football

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Tuesday, November 19, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Hamilton Tiger-Cats finally earn trip to Grey Cup after years in CFL wilderness

For SaleThe big men sat like happy boulders in their stalls, cutting off tape and laughing as the sweat dried, giants who couldn’t feel the pain. Left guard Peter Dyakowski said, “I hate those guys who have three Grey Cup rings,” and right guard Tim O’Neill said, “there’s always somebody on every team you’re rooting for,” and Dyakowski said with a grin, “aside from the East final year in Winnipeg [in 2011], we were always out of it early enough that the bitterness would have faded away.” They talked about how there are guys in this league who have three rings, five rings, even more, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats centre Marwan Hage, the fulcrum of this franchise for a decade, grinned sweetly.

“And I hate on every one of them,” he said.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are headed to the Grey Cup for the first time since 1999, back when Ronnie Lancaster was still alive, a lifetime in an eight-team league, an ocean. They did it by crushing the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts and their near-perfect quarterback in a half for the ages, a half they had been waiting for forever. Hage arrived in 2004, the same year Bob Young rescued the team from a fiscal sinkhole, and lived through the bad years. 4-14, 5-13, 3-15, 3-15 again. A joke, year after year. When they got talent, they found ways to screw it up. Hage was an all-star. He could have left.

“I used to drive to Montreal after each season, within two or three days, and you reflect,” said Hage, after Hamilton’s 36-24 victory over Toronto at the Rogers Centre. “Five hours on the road, and I’d think, ‘Man, am I doing the right thing here?’ Because I’d see my friends leave and go to other teams and win. And win. I can name so many guys who went to six different teams and four championships and …

“But to me, I wouldn’t trade it. I love the city of Hamilton. Hamilton’s been great to me, from Day 1, even in the bad times.”

There will be people who will half-jokingly blame this victory on Toronto mayor and global punchline Rob Ford, who arrived at halftime in his No. 12 MAYOR FORD Argos jersey. He sat in the lower bowl and posed for pictures, signed autographs, and brandished a tinfoil Grey Cup over his head, which probably interfered with police radio frequencies. One woman wearing black and gold held up a sign that said “Our mayor is better than your mayor;” one pro-Argos sign in the upper deck read “We have more than enough Tiger-Cats to eat at home.” The mayor caused a scene, as he tends to do these days. (Source: National Post)

Tuesday November 27, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday November 27, 2012

Argos Rise, Ford Falls

Argo fans and Rob Ford detractors celebrate in Toronto

So you thought the Argos winning the 100th Grey Cup at home was just a little too incredible to believe? Well, the storyline gets better, courtesy of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

He is an individual who loves football but could be about to get sacked from his job barring the equivalent of a video replay overturning a decision to punt him out of office.

On Monday, Ford, the burly one-time high school centre who still looks the part, was relieved of his mayoralty duties after a judge ruled he broke a Municipal Conflict of Interest Act by taking $3,150 from lobbyists to help fund his private football foundation. Ford was unrepentant in what he had done, both in refusing to abstain from voting on a report by an integrity commissioner to pay back the money and by refusing to admit any wrongdoing in court.

One politician who unsuccessfully ran against him for mayor called the judge’s decision a “touchdown for accountability.”

Ford will be given 14 days to stay on the job and plans to appeal.

But it could be two-and-out for Ford – as in two years on the job with another two still to go had he made it that far.

On Tuesday, Ford will participate in the victory parade for the Argos, who beat the Calgary Stampeders 35-22 at the Rogers Centre on Sunday. The parade will wind through the business section of Toronto and end up at the civic square, where Ford will proclaim November 27, 2012 Toronto Argonauts’ Day. (Source: Sportsbet.ca)

 

Wednesday November 21, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday November 21, 2012

Tiger-Cats to play at University of Guelph in 2013

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will play CFL home games next season at the University of Guelph while their new stadium is being built, team president Scott Mitchell said Tuesday.

The university stadium has 7,500 seats. Mitchell couldn’t say exactly how many might be added next year, but insisted there should be enough to accommodate all season-ticket holders.

“We’re working with the university right now to get to that final detail,” he said. “I think any facility we were looking at, obviously, for 2013 was going to require some temporary facilities and infrastructure.”

