Celebrates Life Week Ago Thursday: HERB Lapointe and Ladouceur, ZURKOWSKY Together Since 2004 and the the Horta /II
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IC LAPOINTE takes thoughts of arecent death and alife-changing un'iversity career into football's Hall of Fame celebrates life week ago Thursday: HERB Lapointe and Ladouceur, ZURKOWSKY together since 2004 and the THE HortA /II.. parents of twin 4-yea '-old I DET~E(Fl girls decided to marry la t _~t-L--....i~~.ZOI? year on May26-herparents' ,'X 71NNIPEG - When he wedding anniversary, kno~ VV stepped off the plane ing time was their enemy: Su Wednesday afternoon in Win zanne's uterus was removed nipeg Eric Lapointe under three months arlier. stood the ramifica ions of 'It was probably one of the what had occurred not even a last times we saw her smile," week erulier. And why he uI Lapointe said. timately decided, with orne "It's a great honour.· o La gentle persuasion to travel pointe said during a tele here. Originally; he thought phone intervie ~ this week. he was coming to celebrate "But it's a1 0 bittersweet, his careel: Instead, it became with what happened last a celeb 'ation of lives - his week. It'll be a little tougher OWl1 and those closestto him. to smile and enjoy it. It's a big "I a ready not to go." La loss for allof us. poi.nte admitted. "Or to fly in "I'm excited, bl t it's hardto and out." push aside (the fact) someone Lapointe tbe Alouettes' important to myself and my former running back. is be family is now gone. mg inducted into the Can· There have been few more adian Football Hall of Fame talented tailbacks, let alone this weekend. The celebra Canadian collegiate players. tion began withthe W1veiling than Lapointe. He becomes of busts on Thursday; a lavish only the second player -after $250-a-plate dinner Friday St. Mary's quarterback Chris night, and will conclude with Flynn - inducted based on a halftime ceremony on Sat his university merits. urday. during the regular-sea A two-ti.me winner of the son finale between Montreal Hec Crighton Trophy; given and the Winnipeg Blue Bomb· annually to the top univer eI s at Canad Inns Stadium. sity football player in the JOining Lapointe will be country - Lapointe. Flynn this year's inductees, includ and Western running-back ing former Bombers receiver Tim Tindale are the only Milt Stegall, along with Da multiple winners - Lapointe mon Allen, Ty Jones. Jack was named the outstand Abendschan. David Braley, ing CIAU rookie in 1995, a who owns the Canadian Fbot yeru' before he established a ball League franchises in Ta single-season rushing record ronto and British Columbia, with 1.619 yards. A three-time and Peter Connellan. all-Canadian, Lapointe COll Although Lapointe now 38, cluded hi four-year career had a respectable - consid with 4.666 rushing yards ering he was released from just 29 short of the CIAU all his first training camp by time re ord. That mark and Edmonton - eight-year CFL others, tmdoubtedly would career, including the last six have been obliterated had La with the Als, he's being hon~ point not torn his anterior oured for his stellar collegiate cruciate ligament, followed career at Mount Allison. by a fractured arm upon re But not far from Lapointe's turning to health in1997. thoughts this weekend - and "Eric wa one of those the face he'll Wldoubtedly see once-in-a-lifetime players each time 11e looks into the from a coaching perspec eyes of his wife. Nelly Ladou tive, · said Gordon Graves, his ceur-- ill that of' ta colle 0 mother-' l~law Suzanne. She and now the athletic director waged an epic ll-year battle at the University of Windsor. with cancer- itbegan in her . He was that kind of run breasts before spreading to ning back. You gave him the her uterus - before dying a ball and you had a chance to r When the expenmen IJmlr:sn- --- he was released at trai camp. Lapointe was preparing for a fifth university season when he was signed by Ham ilton. Lapointe gained 187 yards on only nine carries his rust game against Win nipeg, but was traded to the Argonauts the following sea son, Signing with the Als as a free agent in 2001. In the 2005 East Division fmal, LapOinte replaced an injured Robert Edwards in the second half, gaining 112 yards on 15 car ries, along with t1u-ee touch downs, in Montreal's 33-17 victory. Lapointe started in the Grey Cup the followmg week. He scored twice, but PIERRE OBENORAUF/GAZETTE rILES was held to 46 cu.