SASKATOON — Guard Dariusz Bladek is vowing to do his best to live up to Chris Best’s legacy.
Bladek is wearing No. 66 during training camp with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. That was the number worn for the previous 10 seasons by Best, who retired from the Roughriders in the off-season.
Before the Roughriders drafted Bladek 11th overall on May 7, the product of Bethune-Cookman University knew some things about Best and what he meant to Saskatchewan. But Bladek didn’t know what number Best had worn, which led to some interesting moments early on.
“When I came in and was assigned No. 66, I instantly said, ‘Can we change this after camp?’ ’’ Bladek recalled after Monday’s workout at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus. “I knew this one player in college and — let’s just say the number rubbed me wrong.
“I was like, ‘Damn. I can’t believe I’m this number,’ and I said to the guys, ‘I can’t wait to change my number.’ That’s when (guard Brendon LaBatte) told me, ‘That’s Best’s number. It’s so weird seeing you in it.’ He told me it’s a big thing that I get to wear that number.
“Instantly I got a little bit more pride in the number and I told them I wanted to keep it. To be able to wear 66 after a guy like him — with everything he went through, the type of play he brought to the line, the commitment and the way the guys talk about him — why wouldn’t you want to try to fill those shoes? I’m looking forward to wearing it now. It’s definitely an honour.”
In addition to Best, No. 66 has been worn in Saskatchewan by players like Mike Anderson, Al Benecick, Tim Roth and Mike Samples — all four of whom are in the Plaza of Honour. His predecessors’ effort, toughness and longevity have given Bladek some incentive.
“Hopefully I can do that in my career,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue to put a good stamp on the 66 legacy and get myself to a point where everyone will be talking about me 10 years from now.”
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Bakari Grant was sporting a smile a mile wide during Monday’s practice.
His joy was only partly due to another solid workout with the Roughriders. The Oakland product also is an avid fan of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, who beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-113 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven league final.
“You’ve got to love it,” Grant said. “Everyone’s talking about last year (when Cleveland rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Warriors in Game 7). Last year was last year, man. This is a completely different year. We’re going to see it in Game 3 and Game 4. We’re going to go over to Cleveland and handle business.”
It’s the third straight season that the Warriors and Cavs are meeting for the NBA title. For Grant, Golden State’s run of success makes up for some lean times.
“Everybody wants to talk about bandwagon fans — ‘Oh, you weren’t cheering for them back then’ — but I started cheering for the Warriors when I was young,” Grant said. “I went through the Baron Davis days, the Monta Ellis days. We had our rough years.
“It’s the same way with the (NFL’s) Oakland Raiders. Everybody now is cheering for the Raiders, but I was a fan back then. I remember the B.S. with the Tuck Rule, when (New England Patriots quarterback) Tom Brady started taking over the league. He might as well be the commissioner. They changed the rules for him.
“When people talk about my teams, I get pretty defensive. But I love it.”
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Receivers Rob Bagg, Nic Demski and Caleb Holley returned to practice Monday after sitting out Saturday’s mock game.
Defensive end Jonathan Newsome, who hasn’t practised since leaving Wednesday’s workout, also was back on the field Monday. LaBatte, who left Friday’s session, was in uniform and on the field but he didn’t participate in any plays.
Players who didn’t take part Monday were offensive linemen Terrence Campbell, Marc Glaude and Ryan White, defensive linemen Ivan Brown and Ja’Boree Poole, tailback Kienan LaFrance, linebacker Sam Eguavoen and defensive back Zavian Bingham.
Defensive linemen Willie Jefferson and Ese Mrabure, cornerback Kacy Rodgers and kick returner Chad Owens all left Monday’s practice before its conclusion. Their status wasn’t immediately known.
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Ricky Collins Jr., who hadn’t practised since Tuesday, returned to the field Monday — but he was sporting the green jersey of a defensive player.
Like Joe Craig before him, Collins has been shifted from receiver to defensive back.
“A couple of guys had some hamstrings and things like that, so we put (Collins) out there,” head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I play defence too,’ so I thought, ‘What the heck? We’ll stick him over there.’ ’’
Jones said it’s too early to know if Collins’ move will be permanent.
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EXTRAS: Jones liked the players’ energy level Monday, but not their execution. “We’ve had one big wind day and one rain day and both days were a little bit sloppy,” he said, referring to Monday’s showers. “We’ve got to understand when we play up here in Canada that we’ve got the elements to deal with and we’ve got to come out every day ready to play.” … Quarterback Brandon Bridge was the best of the backup quarterbacks Monday, throwing some perfect strikes into the wind. One toss hit Naaman Roosevelt in stride for a 40-yard TD … After watching film of Saturday’s mock game, Jones said the biggest takeaway was the number of playmakers the Roughriders have on offence. “We’ve got some guys who have a lot of firepower,” Jones said. “It’ll be interesting to see exactly what they look like when we play a real game.” That happens Saturday (7 p.m.), when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit Mosaic Stadium for a pre-season game.
