Nothing since Christmas but the first big announcement from the Hufnagel era has arrived. Not a week after George Cortez opted to remain in Calgary as offensive coordinator instead of heading to Saskatchewan to be coach, the Stamps signed backup/starter QB Dave Dickenson for around 100,000. The move puts Calgary in the strongest position to win the Grey Cup for 2008.
Dickenson's contract is for one year plus an option. More articles below.
From everyone here at Stampeders Forum we want to wish you a great Christmas. If you don't do that kind of thing then hey, Happy Holidays nonetheless. Keep yourself tuned for the latest news re: the Stamps in the new year. Winter is slow but we'll be on top of it.
Exciting changes and additions are planned for next season so don't forget to come back for a visit soon.
Pete Costanza from the arena league comes in to coach the receivers. Defensive coordinator Tim Burke stays with the club and remains a defensive coach. Cortez is still around as well as O-coordinator. Creehan has been let go (the son).
Better late than never, but I have some breaking news. Yes, John Hufnagel is the new GM and coach of the Calgary Stampeders. The move comes as a shock to most Stamps fans but what can you do?
In other news, Mike Petrie from Stamps Insider is off to work in-house for the Stamps. So much for the cool videos we had....
You thought the NHL was bad? Heck, you haven't seen anything until you've seen how the CFL handles suspensions. Typically for major infractions one-game suspensions are handed out--if that. Grotesque plays are swept under the rug. In a league where players loose big money if they miss a paycheck, missing one game is a big deal, but there's no message sent with just one game suspension.
Take for instance Jimenez, an offensive lineman for the whiney BC Lions. He literally ends the career of stamps linebacker Gargiulo by cut blocking then rolling over his knees. (Cut block means you hit a player when they are looking elsewhere around the joint of the knee so it bends in the wrong way.)
The obvious happened today at McMahon Stadium. Tom Higgins refused a non-football job in the organization and is now without a job. Calgary and Higgins have parted ways after 3 years. Jim Barker is no longer the GM, he'll stay with the club though in a player personnel role.
Many people have thrown flak at Eric Francis, (sports columnist for the Calgary Sun and radio talk show host in the mornings for Jack FM,) saying he's neither a reporter nor a morning personality. One thing is for sure, he's not making friends in Calgary after his latest ploy. Typically media types from the city work to protect the local teams especially against the opposition--and especially when they're in an important playoff game.
Not so for Francis. For reasons only he can answer, Francis published a column 2 weeks ago calling a story originally placed in the Calgary Herald months earlier his own and directly starting a wild fire of controversy that consumed the media in the days leading up to what would be the final playoff game for the Calgary Stampeders.
Coaching Change Circus Caused by Francis and the Sun
In the end, the Stamps could have walked away with a victory, but instead, showed fans they are, and have always been, a mediocre team. Bad penalties, turnovers, no running game, and some dumb coaching decisions--the story all season--lead to the slow destruction of the Stamps on the field in Saskatchewan.
The outcome could have been much worse. But then again, it could have been better. Saskatchewan didn't capitalize on some favorable field position whereas Calgary did little offensively but still managed to put points on the board. It's fitting the Stamps didn't move on, playing with rookies and making rookie mistakes really proves other teams deserve to move on.
