***Brock Ralph leaving Ti-Cats for Stamps after this year!

[url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Calgary/2005/10/14/1262343-sun.html]http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/ ... 3-sun.html[/url]

Don't be surprised if the Calgary Stampeders make a bold bid to latch onto Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver Brock Ralph when the sure-handed Alberta boy becomes a free agent in the off-season.

The 25-year-old Raymond, Alta., product, older brother to Stamps rookie wide receiver Brett Ralph, 23, has close ties to Calgary head coach Tom Higgins, an unabashed fan of both players.

The two brothers will meet on the turf tonight when the Ticats visit McMahon (7 p.m.).

The 6-ft. 3-in., 190-lb., Brock, who earned an NFL tryout this year and one pre-season look with the New York Jets, was acquired from Ottawa by Higgins' Eskimos during the 2003 Canadian College Draft.

After returning to Edmonton from New York earlier this season, Brock was traded to Hamilton in late August.

He is a much lankier version of his little brother, a 5-ft. 10-in., 175-lb., target already in Stamps silks after being selected last spring by Higgins, now the football boss in Cowtown.

Brock made 49 grabs for 634 yards and two TDs in Edmonton last season and that success, coupled with his ties to Higgins, would suggest he will be on the Red and White's wish list this winter.

"The focus for me is to help the Ticats the last few games of the season," Brock said yesterday, demonstrating a flair for diplomacy while noting he'd love to be reunited with his brother.

"(Alberta) is home for me and that's a fact but there's a lot that goes into free agency when that comes up. There's speculation I want to be out here and this is where I'll end up.

"But until things are in front of me on the table, it's hard to say if even I know for myself."

Higgins said both Ralph brothers provide a steady pass-catching presence, not to mention Canadian birth certificates.

"Brock is a big body that runs really well," Higgins said.

"The whole Ralph family has really good hands, although they all have different body types. Brock was blessed with the height in the family. With our Brett, he was given other gifts.

"We knew what we were getting in Edmonton with Brock and it would have been a big disappointment had he not come through the way he's capable of playing."

Both players toiled at Wyoming, although Brett finished his college career with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

"That's why Brett didn't get drafted until the sixth round because a lot of people didn't get a chance to see him," Higgins pointed out. "We went on the fact he's from the Ralph family."

Brock Ralph said the NFL dream and a huge U.S. paycheque are still a possibility despite the lure to again play in his home province.

...so it seems the Ti-Cats traded Montford and Davis for noone ( unless they get Mass later )

They got that draft pick… and that DB that people say was pretty good, just not as good as the dudes that were starting for the Esks at the time.

And yeah, apparently the entire CFL fan world thinks there’s a back door agreement for Maas going to Hamilton after this season. I guess Edmonton doesn’t want to part with their backup this year, and I guess if the Ti-cats are going to be swapping dudes in and out of the roster, it’s not like he’d get a lot of continuity going with the guys he’d be playing with at the end of the year.

Besides, Ralph may end up liking it in Hamilton… obviously, if people live there, there’s gotta be something good about it. I’ve never been, so I can’t comment on that.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were an "amendment" of sorts to the trade.....another trade favouring the Cats rather than Edmonton in the off-season.....it just seems too convenient for Edmonton to get such a sweet deal.....of course, I could be wrong, and if I am, then good for the Esks for being able to swing such a bargain.....wish my negotiating skills were as finely tuned.....

I think if any of us had negotiating skills like that, we'd be at home eating bon-bons while someone browsed through the forums for us, and then typed anything we wished to post for us.

Or am I the only one not doing that?

That sucks.

.....monkeyboy.....my lackey tells me you're the only one.....mmm....nougat.....

and all we have in the office is some barely edible toffee's in the boardroom... I wish I had nougat....

What exactly is nougat anyways? Or is that one of the better left unknown answers, kinda like what's in hot dogs?

I'll need to borrow someone's negotiating skills then..... or, wear pants outside of the house more often.

Probably more likely the negotiating part.

nougat…is a confection of Turkish origin…made up of a sweet paste gelatin and ground up pistachio nuts…used to be sold alot at theaters…and ball parks…

as far as the re-signing of Brock Ralph…don’t expect him NOT to be a TI-CAT next year as the owner there… has very deep pockets…and money talks …as opposed to playing in your own back yard… :!:

Ralph would be a good reciever to any team that picks him up. A lot of teams will be in the bidding for him. He is good Canadian talent and would easily slot into any roster. Calgary also has very deep pockets so it would not surprise me to see him there. If he does stay in Hamilton, I think that it would be a good trade for them, but I don't see that happening.

With the Ralph brothers both on our side, we can't lose.