Parker lost for season

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2013 (4440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE bad news keeps piling up for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers: linebacker Terrell Parker, one of the shining stars early in the 2013 season, has been lost for the year with torn knee ligaments.

Parker, who leads the Bombers in tackles with 18 — tied for fourth-most in the Canadian Football League — was injured in Saturday’s loss to Hamilton, as was nickelback Desia Dunn, who will be out for at least two weeks with a bad hamstring.

Parker will be replaced by rookie Ian Wild; Dunn by veteran Johnny Sears Jr.

“Any time you lose a starter it’s not good,” Bombers head coach Tim Burke said Monday. “I really think Terrell probably had his best game on Saturday. He really flew around, made plays and was very assignment sharp and contributed well on special teams.

“Ian Wild will take his place and we feel like Ian’s going to be a good player. He’s a rookie so he’s got to get over rookie mistakes and all that kind of stuff. We know he’ll probably have a couple, but Ian’s definitely a capable player. One thing he’ll bring to the table is he’s going to play with tremendous effort. He’ll be around the ball all night, I guarantee that.”

Burke said GM Joe Mack would likely bring in another linebacker or two because that position was already described as thin at the beginning of the year.

“Now we’re thinner,” he said.

Further to the injury report: defensive tackle Bryan Turner (chest) remains doubtful for Friday’s home date with the Toronto Argonauts, as is J.T. Gilmore (calf).

Slotback Terrence Edwards (shoulder) will start practising again today but it’s unlikely he’ll get the green light for the Argo game. Burke said starters Chris Matthews, Anthony Woodson, Alex Suber, Alex Hall and Glenn January will all skip practice today because of an assortment of hurts, but will be available Friday.

PENALTY PARADE: The Bombers were nailed for 19 penalties totalling 161 yards in the loss to Hamilton, just two shy of the club record (21, set Aug. 15, 1990 against Hamilton). What had Burke most frustrated is this: of those 161 yards, 130 of them came on special teams.

“Those are the things that kill ya,” said Burke. “We’ll get those corrected. We’ve been really good about penalties until this game.”

— Ed Tait