Courtesy Calgary Herald:

Anyone on the Calgary Stampeders will admit a 7-9-1 football club doesn’t deserve much love from all-star voters.

So, when the West Division honour roll was released Thursday and only three Horsemen made the grade — running back Joffrey Reynolds, slotback Nik Lewis and guard Jay McNeil — the general feeling was . . . outrage?!

Where was kicker Sandro DeAngelis?

Of all the men in red and white, the Canadian three-point kicking machine seemed to deserve a spot on the squad.

“It’s robbery,” said Lewis, a second-time all-star. “How is he not on there?”

Saskatchewan Roughriders kicker Luca Congi, who made just 69.8 per cent of his field goals, earned the nod over DeAngelis, who hit on 85.3 per cent of his attempts.

In fact, B.C. Lions hoofer Paul McCallum was expected to be the closest rival, having made 80 per cent of his tries.

“I feel for Sandro,” said McCallum. “Honestly, I agree. You’re going to have some people say why didn’t (B.C. running back) Joe Smith get nominated instead of (’Riders pivot) Kerry Joseph (for West Division outstanding player)? That’s not as black and white. With a kicker, you’ve got your percentage, period.”

And no one in Canadian Football League history has a loftier percentage than DeAngelis.

Having made 29 of 34 attempts this season, his career tally is now 125-for-151 — 82.8 per cent. That’s the best success rate ever, followed by three American kickers: Roman Anderson (80.2), Carlos Huerta (78.5) and Damon Duval (78.4).

“My job is all about numbers,” said DeAngelis. “The numbers don’t lie. I’m the most accurate kicker in CFL history and that means more to me than any award.

“That’s the one honour that I hold dear to my heart and it’s the one I want to hold on to for as long as I play. Obviously, it’s disappointing not to be the all-star, but what do you do?

“I’m happy for Luca, he’s a great guy who works very hard and he plays in some tough conditions.”

There’s a widespread belief that Congi earned the spot because of enthusiastic ballot-stuffing from Saskatchewan faithful. Fan voting accounted for 25 per cent of the support, along with the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL coaches.

“Let’s just say ‘Rider Nation always comes out,” said DeAngelis. “They love their team and this is another example of how much they do love them. We’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t say ‘Rider fans are the most passionate in the league. You give ‘Rider fans any chance to show their pride and they will.”

But Congi also must have received a reasonable amount of support from media and coaches, in order to top the field.

DeAngelis was the all-Canadian kicker in 2005 and ‘06. This was McNeil’s sixth West all-star berth and Reynolds’ third.