The 94th Grey Cup: a look back
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 | 12:32 PM ET
Flew home yesterday from Winnipeg, and these are my 2006 Grey Cup thoughts:
On Sunday we were on-air from 3 p.m. (Eastern) until 10 p.m. Yes, your average CFL playoff doubleheader is just as long, but when it’s two games, there is more down time. I must admit I was completely overwhelmed; the whole afternoon was a blur.
It gives me greater appreciation for Ron MacLean on Hockey Day in Canada or Peter Mansbridge doing election coverage. I look forward to Grey Cup 2007 in Toronto. I’ll be much better now that I have a clue.
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The two most impressive players were Paul McCallum and Ben Cahoon. Personally, I would have selected the former as MVP and the latter as Outstanding Canadian. Dave Dickenson would be happy enough with his Grey Cup ring.
Cahoon, who re-signed with Montreal earlier today, could sue his fellow receivers for lack of support. Kerry Watkins was invisible, Thyron Anderson continued a season-long disappearing act, and Dave Stala short-armed a potential touchdown in the last minute that killed Montreal’s final chance. You should have seen/heard the panelists when they saw Stala pull his arms back.
What a player Ben Cahoon is. Huge move by Jim Popp.
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The biggest play of the game was not made by anyone in a football uniform, but referee Jake Ireland. In the third quarter, with B.C. up 19-3, he blew the whistle, ruling Dave Dickenson down on a sack, just as the ball popped loose. Chip Cox picked it up and was gone for a touchdown.
Popp challenged, as replays clearly showed the ball was out before Dickenson’s knee hit. Ireland overturned his original call, but because he blew the whistle, Cox’s advancement didn’t count.
How much does the game change if the full play was allowed to stand? I know Montreal players were asking that question.
On the other hand, I can’t believe Popp didn’t challenge the Robert Edwards fumble. I think it was a good call by the officials, but the goofy way some of the replay decisions have gone down this year, you never know what’s going to happen.
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The Dave Ritchie/Kent Austin rumours are all over the place. Both men to Saskatchewan, with Austin as head-coach-in-training for a couple of years. How about Lions offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine in Montreal?
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Can Toronto can host as good a Grey Cup as Winnipeg did? It really means something in Manitoba. Aside from the real hard-core Argos fans who bleed for the CFL, I still wonder if the game means enough in Toronto.
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About the Author
Elliotte Friedman is the host of the CFL ON CBC. Prior to being named host in 2006, Friedman worked on the CFL on CBC broadcasts for the three seasons as a sideline reporter. A Toronto native, Friedman is well known for his additional work on Hockey Night in Canada, as well as his presence on the Torino 2006 Winter Games telecasts as a hockey reporter. Prior to joining the CBC, Friedman worked at The Score network and was widely regarded as one of the best reporters in the country. Friedman used his reporting skills to break stories and file feature reports for high profile events including six Stanley Cup Finals, four Grey Cup Championships, two World Series and one Olympic Games. He is also a regular on the nationally syndicated Prime Time Sports radio telecast, hosted by Bob McCown.
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Comments
Jim Watson
Toronto
I hope Toronto can do a good job. I will be difficult to surpass Winnipeg (friendly Manitoba) but deserves a chance after fifteen years or so.
I would like to see Danny Barrett stay on in Saskatchewan as I think he has done an admirable job developing the team and quarterbacks. He certainly helped Burris and is a good mentor for Joseph.
Posted November 23, 2006 01:08 PM
Adam
Toronto
To the question - 'Can Toronto can host as good a Grey Cup as Winnipeg did?'. No. Because as you point out, the game does not mean as much in Toronto. To wit: I'm in one of the bars along Front St while the East final is on (just down the street in the Rogers Centre), and of the 20 or so tv's in the place, approx. 2 were on the CFL game, 2 were on the Raptors game, and the rest were on the Cowboys-Redskins game. The soundsystem in the bar was also tuned to the NFL game. Nobody in the place seemed to care. Brutal.
Posted November 22, 2006 04:43 PM
Larry
Vancouver
Firstly Jake Ireland did not blow the call. Thew whistle went end of story.how many times in every sport has the referee blown their whistle and is double guessed. As for the play of the game if not the year it was Glatt timing his jump and nailing Robers. As Glatt suggested it works 1 out of 100 times and this time it worked .
Nota classic but in the final analysis the best team one
Posted November 21, 2006 03:43 PM
Bill Nye
There's just one thing that sticks in my mind about the game. It was the unimaginative play calling in the last minutes of the game by Montreal.
With three cracks from the one yard line, why did they try to run Edwards up the middle -- what was wrong with spreading the defence with a three wide receiver set and try one play action pass?
Posted November 21, 2006 02:53 PM