Wide Receiver Greg Ellingson Signs with Ottawa

In a widely predicted move (including by me), the REDBLACKS did end up signing former Hamilton import receiver Greg Ellingson. His last year's stats were mediocre, but he had a good 2013 with current REDBLACK quarterback Henry Burris. It will be interesting to see how Ellingson bounces back from 2014 and if there's still any synergy with Burris. 

Dan LeFevour Runs and Passes His Way to a Ticat Victory Over the Redblacks at Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster

Hamilton gets off the schneid at Ron Joyce at McMaster tonight with a satisfying 33 to 23 victory over Henry Burris and the Redblacks.

Dan LeFevour had a game for the ages. LeFevour went 21 for 30 passing with 361 yards and a TD. He also ran ten times for 109 yards and a TD. He did have a pick, but to me that was more on Koch letting it get ripped from his hands.

C.J. Gable had an excellent game with six rushes for 62 yards and a TD, plus three catches for 105 yards. Seven Cats had a reception.

Stewart and Davis both had six tackles, but Marcellus Bowman made some monster hits on the night. Butler had a nice pick.

If Hamilton had lost, things would have looked pretty grim, but with a home win, albeit at McMaster things are looking up.

Ottawa at Hamilton Half-Time, McMaster Edition

First TSN is trying to show as little of possible of McMaster. I don't really blame them, although as a CIS stadium it is a good stadium.

Dan LeFevour has looked good in the first half with 142 yards passing. The team had a total of 278 yards in the first half. Also a lot of different receivers had a reception. The offensive line hasn't looked bad either.

The defence was a bit soft at times, but Henry Burris is still a crafty veteran. A nice interception by Craig Butler certainly helped out.

Looking good going in to the second half, but the Cats will have to continue to play well to win. Ottawa may be an expansion team, but with Burris they've got a chance.

Ottawa's TD Place Construction Progress Versus Tim Horton's Field

I saw that the @TD_Place, the twitter account for the Ottawa Red Blacks has some pictures of seats being installed. What's happening seat wise in Hamilton? Actually I have no idea. Maybe I'll swing by today and have a look.

Ottawa Red Blacks to Play Home Exhbition Game in Regina

With the new stadium in Ottawa not finished, it was always a question, where will the exhibition game be played?

Well we now know. The Red Blacks twitter account announced the Ottawa home game will be played in Regina. Which makes sense for revenue maximization purposes since if you're going to have a team have two exhibition games, the Riders are the ones to have it.

Now where will Hamilton's exhibition game be?

Uh Oh, Tim Horton's Field Behind Schedule

In a previous post about the 2014 CFL schedule I was wondering about the construction schedule for the new Ticats stadium and the effect of winter. Unsurprisingly it has been announced that the stadium is behind schedule because of weather and a contractor going bankrupt according to this Spec article.

As I mentioned in the schedule post, both Ottawa and Hamilton have stadiums that might not be ready and will want to be on the road for the first month (July) of the season. This is going to cause scheduling problems. Expect a late schedule this year.

Cats Sign Kicker Justin Medlock and Ottawa Signs Nick Setta

Retro kicker signings. The Cats have apparently resigned former kicker and punter (and former Argo) Justin Medlock after some NFL time. The Red Blacks have signed another former Ticat kicker and punter Nick Setta. Setta has been out of football for some time. Both are unusual in the CFL as they are imports for a usually non-import position.

Medlock was probably one of the better kickers the Ticats have had when one takes into account his range. Medlock often booted upper forty yard kicks for the Cats during his tenure; more recent Cats not so much.

Quick Thoughts On Ottawa Red Blacks, Expansion and the Import Ratio

The quarterback and the non-imports are the most important just due to the fungible nature of imports in the CFL. Thinking about the expansion picks, the Rider defensive tackle Shologan allows the Red Blacks to start him on defence. The Ticat fullback Delahunt can start in a traditionally Canadian position for four receiver sets and then switch off for a fifth non-import receiver who is probably pretty mediocre. So that's two out of seven non-import starters.

The Red Blacks could go with four non-imports on the offensive line, with an import tackle which are relatively easy to find, although Ottawa could take a page from the Ticats book and start two American tackles and have a decent line from the get go. I'll go with four on the line though. If the Ottawans can find a decent Canadian receiver who can start that's seven total. If they go with the two American imports, they'll have to find another Canadian starter on defense, maybe Stampeder Eric Fraser as the safety.

