WEEKEND CFL NOTEBOOK

The biggest stars in the Canadian Football League (CFL) will be in attendance at Mark’s CFL Week in Regina, Saskatchewan from March 21-26. More than 50 top performers and fan favourites from all teams will be accessible to media and fans throughout the week as they prepare for the 2017 season.

Players recently confirmed include:

Bryan Burnham, Anthony Coombs, Derek Dennis, Solomon Elimimian, Greg Ellingson, Jeff Fuller, SJ Green, Ernest Jackson, Jonathon Jennings, Jeremiah Johnson, Brian Jones, Nik Lewis, Stefan Logan, Marquay McDaniel, Chad Owens, Chris Rainey, Kenny Shaw, Diontae Spencer, Tyrell Sutton, Terrence Toliver, Winston Venable, Chris Williams, and Odell Willis.

Players previously confirmed include:

Manny Arceneaux, Rob Bagg, Adarius Bowman, Zach Collaros, DaVaris Daniels, Darian Durant, Weston Dressler, Sam Giguère, Kevin Glenn, Andrew Harris, Trevor Harris, Charleston Hughes, Willie Jefferson, Ted Laurent, Simoni Lawrence, Shawn Lemon, Taylor Loffler, Jerome Messam, Bo Levi Mitchell, Henoc Muamba, Matt Nichols, Antoine Pruneau, Mike Reilly, Naaman Roosevelt, Almondo Sewell, JC Sherritt, Alex Singleton, Brad Sinopoli, Luke Tasker, Jamaal Westerman, John White, Drew Willy, and Bear Woods.

In other news, fan access to all events for the Western Regional Combine and the National Combine, presented by adidas is now at full capacity. CFL.ca will be livestreaming Combine events at FanFest in Regina and online for fans coast-to-coast-to-coast.

Tickets to the VIP reception for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame class of 2017 announcement are now available to the public and can be purchased here.

Mark’s CFL Week will be held in Regina, Saskatchewan from March 21-26. One of the biggest off-season events in league history, it features two days of media availability for the league’s top stars, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame class of 2017 announcement, Rules Committee and Competition Committee meetings, head coach media conferences, a week-long FanFest, the CFL National Combine presented by adidas, and more.
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TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts signed veteran American linebacker-defensive back Rico Murray on Friday.

The five-foot-11, 203-pound Murray spent the last four seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Murray appeared in 50 career games with the Ticats, registering 180 tackles, 11 special-teams tackles, three sacks, nine interceptions (returning one for a TD) and four forced fumbles.

Following his collegiate career at Kent State, Murray spent time with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and Edmonton Eskimos.
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MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes turned to a veteran of the NFL and U.S. university football in naming Bruce Read as special teams co-ordinator on Friday.

Read, 55, has always worked with special teams in more than 30 years of coaching.

He replaces Kavis Reed, who was promoted to general manager in December.

“We are thrilled to add a coach as accomplished as Bruce Read to coach our special teams,” Alouettes coach Jacques Chapdelaine said in a release. “His experience, at the professional and college level, his attention to detail and his passion make him a great addition to our strong coaching staff, which is now complete for the next season.”

Read worked the last two seasons at the University of Nebraska under former Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach Mike Riley, but was fired in November with the Cornhuskers’ special teams struggling and with some fans questioning his reported US$450,000 salary. Read had previously worked under Riley at Oregon.

Read, of Santa Rosa, Calif., has also coached for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and San Diego Chargers in the NFL.