Grazi, Arrivederci

This one HURTS. 

We always knew we'd lose Sandro DeAngelis eventually - to Indianapolis, or Dallas.  Somewhere like that, where he'd be making rather more money.  But Hamilton?  Does.  Not.  Compute. 

Well - to be fair - it turns out it does compute, and the reasoning is not only simple, but noble.  Sandro's from there, and wants to be closer to his family.  That's all.  For less money than Calgary offered him, and to a less stable organization.  Kinda hard to fault that, but as a Stamps fan, my inclination is "move them to Calgary, then."  Alas, him signing with the Tiger-Cats is a simpler (and cheaper) step. 

Make no mistake: this is a HUGE move.  DeAngelis is probably worth a single-game swing in wins alone. Kicking is much more important in the CFL, and Sandro was the most accurate kicker in the very, very long history of the league.  It's not a stretch to say he was/is arguably the best ever.  He was accurate, consistent, and - most important - clutch.  How clutch?  You'd be hard pressed to find a more clutch player in any position across the league. 

For Hamilton, DeAngelis is a massive upgrade over Nick Setta, who was released in January anyway.  Setta was a 76% kicker in 2009, down significantly from his first two seasons. (Ironically, it wouldn't be shocking if Setta wound up at least competing for the kicking job in Calgary.) 

For Calgary, the most accurate kicker in league history isn't just tough to replace, but impossible.  It's easy to forget how difficult it was to replace Mark McLoughlin beforea then-unknown DeAngelis stepped into the role.  (Remember Clinton Greathouse? No?  Exactly.)  Unfortunately for Calgary, the next few weeks will be spent trying to find an adequate replacement. 

It's hard to be upset about this move.  Sure, it hurts the Stamps - more than may seem obvious for now - but situations like this are part of the CFL's charm.  These guys are accessible, human, and familiar.  I wish you well, Sandro.