"Eskimos GM Eric Tillman denies tampering"

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Eskimo ... story.html

Is Eric Tillman in hot water again? Ha ha

Well, IMO he is a slippery guy. Other worse names come to mind.

Eskimos GM Eric Tillman denies tampering

By ROB VANSTONE, Leader-Post October 18, 2011 4:39 PM •Story•Photos ( 1 )

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have consulted with the CFL as to whether a comment made last week by Edmonton Eskimos general manager Eric Tillman constitutes tampering.

The Riders reported it to the CFL.

In an interview with an Edmonton radio station following the Oct. 12 trade deadline, Tillman acknowledged that he had inquired with Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman about the availability of Andy Fantuz. The star slotback is to become a free agent after this season.

Dave Naylor of TSN reported Monday that the league is reviewing the comment made by Tillman.

He asked about the availability of Andy Fantuz. No big deal. So far.

“TSN called and asked me for a comment, but I have no confirmation from the league office, so it’s hard to respond,’’ Tillman told the Leader-Post during a break in a discussion with Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed. “Kavis and I are sitting here, and to say we are stunned would be the understatement of a lifetime.

Why drag Kavis into it? He didn't comment to the media. A little cover for Tillman? A distraction? It is the comment to the media that could be taken as tampering. Not unlike Brian Burke and Ron Wilson talking about how they would like to sign the Sedins.

“Last week, I was simply asked why there weren’t any big deals before the CFL trade deadline, compared to the NHL, NBA, etc. I half-jokingly responded with, ‘Well, we tried to trade for Andy Fantuz.’ That comment was quickly qualified by saying we would have been negligent not to ask, and by giving the Riders, specifically Brendan Taman, credit for saying no.’’

One could be suspicious that Tillman has ill feelings towards the Riders, the team that cut him loose after his molestation scandal.

One could surmise that Tillman mentioning Andy Fantuz to the media could give Fantuz ideas about next year.

One could surmise that mentioning Fantuz to the media could be a shot at the Riders who stand to lose him.

Fantuz returned to the Roughriders in early September after being released by the NFL’s Chicago Bears. He had signed with the Bears after exercising the option-year escape clause in his CFL contract. If he plays out his option year and does not re-sign with Saskatchewan by Feb. 15, he will be a free agent.

The 27-year-old Fantuz was named the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian in 2010 after catching 87 passes for a league-high 1,380 yards. He has spent all six of his CFL seasons with the Roughriders.

Details.

“Look, Andy has a special relationship with Saskatchewan, and I have told him countless times over the past three or four years that it would be wise for him to be a lifetime Rider,’’ said Tillman, a former Roughriders GM. “I believed it then, and I believe it now. My comment wasn’t an attempt to tamper. It couldn’t possibly have been anything further from that intent. We all know Andy has family in southern Ontario, but I truly hope that he retires a Rider. Is that clear enough?

“Now, we’re going to go back and focus on trying to secure a home playoff game. For most teams, including ours, that is still a viable goal.”

Ah yes, the rationale by Tillman. The attempt to get himself out of the spotlight. So he said that to Fantuz when they were both with the Riders. But now, he would like to get Fantuz away from the Riders. And in the same discussion he says he hopes Fantuz is a Rider for life. Ha ha

"I have told him countless times over the past three or four years that it would be wise for him to be a lifetime Rider,’’ said Tillman, a former Roughriders GM. “I believed it then, and I believe it now."

LOL ... Talking out of both sides of his mouth. If he believes Fantuz should be a Rider for life, then why is he talking about trading for him? LOL

"I truly hope that he retires a Rider." I'm not believing that. No.

"Is that clear enough?" What seems clear to me is that Tillman's actions and his words about those actions are often strangers to each other. He likes to spin. For the media. He is experienced at trying to get out of hot water. He can spin a rationale in a heartbeat.

The CFL may well find that this is insufficient to be called tampering. But it seems evident to me that Tillman is still a slippery guy.

“Now, we’re going to go back and focus on trying to secure a home playoff game. For most teams, including ours, that is still a viable goal.” Most teams ... Ummmm, Oh Yeah, but not the Riders ... LOL

LOL ... One final shot at the Riders by Tillman. LOL A head shaker.

..........

To the Eskimos: You knew that going in. A sharp football guy. But not necessarily a guy with admirable scruples.

[Solar Max]

Tillman would and possibly has sold fake patents to his mother.

Disregarding the thing with the babysitter, his performance in Ottawa was simply atrocious imo.

