No Supplement Player, Hughes Retires

You have to feel for the Toronto Argonauts. On Wednesday they have a press conference to announce the sale of the club and there is one weasel who wants to ask Larry Tannenbaum of Maple Lease Sports and Entertainment about the Maple Loats hiring of Mike Babcock.

I switched to the SportsNet feed where one of their idiot talking heads said something along the lines of I don’t want any more people from Saskatchewan here.  All I can think of is Mike Babcock holding his press conference and saying the rumors are true, he has bought Argo season tickets especially for when family comes in from Saskatchewan for the big game.

I hate Rogers. They are not a Canadian company, and it is my distinct mission to help ensure the Riders finish this year second in Canada to sports stuff sold to the Montreal Canadiens and take over second from Toronto.

So we in Saskatchewan send our tax dollars to ensure Ontario stays in the black, meanwhile, they don’t consider us part of the country and they dis our CFL while promoting the most hateful fan team relationship with the leafs and their fans. That team considers their fans to be a constant cash machine, the Riders know their fans are crucial to the team success and winning championships and treat their fans with respect.

So the CFL held its supplemental player draft, for those players who did not commit to the CFL draft soon enough. Each team is asked to submit a bid on a player if they are interested and the winning  bid gets the player, but loses a draft choice.

NO GO FOR BUSES

School bus routes outside P.A. canceled due to spring snowstorm

35m ago

Trades in Sask.

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

14h ago

Weather issues

Old man winter returns for one more round

15h ago

The Riders didn’t pick anyone up. The static they have received over trading draft picks has probably inhibited them enough. Winnipeg, who are hosting the Grey Cup this year and putting out an all-out push to first make the playoffs, picked up a combination linebacker/defensive back. You may recall when Craig Newman and Sam Hurl went to sign with Winnipeg as linebacker/hybrid defensive backs?  Well Winnipeg is apparently looking to bolster its defense big time. But the gaps may still exist at offensive line.

A minor fire at the new Mosaic Stadium site didn’t slow down work although getting in the area, either to the Exhibition Grounds or to Taylor Field is tough with Elphinstone closed off for stadium construction work. But I would think the new stadium should be completed by Labour Day next year. I still don’t see the Riders going into the stadium and the first football game should be The U of R Rams versus the U of S Huskies.

The Riders are about at two players away from having to cut people prior to training camp. The decision by Neal Hughes to retire Wednesday was intended to help the Riders but it does leave a hole at special teams considering Hughes was the captain.

However, with the changes made in coverage, the Riders kick return coverage teams will be a work in progress. The trade for Jürgen Hus, the former U of R Ram who has been getting NFL try outs as a long snapper, will be important because Hus will replace Levi Steinhaeuser and allow Steinhaeuser to line up off the line for punt coverage.

Under the new rules, if you line up on the line of scrimmage, you are forbidden to go after the punt until it clears the line of scrimmage. When you have a human drone like Steinhaeuser, you better put him in a spot where he will be allowed to make tackles instead of waiting for a punt to clear the line of scrimmage before taking off.

The news by Hughes was a bit of a disappointment because I would rank the Riders misuse of Hughes and Jason Clermont as two of the stupidest decisions made by the team. Hughes in university was not even drafted despite setting records that still stand today at the University of Regina. He was given a chance by Danny Barrett, and kept his job despite having what could be described as a nightmare operation to put together his broken leg.

Eventually it took the appearance of Kent Austin to see Hughes being used properly and the few occasions where he was used were classic to watch. While Hughes has a number of important touchdowns, people will remember him in the 2013 Grey C running like a man possession in the fourth quarter.

Hughes has the distinction of catching the first touchdown pass from Darian Durant and from all indications made an excellent reception. Hughes also scored the touchdown that kicked the BC Lions out of the 2007 playoffs

The Riders better have someone ready to call coverages during punts and field goals with Hughes retiring. The Riders on special teams will be fascinating and scary to watch because they won’t know what they are doing until they kick off.

The sale of the Argos has raised questions about the Grey Cups and when the different cities can host. Winnipeg is hosting this season championship and is loading up to make a run. Ottawa is supposed to host next year but Toronto may get that one because Ottawa would prefer to host when their team can take a better run. The Riders new stadium is expected to open in 2017 and a Grey showcase would be perfect. But there are other teams looking to make such a run.

The Riders would have been line for 2018, but that would seem to be on hold until the details of the sale go through.