AWOL Marinovich Suspended by Winnipeg

Todd Marinovich was suspended by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Monday for going AWOL Saturday to get a second opinion from his own doctor on the season-ending knee injury he suffered the day before.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Cal Murphy, coach/general manager of the Canadian Football League team, told the Winnipeg Free Press. “We have called his agent, but he hasn’t even called back. It must be a holiday down there.”

The former USC and Raider quarterback, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on the first day of training camp, had been scheduled to undergo an arthroscopic examination to determine the full extent of the injury Monday in Winnipeg.

Virginia Fertig, Marinovich’s grandmother, said he was scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging examination Monday in Southern California. The machine, however, was broken, and the MRI was rescheduled for today. Marinovich could not be reached for comment.

Marinovich’s action could cause the Blue Bombers to terminate his two-year contract. If he is released, it’s believed the Blue Bombers might try to acquire rookie Kevin McDougal, who signed recently with the Rams.