League fines, suspends TiCat DB for separate incidents
TORONTO (CP) — New CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie suspended and fined defensive back Will Hill of the Hamilton TigerCats on Tuesday for two separate incidents in last week’s game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Ambrosie, who began his tenure on Monday, suspended Hill for one game after the Hamilton player grabbed the jersey of an official in the third quarter. Hill quickly let go but was still ejected from the game, which Saskatchewan won 37-20 in Regina.
“It is a fundamental principle in all of sport: you cannot and must not lay your hands on an official,” Ambrosie said in a statement. “I acknowledge that in this case, the player involved appeared to quickly realize the inappropriateness of his actions and released the official.
“But that does not erase the fact that the player crossed a line that should never be crossed in sport at any level, and which certainly should be respected in an elite professional league such as the Canadian Football League.”
Ambrosie also fined Hill an unspecified amount for punching a Saskatchewan player on the same play.
“Furthermore, by punching an opponent, this player has not only displayed the opposite of sportsmanship, he has undermined the commitment to player health and safety that must be shared by the league and its players alike,” Ambrosie said. “Just as player safety is critical to our game, so too is the safety of our officials.
“I’m committed to developing a policy in the very near term to improve and codify the safety standards to further protect our officials.”
This isn’t the first time Hill has got into trouble.
During his NFL career with the New York Giants and Baltimore (2012-15), Hill was suspended four times for testing positive for a banned substance. He received a 10-game sentence from the league in March 2016 for violating its substance abuse policy and was subsequently released by the Ravens.
Ambrosie’s suspension and fine were imposed immediately, meaning Hill would miss Hamilton’s home opener Saturday against the B.C. Lions unless he decided to appeal. If Hill chose to do so, he’d be able to continue playing unless the ruling was upheld by an independent arbitrator.
Last season, then commissioner Jeffrey Orridge fined Hamilton coach Kent Austin $10,000 and banished him to the spotter’s booth for one game for making contact with an official.
It marked the first time in CFL history that the league had disallowed a coach from being on the field with his team for a game.
Austin made contact with official Tom Cesari when he swung his hand in frustration while protesting a call on the field during a game. Austin said he had apologized to Cesari, but in his ruling Orridge said he couldn’t overlook that Austin actually made contact with the official on the field.
Also last season, then Montreal receiver Duron Carter received a one-game suspension for bumping Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell during a game. Carter appealed the ban but it was later upheld by an arbitrator.
Carter is now with the Riders and has 7 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown against Hamilton.
The Austin ruling certainly established a precedent for the CFL in the Hill case. And had the league issued a more stringent sentence, it likely would’ve presented Hill with a better chance to successfully appeal it before an arbitrator.
In 2007, B.C. Lions offensive lineman Jason Jiminez received a one-game suspension for delivering an illegal block against defensive lineman Anthony Gargiulo of the Calgary Stampeders that shattered Gargiulo’s leg and forced him to retire at age 23. But the suspension was overturned on appeal due to incon- clusive video evidence.
Three years later with Hamilton, Jiminez was fined $2,777 — half a game’s pay and the maximum allowable at the time — for a low hit on B.C. defensive end Brent Johnson during a regular-season game.
It was suggested then that Jimenez wasn’t suspended because the CFL was concerned it would be overturned by an arbitrator upon appeal.
Losing Hill would be yet another blow to Hamilton (0-2), which is already without 1,000-yard receivers Andy Fantuz and Terrence Toliver, both out with knee injuries.
Green, Elimimian and Butler named CFL top performers for Week 3
Toronto slotback SJ Green, B.C. linebacker Solomon Elimimian and Argonauts defensive lineman Victor Butler were named the top performers for Week 3 of the CFL season.
Green had a personal-best 210 yards and one touchdown on 10 catches to help the Argonauts come back and defeat the Ottawa Redblacks 26-25 on Saturday.
The South Florida alum had his biggest moment in the third quarter when he caught a 55-yard pass from quarterback Ricky Ray to give Toronto its first lead in the game.
Butler had eight tackles, including three quarterback sacks, in the victory.
