Music: {allcanada} Source: Belli to retire

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

{allcanada} Source: Belli to retire

TORONTO -- One of the CFL's colourful characters is calling it a career.

A league source requesting anonymity said that defensive tackle Adriano Belli has decided to retire.

And in keeping with the Toronto native's fun-loving persona -- he has been dubbed 'The Kissing Bandit' for his habit of pecking individuals on the cheek -- Belli will make the announcement on a boat Wednesday.

The apparent reason for doing so on a boat is that Belli is now sailing off into the sunset as a football player. However, the 33-year-old Belli will still be busy as he also runs a meat distribution and packing company with his family in Mississauga, Ont.

Belli became a free agent in February and there were teams interested in having him patrol the defensive line in 2011, but Belli had said if he was going to return this season it would be with Toronto.

That is, if he could come back fully healthy and successfully juggle playing football with helping run the family business.

Belli spent 10 seasons in the CFL.

He was a first-round draft pick of the B.C. Lions in 2001 out of the University of Houston. After playing in the now defunct XFL, he suited up in Canada for the Montreal Alouettes (twice), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (twice) and Toronto.

The six-foot-five, 290-pound defensive tackle played the last four years with the Argos. In his prime, Belli was a coveted player because as a Canadian he played a position usually taken by an American and allowed his team to employ an import player elsewhere.

On the field, Belli was a tenacious player who went all-out and did whatever he had to -- literally -- to be effective. He was an expert in verbal warfare, using his tongue to get under the skin of his opponent to disrupt them and get them off their game.

And Belli's penchant for telling it like it is made him a media favourite. He would routinely talk about his desire to "kill" a rival quarterback or publicly call out an opponent, most often that being Hamilton centre Marwan Hage, who ironically is one of Belli's best friends.

Yet, even in the heat of battle, Belli often had a smile on his face.

But at times Belli had difficulties controlling that aggression and had a penchant for taking untimely penalties. However, coaches would reluctantly accept that because of Belli's stellar play on the field.

Over his career, Belli has been suspended, fined and ejected from games. In March 2009, the CFL suspended Belli for Toronto's 2010 season opener after he entered Montreal's dressing room at the Rogers Centre before the final game of the 2009 regular season.

Injuries plagued Belli last year, a foot ailment limiting him to just five games in 2010. Over his career, he had 213 tackles and 28 sacks and was a two-time East Division all-star (2005, 2007) and was a CFL all-star in 2005.

Belli was named a CFLPA all-star in 2007 after registering a career-high 44 tackles as a nose tackle. He also earned a Grey Cup ring in 2002 with Montreal.

But off the field, Belli was a big teddy bear with a huge heart and love for serving his community. He was involved in a number of charity endeavours, most recently the "Big Kiss Fund," where companies made a donation to the Sick Kids Foundation for every sack or tackle Belli made.

Belli also brought kids from the hospital to every Argos home game to enjoy all the game-day festivities.