The East are Beasts, a review of the week

Is there a shift in the CFL universe, or was week one just an unexpected surprise to kick off the season.

Eastern teams won all of their debuts in week one of the CFL schedule, as Western teams found themselves outscored in all four of the featured contests.

Toronto entertained the home crowd and gave them something to talk about in their 21-10 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Renegades announced loud and clear that they have intentions to be at home and on the field on the third Sunday in November. The Renegades suprised the Blue Bombers and stunned their fans with an exciting 37-25 victory over the Big Blue.

Next up for the East were the Hamilton Tiger Cats who went into BC Place and took two points from the Lions with a 38-36 victory. For Hamilton the game highlighted a reborn team that seemed to be enjoying the success on the field, for their fellow teams in the East that means that these Tiger Cats are no longer pushovers. The game gave Wally Buono some new areas to work on to get his squad back into the groove they had a few years ago.

Montreal exacted some revenge on the Grey Cup Champion Eskimos, as the Als celebrated yet another sell out at McGill. The Als were all over the defending Champs 33-9, sending Edmonton a strong message that their reign as holders of the Grey Cup may be short lived.

The final game of the week in review was more bad news for the Green Riders. Playing their second game of the week the Roughriders managed to only get 10 points on the board again, losing to Calgary in a 33-10 rout. Calgary who played strong football for new head coach and GM Matt Dunigan, may not be in as much disarray as previously thought. Though a better test is fast approaching, they took on a still smarting rider team missing their starting quarterback Nealon Greene, Henry Burris the back up missed his second assignment due to a training camp knee problem, that left Rocky Butler to face the Stamps, suffice to say they didn't make him feel welcome nor did they go easy on him. It's a fast learning curve in Regina these days.

Week Two kicks off on Thursday when Toronto travels to Ottawa, Friday Night Football on TSN will let us see if the Ti Cats are for real or if Dave Ritchie is suddenly in trouble as Hamilton is home to Winnipeg. Saturday two disappointed teams from week one will match up as the Lions travel to Edmonton to help the Esks kick off the home schedule. Sunday's game has Montreal travelling to Calgary, giving Matt Dunigan a very early exam. It will be interesting to see which teams are on a roll on by next Monday, when we do our review once again.

Dunnigan’s debut a smashing success!

The much maligned Calgary Stampeders would like everyone to know they aren’t going to go away this year. Expected by many critics to crash and burn in the CFL West, the Stamps put together a pretty good performance in their season opener. Head coach and GM Matt Dunigan can sit back and enjoy his coaching debut, as the Stampeders took over Taylor field and shocked the Rider faithful with a 33-10 victory over the struggling Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Marcus Crandell got his game back in fine style as he led the Stamps with a touchdown pass and run for one of his own. The Stamps took control of the game over in the third quarter when they managed to accumulate 21 points. Shutting down the Riders in the process. Despite a gusting wind of 54 kilometers at times, Crandell managed some pretty good numbers on the day, completing 20 of 36 passes and amassing 286 yards. It was a rough start for the Stamps who couldn’t get their plays off in time during their first set of downs, eventually giving up a safety. However, before the critics could start writing about the decline of the Stamps, Crandell engineered a 70 yard drive which was capped by his three yard run for a TD. After that the Stamps settled into their tasks and outworked the Riders. Special teams and defence also made major contributions to the victory, the first for the Stamps in four games against the Riders.

For Saskatchewan the season of such promise three short weeks ago is quickly turning into a nightmare. For the second game in a row Rocky Butler could not move the team, Butler the third string Rider QB has been given the starting assignment with Nealon Greene’s injury, second string pivot Henry Burris is not ready just yet with his own health problems. For Saskatchewan the quarterback situation is quickly becoming the main worry, three weeks ago it was the one thing the Rider management felt would be the least of their problems. With Greene gone probably for the season, it will be Burris’ ball to run with, should he ever get back into the lineup. Butler has been given a rough baptism in the last two weeks, but for the Riders to reach their goal of a Grey Cup berth in November, Burris had best get back into the line up fast. A 0-2 start for the Riders was not expected part of the plan, Danny Barrett needs to get his team back on track fast. A few more stumbles like the start of the season has provided and the Riders may find it unnecessary to make hotel reservations for Ottawa in November.

7 months later, new QB, but not the same result!

Defending their 2003 Grey Cup championship is going to take a bit more work than that provided Saturday night in Montreal. The Edmonton Eskimos old/new gun, Jason Maas had a rather horrible return taking the place of Ricky Ray. Maas, who sat on the Eskie sidelines for most of the last two years as back up to Ray, did not get the Eskimos where they needed to be in their regular season debut. A fumble and an interception spotted the Alouettes 14 points on the way to a convincing 33-9 win, as the Grey Cup rematch quickly became a blow out to entertain the traditional sell out crowd at McGill Stadium.

The Alouettes led by Anthony Cavillo were up 22-2 at the half and never really were in any trouble in this game. The Als dominated every aspect of the play, offense, defense and special teams all were superior when dressed in rouge, blanc and bleu.

These Eskimos bore no resemblance to the confident crew that took home Lord Earl Grey’s Championship trophy last November on the frozen prairie of Saskatchewan. Montreal had them off balance for most of the game, overwhelming the front line of the Eskimo offence frequently making Maas scramble for his life, or rush his passes. Adding an extra attacker to the rush the Als could count on somebody being within harms distance of the Eskimo backfield all night long. Unable to pick up the extra rusher the Eskie attack never really got unleashed.

Statistically neither of the two QB’s were stellar but the edge went to the Als Anthony Cavillo, he went 18 for 33 and racked up 229 yards, throwing for two TD passes. Maas was 19 for 38 and 165 yards, his downfall the interceptions, fumble and an inability to move the offence. He did score the Esks only touchdown, a one yard scramble, but by that point the game was long since decided.

Both teams will have to shake the cobwebs out of their playbooks however to compete in the more competitive divisions. With Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton all showing life in the East the traditional cake walk for the Als is gone. They’ll have to fight for their two points, no longer able to just walk into a park and expect the victory. They get to retool the offence against Calgary on Sunday afternoon. The game will provide an opportunity to have the offence match the defensive contribution of this weekend.

As for the Eskies they won’t be able to ride their reputations on to victory in the West. Perhaps parity has arrived in the CFL, each team on any given day likely to beat the other. One thing is for certain, any talk of an Eskimo dynasty about to be launched will quickly be kept quiet. Saturday night’s performance was not that of a team ready to launch a dynasty, rather it showcased a team that has much work to be done. Esks head coach Tom Higgins and his assistants need to regroup their squad and get them on the same page. BC travels to Edmonton on Saturday; with both teams smarting from opening day losses it could be a matter of which team snarls the loudest that determines which team will be winless after week two.

These are not last years Tiger Cats!

Danny Mac looked like a guy having some fun at BC Place on Friday night, he was tossing the ball with some zip, his receivers were making the big catches and most importantly of all, the scoreboard kept showing the Ti Cats in the lead. Considering the hell that he went through in 2003, he must feel like a rookie QB at his first camp out of college ball. Throughout Friday night McManus remained calm and guided with a steady hand as Hamilton edged the BC Lions 38-36, in a game that was not as close as the score indicates.

McManus took the BC corner backs to school on Friday night, turning each side over time and time again as he lofted precision passes to the corners, cut them inside to the post and launched some rockets to the end zone. It was probably the best performance McManus has had in a couple of years and by far the best offensive show the Ti Cats have put on for years. For new owner Bob Young, the result must have given him some satisfaction, his rookie coach got his first win of his career, his veteran QB shined and the various pieces added to the mix by Ron Lancaster in the off season showed that the long wait for respectability in Steel town may be coming to an end. Ticket sales should spike again after the road win by the Tabbies.

Hamilton managed to overcome a great many penalty calls as the Ti Cats again and again were called for penalties that stalled their drives and set them back in field position. They had fifteen penalties for 119 yards in the first half, kept the defence busy and tested the patience of the coach. Yet McManus kept it going, finding DJ Flick, Craig Yeast and Dimitrius Breedlove for TD passes. Defensively the Ti cats held their own as well, Sandy Beveridge returning a fumble for a touchdown to add to the total. All in all it was a fairly decent total team performance by the Black and Yellow.

The Lions had a horrid game and yet stayed close until the end. Dave Dickenson started but removed himself in the second quarter, not feeling up to the standard needed to succeed. Casey Printers took over and accounted well for himself with as he led the Lions up the field putting points on the board along the way. Missed field goals by Duncan O’Mahony cost the Lions, had they been able to connect on one of the two missed attempts then they would have been walking out of BC place as winners and not the Ticats.

The Lions also found themselves in the position to win the game with two minutes to go, but a fumble sealed there fate when Printers coughed up the ball with only 44 seconds to go. At which point the Ti Cats gave a rather proud Coach Greg Marshall his first Gatorade shower as a pro coach.

The panic won’t be settling in Vancouver just yet, as Wally Buono figures out how to fix Wallyball, Buono who is one of the most recognized coaches in the CFL will rebuild his cornerback’s confidence, fill in the holes and be ready to play again on Saturday night against the Eskimos. For Hamilton, the regular season debut is a Friday Night Football clash with the Big Blue. Football seems fun again for the Ti Cats, a great kickoff to the regular season and a chance to entertain the home fans coming up, Bob Young must feel like he’s hit the jackpot already.