Elimimian recorded 15 tackles in the Lions’ 26-16 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday. That number tied his franchise record for tackles in a single game and was one shy of tying the league record held by Reggie Hunt.
Stampeders add D’Aguilar, Frank to bolster ailing defensive line
CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders have bolstered their defensive line by bringing back Ben D’Aguilar and adding Reuben Frank.
D’Aguilar returns for a second stint with the Stampeders after being cut after Calgary’s training camp.
The 6-foot2, 235-pound Hamilton native played a total of 49 regular-season games with the Stamps from 2013-16, recording four defensive tackles, 35 special-teams tackles, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.
D’Aguilar had signed a contract extension in February but failed to win a spot on the team in camp. But space on the line opened up due to the questionable status of banged-up all-star Charleston Hughes and the Stampeders dealing with long-term injuries to linemen Junior Turner, Cordarro Law and Ja’Gared Davis.
Frank played seven games for the Edmonton Eskimos in 2016, recording six tackles including one tackle for loss and one sack. In his CFL debut against Ottawa in Week 1, he blocked a Chris Milo punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
He played four seasons at Connecticut, starting his collegiate career as a fullback before making the conversion to defence for his final two seasons with the Huskies.
Linebacker Maleki Harris gets name in Calgary Stampeders history books
CALGARY — Maleki Harris had yet to enter this world the last time a Stampeder had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown in the same season. Canadian Football Hall of Famer Alondra Johnson was the last Stampeder to do so in 1991.
“The legend. Fifty-one,” Harris said on Monday as he gestured towards Johnson’s number atop McMahon Stadium. “That was before I born. I was born in 1992, so that’s funny. If you can even be mentioned in the same breath as a legend like that, it’s a blessing.”
Not only has Harris blown the dust off the list of Stampeders to achieve that particular defensive scoring double, but the 24-year-old linebacker accomplished it over the span of back-to-back games.
Calgary was up 10-9 at halftime last Friday in Winnipeg when Harris gave the Stamps some breathing room en route to a 29-10 win. He picked off Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols for a 23-yard TD midway through the third quarter.
In Calgary’s home-opener in Week 2, Harris ran the ball 46 yards back for the major after teammate Alex Singleton’s hard tackle on Ottawa’s Patrick Lavoie knocked it loose.
But Harris has just one of his touchdown balls as a memento.
“When I got the first one, I was so caught up in the moment I didn’t even think about keeping it,” he said.
According to team statisticians, other Stampeders to score a fumble-recovery TD and an interception TD in the same season prior to Johnson were: Chris Major, 1988; Howard Starks, 1974; Frank Andruski, 1968 and 1967; Ron Payne, 1968; Clare Exelby, 1960; Bill Blackburn, 1951; and Rod Pantages, 1949.
After two seasons apprenticing on Calgary’s special teams and getting a few game reps at linebacker, Harris started at weakside the first three games this season because veteran Deron Mayo (knee) has yet to return to the active roster. Harris has also compiled nine defensive tackles and a quarterback sack in his three starts.
“He’s probably been ready to take that step, but he’s been behind one of the best,” Stampeder head coach Dave Dickenson said. “He’s taken full advantage of that. He’s a guy I can’t see taking off the field, but we’ll have to see how it plays out.”
Harris, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound alumnus of the University of South Alabama, continues Calgary’s reputation for unheralded depth players stepping in and making an impact when a starter goes down.
With the defensive line riddled with injuries, Calgary (2-0-1) recalled McMaster University alum Ben D’Aguilar, who was cut during training camp, and brought in former Edmonton Eskimo Reuben Frank ahead of Friday’s game in Montreal. D’Aguilar played 49 games for Calgary between 2013 and 2016.
Dickenson said defensive end Charleston Hughes, who led the CFL in sacks last season (16), is expected to play against the Alouettes after sitting out last Friday’s game.
Returner/running back Roy Finch also returns to Calgary’s active roster after serving a two-game suspension for a drug violation.
Finch said he hadn’t cleared his medication for attention deficit disorder with team doctors.