Tidbits from Around the League (All With Ties to the Ti-Cats)

A busy couple of days in the CFL. Let's start with the most recent (and pompous) news, shall we?

Adriano Belli has literally set sail. Belli retired today with an elaborate send off at the Toronto Harbourfront. I have made my hatred for Adriano Belli well known, so it would be phony of me to say anything nice about him now. What I will do, however, is not say anything bad about him. He's retired, and that's all that matters.

The Calgary Stampeders announced today that they have released Non-Import Defensive Tackle Mike Labinjo. In what was easily the biggest prognosticating blunder of 2010, I predicted that Mike Labinjo would be the West nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the beginning of the season (scroll down, you'll find it). Boy was I wrong. I do wonder if the Cats will have any interest in him, since they showed interest in Adriano Belli. Canadian Defensive Tackles are worth their weight in gold, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Cats kicked the tires on Labinjo. If he can keep his mind focused on the game, he could be a big addition for the Tabbies. For some reason, I feel like he's headed to Toronto. Don't ask me why, but it's just a gut feeling I have.

A couple of stories out of Winnipeg that have Tiger-Cat connections are the retirement of Ryan Donnelly (who played six years with the Cats) and the release of Brock Ralph (and, to a lesser extent, Chris Davis and Andre Sadeghian). I'm sure Ralph will get looked at by another team. Canadian Receivers always do. Perhaps he could be headed back to Edmonton? I don't know, but I wouldn't expect him to be out of work for long. He will be in someone's training camp, I would think.