Professional sports have come a long way since the 1960s.  The amount of money now associated with the various leagues around North America (and the rest of the world), means sport is today viewed as a high-pressured business environment.

Another area in which sport has grown is the entertainment industry.  As well as making more money, professional athletes can become stars in their own right, depending on factors such as their skill level, personality, sex appeal and who they’re going out with.

One such person taking advantage of this is the Argonauts Mike Bradwell.  The wide receiver certainly fits the profile; professional football player, qualified civil engineer, part-time model and dating Aliya-Jasmine Sovani.

As such, it comes as little surprise that Bradwell will be featured on the cover of the next edition of Elle Man, the monthly Canadian Men’s magazine:

What the hell?!  Admittedly there’s a certain element of envy towards Bradwell, but will you take a look at those pants?!?!

While you would never accuse anyone who plays professional football of being “yellow” (trademark of Biff Tannen, Back to the Future), I trust Bradwell’s Argonauts teammates will give him a rightly-deserved ton of abuse when training camp starts in June.

Photo credit: @Noreen_Flanagan

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

You can also follow us on Twitter @bluetoro_ca and like us on Facebook

• By paul.taylor
• April 27, 2013
• Comment

One of the potential advantages for people who regularly go to the gym (apart from the obvious) is there’s always a chance of running into professional athletes.  Here’s one such meeting which took place in L.A. Fitness, but can you guess which one plays professional football?

For anyone who’s not sure, let’s ask the guy who doesn’t play in the CFL to put his hand down:

I’ve gotta say, that’s a relief.  In all seriousness, it’s good to know Andre Durie is getting prepared for the new season.  In fact, with training camp fast approaching, it appears the Argonauts are serious about repeating as Grey Cup champions.

Star quarterback Ricky Ray will no doubt be happy to see offensive linemen Joe Eppele and Andrew Jones hard at work in the gym:

Not that I’m out of shape or anything, but just looking at Joe Eppele in these photos makes me exhausted:

I think I’d forget about the chains though.  Only Mr T can carry that look off.  Not that I will be telling Mr Eppele this if I happen to run into him while he’s attempting his best B.A. Baracus impression.

Photo credits: @The_Irt & @JoeEppele59

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

You can also follow us on Twitter @bluetoro_ca and like us on Facebook

• By paul.taylor
• March 12, 2013
• Comment

With the amount of complaining Torontonians do these days, you’d think the city has never enjoyed any sporting success.  However, as we all know, the very opposite is true.

The Maple Leafs trail only the Canadiens for Stanley Cup wins, the Rock are tied for the most NLL championships and the Blue Jays are the only ‘foreign’ team to ever win the World Series.

And let’s not forget the Argonauts, who added to their all-time leading Grey Cup haul with a 16th triumph on Sunday against the Stampeders.

Yes, today was a day to be proud and celebrate being a Toronto sports fan as the Argonauts held their victory parade downtown.  As you would expect, lots of people attended to help add to the party atmosphere:

Unfortunately, as is normally the case at these types of occasions, there always has to be someone there to ruin the party:

Seriously, does Rob Ford have no shame? Well, given that he’s going to appeal the decision to remove him from office, I guess not.

According to news reports, regardless of the outcome, Ford intends to run for office again in 2014.  I guess I should be confused as to why he will even be allowed to do this, given the circumstances behind his dismissal.

However, if he does run again and somehow gets in, then the blame should go squarely on the shoulders of the voting public.  As the saying goes: “Fool me once, shame on you.  However, fool me twice…’

• By paul.taylor
• November 27, 2012
• Comment

Movember really seems to be catching on now.  Here’s Argonauts wide receiver Mike Bradwell looking a little bit too smug with himself.

To be fair, it might actually be the company he’s with rather than because of his moustache.  And despite his companion also sporting facial hair, who can blame him?

The young lady in question is television personality Aliya-Jasmine Sovani.  Born in Ottawa, she hosts MTV News.  I have to admit I’ve never heard of her before but after finding the following photos, I’m now asking myself why?!

For some reason, this last one is my favourite:

Hopefully these pictures of the delectable Ms Sovani will kick-start your day the same way it did for me:

Photo credits: @AliyaJasmine

• By paul.taylor
• November 15, 2012
• Comment

Okay, I need to make a confession and I figured why pay good money for counselling when I can unburden myself on the general public. It’s time to come out of the closet. I………am………a………CFL fan.

In fact………I LOVE THIS GAME! (That’s right David Stern, I’ve nicked the NBA’s slogan the same way you let Clay Bennett steal the Seattle Sonics.)

I realise the CFL is not viewed as particularly cool in a city with MLB, NHL and NBA franchises, but I’ve enjoyed it ever since going to my first game at the Skydome. As such, I’m revved up for tonight’s season-opener in Edmonton.

The question is, do the Toronto Argonauts have any chance of making some noise this season? I say yes, and not just because they play in an eight-team league where 75% of the franchises make the play-offs. (Hey, I may love the CFL but it still needs fixing.)

The biggest concern is the defence, which last year was softer than a 90-year-old man in bed with Sarah Jessica Parker and Rosie O’Donnell. (Translation for the more sophisticated and/or naive amongst you: the Boatmen ranked dead-last in all major defensive categories.)

Of course Willie Pile’s recent retirement didn’t help, but even with a revamped secondary (four new starters) I firmly believe they’ll play better D, galvanised by the potential of home-field advantage for the 100th Grey Cup.

On offence, the loss of former All-Star Rob Murphy (retirement) and Dominic Picard (free-agency) could impact the line. However, future Hall-of-Famer Ricky Ray represents a major upgrade over Cleo Lemon (that dude still gives me nightmares) as long as he has time to throw from the pocket.

And if I’m wrong? Then it’s back into the closet to continue quietly supporting the Argonauts and we can all forget this conversation ever took place.

Photo: Chris Young – The Canadian Press

• By paul.taylor
• June 30, 2012
• Comment