How dumb is the ownership of the Calgary Stampeders?

(Calgary Stampeder part-owner and president Ted Hellard)

Ted Hellard really needs to give his head a shake! The president and part owner of the Calgary Stampeders has done a remarkable job for the most part since taking over the reigns of that football team nearly 3 years ago, but his dealing of the recent turmoil swirling around Stamps head coach Tom Higgins is inexcusable!

Hellard could have denied the reports, which have indicated Higgins will be out at the end of the season and replaced by John Hufnagel. He could have defused the speculation as nothing more than fodder. But we never heard that denial from Ted, now did we? The fact that any-one in Stampeder management would go behind the back of a good man like Higgins who re-built this football team almost overnight in the wake of some awful times (see Matt Dunigan's coaching record), to hire somebody else right in the middle of a playoff run is nothing more than sheer stupidity.

Perhaps Mr. Hellard wants it this way! Maybe he wants his team to adopt an "us against the world" motivation to beat the Roughriders on Sunday, knowing full well it happened for Danny Barrett's Riders last November. However, it is worth pointing out that philosophy still wasn't enough to save Danny in the end and it probably won't be enough to save Higgins either. But should we really be surprised to see this kind of idiocy from the Calgary camp going into the playoffs? I mean after all, let's not forget it was Ted Hellard himself who made sure Gainer couldn't get a spot at McMahon Stadium last fall. A lot of good that did them didn't it!