Courtesy Winnipeg Sun:

So Montreal Alouettes GM Jim Popp strolls into town, sunglasses on his head and a Grey Cup ring on his finger, pulls up a chair and drops a bomb, aimed in the general direction of the Blue Bombers.

Popp was explaining to reporters yesterday why his team took the unusual step of closing its practices leading up to today’s CFL East semifinal.

“We have an area that’s very accessible for a lot of people to come watch, and from many different angles,” the Als boss began. “And we have reason to believe we needed to do that. It had nothing to do with the media.”

What’s this, the 2007 version of Spy Games?

SPIDEY SENSE

If that’s not an insinuation that somebody from the enemy camp was suspected of trying to pick up secrets, then my Spidey sense isn’t working at all.

Later, in a one-on-one interview, Popp said his decision to go covert had nothing to do with the Bombers.

Whatever.

All we can say is it must be playoff time.

The season when normally paranoid coaches go all Nixon on us, when the pressure to win gets ratcheted up several notches and when the weather from one hour to the next is more unpredictable than the outcome of a Troy Westwood field goal attempt.

Popp and the Als have the advantage in the paranoia department, apparently. The visitors probably have the edge where the kickers are concerned, too, although Ol’ Lefty is bound and determined to do something about that.

As for the pressure, well, that’s squarely on the Bombers, regardless of what Berry says.

“No more than normal,” the second-year head man said, doing his best convincing.

Yeah, but when the coach and the quarterback have yet to notch a playoff win in their careers, when the all-world receiver, still without a championship, is about to retire and when the hometown fans have spent the week counting you out instead of buying tickets, there’s a tad more at stake.

Which doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

You see, good teams, really good ones, embrace pressure and allow it to lift their play to another level.

The Bombers, who’ve spent much of the season telling us they’re pretty good, need to find a level higher than the one they’ve been dwelling in the last six weeks.

Certainly, higher than a week ago, when a 20-17 victory did nothing to demoralize today’s opponent.

“I don’t think our performance last week will win this game,” Milt Stegall said. “They were very vanilla last week. And we kind of held back a little bit. Offensively we definitely have to play a better game.”

Stegall downplays the whole pressure angle, though. Even though he might have more to lose than anybody.

“Football’s not pressure, man,” No. 85 said. “Pressure is coming home and not having any food in the kitchen, not able to feed your family, not knowing how you’re going to pay your mortgage. Football is supposed to be fun.”

Supposed to be.

But there won’t be any fun in Bomberland if this once-promising season goes off the rails today.

Of course, it won’t be McHappy Day in Montreal if the Als lose, either. Expectations, though, are rather low in La Belle Province, after an 8-10 season.

So the Als, sporting a backup quarterback in Marcus Brady and a relatively inexperienced secondary, come into this one wearing the underdog’s getup, for a change.

“We’re pretty content with our role right now,” receiver Ben Cahoon said. “People are liking the situation we’re in, coming in here and feeling like we can do a decent job. It remains to be seen how we’re going to respond.”

Same goes for the Bombers, in the role of favourites.

After today, one team will have the pressure relieved for at least a few days.

And one will no doubt get a lot more paranoid.