issue 30 // volume 40

Least in the East

» Takeaways from the first weeks of the CFL

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor
MA sports

_ @theotherpress.ca

 

Fe’ professional leagues

in the world are quite as
unpredictable as the CFL.
Teams’ fortunes can change in
the blink of an eye due to the
dynamic nature of the most
exciting brand of American
football. Grey Cup finalists can
become cellar dwellers in less

to bail on a throw over the mid-
dle. The first five weeks of the
season have managed to live up
to the usual random standards.
Anytime an organiza-
tion loses a sure-fire Hall of
Famer like Anthony Calvillo,
there are bound to be some
struggles, but the immediate
tumble down the ladder that
the Montreal Alouettes have
suffered still comes as some
surprise. As of this writing, the
Alouettes are sitting at 1-4, are
tied for last spot in the league
with Hamilton, and are riding
a three-game losing skid. Troy
Smith, a former Heisman
Trophy winner, has been
anything but competent at the
controls of the league’s worst
offence, which is averaging a
measly 292 yards per game with
only 142.4 of those coming from

their pivots. To make matters

: worse, the defence hasn’t fared
much better, allowing a mon-

: strous 382.3 yards per game.

If it’s any consolation to

the Alouettes, they’re not the
: only eastern squad who're :
: suffering. The combined record :
: of the East Division is 5-16, led
: bythe 2-4Argosandtheonly  :
: offensive player of note beyond :
: Manitoba, Ricky Ray. Winnipeg :
: by itself has as many winsasall :
: the eastern teams combined.
: No beast in the East this year.
time than it took Chris Brazzell :
: swapping Henry Burris for
: Zach Collaros has started

: about as poorly as it could :
: have, as the young quarterback :
: is currently on the six-game

: injured list after taking a blow
: from Odell Willis on July 4 (a

: hit Willis was fined for). The

: combination of Dan LeFevour
: and Jeremiah Masoli has done
: little to inspire confidence in

: the team. Burris, now a mem-

: ber of the most ridiculously

: named professional football

: team, isn’t faring much better
: for Ottawa and one can’t help

: but wonder if the Ti-Cats

: would have done better to stick :
: with the known commodity.

Hamilton’s gamble in

Back out West, the

: Roughriders have done their
: best to mirror their Grey Cup
: opponent as they currently

* sitat the bottom of the West

Division with a 3-2 record.

: As usual, the headlines

: centre around quarterbacks

: and there is no shortage of

: stories. Bo Levi Mitchell for

: the Stampeders continues to
: (as with all Calgary pivots) be

massively overrated. Whena

: distinction suchas tying Jeff
: Garcia’s record for most con-

secutive wins to start a career is
brought up over and over again,
it’s clear that the commentators

have a bit ofa love affair going

: on. To further the point, Garcia
: was unaware he even held

: sucha record, let alone that

: somebody had tied the mark.

: Asthe experts of the league

go on proclaiming Mitchell

: as the saviour of the world,

: it should be noted that so far

: this season, the former backup
: to Drew Tate has started five

: games, completed 87 out of 144
: passes, and made eight touch-

: downs and one interception.

A quarterback who is

worthy of some recognition

: though is Winnipeg signal

: caller Drew Willy. The QB is

: second in the league in terms of
: passing yards and is the main

reason why the league-leading

: Blue Bombers find themselves
: in the position that they’re

: in. It’s not Swaggerville

: yet, but the way this league

: works, it might not be long.

 

sports // 19

 

Holding up sense

» A look at holdouts in sports

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor
MA sports

' @theotherpress.ca

 

Ny |

Lt: Johnny has a dream:

to one day bea professional
thumb-twiddler. Johnny isn't
one to just sit on his hands
though, he has the desire and
the talent to make his dream
come true. And so, Johnny
trains hard and commits to
achieving all that he’s ever
wanted. When the day finally
comes that a thumb-twiddling
troupe decides to take a chance
on him and offers Johnny a
three-year contract, he doesn’t
hesitate. He puts pen to paper
and signs his name instantly,
over the moon to even get an
opportunity. But as the years
go by and Johnny realizes he’s
very good at thumb-twiddling,
he grows dissatisfied with his
deal. When he asks for more

: money, the troupe informs him
: that he signed a contract and

: they can talk about a new deal

: when the current one expires.

: Pouty and annoyed, Johnny tells :
: them that he won't bea part of
: the troupe until they show him
: the money. He then sits out and, :
: well, twiddles his thumbs.
A holdout is one of the more
: irritating parts of sports. In what :
: other profession is it accept-

: able to signa legally binding

: contract, work fora time, and

: then decide that one is worth

: more and refuse to perform

: the agreed upon duties? None.
: To just sit out would result in

: being fired or possibly ending
: upsettling the issueincourt.So :
: why isit alright for athletes to do :
: so? What makes them so special :
: that we condone the holding of
: their breath until someone caves :
: and gives in to their demands?
: It’s difficult to respect some- :
: one who so casuallyrenegeson_ :
: their contractual obligations.

: Likewise, it’s disappointing to

: see how fans have, and continue
: to, embrace their petulant stars
: with openarms when they

return from their tantrums.

Sports are often a good indi-
: cator of'a person’s character.

Quitters will always be quitters,

: no matter what they're doing.

The good ones will always find
something left in the tank and

: dig deep. And the cheaters

: will look for every possible

: way they can get an edge on

: their opponent. Contracts, as
: anextension ofsports,arethe :
: same way. Ifa player could likely :
: get more, but plays out his deal
: nonetheless, that’s the kind of

character you want to know
and have in your locker room.
A player who will hold out has

a “me-first” mentality; it’s that

kind of personality that causes

: rifts in team chemistry and can

bea real cancer for the squad.
Two recent examples of

either are Randall Cobb and

Lynch. “Beast Mode’ is in the
: third year of his four-year

: contract signed in 2012—just
: two years ago. While Lynch

: could certainly stand to make
: a bit more given his perfor-

: mance, again, he signeda

: contract (one that pays him

: ahandsome $5-million in

: base salary this season and

: Marshawn Lynch. Cobb is

: anelectric playmaker for the

: Packers and one of the most

: dynamic wideouts in the game.
: He's heading into the final year
: of his rookie deal but the words
: coming out of his mouth are

far from what society has come
: to expect: “T don’t believe I've

: done enough [for a new deal],

: and I think that’s on me.” Never
: let that man leave Green Bay. :
: Players have held out with much :
: lesser resumés than Cobb and

: received massive new deals; it’s
: refreshing to see someone have

an ounce of respectability.
On the flipside you have

Likewise, it’s
disappointing to see
how fans have, and
continue to, embrace
their petulant stars
with open arms when
they return from
their tantrums.

$5.5-million next year) and

should have just honoured it.

: His week-long holdout resulted

: inthe Seahawks restructuring

: his deal to his advantage and is

: sad to see. Unfortunately the

: Seahawks are as humanas the

: rest of the league and when the

: chance to makea real statement
: came up, they dropped the ball.

At the end of the day,

there will always be holdouts.
: Teams will cave on multiple

: occasions and players will

: showtheir true colours in

: the worst possible fashion.