J.P. Moczulski/CP
Roughriders receiver Yo Murphy, left, embraces an emotional quarterback Kerry Joseph after Saskatchewan beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win the 95th Grey Cup last night at Rogers Centre. The championship is just the third ever in ’Riders’ team history.
Lenny Kravitz, the venerable musician and singer, turned in a riveting performance during the halftime show at the Grey Cup game in Toronto yesterday.
I mention this first because, well, I’ve been asked repeatedly by CFL fanatics to write something they would consider “positive” about the league’s showcase event. So there, I have.
But let’s face it, shall we? The game itself — in which the Saskatchewan Roughriders recorded their first championship since 1989 with a defensive-driven, 23-19 triumph over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in front of a capacity crowd at the Rogers Centre — lacked all the ingredients traditionally associated with Grey Cup classics.
There were no long kick returns. Not much offence. No remarkable comeback in the dying seconds. No amazing Cinderella performances from unexpected heroes.
Not even from Ryan Dinwiddie.
The Bombers kept insisting publicly during their pre-Cup hype this 27-year-old novice from Boise State University would defy the odds and lead them to a victory in the first start of his professional quarterbacking career.
But Dinwiddie didn’t win, did he?
No, while he did just enough to keep the Bombers relatively close and within the oddsmakers’ 11-point spread, he also was responsible for four turnovers — a fumble and three interceptions, all by the ’Riders’ top defensive halfback, James Johnson.
That was a Grey Cup record and Johnson was the easy choice as the game’s outstanding player.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” Johnson exclaimed afterward. “We were prepared for (the Bombers’ offence). We studied film. And (veteran Saskatchewan safety Eddie Davis) told me a bunch of little things to key on (Dinwiddie) and I did.”
Realists couldn’t have expected more from Dinwiddie, who needed to replace the Bombers’ first-string quarterback Kevin Glenn (broken arm). Dinwiddie, though, expected more from himself.
“I kept us in the game,” said Dinwiddie, who completed only 15-of-33 passes, “but I just made too many mistakes.”
In the second quarter, Dinwiddie’s first interception resulted in a 30-yard return for a touchdown by Johnson. A more significant pickoff, however, probably was his third, which came in the game’s final minute, while Dinwiddie tried desperately to lead the Bombers to a comeback.
“Our defence played well,” allowed Kent Austin, Saskatchewan’s rookie coach. “They kept us in the game and got the turnovers we needed.”
That’s true because the Saskatchewan offence basically did diddly-squat. Kerry Joseph, chosen the CFL’s top player in the regular season, completed only 13-of-34 passes, one for a TD.
“I think I wanted this game too badly,” a teary-eyed Joseph said. “It wasn’t my best game, but we fought as a team.”
And it was the third Grey Cup win for the Roughriders in their long and not-always-impressive history.
“We have a saying in Saskatchewan,” said the ’Riders’ veteran captain, offensive lineman Gene Makowsky. “We say tough times don’t last but tough people do. And for all the people who stuck with us during the crappy years, thank you and this Grey Cup is yours. This is the ultimate and our supporters throughout Canada deserve this.”
In three-plus decades as a columnist and broadcaster, Marty York has built a network of solid contacts and a renowned reputation for his hard-hitting, groundbreaking style. The tradition continues in Metro Sports.
