_Each week, KUSports.com will get you caught up on Jayhawks both former and current getting some ink from outside of the area._Calgary Sun: Cornish can’t wait_Jon Cornish can walk you through all his carries so far this season.__Both of them.__Both were option plays, and one was a 12-yard scamper, while the other went for 18 yards.__With any luck, though, when the Calgary Stampeders face the B.C. Lions in the regular season finale Saturday on the West Coast, Cornish will have more touches on his resume to discuss.__Not that the rookie running back is expecting it just yet.__”I’m going into this game like any other game,” he said after yesterday’s practice at McMahon Stadium. “Before every game — I’m very big on visualizing my responsibilities — I’ll visualize my responsibilities and this time I’ll add running back.__”I’m always prepared to play running back, but it’s not the best thing when you know you probably won’t be going in.”__This weekend could be the opportunity Cornish has spent all season preparing for.__Seeing as the Stamps are firmly entrenched in third place in the West Division and the Leos are atop the standings, the affair at B.C. Place will have no bearings on the standings. Meaning, it would seem to be a meaningless game.__But not for players like Cornish.__The Stamps plan to sit No.-1 running back Joffrey Reynolds, meaning import Ken Simonten and Canadian Cornish will be given their chance.__Simonten is expected to see more carries, but it’s a golden chance for the Stamps to see what they have in Cornish, the club’s 13th overall draft choice in the 2006 Canadian college draft.__Cornish, who set the single season rushing record at the University of Kansas, doesn’t want to assume he’ll be counted on more often than he’s been all season.__But there is a little extra jump in the thought he could get a bigger chance in his hometown.__”I’ll have a lot of people at the game, so hopefully I’ll get to show them a little something,” said the 22-year-old from New Westminster, B.C. “Hopefully, this is my opportunity.__”In Kansas, I didn’t officially start until my last season, so it’s really just a rollback to my junior year, when I was the number-two guy. It’s something where I’m learning behind two great guys. But hopefully I’ll get the reps so I can show what I have learned this season.”_Canada.com: CFL Notebook – Rookie prize a pie in the sky_A day after the Football Reporters of Canada announced nominees for major individual awards, the Calgary Stampeders doled out their own prestigious honour.__Earlier this week, the Stampeders short-listed five players as rookie of the year candidates.__Brandon Browner, Jon Cornish, Tearrius George, Dwaine Carpenter and Gerald Commissiong were called forward on Thursday and seated in front of their teammates, while offensive lineman Jay McNeil explained the winner would receive a pair of tickets to a WestJet destination, plus $2,000 spending money.__Just as Browner and Cornish were announced as co-winners, “pies” started to fly. Veterans peppered the rookies with plates covered with shaving cream.__”After they announced the $2,000, I immediately got suspicious and got the shifty eyes, started looking around,” Cornish said. “I was like, ‘Mexico, $2,000, not happening.’ “__Browner wasn’t so quick on the uptake.__”I actually thought I was going to get something out of it,” said the first-year cornerback. “When they said the winner was going to get $2,000, I started (pounding) on my pads … and I got a pie in my face.”__Players then took great pleasure telling the rookies there would be no prizes and the whole thing was a hoax.__It’s a tradition that has been with the club for almost a decade.__”I was really impressed by the guys and their ability to keep a secret,” said Cornish. “No first-year player knew. I was surprised.”_Local Take: The pie stunt has got to crack you up – especially Cornish’s quotes regarding his suspicions there was something going on. But as for the first story, this will be a golden opportunity for Cornish in the season finale. He’s behind Simonton, the former Oregon State standout, but as history shows, he’s made the most of limited opportunities to get ahead. We’ll update you next week with just how he did.St. Paul Pioneer Press: Vikings rookie cornerback McCauley demoted_Vikings rookie Marcus McCauley, one of the team’s hottest players in training camp, apparently has cooled off.__McCauley was demoted from the third cornerback spot, according to a person close to the situation, and replaced by Charles Gordon.__McCauley has technically started three games because the Vikings opened in the nickel package.__McCauley, who is seventh on the team with 28 tackles, has been picked on in a few games, most notably against the Green Bay Packers.