Announcement

**Angelus** · 11-22-2005, 10:51 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

TUESDAY

For some reason I have received nothing yet for today. If I do, I will post them. Otherwise, check back tomorrow for Wednesday.

**Esks4ever** · 11-22-2005, 11:00 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Holy Hell... thats alot of articles... will be good reading while on the crapper.... if i can only figure out how to get my monitor in there

**Edmonton Fan** · 11-22-2005, 11:41 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Holy ****

**Angelus** · 11-22-2005, 11:50 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Tuesday

B.C.'s Grey day: The Eskimos and Alouettes rushed in as B.C.'s flame fizzled
National Post
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: S1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mark Spector
Column: Mark Spector
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post
VANCOUVER - As the B.C. Lions were rolling along with their perfect, 11-0 record this summer -- and the local media were all but anointing them as Grey Cup participants, if not outright champions -- some Grey Cup tickets were being issued that read "B.C. Lions versus Opposing Team To Be Determined." And wouldn't you know it, one of those tickets happened to find its way, more or less, into the Edmonton Eskimos dressing room Sunday afternoon, just in time for Danny Maciocia's pregame speech. How could the Eskimos be so fortunate?

"One of our fans called us up and sent me a copy," deadpanned Eskimos COO Rick LeLacheur. "So I blew it up, and I gave it to the coach."

Maciocia used that gift the way any good coach would, dusting off his copy of the coaches' manual entitled "Us versus The World -- Football Edition" to remind his charges that everybody -- even the folks at Ticketmaster -- were counting the Eskimos out.

"That is kind of putting the cart before the horse, no?" figured Kevin Lefsrud, the central Alberta farmer who mans the Eskimos offensive line once the seeding is done back home in Viking, Alta.

Yes, the Lions' 2005 Canadian Football League season was being remembered as one that burned hot, but not nearly long enough. And as their flame fizzled, Edmonton and Montreal each snuck close enough to bum a light that would kindle both their Grey Cup runs.

So if you are one of the 250 or so Leo fans in the lower mainland who had their Grey Cup tickets listed on eBay first thing yesterday morning, you can feel safe in the knowledge that, even though your team didn't actually make it to the big game, B.C. helped to steel both of the teams that did. And if the Lions' loss makes you one of those people who has turned to eBay to unload your tickets to the post-Grey Cup game party featuring Harlequin, we pose this question: who buys advance tickets for Harlequin?

"If we don't beat ourselves, nobody else can beat us," B.C. linebacker Carl Kidd was saying on Sept. 16, one day before a visit from the 5-5 Alouettes, a team that was starting to hear rumblings about the head coach's job security in a season in which Don Matthews had conspicuously decided to shelve his trademark defensive scheme for a more traditional look. Montreal would lose in Vancouver the next day and fall to 5-6, but the game would later be recognized as the turning point of the Alouette season.

It was the way Montreal lost that game in B.C. Place, with Matthews choosing to go for two points with no time left on the clock, instead of taking the sure-thing convert and taking the game into overtime. That type of bravado would act like a pointy stick to the hornets' nest of Matthews detractors. Yet inside his ranks, the 27-26 loss stood up as a coach's ultimate sacrifice to his players. To think that Matthews, whose stock was sagging after a slow start and the revelation that the defensive players he had were not the right ones to execute his hyper-aggressive scheme, could put such an important game against the 10-0 Lions in the hands of his players ...

Well, it meant a lot inside the room, as they say.
"We wanted that shot," quarterback Anthony Calvillo said after the game. "I was completely comfortable with the call. It didn't work out, but you'd never turn that chance down. Never."

"I was sayin' the whole drive, the whole way: we score, let's go for two," said Ed Philion, Montreal's rugged defensive tackle. "You know, it's the way we play, it's the way we've always played, and I think early in the year we got away from it. To come in here and play that football team the way we did -- if that's the best team in the league, then we're all right."

The Alouettes would reel off four straight wins coming out of Vancouver, finish the season by winning five of their last seven games, and win both Eastern playoff games. And B.C.? At 11-0, the Lions flew into Edmonton to meet a 7-5 Eskimos squad that had lost two in a row.

"As their legend grew, we just felt like, they're not going to come into Commonwealth and make us another notch on their belt," Hervey said from Edmonton yesterday, where the Eskimos were gathering their things to return to Vancouver today and move right into the freshly vacated home team dressing room at B.C. Place. "We watched Montreal play them tough the week before, and we didn't want B.C. to lose that game. We wanted them to come here undefeated, feeling good about themselves, so we could knock them off. The confidence, obviously we already felt we had it, but you have to prove it on the field. When we won that game, I think we showed the rest of the league that they were beatable."

At that point, the Lions had already been anointed as a Grey Cup participant, with their ring sizes to be collected any day. And, as we find out, the tickets were being printed. But within an eight-day period -- on Sept. 17th and 24th -- they had been let off the hook by Montreal, and flat out defeated in Edmonton, their 11-0 run vanquished in no uncertain terms during a 37-20 Eskimos victory.

"You know what my greatest fear is?" Wally Buono, ever the prophet, said prior to that back to back against Edmonton and Montreal. "That you lose once, and you'll lose again. And you'll lose again. Losing is a habit. And the faster you can squelch the habit, the better. If you don't lose, you never have to squelch the habit."

The rest is history: a four-game slide, a 1-6 finish, and a game on display Sunday that didn't measure up any level to what Montreal or Edmonton laid down in the two finals. After Sept. 24, the Lions won one more football game. Between them, the Als and Esks have gone 13-4.

"All these experiences harden you," Buono said at that point. "Not in a negative way, but they make you realize that all [an 11-0 start] does is bring people to the stadium, and create excitement about your ball club. But eventually, there's a day of destiny.

"And on that day, you'd better be good."
Lapointe to carry Cup load: Als' East final hero ready for Eskimos. Cracked ribs costly for rusher Edwards
The Gazette (Montreal)
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Source: The Gazette
Although X-rays taken yesterday confirmed he has two cracked ribs, Alouettes running-back Robert Edwards isn't prepared to concede that he'll miss Sunday's Grey Cup game against Edmonton.

"Nothing's definite, but I'm doubtful, though," he said.
Edwards suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday's playoff victory at Toronto, after he was tackled by linebacker Mike O'Shea. Edwards didn't return and was replaced by Canadian veteran eric Lapointe, who gained 112 yards on 15 carries, scored three touchdowns and continued playing special teams, forcing a fumble.

Edwards said it's remotely possible he could play wearing a protective flak jacket, but would run the risk of suffering a more severe injury, perhaps a punctured lung.

"Because of the position I play, it makes it extremely difficult," he said. "I take a hit every ... play."
This would be yet another blow to Edwards, who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards this season. The former first-round NFL draft choice resumed his career following a serious knee injury in 1999 that nearly forced the amputation of a leg.

"I feel like I've had a pretty successful season," he said. "You can't control injuries and I made it through most of the year without one. It just so happens it came in the last game. If we win, I get a ring and I'll be happy because I'm part of the team. But it'll hurt not to play while watching the game."

As for the conquering hero Lapointe, he spent much of yesterday conducting interviews and appearing on television - everything from morning French-language programs to a late-night sports panel show. He even appeared on TSN. "It's been a long day," he said yesterday afternoon, "and it's not over. It feels different to have all that attention."

The adulation is nice, but Lapointe will be expected to contribute to a Montreal championship and can't rest on his laurels. With an American roster spot now open, Lapointe probably will be backed up by Jonas Lewis, who excels on special teams.

Lapointe can handle the load. He was the leading rusher in the 1999 Grey Cup, while with Hamilton, and has always performed admirably when called upon.

"I have experience in the league," the seven-year veteran said.
"I'm pretty confident in what I can do. It won't be easy to replace Robert; I'm not sure I can bring the same things to the table. But I won't quit on any play and I'm ready for the challenge."

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo said he believes the Als' offence won't suffer with Lapointe in the backfield.
"He's been in the system four years. He can step in and we don't miss a beat," Calvillo said. "Robert's more of a powerful runner, but Lapointe can break it 60 or 70 yards."

Calvillo has played sound football throughout the playoffs. Although he passed for only 190 yards against the Argos, completing 19 of 33 passes, he rallied his team from a 14-0 deficit on the road and failed to throw an interception for the second consecutive game. But he realizes more production will be required against the Eskimos, who utilize a standard man-to-man defence, relying on pressure up front and backs who can cover.

This marks the third time in four years Montreal and Edmonton have met for the CFL championship. The Als won in 2002 - their first title in 25 years - but failed to repeat.

Few might have expected the team to get this far following a 10-8 record and second-place finish, but general manager Jim Popp stressed nobody in management ever wavered in their conviction.

"No matter how the team was viewed, we had beaten every team before the playoffs," he said. "That tells you you're capable of going to the Grey Cup. We believe in each other and never lost that feeling. We're all very together, know what it takes and have shown that in the playoffs.

"I'm not shocked by any means."
The Eskimos are coached by Danny Maciocia, the St. Leonard native and former Als assistant who left the organization when Don Matthews was hired four years ago. Maciocia is in his first year as Edmonton's head coach and is the first to lead the team to a Cup appearance following a third-place finish.

"It's strange, ironic, whatever you want to call it. I'm just so happy to be playing in it," he said yesterday. "That it's against Montreal is great. But I'm four years removed from Montreal.

"To be playing in it as a first-year head coach ... it's awesome. I'm just going to enjoy it."
Notes - The Als depart for Vancouver this morning at 11:20 and will practise for the first time tomorrow at B.C. Place Stadium. ... Montreal will be the home team by uniform, wearing their dark colours, but the Eskimos will get the Lions' dressing room. ... Cup shares are $12,000 for each member of the winning team, $6,000 for the losing team.

hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com

Two QBs, one ball
The Toronto Star
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: E2
Section: Sports
Byline: Daniel Girard
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Toronto Star
Asked about the debate over who should start at quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos in the 93rd Grey Cup here on Sunday, veteran defensive lineman Joe Montford pauses only briefly before flashing a large, mischievous grin.

So confident are the Eskimos right now, Montford explained to the reporter asking the question, "We could probably put you back there and still believe that we can win."

While the comments were certainly part of the post-game exuberance after beating the B.C. Lions in the West Division final, make no mistake this is a team with a swagger as they ready themselves to take on the Montreal Alouettes at sold-out B.C. Place Stadium.

"We just have guys who come in and make big plays," said Montford, an 11-year veteran playing in his first season with the Eskimos.

"Right now, we just believe in each other, regardless of who's in there."
Ricky Ray, who has started all 20 of Edmonton's regular-season and playoff games, has struggled of late, failing to throw a touchdown pass in the past seven games. But in each of the past two weeks, Jason Maas has entered in the second half to pull out a victory.

Head coach Danny Maciocia has already signalled Ray will be his starter again on Sunday, even though Maas is a combined 19 of 24 for 191 yards and two touchdowns coming off the bench in playoff wins on the road over Calgary and B.C.

Eskimo players said even though Maas has been the hero the past two weeks, it's important to remember Ray led the team to an 11-7 record during the regular season.

"Knowing you have two quality quarterbacks and you can win with both of them is obviously a great boost for the team," said fullback Mathieu Bertrand, who had three catches for 18 yards in Sunday's win over B.C. "It's a nice problem to have."

Defensive back Donny Brady wonders what all the fuss is about over the quarterback.
"We have no problems with who starts. There's no quarterback controversy here," Brady told reporters. "It's like baseball. If you're having a bad inning, you get another guy.

"There's nothing wrong with that. That's how the game is played."
It certainly has been for the Eskimos. Ray and Maas, teammates on the field, good friends off it, insist that while they're both ready to play, all they care about is beating Montreal.

"If Ricky's the starter and plays the whole game I'm not going to argue with it," said Maas, a six-year veteran, all with Edmonton.

"I just want to win a Cup as an Eskimo."
The Eskimos, chasing their 13th Grey Cup championship, know that for all the talk about the quarterback position, the key to victory on Sunday will be stopping Montreal's high-powered offence, which had a CFL-best 426 yards per game and 537 points this season.

But Edmonton counters with the CFL's stingiest defence, which yielded 307 yards per game and the second-lowest number of points at 360, two more than Toronto.

The teams split their two meetings during the regular season. The Alouettes won 32-29 in Montreal in July while the Eskimos won 36-26 at home in August.

The teams have also split their last two Grey Cup confrontations, Montreal capturing its seventh CFL title by spoiling the party in Edmonton in 2002 and the Eskimos turning the tables the following year in Regina.

"It's going to be another tough week," Montford said. "But we'll re-focus and be ready."Hot hand gets to finish the game, which is fine with good friends Ray and Maas Grey Cup Countdown

REPEATING A TOUGH FEAT; ORGANIZATION ON RIGHT TRACK, DESPITE NOT GETTING ANOTHER CRACK AT THE GREY CUP
The Toronto Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: S11
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO
Column: CFL
There is something unique when a championship team loses because their previous success automatically suggests a repeat victory.

More often than not the victor will be vanquished, through no other reason than the law of averages. Few teams repeat, even the great ones, because of the enormity of the task.

A year ago the Argonauts were cleaning out their lockers after winning the Grey Cup, followed by a parade through downtown Toronto. On a bitterly cold day yesterday, the Argos were cleaning out their lockers, still smarting from a crushing 33-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division final the day before.

"It's the complete other end of the spectrum," linebacker Ray Mariuz said. "We knew how good of a team we were. We know we should have been in the Cup. It makes it that much harder, I think, to accept the way things turned out.

"A lot of people go through it. People say it's harder on the players, but for the fans, the coaches, everyone involved with the team, it's tough for everyone. Everyone handles it a different way."

DARK DAYS OF 2003
This was more than just a loss for a football team. It was the loss for an organization that had come so far since the dark days of the 2003 season when the ownership collapsed. A year later under a new masthead, the Argos won the Grey Cup. And this year, the team became the talk of the town, as much for what it did off the field with its Stop The Violence campaign as for its success on the field winning the East Division.

Now it is over. The champions dethroned.
"It was a little bit of a surreal experience," head coach Pinball Clemons said. "As an organization, we have grown so much and it is great to be in a situation where we expect to be in the Grey Cup. A lot of times (in the past) we were hoping to get into the playoffs and put up a good showing and now we have gotten to the point where we expect to be in the Grey Cup and expect to win. We had a great opportunity to do that this year.

"As an organization it is hard to grow after a Grey Cup victory. It is hard to find an upside after a Grey Cup victory, but we did that. We bettered ourselves in the regular season, we hosted the Eastern Division final for the first time in eight years. We came in first place for the first time in eight years. We beat Montreal in the season series for the first time in eight years. We did a lot of really good things, and not only that, our desire is to be Toronto's ultimate role model -- Toronto's community team -- and I think we took some great strides in that area this year.

"Although we had a great year as an organization, as a team we suffered a loss that will never change. It's permanent."

Quarterback Damon Allen, a veteran of 21 seasons, understood the feeling as well, if not more, than anybody.
"When you think about the support you have from the city, the type of year we had as a football team, it's just disappointing and you'll feel that way a long time until you start playing again," Allen said. "You'll obviously have a bad taste in your mouth throughout the year and hopefully that will motivate guys to want to finish it the way we should finish it."

Clemons, as always, tried to sum up the situation in philosophical terms.
"Ten per cent of life is what happens to you, the other 90% is how you deal with it," he said. "We're looking forward to coming back strong and to get this chance to not have this feeling again. We want to use this to drive us, not to bury us."

CFL FINAL NOT IDEAL
The Toronto Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: S12
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JIM HUNT
Column: Musings
Some Tuesday morning musings on some of the things that amuse, confuse and even amaze a fellow in the wonderful world of fun and games.

FAVOURITES OUT OF GREY CUP
The Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes is not the Grey Cup matchup most people wanted. The CBC sure didn't. Vancouver and Toronto are the biggest TV markets in the country and the game would have produced big ratings. Unfortunately for the CBC, the Lions and the Argos bombed out on Sunday.

Neither team deserved to win. We might as well accept the fact the Eskimos and Alouettes are the two best teams in the CFL right now and it looks like it will be a good game -- Grey Cup games usually are. I'm looking for Edmonton to win in a squeaker with Jason Maas leading them over the Alouettes.

WHO'S TO BLAME?
It would be a shame if Sunday's loss ruined what has been a great season for the Argonauts and their quarterback, Damon Allen. The Argos did finish in first place and Allen should be the CFL's most outstanding player. The East final was as simple as the master out-coaching his pupil. Don Matthews did not become the winningest coach in the CFL by accident and while Pinball Clemons is an outstanding coach he still has much to learn.

If the Argos want someone else to blame they could take a look at J.I. Albrecht, he was running the team when they got rid of Eric Lapointe. Lapointe was a one-man gang on Sunday, running for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

TROUBLE FOR SASKIN
It seems Ted Saskin is going to have major-league problems as the new head of the NHLPA. The latest attack came from Steve Larmer, an NHLPA executive who ripped Saskin saying he ran the organization like a dictator, much like how it was run in the days of Alan Eagleson.

Saskin probably will be able to survive but will never be able to run the organization effectively.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was a weekend for streaks. The Raptors finally won a game after nine consecutive losses. The Indianapolis Colts made it 10 in a row with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals and USC won their 33rd consecutive game with a 50-42 win over Fresno State. That victory for USC would not have come if not for the performance of tailback Reggie Bush, who gained a Pac-10 record 513 total yards, including 294 rushing. Bush who is averaging 212.6 all-purpose yards per game should win the Heisman, becoming the third player from USC to win it in the past four years (quarterbacks Matt Leinhart, 2004, and Carson Palmer, 2002, were the others).

That Alouette-Eskimo thing
The Spectator
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP04
Section: Sports
Byline: Steve Milton
Column: Steve Milton
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
They're upset about it in Toronto and Vancouver -- although eBay appreciates the extra business -- but a Grey Cup between Montreal and Edmonton has historically been a good omen for the Canadian Football League.

When the Alouettes and Eskimos meet in the Fall Football Follies, it's usually an indication of broader success in the CFL.

In the modern era, which began in 1950, no two teams have met more often in the Grey Cup than the Alouettes and Eskimos. This will be the 11th time the two have danced together in the annual east-west exchange of cultures and curses.

But the plethora of Alouette-Eskimo Cup dates has been restricted to three brief orgies of dominance.
And those three periods coincide with arguably the three most prosperous and hopeful segments of CFL history.
Montreal and Edmonton met three straight years in the mid-1950s, producing some of the most memorable games, and players, in the annals of three-down football.

The two teams rebuilt for five head-to-head showdowns in six years, between 1974 and 1979.
With the Als dying and, later, dead for real, in the 1980s it appeared that the rivalry had died with it.
But the Als that were reborn in 1996 have become the CFL's most consistent winners, and this will be the third time in four years that they've met the perennially successful Eskimos in the finals.

And, of course, these are good times for the CFL. If these two teams walk hand in hand in November, it's through the Garden of Good Karma.

The 1954-56 Als-Esk dynasties, which gave us Jackie Parker, Normie Kwong, Sam Etcheverry and Red O'Quinn, sent the fledgling CFL (then called the Canadian Football Council) quickly toward big-time professional status.

It was only in 1954, the first year of that three-year Esk-Als dominance, that the Canadian league became a national entity, with the B.C. Lions joining the western conference.

The next season, with the Als and Esks upping the ante, the league shed the formal vestiges of amateurism by taking over exclusive rights to the Grey Cup.

That era -- with Jackie Parker recovering Chuck Hunsinger's fumble/pass and running it 90 yards to win the '54 Grey Cup, Etcheverry throwing for a still- record 508 yards in a losing cause in '55, and "Pop" Ivy out coaching the favoured "Peahead" Walker all three years--established the Grey Cup game as a Canadian institution.

The star power of the Als-Esks Cups (there are more than a dozen members of the two teams in the Hall of Fame) helped create a fascination for the league finale, helped solidify the league's place in Canadian culture, and attracted bigger broadcast money in the nascent TV era.

The league continued its rising arc of popularity into the mid-1970s when it peaked with the fat part of the baby boomers' Bell curve. Stadia were jammed with a young, loud, drinking, mostly male generation, the perfect target market for the national beer and liquor sponsors.

Money was flowing, TV numbers soared, times were great and to prove it, along came the Alouettes and Eskimos again.
The Alouettes had nearly folded, for lack of an owner, but octogenarian Sam Berger bought the club in the early 1970s. By 1977, the Als were regularly drawing 60,000 to Olympic stadium.

Edmonton, led mostly by coach Ray Jauch, and Montreal, led mostly by Marv Levy, met for the CFL title in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978.

Grey Cups' arch rivals meeting again can only be a good thing for the CFL
ALS-ESKS: Legends born
The Spectator
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP05
Section: Sports
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
Each team won twice, and several Grey Cup legends were born. There was the 1975 game played on the frigid steppes of Calgary's McMahon Stadium where Don Sweet, with a frozen-fingered holder, missed a last-second field goal with the line of scrimmage at the Edmonton 11. The Als lost 9-8.

There was the 1977 game on the glare ice at Olympic Stadium, when Tony Proudfoot joined Canadian sports lore by borrowing staples from a stadium electrician and driving them through the Als' game shoes. With the extra traction, the Als massacred the slip-slidin' Eskimos 41-6. Proudfoot is now the Als' radio colour man and will call the game this week.

There was the Esks' '78 Cup win which highlighted the successful coaching debut of Hugh Campbell, who would go on to win a record five straight Cups and establish a new regime in CFL internal politics.

It could be argued that the '80s were a bigger era for Canadian football than the '70s, especially with the Grey Cup's TV audience of 7 million in 1982, but it was all an illusion.

The enemy was already inside the gates: blackouts pushed younger fans toward the TV-savvy NFL; the Blue Jays and Expos were eating away at the family fan base in the east, and different, less permanent ownerships were threatening franchise stability.

By 1987, the Alouettes had folded, the CFL was caught in a vortex of serial crises and the league was perceived as minor league in the eastern press.

But, the long climb back began in 1996, when the American experiment ended and the Als re-joined the league. When Bob Wetenhall took over as a white knight, just as Berger had 30 years earlier, the Als restored themselves to stability. And that was the league's great litmus test: how would it go over in the second biggest market in the country.

Very well, it turned out, and that set a template for other struggling markets, notably Toronto and Hamilton. After bankruptcies there cleared the air and the owners' suites, the league could declare itself back in the saddle, if somewhat warily.

This year, league attendance surpassed 3.2 million for the first time. Labour Day, Thanksgiving, the playoffs, have all become huge TV draws. This was the future for which the league had held itself together with baling wire and promises.

And amid all this prosperity, guess who's back in the Grey Cup? For the third time in four years.
If you said Als and Eskimos, you get a gold star for paying attention this long.
smilton@thespec.com
905-526-3268
The Grey Cup's modern era
(year, score, stadium)
* 1954: Edmonton 26, Montreal 25 (Toronto Varsity)
* 1955: Edmonton 34, Montreal 19 (Vancouver Empire)
* 1956: Edmonton 50, Montreal 27 (Toronto Varsity)
* 1974: Montreal 20, Edmonton 7 (Vancouver Empire)
* 1975: Edmonton 9, Montreal 8 (Calgary McMahon)
* 1977: Montreal 41, Edmonton 6 (Montreal Olympic)
* 1978: Edmonton 20, Montreal 13 (Toronto CNE)
* 1979: Edmonton 17, Montreal 9 (Montreal Olympic)
* 2002: Montreal 25, Edmonton 16 (Edmonton Commonwealth)
* 2003: Edmonton 34, Montreal 22 (Regina Taylor Field)
Esks have been there, done that
Winnipeg Free Press
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Tait
VANCOUVER -- We take you now on a quick tour of the Edmonton Eskimo locker room immediately after their upset win over the B.C. Lions in Sunday's Canadian Football League's West Final...

Over here we have the offensive linemen doing what, well, offensive linemen always do: chugging back beers like they were starring in the Animal House' frat party. That's safety Kelly Wiltshire over there, sharing a moment with fellow defensive back Donny Brady. And in that corner is wide receiver Ed Hervey and slotback Derrell Mitchell, two long-time Eskimos who just can't stop grinning after earning another shot at Grey Cup glory.

But, overall, the Eskimo celebration seemed muted -- especially given the circumstances and their accomplishment. You got the sense this was business as usual for these guys, that they had been there, done that many, many times before. In fact, unless you knew better, you'd figure they had just posted a ho-hum victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in July rather than spoiling all the Lions' big party plans in the penultimate game of the CFL season.

"Look," began Brady, "we've been through all this before. We're a confident ball club and we know what we're doing."
That much was never more obvious than in Sunday's 28-23 win over the home-town Leos and in last week's upset of the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium in the West Semifinal.

Actually, it could be argued it's been obvious all season.
After all, what other team could handle the doubts, concerns and issues that have popped up for this outfit, especially in the last two months or so? Things like a starting QB who hasn't thrown a TD pass in seven games now and the subsequent controversy that follows when his replacement comes off the bench to ignite the troops. Things like a placekicker who goes through an awful stretch where all his field-goal attempts are two time-zones wide or an offensive line that struggles to keep their star pivot from getting mauled on every play.

Oh, and did we mention they're being led by a rookie head coach?
But if you take a gander at the names and the ages that dominate the Eskimos roster it's easy to see why they've been so resilient and are now preparing to go back to the big dance for the third time in four years.

Now, it's not like this squad leads the league in hip-replacement surgeries or has to get around with a walker, but it could be argued they are the CFL's 'The Over-The-Hill-Gang'. No fewer than 14 starters -- eight on defence and six on offence -- are 30 years of age or older. And with six reserve players also on the other side of 29, exactly half of the roster the Esks fielded in Sunday's West Final was 30 something and older.

It's worth noting that the Als aren't exactly greener than a St. Paddy's Day parade, either, what with 14 players on their roster 30 and older.

"We're an experienced bunch here," explained Hervey, who is 32. "We've been through all this. We've overcome so much this season, from our quarterbacks to our kicker... all sorts of different things.

"There's a lot of heart, a lot of fight and a lot of character in this group of guys. But you know what makes this one sweet, much sweeter than the ones we had in the past? It's because no one really gave us a chance. The only group that believed we could get it done was the coaches and the organization and the guys in this locker room."

And that, friends, is experience talking.
Maybe that, in part, explains why both the Esks and Alouettes are once again back on centre stage despite the doubts of so many. It's the CFL and it's November. At this time of year experience can work one of two ways: it becomes the comb nature gives to a man after he has gone bald or it serves as a valuable intangible when there are often so many challenges to overcome.

This year experience helped earn the Eskimos and Alouettes round-trip tickets to the Grey Cup.
� ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
Over the hill gang?
A look at the Edmonton Eskimos
grizzled vets (* indicates starter):
OL Bruce Beaton -- 37 years old*
OL Chris Morris -- 37*
CB Malcolm Frank -- 37*
LB Glenn Young -- 36
OL Sandy Annunziata -- 36
DE Joe Montford -- 35*
P/K Sean Fleming -- 35
SB Derrell Mitchell -- 34*
LB Singor Mobley -- 33*
OL Dan Comiskey -- 33*
S Kelly Wiltshire -- 33*
WR Ed Hervey -- 32*
DT Steve Charbonneau -- 32*
DB Shannon Garrett -- 31*
DB Donny Brady -- 31*
DE Tim Fleiszer -- 30*
RB Troy Davis -- 30*
DB Will Loftus -- 30
QB Jason Maas -- 30
FB Mike Maurer -- 30
Danny and the Don: Cup coaches are a study in contrasts
Winnipeg Free Press
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: DOUG BROWN
EVEN more intriguing than the story of tickets for the Party on the Pacific in Vancouver being dumped faster than the recipient of a Todd Bertuzzi sucker punch, is the tale of the two head coaches squaring off in the Grey Cup final.

It's The Don (Don Matthews) versus The Danny (Danny Maccocia) and it will be a clash of two head coaches from the two polar ends of CFL coaching experience. The Danny is the rookie head boss in Edmonton with a nervy two-pronged QB attack and an unorthodox way of going about his business. Unorthodox, not in the sense that the Eskimos' appearance in the Grey Cup is unusual, but because of the route they took by finishing third in the West and having to win two games on the road to get there (which had never been done before in the history of their organization).

The Don, on the other side of the spectrum, has pretty much had a standing reservation at the Grey Cup in the new millennium as he has coached in three of the last four championship matches -- though getting there this year might have been harder than it had ever been before.

When you assess Don Matthews on television or from the field he appears to be the least animated or demonstrative of any head coach in the CFL or NFL for that matter. Whether he is up by 40 or down by 50, one can not read his partially Oakley-obscured poker face one way or the other. This is because The Don is the Jedi Master of the CFL, a coach who uses the force of his will and his aura to win games without ever losing composure.

Many people were surprised by Montreal's upset victory over Toronto on Sunday but they shouldn't be. The only reason the Argonauts made it to the Grey Cup last year was because they knocked Anthony Calvillo out of the game in the 2004 Eastern Final. This year Anthony made it through the game and consequently, the Alouettes advanced.

One of the most notable things about playing against the Alouette offence is how they keep you off balance, whether they happen to know your defensive signals or not. Just when you think you have a feel for the game, they do something completely out of character. Man for man there could be better offensive lines in the CFL than Montreal, but none that play as well together as a unit. Primarily a passing team, they are actually able to run some stretch plays similar to what the late 1990 Denver Broncos employed with Terrell Davis that rely on the athleticism and lateral abilities of their big men up front.

Danny Macciocia has not yet developed the same aura or veteran polish as The Don. The Danny had to kick and claw and scratch his way into the final just like you would expect a rookie head coach earning his stripes to do. With his youthful presence comes a brazen and bold approach. Not many first-year head coaches would feel secure or entrenched enough to call out veteran defensive end Joe Montford before the western final to 'play hard on first down and make plays against the run,' but The Danny had no qualms about it. Not many head coaches would feel confident about benching a $460,000 quarterback two games in a row in the second half for Jason Maas, but The Danny didn't have a problem with that either. Whether he doesn't know any better or just doesn't care, at this point all we know is that it is working.

The Eskimo offence no longer even remotely resembles the team we experienced three times earlier in the season. With the addition of only two players -- Troy Davis, one of the better running backs in the league, and Dan Comiskey, the best left guard in the league -- the Eskimo offence has restored the running dimension back to their offence. Whereas the Alouette front five are the most technically proficient group in the CFL, the Eskimo offensive line takes a different approach and like to challenge your manhood. They are a timing and rhythm team that have somewhat of a scripted feel when you play against them.

All that remains to be seen in the Grey Cup is which group will be more effective as a reflection of the men at the helm of these flagships. -- the youthful exuberance and fresh approach of the Macciocia-led Eskimos, or the veteran presence and aura of the dynastic Matthews-led Alouettes.

And the special award goes to ...
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Rob Vanstone
Column: Rob Vanstone
Source: The Leader-Post
The vote has been counted. So here, without further preamble, are the lucky winners of the coveted Robby Awards.
The glistening trophies -- presented to notable members of the 2005 Saskatchewan Roughriders -- will soon be available at a garage sale near you.

Best player: Corey Holmes. The versatile slotback/tailback/returner did everything except sell bratwurst. Holmes is an eminently deserving West Division nominee for the CFL's outstanding-player award. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy -- except, perhaps, to . . .

Best candidate for the Plaza of Honor: Gene Makowsky. The genial offensive tackle is a solid bet to repeat as the CFL's outstanding offensive lineman. Makowsky deserves an elusive Grey Cup ring -- as did Roger Aldag before the Roughriders finally won in 1989.

Best job of sounding like a sensitive male: The ever-thoughtful Makowsky, who preferred the grim aftermath of a playoff defeat to the three-win nadir of 1999. To quote Mr. Makowsky: "It's kind of like the old saying: 'Having loved and lost is better than never having loved at all.' '' (Cue violins.)

Best demonstration of speed: The un-named rabbit who scampered about the abrasive Taylor Field turf before finally fleeing the premises during a Sept. 24 home game against the Toronto Argonauts. The Riders won by a hare, 24-13.

Worst understanding of the animal kingdom: Anonymous columnist, who is unaware that rabbits and hares are different beasts.

Best play: Omarr Morgan's block of a last-play field-goal attempt on Sept. 18 at Taylor Field, where the Riders edged the Edmonton Eskimos 37-36.

Best job of handling criticism: Oft-maligned offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille, who accepted the heat with a smile, valuable insight and laudable candour. Bellefeuille's detractors will be muted when he eventually becomes a successful CFL head coach. Bellefeuille was hampered by so-so personnel.

Best quote: Daved Benefield was on a roll July 6, as the Riders prepared to face venerable Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen. "Everyone gets all geeked up over the age thing and all that stuff, but if you take care of yourself and you've been away from any sort of major accidents and stuff, who knows?'' Benefield said. "Look at Dick Clark. He looked the same way for years. I don't know if he runs or anything, but Dick Clark looks the same. Warren Beatty still pulls chicks at 70. There's Jack Nicholson. So why can't Damon Allen continue to run around at 40-something? It's pretty cool.'' Profuse thanks to Mr. Benefield for making my job so interesting, and for salvaging many a slow day.

Biggest blow: A season-ending knee injury to ace receiver Matt Dominguez, who was felled in Week 2. The passing attack was crippled in his absence. The Riders also lost someone who had become the face of the franchise.

Biggest enigma: Receiver Jamal (12 Yards!) Richardson was maddeningly erratic. He would treat fans to determined runs and spectacular receptions, only to drop catchable balls in key situations. Richardson is only 23. Perhaps consistency will come with experience.

Nicest gesture toward a fan: Each year, Minnesota resident and veteran season-ticket holder Terry McEvoy makes repeated trips to Regina to watch his beloved Roughriders. McEvoy has become friendly with several players, including kicker Paul McCallum. With a chilly game day looming, McCallum asked McEvoy: "What are you sitting on during the game?'' When the answer was not particularly comforting, McCallum walked to his vehicle, grabbed some Roughriders seat cushions, and presented them to an appreciative McEvoy.

Unsung hero: Director of communications Ryan Whippler was the most consistently effective Rider. Whippler cheerfully endured media carnivores and accepted phone calls at all hours of the day -- even when the firestorm surrounding Trevis Smith sparked a torrent of messages from reporters across the nation. In a gesture we all appreciated, Whippler ensured that requests from local reporters took precedence. Thanks.

Best name: This year's prestigious Moody Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award goes to rookie-camp casualty Roland Cola Jr. Whatever happened to him, anyway? If we don't know where he is, how can he pick up his trophy?

QB puzzle vexes Esks
The Calgary Herald
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: F1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald
It's no wonder Danny Maciocia was so quick to proclaim Ricky Ray his No. 1 quarterback for Sunday's Grey Cup.
The Edmonton Eskimos head coach needs Ray to start against the Montreal Alouettes. And, more important, Maciocia needs Ray to finish the game.

The Eskimos are Cup-bound, but they find themselves in an awkward and unusual situation with their quarterbacks. It's a dilemma that, if mishandled, could have long-term effects on the club.

It's a widely accepted belief around the Canadian Football League that the Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have agreed on a trade that will send Jason Maas to Steeltown after this season.

Maas, of course, was the relief hero in Sunday's 28-23 West Division final win over the B.C. Lions and in Edmonton's semifinal win over the Calgary Stampeders. Ray was yanked for ineffectiveness in both games.

So, the man who is on his way out of Edmonton keeps bailing out the pivot who makes more than $400,000 per season and hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in his past seven starts. Even forgettable Calgary pivots Cory Paus and Tommy Jones never had droughts like that.

By going back to Ray, as Maciocia stated Sunday, he's giving his main man another chance to meet expectations.
It's a desperate play, driven by necessity and blind hope that he'll get his act together.
Basically, the Esks are married to Ray and they'll take every possible measure to try to make it work.
But if the game starts to get away from Edmonton or Ray struggles early, Maas will get the call.
Maas came off the bench Sunday to break a 21-21 tie with a five-play, 49-yard touchdown drive that proved to be the difference. He showed more confidence than Ray and instantly provided a spark. It was a carbon copy of the semifinal, in which Maas entered after the half, trailing 23-12, and walked off with a 33-26 win.

The 30-year-old from Wisconsin has earned the right to start Sunday. But following his taming of the Lions, Maas claimed he didn't really care who started against the Als.

"I would love to play in it because I've never played in a Grey Cup and I've worked my butt off to get to this point," he said. "But, at the same time, I'll support Danny whichever way he goes."

Reading between the lines, Maas's comments Sunday intimated he's not long for the Eskimos. The Maas trade is considered the back end of an October swap that sent running back Troy Davis and guard Dan Comiskey to Edmonton for receiver Brock Ralph, cornerback Tay Cody and a first-round pick.

Word is the Eskimos will receive quarterback Danny McManus, offensive lineman Tim Bakker and the first overall pick in the 2006 Canadian Draft for Maas. If that's the case, Edmonton will be left with an over-the-hill passer in McManus, a nice prospect in Jason Johnson and Ray, whose confidence should be at an all-time low.

The only way the Esks truly live happily ever after is if Ray comes out and lights up the Als, like he did at the 2003 Grey Cup in Regina. On that day, Ray completed 22 of 32 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns as the Esks won 34-22. He has done it before. But, if he can't do it again, the Esks have a problem.

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com
Ray's the way, but Maas deserves to play: Backup QB penned the feel-good story of these playoffs; the Eskimos owe him
The Edmonton Journal
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: D1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Dan Barnes
Column: Dan Barnes
Source: The Edmonton Journal
There is no cheering in the press box, but even the hardest heart among the ink-stained would have to open up for the plight of Jason Maas this week.

From that space comes this plea on behalf of the Eskimos quarterback who is undeniably the feel-good story of the CFL playoffs.

Simply put, the Eskimos owe him one. Maas would never say it. He isn't even thinking it. That's not his style. But the Eskimos owe him a big one. THE big one, in fact.

Isn't there something in you that wants him to play meaningful minutes in a Grey Cup game he pretty much delivered under extreme duress? He came roaring off the bench in the Western Semifinal to relieve a struggling Ricky Ray and led the Eskimos to a comeback win over Calgary. After some coaxing from head coach Danny Maciocia, Maas rode to the rescue again in the Western Final, rejuvenating a receiving corps that had gone flat on Ray, after he started so strongly. Maas quickly put together a touchdown drive and the Eskimos' defence held B.C. at bay the rest of the way, setting up a Grey Cup showdown with Montreal.

It makes some sense now to start Ray on Sunday. The 21 points he engineered in Vancouver is a clear signal he can emerge from his funk if allowed and in fact encouraged to shake the conservative bonds of the usual game plan and go for the big play. But at some point, whether the Eskimos are up, down or tied with Montreal, don't you want to see Maas play a bigger part than that of the holder on Sean Fleming field-goal attempts?

This is not a view shared by Maciocia, who based his answer on the fact he is starting Ray and expects him to finish, and Maas would find it insulting to come into a game that is already decided just to hand off the ball a few times. Point taken.

This is not a view shared by Fleming, either.
"No. Ricky is going to start and if Jason is in there it means Ricky struggled. As much as I'd like to see Jason in there for personal reasons, I would prefer not to see him in there."

It isn't even shared by Maas, who feels he has already made a large enough contribution. Make no mistake, he wants to play, probably with every fibre of his being, given that he has yet to take a snap behind centre in a Grey Cup game. But he knows, has accepted and in fact perfected his role as backup this season.

"If I don't play and Ricky plays a whale of a game and we win this ball game, I'm going to be overjoyed about it. I hope Ricky goes all the way and plays a great game and leads us to victory because that's ultimately what I want. I want to win a Grey Cup. I don't care how it happens."

But as he told Journal football writer Vicki Hall last week, he doesn't wear his 2003 Grey Cup ring because he felt his contribution to that playoff run was too small. If he wins another on Sunday, would he wear this one?

"I think so. I didn't really do much in the playoff run of 2003. I feel like I've played a part in this run. Yeah, this would mean a lot to me. I'm going to wear this one regardless. But I want to get it first."

So why bother with the plea, you ask? Because we get to cheer for the story in the press box. That's allowed. And as good as the Maas story has been to date, another chapter would rocket it to the top of the bestseller list. That's plain to see from outside the Eskimos locker-room. And some folks inside those walls have a feel for it too. Like Mookie Mitchell.

"From the players' standpoint, you have to give this guy credit. He came in and pulled us out of two real tight games," said Mitchell. "From a players' standpoint, I would love to see him get a little bit of action. But I know Ricky is our guy. He's the guy we're going to stand behind."

And Ed Hervey.
"If Ricky plays the whole game, obviously we're doing well," Hervey said. "I hope we're doing so well that both quarterbacks can play. I don't usually disagree with coach Maciocia but in this instance I will. If we're controlling the game and we can get a big lead, why not throw Jason in there?"

While I don't usually disagree with Hervey, in this instance I will. Let Maas play some meaningful minutes against Montreal.

It makes for a better story.
dbarnes@thejournal.canwest.com
Year of adversity sparks unified march to Cup: Fans have been asking 'What's wrong with the Eskimos?' all season long. Turns out the answer is: Nothing
The Edmonton Journal
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: John MacKinnon
Column: John MacKinnon
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - You and me against the world, sometimes it feels like you and me against the world.
The "us-against-the-world" motivational posture is easier to handle coming from an underdog, against-all-odds sort of team than it is from the perennial playoff-qualifying Edmonton Eskimos.

This is the team, after all, that bills itself, with appropriate immodesty and it must be said, accuracy, as the Canadian Football League's flagship franchise. This is their third trip to the final in four years, don't forget. Us against the world? The world should be so lucky.

I mean, flagships might be targets of resentment, objects of envy. But they are not underdogs in need of artificial, rally-around-the-flag motivational juice.

And yet, in a year in which the Eskimos installed a rookie head coach, repatriated their star quarterback, revamped their defensive secondary, retooled their defensive and offensive lines, watched their veteran punter-placekicker go inexplicably on the fritz and traded for a bona fide CFL running back, they were savaged in print, on the airwaves and by diehard fans all over Edmonton, for all their shortcomings. So it's hard to blame the Eskimos for feeling beleaguered.

Self-important journalists have long believed that you criticize in order to make things better. If that cause-and-effect dynamic holds, then clearly the Edmonton football public has played a key role in the Eskimos' success.

Over the last two weeks alone, those among the Eskimos faithful who are given to this sort of thing can go ahead and congratulate themselves for their influence in having backup quarterback Jason Maas lifted off the bench to replace Ricky Ray and save the day against Calgary in the Western Semifinal and again on Sunday in the final against the B.C. Lions.

No doubt rookie head coach Danny Maciocia never would have thought of going to his bullpen if not for the shrieking of his critics.

It would be nice to report that the Eskimos players, veteran professionals that they are, simply block their ears to the criticism. But c'mon. They're only human. They hear, they read, they react.

That's why wide receiver Ed Hervey, on his way to the locker room after Edmonton's 28-23 victory over the Lions on Sunday, exulted at a cluster of journalists:

"I told you we would (get to the Grey Cup)! We said we could!"
If he had taunted, "Eat your words, eat your words," it would have been a perfect Muhammad Ali moment. Of course, when Ali delivered those words to reporters in Miami in 1964, he was a slender 22-year-old kid who really had shocked the world by dismantling heavyweight champion Sonny Liston.

On Sunday, the 11-7 Eskimos knocked off the 12-6 Lions by less than a touchdown in a battle of two evenly matched elite teams in a nine-team league. It was a thrilling game, but hardly a shocking outcome.

The truth is, the Eskimos are under more intense scrutiny than most CFL teams and just about anything can trigger a barrage of criticism. They deal with it as gracefully as possible, under the circumstances.

"That's sports," placekicker Sean Fleming said. "Not everybody can go 18-0.
"That's life. You're going to have your ups and downs. The important thing is that the people in the locker room believe, despite all the negative stuff when things aren't going well.

"You have to be able to handle the criticism and you can handle it if you know what you're doing is right or that eventually things will turn around.

"That's what's satisfying, the locker room has never been torn apart despite all the pressure from the outside. And the pressure is justified when things aren't going well.

"It's normal when things are going badly that people are going to want the coach fired or want this player gone, but football people know what it means to be in the locker room and that things are going to work in the end."

Defensive back Donny Brady shared that view, emphasizing the faith factor with his own perspective on the Eskimos' so-called quarterback controversy.

"We trust each other in this locker room and we've got each other's back," Brady said. "We have no problems with our quarterbacks.

"(Third stringer) Jason Johnson could start. That's what backups are for. I don't understand why people don't understand that. It's like baseball. If you have a bad inning, get another guy in there. There's nothing wrong with that."

No, there isn't. And as the Eskimos prepare to face the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday's Grey Cup, there doesn't seem to be that much wrong with them, all of a sudden.

And, luckily for them, they live and work in an environment in which any flaw, big, small, real or imagined, will be loudly and forcefully brought their attention as quickly as it appears.

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com
John MacKinnon
Sweatsox
John's new blog takes us into the locker room and shows us the game inside the game
To read John's blog go to http:// and click on blogs
'Play 'em both' strategy works for Maciocia: Quarterback controversy a dead issue in the only place it really counts: the locker-room
The Edmonton Journal
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - A massive media mob pounced on Danny Maciocia at Commonwealth Stadium on Monday and opened the line of questioning with a hockey query, of all things.

Who should the Edmonton Oilers start in goal, Jussi Markkanen or Mike Morrison?
"Both," said the rookie Edmonton Eskimos head coach. "Play 'em both."
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish is not likely to agree, but the "play 'em both" quarterbacking strategy worked wonders for Maciocia in Sunday's CFL Western Final.

Ricky Ray started the game and put 21 points on the board in the first half. When the offence stalled in the fourth quarter, Jason Maas came off the bench to rally the Esks to a 28-23 victory over the B.C. Lions.

It was the same script the Eskimos followed the week before in a 33-26 Western Semifinal win over the Calgary Stampeders. And Maciocia won't hesitate to follow the same formula a third time on Sunday when the Eskimos battle Montreal in the 93rd Grey Cup game.

"There is no controversy here," Maciocia said, a sea of microphones and cameras in his face. "None. Ricky Ray is the starter. And Jason? If we have to call his number, we'll call it and he'll do what he does best.

"But we'll start Ricky and I believe, like I've said the last couple of weeks, that he'll play well enough to take us to victory."

Maas is the hero of the moment in Edmonton after his second fairytale performance of the 2005 playoffs. Public debate rages over who should start for the Esks in the championship game, but it's a dead issue in the Eskimos locker-room.

Maciocia named Ray his starter on Sunday night, just moments after the Esks disposed of the Lions.
"Was he happy being taken out? Absolutely not," Maciocia said. "Did he feel like he could finish the football game and win it? Yeah. I'm sure he did.

"I thought Ricky played really well. I thought we let him down at the end of the first half."
The slide began when wide receiver Trevor Gaylor tipped a pass to Lions safety Barron Miles late in the second quarter, a mistake that turned into a B.C. touchdown.

"That was a big, big momentum switch there," Ray said. "Going into halftime, being up 21-3 would have been huge for us. Instead, they got the turnover and went down there and scored to make it 21-10 and give them momentum."

When Maas got the call, he marched over to his offensive linemen and pleaded for protection. Like an army general, he got in the face of each receiver and demanded they catch the ball.

It was a scene fit for Hollywood, as Maas tossed the winning touchdown strike to Gaylor, of all people, and the Eskimos spoiled the Party on the Pacific before it began.

Give Maas credit, says wide receiver Ed Hervey, but remember that Ray was the star of the show in the first half. Without him, the Esks wouldn't have stood a chance.

"With Ricky Ray as the starting quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos, we have been to three Grey Cups," Hervey said. "I think people are forgetting that. In the Western Final, he produced 21 points and shredded B.C. early.

"Then we went into a lull, and we weren't making plays for him, but the blame shouldn't fall solely on his shoulders."
Ray says his confidence is just fine, despite being pulled two weeks in a row.
"I'll always believe in myself," he said. "I know I can go out there and get it done."
Short yardage: Fullback Mathieu Bertrand (ankle) is questionable for Sunday, along with defensive end Rashad Jeanty (hamstring). Centre Kevin Lefsrud (knee) and slotback Derrell Mitchell (ribs) are expected to play.

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
Mobley catches a break on last play of game: Eskimos linebacker admits his collision with Lions' Geroy Simon may have been pass interference
The Edmonton Journal
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: Dan Barnes
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - It sure looks like Singor Mobley got away with one on Sunday.
Right there on national TV. With a trip to the Grey Cup hanging in the balance. With no time on the clock and a potential game-winning Hail Mary pass from B.C. quarterback Casey Printers en route to the Eskimos' end zone.

As Mobley dropped back into pass coverage, he collided with B.C. receiver Geroy Simon.
Intentional or not, the body contact looked like pass interference. Simon immediately stopped running for the ball, which fell incomplete, and began gesticulating for all he was worth. The partisan B.C. Place crowd roared its disapproval. But nary a penalty flag came fluttering to the turf. Game over. Eskimos to meet the Alouettes in the Grey Cup.

On Monday, Mobley was asked for an explanation of the controversial play.
"When I dropped back I thought, 'OK, I'm just going to be in front of him,' " said the mobile Eskimos linebacker. "As he was coming straight at me, I'm like, 'No, I'm not going to move. If he wants to get the ball he has to go through me.' And he bumps me. I think the ball probably wouldn't have been catchable anyways because it was more to the inside instead of his outside shoulder. Refs didn't call it so it's not a P.I."

Mobley thinks Simon didn't do a very good job of selling the call, and that's fine with him. "He stopped on his route, if you look at the film. If you got bumped or whatever, keep running to the ball. If you can catch it, you can catch it. But as soon as he made contact he threw his arms up and quit. Maybe if he would have tried a little bit harder the refs probably would have given him a call, but he didn't.

"It's one of those plays. It's a judgment call. The ref, if he thought it was bad enough pass interference, he would have thrown (a flag)."

Maas still has the ire in his belly: Esks QB plays best when he's angry
The Edmonton Journal
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A1 / Front
Section: News
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - A few years back, Jason Maas showed up at the team office barely able to speak.
"I've just tried horseradish for the first time, and I'm so angry," he spat. "Why didn't I try it before? I've wasted so much time."

So where does this rage come from in Maas? Why is this young man so angry?
Turns out the 30-year-old searches the universe for irritants that make him explode. He has no trouble finding such triggers in everything from sandwich toppings to intoxicated fans in the crowd.

"When I'm in a fit of rage, I play better," he said Monday. "Sometimes, I try to get myself to get to that point. I look for little things to fuel my fire."

On Sunday, the backup quarterback rallied the Edmonton Eskimos to victory in the Western Final like an enraged army general preparing his troops for a deadly battle.

He hollered. He swore. He slapped his teammates on the back. He demanded they play better, that they rise to the occasion with starter Ricky Ray on the bench and the game tied.

His men followed their marching orders. Trevor Gaylor snared a 15-yard pass in the end zone to propel the Eskimos to a 28-23 victory and a trip to the Grey Cup this Sunday in Vancouver.

His mother, Vicki, recalls the time her boy heard a fan heckling him at Commonwealth Stadium prior to a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"Maas, you're going to be riding the pine next year when Ricky
Ray comes back," the spectator screamed.
Furious, Maas completed 22 consecutive passes to shatter the CFL record of 18 straight completions set in 1979 by B.C. Lions quarterback Joe Paopao.

After the final gun, someone handed Maas the game ball as a souvenir.
"Go give it to that fan," Maas snapped. "He's the one who deserves it."
A few years back on Labour Day, the Calgary Stampeders ran out onto the field in their black jerseys. For some reason, Maas took this as a personal afront.

"He went nuts on the sideline before the game," recalled head coach Danny Maciocia. "He's yelling, 'They're in black. They're in black.' "

Maciocia shook his head.
"Yeah, they're in black, Jason," the coach said. "So what?"
"That's disrespectful," Maas bellowed, before ripping off a string of obscenities.
To no one's surprise, Maas lit it up that day. The Sherwood Park resident plays better when he's angry, and he's learned to embrace that tendency with help from Edmonton sports psychologist John Dunn.

"I don't know where the anger comes from," Maas said. "It's deep-rooted."
A dedicated father and tireless volunteer, Maas conceded the roots of his rage probably lie in the death of his own dad. Police officer Gary Maas died in a flurry of bullets at an Arizona bus station when Maas was 10. The

officer returned fire and killed one of the suspects. The other is serving two life sentences.
For awhile, it seemed Maas was sentenced to a life of pain due to the loss. He started acting out in school.
"We wanted him to go see somebody, to talk to a psychiatrist or some kind of group therapy," his mother said. "He didn't want to.

"But I don't remember Jason being a bad kid. He went through a rebellious stage. He mooned his teacher in Grade 6. But that was about it."

With football as his salvation, Maas worked through his pain. He's made national headlines in recent weeks for his unselfish attitude and constant support of his good friend, Ricky Ray.

Ray is slated to start in the Grey Cup, leaving Maas on the bench ready to help if needed.
If he gets the call, Eskimos fans can only hope he finds something to be angry about.
"Maybe I'll step on his toe or something," said wide receiver Ed Hervey. "That should do it."
vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
JUST ANOTHER GAME!; APPROACH TO GREY CUP WEEK WILL IMPACT HOW ESKS PLAY SUNDAY
The Edmonton Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DEREK VAN DIEST, EDMONTON SUN
It's the Eskimos' third trip to the Grey Cup in four years.
But to a number of players on this year's roster, it's a first.
The Grey Cup is more than just a football game, it's an experience. And for over a dozen Eskimos, it's a foreign experience.

"This may sound crazy, but you have to try and treat it like a regular week, even though it's anything but," said Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia. "Your approach to the week will have a significant impact to how you play on Sunday."

Basically the message is to enjoy the week, but don't lose the game before stepping on the field.
With so many distractions surrounding the game, it's easy to forget the reason for being there in the first place.
"I think you just tell them to do what you do at home. Do what you've been doing all year to get here. Stay with that routine," said Eskimos linebacker Singor Mobley, a veteran of three Grey Cups.

'GO OUT AND PARTY'
"As far as the partying goes, there are going to be times when you can go out and party. But once we get closer to game time, it's time to focus on the task at hand. If you win, then you'll have a long time to party."

Distractions aside, for many players, it's the first time they've played in a championship game - something that can be overwhelming in itself.

It's been a long and at times tumultuous road for the Eskimos to get to the Grey Cup. For some, the victory over the Lions in the West final has yet to really settle in.

"It's my first championship game ever as a professional, so it's an excitement that I really can't describe," said Eskimos receiver Trevor Gaylor. "This is something we've talked about from the beginning of the season and now it's a reality. All the pressure we've had, all the different critics, and to be able to make it there speaks volumes about this team. I'm at a loss for words."

Unlike Canadian players who grew up watching the November classic, many American players had never heard of the Grey Cup prior to playing in the CFL. Regardless, it has not curbed their enthusiasm about playing in the big game.

"If it's anything like the Western final, it's going to be great," said Tony Tompkins. "Being that it's my rookie year and I'm getting to go to the Grey Cup in my first year, it's going to be great. I'm very excited to go out there and see what the atmosphere is like."

RETURN KICKS
Tompkins himself has never played in a championship game. His ability to return kicks will be a key to the Eskimos' success against the Montreal Alouettes in Vancouver.

"Of course I'll be a little nervous, because it's a real big game, but I'll just have to go out there and play the game I've been playing all season," he said.

"I talked to Ed Hervey and he told me that the whole Grey Cup week is a real crazy week and that we just have to stay focused and not get caught up in everything that is going on around you."

Considering the Eskimos have won the Grey Cup on 12 previous occasions, the team has plenty of experience on how to handle the hype.

The key is passing off that experience.
"There are a lot of Grey Cup rings in this locker- room. I'm very jealous of them and I let everybody know that," Gaylor said.

"It's a week of fun, but it's also a week of focus. You have to embrace the fact that you definitely made it, but if you are not there to win the game then why are you there? The focus is definitely on winning the game, but we'll have our fun."

SO HOLLOW; ESKS FOUND IT OUT AS HOSTS IN '97; THE LIONS KNOW ALL ABOUT IT, TOO
The Edmonton Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
The Eskimos had just crashed the Party on the Pacific.
When Dennis Skulsky left B.C. Place, the P.A. system was playing Fats Domino's Ain't That A Shame. And when the volunteer head of the 93rd Grey Cup festival organizing committee arrived home, his voice mail message light was blinking.

"There were a bunch of them from Edmonton. The first one came from a party and all that was on it was that old theme song playing with a bunch of old friends hooting and hollering in the background.''

You know it. It's so old, it's almost a groaner when they play it every home game at Commonwealth Stadium. CJCA's Peggy Miller wrote it in 1954.

"We're cheering fight, fight, fight on Eskimos. We're marching right, right, right on, Eskimos. We're charging down the field for all to see and shouting rah, rah, rah, fight on to victory.

''We're marching on till every game is won. The Green and Gold is bold and when we're done we'll tell the world we're proud of Edmonton and the Edmonton Eskimos.''

'TO A SEVEN OR AN EIGHT'
Skulsky, who before the game had told me that his Party on the Pacific would go "from a nine or a 10 to a seven or an eight,'' if the Lions didn't Roar, you Lions roar, to quote their ancient theme song, couldn't help but think back to being a kid in the Knothole Gang at Clarke Stadium.

"I was born and raised in Edmonton,'' said the man who went from jobs in circulation and promotion at the Edmonton Otherpaper to becoming president of Pacific Press and publisher of both the Sun and Province in Vancouver.

"It's hard to get that Green and Gold out of you,'' he said. "I grew up in that Knothole Gang at old Clarke Stadium. You paid 25 cents and got there early so you could get in first and run like hell to the top of the bleachers when they opened the gate.''

Skulsky is in an interesting position. As the head of 'The Waterboys' - as the volunteer committee calls itself in reference to Lions' CEO Bobby Ackles's beginnings as the team waterboy - he wanted the Lions in the game. As a newspaper publisher, with papers to sell, he wanted the Lions in the game.

The only, er, up side is the number of want ads the papers may sell with B.C. fans interested in getting rid of their Grey Cup tickets now.

HUNDREDS OF WANT ADS
Back in 1987, when the same thing happened here and the Eskimos beat the Lions in the Western final to get into that Grey Cup game, there were hundreds and hundreds of want ads with Lions fans trying to dump their tickets.

"I don't know if that's going to happen. I may be wrong. We have no special plans at the papers to put together any special sections for people to sell their tickets.

"We're sold out and we have been for a long time. It's not like the last time the Grey Cup was here. They had 10,000 tickets left unsold. The crowd was 45,000 and a lot of that was papered,'' he said of the 1999 dud of a Grey Cup week here when you could buy a ticket for $2 at kickoff.

A WET BLANKET
Still, there's no doubt that the Eskimos getting to the game has thrown a wet blanket on the Party on the Pacific, a theme thatoB, was taken from Edmonton's Party in your Parka.

As Lions receiver Jason Clermont put it after the game: "I feel like we let a lot of people down. All my family is going to be here from Regina. I know they're not coming all this way to watch Edmonton play.''

Eskimos CEO Hugh Campbell says he can relate. It was like that in Edmonton in 1997 when Saskatchewan beat the Eskimos in the Western final and came back two days later to move into their dressing room.

"I know what it's like. I feel sorry for them. It's hard when you don't get into it,'' he said of the Lions who started the season at 11-0 and inspired the early sellout only to lose seven of their last eight.

"I'm delighted to be in it. But I feel sorry for them.''
Scott Ackles, the son of the CEO, is the top employee of the organizing committee.
"I grew up around football. I know you can't depend on your team being in the game. You have to plan the Grey Cup as an event not as a game featuring your own team. It's still going to be a first-class festival.

"It's like I told my committee after the game. 'You have one day to feel bad.
'' 'Do it tonight. We had to get up in the morning and make sure that all the people coming here are going to have a fabulous time.' ''

CFL declares game-ending bump on Geroy Simon was no foul
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A58
Section: Sports
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province
The CFL reviewed the final play of Sunday's West final and decided there was no pass interference on Geroy Simon.
George Black, director of officiating, in effect backed the referee for getting it right after Simon and Eskimos linebacker Singor Mobley bumped at the goal line.

Casey Printers' final pass landed 15 yards deep in the end zone, Simon yelled at the official and the Esks celebrated.
Replays show Simon turning his shoulders, from facing to his right to his left, and that's when the contact with Mobley came.

Black was in transit Monday but Alexis Redmond, the CFL's director of communication, said he'd reviewed video of the play

"The receiver veered into the defender," Redmond said, "and the defender is entitled to his ground."
At the Lions practice field Monday, there was unanimity that Mobley's contact was a foul, but also a 100-per-cent consensus that the loss can't be pinned on it.

"I thought it could have been called interference," linebacker Barrin Simpson said. "The refs called it the way they felt was right at that time. Can you say the referees cost us the game? No, we shouldn't have been in that situation. That play definitely did not cost us the game. The game was played and they beat us."

What really sticks in the craw of the Lions is the earlier flag waving.
Sam Young was called for pass interference for grabbing Jason Tucker's sleeve on an incomplete pass with under two minutes to play in the first quarter.

After the penalty, Ricky Ray scored a touchdown from the one-yard line to make it 14-3 Edmonton at 13:42.
On B.C.'s first possession, Simon was blindsided by defensive back Donny Brady on a Jerel Myers catch. Simon went tumbling into an official but there was no flag. The same official who didn't make the call on the Mobley/Simon bump had thrown his flag the previous play to keep B.C.'s hopes alive on an interference call.

B.C. was tagged for the first 10 penalties of the game.
"You want to earn the win and we definitely did not earn it," Simpson said. "Now, some of the calls earlier in the game, we should have got those. I mean, 10 penalties in a row? We were the only ones committing fouls?"

Defensive back Mark Washington said: "Do flags have clocks on them? I understand the referee not wanting to decide the game, but if you see an infraction ..."

It was a halftime-show idea that would have topped 'em all
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A59
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Willes
Source: The Province
The Rolling Stones were more than just a kiss away for the Vancouver Grey Cup committee.
But it says something about Scott Ackles' ambition that he tried to land the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band for Sunday's halftime show. Or maybe it says more about his grasp on reality.

"We really tried to get the Stones," said Ackles, the general manager of the Grey Cup. "We thought, 'If we're going to do something, let's start here (holds hand over his head) instead of here (holds hand slightly lower). "That was the whole idea of this thing from Day 1. Let's try to score a touchdown."

Ackles, a Stones' devotee, began to pursue the idea when he learned the band's original fall-tour schedule would bring them to Seattle the week of Grey Cup.

As luck would have it, Ackles is also friends with the Stones' director of finance through his years in the entertainment industry. After preliminary discussions, a face-to-face with Mick and Keith never materialized when the band's schedule changed.

The CFL eventually landed The Black Eyed Peas, no small achievement in itself, for the halftime show, which left Ackles to wonder about the one that got away.

"The timing seemed to be right," said Ackles. "We didn't get to the point where we talked about how much [it would cost], but the idea was, this was going to be big."

ewilles@png.canwest.com
Why Grey Cup beats out the Super Bowl: Bigger not always better in football extravaganzas
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A59
Section: Sports
Byline: David Pratt
Column: Pratt's Rant
Source: The Province
Pamela Anderson: Two reasons why the Grey Cup is better than the Super Bowl.
Saturday Ms. Anderson is coming back home to join the party as the Grand Marshall of this year's Grey Cup parade.
If Janet Jackson and her "wardrobe malfunction" is the best the Super Bowl can offer, then this is really no contest.
Don't be fooled by the hype.
The Super Bowl is all about money.
Brokers demand and get more than $5,000 US a ticket, while the best seat in B.C. Place on Sunday sold for a mere $252.75 Cdn.

Granted, the last two Super Bowl games were decided by a field goal, but 28 of 39 have been blowouts won by two touchdowns or more. The last lopsided score the Grey Cup suffered was way back in 1997.

There is only one category in which the CFL cannot compete with the NFL: The Halftime Show.
The Super Bowl has made a complete and full recovery from "Nipplegate", and as a result The Tragically Hip and The Black Eyed Peas are simply no match for Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones.

But the real acid test that separates these two events is still The Party.
The toughest ticket to get your hands on during any Super Bowl week is the Maxim or Playboy party, and both are by invitation only, which means that, unless you're somebody, you're nobody.

The average fan can get into the Tier 2 parties, which start at $250 and run up to $1,000 and come complete with a minor celebrity whom you are not allowed to meet.

Most of this year's Grey Cup events are either free or cost between $10 and $36, and they encourage you to get your picture taken with the only celebrity that truly matters: The Cup.

It's about having fun. Calgary fans riding a horse into the lobby of a downtown hotel, a block party on Beatty Street, 60,000 screaming fans in B.C. Place.

Thankfully our game still belongs to the fans, which is not the case with the Super Bowl.
Long ago that event was sold out to Corporate America, a place to buy and sell, work the room, and to see and be seen. This season a 30-second commercial on ABC is going for $2.5 million US. Hell, you can buy a whole CFL team for that kind of money.

It's a crime.
There's also the issue of location. Super Bowl XL will be played in Detroit, which according to the FBI now is America's

most violent city, with more than 18,000 incidents reported every year, while the 2005 Grey Cup will be played in scenic -- with the occasional drive-by shooting -- Vancouver.

Now ask yourself, where would you rather be? If size is all that matters to you, then knock yourself out with the NFL, but real football fans know bigger is not always better -- with the noted exception of Pamela Anderson.

Head to Head: Edmonton vs. Montreal
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: F2
Section: Sports
Source: Vancouver Sun
July 8, at Montreal: Als 32, Eskimos 29:
"We were getting after him with four or five guys all night and you could see at the end he was just kind of putting it up. He's a great quarterback and he's tough, but we beat him up pretty good."

- Alouettes tackle Ed Philion on how his team handled Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray, who finished the game 25-of-43 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions

Even without the Lions, the Grey Cup party will be quite a bash
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A14
Section: Editorial
Source: Vancouver Sun
The party might be over for the B.C. Lions, but it's not quite time to turn the lights out in the Lower Mainland or elsewhere in the province.

Many British Columbians are, understandably, in something less than a celebratory mood after the Lions' heartbreaking loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League Western Conference final on Sunday.

The Leos were anything but ferocious at the start of the game, as the Esks pounced on them early, building a 21-3 lead. However, for a brief period the Lions reminded us of how they won the first 11 games of the season, as they roared back, tying the score at 21 by the end of the third-quarter.

That gave the sold-out crowd of 37,337 renewed hope, but it was not to be. The Eskimos surged ahead again, and, with the Lions in scoring position in the dying moments of the game, quarterback Casey Printers threw an interception, which effectively dashed the Lions' hopes of victory.

Many factors have been suggested for the loss, including questionable calls and non-calls by the referees (the guys who always take the blame for losses but never get credit for wins), weak play by the B.C. offensive line (ditto) and, probably most accurately, that the Lions simply weren't the better team on Sunday.

There will be plenty of time for the post-mortem: For the next few months, the Lions will assess everything that went wrong and everything that went right, not just on Sunday, but over the course of the entire season.

But for now, there is something else for fans to look forward to, since Vancouver will be hosting the Grey Cup this year, the first time the championship game has been held here since 1999. And while we would have preferred to see the Lions lining up against the Montreal Alouettes on Nov. 27, there is still plenty for fans to do over the next few days.

The festivities begin at noon on Thursday, with the Grey Cup Festival Kickoff in front of the CBC building. Several events will follow that evening, including the Calgary Hoedown at Beatty and Georgia streets, the Rogers CFL Player Awards at the Centre for the Performing Arts, and Colin James performing at the Commodore Ballroom.

On Friday, the Reebok NFL/CFL Flag Football tournament begins, and continues through Saturday. The Sports Action Beatty Street Block Party runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will continue on Saturday and Sunday. The 2005 Touchdown Boat Cruise, a charity event, begins at 8 p.m., and the Party on the Pacific starts at 6:30 p.m. at Beatty and Georgia streets.

Saturday begins with an Athletes in Action breakfast, and continues with the Save-on-Foods Grey Cup Parade at 11 a.m., with British Columbia's own Pamela Anderson as grand marshall. The parties then go on through the afternoon and into the evening.

Finally, on the big day, the Grey Cup starts at 3 p.m. and post-game celebrations continue into the night. For more information, see the official Grey Cup website, at http://www.2005greycup.com.

That's a lot to pack into a few days. While it would have been preferable if all these events were capped off with a Lions' Grey Cup victory, scoring the game itself is a win for the Lower Mainland, and it's a win worth celebrating.

Gov.-Gen. here for Cup parade: She will be in the VIP reviewing area on Georgia Street
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: B4
Section: WestCoast News
Byline: Jonathan Fowlie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER - Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean will attend the Save-on Foods Grey Cup Festival Parade when it passes through Vancouver this Saturday, officials at the the 2005 Grey Cup Vancouver Committee announced Monday.

"We're really happy about it," said parade chairman Phil Reimer. "We're looking forward to her being here."
Reimer said Jean will be seated in the VIP reviewing area across from the CBC building, and is expected to attend the event with her daughter.

"The show starts right in front of her," Reimer said, adding Jean may attend other festival events as well.
Officials expect close to 100,000 fans at Saturday's downtown parade, which begins at 11 a.m. at the corner of Georgia and Seymour streets.

The almost two-hour parade will travel east to Cambie Street to Pacific Boulevard, and wind up at the Plaza of Nations.

Weather permitting, four CF-18 fighter jets will perform a flypast over the city as part of the parade, which will feature floats and musical bands and other attractions.

There are more than 90 entries in the parade, including 17 bands, representatives from every Canadian Football League team, their cheerleaders and several colourful feature acts.

Canadian actress Pamela Anderson, the parade's grand marshall, will lead-off the event in a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible, which was made the year the Grey Cup first came to Vancouver.

For those who can't see the parade in person, the event will be broadcast live on CBC Television at 11:10 a.m. PST on Saturday, and re-broadcast nationally on CBC at 10 a.m. PST on Sunday before the Grey Cup Championship game.

jfowlie@png.canwest.com
Alouettes' Calvillo likes rivalry with Eskimos
The Globe and Mail
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By Donald McKenzie
MONTREAL -- Familiarity with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Grey Cup is not breeding any contempt in Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo.

The Canadian Football League championship game on Sunday between the teams will be their third title meeting in four seasons, with each team boasting one victory.

"It's a good rivalry," Calvillo said yesterday. "We've both won one and this is going to be the grudge match and we want to make sure that we walk away with that victory."

Calvillo is hoping the outcome will be like the 2002 result, when he led Montreal to a 25-16 victory. The next year, the Alouettes lost 34-22.

Advertisements
Calvillo, who didn't have any touchdown passes in the Als' 33-17 come-from-behind win against the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final last Sunday, believes the Eskimos will be a tough foe.

"They don't try to confuse you too much," he said. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage. They say, 'You're going to have to beat us.' And they have the guys up front to create pressure and they have the [defensive backs] to cover. So it's going to be a challenge for us. We have to make sure our receivers can beat their [defensive backs], and if we can do that, then we should have a victory.

"But it's not going to be easy. They're pretty talented across the board. I look at their defence and they have a lot of talent out there."

Calvillo said the victory in Toronto ranked high in his career because it was the first time he had won an Eastern final on the road.

Eric Lapointe, who ran for three touchdowns and 112 yards against the Argos, said he'll be ready if needed again to replace injured Robert Edwards.

"It's always a bit disappointing to get that kind of chance at someone else's expense," Lapointe said. "Robert was a big leader for us all season, so it will be disappointing if he's not in uniform for the Grey Cup.

"But I'll be ready. I'm getting closer to the end of my career, so if I get a chance to finish on a good note with another ring on my finger, it would be great."

Montreal general manager Jim Popp said the Alouettes, who finished second in the East and had to beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders to get to Toronto, showed all year they can bounce back from adversity.

"You always have some doubt any time throughout a season, no matter how good you are," Popp said. "This is a unique team. They've stuck together. They believe in each other. Even when we lost some games this year we felt we should never have lost, it was more disbelief than thinking we couldn't win."

On saura d'ici quelques jours si Edwards pourra participer au match
La Presse
Le mardi 22 novembre 2005
Sophie Allard

�ric Lapointe semblait serein hier, mais visiblement �puis�. �J'�tais compl�tement br�l� apr�s le match. J'ai d� perdre 20 livres, c'est bon pour la di�te!�, a-t-il lanc� � la blague.

Si les Alouettes s'envolent aujourd'hui vers Vancouver pour disputer la finale de la Coupe Grey dimanche, c'est en bonne partie gr�ce � lui. En 15 courses, il a amass� 112 verges et inscrit trois touch�s contre les Argonauts, pour une victoire de 33-17 en finale de l'Est.

�C'�tait tr�s excitant. C'est probablement un de mes plus beaux moments dans le sport depuis que je joue, a confi� Lapointe, tout sourire. C'est toujours une bonne sensation d'avoir la chance de participer � un match aussi important et d'y contribuer. �a fait du bien de prouver aux gens qu'on est � la hauteur. On y a toujours cru, on s'est serr� les coudes et on a �t� capables de remporter une grosse victoire. Maintenant, je suis conscient comme le reste de l'�quipe que c'�tait seulement un match. Notre gros match, on le jouera dimanche prochain.�

Une nouvelle bague de la Coupe Grey lui ferait-elle oublier l'id�e de la retraite? ��a aurait peut-�tre l'effet contraire. J'ai toujours voulu me retirer sur une bonne note, �a pourrait �tre le temps, a-t-il affirm�. J'y songerai apr�s le match, on va commencer par gagner. Ma d�cision n'est pas prise. J'ai beaucoup de plaisir � jouer et je suis en sant� comme je l'ai rarement �t� dans les derni�res ann�es.

�C'est �vident qu'avec une performance comme celle de dimanche, �a ne me donne pas le go�t de me retirer. Pour moi, la question est de savoir si je peux combiner les deux emplois, a ajout� Lapointe, qui est aussi conseiller financier durant la saison morte. � un moment donn�, il faut �tre r�aliste, il ne faut pas br�ler la chandelle par les deux bouts. Je ne veux pas non plus faire les choses � moiti�. Je veux le faire � pleine vitesse, je veux �tre capable de sentir que je performe, que ce soit sur le terrain ou au bureau.�

Pour l'instant, ce qu'il souhaite avant tout: �tre partant lors du match ultime, dimanche. Selon le directeur g�n�ral Jim Popp, le cas de Robert Edwards, bless� aux c�tes, est toujours incertain. �On en saura plus d'ici 24 � 48 heures�, a-t-il dit.

�C'est toujours d�chirant d'avoir une chance quand c'est au d�triment de quelqu'un d'autre. Robert est plus qu'un co�quipier, c'est devenu un ami. Il a �t� un leader cette ann�e et il serait bien malheureux de ne pas participer � la Coupe Grey. Mais le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres. Si j'ai la chance d'�tre partant pour un match de la Coupe Grey, �a va bien se prendre. Je vais essayer d'en profiter et de bien jouer�, de poursuivre Lapointe.

Ce ne sera pas une partie de plaisir, savent d�j� les hommes de Don Matthews. �Il nous a dit que c'est un vrai business trip, a indiqu� Lapointe. C'est la premi�re semaine qu'on a un couvre-feu � tous �005 . 0000.00�les soirs, c'est comme �a que Don fonctionne. On a affront� les Eskimos � maintes reprises et c'est toujours tr�s difficile. Au sol, on a eu �norm�ment de probl�mes contre eux. C'est un des meilleurs fronts d�fensifs qu'on a eu � affronter cette ann�e. �a fait trop de fois qu'on les rencontre, maintenant c'est � nous de gagner. �a va �tre une guerre.�

Le quart-arri�re Anthony Calvillo abonde dans le m�me sens. �Ils ont beaucoup de talent en d�fensive. Ils ont tendance � faire une bonne couverture homme � homme et � mettre beaucoup de pression sur l'adversaire. Il faudra jouer au maximum pendant quatre quarts. C'est un gros d�fi.�

�Depuis le d�but de l'ann�e, les gens sont sceptiques devant nos chances de nous rendre en finale, nous y sommes, a indiqu� la recrue Matthieu Proulx, heureux d'une premi�re participation � la Coupe Grey. Nous avons eu une saison en dents de scie, il faut l'avouer. Ce n'est pas la plus belle saison de l'histoire des Alouettes. Nous, on sait qu'on a une �quipe tr�s bien balanc�e, on a la meilleure attaque de la ligue. Les seules lacunes qu'on avait, c'�tait en d�fensive et on a corrig� �a en fin de saison.�

�Nous jouons actuellement du tr�s bon football et vous voyez ce que �a donne! a lanc� Ben Cahoon. Si la confiance y est et que le niveau d'ex�cution est �lev� sur le terrain, la Coupe sera � nous.�

Upset Argos face future of uncertainty: Roster changes likely: 'You can be wanted one day and not wanted the next'
National Post
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: S5
Section: Sports
Byline: Sean Fitz-Gerald
Dateline: MISSISSAUGA
Source: National Post
MISSISSAUGA - The smell of failure is odourless in professional locker rooms.
It arrives when the season ends, when the greasy practice jerseys are removed, the grimy socks are thrown away and the big, hairy, sweaty men are reduced to being only big and hairy. The air is clean, but occasionally awkward , as the Toronto Argonauts discovered again yesterday as they removed their personal effects following their loss in Sunday's East Division final.

They escaped the smell last year by winning the Grey Cup and keeping their championship roster largely intact. But Sunday's defeat against Montreal will send the team into the winter facing a series of difficult personnel -- and personal -- decisions.

Winnipeg is still looking to fill the holes created when it fired head coach Jim Daley and his staff following a last-place finish in the West Division. A number of assistants from across the league have been mentioned as potential replacements, among them Toronto offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin, whose playing days ended with the Blue Bombers in 1996.

"I'm certainly going to listen to anybody," Austin said. "There's a lot more than just coaching. I have a family here, I have young children. I know nothing's forever -- and especially in this profession, which is very transient. I know that things can change very quickly, you can be wanted one day and not wanted the next."

Austin said he had not been contacted by anyone in Winnipeg, and said any job offer would have to make sense for his family, which includes three children currently enrolled in Toronto-area schools. The former quarterback has spent two seasons with the Argos, and was behind the offensive scheme that helped pivot Damon Allen throw for more than 5,000 yards for the first time in his 21-year career.

Allen still has a year left on his contract and fully intends to honour the deal. He was intercepted twice and fumbled once in Sunday's loss, but he cannot be saddled with all the blame. There were missed routes and mental lapses on both sides of the ball, which could lead to some intriguing movement over the off-season.

Even if Allen returns, the Argos are bound to examine any possibility of landing a quarterback with more of an upside for the future. The B.C. Lions will probably have to move either Dave Dickenson or Casey Printers this winter, while the Grey Cup-bound Edmonton Eskimos will likely off-load backup Jason Maas. Of course, with the way Maas has played so far in the post-season, there might be a chance that Ricky Ray could be made available instead.

"Every organization, and us as a staff, have to honestly evaluate every position," Austin said. "And if we have an opportunity to get better, we need to do that. You can't ever sit status quo, unless status quo is better than what you could migrate to that off-season. If we have an opportunity to get better, then we need to do that."

Toronto's defence is solid, but it is also getting older. The Argos' special teams were not as special as they were last year, and their offence could undergo some of the most significant changes.

Backup quarterback Michael Bishop is bound for the Arena Football League with no clear mandate for returning, while running back John Avery could be dealt, released, bought out or otherwise removed after being a healthy scratch for the East final.

"I expect to be back," Avery said yesterday. "Regardless, I'm playing football. I'd love for it to be in a Toronto Argonauts uniform but, you know, there's only a certain degree of loyalty when it comes to sports these days. So, you never know."

ON THE BUBBLE:
Five who might not return to the Toronto Argonauts next season:
JOHN AVERY, RUNNING BACK Struggled to find a home in Toronto's offence and was a healthy scratch for the East final. "I'd rather die trying than not trying at all," the 29-year-old said yesterday. "But I wasn't allowed to go out and try this game." Avery has a year and an option remaining on his contract.

R. JAY SOWARD, SLOTBACK Bounced in and out of the starting lineup and finished the regular season with only 206 yards off 20 catches. The Argos already have Tony Miles, Arland Bruce III, Robert Baker and Andre Talbot, and they might shop for someone else at his position. Celebrating a touchdown with popcorn on Sunday probably didn't help his cause.

MICHAEL BISHOP, QUARTERBACK He is probably already out of the country. The 29-year-old is poised to sign a two-year deal with the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League, casting some doubt on any return to Toronto. Bishop didn't see much playing time behind Damon Allen this season and may stay close to the AFL, where he is becoming a star.

BASHIR LEVINGSTON, KICK RETURNER This might seem unfair, mentioning Levingston just because he fumbled twice in the East final. But the Argos have long recognized his status as an extravagant luxury that they might be able to live without. Levingston does nothing but return kicks and draw a decent salary, and others such as Arland Bruce III and Byron Parker are also good kick returners.

MIKE MIHELIC, OFFENSIVE LINE Arrived in Toronto before the start of last season, as part of the deal that sent backup quarterback Marcus Brady to Hamilton. He's not young, at 32, but he still believes he can play. Mihelic dressed as a backup guard in the East final and appears to have lost his spot in the starting rotation, meaning he could be moved.

Source: Sean Fitz-Gerald, National Post
Stadium no longer an issue for good ship Argo
The Toronto Star
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: E2
Section: Sports
Byline: Dave Perkins
Source: Toronto Star
Unfortunate that the Argonauts fill the house and then fall apart, but they'll be back. The organization and the coaching staff looks solid and to get within one game of a championship, well, who else around here has done that lately? Other than the Rock.

The thought struck, as the reviews came in unanimously positive for quality of atmosphere and for what the Argos again mean to the city and so on, that no one seemed to mind that the game took place in the Rogers Ranch, a.k.a. the SkyDome.

Which demonstrates, once again, that it isn't buildings that create atmosphere, it's people.
Those who tend to push for new stadiums, always at taxpayers' expense, may wish to consider that the Argos have done what they said they would do when they (quite sensibly) backed out of deals for new stadiums at the University of Toronto and at York U.

They promised to make the old turtle shell a hot place for the CFL and they did it.
Remember all those laments, when the palms went out flat, reaching for government money? Remember how nobody would go to the SkyDome and how an outdoor 25,000-seat stadium represented the team's only future? Fans left the joint Sunday disappointed not about the venue, but about the Argos' six turnovers.

Leaving the upper-deck tarpaulins in place and restricting seating also was a smart move by the Argos. Creating a demand for tickets, which occurs when there's a limited number of seats (see Fenway Park, Wrigley Field), is a good thing to do and encourages early sales.

Speaking of stadiums and reaching for government money, there's a slight snag in the new CNE soccer stadium. Both the city and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment want to be last cheque into the $62 million construction pot. The original proposal, you might be surprised to learn, was written with the Leaf money last to arrive. Then city councillors voted, as condition for coming up with our $9.8 million (and $10 million land donation), that our money would go in only after the other partners (Ottawa, province, MLSE) had already paid up. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like a deal-breaker.

ON THE CORNER Time remains to cast a vote for Tom Cheek for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Internet support for the late great Blue Jay broadcaster can be registered daily until Nov. 30 at http://, then by following the Broadcaster Voting links. No one deserves this honour more and while we're working for Cheek, notice Cheek still is working for kids at Christmas.

A handful of envelopes has arrived for the Jim Proudfoot Corner of the Star's Santa Claus Fund bearing cheques in Tom's memory. There's $100 for "the Cheekster" from Don Chevrier, his former broadcast partner who spoke so well of his friend at the funeral last month. Another $50 arrives from Sportsnet's Jamie Campbell, $25 from Blue Jays fan Bob Haskill of Etobicoke and an anonymous $500 in honour of Tom from a good doctor. Howard Berger, who keeps the Maple Leafs under control for the FAN radio, handed over $70 with kind words about both Cheek and Proudfoot, both mentors of his. Michael Whittingham of Willowdale, meanwhile, always mentions Chester with his cheque for $200.

Connie Broden, the 1958 Whitby Dunlops world champ who's always a big-time supporter, sent $250, as did Susan and Peter Weber of Bolton, more reliable friends of the Corner. World-travelling super-fan Terry Kelly of Oshawa added $100 for the kids, as did Stephen Gerry of Toronto.

Scarborough's Dalton family - Warren, Maria, Richard and Shawn - add $40 in memory of both Michael Dalton and their friend and neighbour Leonard Paterson Brown. The Morningstars Hockey Club is represented by $50 from Dave Bidini of Toronto and another $50 came from Garry Asselstine of Toronto. Someone in the ballet community supplied $15 anonymously to celebrate colleague Paul Hunter's marvellous moment in tights.

Disappointed Argos look to '06; Future of nine free agents up in the air Austin declines to talk about Bombers
The Toronto Star
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: E2
Section: Sports
Byline: Allan Ryan
Source: Toronto Star
The Toronto Argonauts - the organization - set its course for another Grey Cup yesterday morning.
Not the one at B.C. Place Sunday (that one's been booked); the one in Winnipeg a year from now.
The Toronto Argonauts - the team - was yesterday placed in drydock, its intended title defence sabotaged by six Sunday turnovers in a 33-17 shipwreck against the Alouettes.

Yesterday was for emptying lockers, a final team meeting, best wishes for the holidays. For some, it would be a final goodbye - and not only to this particular set of teammates.

"I'm pretty sure, for the most part, the majority of us are coming back," linebacker Michael Fletcher said. "But not all of us. Some guys might not ever play another snap.

"When you make it on a professional level, you understand that. You can't just stay the same; year-in, year-out, you've always got to try and get better."

Even when you're the best team in the country, as many Argos - coach Mike Clemons included - continue to believe, a weekend shy of being able to prove that.

"As a team, we put ourselves in a position to win," said Pinball, on a day when the Argos' Mississauga practice facility looked particularly desolate.

"We had the right people involved in the organization and on the football team, we had a good game-plan, we had good players - all those things. The reality is, in the course of the game, that ball is oblong and it takes bad bounces, weird bounces sometimes and they don't always go in your favour. That's what football is."

Offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin had already seen the films four or five times before noon yesterday.
"Several times in my mind throughout the night, a couple of times here this morning," he said. The crushing disappointment would not go away.

Obviously, Austin's name will be getting serious mention these next days and weeks when it comes to the vacant head coaching job in Winnipeg. Yesterday, though, he made it clear he's very happy with the Argos and that it might not yet be time for such a move.

"I certainly want that opportunity, at some point, to be the head guy. ... But is it the time now? I don't know."
Probably not, which is why management's first order of off-season business is to recommit to, likely, its entire coaching staff.

"We want them to grow and you want to give them the opporunity," Clemons said, "but ... we're going to do everything we can to keep them."

Next will come a position-by-position player analysis with top concern given to the team's nine potential free agents - offensive linemen Chad Folk, Jude St. John and Dave Costa; receivers Andre Talbot and Michael Palmer; linebackers Mike O'Shea and Ray Mariuz; defensive back Antonious Bonner and running back John Williams. GM Adam Rita indicated yesterday most could be re-signed.

The Argos have a not-bad quarterback in Damon Allen and, apparently, will need a backup one of these years. Allen told reporters, though, that he'd let them know when he'd retire. And that it wasn't going to be after losing an Eastern final.

The running back situation will also be addressed, particularly long-injured John Avery. So will kick returner Bashir Levingston, he of the two Sunday fumbles.

Only not yesterday.
"It's too early," Rita said of getting too specific just now. "There's a lot of heavy hearts here, a lot of emotion."
"Ten per cent of life is what happens to you, the other 90 per cent is how you deal with it," Clemons said.
"We just want to try to get refocused and channelled for next year. We want to use this (Sunday's loss) to drive us, not to bury us ... to come back strong and get the chance to not have this feeling again."

AVERY BACK TO THE TRACK
The Toronto Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: S12
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO AND MIKE GANTER, TORONTO SUN
Column: Argos Notes
Running back Jon Avery would like nothing more than to return to the Argos next season and make up for two injury-plagued seasons.

But Avery is fully prepared for that not to be the case.
"I expect to be back, but regardless I'll be playing football. I would love for it to be in a Toronto Argonaut uniform, but at the same time there is only a certain degree of loyalty when it comes to professional sports these days.

"But I will be effective and I will be scoring touchdowns somewhere."
Avery has two years left on his contract.
A former track athlete, Avery plans a return to the track this winter. He said he will be working with former Canadian sprint star Desai Williams and competing at various invitational meets in the 60-metre dash.

---
ALLEN LOOKS AHEAD
Quarterback Damon Allen stressed his desire to continue to play despite continued questions about it.
"Maybe it's just a natural process being in your 40s and you're still playing a game," he said. "Those are questions that will always be attached to me."

Allen is the favourite to win the league's most-outstanding-player award, which will be announced on Thursday. He's up against Saskatchewan's all-purpose dynamo Corey Holmes.

---
BISHOP OFF TO AFL
Backup quarterback Michael Bishop is uncertain about his future beyond just playing in the Arena League.
Bishop recently signed with the Chicago Blitz after playing last season with the Grand Rapids Rampage.
He seldom played with the Argos this year, backing up Damon Allen.
"It's just a situation where I'm going to take it one step at a time," Bishop said. "If I blow it up in the Arena League I may just stay there."

---
MARIUZ UNCERTAIN
Argos' third-year linebacker Ray Mariuz, a stellar special teams player who did well in some starts this year, is heading into possible free agency and may be coveted by other teams.

"Whatever happens, happens, as long as I can play the game I love," the McMaster University graduate said. "Obviously, Toronto is a great city and has a great team, but we'll just have to see what happens."

Toronto expected to make only a few roster changes
The Globe and Mail
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By David Naylor
Even after their disappointing loss in the East Division final, the Toronto Argonauts aren't planning wholesale changes for the 2006 Canadian Football League season.

The Argonauts took the unusual step after their 2004 Grey Cup victory of returning this year with their starting lineup virtually in tact. And it appears that may be the case again next season, including quarterback Damon Allen, who will turn 43 early next season.

"I think what we have to do is remember the 20-some weeks we were a football team and not one game," Adam Rita, the vice-president of football operations, said. "The score [33-17 in the final last Sunday] doesn't indicate how the game went. When you're a good team, the things that beat you are often your own mistakes."

The Argos finished first in the East for the first time since 1997 and were favoured to advance to their second consecutive Grey Cup game. However, six turnovers in the Eastern final against the Montreal Alouettes undermined an otherwise stellar season.

Advertisements
"Part of what I spoke about four or five years ago was that we needed to mature as an organization," head coach Michael Clemons said. "Continuity was a big part of that. That is a way of life for us in the short-term future, as I see it.

"I told the guys that more important than understanding the things you're doing right when you have success is understanding the things you're doing right when you're yet to have success.

"We have to understand we're doing the right things and if you give yourself a chance you'll win your share. Could we have won that football game [on Sunday]? Any observer would say yes."

Rita said the Argos will try to re-sign all nine potential free agents, including long-time Argos Mike O'Shea at linebacker, offensive linemen Jude St. John and Chad Folk, defensive back Antonius Bonner and Canadian receivers Andre Talbot and Michael Palmer.

"I think we've done a good job keeping our guys and it's worked every year that we've done it," he said. "If you keep making changes, it just means setback."

Clemons was emphatic that Damon Allen will return as the Argos' starter next season, even if they add quarterback depth during the off-season.

"He knows he's got to come in and work and that we always have to upgrade and get better at that position and sometimes it does take more than one guy," Clemons said. "But it's no different than if he was 10 years younger."

The quarterback was coy about his future on Sunday, but when pressed did say, "I have a desire to come back."
Another significant decision for the Argos pertains to running back John Avery. Avery, one of the top-paid players in the league, has struggled through two injury-riddled seasons with Toronto since being signed as a free agent before the 2004 season.

He missed the final month of this season. Canadian Jeff Johnson filled in admirably, making it possible that the Argos might start a non-import running back next season.

"[Staying healthy] has been a struggle for [Avery]," Clemons said. "We wouldn't try to give his job away publicly, but we all recognize how well Jeff Johnson has played and he will see the football field on offence more than he did the early part of this season whether John is here or not."

BLUE BOMBERS AFTER AUSTIN
The Toronto Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: S11
Section: Sports
Byline: BY MIKE GANTER, TORONTO SUN
Argos offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin was having a hard time yesterday digesting his team's loss on Sunday to the Montreal Alouetes in the Eastern final.

But when he was approached by a swarm of media yesterday, the first question was about a potential head coaching job opportunity with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"Wow, that's a good first question," Austin said.
Winnipeg has received permission from the Argos to talk to Austin and defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler as a possible replacement for deposed Blue Bombers head coach Jim Daley.

Austin said he, nor his agent, has not been contacted directly about any job and that he is content with the Argos.
"I'm still trying to grow into the position I have here," he said.
It's expected that Stubler won't have an interest because of his comfort level working in Toronto.
Austin does not deny an ambition to one day hold a head coaching job in the CFL. The question is when that day will come.

"Part of my problem is I'm pretty critical of myself and I know where I can get better right now as a co-ordinator and I really want to do that," he said.

Austin said he's not entirely sure if the Bombers will take things any further than that initial inquiry.
"That (opportunity) might not be there," he said. "I think there are better coaches than maybe even people in the public would think. I think there are good candidates, probably good candidates that are more qualified than me, too."

If a formal request is made to meet with the Bombers, Austin said he's more than willing to listen but could not commit to anything without a lot of soul searching.

"There's a lot more than just the coaching to consider," Austin said.
"I have a young family here and I know nothing is forever, especially in this profession, which is very transient. You can be wanted one day and not wanted the next.

"My family understands that but I think it's important that they should feel they have at least some level of stability in our family life. If a move happens it needs to make sense on a lot of different fronts, not just professionally."

Roughriders' coach Barrett on, off Taman's dance card
Winnipeg Free Press
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C1
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Tait
VANCOUVER -- It was brief, but for about 36 hours late last week Danny Barrett was a big-time blip on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' head-coaching radar screen.

And wouldn't that have been an interesting twist of events: the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders vamoosing for the arch-enemy?

According to sources, the Bombers were granted permission to speak with Barrett by GM Roy Shivers last Thursday about their vacant head coach position, only to have that access rescinded by Shivers Saturday afternoon.

Interestingly, that timeline coincides with Rider meetings that saw the status of Shivers and Barrett, who were having their own futures evaluated after a 9-9 season and a quick exit from the playoffs in a meeting Saturday morning. In fact, it's not hard to connect the dots that Shivers may have used the Bombers' interest in Barrett as leverage with his own board.

"I don't know anything about that," said Bomber GM Brendan Taman yesterday, choosing his words carefully. "I don't think it's a secret there were some people on their staff we were going to talk to (the club had earlier received permission to speak to Rider assistant head coach/defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall and offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille).

"All I'll say is for a while Danny was entering the picture and then a day later he was no longer in our picture. He wasn't on the radar, then he was thrown into our lap and then quickly taken out of it. We talked a couple of times and he was unclear about his situation in Saskatchewan but interested in what I had to say. I have no clue what happened. We had the green light and then it was gone.

"I think, ultimately, those guys deserve to be there still. But had they gotten blown out... (Barrett) would have been up there on our list."

As it stands, Taman has had informal chats already with Hall and hopes to speak with him again in the next couple of days. Taman and Bomber president and CEO Lyle Bauer were finalizing the list of questions they plan to ask their candidates with both men to be involved in the interview process.

That process will likely get underway today with former Ottawa coaches Joe Paopao and Greg Marshall and will also include Calgary Stampeder assistants Steve Buratto and Denny Creehan.

As well, the Bombers will ask the Toronto Argonauts within the next two days for permission to chat with offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin and defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler, although those interviews won't take place until next week.

"In general, we want (the candidate) to show why he wants the job," said Taman. "Then we'll start to get a feel for how things will mesh. Can we work with him, can he work with us? It's a people business and so you need to have some communication skills where you can work together on a daily basis."

Among other things, each candidate will also be asked for his assessment of the Bomber personnel and for his ideas as to how to fix a squad which has missed the playoffs in two consecutive years. He'll also be quizzed as to his plans for his assistant coaching staff, particularly the two co-ordinator positions, and his approach to recruiting.

Taman also knows the rumours will begin swirling even moreso this week, what with the nation's media gathering in Vancouver for the 93rd Grey Cup. Taman arrives here tomorrow night.

"I'd rather not have the Grey Cup become a circus with guys seeing me... if I'm walking down the street with Richie Hall, for example, or if we're just having a coffee then all of a sudden people think we're talking," said Taman. "Out of respect for the teams that are playing I don't want to do that."

� ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

'RIDERS PLAYING GAMES?; GM SERVES UP BARRETT TO BLUE, RESCINDS OFFER
The Winnipeg Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: 47
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JIM BENDER, STAFF REPORTER
The Blue Bombers were close to hiring Danny Barrett as their next head coach late last week in an intriguing turn of events.

Winnipeg GM Brendan Taman confirmed a Sportsnet report that suggested that the Bombers were on the verge of hiring Barrett and possibly, his entire Saskatchewan Roughriders coaching staff, when it looked like that CFL board of directors might terminate their contracts.

Roughriders GM Roy Shivers called president/CEO Lyle Bauer last Thursday to give the Bombers official permission to contact Barrett, Taman said yesterday. Taman then called Barrett twice. However, Shivers called Saturday morning to rescind the very same permission he had offered.

"It was bizarre," Taman said. "One day we had permission; the next, we didn't."
Shivers declined comment when contacted in Regina.
"I don't want to talk about Danny or the Bombers or anything else, I'm just getting ready to go to the Grey Cup," he said. "We're still employed by the 'Riders and haven't heard anything different."

It seems that the Bomber interest may be influencing Saskatchewan's decision, which suggests that Shivers orchestrated the whole scenario so that Barrett could keep his Saskatchewan job.

"(Shivers) called us so he might have been drumming up support for Danny," Taman conceded doubtfully.
But Taman was definitely interested in Barrett's services, partially because he is aware of how a community-owned club operates.

"If Danny was available, we'd be interested," he said. "Obviously, we were for a day and a half but I'll have to honour their request (to stop calling Barrett).

"I felt that Danny was interested but he wanted to see what the situation was in Saskatchewan first."
Meanwhile, Taman discussed the vacancy with Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall once again yesterday. But he will be talking to more candidates this week. The Bombers have asked the Toronto Argonauts for permission to contact both offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin and defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler.

"I would certainly listen to see what Brendan had to say," Austin said from Toronto. "But there are a lot of good candidates out there. I think I'm OK but I don't know if I'm the most qualified."

Austin has been credited with grooming quarterback Kerry Joseph when he was in Ottawa, then helping veteran Toronto quarterback Damon Allen to become more patient over the last two seasons. And the former Bomber quarterback would not be scared off by Winnipeg's 5-13 record.

"To be honest, part of the reason for going through the process is to determine the current reasons for that," Austin said. "Is it personnel? Was it coaching? Sometimes, it's a myriad of reasons. If you are an outsider, it would be hard to determine that."

Stubler, meanwhile, is simply not interested.
"I'm real comfortable doing what I'm doing and being where I am (Toronto)," said Stubler, believed to be the heir apparent to head coach Mike Clemons.

Taman plans to call him anyway -- if and when he gets official permission.
We need a quarterback
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C5
Section: Sports
Source: The Leader-Post
I would like to offer a few observations on the debate currently raging over the future of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

First -- and I cannot put this more plainly -- get a franchise quarterback! The current Riders regime simply has no credibility on this issue. We've tried it their way. While the contract situation for Henry Burris was clearly mismanaged, in defence of Roy Shivers, Burris was not the answer. He turns the ball over too often and he is too often injured. Unfortunately, he was still the best of the three quarterbacks we had. Do whatever it takes to get Kerry Joseph.

Second, the Trevis Smith situation is NOT the fault of the Roughrider organization. Regardless of whether the Rider board implements an employee code of conduct, it is neither fair nor realistic to hold the management of the organization personally accountable for the private choices of individual players.

Third, the Roughriders, as a group of players and coaches appear to be a very decent, positive group of people. They deserve our collective respect. In the same vein, Roughrider fans have supported this team through literally decades of futility. Equally, Mr. Shivers, the Rider fans and the media deserve your respect as well.

Fourth, the Riders cannot replace Shivers and head coach Danny Barrett at this juncture. Leaving the contractual obligations aside, there are no immediate quality candidates available.

I see Roy Shivers as decent, honest, and respected in the CFL. More importantly, he's got some iron in his blood. He'll stand up for the Riders and he'll stand up for his coaches and this team. That too is part of Saskatchewan's football fabric.

At the same time, Roy, you speak in plain truths, so you're going to have to accept some plain truths. You've built a .440 winning percentage and you have not achieved the two key goals that we all agree on: hosting a playoff game and reaping the revenues from doing so, and winning the Grey Cup. There are no other goals -- not respectability, not consistency, not competitiveness. Those are the things you have to be in order to achieve the goals.

C.R. Adams,
Regina.
I have been a Saskatchewan Roughriders season-ticket holder since the 1960s and am quite upset with the current talk about our football club.

Do we want to panic as we have done in the past and set ourselves up for another six years of rebuilding? I doubt it very much. I hope some common sense will prevail.

I agree with Roy Shivers with respect to the current and past social issues that have beset the club. These are not football-related issues.

For instance, Trevis Smith has provided us with some good football. He has not been proven guilty.
Back to football: Roy, Danny Barrett and company have been taking us on the journey of building a successful football club and they deserve the opportunity complete the job. We are too far along the path of success to give up now.

And besides, if they are let go, how many others will follow them? Let's not forget that many very successful players are here because of Roy and Danny.

Also, Roy and Danny gave up opportunities and stayed here to complete the job. I want to thank them for a good year despite all the adversity the club will face.

Hopefully, common sense will prevail and you can continue the rebuilding process. If not, I will not be renewing my season tickets, plain and simply.

Shirley Davey,
Regina.
Top five reasons why the CBC won't telecasts all CFL playoff games in high definition:
1. CBC logo shows up better on the fuzzy, grainy picture.
2. We understand your frustration and promise to do better if you give us four more years.
3. Paul Martin asked us to avoid showing far right and far left perspectives.
4. We are trying to NOT be like Americans.
5. We can't have a two tier system where those with money (jobs) are able to view better television. We at the CBC will do all we can to facilitate an equal-access system.

Michael Tetrault,
Regina.
Hall not spending his time worrying
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: C5
Section: Sports
Byline: Rob Vanstone
Source: Leader-Post
Richie Hall is not allowing uncertainty about the future of the Saskatchewan Roughriders' coaching staff to affect his upbeat demeanour.

"I'm not immune to it, but I'm not going to let it drive me crazy,'' Hall, the Roughriders' defensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach, said Monday.

"We all understand the nature of our business. There's always that old cliche: 'Coaches are hired to be fired.' It's just like a player. If you stick around long enough ...

"It's the same with any business, or any job. If you stick around long enough, they're going to ask you to leave. Are you going to worry about it? Well, that's your choice. I'm not going to worry about it because I don't have any control over it.''

The Roughriders' brass has adopted a business-as-usual approach for the time being. Further assessments of the organization will be made following Sunday's Grey Cup.

General manager Roy Shivers, head coach Danny Barrett and the assistant coaches will prepare evaluations of their various departments. After that, the CFL's Roughriders are expected to outline the future of employees on the football side of the operation.

The Roughriders' board of directors has yet to make a definitive statement about the status of Shivers. Until that is done, everyone is in limbo.

In the meantime, Hall is exploring other options. He has chatted with Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Brendan Taman about that team's vacant head-coaching position. That job was vacated when Jim Daley -- a former coaching colleague of Hall's with the Roughriders -- was fired.

"I talked to Brendan Taman last week and I'm just flattered that they would even think of me to spend some time as far inquiring about the vacancy,'' said Hall, 45.

Hall said he will likely be travelling to Winnipeg to speak with Taman and Bombers president Lyle Bauer.
"We'll just kind of initially talk a little bit,'' Hall said. "They'll get a feel for me and I guess, in some regard, I'll get a feel for them.

"I do know that they have a list of other candidates they would like to also talk to. To be among them, I'm so very honoured.''

The Bombers have also received permission to speak with Roughriders offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille, who was on the Edmonton Eskimos' short list last year. The Eskimos eventually named Danny Maciocia the head coach.

"I'm just tickled pink that they would think enough of me to further this, other than a phone conversation,'' said Hall, who was a diminutive defensive back with the Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders before becoming a Saskatchewan assistant in 1994.

"Being a 5-foot-6 guy coming out of Colorado State 20-something years ago, I look at it like I have everything to gain and nothing to lose.''

'A TRUE WARRIOR'; FAIRY-TALE COMEBACKS NOTHING NEW FOR MAAS
The Edmonton Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP1
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
A great story has no bounds - and Jason Maas's latest comeback tale is no exception.
By mid-morning yesterday, word of Maas's game-winning touchdown drive in the CFL West final had already spread to his high school in Yuma, Arizona.

Principal Jeff Magin - Maas's old basketball coach at Yuma High - had watched highlights Sunday night of his former student leading the Edmonton Eskimos to victory at B.C. Place.

And news of the backup's clutch performance against the B.C. Lions had also reached the athletic department at the University of Oregon - Maas's old stomping grounds in Eugene - by lunch hour yesterday.

Understandably, his old coaches - especially former Yuma High football coach Curt Weber - are thrilled.
But they're not surprised about the comeback.
To them, that's par for the course.
Even word of Maas's obscenity-laced discussion with his offensive line and receivers before leading the Eskimos to a 28-23 victory Sunday night wasn't a shock to Weber, as he had been on the other end of one of those talks 12 years ago.

SO FIRED UP
"We were playing in a very critical game in Phoenix," remembered Weber.
"We had a third down on our 49-yard line and we came up a half of a yard short, so I sent the punt team out.
"We were losing 7-0 and Maas came to the bench and said: 'What the hell are you doing? I can get this (fourth-down conversion).' "

Maas was so fired up and angry he convinced his coach to call a time-out to get the punt team off the field.
Maas got the first down, tossed a 52-yard TD bomb two plays later and forced his coach to his knees.
"I had to go behind the bench and I had to barf," said Weber, realizing he had almost made the wrong call that could have cost him the game. "I was on one knee dry heaving.

"It was extremely emotional (when Maas demanded to go back on the field) and it got the best of me."
The Yuma Criminals won the game 17-14.
Mike Bellotti, the University of Oregon football coach, has his own stories of Maas helping deliver a comeback victory.

"There was a game against Fresno State in Oregon and we beat them in overtime," said Bellotti, who brought Maas off the bench.

"Fresno State was a zone team and Jason was a great pocket passer who dissected zone defences."
MANY PARALLELS
That was 1997, a year that has many parallels to this year.
He played behind an established star - college wonder Akili Smith, who was eventually chosen third overall in the NFL draft.

"Jason filled that (relief) role for us, whether it was a series, just a play or sometimes a quarter," said Bellotti.
"He had a big desire to be good. I have a great deal of respect for Jason Maas."
Weber has so much respect for Maas - on and off the field - that he uses his story to teach lessons to his students today.

"I recognize a true warrior when I see one and I try to pass on his characteristics to kids," said Weber.
Maas lost his father at the age of 10 when he was shot to death while on police duty in Yuma.
"The role model of his life was taken from him," continued Weber.
"Jason had tremendous guidance from his mother and learned a work ethic. And it's that work ethic that has really been instrumental in his success."

Maas has also been taught to be humble and accept praise graciously.
"I come from a small area and it's neat that people still think about me," he said.
Who knows, by next week a Grey Cup success story might be making the rounds in Yuma and Oregon.
WHERE HE BELONGS!; RICK CAMPBELL HAS PROVEN HIMSELF AS AN ESKIMOS COACH
The Edmonton Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP3
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
The media crowd had mostly cleared. It was that quiet time, more of reflection than celebration, when players sit there and look around the room.

Sean Fleming sat in the Eskimos' dressing room here Sunday night contemplating coming back here today for the Grey Cup.

"You know what's really neat about this? You look around this room and at what different people on this team have been through.

"I'm not talking about me. There are so many stories so similar. There's Danny Maciocia. A lot of fans wanted to get rid of him as head coach at one point. Last year at this time there was Jason Maas. Everybody wanted to get rid of him at the end of the year.

"But maybe more than anybody it's neat to see Rick Campbell over there. This really validates him. He's a real coach!''

HOW MAAS GOT HERE
There's that. Not only is there that, but as Edmonton is celebrating the Legend of Jason Maas, this would be the time to remind you how, exactly, Maas came to the Eskimos.

Rick Campbell was a volunteer graduate assistant at the University of Oregon when Maas was the Ducks quarterback.
"Rick was very keen on Jason. He convinced me to fly to Oregon, not to visit him, but to watch Jason,'' said Rick's dad, Hugh, the Eskimos' CEO.

At the start of this season, Hugh Campbell's kid was named defensive co-ordinator.
"A lot of people were questioning what Rick Campbell was doing in that position,'' said Fleming. "You'd hear the word nepotism. It was one of those deals that if it looks funny it probably is funny. But look at what he has done with the defence. We've really seen Rick grow as a coach. He's earned the respect of the entire team. They don't look at him as Hugh's son.''

When the Eskimos return here today, rookie head coach Danny Maciocia is going to be one of the biggest stories in the Grey Cup, the story of a Canadian kid from Montreal who didn't play football and who worked as a volunteer coach with the Montreal Alouettes to break into the pro game. But in the background will stand Rick Campbell, who, in many ways, has the same story.

Despite the bloodlines as son of Gluey Hughie - the star Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver - his football career consisted of two years at Harry Ainlay high school. He coached high school in Spokane. He was a volunteer coach in college.

Maciocia, for sure, is not surrounded by an assistant coaching staff made up of people on anybody's list to fill any of the vacant head-coaching jobs around the league. And Maciocia admits he didn't really know what he was getting, with young Rick.

"I didn't really get to know Rick until this year. The first three years he worked on the other side of the ball. There was hardly any interaction. It's hard to get to know someone when that's the case. When I was hired he only said one thing to me. He said, 'You know, I can do it!'

"I spent a week talking to him. He was so well-versed and detailed. He knew what the hell he was talking about. It changed the way I looked at him.''

Maciocia sees the comparison to himself.
"There are a lot of similarities. I had to leave Montreal to get any credibility. As long as I was there I believed the only reason I was there was that I could speak some French. It was so unfair. And it's been so unfair that a lot of people have looked at Rick as the only reason he's here is that he's Hugh Campbell's son.''

HUGH SAID NO
CEO Campbell said then-Eskimo head coach Kay Stephenson wanted to hire Rick, and Hugh said no. Ironically, it was Don Matthews, who is back in the Grey Cup with the Montreal Alouettes, who hired him before Hugh fired Matthews in Edmonton.

"I told Don, 'This will bring us both a headache,' '' said Hugh.
"I wasn't planning on coming up here,'' said Rick. "When I did, I knew my being Hugh's son was always going to be an issue outside the dressing room. I knew it was going to be part of the territory. When Danny hired me as defensive co-ordinator I knew he was putting both of us at high risk. He was a new head coach and I was Hugh's son. I knew if things didn't go well ...''

So does getting here in his first season as defensive co-ordinator validate him?
"It's great if it does from the outside. But I know I've been validated inside. That's the most important thing. You can't fake it with the players.''

DUMB CALL? LET MACIOCIA EXPLAIN ...
The Edmonton Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP3
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Former B.C. and Ottawa general manager Eric Tillman went on national TV and said Danny Maciocia made a dumb call. Open-line radio shows the morning after the Western final were questioning why in the world Maciocia did what he did and suggesting he is one very lucky young head coach, indeed.

And tell me you didn't sit in front of the TV and, with the Eskimos leading by a converted touchdown late in the game, didn't shout, 'What are you doing?' when he conceded a safety touch and gave up a guarantee of at least a tie and a chance to win in overtime.

It was against everything in the coaches' handbook. Why did he do it?
"We were on our four-yard line,'' said the coach who brings his team back here today for the 93rd Grey Cup game.
"We were missing three guys with injuries from our punt coverage team. We were seriously scrambling. We were running out of people. In addition, Sean Fleming was having a little bit of trouble with his quad.

"I turned to Rick Campbell and said, 'Can we win with only a five-point lead?' He said, 'You bet!' I decided to give up the safety and put the defence out there. It was a matter of trusting our defence.

"I called a time-count violation. Half the distance to the goal line. Two yards. It took time off the clock. I took Fleming out of there and sent in Mookie Mitchell to take the snap and run off a few more seconds in the end zone.

"I was counting on Wally Buono taking the ball on their own 35 because we really didn't want to kick.
"They went three and out, we got the ball back and we had the potential of a 41-yard field goal. But again, Sean had that little problem with his quad. And I didn't want my offensive linemen running down on coverage. We decided to kick the field goal out of bounds. We took another time-count violation on purpose and pinned them inside the 20.''

Defensive co-ordinator Campbell said the head coach, who doubles as offensive co-ordinator, went against conservative football strategy.

"He showed real confidence in the defence. We'll all remember that a long time.''
"For him to trust us with the game on the line was great," said linebacker Singor Mobley. "We knew we could stop them and rise to the occasion and we did that."

CEO Hugh Campbell said most coaches would have gone the other way.
"They'd have been willing to take the tie and go to overtime. He put the game on the shoulders of the defence. I agree with what he did.''

GOOD TEAM, GOOD GUY; FLEMING GETS RETURN ON PAYING HERVEY'S CONTRACT
The Edmonton Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
The guy can now get his money back. And clear $2,800 profit.
Remember the off-season when Sean Fleming happened to meet Eskimos COO Rick LeLacheur at Joey Tomatoes for lunch, found out the team was going to lose Ed Hervey to Ottawa, and volunteered to take a $15,000 salary cut to make room for the contract it would take to keep the receiver in Edmonton?

Well, Fleming and all the Eskimos players have made $11,800 in playoff money. And there's $6,000 more on the table to win the Grey Cup.

And if the total team player story of Jason Maas is currently captivating Edmonton, don't forget Sean Fleming in that vein.

Maas was the good soldier, not complaining about head coach Danny Maciocia not playing him until the last plays of the last game of the regular season. He also insisted Ray start the final despite coming in in relief with a great half to win the semifinal. Well, Fleming suffered the embarrassment of being replaced by an import kicker at mid-season. He, too, didn't complain.

And he hasn't thrown anything in Maciocia's face as he went six-for-six in the semifinal and kicked two more in the final. His only "miss'' was late in the game when he intentionally kicked it out of bounds.

MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR
"Sean has always been a major contributor to this team,'' said Hervey. "Most kickers aren't perceived as leaders on any team. They're looked at as kickers. Non-athletes. They make kicks and stay out of the way. Sean is very different. The players treat him as such.''

Hervey said he was blown away to find out Fleming was paying $15,000 of his salary, not only this season, but next season, too.

"It caught me by surprise. I didn't find out about it until a week later. I was upset with him at first. I told him he shouldn't have done that. Not take money out of his own pocket to make a deal happen.

"He cared about me. He cared about me being here. He sacrificed for the good of the team. He wanted to keep the core group together. For Sean, it was about more than just the money,'' said Hervey.

WHERE THEY SHOULD BE
"This week, we're both where we should be - in the Grey Cup where the Edmonton Eskimos should be. I've been blessed to be in three Grey Cups in four years. But this one is more sweet,'' said Hervey, who is playing with an eye injury he's been hiding behind sunglasses "so it doesn't scare kids.''

Hervey laughs.
"The eye is clearing up. Dan Comiskey came up to me after the game and said if the eye clears up before Sunday, he's going to poke me in the eye.''

For Fleming, giving up the $15,000 but getting his job back and returning to the Grey Cup is better than a poke in the eye.

"I understood the situation,'' he said of being replaced by Hayden Epstein.
"The toughest thing to do is to bite your lip. So many guys take things personally. You not only have to say the right thing, you have to mean it.

"I care about the team. What good does it do to spout off? I like Danny as a head coach and as a person. Saying things that are negative doesn't help anybody.''

As for the deal with Hervey ...
"It was exactly as reported. It was at Joey Tomatoes ... Rick LeLacheur was there. I didn't want Ed to go anywhere. I said 'This is what to do.' I'd take a $15,000 cut for two years.''

Fleming laughs.
"Hey, maybe they have to bring me back next year to get Ed's $15,000 for next year. Maybe that's job security.''
No. After the Epstein affair, Sean Fleming knows there is no such thing.
Fogbound at quarterback: Coach Buono mostly must wait and see
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A56
Section: Sports
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province
Talk about being in a fog.
The dense air mass that enveloped the Lower Mainland appeared to be centred over the Lions' training facility in Surrey, where the resident decision-maker was no closer to determining who would lead his offence in the future than he was a year ago.

Coach/general manager Wally Buono has a perfect scenario as to what he would do with quarterbacks Casey Printers and Dave Dickenson. However, that would require the Lions to get Printers to sign a contract extension before he heads into his option-year NFL window.

And while he suggests he'll make another offer to Printers, Buono was still reeling Monday from the effects of a season-ending 28-23 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

"If it was a perfect world and I controlled it, I would have two signed contracts on my desk, then decide," Buono said. "But you want an answer about something that is very complex."

Complex, and tricky.
- Printers can make it easy on Buono starting Jan. 5. That's the start of a 41-day period in which option-year players have to sign with an NFL club.

NFL teams are not permitted to speak to option-year players until after the Grey Cup, but broadcast reports indicate agent Jason Medlock has as many as 21 clubs interested in working Printers out the week of Jan. 28 in Mobile, Ala.

- Buono could make it easy on himself by trading Printers to another CFL club. That requires a risk to be taken by the new team, who might not ever see the quarterback in uniform, or face the prospect he may not return from an NFL training camp next July.

- Or, Printers could simply sign a new Lions deal, a possibility that wasn't ruled out by the quarterback after his season ended Sunday. But Buono doubted that Printers would agree to an extension with his NFL opportunity now straight ahead.

"Our first priority is to remain in the CFL," Medlock told CKNW/MOJO on Monday. "Our second priority is the NFL. Then we'll weigh both opportunities."

Buono, who met Monday with owner David Braley, admitted it would be doubtful that both quarterbacks could remain with the Lions next season for reasons beyond the obvious financial limitations of a CFL club.

"We're all smart enough to realize that both quarterbacks don't want it to work," he said. "I respect they both want to play. We will try and address it so it's not going to be like this for the rest of eternity."

An eternity, however, is not overnight. Buono spoke briefly at B.C. Place Stadium with Medlock after Sunday's loss, but with both sides now holding some rights within the same contract, Buono wants time to think his decision through and won't bow to public pressure to act quickly.

That explained why the fog didn't lift Monday.
lullrich@png.canwest.com
Five Offseason Questions
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A56
Section: Sports
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province
TIME FOR O-LINE CHANGES?
Although the Lions were still in denial Monday, the offensive line needs help. Moe Elewonibi, 39, and Cory Mantyka, 35, won't last forever. "I'm planning on coming back," said Mantyka of rumours he'll retire once he reaches an offseason contract bonus. Whether Mantyka, who faces minor elbow surgery, returns or not, 74 sacks is too many.

TO GIVE OR RECEIVE?
"The three biggest losses this year were Chris Brazzell, Frank Cutolo and [OT] Fred Moore," one player said Monday. Brazzell turned out to be a killer. When Tony Simmons went down with a season-ending injury, B.C. had no deep threat.

KICK OR BE KICKED?
The decision to give Duncan O'Mahony all three kicking jobs proved to be two too many. B.C. will need to decide whether O'Mahony can regain his form or else he must be given a serious training-camp push.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR?
When defenders were running the same routes as receivers, it's time to wonder whether a change is needed in the offensive philosophy. B.C. desperately needs a Chris Szarka-like blocking back to spring Antonio Warren and let receivers like Jason Clermont catch passes.

TIME TO END QB DEBATE?
Two seasons with two starting quarterbacks is a luxury in the CFL everywhere, it seems, but Edmonton. Wally Buono needs to choose carefully between Dave Dickenson and Casey Printers so as to prevent erosion of the gains made in season-ticket and corporate sales.

Lots of questions on strange Lions season
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A57
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Willes
Column: Ed Willes
Source: The Province
You coach over 300 games, plus play in another 150 or so, and you allow yourself to think, maybe, experience is the one advantage you have over the other guy.

Then you have a year like Wally Buono and the B.C. Lions just endured. Then you begin to understand the gridiron gods are quick to punish anyone who is so presumptuous.

A day after the Lions' Grey Cup dream was crushed, Buono and his team were still trying to make sense of everything that happened in this bizarre season.

Didn't they get off to an 11-0 start?
Weren't they talking about an undefeated season at one point?
Didn't they have two MVP-calibre quarterbacks who were supposed to be insurance against any catastrophe?
So how did they finish the regular season 1-6, then lose the Western final on their home field? How did this all go so wrong, so quickly?

This day all those questions came easily enough. The answers were just a little tougher to find.
"No," Buono answered when asked if he's ever experienced a season like '05. "Not as a player. Not as a coach. Maybe it was going along too nicely. Maybe we started to feel too good about ourselves.

"When the quarterback position became unstable (because of injuries) it just seemed the whole team got off-kilter. That's my take at least."

What the hell. It's as good as any.
On Monday, Buono, his staff and the players began sorting through the rubble of their lost season.
That, doubtless, will be as much fun as a trip to a nervous proctologist, but it's only the start for the Leos.
This week, they have to watch the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes celebrate their Grey Cup party.
Buono then has to assess his team. He and his staff then have some tough choices to make.
Yes sir, the whole offseason is going to be one long trip to Disneyland for the Leos. But the toughest part will be trying to make sense of what just happened. And Monday at least, they weren't having much luck with that one.

"I've never been part of such a losing streak," said Dave Dickenson at the club's fog-covered Surrey practice facility. Even the weatherman was mocking the Lions on this day.

"It shows you how big momentum is and how fragile confidence can be."
"The offseason is always hard but to have a season like we had, you never know what's going to happen" said Geroy Simon.

"I think we have a good nucleus of guys but that's something they need to decide upstairs. I just hope I've got a job next year."

That shouldn't be a problem for Simon. As for others, who knows?
Buono is not a proponent of change for change's sake. He's also not delusional, which means a decision will be made on the team's quarterbacking and changes will be made to the offensive line.

"Whether it's the personnel, the scheme or the quarterback, it's an area we have to address," Buono said of the team's alarming sack total.

