Mike Pringle

REGINA, Saskatchewan -- When he was young, Mike Pringle didn't dream of playing professional football, but he quickly found out how much he loved the contact that came with the game.So what if he was breaking the rules by hitting people. He couldn't help it, even at the age of 8."The first football trophy I ever got was in 1975, in a flag football league," said Pringle, 28. "I used to tackle people all of the time, and after that one year, they didn't want me to play anymore. I guess I was a little too physical."

REGINA, Saskatchewan -- When he was young, Mike Pringle didn't dream of playing professional football, but he quickly found out how much he loved the contact that came with the game.So what if he was breaking the rules by hitting people. He couldn't help it, even at the age of 8."The first football trophy I ever got was in 1975, in a flag football league," said Pringle, 28. "I used to tackle people all of the time, and after that one year, they didn't want me to play anymore. I guess I was a little too physical."

Rookie Louis Fite has touched the ball twice in his professional career. But Sunday, he will be the Stallions' starting running back.Trying to avoid an injury to Canadian Football League-leading rusher Mike Pringle in their regular-season finale, the Stallions yesterday named Fite as their starter.Pringle, who has a 500-yard cushion over second-place Cory Philpot in the league rushing race with one game remaining, would not comment on the move. It has not been determined whether Pringle will see any playing time Sunday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

When he was younger and making a splash as one of the Canadian Football League's more dynamic quarterbacks, the losses and the mistakes would eat at Tracy Ham.How much has he grown up over his productive, nine-year career? When he played in his first Grey Cup in 1990 with the Edmonton Eskimos, Ham remembers being crushed by the defeat, a feeling he had trouble shaking long after the final gun sounded.Ham recalled a similar feeling in the aftermath of last year's Grey Cup. He played his worst game of an otherwise fine 1994 season with Baltimore, throwing two interceptions and losing a critical fumble, all of which contributed to British Columbia's last-second 26-23 victory.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- As if Baltimore needed more incentive for Sunday's 82nd Grey Cup, the CFLs found fresh ammunition in the Canadian Football League awards program Thursday night.It arrived with the news that Calgary quarterback Doug Flutie had been selected by the Football Reporters of Canada as the league's Most Outstanding Player of the Year. He beat out Baltimore running back Mike Pringle by a vote of 33-19."All I know is, Mike Pringle rebounds from anything," said CFLs linebacker Matt Goodwin.

Game capsuleSite: Memorial StadiumTime: 7:30TV/Radio: HTS (tape delay, tomorrow, 8 p.m.)/WJFK (1300 AM), WGRX (100.7 FM)Records: Baltimore 10-3; Shreveport 4-9Last week: Baltimore took a 24-3 lead into the fourth quarter at Shreveport, then held on for a 24-17 victory, its fifth straight.On the sidelines: Baltimore's Don Matthews has a 120-69-1 record in 11 CFL seasons. Shreveport's Forrest Gregg, in his third CFL season, has a 12-35 record.What Baltimore has to do to win: Protect the ball, re-establish its running game with Mike Pringle, and stop the Pirates' rushing attack.

Site: Memorial Stadium.Time: 2 p.m.Line: Baltimore by 2.TV/Radio: HTS/WJFK (1300 AM).Records: B.C. 10-4-1; Baltimore 10-5.Last week: B.C. lost to Saskatchewan, 38-27; Baltimore lost to Edmonton, 31-24.On the sidelines: Dave Ritchie is in his second season as coach of the Lions and has an overall record of 19-13-1. Baltimore's Don Matthews has a career record of 106-64-1 in 10 CFL seasons, including five years and one Grey Cup championship at B.C.Roster changes: Baltimore--LB Alvin Walton replaced LB Earnest Fields and DT Malcolm Showell replaced RE Mike Kerr.

Site: Memorial StadiumTime: 7:30Line: Baltimore by 10 1/2TV/Radio: Ch. 2/WJFK (1300 AM)Records: Toronto 2-4, Baltimore 4-2 in Eastern DivisionLast week: Toronto lost to British Columbia, 54-39; Baltimore beat Hamilton, 30-15.First meeting: Baltimore topped Toronto, 28-20, in the season opener July 7 at SkyDome as Donald Igwebuike kicked four field goals and Tracy Ham threw for two touchdowns.On the sidelines: In his 13th season as a CFL head coach, Bob O'Billovich has a career record of 106-103-3.

Site: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.Time: 8.TV/Radio: ESPN2/WJFK (1300 AM), WGRX (100.7 FM).Records: Baltimore 9-3; Shreveport 4-8.Last week: Baltimore rallied for 17 fourth-quarter points to post a come-from-behind, 28-20 victory over Birmingham. Shreveport lost, 22-21, in Memphis, when kicker Bjorn Nittmo's 59-yard field-goal attempt on the game's final play sailed wide left for a single.On the sidelines: Baltimore's Don Matthews has a 119-69-1 record in his 11th CFL season. Shreveport's Forrest Gregg, in his third CFL season, has a 12-34 record.

