Courtesy Toronto Star:

The Toronto Argonauts might get the outdoor stadium they’ve been searching for after all.

Toronto mayor David Miller told the Star yesterday that he recently met with team co-owner Howard Sokolowski and that it’s possible the team could be accommodated at BMO Field at Exhibition Place.

“The stadium is a big success right now and Toronto FC (the city’s Major League Soccer franchise) is a big success. It looks like the stadium may have to expand to meet the needs of soccer and at that time we could consider (having the Argos as a tenant),” Miller said.

Sokolowski said last night that he met with Miller primarily to thank the mayor for his support of the Argos and the CFL when the issue of the Buffalo Bills coming to Toronto for some of their games came up in January. He said there’s only been casual talk of the Argos playing at BMO Field for their June 19 pre-season game against Hamilton, nothing more.

“Those talks are very, very premature,” Sokolowski said.

The Argos, who have 14,000 season ticket holders, drew 20,000 for last year’s pre-season game at the Rogers Centre.

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Courtesy CFL.ca:

The Toronto Argonauts loaded up their offence on Thursday by re-signing import quarterback Reggie McNeal and signing import receivers Cedric Bonner, David Gray and Matt Miller.

McNeal, a former teammate of Bonner at Texas A&M, joined the Argonauts’ practice roster on Oct. 2, 2007. McNeal was a quarterback in college but was converted to receiver when he clocked a 4.35 second 40-yard dash time at the annual NFL Scouting Combine. He was drafted by Cincinnati where he played seven games in 2006 and was a final training camp cut in 2007. He returned to his natural position at quarterback and joined Toronto for its sensational run to first place.

A seasoned football veteran, Bonner was a star receiver for Texas A&M before parlaying his talent into NFL stops with the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. He honed his skills in NFL Europa for one season as a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils and most recently attended training camp with the Dallas Desperados of the AFL.
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Courtesy Toronto Star:

Kerry Joseph has proven he can win a Grey Cup in Toronto.

But whether he can win one for the city, and for the hometown Argonauts, is an entirely different question.

At 34, Joseph has a lot of miles and a lot of hits on his chassis, and it’s hard not to like the moxy of Saskatchewan GM Eric Tillman for realizing he couldn’t keep the reigning CFL most outstanding player under his salary cap and stood to lose him a year from now for nothing.

So Tillman found a buyer in the Argos, and got a promising young import offensive lineman in 6-foot-7 Glenn January, an import defensive lineman in 6-foot-6 Ronald Flemons to help offset the trading away of star end Fred Perry and a first-round pick in the Canadian college draft this year. Before you dismiss that pick as unimportant, remember two years ago the Green Riders took receiver Andy Fantusz in the draft and he was the top Canadian as Saskatchewan captured the Grey Cup over Winnipeg at the Rogers Centre four months ago.

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Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:

It wasn’t a huge secret but Brock Ralph didn’t issue a press release over it either.

But last summer Ralph and his spouse, Kasha, were rocked when their daughter, Oakley, 3, was diagnosed as being autistic. This just a couple of months after the birth of their second daughter, Parker.

“A lot of the guys knew but I didn’t exactly publicize it. But the coaches knew. It was a little bit of a distraction and just added some stress. But you just go out and try to deal with adversity,” said the former Tiger-Cat yesterday from his off-season home in Lethbridge, Alta.

Ralph soon learned that it would be much easier to find the professional help Oakley requires in his native Alberta. But the veteran receiver was hesitant about seeking a trade.

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Courtesy TSN.ca:

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have completed their coaching roster for 2008. On Tuesday, the team announced the additions of John Kropke as defensive line coach and Chip Garber as defensive backs coach.

“I”m very excited to work with this group of coaches,” head coach Charlie Taaffe said in a press release. “Our 2008 staff features coordinators who bring extensive CFL knowledge on all sides of the ball, some returning coaches who did an excellent job for us last season, as well as John and Chip who we feel are great additions to the team.”

Kropke was the defensive line coach for the Montreal Alouettes for the last two seasons. Before that, he held the same position for one year with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Kropke began his coaching career with Eureka College (Illinois) in 2001 after a nine-year CFL career in which he was named an East Division All-Star four times.

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Courtesy Toronto Star:

The Argonauts’ backfield will have a brand new look in 2008.

After weeks of speculation, the Boatmen made it official yesterday when they announced running backs John Avery and Robert Edwards had been released.

Avery joined the Argos in 2004 after a season with the Minnesota Vikings that was cut short by a knee injury.

The 32-year-old University of Mississippi product seemed to suffer one injury after another during his four seasons with the Argos and never regained the form that saw him win the CFL rushing title with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2002. It was that performance that earned him a shot with the Vikings.

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Courtesy Toronto Star:

Steve Buratto calls Regina his favourite place in Canada. That’s a statement that not even a lot of locals were willing to make this week as the thermometer hovered between minus-40 C and minus-52 out on the prairies. However, it appears the only time Buratto will spend in his idea of Canada’s Eden this coming season will be limited to the couple of days the Argonauts are there when they take on the Roughriders. The Argonauts’ offensive co-ordinator was advised Tuesday night by Riders general manager Eric Tillman that he is no longer in the running for the club’s head coaching position. “I talked to Eric and he told me I would not be their head coach,” said Buratto. He insisted his affection for Regina has nothing to do with the fact he hails from Boise, Idaho, some 900 kilometres southwest of Regina, where he still maintains a home.

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