Is Adriano Belli about to talk his way out of T.O. to the arch rival Ticats?
If he had been an American, Adriano Belli wouldn’t have been allowed to wait as long as he has to make a decision on his playing career.
Belli, the burly Toronto native who has carved out a reputation as a bad-ass on the football field and big teddy bear off it, is expected to decide whether to continue playing for the Toronto Argonauts this week or defect to Hamilton.
I’m guessing he’s off to Steeltown, but I’ll get to that later.
Belli is what’s known as a ratio player – good enough to fill out one of the requisite seven Canadian starters that each team must employ. He plays defensive tackle, a position most often designated for one of those Canadian spots, although the Argos also employ another Canadian, Ricky Foley, at rush end.
Belli loves to get in the face of opposing players, and according to one source, teams spend a portion of their planning specifically addressing Belli because of his disruptive abilities.
There are better defensive tackles in the league, but none better at verbally upsetting opposing players. After each play, he can be seen yapping about something to the other team. We suspect it’s something about one of the players’ mothers and army boots.
And some of those comments can be directed atTicats’ centre Marwan Hage, who happens to be one of his best friends.
And if that isn’t enough, he has been known to grab parts of opposing players’ lower body or insert his finger in unusual places underneath a pile of humanity.
Go ahead and laugh if you want.
Belli is one of the true characters in the Canadian Football League, known as the Kissing Bandit because he has a penchant for pecking everyone on the cheek – teammates, coaches, media, fans, mascots, stadium announcers, dressing room attendants, hot dog vendors, officials, policemen, firefighters, little old ladies (and men), etc.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
He’s just a guy who has affection and likes to show it.
And when you are something like 6-foot-5, 289 pounds, you are entitled to certain liberties in life.
Opposing teams usually assign two players to stop Belli, which allows some of his teammates to get a clearer path to the quarterback. Given his choice, Belli would like to "kill the quarterback," a somewhat brutal but honest description of what he loves to do most on the football field.
Belli has been willing to sacrifice his body, which has taken a significant pounding. He missed a good portion of last season with a nagging foot injury and now that he’s past the age of 30, a time when most players start to tail off, he’s going to feel those aches and pains more and more.
He has taken numerous dumb penalties in his career, has been kicked out of various games and was suspended for the opening game of the 2010 regular season for going into the Montreal Alouettes’ dressing room after the 2009 Eastern final.
It happened following a loss and Belli wasn’t going over to say good luck to the opposition in the Grey Cup.
He is, in the easiest of descriptions, an individual who plays on the edge and not always with his head.
He told Sportsnet.ca on Sunday he will make a decision soon on whether to play for the Argos or Ticats. He has asked them to put forward their best offers and he will choose quickly. He is not interested in wasting time on negotiations.
The Argos know Belli’s worth – both as a player, emotional leader and fan favourite – so they can make an offer and risk the consequences. They played for the most part without him last year and had a strong defence. Moreover, they signed a Canadian safety, Wes Lysack, in free agency presumably to factor into employing him in some situations as one of their starting seven non-imports.
The Ticats know less about Belli’s overall value, though he did play for the team from 2004-2006, albeit under a different coach and general manager currently.
Given that the ‘Cats lost some Canadian players via free agency and opted to sink a significant sum into high-profile American running Avon Cobourne, whom Montreal chose not to re-sign, they could use a player such as Belli.
Frankly, Belli has more value in all aspects of his game than Matt Kirk, a younger and smaller non-import defensive tackle who would fill the spot if the ‘Cats don’t land Belli.
The Tiger-Cats also need someone such as Belli to market to the fans.
Weighing all the factors, I expect the Ticats to present a much more lucrative offer – someone told me Ticats’ general manager Bob O’Billovich wants Belli badly – and lay on the love as thick as molasses.
Hey, when Ticats’ legend Angelo Mosca calls up Belli and tells him if he signs with the ‘Cats he can wear his legendary number 68, that goes above and beyond money.
Mosca told Sportsnet.ca that Belli reminds him so much of himself in the way he plays the game. Mosca also confided he did some of the things Belli does on the field, including putting his hands on more than just opposing players’ jerseys.
It was, as he said, in his "repertoire" – and remember this is a guy who was a heel in wrestling in the off-season. Mosca didn’t plant kisses on people – more like hits and hurts – but he won’t shy away if Belli plants a big wet one on his cheek.
Belli is a Toronto native who decided early in his career he wanted to play for the Argos. Now that he has done it, Belli may be looking at the twilight of his career in a different way, essentially taking the offer with the most money, knowing this is his last chance to make a score.
He probably doesn’t have more than a year or two left in the tank, so don’t be surprised if it’s announced some time in the next few days that Belli is the newest member of the Ticats – essentially the Kissing Bandit giving the Argos the kiss-off.
It makes perfect sense.
Then again, I have been known to be wrong.
