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Defensive end John Chick is among the Indianapolis Colts' final cuts (see the advisory on the Colts' website HERE). However, there is always a chance he could be retained on an eight-man practice roster, which could be determined as early as Sunday.

The noise level had picked up around Camp Surrey Saturday and so had the level of activity, hardly surprising given an uplifting win in Montreal and a sudden surge of player transactions.

Wally Buono had plenty to ponder on his job through the dazzling streets of Surrey, once he had met with his coaches to discuss the round of NFL cuts on the weekend and announced the deal to acquire Jesse Newman from the Calgary Stampeders.

When Arland Bruce III first came to the Ticats - amid a fairly substantial media frenzy - I figured he was an early Christmas present, a quote and controversy machine that would keep me cranking out colourful copy until the cows came home.

And so, like most other members of the football press, I spent a good deal of time baiting him with a microphone in his face, asking him leading questions in hops of securing that killer quote.

In the year-plus I've covered him, he's given me something truly juicy just once: his comments after the loss to Winnipeg late last season when he said it was time to replace Quinton Porter with Keven Glenn. He was frustrated and his emotions got the best of him - and even then, he said it while trying to respect Porter and the decision-making of the coaches. He was also right.

The one thing I didn't expect - and I led my story in today's Spec with it - was that Bruce is a sublime practice player, one of the few guys worth watching because he's usually got at least one amazing catch in him per day. But more than that, he practiced hard every single play. This is the pros and most guys go hard but he was also focused - he does not, as a general rule, drop balls.

As more of the Andrus story trickled out, it became apparent to me that Bruce had been unfairly painted as a malcontent. I've documented some the details in previous postings, but they are much more favourable to Bruce than they are to Andrus - and almost wholly unreported.

Once I'd come to those conclusions, I knew I wanted to write about Bruce, in for no other reason than to show this other side of him. Then a colleague, a Spec copy editor and rabid Cat fan Gary Curtis - a guy who has been so monumentally helpful in my development as a beat reporter I couldn't ever buy him enough Hawaiian shirts as a thank you - found this story, a retrospective from a reporter who covered Bruce in high school and stumbled across an NFL Network broadcast of a recent game.

That story galvanized my thinking even further. It explained a lot about Bruce's work ethic and about his reaction to the Andrus thing. When you've worked your ass off, despite repeated setbacks, to make it, you keep working. And you certainly don't appreciate being labeled unprofessional when being a professional was all you wanted to be and what you worked so hard for.

But despite my best of intentions, the story almost didn't happen. When the Ticat media relations guy, Scott McNaughton, told Arland that I wanted to do a story on him and gave him a rough idea as to what it was about, Arland turned it down. Scott asked Arland to talk to me about it, essentially giving me a chance to pitch him on the story. We talked and he agreed.

As much as I respect how far he's come, I was also extremely careful not to portray Arland as something he isn't. I don't pretend to know the real Arland Bruce and I still don't have as clear a sense of the man as I would like to. The other major profiles I've done - Cobb, Porter, Bellefeuille, Glenn - I've felt more comfortable that I knew who they were at the end of the process - s much as any reporter can. Arland isn't like that. He's a complicated guy, I think, and I wanted what I wrote to be true.

That said, I'm extremely grateful to Arland for his time and candour. Talking about your difficult childhood isn't easy and he struggled at times to articulate himself. And if there's anybody who has the right to mistrust the press, it's AB3.

And never again will I try and trap Arland Bruce. First of all, he's wayyyyy too smart for that - I've come to understand that, with a few rare and emotional exceptions, he only ever says exactly what he wants to. But more importantly, I know now that he's mildly insulted by it, though he'd never say so.

In other words, it's time to Arland Bruce III just a little more credit.

The good, bad and ugly from a road win by the Lions in Montreal:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Three days before Labour Day and nary a blog posting? What's with that?

