By Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca
Rob Hitchcock never officially retired, but he’s looking forward to playing again, including the possibility of facing the only team he’s ever played for before.
Hitchcock, who played for his hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1995 through to the end of the 2006 season, signed on Monday to play for the Edmonton Eskimos for the balance of the 2007 season.
It may be no more than three games because the Eskimos are a long shot to make it into the post season. They have a record of 5-9-1,11 points and are last in the West Division. They trail the third-place Calgary Stampeders by four points. If they can’t qualify via their own division, they have to have more points than the third-place team in the East.
Right now that is Montreal, which has 14 points, three more than Edmonton.
Hitchcock, who was contacted last week by the Eskimos about joining them for the balance of the season, said he is physically in good shape after preparing to play this season. He was cut in training camp by the Ticats along with teammate and fellow Hamiltonian Mike Morreale. Hitchcock is the Tiger-Cats’ all-time leader in tackles and special teams tackles.
Hitchcock, who played safety and linebacker with Hamilton, isn’t sure what his role will be, but it will likely start off exclusively with special teams.
When asked if he’s excited to play again, Hitchcock said, “Oh yeah. Mentally I’m a little drained right now. It’s been a long couple days.”
When asked why he’s playing, even if it’s only for the balance of this season, Hitchcock said: “For myself and for Edmonton giving me an opportunity to close out my career and giving it some closure. When you get that taken away from you it’s difficult.”
The Eskimos close out the regular season in Hamilton on Nov. 3. Hitchcock didn’t know that until he’d been apprised of that by Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia.
“I’m not doing this to get back at (Hamilton), that’s not the type of person I am,” he said, adding he has no control over the schedule. “There’s nothing I can do about that. It’ll be fun, I tell you that, if I make it there, you never know.”
Hitchcock’s first game for his new team will be this Saturday when the Eskimos play in Vancouver.
