THE RIDERS AARON NAGY
Saskatchewan Rep After a one and one preseason the Saskatchewan Roughriders are
looking forward to taking on Joe Paopao and the expansion Ottawa Renegades.
Danny Barrett and his crew feel very confident going into Ottawa. This tilt between Ottawa and Saskatchewan will be broadcast on
TSN Friday at 7 eastern. This year TSN will be broadcasting more Saskatchewan
games then ever before. So if you’re a "Die Hard Rider Prider" you
should be very happy. This year as you may have known Eric Tillman has left
the broadcast crew to Join the Renegades. As for the game Shonte Peoples is still questionable after an
injury he sustained against Edmonton. As well the Riders have released
veteran running back Rock Preston. Preston had a difficult time in the backfield
against Winnipeg and Edmonton. The battle at full back was won by incumbent
Chris Szarka. Szarka would like to see the ball at least ten times a game
this year. If he continues to have success running the ball he should get a
lot of yards on the ground. Keep an eye out for Nealon Greene this year. Greene is a big
question mark in the eyes of many. When asked what he would like to change
about the two-preseason games he said " No turnovers. I had an
interception the first game and a fumble the second game. I honestly think I
am done for the rest of the year." It is great to see so much confidence
this year. Greene had some key runs against the Eskimos last week. I look for
him to do the same thing against Ottawa. The defensive line had some trouble slowing down Ronald Williams
last week against Edmonton. Lets hope this week they will be able to stop the
run or at least limit former Roughrider running back Darren Davis. Davis was
traded to Ottawa from the Eskimos who decided to keep John Avery and Ronald
Williams as running backs. The secondary once again this year should be one
of the CFL’s best. We will see what happens on
Friday. So watch our Riders give the Renegades what they asked for in a great
game from Ottawa. Till next month Go Riders!! CITY
REPS STILL NEEDED Would you like to be a rep for fansofcanadianfootball.com? What is a rep??? A rep is someone who will help us spread the word about the website and help increase the popularity of Canadian football. As a rep we would ask you to submit monthly articles for the newsletter, hand out cards and pamphlets for our website at the games, take pictures and interview fans and attend training camps and practices to interview team officials and players. We know your time is valuable to you and you go to the games to enjoy yourselves so as a rep you can choose which aspects of the website you wish to participate in and when. Fact is we need a few contacts in each city to help us out. What
is in it for me??? We realize the work, time and effort a rep may put in and we would not let it go unrecognized. We will provide you with personalized business cards to hand out to friends and fans in your city, we are currently designing t-shirts and golf shirts for our reps to wear and we are also working on obtaining media passes which would allow our reps access to the field and dressing rooms on game day for interviews of players and management. If interested in helping us out and becoming at rep of fansofcanadianfootball.com e-mail us at cflfans@hotmail.com CFL – THROUGH THE EYES OF THE CHILD
Fansofcanadianfootball.com recognize the importance of children and their interest in Canadian football. The younger generation of fans have been missing in Canadian stadiums for years but it has been improving in the past couple years. Fansofcanadianfootball.com thought it would be fun and interesting to get the views of these younger fans on Canadian football. So if you know a younger child who enjoys the game get them to write something about Canadian football, their favorite player or team or why they like the game. Or if they are too young to write interview them yourself and submit all articles to cflfans@hotmail.com. You can even provide a picture and a little description of the child like their name/age and the number of years they have been a Canadian football fan and it will be posted in our newsletter and site. We are currently working on our Kids Zone for the site and more information will be coming in upcoming newsletters. To start us off we have decided to interview Ty’s five-year old daughter Hailey who has been attending Tiger cats games for two years. She also enjoys spending her Friday nights watching Friday Night Football on TSN. The following is her interview:
The Hamilton Tiger cats.
Paul Osbaldiston
Watching the game and having treats. I also like watching Ozzy play and Clifford play (Clifford Ivory who is Hailey’s new Argo friend).
Because it is fun and the Tiger cats win all the time.
