Harris family shares moment with city
For all the great catches R.J. Harris has made over the years, he shared a special moment with his best catch on Sunday when he got down on one knee and proposed to longtime girlfriend Tiffany Grant.
The couple has two daughters — Malani and Marleigh (who was born in January). We'll let Harris, a receiver for the Ottawa Redblacks, tell the story.
“The time felt right, so I made it happen,” he said. “I've had the ring for a few months now. It was a surprise for her. I don't think she knew exactly when it was coming, so I did catch her off guard. (When I proposed), one of my daughters was like, `Oh my God, a ring!' Then my fiancée started tearing up and crying. It was a happy moment for us, it means a lot to be able to do it here in Ottawa. I love the city, we've kind of made this our second home. This is truly a blessing.”
There's no wedding date yet for the couple who met many years ago at MacArthur Middle School in Fort Meade, Md. They were both basketball players and stayed connected over the years as good friends. They went their separate ways to different colleges, then reconnected.
“She complements everything I don't have, she's able to pick me up in those areas ... and vice versa,” said Harris. “It's the ultimate bond and I just felt like, `It's time to put a ring on that.' It was just one of the greatest days, that and the birth of our daughters.” DIFFERENT RULES: Effective Sunday, the CFL put in new protocols for fully vaccinated players and coaches, including no masks outdoors and the ability to participate in outdoor and indoor social activities with other fully vaccinated teammates, friends and family.
“When you see everyone else can do more than you're able to do, I'd say it was about time,” said Redblacks safety Antoine Pruneau, the team's CFL Players Association rep. “I think it was time for a change where guys get a bit more liberty. Mentally, I think it's going to help a lot of guys. Our wives were able to go to restaurants and stuff. It didn't make any sense that people living in the same house were able to do all of that and you were not. You have to be smart. I don't think it's time to go to a festival or anything like that. Guys need to use their judgment and keep this environment safe.”
While the CFL's nine teams are looking to get to a threshold of at least 85 per cent of the players vaccinated, there are still some players who don't want to get the jabs.
BIG-PLAY GUY: Ryan Davis has an impressive highlight video from his days as an Auburn
Tiger on YouTube. He's hoping to bring more of the same to the Redblacks. A trick play on an Edmonton punt in Game 1 of the CFL season — DeVonte Dedmon tossed a lateral pass to Davis, who sped 72 yards for a touchdown — showed what he can do. The six points were wiped out, though, when Edmonton challenged that it was a forward pass. If it was, and it's still an if, it wasn't by much.
“Football is a game of inches — it was maybe inches away from being a touchdown,” said Davis, who also started as a receiver and was Matt Nichols' favourite receiver, with six catches for 33 yards.
“You just know the next time you have to correct it and make it right. It was a glimpse (of what I can do). We have a great group of guys and a great group of coaches that put us in a position to make those plays and to let us show us off our abilities.”
THE END AROUND: Playing the Saskatchewan Roughriders on the road is an enormous test for the Redblacks, who have pumped crowd noise into TD Place this week to simulate what they'll hear during Saturday's game. Playing the 2-0 Riders is a test the 1-0 Redblacks are looking forward to.