For two months, Mike Pringle represented the blunt edge of Baltimore's battering-ram running game.But today, in the first Canadian Football League playoff game on United States soil, the CFLs will shift to a new face and a different gear.Robert Drummond will be as much a mystery to the Toronto Argonauts as to an expected crowd of 40,000 at Memorial Stadium for the Eastern semifinal."Pringle is a heck of a back," Toronto linebacker Calvin Tiggle said yesterday. "The other guy, I don't know much about."

Rookie Louis Fite has touched the ball twice in his professional career. But Sunday, he will be the Stallions' starting running back.Trying to avoid an injury to Canadian Football League-leading rusher Mike Pringle in their regular-season finale, the Stallions yesterday named Fite as their starter.Pringle, who has a 500-yard cushion over second-place Cory Philpot in the league rushing race with one game remaining, would not comment on the move. It has not been determined whether Pringle will see any playing time Sunday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Game capsuleSite: Memorial StadiumTime: 7:30TV/Radio: HTS (tape delay, tomorrow, 8 p.m.)/WJFK (1300 AM), WGRX (100.7 FM)Records: Baltimore 10-3; Shreveport 4-9Last week: Baltimore took a 24-3 lead into the fourth quarter at Shreveport, then held on for a 24-17 victory, its fifth straight.On the sidelines: Baltimore's Don Matthews has a 120-69-1 record in 11 CFL seasons. Shreveport's Forrest Gregg, in his third CFL season, has a 12-35 record.What Baltimore has to do to win: Protect the ball, re-establish its running game with Mike Pringle, and stop the Pirates' rushing attack.

SHREVEPORT, La. -- The Baltimore Stallions pride themselves on strong special teams, and in Friday's 24-17 victory over the Shreveport Pirates, they were at their finest in that phase of the game.Start with the team's most valuable legs. Kicker Carlos Huerta, the Canadian Football League's leading scorer, made three of four field-goal attempts to help the Stallions take a 24-3 lead after three quarters.Punter Josh Miller, also the league's best, made his biggest impact in the first half. Miller, who averaged 57 yards on five punts in the half, ruined the Pirates' field position repeatedly.

Site: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.Time: 8.TV/Radio: ESPN2/WJFK (1300 AM), WGRX (100.7 FM).Records: Baltimore 9-3; Shreveport 4-8.Last week: Baltimore rallied for 17 fourth-quarter points to post a come-from-behind, 28-20 victory over Birmingham. Shreveport lost, 22-21, in Memphis, when kicker Bjorn Nittmo's 59-yard field-goal attempt on the game's final play sailed wide left for a single.On the sidelines: Baltimore's Don Matthews has a 119-69-1 record in his 11th CFL season. Shreveport's Forrest Gregg, in his third CFL season, has a 12-34 record.

SAN ANTONIO -- The Stallions taught San Antonio a few lessons in last week's 50-24 blowout at Memorial Stadium, but Baltimore quarterback Tracy Ham, the best player on the field that night, warned yesterday against dismissing the Texans too quickly, as the Stallions prepared for tonight's Canadian Football League rematch at the Alamodome."

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- As if Baltimore needed more incentive for Sunday's 82nd Grey Cup, the CFLs found fresh ammunition in the Canadian Football League awards program Thursday night.It arrived with the news that Calgary quarterback Doug Flutie had been selected by the Football Reporters of Canada as the league's Most Outstanding Player of the Year. He beat out Baltimore running back Mike Pringle by a vote of 33-19."All I know is, Mike Pringle rebounds from anything," said CFLs linebacker Matt Goodwin.

So much for the appetizers. Starting last night, the Baltimore CFLs were chewing on the meat of their schedule. In a seven-week stretch, they play five games against Western Division teams.Sacramento was the first of two in a row against the West. Next Sunday, the CFLs play the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina, the previous coaching job of Baltimore's Don Matthews. The Roughriders are 5-0 at home this year.It is perhaps no coincidence that 10 of Baltimore's 12 CFL veterans have played with Western Division teams.

SHREVEPORT, La. -- The Baltimore Stallions pride themselves on strong special teams, and in Friday's 24-17 victory over the Shreveport Pirates, they were at their finest in that phase of the game.Start with the team's most valuable legs. Kicker Carlos Huerta, the Canadian Football League's leading scorer, made three of four field-goal attempts to help the Stallions take a 24-3 lead after three quarters.Punter Josh Miller, also the league's best, made his biggest impact in the first half. Miller, who averaged 57 yards on five punts in the half, ruined the Pirates' field position repeatedly.

For two months, Mike Pringle represented the blunt edge of Baltimore's battering-ram running game.But today, in the first Canadian Football League playoff game on United States soil, the CFLs will shift to a new face and a different gear.Robert Drummond will be as much a mystery to the Toronto Argonauts as to an expected crowd of 40,000 at Memorial Stadium for the Eastern semifinal."Pringle is a heck of a back," Toronto linebacker Calvin Tiggle said yesterday. "The other guy, I don't know much about."

In the spring, the last thing on Josh Miller's mind was playing football."I was running between Los Angeles and Arizona, trying to get work as an actor, doing commercials and auditioning as a sportscaster," Miller saidBut a call from Baltimore CFLs player personnel director Jim Popp changed all that."