Confidence Men!

Will this third year be the charm? The Ottawa Renegades showed that the growing pain years may be over, with a convincing defeat of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 37-25, Thursday night at CanadInn stadium. A bit over 22,000 fans watched as the Rens defense and special teams came up big all game long, as the Big Blue found getting untracked to be rather hard in their home debut.

Kerry Joseph showed that Joe Paopao’s faith in him is well justified as he excelled at leading Renegade drives down the field. Joseph threw for one TD a 74 yard toss to Yo Murphy and ran for the other as the Renegade offence provided some new thrills for their fans. Joseph’s stats were pretty impressive, 19 for 26 for 307 yards, with no interceptions. Josh Ranek used his straight ahead driving style for seven points. New addition Keith Woodcock made a number of amazing catches during the course of the game, showing that it sometimes takes only a bit of tweaking to get an offense firing on all its cylinders. Rookie kicker Sandro Sciortino had a good debut for the Rens as well, hitting field goals from varying lengths.

For Winnipeg it was not a great start to the season that has been described as the must win season. Coach Dave Ritchie who seems to be perpetually on a hot seat in the Peg, must be feeling warm on his butt right off the bat, the Bombers struggled all game to get consistent drives. Untimely penalties seemed to do in the Bombers as two touchdowns were called back due to flags. The more damaging of the two, was a controversial clipping penalty in the third quarter which seemed to take them off their focus, a touch down ruled no good when Bomber receiver Robert Gordon clipped an Ottawa defender in the end zone. The loss of the six points apparently affected the Bombers as they continued to be flat through the third quarter. Through the game the Bombers would roll down the field but once they were close to the goal line their drives fizzled. Jones went 28-46 for 430 yards, gaining two touchdowns but giving up two interceptions. The Bomber offence turned the ball over three times during the course of the game, too many errors put them in bad shape all game.

Ottawa gained possession of the ball on a short kickoff and gobbled not only field possession but time on the clock, as the Bombers defense reeled from the onslaught. The key for the Renegades was fourteen points in two minutes, the first seven on an offensive drive the second on an interception of a Khari Jones pass, taken back for a Rens TD. At that point, the confidence of the Renegade squad seemed to dominate the game. Every defensive play seemed to result in a stop or a turnover of the ball on downs. Joseph exhibited fine ball control and kept the Bombers defence off balance through the remainder of the game.

As the fourth quarter was winding down the Rens held an impressive 37-18 lead and for all intents and purposes were home clear and dry. The Bombers put together one final successful drive culminated by a nice pass and catch performance from Jones to Keith Stokes, something for the Bomber fans to think of for future games. But this one was all Ottawa. With the victory the Renegades have won their first game in Winnipeg since the nineties and their days as Rough Riders. With the victory the East Division race doesn’t look like such a cake walk for the Alouettes this year. Following a big win by the Argos on Tuesday and Thursday’s Renegade victory the word is out that the East will be a competitive division in 2004.

For Winnipeg it will be back to the chalkboard, the field drills and lots and lots of film work as they prepare for their next game Friday June 25th against the Ti-Cats in Hamilton. If the result and effort next week is the same as Thursday provided, summer will be a very hot season indeed for coach Ritchie.

Success, is it in the cards?

The CFL takes another huge step in marketing this year as Pacific Trading Cards offers up its second year of CFL trading cards. Pacific is one of the leading trading card companies and this years collection will feature 110 cards of various CFL stars, with a few refinements from last years debut edition. Bilingual text will offer francophone fans, especially in football mad Quebec, the chance to read up and collect some of their favorite CFL players, game worn jersey cards will again be included giving the card buyer a chance to win CFL apparel.

Autograph cards are popular with collectors and they’re included in this years collection as well, with the likes of Damon Allen, Danny McManus, Milt Stegall and Dave Dickenson having signed cards appearing is random packs of cards. More action photos and more players included should help to build on the success of last year.

A definite sign of the CFL‘s renaissance, last years debut issue from Pacific was the first batch of CFL cards provided by a mainstream card company in over 30 years. The trading card phenomenon has been going strong for a number of years now, it’s a great opportunity for the CFL to try and recapture a lost core of audience, the kids between 10 and 18 and of course their parents with the wallets.

Check out the new batch of cards at pacifictradingcards or visit the CFL site at www.cfl.ca for a quick look at the latest marketing achievement for the league.

Rewind!

He can try as many times as he likes, but Danny Barrett will have no success. He can rewind that game tape of the season opener against Toronto over and over, but one terrible thing will appear again and again. Nealon Greene is gone, perhaps for the entire season.

The Roughrider season got off to one of its roughest starts ever as the starting QB for the Riders went down only seven minutes into the game. Marking only the second series of downs for the riders in the 2004 campaign, Greene was hit on the blind side by blitzing Argonaut linebacker Michael Fletcher, when the bodies un-piled from the mass, Greene remained on the field in visible pain. After many uncomfortable and silent minutes at Skydome he was taken from the field by cart, suffering a badly broken leg.

The injury seemed to shock the Riders for the first half, Rocky Butler third on the depth chart was handed the ball. Henry Burris still recovering from a training camp ankle injury, watched from the sidelines as the third string Rider tried to recapture the excitement the team had minutes before.

The Argos found the field open for them for the first thirty minutes and took advantage of the situation. Bashir Levingson ran back a missed field goal minutes after the Greene injury to spot the Argos an early 7 point lead with the convert. Rocky Butler’s season debut was er, rocky, as his first pass was picked off for an interception by Kenny Wheaton. Two plays later Argo QB, Damon Allen found receiver Jay Soward downfield for another TD, before the half was out the Argos had added one more touchdown as Robert Baker hauled in a thirty five yard pass for a touchdown. The double blue took a 21-0 lead into the dressing room at the half, giving the over 26.000 in the stands some football to talk about during the break.

Danny Barrett found some words to reassure his charges for the second, as the Riders played with more of a purpose and made few errors in the second half. Clawing their way back onto the scoreboard, as Butler handed the ball off to Chris Szarka, who ran the ball into the end zone from the one and Paul McCallum scored a field goal to get the Riders back into the game, but not enough to take away the 21-10 win from the Argos.

It marked the first season opener victory for the double blue since 2000. The result was a welcome one for the new owners, who have rebuilt interest in the Argos after a number of years of wandering in the Toronto wilderness. The size of the crowd a positive sign for the Argos the 26,821 was the largest crowd to see an Argos game since head coach Pinball Clemons played his last game in an Argo uniform, four years ago.

While the Argos still have some work to do on their line up, they seem to have the foundation of a solid and entertaining team. The display on Tuesday should help keep the crowds coming to the Skydome.

Saskatchewan which went into the game considered the favourite to be traveling to Ottawa in November for the Grey Cup now has its first bit of adversity. It will be a test of Barrett’s coaching and people skills to see how he assists his team in getting back on track. Henry Burris has already said he’ll be ready for the next game Sunday against Calgary, and for Saskatchewan that’s a positive development.

By not rushing him into the game Tuesday, Barrett showed leadership, realizing that the season is much more than the opening game. Prior to Greene’s injury the QB situation was considered the one ace that the Riders had, three capable QB’s near equal in status, Greene got the nod to start the season, but many felt that Burris would eventually be the guy to lead the team. His chance to do just that has arrived, supporters in Saskatchewan and Rider fans across the country will be watching with interest as he takes control of the team.

Pre-season recap, working out the bugs

The 2 game pre season for the CFL came to an end over the weekend as the nine CFL franchises made their final cuts.
The last full contact game was Thursday night and shortly after, those that had dreams would soon be disappointed. Bringing down their rosters to the leauge required 40 players after the two a days, film sessions and grueling exhibition games. The football is played for real Tuesday night, but before we kick off 2004 a look back at the pre-season games, who impressed the coaches and who quickly found gas money in their locker envelopes.

OTTAWA 28, MONTREAL 24
TORONTO 33, HAMILTON 10
SASKATCHEWAN 27, EDMONTON 17
WINNIPEG 29, CALGARY 14
TORONTO 31, HAMILTON 23
SASKATCHEWAN 24, BC 14
MONTREAL 38, OTTAWA 10
BC 39, WINNIPEG 28,
EDMONTON 22, CALGARY 19

On pre season success alone, we should be watching the Argos and the Riders in the Grey Cup game come the third week of November. Both teams were 2 and 0 in the pre season, though Saskatchewan faced the tougher competition of the two teams. But as we know, pre season results are not of much consequence once the regular season kicks off, so the Riders had best put the party plans away for a few months at any rate.

Saskatchewan kicks off the year in Toronto Tuesday night, the long march to November begins at Skydome, for the Riders and the Argos they hope the road leads to Ottawa.

But Dad!

No one can say that the Ottawa Renegades are going to suffer the same problems of the Calgary Stampeders. Head coach Joe Paopao made seven cuts from the Rens roster on Thursday. And one of the names was certainly quite familiar, Tyler Paopao the fourth QB in camp and son of coach Joe, was let go as the Renegades work their roster down to the 40 man limit. Despite leading the Rens to their only touchdown of Wednesday night’s exhibition game in Montreal, Tyler apparently wasn’t ready to make the jump to professional football just yet.

