MEET THE NEW BOSS
Ambrosie gets top CFL job
Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive tackle Derek Dennis and quarterback Kevin Glenn are among the supporters of new CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
Glenn and Dennis have not met Ambrosie, who was introduced as the CFL’s 14th commissioner in Toronto on Wednesday, but both appreciate that Ambrosie is a former offensive lineman, who played nine CFL seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos, before heading into the business world.
“That’s great for the CFL, when you have a guy who has actually played in the league, who understands what players go through, and what it takes to get to the next level,” Dennis said after Wednesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium. “That’s a part of a commissioner a lot of leagues don’t have.”
Ambrosie, 54, retired as a player after sharing in the 1993 Grey Cup championship with the Eskimos. Dennis feels it can’t hurt having an offensive lineman as the league’s commissioner.
“Maybe he’ll be able to limit the fines on those bad blocks,” Dennis said with a laugh. “He might be a little more lenient on us because he understands what it’s like to be in those trenches.’’
Ambrosie was chosen secondoverall in the 1985 CFL draft by the Stampeders out of the University of Manitoba. He’s familiar with the inner workings of the game, having served as the secretary of the CFL Players’ Association for two years.
“It’s a vote of confidence to see an ex-player (as commissioner),” Glenn said. “We should start to see more ex-players in those type of positions working in the league and in management and on the business side of some of these organizations. We commit a lot of our lives to this because we’re around it for so many years and for so much time that we start to pick up certain things that go into the day-to-day business of running the league. It’s nice to see an ex-player in that position.”
Glenn, who is in his 17th CFL season, feels having a former player as commissioner may bridge the gap between current players and coaches, management and owners.
“This will probably allow us all to come closer,” Glenn said. “If we all start to become one and stop always fighting, this league will go a long way. Not that it hasn’t gone a long way, but it will go on a whole lot longer and be a lot more prosperous.”
Ambrosie replaces Jeffrey Orridge, who stepped down as commissioner on June 30 after nearly two years in the position. CFL board chairman Jim Lawson had served as the interim commissioner since Orridge’s departure.
“I met Orridge a couple of times and he was more of a commissioner who wanted to get to know the players,” Dennis said. “Hopefully (Ambrosie) is the same way and that he understands what we as players and the workers of the league are looking for.’’
Meanwhile, Riders head coach and general manager Chris Jones remains confident in beleaguered placekicker Tyler Crapigna. Crapigna has connected on seven of nine field goal attempts this season, but his two misses have come at key points in the Riders’ two consecutive defeats.
On June 22, Crapigna was wide right on a 45-yard field goal attempt as time ran out in a 17-16 loss to the host Montreal Alouettes. On Saturday, Crapigna’s 33-yard field goal attempt in double overtime hit the left upright, which meant the Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed only a single to win the game. Justin Medlock booted a 28-yard field goal as the Blue Bombers won 43-40.
“(Crapigna) is our kicker and he just needs to go out there and do his job, like everybody else,” Jones said.
NOTES: The Riders will place slotback Caleb Holley on the six-game injured list prior to Saturday’s game against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Holley injured his left shoulder during the Riders’ loss to the Blue Bombers. Antwane Grant, who made the Riders’ roster after standing out at their mini-camp in Vero Beach, Fla., and the main camp in Saskatoon, fills in for Holley … Riders wide receiver Duron Carter was fined an undisclosed amount by the CFL on Wednesday for grabbing the face mask of Blue Bombers linebacker Sam Hurl in a “reckless and unsafe” manner.
That’s great for the CFL, when you have a guy who has actually played in the league .... That’s a part of a commissioner a lot of leagues don’t have.