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If Andrew Harris evades his 12 would-be tacklers in Sunday’s playoff game in Calgary the way he got out of a scrum of a dozen or so media types on Wednesday, the Blue Bombers should be in good shape.

The running back had been asked about the weather, about the long wait for Sunday’s West semifinal, about his team’s quarterback situation and about being a division all-star.

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What was left to ask? About the Most Outstanding Player Award voting, of course.

Easily the Bombers’ top Canadian and arguably their top player, overall, Harris didn’t get enough votes to earn the Winnipeg nomination because of his failed drug test earlier this season.

With the Bombers on a bye last week, Wednesday marked the team’s return to practice and provided the first chance for Harris to talk about it.

So I asked him how big a deal it was for him.

His answer was short, but spoke volumes.

“Talk to these guys,” Harris said, referring to the other reporters.

Then he ducked down and virtually crawled out from the scrum, something I’ve never seen anyone do before. Not even former Bomber running back Charles Roberts, who never met an interview he liked.

That Harris got out of further questions so easily shouldn’t come as a surprise, given what he does on the field for a living. And most of us haven’t worked on our tackling skills for years.

The move, obviously planned as a response to the first question about the voting snub, shows the chip on No. 33’s shoulder, always present, always motivating him, has added a layer or two.

And that’s good news for the Bombers

A motivated Harris is what this team needs against the defending Grey Cup champion Stampeders.

Teammates say there really is no other kind.

“He’s going to continue on to accomplish his mission,” linebacker Adam Bighill said. “Whether he got (the award nomination) or not, the chip on his shoulder’s still there. That’s the way I’ve always assumed it. And that’s how it’d be for me. I’m sure it ain’t gonna change his approach. He’s still going to be able to rise up when he has to and really shine when people think he might be down.

“I’m sure he’s going to show who he is and what he does and why he feels he’s the best Canadian in this league or whatever it might be. That’s just the way he approaches every day and his perseverance and how he acts.”