THE POINT AFTER: AMBROSIE TO RULE ON TICATS’ WILL HILL
TORONTO – CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie isn’t easing into his new position.
Ambrosie officially began his tenure Monday less than a week after being hired to replace the departed Jeffrey Orridge. His first order of business is reviewing the ejection of Hamilton defensive back Will Hill from the Tiger-Cats’ 37-20 road loss Saturday night to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and deciding upon appropriate discipline.
Hill was ejected for making contact with an official. In the third quarter following a Saskatchewan convert, a visibly upset Hill grabbed the official by his shirt but television replays seemed to show him letting go shortly afterwards.
It’s unclear what happened to irritate Hill, who’s in his first CFL season. During his NFL career with the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens (2012-15), Hill was suspended four times for testing positive for a banned substance.
Hill received a 10-game ban from the NFL in March 2016 for violating its substance abuse policy and was subsequently released by Baltimore.
Losing Hill would be a big blow for Hamilton (0-2), which is already without 1,000-yard receivers Andy Fantuz and Terrence Toliver, both out with knee injuries.
Last season, Orridge fined Hamilton coach Kent Austin $10,000 and banished him to the spotter’s booth for one game for making contact with an official. It marked the first time in CFL history that the league had disallowed a coach from being on the field with his team for a game.
Austin made contact with official Tom Cesari when he swung his hand in frustration while protesting a call on the field during a game last season. Austin said he had apologized to Cesari, but in his ruling Orridge said he couldn’t overlook that Austin actually made contact with the official on the field.
Also last season, then Montreal receiver Duron Carter received a one-game suspension for bumping Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell during a game. Carter appealed the ban but it was later upheld by an independent arbitrator.
Carter is now with the Riders and have seven catches for 63 yards and a TD versus Hamilton.
GREEN ROLLING: There’s seemingly nothing wrong with S.J. Green’s knee.
The veteran receiver had 10 catches for 210 yards and a TD in the Toronto Argonauts’ come-from-behind 26-25 road win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday night. It’s the second time in three games that Green had surpassed the 100-yard receiving plateau.
Not bad, considering Green missed most of last year with a serious knee injury. In April, the Montreal Alouettes dealt the 32-year-old receiver to Toronto for 2017 sixth-round pick and conditional 2018 selection.
Green has helped stake Toronto (2-1) atop the East Division standings ahead of Montreal (1-2), Ottawa (0-2-1) and Hamilton (0-2). Green is currently second overall in receiving (19 catches, 367 yards, one TD) behind Greg Ellingson of the Redblacks (25 receptions, 369 yards, one TD).
EAST VERSUS WEST: West Division teams are getting the better of their Eastern counterparts so far this season.
West clubs hold a commanding 5-1-1 record in head-to-head matchups with East Division squads. The Montreal Alouettes have the Eastern conference’s lone win, that being a 17-16 decision over Saskatchewan the first week of the season.
But Montreal secured the win after Riders’ kicker Tyler Crapigna missed a 45-yard field goal on the final play of the game. The Ottawa Redblacks have the tie, a 31-31 decision with Calgary on June 23.
THIS ‘N THAT: Just how big a weapon is kicker Justin Medlock for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers? He hasn’t missed either on field goals (six of six) or conversions (five of five) and sports a 45.1-yard punting average, which is second only to B.C.’s Ty Long (46.4-yard average) … Bad news for Winnipeg. Head coach Mike O’Shea said Monday linebacker Ian Wild, who suffered an upper-body injury in Friday night’s 29-10 loss to Calgary, will be out for a while. O’Shea added that defensive end Tristan Okpalaugo, who left last week’s game in the second and didn’t return due to an unspecified injury, is doubtful for Thursday’s home game versus Toronto … Veteran defensive back A.J. Jefferson tweeted Monday he’d been released by the Ottawa Redblacks. Jefferson was in his first season with the defending Grey Cup champions after playing the two previous years with Toronto. Jefferson, 29, said the Redblacks told him they wanted to go younger … The Montreal Alouettes signed veteran defensive back Brandon Stewart on Monday. Stewart, 31, played previously with Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton and B.C., registering 300 tackles, 13 interceptions and three sacks over 125 career games.
(Canadian Press)
