Auggie Hangs Up His Cleats

After an eight-year career, seven spent with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Auggie Barrenechea has decided to call it a day.

Barrenechea began his career as a Middle Linebacker, but made the move to Fullback last season. He didn't play much on Offense, but he was a valuable Special Teams contributor and a highly respected locker room leader. Barrenechea was always a fan favourite, and was one of the team's most popular players during the dark days on the mid-2000s. He left in 2008 for one season in Edmonton, but came back to the Tiger-Cats in 2009 and played the remainder of his career in Black & Gold.

Barrenechea was the type of player you could always cheer for. A scrappy player who may not have been the most talented, but always looked to be one of the hardest working. His switch to Fullback in 2011 epitomized the type of player that Barrenechea was, unselfish and always willing to do whatever he could to help the team.

It will be nearly impossible to replace all that Auggie brought to the team, and it is too bad that he will leave the game without a Grey Cup ring. But who knows, maybe he can be talked out of retirement just like his good buddy Ray Mariuz was last year.

But if this is truly it for Barrenechea, thank you for everything you did for the team and the community. Your presence will be missed and best of luck in your post-football life.

Reviewing Scoring Plays Among Suggested Rule Changes

While they still need approval, three new rules should be in place for the start of the 2012 season; two regarding helmets coming off during play and one in which all scoring plays will be reviewed.

If you watched games last season, especially in the first half of the year, you saw helmets pop off at an alarming rate. It seemed that not a quarter would go by without a helmet flying off. The league has decided that enough is enough and have put forth two rules that will hopefully curb lost helmets. The play will now be whistled dead should the ball carrier lose his helmet. In addition to that, any non-ball carrier that loses their lid will be ineligible for the remainder of that play. Should they continue to play, their team will be penalized 10 yards for illegal participation. If they are hit by an opposing player after losing their helmet, the opposing team will be penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

It is a good rule, and one that I hope will help eliminate helmets flying off. The only issue is that there is some leeway – meaning judgment – on helmets that pop off while players are blocking or being blocked. I don't like when rules can be interpreted differently by different referee crews; from one game to the next the calls could vary drastically. Rules need to be pretty straightforward with little room for interpretation so that the chance of a blown call is kept to a minimum.

The other change is one that I have been calling for since mid-October, so to say I am happy to hear that the league will be adopting the NFL-style automatic reviews on all scoring plays is an understatement. Scoring plays decide games, and getting those right is the most important thing the league can do. I do hope that the league will expand the rule to include all plays in the end zone, but if they do not, that is not a big deal. I noticed that NFL referees were much more inclined to rule a play a touchdown and let replay handle it than they were to call it otherwise which would not allow for a replay. I would expect the same to happen in the CFL.

You have to hand it to the CFL, they are not afraid to alter or change the rules of the game to ensure a better product. These potential changes are all a step in the right direction.

Hamilton's History a Thing of the Past

It comes almost on queue. Nearly every time Hamilton signs a marquee player, as they did last week by signing Andy Fantuz, someone will inevitably bring up the names of Jason Mass, Casey Printers and Kenton Keith, the three biggest busts in recent Tiger-Cat history.

It is undeniable that these three (among some others) were spectacular failures during their time with the Tiger-Cats. They all came to the team with plenty of hype, but failed to live up to even a scintilla of that hype.

But, with the exception of Keith, it was a completely different front office that acquired these players. Current VP of Football Operations Bob O'Billovich took the job at the tail end of 2007, when Maas had already been jettisoned to Montreal and Printers was already in house. And while bringing in Keith proved to be a mistake, it was one of the few errors the front office has made since Obie's arrival. The list of players brought in since are unlikely to be called a bust by anyone. The list includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Kevin Glenn
• Dave Stala
• Otis Floyd
• Markeith Knowlton
• Arland Bruce
• Jamall Johnson
• Justin Medlock
• Rey Williams
• Alex Gauthier
• Dan Goodspeed
• Jason Jimenez
• Avon Cobourne
• Stevie Baggs

