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More than 66,000 people showed up to hoot at the Calgary Stampeders at the 96th Grey Cup in Montreal. Calgary beat the Alouettes 22-14, proving that all of the people can be wrong all of the time -- or for 60 minutes of football anyway.
SONG OF JOY
This win was music to the ears of Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris, who shed tears of joy.
"They used to play that tune, We Are The Champions. I could never listen to it because I wanted to be a champion," said the man people said couldn't win the big one. Yesterday, he owned that tune.
INNOCENT QUESTIONS
So what moved faster after that second quarter TD put the Als' up 10-3: Avon Coubourne's feet or his mouth? And why doesn't anybody just shut up and play anymore?
BOO WHO
Eight minutes into the game, the Stampeders were called for procedure. Crowd 1, Stamps 0. Second quarter: Stamps' Jeremaine Copeland is offside, setting up third and long. Next play, Reggie Hunt intercepts Burris. Crowd 2, Stamps 0.
Every time Burris opened his mouth the crowd yelled, BOOOO! Nobody has got a reception like this in Quebec since Stephen Harper opened his mouth.
THAT LOOKS FAMILIAR
Calgary's offence in the first half consisted of an interception, a couple of procedure calls, an unnecessary roughness penalty to Nik Lewis -- which turned third and less than a yard into a punt -- and Joffrey Reynolds falling down on a screen pass that had touchdown written all over it. Not sure but it looked like they were using former Argos coach Rich Stubler's playbook.
HIGH FIVE
Last week Calgary had to come back to beat the B.C. Lions in the West final. So what happens last night? Brett Ralph, with less than two minutes left in the half, scored a touchdown and the Stamps are down only 13-10. Welcome to another episode of John Hufnagel's Survivor CFL.
SECOND WIND
Calgary defensive end Mike Labinjo and linebacker JoJaun Armour spent so much time marching around in the Alouettes' backfield in the second half it looked like the Stampeders' Grey Cup parade had started early.
RIGHT IN THE KISSER
Pre-game hijinks. If Adriano Belli and Don Cherry ever show up on the same set we could have the first X-rated sports talk show in history.
BLOWING SMOKE
The CFL confirmed this week it intends to bring in a drug-testing program by 2010. But, a lot of people suspect it will never happen and believe it's just a ... you know, a token gesture.
NAME BLAME
The new group that has been awarded a conditional franchise for Ottawa has made a deal with former Ottawa owner Horn Chen, giving them the rights to the name Rough Riders. Considering the way the team played in its last reincarnation, you'd think people would like to forget, not relive the name.
BITS 'N' BITES
The biggest winner Grey Cup week? No, not rookie head coaches Marc Trestman or Hufnagel. It's Montreal bars and the guy with the body paint concession outside Olympic Stadium. Montreal is Canada's party town -- think New Orleans with earmuffs. Biggest winner No. 2? Anthony Calvillo. Forget the score. A year ago his wife was diagnosed with cancer after giving birth. When he wakes up today, he has a healthy wife and now, two children. It's called perspective ... From the what have you done for us lately department: Remember Kerry Joseph? Last year at this time, Joseph was the toast of the CFL. This year, he's just toast.
YAKETY-YAK
TSN's lead-in to the Grey Cup was highlighted by a segment called The Reporters -- a Saturday show that consisted of a panel of sports reporters, including Sun Media's Steve Simmons, sitting on an outdoor stage in the middle of a Canadian winter. They also did a couple of hours yesterday morning. The only thing colder at the Big O was the Stamps' passing game in the first quarter.
Then, TSN had a three-hour pre-game show in the afternoon with Chris Schultz, Dave Randorf, Jock Climie and Matt Dunigan. Not to suggest all this is overkill but it's a good thing this Grey Cup is over because if these guys had spent any more time together they'd have had to get married.
Brian Williams, who like the CFL defected from the national network, pressed commissioner Mark Cohon on how the league intends to revitalize the CFL in the Ontario market. Cohon's response? The situation isn't that bad. Evidently, he didn't have to watch the Hamilton Tiger-Cats every week.
PEOPLE ARE INTIMATING
It's ridiculous that the CFL has awarded the 2014 Grey Cup game to Ottawa because the city doesn't have a team. Of course, Toronto had the Grey Cup and, from what we saw this year, it doesn't have a real CFL team either.