Canadian Football League

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Former Canadian Football League player to be added to Ring of Honor

Willie Pless will join a select Kansas University list this fall when he becomes the 14th football player to have his name added to the school’s Ring of Honor.
A linebacker for the Jayhawks from 1982-85, Pless is the KU and Big Eight Conference career tackling leader. He will be feted during the season opener Sept. 1 against Central Michigan.
Already a member of the KU Athletics Hall of Fame (2000) and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (2005), Pless still owns the top three season tackle totals in school history with 206 in 1984, 191 in ’85 and 188 in ’83.
His 633 career tackles are 117 more than Nick Reid, who is second on the school list with 416 stops.
After earning all-state honors at Anniston, Ala., High, Pless played in every game as a KU freshman in 1982. As a sophomore in 1983 he earned first-team all-Big Eight honors with a then school-record 188 tackles.
That year he averaged 17 tackles per game and recorded at least 20 stops four times. Against Missouri that season he recorded 22 tackles, a sack, interception and fumble recovery.
Pless to join Ring of Honor
1984 Pless earned second-team Associated Press All-America honors after recording 206 tackles. In that season, he registered a school-record 25-tackle game against Oklahoma State and notched double-digit tackle totals in every game, including 20 stops four different times.
As a senior in ’85, Pless was tapped first-team All-Big Eight for the third time while registering 191 tackles. He played in three all-star games — Blue-Gray, Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine. He was chosen the defensive MVP of the Blue-Gray contest.
Pless also excelled in the classroom where he was a Region VII Academic All-American in ’85.



Undrafted by the NFL, primarily because of his undersized 5-foot-10, 210-pound frame, Pless went to Canada, where he made the CFL all-star team 11 times, and was chosen the league’s top defensive player five times. He retired from the CFL in 1999 as the league’s all-time leading tackler.
Pless, who lives in Edmonton, where he works in sales, is the first former Jayhawk tapped for the Ring of Honor since Nolan Cromwell in 2005.
The other players whose names appear in the north end zone bowl at Memorial Stadium are John Hadl, Curtis McClinton, Gale Sayers, Bobby Douglass, David Jaynes, George Mrkonic, Otto Schnellbacher, John Zook, Ray Evans, Bruce Kallmeyer, Gil Reich and Oliver Spencer.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Canadian Football League Week # 5 Picks

CFL PICKS WEEK # 5

Als Vs. Argos:
This is a must game for the Als. They drop this one and it will be a battle just to get
a playoff spot. The Argos should have Bruce back on the roster for this one.

Argos by 7

Ti-Cats Vs. Bombers:

That Jesse guy is pretty good. But he needs help. The Cats had the Bombers number
in pre-season wining both matches. This is the regular season. This is the first of a
home and home series between the two teams. The Cats really need these games.
Bombers looking at having a third straight sellout and Stegall setting the record
for Canadian Football League TD's means:

Bombers by 16

Eskimos Vs. Riders:
Can the Eskimos win three in a row? Can the Riders lose three in a row?
The answer is NO.

Riders by 8

Lions Vs. Stamps:
Lions are due for a loss. Stamps are a different team at home.
Have to say:

Stamps by 10

Last Week 4-0 Over-all 12-4

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Lumsden wins two Canadian Football League player of the week awards

Hamilton Tiger-Cats running back Jesse Lumsden picked up two CFL awards for his career-high performance in last Thursday's 22-18 loss to the B.C. Lions.
Lumsden, in his first full season with the Ticats after a brief stint in the NFL last year, was honoured Wednesday with awards for being the league's offensive and Canadian player of the week.
Lumsden, a 24-year-old native of Burlington, Ont., collected 158 rushing yards on 11 carries against the Lions.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Charles Roberts was the runner-up for the weekly offensive award, for his 161 total yards and a touchdown in Thursday's 20-18 win over the Montreal Alouettes.
Roberts's teammate, linebacker Barrin Simpson, picked up the weekly defensive award. The perennial all-star had eight tackles and a forced fumble in last week's contest.
Defensive linemen Tom Canada of the Blue Bombers and Fred Perry of the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the runners-up.
Special teams honours went to Roughriders wide receiver Jason Armstead, who ran back a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown in Friday's 21-20 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.
Armstead edged out Winnipeg linebacker Kyries Hebert, who had four returns for 118 yards.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Canadian Football League team signs Blizzard QB

When Gino Guidugli arrived in Green Bay, he was searching for an opportunity to continue his football career.
The Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders and NFL Europa denied him that chance.
The Green Bay Blizzard didn't, and it ended up working out well for both sides.
In 10 games with the Blizzard this season, Guidugli threw for 40 touchdowns and 1,675 yards while compiling a 108.5 quarterback rating.
His efforts helped the Blizzard earn a playoff berth for the third consecutive season. It also earned him another chance in his career, this time with the Canadian Football League's British Columbia Lions.
The CFL team signed the former Cincinnati Bearcats standout on Monday after injuries at quarterback.
"Gino is a very stand-up individual. He came in and talked to us about it," Blizzard coach Doug Lytle said. "His biggest deal was he (didn't) want to leave the team. I said, 'Well, you have to look at opportunities, and this is an opportunity for you to move up.'"
In the past three games, Guidugli has completed 61 of 80 passes while throwing for 644 yards, 21 touchdowns and only one interception.
By the end of the day, Guidugli was punching his passport to play for the Lions, while Green Bay is once again down to one quarterback.
Lytle's No. 1 goal at the beginning of the season was to send players to the next level — but, ideally after the af2 season.
The Blizzard (9-6) is riding a season-best, three-game win streak — in which it has scored an average of 73.0 points per game.
A key part of the Blizzard's offensive outburst has been the play of Guidugli


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