A new 24,000-seat field is built on the site of Ivor Wynne Stadium, the team’s home for the past 84 years. The new stadium will also be used as a soccer venue for the 2015 Pan American Games. Ivor Wynne had a capacity of 29,600.

Guelph is a 45-minute drive from Hamilton, in an area where the Ticats have been looking to raise their profile.

“We’re really focused on two things. One is to provide a solution to all our season ticket holders — this will clearly do that — as well as enable a lot of new fans in Guelph and around the region to get to some games and . . . this accomplishes both,” Mitchell said.

He wouldn’t say how many season-ticket holders they have, but added that most will likely renew for 2013.

“We’re really focused on two things. One is to provide a solution to all our season ticket holders — this will clearly do that — as well as enable a lot of new fans in Guelph and around the region to get to some games and . . . this accomplishes both,” Mitchell said. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

August 11, 2010

L E T T E R S to the E D I T O R

Not a lot of Bob Young Hamilton Tiger Cat fans out there are happy with this cartoon. Apparently a few have even cancelled their Spectator subscriptions in protest.

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Portraying Bob Young as a first grader taking his ball home was totally uncalled for in my opinion. The man has invested tens of millions of dollars in a team that means so much to the community, his family has invested tens of millions into local charities, and he was prepared to invest tens of millions more into a stadium at a site he did not even prefer so long as it gave the opportunity for the Tiger-Cats and the stadium to be economically sustainable. If this is how Hamilton treats its self-sacrificing heroes, we shouldn’t expect to have too many of them in the future.

K. Browne , Hamilton

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The cartoon in the paper today is offensive, rude, and fundamentally wrong. Seven years ago, this city went begging to Bob Young to buy the Tiger Cats, a money losing operation. Mr. Young knew he would lose money but out of the goodness of his heart he bought the team. He has lost some thirty million dollars keeping the team operating and what does he get for his troubles and love for the city? A very personal attack by the local paper. While the Spec should be ashamed of itself, I’m sure your puppet masters at the Star are thrilled at your position and that York University will get their stadium.

D. Delville, Dundas

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I couldn’t help but think that the editorial cartoon should have been a picture of Mayor Fred and not Bob Young. Mr. Young has bent over backwards with offers of a lot of money toward the stadium, a professional soccer team, help in building an amphitheatre in west harbour, then adding additional parking spaces for the east mountain site while Mayor Fred has just crossed his arms like a first grader with his lip out and said, “no, no, no” to everything. He has not budged an inch on this issue.

Bob Young was a saviour to our beloved Tiger Cats, a team over 100 yrs. old. and he is being treated so unfairly. The thought of losing our team makes me feel sick to my stomach. Bring the Cats to Burlington Bob. We will welcome them with open arms!

I’d love to know what Hamilton city council is going to do with this nice, new, empty stadium once the Pan Am games are over?

P. Gilkes, Burlington

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Bob Young came back to Hamilton some years ago to purchase the TigerCats on a fantasy whim. By so doing he helped the CFL become a stronger. more enjoyable league. Now the Mayor, city councilors and even The Spec insist that Bob Young revitalize our down town by locating the TigerCats in West Harbour even though Young’s sharp business sense (he is after all a self made multi millionaire) tells him that the West Harbour is not a profitable location for HIS Tiger Cat team. Because of this he is maligned, called nasty names and is accused of being GREEDY. With this kind of treatment why are we surprised he finally called it quits and why do we think he is bluffing?

Off-the-record post script..I am not surprised the Spec chose to support the West Harbour location being pro-city. But I regret your poor treatment of Bob Young especially that mean cartoon by McKay this morning. Young owes Hamilton nothing and as usual we continue to shoot down our benefators

J. Mongeon, Hamilton

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The Spectator’s totally biased attitude with their slanted reporting and editorials favouring WH site has been disreputable. What is shameful is Specator’s treatment of Tiger-Cats, Bob Young and David Braley. Your editorial cartoon entitled “The Evolution of Bob Young” was disgraceful. How would such a portrait help in convincing Mr Young to return to the table to negotiate a solution.

We need a alternative paper in Hamilton to compete with the Spec and offer counterbalance of reporting. I personally subscribe to Sunday Toronto Sun for fbalance reporting.

A. Gay, Hamilton

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And then there are many, many more comments from outraged fans at this Ticat messageboard.