As for the quarterbacks, Buono is still trying to figure out how this position, which was supposed to be the Lions' one great strength, ended up in such a mess. If it's any consolation, he's not the only one.

"I mean, it's been a distraction," said Simon. "I'm tired of dealing with it. I'll let them deal with it.
"If you have to answer questions about it every day and every week, you get tired of it. It's almost like the (Terrell Owens) thing."

Dickenson, for his part, reiterated his desire to stay with the Lions. Given Buono's choice of starters in last year's Grey Cup and this year's Western final, that seems the most likely occurence.

But after this season, you wouldn't rule anything out with this team.
"As painful as it will be, I'll be around this week," Buono said.
"I want to support this game for our team."
And that's just the start of his fun this offseason.
ewilles@png.canwest.com
Simpson getting ready to jump ship: Four-time all-star linebacker not seeing eye-to-eye with Buono
The Vancouver Province
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: A58
Section: Sports
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province
The disappointment of a perplexing end to the Lions' season had not fully been vented by Barrin Simpson until he sat for an hour in a Surrey restaurant Monday and declared his five-year run with the CFL team was over.

"No hard feelings. It's time for me to go," Simpson said.
No amount of money in another contract offer would make up for the frustration associated with being utilized in the Lions' defence in a way which did not suit his ability, the four-time all-star linebacker said.

Simpson knew he would become a free agent Feb. 15 when he was told by coach Wally Buono through his agent that he would not be the focal point of the defensive structure this year.

Simpson said agent Paul Sheehy was told in March by Buono that he would not make as many plays defensively, but Buono made him a contract-extension offer nonetheless.

"Wally said, 'We want to keep you, but we're changing.' I was so upset by that comment. To put it in offensive terms, that's like telling [Winnipeg all-star running back] Charles Roberts he's not going to get the ball," said Simpson.

The 28-year-old had either tied or led the CFL in tackles in his first three seasons.
But he only became more of a factor in the defensive scheme this year after an early-season meeting with the coach/GM to discuss his concerns.

"The guys in front of him who are better players are making plays, which is why he made fewer tackles," said Buono, who spoke with Simpson on Monday.

"Wally's a great coach but some of the ways he approached things I didn't agree with," said Simpson. "There's no in-between. All I was asking was to let me help the team."

Buono has prepared for the prospect of losing Simpson.
He acquired rookie Jamall Johnson from Calgary and the 23-year-old slowly began getting increased playing time.
Johnson had his most defensive work so far as a Lion on Sunday after injuries to Otis Floyd, who'll have surgery this week on a torn pectoral muscle, and Carl Kidd.

Losing Simpson is one of a small handful of potential problems for Buono, who must also sign guard Bobby Singh, a pending free agent, before the club's top offensive lineman starts looking for NFL work.

"I'm just going to examine my options," said Singh.
Linebacker Kelly Lochbaum is thought to be the only other free agent. Non-import linebacker Chris Hoople and safety Jason Crumb recently signed extensions.

Simpson, however, will not entertain another offer, and leaves the Lions with a sour taste after the debacle Sunday.
"I don't want to disrespect anybody," he said. "I've enjoyed it here, but the last two years have been the winningest, non-funnest seasons I've had. Right now, for me, it's about finding a new home."

Pick a number: Wally Buono says he'll offer contracts to Dickenson and Printers but that he only intends to keep one
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: F1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
The psychological self-help books say that anger and tears are two different ways of expressing the same emotion. In that regard, Lions' quarterbacks Dave Dickenson and Casey Printers were connected through their mutual pain Sunday night.

But the differing manifestations of their sense of loss following a Western final defeat to the Edmonton Eskimos could be the final time Dickenson and Printers share anything, except a history as ex-teammates.

Head coach Wally Buono said Monday he is prepared to offer contracts to both quarterbacks for next season, though he intends to keep only one.

"In the perfect world, one that I control, what you'd like to have are two contracts on your desk, and you say, 'I take contract A or I take contract B,'" Buono said in the aftermath of a 28-23 elimination by the Eskimos. "We might have to make a very tough decision for the 2006 season."

Nobody's doubting that having the two elite quarterbacks under contract is better than one, but there is little possibility of A joining B and living in perfect harmony, Buono agrees.

"My sense is, it would be difficult to work," he admits. "Financially, and chemistry-wise."
Before negotiations with Printers' agent, Jason Medlock, fell apart earlier this year, Buono said the plan was to have the third-year player under a long-term commitment that would bring stability to the Lions and promote a seamless transition of one quarterback to the other over a period of time.

Dickenson, who turns 33 in January, is under contract for two more seasons, but the no-trade clause in his contract is about to terminate.

The 24-year-old Printers, heading into his option year with the Lions in '06, is eligible to test NFL free agency if he doesn't agree to a new deal with B.C.

"We could never agree on numbers [with Printers] but the concept still hasn't changed," Buono says. "I've never felt that Casey has turned his back on us [Lions]. You guys [media] have said that. I've never said that. Casey's been upset at times. He's been disappointed at times. No more than anybody else."

Printers was broken up and in tears, not just disappointed, after Sunday's game while Dickenson was brutal in his candour. He resented being pulled with three minutes left in favour of Printers, who had scant time to prepare himself. The switch was a desperation move that put both quarterbacks in an untenable situation.

"It's obvious that we were trying to win," Buono explains. "At that point of the game, I felt it was necessary. When you win, every gamble is worth taking."

Afterward, Dickenson reiterated his commitment to the Lions' organization, saying that he wants to finish his career here. Printers was noncommittal. When asked if he would still a Lion by this time next year, he replied, "I'll leave that up to the powers that be."

"I need to get it resolved, because we need to go forward," Buono says. "I don't want to set myself a timetable. I can't do that. Our season ended only hours ago. The best thing for me is to let this week go by, sit down with our coaches and Bob O'Billovich [player personnel coordinator] and evaluate the whole process. I gotta sit down and get everybody's impressions. You want an answer today. We need time to deal with this situation.'

Then, acknowledging that there will be a void left, whichever way the decision goes, he added, "It's very complicated and difficult."

sixbeamers@aol.com
Generous Lions lent a helping hand
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: F1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Cam Cole
Column: Cam Cole
Source: Vancouver Sun
You are gone, B.C. Lions, but you are not forgotten.
Yes, you are doing the green garbage-bag pack of shame today, emptying your lockers in Surrey, moping around, saying sombre goodbyes to teammates and coaches, wondering as you look at each face if you'll be seeing it again -- all accompanied by a solid wall of sound from bitterly disappointed fans airing your flaws, replaying your gaffes and cursing your coaching, your luck, the officiating ...

But on the bright side, just look what you did for the teams that will play for the Grey Cup on Sunday, in your city.
No? You'd rather not? All right, so it's not much of a bright side.
But it's a fact.
Where would the Montreal Alouettes be today if Don Matthews hadn't spurned that two-point convert in Game 10, losing the game, drawing critics' fire, but, with that one brazen gamble, pulling together a team that had been going in several different directions through the season's first three months?

Where would the Eskimos -- who were allowed to fatten up with five early wins against the worst teams in the league but were going hard in the other direction post-Labour Day -- be today if they hadn't turned it around at Commonwealth Stadium on Sept. 24, ending the Lions' 11-0 winning streak, beating someone that mattered?

"As their legend grew, we just felt like, they're not going to come into Commonwealth and make us another notch on their belt," Eskimos receiver Ed Hervey said Monday to the National Post, admitting what logic already told you must be true.

"We watched Montreal play them tough the week before. We didn't want B.C. to lose that game -- we wanted them to come here undefeated, feeling good about themselves, so we could knock them off. "The confidence, we already felt we had it, but obviously you have to prove it on the field.

"When we won that game, I think we showed the rest of the league that they were beatable."
And the rest of the league paid close attention, because the Lions could barely get out of their own way from that point in the season until its bitter end Sunday, when all their little ills and some other, big ones, reared their ugly heads in the 28-23 Western final loss.

Who knows how deeply the cancerous quarterbacking burrowed into the team's psyche? But the silliness persisted right to the last. Eskimos' Joe Montford had been systematically pounding Dave Dickenson every chance he got, all day, and yet, during an injury break in the second half -- while Dickenson was still in the game -- there was Printers, 15 yards out into the field, chatting amiably with Montford like old pals.

This is the same quarterback who, some weeks earlier, was spotted talking on his cellphone on the sidelines, while the game was going on. He wasn't playing. The phone rang. What was he supposed to do, not answer it? Evidently, "not carry it" hadn't been an option, in his mind. So a sense of proper team behaviour clearly was missing from the 24-year-old's character, but at the same time, why wasn't someone on hand to tell him right from wrong?

Wally Buono's coaching will be dissected, and criticized, because of the team's 1-7 finish, and its slow start Sunday, but Buono knew -- even when the team was undefeated -- how fine a line his club was walking.

"You know what my greatest fear is? That you lose once, and you'll lose again. And you'll lose again," he said, when the Lions were 10-0. "Losing is a habit. And the faster you can squelch the habit, the better. If you don't lose, you never have to squelch the habit."

The losing habit got too well-entrenched, over the last two months, to be broken in a bye week.
Tellingly, Eskimos centre Kevin Lefsrud Monday didn't even call the Western final his team's toughest game. He said the semifinal in Calgary, the week before, was.

"I never really thought B.C. was the best team in the league, even though they had the best record," Lefsrud said. "As soon as we beat them [in September], I told some of your colleagues that I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win another game all year long.

"It's hard, really hard, to get on a roll like they had and continue it all year. Once the cracks start on a team, you'd better have good masonry, or your foundation is going to be in trouble."

Montreal's foundation was leaking when the Als came to town to face the 10-0 Lions. The team seemed uncertain on defence, erratic on offence, and the talk was that Matthews' act was starting to wear thin.

But unlike many of his coaching peers, Matthews has the luxury of being secure enough to look down the road, past one game, at what his team needs to do to be great at the end of the season. It is all he cares about. So when he called that two-point conversion attempt at the end of the Sept. 17 game, when a simple one-pointer would have sent the game into overtime, it wasn't just ego taking over -- although no one ever said Matthews doesn't have a sizeable ego.

The man who said, "I've never found a benefit to losing a football game," not only found a benefit to losing that one, he knew it immediately. The Alouettes have always played best when they came right at the opponent, holding nothing back. The two-point attempt was one of those moments that defined Matthews, the players' coach, and communicated his philosophy to the team in graphic terms.

"We are who we are," Matthews said. "This is not the deciding game for our season. But that game will go a long way toward helping us be a better football team."

It had the potential, the minute it happened, to be a seminal moment.
"We wanted that shot," said quarterback Anthony Calvillo. "I was completely comfortable with the call. It didn't work out, but you'd never turn that chance down. Never."

"It's the way we play, it's the way we've always played, and I think early in the year we got away from it," said defensive tackle Ed Philion. "You're in their building, why not take your shot? Everyone was happy we went for it. We just got the wrong conclusion. We can live with that."

They did live with it. And grew from it. And they're still growing.
ccole@png.canwest.com
Printers shows rare emotion after Lions' loss: Aloof, pouty exterior abandoned in an instant as QB lets his passion for football come out
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: F2
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
If Casey Printers was from the University of Florida, home of the Gators, and not a football graduate of Florida A&M, we could suggest they were "crocodile tears."

For most of this season, Printers' image -- at least the one he presented publicly -- was one of an aloof, pouty, immature young man who answered questions dismissively, contemptuously or who talked without really saying anything.

The quarterback, as much as the head coach, becomes the face of a football team, and the world-weary and distracted looked that Printers carried with him throughout the 2005 season, apparently over issues of contract and playing time, was baggage that did not serve him or the club well.

And so, it came as a revelation to see Printers hunkered down in his locker room stall following Sunday's 28-23 loss in the Western final to the Eskimos in a state of utter emotion, baring his soul. He wept openly before reporters he often accused of misrepresenting him and talked of his "love for the organization," the fact that he had "poured his heart out" and "I did all that I could."

His brief performance on the field was not nearly as spectacular as the vulnerability Printers displayed in what could be his final appearance as a Lion.

You really can't blame the doubters. Still, we may have him pegged wrong, the guy who was caught by the TV cameras chatting on his cellphone after Dave Dickenson was carried off the field with a concussion in an Oct. 1 game against Saskatchewan.

"Casey is the most passionate guy about playing football that there is on this team," middle linebacker Barrin Simpson said Monday. "That guy brings an energy and an emotion to the game like none other. None of us ever questioned Casey's passion to play or his desire to play. Casey wanted to get healthy because he was really hurtin'. You could see that. His throws were going into the dirt. He's much like me. He prides himself on being a professional."

A professional pill he can be, too. Although, to his credit, Printers never said a derogatory or incendiary word against Dickenson, the quarterback favoured by coach Wally Buono in last year's Grey Cup game and again in this year's Western final. The easiest thing would have been to allow their rivalry over playing time to drive a wedge into a mostly harmonious team. That situation was avoided mainly because neither quarterback was healthy at the same time until late in the season.

"Dave is an MVP-type player and Casey is an MVP-type player," Simpson says. "It's good for the team, but bad for the league.

"It would be good to disperse that talent throughout the CFL. It can be bad for the team, too. I think it became a situation where it was starting to be a distraction. 'Come on, let's settle this thing.' But I don't thing it got to the point where it was a distraction that cost us a win. No."

Though he didn't get the start Sunday, Printers clearly was into the game. He stood on the players' bench and waved a white towel over his head to incite the crowd when Edmonton had the ball, he threw himself into the pile when called upon in short yardage, shook his index finger and pranced to the sidelines after scoring on a one-yard plunge. And he felt the weight of the burnt Orange Nation on his shoulders when he threw a late fourth-quarter interception in relief of Dickenson.

Some losses are bigger and more instructive than others, and this was one of most enlightening in the Wally Buono era. Call it a hard lesson learned.

sixbeamers@aol.com
Simpson 'torn up' by Lions loss, but says Esks played tougher: Linebacker who loves the game spent Friday in hospital, Saturday praying for strength so he could suit up Sunday so he could play Sunday
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Page: F2
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
B.C. Lions middle linebacker Barrin Simpson was one of most emotionally affected in a room filled with crestfallen football players Sunday evening.

"I was torn up," Simpson said. "People always think it's about the money. It's not. Guys love playing this game. In my opinion, if you don't love it, get out. It's a dangerous game."

Simpson was so committed to playing that he spent hours in a hospital emergency ward Friday night, an IV tube stuck in his arm, trying to overcome the effects of dehydration. On Saturday, weakened because he couldn't keep food down, Simpson closed his eyes and prayed for strength that he would be able to play against the Eskimos.

Despite his personal travails, Simpson saw in the Eskimos a team just as committed, if not more so, a club that was prepared to pay a physical price, no matter how much the ante was raised.

"We played hard as any team can play, but we didn't play tough," Simpson said, echoing quarterback Casey Printers' postgame sentiments. "Playing tough is doing whatever it takes to win the game. We didn't get to the point where we wanted to win at all costs. That's where it has to be.

"I'm not saying we need to get dirty or anything, but we didn't go the extra mile. We didn't have it in our minds, mentally, that we were going to win, regardless. That's player tough. Edmonton was prepared to do whatever it takes."

sixbeamers@aol.com

**Angelus** · 11-23-2005, 02:02 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Wednesday

Feeling relieved: 'I'm not going to jump up and down and be like, 'I gave it my all. For two quarters!' says Eskimos 'starter' Ricky Ray
National Post
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: S1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mark Spector
Column: Mark Spector
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post
VANCOUVER - As Jason Maas's tribute to Mariano Riviera and Wilt Chamberlain -- two of sport's great closers -- makes its way across the Western Canada this month, Ricky Ray, the Canadian Football League's highest-paid player, finds himself cast as the warm-up act. Surely, when they told Ray he would be the Edmonton Eskimos "starter," this couldn't be what he had in mind.

"I don't want to be the guy who goes in there and can't get it done. You know, I don't like gettin' pulled," Ray finally admitted, near the end of an interview in which he mercilessly pounded home his commitment to doing whatever works for the team. "I'm not going to jump up and down and be like, 'I gave it my all. For two quarters!' I want to be out there, playin', and helpin' the team win. And be there in the fourth quarter and go in there and get that touchdown to win the game."

In his three CFL seasons, Ray has done no less than take his team to three Grey Cups. He and the Eskimos are 3-0 in West finals, and they have a playoff record of 5-1 in games started by Ray. Last Sunday, he engineered 21 of 28 Eskimo points in the West final, then was pulled for Maas, who passed for only 47 yards but put the winning touchdown on the board. Another game without a touchdown pass for Ray, we were reminded, as if the pair of touchdowns he had scored on one-yard plunges were somehow not worth as many points as Maas's TD pass to Trevor Gaylor.

That the one, momentum-altering interception that Ray was on the hook for was a pass that hit Gaylor square in the hands late in the first half, then bounced to B.C.'s Baron Miles, is fitting. Gaylor dropped another perfect Ray pass on the next drive that would have set up a field goal, then he went out and snagged Maas's fourth-quarter touchdown pass.

Oh, yes, that's the other word that's out there on Ray. His arm is no good any more. No zip left.
"It's just criticism," said the 26-year-old Ray, who returned to Edmonton this spring after a year with the NFL's New York Jets. "Things aren't going as well as in my first two years. We were a first-place team both years, really clicking offensively. Nobody questioned [his arm strength] at the beginning of this year when we got off to a great start, and we were putting up a lot of big numbers.

"I've never had a strong arm," he admits. "I've never been able to throw it 70 yards downfield. I've always had to rely on being accurate, trying to do things that way. And I was pretty accurate this year. I think I had a completion percentage in the high 60s [67%]. I have underthrown some balls ... but everybody does."

That Maas has a cannon for an arm only exacerbates the comparison, when he comes off the bench throwing 35-yard passes with an arc no higher than about eight feet. Ray's arc is more -- how to put it? -- Triomphant. Rather than the tryout he had with the Jets, with that trajectory Ray might have been a better fit in, say, St. Louis.

"Ricky throws a nice, catchable ball. It's how he throws," Eskimos receiver Ed Hervey said. "Whether it's the same or not, I haven't analyzed his throwing motion, or the zip on his ball from '02 and '03 till now.

"Everyone has a time when they struggle. Offensively, there have been times when we haven't done a great job for him, and there have been times when he's looked normal. Human. But [Sunday] he produced 21 points, which gave us a commanding lead. And as the momentum got stale towards us, bringing in Maas wasn't a negative towards Ricky. It was just a different feel, a different look, a different energy."

The hook by any other name however, still stings. So must a quarterback-management system that, in just two playoff games, has put the Eskimos into a groove that they are more than willing to ride into the title game against Montreal on Sunday. When it is all said and done, should the Eskimos win, Ray might be the only one in the entire organization who won't head home, eager to tell the tale of how the Maas-for-Ray system saved the day on the Eskimos' floundering season.

"Once it succeeds one time, it kind of turns into a trend," Ray admitted. "You know, it gets easier as it goes along. You stop worrying about it, and say, 'Hey, all I can do is go out there play my game. Try and help the team win.' If Danny [Maciocia, the head coach] feels it's not good enough, or he needs to make a change, he'll do it. And there's nothing I can do about it."

On two separate occasions -- when he first arrived in the Canadian Football League in 2002, and then when he returned from his failed NFL bid -- Ray has ripped the starting quarterback job right out from under his buddy's feet.

So it would be a tad presumptuous for him to kick up much of a fuss over how things have worked out this November. As for Maas's legendary unselfishness, even Ray must admire that, no?

"Funny, I'm getting a lot of those questions," Ray smiled. "Don't mistake Jason for just being a happy guy. He's a competitor, too -- he wants to be playing. But he knows how to keep it within the team concept. We've both dealt with it. In my first year, when he was a starter and I kinda had to play the role of comin' in and relieving him in some games. And then him doin' it to me."

You'll notice, Ray said "to" me. Not "for" me.
It's hard to blame him, if it feels that way.
CFL TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONS:
While Ricky Ray has been the undisputed starting quarterback for Edmonton this year -- Jason Maas played one offensive series for the Eskimos during the regular season -- the West champions have brought Maas off the bench in both playoff games so far. While the two-quarterback system might be new to this year's edition of the Eskimos, it has a long tradition in the CFL. Some of the more famous pairings:

RUSS JACKSON AND RON LANCASTER, OTTAWA ROUGH RIDERS
The best two quarterbacks to share playing time. The Hall of Famers were together from 1960 to 1962, including a Grey Cup season in 1960. Then Lancaster was traded to Saskatchewan, where he would set a CFL record for career passing yardage (he has since been passed by Damon Allen and Danny McManus). Jackson was the league's outstanding player in three seasons and the outstanding Canadian four times.

TOM CLEMENTS AND CONDREDGE HOLLOWAY, OTTAWA ROUGH RIDERS
The two broke in with the Rough Riders together and were teammates from 1975 to 1978. While both would go on to win the league's outstanding player award (Holloway with Toronto in 1982, Clements with Winnipeg in 1987), Clements would leave the lasting impression in Ottawa. His pass to Tony Gabriel in 1976 lifted the Riders over Saskatchewan and gave Ottawa its last Grey Cup.

TOM WILKINSON AND WARREN MOON, EDMONTON ESKIMOS
Perhaps the pair that best complemented each other: Wilkinson with a quick passing attack and Moon with his ability to stretch a football field. The two played together from 1978 to 1981, and the Eskimos won Grey Cups from '78 to '82 (with Wilkinson winning the game's outstanding offensive player honour in '78 and Moon duplicating the feat in '80 and '82.) Moon is first and Wilkinson third in career passing yardage for Edmonton.

How the West won: The Edmonton-Montreal rivalry began with an Eskimos upset 51 years ago
National Post
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: S4
Section: Sports
Byline: Joe O'Connor
Source: National Post
The Honourable Norman L. Kwong was talking about an old photograph of his earlier this week, an incriminating piece of evidence taken 51 years ago. It shows Alberta's lieutenant governor in a fancy Montreal night club, holding an extremely attractive chorus girl in his arms.

"I don't think my wife has ever seen that picture," Kwong said with a laugh. "But I've got it around somewhere."
Canada was a different place in those days, one where the Honourable Norman L. Kwong was a speedy fullback with the Edmonton Eskimos. Back then, he was just plain old Normie to his teammates -- several of whom were with him on that late November night in Montreal, celebrating their unlikely Grey Cup victory over the mighty Alouettes.

This Sunday in Vancouver the Eskimos and Montreal will meet in the CFL's championship game for the third time in the past four years, and for the 11th time in the two teams' histories. But the old rivalry was new in 1954, when Kwong and his mates went East to play the Alouettes.

Television was little more than a rumour then, while advance scouting, game-tape analysis, exhaustive position-by-position player breakdowns -- and all the other means CFL coaches employ to find an edge over an opponent -- were simply science fiction.

"We didn't play interlocking games at that time, so we had never even played [the Alouettes], and we really knew nothing about them," Kwong said. "All I knew was what I read -- and we read about [quarterback] Sam Etcheverry, [receiver] Hal Patterson, and Tex Coulter -- the big lineman -- and they were a powerhouse.

"So we had some very vivid descriptions of how great they were."
So great, in fact, that few gave the Eskimos much of a chance -- least of all the oddsmakers. Edmonton had the a handful of believers, including Bob Kashower, Kwong's landlord at the old Airliner Hotel in Edmonton. Several of the Eskimos who were from out of town, or south of the border, rented one of Kashower's rooms during the season. They got to know the American owner pretty well, and discovered he was an avid CFL fan -- and an avid gambler -- who had placed a sizeable wager on them to beat the Alouettes in the championship game at Toronto's Varsity Stadium.

While the Eskimos realized they could stick with the Alouettes once they saw the Easterners up close, things were still looking bleak as time wound down. Montreal was on the move, and leading 25-20. The Alouettes drove inside the Eskimos 20, and that's when Etcheverry gave the ball to running back Chuck Hunsinger -- and all hell broke loose.

"Two of our guys beat their block on that side, and they were going to hit him in the backfield," Eskimos legend Jackie Parker said from Edmonton yesterday. "And he tried to lateral the ball, and the ball came out and bounced around."

Parker scooped it up, and after he did, the player known as The Fast Freight from Mississippi State took off.
"I was standing on the sideline because I didn't play defence, and all of a sudden we heard the crowd cheer, and all of a sudden we see Parker running in the opposite direction," Kwong says.

Montreal protested Parker's resulting touchdown, claiming Hunsinger's lateral was in fact a forward pass. The referees disagreed. Edmonton then went ahead and booted the extra-point (a touchdown was only worth five points), and the mighty Alouettes were vanquished, 26-25.

After that, it was party time.
Alas, for the 1954 Grey Cup champs, Toronto in the Fifties was no place to cut loose. So to remedy matters a very generous gambler from Edmonton chartered a plane to fly the winners' to the losers' hometown, where they rocked the night away.

"[Kashower] won so much money -- he took us to a club in Montreal," Kwong says. "I always remember the night club because they took a picture of me carrying one of the chorus girls."

Edmonton and Montreal would meet in the final the following year, and again the year after that, a span that saw the upstarts from the West win three straight CFL titles. Edmonton's all-time Grey Cup record versus Montreal now stands at 7-3, a mark Kwong expects his Eskimos will improve upon on Sunday.

"Edmonton looks like a very well rounded team," he said. "And they've always got Jason Maas to shove in there, to go and score a touchdown."

And if the Honourable Norman L. Kwong were a betting man?
"I'd probably say, it'll be 30-25 Edmonton."
QB Ray may start but who will finish?: Five burning questions
National Post
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: S5
Section: Sports
Byline: Sean Fitz-Gerald
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post
VANCOUVER - Grey Cup week officially begins this morning when Montreal coach Don Matthews and Edmonton counterpart Danny Maciocia meet the national media inside the ballroom of a Vancouver hotel.

Canada's largest annual sports festival is rolling back to the West Coast for the first time in six years, and it is hoping it won't get swept into the Pacific quite like it did by the market's general indifference last time. Here are five questions that will be answered -- or asked, at least -- before the circus leaves town next week:

NO MAAS, WITH FRITO RAY?
In his return to Canada from a short courtship in the NFL, Ricky Ray finished second in league passing with 5,510 yards. The 26-year-old threw 25 touchdown passes and powered the Eskimos early in the season, at a time when the passing game was the offence's only real option. Ray remained at the helm as his production faltered, leaving backup Jason Maas fastened securely to the bench -- and open to a series of trade rumours -- at least until the playoffs. But now that Maas has had a chance to play, he has created a couple of questions. Will he end up in Hamilton this winter, as many had expected? And while Ray will start on Sunday, who will finish?

OUTSTANDING GRANDPA?
It will be a surprise if Damon Allen, who threw for more than 5,000 yards this year, does not beat out Saskatchewan's Corey Holmes for the outstanding player award tomorrow night. It will be more surprising if he isn't asked about his retirement plans-- though, at 42, he doesn't have any. "Whenever you tell Damon that he can't do something," Argos offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin said, "he turns around and does it."

WRIGHT TIME FOR A FIGHT?
Tom Wright's state-of-the-league address on Friday promises to be intriguing. The CFL commissioner has hopes of establishing a salary cap, which seems to run contrary to the wishes of at least two owners. He has also been working on expansion to Atlantic Canada, and may announce Moncton as the host city for an exhibition game. Then there is the matter of his contract, set to expire at the end of next season. He might not be around to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

APATHY ON THE PACIFIC?
Organizers are trying to generate a buzz in Vancouver, from the rock band that greeted the Alouettes at the airport yesterday to Pamela Anderson's role as grand marshal in the Grey Cup parade this weekend. But the greatest test may be sustaining the level of interest among the locals after the Lions stumbled out of contention in the West Division final.

WHO WILL WIN?
Only four third-place teams have won the Grey Cup since 1936. The Eskimos, who finished behind Calgary and B.C., are trying to become the fifth with a stifling defence and an offence that has the ability to be explosive. Montreal fell out of first place in the East for the first time since Don Matthews arrived in 2002, and seemed to forget how to play defence for a stretch. This matchup isn't as sexy as B.C.-Toronto, but it will not lack character.

Grey Cup will decide coach's fate
The Gazette (Montreal)
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: JACK TODD
Column: Jack Todd
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette
The Left Coast is befogged. Socked in, wrapped in an eerie, grey pea-soup haze as murky as Ted Saskin's future. Has been for days, will be for days more, possibly into the weekend and Grey Cup Sunday.

You land here late in the afternoon, taxi to the gate and discover that you can barely make out the outlines of the plane parked at the next gate. Woe to the out-of-town driver who tries to make out road signs through the murk and ends up in Whistler while trying to find Gastown; in this weather, mothers don't dare let their kids out of the house without a fog horn attached to the tricycle.

Pity B.C. Place has a dome, or we might have the delicious spectre of a fog bowl come Sunday: punts vanishing an instant after they leave the kicker's toe, long passes lost in the Bermuda Triangle until they descend like UFOs into the outstretched fingers of a receiver, Don Matthews with his Fu Manchu visible only to Ed Philion.

Even if the game is indoors, Canada's National Drunk will spill into the streets, raising the possibility that we might lose a reveller sometime this week and find them wandering Hastings St. on Christmas morning.

By Monday, the Alouettes will or will not be Grey Cup champions. If they win, Matthews will have won six CFL championships, one more than any other coach. His supporters will have him somewhere between Vince Lombardi and God, his detractors will have to suffer him for at least another season and Matthews himself can spend the winter wondering which genius he most resembles: Einstein or Mozart.

Of course, the Esks and their rookie coach, soft-spoken Montreal home boy Danny Maciocia, might have something to say about the Matthews coronation.

The Esks have one conspicuous advantage over the Alouettes: They have two quarterbacks. On recent form, you can expect to see starter Ricky Ray and his fiery backup Jason Maas before this one is over.

With Montreal, on the other hand, if you see Ted White in the game for any reason other than a short-yardage plunge, you can forget those plans to hold the parade along the usual route. The Als can win only if Anthony Calvillo stays healthy and plays the kind of mistake-free games he played against Saskatchewan and Toronto to steer the Alouettes into the final.

Heaven forbid we should suggest that with three years to develop White into a bona fide backup quarterback, Matthews could have turned him into something other than the hapless QB who did not look ready for the Rouge et Or in that season-ending loss to Hamilton.

Say a bad word about Matthews these days and your
email is filled with enough abuse for a session of the House of Commons. The same fans who were ready to hang him in effigy after that 49-23 loss to the Argonauts a month ago now believe Matthews walks on water and so, apparently, do the same players who were ready to bail on him once and for all.

If you've seen the RDS tape of Philion going after me in the Alouettes dressing room after Sunday's victory, you know that Philion accused me of criticizing Matthews because I have a personality conflict with the crusty old coach.

I like Philion, but he's all wet on this one. In a grudging way, I like Matthews. He's funny when he wants to be, observant, full of stories. We've never had words, Matthews has never tried to publicly abuse me the way he does other journalists, I have nothing against him personally.

No, if I go after Matthews it's because 1) I don't think he's infallible on the football field and 2) he shows working journalists no respect whatsoever.

One of the truest things about humans is that you have to give respect to get respect. We respect Matthews for his record, he does not respect us for our work: That is why reporters do not respect him as a man and never will.

Yet Matthews will land here this week and instantly become the lightning rod for everything. While Maciocia flies under the radar, Matthews will find a way to draw all the attention to himself. He'll turn this Cup into another referendum on the Matthews way and at the end of the day, win or lose, the same reporters he detests will quote him more than they will quote Maciocia.

This is the rubber game of the best of three the Eskimos and Alouettes have played over the past four years. Matthews beat Edmonton in 2002, they beat him in 2003 before both teams missed the final last year. Win this one and Matthews has validated his four-year tenure as coach of the Alouettes with three Grey Cup appearances and two titles.

And I will still believe that owner Bob Wetenhall made a pact with the devil when he brought Matthews to town in the first place. He wins - but he's not worth it.

jtodd@thegazette.canwest.com
Als' Chiu takes grey mood home to Vancouver: Veteran centre will play in Grey Cup with a heavy heart after learning one of his closest friends, and an usher at his March wedding, died Monday after being struck by a car
The Gazette (Montreal)
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette
Bryan Chiu waited nine years for the opportunity to play a Grey Cup game in his hometown, before family and friends.
But the ecstasy he felt Sunday, when the Alouettes defeated the Toronto Argonauts to reach the CFL championship, was quickly tempered Monday in the space of one phone call that left this 6-foot-2, 309-pound giant of a man speechless, emotional and quivering.

J.P. Larkin, one of Chiu's closest friends from their school days and one of three ushers at the veteran centre's wedding last March, died two days ago. Larkin had been in a coma since being struck by a car last week. He was only 31.

"In life, you have only a handful of people you consider close friends. He was one of them," Chiu, his eyes watering, said upon the Als' arrival yesterday at Vancouver International Airport. "You couldn't have found a better guy. I'm speechless."

Actually, Chiu was just getting started. He wanted to talk about Larkin, perhaps using it therapeutically, not that the pain will cease. Chiu was going to visit him yesterday in the hospital - he had a jersey signed by his teammates - using that as his motivation against the Argos. And he planned on bringing the Cup to Larkin's bedside, convinced Montreal will defeat the Edmonton Eskimos Sunday. Now, instead, there will be a funeral to attend at some point this week.

"He was one of my best friends. He'd do anything for me," Chiu said. "This is bittersweet. It hurts. This was supposed to be a week of good things. Now, it's going to be tough. This is a tough pill to swallow.

"What can I do except win? I know he wouldn't want me to sulk. That's what we're here for. I have to be a pro and do what I have to do. But it's tough. I'll be playing with a heavy heart. Winning won't solve the problems, but it'll make it ... I don't know ..." he added, his voice trailing off.

Chiu and Larkin saw each other for the last time at the wedding, two months before the start of training camp. Convinced even at that stage the Als would represent the East Division in the title game, they made plans for late November in Vancouver.

"We had so many things planned," he said. "Who could have guessed something like this would occur? This is our biggest game of the season, but when something like this happens, you realize it's only a game.

"We met in the seventh grade, at an all-boys school we attended. We did everything and never left each other's side. I don't consider myself to have a lot of true lifelong friends, but he was one. I'm in shock. Being in Montreal, this happened and you feel so helpless. How would you react?"

Chiu excelled on the field, anchoring the Als' offensive line. He was named a division all-star for the sixth consecutive season and recently signed a contract extension through 2008. But he also has endured his personal hardships. One week before his wedding, his future father-in-law died unexpectedly. And then, at training camp, Chiu's grandmother, who helped raise him after the death of his father, passed away.

Chiu isn't the only Montreal player who has come home for a run at the Cup. Backup offensive-lineman Luke Fritz is from Osoyoos, B.C., while fullback Mike Vilimek, in his first season with the Als, was raised in north Vancouver. Vilimek signed with Montreal last winter as a free agent after three seasons at Ottawa. He had never participated in a postseason CFL game before this improbable run, and now he's preparing for his first Cup.

"This is just amazing. Who could ask for anything more? When you play in this league, you're lucky if you can play in a couple of Grey Cups," he said. "To play one in your hometown ... most don't get that opportunity. I'm very excited and am looking forward to the entire week.

"When I signed with Montreal, I looked at this date and watched the calendar. This is why we put in all the hard work. I'm excited and want to win it. I couldn't ask to be in a better place."

Cup appearances are nothing new to Don Matthews. He's won five of eight title games as a head coach - not to mention his 5-1 record as an assistant - and, with a win against Edmonton, will have more Cup victories than any coach in league history.

"This was a more difficult job," he said. "That's what makes this gratifying. I feel proud. As a competitor, this is the ultimate in competition. Once you grow tired of being on top of the competitive process, that's the time to quit."

Note - Tailback Robert Edwards, who cracked two ribs Sunday and isn't expected to play, sounded optimistic yesterday. "I feel better and have more movement. It doesn't hurt. But we'll see how I feel at practice."

hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
Evanshen to participate in CFL gala
The Toronto Star
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: E4
Section: Sports
Byline: CHRIS ZELKOVICH
Terry Evanshen will be part of a CFL awards ceremony even if he won't be handing out the trophy that bears his name.
The former CFL receiver will join fellow hall of fame member Lui Passaglia in presenting the CFL most outstanding player award tomorrow night.

"Terry's tickled pink," said his wife, Lorraine. "He's happy to be involved with the CFL again."
Evanshen, who is in Vancouver and could not be reached for comment, is the subject of a made-for-TV movie about his comeback from a 1988 car crash that erased his memory.

In an interview with the Star this month, Evanshen expressed disappointment that he had no involvement with the Terry Evanshen Trophy, awarded to the East Division's most outstanding player.

"They don't even tell us who wins it," Lorraine Evanshen said. "But Terry's happy this step has been made. Maybe someday he'll get to present the other trophy."

Argos quarterback Damon Allen, one of the finalists for the outstanding player award, was winner of the Evanshen trophy this season.

The awards ceremony will be televised at 10 30 p.m. TSN will air a repeat of the movie on Evanshen's life at 8 p.m.
Grey Cup week that was, or might be
Winnipeg Free Press
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: C1
Section: Sports
Byline: Randy Turner
VANCOUVER -- OK, so we realize that many of you folks are simply too darn busy to spend an entire week fixated on the whirlwind of events leading up to the 93rd annual Grey Cup celebrations.

No doubt everyone from shopping-mall Santas to election-hungry members of Parliament will be preoccupied with other business. In fact, it's a good bet the majority of Manitobans won't have time to keep up with all the press conferences, trade rumours, parades and updates on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' pursuit of a new head coach.

Oh, and apparently there's a football game in there somewhere.
So, as a service to readers, today the Free Press presents a chronology of events as we suspect them to unfold this week, in order to provide fans with the most current made up stuff we can find.

Today, 9 a.m.: During the coach's press conference, Montreal Alouettes head coach Don Matthews says his team will give "100 per cent" for the Grey Cup contest. Edmonton boss Danny Maciocia counters that his club will give "110 per cent." There are audible gasps among the assembled media and the Esks are immediately made three-point favourites.

Today, 10 a.m.: Rowdy Calgary Stampeders fans show up with their horses, a Grey Cup tradition that stretches back to the 1930s. Eventually, they ask the locals "where is the grass?" Many potato chips are consumed.

Today, 7 p.m.: The Football Reporters of Canada suite, which includes free liquor, is officially opened to members. In a related story, three hours later Free Press football writer and RFC member Ed Tait is declared missing, and presumed unconscious.

Tomorrow, 5 p.m.: Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM Brendan Taman arrives in Vancouver, where he has plans to interview assistant coaches who DIDN'T get to the Grey Cup to be the Bombers' next head coach. The only assistant in the league who Taman doesn't interview is Dave Ritchie, who said he'd rather poke pins in his eyes than go to Winnipeg. Unfortunately, all the other candidates say the same thing.

Tomorrow, 8 p.m.: Toronto quarterback Damon Allen is named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player. In a touching moment, Allen's great-great-grandson accepts the award on his behalf.

Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.: CFL commissioner Tom Wright's state of the union address details the great strides the league has made; citing a 20 per cent increase in TV ratings, the ongoing revival of franchises in Vancouver and Toronto and a 35 per cent increase in league revenues.

Friday, 10:01 a.m.: Lions owner David Braley holds a press conference demanding Wright's dismissal.
Saturday, noon: The CFL's Grey Cup parade, now back, is declared by organizers to be the biggest in league history. However, later that day league officials concede that the claim was exaggerated, as they counted parade grand marshall Pamela Anderson as "two floats".

Sunday, 2 p.m.: On the CBC's pre-game show, host Brian Williams tells the audience it is 2 p.m.
Sunday, 5:30 p.m.: Trailing 20-14 late in the third quarter, Edmonton Eskimos' head coach Danny Maciocia turns to backup Jason Maas and says, 'You're goin' in, Jason, so listen up." Maas replies: "I'm all ears, coach."

Sunday, 6 p.m.: Alas, the Eskimos and Maas cannot execute a third straight come-from-behind victory, and the Alouettes prevail 23-14, marking the sixth time as head coach that Don Matthews has won a Grey Cup. After the game, Matthews graciously thanks his players and family for their support. Then he thanks Satan.

Sunday, 9:30 p.m.: Taman is detained by airport security while boarding a flight back to Winnipeg after an X-ray reveals his luggage contains a bound and gagged Casey Printers. Asked if he had anything to declare, Taman bleated: "I can't believe I still have a job! This has got to work."

Taman is then subdued and taken away by airport authorities, all of whom say they have no intention of being the next head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca
AN ACCIDENTAL ICON; EARL GREY WANTED TO SPONSOR HOCKEY TROPHY
The Winnipeg Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: 42
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JIM TAYLOR
Dateline: VANCOUVER
A few facts with which to confound your friends and enrage the American tourists as you contemplate a Grey Cup game from which the B.C. Lions have gone AWOL ...

* The Grey Cup game is not Canada's Super Bowl. The first Grey Cup game was played in 1909, the first Super Bowl in 1967. So the Super Bowl is actually America's Grey Cup.

* Give or take an interference call, the Edmonton Eskimos beat the Lions fairly and squarely, but if they play at that level in the Grey Cup, the Alouettes will slice, dice, chew on the bones and spit out the seeds.

Need cure for Grey Cup fever
* The first media person to utter or write the term "Grey Cup fever" should be hung by the thumbs in front of a TV set playing an endless loop of Canadian Tire commercials featuring that guy who owns all the tools in the world and flaunts them.

* The Grey Cup is an accidental icon. Albert Henry George Grey, the fourth Earl Grey and the Governor-General of Canada, actually wanted to put his name on a hockey trophy, but all the big events were covered. So he ponied up $48 for a trophy to be awarded to the Canadian amateur football champions. This caused such excitement that the Cup wasn't even there to be presented when the U of Toronto beat the Parkdale Lions in the inaugural game. Someone had forgotten to have it engraved.

* Grey Cup week offers excellent opportunities to show our national pride. Go into a bar, find some American tourists, and announce that four-down football is a tool of the devil. When they sneer, add that Canadians actually invented the game that became U.S college football and evolved into the NFL.

In 1874, a team from McGill University travelled to Harvard for a two-game series, and found the Harvards playing something that was a cross between soccer and rugby with little in the way of bodily contact. When the Americans tried the Canadian game, they liked it so much they adopted it, and it spread though the Ivy League and across America. So there.

* The football history of West hates East began in 1911, when the Edmonton Eskimos challenged for the Grey Cup and were not allowed to compete. Perhaps the easterners were worried about the ferocity of the western game, where money was often thrown into a pot and went to the first player to draw blood. (Once, when Regina played in Saskatoon, the local police chief became so enraged that he strode onto the field and had the entire team arrested). In fact, the west didn't play for the Cup until 1921, when the Eskimos were grudgingly allowed to come east, and got smoked 23-0 by Toronto and Lionel Conacher.

Ignore the horse
* Finally, if you see someone riding a horse into a bar, ignore them. In 1948, when the Calgary Stampeders went east with covered wagons and flapjack breakfasts, it was a spontaneous gesture. Nowadays they rent the horse, give it an enema before piling it into the van, and phone the media.

If you must watch, don't get too close to the horse. One year in Vancouver, a horse named Laddie Be Sure was ridden into the lobby of the Hotel Georgia. The enema didn't work.

Campbell makes the right moves
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Darrell Davis
Column: Around the CFL
Source: The Leader-Post
Bold moves do pay dividends.
Witness the Edmonton Eskimos, who had evidently lost faith in head coach Tom Higgins during a loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in last year's West Division final. Higgins was quickly jettisoned and he subsequently joined the Calgary Stampeders -- whose bold hiring sparking Calgary to a second-place finish and a home playoff game in his first season -- while Eskimos offensive co-ordinator Danny Maciocia became Edmonton's head coach and led them to Sunday's Grey Cup game in Vancouver against the Montreal Alouettes.

Give credit to Eskimos president Hugh Campbell for making the bold stroke. Campbell is accountable to the Eskimos board of directors. He's accountable to the team's fans. They expect the Eskimos to vie for the Grey Cup. Every year.

Campbell was Edmonton's head coach for five straight Grey Cup victories (1978-82) and obviously still knows how to make the crucial decisions that make the franchise a perennial contender.

Just call him Mr. Unpopular: Coach Matthews 'most arrogant' in media poll
The Calgary Herald
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: F3
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald
Votes are in and media from across the country would like to see Don Matthews take a flying leap. And, if possible, the Montreal Alouettes head coach should take Calgary Stampeders slotback Nik Lewis and Toronto Argonauts running back John Avery with him.

In the Third Annual Calgary Herald-Winnipeg Free Press Media Poll, nearly 40 contributors from across the country named Matthews the most arrogant coach in the land. Lewis was named the biggest jerk among players and Avery is the league's most overrated player.

Roy Shivers and Danny Barrett received a vote of confidence from Saskatchewan Roughriders brass last weekend, but the team's general manager and head coach got no love in the poll.

Shivers is the most overrated coach/GM/front-office type, while Barrett was second to Matthews on the arrogance chart and garnered no support for his coaching skills.

If this year's Grey Cup in Vancouver is going to be the greatest ever, it will have to surpass the 1989 Classic between Saskatchewan and Hamilton.

And if Montreal happens to beat the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday, Als general manager Jim Popp should take a huge bow.
Voters included beat writers, columnists, play-by-play men, studio panelists and colour commentators for national and local television and radio broadcasts.

Read on for complete results and a brief summary of each category. The numbers indicate the percentage of votes received.

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com
Around the CFL
The Calgary Herald
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: F3
Section: Sports
Source: Calgary Herald
1. The best Grey Cup you've ever seen (on television, in person, whatever)?
1989 -- Saskatchewan 43, Hamilton 40
(in Toronto) 43.2
1994 -- B.C. 26, Baltimore 23
(in Vancouver) 16.2
1996 -- Toronto 43, Edmonton 37
(in Hamilton) 13.5
1976 -- Ottawa 23, Saskatchewan 20
(in Toronto) 10.8
Others receiving votes: 1987 (Edmonton over Toronto in Vancouver); 1975 Edmonton over Montreal in Calgary); 1977 (Montreal over Edmonton in Montreal); 1969 (Ottawa over Sask-atchewan in Montreal); 1981 (Edmonton over Ottawa in Montreal); 1984 (Winnipeg over Hamilton in Edmonton).

Summary: Often considered the all-time standard, 1989's Classic seems to be getting better with age. Every year, people are increasingly wowed by the match that ended with Dave Ridgway's clutch kick and gave Saskatchewan its last title. The '94 championship featured the "Us against Them" theme and ended gloriously on Lui Passaglia's field goal.

2. Which player is the biggest jerk?
Nik Lewis, Cal. 17.1
Duncan O'Mahony, B.C. 11.4
Kenton Keith, Sask. 11.4
Casey Printers, B.C. 8.6
Don Matthews, Mtl. 8.6
Carl Kidd, B.C. 5.7
Ed Philion, Mtl. 5.7
Craig Yeast, Ham. 5.7
Chris Brazzell, Wpg. 5.7
Others receiving votes: Daved Benefield, Sask.; Davis Sanchez, Edm.; Nealon Greene, Sask.; Keith Stokes, Wpg.; Cameron Legault, Ott.; Michael Fletcher, Tor.; Robert Baker, Tor.

Summary: With the entire league watching Calgary play Edmonton in regular-season finale, Lewis spouted off about the Eskimos' secondary. Then, he called himself the Terrell Owens of the CFL. This didn't go over well and left him branded. O'Mahony evolved from being a media favourite to a pain in the rump. Keith is just plain snotty and Printers soured this season. Even though the category is intended for players, some media felt the need to include Matthews.

3. Which player should have a career in the broadcast booth when he's done playing?
Danny McManus, Ham. 18.9
Dave Dickenson, B.C. 8.1
Henry Burris, Cal. 8.1
Milt Stegall, Wpg. 8.1
Daved Benefield, Sask. 5.4
Scott Schultz, Sask. 5.4
Ed Philion, Mtl. 5.4
John Avery, Tor. 5.4
Orlondo Steinauer, Tor. 5.4
Others receiving votes: Sean Fleming, Edm.; Ben Cahoon, Mtl.; Scott Coe, Cal; Jay McNeil, Cal.; Ed Hervey, Edm; Roger Reinson, Edm; Mike Morreale, Ham.; Michael Fletcher, Tor; Jeremaine Copeland, Cal; Adriano Belli, Ham; Doug Brown, Wpg.

Summary: Voters must like what they've seen from McManus in the booth over the past few post-seasons. Dickenson is a huge football buff who understands the league, says what he thinks and comes across well. Ditto for Stegall and Burris. Stegall actually has a television gig right now and there was a chance Burris might do something. Benefield and Schultz are extremely quotable and have a radio show in Saskatchewan.

4. Name the current CFL assistant coach who's ready to be bumped up to head coach
Kent Austin, Tor. 25.7
Greg Marshall, free agent 22.9
Steve Buratto, Cal. 17.1
Denny Creehan, Cal. 11.4
Richie Hall, Sask. 8.6
Mike Benevides, B.C. 5.7
Rich Stubler, Tor. 5.7
Jacques Chapdelaine, B.C. 2.9
Summary: Almost everyone on this list is going to be interviewed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their head-coaching vacancy. The interesting thing here is that Buratto is the only one mentioned with previous head-coaching experience and that was one generation ago. Austin has done good things with Toronto's offence and Marshall, recently released by Ottawa, will land on his feet somewhere. Creehan's stock is rising and Hall is always in the mix.

5. Most overrated coach/GM/front-office type?
Roy Shivers, Sask. 27.0
Brendan Taman, Wpg. 16.2
Forrest Gregg, Ott. 10.8
Eric Tillman, free agent 8.1
Don Matthews, Mtl. 8.1
Tom Higgins, Cal. 5.4
John Jenkins, Ott. 5.4
Greg Mohns, Tor. 5.4
Others receiving votes: Hugh Campbell, Edm.; Danny Barrett, Sask.; Adam Rita, Tor.; Chris Jones, Mtl.; Ron Lancaster, Ham.

Summary: Folks are starting to get on Shivers for not finding a legit quarterback. Many people close to the Stampeders in the '90s say he had nothing to do with signing Jeff Garcia, Henry Burris or Dave Dickenson. Since joining the Roughriders, his claims to fame are Kevin Glenn and Rocky Butler. Taman had a rocky year in Winnipeg and 2006 will be his last season if the Bombers don't get turned around. Gregg hasn't received a word of praise since he got to Ottawa this summer, almost everyone expects him to be terrible and he still got votes for being overrated. Tillman isn't even in the league this season and he received votes.

6. Most overrated player?
John Avery, Tor. 32.4
Kerry Joseph, Ott. 8.8
Chris Brazzell, Wpg. 8.8
Nealon Greene, Sask. 5.9
Kevin Eiben, Tor. 5.9
Pat Woodcock, Ott. 5.9
Ricky Ray, Edm. 5.9
Others receiving votes: Geroy Simon, B.C.; Jesse Lumsden, Ham.; Korey Banks, Ott.; Kenton Keith, Sask.; Sean Fleming, Edm.; Sheldon Napastuk, Cal.; Joe Fleming, Wpg.; Donnavan Carter, Ott.; Kamau Peterson, Ham.

Summary: Avery did something to this category that he can no longer do on the football field -- he obliterated the competition. Injuries have slowed the former CFL rushing champ and league's highest-paid running back. Joseph gets a lot of kudos during the season but hasn't won games consistently. Brazzell always has been overrated. Dollar for dollar, Woodcock is one of the worst players in the league. Ray's recent play has brought his stock down. Eiben, Banks and Napastuk are division all-stars.

7. Which coach needs a slice of humble pie?
Don Matthews, Mtl. 58.3
Danny Barrett, Sask. 33.3
Danny Maciocia, Edm. 2.8
Wally Buono, B.C. 2.8
John Jenkins, Ott. 2.8
Summary: Barrett had a huge edge after the western votes were tabulated. But the easterners get a larger dose of Matthews and they voted almost unanimously for The Don to take over the category. Comments suggest both coaches are prickly, moody and conceited. The difference is, Matthews is the winningest coach in CFL history and arguably has earned a right to be arrogant. Barrett's career head coaching record is 48-59-1.

8. The coach you like to see do well?
Pinball Clemons, Tor. 26.2
Joe Paopao, free agent 26.2
Greg Marshall, Ham. 11.9
Jim Daley, free agent 9.5
Danny Maciocia, Edm. 9.5
Tom Higgins, Cal. 4.8
Danny Barrett, Sask. 4.8
Wally Buono, B.C. 4.8
Summary: Clemons and Paopao show that you get out of a media relationship what you put into it. They carry themselves professionally, they're generous with their time and are widely considered good guys. Marshall is the same.

9. Player who is the best NFL prospect?
Jon Ryan, Wpg. 61.8
Casey Printers, B.C. 20.6
Korey Banks, Ott. 5.9
Nik Lewis, Cal. 5.9
Otis Floyd, B.C. 2.9
Scott Flory, Mtl. 2.9
Summary: Printers ran away with this category last season but Ryan's thunderous right leg might take him south of the border. Don't be surprised if they both get NFL camp looks.

10. Kicker you'd want lining up for a 30-yarder at the buzzer?
Noel Prefontaine, Tor. 63.6
Sandro DeAngelis, Cal. 15.2
Sean Fleming, Edm. 12.1
Lui Passaglia, retired 6.1
Damon Duval, Mtl. 3.0
Summary: DeAngelis had the league's best field-goal percentage in the regular season and Fleming has been red-hot over the past few weeks. But Prefontaine is experienced and doesn't seem prone to slumps or inexplicably bad kicks that many of his peers have.

11. You're the owner of a CFL expansion franchise, you're building for the long haul and you can have anyone in the league.

a) Name your GM.
Jim Popp, Mtl. 44.1
Wally Buono, B.C. 23.5
Jim Barker, Cal. 17.6
Paul Jones, Edm. 2.9
Eric Tillman, free agent 2.9
Neil McEvoy, B.C. 2.9
Hugh Campbell, Edm. 2.9
Adam Rita, Tor. 2.9
Summary: You can't argue with results and Popp has been amazing during his time with the Als. He's the runaway choice. Buono is second but some people hesitated to make him their GM when he was their choice for head coach. Barker reached No. 3 in his debut season while Jones got a surprisingly low share of votes.

b) Name your head coach.
Wally Buono, B.C. 58.8
Pinball Clemons, Tor. 20.6
Tom Higgins, Cal. 2.9
Denny Creehan, Cal. 2.9
Kent Austin, Tor. 2.9
Danny Maciocia, Edm. 2.9
Greg Marshall, Ott. 2.9
Don Matthews, Mtl. 2.9
Danny Barrett, Sask. 2.9
Summary: Again, it's about results. Buono won in Calgary and his mojo continues to work on the West Coast. Clemons is a hands-off coach in Toronto but his approach works.

c) Name your quarterback.
Casey Printers, B.C. 37.1
Anthony Calvillo, Mtl. 22.9
Henry Burris, Cal. 20.0
Dave Dickenson, B.C. 14.3
Jason Maas, Edm. 5.7
Summary: It's a little surprising to see Printers dominate this, but he is young (24) with an immense upside. Calvillo was an easy choice and Burris made a lot of believers with his play this season. It's interesting that this year's most outstanding player, Damon Allen, didn't get a single vote.

d) Name the first non-quarterback you'd sign.
Ben Cahoon, Mtl. 16.7
Brent Johnson, B.C. 13.9
Corey Holmes, Sask. 13.9
Jason Clermont, B.C. 11.1
Charles Roberts, Wpg. 11.1
Kevin Eiben, Tor. 5.6
Others receiving votes: Milt Stegall, Wpg.; Otis Floyd, B.C.; Joe Montford, Edm.; Jason Tucker, Edm.; Sandro DeAngelis, Cal.; Brian Chiu, Mtl.; Gavin Walls, Wpg.; Geroy Simon, B.C.; Ray Mariuz, Tor.; Jeremaine Copeland, Cal.

Summary: Voters were thinking about building their Canadian content because Cahoon, Johnson, Clermont and Eiben are all homegrown guys. Holmes is the West Division's outstanding player and Roberts is an all-CFL running back.

Lightning Round
Should the Grey Cup always be played in a dome to eliminate the elements?
No: 85.7 per cent. Yes: 14.3 per cent.
Will there be a legitimate salary cap in place for the 2006 season?
No: 82.9. Yes: 17.1.
Will instant replay be in for 2006?
No: 74.3. Yes: 25.7.
Will Jason Maas be with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2006?
Yes: 77.1. No: 22.9.
Will the current Ottawa Renegades regime run that team out of town?
Yes: 66.7. No: 33.3.
End-zone celebrations in the CFL -- good, bad or don't care?
Good: 47.1. Bad: 26.5. Don't care: 26.5
Which network does a better job of covering a CFL game (include pre-game, etc.)?
TSN: 72.4. CBC: 27.6
Is commissioner Tom Wright doing a good job?
Good: 73.1. Neutral: 15.4. Bad: 11.5.
What's more disturbing -- Gomery Commission findings or inaccuracies in CFL facts and record book?
CFL: 69.0. Gomery: 31.0.
Vaughn eager to show Esks he's still a top talent: After slow start in '05, Alouettes receiver chasing third Grey Cup ring
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: John MacKinnon
Column: John MacKinnon
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - Montreal Alouettes receiver Terry Vaughn arrived here Tuesday wearing a navy blue suit and the Grey Cup ring he won as an Edmonton Eskimo in 2003 in Regina.

"I wear it every now and then," said Vaughn. "It's just a reminder that this is why I'm here and that I want to win another."

If Vaughn, traded to Montreal in the off-season, wins another, if the Alouettes defeat the Eskimos in Sunday's CFL championship, it will be three Cup rings in a splendid 11-year CFL career. He also will have achieved a rare triple, being part of Grey Cup-winning teams in Calgary (1998), Edmonton and Montreal.

"It really would be nice to say I've won the Grey Cup everywhere I've played," Vaughn said.
"That's my goal."
Vaughn has been a marquee receiver everywhere he's played in the CFL. He arrived here as one of Montreal's key guys, despite off-season knee surgery and the evident judgment by the Eskimos that his days as an elite player were dwindling.

Apparently not. Despite a slow start after missing Montreal's training camp, Vaughn caught 93 balls for 1,113 yards and eight touchdowns, his 11th straight 1000-yard season, a CFL record. He joined teammates Kerry Watkins, Ben Cahoon and Dave Stala at that plateau as the Alouettes assembled a 1,000-yard quartet for the second straight season for quarterback Anthony Calvillo.

"That was satisfying," Vaughn said of being part of that foursome. "They already had a Hall of Famer in Ben (Cahoon) and added another Hall of Famer in myself.

"But Dave Stala, who had never had a 1,000-yard season, and Kerry Watkins, these are talented young players. So to come in and learn the offence and get on the same page with (Calvillo) and the offensive line and everyone else, that was pretty special."

Vaughn's slow start was mostly owing to a foot infection, the treatment for which involved removal of both his big toenails with pliers, a course of medical action that would stop most people agonizingly in their tracks. Anyway, compared to Montreal's dominance of the East in recent years, the team's collective slow start was excruciating for their fans, also.

Cahoon, the veteran circus-catch specialist, said any off-season concerns he had about the Alouettes losing Jeremaine Copeland to free agency (Calgary) disappeared as soon as the Als signed Vaughn. Cahoon also said the team's slow start might have been a blessing in disguise for the Alouettes, who finished 10-8.

"We dug ourselves such a deep hole that we've been playing playoff-intensity games for nine weeks now," Cahoon said. "That put a lot of pressure on us and we've been dealing with that pressure.

"I just think it has been a good experience to have to battle back into playoff contention."
In the battle for the Grey Cup, Vaughn will be matched mostly against ex-teammate Donny Brady, whose tendencies he knows intimately from having practised against the defensive back for years in Edmonton.

"He likes to hold a little bit," Vaughn said. "Which I don't mind except when it crosses the line.
"I push off a little, so it's a give-and-take type of thing. We're both fiery guys, so it will be an intense competition because that's how it's always been."

Brady has been known to complain that officials penalize him on reputation alone, and he has never been shy about sharing his opinions. But Brady was prudently respectful about Vaughn.

"T. Vaughn has established himself as a great in this league with the numbers he has put up for more than a decade," Brady said. "Hopefully, I can do the same. This (matchup) is a great opportunity and I've got to take advantage of it if I want to be considered great one day myself."

Much has been made of this third Grey Cup matchup in four years between the Alouettes and Eskimos, but Cahoon said the past has nothing to do with this game.

"I recognize where that's coming from," Cahoon said. "It's a great story line for you guys. But we're trying to win a Grey Cup this year, we're not fighting the history books."

Nor is Vaughn out to settle any scores with the Eskimos, he said. He acknowledged that he chafed somewhat when the club swapped him for safety William Loftus. Vaughn racked up more than 1,000 receiving yards for Edmonton in 2004 despite playing the whole season "nicked and banged up."

"But that stuff is behind me," Vaughn said. "I try to play with a chip on my shoulder all the time, no matter who the opponent is.

"I'm motivated to win the Grey Cup because this is my job. I'm trying to win another ring for Montreal. I'm an Alouette now."

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com

Battle-scarred D line hopes to make Als pay: Stopping running game Esks' plan of action
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: John Korobanik
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - It's a battle-hardened Edmonton Eskimos defensive unit that arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday to trade wits and hits with Anthony Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes offensive squad in Sunday's Grey Cup.

It's the third time in four years the teams have met in the CFL championship -- Montreal won 25-16 in 2002 and Edmonton won 34-22 in 2003 -- and both are going to the Grey Cup after up and down seasons. It's those times of adversity, says defensive back Kelly Wiltshire, that has toughened the Eskimos.

"We had a few dog fights, especially the last two weeks, which is good," the six-foot, 210-pound 33-year-old said of the Eskimos beating Calgary 33-26 in the Western Semifinal and the B.C. Lions 28-23 in the Western Final. Both times the Eskimos struggled and needed quarterback Jason Maas to come off the bench to wake up the offence.

"It was 21-21 (in the fourth quarter in Vancouver) and nobody put their head down," Wiltshire said. "We said, 'OK, this is the way we have to do it.' It makes you battle proven. Of course your blood pressure rises a bit, but I'll take that because at this point, that's what we fought all year for."

Even as they threw away a chance to finish first, and then second, in the West; and the offence struggled under Ricky Ray, creating a quarterback controversy among Edmonton fans, to a player the Eskimos insist there was never any doubt among themselves. There's also no doubt among them that they'll have to bring their A game to Vancouver against a powerful Montreal offence.

"Offensively they're loaded with weapons and they're loaded with experience," middle linebacker A.J. Gass said of the Als.

"Anthony Calvillo, he's a tremendous athlete, he can wreak havoc on the defence, so you definitely have to account for him," added veteran rush end Joe Montford.

"You have to make sure he doesn't get those plays where he scrambles for 10 or 20 yards, or he gets you on the bootleg.

"Those plays really hurt you."
Although Calvillo and his receiving corps are the Als most dangerous weapons, it's the running game the
Eskimos intend to focus on first, whether it's Robert Edwards, who enjoyed success all season, or Eric
Lapointe, who replaced the injured Edwards in the Eastern Final and ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns in their victory over Toronto.

"Our focus is to stop the run and make the team one-dimensional," said Wiltshire. "But then, Calvillo is so good with the ball, with (Ben) Cahoon and company so we'll see. That's the plan. It doesn't always work that way.

"The key is everybody has to do their job. If one guy misses a tackle, it opens up the game for them."
Defensive coach Dan Kepley said, yes the offence is fired up by Calvillo, a strong receiving corps and a good running back, but don't overlook their linemen.

"They have a tremendous offensive line that is exceptional. A guy like Calvillo doesn't have the success that he's had throwing the ball by having bad guys in front of him."

Yeah, well, counted Gass, the Eskimos aren't exactly chopped liver.
"Right, right," he said about Montreal's touted offence. "But I'll take our receiving corps and our D line over their offensive line and their receiving corps any day of the week."

jkorobanik@thejournal.canwest.com
Eskimos' marketing team up and running for Grey Cup media blitz: Rush of international interview requests for Ray, Maas, Maciocia and Gizmo
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B3
Section: CityPlus
Byline: Nick Lees
Column: Nick Lees
Source: The Edmonton Journal
He was the busiest man in town before he flew to Vancouver on Tuesday.
The phone at his desk has been permanently cradled on one ear and his cellphone on the other.
"I've been deluged with media calls from throughout North America since the Esks beat the B.C. Lions on their home turf Sunday," explains Dave Jamieson, the Edmonton Eskimo director of communications and marketing.

"Everyone is excited about the teams facing off again in the Grey Cup. The Grey Cup is pure Canadiana and the biggest sporting event in the country."

This season is also the Esks 43rd consecutive in the playoffs, a North American pro-sports record, he says.
"Reporters all over the place want to tie the story into a player who came from their neck of the woods," says Jamieson.

He's been asked if Yuma's Jason Maas, who last year became the second quarterback in Esks' history to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season, really has support guys lay out his equipment in a certain way on game day.

"Yes, he does," chipped in Jamie Cartmell, Jamieson's assistant.
"He is very efficient. He says he'd probably have joined the Marine Corps and become a police officer later like his dad if he hadn't played football."

Maas and fellow quarterback Ricky Ray draw the most requests for interviews, says Jamieson. But coach Danny Maciocia isn't far behind.

"He's every publicist's dream," says the communications boss.
"Danny was born into an Italian family in Montreal and speaks English, Italian and French and a bit of Portugese. His wife is from a Portugese family."

Quebec sports writers in particular have zeroed in on Maciocia because of his fluency and the Alouettes' longstanding Grey Cup rivalry with the Esks.

"Jackie Parker's 84-yard touchdown run after a fumble in the 1954 Grey Cup final against the Alouettes remains one of pro sports most memorable plays," says Jamieson.

"I've had a request for an interview with Jackie already and I'm expecting more before the end of the week."
There have also been requests for interviews with club president and CEO Hugh Campbell, who was coach of the Esks "Five-in-a-Row" Grey Cup winning teams (1978-1982). And with L.A. native Warren Moon, who played under Campbell in the Esks "dynasty" years.

"Warren is working for a radio station in Seattle and is a very good, articulate interview," says Jamieson.
"But if there's been a call for Warren, there will be one for Tom Wilkinson. Tom is his own best press agent and gives excellent interviews. He tells great stories with a wonderful sense of humour."

"Wilkie" never missed representing the Esks in his 10-year career (1972-1981). He became a CFL Hall of Famer, went on to coach the U of A Golden Bears and remains one of Edmonton's most popular sports heroes.

This is the game that gives sports writers a hook to write features about "Where are they now?"
Some regular calls to Jamieson are for phone numbers of CFL Hall of Famer Danny Kepley, defence stalwart Dave (Doctor Death) Fennell and Henry (Gizmo) Williams, considered the greatest kick returner in CFL history.

"We don't have to go far to find Dan Kepley," says Jamieson. "He's our linebackers' coach."
Fennell has a mining company and works a lot in South America and "Gizmo" is still helping the community locally.
The Eskimos, Jamieson tells reporters, are shipping as much familiar green-and-gold paraphernalia to Vancouver to make their locker room look like home.

"Many players will also keep to the routine they followed last week," says Jamieson. "If a group went out for steak last Saturday, they will go to the same restaurant and have the same meal.

"They will also sit in the same seats on the bus on the way to the game.
"I'm not at all superstitious. But I will wear the same dark suit with a blue shirt and tie. I told Jamie to wear the same dress pants, golf shirt and shell he wore last week. We don't want to chance it."

FLYING THE COLOURS
Quarterback Ricky Ray is the fans' No. 1 and has been all year.
So says Wayne Cuillerier. And he should know. He sells Edmonton Eskimo gear and equipment.
"Sales figures are confidential," he says. "But let's just say they are in the seven-figure range this season."
Ricky Ray's jersey has been the most requested by fans, says Cuillerier, who runs the Esks' official souvenir outlets.
Even if fans switched loyalty to Jason Maas, Cuillerier couldn't help them.
Jerseys cost $90 and it costs another $90 to have a name and the Eskimo crests added.
"We're out of stock and we can't get more done in time," he says. "But we have some of our biggest volume items in stock, such as tuques and caps. We've sold thousands this year, but there's been an enormous rush since Sunday."

nlees@thejournal.canwest.com
Esks counting on Montford to have monstrous game: Veteran defensive end familiar with Als' offence after 10-year stint in East
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: John Korobanik
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Joe Montford can make life pretty easy for Edmonton Eskimos defensive backs.
The 11-year CFL veteran defensive end could again be a huge factor in the
Eskimos success, or failure, in Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes. The six-foot-one, 235-pounder whom the Eskimos acquired from Hamilton last spring had a monstrous game against the B.C. Lions in the Western Final.

The statistics may say Montford registered only one sack and one tackle, but he was in the B.C. backfield all game long. Eskimos linebacker A.J. Gass said Montford's presence is huge on game day.

"He draws so much attention ... the rest of the D line, they have a field day out there," said Gass. "Anytime you get that constant pressure on the quarterback, it allows our defensive backs to get in position to get interceptions. He doesn't let our DBs cover for a very long time. He's in on the quarterback like right now, and that's huge for us."

Also huge is the fact that Montford spent the first 10 years of his career in the CFL East, where he played the Als several times every season. If many of the Eskimos are not overly familiar with the Als, Montford certainly is.

"I know what Montreal brings to the table. The difficulties are at the O-line position because their strength is on the offensive line."

Which just means Montford's performance Sunday could be even more influential on the outcome. The Eskimos defence will function a lot better if the three-time CFL outstanding defensive player can dominate Montreal's left side like he did against the Lions.

"Joe is a task for anybody who has to work against him," said defensive coach Dan Kepley. "In any game, Joe brings it. But Joe is one-12th of that defence on the field. Joe can't do it all by himself and neither can the guys beside him. They need each other to make it happen."

Montford said the defensive line goes into Vancouver feeling pretty confident.
"Right now we're not making the mental mistakes, like jumping offside or taking penalties we shouldn't be taking. And the other part is, for the last couple of games we've been ... cancelling the gaps, taking care of our responsibilities.

"With that it's going to be tough to beat us."
jkorobanik@thejournal.canwest.com
Slight chance Jeanty may play Sunday: Green and Gold pass rusher must impress Maciocia in practice to get a shot
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - For the last four weeks, Rashad Jeanty dutifully told anyone who would listen that his hamstring was simply pulled -- that nothing was seriously wrong.

Deception and lies are just part of the game come playoff time in any professional sport, the CFL included.
But the Edmonton Eskimos defensive end came clean Tuesday as he waited to board a flight to Vancouver for the Grey Cup.

Back on Oct. 15, Jeanty tore his hamstring on the last play of the game in a victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The damage forced him to sit out for the last month, and he's not expected to play Sunday against the Montreal Alouettes.

"I was just pass rushing -- trying to get to the quarterback," Jeanty said. "I kind of tipped the ball and, at the same time, my hamstring went on me.

"It was kind of overlooked by people, but it was a serious injury.
Nevertheless, Jeanty is holding on to the ever-so-slight chance he can play Sunday with a championship on the line. The faint-hope clause involves dazzling Danny Maciocia in practice and somehow convincing the rookie head coach to dress a player with one leg not quite intact.

"I think I've got a shot," Jeanty said in the crowded charter terminal at the Edmonton International Airport. "But I don't want to hurt the team, and I know I've got to play four quarters if I go out there.

"But I'm going to give it all I've got at practice this week, and we'll see from there. I want to play in the Grey Cup. I was on the practice roster in 2003, so I missed it. I promised myself I'd play in the next one, and I'm not giving up on my goal."

The Eskimos could certainly use Jeanty in the lineup against the dominant offensive line of the Montreal Alouettes. When healthy, Joe Montford and Jeanty are perhaps the most dangerous pass-rushing duo in the CFL.

Give quarterback Anthony Calvillo time, and he can dissect just about any defence. Tim Fleiszer, Antico Dalton and Charles Alston have done a superb job in relief, but Jeanty is a special talent.

"Look, we'd love to have Rashad in there," Maciocia said. "But I'd have to say he's doubtful. We can't line up with
39-and-a-half players. We need 40 players. We can't risk him going down in the first series and then playing short for the rest of the day."

The Grey Cup game is heavily scouted by the NFL, so the 22-year-old is missing a key chance to show scouts what he has. Jeanty is entering the option year of his contract, which means he's free to sign down south until Feb. 28.

A native of Miami, Jeanty constantly hears rumours about interest from the NFL, but he's learned not to believe any anything until he has an offer -- in writing.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not honestly looking at the NFL," he said.
"It's just like girls. A lot of them may say they're in to you, but where are they right now?
"They can say they like me. I like them too, but what are we going to do about it?"
He even took the romantic analogy one step further.
"The Edmonton Eskimos are committed to me right now," he said. "And I'm committed to them."
You've got to know it will break his heart to stand on the sidelines in jeans and a T-shirt with a Grey Cup championship on the line.

SHORT YARDAGE -- Fullback Mathieu Bertrand (ankle) hobbled to the plane on crutches. He's not expected to practise until Friday at the earliest ... Fullback Deitan Dubuc and defensive end Antico Dalton are set to play in spite of suffering concussions in the Western Final against B.C.

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
Grey Cup mayors place bets: Loser will have to sport winning team's jersey for day of shame
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B9
Section: CityPlus
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - More than the Grey Cup is at stake Sunday when the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes clash for the CFL championship.

The mayor of one city faces the humbling ordeal of wearing the winning team's jersey before a city council meeting.
If that wasn't humiliation enough, there's the added shame of officially acknowledging the success of the winning team by proclaiming their city to be the 2005 Football Capital of Canada.

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel made the bet Tuesday.
"We bet that if ... when the Eskimos win, that he will wear for a day at his council meetings a Edmonton Eskimo jersey," Mandel said.

"And if we see the unfortunate, hard-to-believe, probably-will-never-happen outcome, that Montreal does win, then I will wear for a day during council a Montreal Alouettes jersey.

"We wanted to come up with something that didn't have financial repercussions. We didn't believe we should be betting in that way, because that would be in poor taste. We could have bet a pound of Alberta beef versus a pound of smoked meat or some maple syrup, but that's not really what Quebec is about."

Mandel predicted a final score of 31-20 in favour of Edmonton.
'D' CUP GREY CUP; HOW THEY GOT PAM TO PARADE
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP1
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Everybody loves a parade. But fans headed to the 93rd Grey Cup are going to love this one, er, twice as much.
It's a great story how Pamela Anderson ended up as grand marshal of the Grey Cup parade.
You know. Pamela Anderson. Former Playboy centrefold. Famous actress. Known mostly for two big things ... talent and personality.

"We were having a parade planning meeting back in April or May,'' said Party On The Pacific organizing committee general manager Scott Ackles here yesterday.

"Phil Reimer is our parade chairman and he said, 'Who are we going to have as our parade marshal?' ''
There were all sorts of ideas. One was Bryan Adams. He's from Vancouver. But somebody suggested we should have someone who had something to do with football.

"Somebody yelled out 'Pamela Anderson!' ''
Football?
"She was discovered at a B.C. Lions home game. She was sitting in the crowd and they showed her on the video board. She looked great and a huge roar erupted from the stands when they put her on the big screen. The crowd went crazy for her.

"There happened to be a Playboy photographer in the crowd and he went and found her. And the rest, as they say, is history.

"We managed to get hold of her agent and were waiting for her to get back to us when all of a sudden one night she showed up on national TV in the U.S. on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and said 'I'm going to be the grand marshal at the Grey Cup game in Vancouver.'

"That's the first we knew she'd decided to do it. She decided to say yes because it was where she was discovered.''
The Grey Cup parade here will be the first to be televised nationally in 10 years.
The organizers decided to keep thinking big and tried to get the Rolling Stones for the halftime show.
"We really tried to get the Rolling Stones,'' said Ackles.
"We thought if we're going to do something, let's start high. We thought big from the beginning.''
Ackles said the band's original fall tour had them scheduled for Seattle this week.
Ackles, the son of B.C. Lions CEO Bobby Ackles, has worked in event management and is a friend of the Rolling Stones' financial head. But he didn't pull that one off.

They eventually landed the Black Eyed Peas.
No Lions in the game. No Stones at half-time. But Pamela's in the parade.
REUNION TIME AT THE CUP
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Welcome to the Montreal Alouette-Edmonton Eskimo family reunion in Vancouver.
The two teams are here to battle for the Grey Cup, but it sure looks like a family gathering.
Almost one-quarter of the current Eskimo roster has ties to the Alouette organization.
It's the same ratio on the coaching staff, with head coach Danny Maciocia and receivers coach Dan McKinnon spending a few years with the Als in an early chapter of their lives.

"We were laughing at the beginning of the season that we kind of look like the Montreal of the west," said Eskimo centre Kevin Lefsrud, who played 52 regular-season games over three season in Montreal.

Needless to say, friendships become very strong during that time.
"Ed Philion and I are still really good friends," continued Lefsrud.
"A.C. (Anthony Calvillo) - I still consider him to be the best quarterback I have played with."
Edmonton defensive end Tim Fleiszer was with Lefsrud for those three years in Montreal and developed his own tight ties with certain players - and that will be evident in between plays on Sunday afternoon.

"(Offensive lineman Bryan) Chiu and I might go back and forth a bit (with chatter) and A.C. and I usually joke a bit during the game," said Fleiszer.

But make no mistake, Fleiszer desperately wants to beat his old teammates.
"The thought of letting Montreal win a Grey Cup on my watch is unimaginable," he explained after walking through a festive hotel lobby with a live band playing to welcome the Eskimos to the Grey Cup city last night.

Lefsrud is just as adamant.
"It is kind of like playing against your brother, you never want them to win," he remarked.
- - -
MONTREAL MEMORIES
Eskimos with Montreal Alouette connections:
Bruce Beaton - 1996-97
Mathieu Bertrand - 5th round draft choice
Steve Charbonneau - 1997-2001
Tim Fleiszer - 2000-02
Kevin Lefsrud - 2000-02
William Loftus - 1998-2004
Davis Sanchez - 1999, 2000, 2004
Kelly Wiltshire - 2000-01
Glen Young - 2000
REMEMBER TERRY AND DARREL?
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
It's one shot at redemption on the CFL's biggest stage.
Discarded or not wanted by the Edmonton Eskimos to start 2005, Darrel Crutchfield and Terry Vaughn moved to Montreal.
Now, with all the chips on the table in the Grey Cup, the pair has a chance to show their old team made a mistake.
For Crutchfield, it is a game he has been hoping for all season.
"It is definitely something in the preseason I thought about," said the cornerback yesterday after arriving at the team hotel in foggy downtown Vancouver.

"It was like: it would be nice if both (teams) met up in the Grey Cup. And lo and behold, it happened."
After playing three years in Edmonton and practising seemingly countless times during those seasons, there will definitely be some games within the game on Sunday afternoon at B.C. Place.

OLD RIVALRIES
"There are some old rivalries out there, guys I practiced with. It is going to be a good atmosphere; a lot of noise (talking on the field)," continued Crutchfield, who was signed by the Als as a free agent in March.

"I'll hear Donny Brady mouthing on the sidelines while I am out there.
"But when he is out there, I'll be talking to him. So, it is going to be fun."
Vaughn is trying to take a different approach, appearing rather subdued about the matchup against a team that felt it could do better with younger receivers so it traded him in the off-season for non-import safety William Loftus.

But Montreal slotback Ben Cahoon isn't buying Vaughn's low-key attitude with the media.
"I think he is excited. I think there is a little extra motivation to prove (the Eskimos) miscalculated a little bit," explained Cahoon.

"He had a good year for us and we are a better team because we have him."
Vaughn has had another wonderful year, putting up another 1,000-yard receiving campaign, the 11th consecutive time he has reached that magical mark.

BANGED UP
"I basically played the whole season (last year) nicked up, banged up and still managed to get 1,000 yards," Vaughn commented.

"So, Montreal definitely had faith in me (by agreeing to the trade). They knew I still had a lot of football in me...and I had a great season once again."

A Grey Cup title against his former team would end a great season.
HOWDY, FAVOURITES!; ESKS A GOOD BET TO WIN CUP GAME 3?
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP3
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
The Edmonton Eskimos, many of them wearing black cowboy hats, were greeted by a band as they checked back into their hotel with a band set up to greet them in the lobby here yesterday.

Same city. Same hotel. But a way different scene.
The Eskimos were three and a half point underdogs in the West semi and final, but they arrived here with Caesar's Palace making them one point favourites and Bowman's listing them at 1 1/2 point favorites.

"Favourites?'' laughed Bruce Beaton. "That's probably not a good sign.''
It's game three of the best-of-three Grey Cup series - with a year off between Game 1 and Game 2 - and both the Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes arrived here last night making a lot of that.

"For me and Ricky Ray it's literally three in a row,'' said Beaton who retired for a year while his quarterback went to the NFL. "I've had a lot of thoughts of 2002 and 2003 going through my mind. The first one, on our own field in Edmonton in 2002 was the most painful loss of my career. That's a game I've held with me for a long, long time. It would be nice to get this one. It would be nice to win the deciding game.''

MEETING FOR 11TH TIME
The Eskimos and Als are meeting for the 11th time in the Grey Cup but for the first time, neither team came here after finishing first and playing host to their conference final.

"It's a great match-up again. We've both faced a lot of adversity this year,'' said Ed Hervey, who not only wore the black hat but was dressed head-to-toe in black. "We've been here before but this one is more satisfying. I think that's probably true for them, too. You have two of the most successful teams in the league in the last four years. Both of us have won one. This should settle it once and for all.

"I don't know who should be the favourite. But it should be a great game that everyone should want to watch.''
Two blocks down the street the Als arrived two and a half hours earlier.
"It's the rubber match,'' said Ed Philion, one Al who was definitely into the concept.
"I think this one is more interesting than the first two because both teams were expected to get there in 2002 and 2003.

"These are the two best organizations in the CFL and these two teams getting here three times in four years certainly speaks to that. But this year I don't think people were picking either of us to get here.''

Anthony Calvillo said that's the thing.
"Getting here, period, makes both these teams happy to be back, especially after both of us not being here last year. It's pretty even between these two teams across the board.''

Bryan Chiu says it's not just about one game or a so-called best of three with these two teams.
"There's so much history. It's the ultimate Grey Cup rivalry. I wouldn't want it any other way.''
The Eskimos swept the first best-of-three Grey Cup series against the Alouettes in 1954-55-56. And after losing the famed Stapes Game in 1977, the Eskimos won the next two to take that best-of-three, going on to beat the other three East teams in the following Grey Cups to make it five-in-a-row.

The Alouettes, however, could claim winning the previous one-year-off best-of-three when they beat the Eskimos when they won in 1974, lost in 1975 and bounced back to win that 1977 Ice Bowl. The Eskimos lead the most-often-made match-up seven Cups to three. The Als have won five Grey Cups, three of them against Edmonton ('74, '77 and '02). They've lost eight Grey Cups, seven of them against the Eskimos ('54, '55, '56, '75, '78, '79 and '03).

RECENT HISTORY
But this isn't about ancient history, it's about recent history.
"We split the two games we played this year. We split the last two Grey Cup games. The teams are different, in a lot of ways, but a lot of the changes involved players going from one team to the other team, which adds a really interesting twist to it,'' said Chiu. "But the nucleus of both teams is pretty much the same.

"There's just so much involved when these two teams meet in the Grey Cup. This match-up has made a lot of history and it's about to make some more.''

FEWER PEOPLE SELLING THEIR CUP DUCATS?
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
In 1987 when this happened, there were hundreds of want ads in the two Vancouver daily newspapers advertising Grey Cup tickets for sale.

Yesterday there were 39 in the Province and 24 in the Sun. Another 363 were on sale from around the country on EBay.
"I think that's a great sign for B.C. Lions football,'' said Eskimos COO Rick LeLacheur.
The Esks and their fans have bought about as many tickets as the want-ad buyers have put up for sale, most of them two or four ticket for sale ads.

"We fulfilled about 150 to 200 requests on Monday alone, tickets that the Lions were holding for their families and wives, etc. Our players probably bought an extra 150 that the league holds back as well.''

It costs a team money to get to the Grey Cup.
The Eskimos provide a $1,000 credit to players toward flights and hotels of family members as well.
"In round numbers it probably cost us $200,000 to get to the Grey Cup game,'' remarked LeLacheur.
LeLacheur said it will cost another $200,000 for rings if the Eskimos win the Cup.
The Esks are getting some of it back at the team store.
"We had an amazing day in merchandising Monday. We sold over $10,000 worth of things,'' reported LeLacheur.
Meanwhile, there were lots of tickets for sale in the classified sections of both the Edmonton Sun and Edmonton Journal.

WILL MATHIEU BE PLAYING?
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DEREK VAN DIEST, EDMONTON SUN
The prognosis looked bad.
Mathieu Bertrand needed crutches to get around yesterday. He limped on to the Edmonton Eskimos charter flight heading to Vancouver. His right ankle was so heavily wrapped, the Eskimos starting fullback was unable to tie his shoe.

However, the former college quarterback is hoping he'll be able to play in the Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday.

"I don't want to make a decision on it right now because I can't even walk on it right now," Bertrand said.
"It'll depend how fast I can heal the ankle."
Bertrand was hurt Sunday against B.C.
The injury occurred during the third quarter against the Lions while covering a punt. X-rays taken on Monday revealed no break.

"We'll wait to see whether he'll be able to go or not," said Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia.
MAURER OR DUBUC
"If he can't then we'll go with Mike Maurer and Deitan Dubuc. We'll also have to do something about our Canadian content - that's something we'll have to think about."

Bertrand was a consistent figure in the Eskimos backfield this season while the team played musical running backs.
Bertrand played in every game, blocking for whatever tailback happened to be playing that day. He's also been big in short-yardage situations and has become a receiving threat out of the backfield.

HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT
Needless to say, it would be a huge disappointment for the Chambly, Que., native if he's unable to play against the Alouettes in the Grey Cup.

"Of course, because I was watching some film today and I was getting anxious," Bertrand said. "I don't want to miss that game because it's the most important game of the season, and I want to be in it."

"I'll know for sure Friday, because Friday is our last practise and if I can't practice, I won't be able to play for sure," he continued. "I'll try to practise as much as I can and that'll be a good test for sure."

Apart from losing out on offence, Bertrand will be missed on special teams. Maurer is ready to step in if called upon.
"The way it works out, we both play quite a bit," Maurer said. "If he can't go I'll probably play more than I usually do, but it's no big deal. All that I care about is helping the team any way I can and just getting the win. That's all that really matters."

DAD SEES SON AS HIS HERO
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Steven Marsh's hero is coming to the Grey Cup.
The Edmonton Eskimo linebacker has already booked and paid for a flight for his gutsy four-year-old son to travel from Tennessee to Vancouver for Sunday's CFL championship game.

It's a long trip for a young boy and an expensive trip for his dad's pocketbook, but it's worth it.
Takaree Marsh provides his dad with inspiration after surviving several open-heart surgeries. He is truly his father's hero.

Since the summer of 2001 Takaree has had three operations to repair a heart that had two holes and a missing valve.
After Takaree travelled north to see his dad play one game in Edmonton in September and - just like his dad - loved every minute of the trip, Marsh promised to bring his boy north again if the team made it to the Grey Cup.

"It cost me about $1,250 for the flight tickets for him and my girlfriend to come on Friday," said Marsh. "But I didn't think twice about it. As much as he has been through, (the money) doesn't matter."

And for Takaree, a seat in B.C. Place will be much better than having to sit by the phone and wait for updates.
"He was getting updates (on the West final) from my mom every five to 10 minutes because she has a cable service in North Carolina that gets the game," said Marsh.

LAPOINTE A LITTLE LIKE MAAS; WHEN GAME'S ON LINE ... THEY DELIVER
The Edmonton Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Move over Jason Maas, someone else deserves to share that spotlight.
Like Maas in Edmonton, Eric Lapointe has gone from being a backup to a hero in Montreal during this playoff run to the Cup.

After watching all-star running back Robert Edwards crack two ribs in the early stages of last Sunday's East final, the Als turned to Lapointe - and he delivered.

In just the second half at Rogers Centre, Lapointe rushed for 112 yards and scored three TDs to lead his team to victory.

But don't dare try to put the hero tag on Lapointe.
"Stats-wise everybody looks at it as I am the hero, but we all played well," said the 31-year-old Canadian. "The defence played extremely well in the second half to make Damon Allen feel shaky and the offensive line opened huge holes in front of me.

"As a running back you can't do anything if there aren't people (blocking) in front of me."
Sound familiar? Maas consistently slams any notion of being the hero in Edmonton.
And that is not the end of the similarities.
Like Maas, Lapointe never gripes, even though he has been living in the shadow of an all-star this season.
"He definitely hasn't complained," said Montreal slotback Ben Cahoon. "He has done just the opposite of that. He has admitted that Robert Edwards should play.

"He has been a great professional."
Lapointe has all the reason in the world to complain and feel frustrated because he has always played behind a stud runner.

For seven years he has been a backup.
In 1999, he played in Hamilton behind Ronald Williams.
A move to Toronto the next year meant watching Michael Jenkins run with the football.
And he has been behind Mike Pringle, Lawrence Phillips and Edwards on the depth charts in Montreal. It is a ridiculous list of big-time players, but that hasn't really bothered Lapointe or crushed his love for the game.

"It always depends on how you want to see things," he said. "I could regret so many things in my life but there is no point wasting time on that. It is better to look forward."

That brings the focus back to Sunday's Grey Cup and the debate over whether Lapointe will start.
At the moment, Edwards's status is up in the air, but the betting line suggests Lapointe will be carrying the mail.
If that's the case, he could be writing his final script.
Lapointe is talking about retiring.
"I have thought about it many times because I am actually a financial adviser back in Montreal and it is getting harder and harder to combine both jobs and I don't want to do anything halfway," he explained.

"I came here in 1999 to win my first Grey Cup and I'm (back) in B.C. and I could be winning my last one."
And if Montreal beats Edmonton with Lapointe playing the role of hero again, it will be quite a fairy tale ending.
Esks itching to move into locker-room
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: A45
Section: Sports
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province
Ed Hervey wants Jason Clermont's locker-room stall for Sunday's Grey Cup.
Problem is, so does a bigger guy on the Edmonton Eskimos.
As the Western reps in Sunday's championship game, the Eskimos take over the B.C. Lions locker-room at B.C. Place.
"I definitely am looking forward to that because a couple of those guys [Lions] gave me cheap shots during the game [on Sunday]," Edmonton defensive end Joe Montford said after the team arrived in Vancouver, again, Tuesday. "I'm happy to move into their locker-room."

Anyone's spot in particular?
"I'd like to sit my butt right in Jason Clermont's locker," said Montford, who had a lot more than his butt in B.C.'s backfield for most of the West final.

"That's the locker I want," Hervey said and, at 6-foot-2, he has an inch on Montford, but the the receiver loses 35 pounds to the lineman on the scales.

"It's all right. It doesn't really matter," Hervey said after considering the tale of the tape.
Hervey and Clermont played some insult-volleyball prior to the Western final.
"We said from the outset that that would be our place, that we would take that locker-room," Hervey said. "We knew we were better than B.C.

"They started out hot and played well, but we always knew once we got hold of them we'd put them in their place and get them out of their lockers.

"Now," he added, perhaps a tad disingenuously, "the B.C. Lions aren't even a factor in our conversations any more."
When talk turned to the Alouettes, there was a trash-talk truce. Montford didn't even want to discuss the team's flight to Vancouver, which had to divert to Kelowna before landing on YVR's fog-shrouded runways.

"I've been in Hamilton for a while and I've missed the playoffs, so I'm pretty hungry," Montford said.
"We didn't pay any attention to it [the change of flight path]. We got here and that's all that counts.
"I don't care what Montreal's doing."
Cup seems to attract abuse: THE BIG TROPHY: It's been lost, stolen and ransomed
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B30
Section: 2005 Grey Cup
Byline: Steve Ewen
Source: The Province
If the Grey Cup could talk, the therapy bills would be astronomical.
It has been beaten up and lost. It has partied all night at some seedy establishments. It has even been held for ransom.

The poor Grey Cup. It is just an evil twin away from being a soap opera character.
"The only stories I know are the stories I hear," says Mario Vespa, 65, a Hamilton man who, for the past 20 years, has babysat the trophy on its official CFL visits.

"When I look after the trophy I make sure nothing happens to it. The only time things happen is when the teams get it.
"I kind of cringe every time I hear one of those stories. I'm always like, 'Don't tell me any more stories. Don't tell me.' My job is to protect the Cup and take it wherever the fans want it."

Yes, the stories. The stories about what happened to the Grey Cup in celebrations after might actually be better than the stories about what it took to win it in the first place.

Like the time in 1997 when then- Toronto Argonauts kicker Mike Vanderjagt took it to a bar, only to have it stolen. A college student, who had joked she'd give $100 to have the trophy in her apartment, found it sitting in her kitchen the next morning.

The police came and returned it to Vanderjagt. No word on whether Vanderjagt tried to implicate his current teammate, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, in the shenanigans.

Then there was the time in 1969 when it was pilfered from Ottawa's Lansdowne Park and held for a ransom that was never made public. The CFL balked at paying; Toronto police eventually found it in a hotel locker.

B.C. Lions coach Wally Buono thought that he had lost the trophy after his Calgary Stampeders won it in 1998 in Winnipeg, but someone had actually loaded it on a bus headed to the airport. The 1964 Lions had to send somebody back to their hotel after leaving it there; former Bombers general manager Paul Robson returned to an empty Winnipeg Arena to find the trophy still sitting on a table at centre ice in 1984.

In 1987, the trophy was broken when an Edmonton Eskimo sat on it. In 1991, the neck of the trophy was held together with tape after a mishap with the Argonauts.

In 1993, Edmonton's Blake Dermott broke it with a headbutt.
"Every February when we get the trophy back we have to send it out for repairs," laments Vespa.
Poor Vespa. He got this gig innocently enough. He and good buddy Lou Franco were both volunteers at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton 20 years ago when they complained that the Grey Cup only came out for the championship game and was stored away for the rest of the year.

Taking it around to the fans during the year sounds like a good idea, they were told. And they were handed plane tickets soon after that.

Franco stopped travelling last year, opting to spend more time at his place in Florida. Vespa, meanwhile, says that he'll likely call it quits in the next couple of years.

He's kept busy. His trip here for Grey Cup will be his sixth visit to Vancouver this year.
"Everybody asks me, 'Where did you get this job?'" Vespa says of his Grey Cup duties. "And I always have to tell them that it's not a job, it's a volunteer thing.

"I enjoy doing the work, but I want to do other things, too. It can be long hours. I don't mind doing the four-hour events, but sometimes it's 14 hours a day."

steve.ewen@gmail.com
B.C.'s most famous export returns: Parade Grand Marshall always good for a quote
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B9
Section: 2005 Grey Cup
Source: The Province
Pamela Anderson on parade!
Expect the Vancouver Island-bred star of small screen, fashion, fiction and fantasy to say a few interesting things once she and her family land in Vancouver later this week -- and look for Pamela as the Grey Cup Parade's grand marshall on Saturday.

Check out the parade map on B20. And enjoy some of the best Pam quotes from over the years . . .
"I'm going to the Grey Cup -- that's the Canadian Super Bowl. I love Canadian football."
- on Jimmy Kimmel Live
"I was really nervous going into this real show with real actors. They actually rehearse here. I had never heard of that before."

- On working on her Fox sitcom Stacked
"Women and young girls come up to me the most. It's not just prisoners and firemen. When I was doing VIP there was a survey done and it showed that it wasn't just people too drunk to turn the channel."

- On her fan base
"I'm really nervous that no one will be there. Should I open the sunroof and take my top off?"
- Driving to the Manhattan launch of her first novel, Star
"Maybe I won't date again until my kids are 18."
- Pam, being silly
"All I asked was to have larger boobs and a smaller waist."
- On her stripper-by-day, superhero-by-night character in the animated series Stripperella
"I've wondered about that, too. I would have thought it would have died over by now."
- On why she's famous
"It's something about the smell. It's very familiar. I love the rain. It's cozy. It's romantic and sweet. It would be fun to be inside, with the kids."

- On the possibility of buying a home in Victoria, 2000
"My two talents. I have a great photographic memory and I can walk anywhere in high heels. With my shoes, I can do anything. I can walk across train tracks, run across the beach, surf -- all in high heels.

"Without them, I can't even remember who I am."
- On her shoes
"All they talk about is the ferry. The cars on the ferry. They've let them steer the ferry. They're obsessed with the ferry. I have ferry postcards all over my fridge."

- On her boys' obsession with B.C. Ferries
"I don't even know how to do my own makeup. I've maybe done it 10 times in the last 10 years."
- On doling out makeup advice
"I love Tommy and he will always be a part of my life but I can't keep on adding husbands. My ring finger is not long enough."

- No more marriages to Tommy
"Now I have people coming out of the deli hugging me because they think I'm dying. I tell them, 'I'm not dying. I'm fine. But if you wanna give me a free sandwich, go ahead.'"

- On people's reaction to her hep C diagnosis
Taking care of business is job No. 1: CFL has blossomed under Scrimshaw
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B18
Section: 2005 Grey Cup
Byline: Jim Jamieson
Source: The Province
Perhaps the most revealing detail about Brent Scrimshaw's hiring as the CFL's marketing manager in 2001 is that it was a new position.

Scrimshaw, who had been involved in a similar capacity with the Molson Indy Vancouver and the PGA's Air Canada golf tournament, was brought in to head a makeover for a league that had struggled to stay afloat at times through the 1990s and was looking for a way to recapture fans who'd been drifting away in droves for a decade.

What a difference four years makes.
Thanks to the work of Scrimshaw and the member clubs, as well as certain planets aligning properly (read NHL lockout here), the CFL is coming off a hugely successful regular season that included all-time highs in attendance (eclipsing the 1978 record) and TV ratings (up 27 per cent from last year on TSN). Add to that the attraction of major sponsors such as Reebok, Sun Microsystems, Wendy's, Sony and ScotiaBank and you see why the league's prospects are so bullish.

"Previously, the business was viewed as a purely sports product as opposed to a consumer brand," said Scrimshaw. "I think that's the big shift we've been able to make the last few years -- both at the league level and with the clubs."

When he came on board in late 2001, the first order of business was conducting a full tear-down of the CFL with marketing consultant FutureBrand.

"They got right inside the brand and saw what was working and what wasn't," said Scrimshaw. "The good news was that the base of the league was strong in terms of its Canadian heritage and even the most ardent NFL fan found the CFL faster, more exciting and unpredictable. Also, the players are seen as local heroes, somebody you'd see in Safeway."

But the not so good news, said Scrimshaw, was that the CFL wasn't doing enough to promote those same players because a lot of fans couldn't identify even the top five players on their team. As well, the stadium experiences were dated and dull, which coloured the league's presentation right through to the Grey Cup.

The result? The league's core demographic was a dwindling segment of 50-something men.
So the league made some changes to give its product a younger, edgier look, starting with a fresh TV advertising campaign and, this year, new, eye-catching uniforms designed by Reebok for all nine teams. And there's no coincidence that the Grey Cup half-time musical entertainment has been Shania Twain (2002), Bryan Adams (2003), Tragically Hip (2004) and the Black Eyed Peas this year.

The average fan's age is now about 36, but the 18-24 demographic is up about 20 per cent over last year. Advertisers love nothing more than knowing their message is getting out to a group that will be keenly interested in buying their product.

"The CFL wisely retrenched in a Canadian spirit and said, 'This is our game, it's something to be proud of and let's go after a younger market,'" said Dr. Darren Dahl, a marketing professor at University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business and a Lions season-ticket holder. "They do a much better job of making it fun for everyone."

jjamieson@png.canwest.com

Grey Matter: So, you think you know your football? Test your knowledge with Jack Morrow's 93-question quiz, one question for each year the Grey Cup has been won.
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D13
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Jack Morrow's
Source: Special to the Sun
1. Including 2005, how many Grey Cup games have been played in Vancouver?
2. Who scored the last Grey Cup touchdown at Empire Stadium?
3. Who scored the most recent Grey Cup touchdown at B.C. Place Stadium?
4. What was the only year in which a team played in the Grey Cup at home without playing a playoff game at home?
5. Who scored the B.C. Lions' first Grey Cup touchdown?
6. Who was the only player on the Ottawa Rough Riders' Grey Cup championship teams of 1960, 1968, 1969 and 1973?
7. Who quarterbacked the first two Grey Cup champions?
8. For the 1963 Grey Cup in Vancouver, the total was 319. For Vancouver's next Grey Cup, in 1966, the total was 689. What was the category?

9. Which American state had a governor in the 1990s who played in a Grey Cup in the 1950s?
10. What Grey Cup records does the late Montreal Alouettes' great Red O'Quinn still hold?
11. How many men played for the first Winnipeg team to appear in a Grey Cup and the first Winnipeg team to win a Grey Cup?

12. Who was the first black player to appear in a Grey Cup game?
13. Which player holds the career record for touchdowns in Grey Cup games?
14. What was the last team to become Canadian Rugby Union champions prior to the Grey Cup being awarded for the first time?

15. How long did Earl Grey serve as governor-general of Canada?
16. When was the first live on-site Grey Cup radio broadcast?
17. When was the Grey Cup first broadcast coast-to-coast on radio?
18. When was the Grey Cup first televised?
19. When was the Grey Cup first televised live coast-to-coast?
20. When was the Grey Cup first televised in colour?
21. What was the last team to win a Grey Cup while using only Canadian players?
22. Who were the first and last Miss Grey Cups, and which teams did they represent?
23. Which Calgary Stampeder won the award as the CFL's most outstanding player, and later served as a backup with a team that beat the Stampeders for the Grey Cup?

24. What was the name of the Winnipeg team that missed an opportunity to go to the Grey Cup because of a dispute between players and management over which railway to travel on?

25. Who scored the Grey Cup's first two-point convert?
26. In the B.C. Lions' eight Grey Cup appearances, a different player has led them in rushing yards every time. Name the eight players.

27. Who is the B.C. Lions' career leader in rushing yards in Grey Cup games?
28. How many kickoffs have been returned for touchdowns in Grey Cup games?
29. Who was the last player to attempt a drop kick in Grey Cup play?
30. When was the Grey Cup last played on a Saturday, and when was it first played in its entirety on a Sunday?
31. In how many years was the Canadian championship game played on any day other than Saturday or Sunday?
32. Which Saskatchewan family has produced three generations of Grey Cup players for the Roughriders?
33. In which Grey Cup game did the winning team score all of its touchdowns on fumble returns?
34. Who was the first player to return an intercepted forward pass for a touchdown in a Grey Cup game?
35. What is the record for the longest interception return in a Grey Cup game?
36. What was the biggest lead ever blown in a Grey Cup game by the team that eventually lost?
37. Who is the only player to recover three of his opponents' fumbles in a Grey Cup game?
38. How many Grey Cups were won by university teams?
39. How many Grey Cups were won by teams from the Ontario Rugby Football Union?
40. When did ORFU teams last compete in playoffs leading to the Grey Cup?
41. How many Grey Cups were won by teams from the Quebec Rugby Football Union?
42. Who scored the only Grey Cup touchdown for a team from the QRFU?
43. Who was the first man to score three touchdowns in a Grey Cup game?
44. How many players scored in both Grey Cup games in 1940?
45. In what year did the national championship game end in a tie, necessitating a second complete game in order to determine the winner?

46. How many times have the Grey Cup champions and Vanier Cup champions come from the same city in the same year?
47. How many men have won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the outstanding player in Canadian university football, and gone on to be members of Grey Cup championship teams?

48. When was the first national senior championship football game played, and which team won the title?
49. Which player holds the career record for combined yards (rushing, receiving, kick returns) in Grey Cup games?
50. Who is the B.C. Lions' career leader in combined yards in Grey Cup games?
51. Other than the nine traditional CFL cities, what cities have hosted the Grey Cup?
52. In what years was the Grey Cup moved to another city after being scheduled to be played in Montreal?
53. In what year were the Vanier Cup and Grey Cup games held in the same stadium on consecutive days?
54. In what year were a division final, Grey Cup and CFL all-star game played in the same stadium in consecutive weeks?

55. How many players were members of all six of the Edmonton Eskimo Grey Cup championship teams from 1975 to 1982?
56. Who has played on the greatest number of Grey Cup championship teams?
57. How many Grey Cup championship teams allowed more points in the regular season than they scored?
58. Which team holds the record for most punt return yards in a Grey Cup game?
59. Which Grey Cup ended with several hundred fans chasing the referee across the field?
60. What is the record for most touchdowns by one team in a Grey Cup game?
61. Who was the last kicker to miss a convert in a Grey Cup game?
62. Who scored the first Grey Cup touchdown for a Western team?
63. What player scored both the first and last Grey Cup touchdowns for an American team?
64. What was the first year in which the CFL's Coach of the Year was also the coach of the Grey Cup champions?
65. Who coached the first Grey Cup champions?
66. Who was the only head coach to be fired during the season the year after winning the Grey Cup?
67. How many times has a team brought in a new head coach after winning the Grey Cup, and gone on to repeat as Grey Cup champions?

68. How many head coaches have left their team after winning the Grey Cup, and then won the Cup the following year with a different team?

69. When was the last time that both teams in a Grey Cup game had head coaches who were both in their first season coaching in Canada?

70. How many current CFL head coaches have played for Grey Cup championship teams?
71. Which team won the Canadian Rugby Union's first national senior championship, and in what year?
72. The Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum in Hamilton has on display a ceramic football commemorating which national championship team?

73. Which team won the greatest number of national football championships in the years prior to the first Grey Cup?
74. What was the last year in which no Grey Cup game was played?
75. When was the Grey Cup first played in a city that didn't have a home team playing in the game?
76. How many Grey Cup touchdowns have been the direct result of a player recovering his own punt?
77. How many Grey Cup touchdowns have been scored by a player recovering a teammate's onside kick?
78. Which player scored the greatest number of Grey Cup touchdowns in the 1970s?
79. Who was the last player to record a pass reception and an interception in the same Grey Cup game?
80. Who is the only player to have made an interception in each of three consecutive Grey Cups?
81. How many Grey Cup games have been played in December?
82Who was the last player to score both an offensive and a defensive touchdown in the same Grey Cup game?
83. Which quarterback dressed for Grey Cup games for three different teams from 1988 through 1993, but didn't play a down in any of those games?

84. When was the last time that three quarterbacks threw passes for the same team in a Grey Cup game?
85. Who played the most seasons without ever being a member of a Grey Cup championship team?
86. Which player recorded the longest play in Grey Cup history?
87. In the 1968 Grey Cup game, the Ottawa Rough Riders and Calgary Stampeders each had a player with the same first and last name as a player on the opposing team. What was the name?

88. In 1916 and 1917, when the Grey Cup wasn't awarded, Ottawa teams won championships in Grey Cup-calibre leagues. What were the names of the leagues and the teams?

89. In 1918, when the Grey Cup wasn't awarded, the most important football game in Canada was played at Varsity Stadium, Toronto, on Nov. 9, with two Toronto-based teams, the Canadian Officers Training Corps and a team from the Royal Air Force headquarters, contesting the military championship. Name the coach for each team.

90. In what year did a team win the Grey Cup a week after losing a sudden-death championship final?
91. Four different teams won the Grey Cup in the four years from 1970-73. Which man played for three of those teams?
92. In what year did a team win the Grey Cup despite making just three first downs to their opponents' 17?
93. Which team won the Canadian championship 100 years ago?
AND THE ANSWERS ARE....:
1. Fourteen: 1955; 1958; 1960; 1963; 1966; 1971; 1974; 1983; 1986; 1987; 1990; 1994; 1999; and 2005.
2. Larry Sherrer. The Alouettes' running back scored on a five-yard rush at 9:29 of the second quarter of Montreal's 20-7 win over the Eskimos on Nov. 24, 1974.

3. Duane Forde. The Calgary fullback scored on a one-yard rush at 11:48 of the fourth quarter of the Stampeders' 32-21 loss to Hamilton on Nov. 28, 1999. In four Grey Cup appearances, it was the only time he touched the ball.

4. 1994. The third-place Lions beat the Eskimos 24-23 in the Western semi-final at Commonwealth Stadium on Nov. 13 and the Stampeders 37-36 in the Western Final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. 20, before defeating Baltimore 26-23 in the Grey Cup at B.C. Place Nov. 27.

5. Mack Burton. The split end caught a five-yard pass from Joe Kapp at 13:42 of the fourth quarter of the Lions' 21-10 loss to Hamilton at Empire Stadium in Vancouver on Nov.30, 1963.

6. Moe Racine. The offensive tackle was on the injured list at the time of the 1969 Grey Cup game, but played in 1960, 1968 and 1973.

7. Billy Foulds was at quarterback for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in their first two Grey Cup wins: 26-6 over the Toronto Parkdale Paddlers at Rosedale Field in Toronto, Dec. 4, 1909; and 16-7 over the Hamilton Tigers at Hamilton Cricket Grounds, Nov. 26, 1910.

8. Number of people arrested for hooliganism in downtown Vancouver the night before the game.
9. Alabama. Fob James, governor from 1995-99, was a halfback with the Alouettes in their 50-27 loss to the Eskimos in Toronto, Nov. 24, 1956. He carried the ball seven times for 50 yards, and caught three passes for 87 yards.

10. Most pass receptions, most pass receiving yards and most combined yards (13 receptions for 316 yards vs. Edmonton at Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Nov. 27, 1954).

11. One. Lou "Rosy" Adelman was a member of the Winnipeg Tammany Tigers, who lost 24-1 to the Ottawa Senators at Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, Dec. 5, 1925, and a member of the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club, which beat the Hamilton Tigers 18-12 at the Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds on Dec. 7, 1935.

12. Ellis "Stonewall" Jackson was a backup lineman with the Regina Roughriders when they lost 11-6 to Toronto Balmy Beach at Toronto's Varsity Stadium, Dec. 6,1930. Jackson was also a sleeping car porter with the CNR, and acted in that capacity while on the way to Toronto.

13. Damon Allen, with six. The QB scored one for the Eskimos in 1986 and one in 1987; two for the Lions in 2000; and two for the Argonauts in 2004.

14. The Hamilton Tigers beat the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 21-17 at Rosedale Field on Nov. 28, 1908.
15. Earl Grey was governor-general from 1904-11.
16. 1926. Toronto station CFCA broadcast the Ottawa Senators' 10-7 win over the University of Toronto from Varsity Stadium on Dec. 4. The 1922 game was broadcast over CFCA, with an announcer in a Toronto studio calling play-by-play as soon as it was received by telegraph from Richardson Stadium in Kingston, where the Queen's University Tricolor beat the Edmonton Elks 13-1 on Dec. 2.

17. 1930. Foster Hewitt called the play-by-play for CFCA. The broadcast was carried on stations in Chatham, Ont., London, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Kamloops, and Vancouver. Toronto Balmy Beach beat the Regina Roughriders 11-6 at Varsity Stadium on Dec. 6.

18. 1952. CBLT in Toronto carried a local broadcast of the Argonauts' 21-11 win over the Eskimos at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 29.

19. 1957. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats beat Winnipeg 32-7 at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 30.
20. 1966. The Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14 at Vancouver's Empire Stadium on Nov. 26.
21. The Toronto Argonaut teams of 1945-46-47 fielded only Canadians.
22. Myrtle Bainbridge, Miss Saskatchewan Roughrider, 1951; Cheryl Gordon, Miss Calgary Stampeder, 1991.
23. Lovell Coleman. As a Stampeder, he won the Schenley Award in 1964. In 1968, he was a backup running back with the Ottawa Rough Riders in their 24-21 win over the Stampeders at Toronto's CNE Stadium on Nov. 30. Although not credited in the official statistics, he carried once for two yards.

24. The Victorias. In 1924, they beat Calgary 50th Battalion 11-9 to win the Western championship. The Victorias' players wanted to take the Canadian National Railway to Toronto for the Grey Cup, while the club's management wanted to take the Canadian Pacific Railway. The players finally decided to travel on the railway of their choice, with or without management's approval. Victorias' executives responded by denying the players the right to use the Victorias' name if they pursued this course of action. By the time the dispute was settled, the CRU ruled that too much time had elapsed; the Queen's University Tricolor, which had beat Toronto Balmy Beach of the ORFU 11-3 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium on Nov. 29, had packed up their gear, and were no longer practising. Queen's was declared Grey Cup champions.

25. Marco Cyncar. The Eskimos slotback caught a pass from Warren Moon at 10:55 of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 23-23 vs. the Ottawa Rough Riders at Olympic Stadium, Nov. 22, 1981.

26. 1963: Nub Beamer, 56; 1964: Willie Fleming, 68; 1983: Ray Strong, 35; 1985: Freddie Sims, 98; 1988: Tony Cherry, 133; 1994: Cory Philpot, 109; 2000: Robert Drummond, 122; 2004: Antonio Warren, 160.

27. Sean Millington, with 184. He rushed 13 times for 85 yards in the Lions' 26-23 win over Baltimore at B.C. Place on Nov. 27, 1994, and carried 17 times for 99 yards in the Lions' 28-26 win over the Alouettes in Calgary, Nov. 26, 2000.

28. Four: Toronto's Raghib Ismail (87 yards), vs. Calgary at Winnipeg Stadium, Nov. 24, 1991; Henry Williams of the Eskimos (91 yards) vs. the Argonauts at Ivor Wynne Stadium, Nov. 24, 1996; Adrion Smith of the Argonauts (95 yards) vs. the Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium, Nov. 16, 1997; and Jeremaine Copeland of the Alouettes (47 yards) vs. the Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium, Nov. 24, 2002.

29. Don Hiney of the Blue Bombers converted Bob Sandberg's first quarter touchdown and kicked a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter of Winnipeg's 10-9 loss to the Argonauts at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 29, 1947.

30. On Saturday, Nov. 28, 1970, the Alouettes beat the Stampeders 23-10 at CNE Stadium, Toronto. On Sunday, Nov. 30, 1969, the Ottawa Rough Riders beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 29-11 at Autostade, Montreal.

31. Seven. The Canadian Rugby Football Union championship games of 1884 and 1885, and the Canadian Rugby Union championship games of 1892, 1893, 1895, 1897 and 1898, were each played on Thanksgiving Day, which, in those days, fell on a Thursday in November.

32. The Urness family. Al Urness was a tackle with the Regina Roughriders when they lost to the Hamilton Tigers in 1928, Toronto Balmy Beach in 1930 and the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association Winged Wheelers in 1931. His son, Ted, was the starting centre for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in their win over the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1966, and losses to the Tiger-Cats in 1967 and Rough Riders in 1969. Ted's son, Mark, was a guard with the Roughriders when they beat the Tiger-Cats for the Grey Cup in 1989.

33. 1914. Glad Murphy returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first minute of play, and Freddie Mills returned a fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter of the Toronto Argonauts' 14-2 win over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Stadium on Dec. 5.

34. Beano Wright of the Hamilton Tigers intercepted a pass from Regina Roughriders' quarterback Augie de Frate and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of the Tigers' 25-6 win at Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds on Dec. 3, 1932.

35. 100 or 102 yards, depending on which of the various newspaper accounts are most accurate. In the fourth quarter of the 1938 Grey Cup, Bob Isbister of the Toronto Argonauts intercepted a pass from Winnipeg Blue Bomber quarterback Art Stevenson on his own four (or five), and lateralled to Red Storey, who returned the ball 100 (or 102) yards to the Blue Bomber five (or four). Storey scored three touchdowns in that quarter as the Argonauts beat the Blue Bombers 30-7 at Varsity Stadium on Dec. 10.

36. The Ottawa Rough Riders had a 20-0 lead over the Eskimos with less than 11/2 minutes remaining in the second quarter at Olympic Stadium on Nov. 22, 1981. The won 26-23.

37. Phil Minnick. Winnipeg's rookie linebacker recovered three Ticat fumbles in a 22-16 loss at CNE Stadium in Toronto on Nov. 27, 1965.

38. Seven. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues won in 1909-10-11 and 1920; the Queen's University Tricolor won in 1922-23-24.

39. Seven: Hamilton Alerts, 1912; Toronto Balmy Beach, 1927 and 1930; Sarnia Imperials, 1934 and 1936; Toronto RCAF-Hurricanes, 1942; Hamilton Flying Wildcats, 1943.

40. 1954. In a Grey Cup semi-final on Nov. 20, the ORFU champion Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen were defeated by Western Interprovincial Football Union champion Edmonton Eskimos 38-6 at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton.

41. One. The Montreal-based St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona "Combines" beat the Hamilton Flying Wildcats 7-6 at Civic Stadium in Hamilton, on Nov. 25, 1944.

42. The Combines' Johnny Taylor scored on a 33-yard pass reception from Dutch Davey in the second quarter of his team's 7-6 win over Hamilton.

43. Ross Craig. The Hamilton Tigers' back rushed for three touchdowns in the Tigers' 44-2 win over the Toronto Parkdale Paddlers at Hamilton Cricket Grounds, Nov. 29, 1913.

44. Two. Sammy Sward of the Rough Riders punted for two singles in Ottawa's 8-2 win over Toronto Balmy Beach at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 30, and punted for five more singles in the Rough Riders' 12-5 win at Lansdowne Park on Dec. 7. Bob Porter accounted for all the Balmy Beach scoring, with two singles in the first game and a touchdown in the second game. Ottawa won the total points series 20-7.

45. 1901. On Saturday, Nov. 23, Ottawa College and the Toronto Argonauts were tied 12-12 at the end of regulation time. According to the rules then in force, sudden-death overtime could be played if the referee so decided. Ottawa College captain Eddie Gleeson was in favour of overtime, but Argonaut captain Pud Kent was opposed. Referee Jack Savage decided against overtime, necessitating a second game in order to decide the championship. On Saturday, Nov. 30, Ottawa College won the rematch 18-3 to become dominion champions.

46. Once. The Eskimos beat the ticats 48-10 in the Grey Cup on Nov. 23 at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, while the University of Alberta beat the University of Ottawa 40-21 to win the Vanier Cup at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 29.

47. Six: Brian Fryer (Hec Crighton Trophy winner, 1975; played for the Eskimos in their Grey Cup wins of 1978, 1980, and 1982, and was on their injured list when they won in 1979 and 1981); Bob Cameron (Hec Crighton Trophy winner, 1977; member of Blue Bomber championship teams, 1984, 1988, 1990; Greg Marshall (Hec Crighton Trophy winner, 1980; on the injured list of the Eskimos, 1982); Blake Marshall (Hec Crighton Trophy winner, 1986; played for the Eskimos in their 1987 Grey Cup win, and was on the injured list when they won in 1993); Don Blair (Hec Crighton Trophy winner, 1995, member of the Lions, 2000); and Eric Lapointe (Hec Crighton Trophy winner, 1996 and 1998; member of Tiger-Cats, 1999; on the injured list of the Alouettes, 2002).

48. On Nov. 6, 1884, the Montreal Football Club beat the Toronto FC 30-0 at University Lawn, Toronto, for the Canadian Rugby Football Union title.

49. Leo Lewis, with 776 yards. The running back played for the Blue Bombers in the Cup games of 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1965.

50. Antonio Warren, with 280 yards, all in 2004. He rushed 18 times for 160 yards, caught three passes for 18 yards, and returned six kickoffs for 102 yards in the Lions' 27-19 loss to the Argonauts in Ottawa on Nov. 21.

51. Kingston and Sarnia. The Queen's UniversityTricolor beat the Edmonton Elks 13-1 in Kingston, on Dec. 2, 1922; The Argonauts beat the Sarnia Imperials 4-3 at Davis Field in Sarnia on Dec. 9, 1933.

52. 1965 (the game was moved to Toronto) and 1997 (the game was moved to Edmonton).
53. 1973. Saint Mary's University beat McGill 14-6 in the College Bowl at Toronto's CNE Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 24, to win the Vanier Cup; the Ottawa Rough Riders beat the Eskimos 22-18 in the Grey Cup at CNE Stadium on Nov. 25.

54. 1983. At B.C. Place, the Lions beat the Blue Bombers 39-21 in the Western Final on Nov. 20 and lost 18-17 to the Argonauts in the Grey Cup on Nov. 27. The West beat the East 25-15 in the all-star game on Dec. 3.

55. Six: Larry Highbaugh, Tom Towns, Dave Cutler, Dale Potter, Dan Kepley and Bill Stevenson.
56. Jack Wedley (Argonauts, 1937-38, 1945-47, 1950; St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Combines, 1944); Bill Stevenson (Eskimos, 1975, 1978-82, 1987), and Hank Ilesic (Eskimos, 1978-82; Argonauts, 1983, 1991).

57. Five: Hamilton, 1953 (229 points for, 243 against); Montreal, 1970 (246-279); Winnipeg, 1988 (407-458); Saskatchewan, 1989 (547-567); B.C., 2000 (513-529).

58. The Winnipeg Rugby Football Club, without benefit of blocking, returned punts for a total of 367 yards in their 18-12 victory over the Hamilton Tigers in Hamilton on Dec. 7, 1935. Fritz Hanson had about 300 of those yards.

59. 1915. The Hamilton Tigers beat the Toronto Rugby & Athletic Association Black and White 13-7 at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 20. Some Toronto fans were so upset at referee Ewart "Reddy" Dixon, that several hundred of them chased him across the field at game's end. Dixon ducked into the Toronto dressing room, and refused to come out until they were gone.

60. Nine, by the Queen's University Tricolor in their 54-0 win over the Regina Roughriders at Varsity Stadium on Dec. 1, 1923. Harry Batstone, Johnny Evans and Bill Campbell scored two touchdowns each; N.L. Walker, Carl Quinn and Roy Reynolds each scored one touchdown.

61. Duncan O'Mahony. The Lions kicker failed to convert Dave Dickenson's seven-yard rush at 6:06 of the fourth quarter of the Lions' 27-19 loss to the Argonauts on Nov. 21, 2004.

62. Fred Brown. He scored on a rushing play for the Regina Roughriders in the third quarter of the Roughriders' 11-6 loss to Toronto Balmy Beach at Varsity Stadium on Dec. 6, 1930.

63. Tracy Ham. The Baltimore quarterback's first touchdown came on a one-yard rush at 8:39 of the second quarter in Baltimore's 26-23 loss to the Lions at B.C. Place on Nov. 27, 1994. His last came on a 13-yard rush at 12:37 of the third quarter in the Baltimore Stallions' 37-20 win over the Stampeders at Taylor Field in Regina on Nov. 19, 1995.