There will be no Feterik factor in the Rens camp; the Feterik situation was the uncomfortable situation in Calgary which distracted the team last year, when the owner’s son Kevin kept a spot on the roster despite indications that he wasn’t quite ready for the CFL. The mess that became the Stamps last year, eventually cost their coach Jim Barker his job. Determined to improve the situation in Calgary, the Stamps brought Matt Dunnigan into the General Managers position. Dunnigan who will also serve as Head coach has thus far not been told that the owner's son is coming to town.

Other notable releases in the Rens camp were Aaron Lockett who had a troubling final game with the Alouettes and kicker Ian Hewitt who was battling Sandro Sciortino for the job of kicker. Sciortino a rookie in camp will be feeling the heat as the Rens hope to improve their stats and final position in this year’s campaign.

All teams must be down to their 40 man roster by Saturday, so there are two more sleepless nights to go for a few of the Renegade players.

Sightseeing at Molson stadium

The Ottawa Renegades learned a pretty important lesson on Wednesday night; the Alouettes with Anthony Calvillo in the line up, are a much more impressive team than the one without AC at the helm. Last week AC did not even make the trip to Ottawa, Wednesday night he was itching to go. Calvillo looked to be in mid season form as the Alouette first stringers rolled up the score 31-1 by the half and a total domination of the self destructing Renegades. Calvillo’s first half stats show just how much he dominated the game, as he went 18 for 25, with 288 yards and two touchdowns.

Ottawa continued its plan to give a look see to as many players as possible, and many of those auditioning for jobs did not particularly endear themselves to coach Joe Paopao and his staff. Aaron Lockert, who is trying to win a spot as a receiver, fumbled the ball on his own thirteen yard line, setting up the ALS first touch down of the game. To make matters worse for Locker his main competition for the job, Jason Amrstead had a decent game in returning kicks.

Kerry Joseph started for the Renegades but did not have much success in generating some offence in his first thirty minutes. Joseph, who was under pressure for most of the half, spent an awful lot of time running the ball as his receivers found the Als coverage to be stifling. The excessive scrambling of Kerry’s led to a tweak of his hamstring, a situation that the Renegades will want to be careful with, Paopao said all is well with the ham at the moment. Joseph will give it a bit of rest now, before the Rens open the regular season next Thursday in Winnipeg.

Darnell Kennedy and Brad Banks shared time in the second half of the game as quarterback and Tyler Paopao, son of Coach Joe got into the game as well. As a matter of fact it was Paopao who engineered the final Rens drive, one that resulted in a Raymonn Adams touchdown, Those seven points, a safety and a single would account for all the Rens scoring in the game as they bowed out 38-10 to the high flying Als.

19,542 Alouette fans, a pre season record, crammed into Molson Stadium to salute their hometown heroes and Don Matthews’s team did not disappoint as they put on a clinic for the fans. The Als introduced some new wrinkles to an already imposing offence and showcased the receiving skills of Jermaine Copeland and Kwame Cavil. Defensively they kept the Rens penned in for most of the game, getting themselves into a defensive mindset for the season opener June 19th, when the Grey Cup Champion Eskimos come to town.

That should be a match up the Als are looking towards with much relish, as the rematch of last years Grey Cup game should be a great way to kick off the 2004 CFL season for both teams. The Als feeling as though there is a bit of unfinished business from the Regina plains last fall.

Rens face the real deal Wednesday night

Last week they had the run of the field, as the Renegades defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the first exhibition game of the pre season. Tonight should be a little different for the return match in Montreal. For Tonight the Rens will see Anthony Calvillo, AC sat out last week’s game as Don Matthews turn the ball over to the understudies to see who was ready to move up to the number two spot.

And for the aspirants for back field positions on the defense this could be the final exam at the hand of a strict professor. It’s expected that Calvillo will be given the bulk of the work in the final pre season game for both teams as Montreal tries to smooth out the kinks of the pre season.

Two of the five Defensive backfield positions are still up for grabs; Serge Sejour, Tierre Sams, Donald Ruiz and Dave Donaldson are all in the hunt for the final two spots on the regular season starting roster. Though waiting in the wings as possible replacements are players coming back from injury or from the NFL camps. AS usual for the CFL, a player is really always fighting for a job whether it’s the pre-season, mid season or heading for the playoffs.

The Renegade coaching staff will be watching some other areas as well, trying to decide on which player will back up starting QB Kerry Josephs. Tonight will be the final chance for someone to step up and claim that job. As well the kicking game is wide open in the nation's capital, as the Renegades look for a consistent addition to the kicking positions.

With the pre season almost to an end the Renegades and Alouettes prepare for the long march back to Lansdowne Park in late November. Montreal has to be considered the favorite once again to come out of the East with a Grey Cup berth, while Ottawa would like nothing better than to finish off the season with a Grey Cup match in their own park. How the players wrap up the pre season will go a long way to deciding which ones get to go on the journey.

Will the Ti-Cats one day be the Brady bunch?

Marcus Brady is renting a u haul, his wheels to take him down the QEW to Hamilton as he joins the Ti-cat roster after a trade earlier Wednesday. Going along for the ride will be rookie linebacker Tawambi Settles, the second half of a two for one trade which sees offensive lineman Mike Mihelic heading to Toronto, along with a 2005 draft pick.

The move basically secures Damon Allen as the number one pivot in Argoland for one more year as he adjusts to Kent Austin’s new offensive schemes. Michael Bishop and Scott Krause impressed Austin and head coach Pinball Clemons so much that they made Brady expendable.

To free up some room on the Ti Cat roster, back ups David Corley and James McPherson, as well as linebacker and veteran all star Chris Shelling were all released. Brady who challenged Allen for the starter’s job last year and was considered the heir apparent will take his arm and football smarts off to the steel city, where he’ll start the season learning the playbook from veteran Danny McManus. However, expect to see a lot more of Brady on the field that in his Toronto years, the Ti-Cats in making the trade have probably decided on who they wish to take over the reigns from McManus who must surely be getting close to his final seasons with the CFL team.

While moving to a team that went 1-17 last year probably would be a devastating turn of events for most players, Brady seems to be taking the change in stride. Expecting to get more opportunity with a Hamilton team desperate for a good season. And to be fair this is not necessarily the same Ti Cat team that suited up last year, with new coach Greg Marshall in place and GM Ron Lancaster given a larger wallet to work with the Ti cats has made some important personnel moves so far. Adding Brady to the mix is just another piece of the rebuilding puzzle, but at least now they will have some confidence should they need to rest McManus or injury adds to their woes.

If all works out well Ti Cat fans will be put in a position that they’re not used to, having to say thank you to a Toronto football club. But should the Ti Cats show the improvement that many think is possible, those may be words that flow pretty easily.

20 years and still auditioning

A bit of empathy for Damon Allen, 20 years on into his CFL career and the guy still has to prove himself to yet another batch of critics. Allen who has led teams to Grey Cups, rattled off records and quietly proven to be one of the leagues top leaders is back at camp, fighting for the starting job.

Allen who is the leagues passing leader, heads into Saturday’s exhibition game against Hamilton looking to claim the number one spot as his. He has been battling third year pro Marcus Brady for the starting spot after Brady had such a strong end to the 2003 campaign. Allen, who is forty years old, is fully aware of the pressure on him these days to perform. But says it’s nowhere near as intense as the pressure he puts on himself.

Saturday’s game will go a long way to helping Kent Austin and Pinball Clemons decide who will start the season as the field general for the double blue. Marty York at Sportsnet is reporting on his website that the Argos are leaning towards Brady. According to Marty, it will take an outstanding performance by Allen to recapture the top dog position.

York goes on to stir the pot by suggesting that Michael Bishop may be moving up the depth chart as well, with the possibility that Allen may end up being cut by the end of the training camp at which point he’ll be offered the back up role but a greatly reduced rate of pay from his current 250,000 a year salary, which includes a number of performance bonuses.

Clemons for his part denies that any hot seat is being sat upon by Allen and that two pre season games would not be the deciding factor on who get the start when the season opener rolls around. Regardless, Allen seems to thrive on the pressure; it seems every year he’s on the bubble with whatever team he’s at. The same story repeated itself during stops in BC and Edmonton, yet twenty years later we’re still talking about Damon Allen at quarterback.

That if nothing alone is testimony to his ability to play and his mental toughness. Should the Argos go with their youth movement it would not be surprising to see Allen take his gunslinger arm off to another Dodge, his credo: “have arm will travel”. Somebody always needs one; refuse his services at your own peril.

Bob Young unplugged

Hamilton kept its CFL franchise alive, only after a former Hamiltonian returned to pick up the pieces at a bargain basement price. Bob Young grew up as a Tiger Cat fan, but made his fortune in the world of computer technology. The founder of Red Hat has taken on the challenge of turning the formerly woebegone Ti-cats into a model CFL franchise, and so far he's doing all the right things. Spending his own money to help create a renewed spirit for the game in Southern Ontario.

He's assembled a pretty impressive crew of football and marketing people to put the product on the field and the butts in the seats. There apparently is once again a buzz about Tiger Cat football, something that has been missing for a long time. With a facelift for Ivor Wynne, a new sense of urgency in the locker room and some serious interest from the fans, things are going fairly well thus far.

