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Bombers prep for 'business trip' to B.C.

By: Paul Wiecek

Posted: 11/21/2011 12:23 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce shows his happiness with the media Monday morning at Canad Inns Stadium. His team defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-3 yesterday for a berth to the 2011 Grey Cup this Sunday in Vancouver, B.C. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

It was the early morning after the long night before and in the sober light of a 9 a.m. team meeting, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice had a message for his team this morning about the coming Grey Cup week.

"I think a lot of people think that there’s a huge week of partying and that kind of stuff," LaPolice told reporters Monday morning, less than 24 hours after his club defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-3 in the CFL East Division final to advance to this Sunday’s Grey Cup in Vancouver against the BC Lions.

"I said not really. I said, ‘Guys, you’re going to get a chance to go to the CFL player awards (Thursday night). You’re going to get time to spend with your family on Friday night and maybe Saturday afternoon.

"And besides that, you’re going to be busy the whole time."

The message appeared to get through, with a parade of Bombers players on Monday morning describing for reporters a sense within the locker room that the heavy-lifting is still in front of them.

"We’re going out there with a purpose," said Bombers QB Buck Pierce.

"This is a business trip for us. We’re excited where we are, but it’s not done yet."

Bombers defensive back Jovon Johnson said LaPolice’s admonition was heard loud and clear. "I think we’ll be extremely focused. Coach just harped on that. We’ve got coaches who have been to a number of Grey Cups and they know what to do and how to handle a number of situations.

"We’ll get our fun out of the way the first day we get there because we don’t have practice. And the rest of the week is all about business."

The only news Monday morning out of the Bombers office wasn’t really news at all, as the status of defensive back Brandon Stewart - who left the game early on Sunday after he injured an ankle - remains unclear.

"We’ll see," said LaPolice. "He hurt his ankle. We’ll see how he is. Right now, he’s day-to-day."

Perhaps the most interesting comment emerging from the LaPolice household in the past 24 hours came not from the coach but from his wife, Tina LaPolice.

Mrs. LaPolice, who caused a stir earlier this season with her comments on Twitter calling out Hamilton receiver Dave Stala, seemed to suggest on her Twitter account Sunday evening that karma was at play in Hamilton’s loss to Winnipeg.

"God doesn’t reward dishonesty and treachery! #truth," Tina LaPolice tweeted Sunday evening.

The comments appear to be a reference to the Ticats signing receiver Terence Jeffers-Harris last Friday, just 24 hours after the Bombers released him and despite the fact Jeffers-Harris was ineligible to play.

The Ticats move prompted allegations by some Bombers players, notably defensive lineman Doug Brown, that Hamilton was using Jeffers-Harris to spy on the Bombers.

The Bombers, after defeating the Ticats in the Eastern Conference Final, will now travel to Vancouver this week where they will have to beat the home team -- the B.C. Lions -- in next Sunday's 99th Grey Cup if they are to end a 21-year Grey Cup drought in Winnipeg.

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