64. 1969. The Annis Stukus Trophy was awarded in October in those days, and Frank Clair won the award before his Ottawa Rough Riders beat Saskatchewan 29-11 in the Grey Cup at Montreal's Autostade on Nov. 30.

65. Harry Griffith coached the University of Toronto Varsity Blues to a 26-6 win over Toronto Parkdale at Rosedale Field in Toronto on Dec. 4, 1909, and coached the Varsity Blues to a 16-7 win over the Hamilton Tigers at Hamilton Cricket Grounds on Nov. 26, 1910.

66. Adam Rita was fired by the Argonauts on Sept. 14, 1992, the day after a 31-0 loss at home to the Stampeders, which dropped the defending Grey Cup champions to 3-7. Rita's Argonauts had beat the Stampeders 36-21 for the Grey Cup at Winnipeg on Nov. 24, 1991.

67. Once. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues won Grey Cups in 1909 and 1910 under Harry Griffith, and made it three in a row in 1911 under Dr. A.B. Wright.

68. Two. Liz Marriott won with the Hamilton Alerts in 1912 and the Hamilton Tigers in 1913; Don Matthews won with the Baltimore Stallions in 1995, and the Argonauts in 1996 and 1997.

69. 1951. Clem Crowe's Ottawa Rough Riders beat Harry "Blackjack" Smith's Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-14 at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 24.

70. Three. Lions head coach Wally Buono was a linebacker with the Alouettes in 1974 and 1977. Argonauts head coach Mike Clemons was a running back with Toronto in 1991, 1996-97; and Ticats head coach Greg Marshall was a running back on the injured list of the Eskimos in 1982.

71. Osgoode Hall, from Toronto, beat the Montreal Football Club 45-5 at Rosedale Field in Toronto on Nov. 10, 1892.
72. The 1898 Ottawa Rough Riders, who became Canadian Rugby Union champions by beating Ottawa College 11-1 at the Metropolitan Grounds in Ottawa on Nov. 24.

73. Ottawa College, with five: 1887, 1894, 1896, 1897, 1901.
74. 1919. Football had resumed after the end of the Great War, but no league was interested in competing in playoffs for the Grey Cup.

75. 1923. The Queen's University Tricolor, from Kingston, beat the Regina Roughriders 54-0 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto on Dec. 1.

76. One. In the first quarter of the 1941 game, Tony Golab of the Ottawa Rough Riders punted high and short, recovered the ball on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' 42-yard line, and went all the way for the touchdown. Winnipeg, however, won the Nov. 29 game 18-16 at Varsity Stadium.

77. Two. In the first quarter of the 1925 Grey Cup, Charlie Lynch of the Ottawa Senators punted, hustled downfield to touch the ball, and teammate Charlie Connell picked it up near the goal line for a short TD run in the Senators' 24-1 win over the Winnipeg Tammany Tigers at Lansdowne Park on Dec. 5. In the 1927 Grey Cup, Tebor McKelvey of the Hamilton Tigers was onside to recover Pep Leadlay's kick and go for a TD in the third quarter of the Tigers' 9-6 loss to Toronto Balmy Beach at Toronto on Nov. 26.

78. Garry Lefebvre, with two. As an Alouette, he caught a 10-yard pass from Sonny Wade at 10:22 of the fourth quarter of Montreal's 23-10 win over Calgary at CNE Stadium in Toronto on Nov. 28, 1970. As an Eskimo on Nov. 25, 1973, he caught a four-yard pass from Tom Wilkinson at 14:53 of the fourth quarter of Edmonton's 22-18 loss to Ottawa at CNE Stadium in Toronto.

79. Garry Lefebvre. He caught two passes for 16 yards, and made two interceptions for zero yards for the Eskimos in their 22-18 loss to Ottawa on Nov. 25, 1973.

80. Mike McLeod, Eskimos' safety, 1980-82.
81. 25: 1909, 1914, 1920-23, 1925-26, 1928, 1930-33, 1935-39, 1940 (Game 2), 1942, 1945, 1961-62, 1967, 1972.
82. Bill Munsey. While playing his regular position of defensive back for the Lions, he replaced the injured Bob Swift at fullback in the second quarter of the 1964 Grey Cup against Hamilton at CNE Stadium on Nov. 28. In the third quarter, Munsey rushed 18 yards for his first touchdown and returned a fumble 71 yards for his second, giving the Lions a 34-8 lead. Munsey carried seven times for 54 yards as the Lions won 34-24.

83. Rickey Foggie, with the Lions in 1988, the Argonauts in 1991 and the Eskimos in 1993.
84. 1990. Tom Burgess completed 18 of 31 passes, Danny McManus two of two, and Sammy Garza one of four for the Blue Bombers in their 50-11 win over the Eskimos at B.C. Place on Nov. 25. For Garza, it was the only playing time he saw all year.

85. Lloyd Fairbanks played offensive tackle for Calgary, Montreal and Hamilton for 17 seasons from 1975-91. His only Grey Cup appearance came in his last game, the Stampeders' 36-21 loss to the Argonauts in Winnipeg on Nov. 24, 1991.

86. Henry "Gizmo" Williams of the Eskimos. He returned a missed field goal 115 yards for a touchdown at 9:53 of the first quarter of Edmonton's 38-36 win over the Argonauts at B.C. Place on Nov. 29, 1987.

87. Ron Stewart. The Rough Riders' running back carried once for three yards, and caught one pass for 24 yards. The Stampeders' Ron Stewart was a starter in the defensive backfield, and punted nine times for a 39.4-yard average. The game was played at CNE Stadium, Nov. 30, 1968.

88. The Ottawa 207th Battalion won the championship of the Overseas Football League in 1916, beating the Hamilton 205th Battalion Tigers 32-3 at Hamilton on Oct. 28 and 24-8 at Ottawa on Nov. 4, to win the total points series 56-11. At Lansdowne Park on Nov. 3, 1917, the Ottawa Rough Riders beat Civil Service 18-0 in the Ottawa Patriotic Football League final.

89. Gene Lockhart, later a well-known movie actor, coached and played halfback for COTC in their 11-9 win. Future prime minister Lester Pearson coached and quarterbacked the RAF team, contributing a field goal to the losing cause.

90. 1944. On Nov. 25, the St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Combines, champions of the QRFU, beat the ORFU champion Hamilton Wildcats 7-6 at Civic Stadium in Hamilton for the Grey Cup. One week earlier, the Combines had lost the Royal Canadian Navy final at Molson Stadium in Montreal to the Toronto-based HMCS York Bulldogs, champions of the Ontario Armed Services Football League, by a score of 12-1. Because of a gentleman's agreement that service teams wouldn't play civilian teams for the Grey Cup, the Bulldogs declined to compete for the Grey Cup. The Combines weren't aware of this agreement until after they'd already beat the Wildcats. The Combines then offered to decline the Cup, but the Wildcats acknowledged the Montreal team as Grey Cup champions.

91. Mark Kosmos was a linebacker with the 1970 Alouettes, the 1972 Tiger-Cats and the 1973 Rough Riders. In all three seasons, he was in his first year with the team.

92. 1927. Toronto Balmy Beach beat the Hamilton Tigers 9-6 at Varsity Stadium on Nov. 26.
93. The University of Toronto, intercollegiate champions, beat the QRFU champion Ottawa Rough Riders 11-9 at Toronto on Nov. 25.

The 5 best Grey Cup games: The Sun's Lyndon Little rates the CFL's championship game, from the Fog Bowl to the B.C. Lions' home win in 1994.
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D15
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Lyndon Little
Source: Vancouver Sun
NO. 1
NOV. 27, 1989, SKYDOME
SASKATCHEWAN 43, HAMILTON 40
The 1980s were a dismal decade for the Prairie farm economy, but the long-suffering Saskatchewan Roughrider fans were at least rewarded for their patience with a victory in what is widely regarded as the most exciting Grey Cup game ever played. It was, and remains, only the second Grey Cup win for the Roughriders and also remains the highest-scoring Grey Cup of all time.

Everybody was expecting a hard-fought Cup, but virtually no one predicted the wild shootout that ensued.
The TiCats, who were 12-6 in the regular season, jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of Paul Osbaldiston field goals, but the 'Rider attack started to gather steam in the second quarter with TD passes from Kent Austin to Ray Elgaard and Jeff Fairholm.

It was 27-22 Hamilton after 30 minutes, and both offences came out firing in the second half. The 'Riders -- who were only a mediocre 9-9 in the regular season -- moved into a 34-30 lead by the end of the third quarter. Saskatchewan was still ahead 40-33 with two minutes to go when TiCat QB Mike Kerrigan marched his team down the field for a game-tying major on a memorable end-zone catch by Tony Champion.

Then, with 44 seconds left, Austin completed passes to Elgaard and Mark Guy to the Hamilton 26 to set up Dave Ridgway's last-play game-winning field goal.

TiCat coach Al Bruno tried to ice Ridgway by calling a timeout. TSN analyst Glen Suitor of North Vancouver, who was the holder on the play, recalls that during the timeout it seemed every one of Ridgway's teammates on the field was trying to give him some kind of advice.

"I just told everybody to get lost," said Suitor. "I told them we've kicked a few of these before."
NO. 2
NOV. 29, 1987, B.C. PLACE
EDMONTON 38, TORONTO 36
This was the second of back-to-back Vancouver Grey Cups and the Eskimos were hoping to make up for a disappointing effort the year before. This time, the Esks came through as advertised and helped produce one of the most thrilling Cup finals.

The momentum see-sawed back and forth as the lead changed hands six times, four times in a crazy second half. The outcome wasn't decided until Eskimos kicker Jerry Kauric -- who had been a mid-season replacement for the struggling Tom Dixon -- connected for a 49-yard field goal with 45 seconds left.

The Esks, who trailed 24-10 at one point, got a 115-yard TD from Gizmo Williams off a missed field goal, while Brian Kelly set a Grey Cup record for career TD receptions.

Quarterback Damon Allen, who had been a bust for the Eskimos the previous year, came off the bench in relief after Matt Dunigan went down with a concussion late in the first half. This time Allen was named the game's offensive MVP.

"I'm probably 104 years old right now after that one," gasped Edmonton assistant coach Don Sutherin. "That's the best damned game I've ever been associated with."

NO. 3
DEC. 1-2, 1962, CNE STADIUM, TORONTO
WINNIPEG 28, HAMILTON 27
This may not have been the greatest Grey Cup game ever played, but it was certainly the most unusual. Known simply as the "Fog Bowl", it remains the one and only pro championship football contest on either side of the border played over two days.

The Blue Bombers and Ticats should have guessed something strange was about to happen: the previous year they had met in the only overtime Grey Cup. This one also went into an "overtime" of sorts -- completed in regulation time, but not until the next day.

There was no sign of trouble until the second quarter, when the fog began to roll in off nearby Lake Ontario. It was caused by unusually warm air -- 9C at kickoff time -- off the land meeting the cold air off the lake.

Commissioner Syd Halter left his seat several times during the first half to check out the visibility from the sidelines, but proclaimed it good enough for the game to continue. High in the stands, however, fans were having trouble making out the players.

At the conclusion of the first half, Halter told referee Paul Dojack to shorten the intermission from 20 minutes to 15. During the second half, even the players began experiencing trouble. Still, Ticats QB Joe Zuger somehow managed to throw a TD pass to Dave Viti.

"I threw it up in the air," Zuger recalled. "But I don't know how he saw it coming down."
With nine minutes and 29 second left, Halter sent the teams to their dressing rooms and, after calling the weather office, decided to finish the game the next day with the score 28-27 Winnipeg. Even though the TiCats moved the ball well when the game resumed they couldn't find the end zone and the final score remained the same.

Former Edmonton Eskimo great Jackie Parker had driven 17 hours from Tennessee to attend the '61 Grey Cup.
"It was the greatest game I never saw," he joked.
NO. 4
NOV. 27, 1994, B.C. PLACE
B.C. 26, BALTIMORE 23
This was a Grey Cup of special significance that lived up to the hype. The CFL had expanded to the U.S. for the first time the previous year and, in 1994, had accepted three more American teams. One of the new U.S. cities was Baltimore -- which had a team they wanted to call the Stallions, a name they were prohibited from using by the courts due to trademark issues.

But the team without a name -- dubbed the Baltimore "CFLers" -- surprised everyone by advancing all the way to the Grey Cup in their inaugural season. The scene was set for the first CFL championship game featuring an "all-import" American team against the defenders of the Canadian flag, a role filled by the Lions.

Adding spice to the matchup was the fact Baltimore was coached by ex-Lions boss Don Matthews.
The Lions had accomplished the seemingly impossible by winning back-to-back playoff games on the prairies, both in near-miracle fashion. First, they upset Edmonton 24-23 at Commonwealth Stadium to advance to the West final. They then edged Calgary 37-36 in the snow.

After such a playoff run, the Lions must have felt they had destiny on their side heading into the Grey Cup. But the game didn't turn their way until the third quarter when, trailing 20-10, they pulled off a successful fake field goal.

Darren Flutie, the holder, grabbed the snap and ran 17 yards to the Baltimore 10. Three plays later, Danny McManus scored on a one-yard plunge. That helped set the stage for Lui Passaglia's eventual 38-yard, game-winning field goal with no time left on the clock. Adding to the drama was the fact Passaglia had missed a 37-yarder one minute earlier.

The Canadian vs. American theme received a lot of post-game play. Several Baltimore players claimed bitterly that a call that went Lions' way on a controversial 34-yard reception by Ray Alexander was motivated by the officials not wanting a U.S. team to take the Cup south of the border.

"If Baltimore had come in here and swept the whole thing in their first year it would have put some serious doubts as to the competitiveness of the Canadian ball player," said B.C. running back Sean Millington, who out-gained his Baltimore counterpart Mike Pringle. "We proved we could do the job. It says a lot for the Canadian player in this league."

NO. 5
NOV. 22, 1981, OLYMPIC STADIUM
EDMONTON 26, OTTAWA 23
It was nearly the greatest upset in Grey Cup history. On one side were the seemingly unstoppable Edmonton Eskimos, going for their fourth Grey Cup in a row and led by the quarterbacking duo of Warren Moon and Tom Wilkinson. The 1981 Esks were 14-1-1 during the regular season, while scoring a record 576 points.

The lowly Ottawa Rough Riders where coming off a 5-11 campaign in the East.
Despite all that, the 'Riders seemed poised to pull off a shocker when they took a 20-1 lead into the second half.
Even though the Eskimos rallied with third-quarter TDs by Jim Germany and Moon, Gerry Organ kicked his third field goal for Ottawa to give the Riders a 23-15 lead with less than eight minutes to go.

But Moon scored another major on a one-yard sneak, then completed a two-point conversion to Marco Cyncar to tie the score.

With only three seconds remaining, Dave Cutler completed the comeback with a game-winning, 27-yard field goal.
The winning field goal was a collaborative effort of three of the CFL's all-time greats -- Bob Howes snapping the ball for the last time before his retirement, Wilkinson holding and Cutler applying the boot.

llittle@png.canwest.com
CHAMPIONS:
Grey Cup results since 1950:
2004: Toronto 27, B.C. 19 (Ottawa)
2003: Edmonton 34, Montreal 22 (Regina)
2002: Montreal 25, Edmonton 16 (Edmonton)
2001: Calgary 27, Winnipeg 19 (Montreal)
2000: B.C. 28, Montreal 26 (Calgary)
1999: Hamilton 32, Calgary 21 (Vancouver)
1998: Calgary 26, Hamilton 24 (Winnipeg)
1997: Toronto 47, Saskatchewan 23 (Edm)
1996: Toronto 43, Edmonton 37 (Hamilton)
1995: Baltimore 37, Calgary 20 (Regina)
1994: B.C. 26, Baltimore 23 (Vancouver)
1993: Edmonton 33, Winnipeg 23 (Calgary)
1992: Calgary 24, Winnipeg 10 (Toronto)
1991: Toronto 36, Calgary 21 (Winnipeg)
1990: Winnipeg 50, Edmonton 11 (Vancouver)
1989: Saskatchewan 43, Hamilton 40 (Toronto)
1988: Winnipeg 22, B.C. 21 (Ottawa)
1987: Edmonton 38, Toronto 36 (Vancouver)
1986: Hamilton 39, Edmonton 15 (Vancouver)
1985: B.C. 37, Hamilton 24 (Montreal)
1984: Winnipeg 47, Hamilton 17 (Edmonton)
1983: Toronto 18, B.C. 17 (Vancouver)
1982: Edmonton 32, Toronto 16 (Toronto)
1981: Edmonton 26, Ottawa 23 (Montreal)
1980: Edmonton 48, Hamilton 10 (Toronto)
1979: Edmonton 17, Montreal 9 (Montreal)
1978: Edmonton 20, Montreal 13 (Toronto)
1977: Montreal 41, Edmonton 6 (Montreal)
1976: Ottawa 23, Saskatchewan 20 (Toronto)
1975: Edmonton 9, Montreal 8 (Calgary)
1974: Montreal 20, Edmonton 7 (Vancouver)
1973: Ottawa 22, Edmonton 18 (Toronto)
1972: Hamilton 13, Sask. 10 (Hamilton)
1971: Calgary 14, Toronto 11 (Vancouver)
1970: Montreal 23, Calgary 10 (Toronto)
1969: Ottawa 29, Saskatchewan 11 (Montreal)
1968: Ottawa 24, Calgary 21 (Toronto)
1967: Hamilton 24, Saskatchewan 1 (Ottawa)
1966: Sask. 29, Ottawa 14 (Vancouver)
1965: Hamilton 22, Winnipeg 16 (Toronto)
1964: B.C. 34, Hamilton 24 (Toronto)
1963: Hamilton 21, B.C. 10 (Vancouver)
1962: Winnipeg 28, Hamilton 27 (Toronto)
1961: Winnipeg 21, Hamilton 14 (Toronto)
1960: Ottawa 16, Edmonton 6 (Vancouver)
1959: Winnipeg 21, Hamilton 7 (Toronto)
1958: Winnipeg 35, Hamilton 28 (Vancouver)
1957: Hamilton 32, Winnipeg 7 (Toronto)
1956: Edmonton 50, Montreal 27 (Toronto)
1955: Edmonton 34, Montreal 19 (Vancouver)
1954: Edmonton 26, Montreal 25 (Toronto)
1953: Hamilton 12, Winnipeg 6 (Toronto)
1952: Toronto 21, Edmonton 11 (Toronto)
1951: Ottawa 21, Saskatchewan 14 (Toronto)
1950: Toronto 13, Winnipeg 0 (Toronto)
A special place in the heart: There have been many memorable Grey Cup games, but the 1958 battle in B.C. was particularly exquisite
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D14
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Archie McDonald
Column: Archie McDonald
Source: Vancouver Sun
There are a lot of miles on my Grey Cup odometer and, unless my memory is playing tricks, the first leg of the journey was an unequalled joyride.

The 1958 showdown between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was as exquisite as a game can be. It was played on a rare shining November day in Vancouver before a pro-Western crowd of 36,567 in a still young Empire Stadium. The lead would see-saw back and forth several times until the Bombers prevailed 35-28.

For a 20-year-old UBC student who lucked into a ticket on the East side grandstand it was a momentous occasion. The Grey Cup game had pitched its tent in my heart.

The Bombers and Ticats were in the early phase of a rivalry that dominated the league from 1957 into the mid-'60s. The teams took their personalities from their coaches and that made for story lines that read like scripts for pro wrestling matches.

The slick, versatile Bombers were a product of the unassuming Bud Grant, who had been Winnipeg's star receiver before becoming coach. After leading them to six Grey Cup finals, winning four, he went on to become a Hall of Fame coach with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. He was prematurely grey, wore Hush Puppies on the sidelines, and didn't allow his players to wear gloves or have heaters on the bench, even on the coldest days.

The Ticats got their down-and-dirty attitude from Jungle Jim Trimble, a big man with a mouth to match who had been a one-time coach of the year with the Philadelphia Eagles before a players' revolt drove him to seek refuge in the CFL.

Winnipeg and Hamilton would meet five times in the Cup final during the Grant-Trimble era. The Ticats took the first one (and their last one) 32-6 in Toronto in 1957 over a Winnipeg team depleted by injuries. Trimble belittled the Bombers for using injuries as an excuse.

The only significant Bomber casualty in 1958 was halfback Gerry James, sidelined with a broken leg. It is a comment on the times that James played NHL hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs as soon as the football season was over.

James was injured in mid-season about the same time regular quarterback Kenny Ploen's performance was compromised by a shoulder injury. Rookie Jim Van Pelt was inserted at quarterback and did such a fine job that when Ploen was ready to come back he was placed in James' halfback slot.

Those positional changes would be significant on the last Saturday in November 1958.
The Ticats jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and, in an era when scoring was relatively low, it seemed to spell doom for the West. Fullback Gerry McDougall scored an early touchdown and Ralph Goldston scooped up a Van Pelt fumble and raced 75 yards for the second.

Van Pelt redeemed himself when he culminated a 90-yard drive by catching a pass from halfback Leo Lewis on an option play. He also kicked two field goals to bring Winnipeg to within one point late in the first half.

Then came one of the dramatic plays that made the game special. With Hamilton's Cam Fraser back to punt on his 13-yard line, he was overwhelmed by Norm Rauhaus, who recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Bombers a 20-14 half-time advantage.

There was another consequential play in the first half. Goldston, Hamilton's all-star defensive back, was ejected for slugging Lewis. Known as the Lincoln Locomotive, Lewis was a silky smooth runner who averaged an amazing 6.6 yards per carry in his 11-year career. On this day, however, he would be overshadowed by fullback Charlie Shepard, who bulldozed for 120 yards on 14 carries.

Most 20-year-old college kids nowadays would have missed Rauhaus' heroics, having fled their seats before halftime to be early in line for a gallon or two of beer. No suds were sold at old Empire, but it was a Grey Cup tradition at least to have something in a thermos to lubricate the lungs.

But in my crowd, the drinking would be done on Friday night and at parties after the game. Besides, the entertainment was so full of flavour that it required no artificial sweetener.

The second half was even better than the first. Hamilton's wonderful quarterback Bernie Faloney engineered two scoring passes to Ron Howell in the third quarter and Shepard replied for the Bombers. Going into the fourth quarter, it was 28-27 for the Ticats.

Late in the game with the ball on the Hamilton 25-yard line, Van Pelt passed to Ploen, who was stopped on the one. Van Pelt sneaked it over from there to seal the victory. His 22 points -- two touchdowns, two field goals, four converts -- set a record that would stand until 1977.

The game would by widely accepted for many years as the greatest Grey Cup in history. On the page to the right, you will read about the ones which may have surpassed it in the minds of some people, but not in this mind.

In 1958, I was a part-time sports reporter at The Sun, lacking sufficient tenure to get an assignment or even a ticket. That would change two years later when I was assigned to cover the dressing room of the Ottawa Rough Riders, who happened to have scored a 16-6 upset over the Edmonton Eskimos. Even though Ottawa alternated two all-star quarterbacks in Russ Jackson and Ron Lancaster, and Edmonton boasted legends Jackie Parker, Normie Kwong and Johnny Bright, the game was a dull, defensive struggle.

My subject that day was a smallish, tough defensive back named Davey West, who stood on a bench watching the wild, champagne-fueled giddiness happening around him. One arm was in a sling, and would soon be in a cast. They told him at the hospital that it was broken. He didn't know whether to wince or smile, but he knew he wasn't going to leave the celebration.

The notion of sports reporters watching from a cozy press box cocoon was not necessarily true. Those with seniority sat in the regular press box, but the rest of us watched from an auxiliary box on the roof of Empire Stadium, where the wind whistled off Burrard Inlet, chilling bones and numbing fingers.

Weather was always a factor until the game moved inside B.C. Place in 1983. The dome has been criticized in recent times because it lacks natural elements, but it provided a happy, dance-in-the-aisles atmosphere that first year, even though the Lions lost 18-17 to Toronto.

In the '80s, it was widely held that The Game should alternate between domes in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. I watched in arctic conditions in Edmonton, Ottawa, Calgary and even in Regina, and nearly froze to death waiting for a taxi outside Winnipeg Stadium in 1991. The games were always good, sometimes memorable.

I'll watch this one at at my son's home in Kelowna.
No matter how good the game, I will boast to the grandkids that I saw a better one 47 years ago.
Archie McDonald worked in the Sun sports department for 40 years, and was was a general sports columnist from 1980 to 1997. Born and raised in Vancouver, he still lives in Kitsilano.

Downtown becomes party central for big game: Festivities start Thursday and continue to Sunday night
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D21
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Kevin Griffin
Source: Vancouver Sun
The official -- and unofficial -- Grey Cup parties start Thursday and continue through to Sunday night at various venues around downtown.

Festivities start Thursday, with the Calgary Hoedown at 8 p.m. in the Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific Headquarters in a huge tent on the Easy Park parking lot at the corner of Beatty and Georgia.

The tent will house a main stage, video screens, lighting, tables and chairs, bars, concessions and washroom facilities. Tickets are $10 in advance/$12 at the door.

In the Commodore on Granville, Colin James kicks off the Molson Canadian Commodore Concert Series at 8 p.m. Tickets are $36.

The 90-minute Rogers CFL Player Awards start at 7 p .m. at the Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $55 to $125.

On Friday, starting at 10 a.m. and continuing until 10 p.m., the Sports Action Beatty Street Block Party is an unlicensed event designed for families. It will feature concessions, several entertainment locations and merchandising areas covering a strip of three blocks.

At the Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific Headquarters corner of Beatty and Georgia Streets, the Touchdown Manitoba Social starts at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $10/$12.

Ottawa Renegades fans meet from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Shark Club.
The Lions' Den starts at 5 p.m. and continues to 11 p.m. in the Plaza of Nations. Tickets are $10/$12.
The Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific HQ continues at 6:30 p.m. with Tainted Lovers, followed by Dr. Strangelove. Tickets are $10/$12.

If a watery exploration of the city is more your style, the 2005 Touchdown Boat Cruise starts boarding at the north foot of Denman at 8 pm. The three-hour harbour cruise aboard the MV Britannia features Johnny Ferreira Swing Machine, a silent auction, and party food. Proceeds benefit Children's hospitals and programs across the country. Tickets cost $35.

The second Molson Canadian Commodore Concert featuring the Led Zeppelin tribute band, Michael White and the White also starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $21.50.

On Saturday, the Sports Action Beatty Street Block Party begins at 9 a.m. with the Calgary Stampeders Pancake Breakfast. The family-oriented party continues all day to 10 p.m.

From noon to 5:30 p.m., Saskatchewan Roughrider fans will meet at the Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific HQ. Tickets are $10/$12. From 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., the CFL Dance Showcase will take place at the Plaza of Nations, featuring choreographed, high-energy performances by cheer and dance teams from all CFL teams.

The Montreal Huddle is at The Roxy on Granville for three hours starting at 4 p.m. Tickets are $15.
The Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific runs from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.
In the Commodore, the sold-out Molson Canadian Concert starts at 8 p.m. with April Wine.
On Sunday, the Sports Action Beatty Street Block Party runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At 11 a.m., the B.C. Lions Pre-Game Party gets under way at the Plaza of Nations with live entertainment and food and beverage concessions. Tickets are $10/$12.

The Official Grey Cup Pre-Party starts at 11 a.m. in the Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific HQ.
Jully Black will get things started by singing the national anthem before the 3 p.m. game, while the Black-Eyed Peas will perform during half-time.

Post-game celebrations begin at 6 p.m. in the Molson Canadian Party on the Pacific HQ. At 7 p.m. the Road to Winnipeg 2006 Party begins at the Commodore, with Harlequin and Tainted Lovers.

Tickets purchased from Ticketmaster.ca/604-280-4444 for Grey Cup events are subject to additional service charges.
kgriffin@png.canwest.com
Fans expected to pump $40 million into city: Visitors will spend big time, despite B.C. Lions missing chance
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: F1 / Front
Section: BusinessBC
Byline: Bruce Constantineau
Source: Vancouver Sun
B.C. Lions fans may be dejected because their team won't play for Grey Cup glory this weekend but event organizers say that will have little effect on a projected $40-million impact the Grey Cup will have on Vancouver's economy.

Downtown hotels will still be full, restaurants will still be packed and a Pamela Anderson-led parade will still draw an estimated 100,000 people.

Even non-sports enthusiasts become keen Grey Cup fans every November as a Decima poll last year found that about 1.2 million Canadians over the age of 18 placed some kind of wager on the game.

Some disheartened Lions fans might not be in such a partying/gambling/spending mood for Grey Cup week but city tourism officials feel that will be at least partially offset by Edmonton fans now planning last-minute trips to Vancouver.

Tourism Vancouver vice-president Dave Gazley said out-of-town visitors are usually the biggest spenders at events like the Grey Cup. A Canadian Sport Tourism Association study found the average visitor to the Grey Cup in Ottawa last year spent more than $800 -- including $193 on accommodations, $179 on tickets, $145 on food, $95 on event merchandise, $90 on concession items and $35 on taxis.

The average Grey Cup visitor is male, spends two or three nights in the host city and generally spends more money than people who attend amateur sporting events.

"It's a huge event for the city and benefits almost everything in tourism -- hotels, restaurants, attractions, taxis, retailers, you name it," Gazley said.

He said the city reaped an estimated $30-million benefit the last time the Grey Cup was held in Vancouver in 1999 but that figure is expected to jump to $40 million this year, as all 59,000-plus tickets to the game were sold out seven weeks ago. The 1999 game at B.C. Place attracted just 45,000 fans.

Gazley said Grey Cup officials have clearly done a much better job of marketing and organizing the event this year.
Grey Cup organizing committee general manager Scott Ackles said the 1999 Grey Cup festival featured a few concerts at the Plaza of Nations and little else. This time, there are more than 40 Grey Cup-related events spread out over four days and Ackles said more than 200,000 people will attend those events.

The organizing committee spent two years planning the 2005 Vancouver Grey Cup and Ackles visited event officials at the four previous Grey Cup cities -- Ottawa, Regina, Edmonton and Montreal. He also monitored activities at the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., and Ackles said that's where he "stole" the idea of holding a block party near the stadium.

He said the three-day Beatty Street Block Party -- featuring food, entertainment and interactive activities along Beatty Street, between Smithe and Dunsmuir -- should attract about 7,000 people a day.

"Vancouver has a huge advantage because our stadium is in the downtown core so it makes sense to plan the festival right on the doorstep of the stadium, just minutes away from most hotels," Ackles said. "In Ottawa, there was a total disconnect from the festival and the downtown core, about a 15-minute car ride away. It would be like all the hotels being in downtown Vancouver and the festival being on the PNE site."

Since the aim is to attract as many people downtown as possible, Ackles said the best way to "fully engage" the community is to hold a splashy parade, something that's not done at every Grey Cup. The CBC will broadcast this year's parade nationally for the first time in 10 years and viewers can expect more than 5,800 parade participants, a fly past by four CF-18 fighter jets and popular Ladysmith-born actor Pamela Anderson.

Many downtown hotels were sold out for Grey Cup weekend months ago and Ackles said hotels along Beatty Street have been sold out for a year.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts representative Jill Killeen said all 1,045 rooms at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and Fairmont Waterfront properties have been sold for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The hotels normally would be just 50-per-cent occupied in late November but the demand for rooms this weekend has pushed room rates for leisure travellers up by about 20 per cent from a year ago.

"The city is hot right now, no question about it, and Vancouver is going to be full on Grey Cup weekend," Killeen said.

She said activity at her company's Vancouver hotels has picked up this fall, due largely to corporate conferences, so business generated by the Grey Cup and World Junior Hockey Championships (from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5) is icing on the cake.

Killeen said the Hotel Vancouver's popular lounge -- which recently doubled in size following the closure of the 900 West restaurant -- will temporarily install big-screen TVs so patrons can watch the big game. "People might come in for a beer or they might order a great bordeaux but we're making sure we'll have that Grey Cup experience available for them," she said.

Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel sales and marketing manager James Colistro said his hotel's 733 rooms are also sold out this weekend but feels the Grey Cup brings more than just extra business to the local economy.

"It also brings a certain kind of energy to the city," he said. "Everybody is talking about it now and sometimes in Vancouver, we lack that hometown spirit."

Gazley said the timing of the Grey Cup is perfect for local hospitality industry operators because the last weekend in November is normally very quiet.

"It's U.S. Thanksgiving weekend and that's when most Americans stay home or visit relatives so this is an absolutely ideal time for an event like this," he said.

Ackles feels the Grey Cup is a bigger event for Vancouver than the Molson Indy was.
bconstantineau@png.canwest.com
THE BIG GAME'S BIG NUMBERS:
$40 million:
Economic impact, direct spending of $20 million, plus another $20 million in indirect spending.
25,000
Number of visitors to come from across Canada.
100,000
Number of people to attend Saturday's Grey Cup parade.
7,000
Number of people daily expected to attend the 3-day Beatty Street Block Party, which starts Friday.
$800+
Amount spent by an average visitor - generally male, and stays up to three nights in Vancouver.
Source: Tourism Vancouver and Grey Cup organizing committee
Mardi Gras, Canadian style: Prepare for madness, as revellers from across the country gather for football and fun
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D2
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Pete McMartin
Column: Pete McMartin
Source: Vancouver Sun
For some reason which was never made clear to me, I was asked last year to provide colour stories during Grey Cup Week in Ottawa -- which, having lived in Ottawa for a year -- I knew to be an impossible job.

Possibly, I was asked because my editors knew that, of all the fine reporters they had on staff who were keenly interested in the really important areas of social welfare, politics, medicine and the like, I wasn't one of them.

Anyway, I approached the assignment with the idea that Grey Cup Week was the closest thing this country has to Mardi Gras, minus the naked Brazilian women samba-ing down the parade route -- an impossibility in a climate as cold as ours, but an image that I am having trouble getting out of my head -- and I thought that if I was going to cover the week's festivities properly that rather than take the reporter's usual arm's-length stance from a story, I would have to throw myself into it and in the name of investigative journalism do what Grey Cup Week revelers did.

Mostly, this meant drinking.
This is not to give the reader -- especially those readers with children who want to take them down to Grey Cup festivities -- the impression that Grey Cup Week is one big drunk. It is not. There are plenty of fun, wholesome things for families to do at this year's Grey Cup, including what will be the best Grey Cup parade ever, a FanFest, a Football Fantasy with interactive displays, a block party, pancake breakfasts, opportunities to meet players, tours of the HMCS Vancouver where the Grey Cup will be . . . lots of stuff (all of which can be found at http://).

But I found in Ottawa that once the kids were put to bed, the partiers came out, and I had never met a group of fans, who came from all across the country, from the Maritimes to Yukon, and who worked with such devotion and single-minded application to have a really, really good time.

There were, for example, the Transcona Terrorists, who, as I wrote last year, were "a group of Winnipeg fans who see the Grey Cup as an opportunity to do as much damage to themselves as they can. Each Grey Cup trip has a theme, and they have included 'Liver Failure Grey Cup Tour,' 'Drunks Are Us Tour' and 'Fell Off the Wagon Tour.' "

The bulk of the partying revolved around the team's various booster club celebrations held during the week. Last year, a group of Maritimers campaigning for a CFL franchise threw the week-long Down East Kitchen Party, Schooners Style, where they served $20 whole steamed lobster and "for dessert" shots of rye and 7-Up. At Riderville, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' reception, panic ensued when it ran out of Canadian beer at 10:30 p.m., and it had two bars. It was like a kitchen party -- so crowded it was hard to move.

But the biggest of them all was the Spirit of Edmonton party, a bash held in a hotel ballroom that must have attracted a couple of thousand people. It was an overwhelmingly young crowd, and the music was great, and as well oiled as everyone was, it was an extraordinarily sweet natured and well behaved crowd (as all the partiers had been all week), except for myself, when I got up in the face of a BCTV reporter. I apologized the next day, and later, his cameraman said to me: "Man, I'm glad I wasn't behind your eyeballs last night." Of that experience, I would later write:

"I was covering Grey Cup week in Ottawa, where I had been sent to drink in the local colour. On Thursday night, I drank in most of it, and woke up Friday at 3 p.m. Ottawa time with Godzilla banging around in my head.

"I stumbled over to my laptop and tried to write. A wave of nausea came on. I ran to the bathroom. I felt a little better afterwards, and began to write. I got five inches written. Then another wave of nausea came on.

"Between those half-dozen crashing waves and the half-hour calms in between them, I managed to write a 30-inch column a few inches at a time. Just before 8 p.m. -- 5 p.m. Vancouver time -- a worried Sun editor called and wondered when I would be filing, because deadline for Saturday's paper was now. I sent the column a minute later, making deadline, and feeling like death."

This was the downside to writing about Grey Cup, and I vowed then I would never take another drink again in my life, which, ha ha . . . well, never mind.

At any rate, my stories from Ottawa either appalled or entertained my editors -- or possibly some of both. Inexplicably, they asked me if I would do the colour stories for Grey Cup Week again. I asked if they were serious, and they said, yes, but one thing, they said, you can't drink at any of the parties and write about them. I asked them if they were serious, and they said yes. What should I write about then, I asked. You know, one editor said, write about "people" or "fans."

I thought that would be pretty tough going, but I was heartened when I received an e-mail inviting me to appear in the Grey Cup Parade, which, I thought, would make for at least one column. I readily accepted the invitation.

I'm going as one of the Booze Brothers.
'A great, great rivalry': Alouettes, Eskimos have travelled down this familiar Grey Cup road on many occasions
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Cam Cole
Column: Cam Cole
Source: Vancouver Sun
They've been together, through thick and . . . well, thicker. It is as if the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos were born under the same sign, or their cities had matching biorhythms.

When one is up, the other is up.
Three straight years in the 1950s. Five times in six years in the '70s. And now, in Sunday's Grey Cup at B.C. Place Stadium, for the third time in four years, it's Edmonton-Montreal again.

Put it this way: the Alouettes have qualified for 14 Grey Cups since the Second World War. Only three of them have come against an opponent other than the Eskimos.

Ask either team about its greatest Grey Cup moments, or its biggest heartbreaks, and chances are the answer will mention the other franchise. Among football fans of a certain age in either city, the names of the other team's stars roll easily off the tongue, and all it takes to start the bile rising in the throats of either team's faithful is to mention a year when it all went wrong at the other town's hands.

In Montreal, 1954 resonates with sorrow and loss, defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Chuck Hunsinger's fumble. Jackie Parker's recovery and 90-yard touchdown gallop, spoiling what Montrealers had been sure was the start of a dynasty with Sam (The Rifle) Etcheverry and Hal Patterson, Red O'Quinn and Pat Abbruzzi.

In Edmonton, to this day, 1977 is synonymous with treachery. The ice storm at the Big O, the staples, and Tony Proudfoot. Or has that cake been over-baked?

"Over-baked? I still have a scar on my hand [from getting stepped on by a stapled cleat] and I don't ever recall Dan Yochum saying sorry for it," Edmonton's long-time kicker, Dave Cutler said with a chuckle Tuesday.

Dan Yochum. There's a name. It goes with all the other characters from the Montreal cast of that 1974-79 passion play, when Marv Levy's team met the Eskimos five times in six Grey Cups. Sonny Wade and Joe Barnes, Junior Ah You and Dickie Harris and Randy Rhino, Wally Buono and Peter Dalla Riva and Chuck Zapiec, Mike Widger and Carl Crennel and ...

"They probably they still hate us in Edmonton for it," said Proudfoot, a couple of years ago. The Als safety had driven the first staple in that 41-6 rout.

"Wally Buono, myself and Chuck Zapiec had been looking for something we could do with the footwear," said Proudfoot, who's on Sunday's Grey Cup radio broadcast team along with his old Eskimo opposite number, John Farlinger. "Nothing was working. Then just before game time, I saw a guy with a staple-gun, and it just clicked. We shot the staples in, made a little X on the flat of each cleat, and when we went out on the field a few minutes before the game and did some little quick-cuts to test them, we just looked at each other and went: 'This is it.'

"By half time, half the team had the staples in. You know they were a factor because at one point [Canadian receiver] Gerry Dattilio ran right past [Eskimo cornerback] Larry Highbaugh, which was not too likely. Highbaugh was like a 9.2 sprinter and Gerry was about the slowest guy on our team."

"My big memory from that game was Peter Dalla Riva running past [defensive back] Eddie Jones like Eddie was a cripple," said Cutler.

But Montreal-Edmonton Grey Cups have produced big memories like that for at least three generations. Cutler's was the second.

"For most of us, especially the Canadians, all those guys were our heroes. Most of us knew, if not play by play, at least all the important parts of those games in the '50s," said Cutler.

"My first recollection of football, ever, was Jackie Parker. I actually lived in Montreal at the time. Star Weekly had a CFL player's big colour picture to cut out every week, and my players were Jackie Parker, Johnny Bright and Normie Kwong, and I stole some of my dad's electrician's tape, and that became the frame for those pictures on my wall.

"So when I came to the team, getting to meet these guys was absolutely . . . surreal. And in the '70s and '80s, those guys were huge mentors to us."

"Next to Rocket Richard and Boom Boom Geoffrion and those guys, that ['50s Alouettes team] was really what you knew Montreal for," said John Farlinger. "And for us, growing up in Edmonton, the Eskimos were our heroes. They were so much larger than life. I had collected the full set of cards from, I think, Bee Hive corn syrup -- the only thing I ever collected -- and then, when I played for the team, all those guys were still living, and working, in town.

"Then Parker, of course, had come from college in the States with his own lore, and he was a good-looking guy, well liked, friendly to everybody . . . and that fumble recovery is still being replayed 50 years later. And you talk about our guys on that '70s team, Wilkie [Tom Wilkinson] and Warren Moon, Dave Fennell, Dan Kepley, Brian Kelly, Waddell Smith, Jim Germany, Dave Boone, Ron Estay, Cutler, George McGowan . . . and the Alouettes had equally big names in the '70s that were intimidating, awesome players. Johnny Rodgers, Ed George, Steve Ferrughelli . . . ."

"Somebody I always had a soft spot for was [defensive lineman] Glen Weir," said Cutler. "Fuzzy represented, to me, what their team was all about. Lunch-bucket guys, like us. They had some big-money players, but most of them, like most of us, could have cashed our cheques with the bus driver.

"The Eskimos and Alouettes, I think, have always had just a ton of respect for each other."
"It's been a great, great rivalry," said Farlinger, "and I don't think there was ever any such thing -- because of the aura each team had, regardless of how your season went -- as either team thinking: 'We have the upper hand here.' They've always been so formidable, and so competitive, and that's much like what's happening here the last three seasons.

"Does either team have the upper hand in this game?"
Edmonton won all three meetings in the '50s, and three of five in '70s -- the last two of which began Edmonton's five-in-a-row run from 1978-82. The score may read 7-3 for Edmonton, all-time, but in the current go-round, Sunday represents a 21st-century rubber match: the Alouettes, who won in Edmonton three years ago, against the Eskimos, who beat Montreal at Regina in the 2003 Grey Cup.

Two franchises that know how to get there.
"The Yankees were that way," said '78-82 Eskimo offensive co-ordinator (and later head coach) Joe Faragalli on Tuesday, from his home in Rhode Island. "And the old Philadelphia A's when Connie Mack was managing them -- why play the season? Just go play the World Series. It got to be like that for us in Edmonton. Montreal was the same way."

Plenty has changed since the '70s. But not that.
ccole@png.canwest.com
Le classique des classiques
La Presse
Le mercredi 23 novembre 2005
Daniel Lemay

Les chiffres ne mentent pas: les Alouettes et les Eskimos se rencontrent dimanche pour une 11e fois � la Coupe Grey, un record. Depuis la Deuxi�me Guerre, seules les finales Hamilton-Winnipeg (huit fois) et Toronto-Edmonton (sept) s'approchent du titre de �classique� des rencontres Montr�al-Edmonton.

Dix matches donc, r�partis sur cinq d�cennies et concentr�s en trois �poques correspondant � autant de sommets de l'histoire des Alouettes, club fond� par L�o Dandurand en 1946 - sur les cendres fumantes des Montreal Bulldogs - et vainqueurs d'une premi�re Coupe Grey trois ans plus tard.

Ainsi, les espoirs sont grands en novembre 1954 lorsque les Alouettes de Peahead Walker, grands favoris, s'embarquent pour Toronto pour y affronter les Eskimos, dans ce qui sera la premi�re de trois finales cons�cutives. Et malheureuses.

Avec trois minutes � jouer, les Montr�alais m�nent 25-20 et sont � dix verges des buts adverses. Ils s'appr�tent � r�gler le cas... quand l'impensable se produit. Le demi Chuck Hunsinger, qui n'a pas d'ouverture hors l'aile, d�cide de passer le ballon- ou l'�chappe, on ne le saura jamais. Tout le monde s'arr�te sauf l'Eskimos Jackie Parker, qui r�cup�re l'objet et court les 90 verges qui le s�parent de la zone des buts: 25-25 (le touch� valait cinq points � l'�poque), 26-25 Eskimos apr�s le converti. Final.

L'ann�e suivante, au Stade de l'Empire � Vancouver, les Alouettes ne trouveront jamais le ballon que le m�me Parker donnera tant�t � Normie Kwong, tant�t � Johnny Bright ou le gardera: 34-19 Eskimos et le record de Sam Etcheverry- 508 verges par la passe, toujours dans les livres- s'av�rera une bien pi�tre satisfaction. En 1956, l'attaque au sol des Eskimos mettra fin au d�bat terre/air et les Alouettes se feront d�plumer 50-27.

Apr�s une des p�riodes les plus sombres de l'histoire du sport montr�alais, les Z'Oiseaux ne retourneront en finale qu'en 1970 quand Sam Etcheverry, devenu entra�neur-chef, remportera sa seule Coupe Grey. Contre Calgary et avec Sonny Wade au quart.

La deuxi�me partie des glorieuses Seventies a �t� l'affaire exclusive des Alouettes et des Eskimos, qui se sont affront�s cinq fois entre 1974 et 1979. Marv Levy est le seul coach de l'histoire des Alouettes � avoir remport� deux fois la Coupe Grey, les troisi�me et quatri�me de l'�quipe. Et les deux contre les �Esks� : 20-7 en 1974, � Vancouver, et 41-6 en 1977, au Stade olympique, devant 63 318 spectateurs, record absolu du sport canadien. Ce jour-l�, devant le terrain gel� - comment? le toit du stade ne fermait pas? - les Alouettes s'�taient pos� des agrafes sous leurs semelles, tandis que leurs adversaires en vert et or avaient des crampons ordinaires: z�ro traction.

Levy, qui avait perdu contre les Eskimos en 1975 (un cr�ve-coeur de 9-8, � Calgary), quittera Montr�al en 1978 pour aller diriger les Chiefs de Kansas City de la NFL. Sous le placide Joe Scanella, les Alouettes perdront deux finales de suite contre Edmonton: 20-13 en 1978, � Toronto, puis 17-9 l'ann�e suivante, ici au Stade.

Apr�s ces revers, la deuxi�me �clipse des Alouettes de Montr�al, d'abord partielle, puis totale, durera 21 ans.

Battus par les Lions en 2000, les Alouettes modernes ont gagn� leur cinqui�me et derni�re Coupe Grey sous les ordres de Don Matthews en 2002, en allant battre les Eskimos, 25-16, sur leur propre terrain. L'ann�e suivante, � Regina, ce sont les Eskimos qui repartaient avec le troph�e du comte Grey (34-22). Qu'en sera-t-il dimanche?

Pour l'heure, apr�s un demi-si�cle de jeu, c'est 7-3 Eskimos.

Jenkins to start filling out staff 'soon'
The Ottawa Citizen
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B6
Section: Sports
Byline: Matthew Sekeres
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Ottawa Citizen; with files from The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER - Ottawa Renegades head coach John Jenkins will also serve as the Canadian Football League club's offensive co-ordinator and receivers coach in 2006.

Jenkins, who replaced Joe Paopao as head coach just two days after the Renegades finished a 7-11 season, says he will hire seven assistant coaches by Feb. 1, and announcements could come as early as next week.

First and foremost, Jenkins intends to find co-ordinators for defence and special teams before rounding out the rest of his staff.

Reached in Arkansas yesterday, Jenkins said his special-teams co-ordinator would also coach running backs. He will also hire two other defensive assistants, an offensive-line coach, an assistant receivers coach and a special-teams assistant, who will also coach a specific position.

"I'm close. We're hammering out some explicit details," Jenkins said. "I think we're probably going to have some announcements pretty soon."

A rumoured candidate for an offensive position is former CFL quarterback Matt Dunigan, who works as a television analyst for TSN. Jenkins was offensive co-ordinator with the Calgary Stampeders in 2004, when Dunigan was a rookie head coach.

Jenkins was fired after six games, while Dunigan was terminated after a 4-14 campaign and a change in ownership.
Yesterday, Jenkins said he intended to talk to Dunigan about a candidate for the staff, but wouldn't comment about Dunigan's candidacy specifically.

Others who have been talked to include Hal Dyer, a former defensive assistant with the B.C. Lions and now a regional scout for the Renegades, and Steve Kazor, a former assistant coach with the NFL's Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.

Higgins' Deal Extended
The Calgary Stampeders gave head coach Tom Higgins a multi-year contract extension yesterday.
Higgins, who also serves as the club's vice-president of football operations, led the Stampeders to an 11-7 record -- seven victories more than 2004 -- and their first playoff berth in four years before they lost 33-26 to the Edmonton Eskimos in the West Division semifinal Nov. 13.

Argo loss could hit CBC in the pocket; But 'the Grey Cup is still a good buy' 30-second spots listed at $55,000
The Toronto Star
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: E4
Section: Sports
Byline: Chris Zelkovich
The disappearance of the Toronto Argonauts from the Grey Cup could cost the CBC some advertising dollars.
"Last year the Grey Cup was a pretty hot item because Toronto was in it," said ad buyer Sunni Boot, president of Zenith Optimedia Canada. "This year the Grey Cup is still a good buy, but a little less so than last year."

Boot said CBC's rates are up slightly this year, based on a forecast of improved ratings over the four million who watched Toronto beat B.C. last November. A lower audience could mean a few rebates.

But CBC ad director Rene Bertrand isn't buying the theory that the absence of the Argos and Lions will hurt ratings.
"People say that, but actually the audience went up the last time," he said, referring to the 4.4 million viewers who watched Montreal beat Edmonton in 2002.

"Montreal has a good following in Quebec and in the east and Edmonton is right in the heart of football country."
Bertrand said the game is not sold out, but "we always keep a couple of spots for advertisers who want to take advantage of what's typically the country's biggest sports event.

"CFL ratings were up (6 per cent) so we're on plan with rates."
Bertrand would not divulge ad rates, but sources say the CBC is asking $55,000 for a 30-second commercial.
Ratings for Sunday's East final between Montreal and Toronto were disappointing.
The 1.1 million total was down 28 per cent from the 2004 game involving the same teams.
But the CFL ruled the day in the Toronto area. According to BBM ratings, the Argos-Alouettes game attracted an average of 241,000 viewers here.

The Oakland-Washington game on Global lured only 70,000 viewers, while the Buffalo-San Diego game was watched by 92,000 on CH.

Lapointe led the way Lumsden will follow
The Spectator
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: SP02
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
There was a lot made this year of the fact the Hamilton Tiger-Cats started a Canadian at running back.
Ticat tailback Jesse Lumsden, who showed over his six-contest debut that he could get the job done, and those who will follow him, owe thanks to Montreal's Eric Lapointe.

Lapointe just may cap a seven-year Canadian Football League career this Sunday with a final tailback start in the Grey Cup.

It was Lapointe and Toronto Argonaut running back Sean Millington who proved back in the late 1990s that Canadians could run the rock as starting tailbacks in this league.

And Lapointe, who broke into the league in 1999 with Hamilton after winning the Hec Crighton Trophy as the best Canadian university player in 1998 with Mount Allison, arguably put his club back in the Grey Cup spotlight this week with a three-touchdown, over 100-yard performance last Sunday in the Als' 33- 17 win over Toronto in the eastern final.

Lapointe, who arrived with his Montreal teammates here yesterday afternoon, hinted this Sunday may be his final CFL contest. The 6-foot, 216 -pound running back operates a successful financial planning business in Montreal and is considering hanging the cleats up after this season.

If he does, he will leave a legacy that will make it easier for Canadians to win jobs running the rock in the CFL.
"I may have opened a couple of doors, obviously I hope I did," Lapointe said yesterday. "There are a lot of Canadian running backs who deserve a better shot than what they got in the past. I'm looking at a guy like Jesse Lumsden, I don't think he is the first one coming out of college who deserves a shot. Now he is getting one and he is getting a real one. He arrived in the league and they saw him as a tailback, they are going to give him the chance to be a tailback and he is doing fantastic.

"He is going to open many doors again and it is just going to snowball," Lapointe added.
Lapointe would love nothing more than to put in another 100-yard plus effort Sunday afternoon in B.C. Place against the Edmonton Eskimos in the 93rd Grey Cup.

While nothing has been said officially, Lapointe is expected to start as the Montreal tailback over Robert Edwards, who injured his ribs in the eastern final against the Argos.

Indeed, if that's the case, both starting running backs would carry some Hamilton history.
Edmonton running back Troy Davis, shipped west this past October, is Hamilton's career rushing leader, single game and single season rushing leader.

Indeed, if Lapointe had his way he would still be a Ticat today. The Canadian won a Grey Cup with the Cats in 1999 when he ran the rock 100 times for 700 yards with the Tabbies.

"To be honest with you I don't think I would have ever left Hamilton. I never asked to be traded and they traded me to Toronto for Mike O'Shea. I wanted to stay there and I probably would still be there if it wasn't for that trade.

"For me, Hamilton is still one highlight of my career," he added.
kpeters@thespec.com
Loss to B.C. Als 'turning point': Coach Matthews gets last laugh
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: A45
Section: Sports
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province
Don Matthews was second-guessed from coast to coast to coast after his team tried a two-point convert the last time the Montreal Alouettes played at B.C. Place.

The conversion failed, the Als lost 27-26 to fall below .500 again at 5-6, the Lions moved to 11-0 and the smart money was on a B.C./Toronto Grey Cup.

Pardon the Als for enjoying the last laugh.
"They're all exciting," Als defensive tackle Ed Philion said of Montreal's third Grey Cup appearance in four years and his fourth overall. "But this one ... If you won consistently, the same way every time around, it would get a little boring. This year's been a challenge, a great learning experience and it's rewarding that way.

"And I'm 1-3 in Grey Cups. I want to get to .500."
The Als did something this year that's almost unheard of: They totally revamped their defensive philosophy halfway through the season, going from an attack unit to a patient zone that picked its spots to zero in on the opposing quarterback.

Philion said it was a matter of finding the right scheme to fit the personalities on defence.
"Early in the year we were back and forth as far as what type of defence we wanted to use," said the 35-year-old hockey fan from Essex, Ont., wearing a crisp new Winnipeg Jets cap and anxious to catch a Canucks game while he's in town.

"We experimented with a three-man front and that wasn't us. We experimented with a four-man front and that wasn't us, either.

"We tried a zone defence and that seemed to serve us a little better."
Matthews also yanked guys and threw guys in and out of the lineup, which didn't help the defence jell.
Not at first.
"The fact our coaches sat some guys down early, it wasn't very popular at the time with those guys," Philion said. "But they now understand the importance of coming out and playing every week."

What Edmonton will see is something in between a fall-back zone and an aggressive attacking defence.
The Als set up as a zone, but bring their blitzes from different angles and sometimes unlikely sources.
"We're not getting burned like we were early in the year."
Something else happened to right Montreal's season: It's no coincidence the Als went on a four-game winning streak after the Sept. 17 loss in Vancouver.

"We were so up and down until then, we wanted to use that game against B.C. to find out where we were at, to see if we could play with the top guys," Philion said. "We outplayed B.C. the whole game. The only thing they won, really, was the score.

"But we felt like we won that game, we took a moral victory out of that ... it really changed our season around."
gordmcintyre@png.canwest.com

B.C. Lions quarterbacks ponder their future with the CFL club
CP Wire
Tue 22 Nov 2005
Section: Sports in general
Byline: BY RON SUDLOW
SURREY, B.C. (CP) _ The chair quivered slightly as massive left tackle Bobby Singh stood and aimed Casey Printers' video camera at the B.C. Lions quarterback while he was surrounded by reporters.

That raised the question Tuesday whether Singh was capturing some of Printers' final moments with the CFL club.
``My No. 1 option is here,'' Printers answered at first. ``I really enjoy being a B.C. Lion.''
Then, he added: ``But realistically speaking, I have to look at everything and be very, very open.''
Coach and general manager Wally Buono says he will only have one of veteran quarterback Dave Dickenson and Printers with the team next season.

It's a move intended to end a season-long controversy that became more intense Sunday as the Lions lost the West Division final 28-23 to the Edmonton Eskimos.

As the Lions were cleaning out their lockers at their suburban Vancouver training facility, Dickenson said he'd be disappointed if he didn't return.

``I feel I'm the right guy for this organization and this club,'' said Dickenson, who gave way to Printers for the final three series of the West title game.

``I've put in a lot of time and effort and I feel like we're still on the right path, we've still got the right players.

``But you do what you do, you go to where you're wanted. Wally's got the hammer right now.''
Both quarterbacks expressed frustration over a year in which both were injured during a season that began 11-0 and ended 1-7 with Sunday's loss.

Printers, who played for $60,000 this season after being named the league MVP in 2004, is entering his option year.
Jason Medlock, his uncle and agent, has said he will ``almost definitely'' take a shot at the NFL next season. Printers earlier rejected a three-year, $1 million contract extension.

While Printers, 24, talked about keeping options open, Dickenson, 33, said there can be only one No. 1 quarterback in B.C.

``I'd be very disappointed if I wasn't back because I think I did my part this year,'' he said. ``I showed up ready to go, competed and had the team where I wanted.

``I don't mind competing for the job but if it goes back and forth, I'd rather have one guy to hang your hat on. I really question whether I should be worried because for the most part things were going the way they wanted them to go.''

He questioned Buono's decision to replace him in the West final.
``It's tough on Casey with three and a half minutes to get in. I feel we would have had a better chance to win if I'd just stayed in there, saw the looks and make the throws.''

Printers, who took a cellphone call on the sideline this season while Dickenson directed the offence, said it's a tough question when asked if he expected to be in Vancouver next season.

``I have to go home and weigh out all my options,'' he said. ``Obviously there is interest from the NFL.
``It may be something I want to explore ... it would be crazy for me not to weigh out all of my options rather than make a decision based solely on my feelings and frustrations.

``I want to play at the highest level possible. I've watched the NFL since I was a kid.''
Buono said he wants to resolve the controversy as quickly as possible.
``It's been made very clear to me that it would be in the best interests of both players and the club to make one declaration, if for nothing else to just clear the air,'' he said.

``So when you go to camp in 2006, you know who the leader's going to be and who the quarterback's going to be and the rest will take care of itself.''

Not exactly.
Buono conceded his offensive line that surrendered 74 sacks during the regular season needs upgrading.
Linebacker Barrin Simpson said he will be leaving the club while Buono said fellow linebacker Carl Kidd's diminished role will be evaluated.

And Duncan O'Mahony's meltdown as a placekicker that led to Mark McLoughlin coming out of retirement just before his 40th birthday will also be addressed.

``I wasn't happy with my role on the team,'' said Simpson. ``I didn't know what it was and it's just time to move on.''

Kidd said his future here is uncertain.
``I just want to play football. I do want to be here, but whatever decision they make, I can live with it.''
Defensive back Mark Washington said he expects changes but not major ones.
``We have a good team. We have some real good pieces to our puzzle so why would you want to rearrange those pieces.''
BOMBERS INTERVIEWS UNDERWAY
The Winnipeg Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: 43
Section: Sports
Byline: BY STAFF/SUN MEDIA
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers' head coaching search is finally starting to pick up some steam.
Bombers GM Brendan Taman began the interview process yesterday, but he would not confirm the candidates.
It's believed that former Ottawa Renegades head coach Joe Paopao, along with former Renegades defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall, either interviewed yesterday or will do so today.

Taman also is expected to interview Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall by the end of the day today.

Meanwhile, in Calgary the man who triggered the Stampeders' sensational turnaround in 2005 will be back next CFL season and beyond.

Now if only Tom Higgins, head coach/senior v.p. of football operations, can keep the rest of his staff on board.
"I would like for that to happen," Higgins said yesterday after the club announced he had signed a multi-year contract extension.

WALLS RISES ABOVE; BOMBER DE LIVES FOR MOM, FAMILY, GOD AND FOOTBALL
The Winnipeg Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: 49
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PAUL FRIESEN
Gavin Walls has a date with destiny this week. A destiny some would say he has no business meeting.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end is the odds-on favourite to be named the CFL's most outstanding rookie at a televised awards gala in Vancouver tomorrow night.

The thing is, if you'd checked in with Walls during his childhood in Hampton, Va., you'd never have predicted he'd wind up here, at 25, wearing a tuxedo and making an acceptance speech as a pro football player.

Not that Walls wasn't talented.
It's just that when the man who's supposed to be the main role model in your life is behind bars, well, let's just say the odds aren't necessarily in your favour.

"I never had a dad growing up," Walls told the Sun. "He's been incarcerated in a New York prison all my life."
* * *
Bertha Williams knew her son was better off without his father, a man she'd been estranged from for years.
So when she found out her boy, 10 or 11 at the time, was out playing on the street in a bad part of town, supposedly in the care of his dad one weekend, she drove straight over and brought Gavin home.

That was the last time Walls saw his father.
"Next thing we knew, he was in prison," Williams said from her current home in Holly Springs, Miss. "That's where he's been, as far as I know, ever since."

Walls, though, didn't follow in his dad's footsteps. Although there was trouble beckoning all around him, he avoided following the path taken by many of his friends.

Walls credits three things.
"My mom. Family. God," he said. "There's only a few things in life that people live for."
And football, of course.
A year or two after his dad chose a life of crime in New York, Walls chose to become a football player.
Then came the tough part: selling his mother on it.
"Of course, I didn't want him to play," Williams said. "I told him it was too rough. His auntie, my sister, kind of convinced me to let him go ahead and play. And he's been playing it ever since."

Playing defensive end, running back and receiver, Walls became a high school star, eventually turning the game into his ticket out of Hampton.

While some of his friends were getting into serious trouble, he was earning scholarships, first to a community college in Kansas, then, when his grades improved, to the University of Arkansas.

It seems Walls had put the shadow of his father behind him, for good.
"I got over that hump over the years, when I decided to go to college," he said.
Actually, there would be one more attempt at connecting with his father.
It was just a few years ago, and Walls' dad was just out of prison, in a safe home, when the two spoke by phone.
"We were trying to build some type of, I guess, over-the-phone relationship," Walls recalled. "A friendship, that's all it felt like."

A friendship based on an agreement that saw a father promise his son he'd turn his life around.
"He got locked back up again," Walls said. "He broke a promise to me. It's something I've got to live with."
* * *
Some people use hard-luck circumstances as a crutch, an excuse to fail.
Walls used his as inspiration.
If people didn't expect much from him, well, he'd show them.
Over the years, having no father has become second nature.
"It's just something you learn to deal with," Walls said. "Like a person who has no arm or no leg. After a while ... it's not something you think about every day."

Especially when you've got a football career to build.
A little small to be drafted (6-foot-2, 235 pounds), Walls landed a free-agent tryout with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings right after college. That led to a season (2004) in NFL Europe.

This past year, he took a flyer on a place called Winnipeg.
Playing three-down football for the first time, Walls quickly made a name for himself as one of the CFL's top pass rushers.

Named lineman of the week four times, he finished tied for second in the league with 12 quarterback sacks, made 40 tackles, knocked down four passes and added two touchdowns.

If that's not top rookie material, nothing is.
Walls will find out for sure tomorrow night, and his mom will be in Vancouver to see it.
"Considering all, he did pretty good," Williams said. "I'm proud of him."
And his speech, should he win the award?
"Oh, man, I don't know if I have a speech," Walls said. "I know a few topics ... things that helped me get to where I'm at. I don't know too much about a speech. The last time I did a speech, I might have got a C in it. Or a D. But I didn't ace it."

That's OK.
Destiny doesn't ask to see your report card.

FAIR OFFER, BUT STILL TESTING NFL WATERS
The Winnipeg Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: 49
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PAUL FRIESEN
It won't take a Brinks truck to make Gavin Walls happy, after all.
In fact, the Blue Bomber defensive end, poised to be named the CFL's top rookie tomorrow, is close to an agreement on a new contract with the Bombers, should his NFL aspirations not pan out.

"I think we have a true understanding," Raymond Savage, Walls' agent, told the Sun yesterday. "Their initial offer was a fair offer. If Gavin didn't want to see what's out there, the deal would be in place already."

Savage said the contract was "approaching six figures," suggesting Walls could nearly double his salary as a rookie, believed to be between $40,000 and $50,000.

The tentative deal includes a hefty signing bonus, a bump in salary and incentives for things like sacks and individual awards.

First, though, Savage will shop his client around the NFL, as Walls is entering the option year of his CFL deal.
But Savage says he wants more than just an invitation to a training camp.
"If they don't give us the warm and fuzzies," Savage said. "We don't have a problem playing in Winnipeg. If there's no cash involved, a decent amount of cash, we're not going."

Deferred decision puts Riders in limbo
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Rob Vanstone
Column: Rob Vanstone
Source: The Leader-Post
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in delay-of-game-plan mode.
In the meantime, there is paralysis.
The CFL team's board of directors has deferred a definitive announcement on the status of a regime led by GM Roy Shivers. This has left everyone in limbo.

A firm decision appeared to be imminent as the weekend loomed. An all-volunteer board had given Shivers an ultimatum, imploring him to serve up a sacrificial lamb following a disappointing season. Shivers -- an independent thinker if ever there was one -- would not acquiesce. Hence the stalemate.

The climate began to change when the ultimatum became public knowledge. It was an uneasy Friday inside the Riders office due to the spectre of a Saturday board meeting, at which the standoff was expected to culminate.

Then came an anticlimactic Saturday. President/CEO Jim Hopson announced that it was business as usual.
But in an unusual gesture, the Riders reversed direction in dealings with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who have a head-coaching vacancy. Bombers GM Brendan Taman had been granted permission to talk to Riders head coach Danny Barrett. That permission was rescinded by Shivers on the weekend.

Sportsnet football analyst Eric Tillman has reported the very real possibility of Winnipeg devouring some or all of the Riders' coaches. Too much was happening, too quickly. The situation was spiralling out of control faster than anticipated due to the sudden introduction of a variable which did not pertain to the appraisal of Shivers.

Screech! The brakes were applied.
Hopson voiced the team's intent to stay the course. However, the Roughriders' brass has yet to announce whether the Shivers regime has run its course. Nothing has been resolved, only delayed.

At one level, the Riders are endorsing Barrett by declaring him off-limits. At the same time, Barrett and his coaches have yet to receive a defined mandate.

Should they be beholden to the Roughriders? What should they do? The co-ordinators -- Richie Hall (defence) and Marcel Bellefeuille (offence) -- have already been contacted by Taman. Both gentlemen were interviewed by the Edmonton Eskimos last year. They are respected across the league.

Yet, they must wait. Everyone is waiting on the final evaluation of Shivers, who has one season left on his contract.
Shivers wants to fulfil his contractual obligations. He does not want the board to dictate any football-related decisions.

In a letter to the Leader-Post, Shivers declared his intent to "rework the engine of this team.'' He did not provide specifics. He probably didn't have to.

Clearly, the team is in need of a front-line quarterback and upgraded receivers. Although Shivers has publicly defended his quarterbacks -- Marcus Crandell and Nealon Greene -- the Riders' GM is wily enough to know that elite teams' signal-callers are at a higher tier.

Shivers must be contemplating which quarterbacks might be available, but nothing is certain. How can Shivers promise fans he will land (or even pursue) Kerry Joseph when he remains under contract to the Ottawa Renegades?

Even if Shivers were to use generalities while declaring that Saskatchewan will woo a prolific passer, that approach -- while highly marketable -- could backfire.

What if such a saviour does not land in Regina? How do the Riders deal with Crandell and sell him to the fans after publicly vowing to supplant him?

Confidence in Shivers & Co. is already being eroded. By saying nothing, the Riders' ruling class is speaking volumes.
In fairness, the board faces a conundrum. Regardless of what it decides, complications arise. The fan base is fractured over the issue of Shivers. The suspicion here is that at least half the fans support the GM, but the anti-Shivers sect is likely to object to his retention. Either way, saleability is an issue.

If Shivers stays -- and he should -- how will his techniques of salesmanship be affected? It could be difficult to sign impact players to long-term deals when his own future is uncertain. The perception of a lame-duck GM is unhealthy.

This raises a broader question: If the board endorses Shivers, must his contract be extended? If not, the aforementioned issues -- and myriad others -- will continue to percolate.

What is going on with the Riders' board?
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: A2
Section: News
Byline: Bob Hughes
Column: Bob Hughes
Source: The Leader-Post
Okay. Enough is enough. Like, what is this all about? I am sitting here thinking, this is what I am thinking, if you have any interest: The Saskatchewan Roughriders' bored of directors have had six years in which to evaluate the job Roy Shivers has done as general manager. They get to see it on a week-to-week basis. They have seen it over 18-game schedules, times six years, plus a bunch of playoff. They have seen it in the standings. They have seen what kind of job he has done as general manager every year for the last six years, including the four straight playoff finishes. And, they still can't decide if they want to keep him as general manager, or fire him, which means cleaning house and starting all over again!!! He has produced a team that has made the playoffs four years in a row. So, because he has failed to get a home playoff game, or win a Grey Cup, fire him? He took a guy who never had been a head coach in his life and gave him the chance to develop into one who now would be snapped up by any CFL team looking for one. Like, what is the deal here?

Hark, the herald angels are singing. Graham Barker, I think, is the head of the bored of directors. He got elected to that spot. When Trevis Smith, the linebacker, got charged with aggravated sexual assault and was pronounced as being HIV-positive, Graham Barker acted like he couldn't wait to get in front of the microphones and announce something had to be done about the beating the Riders' image was taking. So, he called a meeting of the bored and they met. The bored emerged from the meeting. It is like they were sent into a grocery store with a list, couldn't find anything on the list, so Graham Barker said another meeting would have to be called. So, he called another meeting. It was held Saturday. The bored came out of the meeting. They still had no idea of what they were going to do with Shivers. (What do they do at these meetings?) Only, this time, Graham Barker was nowhere to be seen. He sent Jim Hopson out to do the talking. Jim Hopson is a former Regina Ram, Rider alumni who forged a strong career as an educator before finding himself as one of the two top honchos of the Riders. He and Shivers are, on the Riders' executive depth chart, equals, so why is Hopson speaking about the board's meetings and Shivers' future? Because Barker has suddenly become gun shy? Or has no answers? Or what? This is getting silly.

Why is it that this football organization consistently, over years, over decades, takes simplistic decisions and makes them so complicated? Somebody once said to me, "Most of the people on the board of the Riders are successful business people. If they ran their businesses the way they sometimes run the Riders, they would go broke. It is as if they go brain dead when they become a member of the board."

To be fair to the people on the board, they go on it for two primary reasons. One is because it is a good business move. The other is, they care deeply about the Roughriders and their future. The Roughriders have survived as long as they have only because the people on the boards over the years have done everything they possibly could to ensure that survival. This board is really no different.

There is only one decision they can make right now, and why it has taken this long to come to it is anybody's guess. But, one thing has come clear. The board should worry less about what the reaction to their decision will be and more to what the decision should be. The decision is as clear as a Saskatchewan blue sky in the height of summer. Shivers should be retained. Football, as is any sports league, is a strange game. There are so many variables in play. Who would have picked Edmonton and Montreal for the Grey Cup a month ago? The Roughriders are not that far away from achieving the ultimate goal. If they decide that Shivers isn't the answer, then they will have plunged the franchise into a whole new rebuilding program. And they are not going to be able to attract quality people to do the job, not with their record of being far too trigger happy. The facts are the facts. Under Shivers, the Riders have been in the playoffs four years out of six, revenues are strong, the talent is the best it's been in years. Why change? Why indeed?

Yes, Roy Shivers irritates at times. Big deal. But the board has to be careful that it's not moving itself into an arena it knows little about. The board knows no more about the talent level of this team than any member of the Loyal Disorder of Rider Priders. The very minute it thinks it does, this franchise will have entered the twilight zone.

Y'er welcome.
- Contact Hughes at bobhughes@sasktel.net
Higgins returns to coach
The Calgary Herald
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: F4
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald
It didn't take long for Tom Higgins to realize he wanted more than a one-year stint as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders.

"It probably happened the first time I got on the field with this group (in training camp)," Higgins said Tuesday. "All of a sudden knowing the kind of coaching staff that was together and the type of players we had.

"I saw it had the possibility of being something special."
Higgins helped lead the Stamps to an 11-7 record and their first home playoff game since the 2001 Canadian Football League season. His old club, the Edmonton Eskimos, ended their run with a 33-26 win in the West Division semifinal.

For his efforts, Higgins received a multi-year contract extension on Tuesday.
"It gives me the opportunity to continue to develop and grow the foundation that we built from 2005 and see how it works," said Higgins, who heads to Vancouver today as part of the Stamps' contingent.

Higgins said he hopes to have his entire coaching staff back for 2006 and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have not yet interviewed Calgary defensive co-ordinator Denny Creehan or offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto for their vacant head coach job.

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com
STAMPEDERS GIVE HIGGINS THE REINS; HEAD COACH SIGNS MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION BUT FUTURE OF OTHER BOSSES UP IN AIR
The Calgary Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: 54
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DAN TOTH, CALGARY SUN
The man who triggered the Calgary Stampeders' sensational turnaround in 2005 will be back next CFL season and beyond.
Now if only Tom Higgins, head coach/senior v.p. of football operations, can keep the rest of his staff on board.
"I would like for that to happen," Higgins said yesterday after the club announced he had signed a multi-year contract extension, details of which weren't released as per club policy.

"If it can happen, we have a chance to be at a much higher level than we were at the start of this football season. Because of the way we built and the way we ended the season, I feel we could pick up somewhere in that accelerated stage and having the same coaching staff would help to do that. If it weren't to be the case, then we'll make whatever adjustments we need to."

Those adjustments could be substantial should either defensive co-ordinator Denny Creehan or offensive boss Steve Buratto find employment elsewhere. Both received rave reviews for their work with the Stamps this season as the club posted an 11-7 record before hosting the West semifinal, a renaissance after three dismal campaigns.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, looking to fill their vacant head coaching chair, have asked permission to speak to both co-ordinators but as of last night had talked to neither.

Bombers GM Brendan Taman is expected to meet with candidates later this week in Vancouver. Creehan is scheduled to attend the CFL player awards Thursday night in support of Stamps linebacker John Grace, up for defensive player of the year honours.

Creehan had expressed his ambition to be promoted to the head coaching job in Calgary, or elsewhere, and said Higgins' extension hasn't altered those aspirations.

"My goals haven't changed and that is to be a head coach eventually," Creehan said. "That hasn't changed just because something good has happened to Tom. In the meantime, I'm perfectly happy to be here."

It had been rumoured there were opposing views within the Stampeders ownership group as to whether Higgins should remain in both roles or relinquish the head coaching duties in 2006 despite the team's success on the field. The former Edmonton Eskimos head coach said he was unaware of those rumblings but had stipulated before joining the team last off-season he wanted both jobs in Calgary.

"When I first came last year, they wanted for me to take just one role, not two," Higgins said.
"I felt it was very important to be able to be hands-on and I don't think I would have been able to impact the football operations the way we just did if I didn't have the opportunity to be on the sidelines. Very stubbornly, I stuck to my guns and asked for both and was granted both. I don't believe in any discussions had after the season was over that anybody thought it should be different than the way it was because it went very well."

Higgins added his new deal does not stipulate when he will opt out of coaching in favour of a singular administrative role.

"There is a lot of flexibility built into it, there can be movement but it has no time stipulation at all," Higgins said.

Father knows best: Eskimos president/CEO Campbell defends hiring of son as defensive coach, players show confidence
The Edmonton Journal
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: D1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - For years, Hugh Campbell silently seethed at the whispers of nepotism surrounding his son Rick.
Yes, Rick Campbell is an assistant coach for the Edmonton Eskimos. And yes, the Esks promoted him to defensive co-ordinator last spring amid charges of nepotism.

But any talk of parental favouritism is simply over the line, says Hugh Campbell, former CFL receiver and coach-turned-Eskimos president and chief executive officer.

"Now that we're going to the Grey Cup, I can say something that I haven't said before: It's very unfair criticism," Campbell said Tuesday as the Eskimos gathered at the Edmonton International Airport en route to Vancouver.

"If a farmer turns his farm over to his son, that would be what was expected. There are many good coaches who are coaches' sons.

"One of the top three teams in the United States is coached by Don Shula's son. The coach at Oregon State, Mike Riley, coached at Winnipeg and his father was a head coach at Winnipeg. I'm just naming two, but you could name a hundred."

With that, Campbell turned on his legendary charm.
"If a kid is not smart enough to do anything but coach, then it only makes sense that he follows in his father's footsteps."

This coming, of course, from one of the smartest men in the business. They don't call it the Campbell Football League for nothing.

"The word nepotism. I don't know if it means anything bad," he said.
"I don't know if it has a bad connotation. I just think it's unrealistic. How many people take over their father's business? Some do. Some don't.

"But it would make sense to me."
There's no arguing the success of the Eskimos defence this season under Rick Campbell and fellow assistants Dennis Winston, Dan Kepley and Malvin Hunter. The Esks led the CFL in 13-of-25 defensive categories tracked by the league's head office.

"Look at the defensive scheme those coaches put together," said defensive end Tim Fleiszer. "From my understanding, it was a collaborative effort, with coach Campbell serving as the moderator.

"We love it. We're up field. We're pressuring. We're attacking. We give defences different looks. That's been fantastic.

But Campbell deserves even more credit, Fleiszer said, for keeping the peace among the big names on the Edmonton defence including Joe Montford, Davis Sanchez and Singor Mobley.

"We have very strong personalities on our defence," Fleiszer said.
"When you have those kind of forceful personalities -- and dare I say ego -- it can end up being very negative if the situation isn't properly moderated.

"Coach Campbell has done an excellent job of sailing the ship."
So does this mean Rick Campbell has finally made a name for himself in this town after six years as an assistant with the Eskimos?

"I'm just happy we're in the Grey Cup, and I'm glad we get to play one more game," Rick Campbell said. "It's going to be our biggest test yet.

"The whole deal is to have the respect of the people you work with and to win the Grey Cup. That's what it's all about I always hope that the focus is on me

being a coach rather than me being Hugh's son. But I understand that's just part of this job."
And it will always be part of the job, predicts
Donny Brady.
"Coach Campbell has done just fine," Brady said. "We've got the No. 1 defence in the league, so he's got to be doing something right.

"Of course he's going to get criticized. His dad's the (boss). It's just like if your dad was the coach in high school. It's just the way it is."

SHORT YARDAGE -- Wide receiver Ed Hervey and kicker Sean Fleming touched down in Vancouver in black cowboy hats, black suit jackets and black pants. Hervey even wore cowboy boots to add an Alberta touch to the Party on the Pacific. "Hey, I'm the black Johnny Cash," Hervey said.

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
Quarterbacks bark signals: Dickenson, Printers make campaign-speech exits
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: A42
Section: Sports
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province
Local elections took place on the weekend, but the two leading candidates for the Lions' starting quarterbacking job gave what amounted to campaign speeches Tuesday at the last 2005 gathering of the CFL team.

On the first day his no-trade contract clause was no longer valid, incumbent Dave Dickenson said that coach Wally Buono should stay the course.

Dickenson felt the team's fall from grace coincided with his Oct. 1 concussion.
Casey Printers reiterated the frustration he felt after last season, acknowledged problems with offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, said the club needs to tailor its offence to the style of the quarterback and indicated a preference to remain in the CFL.

First, Printers.
"My number-one option is the Lions," said Printers, who had a teammate and an equipment man videotaping his dressing room movements on what might be his last day with the club.

"But I do think the communication has to get better. People told Dave things they didn't tell me. It's clear the coaches prefer Dave. [Chapdelaine] and I haven't communicated very well and on the field, it showed.

"The starting quarterback has to be understood. You can't be the starter, then two weeks later you're pulled."
Printers should know the Lions' intentions before he can sign with an NFL club, and made it clear he wouldn't exercise his option-year exit clause if he is to be a third-string quarterback with an NFL club.

With few teams likely to make that assurance, Printers' path could become more clear.
"I'm leaning towards coming back to Canada," he said before heading home to decompress with family in Dallas. However, Printers said he wouldn't consider a sign-and-trade scenario with a CFL club, and was told this season by coach Wally Buono that he would not be traded within the league.

Dickenson, who will leave town shortly for his offseason home in Calgary, said he is unsure about his future for the first time since 1996, when Buono first signed him to eventually take over the Stamps' offence.

"It's still up in the air and I do question why," he said.
"I feel I'm the right guy for this organization and I want to be back. If [the Lions] look on and off the field at what has been done they'd be making a mistake to let me go.

"Would you rather have a guy committed to this organization or not?"
Buono's farewell address lasted just 15 minutes and because of the team's sudden exit from postseason play, no windup gathering was organized by players.

Nor had anyone come any closer to putting a finger on the reason for arguably the most complete collapse by the Lions in franchise history.

The imminent departure of free-agent linebacker Barrin Simpson could mean more work next year for veteran Carl Kidd, who wants more action no matter who else is playing the position.

"I'm hoping to be back, but if I do my role will be expanded," said the 32-year-old, who is in his option year.
Buono reduced his free-agent candidates by one, signing reserve lineman Carl Gourgues. Whether to undertake a major overhaul, starting at quarterback, remains a more vexing dilemma.

And there was one comedian who felt the choices are not just Dickenson and Printers.
"I'm going to start at quarterback," said defensive back Mark Washington. It was a vain attempt at humour in a dreary ending to the season.

lullrich@png.canwest.com
- - -
TALE OF 'TWO SEASONS'
Games 1-11 12-19
Won-lost record 11-0 1-7
Avg. points for 31.7 25.7
Avg. pts. against 23.0 27.3
Passing yards 320 317
Passing TDs 21 13
Rushing yards 101.5 113.5
Sacks allowed 4.5 3.5
Ringless 1964 Lions still looking for a little respect: '64 GREY CUP CHAMPS: Winners awarded miniature Grey Cups, but no jewelry
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: B35
Section: 2005 Grey Cup
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province
The championship ring is so ingrained in popular culture that its granting is, well, taken for granted.
But members of the 1964 Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions are ringless to this day.
A committee of former players is trying to round up the cash to buy rings for the remaining members of the team and it's hoped the jewelry will be ready to hand out by the start of next season.

"We're working on it," says Norm Fieldgate, a standout linebacker out of the University of B.C. who starred for the Lions from their inception in 1954 to 1967. "I'd like it to happen, but then I've wanted it to happen for the last 41 years.

"It's getting a little late for some of us to be getting Grey Cup rings."
Six members of the 1964 squad have passed away, says Fieldgate.
The '64 Lions were awarded, as was the custom at the time, eight-inch replica Grey Cups -- "almost like the bowling trophies they used to give out at the alleys," Fieldgate says, laughing.

The mini-Cups had an insignia on it of the real Cup, the player's name and the year stamped on.
"It's made of pewter so it's had its moments in our moves," says Fieldgate.
There was a feeling the team was being punished because in 1963 they got team rings -- with a simple lion engraved on a broad face -- when they lost the Grey Cup against the Tiger-Cats (the game where Angelo Mosca infamously knocked Lions halfback Willie Fleming out of the game with what fans at Empire Stadium felt was a late hit).

"But I talked to Mosca after Hamilton won the Grey Cup in 1965," says Lions president Bob Ackles, "and he told me the TiCats had to buy their own rings for their 1965 championship team."

gordmcintyre@png.canwest.com
Foolish to demand Buono's departure
The Vancouver Province
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: A51
Section: Sports
Byline: Kent Gilchrist
Column: Kent Gilchrist
Source: The Province
At the risk of sounding slightly homerish, I find it stunning there are folks out there who think Wally Buono should be fired ... or even worse.

Buono and team president Bob Ackles are the two best things that have happened to the B.C. Lions in a generation or two. There is absolutely no argument about that. In the three years they have been together, the Lions have finished first twice, been to the Grey Cup game and started 11-0 this year.

And Buono has been just as good or maybe even better answering the tough questions and accepting responsibility for the fall when the team slid to 1-7, including last Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in the Western final.

What do the fans who call all-sports radio expect, for Buono to walk on water and part the Red Sea, all the while barking out plays to Dave Dickenson? The only sin, really, is that the Lions have become too successful too quickly. They have driven the expectation higher than the level of their own competency. All the right parts that go into making a championship-calibre team have not been acquired yet.

Luckily for his own peace of mind, Buono has mostly been able to control his urge to see what has been written or listen to what's being said. Every morning copies of newspaper articles are left in his mail slot at the Lions office and every morning he deposits them in the garbage can under his desk.

"It's OK," he says of the fans, open-mouth talk show hosts and scribblers like me who watched that 11-0 start and then simply had to have somebody to blame for the pratfall.

"My job is to come here and make football fun again and passionate again and, hopefully, win the Grey Cup. Nobody is more disappointed than me," he says.

"But I'd be more upset if the people weren't so passionate about the football team. People's opinions are valid. I respect that. A coach goes in with every good intention. There are no absolutes in sports. Sometimes you make a great call, sometimes the players make you look good, sometimes you make mistakes.

"The only guarantee I can give is that we're going to work hard at getting better. We're not going to duck issues, because the people out there deserve that from us."

Buono, perhaps better than anyone because of all the great teams he had in Calgary, understands that just having the Grey Cup game in your city puts on another level of expectation.

Someone other than the Lions will occupy their locker room when the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes conduct their first practises for Sunday's game.

"It's still our Grey Cup, even though we're not in it," said Buono. "I'm not going to run and hide. Though I'd rather be visiting my daughter in Seattle, there are commitments I have because I respect the league. I'm going to have a smile on my face, but I won't be smiling inside."

You might see him at the Rogers player awards night, the Grey Cup parade, Lions Den function, the Grey Cup dinner and he will go to the game.

But it will be killing him to be there. If he's not patrolling the sidelines, what's the point?
hkgilchrist@yahoo.com
Lions must shore up offensive line: Buono: Playoff loss exposed weaknesses, coach says
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: E1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Lyndon Little
Source: Vancouver Sun
As painful as Sunday's 28-23 Western final loss to the Edmonton Eskimos may have been, those same Esks may have done the B.C. Lions a large favour.

Had the Lions squeaked past Edmonton and into the Grey Cup, there may have been a tendency to paper over some of the team's biggest shortcomings. With Sunday's defeat, however, the ignominy of a 1-7 finish hits everybody -- coaches and players alike -- squarely in the face.

For B.C. football fans, the silver lining is that some of the problem areas can't be overlooked any longer.
"We know we fell short this year," said head coach and general manager Wally Buono Tuesday after addressing the players for a final time. "In this business, if you stay with the status quo you haven't improved yourself."

So the Lions realize they have to get better -- a lot better in some situations -- if they are to move to the level of Grey Cup champions.

The quarterbacking conundrum will take care of itself, because the team is unlikely to make Casey Printers (who has already turned down three years for a reported $1 million) the kind of an offer that will satisfy either him or his agent-uncle. That means the club can get down to dealing with the real problems at hand -- like boosting the offensive line.

Buono knows something has to be done.
"I felt it [our pass protection] was better in the Edmonton game," he says. "Unfortunately, part of our evaluation process is we're going to have to sit down and look at improving our offensive line. That's an area we definitely have to focus on. We'll bring in guys we feel can challenge for starting jobs and, if we have to play as many as two imports on the O line, we'll do that."

Whoever winds up taking the snaps at quarterback next season had also better be prepared to make his reads and deliver the ball in a more timely fashion.

"System-wise, at times we've allowed our quarterbacks to hold onto the ball in order to make plays," admits the Lions' coach. "So we'll have to evaluate that. Sacks, unfortunately, are part of the game. But as many as we gave up [a league-leading 74] it is something we have to address."

Another area of obvious concern is the running game. Here, too, a beefed-up O line forms a major part of the solution. Running back Antonio Warren finished an impressive third in the league in yards from scrimmage. But the running part of his attack tailed off dramatically over the second half of the campaign. His longest gain the Western final was five yards.

"We have to get more physical up front," agrees Buono.
On defence, the Lions have more reason to be optimistic, but certainly not complacent. The biggest headache will be finding a replacement for disaffected middle linebacker Barrin Simpson, who has told the club he feels it's time to look elsewhere once he becomes a free agent Feb. 16. Simpson makes all the defensive calls for the front seven and is one of the best "wrapup" tacklers in the league.

Overall, though, the club took a step forward on defence this past season as co-ordinator Dave Ritchie worked young legs like Javier Glatt, Tony Tiller, Chris Wilson and Nautyn McKay-Loescher into his lineup with positive results.

Glatt had to step up when Otis Floyd went down in the Western final and led all players in Sunday's game with eight tackles.

Buono also won't hesitate to go the import route to solidify his kicking game.
"We have the [roster] flexibility to do that," he notes. "But Duncan O'Mahony is our kicker right now. If he rebounds like I feel he can that's great. He showed signs of that the last three weeks."

GRID BITS: The chances of improving the team through the draft look promising. The Lions will have three first-round picks next spring -- their own, Calgary's (for Jason Gesser) and Winnipeg's (for Spergon Wynn). Winnipeg's pick will be either No. 1 or No. 2 as the Bombers' tied with Hamilton for the worst record . . . Simpson, guard Bobby Singh and special teams standout Kelly Lochbaum are the only notable players due to become free agents Feb. 16. However, there are 22 others heading into their option years in 2006. Option-year players interested in exploring NFL possibilities can begin working out for NFL teams Dec. 2. . . . The club expects receiver Tony Simmons, who impressed before tearing up a knee July 29 against Calgary, to be back next year.

llittle@png.canwest.com
Printers wants to be Lions' starter: But QB says he still has one eye on the NFL
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: E2
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
Any player who has tried to tackle slippery Casey Printers knows how adept he is at reversing his field. It's just as tough to pin him down on his future plans.

Together with Dave Dickenson in the same locker room for probably the last time, Printers said Tuesday that he wants to stay in B.C. and become the Lions' undisputed No. 1 quarterback.

At the same time, if the NFL comes calling . . . Geez, he would have to give it some serious thought.
Asked if he had to choose between being a No. 1 quarterback with the Lions and a No. 2 quarterback with an NFL team, Printers paused: "Good question. Obviously, I have a goal to play in the NFL. It's always been my goal to play at the highest level possible. If I get an opportunity, it's going to be hard to pass up. With the position we have in B.C. to assume greatness, very quickly, it's going to be hard for me to turn that down also. There are going to be a lot of things that I have to weigh."

Printers offered a show-me-the-money sales pitch for coach and GM Wally Buono, who must decide between offering Printers a lucrative contract extension before for his NFL window opens (he is entering his option year) or retaining Dickenson. The veteran quarterback is under contract for two more seasons but the no-trade clause in his deal terminates at the end of 2005.

"I tell you what. If I'm the starter here, we can achieve leaps and bounds," Printers said. "Records will be broken. Greatness will be achievable, in my opinion. I think we need to have a [one] guy, though, who can take charge."

Agent Jason Medlock played the NFL card months ago after talks with the Lions' GM broke off -- $1 million over three years wasn't enough, apparently -- but Printers can't or won't put a figure on the number of interested NFL teams who've made contact.

"I honestly can't tell you that. I really don't know the number," Printers said. "My agent and I are going to have to sit down and figure out who's interested, who's not, who wants me to work out for them, who doesn't. I'm not interested in going just to work out. I have film. They can look at it and see that I can play. If not, fine. I'm not distressing about anything. I'm totally fixed on having an opportunity to showcase my skills."

Dickenson realizes that Printers has options that he doesn't but no matter.
"One thing I'm trying to push is, I'm here to stay," he said. "I want to be here. And I'm not going anywhere until they kick me out.

"If they look at my performance on the field, and even how things have gone off the field with ticket sales, I think they'd be making a mistake to let me go. But Wally's got the hammer. I want to go where I'm wanted, anyway. If I'm not wanted, then let's go somewhere else."

sixbeamers@aol.com
Barrin Simpson set to seek a new beginning: All-star linebacker says he was ready to retire before the start of this season, but now he's ready to play -- elsewhere
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: E2
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
Barrin Simpson, the pigeon-toed linebacker, says he's flying the coop, even though safety Barron Miles believes there still will be two barional defenders with the B.C. Lions in 2006.

"Yes, I think there'll be two of us here next year," Miles said Tuesday, as the Lions packed up their gear following a final team meeting at their Surrey training facility. "I told Barrin I'd be back for his press conference, after he signs. He just started laughing."

No way, Simpson says, who on Monday said the Lions had the makings of "a dynasty."
That still isn't sufficient incentive to make him stay.
"It's done. Next year, I will be on a different team," the fifth-year linebacker vowed. "I won't be back in B.C., that's for sure. I was frustrated about the way I was used. The frustration was great. I didn't want to deal with that frustration any more. It was hard to come to work."

Players and coaches marvel how easily Simpson morphs from a spiritual, mild-mannered family man into one of the most disruptive forces in the Canadian Football League.

But disruption is not something Simpson allowed to seep into the locker room, which is why he kept quiet about his unhappiness and reduced role with the Lions until the team had been eliminated from Grey Cup contention.

In fact, Simpson, asked repeatedly throughout the season what he intended to do after playing out his option, would usually smile, play coy and reply, "Stay tuned."

Apparently, it takes the promise of a free lunch to convince him open up, as he did following the Lions' 28-23 defeat to the Edmonton Eskimos Sunday in the Western final at B.C. Place.

On Tuesday, Simpson attracted a smattering of reporters with considerably less latitude in their expense accounts, revealing to The Vancouver Sun that he was reluctant to return this year, to the point where he thought about retiring in the offseason.

"I thought about going back to school to finish up some courses," said the three-time CFL all-star.
Simpson would have, except for the intervention of his wife, Tammie.
She knew how difficult it would be to have a man around their Starkville, Miss., home with nothing to hit but textbooks. Besides being an extremely productive tackler -- he led the CFL in tackles for three straight seasons, 2001-2003 -- Simpson is so technically proficient at what he does that the staff at Mississippi State, his alma mater, uses a video of him for training purposes.

"I like Wally [Buono] as a person. We have no differences personally. He has a passion about the game. I have a passion about the game. But I felt I wasn't put in the right situation to help the football team.

"In my view, this is the prime of my career," Simpson, 28, adds. "The ability that I have and my understanding of the game is at its highest point. Coaches put their best players in position to make plays, and I don't feel I was put in a position to do that."

Though he kept his disillusionment to himself, Simpson said he'd already made up the decision to go elsewhere next season before the 2005 campaign began. There was no way Buono was going to talk him out of it.

West all-star Otis Floyd, who underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn pectoral muscle suffered in Sunday's playoff game, will return next season along with Javier Glatt, first-year player Jamall Johnson, a Division 1-AA All-American last season and possibly Carl Kidd. JoJuan Armour said he doesn't expect to figure in the Lions' plans.

Kidd is under contract. He's going into his option year and will turn 33 just before the start of the regular season.
"Right now, everything is up in the air," Kidd said. "But I don't want to be nowhere where nobody don't want me."
Glatt, who was mentored by Simpson when he broke into the CFL in 2003, believes he's ready to become a starting linebacker and wants a shot at replacing Simpson.

"Do I see myself replacing him? Of course," Glatt said. "If Barrin Simpson leaves and I don't get a chance to play middle linebacker, then I'll never get a chance to play middle linebacker."

sixbeamers@aol.com
Singh weighs his options: Lions lineman, and school board trustee, keeps eyes on NFL
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: E2
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
Offensive lineman Bobby Singh squeaked into a trustee post on the Richmond school board in the recent civic election and has no idea what the position pays. But one thing he does know: The NFL pays a whole lot better.

"I don't know how much I get," the first-time politician said Tuesday, as the Lions packed up for another season. "Probably not a lot.

"It's all about giving back to the community," Singh added, before bursting into uproarious laughter. "I was a big underdog but I believe I showed enough people that I really care. I did enough work to get in."

Singh, who garnered 9,152 votes Saturday, gained the seventh and final trustee position available in Richmond among 18 candidates. Now, he is looking to do another kind of door knocking: Canvassing NFL teams in the hope of getting an invitation to a training camp, even though he turned 30 the day after the Lions' elimination by the Eskimos in Sunday's Western final.

"I'm free until February," Singh says. "My agent [Derrick Fox] knows the NFL and he wants me to explore all my options. I've got a little window available. If the right situation comes up, of course I'll look into it. I like it here and I live here, but I've got to make sure I make the right decision."

Singh has a Super Bowl ring from his year on the practice squad of the St. Louis Rams and he believes that could count in his favour. An NFL team wouldn't have to compensate him as a second-year player.

"They could pay me minimal compensation and it wouldn't have to work against the [salary] cap," Singh said. "But if the right situation comes up, I'll stay in Vancouver. It wouldn't be smart to drop everything and go to the NFL without some sort of compensation [signing bonus]."

Singh, a guard, was tainted by the failure of the O-line this season -- B.C. gave up a league-worst 74 sacks -- even though he personally did not give up a sack and graded out as the Lions' top lineman.

Another Lion with definite plans not to return next season is rent-a-kicker Mark McLoughlin, the CFL's third all-time leading scorer who joined the team in October in hopes of making the difference in a Grey Cup run.

McLoughlin, 40, will return immediately to his vice-presidential duties at Olds College in Alberta and believes the Lions don't need to look for another candidate to replace Duncan O'Mahony, the one-trick pony who was punted as the team's kicker.

"I hope, and I truly believe, that the club will give Duncan the opportunity to come back and earn both jobs [punter/kicker] next year," McLoughlin said. "I'm sure Duncan has learned from this, and he'll get better over the offseason. I know he can compete at a high level, and he knows he can compete at a high level."

sixbeamers@aol.com
Lions' loss hurt the ego more than the wallet
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Page: F4
Section: BusinessBC
Byline: Bruce Constantineau
Source: Vancouver Sun
A heartbreaking Western Final loss to the Edmonton Eskimos was more of an emotional hit to the B.C. Lions than a financial one, B.C. Lions president Bob Ackles said Tuesday.

Lions owner David Braley paid $3.1 million for the rights to the 2005 Grey Cup game and Ackles said game profits should be significant -- more than $1 million.

The 2005 Grey Cup organizing committee, a B.C. Lions entity, has a budget of more than $2 million to hold various Grey Cup-related events around Vancouver and Ackles said the committee will at least break even.

He said many of the events have sold very well, including a Saturday night Grey Cup gala for 900 people that sold out a long time ago.

While admitting that coming out on the wrong end of a 28-23 score will clearly hurt B.C. Lions merchandise sales this week, Ackles said the club still expects to post a significant profit from all the Grey Cup activities taking place in Vancouver.

"The game will make a profit and we knew that when we sold out seven weeks ago but believe me, that has nothing to do with where your heart lies," Ackles said in an interview. "The biggest hit for us is that our fans don't get a chance to see their team in a huge game at home."

The Lions will still share in the sale of Grey Cup merchandise this week but the share will be significantly less than what they would have received by selling B.C. Lions shirts, jerseys and other merchandise that would have been hot sellers if the Lions had made it to the big game.

Braley has lost a significant amount of money since buying the B.C. Lions franchise nearly nine years ago but Ackles said 2005 should be "a little better" than a break-even year for the club, not counting the Grey Cup.

Ackles said the average attendance at Lions games this year rose to more than 33,000 from 26,700 last year and expects the club will improve those numbers again in 2006.

"We'll have to work hard at it and make a few adjustments and changes but we can build on this," he said. "We're already working on next year."

bconstantineau@png.canwest.com
Unhappy Printers may not be back
The Globe and Mail
Wed 23 Nov 2005
By Grant Kerr
SURREY, B.C. -- Casey Printers, in what may be his parting words to the B.C. Lions, says the team's coaches didn't communicate enough with him.

The 24-year-old quarterback spoke carefully after cleaning out his locker at the team's training site yesterday, two days after B.C. lost the West Division final to the Edmonton Eskimos by five points. He said he was not certain he would return for a fourth Canadian Football League season.

Printers can exercise a clause in his contract and sign with a National Football League club between Jan. 5 and Feb. 15.

The season-long controversy over who was the No. 1 quarterback, Printers or more experienced Dave Dickenson, divided the team, Printers said before heading home to Houston to ponder his future.

Advertisements
"Both guys want to play, and if you don't declare who's the No. 1 guy outright, you're going to have problems," Printers said. 'You have to have an undisputed No. 1.

"You can't tell me I'm the starter and then, two weeks later, pull me and say Dave's the starter. Last year when we were winning and I was playing great, they wanted to get Dave back in there. Obviously, it's been his team since I stepped foot in British Columbia."

Printers was the CFL's outstanding player in 2004, when Dickenson was injured much of the season. This year, Printers was injured early, followed by Dickenson going to the sideline, creating constant controversy on a team that started out 11-0 and then finished 1-7 in its remaining games.

The relationship between Printers and offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine lacked communication, in the eyes of Printers.

"Jacques is a great man and fun to be around, but there have been times we didn't communicate very well," Printers said. "At times on the field, it showed we weren't on the same thought process.

"The biggest thing right now is communication. All I want to know is if the coaching staff is for me. I think they prefer Dave."

Dickenson, 32, has two years remaining on his contract, although his no-trade clause has expired. Printers has the option year left on his deal, with the standard out clause for players wanting to try the better-paying NFL.

Both pivots want to return, but only to be the clear No. 1 in the minds of head coach Wally Buono and his offensive co-ordinator.

Buono has started Dickenson in the team's most important games -- both losses -- namely the 2004 Grey Cup against the Toronto Argonauts and the West Division final last Sunday.

"I'd be very disappointed if I wasn't back," Dickenson said. "I think I did my part this year. If I'm not back, I'd be surprised.

"I don't mind competing for the job. The problem is if it goes back and forth like it did. I'd rather have one guy you hang your hat on."

Dickenson believes the Leos' late-season slide was the result of the concussion he suffered on Oct. 1, which caused him to miss five games.

"I feel there's a lot of unfinished business here," Dickenson added. "Things were going so well, the future was so clear, up until Week 13. I'm not done playing, I know that."

Buono indicated an evaluation of the coaching staff is standard practice after a season. He didn't tip his hand over possible changes.

After meeting with his players, Buono concluded: "It's been made very clear to me that it would probably be in the best interest of both players and the club to make one declaration. It clears the air for when you go to [training] camp in 2006. You know who the leaders are going to be, who the No. 1 quarterback's going to be."

One player definitely not returning is middle linebacker Barrin Simpson, who wants a change through free agency after five seasons with the Lions. That makes two key leaders unsure where they'll be playing football next season.

Committed to return is veteran offensive tackle Cory Mantyka, who came back from a serious arm injury to play every game this season with a group that gave up 74 quarterback sacks, the most in the league.

**Esks4ever** · 11-23-2005, 02:48 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

so much reading

**Angelus** · 11-25-2005, 12:57 AM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Thursday

Coaches' karma: Sunday's meeting between Danny Maciocia and Don Matthews is a work of fate
National Post
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S2
Section: Sports
Byline: Mark Spector
Column: Mark Spector
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post
VANCOUVER - It is a record ninth Grey Cup as a head coach for Don Matthews. His 15th overall, going back to his days as High Campbell's assistant in Edmonton. It has been a career so full of success that even though he recently procured a DVD of every Grey Cup game he has taken part in, Matthews has yet to crack the seal on the collection.

Football coaches are all just mice on the run, he reasons, "and the time for reflection is once you're off the treadmill."

Sitting next to Matthews, drinking in every sweet second of yesterday's Grey Cup coaches' press conference, was Danny Maciocia. This occasion, the first of what should be many of these for Maciocia, was both a rite of passage and a distinct milestone for the 38-year-old rookie head coach. So despite Matthews' advice, Maciocia was willing to dive into the reflecting pool, as it were.

"I get chills, when I walk on that field for the pre-game warmup, whether it's a pre-season, regular-season or playoff game. I cherish every single moment," said Maciocia. "My wife, she was only 31 years old when she gave up her career so we could move to Edmonton, so I could establish myself as a football coach. When I do take the field, I remember all the sacrifices. The two years as a volunteer coach in Montreal, hell, with no income. My girlfriend at the time, my wife today, a McGill student, working a part-time job making payments on my car. I cherish every single moment. Every single moment."

With the room quiet, and Maciocia thoroughly lost in the moment, Matthews decided a mood change was in order: "Danny, I want to give you a little look at what's in your future," he said. "You know those chills that you get on the sidelines? As you get older, they turn into diarrhea."

That these two should oppose each other in Sunday's Grey Cup game makes for a delicious tale. Matthews, the most successful coach in CFL history and a Grey Cup winner in four different decades, is nearing the end of a legendary career. Maciocia, who was still a kid in the stands when Matthews started walking CFL sidelines, is the best of a new breed of Canadian-born coaches who could one day be back for a 15th Grey Cup of his own.

"Early in your career, you tend to take them for granted," advised Matthews of his many trips to the Grey Cup. "I was spoiled when I was with the Eskimos [who attended six in a row]. When I was young, I thought this was just how it happened. When you get older, you realize. It gets tougher."

As Matthews spoke, Maciocia listened intently. As Maciocia spoke, Matthews re-filled their glasses with water, confirmed the odd historical fact that Maciocia was fuzzy on, and accepted in Yoda-like fashion that Maciocia repeatedly referred to him as "Coach." You'll hear Maciocia called Dan as often as you'll hear someone refer to Matthews as Donny -- which is just this side of never.

And while Maciocia revealed that he had sought advice from Matthews, that he had been interviewed for a job on his Montreal staff once, and that Matthews had called to congratulate him on landing the Edmonton job, Matthews quietly showed signs of a man who was enjoying this very public mentorship session.

"The thing is, your first head coaching job is the toughest year of your life," he said. "To get to a Grey Cup in your first year as head coach is as difficult a job as you'll ever have. Danny, I'll tell you this: it gets easier. And you're going to get to a lot more."

"I can't wait," Maciocia quipped, "to see when it gets easier."
While Matthews finally left Edmonton's staff after five consecutive Cup wins to strike out on his own as a head coach in B.C. back in 1983, Maciocia admitted that he had to step out of his comfort zone in Montreal if he was ever going to make it as a CFL head man.

"I was sadly kidding myself when I was there, thinking that, you know, I'd just go through the ranks and maybe one day they'd turn to you and say, 'We want you to be the head coach.' But I knew I had to leave," he said. "And there's no question that I'm a little more credible today, just for the fact that I was able to get up and leave. I know that no one can look at me and say, you don't belong in the CFL."

It has been a month of milestones for Maciocia, who defeated a Calgary club in the West semi-final coached by Tom Higgins, who had made Maciocia his offensive coordinator in Edmonton. Then, on Sunday, Edmonton beat a B.C. Lions team coached by the same Wally Buono whom Maciocia had idolized as a boy, egged on by his Italian father who trumpeted Buono and Peter Dalla Riva as two Italian-Canadians who had made it in the CFL.

Next up for Maciocia, The Don. A truly remarkable matchup when you consider that at the 1977 Grey Cup -- the Staple Bowl played at Montreal's Olympic Stadium -- Maciocia was just a kid, holding his father's hand as they made their way through the packed stadium to their seats. It was, as it turns out, the first Grey Cup game for both Maciocia and Matthews.

"It was the coldest, longest three-and-a-half hours of my life," said Matthews, of what would turn into 41-6 Alouettes rout, when the Als used staples in their cleats to gain traction on an icy field. "I remember a transit strike. I remember snow. I remember the field was so slick. Watching the film afterwards, our front four ... the ball was snapped, Sonny Wade was the quarterback, the four defensive linemen were in their three-point stance ... They all took one step and they all fell down -- exactly at the same time. It looked like synchronized swimming.

"And I remember this little, young guy up in the stands," said Matthews. He was kidding now, wheeling to his left and pointing a finger at Maciocia. "That was you! Boy, you were a jerk that day."

"Seventy-seven? That would have made me 10," Maciocia figured. "Here I am, with my dad, watching this football game. I was a huge Alouettes fan, and I just detested this middle linebacker that wore No. 42 [for Edmonton]. Just detested him. It's unbelievable the way things work out. I'll never forget going to those games. I was a huge Alouettes fan, and just disliked the Eskimos and that particular ball player. Now, I happen to be working for them and he's my best friend."

Dan Kepley is on Maciocia's staff now. And by what name does Kepley refer to Maciocia?
He calls him "Coach."
Argo in exile: As the only starter traded from the Grey Cup champs, Sandy Annunziata has cause to be bitter. But unlike his old team, he's still playing
National Post
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: B9
Section: Sports
Byline: Sean Fitz-Gerald
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post
VANCOUVER - Little Max lands tomorrow, about a year after he was conceived, and his arrival will make his very big father a very happy man.

Maximus Michael Grey Annunziata is only a few months old and already has a claim to fame, being as he is, "a direct product of Grey Cup celebrations."

But Little Max is also a bit of a stranger.
He lives with his mother and two sisters in Fort Erie, Ont., while his father, Sandy, lives in Edmonton and works as an offensive lineman with the Eskimos. Theirs was not supposed to be a long-distance relationship, but life in the Canadian Football League can be unpredictable, and unfair.

Annunziata won the Grey Cup last year as a member of the Toronto Argonauts. It was the first title win of his nine-year career and he went into the winter expecting to help the team defend its prize again this season. But that changed in April when he received a phone call informing him he had been traded to Edmonton for future considerations.

"There's not a lot of loyalty in pro sports," he said yesterday. "So there's no resentment, no ill-feelings. Now, if you ask my wife, my wife is a little bitter. She's still a little bitter because it was a good situation: You wake up in the morning, you go to work and you come home at night when you play in Toronto. And that hasn't been the case for six months."

Annunziata has seen his son four times, including the day he was born.
"I was home for the birth because we had a bye week," he said. "So I was home for a week, came back out here and didn't see my new guy until probably about a month-and-a-half later. So it's been hard. It's been hard on my wife, it's been hard on my little guy. Good thing newborns just eat and sleep all day, but you're missing out on that first year of his life."

Annunziata was the only starter the Argos removed from their Grey Cup roster. His job at right guard was initially claimed by veteran Mike Mihelic, but he lost his job to import Dave Costa and was dressed as a backup when the Argos lost to the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division final last weekend.

"I guess that their point of view was that they thought they could replace me at that right guard spot and put a better product on the field without me," Annunziata said. "Because, apparently, I was the only guy that didn't return. So, if that's what they thought, great. If you ask me, 'Do I think I could have made a difference in that lineup?' Absolutely."

A dislocated right elbow will probably prevent the 36-year-old from making much of a difference on the field for the Eskimos in their Grey Cup meeting with those same Alouettes this weekend, but he will still dress as an emergency sixth offensive lineman. He will also hold the distinction of being the only player at B.C. Place Stadium with a chance to repeat as a Grey Cup champion.

Already guaranteed $6,000 for being in the final, Annunziata will get $12,000 if the Eskimos win.
"The majority of his career was sort of like mine -- spent in futility," Argos offensive lineman Jude St. John said of his long-time friend. "But he may be on a little bit of a roll now with winning. And certainly, at this point of his career, I'm happy for him. We're both getting to the end, a couple years, maybe. I know it was difficult for him to go out there, but at least he's got some compensation for it."

Some of the most valuable payback, of course, might involve just a touch of schadenfreude. Even if he doesn't play that much on Sunday, Annunziata knows he will still be on national television while most of his former teammates are stuck at home, watching.

"In a perfect world, I wish Toronto was here," he said. "I wish I could be here at another Grey Cup, and they could be here at another Grey Cup. Because I've got a lot of friends there and it would have been great for them to get an opportunity to defend their Grey Cup. I'll tell you this much, the outcome wouldn't have been in doubt. I would have got my second Grey Cup and they would have went home."

Does that mean Maximus Michael Grey should be expecting a little brother -- named Cup, perhaps?
"We'd love to have another one," Annunziata said, smiling. "Things get pretty outta hand during Grey Cup celebrations, so you never know."

Coaching is not for the dogs: Matthews: Nor the wives: Win on Sunday would give him a record six titles
National Post
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S2
Section: Sports
Byline: Sean Fitz-Gerald
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post
VANCOUVER - At any given point in time, there is a good chance that someone is upset with Don Matthews. And as he described the cost exacted by the effort poured into a Canadian Football League season, the head coach admitted that anger extends to even his own pets.

"If you're married, it's almost divorce," he said of the long hours yesterday. "If you're not married, your dog's mad at you. My dog's mad at me. I've had eight wives that were mad at me ..."

The last part, about the wives, was a joke.
"Everything gets exaggerated in the media," Matthews said, "so I just thought I'd just help you out with that."
He has been divorced, more than a couple of times. And he has changed teams with even more frequency, but no one in the Canadian Football League has won as often as the man known simply as The Don.

Matthews has guided his teams to five Grey Cup titles, tied with Frank Clair, Lew Hayman and Hugh Campbell for the most in league history. The record will become his alone if he guides the Montreal Alouettes to victory over the Edmonton Eskimos at B.C. Place Stadium this weekend.

There is no telling whether he would have been given the chance to pursue the record had the Als lost to Toronto in the East Division final last weekend, and there is certainly no telling him. Rumours of his imminent dismissal swirled around the Grey Cup warm-up, but they disappeared like steam from a kettle as soon as Montreal advanced.

"Don has zero concern when it comes to popularity contests," said Eric Tillman, who has competed both with and against The Don. "What he thinks, what he feels, there's no grey area. He's very good at conveying that. In fact, one of the things he's always said to me, and I won't use the word he uses: he said, 'There are a lot of people in this business who are behind-your-back-expletives.' He said, 'I'm an in-your-face-expletive.'"

That often extends to the media, with whom he has a love-hate-despise relationship. Matthews was charming at times while sitting next to Edmonton counterpart Danny Maciocia at the pre-game coaches press conference yesterday, but his personality is also well known for its coarser sides.

"He lets his leaders lead, and he's not afraid to pull the strings," Montreal defensive lineman Ed Philion said. "If guys aren't getting it done, he doesn't care who you are, he's gonna pull you out and sit you down. He'll put you back in and give you another opportunity to prove yourself, and that's the good thing about him."

Matthews has won the league's coach-of-the-year award five times and has recorded 223 victories in the regular season, most in CFL history. This weekend will mark his 15th appearance in the Grey Cup as either a head coach or an assistant.

"When people are talking about my job being in jeopardy, the people that are talking are not the ones making the decisions," Matthews said yesterday. "I really think that conversations like that bring interest to our football team. It brings conversation to the fans, everybody has an opinion, everybody's talking about the Alouettes. And negative and positive talk is talk about your football team."

Rookie proves his worth: Danny Maciocia, the CFL's first Quebec-born head coach, left the Als four years ago because he didn't think he could coexist with new boss man Don Matthews
The Gazette (Montreal)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette
Danny Maciocia left the Alouettes organization four years ago because he wouldn't have been able to coexist with Don Matthews, who was hired as the head coach.

On Sunday, Maciocia, in his first year as Edmonton's head coach, will attempt to lead the Eskimos to a Grey Cup victory over Montreal. Maciocia, from St. Leonard, is the CFL's first Quebec-born head coach.

Of course, Maciocia wasn't saying anything contentious yesterday morning, when the two coaches met in the ballroom of a hotel for a news conference to kick off the week's festivities.

"I needed to leave. A lot thought I was there because I could say a few words in French," said Maciocia, who joined the Als in 1995 as a volunteer quality-control coach - computer work - and worked his way up to offensive co-ordinator in 2001. "I had to establish myself, and I think I have more credibility because I left Montreal.

"I'm glad I did so."
The 2001 season was rough on Maciocia and the Als under Rod Rust. The team forged to a 9-2 record before falling prey to injuries, including a critical one to quarterback Anthony Calvillo. The club quit on Rust, lost its final seven regular-season games and Maciocia was criticized for the Als' offensive inconsistencies. Things weren't better at home, where his wife, Sandra Vaz, suffered a miscarriage.

Matthews was hired in November that year during Grey Cup week in Montreal. Although Maciocia was interviewed by Matthews for two hours, it was understood he would have been demoted on Matthews's staff. So he made a lateral move to Edmonton as offensive co-ordinator, adding quarterback coach to his resume.

Matthews called Maciocia this season, after his promotion by the Eskimos, but it's generally understood in the league's inner circles that the two don't particularly like each other. Matthews looks upon Maciocia as a potential threat to his job. This season, when the two teams met at Commonwealth Stadium, both wanted to be interviewed first at halftime by the network carrying the game.

"I have a home in Montreal and my family lives there. But Edmonton's home," said Maciocia, 38, the first coach to lead the Esks to a championship game after a third-place finish. "I have a very good situation in Edmonton. It's the CFL's flagship organization. I couldn't be in a better place and environment.

"I'm kidding myself if I thought I was going to go through the ranks and the Alouettes would have turned to me. I knew I had to leave. And if I wake up Monday and decide to go back to the family (insurance) business, as a 38-year-old, I've had a pretty good run. No one can look at me and say I don't belong."

The chances of him jumping ship are remote. He and Matthews have stabilized their situations by reaching this point, especially when neither club was expected to advance this far. Maciocia has two years remaining on his contract. Although he ranks among the league's lowest-paid head coaches - perhaps earning less than $150,000 - he has impressed the team's executives with his diligence and perseverance.

Youthful, brazen and bold, Maciocia goes about his business in an unorthodox fashion. He challenged rush-end Joe Montford before the division final to play better, and wasn't reluctant to bench $460,000 starting quarterback Ricky Ray in the second half of both playoff games. Maciocia revamped the Eskimos' secondary, retooled their offensive and defensive lines, endured a kicker who couldn't kick straight and traded for a star running back. And, throughout the year, he was pilloried by the media and fans.

"I knew Danny would do everything possible as head coach to get us here," said Rick LeLacheur, Edmonton's chief operating officer. "He has tremendous dedication. This is a guy with passion who would spend hours and days on the job. And he's a great motivator. We didn't hire him to be the head coach for one year. He's too much of a quality guy and quality coach.

"Perhaps one day he'll go back to Montreal as the coach, general manager or president. He could also do that in Edmonton, or elsewhere in the CFL. But he has a long career ahead of him."

Coaches study in contrasts
The Gazette (Montreal)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: JACK TODD
Column: Jack Todd
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette
They are as unalike as pickles and barbed wire.
Danny Maciocia, the personable young coach from St. Leonard, a rookie making his first Grey Cup appearance as a head coach and Don Matthews, who has been here so many times that in the photos of his first Grey Cup triumph, the players are wearing leather helmets.

Maciocia started with the Alouettes, Matthews with the Eskimos, and now these teams face each other for the third time in four years with a CFL championship on the line with their head coaches at opposite points in their careers. The Edmonton coach speaks fluent French, the Montreal coach speaks none.

Maciocia can obviously be tough when he has to be, but he speaks softly; Matthews owns a Rottweiler because the dog has his personality.

Maciocia yesterday turned up for the annual news conference for the rival coaches looking like an earnest young accountant in a sombre dark suit. Matthews wore a Grey Cup jacket and cap and Fu Manchu, and he was in fine form as raconteur and wise old man. At times, he even managed to sound humble.

Above all, he claimed never to have been worried by the people, your humble correspondent among them, who said that he should join the ranks of the unemployed if he failed to take this team back to the Grey Cup.

"The people who are talking," Matthews said, "are not the ones who make the decisions here. I think conversations like that help to bring interest to our football team. Whether it's negative or positive, the talk is focused on your team.

"It doesn't worry me. I know what my future is and I know what my job is. Sometimes talk is good. Talk creates interest and that's good for your team. We turned it into a trip to B.C."

Still, Matthews dropped a couple of broad hints that this might be the end of the line for him if he wins a Grey Cup.
Asked how he feels about the opportunity to break a four-way tie for most Grey Cup wins by taking his sixth CFL title, Matthews said: "It would be nice to win that last one and then just retire."

To another question about his future, Matthews replied:
"How much longer? This will be my last one. No really, to make that decision, out of respect to our owners, I would have to discuss it with them. I remember when Bob and Lisa Wetenhall took over the team. When they heard the financials and then left the room, I said: 'If he takes this team, then we've found the tooth fairy.'

"So out of respect - deep, deep respect for them - I would visit that area with them before I would say anything else."

GM Jim Popp clearly is not worried about losing his coach: "I anticipate that he will be back," Popp said.
Asked if he believes Maciocia will be back in Montreal some day, Popp replied: "I can't say. I don't know. That's like asking me whether I think one day Bryan Chiu will end up back in Vancouver or whether Wally Buono will ever coach in Montreal. I just don't know."

Does Popp sound a little cool on Maciocia? Who knows? Maciocia, with his fluent French, would be a popular choice in Quebec and he would ignite a new wave of football fever in LaSalle and St. Leonard. But if he wins Sunday the Eskimos are going to be loath to part with him - and if Matthews wins, he might punch his ticket for as much as three more seasons in Montreal.

Maciocia, meanwhile, knows that he had to leave Montreal to get to where he is today.
"I felt I had to leave. At first I thought I could go up in the coaching ranks if I stayed in Montreal, but I know I had to leave. Now, even if I go back to the family business, I feel that for a 38-year-old coach, I've had a good run."

Maciocia has had a brilliant run. He is the one going through all this for the first time, but he has been lining up the league's most respected coaches and going through them one after another: Tom Higgins, Buono, now Matthews. If he can outfox the old fox, the Grey Cup will go to Edmonton and Maciocia will enter the first rank of CFL coaches.

Matthews, with another win, will cement his legend. But those who stop to think know how near this team was to a season-ending disaster when they fell behind 14-0 early in the East final against Toronto.

Now the party line is that Matthews planned this all along - but the players who are saying now that everyone doubted them until they came this far aren't fooling Pierre Vercheval, the former lineman who has become one of the league's best commentators with RDS.

"I heard all that Sunday," Vercheval said, "and I said it on air. Who was the first one who doubted them? It was Don Matthews. He was the one who changed the whole system because he didn't believe in them."

