INSIDE THE Xs AND Os

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/09/2009 (5862 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VEGAS LINE:

The Riders are favoured by 1 point.

BLUE VS. RIDERS:

Since 1946: The Bombers are 112-81-8 vs. the Riders. And as bad as the Bombers have been over the years in Regina on Labour Day, the Riders have been even worse here in Winnipeg — Saskatchewan is just 3-16 at Polo Park since 1991.

ROSTER UPDATE:

LB Barrin Simpson sits and waits to see what his future may hold with DT Michael Landry taking his place. The return of S Ian Logan means Siddeeq Shabazz will move back to the LB spot. The other changes see CB James Johnson, DB Nick Kordic and QB Casey Bramlet coming on with QB Stefan LeFors (shoulder); WR Michael Hyman, CB Brandon Stewart and DB Brady Browne (elbow) moving off the 42-man roster. Still on the injured list are SB Arjei Franklin (ankle, due to return on Sept. 26), DE Fred Perry (arm) and DB Steven Holness (shoulder). Expect James Johnson and Jovon Johnson to handle the majority of the kick-return duties.

FLIP-FLOP:

The Bombers are changing the way they handle the coin toss in an effort to avoid the confusion from the debacle on Labour Day when they kicked off with the wind to open the game. Veteran special teams ace Shawn Gallant will now handle those chores.

“When you send out starters like we’ve been doing, those guys are warming up, their heads are someplace else and then all of a sudden the officials are screaming at them, ‘Hey, it’s time to come out for the coin toss,'” said head coach Mike Kelly. “This isn’t high school football where you send out all your seniors and everybody stands there swelling up trying to (impress) the other team and all that — unless you’re in B.C. — but we’re going to send out Shawn and he’ll be level-headed and we’ll have spoken to him. I’ll say this, I’ve spoken to (CFL officiating director) Tom Higgins this week and that situation could’ve been handled a little bit differently than it was by the officiating crew.”

DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS:

In Saturday’s Free Press, Bombers CEO Lyle Bauer was misquoted on the subject of Barrin Simpson asking for a trade last season. In actuality, Bauer said as follows: “This is not the first time Barrin has demanded to be traded. He demanded to be traded last year at the latter part of being on the injured list.”

ONE MAN’S TAKE:

Here’s Kelly on the Banjo Bowl and his understanding of how it all got started: “Well, apparently either Troy Westwood took a page out of my book or I took one out of Troy’s. Sometimes when you open your mouth and try to have a little fun, things turn into something else. Troy was able to open his mouth, have a little fun, and turn it into a trophy that gets awarded.

“That’s basically how I’ve followed it over the years. I remember the statement being made, but I’m not going to repeat one… word… of… it. In my years that I wasn’t in the league but followed the Bombers, I watched the whole thing unfold and I thought it was kind of a neat idea. That off-the-cuff, tongue-in-cheek remark was turned into something positive. With a sold-out crowd coming in here (Sunday) and the whole promotion of the Banjo Bowl and what the weekend’s turned into, I think it’s a pretty cool thing basically.”

— Tait