The last thing Buck Pierce should do is retire. Or at the very least, retire and leave the game on someone else's terms. While I'm sure Buck appreciates all the attention his health has garnered over the last week, given the choice, I'm sure it's attention he never wanted nor asked for. That goes for the advice as well.

Professional football players play the sport for different sa-pierce35reasons. In the face of growing evidence that high speed collisions aren't all that good for your health — present or future — very few I suspect play for the paycheques. Most, like Buck Pierce, play for the love of the game. And given the current climate pro football players live in, with the constant talk of permanent disabilities, CTE, ALS, Parkinson's and a compromised quality of life, playing for anything else hardly makes sense.

Love is a powerful force and when used to motivate an athlete, the one intangible that will always separate winning from losing. Love for your sport, love for your teammates, love for your coaches and love for your fans. Love, it would seem, is the one defining quality that can bring a 300 pound offensive lineman to tears on a sideline. Love is the reason for that five-man endzone embrace after a game-winning touchdown. That Gatorade shower on the last Sunday in November? Cold, sticky love for that coach who hasn't seen his family in eight months. And yes, it's love that will make the decision to retire and walk away from the game that much more difficult.

After five years of high school football, four years of college, 11 years in the CFL and over 25 years of pumping iron, crushing heavy weights and doing  things to my body, that in hindsight, couldn't possibly have been good for me the joint in my left shoulder has finally given up.

Sandy Annunziata in hospital.And why wouldn't it. Like any high performance lever governed by the laws of mechanical physics, it too comes with a shelf life. Having far exceeded the maximum number of useable reps associated with ball and socket joints, I suppose I should be grateful. But admittedly, my joy in having it last as long as it did despite the prolonged abuse it endured has been replaced instead by genuine concern. Is this the start of my slow decline? Is this the beginning of a lifetime of 'procedures' brought on by a career involving violent, high speed collisions?

There are no coincidences when it comes to injuries. All acute trauma, and eventual chronic, can be traced back to a cause and effect relationship. Having already had my left knee reconstructed and now my left shoulder, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the important joints on the left side of my body have fallen victim to premature failure.

For right guards, the shortest distance to the quarterback will always pass through their inside gap. A heavy inside step with a heavy left arm punch are pre-requisites for success. In other words, for over a decade the only thing preventing the violent assault of defenseless quarterbacks by blitzing defensive lineman was the collective left side of my body.

The Ti-Cats have started the 2012 season 0-2.When CFL player agent Darren Gill suggested on a Montreal radio station this week that there was infighting within the Hamilton Tiger-Cats locker room, it reminded me that one must always qualify the source and certainly look to the context in which those potentially inflammatory statements were made.

Although Gill was privy to some second-hand stories (most likely revealed by some of the Tiger Cat players he represents), that may not be the best source in gauging the team's mood, the relationship dynamic that exists between player and coach, or the level of dissension (if any).

The inside of a locker room is sacred ground. Very rarely are outsiders invited into those hallowed quarters and the reason for that privacy is quite simple; outside  distractions and negativity brought about by interlopers and intruders will always take the focus off of winning and ultimately tear a team apart.

Broken down into its simplest components, Gill's comments on the radio come with a relatively simple

Perhaps no other position on either side of the ball is as specialized or as important as your starting centre. A centre provides stability and unity to an offensive huddle. He is a leader in the locker room and will be the first to give his teammate a swift kick in the ass or a kind word of encouragement. His timing is impeccable and his ability to see things before they actually happen comes from an uncanny ability to analyze every defensive player's position, posture and stance. If that wasn't impressive enough, he will deliver the perfect snap while making line calls to his fellow linemen, and he will do it all within a matter of seconds.

In this, the first in our "Ode to the Fat Guys" series, we Angus Reid of the B.C. Lionstoday focus on the "big toe" of the offensive line — the centre.

