A little bit breezy out there, today at Princess Auto Stadium. But with the temperature settling in a seven degrees, that ain’t half bad for mid-November, so we’ll take it.
The script got flipped for Friday’s workouts, with the Alouettes holding an open practice in the morning, and the Roughriders scheduled to follow with a closed session in the afternoon.
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HE’S FINE. DON’T BELIEVE HIM? WHATEVS
Won’t make you wait, I’ll get right to the million dollar question: How did Davis Alexander look?
In a word? Fine.
“Way better than expected,” Alexander said after practice. “I know I keep saying that. People don’t believe it (or) people believe it, I don’t really care. You’ll see on Sunday.”
Alexander took a ton of reps, he rolled left, he rolled right, he even took off on one play and went for a run to his right. He zipped short passes, he launched a bunch of bombs. No prob.
When the song “Jump Around” came blaring over the loudspeakers, he, you know, jumped around.
However, there’s a pretty big difference between testing that left hamstring out in practice and testing it out in a game.
Like Alexander said: We’ll see on Sunday.
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
Will Mustafa Johnson suit up in this weekend’s 112th Grey Cup? (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca)
One reporter told Montreal head coach Jason Maas that receiver Austin Mack — nursing his own hamstring problems — told him that he was a hundred percent playing in the 112th Grey Cup game.
“We still need to have that conversation of ‘be honest and be up front,’” replied Maas. “Because what we don’t need is (him) going out there, and the ‘want to’ is there, and then you can’t do it.”
Asked about standout defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson — who missed the Eastern Final with a shoulder injury — coach was similarly cautious.
“Another guy that we’ve got to monitor and look at and make a decision on prior to the game,” said Maas.
For his part, Johnson said his outlook was trending upward after a good day at practice.
“I think it’s optimistic, positive,” he said.
I noticed that his practice jersey was torn so I asked him what that was about.
“You gotta hold me to stop me,” he said with a big, big grin.
Held in practice? That’s a pretty good sign.
YOU KNOW THAT SAYING “THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY FRIEND”? HE’S EXPECTING SOME OF THAT, BOMBER FANS
Montreal linebacker and special teams demon Alexandre Gagné would like to think the Alouettes will be the beneficiaries of some secondhand love from the many, many local fans who’ll be in attendance on Sunday.
After all, would Blue Bombers fans really be okay with the thought of their arch rival Roughriders hoisting the Cup in their beloved team’s own stadium?
“I played three years for the ‘Riders, so I know how much they hate each other and they love hating each other too,” said Gagné. “Like, it’s a fun competition.”
“I just can’t see a (Bombers fan) cheering for the ‘Riders. I just can’t see it because I’ve never… I don’t think it’s something that’s possible.”
He then pointed out, with a smile, that the Alouettes also wear blue and that was something for Winnipeg fans to keep in mind.
ROUGHRIDER SECRETS REVEALED? READ MORE TO FIND OUT!
No. No they were not.
I asked Corey Mace, politely, to tell us all about the secret plays his team worked on during their closed practice.
“Yeah, sure, no problem,” he said brightly.
“We had a great practice. I’ll leave it at that.”
So, if the ‘Riders have cooked up a “Philly Special” for quarterback Trevor Harris, or some such thing, we’re just gonna have to wait to find out.
SOMETIMES, THE KICKER STEALS THE SHOW. SOMETIMES HE DOES IT BY TALKING, NOT KICKING
It was just Coach Mace and Roughriders’ placekicker Brett Lauther at the podium after Friday’s practice and at one point, Mace wondered out loud why he was even there, what with Lauther getting peppered with questions.
And the 35-year-old veteran from Truro, Nova Scotia held court just beautifully, thoughtfully answering questions about the kicking struggles he’s had this season.
Lauther said something that could easily be misconstrued, but only if you weren’t listening actively.
“It doesn’t matter if it is a game winner or, you know, I miss every kick in the game,” said Lauther, “as long as we win that game. That’s all I care about.”
Doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be a hero. In fact, Lauther said he’s been dreaming about making a game-winning championship kick ever since high school, when he took up football and stopped dreaming instead about scoring a championship winning goal in hockey.
Being a hero would be nice, of course. Lauther just insists he doesn’t need to be one.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care about kicking the game-winner,” he continued. “I just care about winning the game for the province, my brothers, the fans, my family, everyone else. It really has nothing to do with (him) at this point. It’s for everyone else.”
Lauther went on to eloquently say just what Mace has meant to him, especially in times of struggle. He’s had ups and he’s had downs in 2025. He went 2/5 in two different games against Hamilton, 1/3 in a loss to Calgary, and 2/4 in a loss to Edmonton in late September.
“He’s the reason why I’m even still playing in this football game,” said Lauther of Mace.
“A lot of people, maybe rightfully so, would have given up a lot earlier. I’ve had a lot longer leash than a lot of other people probably get — or maybe even I deserve — but that’s the reason why I get a chance to go Sunday and maybe, you know, right a lot of wrongs that I had this season.”
Lately, things have been much more right than wrong for Lauther.
He’s been good on 11 of his last 12 field goal attempts, including 3/3 in Saskatchewan’s Western Final victory over BC, a game in which he also connected on both his convert attempts.
Good or bad, up or down, Lauther said he flushes it all when he lines up for a kick. He leaves no room to think about the past.
“I’m just worried about the next kick,” he said. “Nothing you’ve done in the past is going to help you with the next one.”