Finding the decent Canadian receivers looks like it might be the hard part.

Ticats Trade for Justin Medlock

I'm a little surprised the Cats trade for import kicker/punter Justin Medlock. Sure the Cats get some defensive back named Carlos Thomas, and a negotiation list player and draft picks are swapped, but mainly the deal must be about Medlock. Obviously the Cats were unhappy with kicker Sandro DeAngelis' play last year, especially in Ivor Wynne, but after a year getting used to Ivor Wynne, Sandro should be better this year.

Annoying news out of Ottawa. The team might not be ready for the 2013 season.

Pacman, Soccer

Winnipeg has apparently signed troubled cornerback Pacman Jones. Certainly there is a question whether signing such players is good for the CFL. The CFL gets play in the media south of the border, but one wonders if it is worth the likely negative publicity. As far as I know, Jones was under no current suspension, so if a team wants to sign him, they can. Can Jones get his shit together for half a CFL seasoten and help the Bombers make the playoffs? He is only 25, so at least he isn't a age washed up has been. Seems likely that he is more likely an attempt to sell tickets for a relatively poor bomber team. That said if the Bombers can win on the Labour Day weekend against the Riders, they are not in bad shape for the rest of the season.

The team behind Ottawa has applied for a USL team to play out of a renewed Frank Clair stadium. Senators owner Eugene Melnyk made some noise about getting an MSL team and government help building a stadium near his hockey arena in Kanata. The USL is probably a better fit currently for Ottawa and hopefully helps make the case for revamping Frank Clair and thus facilitating the return of an Ottawa CFL franchise. Haven't heard much about a Hamilton USL franchise lately, although when Bob Young mentioned it, it seemed to be tied in with the Pan Am stadium.

Ottawa, Still Going

Looks like things are looking up for an Ottawa CFL team, where previously things looked bleak. Apparently council will vote as to whether they will enter negotiations with Hunt's group to redo Lansdowne Park with assorted real estate development and an updated Frank Clair Stadium.

Looks like Eugene Melnyk's idea to build a soccer stadium out in that far from Ottawa centre suburban wasteland Kanata for a theoretical, if somewhat unlikely MLS franchise has been given the boot. Putting a stadium in exurbia seems to have died out in North America (witness the quick kiboshing to the idea of putting the new Ticat stadium in Confederation Park), so Melnyk probably didn't have much of a chance unless he was willing to pay for everything.

Ottawa, The Saga Continues

There's an article in the Citizen saying that the elected representatives have seemed to have shifted away from putting a new stadium in Lansdowne Park, perhaps in favour of a combined football soccer stadium in, yes that exurban hellhole, Kanata. I thought it was pretty much standard now throughout North America to put your stadiums near the downtown rather than way out in the suburbs as was done in the past (Buffalo).

Probably more disturbing is the suggestion by the Hunt group who have the conditional franchise to have Eugene Melnyk take over. Hasn't crappy or disinterested owners caused enough damage to Ottawa football already. Melnyk appears to like soccer and disdain football. Seems like a bad recipe. Frankly I think one thing that needs to be pointed out is how much of an outside shot Ottawa is for MLS. There's many other places in the US (and Canada) for that matter that will likely get a franchise before Ottawa does.

Prospects for an Ottawa franchise seem cloudier and cloudier.

Ottawa

So there's an article in the Globe about how the city council isn't sure about investing in a new stadium for Lansdown Park. On the bright side, they seem even less enthused about Eugene Melnyk's rival plans for an MLS franchise based in that exurban hellhole known as Kanata. MLS in Ottawa always seemed to be kind of the last place I thought they would expand and guess what, they didn't.

I hope that Ottawa can get its act together and get a new or refurbished stadium built, especially with the way the feds are spraying around money right now. Ottawa does seem a hard market for the CFL, being a government town and the disappointment of multiple past failures. One upside is the CFL is remarkable stable right now, with, apart from Saskatchewan, a viable salary management system and also seeming to be relatively unaffected by the current recession. Which is more than you can say for the NHL.

Sometimes I wonder if Quebec City isn't a better place for the next team. Ottawa will attract people in the Ottawa area, but it certainly won't be Canada's team. Quebec would probably draw a decent amount of fan interest throughout Quebec outside of Montreal proper. Although then again, it could end up just splitting the fans the Alouettes already have. Seems unlikely Quebec will ever get a stadium in the near future, so Ottawa is probably the only chance for a new CFL team for quite some time.