The Hamilton Tiger-cats Thank you Hailey and hope you continue to enjoy Canadian football. |
ARGO DAVE
Toronto Rep Argos Preseason Looks: First off I’d like to mention that the Argos had a successful Fan Day
on Sunday the 16th, more turned out than last year despite the
poor weather. Perhaps the free pizza and Krispy Kremes donuts had something
to do with that eh? (It sure attracted some Ticat fans to appear incognito eh
Ty and Dale?) Most people seemed to have a good time, many pictures and autographs
were done, and they even got some
practice in! Owner Sherwood mingled
with the crowd right from the get go, and Pinball did his usual crowd-pleasing
with the kids. As for the team it’s worrisome that Alford has an injured knee and
could be out 2 or 3 weeks, hopefully less since he was such an important part
of our offence last year. Other preseason stuff: (excerpt’s from the dallies) Darryl Ray is currently a hopeful with the Toronto Argonauts -- after becoming the final pick (54th
overall) of the 2002 Canadian College Draft. Rahsaan Harrison is hoping to make it as a professional football
player, following his father Russell, who was drafted in 1971 by the Los
Angeles Rams for whom he toiled for two seasons. The younger Harrison is trying
out with the Argos and played in Toronto's 18-11 pre-season win over the
Renegades on Thursday in Ottawa. He totaled 33 yards on eight carries. Harrison has been the Argos' second-string feature back in training
camp behind Juan Johnson, who ran for almost 1,000 yards with the B.C. Lions
in 1998 and is attempting to kick-start his CFL career again. Harrison is
listed at six-foot, 220 pounds; roughly the same physical characteristics of
Johnson, and the Argos are looking for a big back to beef up the running
game. Both Johnson and Harrison are 26. It appears Jimmy Kemp is in self-imposed limbo. A day after B.C. Lions general manager
Adam Rita publicly declared his interest in the Argos' holdout quarterback,
he lost interest. Argos Roster cuts: The
Official Site of the Canadian Football League as powered by SLAM! Sports The Argos-Rens Game: Score Argos 18/Rens
11 Argos' Canadian running back Jeff Johnson suffered a concussion on the
opening kick-off against the Renegades, but it is not considered serious. Derrell Mitchell and rookie Derron Finley scored touchdowns for the
Argos on pass receptions. Rookie Ian Hewitt nailed one of two 34-yard field goals
(the Renegades conceded a point after the miss) and two points on converts.
He handled all the punting, so the coaching staff could evaluate him while
Noel Prefontaine, who is expected to do both the kicking and punting, did not
play. Derrell Mitchell and rookie Derron Finley scored touchdowns for the
Argos on pass receptions. Rookie Ian Hewitt nailed one of two 34-yard field
goals (the Renegades conceded a point after the miss) and two points on
converts. He handled all the punting, so the coaching staff could evaluate
him while Noel Prefontaine, who is expected to do both the kicking and
punting, did not play. (Personally I think having Prefontaine do both is a
mistake) Quarterback Stanley Jackson started for the Argos and fumbled on the
second series, which led to the Renegades touchdown on the ensuing series.
Jackson rebounded on the Argos' next series and engineered a four-play,
69-yard TD that Mitchell finished with a 28-yard catch. Rookie quarterback Michael Bishop made his Argos debut in the second
quarter. He was able to make some big plays with his feet, but hit on only
one of five passes. Still, he is dangerous with his arm strength. Third-string quarterback Jim Ballard, who is in his second stint with
the Argos, hooked up with Finley on a 13-yard pass play for a TD in the third
quarter. Ballard completed all seven of his passes. (Which surprised me no
end, as he just didn’t look that good in 99) The Argos made a concentrated effort to run the ball with Juan Johnson,
Rahsaan Harrison, Archie Turner, David Winsbush and the quarterbacks.
Overall, the Argos racked up 157 yards rushing. Defensively, the Argos employed many of the players expected to start
and featured some of the eight- and nine-man fronts that Etcheverry has
popularized. It was on special teams that the Argos showed some excitement. Johnson
ran for a first down on a fake punt, while Turner had some electrifying punt
returns. SUMMARY
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