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Twice he's been named the CFL's coach of the year and has led a team to the Grey Cup.

But Charlie Taaffe of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats is firmly on the hot seat.

The Ticats dropped to a dismal 2-7 following their 34-31 Labour Day loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Monday. Taaffe, in his second season with Hamilton, has amassed just a 5-22 record to date with the club.

Yet, Monday night's game was hailed as a crucial contest in the future of Toronto coach Rich Stubler. Much of the pre-game speculation had the Argos firing Stubler and replacing him with former head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons had they suffered their third loss of the year to arch-rival Hamilton.

But Toronto's victory gave Stubler a reprieve and shifted the focus squarely upon Taaffe. Granted, Winnipeg also has a 2-7 record but the Bombers won the East and reached the Grey Cup last year under Doug Berry. His job is safe.

The same applies for Wally Buono, the head coach and GM of the B.C. Lions, who have a 4-5 record and are last in the West Division. Buono is the dean of CFL coaches and he has led the Lions to first place in the West the last four years. He's not going anywhere soon.

Adding to Taaffe's plight were a couple of decisions he made Monday that had an impact on the outcome.

Taaffe took a conservative approach in the first quarter and opted to punt rather than gamble on third-and-inches at Hamilton's 20-yard line. It was an interesting call given the Ticats boast the CFL's top rushing attack and had been running well against Toronto. But given the Ticats' season to that point, the importance of the game and the home team's field position, it was an understandable decision.

It backfired, as a Dominique Dorsey return put Toronto on Hamilton's 25-yard line and set up Arland Bruce III's touchdown catch that put the Argos ahead 18-16.

Then, with 28 seconds remaining to play and Hamilton trailing 34-31, the Ticats faced a third-and-short situation at the Toronto 44-yard line. Predictably, Taaffe decided to go for it.

But instead of subbing backup Richie Williams for starter Casey Printers and going for the safe call — a quarterback sneak — Printers remained in the game.

That was surprising given Printers is nursing a thumb injury and wasn't the ideal candidate to do the quarterback sneak, especially considering Williams replaced Printers in an earlier short-yardage situation and plowed ahead for the first down.

Afterward, Taaffe said there wasn't enough time for the Ticats to get Williams on the field so the club had to go with Printers under centre.

Still, instead of giving the ball to Jesse Lumsden, who had run for a game-high 104 yards, or burly backup Terry Caulley, Printers handed off to seldom-used fullback Jeff Piercy, who was stopped cold. Not only did that cement the win for Toronto, but it also dealt a huge blow to the playoff aspirations of a Hamilton team that's missed the post-season the last four years.

And it seems Ticats fans aren't amused. The club is averaging just over 21,000 fans per game — well below their average of 22,978 last season when they went 3-15 — and drew just over 25,000 to its Labour Day clash with Toronto, which is traditionally the team's biggest home attraction of the year.

The Ticats' plight doesn't get any easier as the team resumes play Saturday night at home against the B.C. Lions.

Stay tuned.

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SPIDEY SENSES: Toronto Argonauts slotback Arland Bruce III certainly raised eyebrows Monday night when, after scoring a touchdown, he donned a Spider-Man mask he'd been hiding on his person.

Game officials, though, weren't amused and slapped him with a taunting penalty. And on Tuesday, the CFL fined Bruce an undisclosed amount for "for using a prop in a touchdown celebration" against Hamilton.

Bruce says he was simply trying to lighten up the moment after enduring a tumultuous week that saw the Argos trade quarterback Michael Bishop, cut veteran safety Orlondo Steinauer, then endure questions about the future of head coach Rich Stubler.

"I was Spider-Man in Winnipeg and I had to bring it back," Bruce said. "My son (Arland Bruce IV) is a big Spider-Man fan, we had a mask that we used for Halloween.

"Just having fun on Labour Day. If you recall Labour Day before, I did the Tiger Woods with the pylon. It's just fun out there, I love Labour Day Classics."

Bruce isn't the first athlete to celebrate in a game by donning the mask. First Division soccer players in both France and Spain have also done so.

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WHAT IF?: The B.C. Lions dealt tailback Joe Smith, last year's CFL rushing leader, to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Tuesday for running back Charles Roberts.

The move is an interesting one because Stefan Logan, whose solid play had made Smith expendable, has a similar quick, slashing running style that made the five-foot-six, 171-pound Roberts the Bombers' career rushing leader over his 7 1/2 seasons in Winnipeg.

The five-foot-seven, 185-pound Logan had just 34 yards rushing on 10 carries in B.C.'s 30-25 loss to Montreal on Friday.

He did add 12 catches for 104 yards, but after taking a swing pass at the Alouettes' five-yard line, Logan couldn't beat Montreal defensive back Mark Estelle in a one-on-one situation. The five-foot-nine, 182-pound Estelle make a sensational stop on Logan at the one-yard line with three seconds remaining to play.

That was a huge play because B.C. failed on three occasions to punch it in for the win. The question remains, though, had the six-foot-two, 224-pound Smith been on the receiving end of that pass, would he have been able to use his superior size and strength to score the game-winning TD?

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RIDERS SELL OUT: The Saskatchewan Roughriders will play before a capacity crowd the next time they return to Mosaic Stadium.

The Riders announced Tuesday their Sept. 20 home game against the B.C. Lions is a sellout, meaning there will be 30,945 rabid fans in the stands. As a result, Saskatchewan will be lifting the blackout for that contest.

"With the strong on-field play of the team this season and the unparalleled support we receive from our fans, we strongly encourage fans to purchase their tickets for the final three home games in October as soon as possible," Riders president Jim Hopson said in a statement. "Thanks to the 13th man, we know how difficult it is for opposing teams to play at Mosaic Stadium and we look forward to that continuing down the stretch run."

It will mark the 14th straight sellout at Mosaic Stadium dating back to last year.