By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
A lot of fresh faces have arrived at McMaster this week, as the rookies check in and get ready to take the field Wednesday.
Planes, trains and automobiles converged on Hamilton, bringing this season’s crop of first-year Ticats hopefuls. I had a chance to meet a little over half of the guys so far and it might just be me, but if we’re judging on appearance, I’d say they have a more athletic look to them than the majority of recruits that came in this time last year.
From the moment they stepped in the doors at Les Prince Hall, their home for the 2008 training camp, the players were anxious to find out when they hit the field, each eager to impress their new coaches. For some of them it will be their debut performance on the Canadian league’s bigger field, something the offensive guys salivate at and the defenders laugh off.
For myself, being back at McMaster reminded me just how beautiful their school is… and the campus isn’t bad either. With the new Ron V. Joyce Stadium complete, Mac can say with pride that they have, if not the best, then one of the top facilities around. It will certainly help give the annual Black and Gold Game a different feel this season.
In 2008, the goal of Ticats.ca is to get you as close as possible to the action at training camp without getting knocked over on the sidelines, we’ll leave that to our camera crew. Ticats TV enters its sophomore season, with new host Candace Devai, ready to provide you with a visual of what’s happening on the field at each day. In addition to the daily articles and photo galleries, that were a staple on the site during last season’s camp, we’ll be starting a running blog, Ticats Confidential, which will provide you with a mixture of news from practice (positional battles, top performers, coaches comments), as well as interesting links from around the league.
So be sure to log on right here for the latest inside information on how your Ticats are shaping up for the coming season, and hopefully we’ll see you at practice on the Mac campus over the next few weeks.
Easier Said Than Done
(Quote of the Week)
“We’ll see sometime next week my announcement on what I’m going to do, but in the meantime I’m just going to enjoy this day today and still look forward to still being involved in the game in some capacity.”
On Sunday at the Damon Allen Quarterback Challenge, which was held at Ivor Wynne Stadium, Damon Allen was asked by TSN to address his future in the CFL. I think the writing was on the turf as to what his decision was going to be, and it seems as though Wednesday he will officially announce his retirement from the game. He leaves as professional football’s all-time leading passer with 72,381 yards and is expected to join the team’s front office.
In Case You Blinked
(News from the Week)
The CFL made a bit of a splash south of the border this week signing some recognizable names like wide receivers Bethel Johnson and Peter Warrick. I’ll admit that Warrick was one of the most exciting college players I’ve ever seen, but that was almost a decade ago. He failed to show the same game changing ability in the pros and despite a 79-catch effort in 2003, Cincinnati released him. The headlines associated with Johnson’s signing would make you think he was of the caliber of a Tom Brady, “Argos Sign Two-Time Super Bowl Champion,” when in reality he was simply a very small piece of the New England Patriots pie. That’s not to say either of these guys won’t have success in Canada, just remember for every Zeke Moreno, there’s a Shaun King.
Send your e-mails, comments, or questions to jboone@ticats.ca
