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The axe came down on CFL veterans Justin Palardy, Hugh Charles, Jamel Richardson and Martell Mallett on Saturday. All four were released as CFL teams reduced their rosters to 46 players by the league deadline of 10 p.m. ET. The regular season kicks off Thursday with the Toronto Argonauts visiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Veteran kicker Palardy was among 14 players cut by the expansion Ottawa Redblacks. While his release was surprising, the Edmonton Eskimos provided a shocker by including seven-year veteran Charles name in their final 15 cuts. A knee injury limited nine-year CFL veteran Richardson, 32, to only 18 catches for 197 yards last year, breaking a streak of five straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons with Montreal, which also let veteran linebacker Diamond Ferri go. Mallett, the 09 CFL top rookie with B.C., was released by Calgary. The running back was attempting to resurrect his career after suffering a season-ending torn Achilles tendon during training camp in 12 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Veteran defensive back Evan McCullough, who earned a Grey Cup ring with Toronto in 12, was among five players released by Hamilton. The Argos were expected to announce their final cuts Sunday. Palardy, a 26-year-old native of Truro, N.S., was looking to kick-start his CFL career with Ottawa but was released along with international kicker Paolo Henriques, leaving American rookie Brett Maher as the clubs only kicker. Howeer, late Saturday night it was reported that Maher had also been released. Maher had a field goal, three converts and single in Ottawas 26-10 exhibition win over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night, but he didnt exactly receive a ringing endorsement from Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins on Saturday. "Unfortunately nobody lived up to what we felt the acceptable level of performance would be," Desjardins told reporters. "Even in Bretts case, he knows he need to be better. "It doesnt mean hes locked into being our guy either . . . were still having guys to explore and other options to look at and were going to do that. We have time, we have bye week so we have a lot of time to figure this out." The Redblacks dont play their first game until July 3 in Winnipeg. Palardy, a former Saint Marys star, was taken in the fifth round of the 2010 CFL draft by Hamilton and played in five games as a punter before being released. Palardy joined Winnipeg in August 2010 and made 26-of-30 field goals for a club-record 86.7 per cent success ratio. He followed that up by hitting 40-of-52 field goals in 2011. The following season, Palardy was Winnipegs nominee for the CFLs top special-teams player after making 39-of-45 field goals and averaging a career-high 57.3 yards on 70 kickoffs. But after hitting 9-of-12 field goals in 13, Palardy was replaced by Canadian Sando DeAngelis and released by the Bombers on Aug. 27, 2013. He signed with Ottawa on March 6. Palardy punted 12 times against Montreal for a 39.8-yard average. Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said cutdown day is tough for all involved. "This is not a fun day," he said. "Theres a lot of guys that have put in a lot of work to get to this point and to try and make a football team. "To give people bad news, you never want to do it but its a part of the fact of what happens in pro sports." Over his career, Palardy made 114-of-139 field goals (82 per cent) and boasted a 42.1-yard punting average Also released by the Redblacks were national receivers Aaron Hargreaves, Simon LeMarquand and Steven Adu, international defensive back Parker Orms, international linebacker Devin Arrington, national defensive lineman Stephon Miller, international defensive lineman Dimetrio Tyson,, national offensive linemen James Lee, Brendan Dunn and Aaron Wheaton, international receivers Taulib Ikharo and Travon Patterson. The B.C. Lions released seven players. They were: national running back Guillame Bourassa, international defensive back Tony Burnett, international linebacker, Korey Jones, international defensive lineman Dyrell Porcha, international offensive tackle RJ Dill, national kicker/punter Steven Shott and national linebacker Thomas Spoletini. American defensive end Scooter Berry, who was entering his third CFL season, was among 14 players released by Montreal. The six-foot-two, 275-pound Berry had spent time in the NFL with the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as Arena Football Leagues Jacksonville Sharks, before joining the Alouettes. "Lost a lot of good teammates today especially my boy (at)Sdot--Berry," Alouttes defensive lineman John Bowman tweeted. "I wish all yall the best. "This is the non fun part about the game." Montreals moves mean international receiver Chad Johnson made its final roster. Johnson, 36, was a longtime NFL star but was out of football for two years before signing with the Alouettes. In addition to Charles, Edmonton released national defensive linemen Michaell Dadzie and Gregory Alexandre, national receiver Anthony Barrett, international defensive linemen Cameron Sheffield, Daniel Ross and RaShon Harris, national cornerback Raye Hartmann, national centre Gord Hinse, international defensive backs Robert Sands and Myron Lewis, international slotback Brandon McRae, national punter-kicker Zackary Medeiros, national linebacker Kyle Norris and national fullback Smith Wright. The Grey Cup-champion Saskatchewan Roughriders released 26 players, including international linebacker Brandon Isaac, who earned a Grey Cup ring with Toronto in 12 and spent last season with Hamilton. Also let go were national receivers Jade Etienne -- selected fourth overall in the 11 draft by Winnipeg -- and Jordan Sisco, a 2010 second-round pick by the Riders, and international defensive lineman Markus White, who suffered a seizure during camp. Winnipeg made its final cuts Friday, releasing 11 players, including former starter Max Hall. Cheap Jordan 3 Sale . The Thornhill, Ont., native, who is ranked 11th in the world, said hed hoped he would be ready when Canada begins its World Group first-round tie against Japan in Tokyo on Friday. Jordan Retro 3 Wholesale .ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Moving up, from 10 to seven this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight despite a depleted lineup. http://www.cheapairjordan3shoes.com/. - Connor Brown and Dane Fox both scored in regulation and in the shootout, as the Erie Otters extended their win streak to 10 games by defeating the London Knights 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Discount Jordan Shoes Wholesale . - Benched Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman said he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and voluntarily entered the NFL substance abuse program more than a year ago after mistakenly taking a medication to treat the condition. Cheap Jordan 3 Retro . Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe. OTTAWA -- Rick Campbell always aspired to be a CFL head coach but only in the right situation. The ability to help build an expansion team from the ground up proved to be the right opportunity for the 42-year-old, who was hired Friday as the first head coach of the expansion Ottawa Redblacks. The Redblacks are scheduled to begin play next season. Campbell has spent 15 years coaching in the CFL but this will be his first as a head coach. "Ive wanted to be a head coach, but I didnt just want to do it to say I was a head coach," said Campbell. "It had to be a deal where I fit the team and the team fit me so it was a good situation and like I said I had a gut instinct about Ottawa." This will mark Ottawas third tenure in the CFL. The Rough Riders operated from 1876 to 96 and were a founding member of the CFL in 58. The Renegades were born in 02 but only operated through the 06 season before being suspended indefinitely by the league. Having the opportunity to be part of the Redblacks inaugural season was one of the more interesting aspects of the job for Campbell. "I think its incredibly unique that you get to build a football team from scratch," Campbell said. "Its very unique in football and in sports that you get to start something from scratch and build it the way you want to build it and that definitely was enticing to me, for sure." Not to say it wont be challenging. "Were going to have to get ourselves competitive fast," Campbell said. "Were behind all the other teams in that they have a lot of good football players and they have a lot of things in place. "Were going to have to hire an experienced enough coaching staff that knows the league so we can literally hit the ground running." Campbell has high hopes to field a competitive team in the Redblacks first season. "Im going to look at as were another team in the league right now," he said. "Were going to be signing players and coaches and were going to try to win as many games as we can. "You go into a year to try and win the big one. Were not going to get ahead of ourselves but were going to go and build it the best way we can and win as many games as we can, thats for sure." Campbell has spent the last two years as Calgarys defensive co-ordinator. This season the Stampeders led the league in sackss, with 63.dddddddddddd. The bulk of Campbells CFL coaching career was spent with the Edmonton Eskimos. Over the span of 11 seasons with the Eskimos, Campbell served as an assistant head coach, special-teams co-ordinator, secondary coach and defensive co-ordinator. He won Grey Cups with the Edmonton in 2003 and 2005. Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins said he interviewed six or seven candidates but Campbell stood out amongst the contenders. "The key thing was the fact he had coached special teams, he had coached defence as a co-ordinator and coached on offence as well,: Desjardins said. "Theres not too many people out there who have coached on all sides of the ball." While there remains much work to be done, Desjardins said theres a sense of relief in having a head coach in place. "Its a better relief knowing who it is," said Desjardins. "Im so comfortable with this choice on so many levels. "Personality wise our thought processes are the same. Just detailed, organized and then a big part of the equation too is who hes going to propose to us as a staff." While theres no timetable in place for the hiring of support staff, both Desjardins and Campbell say the process has begun already. Campbell wont have far to look for guidance, though. His father, Hugh Campbell, is a legend in Canadian football, leading the Edmonton Eskimos to five consecutive Grey Cup championships (1978-82) as head coach and four more as general manager. Hugh Campbell also was a receiver with the Saskatchewan Roughriders when they won their first CFL title in 66, upsetting the favoured Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14 in Vancouver. "I would always ask for advice from him if its there," Rick Campbell said. "We have a good relationship that he doesnt force things on me. "Hes my dad, Im his son and thats our relationship first and well talk ball once in a while." Campbell will have little time to settle into the position, as the CFL expansion draft will be held Dec. 16. Ottawa will select 24 players (eight imports, 16 Canadians) over three rounds. The Redblacks will take eight imports in the first round before selecting eight Canadians in each of the final two. Desjardins says Campbell will have input into player selection but in the end it will be all about picking the best available players. ' ' '