Sticky Extended, BC Releases Bruce and Parker

January is usually the slowest time of the year for CFL news, but yet here we are in the middle of the month and we have news galore, from Hamilton and abroad, but both of interest to Tiger-Cat fans.

We'll start with the news that Dave Stala has signed a contract extension. The man known as "Sticky" will be catching passes for the Ti-Cats through the 2014 season.

This is great news. I am a huge Dave Stala fan and I think he is one of the best second down receivers in the game. Stala was severely underused last year; he recorded Tiger-Cat lows in catches and yards, and was never integrated into the offense. He was rarely used by former head coach George Cortez and only seemed to be a part of the game plan when he had to be. I think if Cortez was retained, Stala would be elsewhere. He clearly wasn't in Cortez's plans going forward. Kent Austin feels differently and that is a good thing. Stala will never dominate a game, but he is a key part of the offense and I hope his re-signing means he'll be used more this upcoming season.

The second bit of news comes from BC, where the Lions have released receiver Arland Bruce and defensive back Byron Parker.

These moves come one day after BC quarterback Travis Lulay was given a huge two-year, $900,000 contract extension from the Lions. I have to think that part of the reason two high-priced veterans were let go is for salary cap reasons. Both Bruce and Parker can still play, and any team would be lucky to have them, so they couldn't have been released due to performance. I expect both to be sought after.

I maintain that the trade that sent Bruce to BC was a horrible one. I hated it then and I still hate it now, so I would welcome Bruce back with open arms. Having said that, I doubt the team will bring him back. The Ti-Cats have a plethora of offensive weapons and they don't need Bruce. It would be great to see him back in Hamilton, but I think the chances of him returning fall somewhere between "slim" and "none" (with it being a lot closer to "none").

Parker, on the other hand, seems like a no brainer. The Ti-Cats need DBs and Parker plays DB. Add in that he is buddies with new Tiger-Cat defensive coordinator Orlondo Steinauer and this is a marriage that makes a lot of sense. Parker would instantly upgrade one of Hamilton's weakest areas if he was signed. Picking up Parker makes too much sense not to happen.