FYI

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/10/2009 (5842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New Blue blood

Winnipeg has added two bodies as CFL teams are given the green light to expand their practice rosters for the stretch run. DE Chase Ortiz, the former Texas Christian star who was here in training camp, has returned and the club has signed cornerback Levonne Rowan (5-11, 198, Wisconsin). Rowan, who hails from Erie, Pa., is actually Jovon Johnson’s cousin as well as the cousin of Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Saunders. A four-year starter with the Badgers, Rowan has had NFL looks from Oakland and Philadelphia.

Skirmish city

Bomber offensive tackle Steve Morley and DE Odell Willis got into it a little bit at the end of practice with some fists being tossed. Said head coach Mike Kelly: "It was all in good fun. We’re in a testosterone and adrenaline-driven business and those things happen."

Now, now…

Here’s Kelly when asked why he seemed to be begrudgingly welcoming Barrin Simpson back: "What I’m begrudging is we have a football game on Monday that we should be focussing in on rather that one player that happened to come back and is going to work now. That’s where our focus needs to be. But we’re going to spend all this time talking about one player when we should be talking about a football team that on Monday has an opportunity to be in second place and be in a position to hold on to second place. And that’s where our conversation should be."

When it was suggested that he had to know Simpson’s return would generate a media frenzy, he added: "I pretty much understand what you guys are all about now and we just roll with it."

Around the loop

"ö Casey Printers will dress as the third-string QB for the Lions against Edmonton. "It’s just a step — the next step in the process. This isn’t about me. It’s about the team winning and I will do whatever I can to help," Printers told The Province in Vancouver.

"ö Lions head coach Wally Buono is also turning back to veteran Paul McCallum to handle the kicking chores, opting to bench a struggling Sean Whyte.

"ö Keep your eyes on the smouldering embers with the Argos that may erupt. Veteran QB Kerry Joseph referred to his time in Toronto as a ‘fiasco’ as the club waits for confirmation as to who will start this weekend’s game against Saskatchewan. "I’ve had to hear, ‘He can’t throw, he’s got to run with the ball’… "Coming here, I never thought it would be this way for two years. It has been frustrating. I mean, seven wins in two years?"

— Tait