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Injured Bombers QB Buck Pierce tosses around a toy football at practice Thursday morning at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg. (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

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Not sure if it was shocking or just plain reckless.

 Either way, it was interesting to see Buck Pierce throwing a football at Bombers practice today. He was tossing a blue and gold replica ball (one lighter than a regulation pigskin) with OL Glenn January in the south end zone, under the watchful eye of team therapist Al Couture. And only a month after dislocating his elbow and fracturing a bone near the joint in the Labour Day Classic against Saskatchewan! Wow. Pierce must really love football. The fracture is still there, the QB offered, and said he just wanted to see how the arm felt at this stage of recovery. More on his progress in Friday’s Free Press.

 On to the notes!

 - For the second straight practice, no RB Fred Reid, no DT Doug Brown, and no SB Terrence Edwards on the field for the workout. Veteran’s Day. They were there, just not in pads running drills. Getting their mental reps, as the kids like the say.

- Punter Mike Renaud was absent due to illness.

- Looks like DB Jovon Johnson is headed back to the corner spot and DB Jonathan Hefney will move in beside him at halfback. Head coach Paul LaPolice wouldn’t say if that’s the definite plan heading into Thanksgiving Monday game, though.

- LaPolice is an expecting father, and told reporters that his wife is due next week. He’ll leave the team during practice to be bedside, but what happens if the baby is ready to come out on Monday, say, an hour or two before the game? "I might try to go to the hospital and then say, ‘Alright, I gotta go,’" he joked with reporters.

- A correction from today’s paper: Remond Willis, who was added to the practice roster Wednesday, was only with the Bombers during training camp. Armond Willis, not Remond Willis, was the guy who was here during the season and was ready to replace DE Odell Willis for the Calgary game back in the July. My bad, and my apologies to anyone named Willis.

- Finally, it’s ticket giveaway time: The first two readers who know the answer to following question and get a note to Ed Tait via the e-mail machine (ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca) will each receive a pair of Bombers tickets. The question: Name the last Canadian Bomber receiver to finish with over 1,000 yards receiving in a season.

Good luck.