At the start of every CFL season I try  to give a little love to my O-linemen brothers.  You would think after all these years, 2012 would be a year of enlightenment for football fans, a chance to finally see, not only are O-linemen cute and cuddly, they are also an integral part of any success an offense enjoys.

But despite this being our 100th Grey Cup season, some things never change. While we gleefully sing the praises of "skill position" players, recognizing quarterbacks, running backs and receivers as those talented athletes entrusted with "carrying the rock", making plays and scoring touchdowns, we somehow forget that behind every drop back pass,  every run to day light, every over the shoulder catch, five fat guys with nasty dispositions are doing their jobs to make it all happen.

Every CFL football season begins with hope and optimism. That's one of the great things about an eight-team league...every club has a legitimate shot at Grey Cup glory. The sins of every team's past, every player's mistakes, all seem to magically disappear once the Canada Day weekend rolls around.

Players don't necessarily need any extra incentive to play for championships but this year seems just a little different. I mean, really, when was the last time the league was treated to sellout crowds for preseason games?

An off-season filled with movement, sub-plots and sidebars have certainly provided the context for an unprecedented amount of CFL interest and anticipation.

Offensive linemen, for the most part, are usually fat and jolly, but mention the words "training camp" or "two-a-days" and watch their happy disposition suddenly change to grumpy. If the end goal of training camp is to field the most competitive product, then a little hardship and adversity to help the cream rise to the top seems like a pretty good idea on the surface. But for offensive linemen, where calorie and sleep deprivation is tantamount to waking a sleeping bear, those hardships seem more like riddles in need of a creative solution.

Every medical journal or health article I've ever read recognizes the need for "8-10 hours of quality sleep in order for the average person to operate in an efficient and optimum manner". Not that offensive lineman will ever be confused with the term 'average', but what does that mean for 300-pound football players saddled with less-than-ideal sleeping conditions and nasty bedtime dispositions?

Like a Les Stroud episode of Survivorman, resourcefulness and cunning are sometimes requisites for football players looking to survive the long, hot days and nights of a typical training camp. In typical fashion, pro football players are never too eager to trade the swaddling comfort of home for sterile college dorms. Make no mistake, schemes are being hatched, plans being made and alliances formed, all in the name of a good night's sleep.

There is a lot of attention surrounding the recent death Junior Seau (Getty Images)of former NFL linebacker Junior Seau and even more media speculation linking his apparent suicide to a 20 year professional football career. It would seem plausible to assume the "anti-football" advocates have begun to unsheathe their knives anticipating their collective sharpening, as they use this tragic event to demonize the sport of football and further their agenda.

We've all seen this before. Issues of personal tragedy often morph into social concern, spearheaded by credible, passionate advocates that have had their lives personally touched by tragic events. A wake up call for some, a way to honour the memory of a departed loved one for others. Either way, life will never be the same and we hope any change — socially or legislatively — will be for the common good. A quick Google search of "Mothers Against..." quickly finds a litany of advocacy groups headlined by arguably the most influential group of the last quarter century, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Others, unfortunately fail to gain any political traction and assume the role of fridge advocacy. But nevertheless provide a voice for those affected by its circumstances.

I have to say, I'm more than a little annoyed after reading the story about Winnipeg Blue Bombers DB Jovon Johnson, this year's Most Outstanding Defensive Player, selling his Grey Cup ring because of some misplaced sense of owed compensation.

So let me get this straight J.J.: you didn't feel like you earned it so it was okay to sell it and disrespect everyone who did?

First, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are an organization steeped in rich tradition. Grey Cup championships have been rare and hard to come by — only three since 1910: '66, '89, '07 — which makes Johnson's disrespect and apparent indifference to selling something that is held in such high esteem, even more troubling.

Here's a thought for you J.J.: when the club informed you of your eligibility for a ring OR when the guy from Intergold came down to size your ring finger OR when you were filling out the correct information sheet prior to the rings ordering and engraving, why not get all noble and virtuous and kindly refuse to accept it?