So who is this guy, who comes across as almost an Ed Grimley kind of character, one part genius, one part next door neighbor and one part the weird little guy from high school. There's a fascinating profile of him in Canadian Business, one which gives us an indication just how serious he is about helping the Tiger Cats and the CFL return to prosperity. The article recounts his business success in the computer world and how he's using those lessons to build a football and entertainment success in Steeltown.

22,000 fans turned out last week for an exhibition game, an unheard of amount in Hamilton in the regular season, let alone the practice games. So something is going on in Hamilton, when all is put together and the Ti-Cats are back on the road to success one guy should be taking some bows, but you get the feeling he won't be hanging around the centre stage. He'll be off in a corner taking care of some detail or the other.

Bob Young is all about putting the right people in the right place and letting them get to work. For the CFL the same could be said, they've found the right guy, with the right plan, stand back and let the Ti-Cats lead the way.

Rens show promise to home town fans

Late November will bring the Grey Cup to Frank Clair Stadium, as the Renegade Football club hosts this year’s celebration of Canadian Football excellence. If Wednesday night’s pre-season game was any indication, there is every chance that the hometown team may actually be on the field for the kick off on that fall afternoon.

Kerry Joseph showed why he’s earned the respect of Joe Paopao and his staff and how he’s become the Renegades starting quarterback. Joseph took over the reigns of the Rens offence in the third quarter, finding hometown receiver Pat Woodcock and last years acquisition Yo Murphy in the end zone to put fourteen points on the board, all on the way to a 28 – 24 victory over the Montreal Alouettes. Josephs contribution to exhibition football was 125 passing yards, a completion rate of 8 of 10 and of course the two all important touch downs. Showing why the crowd of 21,450 is excited about his continual improvement at the pivot position.

To be fair to the Alouettes who are perennial contenders in the East, they did not use QB Anthony Calvillo in the game, preferring to get a close look at the abilities of back up Tavares Bolden. Bolden ran into a stingy Renegade defence that shut down his attack through the game, including an impressive goal line stand when the Renegades turned back the Alouette attack three times from the five yard line.

Renegade back up quarterbacks got their fair share of reps in the first half as Darnell Kennedy and Brad Banks tried to find their place in the Renegade line up. Neither of the two, shone particularly bright so the back up spot is probably still a fluid thing in the Rens camp. Mind you the two didn’t have the “A” team of offensive lines in front of them, yet they did help to give the Renegades the lead at the half by a score of 13-10.

For a first full contact game against real competition the results were favorable for the Rens, they return the favor for the Als next week when they wrap up the exhibition season at McGill stadium in Montreal. But after one game things are looking good for the Renegades and their fans, the parade route blue prints are waiting. We’ll start at the Rideau Centre, work our way down Wellington to Bank and down to Frank Clair, you can almost see the convertibles on the horizon.

Lion has nine lives!

For Ray Jacobs the wheels of Justice have spun the right way, Jacobs found that his legal nightmares cleared up on Tuesday. When the Crown Prosecutor in Surrey decided not to press any charges against Jacobs over a quantity of drugs found in his car. Jacobs who was arrested last month will not be facing any charges over the drug bust.

It seems that acquaintances of Jacobs borrowed his car to run some errands which it would seem included a stop at a drug house in Surrey, where they purchased a quantity of drugs some of which ended ground up into the floor boards of his car. Surrey RCMP arrested the two outside of the house and then traced the car back to Jacobs. All along he denied any involvement in the illegal activity, today finding some vindication in his steadfast adherence to his declarations.

The 31 year old Lion defensive end held down third place overall last year in the Quarterback Sack category, gaining 10 sacks during the last season. With his legal troubles behind him now, he can get back to concentrating on football and how he can help the Lions regain some of their form of the last couple of years. To do that he’s going to have to be a tad more selective in who he’s hanging out with.

Eskies scramble the line up, as Mills gone for 16 weeks

For the sake of two sets of downs the Eskimo running game suddenly got a bit more complicated. Troy Mills was only slotted in for two sets in Sundays game in Regina as it turned out they were two too many. Mills suffered a broken fibula and now is sidelined for 16 weeks or more to recuperate. Having been picked up to compliment entrenched running back Mike Pringle, both had been looking forward to the 2004 campaign and the chance to develop the West’s most dynamic running game.

Now the Esks are back to the drawing board looking to find a replacement for the many threats offered up by Mills abilities. There are a couple of players in camp who may be able to step up to the challenge, Reggie White and Rafael Cooper the two rookies in camp, one of whom is about to get the break of a lifetime.

For Mills it’s a frustrating delay in his plans to fit in with the Esks offense. Having looked forward to sharing the ball with Pringle in the backfield, he’ll now be reduced to cheering the ball on from the background. Mills had previously decided to retire at the end of this season, feeling that a final year with a defending Grey Cup champion was the right way to go out. He now finds that possibly his retirement date has been moved up, something he wasn’t ready for until the third week in November. Instead he has to ponder the possibilities of leaving the game without playing a full game in 2004.

Ozzie calls it a day, Marshall says take a few more!

Mixed messages early in the day at the Ti-cat camp gave way to a final declaration, as kicker Paul Osbaldiston has decided to hang up the cleats. After having a terrible first half of football on Sunday, Osbaldiston left the team at half time. Apparently feeling that he just can’t do the job anymore, Osbaldiston gave back up kicker Jason Currie a hug, took off his uniform and left the stadium.

The game Sunday was not Ozzies finest hour, he kicked twice for less than 25 yards, leaving the Ti Cat defence in terrible holes. Missing a 33 yard field goal Osbalidiston heard from the crowd which expressed displeasure at the state of the Ti Cat kicking game. Feeling that he could no longer do the job he simply walked away and was put on the suspended list. Something that head coach Greg Marshall described as a league formality.

Marshal took the high road in the situation when he offered the fourty year old Osbaldiston a couple of days to ponder his future without any pressure from the Ti-Cat staff. Plagued by a recurring thigh injury the last few years Ozzie has seen his output dramatically decline over that period, the low point obviously Sunday afternoon.

Marshall by handling the situation this way is sending a positive message to not only Ozzie, but his team mates giving the long time CFL veteran a chance to step aside with a bit of dignity rather than with the sound of the fans booing his every move. Over his 18 years he has provided the Ti Cats and the CFL with some amazing feats in the kicking game, short memories in the stands should keep that in mind. However, football is a competitive game and the simple truth is a punter that only can move the ball 25 yards and misses field goal attempts is not going to be providing much of an edge.

With his mind all but made, he'll now have the chance to pass the kicking torch on to a younger leg. He plans on addressing his Ti Cat team mates personally on Wednesday to say his farewells and let them know the situation personally. He also feels he owes a debt to the Hamilton fans who as he says have been very kind over the years.

Having handled this situation the way he has, can only help Marshall in finding respect in the Ti Cat dressing room. What could have degenerated into an ugly departure from a hard working vet, will instead leave him with a chance to take his leave with his head up high. Team spirit can only find fertile soil in a place that provides that kind of atmosphere.

Green Riders tackle the Green and Gold

It’s only the first game of the year and an exhibition one at that, but the Green Riders of Saskatchewan have sent a message to their friends down the highway in Edmonton. Expect a battle when you come to Taylor Field and know that the Defense is lying in wait.

The pre season opener for both teams gave the Saskatchewan faithful some positive signs for the 2004 campaign. As the Roughrider defensive unit put its stamp on the always popular match up. The Riders have nine returning veterans on the defensive roster and some high intensity battles for those positions waiting to be filled. Defensive end Marcus Adams picked up a fumble and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown, capitalizing on a strong defensive play by Derrick Ford who stripped the ball from Eskimo quarterback Bert Hendricks. Through the afternoon the Rider defense served notice that points are going to be hard to come by this year.

The Quarterback situation on both teams got a solid workout Sunday, as both the Eskimos and Riders experiment with all of their QB recruits. The Riders started the game with Henry Burris, giving the ball to Nealon Greene for the second quarter; Rocky Butler got the ball for the rest of the game his chance to make a case for moving up on the Danny Barrett depth chart. Saskatchewan is in the enviable position of having three solid quarterbacks in their camp, a chip that will be of use to them once they identify their one missing ingredient. Maybe a receiver, special teams’ addition of adding more wealth to their defense, they’ll be able to deal from a position of strength with a QB to dangle to potential trading partners.

Much the same situation is playing out in Edmonton in the Post Ricky Ray era of Eskimo football. The Eskimos started Jason Maas in the game, turning the ball over to Hendricks, followed by Jason Maas. The pre-season opener was a costly one for Edmonton as running back Troy Mills suffered a fractured fibula and will most likely miss the first half of the season. Not how Mills or the Esks would have thought the season would begin.

The Esks move on to their next pre season game June 10th when provincial rival Calgary roll up the highway to put a wrap on the pre season. Saskatchewan takes their impressive defense to Vancouver on the 10th as well, a match up that will point out the problem areas for Danny Barrett and Wally Buono. One game into 2004 and the Riders have a lot to be pleased about, solid performances show that they are ready to challenge, Danny Barrett can’t ask for anything more than that, the Rider faithful will be ready to celebrate along with him.