Now Matthews believes in them and they believe in him and the team that will face the Eskimos here Sunday is supposedly one big happy family. They are doing things so well now

after an up-and-down season that we are picking the Alouettes to win this one, unless Anthony Calvillo goes down early, in which case all bets are off.

But however this plays out, you have to hope to see Maciocia back in Montreal some day. He's bright, he's young, he's a winner. And unlike some coaches we could name, he makes friends wherever he goes.

jtodd@thegazette.canwest.com

By the Numbers
The Gazette (Montreal)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Source: The Gazette
.385 Winning percentage of the Alouettes in Grey Cup games, with five victories in 13 appearances, worse than every CFL team but Saskatchewan.

.522 Winning percentage for the Eskimos at the Grey Cup, with 12 wins in 23 appearances, behind Toronto and the former Ottawa Rough Riders.

Crutchfield won't be selling rings: Created uproar; Put Esks' Cup bauble for sale on eBay
The Gazette (Montreal)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette
The championship ring, Darrel Crutchfield vows, won't be put up for sale this time should the Alouettes capture the Grey Cup this Sunday.

"No way, no how. You know what I'm saying?" the Montreal cornerback stated.
Crutchfield caused quite a stir last February, when the bauble he won with Edmonton in 2003 appeared on eBay. Although he said it all was a misunderstanding - he made it available just out of curiousity, to see what interest it would attract - Crutchfield was released a month later by the Eskimos.

That transaction was misconstrued as well, he maintained. Crutchfield requested his release from Edmonton after three seasons. The Eskimos had signed former Als cornerback Davis Sanchez as a free agent and denied Crutchfield's request for a raise. Crutchfield, who spent two seasons in the NFL with Philadelphia, was again drawing interest in the U.S., from Atlanta, Jacksonville, Oakland and Miami, and figured he could slip under the CFL radar and return south.

Instead, Als general manager Jim Popp claimed the 26-year-old off waivers and signed him to a new contract in March. And now, Crutchfield is preparing for his third Cup appearance in four years.

That it comes against the Eskimos, his former team, makes him salivate.
"The first thing that goes through my head, to be honest, is regret," he said. "Not mine. My former teammates. We built some close relationships. I went to two Grey Cups with Edmonton and won one, so there will be a lot of emotion.

"Was it a mistake? In hindsight, I don't think so. Do I think they regret it? Seeing the situation now, yeah. But do they miss me? No. It depends how I perform. I don't have nothing to prove to them. I did everything during my time there. We went to two Grey Cups and I played damn well. If I prove anything, it's to my teammates."

Crutchfield has a fairly consistent, if unspectacular season. He intercepted a pass, knocked down three others, had a tackle for a loss and registered 30 defensive tackles.

"I wasn't going so much on what he had done in this league as in the NFL," Popp explained. "He competed and did well. I liked his style and thought he had the potential to be aggressive, putting his hands on people. We play a lot of bump-and-run. He has the size and long limbs. Those are good qualities as a corner."

The Eskimos move their receivers around. Crutchfield, playing the strong side, could see Trevor Gaylor primarily. But he might also get to cover Ed Hervey and even slotbacks Jason Tucker or Derrell Mitchell. Crutchfield said he's prepared for any challenge.

"It doesn't matter to me," said the 6-foot, 179-pounder. "It depends what they want to accomplish. If they feel they can win the game against me, I'll be covering a lot of guys. I hope they do, so I'll see a lot of balls."

Montreal's defence was maligned and porous at times this season. But following two successive strong postseason performances against Saskatchewan and Toronto, Crutchfield is confident the unit is peaking at just the right time and has solved its problems.

"Yes, and put that in capital and bold letters," he said. "People were talking about us, but we hung in and got it right and believed when nobody did."

Notes - The Als practised for the first time yesterday afternoon at B.C. Place Stadium. Tailback Robert Edwards, nursing a pair of cracked ribs, was in uniform, but didn't do much. "I can move around no problem," he said. "You can't gauge the collisions I'd take. It's hard to control that. If I take a hit in the same area, it could damage other things. I think that's the coach's concern." Although Edwards would like to play, head coach Don Matthews said it remains unlikely. ...

For the first time this season, the Als are under curfew on the road and must be in their rooms by 10 p.m. "The purpose of a curfew is not to get them off the street. It's to focus," Matthews said. "We ask for a week of their time to focus on the game to achieve a lifetime of memories." ...

Running-back Eric Lapointe, who gained 112 yards against the Argonauts and scored three touchdowns after replacing Edwards, is the CFL's offensive player of the week. Damon Duval, who made all but one of his five field-goal attempts, including 48- and 40-yarders in the fourth quarter, is the special-teams player of the week.

hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
Als' Mudge thankful trade led to Grey Cup
The Gazette (Montreal)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette
Had he remained in Winnipeg, Dave Mudge's season would have ended in late October, with the Blue Bombers' final game.
But because he was traded to the Alouettes, Mudge instead is preparing to play the second Grey Cup of his career - his first was in 2001.

"I feel amazingly fortunate," said the veteran offensive tackle, acquired in July for Aaron Fiacconi. "I do feel lucky. How many opportunities would I have had? This would have been frustrating."

Although the 6-foot-7, 305-pounder is a former CFL lineman of the year, he fell into disfavour with head coach Jim Daley, who questioned his work ethic and suggested Mudge should consider retirement after seven seasons. Daley was fired at the end of the season.

"I was a little frustrated when my effort was being questioned," he said. "Any time I saw Daley, I never knew what was going to come out of his mouth. He'd call me into his office and question my effort. You're trying to get ready for games. That was hardly the way to motivate me."

Montreal general manager Jim Popp jumped at the opportunity to acquire Mudge when he became available, realizing the options he presented as a Canadian tackle. Should guard Scott Flory, a potential free agent, sign elsewhere, Luke Fritz, whom Mudge replaced, could move to guard next season.

"Mudge has made himself into a very good offensive lineman the longer he has played," Popp said. "When I had the opportunity to get him I jumped on that. Most tackles are American. When you have a Canadian who can play tackle, that's a benefit.

"To get Mudge was huge. We strengthened our offensive line."
The Als' offensive line has always been technically proficient. And it became even stronger after Mudge's addition.
"He's a proven player ... who brought an added dimension," Flory said.
Mudge is one of two former Bombers added to Montreal's roster. Defensive-back Ricky Bell, sitting at home in South Carolina after a dispute with Winnipeg management, was added at the end of September for Ryan Folk. Like Mudge, Bell's preparing for his second Cup appearance in four years.

"It was a great turn of events. I was prepared to sit out the year," Bell said. "Was I the missing ingredient? I can't say. I was a good addition, but this secondary was already talented. I hope I'm the glue that sealed the pieces together. I bring veteran leadership and a calm voice."

Alouettes fans: fanatic times five
The Gazette (Montreal)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: STEPHANIE MYLES
Column: Grey Cup Countdown
Source: The Gazette
They celebrated on the field with the victorious Alouettes in Edmonton in 2002. They marched in the Grey Cup parades - uninvited - the last three years. They've been stranded on the outskirts of Winnipeg, frozen to the bone. They've crashed parties coast to coast.

They've befriended CFL fans from all over Canada. And this week, as they arrive in Vancouver to attend their eighth consecutive Grey Cup and cheer on their beloved Alouettes to another title, this group of five diehard fans will do it all again.

"We had no fun before," Rosemary Zappitelli joked.
Her husband, Herman, on a business trip to Shanghai, China, flew all the way to Vancouver to meet the group yesterday.
They love the Grey Cup so much, they seriously considered taking the week off, renting hotel rooms downtown and taking full advantage of the festivities when the Cup was in Montreal in 2001. Then the Als failed to make it.

"It was kind of a letdown," Lilly Mantelis said. "That was not memorable at all. I think I blocked that one out."
Said Augustis Mantelis: "We prefer other cities - and domed stadiums."
They began as two in 1996, when the Alouettes returned to Montreal: Zappitelli and Mantelis, his Sun Youth and Vanier College football teammate. Rosemary and Lilly soon joined. In 2000, Herman's sister Stella was given a season ticket as a gift.

Stella passed the group's test when she placed the winning bid on a breakfast for four with the Als, during a silent auction at her daughter's school. The group cajoled it into a breakfast for five with quarterback Anthony Calvillo, defensive-back Barron Miles and lineman Luke Fritz.

After Stella's initiation rite - a ceremony that involved lights, an Alouettes flag draped over her head and a solemn speech by Lilly Mantelis - she was in.

"They're groupies. I just enjoy the game," Stella said, laughing.
The on-field celebration in Edmonton came about when receiver Darran Hall searched for his family in the stands, after the Als' 25-16 win over the hometown Eskimos.

"We told him to tell the security we were his cousins," Gus Mantelis said.
Hall did just that. And despite the overwhelming odds against the African-American Hall and the Greek and Italian Als fans actually being related, the guard waved them on.

"We were on the field when they were awarded the Cup, with all the confetti and everything," Gus Mantelis said.
The parade-crashing tradition began in 2002 when the group picked up other Alouettes fans en route and slipped in, right behind the Alouettes' cheerleaders.

The group attends training camps, practices, locker-room visits, Christmas events. Gus Mantelis wears a No. 40 jersey with the name "Candyman" on the back and takes a huge bag of sweets to every home game. When the Alouettes score a touchdown, he showers their section on the 55-yard line at Molson Stadium with goodies.

As you can imagine, the Alouettes players and executives know them by now.
"They hide when they see us," Stella Zappitelli said.
"We're like stalkers," Rosemary Zappitelli added.
The Montreal group is always the smallest at every Grey Cup, so they stand out.
"We're a novelty," Lilly Mantelis said. "There are very few Als fans that go. We have all our paraphernalia and jerseys. The fans from other cities, they sing 'Alouette, gentille alouette,' to us."

Over the years, they've learned a thing or two. One is if the host team fails to make the Grey Cup, thousands of fans dump their tickets. Gus Mantelis was on eBay Tuesday; there were already 253 listings. They expect to pay face value, or less, for their tickets, although the tab for the entire trip will come to about $2,000 per person.

Their schedule is jampacked. They'll attend the CFL awards show and cocktail party tonight, the Spirit of Edmonton fan party, the parade, an April Wine concert scheduled for Saturday night. And, of course, the game itself - which is incomparably more fun when the Als are in it.

Best trip? Victory in Edmonton in 2002. Best party city, win or lose? Calgary, hands down.
Worst trips? When the Alouettes play, and lose.
Best part?
"We follow the NFL, too, but what we like about the CFL is that the players are real people, they don't talk down to you, they talk to you. It's very nice, and we appreciate it," Gus Mantelis said. "From Anthony Calvillo all the way down to the backups to the backups, they don't avoid you. They're very humble."

smyles@thegazette.canwest.com
CFL governors pushing Wright to force Gliebermans out: Commissioner asked to investigate Renegades sale to minority partner Smith
The Ottawa Citizen
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Matthew Sekeres
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
VANCOUVER - At least two, and possibly more, CFL governors are urging commissioner Tom Wright to force a sale of the Ottawa Renegades.

According to several high-ranking league sources, governors are at their wits' end with Renegades president Lonie Glieberman and are worried that his continued stewardship over the four-year-old franchise could cause irreparable damage to the Ottawa market.

Another failed franchise in the Ottawa would sound the death knell for the league in the nation's capital and would also pre-empt long-range plans for a 10th franchise in the Maritimes.

Wright is being asked to see if majority owner Bernie Glieberman, who controls 51 per cent of the team, would sell to minority partner Bill Smith, who holds 49 per cent, as a precursor to the removal of the younger Glieberman as the team's front man.

Yesterday, Bernie Glieberman said he has not been approached about selling his share and strongly denied that he would consider that. Glieberman is set to meet with Wright this week.

"I've talked to the board of governors and nobody has a problem with what is going on," Glieberman said. "Nobody has said that to me. The only way things ever change is with change. Ottawa has not had a winning team, or a profitable team, in 25 years."

The Ottawa Rough Riders folded after the 1996 season, two years after the Gliebermans surrendered the franchise to establish the Shreveport Pirates.

The expansion Renegades were launched in 2002, but have already gone through a distressed ownership change and four losing seasons.

Smith has not returned several messages left by the Citizen over the past week. He has, however, overruled several minor decisions by Lonie Glieberman over the past season, and his anger with what has transpired is well-known within the organization and around the league.

The club hired Phil Kershaw for an executive position in August to work alongside the junior Glieberman at the urging of Smith. Bernie Glieberman claims he personally hired Kershaw.

Either way, for a second straight season the Renegades operated with some fissures in the ownership structure.
"It's not a close relationship (with Smith), I'll be honest with you," Lonie Glieberman said. "But I'll be glad to sit with any governor and go through our business plan with them."

Earlier this month, Lonie Glieberman said attendance was up six per cent from 2004, about 800 fans per game for an average of slightly less than 18,000, the result of dramatically slashed ticket prices. He also defended his qualifications as team president.

"The last time this club averaged over 23,000 paid (attendance) per game was when I was here," Glieberman said, citing an example from the early 1990s.

"This club chose to work with us to take over. Now, if everybody in Ottawa didn't want me, y'all could have chosen somebody else."

In fact, the final two statements are distortions of the truth.
Certain members of the previous ownership group pulled a power play on the league office and governors to approve the Gliebermans, who were offering the best financial deal, by threatening a lawsuit over the CFL's phantom salary cap.

Second, football fans in Ottawa had zero "choice" of operators. Lonie Glieberman was imposed upon the community he had previously failed and, according to the people who observe the league for a living, he is on the same path.

In a recent poll of roughly 40 CFL journalists conducted by the Winnipeg Free Press, two-thirds said the current Renegades regime would "run the team out of town."

Closer to home, the sentiment is similar.
On renegadenation.ca, an on-line message board by the team's unofficial fan club, diehard fans who have previously said they would renew season tickets regardless of the climate are asking questions such as, "When do you say enough is enough?" and, "Is this the beginning of the end?"

The Renegades will provide detailed data on 2006 season-ticket sales early next month and are shooting for a 40-per-cent renewal rate among the 4,500 fans who bought their tickets before the ownership change last spring. The club is also staging a two-for-one season-ticket promotion on Dec. 10, hoping to sell between 1,500 and 2,000 seats.

Canada's major centres Warm again to Grey Cup
The Ottawa Citizen
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C2
Section: Sports
Byline: Wayne Scanlan
Column: Wayne Scanlan
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
VANCOUVER - Small wonder the CFL knows how to stage a Grey Cup.
The league has had nearly 100 years to get it right.
It usually does, with plenty of Canadian charm and none of the overdone hype that marks a certain other football championship.

Not that long ago, Canada's biggest centres -- hello, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver --imagined themselves to have outgrown the Chuckwagon breakfasts and Spirit of Edmonton bashes, the folksy parade, and the rest of the quaint Cup trappings.

They seemed to have outgrown the game itself.
The CFL brand itself was seen as outdated. Sure it played well on the prairies, where there was no big league presence, but Toronto was so certain of its future as an NFL city, it viewed support of the CFL team as anathema to the bigger goal.

No matter how many times the CFL declared that a strong Toronto franchise was as vital to the rest of the league as a sound heart to a living body, the Argonauts had difficulty scaring up a crowd.

It got to the point that the league gave up on the idea of Toronto playing host to the Cup game and festival.
Why go where they don't care?
That was before club president Keith Pelley, the former TSN honcho, and a new Argo partnership of Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon pumped some new life into the CFL's oldest team.

Damon Allen, the ancient quarterback, stuck around for the fun, directing Toronto to an unexpected Grey Cup championship last fall in Ottawa.

Whether due to the owners, Pelley, Damon, charismatic head coach Pinball Clemons, or all of the above, Argo fans turned out in record numbers this season.

The CFL, cool again in Toronto.
Who could have imagined.
Of course, a grand crowd witnessed a rather large letdown in the East Final versus Montreal. The bigger story, though, was the league having enough confidence in Toronto's rebirth to award the city the 2007 Grey Cup Game. Let's hope the simmering fever lasts that long.

Montreal was a similar story, with a different twist. An NFL or nothing mindset gave us just that, no football, for several years in the late eighties and early nineties. When the Alouettes returned to mild enthusiasm inside the cavernous Olympic Stadium, it accidentally stumbled upon a brilliant idea. With the Big O unavailable, what about a game at the old McGill Stadium field?

One game turned into a franchise salvation. In an intimate outdoor venue, the Als started playing winning football in a party atmosphere -- an unbeatable combination. It had been a long time since Montreal fell for its football team, but the city put on a great show when the Cup game visited in 2001, for the first time in 16 years.

The Als contend every year, representing the East more times than not.
Here in Vancouver, the Grey Cup was viewed as a dull, predictable event -- 15 years ago the league had to bring in the armed forces to make the crowd look like, well, a crowd.

Even in 1999, it was all the city could do to muster up 45,000 or so.
Not to make up excuses for this year's determined host, but life seems especially cruel for Lions fans. Every year when the city is slated to be the Grey Cup host, B.C. is the team to beat -- and does just that. Gets beat.

In '99, the Leos were a first-place, 13-win team in the regular season. And lost by two points in the West Final to Calgary.

Today, fans here are again feeling led astray by a team that was the best in the country until summer met fall. The Lions took it on the chin in another final, this time to the Eskimos of Edmonton.

Maybe it's a case of wanting something too badly, but things rarely work out for the host city as a Cup participant.
It's as though there's a "host is toast" policy at work. In the past 20 years, only two teams have managed to qualify for the Cup game in the year they staged the festival: the Eskimos of 2002 and the Lions of 1994. Edmonton lost in '02 and the Lions won in '94.

The week will be a test for the one big Canadian city that has more or less stayed in the rotation as a Cup host.
With the Lions rebuilt under Wally Buono and company, there exists here that the same kind of optimism that has lifted spirits in the club offices of Toronto and Montreal. The game, unlike 1999, is already a sellout, even if feelings are still a little tender out here.

Across the vast country that we just covered to get here, there's a real sense of Canada embracing this funny little league in a way it hasn't for a very long time.

Maybe it's because fans in the biggest cities no longer feel the need to have an NFL franchise justify their place in the sports realm, but it's become fashionable to talk about the biggest moments, the greatest games in Grey Cup history.

The Grey Cup has always been familiar and comfortable, but it's regaining a sense of also being important.
In a low-key, Canadian way.
Seven-day subscribers can read previous columns by Wayne Scanlan at http:// . We welcome your comments on this column or any other sports topic. e-mail us at sportsletters@thecitizen.canwest.com .

Eskimos coach Maciocia living his boyhood dream; Watched Als-Eskies as a boy at Big O Began CFL career as guest coach in '95
The Toronto Star
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1
Section: Sports
Byline: Rick Matsumoto
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Toronto Star
It was 28 years ago that Danny Maciocia was perched on the edge of his seat in the nosebleed section of Montreal's Olympic Stadium, a wide-eyed 10-year-old attending his first Grey Cup game.

The Montreal native will have what he calls "the best seats in the house" for Sunday's 93rd championship game as he paces the sidelines in front of the Eskimos' bench in his first Grey Cup game as a CFL head coach.

"It's a special feeling," Maciocia said yesterday as he sat beside the Alouettes' Don Matthews answering queries during the annual coaches' press conference.

"Growing up in Montreal, that was what it was all about; going down to Olympic Stadium with 60,000 other people to watch the Alouettes take on the Eskimos. That was living a dream.

"Now here I am again getting to do it again, this time as a coach. I don't think it gets any better."
Only this time, the Alouettes will be the foes rather than the team he'd he pulling for if he was back in Montreal watching this year's game on television.

Maciocia got his foot in the CFL door in 1995 as a volunteer assistant coach with the Als. By 1999, he had risen to the position of offensive coordinator.

After the 2001 season, however, Maciocia realized he had to leave his hometown if he wanted to develop as a coach, even though Matthews, who had taken over as the Als' head coach, interviewed him with the intention of keeping him on as offensive coordinator.

"I had to leave because people thought the only reason I was on the Alouettes' staff was because I was a Montrealer and I spoke French," he said. "I was kidding myself by thinking that if I went through the ranks with the Alouettes I might one day be the head coach."

Maciocia spent three years as the Eskimos' offensive coordinator under head coach Tom Higgins, earning a Grey Cup ring in 2003. When the Eskimos failed to return to the championship game last year, Higgins was fired and Maciocia was handed the head coaching reins.

Maciocia said there are times when he still can't believe he's coaching against the likes of Matthews, Higgins (now with Calgary) and B.C. Lions' Wally Buono, a former linebacker with the Als and one of his boyhood idols.

"But you'd better snap out of it real quick because if you don't, it's suddenly going to be the third or fourth quarter and it may be too late," he said.

There were many CFL observers who thought it was too late for Maciocia to contemplate a Grey Cup appearance when the Eskimos lost the final game of the regular season with a feeble performance against Calgary and fell to third place. However, they bounced back to beat the Stamps a week later in the West Division semifinal and then knocked off the first-place Lions in last week's final.

While he may appear star struck when he talks about some of his rival coaches or even his own linebackers' coach, hall of famer Dan Kepley, the baby-faced Maciocia showed his toughness and self-confidence in dealing with his players.

In both playoff games he didn't hesitate to replace starting quarterback Ricky Ray with backup Jason Maas when Ray struggled and the Eskimos appeared to be on the edge of elimination.

Maas engineered winning scoring drives to send the Eskies to Sunday's game. Ray will be the starter again, but Maciocia said he won't hesitate to use the hook if Ray falters.

"Ultimately you have to take ownership of the team," said Maciocia, who challenged all-star defensive end Joe Montford to step up his game before the semifinal against the Stampeders.

"I challenged him to stop the run," he said. "I told him they're coming after you. If I was coaching against you, I'd come after you, too."

Montford rose to that challenge to play a strong game in the Esks' win.
Former Argo Derrell (Mookie) Mitchell, who caught 94 passes for 1,207 yards this season for the Esks, said Maciocia made it clear from the beginning he's the boss, even though he may be just a couple of year's older than some of his players.

"He's told us from Day One he's not going to put this team in jeopardy if a guy's struggling," said Mitchell.
"He's been committed to getting us to this position we find ourselves this week.
"He's a lot like Pinner (Argo head coach Pinball Clemons).
"They're laid back and they keep the smiles on the players' faces. You want to play well for them.
"But when things aren't going well he's going to call a spade a spade."
Running back Lapointe to start vs. Esks; Rare for Canadian to fill key position Will start in place of injured Roberts
The Toronto Star
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C2
Section: Sports
Byline: RICK MATSUMOTO
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Toronto Star
A Canadian running back will start in Sunday's Grey Cup game after all.
But it won't be Jeff Johnson, whom CFL fans in Toronto were looking forward to seeing in the Argonauts' backfield.
Instead it'll be Montrealer Eric Lapointe who'll line up as the Alouettes' No. 1 ball carrier against the Edmonton Eskimos in the championship match.

The 31-year-old veteran will start in place of injured American Robert Edwards, whom he replaced midway through last week's East Division final against the Argos.

Lapointe, who played briefly with Toronto in 2000, rushed for 112 yards and scored three touchdown to derail the Argos' hopes of going for back-to-back Grey Cup victories.

And in the process he gave himself the opportunity to be the one to take the handoffs from Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo on Sunday.

Lapointe was being politically correct when insisted yesterday that he had not been told he'll be starting. However, head coach Don Matthews said it was doubtful that Roberts, who suffered rib injuries in the Argo game, would be able to play.

"It's a blessing that we have a capable young man (Lapointe) to take his place," said Matthews.
Lapointe said he feels good that at least one Canadian will be starting in a position almost exclusively reserved for Americans.

"There were four teams left in the playoffs (last week) and there were two Canadian running backs left on the field," he said. "You go back a couple of years and you couldn't see anything like that.

"And hopefully there's going to be more Canadians at that key position in the future. You take a guy like Jesse Lumsden, who just came into the league this year (with Hamilton Tiger-Cats). It'll be incredible to see what he's going to bring to this league. He's going to open doors for future Canadian athletes. It's fantastic," said Lapointe.Lapointe admitted he'll be excited when (rather than if) he gets the word from Matthews.

"It's the biggest challenge for a player to be a starter in the biggest game of the year," he said acknowledging that he was feeling butterflies in his stomach.

"It's incredible. You never know what life will bring. Sometimes you're down. Sometimes you're up. This week I'm up. I guess that's a good thing."

ALS COACH GOES FOR SIX PACK
The Toronto Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
He already has more wins in the regular season than any head coach in the history of the Canadian Football League.
Now Don Matthews has a chance to top the list of CFL head coaches with the most championships won.
The Montreal Alouettes head coach goes into Sunday's game at B.C. Place against the Edmonton Eskimos tied with Lew Hayman, Frank Clair and Hugh Campbell with five Grey Cup victories.

Matthews, who won five consecutive Grey Cups as the defensive co-ordinator with the Edmonton Eskimos from 1978-82, has won the championship as a head coach with B.C., Baltimore, Toronto and Montreal. He won back-to-back Grey Cups with the Argos in 1996 and '97.

"It really would be nice to win that last one and just retire," Matthews said jokingly yesterday during the annual media conference involving the head coaches of the two teams in the Cup. His Eskimos counterpart, Danny Maciocia, is making his Grey Cup debut.

Matthews said even if the Als win Sunday, he won't be able to truly savour the accomplishment because the team immediately will have to focus on the following season.

"We enjoy the moment, then we go on to the next level of our game," he said. "It's not just me, it's everybody (in the football business). In the world that we live in ... it is 'what have you done for me lately?' We will always be in a cycle of that mouse running on the treadmill. There will be a time for all of us when we are no longer in the treadmill situation to reflect back."

Matthews also addressed the stories that surfaced in the Montreal media that his job was in jeopardy at various points during the season, particularly when the Als struggled at the midpoint with a 4-5 record and then lost 49-23 to the Argos in the 16th game of the season, effectively conceding first place in the East to the Argos.

"For me, I know what my job is and I really know what my future is and I know what my football team is like and sometimes the talk is good for our team," he said.

"We'll take all of the interest that people want to give to us and we'll turn it into what we did -- and we turned it into a trip to the Grey Cup. So I guess for me, all's well that ends well."

Matthews was asked if he'd like to win this year's Cup because it's against Edmonton.
"I know what the Eskimo pride is. I know what the Eskimos expect from their players because I was also a part of it," he said. "In a respectful way I remember. It's not in spite of or, yes, it's against the Eskimos. The Grey Cup victory is what you're after. It's not anything against the team. It's something your team has succeeded in doing and that's what you take your joy from."

MAAS STAYING IN THE PRESENT
The Toronto Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Quarterback Jason Maas is looking forward to the Grey Cup and what happens to his future thereafter.
Maas has dealt with rumours all season of a possible trade, beginning when the Eskimos re-signed Ricky Ray in May after he returned to the team following a season in the National Football League.

During that year, Maas reclaimed the starting job he lost to Ray a season and a half before and threw for 5,270 yards, the best production in his five seasons in the Canadian Football League.

But there has been rampant rumours that Maas' days as an Eskimo are coming to an end -- possibly a day or so after the Grey Cup game on Sunday.

The rumoured deal is Maas to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for quarterback Danny McManus, offensive lineman Tim Bakker and a first-round draft pick.

According to a source, the Hamilton players already have been told the deal is done.
"I really want to wait and weigh things out come Nov. 28," Maas said. "I really don't want to think about anything else but this week."

Maas' situation has become a story because he has played well off the bench in the past two games, while Ray has not thrown a touchdown pass in the past seven games and clearly has struggled. Ray will start on Sunday against the Montreal Alouettes.

Maas, who has another year plus an option year on his contract, admits the rumours have affected him.
"Everyone's human. Even when you're off the football field, thoughts race through your head, and to think you are going be somewhere next year possibly is difficult," he said.

"I was able to put it aside and put it on the backburner and focus on this year and I think I've done a pretty good job of doing that."

EX-ARGO A HAPPY 'VICTIM'; GETS CHANCE AT SECOND CUP
The Toronto Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
The business of professional football has not been kind to Sandy Annunziata, but the end result may be worth it.
The veteran offensive lineman, who lives in Fort Erie, was traded to Edmonton by the Argos on April 22, when he and his wife, Elissa, were looking forward to the birth of their child -- a boy, named Max, who was born in August.

Rather than move his wife and son with him to Alberta, Annunziata went out west on his own while making the occasional trip home.

"I was home for the birth because we had a bye week -- it worked out great," Annunziata said yesterday after the Eskimos practised in preparation for Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes at B.C. Place.

"I came back out (west) and didn't see my new guy until about a month and a half later. It has been hard on my wife. It has been hard on my little guy. It's a good thing that newborns just eat and sleep all day, but you're missing out on the first year of his life. That's tough."

Annunziata is in the Cup for the second consecutive season after missing it for the first 10 seasons of his career.
"Last year it was just so emotional because in a 10-year career I had never been to one," he said. "It was an emotional week and anemotional game (that ended in victory) and this year it's just so exciting to be in a position to be a back-to-back winner."

Annunziata said he doesn't have any bitterness toward the Argos for the deal and, in particular, the timing.
"Let's put it this way, if Toronto had made it back to the Grey Cup and I was sitting at home right now, I'd be a little bit jealous and a little bit resentful," he said. "But it's not the case. I have no ill feeling. I have no animosity, no resentment, because I'm at the Grey Cup and that organization is sitting at home.

"It's strictly business and that's why there are no ill feelings. It's the nature of our business that you can be shipped around. There's not a lot of loyalty in pro sports. I was a victim of that and I'm happy to be here."

Still, Annunziata admitted that that opinion may not hold true for everyone in his household.
"If you ask my wife, she is still a little bitter because it was a good situation (in Toronto)," he said. "You wake up in the morning, you go to work and you're home at night. That hasn't been the case for six months."

Meanwhile, It's all but certain that Canadian Eric Lapointe will start at running back for the Als in the Grey Cup game.

Lapointe rushed for 112 yards against the Argos in the East final last Sunday after starter Robert Edwards suffered two cracked ribs.

THE NEW TWIST ON AN OLD GREY CUP STORY IS SET ON THE SIDELINES WHERE THE COACHING BATTLE PITS THE KID VERSUS THE LEGEND
The Toronto Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S27
Section: Sports
Byline: BY STEVE SIMMONS
Column: The Last Word
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Danny Maciocia was 10 years old when his father took him to his first Grey Cup game.
The year was 1977. The place was Olympic Stadium. The matchup, as it always seems to be, was between his Montreal Alouettes and the Edmonton Eskimos.

He cheered for Wally Buono and Peter Dalla Riva -- "my father made us cheer for the Italian players" -- and he booed Edmonton linebacker Dan Kepley with absolute vigor and remembers it all like it was yesterday.

Don Matthews happens to remember it also. It may have been Maciocia's first Grey Cup as a fan, but it was Matthews' first Grey Cup appearance as a Canadian Football League coach.

"It was the coldest, longest three and a half hours of my life," Matthews said. "I remember that week. I remember the transit strike. I remember all the snow. I remember we got our butts handed to us."

And now, almost 20 years later, here are teams that always seem to playing for championships -- three of the past four Grey Cups have been Edmonton versus Montreal -- and here is the unlikely coaching matchup between The Legend and The Kid.

Fresh from the nosebleed seats of Montreal, Maciocia is the first-year head coach of his hated Eskimos. The Dan Kepley he once despised is not only on his staff now, but one of his closest friends.

And the team he grew up loving is coached by Matthews, who himself grew up in the Green and Gold tradition of Edmonton. Matthews won five Grey Cups as an assistant coach with the Eskimos. He won five more as a head coach: Two in Toronto, one in Montreal, one in Baltimore, one in Vancouver.

The old joke about Matthews is he has 14 rings -- 10 Grey Cup, four wedding. "I'm not going to kid myself," Maciocia, 38, said on the Grey Cup stage yesterday, "I'm sitting next door to a legend."

Danny Maciocia is just beginning to make a name for himself in the CFL, not only for his first year success but for the unconventional path that finds him in the spotlight.

The truth is, there may be Maciocias all over this country, you just never hear much about them. They are coaching in your community or mine, coaching high school teams or local teams, in between diagramming plays and watching film, they go to work and make a living doing something else that pays the bills.

But this is all Maciocia ever wanted to do. He wanted it so much he walked away from a family business and agreed to work full time for his hometown Alouettes without receiving any pay. That is the kind of offer that no self-respecting, financially-challenged CFL team, would ever turn down.

While Maciocia was helping coach the Alouettes as a volunteer, his future wife, a McGill student, was working part-time to make his car payments. Eventually, Maciocia worked his way into a full-time job and later to the position of offensive co-ordinator. And all the while people from the outside wondered: Is he only there because he can speak French?

"I was kidding myself (that I had a future) when I was there," Maciocia said. "If I was going to do this for a living, I knew I had to leave."

Typically, the timing of his departure was not without coincidence. Matthews had just been hired as head coach in Montreal after a less than successful two-year stint in Edmonton. He interviewed Maciocia twice for positions on his staff and did offer him a job. Maciocia decided to pass, choosing to leave home and take a flyer on a coaching position with the Eskimos.

In his first season as an assistant in Edmonton, guess who met in the Grey Cup? The Als and the Eskimos for a change. Montreal won the game 25-16. "My wife said to me 'Are we ever going to get this right?' "

Even in this, his first year on the job, Maciocia was challenged by an inconsistent team, criticized for being green but not necessarily gold.

"People were heckling so bad, you'd go to fill up with gas and you'd hear about it," the coach said. "It got to the point where I'd send my wife to fill up the car."

Then on consecutive playoff weeks, they went into Calgary and won and came into Vancouver for a weekend and turned it into a return visit.

"I have to look around and remind myself I'm doing this," said Danny Maciocia, kid in the spotlight.
"I don't think it gets any better than this."
He will know whether it does by Sunday, early evening here.
"These games," Matthews said. "Stay with you forever."

Montford was angry over being traded; Now ex-Ticat has a chance for a Grey Cup ring
The Spectator
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP03
Section: Sports
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
The bitterness is fading. The huge smile is widening.
And don't dare bring up the subject of retirement.
After 11 Canadian Football League seasons, Joe Montford is feeling reborn. In green and gold. But the former Hamilton Tiger-Cat rush end, one of the most popular players ever to don the black and gold, admits he was angry when the club shipped him to Edmonton in the offseason for offensive lineman Dan Comiskey.

At the time, the Cats took pains to explain that Comiskey had requested the swap. His spouse had given premature birth to twin daughters who were experiencing some health problems. Comiskey wanted to be closer to his extended family in southern Ontario.

But Montford said yesterday after a Eskimo practice session at B.C. Place that his own family was experiencing problems. His young daughter had just been found to have suffered permanently hearing loss in one ear and his spouse was experiencing a difficult second pregnancy. For Montford, a move to northern Alberta was the last thing he wanted.

"Anytime you spend such a long time in a city and the city is your family and the fans are your family you do harbour some grudges. I understand the issues with the trade but we also were dealing with a baby who was going to be premature. We also had a situation where my daughter had a hearing loss. There were a lot of things that we're going on at the time where my emotions were heightened.

"Along with the fact that I played my heart out. I took a bunch of pay cuts to stay in Hamilton. It was just a situation where I felt that after all I had done, you still want to do me like this," added Montford, who was playing out his option.

"But on the other side, I got here and it all worked out," he adds. Indeed Montford's spouse gave birth to a healthy daughter in July and she has come to appreciate her new surroundings. Montford now has a chance to win a Grey Cup. He said he would have given that chance up to stay in Steeltown.

"I love the fans back there. I loved being a Hamilton Tiger-Cat regardless of what the record was."
Chasin' Jason?; Maas hints decision will be announced soon after Grey Cup
The Spectator
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP03
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
Another media scrum. Another round of questions for Edmonton Eskimos' backup quarterback Jason Maas.
Everyone wants to know the same thing, what are the quarterback's thoughts about rampant speculation he will be traded to Hamilton once his season ends Sunday.

The answers are always the same.
"We'll find out a lot of things on Nov. 28 or around there and I can wait. I've waited all year to hear it so I'm glad that it is almost over," he said.

Maas said he talked to management over the season, and was assured he wouldn't be traded until the season ended.
"We're just going to wait until the end of the year and that's how it turned out and that's what both sides wanted."
Hamilton Tiger-Cat head coach Greg Marshall confirmed two weeks ago Maas is the quarterback his club covets. And Marshall has indicated the Cats are prepared to surrender their first pick in the 2006 Canadian College Draft to make it happen. There has been speculation it may take more than that, namely veteran passer Danny McManus and left guard Tim Bakker as well.

That comes on top of the fact the Cats shipped veteran running back Troy Davis and offensive lineman Dan Comiskey to Edmonton in October in a rather one-sided deal. It is believed the Cats made the trade because the Eskies promised to make Maas available in the off-season.

But Maas has complicated matters. The six-year Canadian Football League veteran has come off the bench twice in the playoffs to lead his club to victory. The Eskies have to be hoping starter Ricky Ray can get the job done Sunday if only so the club can avoid a public relations disaster if it turns out Maas is to be shipped east after the season concludes.

Maas admits it is nice to be wanted.
"I think it is nice to be wanted by anybody. I feel like I'm valued in this organization. I haven't talked to (Hamilton) but from what I hear, if they respect me and think I'm a good player, then I'd think you would want that. I think, as a person, I do. It's nice to hear those words but at the same time I'll think about that at the end of the year," he said.

But Maas said he has a more important matter to focus on.
"I'm an Eskimo until Sunday and I want to win a Grey Cup as an Eskimo," he said. "That's what I'm thinking about."
Edmonton president and chief operating officer Hugh Campbell was being equally coy about a possible trade.
"I haven't been in the league forever but I've been in it enough to know that's not what we want to have discussed at this time," he said.

"We're getting the same deal from the Toronto writers because Damon (Allen) is obviously at the end so...."
"We have to focus for four or five more days and then we'll see what happens," he said.
kpeters@thespec.com
Since 1960, Ron Lancaster has been Going Grey
The Spectator
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP10
Section: Sports
Byline: John Kernaghan
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
Throughout a long and storied Canadian Football League career, the Ticats' senior director of player evaluation has been to the championship as a star player, a head coach and a TV colour commentator. He's been on the wrong end of wild finishes and he's hoisted the Cup after decisive wins. Talk with him for even a few minutes and you quickly realize that going to the big game never gets boring.

- - -
How special is the Grey Cup?
It must have high meaning when a fairly plain-spoken man like Ron Lancaster verges on poetry as he reviews the touchstones of his 45 years observing the game.

Consider his take on Saskatchewan winning the Cup.
"When you win there, the wind doesn't blow as hard, the snow isn't as deep and the winter seems shorter. It's like the kind of year the people there have is dependent on how the team does."

That's where the Tiger-Cats' senior director of player evaluation enjoyed a storied playing career, of course.
But his perspective covers eras as a CBC broadcaster, coaching in Edmonton and Hamilton and now executive with the Ticats.

You expect a guy they called the Little General to see the pigskin pastime in almost exclusively analytical terms.
But the nature of the CFL championship games has left broader impressions.
Like the famous conclusion to the 1972 classic and Lancaster's terse word painting.
"It was a warm day in early December and we stood on the sideline. The sun was going down, the ball went through the uprights and the zeros showed on the clock."

That's Lancaster's vivid memory of Ian Sunter's winning field goal in the dying seconds for Hamilton over Saskatchewan.

Twenty six years later he relived that moment as coach of the Tiger-Cats.
"(Mark) McLaughlin kicked that field goal and I said 'are you kidding me, this can't be happening again.'"
It was, this time the Calgary Stampeders' last-gasp 1998 score winning while Lancaster suffered that "powerless" feeling.

But it is the kind of finish that has kept the Grey Cup game a must-see for so many people, even when the Canadian game seemed badly out of favour.

Those last-second dagger thrusts are what come to mind first for the old warrior. But even the losses have a certain majesty for him.

Like the 1996 game at Ivor Wynne, a Cup tilt made magical by softly falling snow, two closely matched teams and larded with controversy by a disputed fumble by Toronto quarterback Doug Flutie.

Edmonton head coach Lancaster had to hold back players enraged the Argos kept possession at a critical point.
He refused then and now to pin the loss on the play.
"We had a lot of chances to win and we didn't get it done. What should be remembered is that as bad as the weather was, the players on both sides executed tremendously."

See, even as a player Lancaster figured if you got to the last game and played your heart out in a tightly-contested game and lost, you should still savour having been there and enjoyed a part in history.

That's why as a coach he encouraged his players to embrace the celebration of Grey Cup, though not too hard, whenever they got to the national final.

"All you hear about is Grey Cup week, how special it is, how much fun it is. I wanted the players to take part in it. I liked it when the clubs took the wives and girlfriends along.

"I'd tell my players, go out and find out what Grey Cup week is about. Take your wife and go enjoy it, but use your head."

Lancaster always felt he was deprived of that sense of celebration of the big game.
"We were always sequestered, located away from all the activity at a remote location. You'd hear people say, you've got to go to Grey Cup week, it's a great time. Well, it's no fun if you don't see it."

In terms of the game itself, he started out in 1960 as if going to the final was the norm.
"I'd come out of high school and college programs that were very successful. If a game was scheduled, we figured we were in it."

So that Grey Cup trip with Ottawa was expected.
"I didn't think anything of it but in the years after that, when we came close, you got to appreciate just how hard it was."

Then to win it, 1966 was particularly sweet.
As a broadcaster, he was able to stand back from both the game and celebration but enjoyed so much celebrity as a talking TV head, he said it was like everybody thought he was their friend.

"I like watching people and if you want to see weird stuff, all you have to do is stay out late that week, you'll see something."

He recalls a bit of a frightening night at Toronto's Royal York hotel when the flow of partyers got out of control and staff had to lock hotel access doors.

"It was like some people arrived on a Wednesday and decided they wouldn't stop partying until Sunday."
Lancaster has an interesting thought on the Grey Cup's timing as a point of celebration that gets people from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

But the lasting images are not of party animals, they are made on Sunday, or Saturday in earlier times.
Lancaster noted that Hamilton's Russ Jackson cemented his career by finishing his career with a Cup triumph in 1969.
On the other hand, another coach and broadcaster, Leo Cahill, was cast forever by his player's mistake.
Cahill's Toronto Argos had the championship within grasp when running back Leon McQuay lost his footing and coughed up the ball, turning the game around.

"Leo always put it this way, 'when Leon slipped, I fell.'"
Just as old Vic Hugo noted about the "slip twixt cup and lip" it happens often with Lord Grey's beaker.
jkernaghan@thespec.com
Cup full of sweet and sour coaches
Winnipeg Free Press
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Randy Turner
VANCOUVER -- Yeah, Don Matthews has been around, and if you ask him -- hell, even if you don't -- he'll tell you that this Grey Cup business has it's dark side, too.

"If you're married, it's almost divorce," the most enigmatic of CFL head coaches related yesterday. "If you're not married, your dog's mad at ya. My dog's mad at me."

Then Matthews paused for a moment to clarify.
"I've had eight wives that were mad at me," he volunteered. "Everything gets exaggerated in the media, so I thought I'd help you out with that."

No, Matthews hasn't had eight wives. Just three or four, it's been said, hard to keep track because the CFL doesn't keep such statistical data. But this much is certain: If Matthew's Montreal Alouettes prevail over the Edmonton Eskimos this Sunday, it will be his sixth Grey Cup as a head coach, the most in league history.

Maybe that's what it's like with Matthew's marital and coaching status from time to time: one ring off, one ring on.
Or something like that. Because if yesterday's coach's press conference underlined one absolute, it's that the grizzled, decorated and sometimes despised Matthews represents the polar opposite of the baby-faced rookie Eskimos field boss Danny Maciocia.

If Maciocia is the giddy puppy wagging his tail -- wet nose and tongue hanging out -- just happy to be here, then the 66-year-old Don is the moody pitbull who is just as likely to snap if he's got the energy.

But Matthews is always at home during his little Grey Cup conferences, if only because he's had more of them than any other head coach on Earth. This is a guy, after all, who has 223 regular season victories, the winningest record in the CFL. And did we mention Sunday's dust up will be Matthews 14th Grey Cup appearance as a coach?

Maciocia knows. He was just a kid, 10 years old in the stands at Olympic Stadium, when Matthews was the Eskimos linebackers coach for the 1977 Grey Cup.

"I know where I'm at and I know I'm sitting next to," Maciocia said. "You're talking about a future hall of famer, the winningest coach in CFL history. He's had his critics along the way, but every once in awhile when this event takes places, he's always sitting up here. There's a reason for that."

The reason is that Matthews is possessed, not unlike any other football man of his stature. He's known to be brutally decisive when it comes to making hard decisions and uncompromising in his approach. That's why even though he's the only coach to win a playoff game in four different decades -- and having missed the playoffs in only one out of 23 seasons as a head coach -- Matthews refuses to dwell on his accomplishments any more than his criticisms.

"Like most people in our business... the time for reflection is down the road,"he noted. "It's not really now. Totally hypothetical: We win this football game on Sunday afternoon, my thoughts go immediately to preparing our team for the next year. We enjoy the moment, then we go on to the next level of our game. It's not just me, that's what everybody does. Because in the world that we live in... it's what have you done for me lately.

"We'll always be in that cycle of the mouse running on the treadmill, going round and round and round, because that's the life we've choosen for ourselves."

There will be time for reflection. In fact, Matthews has in his possession the tapes of all 14 Grey Cups he's been in, way back to that first one in 1977.

"I've got them in a little container," he confided. "I have not looked at one of them, but I will someday. I'll have a copy of this Grey Cup to add to that. Because the time for reflection is when you get off the treadmill."

Even then, however, you wonder if the old pitbull will look back with the same fondness and introspection of the baby-faced coach sitting next to him yesterday.

Because it was Maciocia who opined, "I get chills every single time I take the field for the pre-game warm-up. I cherish every single moment."

Maciocia then waxed poetic about the sacrifices of his wife, who gave up a good job so he could come to Edmonton to advance as a coach. He reminisced about working for Alouettes as a volunteer coach in the late 1990s, just trying to pay the bills.

It was all very heartwarming.
Then, as if on cue, Matthews blurted: "You know those chills you get on the sideline? As you get older that turns into diarrhea."

Everybody laughed, at least those who didn't grimace.
Good old Don. Just hope that one's not on tape.
randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca
A generation separates them but their paths keep crossing
Winnipeg Free Press
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Tait
VANCOUVER -- Edmonton Eskimo head coach Danny Maciocia plunked down into a chair beside Montreal Alouette boss Don Matthews for the annual Grey Cup coaches' press conference yesterday and instantly seemed to understand what the assembled media were thinking:

What a strange pair these two make -- the grizzled, gnarled 66-year-old vet who has as many Grey Cup rings as fingers and the 38-year-old experiencing the championship game for the first time as a head coach.

But as the two men took turns yesterday spinning their own tales -- Matthews has been here so often his speeches are often part comedy routine/part predictable shtick -- it was difficult not to be struck by the coincidences in the careers of two men separated by almost 30 years of age.

We begin, for example, on Nov. 27, 1977 and the Grey Cup at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Matthews is there as a rookie assistant coach on Hugh Campbell's Eskimos staff and he watches in horror as the Alouettes squish Edmonton 41-6 in the infamous Ice Bowl.

"Those were the coldest, longest three hours of my life," Matthews recalled. "I remember the transit strike. I remember snow on top of the field, it was so slick. I remember watching film afterwards and our front four, it looked like there was a choreographed dance. The ball was snapped, Sonny Wade was the (Alouette) quarterback, the four defensive linemen were in the three-point stance and they all took one step and all fell down at exactly the same time. You couldn't have choreographed it better, it looked like synchronized swimming."

Well, it turns out Maciocia was there, too, as a 10-year old with father Cosmo and cheering the Italian guys on the Alouettes, Wally Buono and Peter Dalla Riva.

Matthews, not surprisingly, couldn't resist the urge to jump in.
"And I remember this little young guy up in the stands... that was you!" he said, turning to Maciocia. "What a little jerk you were. Yelling at me in French all day."

But the coincidences don't stop there, not by a longshot. Maciocia would later begin his pro coaching career as an unpaid assistant with the Als while still living with his parents and while his girlfriend at the time -- now his wife -- made the payments on his car. He would later work for the Als for $27,000 before moving on to the Eskimos in 2002, but not before Matthews had offered him the chance to join his staff.

Instead, Maciocia left for Edmonton to work as an offensive co-ordinator under Tom Higgins, the man he would replace three years later.

"There were a lot of people who thought I was there (Montreal) because I could say a few words in French," said Maciocia. "I had to leave to establish myself elsewhere."

And now the paths of the two men cross again. This time Maciocia, like Matthews back in '77, will have one of the best seats in the house. And this time he'll be cheering for the same team he despised as a kid in the nosebleeds. Some call it coincidence. Maciocia calls it a dream come true.

"I look around and I have to remind myself what I do for a living. Sometimes every once in a while my wife has to remind me what I do for a living because I don't really consider this a job. It's definitely a passion that I have."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
Flory set for free agency Part II
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Darrell Davis
Column: Darrell Davis
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Leader-Post
VANCOUVER -- Montreal Alouettes all-star guard Scott Flory can become a free agent again in February, which leads to this inevitable, silly question: Might he ever re-sign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders?

"I've never ruled anything out,'' Flory said Wednesday following a workout inside B.C. Place Stadium, where the Alouettes meet the Edmonton Eskimos in Sunday's Grey Cup game.

"I've never said that I'll never play there again. I think there was an article in Montreal that said it, but I was never quoted in the article.''

Eighteen months ago Flory was a free agent, evidently torn between joining his home-town Roughriders or rejoining the Alouettes. On the day Flory was supposed to leave for training camp, after delaying his important decision until the last possible moment, he evidently signed with the Roughriders.

Something bad happened.
Reports surfaced of a disagreement with Saskatchewan's braintrust, general manager Roy Shivers and head coach Danny Barrett, apparently over the belief that Flory was going to play a specific position on the Riders' offensive line. Flory has never publicly revealed the details, although he admitted Wednesday that after he retires -- "If I can remember,'' he said with a chuckle -- he might disclose what happened.

So Flory, believing the Roughriders weren't going to register his contract with the CFL office, called the Alouettes and signed a contract offered to him by Montreal GM Jim Popp.

"I don't know why he signed a deal there,'' Popp said. "He was coming (to Montreal). He had his car packed and was 20 kilometres out of Regina. Next thing I knew he signed there. Then four hours later, 'I want to come back.' I mean, it cost us a first-round pick and a contract.

"I give him **** for that -- he cost us a first-round pick that we never should have had to give away.''
The league ruled Flory was Saskatchewan's property, even though he didn't want to play for the Riders.
He was traded back to Montreal for a first-round pick in the 2005 CFL draft, which the Roughriders used to select receiver Nathan Hoffart, another Regina product who also attended the University of Saskatchewan.

Flory, 29, is a four-time Eastern all-star who has been selected as the East's outstanding offensive lineman for a second time. The league's outstanding player awards will be presented during a ceremony tonight. The West's nominee is Roughriders tackle Gene Makowsky. Flory and Makowsky were college teammates in 1994.

Montreal wants to re-sign Flory.
"He's one of our stars and I don't want him to leave, but I don't make that choice,'' said Popp. "It's up to him. We lost him once and I had to give up a lot to get him back. It would be extremely disappointing to lose him.''

While the Alouettes are making their third Grey Cup appearance in four years, the Roughriders haven't appeared in the championship game since 1997.

After two third-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes in six seasons under Shivers/Barrett, the Roughriders are in limbo as the 10-member board of directors decides whether to keep Shivers and Barrett for the final years of their respective contracts.

Asked if he would join the Roughriders if the hierarchy was changed, Flory replied diplomatically: "I'm just concentrating on the Grey Cup.''

But certainly he knows about the situation?
"I hear things,'' Flory said.
Ultimately, Flory's roundabout decision worked out best for him. With solid quarterback Anthony Calvillo, Popp's roster-building and head coach Don Matthews, the CFL's winningest coach, the Alouettes are perennial contenders.

"It's such a quarterback-driven league and every time you've got a proven winner, a special player, like Anthony, you're going to have a chance to be successful, week in and week out, year in and year out,'' Flory said. "We've really come together and it's good to be a part of.

"It's my option year, but I'm comfortable here. I'm very happy with everything.''
Maciocia loosens the reins
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C6
Section: Sports
Column: The Daily Dish: Shorts on Sports
Source: The Leader-Post
Edmonton Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia is letting his players score off the football field this week.
Maciocia said Wednesday he won't ask his players to refrain from having sex this week for fear that it might diminish their performance on the football field. The Eskimos face the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL's Grey Cup on Sunday (CBC, 5 p.m.) at B.C. Place Stadium.

"My answer would be whatever they've done to get here, keep it up," Maciocia said when asked the traditional first question at the Grey Cup coaches' media conference -- pertaining to whether he'd allow his players to get physical this week. "I haven't had my share so I won't have a problem with that this week.

"Hey, don't change your ways."
Matthews first heard Maciocia's barbs in '77
The Calgary Herald
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald
A transit strike slowed Montreal to a crawl in November 1977, but didn't stop 68,000 faithful from showing up for Grey Cup on a blustery Sunday afternoon.

Working the sideline for the visiting Edmonton Eskimos was linebacker coach Don Matthews, a 38-year-old rookie who eventually would become the winningest coach in Canadian Football League history.

In the stands, rooting for his beloved Montreal Alouettes -- particularly fellow Italians Wally Buono and Peter Dalla Riva -- was a 10-year-old kid who one day would join Matthews in the CFL coaching ranks.

A young Danny Maciocia.
"Those were the coldest, longest three hours of my life," Matthews recalled at a news conference Wednesday morning. "I remember the transit strike. I remember snow on top of the field, it was so slick. I remember watching film afterwards and our front four, it looked like there was a choreographed dance.

"The ball was snapped, Sonny Wade was the quarterback, the four defensive linemen were in the three-point stance and they all took one step and all fell down at exactly the same time. You couldn't have choreographed it better, it looked like synchronized swimming. There were 15 fumbles. It was a huge thing.

"And I remember this little young guy up in the stands . . . "
At this, Matthews cocked his head towards Maciocia, seated to his left.
"That was you!" he erupted. "What a little jerk you were. Yelling at me in French all day. I could hear you."
The two truly will square off at Sunday's Grey Cup.
Maciocia now is head coach of the Eskimos while Matthews leads Maciocia's former team of choice. They were together for the annual coaches' huddle at a downtown hotel.

"Here we are a number of years later and I'm doing it again (going to Grey Cup) as a coach," said Maciocia, now 38. "I don't think it gets any better.

"I went to that game (in 1977) with my dad. I was a huge Alouettes fan and I just detested this guy that played middle linebacker for them and wore No. 42 (Dan Kepley). Just detested him. And it's unbelievable how things work out. Here we are a number of years later and I consider him one of my best friends."

Kepley is one of Maciocia's assistant coaches with the Esks. But the coincidences don't end there. Maciocia was a volunteer coach for three seasons in Montreal before being hired full time in 1998. He worked four more years, until Matthews became the head coach in 2002.

Matthews interviewed Maciocia for an undetermined spot on his staff, but the young coach considered the offer for two weeks before joining Edmonton. His boss with the Esks was Tom Higgins, who replaced Matthews a year earlier.

"There were a lot of people who thought I was there (Montreal) because I could say a few words in French," said Maciocia. "I had to leave to establish myself elsewhere.

"I think I have a little more credibility with the fact that I left Montreal and went elsewhere."
In his rookie season, Maciocia already has beaten Higgins' Calgary Stampeders and Buono's B.C. Lions for the right to face Matthews on Sunday.

A guy couldn't possibly take a more treacherous route to the Grey Cup.
But Maciocia never sees obstacles, only opportunities.
"I look around and I have to remind myself what I do for a living," he said. "I cherish every single moment.
"When I take the field, I remember those moments and all the sacrifices. Being a volunteer coach in Montreal with no income. My girlfriend at the time, my wife today, was a student at McGill and took a part-time job and was making payments on my car.

"I can tell you right now, I don't do this for the money. I don't make as much as this guy does. Money comes and goes, but those moments stay with you for the rest of your life.

"I'm fortunate to do what I do for a living and I get chills every time I take the field for the pregame warmup."
In typical Matthews fashion, he ended the warm and fuzzy moment with a thud.
"Danny, I want to give you a little advice," said the veteran of 14 Grey Cups. "You know those chills that you get on the sidelines? As you get older, it turns to diarrhea."

Esks count on Ray re-arming air game: QB seeks to end seven-game TD pass drought
The Calgary Herald
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F5
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald
For the first 51 games of his Canadian Football League career, Ricky Ray never went back-to-back games without throwing a touchdown pass.

Now, he heads into Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes in a seven-game drought.
Seven freakin' games. It seems impossible.
"Just think about it," teammate Ed Hervey implored on Wednesday. "Seven weeks ago, if I asked you if the Edmonton Eskimos could get to the Grey Cup without Ricky Ray throwing a touchdown, you'd say, 'No way.'

"But you know what? The guy wins. This is what I'm going to leave everyone with: Ricky Ray has been the Edmonton Eskimos' starting quarterback for three years and he has three Grey Cup appearances."

There's no doubting Ray's credentials or his ability. His track record is impeccable and all he does is win.
But, sooner or later, a guy has to find the end zone.
"I think everyone of us on the team would like to see him, on the first series of this game, come out and throw a touchdown pass," said backup pivot Jason Maas, who bailed out his pal the past two weeks. "Just so everyone takes a deep breath and forgets about it.

"The more people talk about it, the bigger the story becomes."
In his first 13 starts this season, Ray threw 25 touchdown passes.
This dry spell is something he has never experienced any time, at any level. It's something he can't even fathom.
"It's hard to explain how it happens," said Ray, whose club is 5-2 during his slump. "I've given it thought, but I haven't sat there and complained about it, or had self-doubt or anything like that. We've been winning and that's all that matters.

"Now, we're here in the Grey Cup again and that's all you can ask for."
Ray was stellar in his last championship appearance -- a 34-22 win over the Alouettes in 2003. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns and helped receiver Jason Tucker earn MVP honours.

"What better game to end this?" said Ray.
"The only thing that's going to get you over the hump is actually throwing a touchdown pass. Hopefully, Sunday I'll have a few of them."

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com
Despising Donny!: Receivers cry foul over constant contact, but it's just part of his game, says determined Brady
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: D1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - Just call Donny Brady the undisputed goon of the Grey Cup.
The Edmonton Eskimos defensive back is universally despised by receivers around the Canadian Football League (other than those on his team, of course.)

His opponents call him dirty. His teammates call him punishing and tough.
"I like villains," said Edmonton rush end Joe Montford. "I love guys like Donny. He's physical. He's going to get a pass interference call every now and then."

Every now and then? The officials call him constantly for illegal contact and pass interference, among other crimes (most of them real, a smattering imagined). He has the reputation of a criminal -- the CFL's version of National Hockey League pests Sean Avery and Jarrko Ruutu.

And Brady loves it. Every minute of it.
"I turn it into positive energy," Brady said upon touching down in Vancouver for the 93rd Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes. "I look at it as something good. If they weren't talking about me, that would mean I'm doing nothin'. I'm an all-star so I can't be all bad.

"I am not a dirty player."
You might want to ask Geroy Simon about that.
On B.C.'s first possession in the Western Final, the Lions slotback was blindsided by Brady on a Jerel Myers catch. Simon went tumbling into an official but there was no flag. When cross-examined about the alleged sin, Brady pleaded innocence.

"I don't know who Geroy is," Brady said. "Who's Geroy?"
The reputation for clutching, grabbing and holding is nothing new for Brady. Before the 2003 Grey Cup,the Alouettes sent two videotapes to the CFL head office documenting 36 alleged infractions by the Eskimos secondary.

The leading culprit? Brady, of course.
But the film evidence didn't help in the end, as the Eskimos beat the Alouettes. Brady was the defensive star of the game in shadowing former Montreal receiver Jeremaine Copeland.

"I think in today's game, people don't want too much contact," Brady said. "They don't realize it's a contact sport."
Away from football, Brady is addicted to soap operas.
He calls daytime television his escape from the drama in his life as the CFL's resident bad guy.
His favourite show is The Young and the Restless, in part, because he looks up to the deep-voiced tycoon known as Victor Newman.

"Victor Newman is an unstoppable guy," Brady said. "I try to be unstoppable like him. He knows what he wants. He's a determined man. People take determination and aggressiveness for being a villain.

"I'm just a determined man. A hungry man. When a person is hungry, he does what he can to get that food. That's how I go about it every day. I prove myself every time on the field."

So is Brady an unfair target of officials? He certainly thinks so, but the Montreal Alouettes charge that he gets away with all sorts of crimes that go unpunished.

"Realistically, if you wanted to, you could probably throw a penalty flag on Donny half the time during the ball game," said Montreal slotback Terry Vaughn. "But it would mess up the flow."

Montreal slotback Ben Cahoon concurs.
"I don't think he's unfairly persecuted by the officials," Cahoon said.
Brady is tasked with shadowing Vaughn on Sunday. The two former teammates waged battle twice this season, and Brady says he has a score to settle.

"He did a couple of dirty things, but that's between me and him," Brady said. "That's part of the game. It's all good. We'll take care of it."

It remains to be see whether he can settle the score within the rules.
vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
IT'LL BE A GREAT CATCH!
Check Friday's Journal for our special Grey Cup preview as we cue up the Eskimos' third run at the CFL championship in four years.

DID YOU KNOW?
Don Matthews -- the winningest coach in CFL history -- is the only head coach to have been on the losing side of two Vancouver Grey Cups. Matthews lost with the Lions in 1983 and with the Baltimore CFLers in 1994.

Grey Cup coaches bonded by staples
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: D1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: John MacKinnon
Column: John MacKinnon
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - The Grey Cup is about shared memories and for both Danny Maciocia and Don Matthews the reel spools backward to the same first frame -- Olympic Stadium in Montreal on Nov. 27, 1977.

Neither Maciocia nor Matthews could have known then how interspliced their careers would become. The Montrealer has established himself in Edmonton; the American-born coaching legend who got his start in Edmonton is finishing a Hall of Fame career in Montreal.

Now, improbably, they are opposing coaches in Sunday's Grey Cup.
On that day in 1977, Eskimos head coach Maciocia was a wide-eyed, 10-year-old kid, watching his first CFL championship game between the Eskimos and the Alouettes with his dad, Cosmo, from the seats of Olympic Stadium. Matthews was a rookie linebackers coach working the sideline for an Eskimos team that was on the cusp of a dynasty.

The Big Owe was jammed with 68,318 fans, thousands of whom had schlepped there on foot because of a transit strike. For many, a 41-6 drubbing of the Eskimos helped ease the discomfort of a bitterly cold day.

Famously, cross-hatched staples applied to their footwear gave the Alouettes the traction to dominate the game.
"I was just living a dream, basically," Maciocia said Wednesday, recalling that day. "And here we are a number of years later and I'm getting to do it again as a coach.

"I don't think it gets any better. Every once in a while, my wife has to remind me what I do for a living, because I really don't see this as a job. This is definitely a passion that I have and I'm enjoying it, there's no question about that."

The kid from the Montreal suburb of St-Leonard grew up a football nut who eventually talked his way into being a volunteer coach for the Alouettes in the mid-1990s.

In 1998, Maciocia became a paid professional, earning $27,000 a year, a thrill for him and a major relief to his girlfriend, Sandra Vaz, now his wife. At the time Vaz was a McGill student holding down a part-time job and making the monthly payments on her boyfriend's $10,000 car. Maciocia was still living at home with his parents.

"Whenever I take the field, I remember all the sacrifices we had to make," Maciocia said.
He also remembers the reason he had to bid adieu to Montreal.
"I needed to leave because I felt like
being in Montreal there were a lot of
people, in my opinion, who thought I was there just because I knew how to say a few words in French," said Maciocia, a trilingual allophone whose first language is Italian. "I had to leave and establish myself elsewhere."

That realization hit in 2002, after
Maciocia had become the Als' offensive co-ordinator and the team had assembled a powerhouse around quarterback Anthony Calvillo, tailback Mike Pringle and receiver Ben Cahoon.

"2001 was a rough year," Maciocia said. "We started 9-2, then lost all the rest of the games."
Cahoon, Pringle, wide receiver Jock Climie and offensive lineman Uzooma Okeke all went down with injuries.
Catastrophically, so did Calvillo.
"I came under some serious criticism," Maciocia said. "And my wife suffered a miscarriage.
"It was a tough, tough, tough year. That was my first year as a co-ordinator and the critics were out there. I just said, 'If I'm going to do this for a living, I'd

better go elsewhere.' "
Elsewhere became Edmonton after then-head coach Tom Higgins offered him a job.
"I don't know how much credibility I have, but I think I've got a little bit more because of the fact that I did leave Montreal," Maciocia said.

At 38, Maciocia told a news conference Wednesday he still "gets chills" whenever he takes the field for the pre-game warm-up. At which point, Matthews, a 60-something veteran of 14 Grey Cups, offered some crude, but apparently well-intentioned wisdom.

"Danny . . . you know those chills that you get when you go on the field?" Matthews said. "When you get old, they turn to diarrhea."

Matthews recollections of that 1977 staples game key on the temperatures that day.
"It was the coldest, longest three-hour experience of my life," Matthews said. "I remember watching film afterwards and our front four ... it looked like it was a choreographed dance.

"The ball was snapped, Sonny Wade was the quarterback and the defensive linemen were in a three-point stance and they all took one step and they all fell down exactly at the same time. "It looked like synchronized swimming."

Maciocia remembers despising a certain No. 42 for the Eskimos, Edmonton's hard-hitting middle linebacker.
"I just detested him," Maciocia said. "It's unbelievable how things work out. Here we are a number of years later and I consider Dan Kepley (now an Eskimos linebacker coach) one of my best friends."

Four years removed from Montreal and the Alouettes, Maciocia has settled into his dream job and a home that's a long way from his roots.

"I've got a home in Montreal and I've got a lot of family and I speak to them on a daily basis," Maciocia said.
"But Edmonton is home for me now. I got myself a very good situation in Edmonton. It's a class organization, it's a flagship.

"I don't think I could be in a better place or environment."
jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com
CFL Individual Award nominations
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Column: CFL Notebook
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - It appears that Damon Allen's 21-year wait will end Thursday night.
The Toronto Argonauts quarterback is the overwhelming favourite to be named the CFL's outstanding player at the league's award banquet. It would mark the first time in Allen's illustrious 21-year career that he captured the league's top individual honour.

Allen is up against kick returner Corey Holmes of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who said after receiving the West Division nomination that if he had a vote, it would go to Allen.

Voting for the CFL's individual awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada. The league will distribute its hardware at a banquet to be held at the Vancouver Centre for the Performing Arts.

Allen, a 42-year-old grandfather, was instrumental in leading the Argos to first place in the East Division this season for the first time since 1997. The six-foot, 195-pound quarterback finished third overall in passing with a career-high 5,082 yards and was second in TD passes (33) to Montreal's Anthony Calvillo (34), who threw nearly 200 more passes this year than Allen.

CREEHAN GETS EXTENSION FROM STAMPEDERS
CALGARY - Denny Creehan, the defensive mastermind of the Calgary Stampeders, has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the CFL club.

Creehan hasn't given up on his dream of becoming a CFL head coach. His contract is structured in such a way that he has an out if the right offer comes along.

Creehan is rumoured to be one of a number of potential candidates for the vacant head coaching job with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He still has hopes of taking on the head-coaching duties with the Stampeders, who lost the CFL West semifinal to the Edmonton Eskimos. But no promises have been made.

ESKS, ALS CLEAN UP IN WEEKLY AWARDS
TORONTO - Montreal Alouettes running back Eric Lapointe has been named the CFL's offensive player of the week and Edmonton Eskimos defensive back Steven Marsh earned the nod for top defensive player.

Edmonton's Charles Alston was chosen best lineman and Alouettes kicker Damon Duval was picked for the special teams award.

Edmonton and Montreal meet in the Grey Cup Sunday in Vancouver (CBC, 4 p.m.).
Lapointe carried the ball 15 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns in 33-17 win Sunday in the East final against the Toronto Argonauts.

Edmonton quarterback Jason Maas and Argos slotback Robert Baker were also considered for the offensive award. Marsh had two individual tackles and one interception in the fourth quarter which led to Edmonton's game-winning touchdown Sunday in a 28-23 win over B.C. in the West final.

Esks teammate Keyuo Craver and Montreal defensive back Reggie Durden were also in the running for defensive honours.
Alston, a defensive lineman, contributed seven tackles, one sack and one pass knockdown to Edmonton's victory.
He was chosen ahead of Montreal offensive lineman Bryan Chiu and Edmonton defensive lineman Joe Montford.
Duval kicked four field goals from 27, 20, 48, and 40 yards on five attempts for Montreal and kicked three converts for a total of 15 points. He added 545 yards on eight kickoffs and 222 yards on six punts.

Edmonton kicker Sean Fleming and Argonauts wide receiver Arland Bruce received consideration for the award.
Coach still reflects on dispirit of '77: Danny Kepley has a chance at another victory as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: John Korobanik
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Danny Kepley didn't like being embarrassed and neither did the the other Edmonton Eskimos who were humiliated 41-6 by the Montreal Alouettes in the infamous staples game at the 1977 Grey Cup.

The Eskimos hold a 7-3 winning record over the Als in Grey Cup meetings and Kepley played on two of those winning teams. But ask him to reflect on all those match-ups and that 1977 game in Montreal immediately springs to mind.

"My first memory's not a great one," he says. "It was a very embarrassing moment for me personally, for an Edmonton defence that was as fast and as big and as strong as anything I had seen for a long time."

Frigid temperatures and icy field conditions nullified much of that defence's ability to perform while the Alouettes, staples in their shoes, laughed their way to victory. That experience was a huge turning point in the Edmonton club's history, said Kepley, now a defensive coach with the Eskimos.

"I think if we had not been embarrassed to that extent, that we would probably never have won five in a row. We were thoroughly possessed with the thoughts (of the embarrassment) and fortunately we were able to play Montreal again in '78 and '79."

The Eskimos won both those meetings and went on to win that record-breaking five in a row. Edmonton's previous record streak of three-straight Grey Cups, between 1954 and 1956, all came at the expense of the Alouettes.

Sometimes it takes such a humbling to light a fire under a team and push it over the top to victory, Kepley said. But the response depends on the character of the individuals on the roster.

"Right now we have a very strong character, positive, professional ball club that understands where their level of play is and where it needs to be, that we need to be at the highest level they believe they can give us."

Kepley, one of the CFL's all-time greatest linebackers, said this current Eskimo squad has learned from its failures and difficulties through the season.

"The ups and downs that we had, especially the downs, well, when you make mistakes and you lose games, that's when you learn. That's how you learn in life, by making mistakes. If you go through life having everything given to you, a lot of times you don't learn much, so I think this club has learned, it has grown a lot stronger.

"You look at the man beside you, at the player in the locker across the room, you trust that man. He's holding your money, as coach says, and that's a key here, a tremendous key. I think it was Vince Lombardi who said 40 men with the same goals, the same idea, can never be wrong and that's definitely what we have here."

jkorobanik@thejournal.canwest.com
Dejected Lion's dad has Cup seats for sale: Jason Clermont won't play, so his papa won't stay
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: D3
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - Gerry Clermont has a message for the Edmonton Eskimos faithful rejoicing over the absence of the hometown B.C. Lions in the Grey Cup.

"Congratulations to all you Eskimo fans," Clermont says in an e-mail.
" Not only did your team knock off the Lions. They also opened the door for you to take advantage of some great seats that I no longer will be using now that my son, Jason, won't be playing in it."

That's right. Gerry Clermont doesn't have the heart or the stomach to sit through the Grey Cup with his boy on the outside looking in.

A lifetime supporter of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Gerry switched allegiances to the Lions when Jason was drafted in 2002. For some bizarre reason, the Riders passed over the sensational slotback from the University of Regina.

The Clermont family flew out to Vancouver last weekend for the Western Final, only to leave too dejected to party.
"My original pick was for B.C. to be in the Grey Cup," said Gerry, who works in marketing at a Regina television station.

"My second pick was Saskatchewan, So I've just kind of lost interest."
That's delightful news to the Eskimos -- especially to defensive end Joe Montford, who was fighting for the right to occupy Clermont's locker.

"I'm so happy for that," he said. "Jason did me a cheap shot in the Western Final. He threw a punch right into my stomach.

"You don't go out there throwing punches, especially when you're just out there playing football. I don't want to buy his tickets. I've got enough for myself. He can keep them as souvenirs."

Gerry Clermont had trouble flying out of Vancouver on Monday due to the dense flog that blanketed the Lower Mainland.
"Where we're from, you can see your dog run away for two days," he said. "So it was getting to us."
Want to buy the tickets? There's four available in the upper deck only four rows from the front. Clermont isn't looking to make a profit, as he's selling them at face value for $200 each.

For more info, contact Gerry at gclermont@sasktel.net.
vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
Just kicking back, insists inactive Fleming: Esks deny injury as kicker takes day off
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A1 / Front
Section: News
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal
VANCOUVER - After an idle day of standing around on the job, Sean Fleming walked off the field Wednesday at B.C. Place Stadium and waved off the alarmists in the Edmonton press corps.

"Don't make it an issue," Fleming said with a grin.
"I don't want to hear any of this stuff."
Maybe not, but why is the Edmonton Eskimos kicker taking a day off practice during Grey Cup Week? He never does that during the regular season, so the unscheduled leisure time isn't exactly routine.

Danny Maciocia let it slip after the Western Final that Fleming is nursing a sore quadriceps, although he didn't say which leg was affected.

But on Wednesday, the coach and his kicker both vehemently denied the story.
"What injury?" Maciocia said.
"He'll play on Sunday. He'll kick, and he'll kick well."
"I just thought I'd take a rest, that's all," Fleming said. "I've done a lot of kicking in the last few weeks, and I thought I'd take it easy today.

"You'll see. I'll be kicking (today.)"
However, today's practice is closed to the media, so only security guards surrounding the field will know for sure if Fleming actually puts foot to pigskin just four days before the 93rd Grey Cup championship, with the Eskimos up against the Montreal Alouettes.

At 35, Fleming needs his rest, said Maciocia. "So we gave him a day off. That's all it is."
Besides, he said, the Esks wanted to give slotback Andrew Nowacki and wide receiver Robert Leblanc a chance to audition for the emergency kicking job.

Fullback Mathieu Bertrand is the relief kicker and punter, and he's hobbling around on crutches this week. Even if Bertrand can play Sunday, he certainly won't kick with a bum foot.

Nowacki hasn't kicked since high school, and he wobbled a few punts out of the end zone Wednesday.
"I know the possibility of me kicking in the Grey Cup is next to none," he said. "We just had a little audition today.
"I know I hit one of my punts pretty good today, but one out of five isn't too good.
"All that made me really appreciate what Sean does."
Fleming is riding a hot streak in a tumultuous season that saw him lose his job temporarily to American rookie Hayden Epstein. The veteran kicker has been perfect in his eight field-goal attempts in the post-season.

Fleming could be playing it cautious as he over-kicked before the 2002 Grey Cup and pulled a muscle that limited him to short field goals in a 25-16 loss to the Alouettes.

But that's not an issue this time around, Fleming pledged.
"You'll see," he said. "Trust me."
vhall@thejournal.canwest.com
DON AND DANNY SHOW; BOTH ENTERTAIN AT COACHES' PRESSER
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP1
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
It was like Father Time sitting beside the New Year's Baby.
The old guy from Montreal showed up in a white T-shirt under a Grey Cup issue baseball jacket and spoke no French. The young guy from Edmonton showed up in an expensive suit and spoke fluent French.

The D.M. vs. D.M. double dip was singularly the best Grey Cup coaches press conference in the 33 consecutive editions this columnist has covered and a contrast to the Don Matthews-Tom Higgins duds of 2002 and 2003.

Matthews, who after reading rumours all year to the effect he was about to be fired, is back attempting to become the first head coach to ever win six Grey Cups.

Danny Maciocia, the rookie head coach of the Eskimos, who heard fans wonder if he had the stuff to survive for a second season, is here to become one of a handful to win the Grey Cup in his first season.

Matthews opened.
"I know how difficult it is. I was spoiled by going to my first six in a row as an assistant with the Eskimos. I thought this just happens every year. The older I've become, the more I cherish it,'' he said.

"They did it the hard way,'' he said of winning both playoff games on the road.
"We did it the semi hard way,'' he added of having to win the East final on the road.
"If you're married, it's like being divorced. If you're not married, your dog is mad at you. I've had eight wives ... everything gets exaggerated with the media, I'd thought I'd help you there,'' the 66-year-old laughed of his four failed marriages.

ISN'T IT SPECIAL
"You guys sitting out there know how special the Grey Cup is. You guys have drank your way through a lot of these.''
Maciocia, whose eyes looked wet at different moments of the hour-long affair, talked about getting here at age 38.
"I grew up as a Canadian kid in Montreal. I spent two years as a volunteer coach in Montreal with no income. My girlfriend, now my wife, was going to McGill and working part time to make the payments on my car. I don't make as much money as this man now, but to me it's not about money.

"I know who I'm sitting next to here. I'm not just sitting next to another head coach. It's unbelievable the way this has worked out,'' he said of turning Matthews down to leave Montreal and go to Edmonton.

Then Maciocia repeated himself in French.
Later he made a statement in French that a French-language reporter asked him to repeat in English because of what he'd said.

"I'm proud of the fact I'm the first Quebec-born head coach in the CFL. I'm also disappointed it took 93 years to happen. I'm glad somebody took a chance on me. Now I know that no one is looking at me and saying I don't belong. I'm so fortunate. I get chills every time we take the field to warm up.''

SIDELINE CHILLS
Matthews laughed.
"Those chills you get on the sidelines, as you get older, turn to diarrhea,'' he said.
Matthews talked about the first time he came to the Grey Cup as a head coach, here in 1983 as coach of the hometown Lions.

"At the end of the year I couldn't believe what I'd been through. There is no way being an assistant prepares you to get through your first year.'' He then turned to Maciocia, and said "It gets easier.''

Maciocia looked like he didn't believe him.
"You can't believe what it's like until you've lived it. In Edmonton the expectations are so high. When things aren't going well you can't go get gasoline without getting heckled. I had my wife go get the gas.

"You wake up every morning and your picture is on the front page of the newspaper. Everywhere you go, people stop you. I'm not really big on that stuff.

''There are nine cities in the CFL but Edmonton is a unique city. It's totally different from the rest on how they view their team. I'm reminded of that every day. But Edmonton is home for me now. And it's a good situation.''

Matthews talked about the calls for his scalp during this season.
''What have you done for me lately? That's the name of the game. It's a treadmill. When people talk that your job is in jeopardy, they are not the people who make the decisions. But it brings interest to the team.

''Everybody is talking about the Alouettes. And sometimes the talk is good for our team. Any time everybody is talking about your team, that's good. And this year we turned it into a trip to the Grey Cup.

"All's well that ends well.''
QUESTIONS OF SEX BEFORE BIG GAME
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Column: Today in Sports
Dateline: VANCOUVER
It was the annual sex question at the Grey Cup coaches press conference yesterday.
For years Jim Hunt, who covered 50 Grey Cups, used to ask the question of the coaches about their policy involving players having sex before the big game.

With Eskimos Danny Maciocia being new to the press conference, I asked the Jim Hunt question in his absence again this year.

"Whatever they've done to get here, keep it up,'' said Maciocia, who may have liked to have rephrased that.
"I haven't been getting my share,'' he added of the schedule of a head coach in the playoffs.
Too much information.
Last year Toronto Argos head coach Pinball Clemons had the best response ever when I asked the question:
"Personally speaking, this game is of such great magnitude that far be it for me to interrupt what may be a player's normal course of action for readying himself for a game,'' said Pinball.

"If it has worked thus far, please indulge.
"If it has not benefited you to this point, please abstain.''
MEMORIES LIKE THIS ...; MATTHEWS WAS A COACH, AND MACIOCIA A FAN IN THE STANDS AT THE 1977 GREY CUP GAME
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Where were you for the 1977 Grey Cup?
Both Don Matthews and Danny Maciocia were in Olympic Stadium in Montreal for the famed 'Staples Game' a.k.a 'The Ice Bowl.'

Matthews was in his first year as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Eskimos. Maciocia sat in the stands.
"I think I was maybe 10 years old,'' said Maciocia.
"That was you!'' said Matthews.
"I remember a young guy in the stands shouting. Boy, were you a jerk. Yelling at me in French!''
Maciocia said he wasn't yelling at Matthews.
"I was yelling at that No. 42. Boy, I detested that Edmonton middle linebacker No. 42.
"It's unbelievable the way things worked out. Now that No. 42 is on my coaching staff,'' he said of Dan Kepley.
"I just detested him and now he's my best friend.''
Maciocia said he couldn't believe the way Kepley still whines about losing that game because Alouette players found a staple gun and fired staples into the bottom of their cleats to be able to run on the sheet of ice that was the field in The Big Owe.

INSPIRATION
"It couldn't have meant 34 points difference,'' he said of the Alouettes win.
"Kepley keeps telling me that game was the inspiration for that team coming back and winning five Grey Cups in a row.''

Matthews said he'll never forget that game.
"That was the coldest I've ever been. That was the longest three and a half hours of my life.
A TRANSIT STRIKE
"There was a transit strike in Montreal and there was all that snow ...
"I remember watching one play on the films when we got back. It looked like our front four was all doing a choreographed dance.

"They were all down in a three -point stance. They all took one step. Then they all fell down at the same time.
"It looked like synchronized swimming!''
Maciocia is in his fourth Grey Cup, one as an assistant with the Alouettes and two as an assistant with the Eskimos.
Mathews is in his 15th, the first six as an assistant with the Eskimos, winning five and losing one. He made it a record eight previous times as a head coach with the B.C. Lions, Toronto Argos, Baltimore Stallions and Montreal Alouettes, winning five and losing three.

He was asked which was his most memorable game.
"I think it was our fourth in a row with the Eskimos in 1981 when I was an assistant,'' he said.
"Again it was in Montreal. We had a 14-1-1 record in the regular season with the Eskimos and Ottawa had a horrible year,'' he said of the Rough Riders' five-win regular season.

"They had us down 20-1 when Tom Wilkinson came in to replace Warren Moon,'' he said seemingly making a reference to the situation with the Eskimos in the two playoff games with Jason Maas coming in to replace Ricky Ray.

"Look at both of those guys today,'' he said of Moon making it as a first stage nominee in the balloting for the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, the other day.

It came after he had won five Grey Cups in Edmonton, and he still had a full-meal deal career in the National Football League.

"Warren came back in and led us back. We needed Dave Cutler to make a field goal at the end to win the game,'' he said of the 26-23 final result.

FLEMING OUT AS PUNTER?; LEBLANC, NOWACKI WORKING OUT AS PUNTERS IN CASE QUAD INJURY SIDELINES ESKIMOS' MAIN MAN
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP3
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
It was an ugly scene.
Backup receiver Rob Leblanc punted the ball off the side of his foot during Edmonton Eskimo practice yesterday and it sailed out of bounds.

It was one of the ugliest shanks of the season inside B.C. Place.
Then it was Andrew Nowacki's turn. He only fared slightly better.
With regular punter Sean Fleming doing the square root of nothing at practice yesterday, suddenly thoughts were whirling around the large media gathering on what was essentially the first real day of Grey Cup week.

Is Fleming hurt?
Is the Eskimos' red-hot kicking machine - who has been nothing short of brilliant down the stretch this season - suddenly questionable for Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes?

Is former punter Hayden Epstein on a flight north from California?
But the Eskimos say there is no need to panic.
Within seconds of practice being over, Fleming started his explanation.
"I'm just taking it easy," he explained.
"Don't make it an issue.
"I don't want to hear anything.
"I thought I would take a rest. I have done a lot of kicking the last few weeks. I want to make sure I am as fresh as possible.

"There is no injury."
That is debatable - but with it being Grey Cup week, there is no way the Eskimos will reveal any major news until the last possible moment before the roster deadline on Friday.

HAD A PROBLEM
What is known is this: head coach Danny Maciocia admitted after last weekend's West final victory over the B.C. Lions that Fleming did have a problem.

"Sean Fleming was having a little bit of trouble with his quad," Maciocia told the Edmonton Sun.
At the time it didn't appear to be anything serious.
But that concern level jumped a little higher yesterday.
Fleming didn't try a field goal attempt after booming the ball through the uprights just last week at practice in advance of the West final at B.C. Place.

Third-string quarterback Jason Johnson became Fleming's replacement on kickoff duties yesterday, simply chucking the ball as far as he could.

When pressed even more, Fleming wouldn't waver.
NOTHING WRONG
"Seriously, there is nothing wrong, you will see (today)," he said.
"I'll do some (field goal kicking today)."
Maciocia was sticking to the same story.
"At his age you have to give him the day off," said Maciocia.
"That is all it is."
When Maciocia was reminded about his reference just a few days ago to Fleming's quad problem, he replied: "What quad injury?

"(Fleming) will play on Sunday.
"He'll kick and he'll kick well."
Eskimo fans will be clinging to that hope for the rest of the week. Fleming has been the deciding factor in a number of games down the stretch this year.

He booted six field goals to play a key role in the club's West semifinal win over Calgary.
Two weeks earlier he nailed five field goals in a one-point victory against B.C.
In the last seven games he is 20-for-23.
His punting average in his last three games is almost 42 yards.
Nowacki or Leblanc wouldn't come close to that.
"I have a lot more respect for what Sean does after today, that's for sure," said Nowacki, who last punted in high school.

Nowacki and Leblanc wouldn't go near the subject of Fleming being hurt.
"Mathieu Bertrand is our backup kicker, but with some of the injuries (to him), we took the opportunity to hold an open tryout," explained Nowacki, knowing Bertrand is questionable this week. He has an ankle sprain.

"But Sean is going to be kicking in the game."
Added Leblanc: "There is nothing wrong with Sean but there is apparently a lot wrong with Andrew and I think it's because we don't kick very well."

If Fleming doesn't kick very well tomorrow, this Grey Cup is suddenly going to have its first real big story of the week.

JEANTY RARIN' TO GO
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Is Rashad Jeanty finally going to play a meaningful down for the Edmonton Eskimos after watching four straight games with a hamstring injury?

After looking very good in practice yesterday - his first good practice in weeks - it is now time to suggest the stellar defensive end might be able to play Sunday afternoon in the Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes.

"I feel great," said Jeanty, who tore a hamstring in the final minutes of the Eskimo tilt against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Oct. 15.

"It is the best (the hamstring) has felt since the injury.
"I give it two thumbs-up."
But Eskimo head coach Danny Maciocia isn't ready to give Jeanty the thumbs-up yet and place him on the roster for Sunday's Grey Cup. He will have to wow the coaching staff today and tomorrow, as Maciocia must declare his injured players by Friday afternoon.

SHORT YARDAGE: There is more good news on the injury front for the Green and Gold, as Antico Dalton practised yesterday at B.C. Place after suffering a concussion last Sunday in the West final.

"I am feeling great, there are no lingering (symptoms)," said Dalton, a backup defensive end. "I am ready to go."
However, the same can't be said of Mathieu Bertrand, who didn't step on the field yesterday.
With a second-degree sprain of an ankle, the fullback won't practise today. He will need to practise Friday to receive the go-ahead from Maciocia.

LATE HITS: Premier Ralph Klein and Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel have confirmed their attendance at B.C. Place on Sunday ... the Eskimos will be under an 11 p.m. curfew tomorrow night and Saturday evening ... Thanks to a coin flip, Edmonton has been declared the visiting team for Sunday and will call the next coin toss prior to the game that will determine the team that receives the ball ... Linebacker Steven Marsh is the CFL defensive player of the week for his key interception late in the West final against the B.C. Lions last Sunday. Charles Alston grabbed the lineman honour for notching seven tackles, one sack and one pass knockdown.

EXTRA POINT: Denny Creehan has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Calgary Stampeders. The defensive co-ordinator does have an out clause, however, if the right offer comes his direction.

CHEATING DEATH; ALS RUNNING BACK ROBERT EDWARDS DID IT
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Robert Edwards - the star running back for the Montreal Alouettes - is doubtful for the Grey Cup with cracked ribs.
For some players, that would be the worst news of their football career.
But that is nothing for Edwards because it was doubtful he would ever walk again when he emerged from an operating room in 1999.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Edwards is one of the best stories in the CFL this year.
A 1,000-yard rusher in his rookie season with the New England Patriots in 1998, Edwards was in the NFL rookie all-star game on a beach in the winter of 1999 - it was essentially a flag football game.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD
He was on top of the world with a bright NFL career staring him in the face.
But then disaster struck.
"I went up to knock a pass down and came down in the sand," said Edwards.
"The doctors said all the weight shifted to the (left) leg and I dislocated my knee, severed my artery and tore all my ligaments."

At that moment time became the enemy.
He desperately needed to find a hospital or he was going to lose part of his left leg.
"I had lost so much blood that if I had been five or 10 minutes later getting to the hospital there would have been nothing they could have done," remembered Edwards.

But when he was wheeled out of surgery, his football career was supposedly done.
"They said I wouldn't be able to walk normal, that I would have to use a cane the rest of my life, let alone run or play football," he recalled.

Obviously, he proved the medical experts wrong.
He rushed for 1,199 yards this season in his first campaign with the Als while starting just 12 games.
"It is unbelievable to be 10 minutes from losing your leg to being one of the best backs in the CFL," said Montreal offensive lineman Scott Flory.

GAINING RESPECT
But Edwards is also gaining respect and praise for his personality.
There is no chip on his shoulder, no bigger-than-the-league attitude, no bitterness to his voice.
"He's a great guy in the locker-room and you would never know he was an (NFL all-star) back or a first-round pick in the NFL," said Alouette defensive tackle Ed Philion.

"He is a humble man and guys love to block for him."
And it doesn't take long in a conversation with Edwards to believe what his teammates say.
"I don't take a lot of stuff for granted anymore," said 27-year-old Edwards, who will likely be replaced by Eric Lapointe on Sunday."I appreciate being here, I appreciate being able to get out here and walk around and standing here on my own two legs.''

SING ALONG WITH JERRY
The Edmonton Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Hard as it may be to comprehend, not everybody in the West is cheering for the Eskimos in the Grey Cup.
Like Jerry Iwanus of Bawlf, Alberta.
Iwanus e-mailed yesterday"In response to your column referring to the Eskimos fight song:
"Why don't you bite, bite, bite me, Eskimos
You win to spite, spite, spite me, Eskimos
You're smug and arrogant, it's clear to all
In fact your team is quite a bit like Bryan Hall
I hope you lose, lose, lose you Eskimos
I'd never choose, choose, choose you Eskimos
I'll tell the world that I hate Edmonton -
And the Edmonton Eskimos!''
Iwanus concluded: "There, I feel better now.''
There are many games in town this week: 'Tis the season for round-the-clock deal making for next year
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A63
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Daved Benefield
Column: The Player's Take
Source: The Province
While Grey Cup revellers are starting up their party engines, there is another group getting their games faces on. Only it's not the players.

These folks are backstage for the serious game of deal making for next year. No jerseys, no stripes, armed with Treos, Blackberries, business cards and electronic resumes, it's the Grey Cup you don't see.

It's more than just making sure players are in the right place and that parties go off without a hitch. For some, it's early-morning and late-afternoon meetings going over last-minute fine details. For others it's trouble shooting just in case a robot goes "West World" and starts rampaging through the park.

Once the play is in motion you can't call time out until it's over.
So what kind of meetings are we talking about? Let's see.
The CFL board of governors is meeting right at this moment. They are doing strategic planning: "Gentlemen, should we take Halifax by winter? What kind of ground forces do we need?"

Seriously, they are looking at where the wins and losses were in the big books, who failed and who is ready to push the button. In this meeting some are pounding their fists on the desk, and others are sitting back playing their cards close to their vests.

The big game in town is the wining and dining of corporate sponsors. Can you say "schmoozing"? This is the grand opportunity to win new sponsors and to get the old sponsors to give a little more to "the cause." Diss a sponsor now and face an unwanted uncertainty. Will the sponsor tell his sponsor friends how lame you are?

Schmoozing a sponsor is like dating a popular girl: If you slip up, she will tell her friends and the next thing you know you're begging for a date with the next contestant of the extreme-makeover show The Swan.

The new sponsors send out crews to find out if the Grey Cup and the league are really all they're said to be. Sometimes wooing the new sponsors is like travelling with your snotty-nosed kid brother: Act wrong and there is hell to pay at home.

And let's face it, unless your team's cup is running over, no sponsor should be left playing wallflower during the big Grey Cup dance.

During this time you will see entourages. No, Usher is not in town. It's individual team front-office staffs. Each team will send folks to hawk merchandise and play support at the team's social event.

Once again there is wining and dining of fans and maybe individual team sponsors who have made the trip. It's also all about keeping an eye on the Joneses. What works for Calgary may work for Winnipeg. What doesn't work for Hamilton may work in Regina.

Important people who make the trip and those definitely to keep an eye on are coaches, general managers and presidents. Watching the exchanges between league officials and other teams' officials is better than bird-watching in Fort Lauderdale in the spring.

Coaches and general managers are wooed by teams with vacancies to fill. It's all flirting, palm pressing and warm smiles.

After a round of grade school stuff like: "Do you like me?" (check box yes or no) comes the fraternity-house pass-off to other people in the hierarchy of the team's front office and more grade school stuff: "Did you like him?" "I dunno, he's kind of cool, do you like him?" "OK, let's offer him a bid."

Who gets their feelings hurt and who doesn't at the end of the week, you'll have to wait to find out in the spring. Teams that did well will have new smiling sponsors.

Coaches and general managers that did well get new-coloured hats to wear in the summer. At the end of it all, Danny McManus goes home a winner again win, lose or draw.

Daved Benefield plays defensive end for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
It's a paid holiday -- ring is optional: Veteran long-snapper called out of retirement when regular injured
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A63
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province
It's like fantasy camp, only Roger Reinson is being paid to play.
The 36-year-old Regina native is the Edmonton Eskimos' long-snapper for Sunday's Grey Cup, an emergency replacement called out of retirement after regular long-snapper Taylor Inglis hurt his knee in the West semifinal two Sundays ago at Calgary.

Reinson, who has Grey Cup rings with Calgary, B.C. and Edmonton, was cut by the Eskimos in camp this year when Inglis, 21, blew away the coaching staff with his crack-the-whip snaps.

"This is like two weeks' paid holidays," the 36-year-old Reinson said Wednesday after the Esks practised at B.C. Place.

"I guess it would be nice to win another ring, but I look at it more as a way to cap a pretty good career.
"To me the ring is a symbol of the whole year's work and I've kind of bypassed all that. So the ring, as bizzare as it sounds, doesn't really hold a lot of significance to me."

The pay, should Edmonton win on Sunday, will work out to $15,500. If they lose, it'll be $9,500, not bad for two weeks' work, regardless.

"Ricky Ray money," Reinson laughingly says, and since all players share the playoff pool equally, he's right.
Reinson was a linebacker with the Lions in 2000, when B.C. beat Montreal 28-26 in the Grey Cup at Calgary's McMahon Stadium.

He then joined the Eskimos and won a Grey Cup in 2003 when Edmonton beat Montreal 34-22 at Regina.
And he broke into the league out of the University of Calgary with the Stampeders in 1994 and won a Grey Cup with Calgary in 1998, when the Stamps beat Hamilton 26-24 in Winnipeg.

Reinson left the Stampeders as a free agent after a falling-out with Wally Buono over money.
"I felt Wally wasn't giving me a fair shake. I was a local player who could have been compensated a little bit better. It's nothing more than that," Reinson said. "He's a great family man and I respect him for who he is."

Reinson is hoping to get on with the Edmonton fire department and is currently living in Calgary working in a group home for troubled preteens.

He also does a CFL show for an Edmonton radio station.
His nickname is Cone Snail: According to Reinson, it's the fourth-fastest creature on Earth, faster than the cheetah when it springs out of its shell to sting its prey.

Like him snapping the ball, he said.
Reinson had a fitness test with the fire department six weeks ago, so was in relatively good shape when Esks coach Danny Maciocia phoned him the night Edmonton won the semifinal.

"I'm not a couch potato," Reinson said.
Nor is he under any illusion that Sunday's game could rekindle his football career. He came to grips with the fact that it's over after he was axed in training camp.

"I'll tell you what," Reinson said. "Win or lose, I'm having fun. And next year, any team that needs someone around Nov. 20, I'll be available."

gordmcintyre@png.canwest.com

Omens good for Damon: Expect Allen to win 'Outstanding Player' category, says football writer Lowell Ullrich, who sets up tonight's show
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A64
Section: Grey Cup '05
Source: The Province
OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Corey Holmes
TB, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Why he's nominated: Wins hands-down if the award is for most versatile player. Topped CFL in combined yards, was a threat in the backfield as both runner and receiver, and never complained once when he was taken out of offence when the Riders decided to change their attack. If the CFL wants to market what is good about their players, he's the leading candidate.

Damon Allen
QB, Toronto Argonauts
Why he's nominated: Turned 42, stayed healthy all year and threw for 5,082 yards, tops in his Hall of Fame career. He could have walked away easily after rubbing it in the faces of the Lions at last year's Grey Cup. But he had more to give this season.

Who'll win? Allen. Voters love a great storyline and, besides, he's probably deserved the honour a few times before and was snubbed each of the four times he was a club nomination. Even Holmes says he'd vote for Allen.

TOP CANADIAN
Brent Johnson
DL, B.C. Lions
Why's he nominated: Like coach Wally Buono said all year, he never gave up on a single play. With help from a reconstructed front four, Lions' pressure was better than in recent past. Johnson's 16 sacks led the CFl and, frankly, the total should have been higher if they kept stats like they were done in the era of the half-sack.

Kevin Eiben
OLB, Toronto Argonauts
Why he's nominated: The Vancouver College product always seems to be around the ball, best represented by the fact he's led or tied for the league lead in tackles the past two seasons.

Who'll win: Johnson should, based on the notion he's had more of an effect disrupting the flow of opposing offences by hurrying the throw of the quarterback. Eiben will be the likely winner though. He lost to Jason Clermont last year, and the third round of voting is top-heavy in Toronto-based TV studio analysts, assuming they even bothered to cast a ballot this year.

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER
John Grace
OLB, Calgary Stampeders
Why he's nominated: Like Eiben, always seems to be in the vicinity of the opposing ball carrier at the end of a play. He doesn't have superior numbers (76 tackles, eight sacks, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions) but that's because of way he and fellow LBs George White, Scott Coe and Brian Clark work in the Calgary defence. One of departed coach Matt Dunigan's best moves in making 2004 trade with Ottawa.

Michael Fletcher
OLB, Toronto Argonauts
Why he's nominated: Only two players in the division had better tackle numbers. Fletcher's another player who won't impress anyone because of his overall dominance. But he's always around the ball, partly because the Argos defensive scheme allows their LBs to make plays against the run.

Who'll win: Fletcher would be another good local storyline and deserving accolade for GM Adam Rita, who stuck with him in Toronto after both left the Lions. Expect Grace, however, to take the hardware.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
Gene Makowsky
RT, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Why he's nominated: The Riders' offensive line was better than last season, allowing five fewer sacks than 2004, when Makowsky won the league award last season. His play hardly tailed off, nor did Saskatchewan's league-leading ability to run the ball.

Scott Flory
RG, Montreal Alouettes
Why he's nominated: Talk to fellow linemen, which is the only way to get a true reading on this position, and they'll tell you he's had the best season overall. One thing's for sure: The University of Saskatchewan will be proud. Both finalists come from the same school.

Who'll win: Flory. Can't argue with the troops.
TOP ROOKIE
Gavin Walls
DE, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Why he's nominated: Another Johnson type who never stops, and might have overtaken the Lions nominee had it not been for a late-season injury. Finding Walls this year might have bought Bombers GM Brendan Taman more time to fix the myriad of problems in Winnipeg.

Matthieu Proulx
DB, Montreal Alouettes
Why he's nominated: Best of a bad Eastern lot. (Seriously, something's wrong if Hamilton nominated RB Jesse Lumsden, who only joined the team after Labour Day.) Proulx, who was coveted by the Lions until the Als traded up in the draft to take him, was used primarily in special teams

Who'll win: Walls. As an every-down defensive player, it's hard to overlook his contribution to his team.
TOP SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER
Corey Holmes
KR/PR, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Why he's nominated: Edmonton players are still steamed rookie teammate Tony Tompkins didn't advance despite scoring more special teams TDs. Holmes advanced on the fact only B.C.'s Aaron Lockett had more kickoff return yards this year.

Noel Prefontaine
K/P, Toronto Argonauts
Why he's nominated: He's had statistically better average years punting but was more consistent even than Jon Ryan, Winnipeg's out-of-this-world sophomore who is destined for an NFL shot. Only Calgary rookie Sandro DeAngelis had a better FG percentage this year.

Who'll win: Prefontaine changes field position with one leg. Holmes does the same with two. Snubbed in the most outstanding category, Holmes will undoubtedly get a consolation vote or two in this category.

- - -
ROGERS CFL AWARDS
Where: Vancouver Centre for Performing Arts, 777 Homer St.
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: 604 260-4400
TV: TSN

If he wins, he's buying the drinks: Lions' Brent Johnson says whole defensive unit contributes
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A65
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province
If Brent Johnson walks out of tonight's CFL awards ceremony as the outstanding Canadian, his teammates on defence will be drinking -- on him.

"If I happen to win it, they all own a piece of that award," said the Lions defensive end and CFL sack leader. "Those guys are so necessary in what I do. It's wrong to say it's an individual award because it's really an extension of everyone who surrounds me.

"I'll have to buy more than one round. I wish I could buy them a Grey Cup ... ."
Johnson, who turns 29 on Dec. 7, came into his own this season. His 16 sacks are fourth-highest total in Lions history.

The CFL record is owned by James (Quick) Parker, who had 261/2 for the Lions in '84, when half-sacks and stripping the ball from the quarterback counted.

Johnson said if he went over video of all 18 games this season, he could probably find at least five instances where he should have had a sack, but blew it.

Yet even five more would leave him 51/2 shy of Parker, which goes a way to show how much bigger and more mobile offensive linemen are now, and how better they're coached.

"I try to play at a certain level and I think I achieve that most games," Johnson said.
"I expect a lot from myself. Actually, I expected more from myself than what happened this year. The good part of looking back on the season is how much I left out on the field. It's good in the sense it gives you a lot to think about and a lot to build upon for next season.

"I achieved a portion of what I want to do, but the sky should be the limit. I didn't reach that as an individual and we didn't reach that as a team."

Johnson's East rival for the award is Toronto Argonauts linebacker Kevin Eiben, a three-sport star at Vancouver College who grew up in North Delta. At 6-feet, 215 pounds, he's small for a linebacker, but he's got 4.55-second quickness in the 40-yard dash.

Eiben had 113 tackles this season and 110 last year, when he was also the East's nominee. He lost to Jason Clermont, one of three Lions who's won the award (Sean Millington three times, Jim Young twice).

The fact that Eiben was a bridesmaid last season, that he's so well-liked, and that anything that happens beyond Grand Bend makes as much noise to the Eastern media as a tree falling in Clayoquot Sound at 2 a.m. in mid-January, gives Eiben a 50-50 shot at winning.

But no matter who wins, the CFL will have a great ambassador for the game.
Not that Johnson is comfortable being called a hero or role model. "I don't profess to be a hero or a role model to anyone," he said. "If people like the way I play or they've met me and find me nice or whatever and that's why they like me, OK."

And it hasn't sunk in what winning the award would mean.
"You have a certain weight on your shoulders to carry because of the guys who have come before you and made that award what it is," Johnson said. "It's a good weight.

"But, not to downplay the award, I'd trade it for the Grey Cup."
gordmcintyre@png.canwest.com
Matthews breaks in his rookie rival ... gently: Slicked up in a suit, Maciocia willing foil for veteran Als boss
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A65
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Kent Gilchrist
Column: Breakfast Briefing
Source: The Province
You couldn't have missed the rookie head coach: There was Edmonton Eskimos Danny Maciocia all slicked up in the suit he might have got married in. Right next to him was his rumpled Montreal counterpart Don Matthews in his CFL-issue sweatsuit and sneakers, his puffy face making slits of his red eyes.

It's interesting that Maciocia will be making his Grey Cup head coaching debut at B.C. Place Stadium on Sunday, the same venue Matthews did as B.C. Lions rookie head coach 23 years ago in 1983.

Matthews clearly enjoyed himself Wednesday at the Grey Cup week kickoff -- the coaches' press conference at the Sheraton Wall Centre -- schooling Maciocia on the finer points of being a head coach in the CFL.

That Matthews has been to 14 of these shindigs as an assistant and head coach gave him some justification to feeling superior, a normal affectation for The Don, but to his credit he played it right. He was self-effacing, not self-absorbed.

And Maciocia was a willing, eager student. One of his first positive recollections of the CFL was attending the 1977 Grey Cup game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal when there was a transit strike and a snowstorm. He was 10 and went to the game with his father. The Alouettes beat the Eskimos 41-6 when Matthews was the defensive line coach.

There wasn't much question of the players Maciocia liked best: "My dad pointed out the Italians, Wally Buono and Peter Dalla Riva."

"I remember this little kid in the stands," grinned Matthews under his grey Fu Manchu moustache, "that was you. Man, you were a little jerk yelling at me in French all day."

The Eskimos won the next five Grey Cup games, helping prepare Matthews for a run at his record-setting sixth Cup victory as a head coach on Sunday.

Maciocia has been an assistant coach in three previous Grey Cup games, but started his career as a volunteer in Montreal when he had to get his girlfriend to make his car payments in 1995.

He's proud to be the first Quebec-born coach to become a head man in the CFL.
"I don't know how much credibility I have now," he said Wednesday, "but I felt I needed to leave Montreal because, in my opinion, there were people who thought I was there because I could say a few words in French.

"I'm a little more credible today. I know nobody can look at me and say I don't belong in the CFL."
Matthews promised Maciocia that things would become easier after the first year, where the hardest thing he remembers is adjusting his time management for all the things unrelated to football in which a head coach must involve himself.

Maciocia says that, despite struggling with that, "I cherish every single moment. I know I'm going to get chills on the sidelines before the game on Sunday."

Matthews said: "As you get older, you know, those chills you were talking about turn into diarrhea. But it [the feeling of making it to the top of the coaching heap] doesn't get any better than this."

The common denominator for the unlikely pair of Grey Cup coaches is that they worked and learned in both of the organizations. Matthews was twice in Edmonton, under Hugh Campbell in the six-in-a-row run and as head coach in 1999 and 2000, when he was mysteriously fired in the '01 preseason.

Maciocia started in Montreal and got his chance to run the Eskimos when Matthews' successor was relieved of his duties at the end of last season.

On Sunday, Matthews will be hoping another similarity emerges. He lost 18-17 to the Toronto Argonauts in '83. hkgilchrist@yahoo.com

Tough guy Montford can be tender, too
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A66
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Ed Willes
Column: Ed Willes
Source: The Province
When you've knocked heads in the trenches for a decade, you learn a little something about the other man and Bruce Beaton figured he knew something about Joe Montford before he arrived in Edmonton.

He knew, for example, you needed an elephant gun to stop him on a consistent basis.
He also knew, for as talented as Montford was physically, he was the smartest defensive lineman Beaton ever faced.
Finally, he knew, as the B.C. Lions came to understand on Sunday, that you have to account for Montford every minute because he could wreck more plays than an actor with a stutter.

But, it's one thing to know the man on the field when he's in his armour. It's another to see him, holding his baby daughter, who was born seven weeks prematurely this summer, or to see him with his four-year-old girl, who's hearing impaired.

It's at these moments you see the man in full. And it's at these moments that Beaton realized Montford is even more impressive off the field than he is on it.

"It's been fun getting to know him," said Beaton, the Eskimos' 12th-year offensive tackle. "He's such a solid guy. You see him as a father, then as a warrior on game day, it's something special."

And now Montford is looking for a special way to finish this special season.
The Hall-of-Fame rush end, who's in his first season with the Eskimos, heads into Sunday's Grey Cup as one of the drama's lead players following back-to-back monster performances in the West Division playoffs and following a year in which his life was turned upside-down.

In the West final, Montford treated the Lions' porous offensive line the way the Visigoths treated Rome, recording one sack and countless pressures.

This Sunday, Montford figures to have a tougher time against the Montreal Alouettes' respected offensive line, but as much as any player on the field, he'll hold the key to victory in the Dominion final. That's also been the case since he first started terrorizing offences 11 seasons ago.

"He makes guys around him better because you have to account for Joe," said Winnipeg slotback Milt Stegall, Montford's offseason workout partner in Atlanta for the last six years. "He brings so much more to the table than sacks and tackles."

And that was never more apparent than this season.
For Montford, the fun started back in April when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats dealt him to the Esks for offensive lineman Dan Comiskey.

Montford had spent eight seasons in Steeltown, winning three most outstanding defensive player awards, leading the CFL in sacks four times and generally setting the gold standard for CFL defenders. But somewhere between his age, 35, and his contract, the $200,000-range, the Ticats deemed Montford was expendable.

That still hurts.
"I played my heart out," Montford said Wednesday. "I took a bunch of pay cuts. And, after everything I've done, you're still going to do me like this."

Then there was the situation with his daughters. In July, Montford's wife Temikia gave birth to baby Logan seven weeks prematurely. The Montfords' eldest daughter, Mayson, was also tested and found to be hearing impaired.

Montford now says simply, "It was a struggle" but through his family's tribulations, he found a home with the Eskimos. He started all 18 games for the ninth straight season -- read that sentence again slowly -- contributing 10 sacks and mentoring rising star Rashad Jeanty along the way. He's since been their best player in the postseason.

Now, on some level, Montford understands he can't go on forever. He turns 36 next July. He'll also have 11 CFL seasons under his belt. But, as much as Sunday presents the ideal time to bow out, Montford isn't quite ready to take up golf.

"Final show?" he says. "Not even close."
After all, if this season didn't slow him down, nothing will.
ewilles@png.canwest.com
Unkind cut by the Lions turns into lucky break for Tugbenyoh: For a DE who thought he was done, this Alouette's all right
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A66
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province
A large grin was all Mawuko Tugbenyoh could muster when he collected his thoughts after his first Grey Cup practice at B.C. Place Stadium as a member of the Montreal Alouettes on Wednesday.

Then, he was able to put them into a sentence: "It's ironic beyond words."
He knew he was the only member of the Lions this season who had made it this far, and he admitted it was not in the manner he intended.

Tugbenyoh was a starting defensive end for the Lions last year and he had every reason to think going into training camp that things would remain that way.

At least until he was cut and Lions coach Wally Buono had decided on rookie Chris Wilson for his position.
From that low point emerged the thought for Tugbenyoh that he may not play again in the CFL. Until the Als came calling. And, in truth, Tugbenyoh's role under coach Don Matthews has been more unstable than it was as an every-down player last season.

Tugbenyoh, who was born in Hayward, Calif., wouldn't say if he felt vindicated. It was clear, however, he was pretty satisfied.

"It's still a blessing," said Tugbenyoh, whose dad was born in Ghana. "My first two CFL years and I get to go to the Grey Cup is unimaginable."

And unimaginable is how he viewed the collapse of the Lions from a distance.
"I was not expecting it," he said. "We [the Lions] thought, 'We'll refine a few things and we'll win a Grey cup this year.' I'm just kind of upset it didn't happen [in B.C.]"

The challenge Tugbenyoh faced with the Als was the patience needed as Matthews spent the better part of the season deciding on a defensive front. Marc Megna, Felippe Claybrooks and Mark Word all auditioned for a position. Tugbenyoh was the survivor.

"It was rough, but you could still go in the next week and refine something that will give you the edge over somebody that is playing," he said. "It's always better to be somewhere rather than nowhere, watching TV," he said.

That's what the Lions are doing this week, and nobody will appreciate the irony more when he lines up against the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday.

Season really is adding up: Accountant is in a rush to pick up his first Grey Cup ring
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A67
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province
Eric Lapointe isn't about to combine his two jobs this week while he's trying to win a Grey Cup ring with the Montreal Alouettes.

Lapointe figures to be awfully busy picking up rushing yards Sunday against the Edmonton Eskimos, especially if tailback Robert Edwards can't play due to two cracked ribs he injured in the CFL's East Division final last week against the Toronto Argonauts.

Players on the winning team each receive $12,000 and there's little doubt that Lapointe would know what to do with the money.

His day job is as a Montreal financial advisor and oddly, a good number of his football clients are on the Eskimos. That means if the Esks come into some new cash they'll pay handsomely if they want investment tips.

"I can't really tell them much, because I'm going to be one that gets the money," he said.
Based on the perseverance that Lapointe has needed to get this far, he has reason to be confident.
The 31-year-old native of Brossard, Que., has been in the CFL seven seasons, and almost all of them have been spent in the background.

If Casey Printers of the Lions ever wanted tips on staying patient, Lapointe is the one to call.
He backed up Ronald Williams in Hamilton, leading the Tiger-Cats to the 1999 Grey Cup at B.C. Place Stadium as the game's top rusher.

Next year he was the caddy for Michael Jenkins in Toronto. When he signed with the Als, it was Mike Pringle. Then, Lawrence Phillips.

So he knew what to expect when the Als signed Edwards this year. Montreal coach Don Matthews isn't different than any of his CFL colleagues. To run the ball, goes their thinking, you can't rely on a non-import.

That won't change after this week. For that reason, plus the obvious fact financial planners are more fiscally stable than backup running backs, Lapointe may call it a career after Sunday's game.

The time-management demands alone make it nearly impossible to work both jobs.
"You take your business home with you and you take your thoughts about football back to your business," said Esks kicker Sean Fleming of Burnaby, who does corporate restructuring work for the Edmonton office of Price Waterhouse Coopers, where he used to work in investment planning.

By staying in the CFL this long, however, Lapointe hopes he's changed the way teams look at non-import runners. The Als sure can't complain. All Lapointe did when Edwards went down against Toronto was rush for 112 yards and three touchdowns, plus force a special-teams fumble. Not bad for a Francophone who grew up thinking about playing hockey and began his football career as a 6-ft, 216-pound tight end.

"I can't say I was happy for two weeks to see [Edwards] but there's a point you have to realize if you like the game enough to be there," said the 31-year-old, who will play in his fourth Grey Cup of a relatively short career.

"The day you start wondering why teams keep bringing in certain players is the day you stop having fun. Life is strange sometimes. You keep smiling, and I might be on the field Sunday."

lullrich@png.canwest.com
Grey Cup arrives with full military escort: 93-year-old trophy now in place
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A8
Section: News
Byline: Ian austin
Source: The Province
Talk about your military escort.
The Grey Cup sailed into Vancouver under the Lions Gate Bridge with a maximum of fanfare yesterday, arriving by sea aboard the HMCS Vancouver, a Canadian Navy frigate, shortly after noon.

With the Chilliwack Middle School marching band providing the soundtrack, the 93-year-old Grey Cup arrived under the watchful eye of Canadian Football League commissioner Tom Wright and Grey Cup committee chairman Dennis Skulsky, publisher of The Province and Vancouver Sun.

"I think it's very fitting that, in the Year of the Veteran, the Grey Cup is brought by the HMCS Vancouver," said Wright. "I met so many wonderful men and women aboard the ship.

"I think the 2005 Grey Cup will be the standard by which we measure all the Grey Cups from now on."
Wright and company disembarked, then presented the cup to Vancouver mayor-elect Sam Sullivan.
Sullivan, who uses a wheelchair, didn't make it aboard the Vancouver, which didn't have a suitable ramp. Disabled access may become a new priority for the new city council.

After a grip-and-grin with the Cup, now safely ashore, many of the official entourage then climbed aboard two Canadian Forces armoured personnel vehicles.

Wright proudly held the Grey Cup aloft as he jumped on a Coyote armoured carrier.
About a dozen members of the Grey Cup committee clambered aboard a LAVIII -- light armoured vehicle -- holding on carefully with quite a fall awaiting any who might lose their focus in the fog.

With the media in tow, the two eight-wheeled vehicles then sped around Canada Place.
Surprised tourists snapped photos as the Grey Cup committee members waved from atop their transports.
iaustin@png.canwest.com
Preparing for a $40m party: Math of 2 visiting teams favours hospitality industry
The Vancouver Province
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: A39 / Front
Section: Money
Byline: Jim Jamieson
Source: The Province
Perhaps the only people in Vancouver not disappointed in the B.C. Lions' failure to advance to this Sunday's Grey Cup game are the hotel and restaurant owners.

There's no question hosting the CFL final will provide a huge boost to the economy of Greater Vancouver -- about $40 million -- but two visiting teams (and their fans) instead of one is definitely the kind of math favoured by the hospitality business.

Tim Murphy, general manager of the Shark Club Bar and Grill, just a punt from B.C. Place Stadium, believes adding the frenetic Edmonton Eskimos fans to the Grey Cup mix will more than make up for the absence of local content.

"You're bringing all these people from Edmonton here who really want to spend money and have a good time," said Murphy. "People living here might just come and have a beer before the game and then go home. I think the hotels and bars will reap the rewards from another team coming in."

The Shark Club has stocked up three times the normal beer order this week and estimates business overall will be up 50 per cent over the four-day Grey Cup festival.

It's estimated the economic impact of the Grey Cup will be about $20 million in direct spending and another $20 million indirectly for Vancouver's economy.

That's up from $30 million in 1999, the last time the Cup was held in Vancouver, when the game attracted only 45,000. This year, all 59,147 seats have been sold out for months.

The number of visitors from across Canada is expected to be in the 25,000 range, with the overall attendance at the numerous events in the festival around 200,000.

Dave Gazley of Tourism Vancouver said hotels, with 55 per cent of spending on accommodation, reap the most benefit from tourist visits.

The remainder goes to food and beverage, transportation, entertainment, retail spending and attractions, with significant

trickle-down through the rest of the community.
"We estimate that the average visitor would spent $274 per day on an average of 21/2 days," said Gazley.
Eskimos fans may be coming, but they'll likely be challenged finding a downtown hotel room or a seat in a bar.
Bob Mirando, general manager of the Georgian Court hotel on Beatty Street -- which will be closed for three days during the festival -- said his facility has been sold out for three months.

"Having something like this in November, our off-season, is wonderful for downtown hotels," said Mirando. "For us, it increases our occupancy for the month by at least 10 per cent."

Craig Norris-Jones, general manger of the Coast Plaza hotel, said there's a buzz in the air, in contrast to 1999. "Party on the Pacific [the marketing slogan] was out early. The profile of the Lions and the CFL have really grown in the last few years," he said.

"Since [Lions president] Bobby Ackles came back to town, things have really changed. There's a completely different feeling."

This year's Grey Cup festival is packed with events -- such as a live, televised parade that features B.C-born TV star Pamela Anderson as its grand marshall -- in a compact downtown zone that should attract even disappointed Lions fans.

jjamieson@png.canwest.com
Maciocia proves he belongs: Esks head coach knew he had to move on after tough years in Montreal
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F2
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Cam Cole
Column: Cam Cole
Source: Vancouver Sun
No speaking order was suggested when the Grey Cup head coaches were asked for a few introductory words Wednesday, but there was no doubt who would get the wind in the first quarter.

The Don simply cleared his throat and began, as natural and relaxed at the microphone as a guy should be who'll make his 15th Grey Cup appearance as a coach on Sunday, his third with the Montreal Alouettes, and who has a ring for every finger on both hands.

Beside him, Edmonton head coach Danny Maciocia looked on with what seemed to be a mixture of admiration and, perhaps, just a little awe.

The contrast was striking. Don Matthews, grizzled with his white Fu Manchu and his lived-in face, so sure of himself, so secure in his legacy; Maciocia, clean-shaven, almost cherubic, his desire for acceptance so palpable, the stories of his struggles as a young Montreal-born coach so painful.

You wondered how Maciocia's thirst for validation could possibly be stronger than that of some of his assistants -- such as Rick Campbell, the defensive co-ordinator, who can never quite outrun being the CEO's son. And R.D. Lancaster, whose dad was Hugh Campbell's former teammate and then the Esks' head coach. And linebacker coach Danny Kepley, whose life may have been saved the day the Eskimos brought him back in from the cold, when he was well on the way to self-destruction.

But Maciocia, as a Quebecer, had a harder row to hoe.
Curiously, he began his story Wednesday by recounting the day his father took him to the 1977 Grey Cup game at Olympic Stadium, during a transit strike. In the Montreal lineup that day was Wally Buono, who would become a mentor to him many years later.

"I didn't have any choice but to look up to Wally. When my dad would take me to games, he would only point out the Italian players -- Wally Buono and Peter Dalla Riva," said Maciocia. "I guess I would have been 10 years old in 1977. I was a huge Alouettes fan.

"And I just remember how much I detested [the Eskimos'] middle linebacker, No. 42. Obviously it was because he was a tremendous, tremendous football player. And it's unbelievable how things work out. Here we are, how many years later, and I'm coaching that team, and Dan Kepley's coaching on defence, and he's my best friend."

"He said I was his best friend?" said Kepley, after the team's practice, his voice gone thick with emotion.
"That puts a big lump in my throat, to hear that. Coming from being a player and . . . quite honestly, having the perception out there that the Edmonton Eskimos have been taking care of Dan Kepley for a lot of years. So it means a lot that I'm able to first take care of myself and secondly be a contributing part of his coaching staff, which is very important to me. I don't want to take anything for free."

Kepley is from the generation that always calls the boss Coach. And so, after having many nicknames for Maciocia when he was an assistant, now he is simply Coach.

"I'm proud of the fact that I'm the first Quebec-born head coach in the CFL. I'm also disturbed about the fact that it took 93 years for it to happen," Maciocia said. "I think if you look at what's happening with coaching across our country, there's a lot of great coaches, all they need is an opportunity. Sometimes you just need to take a chance, and I'm glad someone took a chance on me."

The Eskimos did, after Maciocia had spent a frequently miserable 2001 season as offensive co-ordinator of the Alouettes. He had been a highly successful coach of the St. Leonard junior football program when he made the leap to the CFL in 1995 as a volunteer assistant coach with the Alouettes.

"We had two years as a volunteer coach, with no income, and my girlfriend at the time, my wife now, was a McGill student and had to get a part-time job to make payments on my car," said Maciocia.

After that, he became an offensive assistant, and in 2001, the offensive co-ordinator of a team that started 9-2 and never won another game. Matthews took over then, and interviewed Maciocia for an unspecified job with the team, but Maciocia sensed it was a token offer.

