Despite Mike O'Shea's insistence that Nichols was "fine" there appears to be increasing alarm in bomberville that Nichols will NOT be ready to go. Here's a piece by bomber writer Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun - basically saying what almost everyone but O'Shea is saying. They won't pinpoint the injury (other than leg or calf) but its obvious that if Nichols suffered a torn calf, even a partially torn calf no amount of re-hab would have him ready to rock by Sunday. Torn calf muscles usually require 6 to 10 weeks for recuperation, ultimate factors include player's age and healing ability. Given Nichols is 30+ and has had a couple of knee injuries I'd put his recovery on the longer side - 8 to 10 weeks!
Main reason O'Shea is stalling on MN's playing status - it makes selling tickets ahuge burden if Nichols isn't playing.
Here's my odds for the western semi:
Nichols plays near 100% - bombers win 21 times out of 100
Nichols playsappr. 85%- bombers win 8 times out of 100
Nichols out, LaFever in - bombers win 5 times out of 100
Nichols out, Davis in-bombers win 1 time out of 100
Wad Miller has sent out a compelling letter to season ticket holders, imploring them to redeem their playoff vouchers at nearly 27% OFF. Best procedure for Miller is keeping doubt on the table re: Nichols status - until at least Friday a.m. - then naming their starter. That will kill ticket sales the rest of the week - virtually no walkup expected anyways.
PROVE ME WRONG BOMBER FANS - SELL THE DAMN THING OUT AND MAKE LIFE A VIRTUAL HELL FOR MAD-HATTER REILLY. But frankly, the crowd will be in the 15,000 to 19,500 range plus at least 2,500 to 3,000 paperings courtesy Miller.