On January 8, then-General Manager Eric Tillman of the Canadian Football League Saskatchewan Roughriders quit his job despite a stellar season for the team on the field. Tillman stepped down because four days earlier he had plead guilty to the sexual assault of a 16-year-old babysitter.

(Tillman pleaded guilty to sexual assault in January)

Yesterday, after a 2-8 start, the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos hired Tillman as their General Manager, sparking outrage across the country.

After the hire was made, Eskimos Chairman Doug Goss told the EDMONTON JOURNAL that despite his own children objecting to his hiring of Tillman and opposition countrywide to the move running at around “75 percent“, he was comfortable with the decision.

Goss said:

“Shame on us if we wouldn’t have had the courage of our convictions to do the right thing in face of overwhelming evidence that this is a man who is not only going to bring good football to Edmonton, but he’s not going to do anything to harm our reputation.”

From reaction of many media members and various polls, it appears Goss already has harmed his team’s reputation - at least for now.

So what exactly happened between Tillman and the 16-year-old girl and why would the Eskimos consider hiring Tillman only 10 months after his conviction?
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It’s been a great day in sports here at SbB. First we get the pro poker player who (allegedly) beat his parents to death for his inheritance. Next comes Rick Adelman’s DUI-impaired family tree. Then a former CFL player has his name dragged through the mud by a racist cheerleader - thanks to a false rape charge.

(Hey Trev, split a Bloomin’ Onion at Outback tonight?)

And to top all that off, I’m proud to bring you the uplifting story of former Saskatchewan Roughrider Trevis Smith. Yeah, you remember. The dude who was serving two years in the can north of the border “for knowingly exposing two women to the virus that causes AIDS.”

If you live in Alabama, news is out today that Mr. Smith could very well be turning up in your neighborhood very soon! Read more…

• For those of you Tucson TV viewers who had their Super Bowl interrupted by a schlong, Comcast would like to pay you $10 for your troubles.

(The young lady on the right was smiling about seeing something just as long as Larry Fitzgerald’s go-ahead TD reception)

• Kobe Bryant helps the Lakers knock off the Knicks with an MSG-record 61 point performance.

• Marquette basketball coach Buzz Williams feels stung by an innocent media question.

• Manny Ramirez says no thanks to the Dodgers’ $25 million offer.

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You know how the CFL team in Saskatchewan is called the Roughriders? Well, evidently the team’s GM wanted to really put his stamp on the name. Unfortunately, he tried to do so by sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, or so the Regina police claim.

According to the SASKATOON STAR PHOENIX, via the REGINA LEADER-POST, Saskatchewan Roughriders GM Eric Tillman was charged in connection with an incident dating to Aug. 6, right about the time that the 2008 CFL season was hitting midseason form.

There are few details about the alleged assault, but we know that Tillman was arrested, charged and then released to appear back in court. The GM clearly hasn’t fled the country, because he re-signed lineman Jeremy O’Day today, and heck, when you’re in a place like Saskatchewan, it’s probably hard to avoid being noticed trying to get away. (We have a feeling he’d be pretty anonymous in Venezuela, though.)

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If I were to make a list of people who I would consider “a danger to the community,” Trevis Smith would be at the top of the list. The former Alabama football standout and CFL linebacker was arrested in 2005 and convicted two years later of having unprotected sex with two women and not informing them he was HIV-positive. Clearly, an unbelievably sleazy guy, in a villain from an episode of “Law & Order: SVU” sort of way.

Now, the HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD is reporting that Smith has applied for parole and has a hearing scheduled for today. Which means that he could be back on the streets, free to spread his unique mixture of charm and sexually-transmitted disease to the women of Canada as soon as next month.

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