"That had been my first year as coordinator, and I'd come under some heavy criticism. They were saying, basically: 'He just got the job because he'd been around the organization for a few years and could say a few words in French,'" Maciocia said.

"I remember hearing [veteran offensive lineman] Pierre Vercheval say it was easier for him to finish his career in Montreal, and he was glad he started it elsewhere. And I felt I had to do the same.

"My wife is 31 years old, and she gave up her career so that we could move to Edmonton. She took a chance. And I said it last week, and some people had a good chuckle at it, but I don't do this for the money -- because I'll tell you right now, I don't make the kind of money this guy does," he said, motioning to Matthews, who pulled a "Who, me?' face.

Did Hugh Campbell sound this way in 1977, his first year out of Whitworth College, as green as grass but with his team in the Grey Cup on his very first try? Did Matthews, in 1983, when he had left his job as the five-in-a-row Esks' defensive co-ordinator to be head coach in B.C., and immediately took the Lions to the Grey Cup?

Is it to be that kind of career for Maciocia, who was in the 2002 and '03 Grey Cups as Esks' offensive co-ordinator, and now has them in the Grey Cup as a rookie head coach? Or is this a one-off, the result of some weird karma, that he should find himself coaching the team he hated as a boy against the beloved team of his childhood?

Asked if he sees Maciocia as a guy who could be sitting in a Grey Cup news conference 20 years from now, looking back on early days, Kepley said: "I certainly do. But as you guys know, you have to win. And even more so, I think, you have to win in Edmonton. I think our standards are high. We expect more from coaches, we expect more from players -- we expect more, period."

So far, Maciocia and his under-esteemed staff have managed to deliver more.
Perhaps they all just have so much to prove that the pieces somehow fit. But one way or another, the Eskimos are here in the big game, and even if they're the biggest habitual exceeders of the CFL's unenforced salary cap -- a charge they hotly deny -- a lot of other big-spending teams didn't get here.

"As a coach," Maciocia said, "it doesn't get any better. Two class organizations have given me a chance to establish myself, to work with great players and meet great people along the way. I don't know how much credibility I have, but I think I have a little bit more because of the fact that I was able to get up, and leave Montreal. Had I stayed behind, the criticism would have still been there.

"Now, I've faced a ton of criticism of a different kind, but that's just the territory we occupy. But I know that there's no one who can look at me and say, 'You don't belong in the CFL.'"

ccole@png.canwest.com
Edmonton Eskimos vs. Montreal Alouettes
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F2
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Ian Walker
Source: Vancouver Sun
DID YOU KNOW
581,745 people have attended Grey Cup games in Vancouver. The largest crowd was in 1986, when 59,621 fans watched Hamilton beat Edmonton 39-15.

Sex in the City?: Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia had the room chuckling at this gem when asked about his philosophy on players having sex the night before the big game: "Whatever they've been doing to get us here -- keep it up. I haven't gotten my share and that won't be a problem this week. Don't change your ways."

Edmonton Eskimos vs. Montreal Alouettes
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Ian Walker
Source: Vancouver Sun
DID YOU KNOW
Thirteen Grey Cup games have been played in Vancouver. The average margin of victory in those games was 11.8.
Smells sweet: Eskimos linebacker A.J. Gass wasn't offering any apologies for making the B.C. Lions locker room home for the next four days. "I'm sure it's a little extra salt in the wound for them while for us, its a little extra sweetness. But really, it doesn't matter. I'd change in a phone booth if I had to, if it meant playing this weekend."

Edmonton Eskimos vs. Montreal Alouettes
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Ian Walker
Source: Vancouver Sun
DID YOU KNOW
The average margin of victory in the last 10 Grey Cup games is 9.9. The highest was 24 in 1997, while the lowest was two in 1998 and 2000.

EARLY TO BED: Als head coach Don Matthews on his team's self-imposed 10 p.m. curfew during Grey Cup week. "The purpose is not to get the guys off the streets. It's purpose is to focus. We are asking for a week of their time to focus on this very important game in order to achieve a lifetime of memories

Edmonton Eskimos vs. Montreal Alouettes
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F5
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Ian Walker
Source: Vancouver Sun
Playoff moments: Danny Maciocia on his rookie season as head coach: "I'm fortunate to be doing what I'm doing for a living, and I get chills every time I take the field, even for warmup, whether it's pre-season or a playoff game."

"When you get a little older," Don Mathews intoned, "those chills turn to diarrhea."
DID YOU KNOW
Since 1949, 2,421,936 people have attended Grey Cup games. The largest crowd was 68,318 in 1977. The average crowd size is 43,249.

Maas looks to his future: Eskimos QB desperately wants a win Sunday before he gets traded to TiCats
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Iain MacIntyre
Column: Iain MacIntyre
Source: Vancouver Sun
Jason Maas is Future Considerations, which is only slightly less noble than being A Player to be Named Later.
A Player to be Named Later (APNL) is generally, well, a player -- someone with four limbs, a central nervous system, a habit of walking upright and some experience as an athlete. Crash Davis was APNL in Bull Durham. Major Leaguer Harry Chiti was APNL in 1962 when he was traded for himself -- sent to the New York Mets by the Cleveland Indians in exchange for APNL, which turned out to be Chiti. Four decades later, debate rages as to whether the Mets or Indians got the best of the deal.

Future Considerations (FC) can be anything. It has been hockey pucks and sticks, a team bus and livestock. Even worse, cash has often been the FC, which is FU to fans.

On Wednesday of Grey Cup week, Future Considerations was talking eloquently to the media after the Edmonton Eskimos' practices, which was a sure tipoff that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will be getting someone instead of something when they call in their FC IOU as soon as Monday.

On Sunday, quarterback Jason Maas desperately wants to win a Grey Cup for the Eskimos, knowing that any day after that he likely will be traded to Hamilton to finish off the deal that brought running back Troy Davis from the Tiger-Cats six weeks ago.

Other players, notably ex-Hamilton lineman Dan Comiskey, were involved in the trade of Davis, who was deemed expendable by the Tiger-Cats because his contract is up after this season and the dynamic runner lacks Jesse Lumsden's lumbering style and birth certificate.

And Hamilton lineman Tim Bakker and/or veteran quarterback Danny McManus are rumoured to be part of the Maas transit. Among the imports, the big picture has Maas going one way and Davis the other, but not simultaneously, which is paramount because the Eskimos probably wouldn't be in the Grey Cup without both players.

Unlike the B.C. Lions, who clung to their two star quarterbacks even as the position became toxic, Edmonton was able to leverage its asset in Maas to get vital help at running back while still keeping Maas around to back up Ricky Ray and, in the playoffs, save the Eskimos' season.

The Tiger-Cats may have Future Considerations, but the Eskimos have all the present ones.
"I'm not going to lie and say I haven't thought about all the possibilities of next year during this year," Maas told reporters. "It has raced through my mind here and there. I don't want to think about it. I had the promise from the organization that I wasn't going to go anywhere this year, which is what I wanted. I'm thankful they allowed me to stay around here.

"I heard [trade rumours] basically since June or July. I heard it as soon as Ricky signed that people were thinking I was going to be gone and out of here. I've pretty much been in tune that something was going to happen at some point.

"It is difficult to deal with. I don't think I made it seem that way, but, yeah, it's hard to keep having to answer questions about it. Everyone's human. When you're off the football field, thoughts race through your head. And to think you are going somewhere next year, it is difficult."

On the field, Maas has seemed remarkably uncluttered. After throwing only three passes during the regular season, which followed the 30-year-old's breakthrough, 5,270-yard year in 2004, Maas is merely 19 of 24 with two touchdowns, no interceptions and victories in two relief appearances during the playoffs.

He said concentration has prevented speculation about his future from affecting him.
"I've done it all year," he said. "Now, possibly, it's seven days away. I'm going to find out a lot of things Nov. 28 or around there. I can wait. I've waited all year to hear it. I'm happy that it's come to this and glad that it's almost over."

And the Tiger-Cats?
"I haven't talked with them," he said. "From what I hear, they do respect me and think I'm a good player. I think you'd want that and, as a person, I do. It's nice to hear that."

If he wants a scouting report he can talk to Davis, who as Maas spoke in the end zone at B.C. Place Stadium was cornered by other media a screen pass away.

Davis, also 30, spent more than 41/2 seasons in Hamilton and left as the Tiger-Cats' all-time leading rusher with 5,296 yards and a 5.1-yard average.

His only problem is that he has too much gold in his teeth and not enough on his fingers. Davis said his last championship ring was earned during high school in Miami, which is why he is at least as keen as Maas to beat the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday.

"I been in Hamilton for five years and it's like a shock when you hear something that you just got traded to a different team," Davis said. "Now you got to pack up all your stuff and meet new guys.

"[The season] started off wrong for me, but it's ending off good for me. Back in high school, that's the only ring I got. I went through college, went to the NFL and everything and never achieved a ring. Now I'm playing [for the Grey Cup] and it's the biggest event in my life right now."

Edmonton coach Danny Maciocia said Davis, who rushed for 359 yards in the final four games, gave the Eskimos a ground threat that had been missing from their attack.

"We were one-dimensional for at least three quarters of a season," he said. "We had Ricky on course to throw for 6,000 yards. But that wasn't the purpose. We knew we wouldn't be able to win games we needed to win late in the season because we were one-dimensional. Now we're a little more balanced."

And he calls Maas "awesome -- the ultimate team player."
Even if Future Considerations be another team's ultimate player next season.
imacintyre@png.canwest.com
Show must go on; even without the Lions
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Jason Clermont
Column: Jason Clermont
Source: Special to the Vancouver Sun
The fog that covers the Lower Mainland hangs heaviest over our practice facility in Surrey.
Minds, egos and futures have all been clouded over by this fog and there will be no true clarity until the 2006 season opens up.

While the physical fog is not affected greatly by pressure (of the barometric variety), the mental fog has definitely been amplified by pressure.

The pressure of hosting the Western Final and the Grey Cup, in what should have been a banner season, cannot be overlooked. Ideally, it was prudent to dismiss any suggestions that there was added pressure on us this season. However, the weight of that pressure is at its heaviest this week, when we can't do anything about it.

But let's be honest. We haven't truly been in control of anything since the final whistle blew in Edmonton, in what was our first loss of the season at 11-1. Talks of a perfect season gradually changed to that of missed opportunities.

Coach Wally Buono had warned us when we were 10-0. He had said that winning is not always a good thing, but nothing good ever comes from losing. This statement was met with raised eyebrows and snickers. It seemed like an unsolvable riddle, and many tried to decipher what he had "meant" rather than what he had "said". He went on to say that we needed to keep in the habit of winning, because losing is also habitual.

Therein lies the key. The habit of winning had lulled us into a false sense of security and delusions of grandeur. In the blink of an eye we stopped feeding our addiction to winning and started growing accustomed to losing.

We went from finding ways to win, to finding ways to lose.
Now, we have to wait for vindication. We have to hear opposing teams talk poorly of us, have analysts break down our deficiencies and wait for our chance to respond on the field.

Some faces will change. Some players will be cut or traded; others will sign elsewhere through free agency.
Even without the Lions, the show must go on. Grey Cup is a national gathering of fun-loving sports fans and an unbelievable experience for anyone who takes it in. The community has rallied behind the organizing committee to put together quite a schedule of events.

Lions' fans can still rally behind Brent Johnson and the monster season that he had. He is up for the CFL Most Outstanding Canadian Award, which will be presented tonight.

While it is not the ring that Brent had been aspiring for, it is definitely one he deserves.
Als' backup has butterflies: 'Chance to star in biggest game of the year best feeling of all' to running back Eric Lapointe
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F5
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Lyndon Little
Source: Vancouver Sun
This seems to be the year of off-the-bench heroics in the CFL playoffs.
B.C. Lion fans are all too aware of the Jason Maas story, which has witnessed the Edmonton Eskimo backup QB stage late-game relief appearances to win contests in both the Western semifinal in Calgary and last Sunday's final here against the Lions at B.C. Place.

The Eastern final in Toronto saw a similar dramatic saga, as Eric Lapointe authored a Walter Mitty-like story of his own.

Lapointe, the Montreal Alouettes' backup running back, was quietly doing his job on special teams when Als' star Robert Edwards went down late in the second quarter with what turned out to be two cracked ribs. Enter Lapointe, who rushed for 112 yards and scored three TDs as the Alouettes booked their tickets to Vancouver with a 33-17 upset victory over the Argos at SkyDome.

With Edwards still inactive due to the rib problem, it appears Lapointe will get the opportunity to add another chapter to his story Sunday when the 93rd Grey Cup pits the Alouettes against the Western champion Eskimos.

"I know Robert still is holding out some hope he might play," says Als' coach Don Matthews. "But the reality is Eric will start Sunday with [import] Jonas Lewis activated to be the backup."

That's certainly music to Lapointe's ears. The 6-0, 216-pound Quebec native, however, isn't going to assume anything until he gets the official word from his coach.

"To perhaps have a chance to start in the biggest game of the year is the best feeling of all," he said Wednesday. "I've got a few butterflies, but it's good to be excited. No matter where I play I just can't wait to be on the field."

This is Lapointe's seventh season in the CFL and his fifth with the Alouettes. A two-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner as the top player in Canadian college football, he was drafted by the Eskimos in 1999 in the third round -- and then released. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats gave him a chance the same year and he went with them to the Grey Cup. He was traded to Toronto in 2000 and, at the end of that season, he decided to return to his hometown and sign with the Als.

While he's shown flashes of stardom at just about every stop, it's been Lapointe's misfortune to play behind some of the best backs in the CFL. In Hamilton it was Ronald Williams. In Toronto it was Michael Jenkins. And since joining the Als, here's the type of competition he's faced -- Mike Pringle, Lawrence Phillips and Autry Denson.

"When I made my decision to sign with Montreal I knew what I was getting into," says Lapointe. "I wanted to come home to be close to my family and I knew what the situation was."

Despite the obstacles, Lapointe has been able to carve out a good share of the feature back load in Montreal, particularly since 2002 when Matthews arrived on the scene. He had 432 yards in 2003, another 479 in 2004 and managed 423 this year.

Along the way, he's gained Matthews' confidence.
"I feel Eric has been underrated throughout his career -- except by his teammates," says the Als' coach. "He began this season as our starter, but then ran into a few injuries. While he was out, Robert had a few breakout games and became our starter.

"If you look at the past few years, however, Eric has always had pretty much a 50-50 share of our running back time."
If there's a knock of any kind against Lapointe it's been his inability to stay healthy.
In 2002, it was torn medial collateral ligaments in his knee. The following season it was an ankle injury that cost him half the season. This year, it was the three missed games with a hamstring pull.

"The torn MCL was the worst," laments Lapointe. "I'm not the kind of back to shake and bake, so I depend on my speed. It was tough to come back from the knee, but this year is the best I've felt in a long time."

A certified financial planner who handles investments for several other players around the CFL [yes, some of his clients are Eskimos], Lapointe doesn't dwell on where his career numbers might be had he managed to stay injury free.

"There's nothing I'd change about my seven years in the league," he maintains. "I've even enjoyed my role on special teams. Some people have wondered why I would continue to play if I can't be a starting running back.

"To me there's a lot more to football that just being a starter. I enjoy being part of a football team and being around the other guys. If I have the respect of my teammates I don't care what job I have."

GRID BITS: At times Sunday, Lapointe's blocking back will be North Vancouver's Mike Vilimek, the SFU grad who is having a solid season for Montreal with 34 carries for 124 yards and five TDs . . . At Mount Allison University, Lapointe held the Canadian college records for career rushing yards (4,166 yards) and the single-season mark (1,619 yards) until they were broken by McMaster's Jessie Lumsden . . . Lapointe was a Quebec minor football star before the current wave of popularity for the sport swept the province.

"I had been living in northern Quebec where it was all hockey," he says. "When we moved back to Montreal I didn't have many friends, but one of them played football. I went out for the team, but I didn't know what I was doing. I was supposed to be a tight end. Most of the time, though, I just ran around like a chicken with its head cut off."

llittle@png.canwest.com
In case you bump into Pamela
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Pete McMartin
Column: Pete McMartin
Source: Vancouver Sun
Ten Things To Say To Pamela Anderson If By Chance You Happen To Meet Her During Grey Cup Week:
1. "Miss Anderson, huge fan of your work! And I've been dying to ask you, in your landmark 1996 classic, Barb Wire, a futuristic fascist government plots to wipe out civilization by manufacturing a disease called Red Ribbon derived from the AIDS virus, which, by coincidence, you carry the antidote to in your blood.

"As the film's heroine, you play a freedom fighter who seduces her enemies by posing as a stripper, all the while riding a large motorcycle while wearing a skin-tight black leather bodice. Critics have argued about exactly what the film's core message is.

"So question: Do you see this film as (a) a scathing indictment of the dangerous relationship between governments and uncontrolled genetic research, or (b) a vision of the growing empowerment of women symbolized by the iconic motorcycle, or (c) an anime-influenced commentary on the dystopic vision of the 21st century future, a la William Gibson?

"Also, the leather bodice? Chafe much?"
2. "Hey, what's the problem? Tommy Lee licked your face the first time he saw you."
3. "You know, I really liked the character development in the Pamela Anderson Tommy Lee Honeymoon videotape, but the plot sucked."

4. "It's a real pleasure to meet you. But let me get this straight: You're not the one who was married to Dennis Rodman?"

5. "The guys and I were wondering: Can you do that slo-mo Baywatch thing for us right here?"
6. "Hi, I'm a Pisces. I like walks on the beach, eating dinner by candlelight and listening to the music of Zamfir. My idea of a great time is staying at home and snuggling on the couch. My favourite movies are The English Patient, Casablanca and Fried Green Tomatoes. I cried when the mother deer died in Bambi.

"My pet peeve is people who think they are better than everybody else. I'm crazy about kids and I would love to start a family. The things that I think are the most important to look for in a woman are a sense of humour, intelligence and curiosity about the world. And, oh yes, really large breasts."

7. "Miss Anderson, I understand you've recently become an American citizen. As such, I'm fascinated to know what your opinions are on disengagement in the war in Iraq, Bush's Middle East doctrine of democratic involvement and the legitimate use of torture in the post-9/11 world, vis a vis Abu Ghraib.

"Also, leather bodice? Chafe much?"
8. "Miss Anderson, I am sick and tired of the cheap breast jokes at your expense. But hey! I haven't seen that much silicon since I went to Future Shop! Bada-bing!"

9. "Miss Anderson, it's a real pleasure to meet them."
And, finally:
10. "Good Lord!"
Grey Cup game not growing old for Alouettes head coach Matthews
CP Wire
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Section: Sports in general
Byline: BY DAN RALPH
VANCOUVER (CP) _ It was easy to see who was making his first appearance at the Grey Cup coach's news conference Wednesday.

Danny Maciocia, the Edmonton Eskimos' rookie head coach, took his seat on the podium before reporters attired neatly in a jacket and tie. During the hour-long gathering, Maciocia spoke thoughtfully and clearly about how he attended Montreal Alouettes games as a kid and just how much in awe he is about being a head football coach. At times, his voice wavered somewhat, maybe indicating just a hint of nervousness.

``It hasn't registered yet,'' Maciocia said of being at the Grey Cup. ``I know it's a special event and special feeling.

``Growing up as a Canadian kid in Montreal, this is what it was all about. I'm just living the dream . . . it doesn't get any better.''

But that certainly wasn't the case with the person seated to Maciocia's right. Dressed casually in a Grey Cup ball cap and warmup jacket, Don Matthews of the Montreal Alouettes joked not only with reporters, but with Maciocia, showing the poise and calm of someone who Sunday (CBC, 6 p.m. ET) will make his 15th career appearance in the CFL championship game, including a ninth as a head coach.

However, Matthews was also very gracious towards Maciocia, praising the 38-year-old Montreal native for guiding Edmonton to the Grey Cup in his first year as a head coach.

``Your first head coaching job is the toughest year of your life,'' Matthews said. ``We want to be football coaches . . . but when you're the head coach there are so many demands on your time that the hardest job you have is to govern your time so you can do all the non-football related things and still get your team prepared.

``My first head coaching job was with B.C. in 1983 and we went to the Grey Cup (losing 18-17 to Toronto). At the end of that year, I couldn't believe the things I had been through because there's no way somebody can prepare you for it. Danny, I'll tell you this, it gets easier and you're going to get to a lot more.''

``I can't wait,'' Maciocia responded quietly, ``for it to get easier.''
Matthews should know.
The 66-year-old native of Amesbury, Mass., is the dean of CFL coaches. He's in his 20th season as a head coach and has won more games (231, including playoffs and Grey Cups) than anyone else in league history. A win Sunday would be Matthews's record sixth as a head coach.

Matthews can be both gracious and funny, much like he was Wednesday. But he can also be abrasive and difficult to deal with, having barred media access to the Als dressing room. Yet Matthews had been named the CFL's top coach an unprecedented five times, ironically in voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada.

``I know where I'm at and who I'm sitting next to,'' Maciocia said. ``You're talking about a future Hall of Famer, the winningest coach in CFL history.

``We don't talk weekly but I do remember talking when I got this job and he gave me some advice. Don called me one other time and I appreciate it because I know where it's coming from. It's an honour to be here but I'm not going to kid myself and think I'm sitting beside just another head coach. It's more than that.''

Maciocia began his CFL career as a coaching volunteer with Montreal in 2000. He was promoted to offensive co-ordinator in 2002 but left to join the Eskimos in the same capacity in 2003. When Tom Higgins was unceremoniously dumped as Edmonton's head coach following the 2004 season, Maciocia was hired as his replacement.

This will mark Maciocia's fourth Grey Cup appearance. He won in 2003 with Edmonton.
``I get chills every time I take to the field in the pre-game warmup, be it in the pre-season, regular season or playoffs,'' Maciocia said. ``My wife is 31 and she gave up her career so we could pick up and move to Edmonton and establish myself as a football coach. We took a chance.

``Those two years as a volunteer coach in Montreal with no income and my girlfriend at the time, my wife today, being a McGill student with a part-time job making payments on my car. That's the stuff that goes through my mind when I take to the field.''

Being a coach with the Alouettes was a dream come true for Maciocia, who grew up a diehard fan of the club. But after a miserable 2001 season _ one where Montreal lost its final eight games of the season and Maciocia's wife suffered a miscarriage _ Maciocia felt he had to leave his hometown to prove himself, even after interviewing for a spot on Matthews' coaching staff.

``I felt there were a lot of people, in my opinion, who thought I was there because I could say a few words in French,'' Maciocia said. ``I had to leave to establish myself elsewhere.

``I don't know how much credibility I have but I think I've got a bit more from the fact I did leave Montreal and did it elsewhere and am glad I did.''

As a boy, Maciocia fondly remembers attending the 1977 Grey Cup, which was held on a bitterly cold day in Montreal during a transit strike. The Alouettes beat Edmonton 41-6, thanks largely to their players putting staples on the bottom of their shoes to combat a frozen turf at Olympic Stadium. The Eskimos linebackers coach that day was none other than Matthews.

``I remember it was the longest, coldest 3{ hours of my life,'' Matthews recollected, before taking a glance back at Maciocia. ``I remember this little young guy up in the stands, that was you?

``Boy you were a jerk that day. You were yelling in French to me the whole time.''
But Matthews was serious when he told Maciocia to cherish his first Grey Cup appearance.
``As a long-time resident of the CFL I know how difficult it is to get to this point,'' he said. ``Early in your career you seem to take it for granted because you've done it a few times.

``It's a very difficult task because everybody else in the league is trying to take what you've achieved and it's a battle every step of the way.''

By Jim Morris
CP Wire
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Section: Sports in general
Byline: BY JIM MORRIS
VANCOUVER (CP) _ If the Edmonton Eskimos beat the Montreal Alouettes to win the Grey Cup they might consider having the victory parade pass through Hamilton.

Before the CFL season started the Eskimos cut a deal with Hamilton to obtain defensive end Joe Montford to put some muscle into their pass rush.

With four games left in the season the Eskimos made another trade with the Ticats, acquiring running back Troy Davis to put some legs under their rushing attack.

Strangely, both deals involved Canadian offensive lineman Dan Comiskey. He was sent to Hamilton for Montford, then came back to Edmonton with Davis.

It's expected Eskimo backup quarterback Jason Maas will end up in Hamilton to complete the Davis deal.
Considering the Ticats had a dismal 5-13 record, Davis, Montford and Comiskey are all thrilled to be playing in Sunday's Grey Cup (6 p.m. ET, CBC).

It's especially sweet for Davis, 30, who hasn't won a championship since his high school days.
``I went to college and the NFL and never achieved a ring,'' Davis said after the Eskimos held their first practice of the week Wednesday at B.C. Place Stadium.

``Now I'm playing in the biggest game of my life. It (the year) started off wrong for me but it's ending off good for me.''

Born in Miami, Davis went to college at Iowa State and played parts of two seasons with the NFL New Orleans Saints.
Davis has rushed for a 1,000 or more yards his last four seasons. This year he had 1,151 yards and five touchdowns on 240 carries.

In his final four regular season starts with Edmonton, the five-foot-eight, 183-pound Davis averaged just over 89 yards a game. His 359 total yards was best on the team.

In the semifinal against Calgary, his bruising 100 yards on nine carries helped Edmonton control the game.
Sure-handed out of the backfield, Davis also has 11 catches for 62 yards in Edmonton's playoff wins over Calgary and B.C.

``I didn't know what to expect,'' Davis said about the trade.
``They told me they needed a running game and I could fit into a spot. I'm doing everything they asked me to do. I'm just trying to win games and stay happy.''

The only Grey Cup ring Montford won was in 1999 when the Tiger-Cats beat the Calgary Stampeders in Vancouver.
After spending eight seasons with Hamilton, the 35-year-old Buford, N.C., native was at first shocked and angry about being dealt to Edmonton.

``Any time you spend such a long time in a city and the city is your family, you have some grudges,'' said Montford, who led the Eskimos with 10 sacks this year.

``I gave my heart out. I took bunches of pay cuts, thousands of dollars, to stay in Hamilton. It was a situation where after all I'd done they wanted to do me like this? On the other side, I got (to Edmonton) and it all worked out.''

Montford also had personal issues to deal with. At the time of the trade, his pregnant wife was confined to bed. At the same time, it was discovered his three-year-old daughter had suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear and a significant loss in the other.

During the season, Montford's wife gave birth to a daughter. The baby was premature and spent 10 days in hospital.
``There were a lot of things going on for me emotionally,'' Montford said.
On the field, Montford didn't lose any of his fire. He often draws double teams, opening up a route to the quarterback for another member of the defence.

Comiskey also rode an emotional roller coaster during the season.
His wife gave birth to twin daughters in March but there was complications. She stayed in London, Ont., and Comiskey, 33, wanted to be close to his family, so requested a trade.

As the year progressed the healthy of Comiskey's daughters improved but the Tiger-Cats' season was on life support. Given a chance to return to the Eskimos, the right offensive guard jumped at the chance.

``You never think you're going to have a chance to go back,'' said the Windsor, Ont., native.
``When the opportunity came up, speaking to my wife, she was very supportive and excited about coming back to Edmonton. It all worked out really well.''

The fact the Eskimos wanted Comiskey back shows his value to the team. Having him front to open up holes has given Davis room to run.

``They had their reasons for bringing me back,'' he said.
``I think I add to an offensive line. I'm one guy and there's five on the line. You can't have a running game without five quality offensive linemen.''

CIS kids can handle elite CFL positions
http://
Wed 23 Nov 2005
Alex J.Walling

Way to go, Eric Lapointe. As a rule I watch a football game be it on the sidelines getting photos for my website or a newspaper column, in a press box such as the ones in the universities in Atlantic Canada or simply at home. I simply observe and watch the game unfold.

One of the things that have happened since I got into this business full time (1969) and used to travel by train from Woodstock, Ontario where I worked at a radio station (CKOX, the big OX, 1340 on your AM dial) to the CNE stadium to watch the Argos and that is somewhere along the way I lost being a fan and turned into a reporter.

There are advantages to both. As a fan, one gets to jeer and cheer and have ups and downs, highs and lows, depending on the performance of your team but the chances of 'your team' winning it all, is always very low.

Lets for example take the NFL or NHL. You are looking at around a 1 in 30 chance of your team 'winning it all'. But as a reporter I get to see the spectacle in front of me and can admire all the excellence that comes

through a match from both sides.

In covering lots of college sports in Atlantic Canada over the years I would silently applaud a great run, good catch or fine tackle in football or a nice shot or save in hockey, regardless of what team made it. A good play is a good play, is it not?

I admire excellence of the performers and I really don't care who does it which is my beef against die hard sport fans who only can see 'their athletes or teams' as being good while the opponents only have 'luck' on their side.

But this past weekend and again this coming weekend will be exceptions. I was cheering for Eric Lapointe when he went in to replace the injured Robert Edwards in the CFL semi final between Montreal and Toronto.

If there is one player that I have covered a lot in following AUS football it is Lapointe and my trips to Sackville, NB and other locations where he put on his 'Saturday Showcases' between 1996-1998.

What he did against Toronto last Sunday I've seen him do for years against Saint Mary's, St. F.X. and Acadia. In fact, his stats against Toronto were much like his college days. He gained over 100 yards, most in the second half as the 'back-up' who came in when the 'number one' back went down.

In his Mounties days, getting 100-150 per half was the norm. This guy had two 300-plus yard games in his college run, which, for those who like to throw stats around, was only 3.5 years. He did not play a fifth year and lost a half a season to not starting in his rookie season and being injured in the year his team went to the Atlantic Bowl - 1997.

We're talking about a kid who went over 1600 yards on a few occasions in an eight game season, took home two Hec Crichton awards as the best in this country (1996-1998), and I'm convinced if he did not get hurt in 1997 would have tied Chris Flynn in being the only person ever to get three straight Hec's. His run in the semi final game in 1996 against St. F.X., which is shown once in a while on TSN, is still the greatest run I have ever seen. And yes, that includes the great runs by the NCAA players in the bowl games. That Lapointe run (93-yards, but he must have zigged and zagged 130 to get to the end zone) is something one sees only once or twice in a lifetime.

For over 30-years I have been one of those who have talked about 'having our Canadian kids in the very skilled positions in the Canadian Football League'. Those positions as I see them are on offense (quarterback and tailback) and on defense (middle linebacker position and the corners).

Why do all the 'very skilled positions' have to be handled by Americans? I know most should be but all them? All the time? Sorry, but I don't buy it.

Don't give me the lines, I've heard all of them and while I agree with most of them, I refuse to buy 100% of the comments I have heard over the past 35 years. And guys like Lapointe, Jeff Johnson of the Argos and Dave Stalla prove my case.

First of all, the CFL seems to be in name only as most of the men who control the teams from several owners to most, if not all, general managers and coaches are American.

And not that these people have no confidence in the CIS or the talent available, it's simply that they don't spend that much time getting to know our CIS kids while they know of so many 'down south'.

Other than the Atlantic (Uteck) Bowl CFL scouts are a 'very rare sighting' in this part of the world and yet over the past ten years this area has had one of the strongest CIS programs in the country with Saint Mary's.

I remember Jamie Bone, the TSN college football analyst, telling me that: "many GM's and football people know the kind of coaching that the NCAA kids get at the football factories such as Florida State, Penn State, Michigan, USC etc., but don't know what is going on at Manitoba, York or Acadia."

Greg Marshall, the current coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, has input in getting players for his team. He also is very well aware of the CIS situation having coached McMaster University for years and having great success at that level. He talks about the Canadian athlete.

"In Canada most of your best athletes play hockey. They play it from the time they can learn to walk if not before and spend years from minor atom learning their skills. How many do that in football? In the USA many of their kids do what Canadians do in hockey."

Yes, he has a point and a very good one, but in watching our collegians play this game and admitting that for the most part they are not as skilled (other than field goal kickers) as the American counterparts, I cannot help but notice, if given a chance to learn, if given patience, then they not only come up to the level, of a 'skilled American kid' but in some cases can outperform them. I can list over 100 examples.

In 1989 Bishops University came down to the Atlantic Bowl with an outstanding defensive lineman called Leroy Blugh. Now, he was supposed to mishandle any QB in the CIS. On that afternoon he could not handle a Canadian kid called Chris Flynn.

Blugh shouldn't feel bad as most CIS linesmen couldn't handle Flynn. But Blugh was drafted and soon started and became a CFL all-star. He had skills but needed time to develop them to the level demanded by CFL coaches.

As an all-star he was as good as any American. But the guy who made him look terrible that 1988 Atlantic Bowl, the kid who took the Hec Crichton award three times, Chris Flynn was never given a chance. Never. Some team wanted him to be a defensive back. Flynn once told me that he had 'no problem in being cut, but wanted a chance'. It is the biggest mistake the CFL has made.

And to the coaches who say 'he wouldn't have made it'. I say, how do you know? If Blugh was allowed to develop into an all-star why couldn't Flynn have been given a 'chance'? Sounds like the NFL coaches who said that Doug Flutie 'was too small for the NFL game' but realized they were wrong. I find it interesting that at 42 Flutie is in demand as a back-up quarterback, which some coaches say is the second most important position on the team. Flynn was a Flutie version.

These examples go across the board. I spent four years watching a tall, lanky kid who had deceptive speed but seemed to always come down with the ball. He was drafted in the sixth round in 2003, which is a very low pick and had a year's eligibility left at SMU and his coach Blake Nill was sure he would return but Dave Stalla stayed with the Montreal Als.

He caught 10 passes that first year (2003) for 179 yards. He was hurt a lot in 2004 but this year had 83 catches for over 1000 yards. Can you say all-star? Again, time and patience is what it took for his position and I believe any, and that includes all the very skilled positions in this league.

And now we have perhaps the second most skilled position on the team in tailback. Yes, that is the glorious position, the one where a college kid can come into the NFL and make the fastest impact.

We usually get some American and let's not kid ourselves, some of those have been great. Mike Pringle, Lawrence (I always seem to get in trouble) Philips and so many others.

In fact these guys kept Eric Lapointe on the bench in Montreal. And add Robert Edwards who was the first round draft choice of the New England Patriots a few years ago and one starts to feel sorry for Lapointe.

Now, picture this scene. Imagine going to the draft the day the Pats were about to take Edwards and telling them to take the 'kid from Mount 'A' in Sackville, NB instead? What do you think the re-action would be? Does any American scout know what Mount "A" is? Or where is Sackville, NB?

I can hear the re-action: "Eric who? Our boy Edwards plays in front of 50-60 maybe 100 thousand people, what kind of crowd does this Lapointe dude play?

I don't think they would be impressed to learn that Lapointe did his 'Saturday Magic' in front of a thousand fans, if that. As for Jeff Johnson his story may be more remarkable. He played his college ball at York. Not exactly a powerhouse.

But the point is that once in a while there is a Canadian that is as good as a result of physical, mental or other factors as a 'touted NFL prospect' and that is what I would like to see the CFL GM's get through their noggins.

It's the same thing that this hockey crazy nation had to handle when 'Europeans came into our hockey system'. Many Canucks simply refused to believe that some of these players were as good, as 'tough' as skilled as a 'Canadian kid who learned the game by playing major junior hockey.' Most of us have come to realize that there are tons of skilled players outside of Canada who can play. It's time the CFL coaches and GM's start thinking along these lines.

Yes, for every Sid Crosby there is an Alexander Oveckhin. For the buildup of Eric Lindros we have a Jaromir Jagr and so on.

The same applies in football.

I've followed Lapointe since he hit the CFL and the way he got a full time job, even though he was the biggest news in college ball in this country, was an accident.

He was drafted by Edmonton, was given little opportunity by the Eskimos who were coached at the time by Don Matthews. The Don has since changed his tune about Lapointe saying he can start for any team in the league and perhaps the only thing wrong with Lapointe is the Canadian label.

Regrettably, that story has been around for decades and decades. In the mid-1970's the Ottawa Roughriders drafted a Canadian QB. According to Tony Gabriel there were three QB's at camp that year; two were rookie kids from the NCAA. They both went on to have great CFL careers. They were Tom Clements and Conridge Holloway but according to Gabriel: "the best kid, by far, was Billy Robinson." Robinson had just led two teams (Saint Mary's 73 and Western 74) to the Vanier.

In fact the story goes that one of the Riders coaches' said: "Put him in and we can cut him after the game."

Trailing by lots of points (14 or more) Ottawa put him in and he led the team to a couple of scoring drives. They had to keep him and he occupied the bench.

Who is to say that Robinson, given the same chances as a Clements or Holloway, could not have developed into a CFL all-star? I think it's about time we find out.

Back to Lapointe. Edmonton cut him at training camp and he was back at Mount Allison, in Sackville, New Brunswick, getting ready to register for his fifth year, when the call came in from Ron Lancaster in Hamilton who needed a body. Lapointe turned pro.

In his first game the kid nearly gets 200 yards in rushing, 91 on one gallop, and finishes the season with nearly 700 yards (691), the 11th best rusher in the league and has a yards-per carry average of 6.6.

6.6! That's a higher yards per carry than any in the top ten but he plays second fiddle to Ron Williams in Hamilton. Williams did finish fourth that year with some 330 more yards than Lapointe, but also carried the ball 102 more times! By the way, Williams had a yard per carry of 5.0. That's a yard and a half less per carry than the kid from Mount "A".

A few years later, 2002, he has an 11.9 yards-per carry average. He only carried nine times, so I assume he was hurt, because how do you not give the ball to a guy who averages a first down per carry?

I think Mike Pringle, Philips, Edwards, Robert Drummond, Cory Philpot, Troy Davis, John Avery and others are great running backs and add to the CFL but so are Canadians such as Jeff Johnson and Lapointe and that is my point. And it seems to take some weird act such as not one but several injuries before these Canadian kids, who have skill, get a chance to show it. Most never do and leave the league.

Has there been a more dominant performance this season from a running back then the Lapointe show this past Sunday? If so, there hasn't been that many.

I really believe we get lost in the media hype and terrific football as packaged by the NCAA and the NFL.

Just because a kid plays in front of 50-70-90 thousand people, and the marching bands of some of these schools seem bigger than the villages of Atlantic Canada, doesn't mean an NCAA kid is automatically better than a CIS player. Yes, the TV production, the replays, the commentaries give these guys a 'bigger than life' or 'they are better than our Canadian kid feel' but I don't buy it.

How about these great NCAA stars that graced the TV screens and glossy covers of sports magazines. Where, oh where, are Andre Ware, David Klinger, Tony Mandrich, Brian Bosworth and the biggest bust of all, the over packaged 'Ryan Leaf'. Yes, even the NFL got fooled on that one.

Klinger, some 15-years ago this week, fired 11 touchdown passes in a Houston 84-21 victory over Eastern Washington. They obviously left him in for most of the game. I was there when SMU beat Mount "A" 105-0 in September of 2001. SMU coach Blake Nill pulled Ryan Jones at the half. Jones had six touchdown passes to his credit and could have had six or seven more, if Nill left him in. We all get caught up in stats.

Klinger got some chances in pro ball. Jones, maybe the most accurate CIS QB ever, never got an invite.

Lapointe, on the 'Off the record' show with Mike Landsberg on Monday, talked about the Canadian 'tailback' situation and thinks that if given an opportunity, Jesse Lumsden can be a big time player. And it appears that Hamilton will give him that opportunity. But I can't help but wonder if Hamilton coach Greg Marshall wasn't Lumsden's coach in college, at McMaster, would that opportunity exist for the kid who broke the Lapointe rushing record?

So, if we can produce players at every position why not at quarterback? The fact is we can but the CFL has to want to do this, to spend time and develop them and that is the key. I have no problem with the 'two US QB system' that most teams employ. It gives us two if not three good QB's such as Ricky Ray/Jason Maas; Damon Allen/Michael Bishop or Dave Dickenson, Casey Printers and Buck Pearce but there are some American quarterbacks who were given time to grow.

Anthony Calvillo was not a terrific high-profile college all-star but came into the league as a member of the Las Vegas Posse (remember them) and grew. In other words he was given a chance. Calgary lost their regular QB this season and we saw names like Danny Wimprine and Jason Gesser get a chance.

The last time I recall a Canadian QB getting a so-so shot at it was Larry Jusdanis. He had everything a QB could have. He was 6-5, an arm like a cannon and in his last CIS game, some ten years ago, in the 1995 Atlantic Bowl, he put on a showcase against Western. He put 45 points on the board in a 55-45 loss. And he had toughness. No was battered more on a Saturday afternoon than Jusdanis in his early years at Acadia. But the kid kept getting up and up and eventually was the conference MVP.

Jusdanis did get a chance in his rookie season, if you can call it that. He got his start for Hamilton in a game where the number one and number two QB's got hurt. Matt Dunnigan was the main man for the Cats and he suffered his career ending injury and the back up pivot also got hurt.

So the message seemed to be 'the only way a Canadian kid gets a shot at QB is if both your top QB's go down in the same game'.

I'll take my chances on the lotto 649.

From what I remember Jusdanis went 2 and 2 - two touchdown passes and two interceptions - in his 'brief', make that 'very brief' CFL career. That was it. I understand they wanted to make him a wide receiver but he would have no part of it.

It seems if, and when, and that is very seldom, a Canadian kid is given a chance at the QB role he has to perform 'immediately' or he's cut.

Yet CFL teams have no problems in giving the likes of so called 'big name NCAA QB's" many chances. Do the names Major Harris and Tony Rice come to mind? Major Harris led his West Virginia team to a bowl game and Rice was the architect of a great Notre Dame team and P.R. machine. They both made Jusdanis look great. These 'great NCAA Heisman contenders' were awful. A lot of it is the P.R. machines that throw out so much stuff and we get taken in.

Tommy Dennison, Darryl Leason, Ryan Jones, Adam Archibald all have talent but need coaching and time but they are Canadian. If time is given to 'develop' our kids at every other position, why not the same for the pivot spot?

To those who say it can't be done, I now offer Eric Lapointe and Jeff Johnson as exhibits one and two. I know they don't have the big time college background and NFL draft numbers of Robert Edwards and John Avery, but when it comes to carrying the ball, to getting yards, and being as good if not better than the 'big name elite USA back' they have shown to be as good if not better.

I for one hope that teams willingly accept a roster position for a Canadian QB, to be developed and the sooner the better.

As for Sunday, Go Eric Go.

For TSN.ca I'm Alex J.Walling

One of Maas's biggest games with Edmonton could also be his last
The Globe and Mail
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Grant Kerr
VANCOUVER -- The most significant moment of the football year for quarterback Jason Maas, after the Grey Cup on Sunday, naturally, will occur the next day, when the relief specialist is to learn his designation for next season.

Maas has heard the many reports of how he's destined for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as part of the payoff package that allowed the Edmonton Eskimos to trade for running back Troy Davis and guard Dan Comisky for the stretch run in the Canadian Football League season.

Given that it's the CFL, it's almost commonplace that a capable second quarterback -- Maas plays behind starter Ricky Ray -- is linked to speculation about a move to the No. 1 position elsewhere.

Hamilton needs a younger quarterback, and Maas, 30, would replace venerable Danny McManus, 40, with McManus likely landing in Edmonton as Ray's backup in 2006.

Advertisements
"I've heard them basically since June or July," Maas said yesterday after practice. "To be honest, I've heard it since Ricky signed [on May 16] that people were thinking I was going to be gone.

"I've pretty much been in tune that something was going to happen at some point. I pretty much had a promise with Edmonton that I would stay here this year. I wanted to stay and let whatever happens happen at the end of the year."

Sounds as if it's a done deal, right? The worst-kept secret in the league will unfold next week when Maas returns to the rank of starting quarterback. He was just that during the 2004 season, when Ray was wasting his time on the fringe of the National Football League with the New York Jets.

Maas passed for 5,270 yards and 31 touchdowns. But when Edmonton didn't make it past the West Division semi-final and Maas needed shoulder surgery, the Esks brought back Ray after his brief NFL experience.

"It is difficult to deal with," Maas said of the constant speculation. "To think that you are going to be somewhere [else] next year, possibly, it is difficult. But the bottom line is, I was able to put it aside, put it on the back burner and just focus on this year."

Maas, surprisingly, has made the big plays for Edmonton in the playoffs after throwing only three passes in league games, all in the final game of the regular season, a one-sided loss to the Calgary Stampeders.

The next week, he went into the game to start the second half and engineered a huge rally after Ray couldn't get the ball into the end zone.

Last Sunday against the B.C. Lions, Edmonton won again when Maas came into the game late in the fourth quarter and engineered a drive that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Gaylor that won the game.

Naturally, Ray will start on Sunday in the Grey Cup game against the Montreal Alouettes. That's a given with the Edmonton coaching staff.

"I've done it all year," Maas said of the waiting game on the sideline. "I was ready to play every week. I just never got the opportunity.

"I was happy for our organization when Ricky came back because I knew I wouldn't be ready to go after shoulder surgery [in December]. I felt if I was healthy, he was a great guy to compete with. If I wasn't, he could still get us to the Grey Cup. I want what's best for this organization."

Maas hurt his throwing shoulder during his second CFL season. The import from the University of Oregon was slammed to the turf at B.C. Place by the Lions' defence. The shoulder finally gave out a year ago.

Fatigue was a problem for Maas earlier this year and he wasn't rushed back by Edmonton head coach Danny Maciocia. Finally, when needed most -- Ray hasn't thrown a scoring pass in seven games -- Maas was ready.

"Everyone plays for the playoffs because you want to do well in big games," Maas said. "That's what means the most. This is the time of year when you play well or go home.

"It's nice to step in and help the team in any facet. I was just fortunate to be in there with a lot of great guys making plays. I'm definitely excited about the last few weeks."

Sometimes, Maas motivates himself through anger. He hesitates to talk about why he pounds linemen on the shoulder pads or slaps helmets, verbalizing with teammates in moments of intense outpouring.

"It's not something that motivates me every week, but in my career and in my life, I've noticed that when I do get upset, or I do get angry, I tend to play at a higher level, tend to play better," he said.

"The few times it has happened, for whatever reason, things seem to have worked out."
Things are also working out for the Esks.
And all Maas wants is a chance to play even a few downs in the Grey Cup, something that didn't happen when Ray took all the snaps in the 2002 and 2003 championship games.

"The moment the ball's kicked off, I'm ready to play," Maas said. "I see a lot on the sideline, but I see even more when I'm on the field."

Ray v. Maas
Edmonton Eskimos quarterbacks Ricky Ray and Jason Maas, above right, work closely with offensive assistant and quarterback coach Ron Lancaster Jr.

"They're both equally competitive, but they just do it in different ways," Lancaster said. "Jason is more of an emotional-type competitor, while Ricky's more of a level competitor.

"There's a real nice blend here because their objectives are the same. Above all else, they are such truly outstanding people. I see that when I work with them every day."

As for changing quarterbacks during the game, as Edmonton has done twice in the playoffs, the call goes to head coach Danny Maciocia.

"He makes the ultimate final decision, with recommendations from up top," said Lancaster, who works games from the press box. "We always have open dialogue and hash it out between the two of us."

Eskimos' roster must look familiar to Alouettes
The Globe and Mail
Thursday, November 24, 2005
David Naylor
VANCOUVER -- No one would ever confuse Edmonton with Montreal West. But in football terms, it might as well be.
Over the past few seasons, the Eskimos have become very familiar with Montreal, as suggested by their meeting in the Grey Cup for the third time in four years on Sunday.

But they've also made a consistent habit of stocking their roster with former Alouettes, including 12 on this year's team in addition to two coaches. Besides head coach Danny Maciocia and assistant coach Dan McKinnon, three others are Quebec natives: defensive linemen Steve Charbonneau and Tim Fleiszer and defensive back Kelly Wiltshire. They join former Alouettes Glen Young, Kwame Cavil, William Loftus, Tim Fleiszer and five others.

"I like all of their players, I'd take any one of them," Eskimos president Hugh Campbell said. "And they'd probably take any of ours. Don [Matthews, Montreal's coach] and I have the same styles as far as what we look for in players."

Advertisements
There is a bit of give and take in this relationship, in that the Als have taken on some Eskimos flavour with a roster that includes six former Eskimos, including receiver Terry Vaughn, cornerback Darrell Crutchfield, defensive linemen Clinton Wayne and Rob Brown and returner Ezra Landry.

But the flow definitely has been greater from east to west between the teams. That's partly explained by the fact that no club has been better at introducing new talent to the CFL over the past decade, both import and non-import players, than Montreal. And with Edmonton generally perceived as being at the high end of the league's salary scale, the Eskimos have always had a willingness to spend on veteran players when they become available. A good example is recently retired running back Mike Pringle, the league's career leading rusher, who spent the majority of his career in Montreal but played his final two seasons with Edmonton.

"They've always signed players from us since we've been in the league," Montreal general manager Jim Popp said. "I guess people can look at it in different ways. But it is a compliment, because when people think your guys are good enough for them, they go out and buy them."

"Edmonton has had the same success across the league and people want their players," Popp added.
Montreal's exports to the rest of the CFL have spread themselves across the CFL, especially to such teams as Ottawa, Hamilton and B.C.

And the fact the Als have remained competitive despite retaining only 14 players from the team that won the Grey Cup in 2002 under Matthews is a credit to their ability to restock from year to year.

"You have to give credit to those teams that lose their players and then can find those who can move in and take their place," Popp said. "I think our organization has done a hell of a job keeping our team competitive. I think both teams are similar in that regard. That's why we've been in three of the past four Grey Cups."

The complement of former Alouettes on the Eskimos got its most recent boost this off-season when Maciocia, a former Montreal assistant, was promoted from assistant to head coach in Edmonton. He then added four former Als -- Wiltshire, Fleiszer, Loftus and Sanchez -- to the Edmonton defensive side of the ball.

"I think when you bring someone over . . . these are guys that I've dealt with, so I know them as individuals and football players," Maciocia said. "You always want to create a football team in your image, and for the most part I've done that."

�Je devais quitter Montr�al�
La Presse
Le jeudi 24 novembre 2005
St�phanie Morin

�tre n� au Qu�bec et parler fran�ais repr�sente un handicap quand on veut travailler avec les Alouettes de Montr�al.

C'est du moins ce qu'a ressenti Danny Maciocia � la fin de 2001. L'actuel entra�neur-chef des Eskimos d'Edmonton venait alors de terminer sa premi�re saison comme coordonnateur offensif des Alouettes. Rod Rust s'�tait fait cong�dier � la mi-saison et Don Matthews s'amenait � la barre de l'�quipe. Maciocia voulait rester, mais ses patrons h�sitaient.

�J'ai pass� deux heures en entrevue avec les patrons et je n'ai eu aucune offre concr�te, explique Maciocia. J'ai alors compris que pour �tablir ma cr�dibilit� comme entra�neur, je devais quitter Montr�al. Il y a des gens qui pensaient que j'avais eu le poste de coordonnateur offensif avec les Alouettes uniquement parce que je parle fran�ais. C'�tait injuste, mais si j'�tais rest�, ces critiques n'auraient jamais cess�.�

Ce Montr�alais n'a pas regrett� d'avoir laiss� derri�re parents et amis. � 38 ans, il est le plus jeune entra�neur-chef de la Ligue canadienne, un des rares de l'histoire � avoir acc�d� � la finale de la Coupe Grey � sa toute premi�re saison et le premier Canadien � la t�te des Eskimos depuis 54 ans.

�Ce dont je suis le plus fier dans tout �a, c'est d'�tre le premier Qu�b�cois � devenir entra�neur-chef dans la LCF, dit Maciocia. Il a fallu 93 ans avant que �a arrive. C'est troublant, surtout quand on pense au nombre de joueurs et d'entra�neurs qui se sont d�velopp�s au Qu�bec pendant toutes ces ann�es... J'esp�re que le fait de me rendre jusqu'� la Coupe Grey va ouvrir des portes pour d'autres entra�neurs, car il y en a d'excellents au pays.�

Maciocia estime que la Ligue devrait carr�ment faire de la discrimination positive pour favoriser les entra�neurs canadiens. �Je ne vois pas pourquoi il y a un ratio de joueurs canadiens � respecter pour les joueurs, mais qu'il n'y a rien pour les entra�neurs.�

Maciocia a gravi les �chelons un � un pour se rendre jusqu'aux commandes des Eskimos. Fils d'immigrants italiens �tablis � Saint-L�onard, il a grandi en regardant ses idoles de la LCF.

�Surtout Peter Dalla Riva et Wally Buono, deux autres Italiens d'origine. Il a d�but� sa carri�re d'entra�neur en 1993, comme assistant avec l'�quipe junior qui a remport� le championnat national des moins de 19 ans. Il a ensuite dirig� les Cougars de Saint-L�onard. Ses premiers pas dans la LCF ont �t� avec les Alouettes, en 1995. Maciocia travaillait alors b�n�volement et s'occupait de visionner les films de l'adversaire.

�� l'�poque, ma femme �tudiait et travaillait � temps partiel, mais c'est elle qui devait faire les paiements sur ma voiture�, se souvient-il.

Sa premi�re saison comme entra�neur-chef n'aura pas �t� de tout repos. � Edmonton, les partisans ne rigolent pas avec les r�sultats de leur �quipe. Lorsque l'�quipe a travers� une p�riode plus creuse, lors du deuxi�me tiers de la saison, il ne pouvait pas sortir sans se faire apostropher. �Un soir, apr�s un match, j'ai �t� suivi pendant plusieurs kilom�tres par des gars qui me criaient des injures.�

Dans le vestiaire, toutefois, il a r�ussi � imposer le respect, m�me aux moins dociles de ses joueurs. �Je suis pass� par la bonne �cole. Quand tu as entra�n� Mike Pringle, tu peux entra�ner n'importe qui! Mike est tellement r�solu, c'est un tel batailleur: tu es mieux d'�tre certain de tes informations avant de lui parler!�

Maciocia affirme qu'il n'a pas de ressentiment envers son ancienne �quipe, mais il avoue que battre les Alouettes en finale en 2003 lui a fait le plus grand bien! Il sait aussi que plusieurs journalistes l'envoient � Montr�al d�s le jour o� Don Matthews annoncera sa retraite. Il ne dit pas non, mais n'est pas press�. �J'aimerais finir ma carri�re � Montr�al mais pour l'instant, je suis bien avec les Eskimos.�

De toute fa�on, une autre �quipe l'attend � Montr�al, mi-d�cembre: l'�quipe canadienne junior. L'an dernier, son �quipe a remport� l'or au tournoi junior NFL, pr�sent� lors des festivit�s du Super Bowl. Gagne ou perd dimanche, Maciocia n'a pas l'intention de se d�filer. �C'est important de donner aux jeunes si on veut voir plus d'�quipes, plus de joueurs et plus d'entra�neurs au Canada.�

RIGHT PLACE, WRONG REASON
The Toronto Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: S5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER
There is something positive left for the Argos, despite a disappointing end to their season.
Quarterback Damon Allen, linebackers Michael Fletcher and Kevin Eiben and punter/place kicker Noel Prefontaine are four of the six East Division finalists for tonight's Canadian Football League player awards.

Allen is expected to win the most outstanding player award over Saskatchewan Roughriders' all-purpose back Corey Holmes.

However, Holmes is the favourite to win the award for special teams player, beating out Prefontaine.
Fletcher is up against Calgary linebacker John Grace for the outstanding defensive player, while Eiben faces B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson for outstanding Canadian.

Fletcher spoke for his fellow finalists when he said last Sunday's 33-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division final takes away from the joy of the moment.

"It's not the circumstances I wanted to be under," Fletcher said. "I'm still kind of sick in the stomach at this point knowing 50 or 60 other guys (on the team) should be here with me (playing for the Grey Cup).

"The award is not really a consolation prize for it, but hopefully you can walk away with a piece of hardware.
"I'm excited about it. I want to win. It's the competitive nature in anybody. If your name's associated with something, you should have a desire to win. I know it's not in my control, but it would be great to win."

Prefontaine said he feels awkward being at the Grey Cup after losing the opportunity to play for it last Sunday.
"Being nominated and representing the East is definitely an honour in my mind, but did I really want to come to Vancouver under these circumstances? Absolutely not," Prefontaine said.

"If I had my choice I definitely would have stayed home after what happened last Sunday."
Allen will have some family members in attendance, including his older brothers Marcus, the National Football League Hall of Fame running back.

Troy Davis was a trade throw-in Esks' exec says
The Spectator
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP02
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
Eskimos' president and chief operating officer Hugh Campbell said Troy Davis was an unexpected bonus in a late-season trade with the Tiger-Cats.

But Campbell insists the player Edmonton insisted on in the pact was offensive lineman Dan Comiskey.
"The Dan Comiskey trade was vital to us ... Troy Davis turned out to be a surprise bonus for us. But Comiskey was the one we were after. We needed the linemen. We had linemen hurt, we knew how good he was. He wanted to come back real badly," Campbell explained.

The Esks had shipped Comiskey to Hamilton in the off-season for Joe Montford. Comiskey requested the trade to help him deal with the premature birth of his twin daughters, one of whom was suffering health complications from the birth. By October, the Comiskey children were in the clear.

"Once that was covered off and he wanted to come back, we would have given up about anything to get him back.
"We gave up some good players (receiver Brock Ralph and defensive back Tay Cody), we were lucky Troy was thrown in on the deal. That was blind luck. We were after Comiskey. And Davis, they (Hamilton) wanted to get out of the way so Neil's (Lumsden) son could play," Campbell added, referring to rookie Ticat starting tailback Jesse Lumsden.

Still, the Edmonton boss says the Davis aspect has worked out sensationally.
"We look smarter than we are," he said.
Can Davis go the distance?; From last place to the Grey Cup, trade gives Ticat a shot at title
The Spectator
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: SP02
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator
It had to be one of the weirdest sights of the season.
But this past Thanksgiving Monday several Hamilton Tiger-Cats, including Craig Yeast and Marcus Brady, showed up at the Rogers Centre wearing No. 32 black and gold jerseys.

The Hamilton players were there to pay homage to Troy Davis in his first contest with the Edmonton Eskimos since being traded by the Ticats. Davis was spectacular that afternoon, leading his new team to victory over the Toronto Argonauts.

Davis said yesterday after a practice session the tribute by his former teammates was special.
"They were just being friends. They knew I loved Hamilton but had to go to Edmonton so they came with the jerseys on to represent Troy Davis. Those were my boys up there," he said.

And the feeling was mutual. During a late season Eskimo bye week, Davis turned up at Ivor Wynne Stadium to hugs and high fives from his former pigskin pals in Hamilton.

There is no question the controversial trade of Davis and offensive lineman Dan Comiskey in early October had profound effects on both Hamilton and Toronto.

In Hamilton, the trade was an unofficial declaration that the season was over.
In northern Alberta, the swap revitalized the Eskimo squad, a club that has peaked at just the right moment to represent the western conference in Sunday's 93rd Grey Cup.

Davis made no bones about the fact he wanted to retire as a Tiger-Cat after four stellar seasons in black and gold. He was a former club outstanding player who had become the team's career rushing leader as well as the club record holder for most rushing yards in a season and most yardage in a contest. But this season Davis struggled out of the gate and the club couldn't come to terms on a new pact for Davis, who will be a free agent in February.

The trade devastated the Ticat locker room.
"I had been there for about five years, the players knew I was one of the leaders on the team, like a quiet leader. Everybody said they were going to miss me because they know the kind of player I am and how I go out there and work ...," he said.

While he was disappointed to leave Steeltown, Davis admitted the trade has provided an opportunity for him to win a championship, something that has eluded him since he started to play ball as a youngster.

"I'm here now. I'm happy with the trade.... I was on a team that wasn't going to make it and I got traded and now I'm on a team that is going to the Grey Cup. So, I'm happy. We're playing a game Sunday that hopefully we can win."

Davis isn't saying where he will be next year. "Anything can happen. I'm just leaving that open right now," he said.
Davis admits he misses friends and fans in Hamilton. He hopes they'll be cheering for him when he takes the leather Sunday.

"Hopefully they'll watch the game Sunday and see Troy run again," he said.
kpeters@thespec.com

Stegall returns, hopes for tight ship
Winnipeg Free Press
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1
Section: Sports
Byline: Randy Turner
VANCOUVER -- It's official: The Milt Man is coming back.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers' all-everything slotback Milt Stegall confirmed to the Free Press yesterday that he will be back with the team for the 2006 season.

And although there a lot of uncertainties remaining about next season, Stegall is convinced there will be one overriding factor involved: Change.

"Definitely, there's going to be changes," Stegall noted, apart from the Bombers ongoing hunt for a new head coach. "The way (CEO) Lyle Bauer is and with his attitude -- no one wants to win more than him -- so we have to make some changes.

"I don't know if they'll get rid of the whole coaching staff, but they started with the head coach (Jim Daley)," Stegall added. "It's unfortunate it had to happen, and some players won't be there (returning), but after 5-13 you've gotta make changes. Maybe they need to get rid of some of you media folks. But you have to do that."

Stegall, who is in Vancouver during Grey Cup week as an analyst for The Score network, endorsed any head coach with a tough-love working philosophy.

'Hard-nosed guy'
"We've got to get a hard-nosed guy in there," Stegall said, noting that Toronto Argonauts offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin fits into that mode.

"We've got to get somebody in there that maybe guys don't like but they respect. I'm not saying anything back about coach Daley's style, but I think he wanted guys to like him more.

"I don't have to like this guy (the new boss), but we have to respect him and buy into what he's doing. Coach Daley, I don't know if he was able to do that -- yell at guys and scream at guys."

In fact, Stegall ventured any new coach should have more of a Bauer-like personality, given the president's penchant in the past for rattling a few cages down on Maroons Road.

"Before he had his illness (cancer), he was the type of person that would come in the locker room (and voice his opinion) I used to like when he'd do that. It's business. You've got to get screamed at and kicked in the butt sometimes. And hopefully we can bring someone in next year to do that."

Still, it took a little butt-kicking, so to speak, as Stegall -- who is under contract with the Bombers for next season -- seriously toyed with the notion of retirement after a dismal season, the second in a row without a playoff berth.

"It was 50-50," he said. "We had to talk about it with my wife, the pros and cons. Physically, I can play another five or six years because of the things that I do (with a strict training regimen) as far as my body goes.

"But there's so many things to factor into it, and the most important thing is my family. They're not coming to Winnipeg. My wife has a great job there (in Atlanta) and my son (Chase) doesn't like cold weather we're finding out.

"So it's year to year. Day to day."
Now with the Grey Cup set for Winnipeg next November, Stegall smiles at the thought of a magical season in which the Bombers might once again emerge from their funk to at least make a genuine run at the CFL's most cherished prize -- a Grey Cup that has eluded the 35-year-old, now confirmed for his 12th season.

"That would be perfect," he grinned. "Me winning the Grey Cup in Winnipeg. Catching the final pass, and it's a touchdown..."

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca
Blue Bombers see three candidates
Winnipeg Free Press
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C2
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Tait
VANCOUVER -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially set in motion yesterday the wheels in the drive to find their next head coach.

The club flew in three candidates -- former Ottawa Renegades head coach Joe Paopao and defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall and Richie Hall, the Saskatchewan Roughriders assistant head coach and defensive co-ordinator -- and the three were interviewed by GM Brendan Taman and president and CEO Lyle Bauer over the course of six hours before they returned home later in the day.

And now, with Taman having arrived here for Grey Cup last night and Bauer en route today, the interview process will likely be halted until early next week -- although Taman did plan to contact Calgary Stampeder assistants Steve Buratto and Denny Creehan today to gauge their interest. As well, Toronto Argonaut offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin and, possibly, Montreal Alouette offensive boss Doug Berry will likely be interviewed after the Grey Cup.

"It's a very informative process," said Taman. "We find out a lot about them, they find out a lot about us. They ask some questions and from there we'll keep chipping away at the information-gathering stage. The thing all three (Paopao, Hall and Marshall) showed was a genuine interest in the job. That's one thing we're looking for, for sure. I'm sure they'll all express that.

"We're still a ways off from getting close to the next step but we're involved, that's for sure."
Both Hall and Marshall, long-time assistants pining for an opportunity to be the head knock, were thrilled to be part of the process. Now they'll cross their fingers and hope the next call they get is the big one offering them the Bomber gig.

"It's a win-win situation for me, regardless of what happens," said Hall last night after returning home to Regina. "If I'm the guy I'll be excited and if I'm not the guy then I'm excited for having gone through the process.

"It was like the beginning of a game for me. At first I was anxious and nervous but as the interview went on I got a lot more confident. And afterward there was a sense of relief, a sense of excitement and a lot of jubilation. I was happy to be considered by the organization. I realize it's just one step in the process for them, but I felt good coming out of it."

"I was excited about the opportunity to sit down with Brendan and Lyle and, from my standpoint, I thought things went pretty well," said Marshall from Edmonton. "Obviously, they're the ones that are going to make the judgment on that in the end, but I felt good about the talk we had.

"I know they have more people they want to talk to, but they said they'd get in touch with me some time after the Grey Cup and let me know how things are going."

The hot rumour circulating through the media ranks here had Winnipeg ready to pursue Tom Clements, but it's a longshot at best. The former Bomber pivot and Canadian Football Hall of Famer is now the offensive co-ordinator of the Buffalo Bills but recently had his play-calling duties stripped by head coach Mike Mularkey. The Bombers, however, can not afford to wait for Clements to finish up the NFL season for the chance to interview him. And, in all likelihood, he'll land another NFL opportunity because of his extensive credentials.

SIMPSON IN BLUE? Not long after Bomber slotback Milt Stegall made his return to the club official, he was working to help get more talent in Winnipeg. Stegall has already spoken with B.C. linebacker Barrin Simpson, who is a free agent and has already made it known he will not be returning to Vancouver in 2006.

"I put a word or two in his ear," said Stegall. "He's going to have some folks coming after him because there's a lot of teams that are looking for a middle linebacker, including Winnipeg. Barrin would upgrade everybody."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
BLUE START INTERVIEWING
The Winnipeg Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: 61
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JIM BENDER, STAFF REPORTER
The preliminaries are over and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are now getting right down to business.
Both GM Brendan Taman and president/CEO Lyle Bauer have interviewed at least three candidates in person here this week, including deposed Ottawa Renegades head coach Joe Paopao and defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall and probably, Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall.

"I thought it was a good visit," Marshall said from his Edmonton home yesterday. "Their opinion is the one that counts the most, I guess. I felt good about our conversation. I felt comfortable with Brendan and Lyle. Where it goes from there is going to be their decision.

"If what I have to offer blows them away, great. If it doesn't, you can't go in under false pretenses."
Marshall added that they discussed offensive and defensive co-ordinators "in hypothetical terms."
"We didn't get into specifics," he said. "If and when there's a follow-up, we'll get into more detail."
Marshall, who was actually the assistant to the head coach in Ottawa, had been considered for the Edmonton job when Tom Higgins was let go but he left the Eskimos when Danny Maciocia was hired. He will spend the next few weeks waiting by the phone.

Take their time
"They said they had some other people they obviously were going to talk with, and they would get back in touch with me, let me know where the process was going to go, as far as I was concerned," Marshall said. "They also said they weren't going to be locked into a definitive time-frame because they're going to take their time and make the best decision they can."

Taman declined to confirm the identity of the other candidates interviewed at their request. But he would prefer to announce the new mentor by mid-December.

Although Paopao could not be reached for comment, Hall had already spoken with Taman twice and was preparing for his first live interview with the Bombers earlier this week.

"They'll get a feel for me and, I guess, in some regard, I'll get a feel for them," he told the Regina Leader-Post. "I do know that they have a list of candidates that they would also like to talk to."

Bombers have received permission from the Toronto Argonauts to contact assistant coaches Kent Austin and Rich Steubler. And they are expected to ask Montreal for permission to call Alouettes offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry after the Grey Cup Game is over.

But the Bombers can scratch both Steubler and Calgary Stampeders defensive co-ordinator Denny Creehan off their short list. Creehan signed a contract extension yesterday and Steubler has already said he is not interested. It is also doubtful that Calgary offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto wants the job.

STEGALL WILL RETURN FOR ANOTHER SEASON
The Winnipeg Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: 61
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JIM BENDER, STAFF REPORTER
One of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' all-time greats has decided to give it one more kick at the proverbial pigskin.
Veteran slotback Milt Stegall announced on The Score last night that he will return, as suspected, to play one more CFL season.

"This is definitely one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make but uh, give me a moment (hangs head faking emotion) I'm ba-a-ck," Stegall said last night on The Score where he's working as a Grey Cup analyst. "Of course, there has to be some changes made in Winnipeg and those changes are being made and hopefully, we'll have a better chance next year doing some great things.

"For the people of Winnipeg who supported me, I'm coming back and we're coming back with a vengeance."
Stegall, who turns 36 in January, caught 52 passes for 1,184 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns last year. His 22.8-yard average per catch was also tops in the CFL as he was named a western all-star.

Stegall, who was named in the top five of the Sun's best 75 Bombers of all time, now has a total of 129 touchdowns, leaving him eight short of tying the CFL's all-time record. He set the mark for most TD receptions (126) the past season (he scored three by other means).

"Milt playing next year, that's a good thing when one of your best players comes back," said club GM Brendan Taman. "That's one less hole to fill and that would have been a huge hole!"

With tailback Charles Roberts under contract to return, this means that Winnipeg's two most dangerous weapons will be part of the offensive attack again next year.

Holmes in CFL spotlight
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Darrell Davis
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Leader-Post
VANCOUVER -- Following a season of unfulfilled expectations for their CFL team, two Saskatchewan Roughriders who played every game of the up-and-down campaign will appear on stage tonight to be lauded for their individual accomplishments.

Roughriders tackle Gene Makowsky and multi-purpose back Corey Holmes are West Division finalists for outstanding player awards, which will be presented during a televised ceremony that serves as a prelude for Sunday's Grey Cup game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes.

"You never want to go to Grey Cup week without your team, but that's the way these things happen sometimes,'' said Makowsky, who was chosen the CFL's oustanding offensive lineman last year and has again been selected as a finalist, this time against fellow University of Saskatchewan alumnus Scott Flory, a Regina product who plays guard for the Alouettes.

"It would be so much better having the entire team along, playing in the Grey Cup game. This is nice for Corey because he deserves it. He's such a big part of our team.''

Makowsky, an 11-year veteran, broke his right arm during Saskatchewan's fourth game. But he finished that contest, later had the arm encased in a cast and didn't miss a start while anchoring an offensive line that surrendered a league-low 23 quarterback sacks and helped lead the CFL with 135 rushing yards per game. Saskatchewan's offensive line is the first in CFL history to start three previous award winners -- Makowsky, guard Andrew Greene (2003) and guard Fred Childress (1998).

In balloting done by the Football Reporters of Canada and the league's nine head coaches, Holmes has been nominated in two categories -- outstanding player and special teams player. Holmes was the CFL's outstanding special teams player in 2002, his second season. It's his first nomination as outstanding player.

Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen is the East Division's outstanding player.
Allen, 42, has twice been named the outstanding player in the Grey Cup game but during his 21-year, record-setting career has never won the regular-season award. Argonauts punter/kicker Noel Prefontaine is the East's special teams finalist.

"I've won before and if it's my turn again, then it's God's will and it's because the people who voted have me in their hearts,'' said Holmes, who occasionally lines up as a slotback and finished the year as Saskatchewan's starting tailback. "I want to thank the voters for selecting me in two categories. And I mean this with all my heart: It's a great honour to be honoured with Damon Allen."

Holmes began Saskatchewan's season by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown; before the season ended he scored four more majors on a kickoff return, punt return, rush and reception, while leading the CFL with a team-record 3,455 all-purpose yards.

Projected as Grey Cup contenders, the Roughriders won three of their first four games before hitting a five-game losing streak. After changing quarterbacks from Nealon Greene to Marcus Crandell, the Roughriders won five straight games before losing three more en route to a 9-9 season. Saskatchewan placed fourth in the West, earned a wild-card berth into the East Division semifinal and lost 30-14 in Montreal.

These are the other categories and their nominees:
Defensive player: Calgary Stampeders linebacker John Grace and Toronto linebacker Michael Fletcher.
Canadian: B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson and Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben.
Rookie: Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Gavin Walls and Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx.
Stamps make it official
The Calgary Herald
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F5
Section: Sports
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald
Denny Creehan's contract extension with the Calgary Stampeders was made official Wednesday.
As reported in the Herald last week, the team's defensive co-ordinator will return for another Canadian Football League season, providing he doesn't get a head coaching opportunity elsewhere during the off-season.

In his second year with the Stamps, Creehan's defence was again one of the league's top units. It led the circuit with 47 sacks and was third with 24 interceptions.

Creehan, who had been assistant head coach and defensive co-ordinator, also was given the title of associate head coach and defensive co-ordinator.

CREEHAN COMMITS; ... UNLESS A HEAD COACHING JOB COMES ALONG, OF COURSE
The Calgary Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: 78
Section: Sports
Byline: BY IAN BUSBY, CALGARY SUN
Denny Creehan's three-four defence could stick around for another three seasons.
The Calgary Stampeders assistant head coach and defensive co-ordinator signed a three-year contract extension with the team yesterday, although the deal includes an out clause if a head coaching position becomes available elsewhere.

If Creehan leaves the Stamps, it won't be just for money as the extension was more than fair, according to Creehan.
"It was a real nice offer to keep me around," Creehan said about the deal.
"I appreciated it. I really like the organization, I like the people and I like the city. I like coaching the players we have. All the things I wanted out of a contract, this one had it.

"It was a pretty good deal as coaches contracts go. If I was going to be an assistant coach, this is where I wanted to be."

There is still a chance the Winnipeg Blue Bombers could come calling. Bombers GM Brendan Taman has started interviewing coaching candidates to replace Jim Daley, starting with Joe Paopao and Greg Marshall, both formerly of the Ottawa Renegades, and Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall.

Taman has requested to talk to Creehan and received permission from the Stamps but, as of last night, hasn't made contact with the defensive specialist.

Creehan has long stated his goal is to eventually become a CFL head coach and a succession plan is in place for him to succeed Tom Higgins in Calgary eventually but not until at least after the 2006 season.

Simpson remains firm on intent to leave Lions
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F6 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
Assistant coach Mike Benevides playfully locked the front door of the Lions' training facility Wednesday as middle linebacker Barrin Simpson reached out to let himself in for an interview.

"Hey, you don't work here anymore," Benevides chuckled, belying the serious nature of the business meeting in which the linebackers coach and head coach Wally Buono spent nearly two hours behind closed doors with Simpson, attempting to explain their position and cajole the three-time All-CFL linebacker to stay.

On Tuesday, Simpson, who played out his option this year, talked publicly of his "reduced role" with the Lions in '05 and the fact he was "handicapped" by a defensive scheme that didn't make full use of his talents.

Simpson said his frustration was so intense that he thought about retiring earlier this year, and he vowed that he will be playing somewhere else in the CFL next season.

Hardened attitudes, especially ones tempered by the crushing disappointment of a 1-7 finish following an 11-0 start, can sometimes soften in the more reflective light of postseason.

Simpson, however, stood firm in his resolve to leave the Lions' organization after five, mostly brilliant, seasons.
"Wally and Mike couldn't understand why I was so unhappy," Simpson said after the meeting. "I just tried to explain it. I felt it was my duty. They asked me what they could do to change my mind. For me, it was more a closure thing. There aren't any hard feelings. Wally didn't understand what I was saying when I said I was 'handicapped.' The communication wasn't where it should have been for us to resolve it earlier. It needs to be done."

Paradoxically, Simpson believes the Lions are a team with "a potential for greatness. We have more talent than anybody across the league, by far."

Still, the deeply spiritual man from Mississippi said it would take "a message from God" to convince him not to leave.
"I don't think that we're distinctly apart," Buono said. "What Barrin decides to do is up to him. But the door is not closed here. If he chooses to come back, that's fine. If he chooses not to, well, life goes on."

sixbeamers@aol.com
Offensive line coach takes blame for 'sad sack' season: Dan Dorazio poured heart and soul into job but says 'we failed'
The Vancouver Sun
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Page: F6 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun
On the night that their season died, Lions' offensive line coach Dan Dorazio walked off the field with his head downcast, a man unsure that what he had witnessed wasn't a bad dream.

Rampaging defensive end Joe Montford of the Eskimos had run wild against the Lions' problematic O-line, endangered quarterback Dave Dickenson, and Dorazio's bony frame looked even more stooped than usual.

The 28-23 defeat in the West Division final was the denouement of a sad sack season for the Lions, pun intended. While they never approached the record 103 sacks given up by the 1986 edition of the Toronto Argonauts, the Lions' total of 74 was a league-worst in 2005. Never mind that it was a "unit" failure, meaning that tailbacks and fullbacks who missed blocks, quarterbacks who held on to the ball too long and receivers who didn't follow their assignments were just as guility as the linemen. To Dorazio, it was a very personal disgrace.

"We failed," he said Wednesday, at the Lions' training facility in Surrey. "Getting your guys to play at a level well enough to be successful is my job. And I didn't do that. You've got to take ownership of that. Personally, it hurts."

Still, the well-documented underperformance of the O-line doesn't square with the obsessiveness with which Dorazio approaches his 4 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. work day. The Lions represent his 14th stop in a coaching career that began in 1972, at Dorazio's alma mater, Kent State University in Ohio. In terms of waking hours, studying video, charting, scheming, teaching and cajoling his players ("I need gas out of your ass and snot bubbles out of your nose" he tells them) no one pours more of his soul into the game.

The numbers that Dorazio has at his fingertips don't have much mainstream relevance. Yet, looking past the flashing neon sign of 74 sacks, he says this year's offensive line actually outperformed the 2004 version which, in turn was better than 2003.

"After 19 games, we had a better measured protection ratio than last year," he says. "We gave up a quarterback pressure once on every eight plays. We gave up one in five last year. One in five is considered good. That's a statistic that not a lot of people understand."

No, what they look at is the number of times the quarterback is picking plastic grass from his teeth. But hey, Dorazio can appreciate your pain. He is in full agreement with the consensus that the Lions have to be more physical up front.

"I don't think it matters if our quarterback is Casey [Printers] or Dickenson," Dorazio says. "We have to get better up front. We don't have to turn the whole group upside down, but we have to become more physical. Part of the job when you don't win is to find out why."

Well before dawn today, Dorazio was scheduled to be back in his office, searching for solutions, with perhaps an ounce more passion because of the fresh pain of an unfulfilled season.

"The easy way to explain our season is this way: Not good enough, not good enough," he says. "My guys were not good enough, and neither was I."

**Esks4ever** · 11-25-2005, 08:51 AM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

nice work Ang

**56Parkies** · 11-25-2005, 01:25 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Originally posted by John Korobanik

The Eskimos hold a 7-3 winning record over the Als in Grey Cup meetings and Kepley played on two of those winning teams.

Not to nitpick, but didn't he play on THREE winners...? 1975, 1978, 1979 Edmonton beat Montreal.. all with #42.

**Angelus** · 11-25-2005, 05:16 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Friday - Part 1

A player for the ages: CFL's 'most outstanding': Argos quarterback still dominant at age 42
National Post
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Sean Fitz-Gerald
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post

VANCOUVER - Damon Allen is a 42-year-old grandfather.

That sentence used to drive him up a wall. It made him angry because it felt like a judgement on his ability, and because it was often used to belittle whatever he was trying to do on the field with the Toronto Argonauts. But after a while, he started finding it funny and, last night, he was finally awarded a new sentence.

Damon Allen is the Most Outstanding Player in the Canadian Football League.

It is one of the few titles he has never been given over his 21-year CFL career. But after passing for more than 5,000 yards and leading the Argos to a first-place finish in the East Division, the pivot from Cal State Fullerton was finally named the league's top player.

Allen beat Corey Holmes, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' all-purpose threat, for the honour.

"I hope I am playing for a lot of the 40-year-olds across Canada," Allen said. "I believe they can still do it, man. They can still establish their dreams."

It seemed fitting he won the award in the city that ushered him out as a has-been two years ago.

Allen made the B.C. Lions regret the move last year when he guided the Argos to a 27-19 win at the Grey Cup in Ottawa, where he was named the game's MVP.

"I want to play until I can't play any more," Allen said. "I never want to be the one that retires too early or hangs on too late. And I hope that I'm smart enough as a player [to know] when I'm hanging on. That's not good."

Saskatchewan was the only team to boast two award winners last night. Holmes was named special teams player of the year, beating Toronto kicker Noel Prefontaine, while Gene Makowsky was the outstanding lineman for the second straight season.

Lions defensive lineman Brent Johnson was named outstanding Canadian after leading the CFL with 16 quarterback sacks. He beat Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben, who was also a runner-up last year. Eiben's Argos teammate, Michael Fletcher, lost the defensive award to Calgary linebacker John Grace.

And Winnipeg defensive lineman Gavin Walls was named rookie of the year after tying for second in quarterback sacks (12). Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx was the runner-up.

But as he was at last year's Grey Cup -- when it seemed like everyone except the Prime Minister was asking about his retirement plans -- Allen was the story.

Early next season, he will pass Warren Moon (70,553 yards) for the most passing yards in professional football. Allen trails the former Eskimos great by 1,231 yards, meaning he will need about five games to assume the mantle.

"You know, it's pretty neat," he said. "I can only go back to my college years, when I used to watch Warren Moon at the University of Washington, playing in the Rose Bowl. And then a couple years later, you see him in Edmonton, not knowing that the Eskimos had your rights."

Allen refused to rule out the possibility he could still be playing for the Argos when Toronto hosts the Grey Cup in 2007.

"His belly burns for competition," said Gene Murphy, who coached Allen at CalState. "Just look at him play golf. Whatever sport he picks up, he's good at."

AND THE WINNERS ARE ...:

Outstanding Player

Damon Allen, Toronto

Outstanding Canadian

Brent Johnson, B.C.

Outstanding Rookie

Gavin Walls, Winnipeg

Defensive Player

John Grace, Calgary

Offensive Lineman

Gene Makowsky, Saskatchewan

Special Teams

Corey Holmes, Saskatchewan

Davis's skills do the talking: But Eskimos back is revealing more about his past
National Post
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mark Spector
Column: Mark Spector
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post

VANCOUVER - Troy Davis is talking now. He's not exactly opening the doors to his life and letting everybody in, but the guard is slowly coming down, his fists beginning to unclench.

"I came right in here, walked into the locker room," he was saying yesterday about his trade from Hamilton to Edmonton. "They put me right into their family: 'Welcome to Edmonton. We've got a game against Toronto. Get your things unpacked and get ready to roll.'"

Only one CFL back -- Winnipeg's Charles Roberts -- has averaged more yards over the last four years than Davis's 1,282 yards per season. Perhaps nobody has spoken less, however, than the fifth son of a Miami exterminator, whose brother Darren -- a former CFL back -- once told The Edmonton Journal, "We used to run home from school, so we could get the most food."

Davis is not the first man to come out of a neighborhood that busies itself with keeping the U.S. prison system in business, and step distrustfully into the CFL and its entirely foreign Canadian culture. He's been slower than most to let his guard down, but his teammates will tell you the steely exterior is beginning to fade away.

It is a step-by-step process for a 30-year-old who grew up in a home with bars protecting the living room window, in a neighborhood that probably sent more kids to jail than to college.

"I'm at the point," chuckled Canadian guard Dan Comiskey, who came to Edmonton from Hamilton in the same trade as Davis, "where people are asking me for interviews about Troy. You know, if you can't get it from him, you shouldn't get it from me."

The few words Comiskey would give up, however, said plenty: "He's a good guy. And he's got a good heart."

"Coming from Miami, it's a lot of people tryin' to con each other," said Eskimos rush end Rashad Jeanty, who came out of a Miami ghetto. "Growin' up in Miami, in my case, people trying to con you, get over on you, it seems like that's the thing you have to do to get by. You got to watch yourself, be careful about who you talk to, or about who you're friends with.

"A lot of the time," Jeanty continued, "you get looked at different. You get looked at like a thug, like a hoodlum. Growing up in Miami, there's a lot of stereotyping. Troy, he's got the gold teeth. Me, I've got dreads on my head. They'll stereotype you sometimes. Maybe he's in a situation where he doesn't trust guys yet."

You don't have to make any noise to fit in on a ball team, though.

Davis pays attention in the film room, prepares well during the week, and produces on game day. He has his offensive line's respect because he takes his blocking assignments seriously, and if you're wondering whether or not the Eskimos needed a rushing game when they dealt for Davis, it only took him four games to finish the season as the team's rushing leader, with 359 yards in Edmonton and 1,151 overall this season.

But the dressing room stall of a feature back tends to be a media destination as well, and that's where the Eskimos have been shepherding Davis through what has never been a comfortable process. After giving Edmonton its first 100-yard game of the season in a 17-13 win at Toronto on Oct. 10, Davis packed his gear, grabbed two slices of pizza, and told the press, "I'm not doing any talking today," as he walked out the dressing room door.

That doesn't work in a CFL town like Edmonton. So after some nurturing over the next month-and-a-half, he sat down at a Grey Cup media breakfast yesterday and quietly answered all the questions the media could throw at him.

"The last time I was this excited was in high school, when we won the state championship and went 15-0," he said of being at his first Grey Cup. "Just trying to win a ring, just trying to win a game. Just trying to be happy."

Not exactly War and Peace. But as Ed Hervey said, "He's not sure. Just give him a little time." Hervey came out of a tough neighborhood in Compton, Calif. and has slowly seen the chip on his own shoulder disappear.

"You're always on the defensive, coming from a neighborhood like ours," Hervey said, "because you always feel someone is out to take something from you. Get over on you. After a while you learn that people are genuine, and there are people out there who really do care about you, regardless of what your colour is. Then you can open up. You just learn: everyone is not out to get you. Or to take something from you. I think he understands that, but he may just still be apprehensive about the media right now."

What does Hervey see inside a back on whose performance Sunday's Grey Cup game could well turn?

"A fierce competitor who loves to win; a team guy," Hervey said. "For him to be the rushing leader in the CFL [behind Roberts] since he's been in the league, and then come into our locker room, sometimes you don't even know he's there. Which, number one, tells you he doesn't have a tremendous ego. And two, he does whatever is asked from him in the offence, and he doesn't complain. Most guys in his position, they would say, 'I want 30 carries.' Or, 'I want 25 carries.' 'I don't get the ball enough.' But you didn't hear one peep out of him on the sidelines."

Davis came in a deal that, according to rumour, will be fully consummated this winter when quarterback Jason Maas goes to Hamilton. On Sunday, he'll face an Alouettes defence that was third worst in the CFL against the run this season.

The kid who was once a runner-up in Heisman voting, and spent two years with the New Orleans Saints, is now the man who should play a key role in capturing a trophy that, five years ago, he'd likely never ever heard of.

"I've been there, I've done it, I've had it all. Now, I'm just here having fun with football," he said. "If [the NFL] happens, it happens. If not, I'd love to end my career here."

Vaughn has Cup charm: Als receiver playing in fifth title game. Eskimos reject admits it would be sweet to beat former team in Sunday's finale
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette

Terry Vaughn is one of the lucky ones. Now in his 11th CFL season, he's preparing for his fifth Grey Cup game, having won and lost two.

But the veteran slotback will also turn 34 on Christmas. Playing a demanding and physical position, he understands and appreciates there might not be many more opportunities at a championship. And so, he'll make the most of the moment, hoping to cherish every minute.

"I look at a guy like (Winnipeg's Milt) Stegall ... one of the great receivers. He's never won a Grey Cup and has been to only one. I'm fortunate to be in this position," Vaughn said. "I still love game day. I'm a step faster game day, more intense and focused. It's hard to explain, but I'm like that."

No motivational speech will be required Sunday, when the Alouettes meet the Edmonton Eskimos in the championship game. Vaughn spent six seasons with the Esks, before management decided to utilize younger, less

expensive receivers. Vaughn, who has exceeded 1,000 yards in receptions every year he has played, was traded to Montreal last April, along with a sixth-round draft choice, for backup safety William Loftus.

Vaughn was somewhat chafed over the manner in which the divorce from Edmonton was handled, although pleased by his final destination, since it allowed him to be reunited with head coach Don Matthews and receivers coach Kevin Strasser.

To exact revenge against Edmonton, he said, would be sweet.

"Definitely. I have pride," he said. "That's what I'm about. I play with a chip on my shoulder. There are no friends on the field. It's all about competition. That's what makes for great memories.

"I'd love to win it, and it would be much sweeter because it's Edmonton. Only twice has getting 1,000 yards been on my mind - my rookie season and this year. I did feel slighted in some way."

That chip on Vaughn's shoulder was carried onto the field, proving there still was some fight left.

He started slowly, missing training camp with a foot infection that required the removal of both his big toenails. Then it took him some time to gain the trust of quarterback Anthony Calvillo and discover his niche in the Als' offensive scheme. Yet Vaughn caught 93 passes for 1,113 yards, scoring eight touchdowns.

"It was a slow process on this team," he admitted. "You have to remember, we were enemies for many seasons and couldn't stand each other. They had to befriend and trust me. That takes time. I had to get the quarterback's trust in me. It was slow, but I became one of the leaders."

General manager Jim Popp never once wavered when it became clear Vaughn was available. Seven months later, he hasn't regretted making the move.

"You have confidence the guy's going to perform. And he has a wealth of experience," Popp said. "It's always good to have guys like that. They're like a sounding board for guys.

"He's a simple, direct guy. There's no BS with him. He's an inspiration for his consistency and hard work. He has a tremendous work ethic."

When he arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday, Vaughn stepped off the plane wearing a blue suit and his 2003 Cup ring. He didn't want to lose sight of the mission; he's on a business trip attempting to capture a championship. He won a title in 1998, with Calgary, and would become one of the few players to win three Cups with three different teams.

"You want to build upon something each week," he said. "Some of the losses we suffered earlier came back and helped us. That adversity helped. We were low, but picked ourselves up and kept playing. Those wins help you late. In the playoffs, we've virtually played two error-free games."

Notes - For the second time since February, Als cornerback Darrel Crutchfield is attempting to sell his 2003 Cup ring, this time through his jeweler. He wants to use any money for business purposes. Last winter, the highest bid generated on eBay was $8,000, and the ring eventually was removed. ... The Als organization yesterday received an e-mail of support and good luck from Canadiens owner George Gillett and president Pierre Boivin.

"You want to build upon something each week," Vaughn said. "Some of the losses we suffered earlier came back and helped us. That adversity helped. We were low, but picked ourselves up and kept playing. Those wins help you late. In the playoffs, we've played two virtually error-free games."

Notes - For the second time since February, Als cornerback Darrel Crutchfield is attempting to sell his 2003 Cup ring, this time through a jeweler. He wants to use the money for business. Last winter, the highest bid generated on eBay was $8,000, and the ring was withdrawn. ... The Als organization yesterday received an email of support from Canadiens owner George Gillett and president Pierre Boivin. ... Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray will appear in his third Grey Cup game, all against the Alouettes.

O-line the key for Als
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / BREAK
Section: Sports
Byline: JACK TODD
Column: Jack Todd
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette

When the checkered flag waved yesterday afternoon and the stampede toward the buffet tables began, only one thing could keep the Alouettes' offensive linemen from their appointed platters:

Scavenging journalists in search of a comment or two.

Somehow, centre Bryan Chiu polished off one plate before he left a second almost untouched while doing interview after interview. Scott Flory, the East Division's outstanding offensive lineman, managed a plate and a half before he was interrupted.

So it goes. When you play on what is recognized as the best offensive line in the Canadian Football League, the most anonymous position on the field draws the kind of attention usually reserved for quarterbacks, wide receivers and egomaniacal coaches.

Not to worry. Flory will go into Sunday's Grey Cup game against the Edmonton Eskimos weighing around 300 pounds, pretty much the standard weight (give or take a steak or three) on a unit that includes Chiu, Uzooma Okeke, Paul Lambert, Dave Mudge and Luke Fritz in varying combinations.

The offensive line holds the key to Montreal's most conspicuous lack: no Maas. The Eskimos have Ricky Ray and they have Jason Maas, who has come off the bench to rescue the Esks in both their playoff games.

The Alouettes have Anthony Calvillo - and they have Anthony Calvillo. It says here that if Calvillo stays healthy and plays the kind of intelligent, precise game he played against Saskatchewan and Toronto, the Alouettes win this one 35-19.

If Calvillo is hurt, however, it's a different story. As anyone who saw Ted White perform against Hamilton in the season finale can tell you, the Als are effectively without a backup quarterback.

White's defining moment came when he threw a pass into the hands of Hamilton defensive back Wayne Shaw. When Shaw dropped it, White came back with another pass right in Shaw's breadbasket. The second time, Shaw held on.

That's why, if former Alouette Steve Charbonneau and his Edmonton mates succeed in putting Calvillo out of commission, the Esks win. It's that simple.

"We're used to that kind of pressure," Flory said. "It's the same thing we face every week. We know how important Anthony is. That's our job, to make sure he doesn't get hurt."

The challenge falls on a unit that is extraordinarily close, skilled and effective. On the field, in the hotels, in the restaurants, these guys are close. Too close sometimes - as when they were packed into a hotel elevator yesterday with this humble scribe squeezed at the back, wondering how the thing could possibly achieve lift-off.

These are large men and they are very good at what they do.

"It's a combination of things," said Flory when asked how this offensive line has been able to excel with such consistency year after year. "We have good players - Chiu, Okeke, Mudge, Lambert - but it's also the fact we've been together so long and we work together so well. We can read each other's bodies and we always know what the other guys are going to do, we know what to expect."

Facing them Sunday will be the strength of the Eskimos, the defensive front seven. "They're very aggressive and they're big and strong," Flory said. "We know what they are going to try to do. I've played two Grey Cups against Charbonneau already and before that I was practising against him for three years."

There won't be mush trash-talking down in the trenches in front of Calvillo. "We're not the kind of guys who talk a whole lot," says Flory. "Some guys try to get inside your head, but we believe that actions speak louder than words."

"They're veteran players," said Edmonton linebacker A.J. Gass, who draws the thankless task of trying to tie up an Alouette lineman or two. "They're big and they're strong and they know what they're doing out there. They're tough."

Experience helps, says Flory.

"This is my fourth Grey Cup. Your first time under the bright lights, you can get carried away with all the distractions. Once you've been there a couple of times, you know better than to take things for granted. Once the game starts, things are so intense that it's over in the blink of an eye. There's nothing worse than the heartbreak of losing and there's nothing like winning it."

Flory agrees that the offensive linemen in this unit are much alike: quiet, thoughtful men who go about their business in a quiet, thoughtful way. Chiu, for instance, did not criticize defensive-tackle Ed Philion for hoisting the Grey Cup yesterday and striking muscle poses with it for the photographers - but he made it clear he would not do the same.

"It's not that I'm superstitious," Chiu said. "But I wouldn't put a finger on it until we win. Until then, it's not mine."

"I think we've been so together so long that we've kind of rubbed off on each other," says Flory. "For six months we're together so much that when the season is over you kind of go through withdrawal until the next training camp."

"They're my family away from my family," says Chiu. "I know everything about them. What they eat, how they sleep."

Chiu the Vancouver native has already taken the guys out on the town, to an all-you-can-eat Japanese barbecue. (There's no record as to whether or not the barbecue remains in business.)

Come Sunday afternoon, however, the job will be to open holes for running back Eric Lapointe and to protect Calvillo.

"We have to keep Anthony from suffering any big hits," Chiu said, "and to be successful against them, we have to be able to run the ball effectively."

If this offensive line can accomplish those two things Sunday, the Grey Cup parade will take place along the usual route.

jtodd@thegazette.canwest.com

Cavil Als' hero but Esks' reject for Grey Cup: Receiver won't suit up on Sunday. Had 1,000 yards receiving in Montreal but was supplanted by Hervey in Edmonton
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C5
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette

How does a receiver go from a 1,000-yard season with one team in 2004 to not playing for another the next year?

That's the dilemma facing Kwame Cavil in the days leading up to Sunday's Grey Cup - a game for which he won't dress.

"I think I'm a guy that can help any team, especially this one," said the former Alouette, traded to Edmonton this season for defensive-tackle Clinton Wayne. "I do fit in, just not this year.

"It has been a recurring theme in my career."

Cavil caught 78 passes with Montreal last season, gaining 1,090 yards and scoring seven touchdowns. But the emergence of Canadian receiver Dave Stala made him expendable in the eyes of management. Seeking another big lineman at the time to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, the Als dealt Cavil to the Eskimos at the end of July.

Edmonton had its own issues at the time at receiver after the loss of Ed Hervey to a torn knee ligament.

"I fit a service that was needed," Cavil said, "and I did a good job. I'm pretty sure they recognize that. I fit in, but they don't want to break up the chemistry."

Hervey eventually recovered, and Cavil - incredibly - hasn't played since Sept. 24 against B.C. He completed the season with 31 receptions for 259 yards and scored only one touchdown.

"I believe there has got to be a sense of loyalty," Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia said. "Ed's one of the leaders. When Ed came back weeks later, we had to delete an import receiver. Kwame knew all along that was our intention.

"I think he's going to be part of the team next year."

Cavil dearly would love to play against Montreal in the championship game, but realizes it's not going to happen. But at age 26, he figures time's on his side and he can bounce back - if not with Edmonton, then another CFL team.

"When I do play, whether it's with Edmonton or wherever, I'm going to start," he said. "I can't take this bench stuff. I thought I was a starter. I thought it was my time. Definitely not, but it will be.

"I thought I was good. I'll be back, but it hurts. No doubt. It has been a humbling experience not to play. It has been a roller-coaster ride. I guess that's the business side of the CFL. At least it's happening now, at a time when I have a lot of ball left."

Like Cavil, tailback Michael Jenkins endured a lost season.

Signed by Montreal last winter as a free agent, and anointed the team's starting running back by head coach Don Matthews, Jenkins dressed for one exhibition game and never was heard from again. A two-time 1,000-yard rusher with Toronto, but out of the game in 2004 with an ankle injury, Jenkins eventually was released by the Als after the emergence of Robert Edwards, and signed with Edmonton as a free agent.

He dressed for one game against Calgary in early September, suffered a foot injury and hasn't played since.

"I can't tell you what went on at Montreal," he said. "That left questions in everyone's head."

At age 29, Jenkins wonders what his football future holds. He believes he's still capable of playing, but now has endured two years of relative inactivity. Tailbacks are a dime a dozen, and he has a considerable selling job ahead of him to convince a team to take a chance.

"I've got to prove myself, but I've faced adversity since college," he said. "I definitely want to play, but if I don't think I can be the best back, I won't play. If I'm not a legitimate threat, I won't play. I don't want to be mediocre.

"Maybe it's time to move on."

hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com

Lineman Flory runner-up: 'Guys can win all the accolades, but you're not fulfilled without a championship'
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C5
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette

For the second time in three years, Scott Flory must live with being a finalist for the CFL's outstanding lineman award. But the bigger prize, the Grey Cup, still remains within his grasp.

The Alouettes guard lost to Saskatchewan tackle Gene Makowsky, last season's winner, as the league named its outstanding players last night during a ceremony at the Vancouver Centre for Performing Arts.

In 2003, Flory was the runner-up to Roughriders guard Andrew Greene.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed," said Flory, who has spent his entire seven-year career with Montreal. "The important thing is we're here as a team. The rest is secondary. We're here to win a Cup."

Toronto quarterback Damon Allen, as expected, was named the CFL's outstanding player for the first time in his 21-year career after the 42-year-old passed for a career-high 5,082 yards and 33 touchdowns. But Allen's and the Argonauts' season ended with last Sunday's loss to the Als in the East Division final.

Voting was conducted by 62 members of the Football Reporters of Canada. Allen was a runaway winner, being named on 59 of the ballots.

"At the end of the day, I'd rather have my name etched on the Grey Cup than an award," said the 6-foot-4, 309-pound Flory, who was Makowsky's college teammate at the University of Saskatchewan. "Football is the ultimate team game. Guys can win all the accolades, but at the end of the day you're not fulfilled without a championship."

Als special-teams member and backup safety Mathieu Proulx was a finalist for the outstanding rookie award, but lost to Winnipeg defensive-end Gavin Walls, who made an immediate impact with the Blue Bombers, recording 12 quarterback sacks, tied for the second-highest total in the league. He also recovered one fumble, forced two others and knocked down four passes.

"I would have been surprised had I won and I would have given the prize back," said Proulx, selected fifth overall by the Als last April. "Gavin Walls had an incredible year. I'm not here for individual honours. I'm here to win the game."

Flory stood to earn a $5,000 bonus had he won last night, but they won't be holding any tag days for the 29-year-old, eligible to become a free agent this February. Flory's already earning slightly more than $100,000 and can expect a healthy raise.

"I'm happy where I'm at. This is a good situation," Flory said. "I'd have no qualms or regrets being back here. I love being in Montreal and couldn't ask for a better situation."

Calgary linebacker John Grace, a former Alouette, was named the outstanding defensive player. B.C. defensive-end Brent Johnson was named the CFL's outstanding Canadian, while Saskatchewan slotback and running-back Corey Holmes was named the outstanding special teams player.

Als' Matthews plays mind games with Esks
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C5
Section: Sports
Byline: HERB ZURKOWSKY
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Gazette

They put on a good show and spoke diplomatically on Wednesday during their news conference, but it's becoming clearer by the minute Alouettes head coach Don Matthews has tremendous enmity for his Edmonton counterpart, Danny Maciocia.

Either that or Matthews, the CFL's winningest coach, is attempting to play mind games with Maciocia, the St. Leonard native in his first year leading the Eskimos, before Sunday's Grey Cup game.

Tuesday night, when the teams arrived and a football operations meeting was conducted with league and television officials, the 66-year-old Matthews insisted he must be interviewed first at halftime.

Matthews was informed the coach whose team is leading the game after 30 minutes will be interviewed first.

The Montreal coach wasn't finished.

The Als are scheduled to practise first tomorrow morning - a traditional light walkthrough workout the day before the game. CFL officials asked Matthews not to keep his team on the field an inordinate amount of time, delaying the Eskimos' walkthrough.

But Matthews, upset over the possibility of being interviewed after Maciocia, said he would keep the Als on the field a full 90 minutes - an obvious attempt to disrupt Edmonton's schedule.

And the mind games continue.

Combines won Montreal's second Grey Cup: Patch was member of '44 navy team. Team members got a chance to buy rings - 25 years after victory against Hamilton
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C6
Section: Sports
Byline: IAN MacDONALD
Column: Where are they now?
Source: The Gazette

Wally Patch paid $252.75 for a ticket to Sunday's Grey Cup game between the Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos.

That doesn't make Patch unique, with the game in Vancouver sold out. But what does make the 80-year-old retired businessman special is that the ticket price is $252.75 more than he earned as a member of the Montreal-based Donnaconna-St. Hyacinthe Combine navy team that won the 1944 Grey Cup.

That was two years before the birth of the Alouettes, who will be attempting to win their sixth championship in their 14th appearance at the Grey Cup game.

Patch's 1944 team - which beat the Hamilton Wildcats 7-6 at Hamilton's Civic Stadium in front of 3,871 fans - was the second Montreal squad to win the Cup. In 1931, the MAAA Winged Wheelers beat Regina 22-0 at Molson Stadium.

The Combines' 1944 win was memorable. Playing coach Glen Brown, a teacher at Montreal High School who would later serve two terms in the national assembly, practised what he preached by playing 60 minutes as a two-way lineman.

Patch, a sprint star at WestHillHigh School before joining the navy, remembers Brown telling him: "You can throw the ball and catch the ball and tackle, so you're a member of the team, but some games I don't know where I'll play you."

At the 1994 Grey Cup, when the B.C. Lions beat the Baltimore Stallions 26-23 at B.C. Place, the Canadian Football League paid special homage to the Combines. Patch was among six Montrealers and eight other Canadians from that team who were able to swap football stories while travelling on a special Grey Cup train from Calgary to Vancouver, where they were weekend guests of the CFL.

The others from Montreal were Sam Abbott, Dick Swarbrick, Charlie Ellis, Wally Charron and Lou Segatore. Mickey McFall, a multisport star from Verdun who had moved to Toronto years earlier, headed an Ontario delegation that included Ottawa's Moe Segal, Malcolm Baker, John Crncich, Jack Wedley, Al Hurley and Paul Kenwood. Ian Barclay, who became a top business executive in Vancouver after his navy days, joined the group in Calgary.

Due to navy postings, the team roster in 1944 changed from week to week. From one scrimmage to the next, ordinary seamen didn't know if they were facing a deck hand or an admiral.

At the 1994 reunion, Swarbrick, an outside receiver on the Combines, said: "We had this young guy who really wanted to show he could play. He was having trouble handling a new guy at scrimmage one day. He was calling the guy every kind of birdbrain and worse. When we go back and change, the new guy puts on his commander's uniform. The young guy didn't shout as loud or use the same adjectives when he called him 'Sir.' "

Dutch Davey, who threw a pass to Johnny Taylor for the Combines' only touchdown in the Cup win, died weeks before the '94 reunion. Davey had kicked a single before the touchdown, which counted for five points in those days, and added another single after Joe Krol had sparked a Hamilton comeback that tied the score.

Unfortunately, there was no party for the Combines players after the win. The players had been promised a few days in a first-class hotel as a prize for reaching the final. However, those accommodations turned out to be in deserted barracks - with no heat.

The navy tried to return the Grey Cup because of a rule forbidding service clubs from playing teams made up of civilians, but the league refused.

The players did receive tiny crests - one reads CRU (Canadian Rugby Union) Dominion champs and the other QRFU (Quebec Rugby Football Union) champs.

In 1969, thanks to the help of then CFL commissioner Jake Gaudaur, members of the team were given the opportunity to buy championship rings for $300 apiece.

After discharge, Patch worked for Dominion Sound and became intrigued with acoustic development. He launched Patch Acoustical Services Ltd., where his customers included churches and theatres. He gained lucrative contracts with Man and His World and Patch lectured on acoustics in South Africa and England. At one point, he was president of CISCA, the world governing body on the subject.

Patch, who has property in the Laurentians, Eastern Townships, Maine and Florida, credits sports with helping him understand how practice and hard work can breed success in business.

imacdonald@thegazette.canwest.com

Plenty of room on Als bandwagon
The Gazette (Montreal)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: MIKE BOONE
Column: Grey Cup Countdown
Source: The Gazette

Montrealers seem resistant to at least one strain of bird flu: Alouettes fever.

Maybe it was the dampening effect of steady snowfall. But there was no audible Grey Cup buzz yesterday.

The downtown streets were eerily calm in a city whose team is a finalist this weekend for the Canadian Football League championship.

Granted, the Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos don't play until Sunday evening.

And the lack of anticipatory football frenzy may be just one of those things that differen-tiates this city from Regina or Hamilton.

Perhaps, however, discreet rumblings were beginning, just below the white-blanketed radar. So donning my deerstalker, firing up a Meerschaum and slapping skis on the bloodhound, I went searching for evidence of Grey Cup excitement.

On the door of the Peel Pub, a sign featuring the ubiquitous CH logo promised Canadiens hockey action on six giant screens, plus ambience, specials and raffle drawings. Not a word about the Grey Cup, but pub patrons who may have forgotten the words are invited to recite the Montreal sports fan's mantra: "Go Habs go!"

Across the street, the front window of a souvenir shop features Canadiens and Team Canada hockey sweaters, plus an infant pyjama set bearing the Habs' team logo. There are also figurines: two generic Canadiens, six players on a Team Canada bench, a fan wearing a Habs sweater. And - if you can believe this, in the heart of downtown Montreal - two Toronto Maple Leaf figurines.

No football jerseys. No Alouettes toys.

A few blocks away, the front window of Pro Sports is another Alouettes-free zone. There is, however, ample representation of the sport that the non-North American world calls football: Ten European soccer jerseys and three posters of Team England heartthrob Michael Owen.

Plus, of course, a couple of Canadiens sweaters. There would be more, but as Pro Sports owner Wayne Marcus explained, Reebok, the manufacturer of authentic hockey sweaters, is swamped with back orders and can't keep up with demand - at $250 a pop.

"Reebok called us and offered a special close-out price on Alouettes stuff," Pro Sports manager Remy Uickerman said. "They said it was a great opportunity. But I asked, 'What about the stuff you shipped us in May?' "

In the week leading up to the Grey Cup, Pro Sports is discounting Alouettes hoodies and sweats by 25 per cent. And Marcus says they've sold more this week than during the four previous months of the CFL season.

When I asked Uickerman if he'd seen evidence of Grey Cup enthusiasm, the store manager sighed. "You know what? It only started Monday morning."

In Montreal, where the only vehicle more popular than an SUV is the sports bandwagon, merchandise finally moved the day after the Alouettes upset the favoured Toronto Argonauts to advance to the Grey Cup final. That night, heroic Als running- back Eric Lapointe was a special guest on 110%.

TQS's popular late-night sports talk show briefly took time out from its obsessive focus on hockey to confer the ultimate accolade on Lapointe. He was, the panelists agreed, the Alouettes' version of Canadiens plugger Steve Begin. During the subsequent hockey discussion, no one called Saku Koivu the Canadiens' version of Anthony Calvillo.

"It's hard," Team 990 talk show host Mitch Melnick said, "to take attention away from what the Canadiens are doing."

"And generating phone calls about the Alouettes is much harder than for baseball or hockey. Unless they get blown out and Als fans are just angry, it's always been tougher to get calls."

Melnick should invest in a 450 long-distance call to James Marchant. The 60-year-old

St. Lambert resident, a contract human-resources expert, is an Alouettes diehard who traces his affection for the team back to attending games with his father, Wilfred Marchant, who was a season ticket-holder.

Marchant pere was a stockbrokerage colleague and friend of Sam Etcheverry. When we spoke this week, Marchant fils got choked up remembering the phone call Etcheverry made after coaching the Alouettes to a Grey Cup win in 1970.

"He called from the dressing room after the game and asked my father to put me on the phone," Marchant recalled. "I went to the phone and Sam Etcheverry said, 'Jimmy boy, we won this for guys like you.' "

(Memo to Jack Todd's son: Stay by the phone Sunday night. Don Matthews may call.)

"I've always been a passionate fan for more than just football reasons," Marchant said. "For me, the Alouettes are what Montreal is all about."

The crowd at a typical Montreal home game, Marchant said, is multilingual, multigenerational and out to party in a family-friendly atmosphere.

"For a nucleus of people," Marchant said, "the fire has never been stronger."

Maybe it will start licking at the doors of Pro Sports, where they predict Alouettes-itis will flare again on Monday - if the team wins the Grey Cup Sunday night. Locker room T-shirts, emblazoned with "Montreal Alouettes - 2005 Grey Cup Champions" would be available 48 hours after the game ends, and Marcus predicted they'd move briskly.

"It will set us up nicely," he said, "for the Christmas period."

When - Santa Claus and Reebok willing - they'll sell a lot of Canadiens sweaters.

mboone@thegazette.canwest.com

Campbell's Eskimos recipe is mmm, mmm good
The Ottawa Citizen
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: B1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Wayne Scanlan
Column: Wayne Scanlan
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

VANCOUVER - Meet the New York Yankees of the CFL.

The Edmonton Eskimos. Team colours: green and gold, with patches of arrogance.

They're good and they know it.

A bad year in Edmonton is one that doesn't end with a Grey Cup championship. No other CFL team has competed in as many Grey Cups, 24. No western team is as decorated -- 12 titles.

Long after the career of a guy named Highbaugh, the Eskimos still have a High Bar.

It's a high compliment to football teams with this kind of program:

They keep coming at you.

Year after year.

Eat your heart out, Ottawa football fans. Not since 1978 has an Ottawa club had double-digit victories in a season: the 11-5 Rough Riders. In that 27-year span, the Eskimos have registered at least 10 wins on 22 occasions. They've been to the Grey Cup game 12 times since '78 and have won eight times.

Club president and chief executive Hugh Campbell, the common thread running through this organization for nearly three decades, coached the Eskimos to five straight Grey Cup victories from 1978-82.

It's a feat not even Wayne Gretzky and the NHL Edmonton Oilers could match -- their five Stanley Cups came two-by-two in the '80s, with a final one in 1990. It was tough to be a Calgarian when those two franchises were running amok in the so-called City of Champions.

Who could fault them for feeling a little smug? A clever pass receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the 1960s, Campbell is relishing his 17th Grey Cup appearance as a player, coach, general manager or executive. He has won nine. One digit left for a championship ring -- and it's a thumb.

The native of San Jose is clearly not one for sharing the wealth. Meeting the Montreal Alouettes here on Sunday in the 93rd Grey Cup is Edmonton's Campbell-given right. Or so the Eskimos see it.

As much as they're associated with stability, the Eskimos have had an expiry date on head coaches. Since Campbell moved upstairs in the mid-'80s, the likes of Pete Ketella (who?), Jackie Parker, Joe Faragalli, Ron Lancaster, Kay Stephenson, Don Matthews, Tom Higgins and now rookie Danny Maciocia have taken a turn. Under Campbell's gaze.

Each has learned quickly what comes with the colours and tradition.

"I know what Eskimo pride is," says Matthews, the decorated and well-travelled Alouettes coach. "I know what the Eskimos expect from their players. I know because I was a part of that."

Here's the Campbell's soup recipe of success for an organization: "The first thing is, whoever is running the team, making decisions, there has to be some consistency -- so it's not a committee voting on things," Campbell says.

"The buck has to stop somewhere," Campbell says.

"You have to have consistency of leadership. It doesn't have to be one person, but if it's two or three people, they must have the same mindset.

"No. 2, and equally important, so it's really 1B, the decisions that are made have to be made as if you're going to be there 10 more years, even if it's your last year with the team, or you think you're going to get fired if you don't win. Whatever the circumstances are, people who make short-term decisions get themselves in trouble.

"They give away their future, or pay players too much, and when the other players find out at the the end of year, they're all mad, so then you blow yourself out of it."

Campbell believes it would be foolish to dismantle the 2005 Ottawa Renegades, even with John Jenkins coming in to replace Joe Paopao as head coach.

"I know people say otherwise, but to me, Ottawa did really well this year," Campbell says. "I thought Joe really had it going. They didn't have the depth to sustain the season. But he had the right elements -- certainly excellent coaching. So now we're going to start again, and if that person comes in like Danny Maciocia did, and embraces the past, then they can grow from there. If that person (Jenkins) has to make it his team and gets rid of everybody, then we're two more years behind. Because it took Joe two or three years to get where he did."

Though he's well into his 60s, and more than two decades removed from the sidelines, Hugh is still "coach Campbell" to Danny Kepley, a brilliant Edmonton linebacker during the dynasty years and now the Eskimos' linebacker coach. The continuity continues.

"It starts at the top with coach Campbell and the standard he has set," says Kepley, his gnarled fingers shaking a reporter's hand. "It's not so much a player's ability as the character of a player. We have stressed very diligently that it's vital to be professional, to maintain character and then to play with a hell of a lot of reckless abandon on Sunday afternoon."

The Eskimos have a tradition of treating players well. Equipment and travel needs are met. Outside problems are minimized. In Kepley's words, "bitches and gripes don't exist.

"We've established ourselves, from the time I played and on through, that arguably the Edmonton Eskimos are the flagship franchise in this league on how to do things."

Former Renegades captain Kelly Wiltshire is a happy Eskimo, though he'd be happier if he wasn't so far from his family in Montreal. Defensive end Tim Fleiszer and fullback Mike Maurer are also ex-Renegades in Edmonton. All three have Grey Cup rings. Maurer from the B.C. Lions of 2000, Fleiszer with Montreal in '02 and Wiltshire as a member of the '97 Argos.

"There's a lot of talent, a lot of leadership, a lot of veterans here," Wiltshire says. "They found guys who mesh well. They found a good coach. They continue with the machine."

Canadian backs break through: The Alouettes' Eric Lapointe and others are showing they have what it takes, reports Matthew Sekeres from Vancouver.
The Ottawa Citizen
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: B2
Section: Sports
Byline: Matthew Sekeres
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

As the 2005 CFL season wound to a close this autumn, an interesting subplot began developing. Though it would be premature to call it a revolution, the emergence of Canadian tailbacks on several clubs signalled a stark departure from tradition, and that shift could continue into 2006.

"You surely have more of a chance of that happening now because of the potential guys," said Montreal Alouettes general manager Jim Popp. "All of a sudden, you have an influx of very good Canadian tailbacks that you haven't seen in a while."

For years, CFL teams have invariably chosen Americans to serve as their carry-the-mail options in the ground game. But when this season ended, the Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats were all using Canadians with large degrees of success.

Front and centre is Eric Lapointe of the Alouettes, the hero from last weekend's East Division final and a former Hec Crighton Trophy winner as Canadian university football's top player. Lapointe rushed for 115 yards in Montreal's 33-17 victory over the Argonauts and will likely be the Alouettes' chief ball-carrier Sunday in the 93rd Grey Cup against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Like many Canadians used to playing the glamour position in college, Lapointe has had to change his mindset to make it in the professional ranks.

He was cut by the Eskimos at his first training camp, and has since adopted a role of special-teams ace. But when Robert Edwards left the division final with cracked ribs, which are expected to keep him out of Sunday's game, Lapointe stepped in and shone.

"It has always been my theory that Lapointe could be a featured back for any team in the league," Montreal head coach Don Matthews said. "When given a chance, he always stands up."

Lapointe admits his path to a seven-year career has been "weird" and has not transpired as he would have hoped.

The former MountAllisonUniversity star made his debut with the Tiger-Cats in 1999, lugging the ball a career-high 105 times, only to be traded to Toronto a year later where he rushed just 11 times. From there, the Montreal native signed with his home-town team and carried just 30 times over the next two seasons.

It wasn't until 2003 that he became the default starter at tailback, after the Alouettes had auditioned a handful of Americans, and that designation has been tenuous over the past three campaigns.

"There are so many great athletes and backs that come out of the U.S., and some of them have played in the NFL. At one point, you wonder how you can contribute somewhere else," said Lapointe, a cult hero in francophone Quebec. "I think more and more Canadians will get a chance. Now, with Jesse Lumsden in Hamilton, he will open so many doors. Jesse is really the first one to get a real shot, and if he succeeds, teams will have to start looking at Canadian tailbacks. There has always been many, it's just that now, we're getting our chances."

Indeed.

Besides Lumsden and Lapointe, the Argonauts stumbled across Jeff Johnson in the latter part of the season, and he turned in several eyebrow-raising performances subbing for an injured John Avery. Next year, Johnson, who went undrafted coming out of YorkUniversity in 2000, could supplant Avery as the starter, allowing the Argonauts to use an American roster spot at another position.

In Edmonton, starting tailback Troy Davis is a free agent this winter and has expressed interest in returning to Hamilton. Should he depart, the Eskimos have Mike Bradley and Dahrann Diedrick in tow.

Bradley had averaged 6.7 yards per carry heading into this season and is also an accomplished kickoff return man. Diedrick, who signed in mid-season after three seasons in the NFL, is perhaps the most accomplished amateur Canadian tailback ever, having played for the storied University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Going deeper, next weekend's Vanier Cup championship features David Stevens of the University of Saskatchewan, the nation's second-leading rusher, and Nick Cameron of the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks. Popp said that duo, as well as the University of Montreal's Joseph Mroue, all have CFL potential.

Ironically, both Grey Cup teams have fullbacks who were once sensational tailbacks in the amateur ranks.

Montreal's Mike Vilimek was a standout at SimonFraserUniversity and Edmonton's Mike Maurer was a bulldozer with the Regina Rams. Both former Ottawa Renegades have had to adapt to blocking roles in the CFL, but both break into wide smiles when the subject of Canadian tailbacks is raised.

"That's awesome. It's great to hear," Maurer said. "It might be a growing trend because there are definitely some Canadians who can play. And who knows? Maybe Canadian quarterbacks are next."

Stamps' deal for Grace looks better than ever: Linebacker who came from the Renegades wins outstanding defensive player award, reports Matthew Sekeres in Vancouver.
The Ottawa Citizen
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: B2
Section: Sports
Byline: Matthew Sekeres
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

When John Grace was traded from the Ottawa Renegades to the Calgary Stampeders in January 2004, he gave up red meat.

Now in the heart of beef country, Grace hasn't touched a burger, steak or roast in nearly two years.

Whatever works.

Grace, the Renegades' inaugural most outstanding player, has joined some elite company since leaving Ottawa. The linebacker's nomination as the West Division's most outstanding defensive player for a second consecutive season put him in a group of six players who have been back-to-back finalists for the award since 1977. The players represent a who's who of CFL defenders over the last generation: Dan Kepley, Danny Bass, Greg Battle, Willie Pless and Joe Montford.

Yesterday, Grace was named the league's defensive player of the year, over Toronto Argonauts linebacker Michael Fletcher, in a vote by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

"I imagine it would be a wonderful feeling. It would be a testament to our defence and our coaching staff," Grace said Wednesday before the winners were announced.

Almost universally, when Grace was dealt to Calgary in a nine-player deal, CFL observers declared that the Renegades had robbed then rookie general manager/head coach Matt Dunigan of the Stampeders. The prevailing theory was that you do not trade Canadians for Americans, unless the latter are impact players, meaning quarterbacks, receivers or wide receivers.

But Grace has become one of the few impact players on defence, producing sacks, fumbles and interceptions at a consistent rate. For the moment, he has single-handedly given Calgary the edge in that trade.

Only defensive end Kai Ellis and offensive lineman Ibrahim Khan remain with the Renegades. Ellis made some strides toward the end of 2005, but has been injury-prone and slow to learn. Khan, meanwhile, still hasn't established himself as a starter.

"Long-term, Obby Khan will be an outstanding lineman, but obviously, in the short term, there are critics, and that's fine. It is part of the business," said former Ottawa general manager Eric Tillman.

The Renegades wound up losing halfback Anthony Malbrough to free agency and kicker Sandro Sciortino to retirement after a bout of testicular cancer. Defensive lineman Jerry Johnson never made the team.

In Calgary, quarterback Romaro Miller and defensive end Fred Perry were immediately cut, while offensive tackle Seth Dittman lasted one season before retirement.

Grace readily admits that Ottawa's defensive scheme, in which he played middle linebacker, was not conducive to his skills and that Calgary's 3-4 system, which is built around his playmaking, is a perfect fit.

"Within the system we were playing in Ottawa, I think I would have been a solid player, an above-average player, but the system didn't allow me to make plays. I was a grunt worker," Grace said. "The trade blind-sided me, but the way it turned out, it seems like destiny."

