Marchese, MacNeill on board with Gryphons staff

The much-anticipated hires of two full-time assistant football coaches have been made at the University of Guelph.

Joining rookie head coach Stu Lang's staff will be defensive coordinator Kevin MacNeill, a former linebacker with the WLU Golden Hawks and head coach of the Guelph Bears in the OVFL, and offensive coordinator Perry Marchese, who brings CIS, CFL and OVFL coaching experience to the fold. Further details on both men can be found at the Gryphons website.

Hesitant to hand out congratulations

On Sunday, the Saint Mary’s Huskies won their first CIS men’s hockey championship, defeating the Alberta Golden Bears 3-2 in an overtime thriller.

The success of the Huskies, though, has often been overshadowed by the story of a particular player on the team: Mike Danton.

Some of you may remember Danton from his brief stint in the NHL, an uneventful 87-game career with New Jersey and St. Louis that abruptly ended in 2004 when he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Danton later pled guilty for his actions in a murder-for-hire plot that saw him hire an undercover police officer to kill his agent, David Frost, a man with whom Danton shared a suspicious relationship.

Details of the conspiracy remain somewhat vague due to Danton’s unwillingness to speak in detail about the case. It was later reported that Danton’s target was not Frost, but rather, his own father. In an unrelated, yet equally puzzling matter, Frost was also charged and later acquitted of 12 counts of sexual exploitation with young males and females between the ages of 14 and 16 during his time working in junior hockey. Frost has always been known as a controlling and mysterious agent, with his relationship with Danton arguably being the most troubling of all.

The details of the Danton-Frost incident have been written about at length – both in newspapers and on the internet – and make for very interesting reading that I would recommend to anyone.

Danton spent 63 months in the American and Canadian prison systems before being paroled in September 2009. In January, the 29-year-old forward became a full-time student at Saint Mary’s University (SMU) and began playing for the university’s varsity hockey team.

Huskies players, head coach Trevor Stienburg, and athletic director Steve Sarty all stood behind the decision to bring Danton into the league.  But I’m hesitant to offer congratulations to a player with Danton’s baggage.

I have written at length about the purity of Canadian university sport and its refreshing absence of gossipy dramas, salary issues and egos. And sadly, Danton’s participation in the league works against everything that I believe is right about CIS athletics.

Danton’s crime was very serious; it was not petty theft or speeding. He was convicted and incarcerated for a lengthy period of time for trying to have someone killed. Regardless of the fact that he has served his time, is this the kind of individual that should be representing Canadian university sport? At 29 years of age with a serious criminal conviction to his name, a league of 18 to 23-year-old university athletes is not his place.

Other writers and supporters of the Huskies have applauded SMU for its benevolence in helping with Danton’s rehabilitation; however, it is also worth noting that prior to when Danton joined the team, the team struggled to attract fans. Following his addition, ticket sales skyrocketed, suggesting that administration looked at the opportunity to add Danton as a chance to draw attention to a struggling program, regardless of his background.

I recognize that life is about second chances, but there is a time and place for these examples of one’s character reinvention, and this is not one of them.

I have spoken to numerous varsity athletes in the past two years and I can confidently say that these are some of the most passionate, committed individuals of high character that you will ever meet. To think that Danton took the roster spot of one of these athletes is deplorable. The decision of the athletic department at SMU to allow a player of Danton’s status to take the place of a student-athlete with a similar level of talent and far higher level of integrity is truly sad.

Gryphtalk weighs in on Stu Lang hiring

On today's show, we rolled up our sleeves to discuss the Stu Lang hiring by the Gryphons football program. Interviews included athletic director Tom Kendall and former Gryphons quarterback Justin Dunk.

Click HERE to go to the host site for today's show. First select "Regular Download" on the right, and then on the next page, the actual mp3 download link is at the bottom.