-cis on 11 car Eric Lapointe attributes his success to his experiences at Mount Allison University. ries in the double-overtime loss to Edmonton. Lapolnte a financial score. I know people sa. that to Mt. Allison. in Sackville, remembered. "I didn't know analyst. retired one season about certain skilled plav N.B., in 199 . The team was anythingabout tile rest of nne later and now heads the Als erSt but Eric was one of those coached by Marc Loranger. a country. !learnedby blinging alumniassociation. guys. He was capable of going francophone, its roster filled my dictionary and trying to With the emergence of no yards and it was a pleas bymany players from Quebec. figure outwhatwas going on. talented Canadian backs ure to coach him. Besides, Universite Laval was You learn on Saturdaynight. B.C.'s Andrew Harris and "He was highly skilled but launching its program only After a couple of beers. you Jon Cornish of Calgary - it had all the other attributes in '95 Lapointe believing the feel bilinguaL Then you wake would be easy to suggest La ... the leadership, hal d work, Rouge et Or would truggle up on Stmday and you can't pointe was ahead of his time. all that stuff rolled into one lmtil becoming established. speak at all. It s unbeliev Buthehasno regrets. guy. He could do i all. He was Lapointe ent to the ari able how a human being can "I ad a great eight-year a flat·out pe d ter. He could time not kno ing a single adapt when you don't have career," he said. "You can al· run over a guy or cut back word of Engli h. he admits. the choice." ways make it sound like your against the grain. He was a t o ill-equipped he couldn't In virtually no time, La career could have been bettel~ by anybody standards. He regi ter himself for classes pointe became bilingual, At one point, you must accept wasthat special." 111 F1 ench literature. Indeed, graduating not only with what happened. If you looked Born in Jonq liere, La a ked on theform for his rmd his degree, but a minor in fi at my first training amp, it nance. The Washington Red looked like I was done. right 'l'nl el'ciled, but it 1z lrd to pu ·11 a. 'ide skins sent a scout to Sackville away. I have oth ing to be his second year, butdeclaring asham d of." (til .fa t) SOIlI olle inlJ)Orlant to lnyse(f his name for the National And, while acknowledging 1I1y./ClIllilJl Football League draft would it wasn't g ing to be easy de and i no, gone. have ended his collegiate eli liveringhis speech at Frida s EIC LAPO E gibility. So Lapointe spurned dinner, La . te was clear on the temptation returning its theme before he got on the pointe's family moved to dle name. Lapointe printed only to blow his knee out in plane. Brossard when he was 12 and .'Ric, .. his nickname. For four au exhibition game his third "I'm going to talk about he started to play football two years rus student-identifica yeal: That required a fourth the impact Mt. Allison had years later with the St. Ru tion card at the school listed season, but the Redskins onmy life. Itmade a huge dif bert Rebelles. A physical kid hbn Eric Ric Lapointe. were never to return. ference, 'he said. "I'm a rno who liked to run and tackle, I though the tl'ansi It was ymbolic in many complete p r80n after gomg his first position was ticht tion ould be easier"ith a ways. Lapointe s pro career to Mt. A. I work in finance. end. He moved to defence francoph necoachinplace," a series of neal' misses and That comes from Mt. A. I and enjoyed playing afety, he saId. could-have-beens, too many speak English. That comes although it was the defen he Althou hhism jot·enabled of his coaches lIDwilling to from Mt. A.I m a better e· r- co-ot'dltUa:toI-'1rt:1:be ba1rrta:n~' -ncim"to:talteo!::.sp.1 E' f.,;,; " ~~!;..!'''~~~ .~~o,-:. olt beyond hIS b :th cerf - son. and that comes from lVlt levelwhosawarunning-back hisnativelanguage.Lapointe cate an non-Import tat . A. in Lapointe. H - made the e11t to hi English-based Drafted in the third round tran ition as a midget. classes with a dictionary; (20th overall) by Edmonton in hzurkowsky@ Lapointe, then a lmilingual 'The ill st semes er. I was 1999, the Eskimos attempted montrealgazette.com francophone, committed so afraid of everything,' he to convert him into a fullback. Twitter: @HerbZurkowskyl .