INSIDE THE Xs AND Os

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2010 (5903 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VEGAS LINE:

Hamilton is favoured by 3 points.

BOMBERS VS. TICATS:

All-time — The Bombers are 54-42 vs. the Ticats and 7-3 in the last 10 games.

THE FORECAST:

Straight from the good folks at Environment Canada: High 30. UV index 9 or very high. Hot and muggy. Bombers coach Paul LaPolice on the tropical conditions: "Whatever it is about Ivor Wynne, it always seems to be 20 degrees hotter on the field than anywhere else."

CROWD COUNT:

Not great. The Tabbies are hoping for 22,000 at Ivor Wynne.

ROSTER UPDATE:

S Ian Logan (hamstring), DB Alex Suber (hamstring), and FB Daryl Stephenson (groin) are out for this one. DT Dorian Smith (knee) is out 4-6 weeks. DB Keyuo Craver (knee), OL Glenn January (pectoral) and LS Chris Cvetkovic (knee) are on the nine-game injured list. WR/KR Marcus Howell will dress, but he’ll be a backup. S Brady Browne and DT Moton Hopkins make their first CFL starts tonight.

BIG SCORE:

According to Bombers stats guru Steve Daniel, Hamilton RB/KR Marcus Thigpen is trying to accomplish something few CFL players have ever done — score a touchdown five different ways in his career. The career record is six, a feat turned in by former Bomber Paul Williams (1971-78). Williams’ mark was later matched by Larry Highbaugh. The record for different TD scores in a season is four (held by five different players). Bomber Hall of Famer Tom Casey first did it in 1952. Thigpen already has a kick-off return, a punt return, a pass completion, and a missed field goal return — and we’re just two weeks into the season.

MORE THIGPEN:

Thigpen had looks with the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos of the NFL before coming to Canada, and after the Saskatchewan Roughriders took a pass on the 24-year-old after camp this season, he thought his career might be done. "Maybe football isn’t for me," he said of the doubt in his mind before the Ticats called. "Once I got released (by the Riders), I was almost ready to give up. I had all this ability — I thought — but I couldn’t make a team. It was tough. I was away from my family. I felt like I was being used, like my body was being used. I was ready to have a regular job." If he did hang up the cleats, the RB/KR figures he’d be working with children back home in California.

NOTABLES:

The Bombers lead the CFL in the YAC stat (yards after catch) with 378. Individually, WR Terence Jeffers-Harris (112) and Terrence Edwards (111) are one-two in the league … Hamilton is averaging 286 yards offence (seventh in the CFL), while giving up an average of 428.5 per game (sixth) … Winnipeg sacked Hamilton QBs seven times in Week 1.

— Wazny