[Rammer]

http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Eskimo ... story.html

“Last week, I was simply asked why there weren’t any big deals before the CFL trade deadline, compared to the NHL, NBA, etc. I half-jokingly responded with, ‘Well, we tried to trade for Andy Fantuz.’ That comment was quickly qualified by saying we would have been negligent not to ask, and by giving the Riders, specifically Brendan Taman, credit for saying no.’’

“Now, we’re going to go back and focus on trying to secure a home playoff game. For most teams, including ours, that is still a viable goal.”

LOL ... One final shot at the Riders by Tillman. LOL A head shaker.

..........

To the Eskimos: You knew that going in. A sharp football guy. But not necessarily a guy with admirable scruples.

That Tillman was able to make a large point about attempting to get Fantuz is tampering, plain and simple. However, what the league does in this type of situation is fine him $1000 and it is done. First off any fine should be applied to the SMS during the season, as it is part of his operating salary that is more effective, plus the Esks shouldn't be allowed to sign Fantuz if he enters FA.

The CFL penalties and fines are insignificant in comparison to the amounts of revenue that teams are generating, this should be a precedent for the league given the money taken in and potential of a Fantuz signing ($200K).

[joe kapp22]

Hmm, thought I heard this was dropped by the league after a look at it.

The rules in place in re tampering go back to the 60's, they are very out of date.

[Toppy Vann]

This is all about the good ship Sask sinking and Miller going nuts after a reporter for a question about commitment he didn't like. This is silly and makes the CFL a joke to even have to look and say no it is not tampering. There are huge problems in Riderville and Miller's fingerprints are all over the crime scene.

To suggest that this was the Esks way to notify Fantuz they want him for next year is pretty stupid. He will be a Free Agent and he is not dumb. He could see then how he wants to play it. Like Tillman says, Fantuz should stay a Rider for life as it'd be good for his career and he can build on his huge fame there. Moving for money could be fine but possibly for a star guy like him staying might be better.

Eric Tillman might not be everyone's cup of tea but let's put aside Ottawa which was destined to tank and look at his last two roles - Sask and Edmonton. In some ways he draws heat like Brian Burke does and let's face it...Burke bluster was huge in making the Canucks known in BC board rooms and with fans.

As to his legal issues in Sask that will always remain a stain on SASK prosecutors for how silly they were to press on with charges that would never have got to first base except for who it was. BTW, those who attack Tillman should read what the judge said in its entirety. It is a travesty that someone can be branded like that for something that is so trivial but within the law these days constitutes an offense. Assault is very broad these days and judge did the minimal he could as he had no choice.

Courts are full and dockets too big that many cases go untried and that should be the story. The prosecutors definitely weren't football fans. If you want prosecutions there are far more serious criminal activities and assaults in minor hockey that would merit attention of prosecutors than this crap Tillman had to endure. I don't know the man but do admire the work he does and his commitment to the CFL.

It's Miller time in Riderville and that beer is looking very stale now. He overplayed his hand, shafted his coach from day one and is in a structure where the GM reports to him and he is now HC and a VP. That was bad to start and is ending far worse than this guy anticipated. Wally would never have let Durant go off and destroy his team which seems to have occurred here. Miller let it undermine his HC. He is now getting his just desserts. Looks real good on him now. I suspect there are issues in that locker room.

[Belize City Lion]

"We tried to trade for Fantuz, but couldn't make a deal". Not tampering.

"We tried to trade for Fantuz, but couldn't make a deal. But that's OK we'll open the vault as soon as he becomes a free agent". That's tampering.

Seems pretty simple to me.

[Solar Max]

You can disregard 4 years in Ottawa all you want Toppy, but they happened. Many of Eric's foibles were self inflicted.

Even I would not have passed on Clermont twice in the first round, and I know next to squat. Not to mention his throwing Paopao under the bus.

I could go on but that would be unnecessary.

Tillman was ineffective in Ottawa at best, and helped bring down the franchise at worst.

[TheLionKing]

The Riders are making a mountain out of mole hill. An attempt to divert attention from their pathetic season ?

[Sir Purrcival]

I thought he was pleading "No Contest" until I realized he was talking about the last Riders/Eskimo game.

[Blitz]

This is all about the good ship Sask sinking and Miller going nuts after a reporter for a question about commitment he didn't like. This is silly and makes the CFL a joke to even have to look and say no it is not tampering. There are huge problems in Riderville and Miller's fingerprints are all over the crime scene.

To suggest that this was the Esks way to notify Fantuz they want him for next year is pretty stupid. He will be a Free Agent and he is not dumb. He could see then how he wants to play it. Like Tillman says, Fantuz should stay a Rider for life as it'd be good for his career and he can build on his huge fame there. Moving for money could be fine but possibly for a star guy like him staying might be better.