Well, the payoff comes tomorrow: a 2,000 word opus on the life and times of one Arland Bruce III. It came together in two days and I hope the hurry-up nature of my creative process doesn't wreck it. But sometimes it's the way it has to be and even the best way to get things done. I'll have more thoughts on Arland, and the process of writing the story, tomorrow when it's published.

I also went to practice today where two things of interest happened: one, it rained so heavily that Bellefeuille pulled the team off the field for 10 minutes or so - the first time I've seen that happen. And Belton Johnson took first team reps at right tackle, meaning I'm not sure if he or Jimenez - who took first team reps yesterday - is starting. Marcel said it would be a game-time decision.

More tomorrow, and earlier too - I promise.

Unless we’re being fed a line here (and, to its credit, the Stampeder organization doesn’t play that game), there is nothing to read into Miguel Robede’s continued absence from practice this week other than what we’ve been told: the guy is sick.
But it does raise the intriguing possibility that newly signed defensive lineman Corey Mace will get his feet wet in a hurry for the Stampeders.
The highly touted Mace likely wouldn’t have seen action on Monday were Robede healthy, and still might not, for that matter, if Robede is back on his feet tomorrow. But with all the advance hype that accompanied Mace’s long and winding road to Calgary, I’m not gonna lie; I’d love to see him in the lineup.
Also apparently catching the bug was special-teamer Marc Calixte, who was absent for a portion of today’s practice, while safety Wes Lysack was back on the field after missing Thursday’s practice.
Other than that, it’s business as usual for the Stamps, although that could change tomorrow.
That’s when the Stamps have to make a final decision on Jesse Newman, as his 10-day window expires. The Stamps have a number of choices: cut him loose, put him on the active 46-man roster (not gonna happen), put him on the practice roster (and expose him to another team that could snap him up), put him on the injured list or trade him.
The last two options are, by far, the most likely, and I’m 50-50 on which route they’ll go. I can see a lot of upside to both situations. We’ll see how it shakes down tomorrow.
Here’s your daily stat, courtesy of the incomparable Steve Daniel, the head statistician for the CFL. The last time two running backs from the same team went over 100 yards in a single game was Oct. 10, 2008, when Fred Reid (107) and Joe Smith (101) did it for the Bombers. Stamps’ running back Jon Cornish said earlier this week he thinks he and Joffrey Reynolds could do it, but it will take a special set of circumstances.

The Riders completed their final full practice Friday for Sunday’s Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
It’s been a long week with loads of navel-gazing and probing into everything that took place during the 17-14 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos. The guys are prepared and appear ready to bounce back against the Blue Bomber. I can’t believe this team can play back-to-back offensive stinkers, so I would assume they are ready.
Other than that, here are the highlights:
— DE Brent Hawkins was back at practice after missing two days with an injury to his right shoulder. Hawkins said there isn’t any doubt that he will play Sunday. Riders head coach Ken Miller wanted to check with Ivan Gutfriend before committing to Hawkins. I’m betting he plays unless he has a setback.
— Barring a setback by Hawkins, I expect the 46-man roster to remain basically the same. I don’t know if Joel Bell will be on the roster but that remains to be seen. Tad Kornegay will start fourth straight game at cornerback and Daniel Francis remains at weak-side linebacker.
— Former Riders defensive end Stevie Baggs was cut by the Cardinals on Friday. Baggs tweeted “We just added another test to the testimony... Bless.’’ There are reports that Baggs will be offered a spot on the practice roster with the Cardinals. Baggs is a free agent, so he doesn’t have to return to the Riders.
— The news is mixed for linebacker Rey Williams. There are reports he suffered a knee injury in Pittsburgh’s 19-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. Williams was placed on the waived-injured list Friday. The Riders still retain his rights but the knee injury could complicate the issue for the Riders and for Williams. Defensive end John Chick did stick with the Colts, as expected.
— As usual, there is loads of pre-game material in Saturday’s LP and online later.