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CALGARY — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats left star rusher Jesse Lumsden at home, but brought with them friction developing between defensive co-ordinator Denny Creehan and his former club.
The Tiger-Cats are keeping Lumsden out of Thursday's game against the Calgary Stampeders (TSN, 9 p.m. ET) so the CFL's leading rusher can rest a sore right knee.
Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel objected to comments Creehan had made to a local daily newspaper Wednesday.
Creehan was quoted as saying interference from Calgary management last season cost him his job. The Stampeders fired him Oct. 1.
"I found this individual's comments to be extremely contradictory, misguided and malicious," Hufnagel read from a prepared statement Wednesday at McMahon Stadium. "Clearly there was a strong personal agenda at work.
"Ownership has been fully supportive of me and the coaching staff and we're all working towards the same goals."
Hufnagel was named the Stamps' head coach and GM on Dec. 3, so Creehan, hired by Hamilton in the off-season, did not work with Hufnagel last year.
"I don't have any agenda at all," Creehan said after the Ticats' walkthrough Wednesday. "I had four great years here and I loved every minute of it.
"There was a little bit of frustration with the way things ended. I felt we were on the right track. Whatever frustrations there are, there's frustrations in any job. I don't have any animosity towards anybody. I really don't."
Elsewhere in the CFL this week, winless Winnipeg visits the B.C. Lions (1-2) on Friday, undefeated Saskatchewan hosts Montreal (2-1) on Saturday and Edmonton (2-1) and Toronto (1-2) cap off Week 4 on Sunday.
Lumsden has carried the ball 39 times in his last two games and while the powerful runner punishes those who try to stop him, he also takes a lot of pounding.
His knee made contact with a helmet early in last week's loss to Saskatchewan, although Lumsden finished the game.
"He looked like a Chiquita banana earlier in the week, black and blue and sore," Hamilton head coach Charlie Taaffe said.
Lumsden has 362 rushing yards on 48 carries this season. He's scored four touchdowns and is third in the league with 382 yards from scrimmage.
He practised with the Ticats at home Tuesday wearing a brace on his knee, but did not travel with the club to Calgary.
"There is no significant injury," Taaffe said. "He could have played. Our judgment was to hold him out this week."
He expects Lumsden to play next week against Edmonton.
The Stampeders (2-1) are coming off a 23-19 win over Montreal last Thursday, while the Tiger-Cats (1-2) have a quick turnaround after losing 33-28 to Saskatchewan on Sunday.
Lumsden's lack of rest and rehabilitation, plus the travel, were factors in leaving him at home, Taaffe said.
Bringing Terry Caulley in to replace Lumsden means Hamilton has two import tailbacks for Thursday's game. The Ticats have to take an American out to conform to league import ratio rules.
Marko Cavka will be replaced on the offensive line by Vancouver's Peter Dyakowski
"The situation with Jesse causes us to lose two starters in the offence for this game," Taaffe said.
Hamilton relies heavily on the run and leads the league in rushing yards with 655.
Quarterback Casey Printers has yet to throw a touchdown pass, but insists the Ticats' offence isn't one-dimensional.
"I don't think we are a running football team by any stretch of the imagination, but I guess perception rules," Printers said. "Jesse is a wonderful running back and we all know that. This is the opportunity for someone to step in and contribute."
The Stamps have the best defence against the run, giving up just 141 yards in three games.
Former Ticat linebacker JoJuan Armour, signed by Calgary in the off-season, says he'd been looking forward to trying to stop his old teammate.
"We're more disappointed than anything," he said. "We want to see Jesse. We don't want Hamilton any other way."
Armour doesn't expect Hamilton to switch to an air attack Thursday without Lumsden.
"I'm pretty sure their game plan isn't going to change," he said. "They're going to run the ball and try and produce and we're not shying away."
Calgary running back Joffrey Reynolds is just one yard short of a career 5,000. Quarterback Henry Burris has thrown for over 300 yards in each of his last two games for a total of four TDs.
The two clubs have exchanged a few players since the conclusion of last season.
Defensive lineman Terrance Patrick was cut from the Stamps in training camp after three seasons here and is now on Hamilton's line.
Armour and defensive tackle Howard Hodges were Tiger-Cats last season and will line up against their former teammates Thursday. Richard Karikari, another Ticat from 2007, is Calgary's backup safety.
"This is strange," Hodges observed. "I've never been on one team and then had to face them. Never. It's just weird."
"These guys are coming in today and I want to go see them. I want to go say hi. But it's more 'let's talk about everything, but football."'
Winnipeg at B.C.
Times are tough in Bomber-land as Winnipeg is the only club without a win. They were trounced 42-24 at home by the Lions last week and scandalous photos of ex-Bomber cheerleaders on the Internet hasn't helped the team's reputation. The Lions seemed to get their legs under them with their first win. B.C. hopes for more of the same from QB Jarious Jackson, who threw for 340 yards and five touchdown passes.
Montreal at Saskatchewan
The Roughriders scored with 29 seconds left and played their third-string quarterback when they edged host Hamilton 23-19 last week. It looked to be down year for the defending Grey Cup champions when coach Kent Austin headed for the U.S. and quarterback Kerry Joseph went to Toronto. But the 'Riders are still rolling under Ken Miller. Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo is expected to play Saturday despite dislocating his pinkie finger in last week's loss to Calgary.
Edmonton at Toronto
The Eskimos thumped host Toronto 47-28 in Week 3. The Argos' quarterback drama subsided somewhat this week with coach Rich Stubler declaring Kerry Joseph is his starter for the foreseeable future. Eskimo kicker Noel Prefontaine would probably like to beat the Argos again Sunday. After a decade and two Grey Cup rings in Toronto, the Argos dealt him to Edmonton to make room for Mike Vanderjagt.
