Former Canadian Football League player passes away

Carlton Rose, one of the best football players at Stranahan High School, has died.Rose died Sunday of a stroke, according to his sister, Carmenita Griffin. He was 44.
A two-time South Florida Sun-Sentinel All-County selection, Rose graduated from Stranahan in 1980 and signed with the University of Michigan. In four seasons with the Wolverines, Rose was part of the 1981 Rose Bowl champions as a freshman and was named the school's best defensive lineman his senior year in 1983.Rose played professionally in the United States Football League with the Michigan Panthers and Los Angeles Express. He also played with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League and two games for the Washington Redskins as a strike replacement player in 1987. "He was a great gentleman," former Stranahan football coach Rick Perry said. "He was a credit to everything and everybody."In 1999 Rose was named to the Sun-Sentinel's Broward County high school football All-Time Team as a defensive lineman. Rose helped lead Stranahan to consecutive 7-3 records his junior and senior years.Funeral services will be held today at 10 a.m. at Mt. Bethel Baptist Church, 901 NW 11th Ave., Fort Lauderdale.Rose is survived by his wife, Agnes Rose; mother, Carolyn Rose-Griffin; grandmother, Blanche "Madear'' Rose; three sisters and one brother.

Danny Mac joins his fifth Canadian Football League team

CP) - Quarterback Danny McManus's stay with the Edmonton Eskimos was a short one.
Edmonton dealt the 40-year-old pivot to the rival Calgary Stampeders Friday for a third-round pick in the 2006 Canadian college draft. The move came just four months after the Eskimos acquired McManus from Hamilton in a deal that sent quarterback Jason Maas to the Tiger-Cats.
McManus, who is entering his 17th CFL campaign, said it's been a busy off-season.
"Yeah, it's been a little different," he said with a laugh in a phone interview with the Canadian Press. "You don't think of a trade after already being traded. It's definitely a different situation but I'm excited about it.
"I think that Calgary is a team that I've always thought about playing with throughout my CFL career and now it's finally come true after 16 years."
McManus will likely serve as the backup to starter Henry Burris. Calgary also has quarterbacks Jason Gesser, Josh Harris and Danny Wimprine on the roster.
"We know that Henry is the moneymaker, he's the guy that's going to take us to the Grey Cup," McManus said. "My job is to push him as much as I can and also help him as much as I can."
Stampeders head coach Tom Higgins said McManus gives the team more depth.
"If he were to be called upon, he will be able to execute and execute extremely well on our offence," Higgins said. "We're a one quarterback system, we will stay that way, it's not going to be a rotated one-two.
"But when you have the experience that he has, there's some things that coaches can't share with players."
The Eskimos didn't see McManus in a backup role behind Ricky Ray, opting instead to rely on youngsters Jason Johnson and Steven Jyles to back up their starter.
McManus spent the last eight seasons with the Tiger-Cats but was in and out of the starter's role during a 5-13 season last year.
The six-foot, 215-pound pivot said he's prepared to help his new team any way he can.
"I think that every quarterback that goes to camp has that desire to play," McManus said. "But more importantly, we have that desire to make that position the best on our football team and try to make it the best in the league."
Hamilton sent McManus, lineman Tim Bakker and a first-round draft pick to Edmonton for Maas last Dec. 2. The two teams had engineered a lopsided trade on Oct. 5 that sent running back Troy Davis to the Eskimos. The Maas-McManus deal was widely believed to be part of that exchange but the CFL said everything was kosher.
Calgary finished at 11-7 last season but was eliminated by the Eskimos in the division semifinal. Edmonton went on to win the Grey Cup, knocking off Montreal 38-35 in overtime.
McManus, who played college ball at Florida State, was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 11th round (282nd overall) of the 1988 NFL draft. He was released the next season and signed as a free agent by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1990.
He has put up some remarkable numbers over his stellar CFL career.
McManus is second on the CFL's career list for passing yards (52,975) and pass completions (3,624). He's also sixth on the all-time list with 258 passing touchdowns.
He won the Grey Cup MVP award in 1999 when he led the Ticats to a 32-21 victory over the Stampeders. He has three Grey Cup rings from his six trips to the big game. McManus also won in 1994 with B.C. and in 1990 with Winnipeg.

Riders add to Canadian Football League training roster

REGINA (CP) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed import receivers Sam Breeden and Brandon Smith to one-year contracts on Thursday.
Breeden played in NFL Europe for the Frankfurt Galaxy last season, where he caught 10 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. The 26-year-old played his final college season at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Smith spent four seasons at Vanderbilt University as a wide receiver. The 22-year-old finished his college career with 108 receptions for 1,497 yards, and five touchdowns in 46 games.
Smith has attended NFL camps with Green Bay, Atlanta, and Seattle.

Stamps sign two Canadian Football League free agents

The Calgary Stampeders have signed wide receiver Elijah Thurman and linebacker Walter Spencer away from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.