The Winnipeg Goldeyes announced on July 22 the ball club will return to Winnipeg for the remainder of the season.

The Goldeyes, who had been playing their home games away from Winnipeg due to the COVID-19 pandemic will host their home opener at Shaw Park on Aug. 3.

By Jim Bender 

You have got to love it when the new placekicker-hopeful mentions the Banjo Bowl in his first Zoom interview with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers media. 

Tyler Crapigna, after all, has lived it. 

The Bombers pounced on an opportunity to sign the experienced CFL placekicker just after the Montreal Alouettes released him. 

“I’m very happy to be on this team because I’ve been on the other side when those Banjo Bowl games come around and it does get quite loud, so I’m happy to be on this side kicking in this stadium,” said the former Saskatchewan Roughriders kicker. 

The Banjo Bowl, of course, was borne out of a smart-aleck snipe uttered by Troy Westwood — then a Bombers placekicker. 

Crapigna has always enjoyed kicking at IG Field, with its sunken field. But he has more important hardware than the Banjo Bowl trophy on his mind. 

“This was an opportunity that arose and I felt like, ‘What better place to be than in Winnipeg with the defending Grey Cup champs and hopefully, going back to back?’” he said. “I just want to be a part of a winning team here and it’s definitely a situation that I thought was gonna be a great one for me.” 

Crapigna, 28, joins Marc (Legs) Liegghio, the only other kicker in training camp. While Liegghio, who has yet to suit up for a professional football game, can handle both punting and placekicking chores, Crapigna has been concentrating on placekicking and kickoffs. 

“I think we would be a great tandem – two young Canadian kickers,” he said. “So, if that’s the route they want to take, then I’m happy to be a part of it.” 

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea conceded that dressing both a punter and placekicker might be do-able. 

After an injury ended his 2017 in Saskatchewan, Crapigna has since kicked for both the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal. The Alouettes had five kickers in camp and released Crapigna after just one week. 

“One door closes and another one opens, and I’m just excited to be here,” said Crapigna, who boasts an 85.2% field goal average.  

Crapigna, who hails from Nepean, Ont., used the pandemic break to establish a career in financial advising in Ottawa while training for football with borrowed weights at home, hoping there would be another CFL season sometime. 

“I just kind of stayed in shape that way, then snuck onto a few fields here and there,” he said. “To get some kicks in.” 

Crapigna also called himself a “serviceable” punter if pressed into those duties. 

But there was no word on whether or not he plays the banjo. 

HAIL TO THE CHIEF: During the pandemic break, Tui Eli was named a Tribal Chief in his family’s Samoan village in Hawaii, following his father’s lineage. 

Although he was born in Richmond, B.C., his family moved to Kailua Kona, Hawaii when Tui was in Grade 10 because his father (Vaeluaga) Eli had been asked to sit on the board of a Christian missionary organization. Tui played football for the high school team and earned a scholarship to the University of Hawaii. 

“Last year and a half, I spent some time in Hawaii with my parents and in Montana with my girl friend and her family, doing some work with Tribal Ways Ministry,” said the offensive lineman. “It’s a non-profit organization that reaches out to the First Nation-Indigenous People of the Flathead Reservation in Montana, and I spent some time with my nephew.” 

Eli’s father, who is also a chief, had been a missionary in Canada, working with First Nations people. 

BIG DEAL: After Mercy Maston suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, the Bombers acquired defensive back Alden Darby from Toronto to replace such a key figure on their defence. Winnipeg sent American O-lineman Terry Poole to the Argos. 

Training camp for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers continues at the University of Manitoba on July 19.

By Jim Bender 

WINNIPEG – There is at least one Winnipeg Blue Bombers hopeful who should have a pretty secure future — whether he cracks the local CFL club’s roster or not. 

Judge, salesman, photographer … Wait, did you say “judge?” 

“Yeah, Judge Rocquemore, yeah, yeah,” middle linebacker Jontrell Rocquemore said with a smile during a Zoom media interview on July 18. 

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Utah State product went to the NFL Cleveland Browns rookie mini-camp in 2019, signed with the Bombers in 2020, then asked for his release after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Rocquemore, 24, spent the interim preparing for his future. 

“I will say the best and worst thing going through that COVID or going through that 2019 season was going back and forth,” he said. “Do I put my all into football or do I try to build my life? Luckily, I was blessed to do both. I actually went back to Utah State and got my Masters. I got my MBA (Business Administration).” 

Rocquemore credited Utah judge Kevin Allen, who is now retired, for mentoring him. Allen invited Rocquemore to check out court and visit him in his chambers to ask questions afterwards. 

“We sat down one day and had a great conversation just about the world and how things have changed and what kind of change I want to see in the world and one of my first thought processes was what can I give back, what can I do?” Rocquemore said. “Life changes. After I got MBA, it was kind of a wake-up call for me. It opened my eyes to the business side of things, specifically law. I love it, I love law, I love the justice side to it. I love helping people who don’t have voices who actually need that help. But there’s also multiple ways to do that. And with my MBA, there’s ways to build businesses and actually start giving back to the community. Just a wide range of things. At this point, I’m really open to opportunities – that’s why I’m here – open to growing and actually helping people out.” 

While studying for his Masters, Rocquemore worked with student athletes to help pay his way. During the pandemic, he sold solar panels door-to-door to make ends meet. Then, Rocquemore became a photographer and started his own photography business. 

But the most immediate goal is to become a professional football player. 

“It is the love of the game that brought me back,” Rocquemore said. “Being able to find myself beyond the game has given me even more confidence on the field because I understand that the game is a game, I love it, but I’m also here for a different purpose.” 

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea is impressed by how players like Rocquemore have handled their lives without football.  

“What we’ve heard about these guys is how resourceful they’ve been the last little while, making sure they can create new pathways for themselves if football’s not around, and look after their families,” he said. “It’s been very uplifting to hear the stories about what the guys have been doing, that just being one of them.” 

A safety in college, Rocquemore has been transitioning to linebacker at training camp. 

“I know my abilities and I’m confident in myself,” he said. 

BIG CATCHER: At 6-foot-6, Bombers wide receiver Carlton Agudosi stands well above most DBs. 

“Size is definitely an advantage if you work on your game,” he said. “People say, ‘If I had your height,’ but if you don’t work at your game, you’d just be tall and goofy. You have to work on it regardless. Practice makes perfect and it’s an advantage if you use it, just like anything in life.” 

TOUGH GIG: Bombers DB Deatrick Nichols admitted the motion is the toughest part of adjusting to CFL rules. Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea sympathized. 

“The defensive back spots, especially the inside positions when you’re facing the waggle, the toughest transition for any American to make, to come up and see all that motion and understand the width of the field and the depth of the routes and the route combinations and the nuances of the CFL passing game,” he added.