After months of speculation, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have brought in Brendan Taman.
The former Blue Bomber General Manager will replace Tony Playter as Director of Football Administration. The buzz around the league when Taman resigned from the Blue Bombers was Taman would be brought in by Saskatchewan as an heir apparent to General Manager Eric Tillman during Tillman's court case.
But Taman put to rest those rumours on his first day back in Green and White.
The Roughriders have released the following players:
Non-Import / DL / Nuvraj Bassi
Import / WR / Todd Blythe
Non-Import / K/P / Jeff Bolen
Import / WR / Brandon Childress
Import / RB / Jason Geathers
Non-Import / DB / Sasha Glavic
Import / QB / Juan Joseph
Import / WR / Casey McGahee
Import / LB / Sam Olajabutu
Import / DL / David Patterson
Import / LB / Brandon Perkins
Non-Import / OL / Brad Peters
Import / WB / Byron Ross
Some members of the Roughriders strutted their stuff today at Northgate mall, to show off the team's new vintage jerseys and merchandise.
The 60's inspired jerseys are bringing back the old football and wheat logo.
VP of Sales and Marketing for the Riders Steve Mazurak says Rider Nation has an insatiable appetite for merchandise. But, he says that's what has helped put the Riders in such a good financial situation. He says Roughriders gear accounts for 54 percent of merchandise sold through the CFL.
Here's to a swift kick out the door to the pre-season and all that comes with it. 70+ players on game day rosters, the in and out and in and out of swapping players back and forth. Pre-season is for the coaches to evaluate the team but now that it's over, it's nice we'll see 42 players take their place on the sideline. (Though it may sound like I hate pre-season football, I still want some games on TV over Poker or classic boxing, I thought this is what TSN 2 was for)
Rider fans will get a pretty clear picture who the starting 24 will be for the regular season opener tonight. Good thing because the Riders didn't give much of a hint last Wednesday in their pre-season debut in Edmonton.
The starters will play the first half and some into the third quarter, which means the chances for those on the cut line for the Riders may only have 10 plays or so and those plays have to be their very best or cut down day will be a tough one.
If you're going to the game tonight here are some things to look out for;