Ti-Cats are winners everywhere but on the field!

Football is back in the Steel city! New owner Bob Young has made some impressive moves since acquiring the Tabbies, so he must have felt pretty good as his hard work has initially been rewarded. 22,342 football fans stopped by the spruced up Ivor Wynne stadium to take in a football game and kick the Ticat experience tires. The large number is a good barometer for Young, as to how he’s doing as owner.

The first pre season game of the new Young era attracted a larger crowd than any game in 2003, including the traditional Labour Day classic. That’s 22,342 for an exhibition game, one that featured mostly young bucks and old ducks trying to gain or keep a job. It’s certainly a terrific sign for the CFL which has weathered more than its fair share of troubles over the last few years.

However, the good time atmosphere in the stands and new polish to the presentation will eventually have to live on results on the field. And game one has shown new head Coach Greg Marshall that there is still a lot of work to do to climb back to respectability. The Toronto Argonauts strolled into Ivor Wynne and spoiled the party by beating the Ti-Cats 33-10. The game was sloppy from both sides of the field, indicative of a game featuring mainly rookies vying for a place on the team and experiments in the game plan taking place.

For Hamilton two old questions once again jump to the front of the line, is Danny McManus able to continue at the helm of the team or has age finally caught up to one of the great team leaders in the CFL. McManus did not get a lot of playing time but was less than dominating in his time on the field. 4 for 6 for only 17 yards with his offensive stats, while defensively he was -7 as he fumbled in the end zone after a hit from Argo Noah Cantor, setting up the Argonauts first touchdown. It was a result that did not win him any support from the large pre season game crowd. While there is little doubt that McManus will be the starting QB after the pre-season, how he handles the next week of camp and the return match with the Argos on Saturday will go a long way to showing if he’s still got the touch.

The other decision may not be as hard for Marshall to make, Paul Osbaldiston picked up where things left off last year, as he had his troubles in the game against Toronto. Two punts went off the side of his foot, putting the Ti Cats into a huge defensive hole something a young team can’t afford to have happen too many times in a game. Sentiment and tradition are important to any team, but when the time comes to replace a player sometimes steely determination is the best bet. The key to success this year will be to give the defensive some ground to work with; if Ozzie can’t deliver that product anymore he should pass the torch to someone else.

Marshall didn’t put much stock in the score on the board which is as it should be in a pre-season game, for really the line up on Sunday is nowhere what it will look like when the Ti-Cats open the season in Vancouver on June 18th. For the Hamilton fan the next chance to soak up the atmosphere at Ivor Wynne is on June 25th, when the Ti-Cats are home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Dave Ritchies team will be a good yardstick for Marshall and his assistants to see how far along in their plan things are.

Things are on the right off the field and at the box office, with a bit of time and determination the product at the stadium will bring them back in. The Ti-Cats are off to a good start with the groundwork they’ve done past the sidelines; once they get things back on track between them football will be on its way to health in Hamilton.

Twelve men on the field and one guy in the woods!

While the two a days continue at the training camps of the CFL, your faithful scribe is bailing out on the football. We'll be off to the woodlands' this weekend so there won't be any updates on the site til probably Monday. Check back in with us next week, we'll try and catch up on all the news, providing the waters don't rise and the bears aren't hungry!

Lions Quick to take advantage of experience

When the BC Lion Defensive ends take to the field in Kamloops for their training sessions they know they’re about to go to school. The Lions have invited Hall of Famer and nightmare of the quarterback, James “Quick” Parker to help educate the current crop of Leos in the fine art of the sack.

Parker who set a CFL record for sacks in 1984 with 26 ½ is giving his students some pointers on how to get the edge on the Offensive Line, where to angle off towards the QB and how to use their hands to make life a tad uncomfortable for the opposing QB.

The Lions recruited Parker from their own ticket staff, where Parker has been working the last few years, helping to rebuild the Lions fan base from its low bottom line. Moving over to help out coaching just seems like a no brainier; Parker who is fourth on the all time CFL sack list was renowned for his quick speed and uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. If he can just transfer some of that vast knowledge on to the younger generation of Lions then selling his ticket packages will suddenly get a whole lot easier. Lion fans are hoping for a return of the days of a stingy and mean defensive and an explosive and entertaining offense. Wally Buono has begun the process but it takes time, shoring up his defense is one step along that path.

If Parker wants to add a little extra motivation to his charges he should remember to bring some jewelry with him. With Five Grey Cup Rings as a testimonial to his past skills, the current D Line should take note. Studying at the school of Parker should give them the foundation to succeed, after that it’s up to them. Hard work, proper use of your skills and that killer instinct should help them begin to work on their collection.

Injuries taking their toll early in camp

Ottawa Renegade Defensive Back Anthony Malbrough is one mad guy, mad because he can’t take part in the two a days, mad that he can’t start showcasing his coverage skills and mad that he can only sit on the sidelines and watch. Malbrough strained his hamstring in the early days of training camp and now just crosses his fingers and hopes that he’ll be ready for June 17th, the opening day of the Renegades season.

Malbrough joined the Rens in a blockbuster trade with Calgary earlier this year, acquired to fill in the gaping hole in the Renegade secondary caused by the departure of Crance Clemons who signed on with the Indianapolis Colts. Malbrough who is considered one of the best coverage backs in the league is to provide some leadership to the Rens secondary a weak spot in the capital last year. Coach Joe Paopao was quite enthused to gain the services of Malbrough and is looking forward to watching him action, but he’ll wait for that hamstring, better to rest it properly now than to have it blow out as the Rens head into a playoff game.

Over in Toronto the disappointed one is Jean Frederic Tremblay, a rookie receiver who has turned heads with his speed and sure hands. A hamstring tear has the product of the Quebec college scene on the sidelines, his bid for a roster place temporarily put on hold. Unfortunately for Tremblay his hamstring difficulties seem to be a recurring situation which leads to longer recovery time, something that has him frustrated and disappointed at the turn of events. Pinball Clemons, who held Tremblay in high esteem going into the camp expressed concern for the youngsters mental outlook right now, for Tremblay that may be the one thing that pulls him out of the funk. Clemons infectious positive vibes should help give Tremblay some sense of hope for the future, but for the present there is no way to battle the disappointment. Picked seventh overall out of Laval’s impressive program, he was hoping to help blaze the trail for many other Quebec association grads, his contribution will be delayed for a bit yet. But he can be assured that many are ready to travel that road soon.

QB's and the guys who catch for them!

Toronto's training camp features a battle for the starting QB position as the 19 year veteran Damon Allen finds Marcus Brady looking to take his job. The Argos have depth at the position with Michael Bishop and rookie Scott Krause all looking to get their reps in and soak up the playbook offerings of new offensive coordinator Kent Austin.

Over in Ottawa we find that Yo Murphy is looking to stick with Renegades! With half a season under his belt in Ottawa, wide side receiver Yo Murphy heads to Kemptville with plans to stick around the capital for the entire campaign this year. His hope is to become QB Kerry Joseph's go to guy this year.

Preparing to defend the title. Edmonton goes through the paces as the Grey Cup Champs look to put together the line up that will keep them ahead of the pack. Four QB's are vying for the chance to back up Jason Maas as the Eskies look to a year after Ricky Ray.

The Big Blue looks to a bumper crop of receivers for Khari Jones to toss the ball to this year. Giving Dave Ritchie hope that the dropsies are gone for 2004.

And Border Blues set Stamps back a bit in development. Saldadin McCullough continues to find entry to Canada a troublesome thing. As his past indiscretions with the law in the USA cause his application for entry to become sidetracked. It's the second straight year the McCullough has found the Canada Customs line to be harder to crack than those of the eight other CFL franchises.

Sportsnet joins the party

The CFL has yet another vehicle for its games this season as Sportsnet has signed on to cover five CFL games this year. Good news for fans of the Bombers, Riders and Renegades who in previous seasons found a number of their games going without any coverage.

Sportsnet which is heavily involved in Blue Jay broadcasts could only free up five dates for CFL coverage this year, but it’s a start for the network that was on the outside looking in on Canada’s main summer sport activity. The five games picked up leave only three games this year that won’t be televised, giving the CFL almost total coverage.

The rest of the season is split up between TSN and CBC; both are partners that have done a pretty decent job of presenting the CFL as prime time sport. TSN’s Friday Night Football has seen steadily rising ratings in the last number of years as viewers find the mix between the field and the analysis to be just what they are looking for. At the CBC moving football into the Hockey Night in Canada window last years proved to be equally successful for both the network and the league.

Now with Sportsnet joining up to present the product the CFL can only benefit more. After wandering aimlessly for a number of years, the league now finally seems to be finding its legs, a quality product on the field attracting more and more interest. The success of the televised product is testimony to the giant strides the league has made in the last five years.

Renegades head for the Farm

The Ottawa Renegades will board the buses for Kemptville on Saturday, as the CFL team kicks off its 2004 training camp. Medicals are scheduled Saturday for Kemptville College a former agricultural school, Sunday will be the first day of the dreaded two a day workouts, with sessions planned at 9 am and 3:30 pm for five consecutive days. Veterans and rookies will be vying for spots on the team that can no longer be discovered an expansion team.

