Tiger-Cats 24, Renegades 19 It rained steadily throughout the day, the real hard stuff somehow waiting until most every time the Ottawa offence had the ball in the second half.
The power in the press box and for the scoreboard went out in the third quarter, so that, hey, at least it wasn't only the good folks in the southside stands that didn't know how much time was left in the game, right?
And for a "Pack the Park" promotion that team officials once thought could draw upward of 40,000 fans, less than half of that figure turned out, although no exact number is available as attendance was not even announced. (After the game, the team announced 25,839 tickets had been sold.).
The good news? The Renegades' extremely dreary third campaign is finally over.
"It was just such a fitting end to a season that should never have been the way it was," majority owner Randy Gillies sighed, standing in a side hallway next to the trainer's room minutes after the 24-19 loss to the Hamilton Ticats at Frank Clair Stadium. "It started out with so much promise, winning the first three games ... and it ended up being cold and wet."
How true.
So now come the meetings, the decisions, the changes. The off-field games.
"We're going to sit down and analyze the whole season, which isn't pretty," said Gillies, "then figure out where to go from there. We have a lot of decisions to make."
Gillies acknowledged that Kevin Kimsa, who owns 15% of the team, likely won't be back in 2005. Other than that, he said, the ownership group could very well remain intact. There's been much speculation that either Gillies or Bill Smith, who both own 30% of the club, would buy the other out.
"I have no plans to go anywhere," said Gillies. "(But) who gives a (crap) if Kevin Kimsa moves on, or if Randy Gillies leaves? It's insignificant. If I'm a fan, I'm just saying win a few more games."
Gillies added that he thought both GM Eric Tillman and coach Joe Paopao "did a good job" and that no decision has been made on either man's future.
"It was just such a fitting end ..." he repeated, shaking his head.
HIGH AND OUTSIDE: Fresh off the best season of his life, 33-year-old WR Yo Murphy admitted how tough yesterday's game was on him. "It's been on my mind all day," Murphy said of the possibility his career is now over. "Chances are I'm going to retire, but I don't know for sure. I went in thinking it was probably my last game. I'm just disappointed in the way things went." Murphy feels bad for Paopao. "He has taken so much heat in the media for the losing season," said Murphy. "He's our leader and he probably deserves part of the blame, but we're prepared every week. We just haven't gotten the job done." ... On Fan Appreciation Day, Paopao complied with a crowd that cried for the Renegades to "Gooooo" on a third-and-goal from the five in the second quarter, and officials were leaning their way too when they ruled Murphy was actually in the end zone when he pulled in Brad Banks' pass on the play ... In the fourth quarter, Paopao sent Demitris Scouras in to attempt a 21-yard field goal on a third- and-one situation, much to the crowd's chagrin. Scouras was wide with the try ... Typical, for the season that was: On Hamilton's first offensive play, SB Craig Yeast was 10 yards over the line of scrimmage before the snap. Even CFL officials finally realized this and tossed the offside flags, but for some reason 'Gades DB Korey Banks decided to put Yeast on his back. Major foul Ottawa, first down 'Cats ... Typical, for the season that was: At what appeared to be the end of the first Hamilton drive, Jamie Boreham lined up to attempt a 34-yard field goal. Breaking through protection and blocking the kick was Gerald Vaughn, who then scooped up the loose ball and ran it 15 yards before fumbling it into Boreham's hands. First down Ticats. Eight plays later, ex-Renegade D.J. Flick was knocking a pass down with one hand and pulling it down in the end zone -- and the Renegades would have been better off if Vaughn missed Boreham's attempted field goal ... The CFL's no-yards rule on punts needs to be changed if only because the encroachment line of five yards is left to the judgment of officials. "Everybody Loves" Raymonn Adams recovered a fumble and returned it to the end zone in the third quarter that was called back, and if Sean Bennett really deserved the penalty then he was four yards, 351/2 inches from where Yeast caught the ball.
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM..: In the final game of his third year since the Renegades selected him second overall in the college draft, former Simon Fraser star tailback Mike Vilimek gained two yards on one carry. His rushing totals for the season: Two carries, minus-2 yards. Someday, somewhere (else), Vilimek will star in this league. Mark my words .... Members of the tactical squad repelled from the northside grandstand roof during halftime. Anybody knowing why should tell the rest of us ... It gained zero yardage, but a second-quarter, side-arm screen pass Banks made to Josh Ranek under intense pressure was just one more example why there actually will be a battle for the Renegades' starting QB job at camp next June ... Another? Banks knew he was about to get hit, and hit hard, by Ticats LB Renard Cox, yet he hung in and found Curtis Jackson with a 46-yard pass to the Hamilton four ... During a third-quarter electrical outage that stretched into the fourth, Team 1200 play-by-play partners Dave Schreiber and Jeff Avery continued their broadcast via cellphones. Just like they had to do in the old days, before power was invented.
don.brennan@ott.sunpub.com
