eae Stephanie Smith, OP Sports Editor pspite an increase in interest from multiple groups looking revive football in Ottawa, Canadian Football League com- ssioner Tom Wright has confirmed that Ottawa won’t re- ter the league until 2008 at the earliest. According to a report in the Ottawa Citizen, the original to bring the Renegades franchise back into the CFL for 07 has been discarded, citing timetable issues as the reason. he league office provided a document for the groups laying t a schedule specifying a “negotiation period” between pt. 11 and 22. A meeting between the league’s chosen bid- + and the CFL board of governors was to occur on Sept. , and the league also set October 31 as a closing date for 3 “We had a timetable that spoke to when we wanted to do gs; (but) as we were going through it, we wanted to make e we slowed down and did it right,” Wright said. Nltimately, we decided the best thing to do was to hope for od dialogue with the groups... If we were going to do it 2007, we would have to make a decision now.” All current bids, including Bill Palmer, the Golden Gate Zherdev Signs Stephanie Smith OP Sports Editor stricted free agent Nikolai Zherdev ended months of con- Atious negotiations with the Columbus Blue Jackets on hursday, signing a three-year deal estimated to be worth pre than 7 million dollars. Zherdev’s signing returns one of e club’s young stars after it appeared he would spend the coming season in his native Russia. Zherdev, 21, has tallied 40 goals and 48 assists for 88 ints with 104 penalty minutes in 130 career NHL games h the Blue Jackets. In 2005-06, he had 54 points and 50 inalty minutes in 73 games. He led the club in shots on al with 194, ranked second in goals and points and was d in assists, power play goals and multi-point games. In dition, he collected 37 points in his last 39 outings, includ- b 20 in his last 22 appearances. Zherdev was the club’s first pick, fourth overall, at the 03 Entry Draft. He made his Blue Jackets debut in Xenegade Rough Riders Delay Return and Frank D’Angelo, will now have more time to attract more local interest and make certain that a competitive and financially viable club will return to the CFL when the time is right. Wright said the decision took place after the league received letters of intent earlier this month. He also said the league was committed to selecting a group with a “local connection,” suggesting that was the best way to assure Ottawa fans the team would be stable for the long term. This delay also means that Wright will leave his position with just eight teams in the league. There had been an early push to get back to Ottawa quickly for the sake of the commissionet’s legacy. “Anyone who knows me knows the most important thing for me is to get it right,’ Wright said. “I’m more con- cerned with the best thing happening than having the tim- ing linked to me. If it does happen in 2008, Pll know it has some link to me. I didn’t take this job to stand up and get applause. In fact, I’ve taken a lot of darts.” Goodbye Renegades. Maybe we’l see you Soo December 2003 and went on to record 34 points and 54 penalty minutes in 57 games as a rookie in 2003-04. He ranked among rookie leaders in assists (5th), points (6th-tied), power play goals (6th-tied, 5), shots (6th-tied, 137) and goals (9th-tied) and was selected to play in the NHL Young Stars Game during All-Star Weekend. “T am very happy to remain a Blue Jacket,’ Zherdev said in a statement. “I am excited about our team and look for- ward to joining my teammates in Columbus as soon as possi- ble.” “Nikolai is a supremely talented player with the ability to bring fans out of their seats every time he steps on the ice,” said club President and General Manager Doug MacLean. “I think this agreement shows the commitment the Blue Jackets have to him and also the commitment he has to our organiza- tion and fans. We think this season is going to be our best yet and Nikolai will be a big part of any success we have moving forward.” Zherdev had threatened to play for the Russian team Khimik Voskresenk, which plays its first game on Oct. 6. Columbus president and general manager Doug MacLean threatened to leave him there in what he called “a develop- mental league” and then pay him a fraction of what he had previously offered. “Right now, it would appear he’s not go to be playing here unless there’s a sudden change,” Jackets GM Doug MacLean had said. MacLean’s top offer for most of the summer was two years at $3.8 million. He raised the price earlier this month to $6.9 million over three years, then pulled that off the table when Zherdev—who made just under $1 million last season—and agent Rolland Hedges came back asking for $8.5 million for the same amount of time Douglas College Athletics — www.douglas.bc.ca All the Fixings! annual harvest may be held at Head Coach Randy Taylor’s and we're not talking turkey. After a short three years, Coach Taylor has turned the they met their toughest challenge this past weekend. After a 5-4 victory over Thompson Rivers University (TRU) on Sunday, Coach Taylor shared his thoughts on this year’s team and the game. “The difference between this year and the past years is that we have a deeper bench to support our core group. This weekend we played everyone and it is great that we can get everyone in the game and not lose a step,” said Taylor. “Our girls played well. We had some of _ our rookies step up and that made a difference today. Considering that TRU had only allowed two goals up until this weekend, we are happy with the results.” Heading into this past weekend, Douglas, Langara and wish bone. All three teams were undefeated and deadlocked over the reigning national champions Langara, and Douglas’ 3-0 win over the Okanagan Lakers on Saturday; the tug of war for first place came down to the Royals and the Wolfpack. Led behind Burnaby Central’s graduate, Hayley Jensen, With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it appears that the house. It seems like he has all fixings for a run at the big one, Royals women’s soccer program into a league leading team as TRU were like three linebackers heading for the two pronged for first place in the league. However with a 2-1 TRU victory the sophomore defender scored two brilliant headers whic kept the Royals in the see-saw game. The other two goals came from the Port Coquitlam hometown girls of Daniell Foster and Kati Boulin. The Terry Fox alumnus each nette goal to set the stage for Surrey’s Elizabeth Chan. With the game locked at 4-4, the freshmen and Fleetwood Park grac ate scored the game winning goal on a 45 yard free kick. T goal was deflected off the TRU goalkeeper and into the rc of the net for a 5-4 victory and sole possession of first pl: in the BCCAA. “It was a tough fight today,” said Taylor. “We were a bi sloppy on the backend, but we'll take it.” With no time to bask in the afterglow, the Royals need to prepare for the match up against the Langara Falcons next weekend. “We need to be willing to sacrifice. We’ll get a good week of preparation and let it all hang out against Langara.” Still undefeated, the men’s team had to satisfy with a w and tie in their weekend games. On Saturday, they downed the Lakers by a score of 3-0 and then knotted up with TR on Sunday for a 3-3 tie. Both Royals team will be in town next weekend as they played a back to back against Langara. Saturday’s games w: be at Langara home field, Riverway in Burnaby and Sunda match up will be back at Town Centre Stadium. Check the team pages for more information.