An Ottawa team will resurface in the CFL next season, league sources have assured me.
“It’ll be announced officially during Grey Cup week in Toronto (late this month),” one of the sources revealed. “The investing partners have been thoroughly checked out and they’re solid.”
The club’s president will be Jeff Hunt, who has a solid reputation as owner of the OHL’s Ottawa 67s. The sources said Hunt will be given a percentage of the franchise and will be part of an ownership group that will include property developers Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and William Shenkman.
And get this: The new franchise may have its old nickname, the Rough Riders.
For more on this story, and a boatload of other nuggets, check out my newestCFL Report,exclusively at www.metronews.ca.
• The Carolina Hurricanes have complained to the NHL that the Panthers influenced referees before the teams met in Florida Wednesday.
The Panthers openly accused the Hurricanes of diving last season and reiterated their claims in Florida newspapers early this week. As it turned out, the Canes were called for two diving penalties in the third period and wound up squandering a 2-0 lead with a 4-2 loss.
“That’s a real tough way to lose a game,” said the Canes’ Justin Williams, nailed for one of the diving penalties. “I had my legs taken out but apparently someone saw it the other way.”
“I’m at a loss for words,” Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. “That’s the power of the print.”
• Not that Sunday’s matchup of the NFL’s undefeated teams needs any extra hype, but Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy has provided some by comparing the New England Patriots to Barry Bonds.
Dungy said the home-run king’s accomplishments are tainted because of the steroid allegations about him, and the coach implied that the Pats’ achievements also are tainted because they were caught cheating with video cameras in September.
“You kind of feel like there’s a code of honour, a code of ethics in the league,” Dungy told reporters. “You want to win and you want to do things the right way.”
• Superstar Vince Carter, whose abhorrence for Raptors coach Sam Mitchell was one of the reasons he wanted out of Toronto, needs only six more points to become the third-fastest active NBA player to reach 15,000.
Torontonian Jamaal Magloire, incidentally, made his debut Wednesday as Carter’s teammate with the New Jersey Nets and looked exceptionally strong inside. He’s told friends he’s pysched to play well again tonight against the Raps, who made no attempt to obtain him in the off-season.
In three-plus decades as a columnist and broadcaster, Marty York has built a network of solid contacts and a renowned reputation for his hard-hitting, groundbreaking style. The tradition continues in Metro Sports.
