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linebacker though, which sounds
weird when it involves releasing an
all-star linebacker. Allowing Rod
Davis to go, they signed Rashad
Jeanty, who recently spent time in
the NFL, getting noticeable playing
time.

The Eskimos also improved
their defensive line courtesy of
Winnipeg, signing defensive tackle
Don Oramasionwu, or “Danny O.”
Danny O was a part of Winnipeg's
league-leading pass defense, self-
titled “Swagger Ville,” and will be a
key part with Jeanty in rushing the
quarterback.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Roughriders are putting full
faith in receiver Chris Getzlaf to
step up and replace Andy Fantuz,
and after his 1,000-yard season,
they have good reason to. Despite
allowing Fantuz to walk, they are
still one of the leading candidates
to sign him to a new deal. Once
Edmonton dropped out, it left

the ‘Riders and the Ti-Cats in a
bidding war for him. Protecting
the quarterback was definitely a
priority coming into free agency,
signing solid starter Dominic
Picard, a centre who last played for
Toronto, and the well sought after
Brendon Labatte. They also signed

receiver Justin Harper, a former
draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens,
who joins Terrence Nunn who was
of the New England Patriots as
receivers who couldn’t quite crack
the NFL and went to Saskatchewan.
After losing Tristan Jackson to
free agency, the ‘Riders replaced
him with the underrated Peter
Woldu from Montreal, who
may even be an improvement.
Saskatchewan looks to be the team
that is the most qualified to knock
BC off their high horse.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

After losing the Grey Cup to BC,
the Blue Bombers originally came
out to say that there would be
change. Fast-forward to current
day, and the Bombers are tweeting
their “concerns” about how the
Winnipeg front office refuses to
make any big name offers. The
Bombers allowed starting receivers
Aaron Hargreaves, an SFU grad,
and Greg Carr bolt for free agency,
and stand to lose both. The Blue
Bombers pulled out all the stops to
sign all three of their quarterbacks
who were set to hit free agency, but
unless two of them start playing
receiver too, they may be in trouble.
The Bombers seem content on
letting free agency slide and to not

make any big name signings.

Toronto Argonauts

This looks like a team that is going
to be built on offence. After losing
most defensive starters to the
Lions, and leaving Willie Pile in
F/A, the Argos resigned linebacker
Jason Pottinger, their only move

to improve their already terrible
defence. The only other move that
the Argos have made, has been
reuniting quarterback Ricky Ray
with receiver Jason Barnes, both
thrown out of Edmonton by general
manager Eric Tillman and found
open arms in Toronto.

The lack of moves may blow
up in Toronto’s general manager
Jim Barker’s face. They lost two
starting offensive lineman in Picard
and Rob Murphy and signed Marc
Parenteau, but that only resolves
one position. They also seem
content to let their defence be, and
hope for the best, that a new offence
under Ray and Barnes can improve
their second worst league record.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

After years of inconsistent
quarterback play, the Ti-Cats seem
to be completely invested in former
Most Outstanding Player Henry
Burris. Having said that, the Ti-Cats

new front office doesn’t look to
change anything. They seemed hell
bent on signing Fantuz before they
looked at anything else. The Tiger-
Cats resigned most of their starters
before F/ A started, having lost
all-star defensive lineman Justin
Hickman to the Indianapolis Colts,
freeing some cap room.

The Tabbies have signed
Fantuz, and now they can focus on
other players to sign.

Montreal Alouettes

The Alouettes seem to be declaring
their sub-par 2011 season as a one-
off. The Alouettes didn’t allow
many players to hit F/ A and are
keeping nearly the exact same
roster, minus Peter Woldu. The
Alouettes front office seems to
believe that as long as they have
quarterback Anthony Calvillo,
they are always a championship
contender. They have looked to
improve their defence, signing all-
star linebacker Rod Davis from the
Edmonton Eskimos. The Alouettes
may also be looking at BC Lion’s
defensive tackle Aaron Hunt, and
former Saskatchewan Roughrider
cornerback Tristan Jackson. They
are following suit with most teams
in the East by being timid when it
comes to big signings.

 

Montreal Impact getting set for 2012 debut

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

Impact will make their 2012

debut as an MLS expansion
team at Olympic Stadium. They
will officially be the third MLS team
establishment in Canada, next to
the Vancouver White Caps, who
joined the MLS last season, and the
Toronto FC who made their splash
into the league in 2007.

The Impact’s home opener
against the Chicago Fire on March
17 in Olympic Stadium has already
created quite the buzz.

“[W]e’re going to have over
58,000 people at our first game, and
we will. I think people are going to
start to realize what it’s all about
and hopefully they will jump on,”
said Impact owner Joey Saputo,
who added, “T still don’t feel that
the city really understands, really
grasps what’s coming.”

Certainly something big,
especially if you’re a diehard soccer
fan living in Montreal.

“The Big O” stadium (which
was built for the 1976 Olympics
and was also home to baseball’s
Montreal Expo’s from 1977-2004
before the team was relocated by
the MLB to Washington, D.C.)
will host the first five games of the
Impact’s season—at which point the

[: less than a month the Montreal

team will move to Saputo Stadium,
which is currently finishing
renovations.

The renovations will increase
seating in the open air Saputo
Stadium from 13,034 to 20,341— still
significantly less than Olympic
Stadium’s 66,308 seating capacity.
However, this is something that the
Impact players will have to get used
to, if they’re going from playing in
front of 58,000 screaming fans on
opening night to 20,000 fans the rest
of the way after game five. It'll be a
bit of a transition.

On top of all this exciting news,
the Impact also went through some
hardship with star forward Brian
Ching. The 33-year-old was initially
selected by the Impact first overall
in the expansion draft in November,
after his former team—the Houston
Dynamo—left him available. Ching,
disappointed, threatened to retire
but eventually came around and
ended up reporting when Montreal
opened camp on January 16, due to
a change at heart.

However, Ching was given
permission to leave the Impact’s
training camp last Monday to
return to Houston for “personal
reasons.” After this, reports
surfaced that Ching had been
meeting with his agent and
Dynamo officials in an attempt to

@ David Tiesto

get back to Houston for the 2012
season. And then, last Thursday, the
Impact sent the star forward back
to Houston for a conditional pick in
the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.

That's it. A conditional draft
pick.

After all that drama, the Impact
settle for just a conditional pick
even though they chose Ching first

     

overall in the expansion draft, fair
and square. A pretty seedy move on
Ching’s behalf if you ask me.

This particular move leaves
the Impact thin up front, with only
two players on their roster with
MLS experience, Justin Braun and
Miguel Montano, respectively...
It’s going to be a long season.

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