Every one of those players, at one time or another, performed at a high level while wearing a Tiger-Cat uniform. Their respective achievements speak for themselves. Markeith Knowlton was the 2010 Most Outstanding Defensive Player; Kevin Glenn broke many of Danny McManus' passing records in 2010; Arland Bruce provided the team with star-level production at Receiver, something that had not been seen since Darren Flutie retired; Dave Stala has not missed a game since his arrival (he missed plenty with the Alouettes), and has been one of the most reliable pass catchers in the entire league; Jamall Johnson is a perennial All-Star and ranks among the league leaders in tackles; Justin Medlock is, arguably, the best Kicker in the CFL; Stevie Baggs was a terror following his return from the NFL in 2010. I could go one, but you get the point.

Hamilton, like every team in every sport, has a history of bad moves. But it seems that Hamilton is the only team whose history gets thrown out as a storyline following every transaction. It's not that Hamilton hasn't made mistakes, they have, but that is only one half of the story. Without bringing up the names I listed, the story is incomplete.

What category Henry Burris, Martell Mallett and Andy Fantuz fall into won't be known for some time, but the belief that the Tiger-Cats spend big money only to be disappointed is a thing of the past.

The Secrecy of Player Salaries, Pt. 2 (Twitter Edition)

A recent debate has broken out on Twitter regarding publicizing player salaries. I have written previously on the subject but input from people who are directly impacted by disclosing salaries have given their opinions on the subject.

It all started when Sportsnet's Arash Madani sent out a tweet somewhat bemoaning the fact that the CFL does not release player salaries. Dave Naylor of TSN also weighed in. Both reporters feel as if the salaries should be made public.

Then things got interesting. First, it was Nikki Jimenez who agreed with me that salaries should be kept private. Then Kevin Glenn made his opinion known, which aligned with Mrs. Jimenez.

The arguments for disclosing salaries were the same we always hear: other leagues publicize their salaries so CFL should as well and fans pay the salaries so they have a right to know. I don't agree at all with either sentiment. For starters, just because other leagues do it doesn't mean every league has to. That is, quite honestly, a rather weak reason. Secondly, while fans may pay to watch the team and therefore contribute to players' salaries, teams like Hamilton lose money, which means fans aren't paying the whole freight. Also, just because your purchases help to offset cost doesn't grant you the right know what the employees make. Purchases made by Tim Horton's customers pay for those salaries, but you wouldn't dare walk into your local coffee shop and ask to know what the guy or gal behind the counter makes.

I'm not surprised at the stances taken by the respective groups; reporters want to know more and players (and their wives) want to keep their privacy. I also don't think either side is wrong, I just happen to side with Kevin Glenn and Nikki Jimenez.

I am sure this is an issue that will continue to spring up, but until a really strong reason for publicizing salaries is made – and that has yet to happen, in my opinion – the status quo is just fine. Players are people too, and just because they are talented enough to make a living in a high-profile profession, does not mean they lose the right to their financial privacy. I don't see how a fan's enjoyment of the game is enhanced by knowing what the players make. I understand that transparency is important, but so is individual privacy. On this issue, privacy should win out.

Ryan Hinds' Worthy Cause

The CFL players do untold amounts of charitable work, whether it be running football camps, doing stuff in the communities they play in or helping out in their hometowns. CFL players are as generous with their spare time as any athlete on the planet, and the league does an excellent job of recognizing the players' contributions off the field, and awards one such player at year's end with the Tom Pate Memorial Award at the annual CFL Awards banquet.

Ryan Hinds is just the latest to use his burgeoning stardom to give something back. Hinds has partnered up with the non-profit organization Guyana Help the Kids and has started his own blog to help spread the word. Guyanna Help the Kids does its charitable work in the field of health care, and Hinds will volunteer his time by going back to his home country with doctors from McMaster in March.

Stories like this don't make the headlines, and even when they are published they sometimes get overlooked. I hope Hinds finds as much success in this arena as he has on the football field.