Stegall Backs Dinwiddie
Courtesy Can West News
TORONTO — Milt Stegall has said he “can make a $10 suit look like a million dollars, because I look so good in my body.”
Nothing the veteran slotback says, though, can change the fact his Winnipeg Blue Bombers look like decided underdogs heading into the 95th Grey Cup against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday at Rogers Centre. The betting line opened at more than 11 points.
“Who made it? People in Vegas, and they lost their CFL team,” Stegall said on Friday. “They have no idea.”
But they do have access to news that the Blue Bombers will be without quarterback Kevin Glenn on Sunday, after the only man to throw for more than 5,000 yards in the Canadian Football League this season broke his left arm last weekend. And bookies tend not to look favourably on unproven backups.
Sophomore Ryan Dinwiddie will make his debut as CFL starter on the game’s grandest stage, with everyone on the Prairies expected to watch as Manitoba and Saskatchewan elevate a provincial rivalry onto the national stage.
The Banjo Bowl of recent years may have started in jest, but this is serious business. The Blue Bombers have not won a Grey Cup since 1990, while the Roughriders have run dry since 1989.
On Thursday night, Roughriders quarterback Kerry Joseph was named the league’s most outstanding player after throwing for 4,002 yards and 24 touchdowns. The 34-year-old also ran for 737 yards.
“In terms of what Kerry does, he pushes the ball vertically down the field, so we’ve got to make sure we’re solid in our coverage,” Winnipeg coach Doug Berry said.
The Blue Bombers also employ a dangerous quarterback, or did until they suffered their most traumatic injury in the playoffs.
Glenn broke his left arm between the shoulder and elbow 14 seconds into the fourth quarter of Winnipeg’s East Division final win over Toronto last weekend, thrusting Dinwiddie into the spotlight.
Assuming Dinwiddie survives the media onslaught, the 26-year-old Boise State product will take to the field with one of the most impressive collections of talent in the league. Running back Charles Roberts finished second in league rushing with 1,379 yards during the regular season, and no fewer than three Winnipeg receivers finished with more than 1,000 yards in the air.
Stegall was among them, and has been among the most popular players in the week leading up to kickoff. The 37-year-old passed legendary running backs George Reed and Mike Pringle to become the CFL’s all-time touchdown leader in July, and finished the season with 144 in his career.
But, he has never won a Grey Cup.
Stegall has taken to saying he is “99.9%” positive that this will be his final game, but he has also warned teammates not to let his championship plight become a distraction.
“I told them, ‘If that’s going to motivate you, that’s good — but win it for yourself,’ ” he said. “Win it for your wife, for your kids, for your mother or your father. Just don’t win it for Milt Stegall. Milt Stegall’s going to win it for Milt Stegall. I can take care of myself. You guys go out there and win it for yourselves because you’re also deserving of this Grey Cup.”
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