Enjoy!

photo credit: Rashaad Bhamjee

Gryphons tab Stu Lang to be new head football coach: Former receivers coach takes reins, bringing athletic and professional experience

“Stu Lang is the right man, at the right time for Guelph. We are very fortunate to have him lead our program to accomplish the goal of competing for a conference and national championship.” – Tom Kendall, athletic director.

photo credit: Gryphons Athletics

After a dedicated search to find their next head coach, the Guelph Gryphons football team has found their new leader.

Sources: Stu Lang will be next Gryphons head football coach

Exciting news out of the University of Guelph!

Multiple sources surrounding the team have indicated that current Guelph Gryphons receivers coach and former CFLer Stu Lang will be named the new head coach of the team. Greg Layson reported that Lang was interviewed for the position last week. His write-up can be found HERE. As Layson indicated, money is not a critical factor in Lang's desire to coach this team as he is already financially secure given his family's labeling business, CCL Industries. Lang's Gryphon bio can be found HERE. Players were impressed with his dedication and commitment as a coach this year.

Lang had a successful CIS and CFL career as a receiver with the Queen's Gaels and Edmonton Eskimos, winning one Yates Cup and five Grey Cups in the 70s and 80s. Last year was his first year coaching Gryphons receivers, a group that included Jedd Gardner, Dave Harrison, Jamie Shaw and budding rookie Dillon Dimitroff, the nephew of Atlanta Falcons GM Tom Dimitroff Jr.

Athletic Director Tom Kendall has not yet confirmed that Lang will be named head coach, but did indicate that there should be a press conference announcing a hiring sometime next week--likely Thursday.

Running culture equally unique as it is successful

It was last Saturday night, when my BlackBerry went into the all-too-familiar vibrating convulsions. I was waiting for one email in particular: the press release with the final results from the CIS track and field championships. The Gryphon men had gone into the final day of the weekend-long set of events with a slim lead over their longtime rivals, the Windsor Lancers.


As expected, the mobile alert contained the news that I was hoping for, headlined by “Gryphon Men Win National Track Championship.” Chalk up another national title for the Gryphons unbelievable running programs, this one decided by a mere one point in the final race of the weekend.

Gryphon excellence at CFL E-Camp: Guelph sends largest single-school contingent to Toronto for three-day testing

With Canadian Football League (CFL) scouts and coaches hoping to get a glimpse of the league’s incoming homegrown talent, six members of the Guelph Gryphons put their skills on display at the annual Evaluation Camp on the weekend.

The Gryphons football program sent more athletes to the three-day event than any other university, proving that despite their underachieving 3-5 record during the regular season, the individual talent on the team is among the nation’s best.

Debriefing the NIC

Due to crappy weather and our radio show being a little delayed yesterday (I’ll post the audio later today), I showed up to the National Invitational Combine (NIC) at the U of T Varsity Centre around 3pm yesterday, about an hour after drills got going.

For those that don’t know, the NIC is a private combine for university students – almost exclusively Canadian – to show their stuff to the same CFL scouts, coaches, GMs who will be patrolling the same field tomorrow for the CFL’s formal Evaluation Camp. The event was run by TSN analyst and former CFL player Duane Forde and Mike Gough, both from Canadian Football Scouting (www.canadianfootballscouting.com).

Ineffective officiating casts dark shadow over hockey finals

First, let me make one thing clear: I am not usually a proponent of criticizing officiating. In any sport.

If an umpire has a wide strike zone, expand your batting eye. If a referee has a tendency for calling soft fouls in the paint, ease up on the contact under the basket. If skating judges prefer jumps to footwork, you’d better get some more air.

Because, although there are rules in every sport, officiating remains highly subjective. It is what it is, and human error is inevitable in every case.

This week on Gryphtalk...

Today's show is now uploaded on sendspace so feel free to check it out. The download link is at the bottom of the page and it's an mp3 file that will play in just about all media players.

Gryphtalk from Friday, March 5

Gryphons drop Game 1 in OUA Finals

The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team fell 2-0 to the Laurier Golden Hawks in tonight's opening game of the best-of-three OUA Finals between the two teams. Laurier continues to be undefeated in regulation this season while it was the Gryphons first playoff defeat.