Eric Tillman might not be everyone's cup of tea but let's put aside Ottawa which was destined to tank and look at his last two roles - Sask and Edmonton. In some ways he draws heat like Brian Burke does and let's face it...Burke bluster was huge in making the Canucks known in BC board rooms and with fans.

As to his legal issues in Sask that will always remain a stain on SASK prosecutors for how silly they were to press on with charges that would never have got to first base except for who it was. BTW, those who attack Tillman should read what the judge said in its entirety. It is a travesty that someone can be branded like that for something that is so trivial but within the law these days constitutes an offense. Assault is very broad these days and judge did the minimal he could as he had no choice.

Courts are full and dockets too big that many cases go untried and that should be the story. The prosecutors definitely weren't football fans. If you want prosecutions there are far more serious criminal activities and assaults in minor hockey that would merit attention of prosecutors than this crap Tillman had to endure. I don't know the man but do admire the work he does and his commitment to the CFL.

It's Miller time in Riderville and that beer is looking very stale now. He overplayed his hand, shafted his coach from day one and is in a structure where the GM reports to him and he is now HC and a VP. That was bad to start and is ending far worse than this guy anticipated. Wally would never have let Durant go off and destroy his team which seems to have occurred here. Miller let it undermine his HC. He is now getting his just desserts. Looks real good on him now. I suspect there are issues in that locker room.

Great post Toppy. I find it frustrating to read cruel comments about Tillman's case. He was tried for a very minor offence that would not have seen the light of day except for his high profile role. The incident was a terrible stain on him and his family and he paid a heavy price. He had been sent home earlier that day from a Riders board meeting for unusual behavior and medication can impact people's chemistry signficantly.

As for the populist Miller, he more than overplayed his hand and his undermining of his HC earlier in the season, with Durrant consulting Miller behind the back of his HC, with Miller encouraging it was dispicable. Miller's ego had gotten out of hand following his success in Riderville and the adultation he received. Miller wanted to return as conquering hero and that scenario has turned to mud.

Tillman does what a good general manager should do..get the best players for his team. While Tillman should not have made the comment to the media and should receive a fine...its not a huge issue in the big picture of things. Tillman has turned an Edmonton team completly around, as he did in Riderville. Tillman also did an excellent job here in B.C.

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/cle ... story.html

CFL clears Eskimos’ GM Tillman of tampering charge
 
BY CHRIS O'LEARY, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM OCTOBER 18, 2011

EDMONTON —The Canadian Football League has cleared Edmonton Eskimos general manager Eric Tillman of tampering.

The league looked into a complaint from the Saskatchewan Roughriders after Tillman discussed trying to trade for Riders slotback Andy Fantuz shortly after the league’s trade deadline passed last week.

TSN is reporting that, in the off-season, the CFL will look at its rules on a team making comments regarding a player under contract to another team. The CFL currently has no rule that prohibits this from happening.

Cleared.

No rule preventing this at present.

Although the league will look at it in the off season. Should not be allowed IMO.

[Rammer]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/cle ... story.html

CFL clears Eskimos’ GM Tillman of tampering charge
 
BY CHRIS O'LEARY, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM OCTOBER 18, 2011

EDMONTON —The Canadian Football League has cleared Edmonton Eskimos general manager Eric Tillman of tampering.

The league looked into a complaint from the Saskatchewan Roughriders after Tillman discussed trying to trade for Riders slotback Andy Fantuz shortly after the league’s trade deadline passed last week.

TSN is reporting that, in the off-season, the CFL will look at its rules on a team making comments regarding a player under contract to another team. The CFL currently has no rule that prohibits this from happening.

Cleared.

No rule preventing this at present.

Although the league will look at it in the off season. Should not be allowed IMO.

If I was the Riders management, I would put out the word on who/what Eric was offering up. Best if it was a player of his inner core, tit for tat.

[Sir Purrcival]

I think the Riders have bigger issues and part of me wonders if they now regret the decision to release Tillman. Their overall management structure appears to be in chaos and that is going to leave the Riders in a bad way for a long time. They are likely going to have another coaching change coming and that means that they are going to have to start from scratch again. I really hated the casual smugness of some Rider Fans over the years and I certainly don't mind the helping of humble pie being doled out but I also don't want to see them wallow in the fringes for years to come. Toronto is bad enough.

[2011LionKing]

Lets be honest none of us knows the full story and we should not comment on MR Tillmans involvement on this point. The reason i beleive that

their is so much bitterness towards him is his perceived self righteous attitude ( right or wrong ) its the way he is percieved.

The way he came off on the incident in Saskatchewan was self serving and his response to the media in general is creepy. He has a creepy way

about himself and yet lest we judge on this matter we should trust the leagues decision