MONTREAL -- The Montreal Alouettes are optimistic that quarterback Anthony Calvillo will pull through his thyroid problem and return next season to help the team try for a third straight Grey Cup, general manager Jim Popp said Monday.
Calvillo made the shock announcement after leading the team to a 21-18 victory over Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup game Sunday that he will need surgery to remove a lesion from his thyroid gland.
Whether he plays an 18th CFL season in 2011 may depend on if doctors determine the lesion is cancerous or not, and on how recovery from the surgery goes.
Asked if he expected Calvillo to be back next season if all goes well, Popp said: "Based on what he's said, yes. But I'm not him."
Popp would not speculate on what the team will do if Calvillo cannot return, whether to make a deal for an experienced starter or go with the backups. Adrian McPherson has shown flashes that he may be ready to become a starter, but Chris Leak struggled in his only start during Calvillo's injury. They also have experienced backup Ricky Santos on hand.
A lesion was found on Calvillo's gland during tests taken while he was in hospital after suffering a bruised sternum in a game against Winnipeg on Oct. 25. A biopsy was inconclusive. After being examined by three specialists, it was decided to remove about half of his thyroid.
"I was going to step away from football, but they said it could wait," a choked up Calvillo said after the game. "It can't wait any longer."
As for his football future, he said "It's something we're going to have to address when we find out what's wrong inside my throat."
After wrapping up celebrations this week, the 38-year-old is to spend a week in his native California with his family and then return to have surgery in Montreal.
Popp said the team was aware of Calvillo's condition all along and were not surprised that, despite the anxiety of not knowing exactly what was wrong, he was able to stay calm and help win the third Grey Cup of his career.
"He's a strong man -- a remarkable guy," Popp said. "Him and his wife and family.
"He's grown consistently ever since he joined the organization (as a free agent from Hamilton in 1998). He's a great leader. The things he's faced and battled have made him stronger."
In 2007, Calvillo took leave from the team for the final four games of the season to help his wife Alexia with her successful battle with B-cell lymphoma. The couple, who have two young daughters, have since become active spokesmen and fundraisers for cancer causes.
The Los Angeles native has not spoken or played like someone contemplating retirement this season.
He missed two games with his injury and also didn't play in the meaningless final game of the regular season, but still was fourth in the league with 4,839 passing yards and 32 touchdowns while throwing only seven interceptions. His quarterback rating of 108.1 was best in the CFL.
The future Hall of Famer is also approaching career records set over 23 seasons by Damon Allen that would likely be passed in one more full season. Calvillo's 68,161 career regular season passing yards are just 4,220 short of Allen's mark, and his 386 TD passes are only eight shy of the record. He needs 118 completions to tie Allen's 5,158.
He has reached those numbers with 1,006 fewer pass attempts than Allen.
Calvillo broke into the CFL in 1994 with the defunct Las Vegas Posse and played three seasons in Hamilton before joining the Alouettes as Tracy Ham's understudy.
He was named the CFL's outstanding player in 2003, 2008 and 2009 and has played in eight Grey Cup games since 2000.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
No comments:
Post a Comment