__A rookie free agent out of Kansas in 2006, Gordon only has two tackles on defense, but he is second with six special-teams tackles. He started the 2006 season finale and finished with eight tackles._Local Take: Just like with Cornish, here’s Gordon’s shot. In today’s NFL, the third corner, who plays mostly in nickel packages, gets plenty of reps. Not bad for a guy who was an undrafted free agent just a year ago. KU players seeing NFL success is just as important to building a solid recruiting base as the program’s hot start this season.New Orleans Times-Picayune: Wright watches opening night from bench_First-round draft pick Julian Wright sat in front of his locker before Wednesday’s game, eager to play. He didn’t know he wouldn’t need to take off his warmup top against the Sacramento Kings. Wright did not play, along with forward Ryan Bowen.__Earlier this week, Hornets Coach Byron Scott said he would consider starting Bowen if West could not play. West played and Melvin Ely was the top reserve at power forward, playing 17 minutes and scoring one point._Local Take: He still made the right choice by coming out after last season. He’ll prove that at some point in the next 81 games.Boston Herald: Loyalty rewarded_Paul Pierce had a point to make. And, as a guy who’s led the Celtics team stats] in points on the court the past seven years, he didn’t hesitate to get one across off it.__When the subject turned to his displeasure last season, he made his move.__”I’d been unhappy for years,” said the Celtics captain, relaxing courtside after a recent shootaround. “Don’t just say last year. It ain’t just something I thought about last year. When you go from a high level of play to a level where you’re not even competing for a real playoff spot – not seventh or eighth, but a real playoff spot – it’s hard. Last year was an all-time low, with the injury and how the team was playing, but I’d been unhappy for a long time.”__Pierce was not overjoyed with the slow – if steady – development of the Celts’ youth, and his strong response begged a huge question. Why did he sign a contract extension with the club before that “all-time low” season? The answer is deeply entwined in history.__Not Celtics history. His own.__”I’ve just always believed in loyalty, man,” Pierce said, reaching back to his days as a California kid. “Look, when I was going into the 10th grade, I was playing summer league, and I wasn’t really playing a lot for my team. It was like, ‘I’ll transfer schools.’ I was looking for a better situation, because I wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time at Inglewood. And I remember talking to my brother, and he was like, ‘Just because you change schools, that don’t mean your situation’s going to get better. You need to go back to Inglewood and work on what you need to do to make them better.’ He told me I had to remain loyal.__”I wound up going back to that school, and things started turning around. We started being on the national scene, I got better and things just worked out. I always look at that. The grass ain’t always greener on the other side. That’s why I was willing to ride this out.”_Local Take: We’ve already run tons of stories about the Celtics’ high hopes this season in this blog, but here, you’ve got to give Pierce credit for holding in frustration during last year’s debacle in Boston.[Daily Herald: A foul situation for Skiles, Hinrich_Bulls coach Scott Skiles shared some of Kirk Hinrich’s frustration following Wednesday’s opening-night loss at New Jersey.__Hinrich has had a tendency to find foul trouble during his career, and the issue struck again. During the first three quarters against the Nets, he played just 12 minutes and had 4 fouls.__The Bulls’ point guard probably had reason to argue foul No. 5. A minute into the fourth quarter, Hinrich reached in and tried to grab the ball from Richard Jefferson. One referee called a jump ball, but Bennett Salvatore ran in from behind, overruled his colleague, and sent Hinrich to the bench with another foul.__”He had a couple questionable ones,” Skiles said Thursday at the Berto Center. “Kirk, oddly enough, it seems to be fairly common that he’s in that position. At some point, the onus has to be on Kirk.”_Local Take: Hinrich’s gotta get the foul trouble thing figured out quick. Not only is he the Bulls’ best option at point guard, but it’s apparent he’s not going anywhere now that the team has pulled out from the Kobe Bryant trade discussions. He’s the catalyst for the East’s best young team.MLB.com: Notes – Young talent recognized_Noted baseball analyst Bill James recently touted the Pirates as having the seventh-best overall young talent in the Majors in the “Young Talent Inventory” section of his soon-to-be-published 2008 handbook.__Additionally, Pirates left-handed starter Tom Gorzelanny, 24, cracked James’ list of the top 25 Major League players under the age of 30. James pegged Gorzelanny as the 19th-best young player in baseball._Local Take: Given what the free agent pitching market has turned into, it’s scary to think of what Gorzo will command on the open market or in re-signing negotiations in a year or two.