55 Yard Line

Former Montreal Alouettes' staffer Mark Clermont sentenced to life in prison in Australia on drug trafficking charges

From working with the Montreal Alouettes to receiving a life sentence in Australia this week for a road roller-based scheme to import cocaine and methamphetamine, it's been a weird five years for Mark Clermont. Clermont was a part-time member of the Alouettes' strength and conditioning staff from 2007 to 2009 while also working at a Montreal health club and helping to train NHL players like Pascal Leclaire, but soon after the Alouettes  won the 2009 Grey Cup, he left for Australia to set up a machinery import business. That business, which prosecutors say was just a front for drug smuggling, was what eventually led to his arrest and charges after police seized 85.5 kilograms of pure cocaine and 192.9 kilograms of pure methylamphetamine, with a street value estimated at $255 million Canadian.  From Tu Thanh Ha and Sean Gordon in  The Globe and Mail , here's what happened in Australia:

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Kelly Bates has gone from CFL RBs coach to NCAA head coach without leaving Greater Vancouver

There have been plenty of notable coaching changes over this offseason, but one announced this week combines one of the biggest differences in job description with one of the shortest geographical moves. That would be the Simon Fraser University Clan's hire of Kelly Bates, who was previously the B.C. Lions' running backs coach and Canadian draft coordinator, but didn't have his contract renewed following B.C.'s hire of Jeff Tedford as head coach. Bates is not just going from a position coach to a head coach, but also from Canadian professional football to American college football, which can be a difficult transition. Fortunately, the geographical transition won't be as hard; Bates' new job is at the SFU campus in Burnaby, just 10 and a half miles from his old job at the Lions' facility in Surrey. 

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Dan LeFevour signing boosts Montreal's quarterback depth, but will he get a chance to play?

The Montreal Alouettes' signing of receiver Nik Lewis Wednesday afternoon looked like a good fit for both the player and the team, but while their Wednesday evening signing of quarterback Dan LeFevour is a boost for the team, it may be more ambiguous for the player. LeFevour is a nice addition for Montreal; in the wake of Kevin Glenn's signing with Saskatchewan, he was clearly the best quarterback left on the free-agent market (and there's a case that he's a better signing than Glenn; he's less proven, but is younger with more upside and put up better per-game numbers in 2014), and he gives the Alouettes some much-needed depth behind Jonathon Crompton. However, the question is if LeFevour will get much of a chance to play with Montreal.

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Long-time Stampeder Nik Lewis announces his signing with the Alouettes on Twitter

One of the Calgary Stampeders' longest-tenured players is moving on to new pastures. Import receiver Nik Lewis had been with the team since 2004, posting 11,250 receiving yards and 65 touchdowns for them across 11 regular seasons and helping them win two Grey Cups, but he battled an ankle injury this year and had trouble cracking the lineup when he returned, recording just 37 catches for 377 yards in the regular season. He became a free agent this offseason, and while some figured there was still a chance he'd return to Calgary, Lewis himself shot down that idea, announcing on Twitter Wednesday afternoon that he's signed with the Montreal Alouettes: 

I would like to say thank you to all the Stampeders fans, coaches, and management for a wonderful 11 yrs. Truly a magical ride

I have the upmost respect for Huff and the rest of the Stampeders coaching Staff.They do a great job of putting great product on the field

Thank u to all the players that I have taken the field with in Calgary, I will truly miss that locker room.

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Maurice Price embraces 'newness' with Ottawa Redblacks

Being traded from the Grey Cup champs to a second-year Ottawa Redblacks team coming off a 2-16 debut initially took Maurice Price aback, yet it has not set him back.

The Redblacks' mid-January trade with the Calgary Stampeders of leading tackler Jasper Simmons and receiver Dan Buckner for Price portended a complete overhaul of the receiving spots. Earlier this month, Ottawa added three pairs of sure hands in free agency, inking slotback Ernest Jackson (813 yards for B.C.), wide receiver Greg Ellingson (429 for Eastern champion Hamilton) and Canadian wide receiver Brad Sinopoli, a former University of Ottawa star. Price, who's pencilled in to give Ottawa's offence the vertical element it lacked last season, was the first piece of the puzzle.

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Remembrances of John Barrow, from his time with both the Tiger-Cats and the Argonauts

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts have always had a fierce rivalry, but there have been some players and executives who have made notable contributions to both clubs. One was John Barrow, who passed away Tuesday at 79, leaving a remarkable legacy with both teams. Barrow became a true CFL legend, and one who should be appreciated by CFL fans throughout Southern Ontario and beyond.

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CFL, Toronto Argonauts get the 'Family Guy' treatment

Considering that the Toronto Argonauts will play a home game in Fort McMurray, Alta., this season, being made sport of on Family Guy hardly seems like a burden.

During Sunday's episode of the FOX network animated series, a cutaway imagining a Hard Knocks: CFL  TV series (a reference to the Hard Knocks reality show) made light of Canadians' excessive politeness and low-key ways, along with the low pay scale of the Canadian Football League.  Obviously training camps in the CFL are a grind, like any football training camp, but it plays on the stereotype that it is a less serious league.  Even if you love the CFL, you'll probably be inclined to laugh.

Training camp is probably the only time a CFL team would have two Canadians wearing single-digit jerseys. I am guessing neither player was a quarterback.

Compared to how Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has treated other leagues, the CFL got off fairly scot-free.  Compare the above with a previoius portrayal of the NFL that referenced the suicide of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson:

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The 2014-15 offseason/free agency grades, East Division

There are still plenty of CFL free agents out there, but a lot of the big names have already signed. In fact, this year, many of the biggest names didn't even make it to free agency, with eight of the nine available league all-stars signing new deals with their previous team or heading to the NFL. While there are still other signings and the Canadian draft ahead, we have a pretty good picture of what each of the CFL's teams will look like in 2015, and how that's changed from last year. It's important to consider both the offseason and the free agency period together here; some teams didn't do much in the first few days of free agency, but made big moves before the period opened. We can't predict exactly how any of these moves will work out, or what else teams will do in the coming days to bolster their rosters, but we can at least get a sense of how each team has changed since the end of the 2014 season. With that in mind, here are grades out of 10 for each East Division team, following the same format we've used before. Remember, these grades are about how the team's changed since the end of the season, not how they stack up overall. Go here for a look at the West Division teams.

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