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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers punter \u2014 and commissioner of the team\u2019s NFL fantasy football league \u2014 Jamieson Sheahan (left) and teammate Micah Vanterpool after practice Wednesday. Vanterpool said the league is great for building club-wide camaraderie.<\/p>\n
\u201cA prestigious honour, maybe, but it was just de facto \u2014 no one else was gonna do it, so, it just fell to me,\u201d Sheahan explained after Wednesday\u2019s closed practice as the Bombers prepare to host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you know, us specialists have a little more time than most other guys. No one offered me it, it was just like, \u2018Are we running this league again? Yes? Alright, I guess I\u2019ll do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As silly as it may sound, those involved believe there are benefits to having a bunch of guys bonding over pretending to be general managers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing an offensive lineman, you don\u2019t really co-mingle with everyone on the team. So, talking to Jams (Sheahan), Jelly (safety Jake Kelly) and all the other guys, it\u2019s super, super fun,\u201d said offensive lineman Micah Vanterpool.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just something cool to be with the guys and build some camaraderie. And competition is always breathing in this locker room. No one likes to lose. You always want to win. Shout out to my team, we\u2019re 2-0 right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheahan, Vanterpool, Kelly, Cam Lawson, Tanner Schmekel, Jake Ceresna, Stanley Bryant and Patrick Neufeld are among those in the 12-man league.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a rookie, don\u2019t even bother asking. And if you\u2019re a veteran, you\u2019re not guaranteed a spot, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want really dedicated people in it, so, we\u2019re pretty picky about who we allow in,\u201d said Sheahan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are only so many spots available each year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for kicker Sergio Castillo, he didn\u2019t make the cut. Instead, he worked his way into a league with the Bombers\u2019 media and communications staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not cool enough,\u201d claimed Castillo.<\/p>\n
According to the commissioner, that\u2019s not entirely accurate.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, we get people with a keen interest and someone who will set their lineup every week and someone who is locked in, let me just say that,\u201d said Sheahan.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t BROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo joked on Wednesday he wasn\u2019t \u2018cool enough\u2019 to make the team\u2019s NFL fantasy football league.<\/p>\n \u201cSerg is maybe in some other leagues, and he\u2019s a busy guy, he\u2019s around town, he\u2019s very active in the community and we just didn\u2019t want to put too much on his plate. He missed out this year, but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll look at bringing him in at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n Not everyone is itching to get in on the action like Castillo. It\u2019s a hard pass for defensive end Willie Jefferson, who is also active in the community and has two young kids at home. With everything he has going on, it\u2019s too big of a hassle.<\/p>\n As for safety Redha Kramdi, he\u2019d rather spend his NFL Sundays watching tape of the three-down game.<\/p>\n \u201cNah, I\u2019m not in it. I was there during their draft hanging out with the boys, but I don\u2019t really watch the NFL,\u201d said Kramdi. \u201cThere\u2019s so much football. And I watch the CFL whenever I\u2019ve got time.\u201d<\/p>\n They don\u2019t have a trophy, but there is a nice cash prize for the winner, considering everyone pays $150 to play. Kelly took home the pot last year after outlasting Lawson in the final.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried to get him to split the money 50-50 at the end. I was really hoping he would do that because he had Puka Nacua and JSN (Jaxon Smith-Njigba), and I\u2019m like, \u2018There\u2019s no way I\u2019m beating that.\u2019 So, I was hoping he would split the money, but he clued in to what I was trying to do,\u201d laughed Lawson.<\/p>\n For most, the bragging rights are worth more.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all you need,\u201d said Vanterpool. \u201cAll you want to do is be No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheahan can control \u2014 at least on most occasions \u2014 whether he boots a good punt or a bad one. But in the wacky, unpredictable world of fantasy football?<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no control in fantasy football. Drafting is one of the most important things, then it\u2019s dumb luck from there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s an element of skill about it, but the end of the day, you have zero control about what they\u2019re gonna do on any given Sunday, as they say. It\u2019s just set a lineup, hope and pray.\u201d<\/p>\n And if they ever need one more participant, it won\u2019t be head coach Mike O\u2019Shea who bails them out.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got no time to think about fantasy football,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have ruled out quarterback Zach Collaros in Friday\u2019s matchup against the Toronto Argonauts. Collaros left the Banjo Bowl with a head injury and didn\u2019t dress for practice all week. <\/p>\n Collaros ruled out<\/p>\n The Bombers confirmed the obvious on Wednesday. O\u2019Shea revealed to reporters after practice that starting quarterback Zach Collaros will not be available for Friday\u2019s tilt with Toronto.<\/p>\n Collaros suffered a head injury in the Banjo Bowl and has not participated in practice all week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s out for this game,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cIt\u2019s the same thing we talk about with anybody \u2014 this is why we have teammates because they have an opportunity now to step in and honour a guy who can\u2019t play.\u201d<\/p>\n Dru Brown will start in his place. Collaros missed four games earlier in the season with a neck injury and Brown helped the Blue and Gold go 2-2 during that stretch.<\/p>\n One of those wins came against Toronto in Week 6 when Brown threw for 339 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 30-21 result.<\/p>\n The Bombers acquired Brown \u2014 who started his CFL career in Winnipeg (2021-23) \u2014 from Ottawa in a trade back in June.<\/p>\n With Collaros set to miss his fifth game this season, the trade has paid off in a major way.<\/p>\n \u201cDru is a good football player. We brought him in for a reason. We had him for a number of years and that\u2019s why we brought him back,\u201d said O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really liked him when he was here and it was just \u2014 he got an opportunity (in Ottawa) that we couldn\u2019t match. He had an opportunity to step in and lead a team, and he had to take it, otherwise I don\u2019t know that we would ever have wanted to let him go.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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