THE CANADIAN PRESS
HAMILTON, Ont. – Kevin Glenn let the cat out of the bag Sunday.
When wide receiver Arland Bruce III steps on the field at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Monday (TSN, 4 p.m. ET), it will mark the first time he’ll face the Toronto Argonauts since having a falling out with head coach Bart Andrus and being dealt to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats earlier this summer.
Bruce said he’s looking forward to exchanging pleasantries with his former teammates but was very nonchalant and subdued when asked if he had a special dance in store should he score against Toronto, adding he really didn’t have anything specific planned.
But Glenn offered a much different story.
“I can’t wait because I’m expecting a lot,” the veteran quarterback said. “He does his little touchdown celebrations and he was asked what he had in store for this (game) and he said ‘I have something in store,’ and I could just tell from the look in his eye that it’s going to be a good one.
“So I’m going to make sure that whoever is out there tomorrow playing, either me or Porter (Ticats quarterback Quinton Porter), that we make sure we get him a touchdown because I want to see it. I’m anxious to see what it is.”
Bruce made headlines following a bizarre TD celebration in Toronto’s 30-17 win over Hamilton on July 1 in the season opener for both teams. He was fined by the CFL after removing his helmet and shoulder pads, then lying in a corner of the end zone in a bizarre tribute to former pop star Michael Jackson.
Bruce then got into a public spat with Andrus and made critical comments about quarterback Kerry Joseph. He also was repeatedly fined by the club for missing team meetings and losing his playbook. Toronto (2-6) put an end to the ongoing soap opera July 30 by dealing Bruce to Hamilton for the rights to defensive end Corey Mace, a 2010 third-round pick and a conditional 2011 selection.
The move has certainly paid off well for Hamilton (4-4) as Bruce, 31, in his eighth CFL season, has 18 catches for 295 yards (16.4-yard average) and three touchdowns. Overall, Bruce is the league’s fifth-leading receiver with 37 catches for 567 yards and five TDs.
“He’s been a great addition,” Ticats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said of Bruce. “You see it in our offence, you see it on the field . . . he’s been very productive.
“Last year we were a very young team and maybe sometimes it was unfair to ask a rookie running back or rookie receiver to be guys who week in and week out had to make those big plays. Now you have someone who’s been there and done it. I also feel like he’s brought up the level of competition at practice for the rest of our receivers.”
Bruce did admit to being excited about the home-and-home series – Hamilton and Toronto square off again Friday night at Rogers Centre – but Bruce was very subdued and was the model of professionalism and calm when talking about facing his former team.
“The game is tomorrow, it’s not today, one more sleep,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to get a victory.
“I can’t really worry about them. I had a great time when I was there. All I can do is focus on helping this team get to the playoffs. That’s the goal and winning (Monday) would be the first step.”
The two games are important for both teams.
A sweep would move the Ticats eight points ahead of the Argos in the East Division standings and give them a 2-1 series lead with one head-to-head game to play. By the same token, a sweep would move Toronto into a tie with Hamilton and clinch the season series, an important development considering that’s the first tie-breaker if two teams ended the season tied.
Bellefeuille said he has spoken with Bruce about his TD celebrations but adds he tries to speak with all of his players on a regular basis.
“I talk to him every week about that,” Bellefeuille said. “I just ask him what he’s thinking and then I tell him what I think.
“He’s been very honest and very open about it and been true to his word every time. Basically our rule is have fun, get excited but don’t do anything that’s going to put us in a situation where we get a penalty. Basically, that’s our threshold.”
The big question for Hamilton will be who plays catch with Bruce. Glenn started last week’s 31-30 loss to Edmonton with Porter nursing a knee injury. Bellefeuille said Porter practised well last week but he’d wait until an hour before kickoff to decide who his starter will be.
Regardless of who starts for Hamilton, Toronto linebacker Zeke Moreno, who is a former Ticat, said Bruce is a player the Argos must account for.
“He’s going to be fired up,” Moreno said. “He’s going to come out and bring his ‘A’ game and I know he’s going to excite everyone in that locker-room to bring their ‘A’ game as well.
“He’s a very emotional player, he carries his emotions on his sleeve. He still has a lot of friends on this team and there will be a lot of yelling and trash-talking just to get things hyped and make the game that much more exciting.”
Excitement shouldn’t be a problem considering Hamilton and Toronto are long-time rivals who always play at a fever pitch against one another. Also, the game is expected to be a sellout at Ivor Wynne Stadium, where Toronto has won the last six regular-season contests between the two teams.
“This is the kind of game that you hope to coach or play in,” Andrus said. “It’s a big rivalry, holiday, hostile environment type thing coming in.
“Our team is looking forward to it.”
Andrus, for one, isn’t surprised to see Bruce excelling in Steeltown
“No, he’s a good football player, he’s talented,” he said. “I wished him well and hoped some way, some how that his career would be affected positively by what happened earlier in the season.”
NOTES – Toronto will have to continue to wait for Mace. After being released Saturday by the Buffalo Bills, the NFL club placed the native of Port Moody, B.C., on its practice roster. However, special-teams ace Dominique Dorsey, who was cut by the Washington Redskins, was not among the five players the NFL squad named to its practice roster.