Liz Knox, the league's top goaltender, made 29 saves to nail down the shutout and Caitlin Muirhead and Paula Lagamba tallied for the 'Hawks.

Laurier comes into this series as the odds-on favourite to repeat as OUA champs for the 7th consecutive year. Remember, these two teams went the distance in the OUA Finals last year, with Guelph winning Game 1 before Laurier bounced back with wins in Games 2 and 3 to take the series, and the league title.

The series shifts back to Guelph on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre on the University of Guelph campus. I, along with Greg Layson will have the call live on the Streaming Sports Network, starting at 2pm as the Gryphons will be fighting to keep their season alive.

Nothing but praise for Walters' decision

In football, arguably more so than any other sport, it is the head coach that drives the team.

The players execute, but the coach implements.

Whether it’s recruiting, planning, motivating, adjusting, or simply, providing the foundation for success, more is demanded of head football coaches than any other boss in any other sport.

Which is what makes Kyle Walters’ decision to move from Gryphons head coach to special teams coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL that much more significant.

Speculation on Walters' replacement

Call it a hunch, but I've gotta think that Bill Brown, current assistant coach with the Gryphons, has to be a leading candidate to replace the recently-departed Kyle Walters as head coach of the Gryphons. Walters stepped down today to pursue professional coaching opportunities and I've heard that he's the guy taking over as Special Teams Coordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL.

Brown is a guy who has a lot of familiarity with the team, as a current longtime coach and former player (the same mould as Walters prior to his hiring). Additionally, he is also heavily involved with the recruiting element of the team, which would maintain a sense of continuity with incoming players. Brown's team bio can be found HERE. I'll let you infer from this what you will, but it seems like a sensible hire.

I'll echo what many others out there are saying that the Gryphons football program is seemingly on the rise. To maintain that level of improvement, Brown seems like a logical choice. Here, you've got a guy familiar with current and future players, as well as other coaches.

This will be a VERY interesting story going forward that I'm really looking forward to covering in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Walters steps down in Guelph. Off to Winnipeg?

University of Guelph Gryphons head coach Kyle Walters has stepped down and rumour has it that he will be named Special Teams Coordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL, filling their second-last coaching vacancy.

Kiriakou wins OUA West rookie honours

Word just came down from the OUA that Gryphons rookie centre Thomas Kiriakou has been named OUA West Rookie of the Year, along with being named to the West's All-Rookie team.

OT heartbreak: Gryphons fall to Thunderwolves in Game 1 of OUA West semis

Things just got a whole lot tougher for the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team.

Despite a miraculous third period comeback that saw the Gryphs rebound from a 3-1 deficit to send the opening game of their playoff series with Lakehead to overtime, it was the Thunderwolves who came out on top as Andy Hyvarinen scored an unassisted goal just 2:01 into the extra frame.

Racing for a loose puck against Gryphons defenceman Tim Priamo, Hyvarinen came up with it as Priamo fell. The Thunderwolves winger streaked in from the right half-boards and beat Gryphons goaltender Scott Van Bommel high on the glove side to give Lakehead the series-opening victory in the teams' best-of-three OUA West semi-final.

The game itself was fast-paced from start to finish, with the Gryphons striking first when Pat Campbell banged in a rebound off a great rush from Matt Lyall, who was sharp all game for the Gryphons, along with linemates Alex Magera and JT MacDonald who got a rare start, but played well.

Lakehead stormed back in the second period, controlling most of the play and receiving goals from Dan Speer and Ryan MacDonald, sending the game to the third period with the Gryphons in unfamiliar territory: trailing.

As the final period began, it was Lakehead who struck first as Matt Caria beat Van Bommel on a well-placed shot that went between the legs of Campbell before slipping through the Gryphon goaltender's pads.

Desperately needing a spark, the Gryphons received it less than a minute later when Thunderwolves defenceman Ryan Baird took an interference penalty, sending Guelph to the powerplay. And on the man advantage, the Gryphons standout rookie trio of Thomas Kiriakou, Nathan Martine and Tim Priamo struck as Martine kept a loose puck in at the blueline, finding Kiriakou just outside the right face-off circle. Kiriakou faked a shot and then fired a cross-ice pass just outside the crease to Priamo who was streaking in from the blueline. The big Gryphon rearguard tipped home Kiriakou's pass to bring the Gryphons within one.

