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"Hes human, after all," is an expression often heard when the armour of the invincible is pierced or the stoic breaks down. Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Those moments when he has shown that humanity are the ones I remember most vividly. On January 21, 2014, Calvillo choked up as he announced his retirement from the game which had occupied nearly half of his 41 years. He struggled to find his words while admitting he had never been more nervous in his life. He struggled some more when he thanked his wife, Alexia and daughters, Athena and Olivia. The same held true when he said how much he will miss his teammates, past and present. He was nearly overcome with emotion when he mentioned his late friend, Mike Dawson, who had passed away scant weeks ago. His decades-long association and friendship with general manager and head coach Jim Popp caused the Alouettes executive to break down, almost uncontrollably, once Popp had started to deliver his tribute to Calvillo. Calvillos retirement announcement marked the end of his playing career, but during that storied journey, there were glimpses into the soul of the man which remain indelible in my memory. In late October 2007, Calvillo cried in a media scrum on the practice field outside Olympic Stadium when he revealed that Alexia had been diagnosed with b-cell lymphoma, one week after she gave birth to the couples second daughter, Olivia. The happy ending, of course, was that Alexia would beat her cancer. Seconds after winning his third Grey Cup in November 2010, Calvillo cried during a live interview with TSNs Farhan Lalji as he finally unburdened himself of a secret he had kept for three months: a cancerous lesion was growing on his thyroid gland. The lesion was detected after he sustained an injured sternum in a game against the Blue Bombers on August 20. Only his family and closest friends and teammates knew of his illness while he guided his team to and through the Grey Cup. Joy, relief, trepidation. All were on display once the final gun had sounded in Edmonton that night. A surgical procedure to remove the lesion the following month would lead to another happy ending in the Calvillo familys fight against cancer. My most lasting memory of Calvillo came eight days after he had leapt over Damon Allen to become pro footballs all-time leading passer on Thanksgiving Day in 2011; not the moment itself, even though I was the sideline reporter standing only 70 yards from the decisive catch-and-run by Jamel Richardson which vaulted Calvillo to the pinnacle of his profession. On October 18, Calvillo was invited by the Montreal Canadiens to a game at the Bell Centre so the crowd could acknowledge him for his historic achievement. After the fans in attendance gave him a thunderous standing ovation prior to puckdrop, Calvillo and his family were taken upstairs to watch the game from a luxury box. I was working rinkside for the NHL on TSN broadcast that night, so we secured an in-game interview with him in the suite. It was during that interview that I was privy to Anthony Calvillo -- the family man and the player -- encapsulated in one fleeting moment. Midway through Calvillos answer to one of my questions, Athena (who was six-years old at the time) sidled up to her Dad and planted a kiss on his right cheek. Without breaking stride, Calvillo continued and completed his answer. His legendary focus which was unshakeable under pressure from defensive front 7s for two decades shone in that moment, as did the fibre of his family. A child raised in a deeply caring, nurturing family didnt hesitate to show her playfulness, innocence and adoration of her Dad -- regardless of the circumstances. National audience? Were you on TV, Dad? Waivers. Redemption. Concussions. Championships. Tears. Laughter. Transcendent athlete. Despite the accolades and his place in the history of the game, Calvillo describes himself as a regular guy. At home, he takes out the garbage. He changed his daughters "poopy diapers" when they were infants. Anthony Calvillo. Hes human, like us all. John Lu is TSNs Montreal Bureau Reporter and has covered the Alouettes and Anthony Calvillos career since 2007. Wil Myers Jersey . Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Clayton Richard Jersey . Hall joined Bengals teammates for a voluntary workout on Monday. Hes got his mobility back and is on schedule to be ready for the season. 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Thats actually rather impossible given the behind-the-scenes access to the Toronto Maple Leafs the network is getting.MADISON, Wis. -- Tom Izzo wasnt trying to be funny. He was simply expressing frustration after Traevon Jacksons pull-up jumper from about 10 feet with 2.1 seconds left lifted Wisconsin past No. 9 Michigan State, 60-58 on Sunday. It was some of the 18 other baskets the Badgers hit that got to the coach of the short-handed Spartans. "Some guys in there that couldnt guard this table," Izzo said before someone listening to his postgame press conference chuckled. "Thats not funny; thats the truth. Id probably laugh too if I were you," he said. Playing in his second game, and first start, back from a foot injury, Adreian Payne finished with a game-high 24 points and hit a 3 with 10 seconds left that tied the game at 58. As has often happened during the juniors career, Jackson ended up with the ball in his hands late for a defining shot. Izzo knew it might be coming, so he put his best defender, Gary Harris, on Jackson. Still no luck and the shot went through. A desperation 3 by Michigan State from midcourt banged off the rim as time expired, and the Wisconsin faithful erupted with applause. The victory snapped a three-game losing skid at home. "Just (because) they lost a couple of home games -- and thats un-American in the Cheesehead State -- dont kid yourself. Theyre a very good team," Izzo said. The Badgers (19-5, 6-5 Big Ten) committed 14 turnovers, six more than their NCAA-leading 8.3 per game, but gutted out a win over Michigan State (20-4, 9-2). Nigel Hayes led Wisconsin with 14 points, while Sam Dekker added 11. Wisconsin shot 45 per cent for the game (19 of 42), a threshold that means things are going wrong for the defensive Spartans. Theyve allowed opponents to shoot at least 44 per cent in each of their four losses. Travis Trice added 13 points for Michigan State, though Big Ten-leading scorer Gary Harris was held to six points on 3-of-20 shooting after being shadowed most of the afternoon by defensive specialist Josh Gasser. And yet Michigan State still had a chance late, even with guard Keith Appling sitting out a second straight game with a wrist injury.dddddddddddd "Ive got a feeling that Applings out for a couple weeks. I have no idea. I cant answer the same questions, and I dont blame you for asking," Izzo said. "Theres no break. Theres no stress fracture. He cant even pass the ball; he cant move his hand." Harris long bucket with about 23 seconds left -- one of his few bright spots on the afternoon -- got the Spartans within three. Wisconsin had a chance to turn it into a two-possession game, but Ben Brust missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Michigan State secured the rebound and called timeout. Izzo drew up a play that ended up with Payne holding the ball. He had burned Wisconsin much of the night on the inside. This time Payne hit from the outside and the Badgers faithful thought they were witnessing another late collapse at home. The loss to Ohio State more than a week ago ended up about the same way. But Jackson, who has struggled much of the last month during Wisconsins stretch of losing five of six, came up big. He finished with seven points and tied a career high with eight assists, but had five turnovers. "Thats sort of what they expected out of me is just to finish the game," Jackson said. "The pull-up was there, and I was blessed to be able to make it go in." Wisconsin led by double-digits at one point in the second half. Things got shaky late. After two empty Wisconsin possessions, the Spartans raced down in transition and Trice hit a 3 from the wing to get within 55-52 with 1:43 left. They just couldnt break through in the end. A five-game winning streak over Wisconsin came to an end. Gasser finished with 11 points and six rebounds for the Badgers. His straightaway 3 with 6:33 left gave the Badgers a huge lift and a six-point lead that was slowly chipped away by the Spartans. But Gasser gave his team an ever bigger lift with his defence on the crafty Harris. "Josh worked as hard as he normally works, and he got some help from teammates also," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "Josh did a great job of positioning, and chasing." ' ' '