This is “win year” as linebacker Jason Kralt puts it, as Ottawa attempts to go from training camp to Grey Cup. The Rens are hosting the annual classic this year and nothing would make the year complete than having the home team be the home team this year.

With the Grey cup in Ottawa this year the season ticket base is growing nicely, the Rens have sold 12,500 packages for this year the highest amount of season tickets sold since the CFL returned to the capital. Renegades owner Brad Waters says credibility is the key to the teams success thus far at the ticket window. Old time Rough Rider fans who may have been sceptical about the reborn team’s chances have finally come around, realizing that Waters and his crew are around for the long term.

And full credit to Waters, Tillman and Paopao who putting together a comprehensive plan to build this team slowly but steadily. Each year has seen the Rens become more confident on the field, providing a quality product for the fans whether they win, lose or tie.

14 days in Kemptville will give the coaches and managers and idea just how close they are to their goal of a Grey Cup berth this year. The East division will be much more competitive this year with new owners in Toronto and Hamilton, both of which are turning around previously inept franchises. Ottawa with a couple of years under their belt now are ready to challenge, Two weeks of two a day workouts, film sessions and intense job competition will give us an idea how close they are to win year!

Argos closer to a new boat house

After a few false starts, a change of partners and rumours of venue changes the Toronto Argonauts finally can look forward to a new home for the 2006 football season. The University of Toronto announced Friday that they plan on building a 25,000 seat stadium on the site of the former Varsity stadium. The combination football/soccer stadium will be shared by the Argos and the Canadian Soccer Association. The soccer folks will use the stadium for international games which until now basically went to Edmonton by default; the new stadium gives the national team another venue in Canada to attract better opposition which should help to make them a better team over the long haul.

The new Varsity will cost 80 million to construct, with the University providing 30 million, private donors 15 million and the various levels of government the remaining 35 million. The revised financing program was put together after Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment pulled out of the project earlier this year.

For the Argos it’s the culmination of a long held desire to return to a smaller more user and fan friendly location. The Argos will provide the annual debt servicing of 2 .1 million dollars, on the U of T’s loan of 30 million. For their contribution the Argos get to use the stadium for home games and operate it for other activities.

The Argos who last year were on life support, have had a remarkable change of attitude since they were sold. The stadium issue just another piece of the puzzle solved for what the league considers its key franchise.

As with any government dependant program this one comes with strings attached, so perhaps they should put the champagne on ice at the Argo offices for a bit yet. The governmental share of 35 million is conditional; the federal money will only be produced should the CSA win the rights to the Under 20 world championships. If the soccer folks don’t come through then the funding is gone.

The Argos aren’t major financial partners in the project, so they can only look on and hope for the best. No doubt benefitting from the spreading of money prior to a federal election, the Argos are finding that they are at the right place at the right time. They now can only sit back and hope that the soccer lobbyists are up to the job on the world stage. They also won’t want to pick up any double blue paint for the dressing rooms until there are a few shovels in the ground, with this project you’re never really sure if it’s going to happen. A hole in the ground might give everyone a bit more security.

Is this a return to the bad old days?

With the signing of John Avery have the Toronto Argonauts declared the days of fiscal prudence to be at an end? It’s an interesting question, and one which Stephen Brunt addresses in the Globe and Mail on Tuesday.

Brunt points out correctly that the nine CFL franchise holders effectively tossed aside the concept of cost certainty, when they punted Mike Lysko out the door over a year and a half ago. Lysko who ruffled more than a few of his employer’s feathers, found that going tsk tsk over the spendthrift ways of his flock was not a wise strategy. His attempts to fine offending owners to reign in the profligate spending were met with a collective yawn and a request for his key to the executive bathroom.

New commissioner Tom Wright, has not been a strong a disciple to the concept of salary caps and collectivism. Yes he gives lip service to the theory of not running amok with checkbooks, but for the most part he exhibits an adherence to a fiscal don’t ask, don’ tell policy. And he can still go to the can without fear of having the office furniture moved out on him. Say what you will, but he’s a quick study in the ways of the cabal of nine.

Toronto had the unusual victory of beating the Eskimos out for one of the horses from their stable. Edmonton apparently offered more money for Avery, but the lure of Toronto and a personal rapport with Pinball Clemons swayed Avery over to the double blue.

Brunt examines how the new financial spikes might impact on the other teams in the league, but basically advises that the complaining franchises may be reaping what they have sewn. Ottawa for instance may grumble about the change in league dynamics, but when push came to shove they too were helping Lysko find the door. They of course may have legitimate gripe, for it was their 1/7th share that kept both Hamilton and Toronto alive last year, now they sit back and watch both of those teams flush with new money change the landscape of CFL finances.

The CFL salary cap has always been more of an idealistic wish than a hard, cold fact. Montreal surely can’t be holding to a salary cap with that talented roster, nor BC despite David Braley’s insistence that his team is in compliance. For years Hugh Cambpell in Edmonton has managed to cobble together contending teams with nudges and winks. Who knows what side deals, deferred payments or creative partnerships may actually do to any teams' balance sheet?

For the Toronto ownership it’s all about creating a buzz about a largely ignored team of late. They probably are looking at Avery’s million dollars over four years as an investment to rebuild the franchises’ reputation. And at first blush they may have a point, not since Rocket Ismail and Doug Flutie, have the Argos found themselves on the sports pages, at the same time as the Leafs battle in the playoffs. Avery’s signing yesterday managed to squeak the Argos in between reports of Joe Nieuwendyk, Owen Nolan and Mats Sundin injuries and any other hangnails that threaten the Leafs chances for the Stanley Cup.

For the Argos, Avery’s large contract signals intent to rebuild and hopefully prosper. For their fellow owners the Avery move signals a need to examine their bank statements some will choose to stay their fiscal course, counting the pennies and treating nickels like manholes. But some will no doubt answer the challenge of the Toronto moves. What remains to be seen is whether things spiral out of control again, taking the league to the edge of extinction again. They’ve been to that black hole once or twice before, are they really ready to creep toward the edge again?

Strong on the field, secure at the bank! Roughriders looking forward to 2004!

Basking in the financial glow of last years successful Grey Cup. The Saskatchewan Roughriders head into the 2004 season with high expectations.

As the Green Riders get ready to open up their training camp, the look at a roster that is extremely strong in some places offering up the trading chips to secure those areas where they need some help.

The topic on everyone’s mind across the CFL these days is who the Riders will go with at the Quarterback position; the Riders are the envy of the league with three quality pivots vying for the starting job. It’s expected that the riders will be watching closely as Henry Burris pushes incumbent Nealon Greene for the starter’s position, with Kevin Glenn an outside chance of claiming the spot. Regardless of whom GM Roy Shivers and Coach Danny Barrett eventually settle on, they have some great trade bait when the dust settles.

There’s not a team in the league which wouldn’t want to bring in a Greene, Burris or Glenn to help out the offence. So once the starter becomes apparent the Riders will be soliciting trade offers, the need is for a middle line backer or defensive end. Teams with available options should get their name in early, the only criteria the Riders have is that any offers must include starters, back up players won’t be part of any deal for the QB glut.

They also have a couple of holes to fill in as two former Riders head off to test the NFL waters, Wide receiver Matt Dominguez and running back Kenton Keith have both headed south to seek fame and fortune, so their spots will have to be filled in the line up. But Barrett is not overly worried about finding replacements for them; his more pressing concern is on the Defense. Having the ace in the form of his QB situation gives him some room to maneuver heading into camp.

Off the field things are coming along nicely, the Riders posted a $27,058 surplus for 2003, thanks to the two million dollar win fall provided by the Grey Cup. That surplus helped the take the Riders out of debt for the first time since the 1980’s. They have also added a new financing feature that is being received warmly across the football world.

The Riders are in the process of selling 250 dollar shares in the franchise and so far have sold over 2,000 of the 20,000 up for offer. The shares have so far brought in an additional 500,000 in revenue. The money is to be used to provide a more stable base for the storied franchise, patterned after a similar program in Green Bay.

Life in Saskatchewan has always been about a bit of hard work, a bit of faith and a bit of luck. They are the same three elements that the football club lives by, as they get ready to kick off the 2004 training camp they may be about to reap the harvest of their work the last few years. The fans in the stands are looking forward to the upcoming season, in next year country; next year may finally be here!

Argos cash in the winning bid

John Avery held all the cards, the Argos ponied up the winning bid. The 28 year old running back signed a four year deal with Toronto after taking the weekend to consider the Argos bid against the options provided by his former team the Eskimos.

In his last year in the CFL in 2002, Avery led the league in rushing with 1,448 yards on the ground, 387 yards in receptions and 661 kickoff return yards. It was such a successful year that he attracted the attention of the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. Avery spent 2003 as part of the Vikings roster, appearing in 6 games before suffering a season ending knee injury.

Claiming that he’s at 90% efficiency now, Avery felt that his best interests were served returning to the CFL. His only decision was whether it would be back in Edmonton or with another team. Toronto stepped up to the table and made the better offer, closing the deal with a personal appearance from Pinball Clemens, who made a special trip to see Avery just after attending to his father’s funeral arrangements. That kind of personal touch which explains much of Clemens respect in the CFL swayed Avery towards the Argos.

