When I shattered one record after another with my unprecedented run of rants about the Jags, I didn’t expect to be coming back days later with another streak to rival it. Something like that is an once-in-a-lifetime streak, lightning in a bottle, and something that we should all just sit back and appreciate. I know I have.
So when I did my take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Art Briles on Tuesday, I hadn’t talked about the CFL in a long time. No Tiger-Cats talk. No Blue Bombers bashing. No RedBlacks roundtable. No Argonuats arguing. And I hadn’t done anything on the Rough Riders with a space or the Roughriders without a space in a long time. So I figured Tuesday was a one-off. Boy, was I wrong…
Because here we are, not 48 hours later, and the Ti-Cats are back at it again. Just days after they hired Art Briles and then fired Art Briles in a matter of hours, comes word from TSN that Hamilton worked out one Jonathan Paul Manziel last week.
They really are looking to outdo themselves. That is one hell of a week. Hire a guy who ran one of the worst programs in America and work out one of the biggest busts in America. Fantastic job, Hamilton. But I’ve got to give them credit, they’re trying everything. And kicking the tires on Manziel went about as well as you’d expect.
According to TSN, “Among other concerns, the Ticats were not convinced Manziel is in in game shape or that his off-field regiment is consistent with that of someone dedicated to professional football.”
Or to put it another way, there were, according to one source, “too many red flags.”
Really? That’s the most damning thing that’s every been said about Johnny Manziel and it’s not even close. The team that hired Art Briles looked at Manziel and said, “too many red flags.”
They brought in a guy who can’t get a job in America, a guy who ran a program where his players were accused of more than 50 rapes in four years, and that was fine. But they saw Manziel and said, nah, too many red flags.
But according to PFT, it’s not completely dead yet. The team is still very interested in him and there’s still a chance that Manziel could end up in Hamilton, red flags and all. I don’t even know how to react to that other than to say that’s just Hamilton going Hamilton. And, no, this isn’t going to turn into some chance for all the rest of you Canadian clones to dump on the proud, shiny, and up and coming city of Hamilton. This isn’t about the city that gave us Martin Short and Tim Horton. This is about the football team that’s 0-8 and making one bizarre decision after another.
Let’s hire Art Briles. Let’s give Johnny Manziel a workout. Hey, maybe they should check out Robert Griffin III? Oh, wait, they actually do already have his rights. Of course they do. How much more Hamilton Tiger-Cat could you get than a potential quarterback depth chart of RGIII and Manziel with Art Briles calling the plays. What, Jawalrus Ruffles didn’t want any of that? OJ Simpson’s going to be released in a little over a month and at this rate, you know the Tiger-Cats are going to want to know what he has left in the tank.
I’ve gone years without mentioning the Ti-Cats, but now I’ve gone deep on them twice in one week. Can I make it a hat trick tomorrow? I’m not going to force it. In fact, I’m going to avoid it, but knowing the Ti-Cats, they’re going to do something and force their way into the show.
