More line moves for Ticats

Once again, Orlondo Steinauer has some shuffling to do.

Defensive end Eric Norwood is doubtful Sunday when the Hamilton Tiger Cats visit the Ottawa Redblacks in the East Division final. Norwood reportedly suffered a season-ending knee injury in last weekend’s 25-22 win over Toronto. The 6-foot-1, 252-pound lineman had seven sacks, one interception and two fumble returns for TDs this season.

“That was a big blow, I’m not going to sugar-coat that,” said Steinauer, Hamilton’s defensive co-ordinator. “But they’re going to kick off so we move on. We’ll put a different lineup out there, but it won’t affect our hearts and how hard we play.”

Steinauer has become rather adept at juggling his defensive line. Canadian defensive linemen Linden Gaydosh, Brian Bulcke, Evan Gill and Hasan Hazime and American Adrian Tracy are all on the injured list. With Norwood sidelined, sophomore Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, a Montreal native, is expected to start against Ottawa. WINNING WAYS: The Edmonton Eskimos are confident that a three-week layoff will work in their favour as they prepare to host the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday.

Teams finishing first in the West and being off the semifinal week have just a 5-5 record over the past 10 division finals. But the Eskimos, who finished first in the CFL West at 14-4, had a bye the final week of the regular season as well so they won’t have played for 21 days, the second-longest layoff in the division’s history.

The positive there is that teams with layoffs of 16 days or more since 1959 are 7-1 in the West final.

“That’s pretty good,” Edmonton centre Justin Sorensen said. “Let’s keep the trend going.” DEATH IN THE FAMILY: Former CFL star brothers, Doug and Darren Flutie, lost both parents this week within an hour of each other.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page Wednesday, Doug Flutie said his father, Dick, died of a heart attack in a hospital in Florida, where the family moved years ago. Less than an hour later, his mother, Joan, also suffered a heart attack and died.

“They say you can die of a broken heart and I believe it,” Flutie wrote.

Flutie did not elaborate on the circumstances of their deaths, but called them “incredible parents and grandparents” who had been married for 56 years and were always there for their children.