Of course the money doesn’t hurt either, while no terms were released at today’s press conference, it’s rumored that Avery will be making $250,000 a year over the course of his four year deal.

The Argos management team was full of smiles during and after the announcement, hailing the signing as another step in the quest for respectability. The signing of a high profile player like Avery sends a message to their fans, that the team is serious about putting a competitive and exciting product on the field this seasons.

When Avery reports to training camp later next month he’ll be competing with Michael Jenkins and former Heisman trophy winner Rashaan Salaam, who signed with the boatmen earlier this year.

Clemons says that the Argos plan on keeping two of the three running backs on their active roster. It will all come down to who is the healthiest by the time camp breaks in mid June. Whichever backs the Argos end up running with, one thing is certain the yards gained in 2004 are bound to be an exciting part of the Argo attack. Good news for the long suffering fans of the double blue.

Pivot-al deciisons to make in Steeltown.

Danny Mac will get the start this year in Hamilton, the 38 year old McManus getting the vote of confidence from coach Greg Marshall as the team gets ready to head for training camp next month. Marshall who will be making his CFL head coaching debut, is willing to let McManus take the helm again this year and try and reverse last years 1-17 nightmare season.

But the Ti-Cats aren’t going to waste all of McManus’ experience; the plan is to bring in some new blood to eventually take over the job from McManus as his years wind down in the CFL. Coming to training camp with high expectations will be James McPherson of Wake Forest and the returning David Corley Jr. The Ti-Cats are also working to phones to try and get one more QB prospect into camp by the end of May. Saskatchewan the most frequent recipient of GM Ron Lancaster‘s phone calls, as they Green Riders sit with a bountiful harvest of QB’s under contract.

One of the reasons’s that Marshall is willing to go with Danny Mac for one more year is the improvement in his receiver corps this year. Last year McManus must have been trying to find follicles to pull out after his passes were dropped time and time again. The thinking in Hamilton is that with the likes of D.J. flick, Mike Morealle and possibly Edmonton’s Jason Tucker running the pass routes, McManus may find his stats improving greatly this year.

With six weeks to go before training camp, the terrible atmosphere of last year is getting washed away like a grimy Hamilton snow bank. The positive vibes coming out of Ivor Wynne might be the biggest change of all in the Cats lineup, the anticipation for the New Year growing daily. You get the feeling that the coaches and players wish they could strap on the pads and get to the two a days as soon as possible

They're thinking football in the Peg!

With the warm weather arriving and the Red River rising, Winnipeg Football fans are making the stroll down to Maroons Road and picking up those season tickets. And judging by the pace of things they’re expecting some good things from the Blue this year.

Winnipeg is ahead of last year’s season ticket renewal pace having sold 14,273 season tickets to CanadInn stadium this year. It’s a vote of confidence in the steps that the Bombers management have made, in assembling a competitive team this year. Last year by the time the first kickoff of the year took place the Blue had sold over 17,900 season tickets. With about six weeks until the first kick off of the 2004 season, the Bombers are hoping to improve on that number.

GM Brendan Taman has been busy bringing in some new talent for head coach Dave Ritchie to work with this year, as the Blue will have some holes to fill with free agency, retirements and such taking its toll on the line up. Taman also is continuing with his discussions with Khari Jones’ agent Gil Scott, in a bid to extend the popular quarterback’s time in a Blue and Gold uniform.

But as far as the fans are concerned it’s time to put up some cash, and they’ve done their part so far. Come the end of May it will be up to the coaching staff and players to reward them for their good faith!

Zebras get a mentor and a plan of action!

The long suffering referee of Canadian football is about to gain a guide, someone to help them blaze that trail between obstinate GM’s, vociferous coaches, mercurial players and howling fans.

George Black has been named Director of Officiating for the CFL, a position which has never really existed in the CFL before. The net result of which, were inconsistent performances from the zebras from game to game. It’s hoped that by having a dedicated executive in charge of the handling of the day to day officiating, the league will find that the game to game experience will remain constantly positive.

Black who retired his officials whistle from active duty following the 2000 season, has been operating as a form of supervisor and evaluator for the league ever since. The move up into a director’s position, gives a bit of weight to the importance that the league is now taking to it’s on field presentation. Giving the officials one more resource to rely on as they try to keep pace with the ever changing game.

In addition to the naming of Black as the Director, the league plans on getting more involved in the grass roots aspect of recruiting and training future CFL officials. Taking part in a Winnipeg conference, the CFL promised to get more involved with minor and junior football, helping to create an atmosphere for young referees to learn their craft and progress from level to level. Something the newly announced Director will most likely have a hand in chance to participate in.

In his other life, Black recently retired from the Toronto School Board after 32 years as an educator and a principal. So for the upcoming class of 2004 referees and officials it had best be a season on their best behavior, otherwise report card time won’t be a bundle of joy, and if things don’t improve there’s always the possibility of detention!

Big Blue showing positive vibes going into 2004

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been busy tidying up some off field loose ends the last couple of weeks, and all their moves bode well for the coming season.

CEO and President Lyle Bauer found his contract extended by two years by the Big Blue Board, his reward for bringing the Blue back to the top of the league in on field performance and off field stability,

Once the money guy was secured, they turned their attention to a crowd favourite Charles “Blink” Roberts, the hard running running back who gives the Blue a running game. Roberts who enters his third year with the Bombers is one of those guys on the verge of being the next big thing in the CFL. His personal goal for the 2004 season is 2,000 yards, something not completely out of the question with his intensity.

Now they turn their attention to on field General Khari Jones, who is entering the option year of his contract with the Blue. Bomber GM Brendan Taman wants to get his name on an extension to keep him in gold and blue for a few more years. With that goal in mind, Taman has approached Jones’ Toronto based agent Gil Scott, to set up the preliminary talks, hoping to find common ground. According to the rumor mill in Winnipeg, Khari currently makes 230,000 a season for his work with the Blue, which is a pretty good base salary. No doubt bonuses and longevity will be the starting point for the Bombers as they try to extend Jones’ stay at Portage and Main.

For the Bombers the need to take care of their core players is a major turnaround from five years ago when the team was in desperate straits, and pay raises and incentives seemed less likely than bailiffs securing office equipment. But the last five years have seen a major turn around in the Bomber fortunes, so much so that the club debt is on the short list to being eliminated. A competitive team on the field, some solid off field sponsorship, a forgiven debt by the provincial government and a 93% capacity level at Canad Inn stadium all contributing to the suddenly healthy bottom line.

Always a high octane team on the field and a good draw across the country, the Big Blue are hoping to make 2004 the cash in year for all their hard work. Getting Blink signed and showing Jones how valuable he is to the team, should go a long way to making 2004 a big year for the Big Blue.

ARGOS LOOK AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN

With the U of T/Maple Leaf project seemingly dead and gone. The Argos are looking once again, at their originally preferred spot for a stadium, York University. Argo officials met with University managers at York on Friday to kick around some ideas on how to approach the project to give the team a new outdoor stadium.

While the Argos kick the tires at York, the U of T prepares another bid to fund and construct a combination football/soccer and track stadium. Two weeks ago they were the perceived front runner, as Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment had entered the picture. The sports giant looking to join in and develop not only the football stadium, but a couple of rinks on campus for use as a training facility for the Leafs.

After some lengthy study they walked away from the plans, leaving the Argos to return to the drawing board in their quest for a stadium to call their own.

Insiders say that York is now the front runner, as they offer the best highway and transit connections not to mention parking which was a problem in the U of T bid. The Argos hope to get things in motion shortly feeling that a new stadium will go a long way to bringing a rebirth of football interest in Toronto.

If nothing else the battle of the two universities over the affections of the Argos has got to be good sign. From spurned to spooned in less than a year, it’s a good sing for football in the big smoke!

Somebody Old is New Again

Larry Smith is back in the saddle. Taking as the President and CEO of the Montreal Aloutettes, Smith is glad to be back where he feels he belongs. Originally tapped to serve as the selection committee for a replacement for the departed Skip Prince, Smith realized that the best candidate for the job was the guy looking for the replacement.

Team owner Ted Wetenhall said no other candidate was ever seriously considered, Smith returns to the team he built into a league success story after it’s relocation from
Baltimore in 1997. Smith was at the helm when they made the move to McGill, seen as the turning point in the franchises’ fortunes. Since moving into the cozy downtown stadium the ALS have become the success story of Montreal. Winning seasons and Grey Cup appearances going along with the return of football to Montreal.

Smith left the Als in 2001 to take over duties as Publisher at the Montreal Gazette, but Prince’s departure in December opened the door for a return to his passion.

Smith’s other success story has been the boom in football interest across Quebec, his cross province promotion of the game has seen the popularity explode in almost all corners of the province. Creating a strong college football scene and a string of Quebecers starting to make it into the CFL.

His main priority as he takes over is to continue to build on the success of the Als and to expand the capacity of the stadium, eventually to reach around 25,000 seats. A situation which would put the Als on a secure financial footing for the years to come!

Add Victoria to the dreamer's club

With the CFL seeming to be the most stable it has in years, there’s no shortage of folks wishing the League would come to their home town. Over the years we’ve heard of possible teams for Halifax, Quebec City, London and Windsor. The heavily populated areas of the East are the most likely candidates for expansion, if and when the day should come. But what about the West? Other than Kelowna, which might possibly be a solid location for a franchise, with its growing population of the Okanagan Valley, the only other potential locale in the West is Victoria.

