Winnipeg Blue Bombers' head coach ready for start of season
Canadians learned the CFL will finally return on Aug. 5, which is the first action the league will have since the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup in November 2019.
Now that there is a start date in sight, Bombers' head coach Mike O'Shea said he is ready to get the season underway.
"We're only a few weeks from getting together," O'Shea said on Friday.
O'Shea said he is extremely happy knowing that the start of the season is just around the corner and he added he is even happier for the fans, saying they have been waiting a long time for the league to return.
Even with the return of football just a few months away, O'Shea noted things will be different, such as more protocols at training camp and no exhibition games.
Despite the changes, he feels his team will be ready.
"Like most players understand, in a game situation when you're out on the field and the ball is about to get snapped, you probably don't hear the crowd and you don't hear them again until after the whistle blows," he said. "It's going to look different around practice, but play to play it will be relatively the same."
The coach said all the teams throughout the league will have to deal with the same situations when it comes to dealing with COVID protocols and it will be a learning process throughout the entire year.
"You have to be able to adapt very quickly. I fully expect our guys to be able to do that. We got a bunch of pros."
The CFL's season will be shortened for 2021 and will only feature 14 games.
The Bombers will have several players returning from the 2019 Grey Cup winning team and O'Shea thinks that will help the team get off to a good start.
"I do always value a veteran presence, and in this particular year it should prove its worth."
The Bombers' season will get underway on Aug. 5 as they welcome the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to Winnipeg.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.