Blue Bombers Blog

OurSports Central - WINNIPEG, MB - The following is a list of happenings from Day 12 of the 2006 Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp: NEW ARRIVALS: None. DEPARTURES: None. INJURIES: RB Onterrio Smith (foot, day-to-day), SB Jeff Schieman (quad, week), DB Robert Bean …

SLAM! Sports - WINNIPEG (CP) - Rookie CFL head coach Doug Berry expects some mind games will be played when his Blue Bombers host the Montreal Alouettes in Friday’s pre-season game. And he thinks the first dig will come from his former boss - veteran Als head coach …

Madera Tribune - It’s official. The Canadian Football League has become a drug-intervention outreach program for the NFL. While Canada has always been viewed as a haven for those Americans who can’t seem to follow the rules or do their civic duty, the Toronto …

WINNIPEG (CP) - Rookie CFL head coach Doug Berry expects some mind games will be played when his Blue Bombers host the Montreal Alouettes in Friday’s pre-season game.

There has been an increase in posts, radio shows, commentaries, news articles about Wiliams. How many more football tickets sold? How many more people talking CFL?

I see Wright succombed to the BoG on the issue of Williams and honouring NFL bans suspensions, drug policies from other leagues. He must really want his job.

It is a good thing to honour the bans, should have been done long ago, however, now we won’t get those players we had access to, and it may affect interest in our league.

I think it had to be done because it would affect existing CFL players salaries, look at what Williams is getting. It would created dissention in the CFL amongst players, and GM’s.

I don’t doubt what promted Wright to honour the ban was the fact Williams will blow other teams out of the water, and GM’s, owners, HC’s are probably very concerned, envious, will create problems for their team, and it will also affect salary cap, so had to be done.

This line from one of the articles, says it all:

I would imagine the NFL will be relieved.

However, there is no question that right now, if it were not for Ricky Wiliams in the CFL…possibly coming here and now finally being here, that there is a renewed interest in the CFL among Cdn fans and stirred up interest in NFL fans. Problem was, could this interest be sustained without Williams?

We will soon find out next year.

But for this year, let’s enjoy. I know I’ll be watching every game he plays. If he bombs….it could be brutal, but if he does well, the CFL will be crazy this year, making money.

SLAM! Sports - Breezing through town for a Grey Cup golf tournament, Wright revealed plans to close the loophole that allows CFL teams to sign suspended NFL drug offenders such as Ricky Williams and Onterrio Smith. The problem is the issue isn’t addressed in the …

CFL commissioner Tom Wright will be making a bigger statement next year regarding drug-using NFLers. The Winnipeg Sun reports that Wright revealed plans Wednesday to close the loophole that allows CFL teams to sign suspended NFL drug offenders such as Toronto Argonauts running back Ricky Williams and Blue Bombers running back Onterrio Smith.

TSN - The Winnipeg Sun reports that Wright revealed plans Wednesday to close the loophole that allows CFL teams to sign suspended NFL drug offenders such as Toronto Argonauts running back Ricky Williams and Blue Bombers running back Onterrio Smith. “We’ve …

According to Moochacha: "Khari has been the most impressive after Ricky at that position," Maciocia said. "I know what he’s capable of, and he’s done. it. Now, we’ll just go and see how he does in a game."

Full article here: http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=newser&func=display&nid=8601

Looks like Jyles and Johnson are in deep doo doo if Khari has a good game.

link

It’s wrong: Wright

Signing of suspended NFL players must stop

The CFL should not be a haven for drug-using NFLers. And beginning next season, it won’t be.

That was the word from CFL commissioner Tom Wright yesterday.

Breezing through town for a Grey Cup golf tournament, Wright revealed plans to close the loophole that allows CFL teams to sign suspended NFL drug offenders such as Ricky Williams and Onterrio Smith.

The problem is the issue isn’t addressed in the current agreement between the two leagues.

"We’ve got a soft spot or a deficiency in the policy we need to address," Wright said. "Right now we do not have language in our current cooperative arrangement with the NFL that prevents what has happened, not only with Onterrio Smith here, but Ricky Williams in Toronto, and many players in the CFL over the last several years."

Wright says he’s already spoken with NFL officials about amending the agreement to ensure the two leagues will honour each other’s suspensions. The CFL-NFL deal expires at the end of this season.

The commish says he’s confident most CFL teams think that’s the way to go.

And that’s a good thing.

We first brought up the issue early this month, when the Blue Bombers were making noises about signing Smith, the former Minnesota Vikings running back who’s serving a one-year NFL suspension for repeated drug violations.

At the time, nobody else seemed to care.

All that changed when the Toronto Argonauts signed Williams, the suspended Miami Dolphin, this past weekend.

One of the better running backs in the NFL, when he plays — he led the loop with more than 1,800 yards on the ground in 2002 — Williams has brought the issue to the forefront.

Because he’s so good, rival GMs are a little worried.

Compounding their concern is the fact Williams was still under contract to the Dolphins, who had to give their permission for the Argos to sign him.

Montreal’s Jim Popp was the first to publicly question why the CFL wasn’t honouring an NFL contract.

Winnipeg’s Brendan Taman and Saskatchewan president Jim Hopson have also wondered aloud about the issue, which, let’s face it, could set a dangerous precedent.

For instance, what’s to stop the NFL from swooping in on Bomber linebacker Kyries Hebert, who’s currently suspended by Winnipeg for not showing up at training camp?

There’s another issue at play here — the image of the CFL, a league without a drug policy of its own.

If NFL drug dropouts keep coming north to play, what kind of message does that send to the youth you’re trying to attract as fans?

You can debate the morals of smoking marijuana until the cows come home, but what about players suspended for cocaine use? Or worse?

A new, beefed up CFL-NFL agreement will eliminate the need for teams to make moral judgments on a player-by-player basis.

It’ll be black-and-white: you’re not welcome in the CFL until you’ve served your NFL suspension.

"The governors I’ve spoken to share my perspective," Wright said. "You want to make sure you’ve got the right rules in place so you don’t have to try to be objective in determining whether you’ve got the right character, as opposed to this person."

Wright’s confident this thing will pass. Of course, he was confident about the new salary cap, too, and that’s still tied up in procedural wrangling.

We can’t help but wonder about teams like the Argos, who’ve made a living off the NFL suspended list in recent years.

Like the players they’re signing, they need to kick the habit.