And exactly four minutes later, Kris Belan ripped home a shot from the slot to tie the game at three, sending both teams to overtime, with the Gryphons holding momentum and 'Wolves rookie goaltender Alex Dupuis looking shaken, and struggling with his rebound control.

Nevertheless, it was Lakehead's time to shine in the extra frame with Hyvarinen's game-winner. Priamo was visibly shaken after the play, feeling that he had been tripped by Hyvarinen, leading to the goal. Dupuis, despite playing just three games in the regular season, has taken the lion's share of playing time in the post-season and did just enough to keep the Gryphons at bay, stopping 27 shots for his third playoff win.

The series now shifts to Thunder Bay where the Gryphons will have to win the final two games at the Lakehead Thunderdome, a notoriously difficult place to play. While the Gryphs took two on the road in their quarter-final series with Laurier, the atmosphere in T-Bay will be far more hostile, clearly favouring the home side.

Bucking the trend

Canadian football players in the Canadian Football League. Novel concept, no?

Not so fast if you play quarterback, a position made up exclusively of Americans. Players born, raised and trained south of the border make the journey north of the 49th when the dream of making it in the National Football League begins to falter, taking the place of their Canadian counterparts.

This is not a recent paradox of the game’s most important position being comprised entirely of Americans. Doug Flutie? Raised in Maryland and a Boston College Alum. Damon Allen? Raised on the (American ) West coast and an outstanding two-sport athlete at Cal State Fullerton. Warren Moon? Another left coast native, who played his college ball with the Washington Huskies.

See the trend?

Year after year, Canadian born, raised and trained quarterbacks have ended their university careers and have been left with no real option to continue their careers, despite the fact that this country has a professional football league of its own that should be supporting their further development.

Granted, the CFL has a Canadian quota system in place: half of each team’s roster is reserved for Canadian athletes; however, their college location does not matter (so Canadian-born athletes who play NCAA are part of the Canadian quota) nor does the position that they play. Generally, Canadians on CFL teams are offensive linemen, defensive backs and receivers. Former Gryphons Mike Palmer, Dave McKoy and now Brad Crawford fit the bill.

But as far as quarterbacks go, Canadian signal-callers are extremely rare, with the only successful historical example being Russ Jackson, a McMaster Alum who played professionally with the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 1960s. Recent CIS-grads Tommy Denison and Teale Orban have tried to get a foot in the door, but to no avail, losing jobs to American competition.

But doom and gloom aside, as a great songwriter once said, the times, they are a-changin’.

Maybe.

In this past CIS football seasons, we have witnessed arguably the greatest quarterback play in the history of the league. Erik Glavic (Calgary), Michael Faulds (Western), Danny Brannagan (Queen’s) and Guelph’s own Justin Dunk have combined to shatter all-time passing records for Canadian quarterbacks, raising the bar for quality at the position and reintroducing the age-old argument in favour of Canadian quarterbacks playing at the next level.

And it seems that coaches and general managers in the CFL are starting to listen.

Home-grown talents have brought an entirely new level of legitimacy to the position and the players are being rewarded accordingly.

Glavic, Faulds and Brannagan have all received invites to try out as quarterbacks at the CFL’s upcoming Evaluation Camp in Toronto, to be held in March. Dunk will try out as a receiver and hope that his virtually unparalleled athleticism will be enough to afford him an opportunity to showcase his skills in the professional ranks. No Canadian quarterbacks attended the 2009 E-Camp.

While an invite to the CFL’s E-Camp is by no means a guaranteed professional job – these Canadians have not even been drafted by a CFL team – it is still a giant step in the right direction for these accomplished and remarkably talented athletes.

