Shut up and play

Coach LaPolice wants Bombers to refrain from verbal jousting

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 1:00 AM CST Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011

VANCOUVER -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers travelled from a deep freeze to a fishbowl Tuesday night, landing at rainy Vancouver International Airport under the glare of the kind of spotlight that goes with a major international centre like this one.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/11/2011 (5250 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers travelled from a deep freeze to a fishbowl Tuesday night, landing at rainy Vancouver International Airport under the glare of the kind of spotlight that goes with a major international centre like this one.

This week’s Grey Cup is relatively small potatoes for this town, which in the last 18 months has hosted the Winter Olympics and the Stanley Cup final. (And speaking of that latter event, a Winnipeg booster who showed up at the airport to greet the Bombers last night gets the award for quote of the night: “Welcome to Vancouver,” the man bellowed. “You’ll have a riot.”)

But for this week, the Grey Cup is the biggest show in town and a couple of dozen media — local, national and a large contingent of Winnipeg media — swarmed the Bombers at their luggage carousel as puzzled travellers looked on.

Darryl Dyck / the canadian press
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce signs an autograph for a fan upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Tuesday. — Darryl Dyck / the canadian press Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce signs an autograph for a fan upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Tuesday.

The questions were what you’d expect: How about them Lions? How’s it feel to be the underdog? How will you avoid the distractions this week? The answers were equally predictable: They’re a tremendous team. We’re quite confident in our own abilities. We’re here to do a job.

In a week where absolutely everything the Bombers players say is going to be dissected, examined and held up to the light, Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said he had an admonition for his club before they walked through the arrivals doors last night.

“I told them that we’re going to do our talking on Sunday,” LaPolice said as he waited for his luggage.

Hours earlier on Tuesday, Lions defensive back Korey Banks had held court with the media at the Lions practice facility in Surrey and did some talking of his own, telling reporters there was no player on the Bombers defence that he would trade for to replace one on his own defence.

That remark mostly got a laugh from the Bombers players last night. “That’s just Korey being Korey,” said Bombers defensive end Odell Willis, who works out in the off-season with Banks. “We’ve been talking about this since last February. I’m looking forward to Korey Banks on Sunday. I wish I could hit him myself.”

While it was suggested in a local paper here that Banks had perhaps already provided the Bombers defence with bulletin-board material before the two teams had even had their first practice this week, Bombers defensive tackle Doug Brown said it’d be pretty boring reading.

“I don’t think there’s a player on any team that would say they’d rather have a player on another team than the guy sitting right next to them,” said Brown. “To me, he wins the Captain Obvious award.”

Lions DB Dante Marsh had also said earlier this week that he felt B.C. had the best defence in the league and Bombers cornerback Jovon Johnson said Tuesday night he’s already tired of all the talk.

“They can say whatever they want,” said Johnson. “We’ll go out there on Sunday, play this game and we’ll see who has the better defence at the end of the game. Simple as that.”

The Bombers get their first look at refurbished BC Place this morning when they practise at 10:30 a.m. PT. The only the time the Bombers faced the Lions in Vancouver this season, the club was still playing at Empire Stadium while $563- million in renovations were still being completed at BC Place.

LaPolice will also find himself in the media spotlight like never before today, as he sits down with Lions boss Wally Buono to face the local and national media at the head coaches’ press conference that officially kicks off team preparations here this week.

Meanwhile, Bombers defensive back Brandon Stewart travelled with the team here Tuesday night but was wearing a walking cast on his ankle at the airport and said he won’t play on Sunday.

“It sucks. It really does suck. But I know Beaz (backup DB Deon Beasley) and he’ll do a really good job.” Stewart hurt his ankle in the first half of Sunday’s Bombers victory over Hamilton in the East Final.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca