Latest news with #Bombers'
Global News
an hour ago
- Sport
- Global News
Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros practices, will play against Argonauts
It was certainly a sight for sore eyes for fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Starting quarterback Zach Collaros was back on the field with the rest of his teammates to start the practice week. Collaros was a full participant on Tuesday, despite getting knocked out of their last game in the first half. Collaros was back at the controls of the Bombers' first string offence only four days after taking a hellacious hit in the second quarter of Friday's lopsided defeat to the Calgary Stampeders. Collaros has a history of head injuries but wouldn't confirm he suffered another concussion. Collaros said there's no chance he misses Saturday's Grey Cup rematch against the Toronto Argonauts. The team is calling it a neck injury on the official injury report. 'I had to come out of the game and be evaluated,' said Collaros. 'And felt that (I) shouldn't go back in.' Story continues below advertisement Collaros said he understands there's always a risk in football, especially at the QB position. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It's all I know, but it's part of the game,' said Collaros. 'It doesn't happen that often. Unfortunately, in my career, I've had some kinda chronic stuff come back up in different seasons. So, it's been tough on me obviously personally, but if you've played this game your whole life, you understand the risk of it. 'But again, getting back in the meeting room, being back on the practice field, you just, like, forget all about that and just keep going, you know. And you can't play the game to not get hurt. You got to get out there and sling it.' 5:51 RAW: Blue Bombers Zach Collaros Interview – July 22 Collaros has taken countless big hits throughout his 14-year CFL career. He said he thought last week's hit was clean, but the timing was late, and Collaros thinks the CFL can do more to protect the quarterbacks with bigger punishments for the late hits. Story continues below advertisement 'I just think there's not a lot of consistency,' said Collaros. 'It's kinda the bottom line. 'I have a lot of friends that watch and they say why wasn't this a late hit, this is a late hit. There's just not a lot of consistency. I think that's the frustrating part. I think there's ways to mitigate those hits from happening. I think they'd have to be drastic, and I don't think that the league or the association are ready to do those kinda things.' After back-to-back losses, the Bombers tangle with the 1-5 Argos on Saturday with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. Manitoba time.
The Advertiser
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Battered Bomber looks to Will-power for inspiration
Norm Smith Medallist Will Ashcroft will be Nic Martin's inspiration as the Essendon midfielder deals with his season-ending knee surgery. The Bombers' injury crisis claimed Martin and Will Setterfield in Saturday night's horror show against Richmond, one of the worst AFL games in memory. Setterfield's foot was stood on and he is also out for the rest of the year with a Lisfranc injury. Martin showed impressive perspective on Sunday morning, ahead of Essendon confirming the bad news for himself and his teammate. "A bit flat ... wrap my head around it and just move on," Martin told the Seven Network. "In times of adversity you build a bit of resilience. As tough as it is, I'm really optimistic about what we can build post-this and the adversity the boys face will see them for the long term. "I've just got Will Ashcroft in my head a bit, how quickly he returned and found form straight away. "All you can do is take one day at a time and just get better." Ashcroft, like Martin, ruptured an ACL, which ended his 2023 season. The Brisbane young gun returned to win the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in last year's grand final triumph. Martin's teammates made a point of supporting him in the wake of his injury. "So humbling - unfortunately we've had a bit of practice with it this year," Martin said. "I felt so loved and cared for, really appreciated it." Martin is Essendon's latest long-term injury, and their 2026 season is threatening to be derailed before this one even finishes. He finished second in Essendon's best-and-fairest last year behind captain Zach Merrett, and was enjoying another strong season. He is the fourth Bomber to injure an ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards. Martin and Setterfield make it 10 first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones and Zach Reid. "It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in," coach Brad Scott said. "They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection. "Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable. "Nic Martin's (injury) ... that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out. "These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders. "I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there." After slumping to a sixth straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers. Perkins collected 21 possessions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play. Norm Smith Medallist Will Ashcroft will be Nic Martin's inspiration as the Essendon midfielder deals with his season-ending knee surgery. The Bombers' injury crisis claimed Martin and Will Setterfield in Saturday night's horror show against Richmond, one of the worst AFL games in memory. Setterfield's foot was stood on and he is also out for the rest of the year with a Lisfranc injury. Martin showed impressive perspective on Sunday morning, ahead of Essendon confirming the bad news for himself and his teammate. "A bit flat ... wrap my head around it and just move on," Martin told the Seven Network. "In times of adversity you build a bit of resilience. As tough as it is, I'm really optimistic about what we can build post-this and the adversity the boys face will see them for the long term. "I've just got Will Ashcroft in my head a bit, how quickly he returned and found form straight away. "All you can do is take one day at a time and just get better." Ashcroft, like Martin, ruptured an ACL, which ended his 2023 season. The Brisbane young gun returned to win the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in last year's grand final triumph. Martin's teammates made a point of supporting him in the wake of his injury. "So humbling - unfortunately we've had a bit of practice with it this year," Martin said. "I felt so loved and cared for, really appreciated it." Martin is Essendon's latest long-term injury, and their 2026 season is threatening to be derailed before this one even finishes. He finished second in Essendon's best-and-fairest last year behind captain Zach Merrett, and was enjoying another strong season. He is the fourth Bomber to injure an ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards. Martin and Setterfield make it 10 first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones and Zach Reid. "It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in," coach Brad Scott said. "They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection. "Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable. "Nic Martin's (injury) ... that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out. "These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders. "I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there." After slumping to a sixth straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers. Perkins collected 21 possessions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play. Norm Smith Medallist Will Ashcroft will be Nic Martin's inspiration as the Essendon midfielder deals with his season-ending knee surgery. The Bombers' injury crisis claimed Martin and Will Setterfield in Saturday night's horror show against Richmond, one of the worst AFL games in memory. Setterfield's foot was stood on and he is also out for the rest of the year with a Lisfranc injury. Martin showed impressive perspective on Sunday morning, ahead of Essendon confirming the bad news for himself and his teammate. "A bit flat ... wrap my head around it and just move on," Martin told the Seven Network. "In times of adversity you build a bit of resilience. As tough as it is, I'm really optimistic about what we can build post-this and the adversity the boys face will see them for the long term. "I've just got Will Ashcroft in my head a bit, how quickly he returned and found form straight away. "All you can do is take one day at a time and just get better." Ashcroft, like Martin, ruptured an ACL, which ended his 2023 season. The Brisbane young gun returned to win the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in last year's grand final triumph. Martin's teammates made a point of supporting him in the wake of his injury. "So humbling - unfortunately we've had a bit of practice with it this year," Martin said. "I felt so loved and cared for, really appreciated it." Martin is Essendon's latest long-term injury, and their 2026 season is threatening to be derailed before this one even finishes. He finished second in Essendon's best-and-fairest last year behind captain Zach Merrett, and was enjoying another strong season. He is the fourth Bomber to injure an ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards. Martin and Setterfield make it 10 first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones and Zach Reid. "It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in," coach Brad Scott said. "They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection. "Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable. "Nic Martin's (injury) ... that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out. "These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders. "I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there." After slumping to a sixth straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers. Perkins collected 21 possessions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play.
The Advertiser
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Essendon's injury curse strikes one of their best
Essendon coach Brad Scott is coming to terms with another long-term injury to a star player that threatens to derail the Bombers' 2026 season before this one even finishes. Prolific ballwinner Nic Martin has "almost certainly" ruptured the ACL in his right knee after landing awkwardly in Essendon's 6.10 (46) to 4.13 (37) loss against Richmond on Saturday night. Martin, who finished second in Essendon's best-and-fairest last year behind captain Zach Merrett, will miss a large chunk of next year. If scans confirm the worst case scenario, Martin will become the fourth Bombers player to injure their ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards. He becomes the ninth first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones, and Zach Reid. "It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in," Scott said. "They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection. "Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable. "Nic Martin's almost certainly done his ACL so that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out. "These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders. "Martin's a unique player and really important to the way that we play. "I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there." After slumping to a sixth-straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. The Giants dominated premiership contenders Geelong on Saturday, just hours before Essendon's "comedy of errors" contest against Richmond. After booting 3.0 in the first quarter, the Bombers incredibly added only 1.13 for the rest of the match to go down against a team who were tipped by some pundits pre-season not to win a game. Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers. "Perk's a really capable, competitive, contested type player, and he's just been a bit hesitant over the last month or so" Scott said. "Doing him no favours, just pushing him out. "We tried positional changes, a few different things for him, but he just needed a reset to go back and compete at VFL level before he comes back in." Perkins collected 21 possesions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play. Essendon coach Brad Scott is coming to terms with another long-term injury to a star player that threatens to derail the Bombers' 2026 season before this one even finishes. Prolific ballwinner Nic Martin has "almost certainly" ruptured the ACL in his right knee after landing awkwardly in Essendon's 6.10 (46) to 4.13 (37) loss against Richmond on Saturday night. Martin, who finished second in Essendon's best-and-fairest last year behind captain Zach Merrett, will miss a large chunk of next year. If scans confirm the worst case scenario, Martin will become the fourth Bombers player to injure their ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards. He becomes the ninth first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones, and Zach Reid. "It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in," Scott said. "They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection. "Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable. "Nic Martin's almost certainly done his ACL so that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out. "These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders. "Martin's a unique player and really important to the way that we play. "I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there." After slumping to a sixth-straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. The Giants dominated premiership contenders Geelong on Saturday, just hours before Essendon's "comedy of errors" contest against Richmond. After booting 3.0 in the first quarter, the Bombers incredibly added only 1.13 for the rest of the match to go down against a team who were tipped by some pundits pre-season not to win a game. Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers. "Perk's a really capable, competitive, contested type player, and he's just been a bit hesitant over the last month or so" Scott said. "Doing him no favours, just pushing him out. "We tried positional changes, a few different things for him, but he just needed a reset to go back and compete at VFL level before he comes back in." Perkins collected 21 possesions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play. Essendon coach Brad Scott is coming to terms with another long-term injury to a star player that threatens to derail the Bombers' 2026 season before this one even finishes. Prolific ballwinner Nic Martin has "almost certainly" ruptured the ACL in his right knee after landing awkwardly in Essendon's 6.10 (46) to 4.13 (37) loss against Richmond on Saturday night. Martin, who finished second in Essendon's best-and-fairest last year behind captain Zach Merrett, will miss a large chunk of next year. If scans confirm the worst case scenario, Martin will become the fourth Bombers player to injure their ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards. He becomes the ninth first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones, and Zach Reid. "It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in," Scott said. "They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection. "Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable. "Nic Martin's almost certainly done his ACL so that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out. "These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders. "Martin's a unique player and really important to the way that we play. "I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there." After slumping to a sixth-straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. The Giants dominated premiership contenders Geelong on Saturday, just hours before Essendon's "comedy of errors" contest against Richmond. After booting 3.0 in the first quarter, the Bombers incredibly added only 1.13 for the rest of the match to go down against a team who were tipped by some pundits pre-season not to win a game. Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers. "Perk's a really capable, competitive, contested type player, and he's just been a bit hesitant over the last month or so" Scott said. "Doing him no favours, just pushing him out. "We tried positional changes, a few different things for him, but he just needed a reset to go back and compete at VFL level before he comes back in." Perkins collected 21 possesions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play.
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Don't crown Cam Schlittler too early, Yankee fans
On the July 10th, 2025 edition of the Morning Take, Brandon London reacts to Cam Schlittler's impressive MLB debut on the mound for the Yankees in the Bombers' big win over the Seattle Mariners.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Merchbot enters Bombers' starting lineup
Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans can now purchase team merchandise at Princess Auto Stadium the same way they might buy a bag of chips in a workplace break room. Manitoba-based Vidir Solutions Inc. launched its merchandise vending machine at the Bombers' 2025 CFL season home opener last month. Referred to by the company as 'merchbot,' the machine allows fans to purchase hats, hoodies and T-shirts with a few taps on a touchscreen. Vidir is advertising the machine as the first of its kind to be found at a North American sporting event. It's designed to revolutionize how athletic programs manage merchandise sales. 'We wanted to create something that would cause some sizzle and some buzz,' said Mario Fontes, director of sales and marketing. 'We feel that the merchbot has some value for all kinds of sports organizations out there.' A family-owned business, Vidir makes an assortment of specialized automated material handling units. The business is headquartered about 100 kilometres north of Winnipeg in Arborg, with an additional manufacturing facility in Teulon. Vidir's vertical storage solutions are used by some of the biggest retailers in the world, including Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. According to the company, the merchandise vending machine product improves a sports team's operations by automating the merchandise sales process in a compact space, improving the speed of service while maximizing on-hand inventory quantities. The challenge with the Bomber Store at Princess Auto Stadium, Fontes said, is it gets busy and the lines at the tills can get long. There's a potential for lost sales if people lose patience and leave the store before making their purchase. 'This (merchandise vending machine) allows teams to have multiple facilities in the building where people can pick up their hat or jersey away from the store,' Fontes said. The Bombers' machine is 2.1 metres tall, 1.5 m wide and 1.5 m deep, but Fontes said the company can manufacture merchandise vending machines more than three times that size. He added that Micro Center, a computer retail chain in the United States, is already using Vidir-created machines at six of its stores that are similar to the merchandise vending machine. The Micro Center machines are 7.3 m tall, 4.8 m wide and 1.8 m deep, and are self-serve kiosks where people can purchase different colours and gauges of 3D printing filaments. Vidir employees build the software that runs these machines. The software allows customers to track their inventory with ease. 'It's not just a hardware solution — it's a software solution as well,' Fontes said. He calls the Bombers' machine a test unit and envisions Vidir building six- and 7.5-metre-tall versions for sports teams. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'We're very happy about the product,' said Fontes, who declined to share how much such a machine might retail for. The merchandise vending machine has worked out well for the Blue Bombers, said Wade Miller, team president and CEO. 'For them to create something that helps us save space in our stadium and allows for vertical storage … it's fantastic,' Miller said. 'It allows us to carry more product than we usually would in that area (of the stadium). As our fans get used to it, we look forward to growing it.' Vidir Solutions was founded in 1986 by Willie Dueck, a farmer and entrepreneur. The company has more than 250 employees in Canada and around 20 in the U.S. It provides products to 45 countries. Aaron EppReporter Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
