The long-rumoured firing of Edmonton Eskimos' head coach Richie Hall (pictured, right) was made official this morning at a news conference. General manager Eric Tillman attributed the move to a difference in philosophies rather than any lack of talent on Hall's part:

"After meeting with Richie this week, I think unfortunately there was a mutual realization we had different philosophies regarding how to best build a highly successful franchise in Edmonton," Tillman said in a statement.

"There are multiple ways, of course, to win championships. But to achieve the ultimate goal, it's imperative for those in leadership positions to share the same mindset and approach."

As Tillman listed mindset as a key factor in his decision to get rid of Hall, it's important to keep that in mind when looking at potential candidates to replace him. Here's a breakdown of some of the prominent figures that might be considered:

Kavis Reed: Reed, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' defensive coordinator and

Plenty of CFL players have second jobs that keep them busy during the offseason or after they retire, but Markeith Knowlton (pictured above bringing down Montreal's Brian Bratton Oct. 22) has chosen one of the more unconventional alternate career paths out there. Rather than focusing on something that would seem like a natural transition and a chance to use his football talents, Knowlton wants to be a barber. He even incorporates it into his CFL life, going from battling teammates in practice to cutting their hair afterwards:

There's no word on if he offers his teammates "Fantuz Flakes" shampoo or not, but here's what The Hamilton Spectator's Drew Edwards wrote about Knowlton's alternate career:

Once a week, the Ticat linebacker can be found in one of the team's meeting rooms at Ivor Wynne Stadium, a pair of clippers in his hand and a lineup by the door. While his teammates carry on in that loud, outsized way that a gaggle of players often do - "it's almost like a talk show,"

If Edmonton Eskimos' head coach Richie Hall (pictured above at a press conference after a September loss) isn't fired by Friday, there are going to be a lot of media outlets with egg all over their faces. The rumours Hall was on his way out started as soon as the Eskimos' playoff hopes ended Saturday with their loss to Saskatchewan, and they got some extra fuel Monday with a piece from The Edmonton Journal's Mario Annicchiarico that predicted Hall's days were numbered:

"Whether head coach Richie Hall is there to guide the team is something Tillman will consider this week after meetings with staff. The betting is he makes a change and the buzz is he may look to former Eskimos defender Kavis Reed, the defensive co-ordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this season, as a replacement if he's available."

The rumours continued to grow Tuesday with Dave Naylor's report at TSN that Edmonton could make a decision on their head coach by the end of the week, and that "few around the CFL will

The CFL's all-star teams were announced today, and, as usual, there were both some excellent choices and some surprising omissions. There's also some interesting data on the ages and CFL experience of the chosen players, who were picked in balloting that involved the Football Reporters of Canada, the CFL head coaches and fans from across the country. You can find the full list of all-star selections by team here and by position here. Before we get to the trends, let's discuss a couple of the most notable omissions and a couple of the best selections.

Omissions:

Solomon Elimimian, linebacker, B.C. (pictured, top): Elimimian was chosen by the Vancouver chapter of the FRC as the Lions' candidate for rookie of the year, and he's been a dominant force on defence since the earliest days of the Lions' season. He's ninth in the league with a team-leading 78 tackles, and he can dial up the punishment on defence. That's pretty evident from the following highlight video, made from his plays in a

Some of the CFL's greatest characters over the years have been punters and kickers. From Lions' legend Lui Passaglia to Saskatchewan's Dave "Robokicker" Ridgeway, Edmonton's famed Hank Ilesic and Winnipeg's ageless Bob Cameron and controversial Troy Westwood (now attempting to take his talents to Wipeout, there hasn't been a shortage of colourful CFL players in those roles. It looks like we might have an excellent new addition to the ranks, though, in Saskatchewan's Eddie Johnson (the punter, not the American soccer star who plays in England, the English soccer star who plays in the U.S., the Civil War general, the NBA player, the tenor or the corporate titan).

Rob Vanstone of The Regina Leader-Post had a great feature on Johnson (pictured, right) yesterday, and he's a fascinating subject. Johnson didn't exactly have a conventional path to the CFL; born in Newport Beach, California, he played his college football for the relatively obscure Idaho State Bengals, who compete in the Big

Last week, The Winnipeg Free Press broke the news that the Blue Bombers' new stadium was now projected to cost $45 million more than originally expected. That news continues to have significant repercussions, and the Free Press broke another interesting story on that front today. The paper's Bartley Kives reports that former Canwest Global part-owner, director and executive vice president David Asper (pictured, top, at the May 2007 press conference announcing that his stadium proposal had been selected) wasn't at the latest meeting over the stadium, and apparently neither were any representatives of his company, Creswin Properties. That's notable because that company was expected to build the stadium under the existing agreement, so their complete absence from these talks suggests a new direction may be on the horizon.

The structure of the existing stadium deal is quite complicated, but it basically involved Asper's company building a stadium and receiving some reimbursement from the

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders will both be hosting playoff games this weekend, but that doesn't necessarily make them dominant teams. Quick, which team handed those franchises some of their worst losses this year? If you guessed the 4-14 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, you're absolutely correct! Winnipeg thumped Hamilton 49-29 back in the first week of the season and beat Saskatchewan 31-2 in the Sep. 12 Banjo Bowl (pictured above). Obviously, two games do not a season make, and there are good reasons the Blue Bombers failed to make the playoffs (notably their quarterback issues), but it says a lot about the parity in the league this year that for at least two days of the season, the league's worst team by record looked considerably better than both second-place finishers.

Those games can't be solely chalked up to inconsistent play from Saskatchewan and Hamilton, as odd results have been a larger theme of this CFL campaign as a whole. Who handed the 13-5 Calgary

On the surface, there isn't anything particularly unusual about Montreal Alouettes' president Larry Smith deciding to step down as of December 31. Smith (pictured at this morning's press conference, right) has spent most of his life involved with the CFL, from the nine seasons he suited up for Montreal as a running back from 1972 to 1980 to his five years as the league's commissioner in the 1990s to his time as Alouettes' president from 1997-2001 and again from 2004 until now. Even his son got into the family business; Brad had a successful CIS career at Queen's University and stints with the Alouettes and Argonauts before winding up with the Eskimos. Plenty of people decide to move on after that much time with an organization, and all indications are that Larry Smith's departure is an amicable one.

Everyone needs a change eventually, and Smith certainly has the talent to be successful in whatever field he winds up in; in addition to his success as league commissioner and his time as