OTTAWA'S LEE GETS DREAM JOB
The Ottawa Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 90
Section: Sports
Byline: BY ROB BRODIE, OTTAWA SUN
Column: Amateur File

It's a long way from a nondescript farmer's field in Kanata to the holy grail of Canadian football.

But when the 93rd Grey Cup kicks off Sunday night at B.C. Place in Vancouver, Mark Lee's gridiron journey will finally be complete.

"It's pretty darn exciting," said the Ottawa native about making his debut as CBC's voice of Canada's biggest sporting tradition. "I've been to a lot of Grey Cups as a host or a sideline reporter. But being in the booth is as close as you can get to playing the game."

The 49-year-old Lee, now a Cambridge resident, has done his share of the latter.

High school football at Earl of March, four years of quarterbacking for the Carleton Ravens, Panda Games ... but his roots in the Canadian game run much deeper than that.

"Growing up in Ottawa, I remember watching the Grey Cup in our family rec room," said Lee. "Then at halftime, we'd go out and play games across the street in a farmer's field.

"I have a great affinity for the league and the game. Now to call (the Grey Cup) for the first time ... it's a dream come true."

What wasn't so perfect was the way Lee moved into this gig. Chris Cuthbert had called nine straight Grey Cups for the CBC, and he'd become synonymous with the game. But suddenly in February, the corporation inexplicably terminated the contract of one of its most recognizable -- and best -- play-by-play men.

BIG FOOTBALL BREAK

That handed off the CFL job to Lee, who also calls figure skating and some NHL games for the network and is a regular contributor to its Olympic efforts. Cuthbert --now TSN's main CFL play-by-play voice -- told the Sun in June he was happy to see Lee finally getting his big football break.

Lee will tell you "it's been good to do so many games" in 2005. He'd done a handful in the past several years (his first one was in 1996 in Memphis, when the dearly departed Mad Dogs played the Toronto Argonauts), mostly filling in for Cuthbert when he had conflicts with NHL duty.

It might be said Lee was destined for a career in broadcasting.

His parents, Bill and Doreen, rented their first Ottawa home from Don Chevrier. Bill Lee was also a legend in Ottawa radio, working for more than 40 years at several stations (he and Chevrier were colleagues for a time).

"I used to tag along with my dad when I was a kid and go to work on Sundays with him," said Mark Lee, the oldest of six children.

The radio work continued during his days at Carleton, when he'd play football on Saturdays and work at his father's radio station on Sundays.

"If I had a bad game on Saturday, I had to report on it," said Lee with a laugh.

Professionally, his early years in the business were spent on the news side of radio. He moved into sports in 1985, joining the staff of CBC Radio's acclaimed The Inside Track. For three years, he travelled the globe doing a wide range of sports journalism.

The past 12 years, though, it's been all about sports and sports events. Certainly a change from the hard news documentaries he still has a passion for, but a welcome one all the same.

"Now it's kind of fun to be involved, not in what's wrong with sports, but what's great about sports," he said. It doesn't get any better than Sunday.

CUP STUFF: For the first time, CBC is producing the Grey Cup in high-definition format. The broadcast will also make use of a cablecam, which provides the kind of aerial views you see on ESPN's Sunday night NFL games ... CBC's Grey Cup schedule Sunday kicks off with Walby's Warriors at 3:30 p.m., followed by a two-hour edition of the CFL on CBC pre-game show at 4 p.m. Brian Williams fronts the latter, with a panel that includes Greg Frers, Doug Flutie and former Renegades GM Eric Tillman ... CBC will employ a second expert panel during the game, featuring Argos running back Sean Millington and Ticats QB Danny McManus ... Rogers Sportsnet sets the table for the Grey Cup with a 30-minute preview show tonight at 7 ... TSN's one-hour CFL Countdown preview show airs tomorrow at 7 p.m.

GAMEON: Canadian Satellite Radio made its much-anticipated launch earlier this week. The subscription-fee service, part-owned by U.S.-based XM Radio, includes several sports offerings. Most prominent: Live NHL games and Home Ice, a 24-hour hockey talk station. CSR's prime competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio Canada, is expected to hit the airwaves in early December. It'll also feature NHL game broadcasts but only until 2007, when XM becomes the league's exclusive carrier.

GETTING THEIR KICKS: CanadaKicks Radio, a one-hour weekly soccer show, is now part of the Team 1200's lineup each Saturday at noon. AJ Jakubec and Bill Ault are hosts for the show, which will focus on world and Canadian soccer. National team coach Frank Yallop is a guest tomorrow.

rob.brodie@ott.sunpub.com

COMMISH TELLS BERNIE NO MOVE TO FORCE SALE OF 'GADES
The Ottawa Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 95
Section: Sports
Byline: BY BARRE CAMPBELL, OTTAWA SUN

Renegades president Lonie Glieberman has arrived in Vancouver for the Grey Cup, ready to defend his efforts of keeping the team alive in Ottawa.

He said yesterday CFL commissioner Tom Wright has told Bernie Glieberman, the Renegades owner, that no league governor has made a request to force a sale of the club.

"I'm sure there are (governors) questioning what we're doing," said Lonie. "But nobody has spoken to us about that. Anybody who has concerns with what we're doing here should sit down, call me and talk to me about what their concerns are."

The Gliebermans bought majority ownership of the club last May -- Bill Smith, one of the original owners still owns a large minority share of the team.

PAOPAO FIRED

The season ended with the firing of coach Joe Paopao -- along with the rest of the football operations staff -- and the hiring of the colourful and eccentric John Jenkins as the new field boss.

A report suggested several league governors had urged Wright to force the Gliebermans to sell, citing concerns for the future of the franchise under their control. Yesterday, Lonie said he wasn't concerned.

"We operate things differently," he said. "Right now, we're focused on getting ready for next year."

Wright is expected to speak today about the Renegades during his annual state of the league press conference.

barre.campbell@ott.sunpub.com

Allen cops top honour; First outstanding player nod for Argo Three teammates lose out in balloting
The Toronto Star
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E1
Section: Sports
Byline: Rick Matsumoto
Column: CFL Awards Night
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Toronto Star

The Argonauts' starting quarterback next season will not only be the CFL's oldest player, but also it's most outstanding.

Damon Allen, who was finally accorded that long-awaited honour last night after 21 seasons, revealed yesterday that Toronto had already exercised its option on his services for 2006.

"Usually in the middle of January or early in February a team sends you a letter telling you they're exercising their option on you, if they have one, because if they don't you're eligible to become a free agent on Feb. 15," said Allen, who'll turn 43 at the end of July. "But I received that letter (on Monday) during our final meeting with our coaches.

"I'm thankful for that and I'm already looking forward to it."

It was generally anticipated that the Football Reporters of Canada, who vote for the CFL's annual player awards, would make Allen the overwhelming winner over Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Corey Holmes, and they did.

The only thing that would have made this the perfect week for Allen was if he'd been accompanied by his teammates and coaches as the East representatives in Sunday's Grey Cup.

Instead, Allen was joined by only three of his fellow Argos, who were also up for individual awards. However, all three lost out to their West Division counterparts.

Linebacker Kevin Eiben was the runner-up for the outstanding Canadian for the second consecutive year, losing to B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson.

Linebacker Michael Fletcher was beaten out by Calgary's John Grace for top defensive player, and kicker/punter Noel Prefontaine gave way to Holmes in the best special teams player category.

Saskatchewan's Gene Makowsky was named outstanding lineman for the second consecutive year over Montreal's Scott Flory. Winnipeg defensive end Gavin Walls was selected as top rookie over Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx.

"It's nice to be in this atmosphere because I've seen it so many times over my 21 years," said Allen. "I think every player hopes that one year he'll be a nominee or even end up on the podium. It's really nice."

Allen, for whom Toronto is the sixth stop on his CFL odyssey, is the CFL's all-time leading passer with 4,915 completions for 69,322 yards and 379 touchdowns.

Yet it took him until this season, when he threw for more than 5,000 yards (5,082) for the first time in his career, to gain recognition as the league's best player.

"Yes, it's been a long time coming, but whenever you're nominated that's the right time," he said. "I'm having the time of my life in the CFL game I've been playing since the '80s to the 2000s. It's really been fun."

Allen said he does not have his sights set on retirement any time soon.

"I want to play until I can't play any more," he said. "I never want to be the one who retires too early or hangs on too late. I think I'm smart enough as a player to understand that when you're hanging on it's no good."

Allen said he feels as good as ever physically and mentally and still has goals and dreams he would like to attain.

"So why not continue to play," he said.

Allen said before the awards were presented that the first word that will probably come to mind "if my name is called, is "humbled."

"For 20 years I've seen guys receive this award," he said. "It'll be a great honour and lets you know that you're among the greats who have won it.

"The uniqueness of this award is that there are so many great players in our game. It's unfortunate that there's only one trophy."

Allen said that while he'll be watching Sunday's game from the stands at B.C. Place Stadium, he expects the Argonauts will make a strong bid to be in next year's Grey Cup contest in Winnipeg.

"We truly had the opportunity to repeat (as Grey Cup champions) this year," he said. "Unfortunately we failed. It's tough to win a game when you have five or six turnovers in a game.

"We're competitive and we'll be competitive in the future. That lets me know there'll be a lot of Eastern finals the Argonauts will be involved in over the next few years," he said.

CFL should say 'no Maas' to shady deals
The Toronto Star
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E1
Section: Sports
Byline: Damien Cox
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Toronto Star

Let's just say the rumours are true, the half-hearted denials are at best misleading and Jason Maas will become a Hamilton Tiger-Cat as soon as the final whistle is blown at Sunday's Grey Cup game.

And let's assume it's a deal linked to the swap earlier this season in which the Tiger-Cats sent standout running back Troy Davis and offensive lineman Dan Comiskey to the Edmonton Eskimos, a trade thus made on a buy-now, pay-later basis.

Well, what kind of a way is this to run a football league?

One wonders, for starters, what the Calgary Stampeders and B.C. Lions might feel about such a state of affairs should it transpire in precisely the way outlined above.

Without Maas in a relief role, you see, it's entirely conceivable the Eskimos wouldn't have beaten either the Stamps or the Lions in the West Division playoffs.

Yet Edmonton coach Danny Macioca also had Davis and Comiskey at his disposal for those games.

In effect, if the Maas-to-Hamilton deal is already pre-ordained, then the Tiger-Cats conspired with the Eskimos to give Edmonton a post-season edge.

And it worked.

One suspects, of course, that if the 30-year-old Maas does go to Hamilton, it will be disguised to some degree as a deal that stands all on its own, with bodies and draft picks going back to Edmonton.

But to believe that, you'd have to believe the original trade also stands on its own, in which case the Cats braintrust has some serious explaining to do.

See, in return for Davis and Comiskey, they received a promising Canadian receiver in Brock Ralph, who is unsigned for next year and might well go back west. They also acquired import defensive back Tay Cody, and import defensive backs are about the most common commodity there is out there in the football world.

Hamilton also received Edmonton's first-round pick, but that, by virtue of the Esks advancing to the Grey Cup game, has already been devalued to eighth or ninth in next year's Canadian college draft.

As a package, that which the Cats received was clearly not enough for the quality of players like Davis and Comiskey, particularly when you consider the Cats traded end Joe Montford to Edmonton to get Comiskey in the first place last spring.

Which is why most believe there has to be more.

"I can't confirm that," Hamilton coach Greg Marshall said this week. "We are not going to comment beyond the trade we made at that time. At the end of the season, are we interested in a quarterback? Yes. And Jason Maas is a proven CFL quarterback."

Now imagine if the rifle-armed quarterback again plays a pivotal role this Sunday and helps the Eskimos win the Grey Cup.

Again, Edmonton will also have had the use of Davis and Comiskey. At that point, won't this entire transaction have injured the league's competitive integrity and, potentially, set the stage for similar "futures" deals next season?

There's nothing wrong with a team out of the playoff race sending talent to a playoff-bound team in exchange for players and draft picks that might help the lesser franchise down the road.

But if the Eskimos were allowed to keep Maas just to use him a while longer, what would have been the difference if the Tiger-Cats had simply sent Davis and Comiskey to Edmonton for the final part of the season, then reacquired them again next week?

Allowing teams to artificially strengthen themselves for short-term benefit is a practice that could become problematic for the league.

What if Winnipeg had been inclined to ship Milt Stegall to Montreal for a draft pick late in the season, with the Blue Bombers getting Eric Lapointe in a secondary phase of the same deal next week?

Nobody seems too bothered by all of this right now, and certainly Maas has become an attractive Grey Cup story both for his late-game heroics and the stoic, uncomplaining fashion in which he accepted his role as backup to Ricky Ray this season.

But in any league, you want transactions between teams to be transparent, not accompanied by secret wink-wink deals that everybody finds out about later.

If Maas is the difference on Sunday then a Tiger-Cat by Monday, the Montreal Alouettes will have been done a serious injustice.

Old Grey Cup ain't what TV used to be
The Toronto Star
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E4
Section: Sports
Byline: Chris Zelkovich
Source: Toronto Star

Even though the Grey Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in the land, there will be plenty new on display during Sunday's broadcast.

There will probably be something borrowed and something blue, too, but that's another matter.

Those who have taken the plunge on a high-definition TV set will be able to watch the first Grey Cup shot in HD with 5.1 sound. Just imagine Chris Walby in surround sound.

Regardless of what kind of set you have, you can enjoy the first Canadian football images produced by the Cablecam, which will fly over the field at B.C. Place all evening.

Rounding out the new stuff is announcer Mark Lee, who isn't all that new but will be calling his first Grey Cup game.

The star newcomer will be the Cablecam, the brainchild of Canadian Jim Rodnunsky that provides those great over-the-shoulder looks you see everywhere from the Super Bowl to the Academy Awards.

"We're thrilled," says CBC executive producer Trevor Pilling. "With the Cablecam as one of our 26 cameras, we shouldn't miss a thing."

That's more than double the 10 cameras used for last week's division finals.

Those who have watched NFL games won't expect anything new in the images provided by the Cablecam which, as the name implies, travels above the field on cables. But CBC director Ron Forsythe believes it could perform even better on the Canadian field.

"Because of the size of the field, I think the perspective will be more interesting than American football," says Forsythe, who will direct his 14th Grey Cup. "There's a lot of distance between the receiver and quarterback, so the camera has to really fly. That could make for some great images."

Still, Forsythe plans to avoid overworking his new toy and use conventional cameras for action.

"We'll be in the huddle and looking over the quarterback's shoulder as he approaches the line," he says. "But after that, we'll use it mostly for replays."

While Forsythe is excited about the game being shot in HD, he's not going to change the way he handles things.

"We can't jeopardize our coverage for HD," he says, noting that more than 90 per cent of viewers will be watching the game the old-fashioned way. "We have to be careful."

Also being careful is Lee, who landed the Grey Cup gig after the CBC let Chris Cuthbert go in a cost-cutting move last winter.

Lee, you see, admits he has a tendency to get a little carried away. He had a reputation as a screamer, the kind of guy who treats the game's first play as if it were the deciding one.

To his credit, he's done a much better job of keeping things in perspective this season.

"One of the things I've tried to do this year is be a bit more relaxed and try to build to a finish," the Ottawa native says. "I get so excited at football games that in the past I got too excited too early. I've tried to grow with the nuances of the game and not peak too soon."

Lee, a former quarterback at CarletonUniversity, admits that won't be easy.

"It's hard not to get excited at Grey Cup. You really have to take a deep breath and remind yourself that it's just another game."

Of course, it isn't. More than 3 million Canadians will be watching, the game will be shown in 176 countries and the CBC sure wouldn't have shelled out $50,000 for the Cablecam for a regular-season game.

DIGITAL DOINGS Raptors NBA TV, which launched an HD channel on Bell ExpressVu recently, is now on Rogers at channel 506. ... GolTV, the all-soccer channel that went on the air earlier this month, will be available free to Rogers digital customers for a year. ... XM Canada launched its satellite radio service this week with 4,500 subscribers. To augment its schedule of more than 40 NHL games a week, XM has added hockey greats Phil Esposito, Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin to its Home Ice channel staff. The channel will feature hockey talk and games. Sirius Canada, which will include NHL, NFL and NBA games, is expected to launch soon.

Grey Cup three-ring circus; Als' Vaughn has been on two winners Slotback 'has a thousand fakes,' foe says
The Toronto Star
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E4
Section: Sports
Byline: RICK MATSUMOTO
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Toronto Star

Terry Vaughn plays with a chip on his shoulder.

Sunday afternoon, at B.C. Place Stadium, a couple of old buddies will be trying to knock it off in an effort to prevent Vaughn from adding a third Grey Cup ring to his collection.

Vaughn spent six seasons with the Eskimos and earned a second championship ring in 2003 when Edmonton beat the Montreal Alouettes.

He had earned his first ring in 1998, his last of four seasons with the Calgary Stampeders.

Now he has a chance to pick up a third bauble and this time it will be in an Alouettes jersey against the Eskimos.

Vaughn insists, however, that he will gain no special satisfaction if he's tasting champagne Sunday evening while his former teammates are hanging their heads in disappointment.

"I dealt with those feelings earlier during the regular season and put them behind me," said the 5-foot-9, 205-pound slotback from Sumter, S.C. "It just so happens we're playing Edmonton. It makes no difference."

Vaughn, who will turn 34 on Christmas Day, had never gained fewer than 1,000 receiving yards in any of his 10 seasons with Edmonton and Calgary.

Yet, after 2004, when the Eskimos finished eight points behind the B.C. Lions and failed to advance to the Grey Cup game, they offered Vaughn to the Alouettes.

Als head coach Don Matthews said making the deal, which involved sending free safety William Loftus to the Eskimos, was "a no brainer" considering the Als had lost receivers Jeremaine Copeland and Thyron Anderson.

General manager Jim Popp said the deal was made during the Canadian college draft when the Als were able to get Matthieu Proulx of Laval in the first round to back up Richard Karikari at free safety.

Eskimos defensive halfbacks Donny Brady and Shannon Garrett, however, won't be so welcoming when Vaughn faces them on the field Sunday afternoon.

Brady has a he reputation for being one of the nastiest defensive backs in the CFL.

"I don't shy away from contact either," Vaughn said. "At times I relish it. He's an all-star calibre DB and we know each other inside and out. Just like when we practised together it was competition and it'll be competition on the field this Sunday. When I go out there I just try to match the other guy's intensity. I don't bitch and complain a lot.

"He's going to hold, clutch and grab and I'm going to push off and pull. That's just the way it is when we play against each other."

Brady said he won't play any differently because they spent three years together in Edmonton.

"Once the game starts, you have to forget about all that," Brady said. "He's just another player in my eyes right now. After the game, we'll shake hands, but before and during the game he's an enemy of mine."

Garrett and Vaughn were not only teammates, but roommates on the road and business partners in a restaurant/bar in downtown Edmonton that has since closed.

But Garrett said he wouldn't hesitate at all about laying a good lick on his buddy if the chance arises.

" Not at all," he said. "I'm going to hit him." But that, Garrett admitted, isn't the easiest task for a defensive back trying to cover Vaughn.

"He has a lot of moves," Garrett said. "He may not be the fastest receiver in this league, but he runs great routes. He'll give you a thousand fakes. You've got to get your hands on him to slow him down.

"He gets a lot of YAC yards (yards after catches), so that means you have to tackle and tackle well against Terry Vaughn."

Otherwise, he'll be wearing that third ring the next time he travels to Edmonton.

AWARD BITTERSWEET TO ARGOS' ALLEN
The Toronto Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY STEVE SIMMONS, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

After 21 long seasons, four Grey Cup wins and six different uniforms, Damon Allen finally is the Most Outstanding Player in the Canadian Football League.

It only took forever and a few decades for the 42-year-old Allen to be recognized with the highest individual award in Canadian football.

"I don't know if it's been a long time coming," an excited Allen said. "I guess when you're nominated, you always feel it's the right time. I'm having the time of my life."

With only one thing missing this week.

"If we'd been in the Grey Cup, this would have been over the top. We just didn't come up with the right game when we needed to."

Allen, who has been a bridesmaid for this award, been left off the final ballot on more than one occasion, said he was both "humbled and honoured" to be so richly awarded at this time in his career, beating out Saskatchewan all-purpose back, Corey Holmes in the process.

"All those years I didn't think I was getting passed over," said Allen, the Argos' quarterback. "Every year, it's only one player. They only pick one player. To be that player, is something. I speak from the heart, it really means something."

It means he will be back for at least one more season with the Argos. And whether he's around for 2007, when the Argos play host to the Grey Cup, is a matter he'll deal with one year from now.

"I want to play until I can't play anymore," Allen said. "I don't want to retire too early or hang on too late. I feel as good as I've ever felt physically. So why not continue?

"We're a very competitive team. We're going to be very competitive again.

"I don't know if I can play until 2007 but I didn't know I could play until I was 42. I didn't imagine winning the MVP at 42, let alone playing. I didn't count on that. It's now one year at a time."

One year at a time with a request: Allen would prefer if both fans and media would talk more about his play, less about his advancing age.

"By now, everyone knows I'm a grandfather," Allen said. "So why do you have to keep saying it over and over? I laugh about it now. (He didn't always) I don't really get upset. My brother said, learn to embrace it."

Allen, also named the Fans' Choice Award winner, was the only Argo honoured last night. The other Toronto nominees -- linebackers Michael Fletcher (defensive) and Kevin Eiben (Canadian) and kicker Noel Prefontaine (special teams) -- watched as the Western nominees took their respective trophies.

THE DEAL WITH ... CFL AWARDS
The Toronto Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S2
Section: Sports

The CFL's top individual awards for the 2005 season (voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada):

- Outstanding Player: Damon Allen, QB, Toronto

- Outstanding Canadian: Brent Johnson, DE, B.C.

- Outstanding Defensive Player: John Grace, LB, Calgary

- Outstanding Lineman: Gene Makowsky, OL, Saskatchewan

- Outstanding Rookie: Gavin Walls, DE, Winnipeg

- Outstanding Special Teams Player: Corey Holmes, RB/KR, Saskatchewan

- Tom Pate Memorial Award (As Voted by CFL Players): Danny McManus, QB, Hamilton

- Commissioner's Award (For Contributions to League): David Braley and Bob Ackles, B.C. Lions.

- Rogers Fans' Choice Award (Via Online Voting): Damon Allen, QB, Toronto

HOMELESS, NEVER HOPELESS; LITTLEST AL FINDS COMFORT AFTER STORM
The Toronto Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S6
Section: Sports
Byline: BY STEVE SIMMONS
Dateline: VANCOUVER

The flight arrives tomorrow from Houston and Ezra Landry can't wait.

Since September, when they lost their home, their spartan real estate holdings and their business in New Orleans, his parents have been passed around from city to city, relative to relative.

"There are no possessions anymore," the smallest man in the Canadian Football League was explaining yesterday with deep emotion. "There is just family."

Ezra Landry, the Montreal Alouettes dynamic kick returner, left the team in a nearly frantic state less than three months ago, and even now he can't comprehend all the damage of Hurricane Katrina and how that has changed his life. The Grey Cup is his focus now ... but only now.

His home is gone. His parents' home is gone. His hair salon is gone. His friends are scattered throughout the south. The only place he has ever lived, ever really known, is in his words, "a ghost town."

Landry left the Alouettes and tried make his way home in early September. He was watching CNN from his Montreal apartment and saw a street deep in water.

"I saw the sign. I knew the street. It was three blocks from my house," he said.

"You don't know what that feels like, seeing your neighborhood on TV like that."

He doesn't know what his house looks like anymore. He doesn't know if he has a house.

When he left the team before a game against Ottawa, Landry attempted to make his way from Montreal to New Orleans but wasn't allowed in the city. No one was at the time. His parents were safe, but his grandmother was still missing.

"You don't know what that feels like," he said.

So he started driving and searching, searching and driving. The phones weren't working. The cell phones weren't connecting. Only a walkie-talkie system he had seemed to be able to communicate with some people he knew.

He drove to Baton Rouge and to Dallas and to Houston and finally met up with his grandmother, who was living in the Astrodome, but was unable to communicate with the rest of the family before then.

"It wasn't just my parents. It was my grandmother, it was my whole family. it was all my friends. All the people I love," Landry said.

"I come from a praying background and I did a lot of praying.

"When I saw my parents' faces in Dallas and I saw how much they lit up, I knew I did the right thing going home," he said. "I'm an only child. We're a very close family."

He knew he had to leave in the middle of the season and the Alouettes knew it also. They encouraged him to go home.

"I'm pretty well-known in New Orleans you know," said the 5-foot-5, 155-pound Landry. "I was a big high school player there and I played my college (at Southern University) 45 minutes away. Everybody knows me in New Orleans.

"New Orleans is an amazing city. It has everything -- great food, great jazz, great nightlife, no rules. I've been privileged to travel a lot, but it's the only place I want to live.

"I just don't know if we'll ever get back there again."

He doesn't know what he has left, doesn't know how much insurance coverage he will qualify for.

"When I get home, my mom tells me I've got lots of phone calls to make, lots of issues to deal with," he said.

But first comes his maiden Grey Cup voyage. The game on Sunday between Montreal and the Edmonton Eskimos. Mom and dad are on the way.

He is playing against the same Eskies team that a year ago couldn't find a way to put him on their active roster. They tried to hide him on their practice squad but, as small as he may be, Alouettes' general manager Jim Popp found a way to rescue him and give him a shot.

Born then was the professional career of one of the CFL's most exciting players.

"Who knows?" said Landry, trying to be philosophical. "The worst year of my life could end up being the best year, a year to remember. This is the Grey Cup, this is all that matters right now.

"My family is coming and we're going to the Grey Cup. What could be better than that?"

PERRY LEFKO

VANCOUVER -- It's been a long time between appearances in the Grey Cup for Derrell Mitchell.

The fleet-footed receiver, nicknamed Mookie, is back in the Cup this year for the first time since his rookie year of 1997 when he played for the Argos. That season, Mitchell was named the CFL's top rookie just a few days before his team's championship victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Mitchell, now in his second season with Edmonton, hopes to repeat the Cup win against the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday at B.C. Place. He said yesterday he didn't realize how difficult it would be to play again in the championship game.

"My first year was a real sweet season for me," he said yesterday.

TRYING TIMES

But then the Argos, who had won their second consecutive Cup in Mitchell's first season, went through some trying times. They didn't make it to the Cup again until last year when they won it all. Mitchell wasn't a part of that team after balking at a 40% pay cut and received his release just before training camp. He was signed shortly thereafter by Edmonton and this year became one of the top receivers in the league in receptions.

"It's always been tough to get back to this position," he said. "It's been nine years since I made it back to the Grey Cup. It's one of those feelings that I tell the younger guys on the team, that it's something you'll never forget, holding that trophy, especially the first time."

As he was in Toronto, Mitchell is a fan favourite in Edmonton. And he has long since been able to put aside the anguish he felt last year, leaving a team and a city that he loved, even after it went on to win the Cup.

Mitchell had a chance to see some of last Sunday's East Division final, which was shown on the B.C. Place scoreboard while the West Division teams were doing warmups prior to their game. Edmonton beat the B.C. Lions.

"It was like dealing with a two-headed monster," he said. "Some of the guys (on the Eskimos) wanted to see me play against Toronto. Some of the guys (on the Eskimos) that were part of the back-to-back Grey Cups (between Edmonton and Montreal in 2002 and '03) wanted to play against Montreal so they could finally settle the score (from the '02 loss).

"To me, I just always stayed neutral with the thing," he said. "It really didn't matter to me. I was just mainly focused on this team being here. This here is always like a dream come true for players. This is your main focus, your main goal getting ready for training camp. Everybody wants to be here this week, playing for that Grey Cup."

ARGO FINALISTS LAUD ALLEN
The Toronto Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S6
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

It was a tough loss for the Argos in the East Division final and another loss in the Canadian Football League Awards last night.

While quarterback Damon Allen won, as expected, the most outstanding player award, beating out Saskatchewan roughriders' all-purpose star Corey Holmes, three of his teammates failed to make it to the victory podium.

Linebacker Kevin Eiben lost to B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson for the outstanding Canadian.

Punter/placekicker Noel Prefontaine was overlooked in favour of Holmes for the outstanding special teams player, while linebacker Michael Fletcher lost out to Calgary Stampeders linebacker John Grace for outstanding defensive player honours.

Eiben spoke for his teammates who were finalists when he said that collectively they were happy for Allen.

"Any time a 42-year-old can win the outstanding player of the CFL, it's amazing," Eiben said.

"If it wasn't for him we would not have made it as far as we have. Even though me, Fletch and Noel didn't win, we still have support for Damon and we're hoping he can come back for another three or four years. I think his talent alone can take him as far as he wants to."

In the other major award presented last night, Saskatchewan's Gene Makowsky was selected as the CFL's outstanding lineman for the second consecutive year.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Danny McManus, meanwhile, won the Tom Pate Award as the player who displays the qualities that distinguish him from the rest of his peers.

Eskies' front line will bring the heat; Can Calvillo find a way to burn them?
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP03
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

Physical.

It's the one word that Montreal star quarterback Anthony Calvillo chooses to describe the Edmonton Eskimo defence he will face Sunday in a bid to win his club's sixth Grey Cup.

"Physical. They are the most physical team that is out there. They challenge every receiving core they go against. We can't just line up in a basic formation. We're going to have to move guys around. We're going to have to come up with some new wrinkles because they are talented across the board on defence," the Alouette passer said.

What is extraordinary about the the Eskies is the fact the club's front four, which includes ex-Ticat Joe Montford, can bring pressure without the aid of linebackers.

And 'zone' is a a rather foreign term to the northern Albertans. The Edmonton secondary lines up in man-to-man coverage almost 80 per cent of the time.

"Their dbs are playing man-to-man coverage and they are going to mug our receivers and that is our challenge this week -- to make sure we can get off of those jams, get the protection, and I have to try to get the ball to them," Calvillo said.

"They say 'come and beat us.' That's what they did against Calgary and that's what they did against B.C. I don't see them changing a whole lot."

Calvillo has been pretty effective at making sure all of his receivers develop a taste for the leather.

The Montreal passer threw for more than 5,000 yards this season, the fourth consecutive year he has accomplished that feat, and has four 1,000-yard receivers -- Kerry Watkins, Terry Vaughn, Hamilton's Dave Stala and Ben Cahoon -- in his arsenal.

With Edmonton's penchant for man-to-man coverage, the Als are practising pass routes that are better against man-to-man versus zone.

"We have to move guys around, we have to create matchups and we have to move the pocket. They are solid across the board. It's going to be a challenge.

Just to underline how big that challenge is, consider the fact Edmonton's defence was third or better in 23 of 25 league statistical categories this season and placed first in 13 of them. Montford leads the crew with 10 sacks.

This season the Als bested the Eskies 32-29 at Percival Molson Stadium but lost 36-26 in northern Alberta.

"We had a breakdown of their defence and they are in the top three in every category. It was just funny because the top three were Toronto, Saskatchewan and Edmonton. We've been going through some tough defences to get to this Grey Cup. This week will be no different," the Montreal pivot said.

On a personal note, Calvillo, who is 1-2 in Grey Cup championships having lost in 2000 and 2003 but hosting the silver mug in 2002, badly wants a second ring.

"My whole objective is to try and win as many championships as possible. There are so many quarterbacks who have won one, but there are only a few who have won two and three and I'm trying to put myself in that category," the 12-year Canadian Football League veteran said.

"This is one more chance for me to do so but it won't be easy. Edmonton is a very talented team, but I definitely want to get some more rings on my fingers," he said.

Calvillo said each Grey Cup has a special meaning and even moreso given the fact it took the one-time Ticat eight seasons before he enjoyed his first one. He has been in four of the past six.

On the other side of the ball will be Ricky Ray, who is facing his own challenges. Ray, who was second to Calvillo with 5,510 passing yards, hasn't tossed a touchdown pass in his past six contests and has been relieved by Jason Maas in the past three.

Ray said yesterday the Als' defence has evolved during the season.

"I think the biggest thing we have to manage is their blitzing," he said.

While Montreal has four star receivers, the Ekies have Jason Tucker, the league's leading receiver. Tucker snared 89 passes for 1,411 yards and 11 touchdowns on his march to becoming a human highlight reel.

Double-team Tucker and Ray will look for Derrell Mitchell (94 catches for 1207), Trevor Gaylor (72 catches for 929) and Ed Hervey (49 catches for 539).

And Ray knows a little something about playing in the final game of the CFL season. In his three seasons in Canada, Ray has taken his squad to three Grey Cups.

Ray said the Als mix their zones and bring a blitz zone, which sees the club bring pressure without leaving their defensive backs in man-to-man coverage.

Ray, who returned to the Eskies after a season spent with the New York Jets, said he considered Hamilton's offer to join the Ticats this past season but opted to return to northern Alberta. For obvious reasons.

"It is a good organization, you know you are going to be on successful teams, you know you're going to have a good shot to make it to the playoffs and a chance to get to the Grey Cup.

kpeters@thespec.com

Getting their kicks at Grey Cup; A win would be some sweet for embattled booters
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP04
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

When Canadian Football League commissioner Tom Wright hands over the Grey Cup to the winning team Sunday evening, one player on one of the teams will smile with vindication.

It may be Edmonton's Sean Fleming, 35, and just completing his 14th season with the Eskimos.

It may be Montreal's Damon Duval, 25, and just completing his rookie season in the Canadian Football League.

Both are former soccer players who became kickers during high school. Both endured their share of criticism and second guessing this season with their respective teams.

It was worst for Fleming, the native of Burnaby.

At one point in the season, the Eskies, concerned about Fleming's inconsistent placements, sat him down for four contests, turning the kicking job over to American Hayden Epstein.

Fleming, who connected on 25 of 37 field goals tries this season, admits the booing has bothered him.

"It's a small group of people, maybe a 1,000, who feel that way. My thoughts on the whole thing are that if I'm getting booed before I even attempt a kick, they are not true Edmonton Eskimo fans.

"It's like they are putting pressure on you before you even attempt to kick. The pressure is tough enough as it is. I don't consider them Eskimo fans. Certainly it is difficult and certainly considering the things I have done over my 14-year career, both on and off the field, sometimes you wonder whether it is worth it.

For Duval, that rough patch came in October when the rookie missed three field goals in a crucial loss to the Toronto Argonauts before a huge crowd at the Olympic Stadium.

Still the Auburn-product led the league with a 73 per cent success rating on his placements, making 38 of 52.

"It was a one-game slump," Duval said after the Alouettes' media luncheon yesterday. "It was just a bad game, you go 0-3 one game. That one game dropped my field goal percentage from 78 all the way to 72. It was just three bad kicks." he said.

Duval admits he is having the time of his life in Montreal. After failing to win the kicking job with two NFL clubs.

"In the NFL the average number of field goals you try are about 23 or 24. I think I've kicked 52 field goals already not including punts or kick-offs." He admits it has been a unique experience.

"The only thing I knew was that they speak French and the rules were different," he said.

"I really enjoy the city, I like it and I like the weather."

kpeters@thespec.com

Ex-Ticat Mathis gets Grey Cup experience
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP04
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

He won't play Sunday in the Grey Cup. But if the Montreal Alouettes are successful in bettering the Edmonton Eskimos, a former Ticat can take some measure of pride in that.

Which is something Dedric Mathis can take away from this, his fifth and worst Canadian Football League season.

A class act, the 2004 Ticat nominee as defensive player of the season was the first, but by not means the last, casualty of a 2005 Cat season that went horribly bad.

When the Tabbies were pounded on this B.C. Place turf this August to go 0-8 on the season, the Cats cut Mathis, who sat out the second half of that contest. He was replaced by Fordham rookie Tad Kornegay.

But the former Ticat was summoned to Montreal this past fall to join the Als practice roster. And that was why Mathis was out again on that same B.C. Place turf this past week in a practice session with his new mates.

"After Hamilton released me they (Montreal) gave me a call after another four games and asked me if I'd like to come up and join their practice squad so they could take a good look," he said.

It's not really the way Mathis wanted to make it to his first Grey Cup. But the former Tabby isn't complaining.

"I've never been to a Grey Cup and it's given me a chance to experience a lot of things. And I'm enjoying myself," he said.

Mathis said the practice squad experience my lead to a more permanent spot in 2006. But he is living life in the moment, at the moment.

He has no ill feelings about Steeltown.

"They said they wanted to go with youth. There is no bad blood. They wanted to go in a direction and it didn't involve me. That's just how it happened," he said.

Mathis said the axe fell at a time when the Cats were winless. He harbors no ill will.

He is reminded that his last CFL game was in Vancouver.

"Oh yeah. But it is good to come back out here, especially for the Grey Cup," he said.

The CFL's other award winners
Winnipeg Free Press
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C2
Section: Sports
Byline: MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER

Damon Allen, QB, Toronto Argonauts

Accomplishments: Allen, a 42-year-old grandfather, pieced together arguably the best season of his spectacular 21-year career by throwing for 5,082 yards with 33 touchdowns against 15 interceptions while rushing for an additional 461 yards and four more scores.

MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN

Brent Johnson, DE, B.C. Lions

Accomplishments: Johnson led the CFL with 16 sacks while adding 18 tackles, including six for a loss, and three pass knockdowns and two forced fumbles in becoming the second Lion to win this award in as many years after slotback Jason Clermont earned the honour last season.

MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER

John Grace, LB, Calgary Stampeders

Accomplishments: Grace recorded 76 tackles, picked off two passes -- including one for a TD -- while recovering three fumbles and forcing another. His eight sacks also tied him for the Stampeder lead. He's also just the sixth player since 1977 to receive back-to-back nominations as the top defender, the others being Dan Kepley, Dan Bass, Greg Battle, Willie Pless and Joe Montford.

MOST OUTSTANDING

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

Gene Makowsky, RT, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Accomplishments: Makowsky takes home the honours for the second straight season, beating out Alouettes guard Scott Flory by just four votes. He is the fifth lineman in the history of the award to win in back-to-back seasons.

MOST OUTSTANDING

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER

Corey Holmes, KR, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Accomplishments: Holmes led the CFL in combined yards for the second straight season at 3,455 yards while adding five touchdowns. He finished second in punt returns and second in kickoff returns.

TOM PATE AWARD

Presented annually to the CFL player who displays outstanding sportsmanship and makes a significant contribution to his team and community.

Winner: Danny McManus, QB, Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

ROGERS FANS' CHOICE AWARD

Awarded to the player who receives the most votes from fans who logged on to CFL.ca during TSN telecasts.

Winner: Damon Allen, QB, Toronto Argonauts

-- Ed Tait

Maybe no Maas for Esks, even if he wins the Cup
Winnipeg Free Press
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Randy Turner

VANCOUVER -- For most of Grey Cup week, this city has been shrouded in dense fog, to the point where it could well serve as the scene of a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

And there is mystery to be found here, too, although nothing as sinister as Holmes might have encountered. But not so elementary, either.

It involves none other than Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Jason Maas, who after coming off the bench in successive playoff games to rally his team to come-from-behind victories has been thrust into the glare of the big game after a season spent almost entirely on the bench.

This mystery has nothing to do with how Maas has managed to engineer such late-game heroics; it has to do with his curious status as an Eskimo.

Only in the CFL, perhaps, can it be possible that come this Sunday, the man who leads the Eskimos to a Grey Cup title could -- almost immediately after the final gun sounds -- become the property of another team, in this case, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

You see, last month, the Ticats traded star running back Troy Davis and all-star offensive lineman Dan Comisky to Edmonton in a deal that heavily favoured the Esks, leading to speculation that another cleat had yet to fall.

Now the buzz is that, as part of that earlier deal, Maas will be shipped to the Tiger-Cats in return for veteran QB Danny McManus and possibly another Hamilton offensive lineman.

Picture this scenario: "So, Jason Maas, you've just beaten the Montreal Alouettes and won the Grey Cup! Where are you going now?"

Maas: "I'm going to Disneyland! No, wait... I'm going to Hamilton!"

Will it happen?

Well, for all the speculation flying around Vancouver this week, nobody seems all that geeked up about denying anything -- particularly Maas, a six-year veteran who only last year threw for more than 5,000 yards in the absence of prodigal son Ricky Ray.

In fact, Maas has been hearing so many rumours about his departure from Edmonton, and for so long, it's not a factor that seems to distract him anymore.

"I heard them basically since June and July. To be honest with you, as soon as Ricky signed, people were thinking I would be gone," the quarterback acknowledged.

"I've heard trades with Hamilton, I've heard trades with other people. I've been pretty much in tune that something was going to happen at some point. I was just hoping, and pretty much had a promise with Edmonton, that I would stay here this year. And whatever happens, happens at the end of the year.

"Yeah, it's hard to keep having to answer questions about it," he added. "I mean, everybody's human. When you're off the football field, thoughts race through your head to think you're going to be somewhere different next year, possibly.

"It is difficult, but the bottom line is I was able to put it aside and put it on the back burner and focus on this year. And I think I've done a pretty good job of doing that.

"This was my goal; I wanted to win a Grey Cup as an Eskimo this year."

Now it could well be that Edmonton starter Ricky Ray won't be in need of any relief against the Als on Sunday. But imagine the delicious possibility of Maas being summoned from the sidelines once again to led the Esks to the ultimate victory.

Maybe be named the Grey Cup MVP.

Question: Would they be happier in Edmonton? Or in Hamilton?

Chances are, the fans in both cities would like that scenario to play out. Maas sounds like he would be OK with that conclusion, too.

But the most talked-about backup quarterback in the 93rd Grey Cup is content right now, at least, to live in the moment.

"I'm going to find out a lot of things come November 28th or around there, and I can wait," Maas concluded. "I've waited all year to hear it. I'm glad that it's almost over."

Only then will this mystery be solved and we can find out who done it.

Or, more aptly, who's done what?

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

A field general's story isn't all glory
Winnipeg Free Press
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Tait

VANCOUVER -- Most CFL quarterback tales, quite frankly, begin with failure. Theirs are stories rife with rejection, whether it be from "The League" down south to a legitimate look from major U.S. colleges.

But the good ones often manage to overcome the adversity and pain of being cut, and then soldier on to carve out respectable, if not spectacular, careers. That brings us to the men who will lead their clubs into action in this Sunday's Grey Cup game -- Anthony Calvillo of the Montreal Alouettes and the Edmonton Eskimos' Ricky Ray.

Both have become stars, but just a few years ago Ray was driving a potato-chip delivery truck as part of the Frito Lay management-trainee program, and Calvillo was on football's scrap heap after being cast adrift by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"Truthfully, I didn't think I was going to be given a shot to play anywhere in professional football," Ray began. "So I interviewed like every other college graduate and took a job with Frito Lay."

Then came one of those telephone calls that can forever change a person's destiny.

The San Francisco 49ers were on the line and they were in desperate need of another arm for training camp. It wasn't even a promise of potential future glory, just a chance to throw a bit and exit with a 49ers T-shirt, ball hat and shorts.

Still, Ray jumped at the chance, just as any 22-year-old with stars in his eyes would.

He didn't last with the 49ers, but surfaced with the Fresno Frenzy of Arena Football 2, who just happened to be coached by ex-Winnipeg Blue Bomber offensive co-ordinator and longtime CFL pivot Rick Worman. He, in turn, called the Eskimos about Ray, who arrived in 2002 as the third-stringer but was starting five weeks later.

Today, after returning from the New York Jets a free agent and parlaying that into a $460,000 contract, Ray is reportedly the CFL's richest player.

"I think of myself as an all-round guy," he said.

"I'm not a guy who has a cannon for an arm or is a great athlete who makes a lot of plays with his feet. I can just kind of do everything OK. I think I'm just well-versed."

Calvillo's beginnings are very similar. He signed with the expansion Las Vegas Posse in 1994 and earned the starting chores as a fresh-faced 21-year-old right out of UtahState.

A year later he was scooped up by the Ticats when the Posse were put out of their misery, but the next three seasons were filled with disappointment, heartache and headaches as he and the Ticats struggled mightily.

The Als saw something in him and opted to bring him in as insurance behind Tracy Ham. You could say it was a good call -- over the last four years, Calvillo has averaged 5,625 yards passing and 32 TDs.

He's also making his fourth Grey Cup appearance in the last six years.

"Las Vegas was my first experience with professional ball," Calvillo said.

"So I thought living at the Riviera Hotel and practising in the parking lot was normal. Later, you find out it's not too normal. But that whole experience gave me the opportunity to get into this league. If it wasn't for that, I don't know where I would have ended up or if I'd be here today talking to you.

"Then Hamilton... I was doing some good things, but I wasn't very consistent. But after the last year, when we went 2-16, I was just mentally out of it.

"I wasn't sure if I could get the job done and if I was a starting quarterback."

Out on the street looking for a new team, Calvillo had two options: sign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders or with the Alouettes, who had an established star in Ham at QB. Calvillo, wisely, chose Montreal.

"In Montreal, I saw how an organization was run at a professional level," Calvillo said. "That's when I said, 'OK, this is why teams win -- the organization is rock-solid and they have talent.' That's one thing I've learned: Get with a great organization and then stay with them.

"It's been a great journey. All those experiences, from Las Vegas to Hamilton, have made me the quarterback I am today."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Tale of the tape

Calvillo Ray

33 Age 26

6-1 Height 6-3

200 Weight 210

Utah St. College Sacramento St.

66.1 '04 completion % 67.0

5,556 '04 passing yardage 5,510

34 '04 passing TDs 25

19 '04 interceptions 24

12 CFL years 3

4 Grey Cups 2

1 Cup wins 1

248 Career passing TDs 84

148 Career interceptions 46

25 Career rushing TDs 12

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ...
The Winnipeg Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 58
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PAUL FRIESEN

While toiling on the assembly line at the Sun sports department yesterday, a few random thoughts seeped through the windows of my mind.

For instance, what would happen if...

... Edmonton starting quarterback Ricky Ray has a brutal first half of the CFL Grey Cup game against Montreal Sunday, and is pulled for the third straight week?

And let's suppose relief ace Jason Maas lights yet another fire under the Eskimos, who go on to defeat the Alouettes, with Maas being named the Grey Cup MVP.

How in the name of Tom Wilkinson, then, do the Eskimos ship Maas to Hamilton, as is expected during the off-season, without causing a riot in the Alberta capital?

Imagine telling your season ticket holders you're going to keep the guy who hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in two months, and get rid of the guy who just won three straight playoff games, including the Big One.

Talk about your public relations nightmare.

That's exactly what the Eskimos could have on their hands, thanks to their little "arrangement" with the Tiger-Cats.

... Maas wins the Grey Cup, and team president Hugh Campbell decides to renege on the deal with the Ticats?

Does the league turn a blind eye because it's Hugh Campbell?

Or would the league even have any say in it, considering the questionable nature of the "arrangement" in the first place?

... the Alouettes get their behinds handed to them on Sunday, and the powers-that-be in Montreal decide they've had enough of Don Matthews?

Would Blue Bomber president Lyle Bauer even entertain the thought of handing The Don a wad of cash to set up shop in Winnipeg?

Bomber GM Brendan Taman has already gone on record as saying he doesn't care if his next head coach is a jerk, as long as he wins.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but he could have been talking about Matthews.

... the Bombers see an Edmonton win as proof you don't need an experienced head coach to succeed in the CFL?

Does that mean they'll hand the job to GregMarshall, Kent Austin or Richie Hall?

And would they provide their rookie head coach with the same tools (a.k.a., money) Maciocia was provided in Edmonton?

... Winnipeg receiver Milt Stegall runs into, say, Hugh Campbell, who tries to sell Stegall on the merits of becoming an Eskimo?

Would "the touchdown beagle," as Stegall dubbed himself on TV the other day, consider asking for a trade so he has a real chance at finishing his career with a ring?

All that talk about leaving the field next season with his son in one hand and the Grey Cup in the other was warm and fuzzy, but let's face it: there's about as much chance of that happening as of Jack Layton becoming the next prime minister.

...Calgary offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto has a change of heart and decides coaching the Blue Bombers isn't one notch above double hernia surgery, after all?

Would the former B.C. co-ordinator really push to acquire Casey Printers from the Lions, and is there any chance he'd succeed?

... B.C. boss Wally Buono puts Printers on the trade market?

Would the Bombers, with or without Buratto, be one of the most aggressive bidders, and how many established players would it take to land a star quarterback who's shown questionable leadership and a desire to try the NFL?

... the Bombers were to acquire Printers?

Where would that leave Kevin Glenn, Russ Michna, Tee Martin and Spergon Wynn?

Would at least one of them be headed to Vancouver to back up Dave Dickenson?

... the Gliebermans, Bernie and loonie son Lonie, alienate fans in Ottawa to the point where the franchise is on the brink?

Could that mean the end of football in Ottawa, again?

And where would that leave an eight-team league that was showing so many signs of leaving its dark days behind?

'TOO SMALL' ALLEN NOW CFL MOP
The Winnipeg Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 60
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JIM TAYLOR
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Damon Allen's first career decision was made when he was 15 years old. He was a flea of a kid, maybe 140 pounds soaking wet in cleats and shoulder pads, heading into high school where everybody else on the team would be capable of ripping his head off, and undoubtedly would.

"No, thank you," he thought. "Me and football are quits."

He made it stick. When tryouts were posted, he turned away. When the season opened, he watched from the stands. But there was a coach who'd seen him tearing up the Pop Warner leagues, and he kept at him. "You can do this," he said, over and over again. "You can play high school football. You can be GOOD at it."

So, he went out for the last five games, and threw 25 touchdown passes.

That was in Grade 10. In Grade 11, and again in Grade 12, the team went 11-0. In that last year he broke his brother Marcus' high school record, which led to college, then to 21 years as a pro and to centre stage last night to collect a CFL outstanding player award many feel was about a decade overdue.

Did his mind roll back to that high school coach, I wonder, as he finally grasped the only trophy that had eluded him? Did he wonder again, as he did five years ago, when he was a mere tad of 35 and days away from leading the B.C. Lions to Grey Cup triumph, where he might be today if the guy hadn't been so persistent?

'I was gone'

"I was gone," he insisted back then. "I was too small. And it wasn't like there weren't other sports to play, 'cause if a ball was involved, I could play it. Baseball, soccer, tennis -- you name it. Tell me the rules, and I can play it. Always been that way.

"But if that coach hadn't been there" -- he flashed one of those here-and-gone Damon grins -- "who knows?"

There was, of course, the ever-present shadow of brother Marcus, who made it to The Show and ultimately to the NFL Hall of Fame. But there is no jealousy because, even today, he knows in his heart that, had his path wound through the big league to the south, he would have been just as successful.

"When I came out of college, I had the skill level to throw and run at their level," he said. "I went to the tryout camps and every time in every category it was me and Randall Cunningham, one-two. But I was small and it wasn't the time for the mobile QB. But could I have made it in the NFL? Definitely."

Some things, though, never change. He was asked again last night if he'd played his last game -- as he was asked five years ago after the Lions' Grey Cup win. Was he quitting? If not then, when?

Damon Allen's answer then, delivered with a grin, might be tempered now with the realization that the clock is ticking. But maybe not.

"Eight teams are gonna have to cut me," he said. And now the CFL has nine teams. Forever is out of the question, but Gramps might give it a shot.

Jim Taylor is a Sun Media columnist.

MUDGE NOT RUBBING IT IN
The Winnipeg Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 64
Section: Sports
Byline: BY KIRK PENTON, STAFF REPORTER

Dave Mudge has the ammunition to deliver one big "I told you so" to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

But he's not going to do it.

The Montreal Alouettes offensive lineman, whom the Bombers traded away in July because they felt his play was substandard, will play in the Grey Cup this Sunday at B.C. Place in Vancouver.

And Mudge will be the starting right tackle on arguably the best offensive line in the CFL.

Apparently the guy can still play, but he's not going to gloat about it.

"That's not really my style," Mudge said earlier this week from Montreal.

Play had slipped

The Bombers didn't have a bona fide centre early in the 2005 season, so they acquired Aaron Fiacconi, a conditional draft pick and future considerations from the Alouettes in exchange for Mudge. To justify trading away the CFL's top O-lineman in 2001, the Bombers (specifically head coach Jim Daley) said Mudge's play had slipped.

"I'm not really sure (what happened)," Mudge said. "He had said that he was looking to get a centre, and he got one in the trade, so it's nothing really personal. It's a business thing.

"I was sad to go, though. I had a big part of my life in Winnipeg and playing for the Bombers, but that's just a decision the team made, and I've moved on.

"... Just from the get-go, it didn't really seem like I was high in (Daley's) good books."

Mudge won't spend this week looking back, however. He will focus on taking a different mental approach into the 93rd CFL championship game.

"When we went in 2001 (with the Bombers), just winning the Eastern final was joy," Mudge said. "So just going was a great thing. Here it just seems to be a little different, where we expected to be there, and we expect to win it."

Mudge had been platooning at right tackle with Luke Fritz, but Mudge has played the last two games, including Sunday's East Final win over Toronto, in their entireties.

"The O-line here is such a good O-line. You really want to not let the other guys down."

**Angelus** · 11-25-2005, 05:18 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Friday - Part 2

Holmes, Makowsky rewarded
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Darrell Davis
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Leader-Post

VANCOUVER -- Saskatchewan Roughriders multi-purpose back Corey Holmes and tackle Gene Makowsky vaulted into Hall of Fame company Thursday when they each won their second CFL outstanding player awards, while ageless Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen claimed his first award.

"I try to not think about something like that too much,'' said Makowsky, who won his second straight award as the league's outstanding offensive lineman -- often a criterion for entry into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame -- after helping the Roughriders lead the CFL with 135 rushing yards per game and allowing a league-low 23 sacks.

"I guess you have to give it a quick thought, but something like this is beyond belief.''

Montreal Alouettes guard Scott Flory, a Regina product who was a teammate of Makowsky's for one season (1994) at the University of Saskatchewan, was the East Division's outstanding offensive lineman. The Alouettes meet the Edmonton Eskimos in Sunday's Grey Cup game.

"I was Geno's backup, the sixth offensive lineman my freshman year in college, and since then I've known he's a good player,'' said Flory. "Sometimes it takes time to get the recognition a player deserves. Geno deserves this.''

Although he was a runner-up to Allen as the league's outstanding player, Holmes was named the top special teams player in the televised Rogers CFL Player Awards ceremony inside The Centre.

In balloting done by the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL head coaches, Holmes received 55 votes and Toronto punter/kicker Noel Prefontaine received seven votes. Allen won his category 59-3. The closest margin was Makowsky's 33-29 edge.

Although Allen has twice been named the outstanding player in the Grey Cup game, it's the first time 42-year-old Allen -- a certain Hall of Famer -- has won the regular-season award in his 21-year career. Allen thanked God, his teammates, people associated with the CFL and his family, which includes a young grandson, and told them, "I hope I represent you well.''

Afterwards, Allen said with a chuckle, "It's nice to win this award in your prime. I'm just thankful I didn't retire last year.

"It's not a bad consolation award for not winning the Grey Cup. I'm always humbled because there are so many great players in this league.''

Holmes, who led the CFL with a team-record 3,455 all-purpose yards, was also chosen the outstanding special teams player in 2002.

"Damon Allen would have gotten my vote for outstanding player,'' said Holmes, who was accompanied on stage for the trophy presentation by his three-year-old daughter Chakoreia. "As Damon's getting older he's getting better. I was watching ESPN Classics the other night and Damon was playing for Ottawa. He's faster, he reacts better and reads better now than he did about 15 years ago.

"I won the other award before and I'm just glad to be getting it for a second time in five years. Some guys don't see it once in their career.''

B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson was the outstanding Canadian player. Lions slotback Jason Clermont, a University of Regina product, was last year's winner. Johnson was chosen by 39 voters ahead of Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Gavin Walls was chosen the top rookie (56-6) over Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx. Calgary Stampeders linebacker John Grace received 39 votes as the outstanding defensive player; Toronto linebacker Michael Fletcher was the runner-up.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Danny McManus won the Tom Pate Award for his on-field and off-field contributions. That voting was conducted by CFL players.

A group of B.C. supporters dubbed "The Waterboys'' received the Commissioner's Award from Tom Wright to honour their efforts in bringing this year's Grey Cup game to B.C. Place Stadium. In balloting conducted on-line and via text messaging during televised CFL games, Allen was selected as the Rogers Fans' Choice Award winner.

Sask. sending talent to the Cup
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Darrell Davis
Column: Darrell Davis
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Leader-Post

VANCOUVER -- R.D. Lancaster grew up in Regina, immersed in football, so he knows a Saskatchewanian when he sees one.

"When you say a football player is from Saskatchewan, the first thing I say is, 'I know he's a warrior who will go 60 minutes,' '' said Lancaster, an offensive assistant coach with the Edmonton Eskimos, who meet the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday's Grey Cup game.

"He may not be the fastest, he may not be the flashiest, he's not going to be the cockiest, but he's going to be the guy you want with you when the shooting starts.''

The Eskimos are laden with Saskatchewanians, from Lancaster -- son of Hall of Fame quarterback Ron Lancaster -- to Regina's mutton-chopped, mohawk-cut fullback Mike Maurer, from offensive linemen Glen Carson from Melfort and Moose Jaw's Joe McGrath, from University of Saskatchewan products Kevin Lefsrud (who is actually from Alberta) and Rhett McLane (Liberty) to recycled long snapper Roger Reinson (Regina).

The Alouettes also have a stubblejumper: Regina-born guard Scott Flory. If it counts, and if they gained anything through osmosis, Alouettes head coach Don Matthews and Als general manager Jim Popp were employed by the Roughriders in the early 1990s.

Every year there are a growing number of Saskatchewan players competing in the Grey Cup, counting at least three last year when Randy Srochenski, a linebacker from Regina, was with the Toronto Argonauts for their victory over the B.C. Lions, whose roster included Regina's Jason Clermont and Saskatoon's Cory Mantyka.

The only thing not sent here from the Land of the Living Skies is the Roughriders, who have appeared in only two of the last 29 CFL championships, winning in 1989 and losing in 1997.

However, Saskatoon product/Roughriders guard Gene Makowsky attended his second straight Grey Cup because he was again selected as the West Division's outstanding offensive lineman. And his alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan, is again a Vanier Cup finalist.

"There are a lot more players in the CFL from Saskatchewan than people realize,'' said Maurer, who has also played for Saskatchewan, the Ottawa Renegades and B.C., winning a Grey Cup with the Lions in 2001. "Saskatchewan is an under-rated province in the level of talent it produces.

"I just found out McGrath is from Moose Jaw; there are Saskatchewan guys around the league like (Calgary Stampeders fullback Scott) Deibert and (Roughriders defensive tackle Scott) Schultz. When you see them around and know they're Saskatchewan guys, you go over and say, 'Hey.'

"It's amazing to see how many there are compared to 10 years ago when I started -- Saskatchewan's got to be right up there in number of CFLers per capita.''

Football Saskatchewan has established amateur programs throughout the province, such as Regina Minor Football. RMF executive members Len Antonini and Kelly Hamilton annually attend Grey Cup games, although it should be noted they're here working for CBC-TV (and enjoying the festivities). Saskatchewan has flourishing six-, nine- and 12-man high school leagues, two junior teams (Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder) and two university programs, Saskatchewan and the University of Regina.

"I'm guessing there's a great bunch of athletes, but they don't get noticed because they're not in big markets,'' said McGrath, who spent 1999-2002 with the University of Miami.

"When they play junior football, or CIS, or they go down south, coaches love their work ethic and their passion for the game. They're not all thrills and hype like the guys from Vancouver and Toronto might be.''

McGrath grew up cheering for Notre Dame and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. After completing his scholarship and earning degrees in management and marketing, he was selected second overall in the 2003 CFL draft by the Stampeders, who lost him in 2004 when Edmonton claimed him off Calgary's practice roster. With help from the Eskimos, McGrath is hoping to land offseason employment in the oil business.

"When I went to Miami, nobody had heard about Saskatchewan, but in the CFL the doors are always open for them,'' said McGrath. "I love playing for the Eskimos because of everyone's attitude: We're not here to be mediocre.''

Defensive laurel amazes Grace: 'I'm going to sleep with this baby tonight'
The Calgary Herald
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald

Holding the trophy like a pillow against his face, John Grace tipped his head to the side and closed his eyes.

"I'm going to sleep with this baby tonight," the Calgary Stampeders linebacker said Thursday night, after being named the Canadian Football League's outstanding defensive player at the Rogers CFL Player Awards.

"Hell, I'm shaking right now I'm so excited about it. It's something I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams."

Grace beat Toronto Argonauts linebacker Michael Fletcher for the honour.

"It's a great testament to our coaching staff, to our organization and to the guys I play with," said Grace, runner-up to Montreal Alouettes defensive end Anwar Stewart last season. "If it wasn't for them, there would be no me. It's not me winning. It's them, too.

"For me to do what I do, I need those guys creating blocking situations where I'm one on one, freeing me up to make plays."

The Stamps improved to 11-7 from last year's 4-14 record and Grace was an integral part of their defence.

His 76 tackles were sixth in the league, and he added eight sacks, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Most important, he helped Calgary earn its first playoff spot since 2001.

"The difference coming here this year, is that you can hold your head high because the situation with our team is so different," said the 28-year-old, in his second year with the Stamps. "Last year, we were the goats of the league and people were saying this Calgary organization is a mess. So, it was kind of marred.

"This is a totally different feeling because when people see you, they see success in the organization. You don't have to answer the hard questions anymore."

Before Grace even put on a tuxedo and made his way down to Vancouver's Centre for Performing Arts, he was in select company. He became just the sixth player since 1977 to earn back-to-back divisional nominations for top defensive player. The others are Dan Kepley, Danny Bass, Greg Battle, Willie Pless and Joe Montford.

"Most of those guys are folklore for me," said Grace. "I've never seen most of them play and everyone always talks about them. They were amazing players and the best at what they do. Just to be associated with them is amazing."

In his 21st CFL season, Toronto quarterback Damon Allen was honoured for the first time as the league's outstanding player.

The 42-year-old threw for a career-high 5,082 yards and 33 touchdowns, with just 15 interceptions, while leading the Argos to a division-best 11-7 record.

"There's so many great ball players in our game," said Allen. "Unfortunately, there's only one trophy. So if you are selected, you're thankful and humbled."

Allen beat Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Corey Holmes for the top award. Holmes took home hardware for top special-teams player, ahead of Toronto kicker Noel Prefontaine.

B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson led the league with 16 sacks and edged Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben for top Canadian honours.

Two former University of Saskatchewan Huskies squared off for the top offensive lineman award. Gene Makowsky of the Roughriders beat Scott Flory of Montreal.

Winnipeg defensive end Gavin Walls was the CFL's top rookie, ahead of Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx. Hamilton quarterback Danny McManus won the Tom Pate Award for sportsmanship and community involvement.

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com

Amazing Grace shares the credit
The Calgary Herald
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald

Like his Calgary Stampeders, John Grace raised his game to a higher level this season.

The veteran linebacker was named outstanding defensive player of the Canadian Football League at the Rogers CFL Player Awards Thursday night. He edged Toronto Argonauts linebacker Michael Fletcher for the honour.

"It's a great testament to our coaching staff, to our organization and to the guys I play with," said Grace, the runner-up to Montreal Alouettes defensive end Anwar Stewart last season. "If it wasn't for them there would be no me. It's not me winning. It's them, too.

"For me to do what I do, I need those guys creating blocking situations where I'm one on one, freeing me up to make plays."

The Stamps improved to 11-7 from last year's 4-14 record and Grace was an integral part of their defence.

His 76 tackles were sixth in the league, and he added eight sacks, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Most important, he helped Calgary earn its first playoff spot since 2001.

"The difference coming here this year, is that you can hold your head high because the situation with our team is so different," said the 28-year-old, in his second year with the Stamps. "Last year, we were the goats of the league and people were saying this Calgary organization is a mess. So, it was kind of marred.

"This is a totally different feeling because when people see you, they see success in the organization. You don't have to answer the hard questions anymore."

Before Grace even put on a tuxedo and made his way down to Vancouver's Centre for Performing Arts, he was in select company. He became just the sixth player since 1977 to earn back-to-back divisional nominations for top defensive player.

The others are Dan Kepley, Danny Bass, Greg Battle, Willie Pless and Joe Montford.

"Most of those guys are folklore for me," said Grace. "I've never seen most of them play and everyone always talks about them. They were amazing players and the best at what they do.

"Just to be associated with them is amazing."

In his 21st CFL season, Toronto quarterback Damon Allen was honoured for the first time as the league's outstanding player.

The 42-year-old threw for a career-high 5,082 yards and 33 touchdowns with just 15 interceptions, while leading the Argos to a division-best 11-7 record.

Allen beat Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Corey Holmes for the top award. Holmes took home hardware for top special-teams player, ahead of Toronto kicker Noel Prefontaine.

B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson led the league with 16 sacks and edged Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben for top Canadian honours.

Two former University of Saskatchewan Huskies squared off for the top offensive lineman award. Gene Makowsky of the Roughriders beat Scott Flory of Montreal.

Winnipeg defensive end Gavin Walls was the CFL's top rookie, ahead of Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx.

Hamilton quarterback Danny McManus won the Tom Pate Award for sportsmanship and community involvement.

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com

Another ring would be 'cool' feat for Vaughn
The Calgary Herald
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E3
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald

Canadian Football League statistical archives are sketchy, at best, so there's no telling how significant another Grey Cup win would be for Terry Vaughn.

But a triumph Sunday against the Edmonton Eskimos would give this future Hall of Famer his third championship ring with his third club.

"It'd be cool to be able to say I've won a Grey Cup everywhere I've played," said the Montreal Alouettes receiver who won titles with the Calgary Stampeders in 1998 and the Eskimos in 2003.

"Each place I went to, I was counted on to be a leader. It's my first year here and a lot of guys around me have done a lot of things in this league. But they call on my expertise at certain times to keep us in the ball game, give a timely speech or whatever is needed."

CFL office doesn't know how many players have won titles with three different teams, but Vaughn is sure to be in exclusive company. Last November, Toronto Argonuats quarterback Damon Allen accomplished the feat in his 20th CFL season.

"It's a great opportunity for Terry and it shows you what kind of player he is," said Edmonton quarterback Jason Maas, whose squad faces his former teammate Sunday. "It also shows the type of person he is. He's been able to fit in on every team he's played for and he's played extremely well everywhere he's gone.

"I just hope he doesn't get his third (ring) this week."

Vaughn's brilliance isn't simply measured by Grey Cup rings.

The 11-year veteran also has gone over 1,000 receiving yards every season he's been in the league. And for an eight-year stretch, he was on the winning side of the Edmonton-Calgary Labour Day matchup -- four with the Stamps, then four with the Esks.

He's not some long-snapper who simply flukes onto good teams. Vaughn actually makes his teams better.

"I can probably say that I've had a hand in a lot of wins," he admitted.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Milt Stegall is a friend of Vaughn and he's in Vancouver to do some television work. After a practice this week, the two stood side-by-side near Edmonton's locker-room.

When asked about his pal, Stegall, also a Hall of Fame shoo-in, simply gushed.

"He doesn't get as much publicity or credit as he deserves," said Stegall, who hasn't won a Grey Cup in 11 CFL seasons. "Every year since he's been a rookie, he's put up 1,000 yards. How many guys can say that?

"It's amazing how much he has done. Maybe I should get on his team and just follow him around. I guess it's the aura he brings with him that he's going to make other guys better."

Vaughn finished this season with 93 catches for 1,113 yards and eight touchdowns. He wasn't the No. 1 target for quarterback Anthony Calvillo, but he was always in the mix.

"This is unique because I'm part of a team that has four 1,000-yard receivers, a 5,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher," said Vaughn. "This year, we didn't leave any doubt that we're the best offence in the league and it's really special to be a part of that.

"I've helped us get where we are and it's very satisfying when you're part of a Grey Cup team."

Now, if only he can get the ring.

"You have kind of mixed emotions when you play against a friend in a big game like this," said Maas. "They say if you're ever going to lose something, you prefer to lose it to a friend . . . but I don't want to lose and that's the bottom line."

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com

AMAZING GRACE; STAMPEDER TOP CFL DEFENDER
The Calgary Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 64
Section: Sports
Byline: BY IAN BUSBY, CALGARY SUN

John Grace wasn't about to come away empty-handed in his second straight trip to the Grey Cup party.

Although the Calgary Stampeders linebacker won't be earning a Cup ring this weekend, the 28-year-old was named defensive player of the year at the CFL Awards ceremony last night in Vancouver.

Grace, who took 39 first-place votes to edge Toronto linebacker Michael Fletcher, made a joke as soon as he hit the podium.

"I said I wasn't going to cry ... and

I won't," Grace said, before getting choked up thanking the Stamps, his teammates and family members.

"I'm shaking right now because I'm so excited about this thing. This is well welcomed and it's something that in my wildest dreams I'd never imagine I'd win."

The Marshall product broke into the league in 2000 with the Alouettes, who will face the Eskimos in Sunday's Grey Cup. Grace paid his dues going on and off Montreal's practice roster.

In his acceptance speech, Grace thanked his family for supporting him through two seasons in which money was tight and the future cloudy.

"I came a long way from the practice roster in Montreal in 2000," Grace said. "For all those guys on the practice roster, or who have been put on the practice roster, this can happen for you, too."

Grace was nominated for the defensive award last season after coming to Calgary from Ottawa in a multi-player trade orchestrated by then GM-head coach Matt Dunigan.

While he lost the award in 2004 to Montreal's Anwar Stewart, Grace earned a reputation as a big-play specialist for the Stamps' swarming three-four defence built under defensive co-ordinator Denny Creehan.

Grace realizes he is a product of the system, calling Creehan the true MVP of the Stamps' defence.

While the award is nice, next year Grace would like to take home the team prize instead.

"This is a game that you play, not for awards, but for championships," he said.

As expected, Toronto's Damon Allen was named the most outstanding player after a brilliant 21st season in the league. The 42-year-old quarterback also took home the fans' choice award as the CFL's top player.

B.C. defensive end Brent Johnson was named top Canadian for his 16-sack campaign; Saskatchewan's Gene Makowsky won top lineman, and Winnipeg defensive end Gavin Walls was named top rookie.

Veteran Hamilton QB Danny McManus picked up the Tom Pate award for outstanding community service. Saskatchewan's Corey Holmes, who lost out to Allen for most outstanding player, picked up the top special teams player award.

Als on the defensive: Retooled 'D' closes door on embarrassing season
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: John MacKinnon
Column: John MacKinnon
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal

VANCOUVER - As far as the Montreal Alouettes defence is concerned, you can toss out the entire 2005 regular season.

And that's not a shot from some smart-aleck journalist, sneering from the sidelines. That comes from Anwar Stewart, the Alouettes rush end, their sack leader and a straight shooter.

For Stewart, the low point of the season came in Game 17 when quarterback Damon Allen and the Toronto Argonauts clobbered Montreal 49-23 in front of 50,000 people at Olympic Stadium.

"That was a rock-bottom point for everybody," Stewart said. "Damon just had a field day, we didn't even touch him one time.

"That was sad and it was embarrassing. But we just shook it off and we got out last week and we made it happen. Let's forget about what happened the last 18 games and just worry about this one that's coming up on Sunday."

Stewart isn't being glib about shrugging off the entire regular season. It has taken that long to retool what had been one of the most dominant defences in the CFL.

"We were in-your-face," head coach Don Matthews said. "We would line up and say, 'Here we come,' and we made no secret about it.

"But because people found ways to hold the ball longer and expose the (secondary) we had to find different schemes to run pressure and still be able to cover. There were holes that we couldn't plug because the offensive people had figured out how to take advantage of what we had been doing for three years."

Not a physically big group, the Alouettes had relied on speed, agility and strength in numbers. They would simply bring more players than their opponents had blockers, leaving someone free to create havoc. In the off-season, they lost free-agent defensive backs Barron Miles and Davis Sanchez and traded safety William Loftus to Edmonton. They would make more changes during the season as their defensive shortcomings were exposed.

Overall, the Alouettes gave up an average of 26.8 points a game this season, more than any of the six playoff teams and nearly a converted touchdown a game more than the Eskimos.

The Alouettes were second last in the CFL in yards surrendered per game and among the worst teams defending the run. But in two playoff games against Saskatchewan and Toronto, Montreal has given up 14 and 17 points, respectively.

"We started playing well late in the season," seven-year defensive tackle Ed Philion said. "We figured if we put some extra time in and came together as a unit, we could put a three-game run together."

Philion says a key was committing to one system and making it work.

"Early in the year we were back and forth," Philion said. "We experimented with a three-man front and that wasn't us. Then we experimented with a four-man front and that wasn't working, either.

"So, we tried a zone defence and it seems to suit us a little better. And the fact that we've had guys in and out of the lineup all year was the perfect move to try to get some motivation for our players.

"Sometimes when you win, you get lost in your own hype."

The Eskimos know the Alouettes defence is no longer the lost generation it seemed earlier in the year.

"They've changed things around back there," said Eskimos wide receiver Ed Hervey.

"They're not the feast or famine defence that they once were."

Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray said the Alouettes defence is barely recognizable from the one they fielded in a 32-29 victory over Edmonton on July 8. And they definitely sport a new look compared to the defence Ray shredded 36-26 in Edmonton on Aug. 26.

"They're doing a lot of that blitz zone now, bringing guys from all over the place," Ray explained. "They're trying to mess up your (pass) protection, but still playing zone behind it, so their defensive backs aren't in one-on-one coverage.

"The toughest thing for us will be recognizing their fronts and blitzes so we can have time to throw the football."

Stewart credits Matthews and defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones for Montreal's defensive retooling.

"They're like Einsteins when it comes to defence," Stewart said.

"They come up with stuff every morning and say, 'Hey, guys, take a look at this.' And we're like, 'Wow, why couldn't you have come up with this in the beginning of the season?'

"But they're coming up with them at the right time."

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com

JOHN MACKINNON SWEATSOX

John's new blog takes us into the locker-room and shows us the game inside the game

To read John's blog go to www.edmontonjournal.com and click on blogs

A TOUCH OF GREY

Don't miss today's special Grey Cup preview as we cue up the Eskimos' third run at the CFL championship in four years.

It ain't easy being Frank: Veteran defensive back accepts blame when he gets burned ... to a point
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal

VANCOUVER - There's no need for Malcolm Frank to take Geritol before the Grey Cup.

The old man in the Edmonton secondary was soundly beaten for 47 yards in the CFL Western Final by B.C. Lions receiver Paris Jackson. He was the closest man to the ball when Geroy Simon scorched the Eskimos for a 90-yard, pass-and-run touchdown in the big game.

Frank, 37, takes the blame for the Jackson catch. Mistakes happen -- even to all-stars.

"I'm a defensive back," he said. "I'm going to get beat. I got beat. He made a double move, and that's all on me."

But the Simon catch? No way, even if the untrained eye fingered Frank as the culprit. A slip in coverage by a linebacker was to blame for the Simon score, he says.

"I heard on TV that everybody said it was me," Frank said Thursday at the Eskimos media breakfast. "But people don't know defences. The whole game, we doubled Geroy. The linebacker got confused and didn't know where he was.

"I was expecting some support over the top. I definitely wouldn't have faced Geroy like that if I knew I didn't have help over the top."

Such is the life of a defensive back. Nobody really notices you until something goes horribly wrong and a receiver runs free to the end zone.

"You can't really tell when a defensive lineman makes mistakes," he said. "But that just goes with the territory."

Without knowing the specifics of the defence, it's easy for fans, not to mention the media, to blame the wrong person.

"Sometimes, the announcers don't know what they're talking about," Frank said. "It's not their fault. They don't have the diagram picture of the defence like John Madden. And they don't always get a good replay. So they don't really know, but it don't bother me too much."

Wide receiver Kerry Watkins, 26, plans to bother Frank a whole bunch come Sunday in the league championship.

The new kid caught 97 passes this season for 1,364 yards -- good for third spot in the CFL. But Frank is confident he can stop Watkins.

And if he gives up a big play, Frank promises to come back strong for the next one.

"You just go back, try and regroup and make another play," he said.

"You've got to suck it up.

"You can't dwell on it, because it's going to mess up your whole game.

"Watkins is a deep-threat guy, so I've got another challenge ahead of me. But on the weak side, you get big-time receivers all the time.

"It's no big deal. I just have to go out there and do what I can do."

Edmonton wideout Ed Hervey goes against Frank in practice, and he's confident the veteran can do it in the big game.

"I wouldn't consider him old," Hervey said.

"Some people might say he's old by NFL standards, but you're only old when you look old.

"Malcolm Frank is an all-star.

"The best cornerback in the league."

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com

Expert Picks for the Grey Cup
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Source: The Edmonton Journal

Vicki Hall

Edmonton 32 Montreal 28

Ricky Ray? Jason Maas? Doesn't matter. Joe Montford, A.J. Gass and the defence win it all for the Eskimos.

Dan Barnes

Montreal 26, Edmonton 25

Best matchup pits Montreal offence against stingy Esk defence. A punt single or a missed field goal decides it.

John MacKinnon

Eskimos 31 Alouettes 24

Edmonton's one-two quarterback punch and comin' atcha defence make the difference.

Illustration:

Bauble bursts for Crutchfield: Former Eskimo attempts to auction his Grey Cup ring a second time
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - The saga surrounding Darrel Crutchfield's Grey Cup ring has come full circle.

Just in time for Grey Cup week, Crutchfield says his Ontario-based jeweler is selling the 2003 Edmonton Eskimos championship ring on the auction website EBay.

The Montreal defensive back shopped the ring earlier this year, but was unsatisfied with the top bid of $9,000 US. He said he's hoping to sell it for at least $15,000 US this time around.

"It's not about the cash," he said from behind dark sunglasses at the Alouettes media luncheon on Thursday. "I have cash-flow. I have a house. I have a couple of cars. You know what I'm saying?

"But if I can get $15,000, I can buy me a business. I can open up a commercial building. I can turn that $15,000 into $1.5 million. My contract is decent in the CFL But I'm looking at life after football."

The native of Jacksonville, Fla., thinks proceeds from the ring could help his wife ramp up her cake-decorating business. Or, he may use it to go into business for himself: "There's a lot of construction going on, especially with everything happening in New Orleans. If I could get $15,000 or $20,000, I could get me two dump trucks."

Crutchfield realizes some of his former teammates, not to mention Eskimos supporters, might think he's being disrespectful by trying to hawk his ring during Grey Cup Week. But he doesn't want people to feel offended.

"It's just about life outside of football," he said. "When the season is over, you need ways to generate income. And seven or eight years from now, when the stadium lights go off, you have to have something to fall back on."

Once he hits the big time in the business world, Crutchfield said he hopes to buy back the ring. Right now, he sees better uses for it.

"Jewelry, I don't care about," he said. "I thank the people in Edmonton for everything they did for me. I mean, I loved the organization. I loved the Grey Cup experience and everything. I love the guys there.

"To the fans in Edmonton, I apologize. But you can check with all the coaches there, I was a dedicated guy. I'm just trying to get ahead. I'm an entrepreneur."

Crutchfield became angry with the Eskimos last winter upon learning the team signed Canadian cornerback Davis Sanchez for more than $150,000.

Crutchfield asked for a pay raise, but the Eskimos balked and granted his release. Shortly after, Crutchfield signed with the Alouettes.

Come Sunday, Crutchfield's job will be to shadow Ed Hervey in the Grey Cup game. The Edmonton wide receiver refuses to judge his former teammate for shopping his ring.

"He's not an Eskimo," Hervey said. "He can do what he wants to do with it.

"You see all the guys around here wearing their rings this week. We're not wearing them to show them off. It's just that time of year. This is what you're playing for. The guys who don't have one, you want them to understand that we're playing for the ring."

Terry Vaughn also has a Grey Cup ring from the Eskimos' 2003 championship. The Montreal slotback proudly wore it to the Alouettes lunch on Thursday.

Would he ever consider selling it?

"Of course not," Vaughn said. "Not a chance. Look at a guy like Dan Marino, he's never won anything. It's very difficult to win, and I wouldn't trade my ring for anything."

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com

Fleming ponders CFL retirement: Sunday's Grey Cup may be his swan song
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal

VANCOUVER - Sean Fleming plans to kick and punt Sunday in the Grey Cup, regardless of a mysterious quadriceps injury that left him standing around Wednesday at practice.

Next season, however, is an entirely different matter as the Edmonton Eskimos kicker ponders retirement after the most tumultuous campaign of his 14-year career.

"We'll see what my future holds and what I plan on doing," Fleming said. "There were some difficult moments this year, and you sometimes wonder if they're worth going through.

"I'm not blaming anybody. I've got to make field goals, but sometimes stuff gets to you and you lose focus."

Stuff -- namely criticism and boos from Eskimos fans -- certainly got to Fleming this season, as he lost his confidence on field goals and lost his job temporarily to American rookie Hayden Epstein.

That's no longer a problem as Fleming has made his last eight field goals rolling into the Grey Cup. And he insists his leg is ready to kick in the big game.

"It's a non-issue," he said. "I'm ready to go."

Practice was closed to the media Thursday, but head coach Danny Maciocia says Fleming took part in the workout.

"He looked fine," Maciocia said. "There's no problem with him."

Any concerns about Fleming for Sunday?

"None whatsoever," Maciocia said.

In reality, Fleming's ruminations about retirement have more to do with his day job as a manager at the financial firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

When Maciocia took over as head coach this season, Fleming was required to attend more team meetings than he did under former head coach Tom Higgins. That made for many morning-to-night work days for the 35-year-old business consultant.

"It's been more and more difficult," he said. "I'm not sure if that's affecting me on the field or not. It might be, especially with my slow starts. It's been difficult to really, really focus and be prepared like I want to be prepared."

Wide receiver Ed Hervey understands why Fleming is re-evaluating his future. It's only natural after such an emotionally-draining season.

But Hervey doesn't think for one second that the Grey Cup will be Fleming's swan song.

"Aw, Fleming's going to be back," Hervey said. "He can play for as many years as he wants to play. Right now, it's just that he had a tough year. He's going to weigh the decision in his mind, and he's going to make the right decision for himself. But if I was a betting man -- which I am -- I would bet that he'll be back.

"I've been wrong before, but I feel very, very sure about this one."

Short yardage: Defensive end Rashad Jeanty has been upgraded to questionable instead of doubtful despite practising with a torn hamstring. A decision on his status will be made today. Fullback Mathieu Bertrand (ankle) is still hobbling on crutches. "Football is all about running. If I can't be 100 per cent, we better put someone in who is able to run out there," he said. "I have to be honest to myself and to my teammates. Dressing for the game is still a possibility."

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com

There could be many happy returns: Landry, Tompkins are threats on special teams
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C3
Section: Sports
Byline: John MacKinnon
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal

VANCOUVER - It turns out the elusive and opposing return men in Sunday's Grey Cup -- Ezra Landry of the Alouettes and the Eskimos' Tony Tomkins - are fast friends.

Landry met Tompkins through running back Elvis Joseph, a teammate of Landry's at Southern University, who started the season with the Eskimos. Tompkins hails from Port Arthur, Tex., just four hours up the interstate from New Orleans, and the city where Landry's grandmother has been staying since hurricane Katrina washed the Landry family out of their New Orleans home last summer.

Landry was reflecting on Katrina's devastation for the benefit of a couple of reporters during the Alouettes media luncheon on Thursday.

"I come from a prayerful family so I did a lot of praying (during that time) and left it in God's hands," said Landry. "And look where I'm at now. It may be the worst year I've ever had, but it may end up being the best year I've ever had, too. It's going to be a year to remember, for sure."

Landry returned home after the hurricane hit to help his parents, Rose and Wayne, and other family and friends.

When the season is over, Landry's priority will be getting his parents back into a home in New Orleans, but his focus for now is making an impact in Sunday's Grey Cup.

Landry was key in Montreal's 32-29 victory over Edmonton on July 8. He ran back a missed field goal 125 yards for one touchdown and scooted 74 yards for another major on a punt return.

So lethal is Landry in the open field that Sean Fleming plans to take the ball right out of his hands on kickoffs and punts, if he can. On kickoffs, Fleming plans to 'pooch' the ball on a high arc to a spot close to the sideline near the 30- or 35-yard line. That will permit the cover men to get downfield and box the five-foot-four, 155-pound Landry in.

"The difficulty with Ezra Landry is that he's so small that if there's one little crease, he's up the sideline with it," Fleming said. "That's the risk of kicking off short, but I like our chances doing that.

"As far as punting, if I get the ball 30-35 yards and out of bounds, we're going to take that every time. It negates getting the ball in (Landry's) hands."

All Tompkins did this season was lead the CFL with 1,955 return yards, including four TDs. The most spectacular was an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 37-20 victory over the B.C. Lions on Sept. 24.

"It was a tie game (20-20 at the time) and they had just gone down and scored," Tompkins recalled. "I think that really put a dagger in them when I came down there."

The Lions never recovered from the wound, going 1-5 the rest of the way.

Beating the 11-0 Lions that day showed the Eskimos they could compete with anyone. And it showed the league the Eskimos had a weapon who was just as dangerous Montreal's new Pocket Rocket.

While Tompkins, a rookie, only knows about the CFL championship from watching a Classic Grey Cup broadcast featuring Warren Moon's Eskimos, second-year pro Landry is fully aware of the game's magnitude.

Landry's parents are flying here on Saturday to sample some Grey Cup atmosphere and watch their son perform, if Fleming and the Eskimos permit him to.

"But family or no family, this is for all the marbles, and there's nothing that can take my mind off of this game," Landry said. "You can look for everything Ezra Landry has to offer this upcoming Sunday."

If Landry and Tompkins both give it all they've got, it should be quite a spectacle.

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com

Reinson answers the call: Veteran long-snapper takes a couple weekends off work to do what he loves
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C4
Section: Sports
Byline: John MacKinnon
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal

VANCOUVER - When long-snapper Roger Reinson was released by the Edmonton Eskimos back in training camp, he thought happiness was Commonwealth Stadium in his rear-view mirror.

"I was never one of those people who lived paycheque to paycheque, so being cut wasn't as much of a blow as it might be to some other people," said the 36-year-old Reinson.

The Regina native was released in favour of a 21-year-old Edmonton kid named Taylor Inglis, who was younger and snapped the ball faster.

"I was probably in my car, driving back to Calgary within half an hour, planning my night, planning the next day. It was that simple."

And there Reinson remained, working the "vampire" shift at a group home for troubled preteens, just as he has during the off-season for the past 10 years. And then, the phone rang.

Eskimos defensive co-ordinator Rick Campbell was on the line. Inglis had hurt his knee in the West semifinal and the Esks were in need of an emergency replacement for the remainder of the playoffs.

Reinson already has three Grey Cup rings, from Calgary in 1998, B.C. in 2000 and Edmonton in 2003. He'd thought he was a turning the page to pursue myriad other interests, like applying for a job with the Edmonton fire department or completing the novel he's been noodling away at for years.

But when Campbell called, Reinson realized immediately he was missing something. It wasn't the money, although the pay, should Edmonton beat the Als on Sunday, will work out to $15,500. If they lose, it'll be $9,500, not bad for two weeks' work, regardless.

No, Reinson needed to say goodbye to the game on his own terms. He needed closure.

"This is about me being OK walking away from it," Reinson said. "And that happened the second Rick phoned me, as soon as I answered my phone, I was content."

Reinson asked a buddy to cover off his weekend shifts at the group home last weekend and had to call again after Edmonton downed B.C. to free himself up for Grey Cup weekend.

Win or lose on Sunday, fourth Grey Cup ring or not, Reinson will be back on the night shift at the group home on Thursday.

"So, life can go on as if nothing happened."

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com

Grooving to the Eskimo beat: Players use music to get pumped for the big games
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J2
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Scott Petersen
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Music can have Mystikal effects on a team's emotional state. Just ask Joe Montford and locker neighbour Cedric Scott.

Montford, the veteran rush end and part-time dressing room DJ for the Edmonton Eskimos, found the perfect song for the mood of his team earlier this season. Then they went on to upset the previously undefeated B.C. Lions, sending them back to Vancouver with a blemished record.

The late-September game came amid a burning feeling in the Eskimos locker-room that the club was being unfairly criticized. Montford plugged Mystikal's Here We Go into the stereo before hitting the field and used its message to rally the troops.

"There was a lot of talk about, 'We ain't this and we ain't that,' " said Montford. "We were just saying, 'We ain't going nowhere. We're right here.' "

Scott was at his locker stall, listening to the song lyrics and his teammate's message and scanning the room.

"When he put it on, you should have seen the faces in this room," he said. "Everybody in here was just changed all of a sudden, like we're ready to do this. You can ask some of the coaches ... We were ready to play. The emotions were so high."

On the flip-side, the team went with a distinctive country flavour heading into the last game of the regular season in Calgary.

A win would've given the Eskimos first place in the West Division, home field advantage and a bye through the first round of the playoffs.

"We played country music and you saw how flat we came out," said a smirking Montford.

It's a little much to pin wins and losses on what songs the team, or individual players, listen to before a game. But music is an important part of preparation for numerous players.

CD players and iPods are rarely separated from owner, often attached by massive headphones to the ears. For every Mathieu Bertrand and Robert LeBlanc who rarely listen to music, there are 10 Trevor Gaylors who take pride in their extensive collections.

"I'm looking for it to get me in the mood," said Gaylor, who's starting a record label in Atlanta. "I don't think the songs can necessarily pump you up. I think they can get your blood flowing, get you in the mood to dominate. That's why I like to pick songs about dominating and focus."

If he could, he'd put on his headphones the minute the bus leaves to the game and not take them off until kickoff. His playlist is heavily influenced by rap, and he's careful to take several minutes before listing off each song to make sure it's original.

The musical free spirit of the team is Ed Hervey. Though conflicted about buying an expensive iPod, he has eclectic tastes that go better with the MP3 format than his skipping CD player.

The Beatles get him pumped, and he counts a rendition of Poncho and Lefty by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles among his favourites. It all depends on what kind of mood he's in.

"I like to go into the game calm because I know I'll be fired up and ready to go anyways," said Hervey.

"Offensively you have to be more in control. We can ill afford to have mental mistakes. You can be angry, but you have to be under control."

Donny Brady recently purchased a new $400 iPod straight through the Apple website and almost shuttled his old one off to Hervey before someone else purchased it. Brady's often at his locker, headphones on, scanning his playlist.

"It just motivates me," said the veteran defensive back. "It sets me apart from the rest of the world. It gives me something to focus with."

spetersen@thejournal.canwest.com

PLAYERS AND PLAYLISTS

- Ed Hervey:

Tupac -- Me Against the World

Al Green -- Love and Happiness

Snoop Dogg -- Who Am I (What's My Name?)

Bob Dylan -- Times They Are a-Changin'

Willie Nelson and Ray Charles -- Poncho and Lefty

- Cedric Scott:

Bun B -- Pushin'

Tupac -- Against All Odds

Young Jeezy -- Soul Survivor

Gospel -- Amen

Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz -- Roll Call

- Andrew Nowacki:

Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight

Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz -- Roll Call

Metallica -- Enter Sandman

Mystikal -- Here We Go

Rage Against the Machine -- Killing in the Name

- Donny Brady:

Biggie Smalls -- (anything)

Mobb Deep -- (anything)

Jay-Z -- (anything)

Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight

Young Jeezy -- Soul Survivor

- Trevor Gaylor:

Kashus -- Lower Case g

Eight Ball & MJG -- Lay it Down

Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight

Tupac -- AmbitionAz a Ridah

DMX -- Flesh of My Flesh

- Davis Sanchez:

Young Jeezy -- Tear it Up

Tupac -- I Ain't Mad at Cha

Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight

50 Cent -- Window Shopper

Scarface -- On my Block

To swig ultra-sweet champagne: 2005 has definitely had its share of ups and downs, so winning the Grey Cup would be extra special for the Green & Gold
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Dan Barnes
Column: Dan Barnes
Source: The Edmonton Journal

There is no straight, flat, direct route from training camp to the Grey Cup.

The journey is always complicated by hairpin turns and steep hills which are shown on the CFL's road map as key injuries, costly mistakes, missed opportunities and crushing losses. Every team endures some degree of torment on and off the field and, by playoff time, every player has lumped those happenings together, labelled it "adversity" and begun crowing about the character it took to overcome this series of unfortunate events.

You'll hear a steady stream of that self-serving noise emanating from the Eskimos and Alouettes locker-rooms in Vancouver this week. Ordinarily it makes good sense to block most of it out as irrelevant history. But here's the interesting part; their refrains will actually be more legitimate this time around than in 2003 and 2002 when these teams clashed as division-winners with identical 13-5 records. The rubber match pits the third-place, 11-7 Eskimos against the second-place, 10-8 Als while the division winners in Toronto and B.C. watch from afar.

A third seed hasn't met a second seed since 1994, when B.C. knocked off Baltimore. So, if it is possible for a swig of champagne from the Grey Cup to taste better in one year than it does in another, this should be it for whichever underdog has its day. Vindication is at hand.

"Winning (Sunday's) game was far sweeter than winning the Western Final from '02 and '03 because you knew you were going to win those games," said Eskimos wide receiver Ed Hervey. "These two playoff games, (the final) in particular, feels so much more gratifying because there weren't too many people out there who gave us a fighting chance and we found a way to persevere and we're back in the big show.

"Both teams ultimately didn't meet the expectations of the general public. Us finishing in third with an opportunity to finish first disappointed a few people. Montreal had major changes and some would say (head coach Don Mathews) was going to be fired if these things didn't change.

"In '02 and '03, there was no question that Edmonton and Montreal were the two best teams in the league during that run, but this year there were a lot of questions whether Edmonton would make it and Montreal could beat Toronto."

In Edmonton, they were legitimate questions, every last one of them:

- Where was Edmonton's running game?

- Would they ever piece together a decent offensive line?

- What's wrong with Ricky Ray's arm?

- Why would the Eskimos show kicker Sean Fleming disrespect by knocking him completely off the roster for the Labour Day Classic?

- Why won't head coach Danny Maciocia unchain that conservative offence?

- When will Jason Maas get a chance to relieve a struggling Ray?

"There was so much," said Hervey. "Quarterback, kickers, money, no running game, coaches being out-schemed, Calgary's defence. Last game of the season we lose to Calgary and everybody says we can't do it. We're dogmeat. We weren't supposed to be here, according to those who watch the game and follow the game."

But one by one the answers came, the last few just in time for the Eskimos to cobble their act together and win two playoff games along hostile stretches of that twisting road in Calgary and Vancouver.

"It was definitely a harder route to get back," said linebacker Singor Mobley. "We did it the hard way."

As did the Als, who hosted the Eastern Semifinal, then waltzed into Toronto and staged a comeback road win of their own in the Final. On the day after those stunning upsets, Hervey called his friend and former Edmonton teammate, Alouettes receiver Terry Vaughn. They both claimed to have seen this coming, but how could they see around the bends in the road?

"He felt there was no doubt they were going to make it," said Hervey. "I told him the same, that we had no doubts about being here. Even after the game when the Alouettes came here (Aug. 26) we shook hands and I told him, 'We'll see you guys in the Grey Cup.' Obviously, you believe it. You say it. But you know there is a long road ahead."

The road was only one game shorter in 2002 and 2003, but for Ray it was a whole lot smoother.

Because a team seems to exist in the shadow of its starting quarterback, Ray's struggles to find the end zone down the stretch became an issue for the entire team to handle.

"This has been a crazy year, one that will be kind of interesting to remember when you look back on all of it," Ray said. "It was pretty smooth my first two years and this year it's kind of been up and down all season long."

But it's not too late for one last up and if they win, he'll relish this sip from the Cup just a little more than he did in 2003.

"It can make it a little bit sweeter, seeing what we had to deal with."

dbarnes@thejournal.canwest.com

Tucker takes a pass on trash talk: All-star receiver is a throwback, quietly going about his business without fanfare
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Vicki Hall
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Edmonton Journal

VANCOUVER - Jason Tucker refuses to talk smack. He routinely catches touchdown passes and nonchalantly hands the football to the officials.

He'd never pull a cellphone out of the padding on the goal post or grab popcorn from a fan to make the highlight reels.

Choreographed dance routines just aren't his style.

The Edmonton Eskimos slotback is a throwback. Old school. The anti-Terrell Owens of our time.

As such, one of the top talents in three-down football simply doesn't get the ink he deserves.

"Tuck goes about his business, and the quiet man rarely gets the accolades that the loudmouths do," says Edmonton teammate Ed Hervey. " Tuck is the best receiver in the CFL, but the guys who do the talking and the dancing get all the press.

"If Tuck danced, called defensive backs out, called them old and said they were scared, then maybe he'd get that kind of attention."

That, of course, is a veiled reference to Calgary slotback Nik Lewis, who could wallpaper his bedroom with all the newspaper clippings from his two weeks of trash-talking Edmonton defensive back Shannon Garrett.

But Tucker hardly says a word. Ever. He's a soft-spoken Texas cattle rancher who spurns the media spotlight and he just happened to lead the CFL with 1,411 receiving yards this season.

"I don't get into all that talking and bragging and boasting," Tucker says. "That's not me. That's not my personality. If I did do that, you'd think something was wrong with me, that I was on some kind of drugs or something."

Tucker certainly has a great deal to brag about. He's a walking highlight reel with a resume full of circus catches.

Perhaps the most sensational grab of his CFL career came back in 2003 against the Stampeders. With defensive back Anthony Prior draped all over him, Tucker jumped up, stretched out his right hand, grabbed the ball and crashed to the ground, knocking his helmet off in the process.

Even Tucker himself looked stunned as he bounced to his feet after the 27-yard touchdown grab.

"I guess it's finally paying off -- all that throwing the ball up and making one-handed catches on the bed when I was a kid," he said. "You'd always throw the ball up and make a one-handed catch just like Jerry Rice."

Tucker's acrobatics are just part of the package, according to Eskimos president Hugh Campbell, who caught a few balls in his time as an all-star receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

"I love Jason Tucker," said Campbell, "He can make the great catch. He runs a route hard even when he's not expecting the ball. And he's not a disruption.

"These days -- at least in the NFL -- there's a lot of talk about receivers getting too big for their britches. That's not Jason."

There's no doubt Tucker will hear all kinds of offers over the winter from Campbell and others. The 30-year-old is eligible for free agency, and the Eskimos dearly want to lock him up before other teams can get their bids in.

"I'm not even thinking about that at the moment," said the most valuable player of the 2003 Grey Cup. "I'm just looking at the week ahead. It's playoff time, and you never know when it could be your last one."

Tucker plans to let his agent handle contract negotiations. He'd prefer to deal with his cows.

"You know what? Cows are easy to work with," he said. "They hear the truck and they know it's time to eat. Other than that, they go about their business."

Not unlike their master.

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com

Grey Cup ring's the thing: Esks go into Sunday's big game hoping wealth of championship game experience gives them an edge
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Scott Petersen
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Under the weight of a national broadcast and the thunder of 100,000 raucous fans in the stands, Joe McGrath and his teammates rose above the pressure to capture the 2002 Rose Bowl.

Chalk it up as one more piece of championship experience in the Edmonton Eskimos locker-room. One more guy who's been to the big game and emerged victorious.

But the offensive lineman is the only winner of a major U.S. college bowl game, achieving the feat with the University of Miami. That adds a little something to his championship memories.

"It was the pinnacle of the college football game and there's nothing bigger than going to the Rose Bowl and playing a historic team like Nebraska and beating them 37-14 in front of the world on national television," he said. "It's a great feeling and all the memories of that whole year, the ups and downs, blowing teams out and close wins, and all that stuff. It felt good to prevail."

Locker neighbour Patrick Kabongo was on that University of Nebraska team, along with Eskimos running back Dahrran Diedrick. But McGrath says he doesn't rub in his victory and has moved forward from the experience.

"I have the jersey and the ring and stuff like that," he said. "But I don't want to rest on my pads and be happy with what I've done four years ago. I want to get a Grey Cup."

He'll have that chance this Sunday against Montreal, forming one part of an offensive line with deep pockets full of rings. Teammates Kevin Lefsrud and Glen Carson both have Vanier Cups to their credit with the University of Saskatchewan.

Lefsrud also has a provinical high school championship and two Grey Cup rings. He was a part of the Eskimos offensive line that won the 2003 Grey Cup, along with Bruce Beaton, Dan Comiskey and Chris Morris. Sandy Annunziata captured one with Toronto last year.

"I've been really fortunate with my career to always be around championship games," said Lefsrud. "I need one more Grey Cup."

That history of being in the big game doesn't guarantee victory, but the players believe it helps them prepare for the pressure. They already know what to expect and have dealt with it in the past.

Mathieu Bertrand quarterbacked the University of Laval to two Vanier Cups before making a position change to turn pro with the Eskimos as a fullback.

Driving a team to victory in front of a couple thousand fans is not the same as doing it in front of 50,000 fans, not to mention a national TV audience, but he's experienced what it takes to win under pressure. "You have to be focused for sure, you don't want to be too excited," he said, nursing the sprained ankle that could keep him out of the Grey Cup game. "Every single play in that game is important and can win or lose it."

Ricky Ray has had success at the high school and Pop Warner levels, but calls the 2003 Grey Cup his biggest achievement. He quarterbacked the Eskimos to a 34-22 win over the Montreal Alouettes.

"It's just special to be a part of a team that goes out there and is the best," said Ray. "It's a great feeling. Once you're a champion, nobody can take that away from you. It's tough to win championships. A lot of things play into it. You have to play well. The team has to play well and a lot of things have to happen in order for you to do it. When you do do it, it's pretty special."

The Esks have battled through the ups and downs to make to the 2005 Grey Cup. Now they'll find out if all that past experience in big games is truly a help.

spetersen@thejournal.canwest.com

GREY IN THE TOOTH

- Number of appearances in the Grey Cup game by current members of the Edmonton Eskimos and the teams they played for:

FIVE APPEARANCES

LB Roger Reinson (3-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L); B.C. 2000 (W); Cal. 1999 (L), Cal. 1998 (W).

FOUR APPEARANCES

K Sean Fleming (2-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L); Edm. 1996 (L), Edm. 1993 (W).

OT Chris Morris (2-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L); Edm. 1996 (L), Edm. 1993 (W).

THREE APPEARANCES

OT Bruce Beaton (1-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L); Cal. 1995 (L).

OG Dan Comiskey (1-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L); Sask.1997 (L).

DL Tim Fleiszer (1-2): Mtl. 2002 (W); Mtl. 2000 (L); Ham. 1998 (L).

CB Malcolm Frank (1-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L), Edm. 1996 (L).

OL Kevin Lefsrud (2-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Mtl. 2002 (W); Mtl. 2000 (L).

LB Singor Mobley (1-2): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L), Edm. 1996 (L).

TWO APPEARANCES

x-RB Mike Bradley (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

DB Donny Brady (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

DL Steve Charbonneau (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

DB Shannon Garrett (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

WR Ed Hervey (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

S William Loftus (1-1): Mtl. 2003 (L); Mtl. 2002 (W).

QB Jason Maas (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

DE Joe Montford (1-1): Ham. 1999 (W); Ham. 1998 (L).

QB Ricky Ray (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

WR Jason Tucker (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

S Kelly Wiltshire (1-1): Mtl. 2000 (L); Tor. 1997 (W).

LB Glen Young (1-1): Edm. 2003 (W); Edm. 2002 (L).

ONE APPEARANCE

OG Sandy Annunziata (1-0): Tor. 2004 (W)

z-OL Glen Carson (0-1): Edm. 2002 (L).

z-WR Kwame Cavil (0-1): Mtl. 2003 (L).

LB A.J. Gass (1-0): Edm. 2003 (W).

FB Mike Maurer (1-0): B.C. 2000 (W).

SB Derrell Mitchell (1-0): Tor. 1997 (W).

x-DB Davis Sanchez (1-0): Mtl. 2002 (W).

x - injured, won't play

z - inactive list, won't play

-- compiled by Dan Barnes

No longer an afterthought: Rookie receiver Gaylor beginning to make defences think twice about him
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J6
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Dan Barnes
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - If Trevor Gaylor isn't careful, he might actually get noticed in Sunday's Grey Cup game.

It's hard not to remember players who reel in clutch touchdown receptions like the one he caught to beat the B.C. Lions in the Western Final.

"Did I actually think it would come down to that? No," said the rookie wideout from St. Louis. "With so many playmakers on this team I didn't know what would happen."

Every one of those teammates he referred to lines up ahead of him, at least in the consciousness of opposing defences. They key on Jason Tucker, Ed Hervey and Derrell Mitchell, more or less in that order.

Gaylor was an afterthought for half the season and even now he doesn't command the kind of coverage Tucker does on a deep route. Fact is, opposing defences basically figured Gaylor wasn't much of a threat for much of this season.

"Early on I was running around like a nobody," admitted the 28-year-old. "Mid-season I felt guys were noticing where I was on the field. I would hope I'd be somebody to worry about. My job is to make big plays."

None bigger than Sunday's 15-yard touchdown grab with less than six minutes left. He had gone into the game hoping to make an impact and aid in a victory that would keep alive his dream of a championship. He didn't win one during high school. And despite some personal success at Miami of Ohio -- he set single-season school records for receptions, yards and TDs -- the Redhawks were perennial runners-up to Marshall so he was blanked in college, too.

"Guys started teasing me on the bus (in B.C.) because they heard me talking about it on the phone to my loved ones. But I'm serious about it, man. It's something I really want," he stressed.

"A lot of great players don't have championships; you can go from Dan Marino to (basketball star) Reggie Miller and the list goes on. To get a chance to win a championship is definitely special and I'm trying to take advantage of it. I'm jealous of the guys who walk around with a ring. I don't have a bowl ring. I don't have a championship ring. I'm doing everything I can to get one."

On Sunday it looked as if the six-foot-three, 195-pounder wouldn't do nearly enough. He deflected a Ricky Ray pass into the arms of B.C. defensive back Barron Miles and the Lions gained some momentum. But reliever Jason Maas went to him in the clutch, with the game tied at 21-21 and the Eskimos threatening. Gaylor beat his man to the ball and hung on to it in the end zone.

"If they're going to leave you in man-to-man you need to take advantage of it because you can pull us out of big games like you did (Sunday), by making that big touchdown catch, giving this team a boost," said Mitchell.

And rest assured Gaylor got a boost too, the kind of respect he has been trying to earn, at least ever since he stopped doing his ridiculous touchdown celebrations.

"He's definitely becoming a player that defences have to worry about. With his athleticism, how big he is, how fast he is, he's starting to be a pretty good player in this league," said Ray.

And it is linebacker Singor Mobley's contention that Gaylor might have been a standout on a team that didn't have Hervey, Tucker and Mitchell lined up ahead of him.

"He just happens to be the fourth guy in that group. If he was somewhere else he'd probably be a No. 1 guy. He's playing with a good, veteran receiving corps, but he's getting up there. He's learning from those guys and it will pay dividends down the road."

The road to that elusive ring winds itself through Vancouver on Sunday. Gaylor's parents, who divorced when he was in Grade 3, will both be in B.C. Place while his stepfather will be cheering from his home in St. Louis. All three have been instrumental in his career.

The Grey Cup will be something of an education for his parents, who saw only a couple of his appearances with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL and don't know much about the Canadian version of football.

"They know Warren Moon played for the team. Other than that they don't have a clue. At the same time, they weren't too aware of the NFL when I played. My mom goes to church on Sundays. She doesn't watch football."

But if her son is going to play for a championship ring, she'll make an exception.

dbarnes@thejournal.canwest.com

Unsung heroes adopt team-first attitude
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J6
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Scott Petersen
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - They don't get much exposure and they like it that way. Ego is a word you'd have to force-feed Charles Alston and his brothers on the Edmonton Eskimos depth chart.

It's only three letters and rolls off the tongue so nicely, but Alston avoids it like the plague in an interview.

Just the mention of the word and the big guy seems to squirm a little in his locker stall.

But seriously, the versatile defensive lineman played just four games this year and the Eskimos won them all. In Sunday's West Division final, the late roster addition stood tall, swatting away one pass, collecting a sack and making a team-leading seven tackles.

Isn't he due a little posturing?

"It's never been about me," he said.

"The guys in this locker-room give it pretty much a family atmosphere. We all know each other can play and we back each other and push each other to be at our best.

"When someone else goes in instead of you, it's like, 'All right, now he gets his turn.' "

Alston credits his team-first approach to lessons learned throughout the years. He didn't grow up with a father, but he soaked up the teachings of his football and basketball coaches.

The ideal of sacrificing individual glory for the greater good was one that stuck.

"I'm a team player, so I can sit back and wait or I can start -- it doesn't matter to me," he said. "As long as we win, I'm fine."

That's the attitude needed to survive a long, dragging season of roster limbo. For the most part, it's an attitude shared by the Eskimo club's other uncelebrated stopgaps.

Players like Marcus Winn, Cedric Scott, Antico Dalton and Patrick Kabongo, to name a few, slide in and out of the lineup depending on the injury or opponent of the week. Occasionally, they get recognition outside the locker- room, but most of it comes from within, from teammates.

"We've got a real close locker-room and there's a consensus that whatever gets us to the next round and the Grey Cup, everyone's supportive of that," said receiver Andrew Nowacki, who's caught 18 passes for 151 yards as a depth receiver this season.

"I know what my position is and what my role is on the team and it's perfectly fine with me. When we're going in our four-receiver package and moving the ball up and down the field, I have no problems watching that from the sidelines."

The second-year receiver isn't about to demand more balls thrown his way. But if injuries strike the deep group of Eskimos receivers in front of him at the Grey Cup, he'll be ready to take on a bigger role to help the team win.

Those are the kind of opportunities that can spark a career.

Joe Montford reminisced about getting his start in the CFL after an injury to Hamilton's starting middle linebacker thrust him into that position. He was still learning the Canadian game, and although he'd played linebacker in college, the position plays much differently in the CFL.

"That was my opportunity to prove myself and I went out there and did a pretty good job," said Montford. "Every opportunity you get out there is an opportunity to better yourself in your career."

It's something the Alstons, Winns, Daltons, Kabongos, Scotts and Nowackis of the team all know.

And by quietly and consistently filling their roles without causing a stir, they've played an immeasurable role in the Eskimos reaching the Grey Cup.

spetersen@thejournal.canwest.com

Hunsinger fumble gets ball rolling: Montreal and Edmonton will meet for the 11th time in a Grey Cup, but for Eskimo fans from the Jackie Parker era, nothing will ever beat 1954
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J7
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Curtis Stock
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Only three minutes remained on the scoreboard. Judging by the darkening, dank, funereal skies, there was also only about that much daylight left in Toronto's Grey Cup afternoon of Nov. 27, 1954.

The quickening shadows which had almost completely enveloped Varsity Stadium seemed to have squeezed out the last faint hopes of the Edmonton Eskimos, who were facing the Montreal Alouettes in the first of what, on Sunday, will be the 11th meeting between the two.

Glenn Lippman had narrowed the Montreal Alouettes' lead down to 25-20. But when Edmonton quarterback Bernie Faloney -- who would only wear green and gold this one season -- fumbled and Montreal defensive end Jim Miller recovered the ball in Eskimos territory, the bookmakers who had instilled the Alouettes as monstrously heavy 5-1 favourites looked to be right on track.

Moving in for the kill, Sam 'The Rifle' Etcheverry quickly added to his staggering numbers which would end in 656 yards of total offence -- one of several Grey Cup records which still stand today. Etcheverry threw to Red O'Quinn for 19 yards giving O'Quinn his 13th reception and 316 receiving yards -- two more still-standing Cup records. Then, Chuck Hunsinger ran for 11 yards, taking the ball to the Eskimos' 10-yard line.

Hands on his hips, Jackie Parker's shoulders sagged. A first-year import out of MississippiState, 'Spaghetti Legs' needed a shot of novocaine to dull the pain from a chipped instep bone -- a right-ankle injury which had kept him out of the Grey Cup semifinal against the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen. At halftime, Parker also had his constantly sprained and twisted left knee retaped.

Spent and wounded, Parker wasn't alone. To his right, Ray Willsey, a defensive halfback, winced from the agony of a broken arm. On the bench, Rollie Miles and Eagle Keys slouched, chins in their chests. Miles had gone as far as he could with ribs that had separated on the opening kickoff; centre Keys refused to come out, playing the last three quarters on a broken leg.

Three previous attempts ending in heartbreak, even the staunchest Eskimo faithful -- an estimated 2,000 supporters travelled to Toronto for this one -- knew only too well that, once again, the Grey Cup wasn't coming West.

On first and goal, Etcheverry pitched the ball to Hunsinger. Running to his left, Hunsinger found two big roadblocks, Ted Tully and Rollin Prather, waiting in his path. Hunsinger tried to reverse direction but it was too late; Tully and Prather already had him locked up.

Then, it seemed like time froze. The ball popped loose.

"I was playing both ways in that game," Parker remembered. "The ball rolled right in front of me."

It bounced once. Parker grabbed for it and missed.

It bounced a second time. This time Parker remembers securing it like it was the first quarter he ever made.

Afterward, Hunsinger would say it shouldn't have been ruled a fumble, that, rather than take a loss, he was trying to throw a forward pass.

Who knows? That may have been his intention. But it wasn't what Parker recalls. "A lateral," Parker says. "I picked it up never thinking it was anything but a fumble. Sam started chasing me. Johnny Bright was to my outside. Sam wasn't about to catch me."

Reputed to be the fastest quarterback in the league, Etcheverry gave up at midfield, looking back to the officials seemingly pleading for them to call an incomplete pass. Now only a tandem, Parker and Bright ran on.

"Stop killing yourself man," Bright yelled. "Stop beating yourself. You're clear. You've made it."

At that time, a touchdown only worth five points, Parker's major only tied the game, which left it all up to kicker/punter/tackle Bob Dean.

Having made several crushing blocks earlier in the game -- the always colourful Jim Coleman described one of them this way: "Dean hit (Herb) Trawick and knocked his bridgework right into the Toronto harbour" -- Dean had been perfect all year. He wasn't about to miss this one either.

From nowhere to champions.

The Esks and Als met in the Grey Cup the next two years as well. In 1955, Etcheverry threw for a record 508 yards. Still, it wasn't enough. Edmonton won 34-19. Parker quarterbacked; he, Bright, Miles, Earl Lindley and Normie Kwong ran for a record 438 yards.

A year later, Edmonton comfortably prevailed 50-27. This time, Don Getty played quarterback. Parker, because of an injury to Lindley, was switched to halfback. Parker scored three touchdowns and rushed for 129 yards. The team piled up 456 yards on the ground, breaking the record they set the previous year and likely establishing a mark that will never be broken.

Today, Parker limps, his feet ache and his left knee is still a wreck. At various times he has endured gout, ulcers, pleurisy and half the other ailments you could look up in a doctor's handbook.

"They tried to fix that knee about 10 years ago but getting your knee fixed then and now are two different stories. They filled my knee up with wire and bone and cartilage have grown around it. So it's hopeless," said Parker, 72, who many believe was the best to ever play in the CFL. But then no one else could do what Parker did: he scored 88 touchdowns, threw for another 88 and added 40 field goals and 103 converts.

Parker played eight seasons in Edmonton and three more in Toronto before ending up with the B.C. Lions. Three times Schenley's most outstanding player, it was with the Lions where Tom Wilkinson, who later starred in Edmonton, really came to appreciate Parker.

"The first time I saw him was in 1967 when he came to coach the Toronto Rifles of the Continental League. I heard he was the greatest CFL player of all time. Heard all the stories. And then I saw him and those skinny legs of his, smoking a cigarette and shuffling along. I said, 'This guy was great? Come on,' " said Wilkinson, who played in eight Grey Cups including five against Montreal.

"Then I saw him play."

The game Wilkinson watched, on TV, was in 1968. An assistant coach with the Lions, Parker dressed as a backup when Pete Ohler was hurt.

"Then the regular backup, Paul Brothers got hurt," Parker remembers. "Jim Champion, the coach, came up to me and said, 'Can you take the ball from centre?' I said, 'Sure, but what do you want me to do with it then?' "

What he did bulged Wilkinson's eyes. Three years out of football, three years out of training, on Parker's first snap, he started running to the left. "Then he went right. Then left. Then right again. Then he ran down the sidelines. I swear every defender missed him at least twice." At the half, a TV announcer asked him how it felt to be playing again. Parker couldn't get a word out -- he was gasping too hard. "When I saw that I knew this guy had to be absolutely unbelievable when he was in his prime."

As far as the 11th Grey Cup meeting between Edmonton and Montreal? "There is no reason we shouldn't win," said Parker. "But we have to get ready for their blitzes. Don Matthews has obviously decided his old defence was working very good and he's doing what he used to be doing all the time: bringing everyone."

From gridiron gofer to Grey Cup coach: Maciocia living a boyhood dream after an improbable ascent to the top of the CFL coaching ranks
The Edmonton Journal
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: J8
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: John MacKinnon
Column: John MacKinnon
Source: The Edmonton Journal

As a teenager, Danny Maciocia would go to Montreal's Olympic Stadium and sit alone amid sparse crowds of 4,500-5,000 fans, watching the sad-sack Montreal Concordes play CFL football.

He went alone?

"I couldn't find anyone to go with me -- that's the truth," the Eskimos' 38-year-old rookie head coach explained this week. "I never even bought a ticket.

"I would go there and I found this guy who would actually give them away. It's like he knew I was coming and I would not miss a game. I'd go down there, he'd give me a ticket and I'd take my seat and watch the game."

Unlike most Montrealers, who were utterly indifferent when the Concordes folded -- killed by lethal non-injection of funds and fan support under the auspices of ex-Eskimos general manager Norm Kimball -- Maciocia was devastated. A lot of kids might have set aside their dream of coaching in the CFL some day right then and there.

Not Maciocia. His improbable journey to CFL coaching success was just beginning. The following year he got involved as a coach with the St. Leonard Cougars, a junior club, eventually becoming their head coach in 1996.

When the Baltimore Stallions franchise, part of the CFL's failed venture into the U.S., relocated to Montreal in 1995, the then-25-year-old Maciocia called in a favour from ex-Alouettes and Concordes coach Jacques Dussault, asking him to put in a good word for him with Alouettes head coach Bob Price.

Price agreed to take Maciocia on as a volunteer, telling him to work with offensive co-ordinator Peter Vaas, now the quarterbacks coach with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

So Maciocia went to Vaas, telling him that Price had said he would be assisting him at his meetings. "You cannot assist in my meetings," Vaas corrected. "But you may attend them."

Oops! But that was one of few glaring mistakes the young Maciocia made. By the midpoint of that year, he was travelling with the Alouettes to their road games.

The next season, 1997, new head coach Dave Ritchie made Maciocia a positional coach, overseeing running backs like Mike Pringle, Michael Soles and Thomas Haskins. Still no pay.

His first contract came in 1998, a one-year deal for $27,000 as assistant offensive co-ordinator.

"I thought I had won the lottery," said Maciocia, who was still living with his parents at the time, being helped out financially by then-girlfriend Sandra Vaz, now his wife.

Seven years later, Maciocia is a first-year, Canadian head coach of the CFL's marquee franchise, leading the Eskimos to the Grey Cup. Maciocia is fully aware of how fortunate he is, although he has made his own luck in his short, impressive journey.

"This is what I was telling my players the other day," Maciocia said. "This is my ninth year in the league and this is my fourth Grey Cup. You have a tendency to believe that this is a nine-team league and so I'm going to get there. I'm going to win one at some point in time.

"But (Winnipeg Blue Bombers veteran receiver) Milt Stegall has not won a Grey Cup and I'm sure it kills him. That's the only thing missing on his resume."

Canadian receiver Jock Climie, who worked with Maciocia in Montreal, never won a Grey Cup, either, to name another. Maciocia had been part of the Alouettes coaching staff in 2000 when the Lions beat them in the Grey Cup.

"It's not a given that you will win one. Even in a nine-team league."

Hired away from Montreal in 2002 to be head coach Tom Higgins's offensive co-ordinator in Edmonton, Maciocia went to back-to-back Grey Cups in '02 and in 2003, when the Eskimos defeated Montreal 34-22. He believes those experiences, both emotional, will lessen the impact of leading the Eskimos against his home-town team in this year's Cup final.

"It was much more emotional in '03," said Maciocia, whose Eskimos qualified for the Grey Cup by defeating the B.C. Lions on Sunday, 28-23. "The reason why I say that is because I left a coaching job in Montreal in '02 to come to Edmonton and you know who won the Grey Cup in '02 (Montreal). And you know who they beat? (Edmonton).

"So, you start asking yourself, am I ever going to get this thing right? That's as tough as it's ever been for me. So '03 was a little bit more personal for me. I needed to win the Grey Cup and I really needed to play Montreal to validate all those things that I was feeling.

"When we won, it's almost as if ... you move on to the next chapter, basically. I was able to do so and get that out of my system."

The trilingual Maciocia knows this will be a hectic week for him, particularly with the Montreal media making a fuss over him, the first Quebec-born head coach in the CFL (B.C. head man Wally Buono was born in Italy), and obviously the first ever to lead his team to the Grey Cup.

"I don't think it's a big deal, but to a lot of people down there it is," Maciocia said. "I look at it more as it being unfortunate that it took 93 years for this to happen. There's a lot of good coaches back east, just like there's a lot of good coaches in the west. It's just a question of getting an opportunity."

Nor is the CFL a stepping stone for Maciocia. He is living the ultimate dream for a Canadian kid and he knows that full well. It's why, for example, he serves as head coach of Team Canada at the NFL Global Junior Championships during Super Bowl week.

Still, Maciocia hasn't yet come to grips with the fact he's as much a role model to Canadian youngsters as, say, Buono, another Italian-speaking Canadian from Montreal, who has fashioned a successful CFL coaching career.

"Maybe it's because I don't look at myself as a (role model)," Maciocia said. "I'm not even comfortable thinking about it, let alone talking about it.

"But that's why, for me, I'll be forever indebted. If I stop coaching after Sunday -- let's just forget about the outcome of the football game and pretend that come Sunday night, I say, 'this is it' -- it's been a helluva ride."

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com

ALOUETTE KILLER; CAN JASON TUCKER DINE ON LARKS AGAIN SUNDAY?
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP1
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

He's the 'Alouette Killer'.

He's the big guy in the big game.

He's Jason Tucker, the Grey Cup MVP in the 2003 Eskimos championship, the Eskimo receiver who almost always seems to have the big game against Montreal.

Can he do it again? Can the quietest guy in the Edmonton dressing room make the biggest noise when it matters most?

"Jason Tucker is the best receiver in the league, who has his best games against Montreal and I'll tell you why,'' said fellow receiver Ed Hervey.

"Montreal usually played us with a feast or famine defence. Jason Tucker always feasts.''

