFL television broadcasts, joining the CFL on the TSN team.

In 2019, Sanchez became part of the NFL on TSN broadcast team. In 2020, he began covering the NFL for TSN and CTV on a full-time basis.

Jim Barker, a football executive, and coach, currently serves as a studio analyst for CFL on TSN. While Barker is well-known for his coaching career, he has achieved remarkable success and won four-time Grey Cups, two as an assistant coach and two as a football administrator.

CFL TSN CFL standings at number one BC with Six points from West Division. Montreal and Toronto led the point table with four points from the East Division.

CFL 2023 Regular Season Standing

West Division

1. BC – 6 points
2. Winnipeg – 4 points
3. Saskatchewan – 4 points
4. Calgary – 2 points
5. Edmonton – 0 points

East Division

1. Montreal – 4 points
2. Toronto – 4 points
3. Ottawa – 0 points
4. Hamilton – 0 points