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Johnny Sears drew a crowd with his helmet-to-helmet hit on Steven Jyles Friday night at Canad Inns Stadium.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back Johnny Sears is being called onto the carpet today.

Sears is scheduled to participate in a teleconference hearing with CFL commissioner Mark Cohon regarding his hit on Toronto Argonauts quarterback Steven Jyles last Friday. In the 27-22 Argos win, Sears delivered a vicious helmet-to-helmet shot on the sliding Toronto quarterback in the fourth quarter, bouncing Jyles' head off the turf and knocking the former Bomber out for a brief period.

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Johnny Sears says he hit Jyles in the head only after Jyles dove late in the play. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

The league did not specify if Sears was in line for a fine or a suspension Monday, but didn't rule out the possibility of both being levied.

Sears, who led with his helmet on the tackle, drew an unnecessary roughness penalty and was ejected from the game. The second-year Bomber expressed remorse about the hit following the game, saying that he was aiming for Jyles' hip as he went in for the hit.

"It was no cheap shot... I wouldn't want that on any player," Sears said. "As a tackler, my aiming point was the hip. As I'm running, I'm not stopping. He chose to slide late; (I've) already decided to go at that hip. By that time, he's under me. Bang-bang play. It (wasn't) like I wanted to put him out or anything like that."

Jyles remained on the turf for several minutes. He did walk off on his own and told reporters he was fine after the contest.

The hit sparked a variety of opinions and outrage around the league. TSN personality Chris Schultz thought Sears should be "kicked out of the league," while injured members of the Argos offensive line chose to make their feelings known through Twitter, a web-based social networking site.

Said outspoken lineman Rob Murphy (@BIGMURPH56): "#0 (Sears) is lucky I'm not in the province of Manitoba tonight. They would need the Jaws of Life to pry me off of him. I have a good memory. See ya next year, 0."

Added Taylor Robertson (@TR65): "I don't know who the hell this #0 guy is, but I hope to hell he's in the league next year. I'll take the ejection. I don't care.

"Pretty (mad) at the fact he's standing on the sideline and there isn't someone peeling white jerseys off of him. Cheapest hit I've ever seen."

A league spokesman said the CFL is still in the process of reviewing the threatening nature of those comments. For what it's worth, Murphy has been fined four times by the league for his remarks on Twitter.

The Bombers (10-7) are back on the practice field this morning in preparation for the Calgary Stampeders (10-7) Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.

As expected, Winnipeg will be without the services of Buck Pierce. The starting quarterback injured his right knee in the Toronto loss and has been ruled out by the coaching staff. The club remains non-committal on a recovery timetable for Pierce, however, suggesting it could be anywhere from a week to a month.

Backup Alex Brink will make his second start of the season and just the third start of his career.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @wazoowazny

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 1, 2011 C6