- Troy Westwood
Infobox CFL player
Name=Troy Westwood
team=
ImageWidth=
Caption=
status=Not active
import=no
position1=Kicker
position2=Punter
number=7
College=Augustana College (South Dakota)
DateOfBirth=Birth date and age|1967|3|21
Birthplace=Dauphin, Manitoba
Height_ft=5
Height_in=10
Weight_lbs=190
CFLDraftedYear=1991
CFLDraftedRound=6
CFLDraftedPick=48
playing_years=1991–2007
playing_teams=Winnipeg Blue Bombers
career_highlights=
CFLAllStar=
Awards=
Honors=
Records=
CFL=15Troy Westwood born
March 21 ,1967 inDauphin, Manitoba ) is aCanadian Football League place kicker and punter who played 17 years for theWinnipeg Blue Bombers . Since his release onJune 15 2008 , he is afree agent .After briefly playing professional soccer for the
Winnipeg Fury , Westwood has been with the Bombers since the 1991 season, when he was selected 48th overall in the 6th round of the Canadian College Draft. He holds numerous club records, such as all-time scoring leader and single season scoring leader. He is known for stirring things up off-field: he has tried his hand at professionalboxing andtap dancing , and had a public feud with Montreal AlouetteEd Philion . He is arguably most known for his tongue-in-cheek insult of the rivalSaskatchewan Roughriders ' fans by calling them "banjo -pickin' inbreds." He later followed that up with a faux apology, saying he did not think anyone in Saskatchewan was actually capable of playing a banjo. These quotes inspired theBanjo Bowl .Westwood is also known for his
mullet , which he has vowed not to cut until he wins theGrey Cup . He decided to grow it out after the2001 Grey Cup loss to Calgary, in which he missed three out of four field goal attempts. This poor performance capped off what was Westwood's worst season statistically as he only converted on 60.8% of his field goal attempts that year. As of 2006 his career field goal success rate is 72.8 percent.Westwood was re-signed by the Bombers on
February 23 ,2007 .After a disappointing start to the 2007 season against Edmonton, Westwood was told by Bomber coach Doug Berry not to dress for the second game of the season against Montreal. After replacement Rob Pikula went 1/2 in field goals, Westwood was reinstated as the Bomber's place kicker by the third game of the season. In the 7th game of the season however, Westwood sustained a hamstring injury and his future with the club was again in doubt. However, after injuries to Pikula and newly signed Pat Fleming, Westwood was called upon for kicking and punting duties in the Eastern Semi-Final where he went 1/2, kicking the game winning field goal from 20 yards out with no time left on the clock.
Westwood was cut by the Bombers on
June 15 2008 [cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sportsnews/story/2008/06/15/westwood-cut.html|title=Kicker Westwood cut by Blue Bombers|date=2008-06-15|publisher=CBC Sports|accessdate=2008-06-15]Music
Westwood, who was exposed to
First Nations culture growing up in Dauphin, has also recorded several albums inspired by First Nations music, both in the band Eagle and Hawk and later as a solo artist named Little Hawk.Career stats
Regular season
Personal life
Westwood is known by many through his musical career as a member of Manitoba's Eagle & Hawk, which he began in 1993 with Vince Fontaine. [ [http://www.manataka.org/page760.html Sounds of Manataka - Little Hawk ] ] He provided lead vocals, and songwriting from a
First Nations perspective in this role, until stepping down in 2001, due to the time demands of playing with theWinnipeg Blue Bombers .References
External links
* [http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=189 Troy Westwood profile on Blue Bombers site]
* [http://www.littlehawkmusic.com/home.html Little Hawk Music]
* [http://www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com/3200C15_17T1037T16T1036T2T1.dhtm?eid1038=96 Aboriginal Peoples Choice music Awards, Artist profile page]
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