Courtesy Winnipeg Sun:

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had just completed their final practice of the week, and Ike Charlton was ready to play the game right then and there.

The outside linebacker will have to wait until tomorrow, however. That’s when the Bombers will invade Rogers Centre for the East Division final and attempt to prevent the Toronto Argonauts from playing in their own Grey Cup next Sunday.

The big news of the week was Argos linebacker Kevin Eiben guaranteeing the Bombers wouldn’t score more than 10 points. Charlton is fine with that, but has a warning for the boys in Double Blue.

“We respect them. We talked about it all week. We respect our opponent,” Charlton said. “We’re not going to get into all that other trash talking and all that guaranteeing wins and stuff. That’s stupid. You don’t do that.

“If we win that game, trust me, there’s going to be me and a couple of guys on this defence … dancing on their sidelines. They’re going to hate me. They’re going to be looking for me next year, because I’m going to really, really dance on their field over there if we win that game.

“So hopefully they get it done. If they don’t get it done, be prepared to hate us going into next year.”

Yes, it’s fair to say the Bombers are jacked up and ready to go. They haven’t played in the Grey Cup since 2001, and will also be looking to avenge last year’s East semifinal loss to the Boatmen.

‘EXCITING’

“It’s exciting. It’s real exciting,” said defensive end Tom Canada, a four-year Bomber veteran. “I’ve never been this far. It’s kind of weird to be here this late in November. Usually by this time I’m in some jungle drinking Mai Tais or hanging out.

“It’s definitely a new experience, but it’s exciting. The weather’s changing, it’s starting to get real cold, and you can just feel a buzz. There’s a buzz in this room.

“… We’re all ready to get over there and kick some ass.”

Even though Canada and a good chunk of his teammates have never been this close to the Grey Cup, defensive back Anthony Malbrough believes this team has the levelheadedness to keep going — unlike last season when it blew a 10-point, second-half lead to the Argos in the East semi.

“Most definitely it’s a difference,” Malbrough said. “That’s why I say you can’t even look at last year, because last year we were kind of like, ‘Oh, we’re here.’

“This year it’s like, ‘We should’ve been first. We should’ve had a bye last week.’ It’s completely different.”

That doesn’t mean some of the 26 Bombers who notched their first playoff wins in last weekend’s 24-22 East semifinal win over Montreal aren’t already thinking about what a win tomorrow would mean.

“I definitely do,” Canada said. “You try not to think too much because you gotta focus on the one game at a time, as they say, because we can’t start making Grey Cup plans. We gotta beat Toronto first.”