Courtesy Calgary Herald:

Long after the other Calgary Stampeders had headed for the soothing warmth and dryness of the locker room Tuesday at McMahon Stadium, Ryan Thelwell and his offensive cohorts kept slinging in the rain.

Finally, the final whistle tooted and the quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and linemen wasted no time scooting off the field to join their confreres. Many of the players’ expressions were as cloudy as the skies, but Thelwell was grinning brightly in spite of the relentless inclement weather.

“I’m used to this,” chirped the veteran receiver, who spent the first six seasons of his Canadian Football League career with the Lions. “This is like Vancouver. B.C. is like this every day. I don’t mind. Plus, you never know when you’re going to have to deal with bad weather during the season.”

Prior to this waterlogged training camp, there were whispers that the 35-year-old London, Ont., product was thinking long and hard about playing another campaign, but Thelwell expressed surprise when asked if he contemplated retirement.

“No, that’s not true,” he replied. “I always knew I wanted to play. I just wasn’t sure what the situation was here (with John Hufnagel taking over as head coach and general manager). I knew they had a couple of guys that they had in mind. It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t want to play. I still feel like I can play. I’ve got these old legs, but I still think I can contribute.

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