As usual the situation of stadiums rears it’s ugly head, quickly dashing the hopes of would be fans and entrepreneurs alike. Victoria at the moment can only offer up Centennial Stadium a 4,000 seat structure used mainly for soccer in the Capital of BC. But that doesn’t stop the dreamers a piece in the Victoria Express recently took a look at the idea of Canadian Football on Vancouver Island.

Bobby Ackles of the BC Lions, brought everyone back down to earth with his view of the current situation. Said Ackles, maybe a Lions training camp one day, but as far as a franchise, well that may be a ways off yet.

Regardless though, just the idea of enticing a CFL franchise is a good sign. For the league it shows a rebirth of interest and league executives could go to many worse places than Vancouver Island which is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, roughly 500,000 people could be within a four hour or less drive of the stadium.

A team on Vancouver Island would be a natural rival for the Leos and most likely would find some pretty solid support from Islanders, looking to have something to call their own. But there’s no stadium at the moment, so dust off the photos of the Commonwealth games of 1994, they hosted one of the biggest sports events going, one suspects that they would rally around a CFL franchise should one come their way.

Five of the Best for the Hall

Apologies to the faithful followers of The Twelve, the insanity of our Hockey Nation gave me an unusual workload for the HockeyNation blogsite this week, the Bertuzzi incident and the trading deadline making havoc with my blog entries. But, as things have settled down, we can get back to some of the happenings in the CFL.

It’s a pretty impressive Class of 2004 for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame this year, the last weekend of September welcoming five players who had a major impact on our game.

Leading the pack this year is Lui Pasaglia, the most popular Lion will be recognized for his 25 years of service to a team and league he is joined at the hip with. Pasaglia who set a record for points at 3,991. His final season in 2000 saw him continue to be a dependable kicker with a 90.9% success rate, kicking 40 of 44 field goals in his final year at the age of 46. Lui holds many CFL records but by far the fondest memory all CFL fans will have of him, came in the 1994 Grey Cup Game at BC Place. His last second field goal, from 38 yards out gave the Lions a 26-23 victory over the Baltimore Stallions, the first Grey Cup game played against and All American team. The victory would be even sweeter as the Stallions went on to win the Grey Cup the following year. Still involved with the Lions to this day, Lui remains probably the one player most identified with Canadian Football in BC. A truly worthy candidate for the Hall of Fame.

Joining Big Lui will be Larry Highbaugh the exciting defensive back of the Edmonton Eskimos, who over the years ruined the day of many CFL quarterbacks. Originally a Lion he came into his own when he donned the Green and Gold, collecting a team record 66 interception in his 13 year career. He was identified as the key DB of the Edmonton dynasty years, providing Eskie fans with many years of entertaining football.

Ben Zambiasi goes into the Hall, and if there is any justice in this world he’ll be recognized for his hard nosed service as a Ti-cat linebacker, with a nod of recognition for his days as an Argo. Ben will always be remembered for his days as a feared member of an always aggressive Hamilton defence. The list is long of CFL QB’s that found that a hit by Big Ben would change a game rather quickly.

Nine years of the glory days of the Montreal Alouettes are what Dan Yochum will be best remembered for. A solid part of the front line of a Montreal offence that at times would chew up the CFL competition. Joining the Als in 1971 he saw some of the greatest talent in the CFL line up on the field with him, Youchum was a guy that didn’t look out of place at all.

The final Hall of Famer this year is a guy that gave his heart (and got another one) for the CFL. Cal Murphy will be saluted as a member of the Builders category and there is no more appropriate term for a man with his CFL credentials. Winner of 10 Grey Cup rings as a coach or GM, Murphy has been a fixture in the CFL. Joining the coaching ranks of the CFL in 1974 as an assistant in BC, becoming head coach in 75. He moved on to Montreal as an assistant to Marv Levy in 1977 picking up his first Grey Cup Ring. Edmonton beckoned in 1978 where with Hugh Campbell, Murphy picked up another five rings. In 1983 Paul Robson hired him on to coach the Big Blue in Winnipeg, and there he stayed for fourteen years. A term where he served as coach, and GM, sometimes both at the same time. His time in Winnipeg was part of a renaissance of football in Manitoba, his teams going to five Grey Cups, winning three. His teams for the most part were always in the thick of the playoffs during his time there. A couple of heart attacks sidelined him temporarily, in July of 1992 he was given a heart transplant and was back on the job at the end of the year. Murphy finished his career as coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1977-99. Today from his home in Regina he continues to be involved in football, as a scout for the Indianapolis Colts. Cal Murphy, goes into the hall as one of the great icons of Canadian Football.

The Class of 2004, it’s a strong testimony to the quality of the CFL’s past

Ti-Cats continue to shake off the cobwebs

Credit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with doing their best to not only increase interest in the CFL in Hamilton, but to increase interest in the CFL from the college ranks. New head coach Greg Marshall, has been putting forward the idea of having a third QB on the roster designated as a Canadian position, giving the league the chance to one day have nine (and hopefully ten) seasoned homegrown Quarterbacks ready to tackle the record books.

As Marshall explains, if that third QB spot was held for a Canadian, they would be able to learn under the experienced arm of a Danny McManus. Marshall says, that with the third QB able to sit back and learn from the old hands the league would be a stronger group and Canadian college football could only benefit from the situation as well.

Marshall who has joined the Ti-Cats from the CIS college ranks, has been showing signs of wanting to shake up the old way of doing things. Breathing some fresh air not only into the tired old Hamilton franchise but giving the league some food for thought as well. If this keeps up it's going to be rather hard to get a good hate built up for the Ti-Cats. With new owner, Bob Young providing some funding and a sense of stability, Ron Lancaster concentrating on getting quality players and Marshall putting forward some radically new ideas. They Ti-Cats are a team to watch, they may even end up rivaling the Saskatchewan Roughriders as Canada's team!

Big Blue courting Kordell

Former Chicago Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler QB Kordell Stewart, may find some phone messages from Brendan Taman on his machine in the next few days. The Bomber GM has added the NFL veteran to his negotiation wish list, and is hoping that Stewart may wish to give the long and wide Canadian fields a try.

Taman subscribes to the nothing ventured nothing gained theory of Football management, and jumped at the name Stewart when he saw it come across the wire from Chicago. As the NFL heads into it's salary dump mode for the next couple of weeks, expect a few more long shots to be added to negotiation lists across the league.

Taman suffered a bit of a setback in the defense this week. When word got out that four year veteran Brian Clark is about to sign on with Matt Dunigan's Calgary Stampeders. He has however, done his best to make some other teams uncomfortable as well, inquiring about the chances of Joe Fleming in Calgary abandoning the F troop this year. He's also getting dirty looks from the Argos, as he tries to bring slotback Derrell Mitchell to the Big Blue for the 2004 season.

Manitoba Telephone may end up naming Taman as their customer of the year, by the time training camp opens up.

Ray of sunshine for F troop fans!

It's denials all around, but there might be some movement on the bid for local ownership for the Calgary Stampeders. Michael Feterik apparently met with an undisclosed Calgarian, discussing terms of sale for the storied CFL franchise. The mystery bid, is the third expression of interest in the Stamps in the last month.

Despite the flurry of tire kickers, Feterik says he isn't in any hurry to sell. Which probably isn't good news for the long suffering Stampeder faithful, who watched a former perennial Grey Cup contender fall off the CFL radarscope last year. Feterik has even gone so far as to say that, he may even take on investors from the US, which would probably not be beneficial to the long term success of the Stamps.

Since Feterik took over the fortunes of the F troop, they've lost a fortune. Over 700,000 dollars last year. Feterik has also forced out many popular football people from the Stampeder family over the last couple of years, including former coach, GM and beloved Calgary citizen Wally Buono. He also found himself involved in controversy when it was generally believed he insisted that his son Kevin, be placed higher up on the Stamps depth chart than he deserved.

Expected purchase price is to be 6.5 million dollars and if all goes well, the deal could close in as little as two weeks. Calgary football fans will be excused if they hold their breath until the deal is finalized.

Trying to elbow their way to the microphone

Hard as it is to get the media to pay attention to football, in the hockey trading frenzy these days, the CFL has at least attracted some notice. Announcing today that the 2005 Grey Cup game will be played in Vancouver. The first time the game has been back to Vancouver since 1999. It will join a high profile list of sporting events about to land in Vancouver in the next few years.

It should be a reward for David Braley's continued sponsorship of Canadian Football in Vancouver, a situation that at times must have seemed futile to him. Over the last couple of years, Braley has made some great moves to bring the team back to the publics attention.

Bringing back Bob Ackles to run the team on a day to day basis, was the first move that showed positive results. Ackles re-connected the team with it's fan base and has begun to build upon that foundation. He in turn brought in Wally Buono, who is in the process of turning the Lions into the type of power house team that he had in Calgary.

A Grey Cup at BC Place should end up as another Lions Home Game, should all go according to plan. Of course the Lions would prefer it to be a defense of their 2004 Grey Cup championship, the one they hope to win later this year in Ottawa.