Will Tucker dine again on the Larks?

"He's the guy we're trying to get the ball to as much as we can. We've been able to get the ball to him in the big game,'' says quarterback Ricky Ray.

Ray made Tucker his go-to-guy for two touchdowns in a seven-for-132 yard game to make the receiver the MVP in the Grey Cup in Regina two years ago.

In the Eskimos' win over the Als in Commonwealth Stadium in August, the last time they played, Ray and Tucker hooked up together for a nine-for-217 night, including an 82-yard touchdown.

GO-TO-GUY

Ray, who hit Tucker for 15 completions for 259 yards in the two Grey Cup games against the Alouettes in 2002 and 2003, said he would love to make him the go-to-guy again in the 93rd Grey Cup here tomorrow.

"We've been able to get the ball to him against Montreal. He always has big games against them. He's been able to get open against them.

"I think one of the reasons is the pressure defence they've played against us. He has ended up in a lot of one-on-one coverage.

"This year they changed it to a lot more zone with a guy underneath and a guy on top. If he gets one-on-one coverage, he's going to beat you.''

Hervey says Montreal will probably get away from feast or famine defensive play in this one, considering what Tucker has done to them in the past.

"They've been mixing things up more lately. They've been throwing a lot more tradition defence in there, a lot more zone in there. If we see the old stuff, they know we're prepared for that.''

Mookie Mitchell says there's all sorts of stories in the world of sport where players seem to have a team they always do well against.

"There are just certain guys who seem to always have big games against certain teams.''

As a baseball fan as a kid I remember a Detroit Tiger pitcher by the name of Frank Lary who had a so-so career, but always seemed to be able to beat the New York Yankees. Hence his nickname: The 'Yankee Killer'.

Mitchell says so far Tucker has been able to have the big games against Montreal because he gets what he wants.

"They've isolated on him one-on-one. He takes advantage. They tried to double on him the last game but he got out of it, isolated, and Ricky made the throws and he made the catches.''

For his part, Tucker says he's not drooling about the prospect of being MVP again tomorrow.

"I'm not going out there thinking I'm going to have a big game or anything. I'm just thinking about going out there and doing my job. All I'm thinking about is doing my job.

"If I have a big game, I have a big game. If I don't and we win, that's great. I'm going to do everything I can to try to help us win, but I'm not expecting the same thing to happen again,'' said the receiver who will mostly line up against Ricky Bell in the Montreal secondary, a player he says he really respects.

"He's a good defender.''

NAME ON THE GAME

Tucker is a study. The Texan, who led the Eskimos with 10 catches for 165 yards in the two playoff games and led the league in receiving with 89 catches for 1,411 yards including 11 touchdown receptions, may specialize in putting his name on the game when these two teams play.

But he's not looking to be a name or find fame.

"I don't care about being a name,'' he said. "I play football to have fun. Finding the limelight and being a name are not important to me.

"Some people say I'm a big game player but I've never tried to get that title. I'm thankful people have given it to me. But I don't see myself as being (more of ) a big game player than any of my teammates.''

As for the Montreal thing, Tucker thinks with himself and the rest of the Eskimos, it's because they've wanted to beat the Als more than any other team in recent years.

"The first few years we couldn't beat them,'' he said. "Finally we started to be able to beat them.''

Tucker said he'd love to be the guy who makes the big catch in the end zone early to get Ricky Ray out of his seven-game skid of not having thrown a touchdown pass. "I'd like to get a touchdown to get it off him. But I know all Ricky wants to do is win. He doesn't care how we get the ball into the end zone.''

Tucker's MVP trophy is at home in Texas behind the bar in his basement. His Grey Cup ring is in a safety deposit box. He doesn't flash his success.

"If you didn't know me, you wouldn't know I played football.''

MCMANUS TAKES IT ONE YEAR AT A TIME
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DEREK VAN DIEST, EDMONTON SUN
Column: Today in Sports
Dateline: VANCOUVER

The Edmonton Eskimos were shutout at the CFL awards yesterday in Vancouver.

However, perhaps a future Eskimo picked up the Tom Pate award.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Danny McManus took home the award given to the player displaying distinguishing qualities from his team.

McManus is rumoured to be returning to Edmonton in a trade that would send Eskimos backup quarterback Jason Maas to the SteelCity. The deal would complete the transaction that sent running back Troy Davis and offensive lineman Dan Comiskey to Edmonton at the midway point of this season.

"I have no idea about that, there is a lot of speculation," said McManus. "I don't know."

At 40, McManus is taking it one year at a time. He's not ready to divulge how many years he has left in him.

"I don't know, I see Damon (Allen) out there doing a lot," McManus said. "But I've already told him I'm not going that far. We take it year by year right now; we're both in the same situation. I still love the game and if there is options out there, then I'll take at look at them."

The Tom Pate award named after the Hamilton Tiger-Cat who died on the field during a game in Calgary in 1975.

McManus was recognized for his Touchdown for Kids program in Hamilton, which is raising money for a kids-only emergency room.

"It's an outstanding honour," McManus said.

"To be even mentioned in the same breath as Tom Pate is a big honour for me. Winning the MVP doesn't even come close."

THAT'S SPECIAL!; NO CONTEST FOR HOLMES
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP2
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRYJONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Corey Holmes won the consolation prize.

It was no contest with the Saskatchewan Roughrider running back/return man going against Damon Allen for the most outstanding player award. Allen won it 59 votes to three.

But for outstanding special teams player, Holmes ended up winning almost as big as he lost to Allen, beating out Noel Prefontaine of the Toronto Argos 55-7.

"It doesn't surprise me. Whatever the vote was everybody had the right man chosen. What he's done, man, he's consistent year in and year out. He should have won it a lot more times than this being his first,'' said Holmes.

"Just to have my name in the same sentence as his is a great honour. I hope my career can prolong just like his.

"This is the second time I've won the special award in the five years I've been playing in this league. I thank Roy Shivers and Danny Barrett for allowing me to show my versatility.''

Holmes brought his three-year-old daughter Chakoreia to say two words for him. She had to take a finger out of her mouth when he asked her to say the two words, but she got her line right.

"Thank you!''

The Roughriders finished fourth in the West and didn't win their playoff game but they won the day at the Rogers CFL Player Awards as the only team to end up with two winners.

Gene Makowsky, Saskatchewan's longest serving position player, was named most outstanding offensive lineman.

A WEST SWEEP

And they led a West sweep of all the awards other than the big one won by Allen.

Brent Johnson of B.C. was named top Canadian, John Grace of Calgary the most outstanding defensive player and Gavin Walls of Winnipeg to top rookie.

The only team in the Western Conference not to win an award here last night were the Edmonton Eskimos. But they can win the Grey Cup Sunday.

Makowsky was involved in the closest contest, defeating Scott Flory of Montreal 33-29. It was Makowsky's second straight award and third straight won by a Roughrider with Andrew Greene winning in 2003.

"Lots of great linemen in this league. I consider myself very fortunate to win not only once, but twice,'' said Makowsky.

He won out over a former University of Saskatchewan teammate from 1994 and a guy who was a Roughrider for four days in the off-season.

"Never thought when we were playing together with the Huskies that we'd meet together for the outstanding offensive lineman award. Saskatchewan boys are tough.''

Johnson followed B.C. Lions teammate Jason Clermont, who won the award last year. He out-polled Kevin Eiben of Toronto in the voting by Football Reporters of Canada 37-25.

"I'm looking forward to next season when I have to live up to it. It's pressure now. The guys before me who won this award set a standard and now I have to live up to that standard.''

Grace defeated Michael Fletcher of Toronto 39-23. Grace was runner-up to Montreal's Anwar Stewart last year.

The Amazing Grace, as he's become known in Calgary, said he hopes his winning the award provides inspiration for every player who ever came to the Canadian Football League and ended up on a practice roster.

'PRACTICE ROSTER'

"I was on the practice roster for two years. I stuck with it.

"Winning this is wonderful, I'm shaking right now, it's so wonderful. This is very welcome and something I never in my life would have imagined.''

Walls was the other one-sided result, defeating Matthieu Proulx of the Alouettes, leaving the East Grey Cup team shutout on Grey Cup Thursday.

"It's been a long season. This is a great honour, man,'' said the Winnipeg Blue Bomber.

"It's very huge. It sends chills down my body. The CFL is great, man.''

ALLEN'S OUTSTANDING!; AFTER 21 YEARS, THE CFL FINALLY GIVES THE 42-YEAR-OLD GRANDFATHER ITS TOP AWARD
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP3
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

In Hollywood, late in his career, they finally gave John Wayne an Oscar.

It was the same story here last night.

In Canada, after his 21st season, they finally gave 42 year-old grandfather Damon Allen the CFL's most outstanding player award.

Like Warren Moon, who won five Grey Cups before they made him the award winner as something of a going-away present in his final year in the league the one season Moon didn't win a Grey Cup, it took Allen all this time to be nominated, much yet win it.

"It's nice to win this award in your prime,'' Allen drew laughter in the interview room.

"I'm just thankful I didn't retire last year.''

Allen said he was "humbled and honoured" to receive the award.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

"After 21 years' service it's great to win this. They only give away one trophy to one guy every year. When I came to Edmonton to start my career, I never dreamed I'd be playing until I was 42 years old.''

It's a long time. And it's about time.

"I don't know about the long time, but it feels like the right time. It's the right time for me,'' said the Toronto Argos quarterback who threw for 5,082 yards this year, the tops in his Hall of Fame career in which he's already the record holder for most passing yards, all-time.

But Allen says he didn't accept it as a going-away present.

"Teams in the CFL have until Feb. 15 to exercise an option clause and the Argos have already given me that letter.''

He'll be back for one more year. Two maybe. Allen says the fact that Toronto has been awarded the 2007 Grey Cup has him thinking maybe that might be the place to end it.

He won the Grey Cup last year but didn't give retiring on top with a Grey Cup at age 41 after two decades any real thought.

"Not even close,'' he said. "I want to play until I can't play anymore.

"I'd rather be in the Grey Cup, but it's really nice to have this happen to me. Every player in the league would love to one day have this honour,'' said the quarterback who started his career with the Eskimos where he won his first two Grey Cups.

"I'm having the time of my life. I came to the Eskimos in the 80's and I'm playing in the 2000s. I'll keep playing as long as the players I'm playing against still feel I can dominate a ball-game. The respect of the other players in the league means the most to me.''

He said it's bugged him a bit that sportswriters constantly refer to him as "a 42-year-old grandfather'' but it won't bug him when he reads that again today because those are the same guys who voted him the award.

"Besides, my brother told me to learn to embrace it,'' he added of NFL legend Marcus Allen.

He says he thinks the reason for his longevity and the appearance that he's not getting older, he's getting better, is experience. "It's just my knowledge of the game and the different defences I've seen in 21 years.''

Allen looked back on this career and marvelled at the players he's played with over the years.

Favorite receiver?

"Brian Kelly,'' he said of the Eskimos great. "He will always be. He taught me a lot about the game.

JACKIE PARKER FAVOURITE COACH

"But there have been so many. I probably need a couple of teams.''

His favorite coach?

"Jackie Parker,'' he said of the first coach he had in Edmonton. "He was great. He was special. The way he handled me as a quarterback, giving me a chance to play and learn.''

His second favorite, he said, is the one he has now, Pinball Clemons.

"I had a lot of coaches,'' he laughed.

Allen said his favorite teams were the Eskimos and the Argos, the teams he won his Grey Cups with early and late in his career. And he said it's special to win the award here: "I played seven years with the Lions. I played more seasons with B.C. than any other team.''

Allen, who only needs 1,200 more yards to match Moon's pro football record, said, "he was one of my heroes.''

Allen's acceptance speech was short and classy ending with "thanks to my wife, my three daughters and (pause) my grandson. Every yard I rushed, every pass I've thrown, every hit I took, I've done it for my family.''

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME; ALS FREE SAFETY RICHARD KARIKARI HAS GONE FROM SITTING TO STARRING IN JUST ONE SEASON
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DEREK VAN DIEST, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

It's been a breakout year for Montreal Alouettes free safety Richard Karikari.

The third year Pickering, Ont., native went from being a backup to recording the second-most interceptions in the CFL this season.

One of his biggest came against the Edmonton Eskimos back in July.

Karikari picked off a Ricky Ray offering in the team's first meeting this season, queuing a comeback in a 32-29 victory.

"He's been at the right place at the right time," said Alouettes defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones. "He's done a good job studying film and is prepared every week. He works hard. He has great speed and puts himself in good position to make plays."

Last year Karikari sat back and watched as Barron Miles roamed the Alouettes defensive secondary.

With Miles's departure, Karikari got the call. And despite some early growing pains where the Alouettes make-or-break defence was getting scorched, Karikari has blossomed into one of the league's top safeties.

The third-year Alouette finished with nine interceptions in the regular season and added another in the playoffs.

Korey Banks of the Ottawa Renegades led the league in interceptions with 10.

"We always knew he had great talent," Jones said. "Don (Matthews) did a great job when Barron was here. KK took all the reps on the scout team at free safety, so when the day came that Barron was no longer with us, KK was the heir-apparent.

"So it turned out to be a pretty good move by Don."

Karikari's speed and his ability to read plays are the reasons for his success. Karikari is one of the fastest players on the Alouettes' roster. He also spends an enormous amount of time studying game film.

"I've been reading quarterbacks a lot better," Karikari said. "I read quarterback and read mannerisms. There are so many different things that you see on the field that you can get a jump on a lot of stuff."

His ability to read plays and cover receivers also allows the Alouettes to be aggressive on defence.

"His ability to be able to cover one-on-one allows you to do some things with your linebackers," Jones said. "He can play deep in the middle and he can go cover guys, so his versatility has been a big plus for us."

With Ricky Ray having been relieved by Jason Maas in the Eskimos' last two playoff games, the Alouettes have prepared to see both quarterbacks in Sunday's Grey Cup game.

Maas didn't get a sniff in the team's two regular-season meetings.

"They are somewhat similar," Karikari said. "Maas is a little bit more mobile, but they are the same type of drop-back quarterback.

"They are going to try and run the same scheme and they are going to run the same offence. It's kind of different maybe with a different set."

Having been on injured reserve the last time the Eskimos and Alouettes met in the Grey Cup, Karikari is looking forward to Sunday's contest.

"It's my first Grey Cup, so it's going to be exciting," he said. "I'm past the nervous stage right now, but it's going to be exciting. I got some family members coming up, so it's going to be good."

KWAME SERVES BY SITTING
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

How would you like to be in Kwame Cavil's shoes this week?

A 1,000-yard receiver last year with the Montreal Alouettes, Cavil was traded to Edmonton in early August after Ed Hervey injured a knee.

But when the Eskimos take the field Sunday afternoon to battle the Als in the 93rd Grey Cup, Cavil will just be watching his former team and his current club.

For the eighth straight game he will be a healthy scratch on the Eskimo roster.

Ever since Hervey returned from rehabbing his injured leg in late September, Cavil has been a spectator.

But there is no woe-is-me tale coming from Cavil's mouth.

"Why would I want to be a distraction?" he said during the Eskimos' team breakfast yesterday morning.

"I am a good team player.

"I'm the best fan in the world right now for the Edmonton Eskimos."

But make no mistake, he is quietly frustrated.

In his seven games this summer with the Green and Gold he averaged almost five catches per tilt and an 8.4-yard average. Now he just catches balls in practice.

"Oh my goodness, man. It is tough (to watch the games)," he said.

"I am used to being a leader.

"I'd love to play against Montreal considering I came from there and know the guys. It would be a fun game ... to play on the biggest stage.

"But I am going to get my time in during practice and maybe that will help our defence."

There is no "maybe" in reality.

Unknown to most football fans, Cavil is playing an important role this week because he is definitely helping the Eskimo defence by tutoring them on Montreal's receivers.

"He knows some of the (Montreal) nuances and things they do," said secondary coach Rick Campbell.

"The (Montreal receivers) do a lot of motion and try to rub (off defenders) for each other."

And if Edmonton wins the Grey Cup, Cavil should feel no shame in accepting a ring, according to the receiver he replaced for a brief time in the heart of the summer.

"He had a lot to do with us getting here," said Hervey.

"He came in and played well.

"He can walk away knowing that if we come away with this victory and get a Grey Cup ring that he can look at that ring and feel very proud knowing he had a lot to do with it."

HE LET SEAN SHINE!; THE ESK KICKER OWES HIS CAREER TO HIGH SCHOOL COACH DAL MONTE
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Paul Dal Monte is one heck of a salesman.

As the director of marketing for the Vancouver Canucks, his job is to put bums in the seats - and every game for the rest of the season at GM Place is basically sold out.

However, about 18 years ago he was selling Sean Fleming to U.S. colleges - and by all accounts, he did an outstanding job.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Paul Dal Monte," said Fleming yesterday morning as the Grey Cup festivities started to gear up at the Eskimos' downtown team hotel.

"He and my mother really worked the phones and sent out a bunch of videos to U.S. colleges.

"He worked the phones on weekends - and he didn't have to do it."

At the time, Dal Monte was Fleming's high school football coach at VancouverCollege, a private all-boys Catholic school.

To this day, he doesn't like to take credit for getting Fleming into the NCAA ranks - which is essentially how the Eskimos scouted him - but he does grudgingly admit to one key move: "We needed tape of Sean in high school, so we got into B.C. Place to shoot Sean on the turf because it was a perfect environment," he explained.

"The quality of regular high school game tape doesn't adequately depict a kicker's ability because you might not see his form or the distance of the kicks.

"College coaches are so analytical and (in B.C. Place on tape) you could see Sean's style, leg strength and accuracy."

The coaching staff at the University of Wyoming loved what they saw on tape - and Fleming paid instant dividends.

"I remember in his first game at Wyoming he hit a field goal with one second left on the clock to beat Air Force," said Dal Monte from his Vancouver Canucks office.

That kick might have shocked many on the Wyoming campus but it was nothing to his high school coach.

"He lined up as a junior in Grade 10 and hit a field goal from 55 yards," recalled Dal Monte.

"The other team was stunned.

"And in Grade 11 it was snowing at a game in Kamloops - they had to blow snow off the field to play - and he kicked two or three field goals, including one from about 50 yards.

"We were really blessed to have Sean."

And the Eskimos are thrilled to have Fleming, especially through this year's playoff run.

A perfect eight-for-eight through the West division playoffs, Fleming will set a new CFL record for most field goals in one playoff season if he successfully boots two more on Sunday.

The 14-year Eskimo veteran could also set a new all-time CFL playoff scoring record if he gets 19 or more points Sunday.

After notching 20 points during the West semi-final, that isn't out of the question - and with Dal Monte sitting in the crowd at B.C. Place watching, a new record would be rather fitting.

'HE'S GOOD TO GO'
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Eskimo head coach Danny Maciocia emerged from his team's closed practice session yesterday with calming news for the team's faithful fans.

For the first time this week, Sean Fleming kicked field goals and punted at B.C. Place.

"He looked good and he's fine," said Maciocia.

This came one day after Fleming just watched the opening practice of Grey Cup week. The unexpected inactivity Wednesday sparked concerns that Fleming might be hurt or nursing some sort of minor injury.

Maciocia had revealed after the West final that his punter/kicker did have a quad problem in the fourth quarter.

Both denied there were any problems on Wednesday and insisted that it was just a day off.

Apparently, the extra rest was worth it.

"The day off did him good," said Maciocia. "He's good to go."

THE ALS CAN ALSO THANK PAUL
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP5
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Sean Fleming won't be the only player Paul Dal Monte will be keeping tabs on during the Grey Cup.

The former high school football coach has not one, but two former players in Sunday's Canadian classic at B.C. Place.

Bryan Chiu - Montreal's all-star offensive lineman - also wore the Vancouver College Fighting Irish jersey.

"For the record I have to stay neutral," said Dal Monte when asked who he was really hoping would win this weekend.

"But Bryan does weigh 300 pounds so he might have more influence."

VancouverCollege has a great record for producing pro players.

"I joke around with all the guys in our locker-room that it is the factory for the CFL," said Fleming.

"There are probably six or seven other guys playing in the CFL that went to that high school."

Eskimo backup receiver Rob Leblanc and Hamilton Tiger-Cat kicker Jamie Boreham are VancouverCollege grads.

Former Calgary Stampeder all-star receiver Vince Danielson is part of the Vancouver College/CFL alumni class.

RAY'S HEAD START; HE'S THE STARTING QUARTERBACK IN THE GREY CUP GAME, BUT HOW'S HIS NOGGIN?
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS3
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Ricky Ray doesn't have an arm. He doesn't have legs. What's made him great has been his head.

Which begs the question as he goes into his third Grey Cup game in three years in the league.

Where's his head?

How is his noggin? His noodle?

"I have to make sure my noodle is ready to go,'' said the Edmonton Eskimo quarterback, who has been in the league for three years and is in his third Grey Cup - but is an entirely different story going into this game.

Like a lot of young stars out of small U.S. colleges who come to the CFL and become instant stars, he'd never faced criticism before. He'd never heard and read negative commentary about himself, much less been pulled in back-to-back playoff games or gone seven games without throwing a touchdown pass.

But he's here. He's the starting quarterback in the Grey Cup game. And how Ricky Ray's head is going into tomorrow's 93rd Grey Cup game against the Montreal Alouettes could very well tell the tale.

"Up to this point Ricky Ray's career has been a storybook type of tale,'' said third string quarterback Jason Johnson, who knows the biggest role he can play is to monitor the melon of the 26-year-old who fell off a potato chip truck and began his career as Frito Ray, a fan favourite from the git-go.

"I've been watching Ricky handle himself all week and let me tell you, he's handling everything like a pro.

"The biggest thing is that Ricky has been here before. He's had a lot of success against Montreal. He's having to answer a lot of questions which are a lot different than he's ever had to answer before, but he's doing it. He's showing his teammates that he's not letting all of this bother him going into this game.''

IT'S DIFFICULT

CEO Hugh Campbell, who graduated from college with a degree in child psychology, says what Ray is going through is difficult.

"In the position he's in right now, he can't stand up and defend himself. That's up to the rest of us. And I think deep, deep down he's feeling hurt with the media and the fans. He's never had to go through this before.''

Ray says it hasn't been easy.

"It's the first time I've had to deal with it,'' he said.

"But I keep telling myself, 'I'm at the Grey Cup. I'm starting. And if I go out there and get it done and win the Grey Cup ...' That's the only way to deal with it.''

Opinions are like noses. Everybody has one. Ray's challenge is not to get his nose out of joint getting to game day.

Like the latest. CBC commentator and former star receiver Darren Flutie went on record as saying, "I think Jason Maas has a stronger arm and is a better quarterback than Ricky Ray.''

"I'm facing a lot of criticism. It's how you deal with adversity,'' said Ray.

"I don't have a problem with questioning what's wrong with my arm. I know I've never had a strong arm. That doesn't bother me. I know I'm not much of a scrambler. But I don't think there's a blueprint of how a quarterback has to be as long as you go out and play the game and make good decisions as a quarterback. I'm a guy who tries to prepare and make good decisions. I don't go out and be a guy who tries to pretend he has a laser beam for an arm.

'I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN'

"The way I'm looking at it is that what I'm going through now is going to make me better. I'm telling myself, 'Stick with what you do, stick with what got you here and you'll be OK. Believe in yourself. Do what got you here.' I have an opportunity to win another Grey Cup and I've got to seize it.''

Because of his situation, he can see teammates and coaches trying to build his confidence. Ray says even that can bother him.

"Sometimes ... I'm getting a lot of 'We believe in you, Ricky.' I don't need it.''

There's the negatives he's had to deal with and now there's even the positives to deal with, he laughs.

Head coach Danny Maciocia's strategy in dealing with Ray's head is not to deal with it at all.

"To be honest, I'm not doing anything. I'm not even talking about it. We're preparing exactly the same way. We think he'll be at peace with the matter at hand. He's been here before.''

Ray said part of being a pro is that you always have to keep proving yourself.

"I tell myself, 'Don't let it bother you. Don't let it affect you.'

"It's like not having scored a touchdown in seven games. It bothers me. But I'm not going to go out there and force the ball to get a touchdown when that's not the best play to get a touchdown in the situation.''

Ricky Ray has one message for Eskimo fans here and back at home.

"I'll be ready to play. Don't worry about me. I'll be ready to play Sunday.''

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS4
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Where's the game?

We all know it's here in B.C. Place (4 p.m. CBC). But where in the game is the game?

Ask Edmonton Eskimos rookie head coach Danny Maciocia and he says it's where it almost always is - in the trenches.

"It's up front,'' he said. "We have to get to Anthony Calvillo to win. And we have to protect Ricky Ray so he has time to set up.

"And this is the Grey Cup. In the Grey Cup something big usually happens on special teams.''

It's the Montreal Alouettes and the Edmonton Eskimos in the 93rd edition of the Grey Cup, and much has been made of the familiarity of these two teams, having made this match for the third time in four years.

DRAMATIC CHANGES

But the fact is, they haven't played each other since before Labour Day. And both have evolved considerably since then; the Alouettes' defensive scheme changing dramatically and the Eskimos, with the arrival of Dan Comiskey and Troy Davis, shoring up their offensive line and running game.

It's the 11-7 Eskimos vs. the 10-8 Alouettes. It's two teams that split their season series, both winning their home games, the Als 32-29 on July 8 in Percival Molson Stadium and the Eskimos 36-26 on Aug. 26 in Commonwealth Stadium.

On offence, Montreal led the league in points scored, most touchdowns, most first downs, most yards total offence and most plays from scrimmage. Edmonton led the league in time of possession and most passes attempted and completed.

On defence, Edmonton led the league in fewest first downs allowed, fewest touchdowns against, fewest total yards offence allowed, fewest yards rushing given up, fewest completed passes against, fewest field goals against. Montreal led the league in most interceptions.

In the two games between the teams the Alouettes have out-first-downed the Eskimos 45-43, Edmonton has out-time-of-posse-ssioned Montreal 64:27 to 55:43 and the Eskimos have out-total-offenced Montreal 758 yards to 570.

But what does all that mean, if anything?

"Teams are playing us with a lot more zone coverage.

"And Montreal, which used to show us a lot of man coverage, has been mixing it up more lately,'' said Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray of the second half of the season.

"We know we have to score points offensively,'' said Ed Hervey.

"What better time to do that than in the Grey Cup? We know 16 or 19 points is not going to do it. They have four 1,000-yard receivers. Our offence has to come out like we did out here last week against the B.C. Lions in the Western final and get a big lead and get rid of the mistakes we made after that. We have to get touchdowns, not field goals like we've been doing a lot lately. We have to give the defence a lead to work with, so they have a chance to pin their ears back and go after A.C.''

Calvillo says that from his point of view, he doesn't expect many surprises from Edmonton defensively.

"They don't try to confuse you too much. They play a lot of man-to-man coverage. They say, 'You're going to have to beat us.' And they have the guys up front to create pressure and they have the defensive backs to cover.

"So it's going to be a challenge for us. We have to make sure our receivers beat their defensive backs. If we can do that, we should have a victory. But it's not going to be easy. They're pretty talented across the board. I look at their defence and they have a lot of talent out there.''

The Eskimos view it as taking away the run, which means stopping backup fullback Eric Lapointe, who came in to replace injured starter Robert Edwards and was the hero of the Eastern final.

"Stop the run,'' said defensive back Kelly Wiltshire. "Make them one-dimensional.

"They're pretty explosive. They're getting their groove back. Ben Cahoon is back from injury. They protect Anthony well and they move him around. It's hard to get to him. We have to get to Anthony. If we get to him, I think we'll have a good chance.

"We know we have a great pass rush. We have to keep them in second-and-long. If we play as a defence the way we're capable of, I think we'll be OK.''

Middle linebacker A.J. Gass says one of the Alouettes' great strengths is their offensive line.

BIG-TIME CHALLENGE

"They are very good. They have one of the better offensive lines in the league. They're all veterans, they're all big and they're all strong. It'll be a big-time challenge to get pressure. We have to get in Anthony's face and throw him off his game early. And our No. 1 goal is always to stop the run.

"Anthony has a lot of weapons around him. Ben Cahoon and Terry Vaughn get open on the short routes and turn them into big plays. We'll have our hands full to minimize his production.

"They have the total package. They have it all. The worst thing to do would be to let Anthony get into a rhythm early. We have to get him rattled early and often.''

THE RISE OF TROY; ESKIE BACK HAS COME A LONG WAY
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS7
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

The idea of Troy Davis being a momma's boy sounds foolish.

With tattoos almost everywhere on his rock-solid frame and a widespread reputation for being a brilliant but punishing running back with the Edmonton Eskimos, he doesn't give off that vibe.

But several years ago he was so homesick in college, he was thinking of leaving school - a move that would have surely killed his professional football career before it ever started.

"If he had left, you never would have known Troy Davis," said his brother Darren while on the phone from his Florida home recently.

It was 1994 and Davis was part of a brutal football program at IowaState.

Winless in 11 games, he barely touched the ball as a freshman.

"He was calling home, saying he was homesick," remembered Darren.

"He had never been away from home and was a momma's boy.

"Troy wanted to come home (to Florida) and just stay home."

HE STUCK WITH THE PROGRAM

But thanks to a few key people in his life, including his brother and Dan McCarney - a very instrumental figure in Iowa - Davis stuck with the program.

"I was getting ready to leave (IowaState)," remembered Davis, "and (McCarney) sat me down and talked to me in his office and committed to me."

McCarney was the new football coach at IowaState. He was inheriting one of the worst NCAA programs in the United States and knew he didn't want to see Davis walk out the door.

"He said, 'We are going to base this offence around you,'" remembered Davis.

"He convinced me to stay there."

The rest is history, as Davis rushed for back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons and was a back-to-back finalist for the Heisman Trophy, which kickstarted his pro career.

"In the halls of IowaState, Troy's name will always ring strong," said McCarney from his office on the school's campus in Ames, Iowa.

Davis's football career since then - in the NFL and CFL - has been well documented.

But there are two stories in his career that are barely known.

One of those tales can be seen almost every day at IowaState.

STUNNING ABILITY

With his stunning running ability, Davis put that school on the map.

"The whole country was watching him go for 2,000 yards," said McCarney.

"He brought credibility, respect and exposure to the program."

And that brought good players.

Now IowaState has a chance to go to its fifth bowl game in six years, thanks partly to Davis drawing players to the team.

It is the type of success Davis never saw in school - and that is the other story.

Davis has had tremendous individual success through his career, but his teams haven't.

Since graduating from high school, Davis has had just two winning seasons in 12 years.

He was part of some awful clubs, like the 2-9 Iowa State Cyclones in 1996, the 3-13 New Orleans Saints in 1999 and the 1-17 Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2003.

"Now I am here (in Edmonton)," said Davis yesterday, "and I am on a winning program and I am so happy."

It will be hard not to feel happy for Davis if he finishes this weekend with a Grey Cup championship.

SUPERSTITION!
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS8
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Ed Hervey appeared from the elevator in the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Vancouver with a cup full of money.

Although the Edmonton Eskimos had just barely checked in on Tuesday night, it was time to play poker.

"Since we started playing it (two months ago) we have been winning," he said.

"We play poker on the plane here, we played poker on the bus and we'll have a Texas hold 'em tournament the night before the game.

"That is one thing we have to do."

Jason Tucker, Derrell Mitchell, Randy Spencer, Andrew Nowacki, A.J. Gass and Sean Fleming all have a seat at the table.

It's just one of many superstitious rituals and routines on this Edmonton Eskimo team that will fight for the Grey Cup tomorrow.

Here are some of the best examples.

MOBLEY'S CAR WASH ADDICTION

Linebacker Singor Mobley has to wash a car before a game.

"It just makes me feel good when I drive to the stadium," he said.

Of course, he needs to improvise in Vancouver.

He could wash the team bus or ... "Maybe get a little model car," he said, "and put it in the sink."

ROCKIN' THE ROOM

The offensive line also has another ritual that isn't missed at home or on the road.

"They put their classic rock on and you let that play through its entirety, from song one through 14," said Hervey.

"We all have respect for one and another. Whatever gets individuals ready, you allow them to do it because we are all going out there to play the game together."

LEFSRUD'S FOUR-HOUR ODYSSEY

Don't bother looking for centre Kevin Lefsrud at the team hotel tomorrow. He will be at B.C. Place four hours in advance of kickoff.

"I don't like people being around me when I am doing things (on game day)," said Lefsrud, who is usually very personable.

"I get my whole lower bottom dressed before the team gets there.

"And I don't want to wait in line to get my ankles taped."

Lefsrud isn't the only offensive lineman that likes to arrive early - and defensive end Tim Fleiszer still doesn't understand the concept.

"You show up three hours before the game and they are already fully dressed and fully taped," he said with a smile and a chuckle.

"I wonder what they are doing there. You would think you would waste all your energy psyching yourself out.

"It seems like they all want to hang out together. Maybe they are the most comfortable when they are in the company of other 300-pounders."

MAAS'S UNIFORM FETISH

Jason Maas will stroll into the locker room tomorrow afternoon and begin his usual assembly project.

One by one, he will lay every piece of his uniform on the ground in front of his stall.

"I pretty much build up a football player on the ground," said the backup pivot.

"I make sure all my stuff is where it should be.

"For me it goes back to high school, making sure I had everything and I wasn't going on the field missing something."

Of all the bizarre routines and rituals, Maas's construction project gets the most talk among his teammates.

"The only other player I have ever seen do that - to lay his whole uniform out head to toe - was Deion Sanders," said Mobley, who spent three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.

"So, he is in pretty good company."

THE RING IS THE THING

Fleiszer has an important decision to make by tomorrow: he has to choose the right ring to wear to the game.

"I am particular about what ring I wear," he admitted.

"I am fortunate to have three rings right now: one from college and two Grey Cup rings - one from Hamilton and one from Montreal.

"I will not wear my Montreal ring to this game.

"The last time we played in Edmonton I wore my Harvard ring and it ended up being successful.

"But at the same time we won our Hamilton ring at B.C. Place."

At the moment, it is down to either the Hamilton Tiger-Cat Grey Cup or the Harvard ring.

"I don't know, it is going to be a game-time decision," he said.

PLACE YOUR BETS!; WANNA MAKE SOME CASH ON GREY CUP?
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS10
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

So, are you feeling lucky?

Do you want to take a crack at making money on this weekend's Grey Cup game?

If you do, you are not alone.

Gambling on the Grey Cup is increasing - and part of the reason is the wild and intriguing wagers that can now be made.

"It has grown over the last couple of years," said Steven Rapp of Bowmans, the international legal on-line wagering service with a Canadian division.

SAME STORY

It's the same story in the United States.

"It definitely has grown over the last three or four years, more than I expected," said Chuck Esposito, the assistant vice-president of race and sportsbook operations at Caesars in Las Vegas.

"We have to offer the Grey Cup on our board and have it on a big screen (on an NFL Sunday) because of the demand.

"(Betting on) the Grey Cup will surpass most pro basketball games that day."

But - obviously - the Grey Cup still doesn't hold a candle to major NFL games.

"Even in this country, NFL wagers rule," said Rapp, who is based in Toronto for Bowmans.

"The Grey Cup is on par with an average Sunday NFL game, but Monday Night Football is huge. It would bring in four to five times the money compared to the Grey Cup."

Still, Bowmans expects to bring just under $100,000 on the Grey Cup.

SAME TARGET

The Western Canada Lottery Corporation is hoping to reach that same target in Sports Select wagers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the three territories.

If you want a shot at some of that pie, shop around for the betting line you want.

Bowmans has the Eskimos as two-points favourites with over/under at 55 1/2. Sports Select has Edmonton as a half-point favourite.

And Caesars has Edmonton by one with the o/u at 56. But if that is too boring, there is no shortage of intriguing options. Take a look below:

- - -

WHAT TEAM WILL SCORE FIRST?

- Montreal

- Edmonton

Huntington's pick: Edmonton

(Edmonton has scored first in four of its last five games.)

WHAT WILL BE THE FIRST SCORE OF THE GAME?

- Touchdown

- Something else (field goal, single, safety)

Huntington's pick: Something else

HOW MANY COMBINED FIELD GOALS WILL BE MADE?

- Over 3.5

- Under 3.5

Huntington's pick: Over

(Might be the easiest bet on the board. With the Eskimo red zone problems, Fleming could kick four field goals on his own Sunday. Add that to the fact Damon Duval had five FG attempts in the East final).

LONGEST TOUCHDOWN OF THE GAME WILL BE?

- Over 59.5 yards

- Under 59.5 yards

Huntington's Pick: Under

(It's enticing to pick over. The B.C. Lions went deep twice on Malcolm Frank last week and Montreal has a wicked receiving corps, with four 1,000-yard members. But with Ray's doughnut on the board for TD passes for seven straight games, under is the safest bet.

LARGEST LEAD OF THE GAME?

- Over 13.5

- Under 13.5

Huntington's Pick: Over

(After watching Edmonton blaze out of the gate to a 21-3 lead and Montreal's slow start last week, spotting Toronto at 14-0 lead, it's hard to bet under.)

WHICH TEAM WILL HAVE MORE PASSING YARDS?

- Edmonton

- Montreal

Huntington's Pick: Montreal

(Nobody put up more yards through the air than Anthony Calvillo this year.)

HOW MANY COMBINED FIRST DOWNS WILL THERE BE?

- Over 44.5

- Under 44.5

Huntington's Pick: Over

WHICH PLAYER WILL HAVE MORE RECEIVING YARDS?

- Ben Cahoon

- Jason Tucker

Huntington's Pick: Tucker

WILL KERRY WATKINS SCORE A TOUCHDOWN?

- Yes

- No

Huntington's Pick: No.

(In two games he scored just once.)

WHICH TEAM WILL WIN THE SECOND HALF?

- Edmonton

- Montreal

Huntington's pick: Edmonton

(Since Aug.1 the Eskimos have won the second half in nine of 14 games).

SHORTEST TOUCHDOWN OF THE GAME?

- Over 1.5 yards

- Under 1.5 yards

Huntington's Pick: Under

(Ray's passing problems near the end zone mean the Esks are making a habit of scoring one-yard QB sneaks. Ray did it twice last Sunday.)

WILL TEAM THAT SCORES LAST WIN?

- Yes

- No

Huntington's Pick: Yes

(Given Jason Maas' late game heroics in the playoffs, how do you bet any other way?)

(All wagers available at bowmans.com)

GREY CUP RECORDS
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS11
Section: Sports

GREY CUP TEAM RECORDS

MOST GAMES PLAYED (INCLUDING 2005) -- Toronto, 35; Hamilton, 29; Winnipeg, 25; Edmonton, 24; Montreal, Ottawa and Saskatchewan, 15; Calgary, 10; B.C., 8.

MOST WINS -- Toronto, 22; Hamilton, 15; Edmonton, 12; Winnipeg, 11; Ottawa, 9; Montreal, 7; Calgary, 5; B.C., 4; Saskatchewan, 2.

MOST LOSSES -- Saskatchewan, 13; Winnipeg, 12; Edmonton and Hamilton, 11; Montreal, 8; Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto, 6.

MOST CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5, Edmonton (1978-82); 3, Queen's University (1922-24).

HIGHEST ATTENDANCE -- 68,318 (Montreal 41, Edmonton 6, at Montreal, 1977).

ALL-TIME MOST POINTS SCORED -- Hamilton, 601; Toronto, 564; Edmonton, 495; Winnipeg, 394; Ottawa, 276.

ALL-TIME MOST POINTS ALLOWED -- Edmonton 544; Hamilton, 512; Winnipeg, 495; Toronto, 461; Saskatchewan, 387.

MOST POINTS, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 54, Queen's Univ. vs. Regina (1923).

MOST POINTS, BOTH TEAMS (SINGLE GAME) -- 83, Hamilton vs. Saskatchewan (1989).

FEWEST POINTS BY WINNING TEAM -- 4, Toronto vs. Sarnia (1933); Toronto vs. Winnipeg (1937).

FEWEST POINTS, BOTH TEAMS (SINGLE GAME) -- 7, Toronto-Sarnia (1933); Toronto-Winnipeg (1937).

MOST POINTS, BOTH TEAMS (ONE QUARTER) -- 38, Montreal (21) vs. Edmonton (17), second quarter (2003).

LARGEST SHUTOUT -- 54-0, Queen's vs. Regina (1923).

ALL-TIME MOST TOUCHDOWNS -- Hamilton, 71; Toronto, 66; Edmonton, 57; Winnipeg, 44; Montreal 35; Ottawa, 33; Calgary, 24; Saskatchewan, 21; B.C., 20.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 9, Queen's vs. Regina (1923).

MOST TOUCHDOWNS, BOTH TEAMS (SINGLE GAME) -- 11, Edmonton (7) vs. Montreal (4) (1956).

ALL-TIME MOST CONVERTS -- Hamilton, 54; Edmonton, 49; Toronto, 47; Winnipeg, 39.

ALL-TIME MOST FIELD GOALS -- Edmonton, 34; Hamilton 28; Winnipeg, 24.

MOST FIELD GOALS, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 6, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1977); Hamilton vs. Edmonton (1986); Edmonton vs. Winnipeg (1993).

ALL-TIME MOST SINGLES -- Toronto, 79; Hamilton, 49; Ottawa, 29.

MOST FIRST DOWNS, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 36, Edmonton vs. Montreal (1956).

FEWEST FIRST DOWNS, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 7, Hamilton vs. Winnipeg (1965); Toronto vs. Calgary (1991), Montreal vs. Edmonton (2002).

ALL-TIME TOTAL YARDS -- Edmonton, 7,379; Hamilton, 5,554; Winnipeg, 4,959.

MOST TOTAL YARDS, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 656, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1954).

MOST TOTAL YARDS, BOTH TEAMS (SINGLE GAME) -- 1,115, Edmonton vs. Montreal, (1955).

ALL-TIME MOST YARDS RUSHING -- Edmonton, 2,923; Hamilton, 2,059; Winnipeg, 1,706.

MOST YARDS RUSHING, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 456, Edmonton vs. Montreal (1956).

ALL-TIME MOST PASSES ATTEMPTED -- Edmonton, 618; Hamilton, 527, Winnipeg, 390.

MOST PASSES ATTEMPTED, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 56, Calgary vs. Toronto (1991).

ALL-TIME MOST PASSES COMPLETED -- Edmonton, 344; Hamilton, 259; Winnipeg, 211.

MOST PASSES COMPLETED, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 34, Calgary, vs. Toronto (1991).

ALL-TIME MOST YARDS PASSING -- Edmonton, 4,667; Hamilton, 4,010, Winnipeg, 3,096.

MOST YARDS PASSING, ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 508, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1955).

ALL-TIME MOST TOUCHDOWNS PASSING -- Edmonton, 26; Hamilton, 24; Montreal, 18; Winnipeg, 15; Ottawa and Saskatchewan, 11.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS PASSING,. ONE TEAM (SINGLE GAME) -- 4, Ottawa vs. Saskatchewan (1969); Edmonton vs. Hamilton (1980); Winnipeg vs. Edmonton (1990).

- - -

GREY CUP INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

ALL-TIME MOST GAMES PLAYED -- 9, Tommy Grant and John Barrow, Hamilton; Angelo Mosca, Ottawa-Hamilton; Dave Cutler and Larry Highbaugh, Edmonton; Hank Ilesic, Edmonton and Toronto.

ALL-TIME MOST GAMES WON -- 7, Jack Wedley, Toronto-Montreal; Bill Stevenson, Edmonton; Hank Ilesic, Edmonton-Toronto.

ALL-TIME MOST POINTS -- 72, Dave Cutler, Edmonton; 63, Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton; 61, Don Sweet, Montreal-Hamilton; 55, Lui Passaglia, B.C., and Mark McLoughlin, Calgary.

MOST POINTS (SINGLE GAME) -- 23, Don Sweet, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1977).

ALL-TIME MOST TOUCHDOWNS -- 6, Damon Allen, Edmonton-B.C.-Toronto; 5, Hal Patterson, Montreal-Hamilton; Brian Kelly, Edmonton.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS (SINGLE GAME) -- 3, Ross Craig, Hamilton vs. Toronto (1913); Red Storey, Toronto vs. Winnipeg (1938); Jackie Parker, Edmonton vs. Montreal (1956); Tommy Scott, Edmonton vs. Hamilton (1980).

ALL-TIME MOST CONVERTS -- 17, Don Sutherin, Hamilton-Ottawa-Toronto; 16, Dave Cutler, Edmonton.

MOST CONVERTS (SINGLE GAME) -- 6, Trevor Kennerd, Winnipeg vs. Edmonton (1990); Dave Cutler, Edmonton vs. Hamilton (1980).

ALL-TIME MOST FIELD GOALS -- 18, Dave Cutler, Edmonton; 17, Don Sweet, Montreal-Hamilton; 16, Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton.

MOST FIELD GOALS (SINGLE GAME) -- 6, Don Sweet, Montreal, vs. Edmonton (1977); Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton, vs. Edmonton (1986); Sean Fleming, Edmonton, vs. Winnipeg (1993).

LONGEST FIELD GOAL -- 53 yards, Carlos Huerta, Baltimore vs Calgary (1995).

ALL-TIME MOST YARDS RUSHED -- 393, Mike Pringle, Baltimore-Montreal-Edmonton; 359, Leo Lewis, Winnipeg.

MOST YARDS RUSHED (SINGLE GAME) -- 171 (28 carries), Johnny Bright, Edmonton vs. Montreal (1956).

ALL-TIME MOST RUSHING ATTEMPTS -- 77, George Reed, Saskatchewan; 76, Mike Pringle, Baltimore-Montreal-Edmonton; 359, Leo Lewis, Winnipeg.

ALL-TIME MOST PASS RECEPTIONS -- 29, Hal Patterson, Montreal-Hamilton; 26, Tommy Scott, Edmonton.

MOST PASS RECEPTIONS (SINGLE GAME) -- 13, Red O'Quinn, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1954).

ALL-TIME PASS RECEPTION YARDAGE -- 580, Hal Patterson, Montreal-Hamilton.

PASS RECEPTION YARDAGE (SINGLE GAME) -- 316, Red O'Quinn, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1954).

ALL-TIME MOST PASS ATTEMPTS -- 171, Doug Flutie, Calgary-Toronto; 169, Bernie Faloney, Edmonton-Hamilton-Montreal-B.C.

MOST PASS ATTEMPTS (SINGLE GAME) -- 56, Danny Barrett, Calgary vs. Toronto (1991); 49, Doug Flutie, Calgary, vs. Baltimore (1995), and Doug Flutie, Calgary, vs. Winnipeg (1992); 48, Jack Jacobs, Winnipeg, vs. Hamilton (1953).

ALL-TIME MOST PASS COMPLETIONS -- 108, Doug Flutie, Calgary-Toronto; 92, Bernie Faloney, Edmonton-Hamilton-Montreal-B.C.; 76, Ron Lancaster, Ottawa-Saskatchewan.

MOST PASS COMPLETIONS (SINGLE GAME) -- 34, Danny Barrett, Calgary, vs. Toronto (1991); 33, Doug Flutie, Calgary, vs. Winnipeg (1992); 31, Jack Jacobs, Winnipeg, vs. Hamilton (1953).

ALL-TIME MOST YARDS PASSING -- 1,421, Doug Flutie, Calgary-Toronto; 1,369, Bernie Faloney, Edmonton-Hamilton-Montreal-B.C.; 1,244, Sam Etcheverry, Montreal.

MOST YARDS PASSING (SINGLE GAME) -- 508, Sam Etcheverry, Montreal, vs. Edmonton (1955); 480, Doug Flutie, Calgary, vs. Winnipeg (1992); 474, Kent Austin, Saskatchewan, vs. Hamilton (1989).

ALL-TIME MOSTTOUCHDOWNPASSES -- 8, Bernie Faloney, Edmonton-Hamilton; Russ Jackson, Ottawa, Danny McManus, Hamilton-B.C.

MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES (SINGLE GAME) -- 4, Russ Jackson, Ottawa vs. Saskatchewan (1969).

ALL-TIME MOST INTERCEPTIONS -- 8, Sam Etcheverry, Montreal.

MOST INTERCEPTIONS THROWN (SINGLE GAME) -- 4, Sam Etcheverry, Montreal vs. Edmonton (1956); and Bruce Lemmerman, Edmonton, vs. Montreal (1977).

MOST INTERCEPTION RETURNS (SINGLE GAME) -- 2, Lester Smith, Toronto, vs Saskatchewan (1997); Reggie Pleasant, Toronto, vs. Calgary (1991); Greg Battle, Winnipeg, vs. Edmonton (1990); Joe Hollimon, Edmonton, vs. Hamilton (1980); Vernon Perry, Montreal, vs. Edmonton (1977); Garry Lefebvre, Edmonton, vs. Ottawa (1973); Al Phaneuf, Montreal, vs. Calgary (1970); Frank Andruski, Calgary, vs. Montreal (1970); Ray Bawel, Hamilton, vs. Winnipeg (1957); Bruce Coulter, Montreal, vs. Edmonton (1956).

MOST YARDAGE ON INTERCEPTION RETURNS (SINGLE GAME) -- 88, Greg Battle, Winnipeg, vs. Edmonton (1990); and Vernon Perry, Montreal, vs. Edmonton (1977).

LONGEST INTERCEPTION RETURN -- 74, Vernon Perry, Montreal, vs. Edmonton, (1977); 56, Greg Battle, Winnipeg vs. Edmonton (1990).

ALL-TIME MOST PUNTS -- 64, Hank Ilesic, Edmonton-Toronto; 53, Joe Zuger, Hamilton.

ALL-TIME PUNTING YARDAGE -- 2,735, Hank Ilesic, Edmonton-Toronto.

MOST KICKOFFS (SINGLE GAME) -- 10, Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton, vs. Saskatchewan (1989); and Trevor Kennerd, Winnipeg, vs. Hamilton (1984).

MOST KICKOFF YARDAGE (SINGLE GAME) -- 622, Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton vs. Saskatchewan (1989).

ALL-TIME MOST KICKOFF RETURNS -- 11, Rufus Crawford, Hamilton.

ALL-TIME KICKOFF RETURNS YARDAGE -- 306, Leo Lewis, Winnipeg; 218 Henry Williams, Edmonton; 187, Tom Richards, Edmonton.

MOST KICKOFF RETURNS (SINGLE GAME) -- 8, Dwight Edwards, Toronto vs. Edmonton (1987).

MOST KICKOFF RETURN YARDAGE (SINGLE GAME) -- 183, Raghib (Rocket) Ismail, Toronto vs. Calgary (1991); 169, Tim McCray, Saskatchewan vs. Hamilton (1989).

LONGEST KICKOFF RETURN -- 95, Adrion Smith, Toronto, vs. Saskatchewan (1997).

- - -

COACHING VICTORIES

FIVE

Don Matthews (B.C. 1985; Baltimore 95; Toronto 96-97; Montreal 2002)

Hugh Campbell (Edmonton, 1978-82)

Frank Clair (Toronto 1950, 52; Ottawa, 1960, 1968-9)

Lew Heyman (Toronto 1933, 1937-8; Toronto RCAF, 1942; Montreal 1949).

FOUR

Bud Grant (Winnipeg 1958-59, 61-62).

Billy Hughes (Queen's Univ. 1922-24, Hamilton Tigers 1932).

THREE

Wally Buono (Calgary 1992, 98, 2001).

Frank Ivy (Edmonton 1954-56).

Ted Morris (Toronto, 1945-47).

Ralph Sazio (Hamilton 1963, 65, 67).

- - -

WINNING PERCENTAGES

(IN THE MODERN ERA THROUGH 2004 GAME)

pre>

TEAM APP. WINS PCT.

Toronto 22 15 .682

x-Ottawa 13 7 .538

Edmonton 23 12 .522

B.C. 8 4 .500

Baltimore 2 1 .500

Calgary 11 5 .455

Hamilton 18 8 .444

Winnipeg 21 9 .429

Montreal 13 5 .385

Saskatchewan 8 2 .250

/pre>

x -- Rough Riders (Renegades have yet to qualify).

THE CRYSTAL BALL GAME; PSYCHIC SAYS ESKS WIN IT
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS12
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DEREK VAN DIEST, EDMONTON SUN

It's in the cards.

The Edmonton Eskimos will win the Grey Cup on Sunday 39-12 over the Montreal Alouettes.

According to Elonora, an international healer and psychic, the Eskimos will win the 93rd Grey Cup in convincing fashion.

"Definitely Edmonton is going to win," said Elonora. "I just went into the space today. The number might be just off, but the Eskimos will definitely win. I think it will be kind of close at the beginning and it'll open up towards the latter end of the game."

Having been a clairvoyant for 35 years, Elonora is confident in her predictions. She works throughout the city and can be found at the Silk Hat restaurant downtown, 1-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"My mother and my grandmother and my auntie were psychic," Elonora said. "So it was a natural progression. I can see auras and I could see things as a child."

BIG THINGS

Elonora sees big things for the Eskimos including rookie head coach Danny Maciocia, who is going up against legend Don Matthews.

"I think the Eskimos coach is going to be very focused going into this game," Elonora said. "He's really going to come into his own in this game."

Interpreting birth dates, Elonora also has some predictions on individual players.

One of the biggest questions is whether Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray will last the entire game, or be pulled in favour of Jason Maas again.

"I feel he's going to get his confidence back for this game," Elonora said of Ray. "I think he'll play very well.

"This is a good year for him, it's a manifestation year. There is a nine-year cycle, with a one being a new beginning. A seven is a manifestation year. Eight is a money year. He's in a manifestation year, he's really coming into his own, and it's going to be a good year."

Saying that, Elonora also sees Jason Maas coming into the game. Whether he sticks around next year is a different story.

"He may leave," she said. "Looking at that, it all depends whether they win or not."

On the other side of the ball, Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo will have something to prove himself.

Calvillo has been at the Grey Cup three times, but has only one Grey Cup ring to show for his efforts.

"He desperately wants to win the game," Elonora said. "He wants to be a winner on a winning team."

Elonora does not see that happening. Instead she sees the Eskimos coming together for the start of many good years to come. That includes good things for Maciocia.

"This is like a completion and he'll have new beginnings next year," she said. "He'll get off on the right foot by winning the Grey Cup."

Another question surrounds the future of Eskimos running back Troy Davis, who was brought in midway through the season.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL

Davis - acquired from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats - helped the Eskimos transform themselves into a two-dimensional offence.

"I think when the Grey Cup is won, it'll make a tremendous difference to the morale and he'll stay," she said. "Winning the Grey Cup will make a lot of players want to stay because they'll want to be part of a winning team."

And if it comes down to a late-second field goal, will Eskimos kicker Sean Fleming be there to deliver in the clutch?

The embattled kicker had a roller-coaster season, one that saw him replaced midway through the campaign.

"I see that his confidence has not always been up," Elonora said. "I feel it's the most important time for him to win this Cup. It'll be good for his confidence, because his confidence has not been well."

So there it is.

The Eskimos are on the verge of their 13th Grey Cup title. They can't lose.

"I think they are prepared and focused going into it and I don't think there is a doubt that they are going to win," Elonora said.

"They've got to this place one or two times before and have not been successful, but I think they are going to be successful this time around."

**Angelus** · 11-25-2005, 05:21 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Friday - Part 3

ESKIMOS BY TEN!
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS14
Section: Sports

OK, so we didn't exactly pick a neutral panel. But with one exception, they say there's only one winner

- - -

MIKE MCLEAN

Huskies Coach

edmonton 36

montreal 24

MVP: Ed Hervey / A.J. Gass

"It will be interesting to see if Montreal stays with their old-style defence and whether Edmonton will adjust to it."

- - -

KEVIN MARTIN

Edmonton curler

edmonton 38

montreal 24

MVP: Jason Maas

"I think the Eskimos offence is too strong. Ricky Ray will play well and I hope they bring in Jason Maas at the end because he deserves it."

- - -

STEVE MANDEL

Mayor of Edmonton

edmonton 31

montreal 20

MVP: No choice

"I think it's going to be a really exciting game. These two teams have a long history of playing each other."

- - -

GEORGE LARAQUE

edmonton 27

montreal 24

Edmonton Oiler

MVP: Jason Maas

"I like Danny Maciocia because he coached me in midget football."

- - -

TIM PRINSEN

Former Eskimo

No prediction: don't want to jinx the boys

MVP: Chris Morris

"I think it's going to be a great game, a hard-fought battle and the Eskimos' O-line is going to be great."

- - -

TOM WILKINSON

Former Ekimo

edmonton 36

montreal 28

MVP: Don't care who the MVP is

"The difference in the game will be penalties and turnovers."

- - -

'MELONHEAD'

Fan Pascal Contant

edmonton 42

montreal 17

MVP: Ricky Ray

"If Anthony Calvillo throws the ball the way he did against Toronto last week, we'll have four inter-ceptions in the game."

- - -

BLAKE DERMOTT

Former

Eskimo

edmonton 28

montreal 18

MVP: Ed Hervey

"I think the key for the Eskimos will be to keep their composure, which I think they will. They have a lot of veterans on that team."

- - -

ROD PHILLIPS

Oilers' play-by-play man

edmonton 33

montreal 30

MVP: Sean Fleming

"I think they're the better team right now and they're on a roll."

- - -

CHARLIE HUDDY

Oilers coach

edmonton 27

montreal 24

MVP: Jason Tucker

"They've won two in a row on the road and they're on a roll."

- - -

BILL SMITH

Former Eskimo, former mayor

edmonton 31

montreal 24

MVP: Jason Tucker

"The Eskimos have turned the corner and have come together as a team. I think it'll be a high-scoring game. "

- - -

DUANE VIENNEAU

Rush pres.

edmonton 36

montreal 24

MVP: Jason Tucker

"It's going to be close and then the Eskimos are going to take it away in the fourth quarter."

- - -

M.A. BERGERON

Oiler's D-man

montreal 27

edmonton 13

MVP: Anthony Calvillo

"Last time I picked the Als, and they lost. But I'm cheering for them again. "

- - -

RANDY FERBEY

Edmonton curler

edmonton 30

montreal 20

MVP: Ricky Ray

"The last two games the Eskimos have played extremely well and I don't see a reason why that can't continue"

- - -

GIZMO WILLIAMS

Former Eskimo

edmonton 33

montreal 17

MVP: Jason Maas / Troy Davis

"For us to win, we can't make any mistakes. We also have to be ready for whatever coach (Don) Matthews throws at (us)."

- - -

JERRY FRIESEN

U of A Golden Bears coach

edmonton 27

montreal 23

MVP: Jason Tucker

"The question is: will Edmonton be able to handle the traditional Montreal pressure?"

- - -

JELENA MRDJENOVICH

WBC, WIBF super featherweight champ

edmonton 35

montreal 28

"It's going to be a close and exciting game and Edmonton will come out on top."

A MATCHUP FOR THE AGES; EDMONTON VS. MONTREAL IS A GREY CUP STAPLE ...
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS16
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

What you are about to read, I have come to consider a work in progress.

It began back in 1973, when I covered my first of 33 consecutive Grey Cup games, in 17 of which the Edmonton Eskimos have managed to tag along to keep me busy.

I was asked to produce, for a special Grey Cup section, a piece on the Eskimos' three Grey Cup wins in a row against the Alouettes in 1954-55-56.

I've kind of been, well, updating it, ever since.

It's always the Eskimos against the Alouettes. Or so it seems. So much of Edmonton's Grey Cup history is married to the Alouettes.

Montreal, I'm sure you are more than aware by now, is about to have met Edmonton in three of the last four Grey Cup games. The Als have won five Grey Cups, three of them against Edmonton ('74, '77 and '02). They've lost eight Grey Cups, seven of them against the Eskimos ('54, '55, '56, '75, '78, '79 and '03). All four Montreal Grey Cup wins came at the expense of Alberta teams, the Als having defeated Calgary in '49 and again in '70.

THE FIRST ONE ...

Of course, the most famous of them all was the first one, back in 1954.

Over the years, although I never actually met the man in person, I felt like I became friends with Chuck Hunsinger. He called it my annual phone call about the 1954 Grey Cup. It was Edmonton's first of what could become 13 championships and the biggest single moment in our sports history until the Edmonton Oilers came along and won their first of five Stanley Cups.

"It's not my favourite memory, but it kinda made me famous, I guess,'' Hunsinger told me the last time I talked to him. "History remembers that I fumbled and Jackie Parker ran it back for the winning touchdown,'' he remembered.

"I didn't fumble it. I don't care what they say, I didn't fumble. I knew I was definitely going to get caught for a loss so I decided to throw the football. They called it a fumble. But it was definitely a pass.''

Hunsinger came to honour what happened because it became history.

"I've actually come to treasure what happened,'' is how he put it. "It's good to know you are remembered in historical terms somewhere. Sam Etcheverry and Red O'Quinn keep saying how I made one dumb play and got to be a legend for all time.

"Even in my hometown of Harrisburg, Pa., I got to be well-known because of that play. When Jackie Parker was named by the Schenley Awards people as the player of the quarter-century, our local undertaker was on a holiday to Canada and brought back all the papers to town. There were a lot of stories and they all mentioned one play.''

The other Montreal-Edmonton game that became legend, of course, was the famed Staples Game, a.k.a. the Ice Bowl.

"We just had our 25th anniversary reunion of the team that beat Edmonton in the 1977 so-called Staples Game a couple years back,'' says Tony Proudfoot.

"I was asked about it again, of course. It was icy cold and there had been a big snowstorm with a transit strike and fans walking all the way from downtown to Olympic Stadium.

"The field was a skating rink. Guys were trying different kinds of footwear - broomball shoes and things like that. All week long we'd been thinking of what footwear to use. We knew it was going to be slippery and nothing, really, was any good. On a frozen field a lot of players like to wear broomball shoes. But they didn't work very well.

"Another alternative, because the field was so hard, was screw-on cleats. Nobody really used those anymore, but they were available. We tried grass cleats, Astroturf cleats, nothing worked.

"I experimented during the week. I even thought about putting nails through my shoes.

"By game day, a bunch of guys settled on using steel cleats. Before the warm-up, I noticed a guy from BellCanada walking by with a staples gun. A light bulb went on. 'I've tried everything, but not that.' So I tried putting staples in my shoes. I stapled an 'X' on about six bumps. Gordon Judges and Chuck Zapiec put some in, too. We looked at each other and said 'That's it.'

"At the start of the game, about 12 guys had them in and by half- time it was half or three-quarters of the team. The numbers aren't precise because this wasn't organized.

"The coaches weren't in on it and the equipment guys had nothing to do with it. It was just the players. WalIy Buono was involved. In my opinion it made a big difference. With that little bit of a grip, it gave you extra confidence. We really knew we had something when Gerry Dattillio caught a short pass from Sonny Wade and ran right past Larry Highbaugh for a big gain. Gerry will tell you that he was not ... well, he was not very fast. And Highbaugh was known as one of the fastest guys in the league.

PRIZED POSSESSION

"That's when we knew we had something. It was a big factor in that 41-6 win. To me, it was a big deal.

"I still have that staple gun. To me it's a prized possession.''

Former CFL commissioner and current Als G.M. Larry Smith has his own memory.

"That was a special team and a special year in 1977. I remember how nervous we were about the field and how cold it was. And I remember the shivers we got when they introduced the team before the game.

"A lot has been made about the staples in that game. It may have been more psychological than anything. I think it was just our day, a day when Sonny Wade was at his best. The difference was that we had the better quarterback and Peter Dalla Riva made some great catches.''

Those were the days.

"I was in three Grey Cups coaching the Montreal Alouettes and we had the good fortune of winning two, which is better than I can say with the Buffalo Bills and Super Bowls,'' remembers Marv Levy.

"And I'll tell you this. I was every bit as thrilled to be in the Grey Cup as I was to be in the Super Bowl.

"My first Grey Cup was against the Eskimos and we set some sort of record for running the ball. I remember that.

"The game was in Vancouver and I remember that it rained all week and especially during the game and that when we left the next day it was one of the most beautiful, sun-splashed days you've ever seen.

"We lost the next one in '75 to the Eskimos in Calgary. I'll never forget that bitter, bitter cold game. At halftime I couldn't hold the chalk when I went to the blackboard. And when I tried to talk to the team, my teeth were chattering like a machine gun.

"But if I have to pick my favourite one, I guess it would be the one in Montreal, the 41-6 Staples Game or Ice Bowl against the Eskimos as I guess it came to be called. And I swear I did not know about the staples in the shoes until after the game.

"There was so much ice on the field that no footwear worked. Tony Proudfoot found a worker with a staples gun and ... well, the rest is Grey Cup history. But I'll never forget that day because there was a terrible snowstorm in Montreal and a transit strike and people walked from downtown to go to that game and we had a full stadium. And that was my last game in the CFL.''

DON'S FAVOURITE

There were others, of course. The one here in 1955 which is featured elsewhere in this section. And there's the one in 1956 which is former Alberta Premier Don Getty's favourite memory.

"For me, of course, the one which I'll remember most was the 1956 Grey Cup when Pop Ivy decided to use me at quarterback and Jackie Parker in the backfield. The big headline back in Edmonton when we came back was 'Gettyberg!' '' he remembered.

"We used to play a three-game total point series in the Western final in those days. We had some injuries and Pop decided to go with Parker at halfback and move me to quarterback for the third and deciding game. We scored 55 points that day. In the Grey Cup we beat Montreal 50-27. That was 105 points with a rookie Canadian quarterback.

"The secret of my success? I had Johnny Bright, Normie Kwong, Rollie Miles and Jackie Parker in my backfield. Jackie Parker never had a backfield like that.''

It was a long time between Grey Cups. The next time the Eskimos made it to three Grey Cups in a row, they lost the first two including one to the Alouettes before they finally won another one.

It was against Montreal again. It was the first Grey Cup on the prairies, in Calgary in 1975.

John Farlinger made one of the biggest plays of that game.

"I guess a lot of people still remember that I got a good hit on Johnny Rodgers of Montreal and after that he wasn't a factor. I've taken a lot of credit for that. But at halftime I was very woozy. I couldn't remember what I had to do from play to play. Pete Lavorato had to keep asking the coaches for me.''

MOON HAS MEMORIES

Then came the famed Staples Game and the five in a row Hugh Campbell coached after that. The first two of those were against Montreal.

Warren Moon has his memories.

"When people ask me about the six years I played in Canada I tell them I wouldn't trade them for anything,'' said the quarterback who becomes eligible for the NFL Hall of Fame this year.

"We had a great group of guys on that Eskimos team and we had a lot of success. We won five Grey Cups in a row and it all started with those games against Montreal.''

And the two teams are back at it again and another generation has Montreal-Edmonton Grey Cup memories.

In 2002, in Commonwealth Stadium, the two teams made the Grey Cup's most common matchup again. In the replays of the mind, it is a game the Eskimos and their fans are still replaying, and are still upset at a coaching call made by Tom Higgins late in the game. Edmonton had a 25-7 edge in first downs. Every Eskimo looks back at it as a game of missed opportunities, a game Edmonton lost and Montreal won.

But one year later in Regina, the Eskimos won their 12th Grey Cup and won it by 12 points.

Ricky Ray went to work on two new cornerbacks who Don Matthews decided to play in the game, including one D.J. Johnson, who may be remembered in Edmonton Grey Cup history much like Chuck Hunsinger.

The Eskimos, first with Ed Hervey and then with Jason Tucker, went to work on the out-classed cornerback. Hervey set up the first touchdown with an 83-yard pass and Ray went at Johnson again, completing a touchdown toss to give the Eskimos a 14-0 lead. Tucker ended up as the Player of the Game, catching seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Ray, completed 22 of 32 passes for 301 yards to win it.

"It's weird,'' he said as he held the Cup for photographers. "The first year was the dream season for me. It was awesome. I came up here just hoping to be the third string quarterback. I went all the way to the Grey Cup as the starter and we almost won it. The whole year was like a dream. This year was so much different because I had to prove I could go do it again, that last year wasn't a fluke. I'm just so happy I was able to play my part to do what this team was able to do.''

Edmonton went home for the parade and the 'Stay, Ricky Ray, Stay' celebrations.

He didn't. He went away to the NFL for a year. But he's back and so are the Alouettes and the Eskimos for the deja vu all over again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again Grey Cup matchup that is the Eskimos and the Alouettes.

A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR ESKIMOS
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS19
Section: Sports
Byline: BY DEREK VAN DIEST, EDMONTON SUN

The Grey Cup has always been a family affair for the Edmonton Eskimos.

The team taking part in its 24th Grey Cup has always made a point of trying to get the entire organization in on the festivities.

Apart from accommodating family members of the individual players, the Eskimos make an effort to bring the entire staff up to the big game.

This year is no exception.

"There are a number of people that are going out there to work, they know that," said Eskimos chief operating officer Rick LeLacheur.

DIG A LITTLE DEEPER

"But for the rest of our staff it's a benefit. They put in a lot of extra hours, we have a lot of weekend games. So our culture is that we're a whole team, whether we're on the field or the support group. So we want everyone there with us."

Having failed to secure a home playoff date this year, the Eskimos had to dig a little deeper into their pockets to get everyone out to Vancouver. As it turns out, it's costing the team money to play in the Grey Cup.

"We would have made some money with a playoff date," said LeLacheur. "It would have offset some of our Grey Cup expenses, so it will cost us a little more."

For the Eskimos the tradeoff is worth it. Especially considering it gives players a chance to have their families come up to watch the contest.

The same goes for coaches.

"It's nice knowing that the people closest to you are coming to see the game," said head coach Danny Maciocia, who has a contingent from Montreal going to Vancouver.

"It really means a lot. This is the most important game of my coaching career and it's special to be able to share it with my family."

As a Canadian, Maciocia has the luxury of having his family keep close tabs on his career. American-born players are not so lucky.

At times it's tough for players' families to keep track of their progress north of the border. So getting an opportunity to bring them up for the big game makes things very special.

OVER 100 TICKETS

In total, the Eskimos have secured over 100 tickets for family, friends and employees.

"I got a lot of family coming up," said Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray, who hails from Happy Camp, California. "It's much easier this time, Vancouver is a lot closer to California. So it makes it easier on them and it's nice to have them in town."

Ray has 10 family members making the trip, including his parents. With the exception of a couple of aunts, most of his family has seen him play in the CFL before.

"It does make it special," he said.

"They get a chance to come watch you play in the biggest game of the year. Who knows when you'll be there next? It's just a great experience for them to come up and go to all the parties and then get to watch the game on Sunday."

1955: A FIRST FOR THE WILDWESTCOAST; EDMONTON 34, MONTREAL 19
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS20
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Getting there isn't everything. Especially here.

The Edmonton Eskimos are real good at getting to the Grey Cup. And they're real good at winning the Grey Cup.

But when it comes to Grey Cups in Vancouver ... not so much.

Well, they're good at getting to the ones here. But if they lose here Sunday, half of their Grey Cup losses will have happened here on the wet coast.

Since the Eskimos' modern day era began in 1949, no team has managed to match the 22 trips Edmonton has made to the Grey Cup or the 12 they've won against nine losses.

This is the Eskimos' seventh trip to Vancouver for the Canadian classic.

They've come back from four of them without the Cup.

On the other hand, the two they won here were two of the most memorable, including arguably the greatest Grey Cup game ever played.

The moral of the story, the 2005 Eskimos should note, is that nobody remembers the teams that made it to the Grey Cup and lost. But the ones who made it and won, provided

Novembers to remember forever.

- - -

It was the year Pop Ivy invented the Twin Fullback system. And it was the story of the year.

"I wasn't sure I wanted to play in 1955,'' remembers Normie Kwong.

"My heart was at fullback and it didn't look like my main role on that team was going to be at fullback. Then Pop called me one day in the off-season and told me he'd invented a completely new offence so we could have twin fullbacks. He revolutionized football in Canada that year.''

Ivy knew a couple of things about his team by the time they made it to the 1955 Grey Cup game.

They liked the bright lights.

And they liked the late nights.

Ivy got to thinking. For the first time, the Grey Cup would be played in Vancouver. And Vancouver had bright lights.

Ivy decided to take his team to Victoria to prepare for the 1955 Grey Cup game.

"There we were in Victoria a week before the game,'' recalled Bob Dean.

"Staid old Victoria.

"And it rained.

"And it rained.

"And it rained.

"And there we were, three dozen of the biggest, ugliest, dirtiest people they'd ever seen, walking in from practice with mud all over us, walking past 98-year-old ladies having their tea and crumpets.''

A crowd of 39,417, a record to watch a Grey Cup game, showed up for the first Vancouver Grey Cup game with experts again predicting the Eskimos were going to get licked.

Johnny Bright and Kwong rushed for two touchdowns each and the Eskimos won the 1955 Grey Cup game 34-19. The Eskimos had 440 yards rushing in the big game.

It was one play Bright made in that game that provided the lasting memory for his teammates.

"On one play in that game, Johnny got through the hole and there was nobody, absolutely nobody, between him and the goal line,'' remembered Frank Morris.

"That just wasn't Johnny's style.

"He always managed to veer off and find one more guy he could hit before scoring the touchdown. This time he had to veer way, way off. And he hit J.C. Caroline before scoring the touchdown.

"We were impressed.

"So Johnny gets back to the huddle for the convert and he pokes Rollie Miles and says, 'Hey, Rollie, check out J.C.'

"Rollie stuck his head out of the huddle and and then shook his head. Bright had knocked out J.C. Caroline as cold as cold could be.''

While you'd expect Jackie Parker to recall the 1954 Grey Cup game, in which he was the hero, as his favourite, it wasn't.

"No, my favourite Grey Cup was 1955,'' said Parker.

"They'd been telling us all year that we'd been lucky to win the Grey Cup the year before. And it was a real, real good Montreal Alouettes team in 1955.

"Sam Etcheverry threw for over 500 yards passing in that game and we were still able to win.

"I had to play both ways in that game. And that's the game I'll always remember, that's all.

"I know a lot of people would expect me to say it was the year before when I ran the Chuck Hunsinger fumble back for the winning touchdown. But the ball pops out and you run with it. I certainly didn't think at the time that it would be remembered so long.

"But the '55 Grey Cup game ... that was the one.''

- - -

But when it comes to Grey Cups in Vancouver ... not so much.

Well, they're good at getting to the ones here. But if they lose here Sunday, half of their Grey Cup losses will have happened here on the wet coast.

Since the Eskimos' modern day era began in 1949, no team has managed to match the 22 trips Edmonton has made to the Grey Cup or the 12 they've won against nine losses.

This is the Eskimos' seventh trip to Vancouver for the Canadian classic.

They've come back from four of them without the Cup.

On the other hand, the two they won here were two of the most memorable, including arguably the greatest Grey Cup game ever played.

The moral of the story, the 2005 Eskimos should note, is that nobody remembers the teams that made it to the Grey Cup and lost. But the ones who made it and won, provided Novembers to remember forever.

1987: ARGUABLY THE GREATEST CUP EVER; EDMONTON 38, TORONTO 36
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS21
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

It was, arguably, the greatest Grey Cup game ever played. And, at the time, there wasn't much argument.

If it wasn't the greatest Grey Cup game ever played, the nod goes to the one two years later when the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

But to me, it was the greatest. And it will always be The Game for Brian Kelly and most of the Edmonton Eskimos who were in B.C. Place on Nov. 29, 1987, as the Eskimos won 38-36 over the Toronto Argos.

"The last Grey Cup game I played will always be the one for me,'' said Kelly.

"The 1987 Grey Cup was an incredible experience. It was the most exciting game I ever played in during my entire football career. It was a thrill to be in the middle of that. It happened that we won it, too. Even better.''

It was a game both teams deserved to win. And in a way they did.

"We did something today,'' said Eskimos' Bill Stevenson after it was over. "And by 'we' I mean the Eskimos and the Argos. We proved something. Canadians can't walk away from this league.''

The CFL was as troubled that year as at any point in its history and some believe that Grey Cup game saved the league.

For the Eskimos, it saved their reputation.

After winning five Grey Cups in a row from 1978 to 1982, the Eskimos - while managing not to fall under .500, or break their remarkable record for consecutive years making the playoffs - had managed to get back to the big game, also here, in 1986 and lose 39-15 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

As was the case a few years earlier when the team got to the Ice Bowl or Staples Game in Montreal and lost 41-6 to the Alouettes, the Eskimos almost wished they hadn't made it to the final that year. The Eskimos in that game set records for shooting themselves in the foot. Two interceptions. Ten sacks. A punt blocked for a touchdown.

"They kicked our royal ass,'' said defensive coach Don Sutherin after the disaster.

Once again the Eskimos would be a team with revenge in mind when they got back the next year for the 75th Grey Cup game.

It was an incredible game. Back and forth all the way. The Eskimos led 7-0 before they had a first down. Henry 'Gizmo' Williams had a 115-yard field goal return. Eskimos starting quarterback Matt Dunigan was knocked out of the game and Damon Allen came on to win in relief.

"I know everybody on our bench was doing it and I'm sure everybody on their bench was doing it. I'm sure every single player was begging to every power on the planet to let him win,'' said Hector Pothier.

Turning point? Pick one. There were 101.

"Nobody gave up, nobody,'' said Esks' John Mandarich. "And to win it with a second-string quarterback and a rookie kicker. Unbelievable!

"Damon Allen's a winner. He came through. Jerry Kauric's a winner. He came through!''

The moment that will always be remembered was when kicker Kauric was brought in to kick a 49-yard field goal, his longest of the year, in the final minute.

"Dwayne Mandrusiak, our equipment manager, had painted the Grey Cup on my kicking tee,'' said Kauric.

"He'd been painting something different every week. But this was perfect. The Grey Cup ...

"I dreamed I'd be the hero the night before. I did. I dreamed I kicked the winning field goal.

"I just walked out ... and kicked it,'' said Kauric.

"It's a dream for every kicker. You just never believe it'll happen to you.''

It was a dream for Edmonton as well. The Oilers were in the National Hockey League and a championship team after five seasons. The Grey Cup and the Stanley Cup, both owned by Edmonton at the same time, were brought to Commonwealth Stadium one Sunday afternoon so fans could have their pictures taken with both. And the signs erected at every entrance to the Edmonton said it all: "City Of Champions.''

GREY CUP MVPS
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS22
Section: Sports

2004 -- MVP: Damon Allen, QB, Toronto; Canadian MVP: Jason Clermont, SB, B.C.

2003 -- MVP: Jason Tucker, WR, Edmonton; Canadian MVP: Ben Cahoon, WR, Montreal.

2002 -- MVP: Anthony Calvillo, QB, Montreal; Canadian MVP: Pat Woodcock, WR, Montreal.

2001 -- MVP: Marcus Crandell, QB, Calgary; Canadian MVP: Aldi Henry, DB, Calgary.

2000 -- MVP: Robert Drummond, RB, B.C.; Canadian MVP: Sean Millington, RB, B.C.

1999 -- MVP: Danny McManus, QB, Hamilton; Canadian MVP, Mike Morreale, SB, Hamilton.

1998 -- MVP: Jeff Garcia, QB, Calgary; Canadian MVP, Vince Danielsen, WR, Calgary.

1997 -- MVP: Doug Flutie, QB, Toronto; Canadian MVP, Paul Masotti, WR, Toronto.

1996 -- MVP: Doug Flutie, QB, Toronto; Canadian MVP, Mike Vanderjagt, K, Toronto.

1995 -- MVP, Tracy Ham, QB, Baltimore; Canadian MVP, Dave Sapunjis, SB, Calgary.

1994 -- MVP, Karl Anthony, DB, Baltimore; Canadian MVP, Lui Passaglia, K, B.C.

1993 -- MVP, Damon Allen, QB, Edmonton; Canadian MVP, Sean Fleming, K, Edmonton.

1992 -- MVP, Doug Flutie, QB, Calgary; Canadian MVP, David Sapunjis, SB, Calgary.

1991 -- MVP, Raghib Ismail, WR, Toronto; Canadian MVP, David Sapunjis, SB, Calgary.

1990 -- Offence, Tom Burgess, QB, Winnipeg; Defence, Greg Battle, LB, Winnipeg; Canadian, Warren Hudson, FB, Winnipeg.

1989 -- Offence, Kent Austin, QB, Saskatchewan; Defence, Chuck Klingbeil, DT, Saskatchewan; Canadian, David Ridgway, K, Saskatchewan.

1988 -- Offence, James Murphy, WR, Winnipeg; Defence, Michael Gray, DT, Winnipeg; Canadian, Bob Cameron, P, Winnipeg.

1987 -- Offence, Damon Allen, QB, Edmonton; Defence, Stewart Hill, DE, Edmonton; Canadian, Milson Jones, RB, Edmonton.

1986 -- Offence, Mike Kerrigan, QB, Hamilton; Defence, Grover Covington, DE, Hamilton; Canadian, Paul Osbaldiston, K/P, Hamilton.

1985 -- Offence, Roy Dewalt, QB, B.C.; Defence, James Parker, DE, B.C.; Canadian, Lui Passaglia, P/K, B.C.

1984 -- Offence, Tom Clements, QB, Winnipeg; Defence, Tyrone Jones, LB, Winnipeg; Canadian, Sean Kehoe, RB, Winnipeg.

1983 -- Offence, Joe Barnes, QB, Toronto; Defence, Carl Brazley, DB, Toronto; Canadian Rick Klassen, DT, B.C.

1982 -- Offence, Warren Moon, QB, Edmonton; Defence, Dave Fennell, DT, Edmonton; Canadian, Dave Fennell, DT, Edmonton.

1981 -- Offence, J.C. Watts, QB, Ottawa; Defence, John Glassford, LB,Ottawa; Canadian, Neil Lumsden, RB, Edmonton.

1980 -- Offence, Warren Moon, QB, Edmonton; Defence, Dale Potter, LB, Edmonton; Canadian, Dale Potter, LB, Edmonton.

1979 -- Offence, David Green, RB, Montreal; Defence, Tom Cousineau, LB, Montreal; Canadian, Don Sweet, K, Montreal.

1978 -- Offence, Tom Wilkinson, QB, Edmonton; Defence, Dave Fennell, DT, Edmonton; Canadian, Angelo Santucci, RB, Edmonton.

1977 -- Offence, Sonny Wade, QB, Montreal; Defence, Glen Weir, DT, Montreal; Canadian Don Sweet, K, Montreal.

1976 -- Offence, Tom Clements, QB, Ottawa; Defence, Cleveland Vann, LB, Saskatchewan; Canadian, Tony Gabriel, TE, Ottawa.

1975 -- Offence, Steve Ferrughelli, RB, Montreal; Defence, Lewis Cook, DB, Montreal; Canadian, Dave Cutler, K, Edmonton.

1974 -- Offence, Sonny Wade, QB, Montreal; Defence, Junior Ah You, DE, Montreal; Canadian, Don Sweet, K, Montreal.

1973 -- MVP, Charlie Brandon, DE, Ottawa; Canadian, Garry Lefebvre, DB, Edmonton.

1972 -- MVP, Chuck Ealey, QB, Hamilton; Canadian, Ian Sunter, K, Hamilton.

1971 -- MVP, Wayne Harris, LB, Calgary; Canadian, Dick Suderman, DE, Calgary.

1970 -- MVP, Sonny Wade, QB, Montreal.

1969 -- MVP, Russ Jackson, QB, Ottawa.

1968 -- MVP, Vic Washington, RB, Ottawa.

1967 -- MVP, Joe Zuger, QB, Hamilton.

Note: In 1991, the categories for awards were changed, returning to MVP and Canadian MVP.

A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS24
Section: Sports
Byline: BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, EDMONTON SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Any good novel needs suspense, drama, controversy, success and failure.

Regardless of what happens in tomorrow's Grey Cup, the Edmonton Eskimos have provided it all this year.

Let's review...

Controversy: Take your choice because there was a kicking controversy in the middle of the season and the much-talked-about quarterback issue that still exists today.

Suspense: Where to start? Several games came right down to the wire.

Drama: It doesn't get much better than Jason Maas screaming a blue streak at his entire offence in the West final.

Failure: A frustrating stretch through August and September saw the team win three of eight games. And how can you forget the embarrassment in Hamilton?

Success: Five wins in the last six games has the Eskimos on the verge of winning a 13th Grey Cup.

GAME 1

EDMONTON 41 - OTTAWA 16

Dominating defence: As expected, Edmonton pounded the hapless Renegades.

But it was hard to expect such a staggering defensive display.

The Eskimos recorded seven sacks!!!!!!! (An exclamation point for every sack.)

"Oh, man, that was stupendous,'' said Joe Montford.

Ottawa managed just eight first downs and 184 yards of total offence.

GAME 2

EDMONTON 27 - WINNIPEG 8

Primetime plays: The Eskimos gained more yards on two plays than the Bombers did on offence for the entire night.

Ricky Ray and Jason Tucker hooked up for a 105-yard completion, the longest reception in team history, while Mike Bradley rambled for 60 yards on one carry.

In comparison, the Bombers gained just 110 yards of total offence.

The defence also added six more sacks.

GAME 3

MONTREAL 32 - EDMONTON 29

Special teams nightmare: In the darkest three hours of the season for the Eskimo cover teams, Ezra Landry went to the house twice.

He returned a missed field goal 125 yards for a major and scampered 74 yards for a punt return TD.

Then with no time left on the clock, Damon Duval nailed a 48-yard field goal to win it.

GAME 4

EDMONTON 14 - WINNIPEG 12

Rocky Ray: An ugly win might be an understatement.

Ray turned the ball over five times - twice on fumbles and three times through the air.

"I don't know how many times we tried to give it away,'' said Eskimos' rookie head coach Danny Maciocia. "You can't just show up and win."

GAME 5

EDMONTON 29 - OTTAWA 21

Terrific Tompkins: For the second time in three games, rookie sensation Tony Tompkins took a punt return into the end zone, as Edmonton built a 22-2 lead and hung on to win.

"That kid's pretty special,'' sighed Ottawa head coach Joe Paopao.

"He made some people miss and he was just unbelievable at times."

GAME 6

EDMONTON 36 - HAMILTON 30

Hervey history: Edmonton wins but loses big as receiver Ed Hervey injures a knee.

"I'm going to be all right,'' Hervey said immediately after the game.

"I could put some weight on it, but I didn't want to ... because I wasn't sure what the injury was.''

Hervey would be all right - but not for two months.

GAME 7

B.C. 25 - EDMONTON 19

Hello? The game starts at 7 p.m.: The Eskimos spotted the undefeated B.C. Lions a 20-0 second quarter lead before finally waking up.

"We just weren't ready to play,'' said Ray. "We pretty much just played a 15-minute game offensively tonight, just the third quarter.''

The Eskimos did score 16 points during that frame, but it wasn't enough.

GAME 8

TORONTO 22 - EDMONTON 18

Sick Saturday: For the Eskimos, it was a disgusting Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Argos registered just nine first downs, but won.

Why?

- 89-yard TD pass to an uncovered Arland Bruce

- 2 Ray interceptions

- 2 Edmonton fumbles

"Who am I kidding?'' said Maciocia.

"We have a lot of work to do here.''

GAME 9

EDMONTON 36 - MONTREAL 26

Ray to Tucker - again and again: Jason Tucker had the type of game that a receiver dreams of having on the best day of his life.

Ray hit Tucker nine times for a stunning 217 yards.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak heading into the second half of the season.

GAME 10

EDMONTON 25 - CALGARY 23

By the hair of their chin: Edmonton choked a 20-1 lead and needed Cedric Scott to haul down Stampeder quarterback Henry Burris from behind on a two-point convert attempt in the final minute to save the game.

It was a typical Calgary-Edmonton thriller - but there was somebody missing: Sean Fleming.

The 14-year veteran was a healthy scratch for both duties - kicking and punting - as Hayden Epstein emerged as the new sheriff in town.

GREY CUP TEAM COMPARISON
The Edmonton Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SS26
Section: Sports

REGULAR SEASON

pre>

Edm Mtl

Record (Won-Lost) 11-7 10-8

Position in Division 3rd 2nd

OFFENCE

Edm Mtl

POINTS SCORED 453 592

Total Plays 1478 1526

Rushing TDs 15 22

Passing TDs 26 35

FIRST DOWNS 397 454

Rushing 113 156

Passing 250 274

By Penalty 34 24

TOTAL OFFENCE (Yds) 6945 7971

Team Losses 399 296

NET OFFENCE (Yds) 6546 7675

Avg per Game 364 426

RUSHING (net) 1360 2147

Avg. per Game 76 119

Rushes 268 370

PASSING (net) 5585 5824

Avg. per Game 310 324

Passes Attempted 718 691

Completed 482 482

Pct. Completed 67.1 69.8

Sacks Allowed 39 32

Had Intercepted 24 23

Turnovers On Downs 5 7

PUNTS 126 97

Avg Yards 40.3 45.5

PUNT RETURNS 87 59

Avg. Return 11.1 10.6

KICKOFF RETURNS 75 87

Avg. Return 21.0 20.7

PENALTIES 202 221

Yards Penalized 1761 1663

Fumbles Made 31 23

Fumbles Lost 12 18

Avg. Time of Poss. 32:22 29:56

/pre>

- - -

DEFENCE

pre>

Edm Mtl

POINTS ALLOWED 421 519

Total Opp. Plays 1371 1459

OPP FIRST DOWNS 328 409

Rushing 94 124

Passing 190 240

By Penalty 44 45

TOTAL OFFENCE (Yds) 5988 7566

Team Losses 461 367

NET OFFENCE (Yds) 5527 7199

Avg. per Game 307 400

OPP RUSHING (net) 1420 2131

Rushes 303 340

Avg. per Game 79 118

OPP PASSING (net) 4568 5435

Avg. per Game 254 302

Passes Attempted 591 651

Completed 331 408

Pct. Completed 56.1 62.7

Sacks Made 46 38

Interceptions Made 15 27

Turned Over On Downs 13 17

OPP PUNT RETURNS 74 52

Avg. Return 10.6 12.9

OPP KICKOFF RET 79 92

Avg. Return 16.2 23.5

Opp Rushing TDs 14 16

Opp Passing TDs 23 35

Fumbles Forced 23 28

Fumbles Recovered 13 19

Opp. Time of Poss. 27:38 30:04

/pre>

- - -

ROAD TO THE CUP

How the East Division champion Montreal Alouettes and West Division champion Edmonton Eskimos reached the 93rd Grey Cup (home games in uppercase):

MONTREAL ALOUETTES (12-8-0)

June 22: HAMILTON, W, 31-21 (1-0-0)

July 1: at Ottawa, L, 36-39 (OT) (1-1-0)

July 8: EDMONTON, W, 32-29 (2-1-0)

July 22: at Winnipeg, L, 46-51 (2-2-0)

July 28: TORONTO, L, 24-36 (2-3-0)

Aug. 4: SASKATCHEWAN, W, 42-13 (3-3-0)

Aug. 12: at Toronto, W, 18-10 (4-3-0)

Aug. 18: CALGARY, L, 37-40 (4-4-0)

Aug. 26: at Edmonton, L, 26-36 (4-5-0)

Sept. 2: OTTAWA, W, 41-18 (5-5-0)

Sept. 17: at B.C., L, 26-27 (5-6-0)

Sept. 25: WINNIPEG, W, 42-23 (6-6-0)

Oct. 1: at Calgary, W, 32-11 (7-6-0)

Oct. 8: at Saskatchewan, W, 38-34 (8-6-0)

Oct. 16: B.C., W, 46-44 (9-6-0)

Oct. 22: TORONTO, L, 23-49 (9-7-0)

Oct. 29: at Ottawa, W, 43-23 (10-7-0)

Nov. 4: at Hamilton, L, 9-15 (10-8-0)

Nov. 13: SASKATCHEWAN (East Division semifinal), W, 30-14 (11-8-0)

Nov. 20: at Toronto (East Division final), W, 33-17 (12-8-0)

EDMONTON ESKIMOS (13-7-0)

June 24: OTTAWA, W, 41-16 (1-0-0)

June 30: at Winnipeg, W, 27-8 (2-0-0)

July 8: at Montreal, L, 29-32 (2-1-0)

July 15: WINNIPEG, W, 14-12 (3-1-0)

July 21: at Ottawa, W, 29-21 (4-1-0)

July 30: HAMILTON, W, 36-30 (5-1-0)

Aug. 5: at B.C., L, 19-25 (5-2-0)

Aug. 20: TORONTO, L, 18-22 (5-3-0)

Aug. 26: MONTREAL, W, 36-26 (6-3-0)

Sept. 5: at Calgary, W, 25-23 (7-3-0)

Sept. 9: CALGARY, L, 11-16 (7-4-0)

Sept. 18: at Saskatchewan, L, 36-37 (7-5-0)

Sept. 24: B.C., W, 37-20 (8-5-0)

Sept. 30: at Hamilton, L, 14-40 (8-6-0)

Oct. 10: at Toronto, W, 17-13 (9-6-0)

Oct. 15: SASKATCHEWAN, W, 19-18 (10-6-0)

Oct. 28: B.C., W, 22-19 (11-6-0)

Nov. 6: at Calgary, L, 23-43 (11-7-0)

Nov. 13: at Calgary (West Division semifinal), W, 33-26 (12-7-0)

Nov. 20: at B.C. (West Division final), W, 28-23 (13-7-0)

- - -

EDM-MTL SUMMARIES

JULY 8

ESKIMOS 29 AT ALOUETTES 32

pre>

Edmonton 14 0 7 8 -- 29

Montreal 0 7 16 9 -- 32

/pre>

FIRST QUARTER

Edm -- TD McClendon 19 pass from Ray (Fleming convert) 4:22

Edm -- TD Ray 1 run (Fleming convert) 15:00

SECOND QUARTER

Mtl -- TD Landry 125 missed FG return (Duval convert) 9:23

THIRD QUARTER

Mtl -- Single Duval 56 punt 8:06

Mtl -- TD Vilimek 1 run (Duval convert) 5:03

Mtl -- TD Landry 74 punt return (Duval convert) 6:56

Edm -- TD Mitchell 5 pass from Ray (Fleming convert) 12:19

Mtl -- Single Duval 57 punt 14:26

FOURTH QUARTER

Edm -- TD Tompkins 93 punt return (Fleming convert) 3:37

Mtl -- FG Duval 42 6:47

Mtl -- FG Duval 42 10:31

Edm -- Single Fleming 56 punt 12:20

Mtl -- FG Duval 48 15:00

Attendance -- 20,202.

pre>

EDM MTL

First downs 18 20

Yards rushing 14 54

Yards passing 263 232

Total offence 277 286

Team losses 26 6

Net offence 251 280

Passes made-tried 25-43 24-39

Return-yards 266 342

Intercepts-yards by 1-16 2-7

Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0

Sacks by 1 3

Punts-average 8-48.5 8-42.1

Penalties-yards 7-78 16-86

Time of possession 31:41 28:19

/pre>

Net offence is yards passing, plus yards rushing, minus team losses such as yards lost on broken plays.

INDIVIDUAL

RUSHING: Edm -- McClendon 5-12, Bradley 1-1, Ray 1-1; Mtl -- Calvillo 3-20, Lapointe 6-19, Vilimek 5-15, Duval 1-0.

RECEIVING: Edm -- McClendon 6-79, Hervey 6-64, Gaylor 4-48, Mitchell 1-39, Bertrand 3-22, Tucker 1-11; Mtl -- Cahoon 8-81, Watkins 5-59, Vaughn 5-39, Cavil 2-23, Stala 3-21, Lapointe 1-9.

PASSING: Edm -- Ray 25-43, 263 yards, 2 TDs, 2 ints; Mtl -- Calvillo 24-39-232-0-1.

- - -

AUGUST 26

ALOUETTES 26 AT ESKIMOS 36

pre>

Montreal 7 7 5 7 -- 26

Edmonton 9 10 7 10 -- 36

/pre>

FIRST QUARTER

Mtl -- TD Vilimek 1 run (Duval convert) 6:32

Edm -- Safety Calvillo sacked by Spencer in end zone 8:45

Edm -- TD Tucker 22 pass from Ray (Epstein convert) 13:24

SECOND QUARTER

Edm -- TD Ray 4 run (Epstein convert) 4:09

Mtl -- TD Lapointe 3 pass from Calvillo (Duval convert) 7:48

Edm -- FG Epstein 34 11:40

THIRD QUARTER

Mtl -- Safety Ray sacked by Brown in end zone 3:51

Mtl -- FG Duval 27 7:40

Edm -- TD McClendon 2 run (Epstein convert) 10:40

FOURTH QUARTER

Edm -- TD Cavil 5 pass from Ray (Epstein covert) 5:12

Edm -- FG 22 Epstein 13:53

Mtl -- TD Watkins 12 pass from White (Duval convert) 15:00

ATTENDANCE -- 44,624.

/pre>

Edm Mtl

First downs 25 25

Yards rushing 32 100

Yards passing 377 438

Total offence 409 538

Team losses 19 31

Net offence 390 507

Passes made-tried 34-49 28-39

Return-yards 152 200

Intercepts-yards by 1-13 1-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-3

Sacks by 2 1

Punts-average 5-46.8 4-32.7

Penalties-yards 7-50 11-91

Time of possession 27:14 32:46

/pre>

Net offence is yards passing, plus yards rushing, minus team losses such as yards lost on broken plays.

INDIVIDUAL

RUSHING: Mtl -- Edwards 8-19, Calvillo 3-13, Vilimek 2-3, Stala 1-(minus 3); Edm -- McClendon 9-69, Bertrand 2-19, Maurer 2-8, Ray 1-4.

RECEIVING: Mtl -- Watkins 8-130, Stala 10-116, Vaughn 6-63, Edwards 6-44, Girard 2-12, Edwards 1-9, Lapointe 1-3; Edm -- Tucker 9-217, Cavil 4-55, McClendon 6-50, Mitchell 4-47, Gaylor 3-33, Leblanc 2-28, Maurer 1-8.

PASSING: Mtl -- Calvillo 28-42, 323 yards, 1 TD, 1 int, White 6-7-54-1-0; Edm -- Ray 28-39-438-2-1.

- - -

CHAMPIONSHIPS BY CITY

Grey Cup championships by city (through 2004 game):

Toronto (22): Argonauts, 15 (1914, 1921, 1933, 1937-38, 1945-47, 1950, 1952, 1983, 1991, 1996-97, 2004); University of Toronto, 4 (1909-11, 1920); Balmy Beach, 2 (1927, 1930); RCAF Hurricanes, 1 (1942).

Hamilton (15): Tiger-Cats, 8 (1953, 1957, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1986, 1999); Tigers, 5 (1913, 1915, 1928-29, 1932); Alerts, 1 (1912); Flying Wildcats, 1 (1943).

Edmonton (12): Eskimos, 12 (1954-56; 1975, 1978-82, 1987, 1993, 2003).

Winnipeg (10): Blue Bombers, 9 (1939, 1941, 1958-59, 1961-62, 1984, 1988, 1990); Winnipegs, 1 (1935).

Ottawa (9): Rough Riders, 7 (1940, 1951, 1960, 1968-69, 1973, 1976); Senators, 2 (1925-26).

Montreal (7): Alouettes, 5 (1949, 1970, 1974, 1977, 2002); HMCS St-Hyacinthe-Donnacona, 1 (1944); Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, 1 (1931).

Calgary (5): Stampeders, 5 (1948, 1971, 1992, 1998, 2001).

Vancouver (4): B.C. Lions, 4 (1964, 1985, 1994, 2000).

Kingston (3): Queen's University, 3 (1922-24).

Sarnia (2): Imperials, 2 (1934, 1936).

Regina (2): Saskatchewan Roughriders, 2 (1966, 1989).

Baltimore: Stallions, 1 (1995).

- - -

WEST CHAMPIONS

2005 -- Edmonton

2004 -- B.C.

2003 -- Edmonton

2002 -- Edmonton

2001 -- Calgary

2000 -- B.C.

1999 -- Calgary

1998 -- Calgary

1997 -- Saskatchewan

1996 -- Edmonton

1995 -- Calgary

1994 -- B.C.

1993 -- Edmonton

1992 -- Calgary

1991 -- Calgary

1990 -- Edmonton

1989 -- Saskatchewan

1988 -- B.C.

1987 -- Edmonton

1986 -- Edmonton

1985 -- B.C.

1984 -- Winnipeg

1983 -- B.C.

1982 -- Edmonton

1981 -- Edmonton

1980 -- Edmonton

1979 -- Edmonton

1978 -- Edmonton

1977 -- Edmonton

1976 -- Saskatchewan

1975 -- Edmonton

1974 -- Edmonton

1973 -- Edmonton

1972 -- Saskatchewan

1971 -- Calgary

1970 -- Calgary

1969 -- Saskatchewan

1968 -- Calgary

1967 -- Saskatchewan

1966 -- Saskatchewan

1965 -- Winnipeg

1964 -- B.C.

1963 -- B.C.

1962 -- Winnipeg

1961 -- Winnipeg

1960 -- Edmonton

1959 -- Winnipeg

1958 -- Winnipeg

1957 -- Winnipeg

1956 -- Edmonton

1955 -- Edmonton

1954 -- Edmonton

1953 -- Winnipeg

1952 -- Edmonton

1951 -- Saskatchewan

1950 -- Winnipeg

1949 -- Calgary

1948 -- Calgary

1947 -- Winnipeg

1946 -- Winnipeg

1945 -- Winnipeg

- - -

EAST CHAMPIONS

2005 -- Montreal

2004 -- Toronto

2003 -- Montreal

2002 -- Montreal

2001 -- Winnipeg

2000 -- Montreal

1999 -- Hamilton

1998 -- Hamilton

1997 -- Toronto

1996 -- Toronto

1995 -- Baltimore

1994 -- Baltimore

1993 -- Winnipeg

1992 -- Winnipeg

1991 -- Toronto

1990 -- Winnipeg

1989 -- Hamilton

1988 -- Winnipeg

1987 -- Toronto

1986 -- Hamilton

1985 -- Hamilton

1984 -- Hamilton

1983 -- Toronto

1982 -- Toronto

1981 -- Ottawa

1980 -- Hamilton

1979 -- Montreal

1978 -- Montreal

1977 -- Montreal

1976 -- Ottawa

1975 -- Montreal

1974 -- Montreal

1973 -- Ottawa

1972 -- Hamilton

1971 -- Toronto

1970 -- Montreal

1969 -- Ottawa

1968 -- Ottawa

1967 -- Hamilton

1966 -- Ottawa

1965 -- Hamilton

1964 -- Hamilton

1963 -- Hamilton

1962 -- Hamilton

1961 -- Hamilton

1960 -- Ottawa

1959 -- Hamilton

1958 -- Hamilton

1957 -- Hamilton

1956 -- Montreal

1955 -- Montreal

1954 -- Montreal

1953 -- Hamilton

1952 -- Toronto

1951 -- Ottawa

1950 -- Toronto

1949 -- Montreal

1948 -- Ottawa

1947 -- Toronto

1946 -- Toronto

1945 -- Toronto

An offensive gang of tackles: O-line one of the top units in the league this season
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A75
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province

The starting offensive line of the Montreal Alouettes is typical for their position group. Like most CFL teams, they generally stick together. They also win together.

If you're still trying to reconcile how the Lions fell apart this year, you might want to avoid selling your Grey Cup tickets and drop by B.C. Place Stadium Sunday to examine how the Als have gone about building arguably one of the two best lines in the league.

Montreal has no fewer than three former winners of the league's outstanding lineman award and missed out on a fourth Thursday when Scott Flory was edged out by Saskatchewan's Gene Makowsky at the CFL Awards ceremony at the Centre for the Performing Arts.

There are a number of common themes with the Als for their dominance, and not a lot of them are utilized by the Lions.

"In Montreal they have a philosophy to get them young and train them," said former VancouverCollege centre Bryan Chiu, who resisted the temptation play next year at home by recently signing a contract extension.

"We don't sign a lot of free agents, our blocking schemes aren't complicated and we don't rotate [players] much. You get cold when you rotate and the tempo changes."

B.C. signed two free agents for a rotation this season, ex-Montrealer Sherko Haji-Rasouli and Moe Elewonibi, 39, and there's a good chance they'll have to sign another if 35-year-old Cory Mantyka retires before next season.

Montreal acquired left guard Paul Lambert in 2003 as a free agent and this season landed former top lineman Dave Mudge in trade, but otherwise have put its pieces together and let them develop cohesion.

Okeke, for example, has been a stud at left tackle for 12 CFL seasons.

"He's a completely competent player," said Lions offensive line coach Dan Dorazio, who drew heat from some of his players this season for masterminding complex blocking schemes.

Flory, one of an extremely small handful of pending CFL free agent linemen, would help. So would the Als backup lineman Luke Fritz, who is under contract next year, and it would take much more than one of the Lions' three, first-round college draft picks to pry loose the Osoyoos native.

"They also take good care of us," said Flory, suggesting a Montreal lineman might not be a bad player to hit up for a loan. "They feel it's o-linemen first."

For the Lions to improve, coach Wally Buono must start thinking the same way. lullrich@png.canwest.com

Fans of CFL can be called 'great'
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A75
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Daved Benefield
Column: The Player's Take
Source: Special to The Province

Every team, player, and front office staff member, especially this week, has memorized and will recite the following mantra: "We have the greatest fans in the league."

The word great has been overused of late thanks to television being over run by all the celebrity gossip shows like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood.

Have you ever listened to the interviews?

In response to everything the stars are asked, the reply is, "It's great" or "they're great."

The only problem is "they're great" has moved from Frosted Flakes and into the real world of sports and real life.

I know three people I can say without a doubt are great in sports and probably a few more, but the greatness meter would start to move into the "pretty damn good" arena.

The Greatest would, of course, be Ali, followed by Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky.

That's it. No baseball. Nobody else. OK, maybe Lance Armstrong.

Now, those people are great.

What does it mean to have the greatest fans? Now, here is where it gets tough.

If you were to have only two fans and they were diehard, made every home game and wore the team colors no matter how many times they changed would they be considered great? They would have to tell you the years they started being a fan and it would likely have started from birth.

The greatest fans would tell you who their favorite players were and why every year they have been a fan.

Great fans know things like why certain defences are good for certain players. Great fans know, when they are watching their favorite players during warm-ups, if the players are feeling good that day.

Elite fans know where and how their favorite receiver likes to catch his passes. They know pass routes he runs best and why. Great fans carry grudges with front offices when their players are traded or cut for ridiculous reasons. Some fans are so great they even start clubs and make it known on a public level.

What ever happened to fan clubs?

This week, the fans have come from all over the known world of the CFL.

The odd Baltimore fan will make an appearance that entitles him to being the greatest fan of the Baltimore Stallions. He gets to be the King considering the team has been extinct since 1995. I would vote for him or her for grand marshal of the next Grey Cup parade.

Great fans are fans for life. They may disagree or not see eye to eye with their player, but once they choose their player the only way the player is cut loose is if he leaves the team for less money elsewhere.

The greatest of all fans know about paying the bills and being respected. As much as it hurts, they'll still root for their players in new uniforms and, God forbid, root for them against the home team.

The Grey Cup brings a type of fan, some of whom can be considered great. Their favorite players may be gone, their team may have been out since July but they are fans of the league and the game, no matter what. Other great fans recognize other great fans. They may hate each other during the year, although hate maybe a too strong a word. But when it's Grey Cup they are all on the same team, that team is the CFL.

Where else can you see Toronto fans walking and laughing side by side with Roughrider fans.

Two totally different cities and provinces, hundreds of miles apart, yet walking as one.

Just great fans enjoying the Party on the Pacific Grey Cup 2005.

TD passes are fine but celebrations are passe: Don't expect dances, popcorn, autographs, marriage proposals
The VancouverProvince
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A76
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Terry Bell
Source: The Province

There will be no dancing in the Dome on Sunday.

No wide receiver will be dashing beneath the stands to get a bag of popcorn or kneeling in the end zone to propose to a cheerleader. No Sharpies plucked from a sock. No cell phones hidden in a B.C. Place goalpost.

At least that's what the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes would have us all believe.

"No, those days are gone for us," said Edmonton Eskimos wide receiver Ed Hervey when asked if he had any special routines planned should he feel the urge to celebrate a touchdown in Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes.

"We used to do that years ago but we decided that it wasn't winning us any championships. It's fun, it makes highlight reels, but then we were sitting at home for the playoffs."

There were a couple of Hall of Fame celebrations Sunday.

In the NFL, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson went deep, then popped the question to a cheerleader. In the CFL's East Final in Toronto, Argos receiver R. Jay Soward headed into the stands and returned with a bag of popcorn after a touchdown against the Alouettes.

"At times it's pretty funny, but in that instance, the popcorn instance, it came back to bite them in the butt," said Alouettes slotback Terry Vaughn, whose team rallied from a 14-0 deficit at the time of Soward's snack to win 33-17.

"I believe that was the last touchdown they scored in that game," he noted.

Vaughn has not been consulting Paula Abdul in anticipation of any TD.

"When I score I celebrate with my teammates," he said. "I'm sure we'll all be in the end zone high-fiving each other."

High fives? Maybe they'll break out and do the wave. And maybe this really is No-FunCity. The antics of the Chad Johnsons, the Joe Horns and the Terrell Owens can be funny.

Als receiver Kerry Watkins didn't see Johnson's little show but he had a front row seat for Soward's.

"We don't take any offence to things like that," said Watkins. "We know guys are just out there having fun. It was really funny."

Funny, sure, but not something he'll try to top. "We don't have anything like that planned," he said.

"We might think of something before the game, but I think we'll just go out and enjoy the moment. We've never been a bunch of guys to celebrate like that, anyway."

Hervey said touchdown celebrations aren't what he wants to be remembered for, an unintentional reference, perhaps, to the immortal Ickey Woods, the ex-Cincinnati Bengal best remembered for the Ickey Shuffle and not his 37-game career.

"You have to win some championships, otherwise your career is going to pass you by and all you're going to be known for is silly dances and antics," Hervey said.

"You'll be on highlight reels not for winning championships but for doing silly stuff. When you're in your 50s and 60s you're going to look back and be embarrassed because your fingers are naked."

Watkins concurred.

"I'd rather be known as a great receiver than a great dancer," he said. tbell@png.canwest.com

Ferocious Gass doesn't let size matter
The VancouverProvince
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A76
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Gordon McIntyre
Source: The Province

A.J. Gass has needed a cane over the years, after three reconstructive knee surgeries.

Now the middle linebacker is back raising Cain for the Eskimos.

And the eight-year veteran out of Fresno State is doing it while playing a new role on the Edmonton defence -- he often lines up as a fifth defensive lineman, especially on running plays.

"We make fun of him. He's the only 200-pound tackle in the league," said Tim Fleiszer, Gass's 6-foot-3, 270-pound teammate on the D-line.

"He's amazing, though. He's so good at the point of attack. I've seen him toss big linemen out of the way.

"I thought when I first met him [at training camp this year] that he must be at least 235 pounds because of how badly he beat guys."

"You know what?" added rush end Joe Montford. "In camp, he took on one of the biggest O-lineman we have [6-foot-6, 315-pound Patrick Kabongo] and took him down on the ground.

"I figured A.J. could handle himself."

Coach Danny Maciocia figured so, too. When he took over from the fired Tom Higgins this year, he asked his defensive coaches to come up with a new scheme tailored to fit additions such as Montford and Fleiszer.

"We wanted a different identity," Maciocia said. "I said, 'I don't want to be passive. I want to get after people.'

"I wanted to create as much havoc as possible, because I know what that's like, being an offensive co-ordinator. So that's what we did."

And a big part of that was changing Gass's role from a roaming free agent in pursuit of the ball to a guy going hand-to-hand with offensive linemen weighing more than 100 pounds than he does.

"There's been mismatches," Maciocia said, "but they've been in our favour."

The coach isn't the only one who compares Gass to Hall of Famer and Eskimos linebackers coach Dan Kepley: A throw-back player, Maciocia said, an undersized guy with a huge heart who's as nasty as they come.

Gass, who turns 30 on Tuesday, defers to Kepley, saying he's not one-tenth the player Kepley was in the 1970s and early '80s.

At 6-foot-3, he's taller than Kepley, but at barely 200 pounds he's not much heavier than the Eskimo great.

"I love the challenge," Gass said of taking on linemen who weigh 50 per cent more than he does. "It's a street fight every play and I relish that.

"I've never backed down from anything like that in my life."

The Eskimos had the league's best defence this season.

Against the Alouettes the D-line will face a stiffer test from the offensive line than the Lions gave them last Sunday.

Gass acknowledges that and he's licking his chops.

"About 90 per cent of the time those guys have to hold me," he said, "because I'm too quick for them."

gordmcintyre@png.canwest.com

Eskimos weed out players that don't fit: Ego-first types don't last long with Edmonton
The VancouverProvince
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A77
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Kent Gilchrist
Column: Kent Gilchrist
Source: The Province

Seeing as how the Edmonton Eskimos are here this week, someone should call the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

The Eskimos discriminate against certain types of football players and they have been doing it for years.

They don't brush it under the carpet, either. In fact, they are quite proud of the brand of discrimination they employ to drum people out for reasons that may not be apparent to anyone but the select few allowed into their locker-room.

This is a closed shop if there ever was one.

If you're an 'I' guy, more likely than not you are quickly going to be an out-of-work guy.

By design, and for as long as anyone can remember, the Eskimos' locker-room has been a wasteland for players with a personal axe to grind.

A Terrell Owens-type, for instance, wouldn't last long with this bunch. It's the Edmonton Eskimo Way or the highway.

They have made the CFL playoffs for 34 consecutive years doing it as a team, and nobody with a big reputation he made for himself somewhere else is going to come in and change anything. It isn't allowed.

Just ask perennial all-star and three-time Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1998, 2000 and 2001, Joe Montford. The 10-year veteran -- eight with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and one with the Toronto Argonauts -- is in his first year with the Eskimos.

"This," says the five-time CFL all-star and four-time sack leader, "is the best situation. As far as a football atmosphere and organization-wise, this is the best.

"[Edmonton] is the City of Champions. There is always a group of guys here who know they are going to be successful. It creates a certain confidence and arrogance.

"Those are the demons other teams who haven't done it fight. We wanted to win in Hamilton -- we just didn't know how."

It is hard to argue that mystique of making the playoffs 34 years in a row. Or the history. Every CFL team has a wall of distinguished players.

The list of honoured Eskimos -- such as Johnny Bright, Normie Kwong, Rollie Miles, Jackie Parker, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Fennell, Dave Cutler, Larry Highbaugh, Warren Moon -- just sounds more impressive because the Eskimos have been so successful so often.

Beginning in 1954, when they won three Grey Cup games in a row, the Eskimos have won 12 championships and lost the Grey Cup game eight other times.

With current president and CEO Hugh Campbell as head coach, they won five straight from 1978 to 1982.

They have a winning record against every team in the league except San Antonio (0-1) and Baltimore (1-1).

"They have a knack of bringing in quality athletes who check their ego at the door," said defensive captain Signor Mobley, a linebacker under the Eskimos' spell for eight years, who admitted the veterans often help the coaches with decisions on who stays and who goes.

"It's not like we pull the trigger," he said, but he makes it clear there's an Eskimo Way and an Eskimo tradition that needs to be learned if you want to keep your spot in the room.

"I learned from a good group of guys: Leroy Blugh, Melvin Hunter, Larry Wruck and Willie Pless."

Pless, also a linebacker in his playing days, still lives in Edmonton.

So does Mobley, a native of Tacoma, Wash.

"I think it's a good thing," he said.

"The fans like to see us around in the winter."

They'll especially like it if the Eskimos bring home another Grey Cup.

hkgilchrist@yahoo.com

Fans get a jump on game: Going to game 'a real Canadian experience'
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A9
Section: News
Byline: David Carrigg
Source: The Province

The Grey Cup circus began last night with the opening of a massive public beer tent and VIP tents close to B.C. Place.

"I love Vancouver," said Calgary Stampeders fan Michael McDonough, who arrived in the beer tent with three friends at 6 p.m. "I can walk down the street wearing a big hat and crazy sunglasses and no one cares. This town is a real melting pot."

McDonough has been to 10 of the past 15 Grey Cup games and isn't worried his team -- like the B.C. Lions -- didn't make it this year.

"The Grey Cup is a real Canadian experience," said McDonough, who arrived in Vancouver early yesterday. "It's got nothing to do with politics or even who your team is. It's real and it's a chance to meet other Canadians and to partake in the local hospitality."

The beer tents take up half a city block between Dunsmuir and Georgia and Beatty and Cambie.

It's free to get in before 8 p.m. and, after that, when the band and the real party starts, entry costs $12.

Across the street, in the Shark Club, Eskimos fans "Edmonton" Mike, 29, and "The Kid," 28, were already three sheets to the wind by 6:30 p.m.

"We're just getting [drunk] the whole week," said Mike, who has been to every Grey Cup since 1997. "Vancouver's a great place to be."

The Kid, bare-chested, wearing fake dreadlocks and rock-star sunglasses, seemed to be having the best time of anyone in the packed pub but found it hard to express himself -- beyond screaming his support for the Eskimos.

Further down the bar, Randy Danais, a 40-year-old Edmonton fan from Leduc, Alta., was having a beer with friend Trevor Coleman, 30, from Tumbler Ridge, before heading to last night's Canucks game.

The pair were a little more contained than The Kid and his mates, but have a few tricks of their own.

Danais has modified a "dog-ball chucker" that allows him to throw a ball with an Edmonton Eskimos flag attached out of their hotel room window in the 1100-block Granville Street.

The ball is attached to the thrower by a long elastic, so they can drag it back up to their window, teasing passersby below.

McDonough and his friends paid $175 each for their Grey Cup tickets.

But anyone looking for a bargain will likely get a ticket for $50.

A ticket scalper outside the beer tent said there's a "flood" of Grey Cup tickets on street.

"You'll pay $50, tops," he said.

The Grey Cup block party on Beatty Street opens this morning.

Grey Cup grand marshal Pamela Anderson is expected to arrive in Vancouver today.

dcarrigg@png.canwest.com

Grey Cup festivities launch in Vancouver with official kickoff: Mayor Campbell welcomes every football fan to 'the greatest city in the world'
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A8
Section: News
Byline: Ian Austin
Source: The Province

Football frenzy is in full flight in Vancouver.

"This is going to be the biggest and the best celebration this city has ever seen," the CBC's Steve Armitage bellowed yesterday as a crowd of crazed CFL fans gathered for the official Grey Cup kickoff. "The official mourning period for the B.C. Lions is over, and we've managed to make the fog disappear."

With the Chilliwack Chargers marching band providing the soundtrack, a cast of characters too bizarre for real life gathered on the CBC plaza.

"I want to welcome everybody to the greatest city in the world," said Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell. "I want you to open your arms and your hearts and show our visitors our Pacific spirit. I'm advised that the weather gods are going to smile on us."

Lions owner David Braley saluted the 500 volunteers who make the celebration so much fun for visitors. "We will do everything we can to ensure that you have a first-class weekend and a lot of fun," he said.

While the official show was on stage, the real show was the onlookers.

Sandy "the Flame" Monteith astonished the crowd by lighting his helmet on fire.

The pride of Saskatoon has been to the last 22 Cups. "It's the CFL and the camaraderie -- that's what it's all about," said Monteith, clad in a Saskatchewan jersey and pancake makeup. "We even had our golf cart shipped out here -- it's a 1948 Harley-Davidson."

On cue, Monteith turns on a police siren, shouts into a loudspeaker, cues up the "'Rider Pride" theme song, dances and, with a 4,3,2,1 count, sets off a giant gas explosion.

"We have a lot of fun with it," said wife Glenda Ernst. "I help him with his costume and his makeup. I used to work in a potash mine, so we're used to dealing with explosives."

Lori Cosh of Macklin, Sask., came dressed down in a nun's habit as Sister Saskatch-ewan. "It's great, except I don't get frisked, even when I want to," Cosh laughed.

Even though the Lions got knocked out, superfans Dave and Deb Sallenback were decked out in jerseys, black-and-orange face paint and flaming orange hair. "We bleed orange," said Dave. "It leaves a bad taste in the mouth, but Go West. Go Eskimos."

Ethel Wilson wore her Hamilton Ticats hat with pride. "We come to all the games," she said. "We know a lot of the fans who come back year after year."

One of the more intriguing visitors was Joe Short, wearing an extremely rare Baltimore Stallions jersey.

In a strange aberration, the Grey Cup, one of Canada's most enduring symbols, was won by the Stallions in 1995, the only time a U.S. team has won the Cup.

"There are 20,000 broken hearts back in Baltimore," said Short, with a jersey emblazoned JOE DA FAN. "We don't watch the boring NFL. This is my 11th Grey Cup. We're already booked for Winnipeg next year."

Earl Sadler wore an Edmonton Eskimos jersey and carried an Esks flag as he marched along Georgia Street. "We are B.C. Lions season-ticket holders, but we cheer for the Eskimos," said Sadler. "The result should come down to the quarterbacks. There's a quarterback controversy in Edmonton, with two quarterbacks, while Montreal has one.

"It'll be Montreal and Calvillo versus Edmonton's 1-2 punch."

iaustin@png.canwest.com

Allen's MVP, and it's really about time, too: After many a long season at the top of the CFL, Argos' QB is recognized
The VancouverProvince
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A78
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Ed Willes
Column: Ed Willes
Source: The Province

It wasn't always this way but he can laugh about the age thing and the grandfather thing now.

Sort of.

He'll say, I know I'm 42 but do you have to bring it up every week? Or he'll say, can't you write two sentences without mentioning my age?

Judging by this column, apparently not but if Damon Allen now appreciates he's the champion of 40-somethings everywhere, it's because others have changed their perception of him, even if Allen hasn't changed his perception of himself.

"I knew when I was leaving [the B.C. Lions] I wasn't done," he says. "I knew I was still capable of being a dominant player. But for them to say my best years are behind me, that's someone else saying what I'm capable of doing. So often people put you in these boxes ... To me it's always been about playing the game."

And Thursday night he reinforced that point rather forcefully.

Father Time, who continues to play quarterback the way Fred Astaire danced, received an award that was long overdue when he was named the CFL's most outstanding player after completing the most successful season of his mind-boggling career.

In '05 Allen threw for 5,082 yards and 33 touchdowns, ran for 461 yards and led the Argonauts to the Eastern Division pennant.

Under any circumstances, those numbers would be worthy of an MVP. Under Allen's circumstances, his season ranks as one of the most memorable stories in CFL history.

"You have to marvel at what the guy does," says teammate Michael Fletcher, who was runnerup to Calgary's John Grace in the outstanding defensive player category. "It's like he's floating. It's a beautiful thing to see. He's one of those wonders you get every so often. Until he's ready to go, we should just enjoy him."