Glavic and Faulds arguably have the best chance at moving forward. Glavic, a Pickering native and two-time Hec Crighton trophy winner is six-foot-six with a big arm and the ability to move around and outside the pocket. Faulds is a rifle-armed on-field general with incredible heart and the all-time leading passer in CIS history.

Dunk may be the wildcard.

Blessed with good size, exceptional speed, agility and elusiveness, it’s not out of the question to foresee a future for him at wideout in the CFL, especially given the recent success of Canadian receivers in the league. Mike Morreale, Jason Clermont, Andy Fantuz and Rob Bagg come to mind – yeah, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m kind of a fan.

Regardless of how successful Glavic, Faulds, Brannagan and Dunk are in their respective tryouts, these four student-athletes have done a remarkable job of bringing national relevance to the quarterback position once again.

Now someone just needs to give them a chance.

Too little, too late

Despite strong play in the second and third periods, a slow start and a propensity for taking ill-timed penalties proved to be their undoing as the Guelph Gryphons men’s hockey team fell 3-1 to the Waterloo Warriors in Saturday’s Frosty Mug event in downtown Guelph.
The annual event, which took place at the Sleeman Centre, welcomed nearly 1200 Gryphon fans as the Department of Athletics looked to showcase university sport in the greater Guelph community.

Unfortunately, the much-anticipated match up between the red-hot Gryphons and the speedy, tenth-ranked Warriors, finished in favour of the visitors as Waterloo scored twice in the first period and managed to hold off the hard-charging Gryphons in the final 40 minutes.

“When you take as many penalties as we did tonight, you give away momentum,” said Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp. “We were wasting a lot of energy having to kill penalties.”
Late in the game, Waterloo began to replicate the undisciplined play of the Gryphons, leading to nine Guelph powerplays that the home side failed to capitalize on.

“I think [killing penalties] hurt us when we were on the powerplay too,” said Camp. “We didn’t have the same energy, we didn’t execute as well on the powerplay as we have of late.”

Rookie centre Thomas Kiriakou, the Gryphons’ leading scorer this season, echoed his coach’s sentiments concerning the Gryphons’ lackadaisical start and lack of disciplined play.

“When you have a lot of penalties in a game, it’s a little distracting and, as a team, your confidence goes down,” said Kiriakou. “In the first period, we came out slow, and in the second we improved.

“We normally like to play on our toes, forecheck hard, make a play and take the body. We didn’t do that in the first period and [Waterloo] capitalized on that with a couple of goals. That really cost us the game.”

Waterloo came out aggressively in the first period, drawing four Gryphon infractions and tiring the Guelph penalty killers. Chris Ray and Shane Hart beat Gryphon goaltender Scott Van Bommel twice in the first period to put Waterloo in front. After Jake Lalonde answered for the Gryphons halfway through the second, Kyle Schwende scored an insurance marker with less than three minutes left in the period to give the Warriors some breathing room.

Keaton Hartigan made 11 saves in the third period to stave off the Guelph attack as the Gryphons outshot Waterloo 26-19.

For Kiriakou, his first season as a Gryphon has been nothing short of remarkable. He leads the team with 11 goals and 23 points in 21 games.

“I didn’t really know what to expect when I first came here but I’ve been able to gel pretty nicely and coach Camp has been tremendous [with] me and the guys,” said Kiriakou. “We get along so well and I’m really happy to be a Gryphon.”

The Department of Athletics had been actively promoting Saturday’s event, particularly by making inroads in the campus residences, similar to Homecoming in September. Given that Gryphon hockey games rarely attract more than 200 onlookers, the Frosty Mug was certainly a success in terms of attracting attention.

While many of the surrounding seats remained empty, a large contingent of onlookers observed the game from the Draught Picks Tap House & Grill overlooking the ice. As the Gryphons’ level of intensity increased in the latter two periods, the crowd excitement grew accordingly.

“It’s always nice to play [at the Sleeman Centre],” said Camp. “The facility is so professional, there’s a great atmosphere here and it’s a chance to show our brand of hockey to people in the community.”

As the playoffs approach, the Gryphons will look to take advantage of their favourable schedule, playing four of their final five games at home.