While the Edmonton Eskimos have been busy on the housecleaning front under general manager Eric Tillman, their team isn't going to be entirely built of new faces this year. In their search for roster consistency, the team's brought in plenty of guys who have played for Tillman or head coach Kavis Reed in previous stops. Their latest addition is 37-year-old veteran quarterback Kerry Joseph, who played under Tillman in both Ottawa and Saskatchewan as well as in a brief stint with the Eskimos last fall.

The signing of Joseph (pictured above in 2009 with the Toronto Argonauts) is an intriguing one, and it should add fuel to an already-burning battle for the Eskimos' backup quarterback spot. Reed said the one position where he was willing to guarantee a starter heading into training camp was quarterback, where 31-year-old veteran Ricky Ray will again be the first choice. The number-two slot is wide open, though, as incumbent backups Jared Zabransky and Jason Maas are no longer with the

A quirk of geography may have proven disastrous for Hamilton Tiger-Cats' long-snapper and linebacker Jordan Matechuk—and it could have implications for the CFL as a whole as well. Matechuk was apparently heading to Hamilton from Alberta for training camp May 31 when he was arrested for possession of anabolic steroids at the International Bridge border crossing between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. News of his arrest came out Tuesday thanks to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which tends to spotlight unusual cases. A professional football player caught with "543 anabolic steroid pills, 262 millilitres of anabolic steroids in liquid form, 1.25 grams of marijuana, 19 syringes, and 51 replacement needles" certainly qualifies there.

This incident may have the potential to scar the CFL in much more significant and long-lasting ways than the last infamous drug arrest, that of former B.C. Lions' running back/kick returner Yonus Davis

The Montreal Alouettes' training camp is producing some of the most interesting stories of the CFL pre-season so far. We've already talked about linebacker Marc-Olivier Brouillette's battle to keep his leg and the Alouettes' decision to cut former star NFL running back Ahman Green, but the story of linebacker Walter Spencer is just as notable. Spencer was stabbed twice in a Montreal bar last September, once in the heart, and his very survival was in question. Now, he's back on the field and competing to make the team again, but his memories of his frightening past few months are still vividly clear. In a piece published Tuesday, Spencer opened up to The Gazette's Herb Zurkowsky about what he went through last fall. It makes for incredible reading, particularly the part where Spencer talks about how he didn't notice the pain en route to hospital, but felt his body shutting down:

"I was aware of everything with my body. My breathing was changing and my heart was shutting down. I knew

If you look at their roster heading into this past week's training camp, the Montreal Alouettes had plenty of players with NFL experience of one sort or another. New cornerback Dwight Anderson had previously been a member of the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers before spending the last four seasons in the CFL, while linebacker Chip Cox had spent time with the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins and slotback Jamal Richardson was briefly with the Dallas Cowboys in 2007. Unlike those players, though, the man in camp with the most NFL experience and success is no longer an Alouette, as the team announced Sunday that they'd released former Green Bay Packers' star running back Ahman Green, who they'd signed earlier this offseason. Green reportedly sustained a hamstring injury in camp, and the Alouettes didn't want to wait for him to heal.

The Alouettes' decision to release Green (pictured at right carrying the ball for the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks in 2010) appears to be yet one more

Earning a place in the CFL is sometimes seen as one long battle. Players first have to do enough to be drafted or receive a camp invite, then more to make the roster, then more still to see playing time and then even more to keep their jobs. It's not an easy struggle by any means, but every now and then, a story comes out that reminds us that the battle for a CFL job is really a minor one in the grand scheme of things. That's the case with this Versus Quebec story from Anthony Côté-Leduc, on Montreal Alouettes' linebacker Marc-Olivier Brouillette and how he almost lost his leg last year.

Brouillette (#10 in the above picture, seen trying to bring down Hamilton's Marcus Thigpen in a July game last year), who had a great CIS career as a quarterback at the Université de Montréal, was drafted with the last pick of the third round (23rd overall) by the Alouettes last season. He was converted to linebacker and was making an impact on special teams for Montreal, but ran into trouble when the

The CFL announced today that they'll be introducing position coaches for officials this year, adding four positions to their officiating staff. Famed former referee Jake Ireland will serve as the referee coach, while Bill Wright is the umpire coach, Brent Buchko will handle the officials who work the line of scrimmage and Al McColman will work with the deep officials. All have a notable amount of experience officiating in the area they're working with. CFL director of officiating Tom Higgins said in the league's release the plan is designed to help each individual group of officials receive specific coaching on how to get better.

"Much like a football team has a quarterback coach, our officials will now have a referee coach," Higgins said. "The different officiating positions on the field each have very different responsibilities. Now with position coaches we will have a consistent voice coaching our officials in the four areas we have designated."

This isn't a particularly

Joe Fortenbaugh of the National Football Post had an interesting piece today that asked the question, "Should Terrelle Pryor head for Canada?" (For those unfamiliar, Pryor is currently the quarterback at Ohio State and he's become prominently embroiled in the scandal that's already led to the resignation of head coach Jim Tressel, pictured above right talking to Pryor during a 2010 game against Eastern Michigan.) Pryor already is set to miss the first five games of the 2011 NCAA season as a penalty for accepting improper benefits, but he could wind up missing the whole year depending on what the separate NCAA probe into his actions (including his car and license issues) finds. As Fortenbaugh writes, "It's time to get the hell out of Dodge."

Pryor's options for doing that are limited, though. He's missed the NFL's regular draft, and although he could declare for a supplemental draft, teams are often unwilling to concede high picks in the regular April draft to claim prospects in a

Okay, so the name is somewhat a misnomer, as they actually started training camp Wednesday. Still, here's the last entry in the CFL Camp Countdown preview series, looking at the Edmonton Eskimos and some of their interesting storylines heading into training camp. This is based off Tuesday's conference call with Edmonton club president Rick LeLacheur and head coach Kavis Reed (general manager Eric Tillman was on another call with an agent, and not available for comment). Highlights are below in point form.

— One of the most notable elements of the Eskimos' offseason (and indeed, the last half of their year after Tillman took over in September) was the amount of roster turnover. It wasn't all about the sheer numbers, either, as much of the surprise over their housecleaning was around the amount of starters and other prominent players the club parted ways with. Roster turnover happens in the CFL, but it's often more focused around the edges of the roster; Edmonton seemed to cut closer to