The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were caught by surprise this morning after word got out that their talented Running Back Charles Roberts had announced that he was finished after this year.
Bomber GM Brendan Taman, was rather shocked to hear the tale of Roberts logging onto a Blue Bomber fansite chat board at OurBombers.com and sharing his post season plans with the Bomber faithful, before he sat down to share them with Bomber management.
Taman said that he believed all was well with Roberts, that he was happy in Winnipeg and that everyone was on the same page as the Bombers head for the playoff drive.
Taman who was en-route to Las Vegas for the weekend, will attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery upon his return. Perhaps it is just a pre-bargaining ploy by Roberts, although the Free Press checked its back issues and discovered a quote from 2004 where Roberts claimed that he would retire after 2006.
It will be interesting to see if he can be talked out of his decision, considering how important he is to the scheme of things in the Big Blue offence.
Our thanks to our friend seanincognito who holds down the fort in Bomber land, for the link and heads up on the percolating personnel issue in the Peg.
Blink blindsides Bombers
Star RB Roberts apparently posts message on Net that he's gonzo at end of season
Fri Oct 6 2006
By Ed Tait
Winnipeg Free Press
HE can be mysterious and perplexing, dramatic and intriguing all at the same time. That, in part, explains why for the past six years so many fans have been unable to take their eyes off the enigma that is Winnipeg Blue Bomber running back Charles Roberts.
And now there may be a new chapter...
Early yesterday morning and completely unbeknownst to team officials, Roberts apparently posted the following message on OurBombers.com under the thread title 'the end' and using his regular chat-room name 'chuckdiesell1':
'I would like to take this opportunity to inform everyone that at the end of the season I will be retiring from football. It has been a great six years and I appreciate all of your support.'
Roberts did not return repeated phone and e-mail messages from the Free Press, but a moderator at OurBombers.com confirmed yesterday the message came from the same address he has previously used to post on the board.
The news blindsided Bomber GM Brendan Taman, who last night was en route to Las Vegas for the weekend.
"I have no clue as to what this is about," said Taman from the Minneapolis airport. "He was in my office two days ago and we had a decent chat. I was just BS-ing with him and he brought up the fact he was thinking about living here year-round, which I thought was good for his marketing value and life outside of football. And then I hear about this and it's 'Wow!'
"The last time we talked everything seemed OK and now, apparently, something has been triggered where it's not OK. He's gone from talking about living here year-round to possibly, 'See ya later.' I don't know what to make of it. It's caught me totally by surprise."
Taman said he was unaware of any rift between Roberts or management and had no indication the five-time CFL all-star was planning to walk away from the game. That said, Roberts has often made his unhappiness public, from going AWOL as a rookie in 2001 over lack of playing time to going public this spring with his displeasure after the club signed former Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith.
It's worth noting that Roberts should not be unhappy with his involvement in the offence this season as he leads the CFL in carries with 244, a pace that would put him near his career high of 300 in 2004. Roberts has 1,305 yards rushing, just 40 back of Calgary's Joffrey Reynolds and on pace for the second-highest total of his career.
There has been speculation that Roberts is unhappy with his current contract, but that subject was not broached with Taman during their meeting earlier this week.
Interestingly, Roberts told the Free Press in October of 2004 that he planned on retiring after the 2006 season -- a statement few then believed he would honour.
And yet, earlier this season Roberts indicated he would like to retire as the Bombers' all-time leading rusher. He currently has 7,785 career rushing yards, trailing only Leo Lewis at 8,861.
"Until he comes into my office and tells me all this... to be honest, I really don't know how to react other than I hope he continues to play," said Taman.
"The disappointing thing is everyone is working toward getting into the playoffs. And now... if it's true it's like, 'Oh, brother.'"
© 2006 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.
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