sports // 20

Anthony's song

theotherpress.ca

» Host of CFL names movin’ out in January

 

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor
“sports
@theotherpress.ca

 

ie |
anuary was a busy month for

Ji CFL: a sure-fire hall-of-
amer retired, a Grey Cup Final
quarterback was released, and
an offensive coordinator was
finally shown the door. Who
says the offseason has to be
boring?

Starting close to home, there
were two huge stories from the
BC Lions. Ina move that’s sure
to be unpopular with the fans,
veteran Korey Banks was traded
to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
for non-import receiver Kito
Poblah. General manager Wally
Buono said of the trade that, “At
the end of it, Korey was a great
player for us but we're at a point
in our evolution where we want
a different kind of player playing
that (nickelback) position and
obviously we weren't ready to
make a commitment to Korey
for 2014. A trade was something
we both agreed on.” Buono has
stated that the club wants to
get bigger and more physical at

been one to shy from contact,
one has to feel that his age and
salary played into the trade a
great deal more than his lack of

: that “bigger” physical stature.

: Banks leaves the Leos after an

: impressive eight seasons and two
: championships and will help to

: bolster the secondary of a woeful
: Winnipeg team that just suffered
: a 3-15 season.

The other move from BC is

: one that every Lions fan with

: any sense has been pushing for

: for years. Offensive coordinator

: Jacques Chapdelaine is no longer
: with the club. Cue celebrations

: in the street. With Chapdelaine

: and his predictable play-calling

: gone, there’s a good chance BC

: will have one of the league’s most
: prolific offences next year. It’s

: still a mystery to many howa

: team that featured Travis Lulay,

: Andrew Harris, Nick Moore, and
: a multitude of other talented

: names could be stymied on

: aregular basis last season—

: Chapdelaine was just that bad.

: And it wasn't just last year either.
DA great deal of the Leos’ success
: in 2012 was due to Lulay

: finding other ways to get

: things done; he won

: games and put up
: stats in spite of

: Chapdelaine,

: not because
nickelback. Since Banks has never : of him. Head
: coach Mike
: Benevides’

: comments about the release

: were a great deal more

: complimentary than they had

: to be: “We understand where we
: are, both he personally and us

: as an organization. You kind of

: understand it’s time to move on.
: The other thing that’s critical,

: too, is timeline in our business.

: This affords him the opportunity
: to look at other opportunities

: that are out there.”

Heading out east, CFL

: legend Anthony Calvillo has
: called it a career. And what a
: career it was. He retires as
: the all-time leading passer
: in professional football
: and the holder of the

: CFL record for most

: touchdowns thrown.

: The famed Alouette

: also made eight Grey

: Cup appearances

: and picked up

: three championship

: rings with Montreal. His

? announcement comes as little

: surprise though after his season
: was ended in August following

: a hit by Ricky Foley. The contact
: caused his second concussion,

: and, at 41 years of age, the pivot
: decided he really didn’t need

: to take anymore punishment.

: Montreal will miss him, but the
: rest of the league sure won't.

 
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
   
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
   
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In other moves, the

: Hamilton Tiger-Cats changed up
: their quarterbacking situation,

: signing ex-Argo Zach Collaros

: and releasing Henry Burris.

: Burris definitely still has some

: football left in him, but the

: opportunity to get younger and

: sign a rising star at the position

: proved to be too tempting to

: resist. Also of note was the

: release of Weston Dressler by the
: Saskatchewan Roughriders. The

: gritty slotback has already landed
: an NFL deal—rumoured to be

the Kansas City Chiefs. Standout
BC receiver Nick Moore, brother
of the New Orleans Saints’
Lance Moore, is also looking
to score a contract south of
the border. And with CFL
free agency right around
the corner and names
such as Shea Emry, Jamall
Johnson, Jovon Johnson,
Kory Sheets, and Keron
Williams set to hit the
market, the off-season
isn’t done with being
interesting just yet.

 

He retires as the all-time leading
passer in professional football and
the holder of the CFL record for most
touchdowns thrown. The famed
Alouette also made eight Grey Cup
appearances and picked up three
championship rings with Montreal.

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   

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Anthony Calvillo // By www.cfl.ca