A week of CFL shake-ups: Matthews back, Taafe gone and the Bombers acquire Zeke Moreno for virtually nothing. What does Hamilton know that Winnipeg doesn't?

Let's start with our list:

1. In Toronto, the Argos fired Rich Stubler, the head coach of a struggling 4-6 team — a 4-6 team that should be better — and replaced him with 69-year-old Don Matthews. Not quite as old as Cliff Fletcher, but much older than Cito Gaston. No wonder all the teams in Toronto wear blue uniforms. The owners just rummage around in a big blue box and come up with anything recyclable (Hey, is Isiah Thomas coming back to the Raptors?).

2. The 2-8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats fired head coach Charlie Taafe (2-8 this season and 5-23 over a season and a bit) and no one argued in the least. Not even a peep. Taafe is replaced by offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille.

3. The 2-8 Bombers signed 28-year-old import defensive end/outside linebacker Kai Ellis, a recent cut of the Montreal Alouettes. With Joe Lobendahn and Ike Charlton nursing injuries, Ellis will start on Friday in Toronto. 

4. The on-going carnival in Winnipeg continued to sell out, but this week it got really crazy — again. After blowing a 31-14 lead with 11 minutes to play, the Bombers lost 34-31 to Saskatchewan in front of a sold-out crowd in the fifth annual Canwest Banjo Bowl on Sunday. You can bet head coach Doug Berry wasn't going to take the blame for that mess, so he started the week by throwing safety Ian Logan under the bus. In the end, however, he didn't trade or bench Logan. Instead, he traded defensive end, Tom Canada, one of the city's most popular players, to Hamilton in exchange for the league's leading tackler Zeke Moreno (Remember, River City Sports can provide you with a brand new Zeke Moreno jersey at any of its Winnipeg locations).

Starts out, Canada isn't going to report to Hamilton, but he goes for his physical anyway, and finds out he has an enlarged spleen, After a trip to the hospital, he's put on the nine-game injured reserve list and is out for the season. Still, Bombers GM Brendan Taman is able to finish the deal with 2-8 Hamilton, getting Moreno and a conditional draft pick in exchange for the Bombers first overall pick in the 2009 CFL draft plus the rights to their No. 1 pick in 2007, offensive lineman Corey Mace, who is on the practice roster of the Buffalo Bills. In the end, the Bombers didn't have to move Tom Canada, but what do the Tiger-Cats know about Moreno that Winnipeg doesn't? Did Ticats GM Bob O'Billovich get fleeced or has Moreno lost a step? Guess we won't know until Moreno starts on Friday night in place of the injured Joe Lobendahn against the 4-6 Argos in Toronto. 

Meanwhile, Canada is a happy guy even though he spent time in the hospital with an enlarged spleen and will be on injured reserve for the rest of the year. Canada’s happy because he wasn’t traded to Hamilton this week. And that might be OK for awhile, but he’s still finished as a Blue Bomber, at least under Doug Berry’s watch. Fact is, Canada was shopped around to the entire league. Berry doesn’t want him and even though he’s on the injured list for the rest of the season, Canada is only a Bomber because he was too physically damaged to be traded (ules of course, Berry is gone before next spring's training camp).

I have my own opinions on this mess and you can probably detect a little sarcasm in my usually objective accounting of events, so I thought I'd share some e-mails from Bomber fans(?) I received this week:

Scott,

Here is the skinny. You are (CEO) Lyle Bauer's boss. That 'group'….You go to him and say this is what happens today. Berry gets released. Bob Cameron is named as head coach for the balance of the season. Troy Westwood will be the punter for the remainder of the season. Lyle balks at the idea. You give Lyle a fat lip and fire his ass. I tell you what, Bob Cameron is the cure. How long was he on the side lines? How many coaches listened to his ideas? Henry Rosolowski, Winnipeg

Scott,

Incredible. No wonder the Bombers are in disarray! Who is letting this idiot Taman run the club into the ground!  YOU DON'T TRADE TWO NUMBER ONE DRAFT PICKS AWAY UNLESS YOU ARE GETTING THE SECOND COMING OF JOE MONTANA!  

The season is lost and even if by some miraculous event they did make the playoffs, how far do you think this team is going to go?  TIME TO BUILD FOR THE FUTURE, NOT NOW!  

If and when 2007 first round pick Corey Mace does come to the CFL, the kid is going to be an impact player! The inept Bombers have the best chance right now to have the #1 draft pick next season. Do you know what kind of stud they could draft to go along with excellent rookie Labatt on the O-Line, which is a must in the CFL!  You need the big talented Canadian kids to build your O-Line. And simple football 101 states that if you have no O-Line you have nothing!  

Or at least you could draft the best Canadian kid in the country for that porous D-Backfield which, lord knows, under Taman has been the worst secondary in CFL history! You only make a trade like this if you have a bonafide chance to win the Grey Cup. Other than that YOU KEEP YOUR DRAFT PICKS AND FUTURE TALENT! No wonder they have not won a Grey Cup in 18 years and now sit last in the league!

Ted Arichteff, Winnipeg

(Wow! A lot of capital letters)

Scott,

Thank you for a great report this morning (on 92-CITI-FM). Honestly I'm not a CFL fan, unfortunately I'm a Dolphin fan (yes they are brutal), but my true love is NCAA football. 

I'm a huge Gator fan and watching them dismantle Hawaii a few weekends ago was a joy. The Bombers have two WAC QBs (Dinwiddie and Chang) and that is a joke. The WAC is a poor conference and the Bombers seem to think these two QBs from there are s-o-o-o good. 

You are 100 per cent right. Drop all these bozos and let (Bryan) Randall play. I watched him at Virginia Tech and he is one hell of a QB! Why don't the Bombers make a deal with Montreal for Chris Leak. He's on the inactive roster. I watched him and the Gators take apart Ohio State.I don't even listen to classic rock but I listen to you guys every morning.

Derek Capri, Winnipeg

The great thing about the Bombers is that EVERYONE (speaking of capital letters) has an opinion. And when they're 2-8, most of those opinions are not flattering.

Friday night, Winnipeg plays in Toronto. The Argos are only four points ahead of the Bombers in the race for second place in the Eastern Conference. If Zeke Moreno and Joe Smith and Kai Ellis and all the big names can get it done, this Bomber team can make the playoffs. If they don't, it's time to look at a real, legitimate shake-up.

Meanwhile, win or lose, the Bombers will look great in their new retro jerseys supplied by, you guessed it, River City Sports.