Riders tone down Stamps trash talk
REGINA — An ability to flush bad memories is a prerequisite for being a defensive back.
For such a player, the reality of life in the CFL dictates that even the best cover man will be burned for a long reception. Hence the need for a short memory, which Dwight Anderson is applying in another situation.
Anderson and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are preparing to face the Calgary Stampeders in Sunday’s West Division final. When the teams last met, the Stampeders won 29-25 at McMahon Stadium on Oct. 26 to clinch first place in the West.
After that game, Anderson forecast a rematch, telling reporters on the field: “We’re coming here and we’re going to beat them. Period. We’re the better team. Calgary sucks!”
He was asked about that quote on Sunday, when the Roughriders defeated the B.C. Lions 29-25 in the West Division semifinal. At that point, the memory loss was jokingly applied.
“What was that? What did I say?” Anderson said.
“I won’t even go there,” Anderson added. “Calgary is the best team right now and they are the number 1 team and our records are out. They got the bye and they were at home watching us. Much respect. I’ll give them respect where respect is due. They deserve that because they put the work in. We are the second-place team and we have to go out there and prove why we deserve to be in the Grey Cup.”
The Riders are within a victory of qualifying for the 101st Grey Cup game, which is to be held Nov. 24 in Regina. The West Division champion is to meet the winner of Sunday’s East Division final between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.
The significance of Sunday’s game is a reason why there might be less talk than there was leading up to the last regular-season encounter between the Riders and Stampeders, talk generated by the players and then featured prominently by the media.
“Talk doesn’t mean anything in the playoffs and that’s the only thing I can say,” said Riders linebacker Weldon Brown.
The Stampeders were annoyed with comments by the Roughriders’ Kory Sheets, who told reporters he believed he was a better running back than Calgary’s Jon Cornish. Sheets said he would have won the league’s rushing title if he hadn’t missed 11 quarters with a sprained right knee. Cornish finished the season as the league’s leading rusher with 1,813 yards, followed by Sheets with 1,598. This time, Riders head coach Corey Chamblin didn’t expect much trash talking from his players.
“There was a lot of energy directed at it because we knew we wanted to get back to this game coming up,” Chamblin said. “It will still be an intense game and guys will still have their emotions flowing. We have to make sure they are in the right place.”
So it’s unlikely the Riders will provide any bulletinboard fodder for the Stampeders this week.