After 21 years, that finally seems to be the case.

While Allen didn't need this award to validate his greatness, Thursday night represented an opportunity to celebrate his body of work and his contribution to the Canadian game. Lord knows he's had his detractors over the years. But the voices of his critics are no longer relevant. Now, there is only the totality of his career to consider and it is a wondrous thing.

Before the ceremony, Allen talked about that career. He talked about watching his hero, Warren Moon, playing in the Rose Bowl at a time when blacks weren't exactly encouraged to play quarterback. He talked about his decision to play in the CFL because he wanted to play that position, not defensive back or wide receiver. He talked about those early years with the Eskimos when he was typecast as a running quarterback.

"Then I broke [the CFL's all-time passing record] and they say, 'Oh you can pass. Not bad for a running quarterback,'" he says with a laugh.

But he isn't much for nostalgia these days because he's still so damn relevant. After the Argos were eliminated by the Alouettes in Sunday's Eastern final, the club immediately offered to pick up the option year of his contract for '06. The Grey Cup is also being played in Toronto in '07 which begs an obvious question.

"Put it this way," Allen says. "It would be nice if I could still be playing by then."

At this point, you can only say, 'Why not?'

Allen admits he's been rejuvenated in Toronto. Coordinator Kent Austin has designed the Boatmen's offence around his quarterback and most of the personnel has been together for a couple of years now. Allen was also injury-free this season for the first time in recent memory.

"I'm having the time of my life," he says. "There's a freedom there about playing the game. I want to play until I can't play any more. I never want to be the one who retires too early or hangs on too late. I hope I'm smart enough to understand when I'm hanging on."

And he'd like to make that call. After all these years, it seems he's earned that right.

ewilles@png.canwest.com

Brent Johnson is the top Canadian: Defensive end deserves everything he gets, says Lions coach Buono
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A79
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Source: The Province

Justice served.

Wally Buono might be just a tad biased, but the Lions coach didn't exactly raise the level of debate Thursday upon learning defensive end Brent Johnson edged out North Delta linebacker Kevin Eiben of the Toronto Argonauts to win top Canadian honours at the CFL Awards ceremony at the Vancouver Centre for the Performing Arts.

"Who was [Johnson] up against?" asked Buono in all seriousness. "Brent deserves everything he gets. He's done something with every opportunity. When he was given a chance to be a second-down player, he excelled. When he became an every-down player, he showed what he could do."

The selection of Johnson as the second B.C. player in as many years to win the award, after slotback Jason Clermont was picked over Eiben last year, will be the lone highlight of a Grey Cup week which was spoiled after the Lions were shoved aside by the Edmonton Eskimos in the West Division final.

"It's like not having the family over at Christmas," Johnson said of failing to make the Grey Cup final.

"I don't know how you make a choice here," Johnson said modestly. "Kevin Eiben could be holding this trophy and should be, and I'm sure will one day. It's great to be acknowledged but there's also pressure now. The guys before me who won this set a standard and now I have to live up to that."

Argos QB Damon Allen as the league's outstanding player was a near-unanimous choice among coaches and voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada.

In the city which turned its back on him in favour of Dave Dickenson three seasons ago, Allen won the award for the first time in his 21-year career.

"It's fitting," said the 42-year-old, who received all but three votes cast. "I'm just glad I won this award in my prime."

Johnson excelled in his fifth CFL season, leading the league with 16 sacks, and easily could have been the club's nominee for top defensive player for the second straight year. He began slowly with the Lions once they had taken him a pick ahead of Buono's third-round choice for the Calgary Stampeders in the 2000 draft.

But Johnson became an every-down player and began to rival the work of imports at the position.

B.C.'s lone award finalist received 37 of 62 votes cast to become the third Lions player in six years to win in this category.

"Pro sports is a long road. You've got to trudge through the bad stuff to get to the really good stuff, and I haven't got to the really good stuff yet," Johnson said. "I'll take a minute to rest when we win a Grey Cup."

lullrich@png.canwest.com

- - -

CFL HONOUR ROLL

Outstanding player: Damon Allen, QB, Toronto Argonauts

Outstanding Canadian: Brent Johnson, DE, B.C. Lions

Defensive player: John Grace, LB, Stampeders

Lineman: Gene Makowsky, OL, Roughriders

Rookie: Gavin Walls, DE, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Special-teams player: Corey Holmes, RB/KR, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Community service: Danny McManus, QB, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Rogers Fans' Choice Award (online poll): Damon Allen

Commissioner's Award for contributions to league: David Braley and Bob Ackles, B.C. Lions

Tickets: Going, going, er, still going ...
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A79
Section: Grey Cup '05
Column: Grey Matter
Source: The Province

First came the sellout. Now comes the sell off.

When the B.C. Lions fumbled a chance to play in Sunday's Grey Cup they left a lot of their fans stuck with tickets they no longer want.

A search on e-Bay and craigslist.org uncovered plenty of tickets to the 93rd Grey Cup.

On e-Bay there were 158 separate postings Wednesday listing tickets for sale. It was up to 200 on Thursday. Many were being offered at cost or below cost. And some sellers took care to mention that a Grey Cup ticket included a chance to see the Black Eyed Peas at halftime or get a look at Pamela Anderson.

In The Province Thursday there were 58 classified ads hawking game tickets, up from 52 on Wednesday.

Ageless Wonder: After more than two decades, Damon Allen is finally recognized as the CFL's best
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Cam Cole
Column: Cam Cole
Source: Vancouver Sun

On the surface, it seems absurd that it took 21 seasons. Two decades and more, before Damon Allen could sit in his spiffy formal wear Thursday night at the Vancouver Centre for the Performing Arts, wife Desiree at his side, and hear his name called to accept the Rogers Award as the Canadian Football League's outstanding player.

But there are coaches and players and media people, in all six CFL towns where he has plied his trade, who understand why. They love him like a brother, because there is nothing about Damon Allen not to love. But they understand.

It is the same reason he has never been voted the league's all-star quarterback, even though he has four Grey Cup wins on his resume, even though sometime early next year, at age 43, he will surpass Warren Moon as the most prolific passer in the history of professional football.

"Damon," his old coach and current Toronto GM, Adam Rita, once said, "is like the stock market."

And that's it, in a nutshell. He will perform like a blue-chipper, over the long haul. But you have to be willing to bite the bullet, to have patience, to ride it out all the way to appreciate the worth of the investment.

"He's got a lot of peaks and valleys," Rita said at least year's Grey Cup, "yet over a long period of time, he's pretty consistent. And you never know when he's going to light it up."

He lit up the awards ceremony, where he was the overwhelming favourite -- sentimental, and otherwise -- to outpoll Saskatchewan's Corey Holmes, and you didn't have to look very hard for the clues to just how much it meant to the old warrior, oldest in the league, to be recognized for an amazing season.

It is obligatory, on such occasions, to say "I'd trade it for a chance to win the Grey Cup on Sunday," and Allen did that -- but at age 42, there is something to be said for feeling the love, at last, from a league into which he has poured heart and soul for exactly half of his lifetime.

"I'm just humbled, and honoured," Allen said. "For 21 years, I've seen guys receive this thing and it's just ... they only give this to one player every year."

Something to be said, too, for having it happen in Vancouver, where he spent seven seasons, longer than at any of his six (two in Edmonton) other CFL stops. It was here that he won his first Grey Cup, with the 1987 Eskimos. It was here, for the first and only time in his career, that he felt the hurt of being discarded, when Lions coach/GM Wally Buono's preference for his longtime Calgary quarterback, Dave Dickenson, made the aging Allen redundant in 2003.

How strangely it all turned out. Allen and the Argos won the Grey Cup last year over the Lions, as Buono wrestled with the first inklings of the quarterback controversy that would envelop his team this season -- a season in which Allen would play all 18 games for the Argos, and succeed B.C.'s Casey Printers as the league's MVP. He is old enough to be Printers' father.

"Man, I use everything to motivate me," said Allen. "I knew I wasn't done playing the game. I knew I was still capable of being a dominant player. For them to say my best years were behind me ... that was someone else thinking they could foresee what I was capable of doing, and I didn't think anyone had the power to see that."

Maybe not even Allen himself.

"I didn't know I was going to be playing football until I was 42 years old. I didn't really envision having the opportunity to be the outstanding player at that age," he said. "So I don't know if I'd say it's a long time coming. Whenever you are nominated, it feels like the right time. It is the right time for me."

There are probably great players in every sport with temperaments as sweet and unflappable as Allen's, but they are rarities. He is a peach of a human being, in a tough sport that hasn't always been as good to him as he has been good for it.

"He's never said a bad word about anyone, and he's had some adversity -- some losing teams and critics -- and he's handled every single situation he's been in with class," said Montreal Alouettes coach Don Matthews, "and that's got to come from parents, from family. He not only got great genes, he got a great upbringing."

Indeed, Allen's CFL career began with him pitted against Matt Dunigan for the starting job in Edmonton, and he spent awful seasons in Ottawa, Hamilton and Memphis in and around the two Grey Cups (1987 and '93) with Edmonton, one (2000) with B.C. and last year's in Toronto, when he was named Grey Cup MVP for the third time.

Illogically, he has had seven career CFL stops, and Matthews has an equal number as a coach, but they have never been on the same team.

"Maybe if I'd been with Matthews earlier in my career, he would have allowed me to put up MVP-type numbers," Allen said. "So often early in my career, teams always felt I needed a running game to be successful. So on average, I would throw 20-some times in a game."

Anyone who has watched him these past two seasons in Toronto has been struck by how easy the game seems for him now, in his 40s.

"I'm having the time of my life right now, and there's a freedom in that," he said. "And with [longtime CFL QB] Kent Austin as the co-ordinator -- and you all realize how much he loved to throw the football -- right away you knew the offence was going to be built around the quarterback, and I think that's the one difference: finally in my career, someone said, 'We're going to build the offence around you.'"

The Argos have picked up the option on his contract for 2006, too, which means it's not out of the question he could still be at the helm when Toronto plays host to the Grey Cup in '07. He'll be 44 then, this physical marvel whose favourite all-time receiver -- Hall of Famer Brian Kelly -- retired 18 years ago. Asked to name his all-teammates squad from the 21 seasons, Allen said he'd need at least a couple of teams to include all the great ones, but he could name his favourite coach: Jackie Parker, who saw the kid's promise as a rookie in Edmonton, and gave him important minutes, not just mop-up time.

But he never dreamed it would last this long, when he chose the CFL coming out of Cal State-Fullerton in 1984.

"I remember watching Warren Moon playing in the Rose Bowl for the University of Washington, and then a few years later, I saw him in Edmonton -- the NFL strike was on, and NBC was showing CFL games, and it was always the Eskimos -- and I didn't know at the time that they had my rights. Until my senior year, my coach Gene Murphy wouldn't tell me who had them," Allen said.

"But I was always willing to go that route, because when I came out of college, teams would say, can you play DB? Can you play receiver? Well, no, I've been a quarterback since I was five years old. That's the position I know. So Warren was one of my heroes -- and to see what he was able to accomplish even into his 40s, I mean, they didn't talk a lot about his age."

Allen used to get bugged by constant references to his advanced years, and the fact that he's a grandfather.

"I laugh about it now," he said. "I don't really get upset. Over the last two or three years, I've kind of learned to embrace it."

Why not? He is a little over 1,200 yards shy of Moon's passing total. That's four or five games.

"I want to play until I can't play any more," Allen said. "I don't want to retire too early -- and hopefully I'm smart enough to know when I'm just hangin' on."

ccole@png.canwest.com

For Matthews, award voting remains a mystery: 'You know what, voters: Let your conscience be your guide' is advice from Montreal coach
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G3
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Cam Cole
Source: Vancouver Sun

Uh-oh. The Don is getting cranky. It must be closing in on game time.

And don't get Don Matthews started on award voting.

Asked Thursday whether it was a nice moment for Damon Allen to be able to stand up at the player awards' ceremony and be the face of the league, at age 42, for the first time in a 21-year career, the Montreal coach said: "You know what? If you choose him for his play, not for all the things he's done in the past, then it's a valid award. If you choose him for all that he's done in the past, then it's not a valid award.

"And you know what, voters: let your conscience be your guide."

You think the media voted for the story, Don?

"It doesn't matter what I think," he said. "Everybody votes their conscience. If you voted for the award on the basis of what he did this year, and you feel good about your vote, then good. But if you voted on it as a lifetime achievement award, then say that.

"I happen to think A.C. [Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo] had a pretty darn good year."

The judgment of voters, he said, is an ongoing mystery.

Warren Moon didn't win the outstanding player award in any of the five-in-a-row Grey Cup years of the Edmonton Eskimos, but he won it in 1983, the first year in seven the Esks didn't go to the Grey Cup.

"And you know what, I'm not a Hugh Campbell fan," said Matthews -- an understatement, there -- "but the Eskimos won five Grey Cups in a row and he won Coach of the Year once! And I took over a 4-14 team, went 15-3 [with the '96 Argos] and won the Grey Cup, and did not win the Coach of the Year. Ron Lancaster did. I mean, 4-14 to 15-3, that's not a good deal?

"And I won in a year [1994] when Dave Ritchie won the Grey Cup, and I thought he should have won it."

So, the Grey Cup-winning coach should automatically be Coach of the Year?

"No, but I thought the job Dave did that year was outstanding, and deserved the award."

ccole@png.canwest.com

Grandad Allen CFL's outstanding player: Lions defensive end Johnson snags Canadian players kudos
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun

In the city that he left two years ago under mixed reviews, former Lions quarterback Damon Allen was acclaimed as the CFL's outstanding player Thursday, simultaneously becoming the oldest player to win the award and the first grandfather to do so.

Allen, in his 21st season, turned 42 in July and led the Toronto Argonauts to first place in the CFL's East Division, while achieving 5,000 yards passing for the first time.

Pro football's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks also picked up 461 yards along the ground and four touchdowns.

Winners in various categories were selected by 45 voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada, representing each of the CFL's nine markets, nine head coaches and a panel of former players and celebrity judges.

A B.C. Lion, meanwhile, was named the CFL's most outstanding Canadian player for the second straight season, when defensive end Brent Johnson beat out Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben for the award.

Johnson, who plays a position usually staffed by an import player, had a breakout year with 16 sacks to lead the CFL. Slotback Jason Clermont of the Lions won the same award in 2004.

Calgary linebacker John Grace, runner-up last season to Montreal's Anwar Stewart, was the defensive player of year.

Saskatchewan's Gene Makowsky was the CFL's outstanding lineman for the second straight season, marking the third time in a row the award has gone to a Roughrider. Guard Andrew Greene was the recipient in 2003.

Defensive end Gavin Walls, who had four sacks in a game earlier this season against the Lions, was the league's outstanding rookie and Corey Holmes, the CFL leader in all-purpose yards, got the nod as the CFL's outstanding special teams player. Holmes was the West representative in the bake-off with Allen for outstanding player.

Steve Buratto, who coached the Lions when Allen led B.C. to its last Grey Cup victory, in 2000, said he believes Allen's award is validation for two decades of achievement, not necessarily because of what he did on the football field this season.

"It's testament to a great career. Damon has played some seasons where he deserved the award just as much, if not more," said Buratto, who is currently offensive coordinator for the Calgary Stampeders.

Lions' coach Wally Buono dealt Allen to the Argonauts in 2003 for a couple of draft picks to make way for Dave Dickenson. Buono said he did so only because there was room on the team for just one elite quarterback.

"Unfortunately, the prevalent feeling was that there needed to be change," Buono said. "Damon is a player who has inflicted a lot of pain on a lot of teams for a lot of years."

sixbeamers@aol.com

Lions' Johnson named top Canadian: Defensive end shines in spot usually taken by import
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun

He has been playing the best football of his life, raining hell on quarterbacks. This season, Brent Johnson also raised the profile of Canadian-born players in the CFL.

Playing defensive end, a position that normally goes to an import player, Johnson led the league in sacks with 16, and he was a major factor in the excellence of the B.C. Lions' defensive line.

On Thursday, Johnson was named the CFL's most outstanding Canadian player in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada, coaches and a panel of celebrity judges at a presentation ceremony in the Vancouver Centre for the Performing Arts. It is the second year in a row in which the award has gone to a Lion. Slotback Jason Clermont was the winner in 2004.

"I'm very happy for it," Johnson said. "But the real goal is still out there. I'm very appreciative of being recognized. It's great. The real recognition is when you can look back 20 years and your team has won the Grey Cup and you can celebrate that achievement with your teammates. That's important to me."

In the brutal art of manhandling offensive linemen and inflicting pain on quarterbacks, Johnson was nonpareil this season.

He's not one of those one- or two-play guys who needs to go to the bench and suck on an oxygen tank after a big play, says Hamilton Tiger-Cats' quarterback Danny McManus. Johnson keeps bringing it for a whole game.

"His motor never stops," McManus says. "For a young guy to do that, he's going to make a lot of plays. He never gives up. No matter what the score is, if there's the snap of the football, he's gone. I compare him with Joe Fleming [CFL's defensive player of the year in 2003] and Bobby Jurasin [Saskatchewan Roughrider great]."

That's esteemed company to keep for Johnson, who grew up in Kingston, Ont., as the youngest of five children and the only boy in the family. Johnson says he developed his quickness by sprinting past his sisters before they could commandeer the bathroom.

Following the death of his mother as a young teen, during a difficult and reflective period in which he drifted away from sports, Johnson got a late entry into football at Holy Cross high school. But he developed so rapidly that he earned a scholarship to OhioState.

Johnson, 28, says he owes a great debt to Lions' coach Wally Buono, who was heedless of Johnson's nationality and saw in him the potential to become an excellent edge rusher. James (Quick) Parker, the CFL's all-time single-season sack leader and a Lions' employee, personally tutored Johnson and has a strong hunch that he has only begun to scratch the surface of his potential.

"Brent will be a better player than I ever was," Parker predicted.

Allen wins in 'prime' time: Former Lion jokes about timing of outstanding player award
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G4
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun

In the city that he left two years ago, when some Lions' fans would have paid his airfare just to see him go, Damon Allen was acclaimed as the CFL's outstanding player Thursday, simultaneously becoming the oldest player to win the award and the first grandfather to do so.

Allen, in his 21st season, turned 42 in July and led the Toronto Argonauts to first place in the CFL's East Division while achieving 5,000 yards passing for the first time.

Pro football's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks also picked up 461 yards along the ground and four touchdowns.

"It's nice to win the award in your prime," he joked.

Allen was the darling this season of both media and fans -- he also took home the 2005 Rogers Fans' Choice Award -- ironically, at the expense of Dave Dickenson, the Lions' quarterback whose signing in 2003 heralded Allen's departure. Dickenson was considered the frontrunner for both awards until he suffered a concussion in an Oct. 1 game against Saskatchewan.

In 2003, left with little leverage because of Allen's salary and a full-up situation for quarterbacks in every city but Toronto, Lions' GM Wally Buono dealt Allen to the Argos for a couple of draft picks, virtually giving him away for a song to make way for Dickenson. Buono said he did so only because there was room on the team for just one elite quarterback, a situation he now finds himself in again with Dickenson and Casey Printers.

"Unfortunately, the prevalent feeling was that there needed to be change," Buono said. "Sometimes it is a necessary thing to make change that has nothing to do with a player's ability. Damon is a player who has inflicted a lot of pain on a lot of teams for a lot of years, including teams I've coached."

Allen, who still maintains a home in White Rock, especially enjoys putting the thumbs screws to the Lions. He was the outstanding player in last year's Grey Cup game in which he outduelled Dickenson and revelled in a 28-19 Argo victory.

"It was a business decision," Allen said. "Dickenson was 10 years younger than me. I understood that. But, in reality, I came to a better situation. That's why I'm always motivated when I play the Lions. I was fortunate to go to a great football team. They put good personnel around me. Offensively, the game was built around the quarterback, and I had an opportunity to put up numbers with the athletes we have. And Kent Austin [Argos' offensive coordinator] likes to throw the football."

Winners in other categories were selected by 45 voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada, representing each of the CFL's nine markets, nine head coaches and a panel of former players and celebrity judges.

A Lion -- defensive end Brent Johnson -- who was an afterthought in the locker room during the two seasons he spent as Allen's teammate, 2001-2002, has also grown in stature since the Allen trade. He was named the CFL's most outstanding Canadian player in a contest with Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben for the award. Johnson, who plays a position usually staffed by an import player, had a breakout year with 16 sacks to lead the CFL. Slotback Jason Clermont of the Lions won the same award in 2004.

Calgary linebacker John Grace, runner-up last season to Montreal's Anwar Stewart, was the defensive player of year.

Saskatchewan's Gene Makowsky was the CFL's outstanding lineman for the second straight season, marking the third time in a row the award has gone to a Roughrider.

Winnipg Blue Bombers defensive end Gavin Walls, who had four sacks in a game earlier this season against the Lions, was the league's outstanding rookie and Roughrider Corey Holmes, the CFL leader in all-purpose yards, got the nod as the league's outstanding special teams player. Holmes was the West representative in the bake-off with Allen for outstanding player, but the ancient Argo was a near-unanimous choice, earning 59 first-place votes to Holmes' three.

"Just to have my name mentioned in the same sentence with his is an honour," Holmes said. "I don't like to bring his age up, but considering the years he's played, he should have won it before."

Hamilton Tiger-Cats' quarterback Danny McManus was recognized with the Tom Pate Award for sportsmanship, community service and all-round good fellowship.

McManus, 40, now becomes the oldest quarterback currently in the CFL not to have won the most outstanding player award, and he looks to Allen as his inspiration.

"Whether you're a young quarterback or a veteran quarterback, you can learn something from Damon," McManus said. "It's the way he gets the job done. He uses everything he has. He empties the tank on every play. I think a lot of guys are looking at him and just seeing how he does it, and how professional he does it."

Steve Buratto, who won a Grey Cup as the Lions' coach in 2000 with Allen as his quarterback, credits Damon's genetics and his love for competition for his longevity. Allen's father, Harold, a carpenter by trade, is in his 70s but still scrambles like a quarterback over roofing and construction projects.

"I've met his father, and he's a remarkable human being, too," Buratto said. "Damon was blessed with marvelous genes. He's kind of timeless. Plus, he's a consummate pro at staying fit and working out. When you mix that in with his remarkably youthful outlook, his creative thinking, his drive for excellence and his ability to recover from pain and injury, he's one of a kind."

Running back gets shot at bigger crowd: Four years ago Mike Vilimek played for SFU before fewer than 50 fans - now he's in town to play for the Als
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G5
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Lyndon Little
Source: Vancouver Sun

Maybe this will help make up for Rotary Stadium.

Four years after playing the final home game of his collegiate career before virtually nobody, SFU running back Mike Vilimek is finally going to get a well-deserved payback.

Come Sunday there will be a guaranteed 59,135 in the stands, when Vilimek suits up for the Montreal Alouettes to face the Edmonton Eskimos in the 93rd Grey Cup at B.C. Place.

"What more could you ask, playing for the Grey Cup in your hometown," marvelled the 6-3, 235-pound Vilimek Thursday after the Alouettes held a closed practice at B.C. Place. "When I signed with Montreal this year I knew I had a good chance to be in this game."

A graduate of both the Windsor Secondary and SFU football programs, Vilimek can't help reflecting on how things have changed since he was a collegian. Despite a star-studded career at SFU, his four years with the Clan ended on a bittersweet note. Late in his senior year he and his teammates were evicted from their normal home at Swangard Stadium due to concerns over the field. On short notice, the SFU athletic department had to scramble to find a location for the final home game of the 2001 season.

It turned out the only place available was Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford. It was there, with less than 50 fans in the stands, that Vilimek made his last home game his most memorable. Facing Humboldt State of California, he ran for a school record 315 yards, as the Clan beat the Lumberjacks in a wild shootout.

"It was a bit of a bitter ending," he admits. "The best game of my career was at a stadium I'd never even heard of before. Even some of my friends who wanted to go to the game were unable to find it."

Adds Vilimek: "It was a strange game. Usually, when one running back gains that many yards, it's a blowout. I ran 80 yards on the first play of the game. But it turned out to be a tight contest right to the end."

Perhaps Vilimek's last Clan home game should have prepared him for more surprises to come. Drafted in the first round by the Ottawa Renegades the following spring, he languished on the bench for three seasons. After using the second overall pick on the SFU running back, the Renegades gave him a grand total of five opportunities to carry the ball over three seasons.

Is it any wonder he went looking for a new club when he became a free agent last winter?

"It wasn't a money thing or a city thing," he says. "I wanted to find a place where I felt I would fit into the offence. I talked to five teams [including the Lions], but the best fit by far seemed to be the Alouettes."

A good choice, as it turned out. Instead of five carries in three years, Vilimek picked up 34 this season. Even better, he's gone from zero career TDs to five.

"Nobody in Montreal really made me any promises," says Vilimek, who used his oversized hands effectively as a pass receiver during his SFU days. "But they told me I'd play a little tight end, some special teams and a get chance to carry the ball a bit out of the backfield. I've certainly got no regrets about my decision."

Despite his frustrations in Ottawa, Vilimek denies his years with the hapless Renegades were wasted.

"For any young player, your first years as a pro are learning ones," he says. "Those years in Ottawa taught me a lot about the league. Everybody in the CFL pretty well runs the same offences, so I learned how teams do things. I did talk to the Ottawa coaches about my role. They said they understood, but the chance I was looking for never really materialized."

How many opportunities Vilimek will get to lug the rock Sunday is difficult to say. If the Als find themselves in a short-yardage situation they could give the ball to their big SFU grad or have quarterback Anthony Cavillo run the QB sneak. If it's the latter, you'll likely see Vilimek line up as a tight end.

"What role I play depends on a lot of things," he says. "If we have a lead and we want to run out the clock there will be more opportunities to run the ball. It's tough to say what type of a game it's going to be, but I bet it's going to be a battle."

GRID BITS: The Als running back contingent Sunday will be made up of starting tailback Eric Lapointe, Vilimek at fullback and import Jonas Lewis as the backup. Lewis, who gets the roster spot of injured import Robert Edwards, dressed for four games this year and spent the rest of the time on the Montreal practice roster.

llittle@png.canwest.com

A faith-based experience: Offensive lineman Dan Comiskey discovers the real meaning of an up-and-down season
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: G5
Section: Grey Cup 2005
Byline: Iain MacIntyre
Column: Iain MacIntyre
Source: Vancouver Sun

It's easier than you think to make a 300-pound man cry. Ask him about his baby girls. Dan Comiskey's twins have Faith for middle names, and for a long time last spring that was all the Edmonton Eskimo offensive lineman had to go on. Lauren and Jane Comiskey were born three months premature last March, and for several weeks nobody was sure Lauren was going to make it.

You think the B.C. Lions had an up-and-down season? You think the Eskimos were a long-shot to be playing for the Grey Cup?

Comiskey could barely contemplate football when the season began, and its proper place in his life was evident Thursday when six questions into an interview about his year, the 33-year-old had to stop.

"Gimme a minute," he said quietly after starting to speak about his girls. He blinked his tears into retreat and filled his giant lungs with a couple of deep breaths.

"It's important," he said after a pause as big as he is. "I want them to read this [someday].

"Lauren is so spirited. Once she became more healthy she didn't stop smiling. She's happy, she's really starting to function where she's grabbing for things. She wants to play and wants to be held and cuddled. Early on, she didn't even want to be held."

And then Comiskey stopped again because, well, imagine what it is like for a man as powerful as any in the CFL to want instinctively to cradle his baby, to hug away the unspeakable fear and keep Lauren from harm, only to have her wail or squirm because she was in such physical distress.

"Jane's off the charts as far as size," Comiskey continued. "You could never tell she was premature. She's working on standing up before she can crawl. She's happy and mad and angry and sad and happy -- all over the charts. But she wants to play all the time. She wants to be in the Jolly Jumper and she wants to be thrown around."

Dad was thrown, too, for awhile.

Married two years ago, Dan and Raina spent the off-season near London, Ont., where the Comiskeys have family.

An ultrasound last winter, when Raina was five months pregnant, revealed that the twins were mono-amniotic, meaning they shared the same birth sac. It's a potentially dangerous condition and Raina was admitted to hospital in London where, Dan said, the unborn twins were checked about five times daily.

A month later, an examination revealed that one of the babies was tangled in the umbilical cord and Raina immediately underwent a C-section. The girls weighed three pounds.

With the family unable to stray far from hospital, and relying on a support network of family, Comiskey requested and was granted a trade last April from Edmonton to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"It was never an issue with Danny Maciocia," Comiskey said of his Edmonton coach. "He's a players' coach. He took care of me. He organized the trade with the Tiger-Cats.

"At the time, it was make the decision on betting on your daughter to live and stay in Hamilton, or try to take the family and move back. When Lauren first came out, she was diagnosed with multiple organ failure. She had complications with every organ in her body except her brain and her heart, although she ended up having heart surgery. There were problems after problems.

"Now, she's at the point where there are some kidney issues and we're going to have ongoing problems with that. But she's functional and at home and not on as many medications as she was. She's getting better."

During the summer, Comiskey commuted about 90 minutes each way between London and Hamilton. He said football games were an escape, where despite the Tiger-Cats' dreadful performance he could forget about living-and-dying for three hours and just play.

A nine-year CFL veteran, Comiskey was grateful the Tiger-Cats took him in and was willing to ride out the losing as he rode out far more important issues. But in October, Hamilton coach Greg Marshall called Comiskey to his office and told him the Eskimos wanted him back.

"He said: 'You're on the [trade] table. If you want, I'll squash it. But if your family can move and you feel like you want to be traded back to Edmonton, let me know and we'll go that way,'" Comiskey said. "I made that decision really quickly. Edmonton wanted me back. My wife is supportive; she's always been that way. She was excited about the move and Lauren, at that point, was healthy enough that we could move back across the country."

Comiskey was part of the deal that saw running back Troy Davis go to Edmonton and -- after Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes at B.C. Place Stadium -- likely will send quarterback Jason Maas to Hamilton.

Offensive lineman Bruce Beaton said the trade turned around the Eskimos' season.

"He's one of my best friends, so I've really enjoyed the last four or five weeks," Beaton said. "Dan's the best offensive lineman in the league, and he's also the most physical offensive lineman in our league."

Comiskey said it seemed he never left the Eskimos.

"They were joking I should be bringing money for chicken for all the late fees because I was 14 weeks late," Comiskey said. "It is like I stepped right back into it."

He said his in-laws, who live north of Lillooet, will look after the babies this weekend in Edmonton so Raina can attend the Grey Cup. Comiskey won a championship with Edmonton in 2003.

"He's back in the Grey Cup," Beaton said. "But it will be a different experience this time than it was before."

Maciocia said: "I think about what he went through, his experiences as a father, and I'm sure it has given him perspective. To me, family always comes before everything else in life."

imacintyre@png.canwest.com

Argos quarterback Damon Allen named CFL's outstanding player
CP Wire
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Section: Sports in general
Byline: BY DAN RALPH

VANCOUVER (CP) _ It was a long time coming for Damon Allen.

The quarterback who holds most of the CFL's career passing records over an illustrious 21-year career captured the league's outstanding player award for the first time Thursday night at the Vancouver Centre for Performing Arts.

``It's not a bad consolation prize for not being in the Grey Cup,'' Allen said. ``I'm humbled because there are so many great players in our league and yet there's just one award.

``But it's still nice to win it in your prime.''

Allen was a runaway winner in voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada, claiming 59 of 62 ballots.

The finalist was versatile Corey Holmes of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who saw action this season returning kicks and punts as well as in the backfield. Holmes did earn the John Agro award as the CFL's top special teams player for the second time.

``Just to have my name mentioned with Damon's is a tremendous honour,'' Holmes said. ``The right man was chosen.

``I think he should've won it long before this.''

Allen also received the Rogers fan choice award.

The other award recipients were B.C. Lions defensive end Brent Johnson (top Canadian), Calgary Stampeders linebacker John Grace (defensive player), Saskatchewan tackle Gene Makowsky (lineman), Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Gavin Walls (rookie) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Danny McManus (Tom Pate award for community service).

CFL commissioner Tom Wright presented the commissioner's award to The Water Boys, a Vancouver-based group founded in 2003 to promote both the B.C. Lions and CFL in the community.

Allen, 42, was the CFL's feel-good story this season.

At an age when most pro athletes have retired, Allen was instrumental in leading Toronto (11-7) atop the East Division for the first time since 1997. The six-foot-one, 195-pound quarterback threw for a career-high 5,082 yards and his 33 touchdown passes were second only to Montreal's Anthony Calvillo (34), who attempted 112 more passes.

But Montreal ended Allen's dream season, downing Toronto 33-17 in the East Division final. The Alouettes meet the Edmonton Eskimos in the Grey Cup on Sunday (CBC, 6 p.m. ET).

Allen says he will play at least one more season after Toronto picked up the option on his contract.

``I'm just thankful I didn't retire last year, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here,'' Allen said. ``I'm thankful I went to an organization that believes I can play beyond my 20th year, or possibly 25 years.

``Who knows?''

What made Allen so dangerous this season was his ability to feel the rush. Allen, the CFL's top-rushing quarterback with over 11,000 yards, still showed plenty of zip in his legs, running for 461 yards and averaging over five yards per carry.

But Allen often showed the patience of a poised veteran, running laterally to buy his receivers more time to either break off their routes or get open downfield.

Johnson, of Kingston, Ont., narrowly claimed the top Canadian award 37-35 over Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben, of Delta, B.C., a finalist for the second straight year. Johnson had a breakout season, posting a CFL-high 16 sacks. He displayed the power to beat his block head-on, or use his speed to run around the tackle, then reel the quarterback in.

``I don't know how you make a choice here,'' Johnson said modestly. ``Kevin Eiben could be holding this trophy and should be and I'm sure will one day.

``It's great to be acknowledged but there's also pressure now. The guys before me who won this set a standard and now I have to live up to that.''

The second time was the charm for Grace, who claimed the defensive player award over Toronto linebacker Michael Fletcher with 39 votes. Grace was a finalist last year to Montreal's Anwar Stewart.

Grace finished as Calgary's No. 2 tackler with 76 (George White had 113) but is regarded as the spiritual leader of the Stampeders' defence. He added eight sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

But Grace said the award doesn't eliminate the disappointment he's still feeling after Edmonton's 33-26 win over Calgary in the West semifinal.

``Awards are wonderful, heck I'm still shaking,'' he said. ``But it's all about winning games and championships and that disappointment is still with me and is what's going to push me in the off-season.''

Makowsky earned his second straight lineman award by a narrow 33-29 verdict over Montreal Alouettes guard Scott Flory, a former University of Saskatchewan teammate.

Makowsky helped Saskatchewan lead the CFL in rushing, averaging 135.5 yards per game. The Roughriders also allowed five less sacks than they did in 2004.

``It's unexpected but a great honour because there are many great linemen in this league,'' Makowsky said. ``You've got to be big and strong to be a good lineman and also be very smart.

``It's not your stereotype of the big, dumb football player. It's a very cerebral position.''

Holmes captured the special-teams honour over Toronto punter-kicker Noel Prefontaine with 55 votes. Holmes finished first in all-purpose yards (3,455) and was second in both punt returns (55 for 835 yards, two touchdowns) and kickoff returns (43 for 1,157 yards, one TD).

Walls was the top rookie by a 56-6 margin over Montreal defensive back Matthieu Proulx. Walls finished tied for second in the CFL with 12 sacks and might have contended for the defensive player award if not for a late-season injury.

``I was star-stuck there for a minute but this is a great honour,'' said Walls. ``The CFL is bigger than a lot of people think.''

Released by Argos, Mitchell thrilled to be back in Grey Cup playing for Esks
CP Wire
Thu 24 Nov 2005
Section: Sports in general
Byline: BY JIM MORRIS

VANCOUVER (CP) _ Derrell Mitchell says there's no hard feelings.

Really.

Still, the Edmonton Eskimos slotback couldn't hide his smile over getting another chance to play in a Grey Cup on Sunday against the Montreal Alouettes (CBC, 6 p.m. ET).

``This is a sweet thing,'' Mitchell said Thursday at team breakfast at a downtown hotel. ``You dream of making it to the Grey Cup.''

Mitchell won a Grey Cup in his rookie season in 1997 when the Toronto Argonauts beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

After spending seven years with the Argos _ a span during which he had over 1,000 receiving yards five times _ Mitchell was released by Toronto prior to the 2004 season. The Eskimos wasted little time in signing the 34-year-old Miami native.

``That's why I respect this organization,'' said Mitchell, the 1997 rookie of the year and a three-time CFL all-star.

``When the door was closed on my career with Toronto, these guys opened it immediately and gave me a second chance.''

Mitchell denied feeling any special satisfaction that he will be playing Sunday while the Argos, who lost the East final to Montreal, will be watching on TV.

``I'm the type who doesn't hold grudges,'' he shrugged. ``I don't burn bridges. It was one of those deals they are the team that has to deal with it. They got eliminated by Montreal and we are here.''

Mitchell had 94 catches for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns this season as the Eskimos finished third in the West with a 11-7 record. During the playoffs he's had two catches for 19 yards.

Last year, in his first season in Edmonton, Mitchell made 48 catches for 868 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Eskimos coach Danny Maciocia said it didn't take him long to go after Mitchell when the Argos cut him.

``It took me about 15 minutes,'' said Maciocia, who arrived at the breakfast decked out in a suit and open-collared shirt.

``He had a great career in Toronto. He's had a good career in Edmonton. He can play and he's a great guy to be around.''

Mitchell has seen his share of personal tragedy over the last six years.

In 1999 his mother died. In 2000 he lost a brother. Last year a sister died and this year he missed several days of training camp after another sister died.

``Think about everything he's been through,'' said Maciocia. ``He comes to work and it's all business with him. That locker-room really cares for him.''

Mitchell joined an Eskimo team that already had a dangerous receiving corps.

Jason Tucker led the CFL this year with 1,411 yards, while Trevor Gaylor finished just 71 yards short of breaking 1,000 in his first year with Edmonton. Ed Hervey had 49 catches for 539 yards in just 10 games.

``It was a big shock for me when these guys (Edmonton) decided to give me that call,'' said Mitchell. ``I guess they wanted to add to their arsenal.

``It was a big adjustment. For years Toronto was my home. Coming into camp last year I had to learn new faces, new terminology. As the season went on I felt right at home.''

Quarterback Ricky Ray said the more quality receivers a team has, the better.

``We've got good receivers across the board,'' said Ray, who threw for over 5,500 yards and 25 touchdowns this year.

``It's not like we have to rely on one guy to get the job done. We've got guys that can do it at pretty much every position. It makes it that much tougher on the defence. They know if they double Tucker we can still throw it to other guys.''

Win or lose on Sunday, Mitchell said he plans to play again next year and hasn't given any thought to retiring.

Had the stars aligned properly, Mitchell could have faced his old team Sunday.

``It really didn't matter,'' he said. ``There were a lot of guys on this team that came up to me last week saying they wouldn't mind us playing Toronto for me. It wasn't a bitter-sweet deal for me. I understand this is part of the business,

``My whole goal was being part of this team and making sure we made it to the Grey Cup.''

As a business model, CFL still needs glue
The Globe and Mal
Thu 25 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By David Naylor

VANCOUVER -- Grey Cup Week tends to be a time for the Canadian Football League to congratulate itself on its many highlights and accomplishments over the past season.

And there are many for commissioner Tom Wright to discuss during this morning's annual state-of-the-league address, including overall record-setting attendance and television ratings that continue to grow from year to year.

But underneath all of that good news lurks the single biggest issue all CFL teams continue to face from year to year: Few of them are ever profitable, needing things to fall exactly into place both on and off the field for any real chance of breaking even.

Consider that the Edmonton Eskimos, playoff participants each season for more than three decades and making their third Grey Cup trip in four years, are projecting a small loss for this season. That states volumes in a league where most other teams don't enjoy the Eskimos uninterrupted record of on-field success, stability of management or unqualified backing in their community.

Advertisements

"You only have to look at the number of teams that have gone out of business in the last 20 years to know it's not an easy way to make a living," said Hamilton owner Bob Young, who bought his team out of bankruptcy in the fall of 2003.

Over the past two seasons, one third of the CFL -- Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa -- has changed ownership purely because the people who previously ran those teams were swamped by losses and no longer believed in the ability to make a profit. And while there was certainly room to second-guess some decisions made by ownership groups in those cities, prospective new owners weren't exactly lining up for those franchises.

In Young and the Toronto co-ownership of Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon, the CFL seems to have lucked out by finding sensible and committed businessmen whose teams have quickly turned the page on their recently difficult past.

In Ottawa, however, the league was so desperate for owners that it allowed the team to fall into the hands of Bernie and Lonie Glieberman, whose track record in the CFL involved two previously unsuccessful attempts in Ottawa and Shreveport, La. Bernie Glieberman subsequently equated his approach to CFL ownership to a weekend trip to Las Vegas, suggesting he doesn't really believe in the league's business model, at least in the short term.In Toronto, Sokolowski and Cynamon believe the answer to a competitive marketplace lies in positioning the Argos as a community team.

They believe in building the business through the traditional means of putting bums in seats. That approach is working so far, although the Argos can't be counted on to be in the running for the Grey Cup each season, as they've been the past two.

"We're drawing crowds larger than we thought we would, so our anticipation is moving up in terms of when we'll break even," Sokolowski said. "I think the league is doing a tremendous job today on its business model. The question is: Can it do better?

"If we continue to draw the crowds we have and can drive other revenues, we're very happy as to where we are."

Hamilton, meanwhile, presents an interesting dilemma for Young, who has been praised for the job he's done investing in top-flight business infrastructure and a customer-service model that is second to none in the league.

Yet despite a second consecutive year of record-setting attendance and sponsorship platforms that have sold out, the Ticats still aren't making money.

"Don't I wish," Young said. "This is the problem of the CFL, that the only teams that are profitable are the winning teams and they are only profitable as long as they are winning. That's because too much of our revenue is dependant on the team generating money locally, and we don't generate enough through our central office.

"In the NFL that's not the case, so it allows them to plan into the future and market to keep their stadiums full."

The CFL currently distributes about $1.2-million each season to its teams, primarily from the proceeds of television contracts and sponsorship revenues. That's roughly 10 per cent of most teams' budgets, which Young insists is not enough.

"If we were talking about the football team alone, I would say [making a profit] is dependant on the CFL office getting its act together and making some serious progress," Young said. "But since we don't control the CFL office, and I don't like resigning myself to losing money, we have plans to generate revenue sources outside of selling tickets.

"We're continually looking for sports opportunities that the expertise we're building could be used to leverage. We think that is the only way we can make the Ticats consistently profitable going forward, given that we don't run the CFL office."

The one thing Ottawa and Hamilton have in common is that neither team seems to believe the CFL's business model can be successful by traditional means. But the Gliebermans' answer to that challenge is to chart a course completely opposite to that of Young.

Ottawa is planning to run its team next season on a considerably slimmer budget than that of most CFL teams.

With a skeleton staff that includes only 10 full-time employees outside of football operations, the Renegades appear to be banking all of their success on becoming a winner, something no Ottawa team has accomplished since the 1970s.

"Our model actually works," Lonie Glieberman insisted. "We're getting lots of flack, but it will work.

"When we get to 23,000 fans a game, this team will bring a return on its investment and be very successful."If we can have the same players salaries as our competition but run the team for $2-million less, then good for us because all the fans care about is what they see on the field."

Understandably, there is considerable doubt about the Gliebermans' ability to make that work, which is why many owners around the league have fantasies about seeing them removed.

But until the league can achieve a business model that gives all teams a reasonable chance of being profitable from one year to the next, it has few options other than simply awaiting its next crisis.

**Angelus** · 11-25-2005, 05:24 PM

Re: Grey Cup Week: Newspaper Articles

Friday - Part 4

Lapointe set for starting role
The Globe and Mail
Thu 25 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By Grant Kerr

VANCOUVER -- Older, wiser and near retirement from football, Eric Lapointe wants to go out in style when he performs for the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup.

Nothing would be finer for the Montreal-born running back on Sunday than to start in the Canadian Football League championship against the Edmonton Eskimos, the team that drafted and released him in 1999.

Then all he'd want to do is rush for at least 100 yards, earn a third Grey Cup ring and announce his retirement so he could devote full attention to the financial management field in which he has several CFL players as clients.

"Being here for the fourth time, I'm making sure I'm enjoying every minute of it," Lapointe said yesterday. "There's a lot of new players here for the first time and I'm taking care of them so they enjoy the moment."

Advertisements

Lapointe, 31, hopes to learn today whether he'll replace injured Robert Edwards (cracked ribs) as the featured back in the Montreal offence.

The two players sat near each other at the team luncheon yesterday, both wearing distinctive hats that set them apart from teammates.

There was little conversation between the two as they ate together at the table next to head coach Don Matthews, who has all but confirmed Lapointe starts and Jonas Lewis backs up at the tailback position.

"Robert is a really tough running back because he likes to take hits and give hits," Lapointe said. "But when you have a problem with your ribs, it would be harder to play that way."Lapointe took over from Edwards in the East Division final last weekend in the second quarter against the Toronto Argonauts and rushed for 112 yards on 15 carries in the 33-17 upset of the Argos.

Playing second fiddle to star import backs has been commonplace for Lapointe. First it was Ronald Williams in Edmonton and with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, he said, then Mike Pringle, Lawrence Phillips and Edwards in Montreal.

Playing Edmonton is something because we've met them so many times in the Grey Cup," Lapointe noted about the third meeting in four years. "It's a special game because Edmonton is classier than some of the other teams in the league. They play well and they're well coached."Lapointe has had starting opportunities before, but mostly he's been a backup during seven CFL seasons, rushing for 2,284 yards, including 423 this season when he averaged 5.4 yards a carry.

Non-import backs are getting more chances to play with some regularity in the CFL, Lapointe claimed, pointing to rookie Jesse Lumsden with the Tiger-Cats as one example."Canadian athletes are playing more at skill positions now," he said. "Hamilton gave Lumsden a chance to prove himself and Jeff Johnson got an opportunity with Toronto.

"It's a tough step from [Canadian Interuniversity Sport] to the pros. In training camp, you realize it's not the same thing any more.

"Sometimes for us it takes a little more time than the Americans to develop. Sometimes you don't stay enough years [in the CFL] to get that confidence back."

Lapointe attended MountAllisonUniversity and was drafted in the third round in 1999, 20th overall by the Eskimos. He didn't make it past training camp, but signed on with Hamilton and later that season got his first Grey Cup ring.

Lapointe's most productive season came as a rookie when he rushed for 691 yards when he wasn't backing up Williams. He carried the ball nine times for 40 yards in the Grey Cup at B.C. Place Stadium when the Ticats beat the Calgary Stampeders 32-21.

As for retirement, Lapointe thinks about it constantly. "As an athlete, I always thought the best way to do it was to retire on top," he said. "I don't think you could equal [a championship]. I'm sure thinking about it."

The turnaround
The Globe and Mail
Thu 25 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By Grant Kerr

Montreal's season may have been changed by a stunning loss, of all things, earlier in the year in Vancouver.

The Alouettes lost by only one point Sept. 17 to the B.C. Lions when the Als failed on a two-point convert attempt late in the game.

"It was probably one of the strangest losing locker rooms I've ever been in," recalled Als fullback Mike Vilimek. "People were pumped up because people knew the Grey Cup was going to be here.

"They were saying, 'Hey guys, we're going to be here. We can play with any team in this league.' We were ready to go for the rest of the season."

CBC hauls out gizmos and gadgets to cover Grey Cup
The Globe and Mail
Thu 25 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By William Houston

Big doesn't always mean better, but the CBC has loaded up in new technology for its Grey Cup telecast, and it should make a difference.

Twenty-six cameras will be used for Sunday's game at B.C. Place in Vancouver, compared with the 10 the network employed for a regular-season football telecast.

The production crew will have access to 18 replay machines, which means, or should mean, that nothing will be missed.

There will be cameras placed in each dressing room. The Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos have been asked to allow a player to wear a microphone.

Advertisements

But, among the technological extras, two in particular stand out. For the first time on a Canadian Football League telecast, a cablecam will be used. And, the game will be shot in high-definition TV, which will be meaningful to the 130,000 Canadian households that have HDTV. Viewers in about one million homes are expected to tune into the game.

The cablecam should make a difference. Suspended above the field, the camera runs along a cable grid and it can drop as low as 3.5 metres above the turf. It shoots from behind the action, so the camera doesn't get in the way of the play.

"It will give us some opportunities to analyze the game the way we've never done before," said Trevor Pilling, the show's executive producer. "It's just going to be downright cool."

The cablecam will not shoot live game action, but should be effective for providing overhead pictures around the game, such as following a receiver back to the bench after he scores a touchdown.

Because of the size of the production, the CBC will use two HDTV broadcast trucks: its own, plus a Dome Productions truck that arrived in Vancouver from Toronto on Wednesday. An intercom will allow the director to communicate to staff in each truck.

Pregame programming will begin at 1 p.m. ET, with a condensed 90-minute replay of tomorrow's Grey Cup parade. The CBC will go to skiing coverage at Lake Louise, Alta., for an hour and then return to football at 3:30 p.m. with a segment on analyst Chris Walby's all-Warriors team of 2005.

Features will include a look back at Vancouver's first Grey Cup, in 1955, also between the Als and Eskimos, and a feature on Edmonton quarterback Jason Maas, whose father, a police officer, died in a shooting incident in Yuma, Ariz., when Jason was a child.

CBC host Brian Williams has interviewed both coaches. Pilling said the Als' Don Matthews, who, on a good day, treats the media with contempt, was co-operative.

"Brian, I think as well as anyone I've seen, was able to get inside with the Don," Pilling said.

Analysts will include the panel of Darren Flutie, Greg Frers and Eric Tillman, as well as Danny McManus of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Sean Millington of the Toronto Argonauts.

Announcer Mark Lee and Walby will call the game. The sideline reporters will be Steve Armitage and Elliotte Friedman.

The kickoff is scheduled for 6:02 p.m.

Radio coverage: Corus Entertainment's radio division will produce and air the Grey Cup broadcast, but a local CFL radio rights holder, if it's not a Corus station, had the option of buying the broadcast.

That's what CHUM-owned Team 1040 in Vancouver did. But insiders say there's a dispute. Team 1040 does not want to carry Corus's two-hour pregame and one-hour postgame content, probably because of advertising issues. If the problem can't be resolved, the broadcast would end up on Corus-owned CKNW and simulcast on the Corus all-sports station Mojo.

Als win, Als win

Predictions:

Flutie: Alouettes 27-19 over Eskimos.

"I think the Als have done some good things defensively. They still have trouble covering in the back end, but I think the way they've been disguising their defence has helped them out immensely. If Edmonton tries to defend against the run more than they usually do, [quarterback Anthony] Calvillo will rip them apart."

Frers: 32-28 Als.

"I'm not going to bet against Don Matthews. I think he's done an amazing job of orchestrating success for his team. Just his ability to find ways to win football games has been very impressive. Defensively they were able to stop a very powerful Toronto offence."

TSN analyst Chris Schultz: 33-30 Als.

"Key issue: Montreal's offensive line is one of the best, if not the best, pass-blocking offensive lines in the CFL. I think their ability to create the second and third reads [passing options] for Calvillo could be the determining factor in this football game."

TSN analyst Matt Dunigan: 29-26 Esks.

"Edmonton's ball control and defence will win the big game."

Cup ad sales

Has the CBC sold all Grey Cup commercial time?

Ren� Bertrand, head of media sales for the network, stopped short of saying all 30-second spots have been sold, but did say, "We're in great shape. We've met our target."

The B-level match-up of Als-Esks, rather than Argos-B.C. Lions, may have discouraged last-minute interest from advertisers. But Bertrand said ad time was sold this week. A 30-second spot fetched $70,000.

Davis's career is a classic CFL tale
The Globe and Mail
Thu 25 Nov 2005
Section: Sports
By Stephen Brunt

VANCOUVER -- He is an elusive subject. Running back Troy Davis doesn't say much, says it quickly, and would most often prefer to say nothing at all.

But at the Grey Cup, the players on the competing teams are given no escape route, trapped in a room with their pursuers, fed bacon and eggs for their troubles. Davis, who is equally adept at running around or through those who want to pull him down, has neither option here.

The surprise, then, is to find him so at ease. "I'm really enjoying it a lot," he says of this first championship appearance, with the team he joined in midseason, the Edmonton Eskimos.

Davis, in many ways, is a classic Canadian Football League story. Over the years, what's been lost on many who followed the CFL, and of course on those who denigrated it by comparison to the National Football League, is the calibre of the players who come here from the United States. The Canadian game is chock full of big-time U.S. college stars, and the difference between a CFL player and an NFL player is so often as much a question of circumstances and football economics as it is a question of talent.

Advertisements

As a high school senior in Miami, Davis was chosen Florida's player of the year by USA Today, a significant honour in a significant football state.

The big schools close to his home -- Florida, Florida State, Miami -- were scared off by his academic record, so he was forced to travel far from home, to the Iowa State Cyclones, where in his freshman year he didn't show much.

But in each of his sophomore and junior campaigns, Davis rushed for more than 2,000 yards, the first college player to do that in back-to-back seasons. He was runner-up in the voting for the 1996 Heisman Trophy in a close race with Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel. (Asked to describe Davis in one word then, an IowaState staffer chose "quiet." Asked to describe him in two words, he added: "without guile.")

Davis chose to forego his senior year and enter the NFL draft in 1997, and was selected 62nd overall, by the New Orleans Saints. He received a nice signing bonus and a lucrative three-year contract, and then his career went south. Davis played every game of his rookie season with the Saints, but wasn't particularly impressive.

The following year, New Orleans head coach Mike Ditka traded his entire draft for the chance to pick Ricky Williams. Instantly, Davis was yesterday's news. When his contract expired after his third NFL season, the Saints weren't interested in extending his tenure. And because he required veteran money under the NFL's pay scale, he had become too costly for other teams, who wouldn't take the gamble at that price.

So Davis was squeezed out of the league, perceived as not quite good enough to be a starting tailback, but too expensive to be a role player. (Those kind of between-the-cracks NFL veterans have since become a prime target for CFL bird dogs.) He flirted briefly with the XFL, then went home and worked on his pick-up basketball skills.

That's where Mike McCarthy, at the time the personnel guru of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, found him. Davis's brother, Darren, who had followed him at IowaState, had already found his way to the CFL. For a relative song, Troy was persuaded to head north.

"I know being there, I'd done it and I'd had it all," he says of his NFL experience. "I just came up here to have fun."

With the Ticats, Davis immediately displayed his blue-chip talents, tough running inside, explosive to the outside, and when called upon, a tremendous pass blocker. But his relationship with the team soured this year during contentious contract negotiations between Hamilton's then-general manager, Ron Lancaster, and Davis's agent. He began this season knowing that it was probably his last in black and gold.

"I wasn't worried about the contract," Davis maintains. "I was worried about football."

Still the trade was a surprise. By acquiring Davis and offensive lineman Dan Comiskey, the Esks immediately turned a one-dimensional passing offence into a much more varied attack -- a big reason why they're here this week. (For Hamilton, the unstated payoff from the deal is expected to come later, when it acquires quarterback Jason Maas after the Grey Cup as a kind of unofficial "future consideration.").

"At first I was kind of shocked [by the trade]," Davis says. "When I got here, we started winning games and I felt real comfortable here. . . . It is a different program. When I left Hamilton we only had two wins. The program here is based on winning."

If happiness begets verbosity, he must be ecstatic. Coming from Troy Davis, that's a soliloquy.

L'imbuvable recordman
La Presse
Le vendredi 25 novembre 2005
Daniel Lemay

Ainsi, Don Matthews consid�rerait la retraite. S'il gagne dimanche, surtout, et apr�s en avoir parl� avec Bob et Lisa Wetenhall, les propri�taires des Alouettes pour qui il dit avoir �beaucoup, beaucoup de respect�. Son contrat se termine apr�s la saison 2006.

Du respect, �The Don� en a moins pour les journalistes, surtout ceux et celles dont les connaissances en football sont moins vastes que les siennes. �a inclut pas mal de monde dans la confr�rie qui l'a encore choisi cette semaine �coach arrogant de l'ann�e�. Ici � Montr�al, le ralliement des anti-Don est sonn� quotidiennement par Jack Todd, le chroniqueur de The Gazette, un journal qui, historiquement, a toujours �t� proche des Alouettes (en 2001, Larry Smith avait quitt� la pr�sidence de l'�quipe pour aller diriger le quotidien anglophone, avant de retourner chez les Alouettes l'an dernier). Matthews doit partir, �victoire ou pas�, r�p�te Todd depuis deux semaines.

Officiellement, les joueurs se sont ralli�s derri�re leur entra�neur, un �players coach� reconnu et avou�. M�me qu'Ed Phillion s'en est violemment pris � Todd, apr�s la victoire contre les Argos, dimanche � Toronto. Volant jaune de plus au dossier du Don dont Wetenhall disait r�cemment qu'il �tait �un cauchemar de relations publiques�. La sagesse populaire dit que quand on respecte son boss tant que �a, on ne le met pas dans l'embarras.

Don Matthews est une t�te � claques, mais il a gagn� plus de matches qui quiconque dans l'histoire de la LCF. Et des Coupes Grey. Il en d�j� cinq (en huit apparitions) remport�es � la t�te de quatre �quipes au fil de 20 saisons; une victoire dimanche contre Edmonton le mettrait seul en t�te du grand palmar�s avec six grosses bagues.

Peu s'en souviennent mais il avait gagn� sa premi�re avec les Lions de la Colombie-Britannique ici m�me � Montr�al. C'�tait en 1985, au plus creux d'une vague qui avait vu les Concordes se rebaptiser �nouveaux Alouettes�... avant de dispara�tre d�finitivement deux ans plus tard.

Ville-h�tesse oblige, La Presse avait couvert les festivit�s annuelles; j'y �tais comme �deuxi�me homme�, derri�re le grand Michel Blanchard. Qui s'�tait r�serv� les Miss et les affaires VIP pendant que �le jeune� allait aux conf�rences de presse des coaches. Don Matthews adorait les podiums et les micros mais n'�tait pas encore l'imbuvable croupion qu'on le dit aujourd'hui.

Les festivit�s s'�taient d�roul�es dans l'indiff�rence des Montr�alais mais plus de 50 000 personnes avaient vu les Lions, avec Roy DeWalt au quart, battre les Tiger-Cats de Hamilton 37-24 pour remporter leur premi�re Coupe Grey en 21 ans.

Dix ans plus tard, Matthews a gagn� le premier de trois championnats de suite, avec les Stallions de Baltimore... qui ont ensuite d�m�nag� � Montr�al sous le nom d'Alouettes. En 1996 et 1997, il a dirig� le quart Doug Flutie et les Argos de Toronto jusqu'au champagne final. Sa cinqui�me coupe Grey, Matthews l'a gagn�e avec les Alouettes en 2002. Il avait alors 63 ans.

Matthews : aim� des uns, ha� des autres
La Presse
Le vendredi 25 novembre 2005
Jean-Fran�ois B�gin

Il a plu hier apr�s-midi � Vancouver. Une pluie fine, pas trop achalante. Une pluie presque joyeuse, � la limite: elle tombait � travers les rayons du soleil couchant et a fait surgir au loin un magnifique arc-en ciel.

Ce temps un peu schizophr�nique m'a fait penser � Don Matthews, le grand mal-aim� des m�dias montr�alais. Ou plus pr�cis�ment, il m'a fait r�fl�chir aux perceptions contradictoires qui se sont d�velopp�es � propos de l'entra�neur des Alouettes.

Matthews a �t� beaucoup critiqu� dans les m�dias cette saison, notamment pour l'incessant jeu de chaise musicale qu'il a impos� � sa brigade d�fensive, o� les joueurs sont entr�s et sortis plus vite que les maris dans la vie de Julia Roberts ou de Jennifer Lopez.

Certaines de ses d�cisions, notamment celle de tenter (sans succ�s) une transformation de deux points alors que son �quipe tirait de l'arri�re par un point contre les Lions de la Colombie-Britannique, � la mi-septembre, en ont pouss� certains � remettre en question son jugement.

Et pourtant, le vieux ratoureux aux airs de motard en fin de carri�re est � Vancouver cette semaine, avec sa moustache � la Fu Manchu, son surv�tement de la Coupe Grey et ses r�parties color�es.Dimanche, au BC Place, l'entra�neur ayant remport� le plus grand nombre de victoires dans l'histoire du football canadien (212) tentera de remporter le troph�e pour la sixi�me fois de sa carri�re. Cela lui permettrait de devancer des entra�neurs aussi prestigieux que Frank Clair et Hugh Campbell. Pas mal pour un vieux coach fini.

Avant de partir pour Vancouver, j'ai parl� au pr�sident des Alouettes, Larry Smith. �Il y a des critiques qui sont m�rit�es et d'autres qui ne le sont pas, m'a-t-il dit � propos de son entra�neur. Dans certains cas, c'est devenu un conflit personnel. Quand je dirigeais The Gazette , je disais toujours aux journalistes qu'il fallait garder son objectivit�.Quand �a devient personnel, on perd sa cr�dibilit�.�

La v�rit�, que M. Smith veuille l'admettre ou non et on comprendra qu'il ne le veuille pas, � quelques jours du plus important match de la saison c'est que les histoires de conflits individuels entre Don Matthews et certains journalistes sont un �cran de fum�e. Elles sont une mani�re de d�tourner l'attention d'un probl�me plus profond.

J'ai �t� peu pr�sent dans l'entourage des Alouettes cette saison et je ne pr�tends pas �tre le mieux plac� pour critiquer le travail de Matthews. Mais j'ai parl� avec mes coll�gues du beat des Alouettes, dont certains couvrent le football depuis des ann�es. Le portrait qu'ils brossent est sans �quivoque, et il est unanime: avec les journalistes, Don Matthews est m�prisant et suffisant, quand il n'est pas carr�ment grossier.

Rien pour faire pleurer les amateurs de football, me direz-vous. Peut-�tre. Sauf qu'aux derni�res nouvelles, ce sont les journalistes qui informent les amateurs de ce qui se passe au sein de leur �quipe favorite. Si l'entra�neur fait tout pour nuire � leur travail, ce sont les amateurs qui, au bout du compte, sont p�nalis�s. Et p�naliser les amateurs, ce n'est jamais une bonne id�e pour une �quipe de sport professionnel.

N'oublions pas que les Alouettes ont attir� � peine plus de 31 000 personnes lors de la demi-finale de l'Est, soit 20 000 personnes de moins que lors de leur match pr�c�dent au Stade olympique. Plusieurs facteurs expliquent cette d�saffection. Mais une partie de la responsabilit� revient s�rement � un entra�neur qui semble tout faire pour que les Alouettes baignent dans une aura de n�gativisme.

Le pire, c'est que Matthews est capable de se montrer agr�able. La veille de la finale de l'Est, � Toronto, il est rest� assis avec un petit groupe de journalistes apr�s sa conf�rence de presse. Il a r�pondu � toutes les questions et n'a pas tent� de rabaisser personne. Matthews peut agir autrement qu'en ours mal l�ch�. Dommage qu'il ne le montre pas plus souvent.

Cela dit, Don Matthews n'a pas �t� embauch� il y a quatre ans pour remporter des concours de popularit�. Ce que le propri�taire Bob Wettenhall attend de lui, c'est qu'il fasse gagner son �quipe. Et m�me s'il a fallu beaucoup de temps pour y arriver cette saison, les astres semblent enfin s'�tre align�s depuis quelques semaines. En d�fensive, les pi�ces du puzzle sont bien imbriqu�es, apr�s que Matthews se soit amus� � les r�arranger pendant toute la saison.

Plus important encore: en agissant comme paratonnerre pour les critiques des m�dias, Matthews semble s'�tre gagn� l'appui de ses joueurs. Encore hier, ils ont �t� nombreux � prendre sa d�fense.

�Avant mon arriv�e chez les Alouettes, je trouvais que Don Matthews avait l'air d'un malade�, m'a avou� Matthieu Proulx, quelques heures avant le gala o� il �tait en nomination � titre de recrue de l'ann�e dans la LCF. �Mais j'ai d�couvert un vrai players' coach. Il peut avoir l'air m�chant ou odieux, mais il le fait pour d�fendre ses joueurs. �a resserre les liens entre les gars. Il prend sur son dos les critiques du public et il nous laisse jouer au football.�

Paul Lambert, qui joue sur la ligne offensive des Alouettes depuis trois ans, m'a tenu le m�me discours. �Il ne m�rite pas toutes les critiques qu'il re�oit. Les gens ne le connaissent pas. J'adore jouer pour lui. Il est un peu comme le grand-p�re de notre famille. C'est lui qui dirige notre bateau et notre bateau est arriv� au but qu'on s'�tait fix�: la Coupe Grey. �a doit vouloir dire quelque chose.�

Si les Alouettes l'emportent dimanche, Matthews n'aura sans doute aucune difficult� � convaincre ses patrons de le garder � leur emploi pour encore quelques ann�es. Mais le meilleur d�nouement serait probablement qu'il annonce alors sa retraite. Il a refus� de discuter de cette question lors de sa conf�rence de presse, mercredi. Mais � 66 ans, il d�tient � peu pr�s tous les records chez les entra�neurs de la Ligue canadienne. Il n'a plus rien � prouver. Puisqu'il dit regretter de ne pas parler fran�ais, laissez-moi lui passer le message dans la langue qu'il comprend: You should quit while you're ahead, Don.

Charbonneau a connu une ann�e �prouvante

La Presse
Le vendredi 25 novembre 2005
St�phanie Morin

Steve Charbonneau pensait que huit mois suffiraient pour gu�rir son genou gauche. Il se trompait.

Au tout premier jour du camp d'entra�nement, son genou a enfl� jusqu'� devenir aussi gros qu'un melon d'eau. �Les tests physiques et la premi�re pratique de la journ�e s'�taient bien pass�es, se souvient le plaqueur des Eskimos d'Edmonton. Puis, au milieu du deuxi�me entra�nement, mon genou est devenu tellement gros que je ne pouvais plus rentrer dans mon orth�se. �a faisait peur et c'�tait seulement le premier jour! Je me suis demand� si j'arriverais � passer � travers la saison.�

Le 12 ao�t 2004, Charbonneau s'est effondr� lors d'un match contre les Blue Bombers de Winnipeg, les ligaments crois�s ant�rieurs de son genou gauche d�chir�s. Il a d�cid� de passer sous le bistouri un mois plus tard, dans l'espoir d'�tre pr�t pour le d�but du campdes Eskimos, en juin. Seulement, la gu�rison a �t� beaucoup moins rapide que le Qu�b�cois l'esp�rait.

�J'ai rat� le premier match de la saison et, ensuite, la progression a �t� tr�s lente. Comme mon genou �tait plus faible, je me suis mis � compenser et je me suis retrouv� avec des blessures au dos, � l'autre genou... Ce n'est pas �vident de gu�rir quand tu joues dans les tranch�es et que tu as deux gars de 300 livres sur le dos � chaque jeu! �a fait seulement trois semaines que je me sens bien, que je bouge mieux. Et encore, mon genou n'est pas r�tabli � 100 %. Il ne le sera probablement jamais...�

Toutes ces blessures ont eu un impact sur les statistiques personnelles du joueur de 32 ans: 14 plaqu�s d�fensifs en saison r�guli�re, un sac, une passe rabattue et un ballon �chapp� r�cup�r�. On est loin de ses saisons � 30 plaqu�s et huit sacs, comme en 2000 avec les Alouettes... �Statistiquement, ce n'est pas ma meilleure saison, admet-il. Je manquais de mobilit� et c'�tait frustrant par moments. Mais je sais aussi que les Eskimos ont la meilleure d�fensive de la ligue contre la course. J'ai contribu� � faire de cette d�fensive ce qu'elle est.�

Cette d�fensive n'excelle pas seulement contre le jeu au sol; elle est aussi premi�re de classe contre le jeu a�rien. � quoi tient le succ�s des Verts? �Aucun gars ne se met sur un pi�destal, dit Charbonneau. Si un joueur fait une erreur, on ne va pas essayer de faire le travail � sa place sur le jeu suivant. Et tout le monde a fait sa part: � cause des bless�s, on a d� faire une grande rotation dans l'alignement.�

Quand les Alouettes ont lib�r� Charbonneau, en juillet 2002, le joueur de 6'5 et 290 livres s'est senti trahi. Aujourd'hui, toute cette histoire est derri�re lui, dit-il. �Je n'ai pas jou� avec ce groupe-l�. Je ne connais pas Don Matthews. Il reste peu de gars que je connais l�-bas. En fait, j'ai plus d'anciens co�quipiers des Alouettes � Edmonton!�

N'emp�che, il garde toujours un oeil attentif sur ce qui se passe avec les Alouettes. Et il re�oit encore des messages des partisans qu�b�cois. �En 1997, il y avait 4000 personnes dans le Stade olympique et on jouait sur une surface dure comme du b�ton. Je voulais aider l'�quipe; je faisais 180 apparitions publiques par ann�e. Avec d'autres comme Bruno Heppell, j'ai contribu� au succ�s populaire actuel des Alouettes. J'en suis fier, m�me si je sais qu'on n'aura jamais la reconnaissance pour ce qu'on a fait.�

Selon lui, les Alouettes font fausse route en n'ouvrant pas plus grande la porte aux francophones. �Dans un march� comme Montr�al, ce serait fou de ne pas avoir de partants qu�b�cois. La banque de bons joueurs est �norme au Qu�bec. Mais les Alouettes n'ont pas pris cette voie...�

Dans une vingtaine d'ann�es, c'est peut-�tre son fils, Noah, qui tentera de faire sa place avec les Alouettes. En effet, son �pouse, l'ancienne patineuse de vitesse Isabelle Charest, a donn� naissance � leur premier enfant le 26 septembre dernier. �Mon fils est le plus beau, lance Charbonneau. Je trouvais mes amis gagas avec leurs enfants, mais je suis pareil. �a fait deux jours que je ne l'ai pas vu et je m'ennuie! Je manque un peu de sommeil, mais je me prom�ne avec une gourde de caf�. �a aide!�

De tous les maux qu'a subis Steve Charbonneau cette saison, ces nuits �court�es sont certainement les plus faciles � accepter.

Flory et Proulx ratent leur chance

La Presse
Le vendredi 25 novembre 2005
Jean-Fran�ois B�gin

Les joueurs des Alouettes en nomination pour les troph�es annuels de la Ligue canadienne de football sont repartis bredouilles, hier soir.

Scott Flory et Matthieu Proulx �taient les candidats de la division Est pour les titres de joueur de ligne offensive et de recrue de l'ann�e lors de la remise de prix de la LCF, qui avait lieu dans un th��tre de Vancouver. Ces honneurs sont plut�t all�s � Gene Makowsky, des Roughriders de la Saskatchewan, et � l'ailier d�fensif Gavin Walls, des Blue Bombers de Winnipeg.

Sans surprise, le v�t�ran quart des Argonauts de Toronto, Damon Allen, a �t� sacr� meilleur joueur de la LCF. Il a re�u 59 des 62 votes de premi�re place, le reste allant � Corey Holmes, des Roughriders. Ce dernier avait dit que s'il avait �t� appel� � voter, son suffrage serait all� � Allen, grand favori sentimental.

C'est la premi�re fois en 21 saisons dans la Ligue qu'Allen remporte ce prix. � 42 ans, il a connu en 2005 une de ses meilleures campagnes, compl�tant 352 de ses 549 passes pour 5082 verges. Il a aussi men� les Argos � un premier championnat de division depuis 1997, avant de conna�tre un match difficile en finale de l'Est contre les Alouettes, dimanche dernier.

Il s'en est fallu de peu pour que Flory reparte avec le troph�e qui est finalement all� � Makowsky, d�j� vainqueur l'an dernier. Makowsky n'a en effet r�colt� que 33 des 62 votes exprim�s, remportant de justesse le vote le plus serr� de la soir�e. Mais le bon g�ant de la ligne � l'attaque des Alouettes �tait fier du simple fait d'�tre en nomination.

�C'est vraiment sp�cial, avait-il dit en apr�s-midi. C'�tait d�j� un honneur d'avoir �t� choisi pour repr�senter l'�quipe. Je consid�re que ce prix est un prix de groupe, qui refl�te le travail des cinq ou six gars sur la ligne offensive. Ils y ont mis leur sang, leur sueur et leurs larmes.�

Choisi sur l'�quipe d'�toiles de la division Est au terme des quatre derni�res saisons, Flory �tait en nomination pour la deuxi�me fois apr�s avoir �t� battu par Andrew Greene, des Roughriders, en 2003. Depuis 1996, trois joueurs de la ligne � l'attaque des Alouettes- Uzooma Okeke, Pierre Vercheval et Bryan Chiu- ont �t� r�compens�s.

De son c�t�, Matthieu Proulx n'a pas �t� surpris du r�sultat, auquel il n'accordait de toute fa�on pas trop d'importance. �Si j'�tais ici � titre individuel, j'y porterais plus attention, mais je suis ici pour la Coupe Grey et toute ma t�te est � �a. De toute fa�on, je n'ai pas beaucoup de chances de gagner�, avait-il dit au d�ner des m�dias des Alouettes. Gavin Walls a re�u 56 votes, un r�sultat � la mesure de ses performances cette ann�e. Walls a r�ussi 12 sacs, � �galit� au premier rang de la LCF. Il a aussi effectu� 40 plaqu�s, il a recouvr� un �chapp� et en a provoqu� deux, en plus de rabattre quatre passes.

Brent Johnson, des Lions de la Colombie-Britannique, a �t� nomm� meilleur joueur canadien et John Grace, des Stampeders, a re�u l'accolade chez les joueurs d�fensifs. Corey Holmes n'est pas reparti les mains vides: il a �t� choisi meilleur joueur sur les unit�s sp�ciales.

Soulignons enfin que le v�t�ran quart Danny McManus, des Tiger-Cats de Hamilton, s'est vu m�riter le troph�e Tom-Pate, remis � un joueur qui a d�montr� des qualit�s qui le distinguaient de ses pairs. Anthony Calvillo �tait le candidat des Alouettes pour cet honneur.

Straight, out of Compton: Argo Michael Fletcher owes his success to a man who helped him transcend an inauspicious beginning
National Post
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S2
Section: Sports
Byline: Sean Fitz-Gerald
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: National Post

VANCOUVER - As they reclined in supple leather chairs, circled around a smooth granite tabletop inside a luxury hotel, Michael Fletcher and Anthony Cartwright chuckled as they swapped old stories from their hometown. There was the one about the resident of a notorious gangland home who was shot in the posterior, another about living between warring factions and a couple about Fletcher's younger brother.

"My little brother's crazy," he said, before motioning to Cartwright. "We were staying over at his house one weekend, and something happened, or whatever, and my brother got mad. So my little brother's like, 'Y'all better not go to sleep, or I'm gonna stab you.' So we're at his house, and he's got everybody scared to go to sleep. He's just sitting in the kitchen with a knife in his hand."

"I went to sleep," Cartwright said, smiling. "He said he's gonna kill everybody."

He didn't, though he had already been to jail. Fletcher's brother was 11 years old at the time.

Cartwright laughed at the memory. While the stories are common in Compton, Calif., his work in the embattled city has also led to hundreds of happy endings. One of them seated to his right, sipping a Heineken as an honoured guest of the Canadian Football League.

Fletcher, a linebacker with the Toronto Argonauts, was raised in Compton. His parents were addicted to drugs and alcohol, extended family members were running with street gangs and his future seemed to be tied to one or the other. Cartwright took him under his wing, invited him into his home and put him on the path that led him to becoming a Grey Cup champion, a community spokesman and a runner-up for this year's outstanding defensive player award.

Cartwright is a teacher who is also tied with a number of youth-oriented sports programs in the troubled Los Angeles-area community. He is 42 now, with two sons of his own and little interest in taking credit for his work in helping Fletcher avoid the spiral of poverty and violence.

Cartwright has neither a deep voice nor an imposing physical presence. He was wearing a San Francisco 49ers baseball cap and a matching jersey -- with his surname on the back -- when he arrived on Wednesday. Fletcher may have lost the defensive player award to Calgary linebacker John Grace last night, but the ceremony gave him an excuse to spend a weekend with the man he introduces as his Godfather.

"My parents had drug and alcohol problems, so we never had money to get me into anything," Fletcher said. "And he just came at a perfect time, right when my dad's sister had taken custody, when my parents went to try to get themselves cleaned up. And I just happened to be running through the park, and he just grabbed me."

Sports are not the only escape from Compton, but they are a reliable ticket for the lucky few who have the ability and determination. Cartwright has established a wall of fame inside a local community centre and can rhyme off a list of area children who have jumped into the professional ranks.

"You have to have a drive, even through a lot of the adversity," he said. "You have to kind of look past it. You don't want to just say, 'It doesn't matter. It doesn't affect me.' It always affects you when somebody gets shot or gets hurt."

Fletcher almost got hurt when he visited the community centre over the summer.

"I was at the park, and they started shooting," the 28-year-old said. "As I was leaving, these fools started shooting at the park."

"Actually, what happened was, they were coming from a funeral procession," Cartwright said. "Some rival gang members were shooting at the other gang members' funeral. A couple of shells hit the building and stuff."

Fletcher laid out the local geography on the table, pointing to his green beer bottle as the park and three burning candles as the different gangs in the area. He pulled them close to the glass, explaining one as the territory belonging to the Crips, another the Bloods and another to a Mexican gang.

Whenever there is a shooting, Cartwright said, his first responsibility is to herd the children to safety. Then he calls the police.

There was no tension in his voice as he described his duties. Cartwright spoke with the same level tone others might employ to explain mathematical constructs to high school students.

"We had this one kid I threw up against the wall this year," he said. "This one kid ... is on probation because him and several other members of the park broke into the elementary school right across from the park and just vandalized it. So he's on probation, but he's not a bad kid."

That kid isn't yet a teenager.

"I took this from him: The fact that you always look out for others, remember where you came from," Fletcher said of the man sitting next to him. "I'm proud of where I came from. And when this opportunity [to invite him to Vancouver] presented itself, to me, it was a no-brainer. Both my parents have passed away, I had an aunt who took care of me the rest of my whole life, but he's been the father figure in my life.

"I have biological family, blood, and he knows more about me than they do."

Normally, tickets are the only gifts of gratitude Cartwright accepts from his successful former pupils. He has been to countless professional sporting events, but never just for himself. He asks for more than one ticket so he can take someone else from the park or from his classroom to show them a life outside of Compton.

He came by himself to visit Fletcher.

"Everyone that succeeds," Cartwright said, "gives us a chance to say that we're succeeding in what we're doing."

Gliebermans haven't even had chance to fail this time around
The Ottawa Citizen
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: B2
Section: Sports
Byline: Hugh Adami
Column: Hugh Adami
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

So, the plank has been put out for the Gliebermans again.

At least a couple of league governors, probably the two that run the CFL with commissioner Tom Wright as their lame-duck puppet, want Bernie and Lonie Glieberman to give up the Ottawa Renegades to minority owner Bill Smith.

These guys figure the Gliebermans, particularly precocious son Lonie, the club's president, are running the franchise into the ground, just like the old days when the two -- with the help of previous and later owners -- mixed the cement for the Ottawa Rough Riders' last pair of shoes.

Why the Gliebermans would want to throw good money after bad is beyond me, but they obviously have some to waste if you believe their critics who fear Ottawa will soon be without a CFL team again.

True, the Gliebermans have this thing about running their football teams like circuses. (They also owned the old Shreveport Pirates after abandoning the Riders for the CFL's failed U.S. expansion.) And Lonie is one hell of a lion tamer, taking chances with silly, pubescent promotions to get more boobs and bums in the seats at Frank Clair Stadium, and hiring a mutton-dressed-like-lamb coach in John Jenkins, who describes himself as a ladies' man. Lock up your daughters, Ottawa. Some Texan with peroxide-blond hair and red cowboy boots is on the prowl, cawing "Yippee ki yay."

What awaits us next season is anybody's guess. Will Bernie Glieberman give up his majority ownership of the Renegades if pressed by Wright, and take back fun-loving Lonie? Or will the Gliebermans fight off any takeover attempt and help lead the Renegades to some respectability -- finally -- in their fifth season?

What bothers me in this second tilt-a-whirl with these guys isn't the Gliebermans so much, but the fear-mongering attitudes that father and son have had to put up with since the spring when they rescued their second CFL team in Ottawa in 13 years. Both franchises, as we know, were a financial mess, and the teams stunk on the field. And before they finally secured 51 per cent of the team's ownership last May, at least one owner said the CFL really didn't want the burden of keeping the team afloat financially while it searched for a majority buyer.

The Gliebermans didn't do a good job when they owned the Riders in 1992 and 1993, and they've admitted it. The Shreveport team, like the rest of its American CFL cousins, were all gone within two seasons, but that was due to the short-sightedness of the CFL, thinking it could penetrate the U.S. market despite the enormous popularity of the NFL and university football.

No doubt about it, the Gliebermans are truly despised: By city hall, which rents them the stadium and was unrelentless in stopping Renegades fans from having pre-game tailgate parties as Lonie had suggested; by many Renegades fans who've been through the mill once already with the inept Rough Riders; by much of the football media in Ottawa and the rest of the country, which even polled itself, determining that the Gliebermans would "run the team out of town;" and obviously by some, if not most or all, CFL owners/governors who don't want them around next season. You can tell that Wright, too, isn't enamoured with the present ownership, especially rebellious Lonie, who stands out like a sore thumb among controlling codgers like Edmonton Eskimos chief executive/president Hugh Campbell and B.C. Lions owner David Braley.

It's reassuring to know that at least some CFL governors are so worried about this franchise and what another failure in Ottawa could mean down the road for possible expansion. They, of course, are the same governors who could give the league more credibility by allowing Wright to call more of the shots, including the creation of a stringent cap on team salaries.

Except for the sideshows that have plagued the Renegades for a couple of seasons now, including the one under the old ownership group fronted by Brad Watters, we really can't put that much blame on Bernie and Lonie for what happened on the field in 2005. In fact, the Renegades didn't look too bad when the team was 5-3 heading into a bye week back in August, and despite its quick slide afterward, it still finished with a 7-11 season, tying its 2003 record.

One has to remember that this is the CFL and Ottawa is a fickle sports town where the league looked under rocks back in the days of the Riders to find prospective owners. If the Gliebermans want to run the show, keep discounting tickets to get more fans in the stands and, of course, lose more money, which is what CFL franchises do, then they deserve the chance. They really haven't done anything this time around to be run out of town.

Renegades need maturity
The Ottawa Citizen
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: F4
Section: City
Page Name: City Editorial
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa football fans are a patient lot, considering the ownership, financial and on-field struggles of the storied Rough Riders and the new Renegades.

The city's Canadian Football League franchise is more than just a business, it's a community trust. It's a part of the city's lore, with memories of classic contests with greats such as Russ Jackson and Ron Stewart. As well, the team plays in a city-owned facility, which makes the team's welfare a concern to Ottawa property taxpayers.

This is why we are disheartened by news of more executive turmoil at the CFL and the Renegades. Two or more league governors are calling for commissioner Tom Wright to force the sale of the club.

The governors are concerned about the stewardship of the Ottawa club, fearing that the Renegades' president, Lonie Glieberman, will ruin the team.

Mr. Wright has been approached to see if majority owner Bernie Glieberman (Lonie's father) would sell to minority owner Bill Smith. Bernie Glieberman says he has not been approached and won't sell.

There is no good time for ownership problems, especially in a community that has seen far too many of them. It is particularly bad at Grey Cup time when off-season ticket sales approach.

So what to do about the Renegades? Perhaps the Gliebermans could look down Highway 417 to Kanata and the highly successful Ottawa Senators.

Against incredible financial odds, the team has survived and now thrives. It is one of the most talented and entertaining clubs in the world. Why? Good management.

The Senators' owners have hired the best hockey people available and let them do their jobs. And in performing those roles, they eschewed big names (for example, Jesse Palmer), drafted well and developed from within. When players became too expensive or expendable (Marian Hossa, Alexei Yashin), these good hockey people traded them for players equal or better in talent and less expensive (Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Zdeno Chara). They scouted and planned.

The Senators have become involved with the community, increasing player identification. The Ottawa Senators Foundation has given back to the city.

The NHL team has yet to hold a Mardi Gras promotion or bring Dexter Manley out of retirement. The Renegades' Mardi Gras extravaganza alienated many women in the community and not a few men. At last look, women made up 50 per cent of Ottawa consumers.

What Ottawans want from their football club is a mature approach to steadily improve the team's play. Those improvements will be rewarded at the gate. There need not be a winner tomorrow, only trust that there will be a better tomorrow. That's what the Senators did and fans, despite a bitter NHL lockout, have responded accordingly.

The rival Argos and Als put better teams on the field and their franchises thrived.

If the Renegades create less smoke and more fire, the Ottawa franchise will prosper.

STUDY: FANS STILL BACKING 'GADES; ... BUT THEY PAY TOO MUCH FOR STADIUM FOOD
The Ottawa Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 93
Section: Sports
Byline: BY TIM BAINES, OTTAWA SUN

Ottawa's football fans aren't ready to give up on the Renegades ... or the Gliebermen, yet.

A study commissioned by the Renegades and obtained by the Sun last night suggests that while Ottawa football fans may not be thrilled with the recent on-field product, they're still willing to support the club.

The sample size for the study, by Boulder, Colo.-based Leisure Trends Group, involved more than 1,500 people -- a cross-section of fans from season-ticket holders, single-ticket purchasers and locations throughout the stadium. The poll was done during three home games -- against B.C., Winnipeg and Hamilton -- two losses and a win.

Asked: "How likely are you to come back to a Renegades game," 63% said absolutely, 27% said likely, 10% said maybe and just 0.5% said never. Fans in the South Upper side were the most positive, with 68% responding absolutely.

Asked: "Your interest level in the Renegades," 51% said higher this year (65% from the under-25 crowd), 45% said same as in the past, while just 4% said less than last year.

Another fact uncovered in the study, which could be released today: While the mean age of a Renegades fan is 37 (38 for men and 35 for women), the biggest percentage of fans is in the 40-49 grouping.

Thirty-one percent of those polled say it was a good idea to cancel the Mardi Gras Madness promotion, while 41% said it was a bad idea and 29% didn't care.

The videoboard came under criticism. Thirty-five percent of those polled gave it less than a five out of 10 ranking. The mean was 5.5 for men and 5.9 for women. The sound system may also need some work, with a 6.0 mean from men and 6.4 for women.

Parking availability was also addressed, with 12% rating it 1 out of 10. On the other hand, 11% said parking was excellent.

Music at the game scored well, with 68% rating it above average.

The dance team also scored very well, with a 7.4 mean from men and 6.5 from women.

The Renegades might want to work on their concession pricing. A whopping 31% thought the pricing was poor, with only 27% saying it was above average.

"This showed us clearly where the problems were," said Renegades president Lonie Glieberman. "(The concessions) stood out as negative."

tim.baines@ott.sunpub.com

'POPCORN MAN' BUTTERS UP FANS WITH APOLOGY
The Toronto Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: S7
Section: Sports
Byline: BY PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
Dateline: VANCOUVER

Argos receiver R. Jay Soward is not sorry he celebrated a touchdown by grabbing a bag of popcorn during Sunday's 33-17 loss to Montreal in the East final, but he apologized to Toronto football fans who were offended by it.

"At the game, people were saying that was the greatest celebration they've ever seen," Soward said yesterday. "I guess you're going to get both (opinions). You're going to get sour fans. We weren't supposed to lose that game, especially after the way we started. I expect people to point fingers at me and say maybe I got too excited, but I really don't see what that has to do with the football game, to tell you the truth.

"It was a very spontaneous thing and I apologize to the people of Toronto if they feel I took away our opportunity, but I was just making an atmosphere where people can enjoy the game and see something different."

After scoring a first-quarter touchdown against the Alouettes, Soward ran to a concession stand set up behind the end zone and grabbed a bag of popcorn and shared it with teammate Robert Baker. But the Argos, who led 13-0 at the time, came apart shortly thereafter, committing six turnovers en route to the loss.

Though Soward yesterday termed it spontaneous, he admitted after Sunday's game that he got the idea during warmup.

"I don't think I'm going to be known (as Popcorn Man) because we lost," Soward said of the nickname some fans have tagged him with. "If we won and were going to the Grey Cup, I wouldn't be able to stop doing interviews. But that's the thing about playing professional sports. Somebody has to lose and that day we lost. That day I decided to show my behind and that wasn't the day to do it."

Danny recognized for his work off the field; Ticat wins Tom Pate Award for his commitment to helping sick kids
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP02
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

The winner of the 2005 Tom Pate Award recalls the Hamilton girl was about 15 or 16.

During one of his regular visits to the McMaster Children's Hospital, Danny McManus and fellow Hamilton Tiger-Cat quarterback Cody Ledbetter met her.

She was suffering from leukemia. The year was 1998, a season that would take the Tabbies to the Grey Cup. But this young lady wouldn't see any of that.

"I can't remember the young lady's name. We met her at McMaster early in the football season. She wanted to go to a Ticat game. So Cody got her to a football game.

"We went back the next time about four weeks later and she was just a little weaker. But still had the big smile on her face and all she talked about was the game she went to.

"And then we came back a third time and she wasn't there. She had passed away. And just the look on the guys' faces when they found out she wasn't there..."

It was three months from the time the McManus-led Ticat contingent first met her.

"And what it did to the guys was help them realize that we're very blessed to play football and that it is not everything in the world. That when the coach is yelling at you, when you're losing ball games and things are not going well, there is someone else that's a lot worse than you.

"It sticks with you."

That selfless attitude is the main reason why McManus was honoured last night with the award, named after the late Ticat who collapsed and died from a brain aneurysm back in the 1970. Pate was just 23 when he collapsed during a Ticat game in Regina.

For the past decade the 40-year-old Hamilton quarterback has led many Ticat contingents to the McMaster pediatric ward to brighten the days of hospitalized children.

Since 1995 when he played for the Edmonton Eskimos, the affable pivot has established a foundation which sees corporations donate money to hospitals for every game he wins and touchdown pass he tosses.

The funds first went to the GlenroseHospital in the Alberta capital and later to McMaster after McManus signed with the the Tabbies in 1998.

What isn't so well known, is the fact the first $100 for each victory and for each touchdown reception comes out of McManus's own pocket.

He hopes eventually the funds can be used to establish a children's-only emergency ward in the steel city.

"It's nothing like I sit there and think 'I hate writing this cheque out.' No, it's the easiest cheque to write because you know it's going to a good cause and it works out so the hospital can use it to their advantage. It brings a smile to my face to know there will be some progress at the children's hospital and hopefully the money can be used in a good way," he said yesterday just hours before the awards ceremony.

Always the first one to accept blame for a poor performance and deflect credit to his teammates after a terrific one, McManus admits the Tom Pate honour holds a special place in his heart.

"I think the biggest thing is it is an accomplishment not just for myself but for all the guys in the CFL that go out and do things in the community.

"Sometimes that doesn't get recognized ... there are a lot of guys in the CFL who are doing a lot of great stuff and to be the winner of the Tom Pate is quite exciting for me. To have my name up there with his is pretty special."

McManus admits he has never been big on individual honours.

"But this is an award that I will cherish forever to know my work wasn't only on the field. I was able to try and help out as many people as I could, and really open up experiences for my teammates to try and get involved in the community.

"It's great. It's easy. You just ask guys and they say yes. ... They enjoy it. The guys on our team have been wonderful. Everyone is doing something."

Especially number 14 in the Ticat jersey.

kpeters@thespec.com

Ticats looking to lure Argo offensive co-ordinator into their lair
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP04
Section: Sports
Byline: Ken Peters
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats would not confirm a rumour that they will interview Kent Austin for the vacant offensive co-ordinator's job, but it sure sounds like they're leaning that way.

"We'd certainly be interested," Ticat head coach Greg Marshall said yesterday. "But we haven't talked to the Argos to ask permission (to talk to Austin)."

Austin's agent, Gil Scott, was out of town yesterday and did not have time to discuss the matter with The Spectator.

It does seem curious that Austin would be interested in what is essentially a lateral move, since he is currently offensive co-ordinator with the Toronto Argonauts and received rave reviews for his work this year.

The Ticats have already talked to deposed Ottawa coach Joe Paopao about the offensive co-ordinator's job, which opened up two weeks ago when the contracts of all three offensive coaches, including offensive co-ordinator Jamie Barresi, were not renewed. Paopao, though, will not decide on any co- ordinator job when there are still some potential CFL head coaching positions up for grabs.

Follow your dream, Lumsden tells the kids
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP08
Section: Sports
Byline: John Kernaghan
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

Jesse Lumsden knows what it's like to be another beaming face in a sea of promise. That was not so long ago.

The rookie Tiger-Cat running back was on the other side yesterday, speaking at the Sheraton Hotel to SportHamilton's Breakfast of Champions and the 200- plus athletes who have won championships or competed at major events for Canada.

The guest speaker knows few will break through to the upper echelons of their discipline, but that's not the point.

Lumsden encouraged the recipients of commemorative medals to follow their dreams as far as they can.

Later, he said the annual event to honour Hamilton's sporting accomplishments can have lasting impact.

"This is a great event, it's positive for the kids, gets them recognition and it will help them later on down the road."

Lumsden remembers the boost in self-worth and the impressions he took from hockey banquets and other events as a kid.

"I remember it was great when (Hockey Night in Canada's) Ron MacLean spoke at a hockey dinner and when I lived in Ottawa, Steve Yzerman was around the rink where we played in summer."

Those brushes with stardom belonged yesterday to those who lined up 30 minutes after the event finished to get his autograph.

"I love to do this, even if it's just showing up and saying a few words, signing some autographs," Lumsden said.

Richard Matthew of SherwoodHigh School was the last in line with a Lumsden poster. He represented the kind of athlete SportHamilton honours, a sailor with the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps.

While the team awards were heavy in basketball particularly and baseball and hockey, too, so-called fringe sports like Hamilton Hoppers Skipping Club and St. Mary's rowing team won recognition.

Matthew and Rachel Farkas of WestdaleHigh School teamed to win the Sea Cadets national title in Kingston-class boats, beating a fleet of 15 at Kingston last August.

Skipper Matthew said he occasionally is questioned about whether sailing is a sport.

"I get that now and then, but if people knew what it took, they'd see it is as physical as many sports. You need to be strong to balance with most of your body out of the boat for an hour at a time."

Farkas said the two Grade 12 students felt a natural chemistry when they first teamed up last year.

Matthew, who plans to pursue a career in medicine, said the allure of sailing might interrupt his studies if an opportunity came up to compete in the Olympics.

It was also a morning for proud parents as they watched athletic genes blossom. Doris Hampel, who competed in gymnastics for McMaster in 1980, saw son Alex, 14, honoured as part of the Ancaster Magic major bantam boys' basketball team which won Ontario's second division title.

jkernaghan@thespec.com

A matter of experience; Our humble columnist presents his thoughts on the Grey Cup extravaganza and even predicts the outcome
The Spectator
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: SP10
Section: Sports
Byline: Steve Milton
Column: 2005 GREY CUP--ALOUETTES VS. ESKIMOS
Dateline: 2005 GREY CUP
Source: The Hamilton Spectator

What should earn the Montreal Alouettes the right to drink sweet nectar from the Grey Cup is the guy who is anything but sweet.

Although Edmonton coach Danny Maciocia has demonstrated great moxy and timing over the past fortnight in knowing exactly when to go to his bullpen, the only man in Sunday's game who will out-coach Don Matthews is Don Matthews. And the barbed Montreal Alouettes mentor has done that before: by not getting his kickers and special teams game in order for last year's eastern final loss to Toronto; by benching his regular cornerbacks in favour of inexperienced ones in the 2003 Grey Cup loss to Edmonton.

But Matthews has been right far more often than he's been wrong in the biggest games, as evidenced by his quintet of previous Cup wins. And, for the most crucial matches, he's always got a wrinkle or trick play stuffed up his experienced sleeve.

Last week against Toronto, that trick was not an offensive caper but a defensive one, presenting Damon Allen with so many different looks that the league's top player was quite visibly confused.

So expect something unusual from Matthews on Sunday but only if he needs it. The man has a tremendous sense of timing, at least on the field.

The layman will never know how painful it is for certain writers to praise Don Matthews, because of the needlessly caustic way he can make life difficult for the fraternity of ink-stained wretches. But in a results-based world, he deserves to be commended for repeatedly showing up in late November, and with several different kinds of teams.

Maciocia, who has the CFL's equivalent of street smarts -- he began with absolutely no pigskin credentials, except hard work and insight -- might indeed prove to possess the same instincts as Matthews. But he might have to prove it as soon as Sunday, if his Eskimos are to win Grey Cup XCIII.

Coaching experience and/or savvy could prove the difference because, elsewhere, the two combatants play out fairly evenly. They aren't necessarily equal in any specific unit -- the Als' offensive line, for instance, is better than the Eskimos', the Esks are probably better at linebacker -- but overall these are well-matched opponents.

Grey Cup experience, or lack thereof, may not mean as much in this game as it has in some others because this is the third time in four years that the Als and Esks have been the last two teams standing.

The Als enjoy a distinct advantage in coaching experience but in a couple of other important areas the been-there-done-that metre swings toward the Eskimos.

The most significant segment might be in the kicking game.

Damon Duval out kicked Noel Prefontaine in last Sunday's eastern final, and seems to have his game back after misplacing it for a while in the latter part of the season. Duval, who played at Auburn, has kicked in the Citrus Bowl and Peach Bowl, both of which were attended by more fans than Duval will play in front of on Sunday.

But the pressure of Grey Cup -- the gradual realization that this is a national championship with more history than any trophy sport in North America -- has this way of sneaking up from behind on new players and ambushing them in unpredictable ways. If a guy had to guess, he'd suggest that where it might attack is in the angle punt out of bounds, the most difficult kicking skill to master, and the easiest to look foolish on. The likelihood of the shank varies inversely with experience level.

Sean Fleming has kicked in four Grey Cup games and has played 14 seasons in northern Alberta, where the expectations weigh more than the offensive line. That trial by fire might erase the deficit that Fleming faces in all three kicking stats. Duval has averaged three more yards per punt and seven per kickoff, and was 12 percentage points higher in field goal conversions. Fleming did go 0-for-3 in the 1996 Snow Bowl game in Hamilton, but conditions were hardly ideal for placements. Other than that, he's 9-for-11 in Grey Cups. We'd put our money on him, if we had any money to put.

The other domain with a noticeable experience gap is in the back two thirds of the middle defence. Montreal safety Richard Karikari has had a phenomenal season, picking off nine passes, mostly in centrefield mode. But Karikari is in his first full season as a starter, and when he was a role player in his rookie year of 2003, injuries kept him out of that Grey Cup.

Meanwhile, the Eskimos safety is Kelly Wiltshire, who doesn't have the speed or stats of Karikari, but has played nine seasons and has been in two Grey Cup games with two different teams, one of them named the Alouettes. And Wiltshire has come on strong in recent weeks.

And, as part of The Don's controversial mid-season restructuring of his defence, Jeremiah Garrison took over at middle linebacker in October and has played only a half dozen games. The Eskimos are using eight-year veteran A.J. Gass there, and all CFL fans know how good, and tough, he is.

While it might seem a trifle picky to concentrate on the safety spot, which gets little recognition in everyday analysis, Sunday's is going to be a passing game. The Als' Eric Lapointe isn't going to be able to shred the Edmonton defence the way he did Toronto's, and as good as Troy Davis is, he's going to be used the same way he was here, which was to set up the pass, keep the defence honest, and pass block with authority.

So pass defence will be crucial, especially with Anthony Calvillo, the best quarterback in the league, and Jason Maas and Ricky Ray, the best quarterbacking tandem in the league, able to select from nearly a dozen of the best receivers in the league.

These quarterbacks will be looking for the biggest mismatch on any given play, and part of that involves "looking off" the safety: trying to make him commit to an area in which the quarterback really isn't interesting in throwing. Veterans safeties -- and Rob Hitchcock was a master at this in his latter years as Cat centre fielder -- fall for the ruses far less often then younger ones do.

And if a safety makes a major mistake, it's often worth six points. As crafty and fast as Karikari has proven himself to be, the Eskimos have a strong experience advantage here. Ditto at middle linebacker, who often has to recognize, then pick up the trailing outlet receiver coming from the backfield.

So, that's the experience equation: heavily leaning toward Montreal on the sidelines; tilting Edmonton's way, but less dramatically, at safety and kicker.

Our analysis? Go with the coach.

The Alouettes by an eyelash.

smilton@thespec.com

905-526-3268

Bombers' Walls top rookie
Winnipeg Free Press
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: C1
Section: Sports
Byline: Ed Tait

VANCOUVER -- This was a night for Gavin Walls. A night for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end to slide into a tuxedo and take centre stage as the CFL hailed him as their 2005 Most Outstanding Rookie.

But here's the goofy part about it all, the part that makes you understand how fine the line is between stardom and becoming just another name lumped in among the cuts in the daily transactions:

Walls, who won by a landslide 56-6 margin over Montreal Alouettes defensive back Mathieu Proulx in voting conducted by The Football Reporters of Canada, came oh so close to not even making the Bombers out of training camp.

"To be honest, the (termination) papers were already filled out and on my desk and we were going to put him on our practice roster," Bombers GM Brendan Taman revealed yesterday.

"If you remember, we went into camp and I was trumpeting Marcus Jones and Gavin, and between the two of them, I thought we'd get one end to play opposite of Tom Canada. And, honestly, I thought it would be Marcus because I thought he was pretty special. But Gavin had a helluva camp."

We could say here the rest was history, that Walls ripped up the league from the get-go. But he didn't. He made the opening-day roster, but only as one of three import defensive ends dressed, along with Canada and veteran Antwone Young, the ex-Calgary Stampeder.

Although the coaches loved his quickness in rushing the passer, they were concerned the 6-foot-2, 235-pound product of Arkansas was too small to handle the run. Oops.

Walls would stay on the roster and prove all his critics wrong -- including the football staffs of the Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts and B.C. Lions, all of whom held his CFL rights before Taman scooped them up for Winnipeg.

Walls not only finished tied for second in the league with 12 quarterback sacks, he added 40 tackles, forced two fumbles and had two touchdowns, one on an interception and the other on a fumble return.

"I kind of got starstruck for a second," Walls said. "I was sweating up there, but this is great. The CFL is a lot bigger than people think, and I'm proud to be a part of this and this award.

"The NFL is not in my head at this moment. The CFL gave me this award. I'm still learning so much about this league, the traditions and the great players who have played up here.

"It's just a great feeling, from the moment I first put my hand down (back in camp) and lined up and tried to figure out how I'm going to pass-rush a yard off the ball to this," Walls said.

"The legacy I really started to hear (about) and feel (during) the 75th anniversary (of the Bombers) back in Winnipeg. I went to the functions and learned about the guys here from the past... That opened my eyes up to the whole league. Me, I didn't know the league had been around 75 or 93 years. You can always learn something new about this league. It has a lot of great traditions and a lot of great players have played here."

Walls was joined in Vancouver by his family, including his mother Bertha, who came to Canada from Memphis for the first time.

"She overcame one of her worst fears, which is flying," Walls said. "There's only a couple things in life. No. 1 is God and family. And the fans. Those three things are what made this happen."

"I'm glad my family got to come up. It's my family's first time coming to Canada, and they're still trying to figure out about... my mom said the Blue Cup, but we had to inform her it's the Grey Cup -- she didn't know."

Walls is the fifth Bomber to be named the CFL's top rookie after wide receiver Albert Johnson III (2000), running back Michael Richardson (1992), running back William Miller (1980) and slotback Joe Poplawski (1978).

WALLS CAPS SEASON; BLUE ROOKIE CFL'S BEST
The Winnipeg Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: 57
Section: Sports
Byline: BY KIRK PENTON, STAFF REPORTER

Gavin Walls was having a steady rookie season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In fact, the feeling was the defensive end out of Ripley, Miss., had a great chance to be named the team's rookie of the year.

Then he played in Ottawa on a rainy night in September, and everything changed.

All of a sudden, the talk of him being named the CFL's rookie of the year began.

By the time last night's league awards gala arrived, Walls was a slam dunk to win the award over Montreal's Matthieu Proulx. It was made official last night in Vancouver, and Walls strode onto the stage a winner.

Walls, 25, is just the fifth Bomber to win the award. He's the first since Albert Johnson III captured the honour in 2000.

"This award is a great honour," said Walls on stage as he picked up his award last night in Vancouver.

"I'd like to thank my mom for coming to Canada with her husband and I'd like to thank the coaching staff, (Bomber president/CEO Lyle) Bauer, (general manager) Brendan Taman and especially the fans. You know we didn't have that good a record and (the fans) kept coming."

He's not the biggest defensive end at 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, but Walls has deceptive strength and obvious quickness that has turned him into a CFL force.

Walls, who spent 2004 in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores, got better with each passing week this season, but he really exploded onto the scene Sept. 16 in Winnipeg's 37-21 over the Ottawa Renegades at Frank Clair Stadium.

Walls intercepted Renegades QB Kerry Joseph and rumbled 10 yards for a touchdown, and then he added a 79-yard fumble return for a score in the fourth quarter.

While he didn't have a sack in that Ottawa game, he went on to record six quarterback drops in his next three games, including four in a home win over the B.C. Lions on Oct. 10.

He also had two tackles for a loss in a 35-32 loss to Toronto on Oct. 16.

Walls got hurt in Winnipeg's second-last game, so he didn't play in the regular-season finale. By that time, however, he had done more than enough to earn the league-wide rookie honour.

He finished tied for second in the CFL with 12 sacks. He added 40 tackles, four pass knockdowns, 55 hits and five tackles for a loss. He was named one of the two West Division all-stars at defensive end, and he was the CFL's lineman of the week a whopping four times.

Jim Daley might not have been right about a lot of things this year, but the fired Bomber head coach hit the nail on the head with his assessment of Walls on July 19.

EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

"Gavin Walls is one of the most outstanding young players I've ever come across," Daley told the Sun. "We knew he was good coming in, but he has far exceeded our expectations. He wants to be a great player. So much of this game is played between the ears.

"Gavin Walls is as determined a person as I've ever seen and he just loves to play."

And it appears Bomber fans will be able to enjoy watching Walls for several years to come. As the Sun reported earlier this week, Walls and the Bombers are close to agreeing on a contract extension.

Of course, that's assuming Walls, going into the option year of his CFL deal, doesn't crack an NFL roster.

Walls finished his acceptance speech by calling out a veteran teammate.

"I'm looking for Milt Stegall," he said. "I heard him on TV saying how good he looked -- I wanted him to know I'm giving him a run for his money," said a snappy looking Walls in his tuxedo.

Stamps president Hellard quashes cash-call rumour
The Calgary Herald
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: E3
Section: Sports
Byline: Michael Petrie
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Calgary Herald

Once and for all, Ted Hellard would like to squash a nasty rumour circulating around the Canadian Football League.

There is not and will not be a cash call for the Calgary Stampeders.

"I don't know where that rumour is coming from and it couldn't be more ridiculous," the club's president urged on Thursday afternoon.

Over the past few weeks, word started spreading that the Calgary franchise was in some sort of financial pickle and was trying to drum up support from additional owners. During Grey Cup week in Vancouver, the rumour continues to surface.

"We categorically deny there's any cash call taking place," said Hellard. "When we bought the team, there was an extra 80 per cent of the purchase price that we put aside for cash flow.

"We haven't even touched a single penny of that. It's sitting there accumulating interest."

There also were whispers around the league that a member of the ownership group was looking to get out.

"No one has had any communication with us about divesting himself from this limited partnership," said Hellard.

"We have a lineup of people who want to purchase shares that goes so far around the block it's not even funny.

"But we couldn't add anyone anyway, because our current limited-share partners would like to expand their share in the team."

mpetrie@theherald.canwest.com

Vacancy: Lion in mix for Bombers' top job
The Vancouver Province
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: A79
Section: Grey Cup '05
Byline: Lowell Ullrich
Column: Grey Matter
Source: The Province

One rumour making the rounds is that Lions assistant Mike Benevides is among those who may be asked to fill the head coaching vacancy in Winnipeg. Bombers GM Brendan Taman has begun interviewing, and Benevides said he's aware of people who have spoken on his behalf. Former Ottawa coach Joe Paopao, along with ex-Renegades defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall, are also among the candidates to replace Jim Daley.

Buono describes criticism as passion: He says three years ago fans did not care enough to vent about the head coach
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: F1 / Front
Section: Sports
Byline: Mike Beamish
Source: Vancouver Sun

It has been a curious offseason for Lions' coach Wally Buono, and the offseason is only five days old.

Three Novembers ago, when Lions' president Bob Ackles was courting Buono during Grey Cup week in Edmonton, many were promoting him as the class of CFL coaches, the promised rejuvenator, if not the saviour, of the football franchise on the west coast.

This week, as the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos prepare to play Sunday in the Lions House for the Grey Cup, Buono is, in some eyes, a fallen idol.

Following the team's stunning 1-7 late-season collapse after a dynastic 11-0 start, the head coach and GM is being reminded how quickly sentiment can turn.

A disaffected segment of fans -- who knows how large? -- is making its displeasure known on sports talk shows, through forums on the Internet and in e-mails to reporters and broadcasters. Vociferously, and sometimes comically, the disaffected are calling for a re-examination of Buono's tenure. A few extremists are calling for his head. It's the punitive effect that happens when championship hopes are dashed and an expected coronation goes awry.

"The passion of the fans is commendable," Buono said Thursday, at the Lions' training facility in Surrey. "Three years ago, maybe nobody would have cared. The fact that they do care, gives us hope, too. We've done a lot of good work as an organization to get to this point. You've got to let the fans vent and express themselves. It's good that they care. If I knew something that would have changed the outcome of the season, I would have done it."

Many of his critics question Buono's handling of the quarterback situation and his decision to start Dave Dickenson over Casey Printers in the West final against Edmonton. Printers and Dickenson are at the epicentre of the team's internal friction, and Buono risks alienating a significant number of Printers loyalists who see him as the team's salvation and its future.

Dickenson, who would have been a runaway winner as the league's most outstanding player had he not suffered a concussion on Oct. 1, has suddenly devolved into yesterday's man, in some minds.

"Are you right if you pick one and wrong if you pick another?" Buono asks. "There is no right and there is no wrong. You pick one and hope he does his best."

Buono also is roundly being criticized for sticking with Duncan O'Mahony too long, before he brought Mark McLoughlin out of mothballs in October to give the team a credible kicking game.

The play-calling of offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine is being questioned -- essentially, it's lack of daring.

And Buono now concedes the offensive line he defended through most of the season, despite its mounting sack totals, was not physical enough and may have been constituted with the wrong body types.

"Why do you win 11 straight games with the same guys you go 1-7 with?" Buono asks. "It's a very fine line between winning and losing. And they're both very fragile. The hard part is knowing we were one play away from winning some of the games we lost. I feel disappointed for the fans.

"But we put a lot of effort, we put a lot emotion into this season. For some reason, we couldn't get it done. I've got to accept the criticism and move on."

While it's a feeling that's difficult to gauge, the general apathy toward a Montreal-Edmonton Grey Cup -- the third time in four years the same teams have met in the championship game -- approximates the state of CFL interest in Vancouver before Buono arrived.

Three years ago, Ackles undoubtedly was aware of the widespread sentiment to turf GM/head coach Adam Rita and quarterback Damon Allen simply because fans had grown tired of them. Ironically, the same passions for Lions football that Buono has engendered are being loosed against him now.

"We're questioning ourselves," Buono says. "Did we approach things differently? Did we put too much pressure on the players? Were we not as prepared as we should have been? Did we not play hard enough? Did I think our team quit on itself? I didn't sense any of that.

"There are areas in which we have to get better. And we're going to spend the offseason doing that."

Buono's main focus during the coming weeks will be on these areas:

1. Quarterback: Printers or Dickenson? The veteran QB's no-trade clause terminates at the end of '05. Printers is dangling the NFL option. Whichever way he decides, Buono is bound to alienate supporters in the various quarterback camps.

2. Offensive Line: Import left tackles Freddie Moore and Jamal Powell weren't good enough. "Freddie couldn't even play for Ottawa [after his release] and we hoped to get more out of Powell," Buono says. Zach Wilson, an All-Pac 10 first-teamer at USC, walked out after he had trouble digesting coach Dan Dorazio's system. "We've got to be better up front and more physical. That's a given," Buono says.

The Lions likely will use their three first-round picks in next year's Canadian college draft -- Nos. 2, 5 and 7 -- to stock up on blue-collar linemen, the bedrock of any successful team.

3. Middle Linebacker: A two-hour meeting with Barrin Simpson Wednesday couldn't convince the three-time CFL all-star to reconsider his decision to play elsewhere next season. Javier Glatt or Jamall Johnson could fill the void, Buono says. "We'll look internally to start." But 'backers of Simpson's pedigree are rare.

4. Kicking: Some see it as the height of indulgence and unwarranted, but O'Mahony is still regarded as the team's kicker of the future, though he'll be on a short leash next season. "I still have to believe that, if he works at it hard over the whole offseason and fixes his mechanics, Duncan can do it," Buono says. "We've still got to bring in some competition to challenge him."

5. Offensive tweaking: 2005 first-round draft pick Alexis Bwenge, a tailback from Kentucky, is expected to challenge FB Lyle Green for a starting spot at training camp next year. WR Tony Simmons rehabbed successfully from knee surgery, although Buono disputes the notion the team was missing a deep threat after he went down. Geroy Simon, after all, went 90 yards for a touchdown in the Western final, a Lions' playoff record. "We have a tremendous nucleus," Buono says. "Two or three changes can make all the difference in the world."

Football kicks up the cool factor across B.C.: With its many redeeming qualities, the game is experiencing a renaissance, from minor leagues to its burgeoning high-school popularity
The Vancouver Sun
Fri 25 Nov 2005
Page: B2
Section: WestCoast News
Byline: Mike Beamish
Column: The Daily Special
Source: Vancouver Sun

It is more of an awakening than an explosion but what's happening today -- the surge in minor and high-school football interest in British Columbia -- is seeping into the province's sports culture at large, back into areas where it once was and reaching into others where it has never been.

Wally Buono has been a firsthand observer of the phenomenon since he arrived in South Surrey from Calgary in 2003 after being named the B.C. Lions' head coach and general manager. Wally and Sande Buono's youngest child, Michael, a hockey and lacrosse player, was excited about the move to the West Coast because lacrosse -- a niche sport in most parts of Canada -- had widespread appeal in the Lower Mainland.

"He was a lacrosse and hockey player in Calgary and didn't have much time for football," Wally Buono says. "Why that was, I don't know. When he came here, he decided to give up lacrosse and hockey and concentrate on football. It had nothing to do with me. When he was 12 or 13, I'd ask him, Do you want to play football?' He'd say, 'No.' Do you want to go to the Dinos [University of Calgary] football camp? 'Nope.' But as soon as he arrived here, he got into it."

Football has an ace up its sleeve that some other sports, especially hockey, don't have. A 17-year-old, such as Michael Buono, arriving as a Grade 11 student at ElginPark secondary, would have been hopelessly over-matched in ability by other kids who had been honing their talents for years if he had tried a sport such as hockey for the first time.

Football, however, allows delayed entry into higher competition because the skill set needed to excel is basic: an ability to run, hand-eye co-ordination, and a love of putting on a helmet and some pads and hitting somebody.

Michael Buono joined the South Surrey-White Rock minor football program in his Grade 11 year and spent the past season as a first-year student at the University of B.C., red-shirting (practising with the team, but not playing to save a year of eligibility) as a defensive lineman on the Thunderbirds football team.

"He'd like to be [Lions defensive lineman] Brent Johnson," his dad says with a laugh.

When kids feel pressure from coaches and parents to specialize in one sport early, football encourages the renaissance approach. You can develop football skills by playing other sports, and football catches athletes on the rebound after competitive pressures or disinterest forces young athletes to abandon other pursuits.

Players of all ages are registering; about 13,000 kids, of all ages and genders, play some form of organized football in the province, from flag to Canadian university at UBC and Simon Fraser, according to provincial youth co-ordinator Pat Waslen. His office is located at the Lions' training facility in Surrey, and Waslen believes the rise in minor football participation is attributed to the arrival of Buono, president Bob Ackles and the higher profile the Lions enjoy in the community.

"Much of what happens with the Lions affects minor football," Waslen says. "When the Lions won the Grey Cup in 2000, you saw interest perk up right away. The growth has been phenomenal over the past five years, from Prince George down to White Rock and all through Vancouver Island. We have teams and organizations [33 in the province] as far east as Cranbrook."

Farhan Lalji, the TSN broadcaster and head football coach at New Westminster secondary, takes a different view.

He believes the game began a rebirth in the province before the Lions started to become "cool" again. He says more kids are being exposed to football at the high-school level and carry that interest on to pro games as spectators. High-school and community programs are drawing kids and their parents into the football orbit, and it's the Lions who are benefitting because of the game's sighting in the larger culture.

"It's cool to be into football. It's cool to go to football games at the high-school level now," Lalji says. "I like the fact that my players want to go to Lions' games. Before, I couldn't give tickets away. The [CFL] players are heroes to them again. The Lions once talked about how they lost a generation [in the 1990s]. They haven't lost the current generation. They know who Dave Dickenson is. The know who Jason Clermont and Geroy Simon are."

The game is relatively simple to learn and, while brute size is a plus at certain positions, it's not a requirement. There is a place for the small but quick individual, the XXL but ponderous kid, or boys and girls who simply are good with their feet.

At the bottom of the pyramid, minor football is non-contact, without helmets or pads, and allows for mass participation.

"Football is a beautiful sport to be involved with," Wally Buono says. "Football is interdependent. Every player is dependent on the other. And it's about self-denial. You always need to put the team's interest above your own. It's full of life lessons. It's about working together. It's about dealing with others. It's about being a team player. It's about being committed. It's about everything."

Part of the game's appeal is its composite nature. Everybody has a role to play. It's no coincidence that many parents believe there are powerful life lessons to be learned on the football field.

At the community level, Sunday afternoon football games can be all-day jamborees, the competition itself almost incidental to picnicking and socializing. While junior or sister frolic on the field, big sister works the concession stand, mom sells raffle tickets and dad works the microphone, doing commentary.

Scroll down the list of what ails many minor sports -- unrealistic pressures, high costs, abusive and unsportsmanlike conduct by coaches, players, parents and spectators -- and football seems to offer an appealing antidote.

"The world we live in today is much different than it was in 1978," Waslen says. "Families have changed. Both parents work. There are a lot more single-parent families. The minor football team becomes part of the family structure.

"The atmosphere in amateur hockey is different. I believe there is more self-interest. You see the need for TV commercials, telling parents not to berate their kids. That's something unique about football. You don't see the same level of loony-tune parents. The nature of football extends to the sidelines. There is a background of co-operation."

While the number of youth-league players is growing, the surge at the high-school level is even more remarkable.

Twenty-five years ago, a recessionary economy forced many school boards to cancel football programs because of the expense. Interest and growth remained stagnant well into the 1990s.

By the mid-1980s, only 23 high schools played football in B.C. Today, that number has risen to 59, with 100 teams spread across the province. The enrolment grows by three or four schools per year, according to Lalji. Prince George, for instance, started its three-team high-school house league this year and is preparing no advance to the provincial championship level.

Rob Stevenson, the dynamic head football coach at John Barsby secondary in Nanaimo, brought high-school football to Vancouver Island for the first time in 1996. Now the Island has 19 junior and varsity teams.

Notably, Vancouver, where only the private Catholic schools Notre Dame and Vancouver College play football, Langley and Chilliwack, two burgeoning Fraser Valley communities, have resisted making football part of the high-school experience. As parents and school boards discover the benefits that have accrued elsewhere because of football, however, the hope is that the game will get a closer and very serious look in districts in which it is not currently available.

Stevenson says football is a sport that touches every social stratum, although the blue-collar esthetic remains prevalent. It is democratic in the sense that it is not a lifestyle sport, where the length of an athletic career is determined by the depth of parents' pockets.

"Football, in the way it's operated, is affordable for almost everyone," Stevenson says. "Kids aren't spending $400-500 a year on a pair of skates, and there aren't composite sticks breaking at $100-$200 a pop. The costs are reasonable because, once the equipment is purchased by the school, it's amortized over many years. It's a terrific vehicle to teach things like fund-raising, co-operation and involvement. It gets many kids involved beyond the ones who are on the field. Nobody stands alone. You're only as strong as your teammates. You have to come together in a common cause, 70-80 plays a game, to get results."

New Westminster secondary had been without high-school football from 1978 to 2003, before the program was re-booted under Lalji's lobbying.

Now, high-school games at Mercer Stadium bring students, teachers, business people and city councillors together on Friday nights to sing the school fight song. To hear Lalji tell it, it's as if a Texas high-school crowd became lost and washed up on the banks of the Fraser. Pep rallies, crowds braving the rain, sponsorships and signage from local businesses provide a scene that is strangely familiar: like a northern version of Friday Night Lights.

"Out of the 100 kids we have playing football at New West, probably 85 were not involved in any other activity before football," Lalji says. "The sport does great things for them, because there are no cuts. There's a place for all shapes and sizes."

Lalji firmly believes football programs can cut through the mix of marginalization, cliques, racial groups, idleness and gang mentality that permeates many high schools.

"It brings kids together, from special-ed, alternative and mainstream programs," Lalji says.

"Parents also like to know where their kids are on a Friday night. Football can be a great source for fostering school spirit."

Pasquale (Wally) Buono, the son of an Italian immigrant couple, had his life turned upside down as a young boy when his father died suddenly and the family was left without means. He was sent to the Shawbridge Boys Farm and Training School north of Montreal for three years by his widowed mother, Carmela, until she was back on her feet.

Although he didn't fit the true definition of a juvenile delinquent, Buono said he easily could have gone astray after he returned to the streets of Montreal, if it hadn't been for sports.

"I was 12 when I got into football," says Buono, who was mentored by former Montreal Alouette Al Phaneuf.

"Sports was my life. That's all I did. I played hockey, baseball, football. If I wasn't on the ice or ball diamond, I was at the park doing something. It kept me out of trouble, and I could easily have gone that way."

To a growing number of people, the redeeming aspect of football that changed Wally Buono's life has a nice ring to it.

sixbeamers@aol.com