No hard feelings in Buck

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2011 (5264 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG quarterback Buck Pierce says he has nothing special to prove this weekend when he returns to Vancouver for the first time as a player since he was released by the B.C. Lions after the 2009 season.

On the contrary, Pierce says he still feels he owes somewhat of a debt to the Lions organization, where he spent five seasons before they cut him loose after an injury-riddled 2009 season.

“That’s where I learned how to play quarterback at the professional level,” Pierce said Wednesday after practice at Canad Inns Stadium. “Thats where I got my opportunity and people gave me a shot when a lot of people didn’t.

“They trusted me with the keys to that organization for a few years and I relished every opportunity I got there. I wouldn’t take any of it back. I think it’s made me who I am today. That organization is top-notch and very classy.”

Cast aside by the Lions in 2009, he found a new home in Winnipeg and finds himself today the pilot of the hottest team in the CFL heading into Vancouver on Saturday to face the lowly 1-5 Lions and their embattled head coach, Wally Buono. Pierce travelled to B.C. with the Bombers last season but was injured at the time and sat in the coach’s booth.

Buono was the man who cast Pierce aside after the 2009 season, but Pierce said he has no hard feelings.

“I think when you look back, you have to accept what happened at the time,” Pierce said. “Nobody likes to get let go, nobody likes to be fired. But it’s the reality of our business. I never looked at it as something that would hold me back. I looked at it as something that could better myself and my career. And when somebody was saying I might be done, I never thought that at all. I knew I just had to find the right situation.

“If you asked me that today, I’m very, very happy where I am.”

Pierce said he’s maintained an amicable relationship with Buono and even met with him when the Lions were in town a couple weeks ago. But he said both men also remain fiercely competitive.

“I’d say we both feel we want to go out there and give each other our best game and prove who made what decision right.”

— — —

Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said after practice Wednesday that defensive tackle Doug Brown (foot) will likely be scratched from the roster again for the B.C. game and defensive lineman Jason Vega will likely be added. LaPolice said Vega will likely platoon between the defensive tackle and defensive end positions against B.C.

The club previously announced the Bombers’ other starting defensive tackle, Dorion Smith, is out a couple weeks with a high ankle sprain.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

What’s in a name?

Arland Bruce apparently has a new name to go with his new team. Traded to B.C. by Hamilton last week, Bruce announced he is leaving behind what he calls his “slave name” and has taken on a new name, Runako Reth, which Bruce told reporters translates to “handsome king” in an African dialect. Reth wore his new name on his practice jersey in B.C. this week and is expected to play against Winnipeg on Saturday.

Swagger, not arrogance

“We’re not an arrogant bunch, and that’s what can get misconstrued by what’s seen… It’s more of a mindset. We come to practice every day and we fly around and… we don’t take days off. We compete every day, and I think that’s what it’s about. For everyone who just sees what they see on the highlights, I think it’s more than that.” — Bombers QB Buck Pierce on the subtleties underlying the brashness of Swaggerville