SIMPSON WANTS TO PLAY ON SUNDAY

REGINA — Barrin Simpson can't see himself not suiting up and playing linebacker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Sunday's Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes.
But . . .

"This time of the season, nobody is 100-per-cent healthy," Simpson said Monday. "It'll be day-to-day this week and (I'll) continue to get treatment on it and we'll see what happens when it comes game day."

"It" is the left ankle injury that has hampered Simpson in recent weeks and kept him from playing in the West Division semifinal on Nov. 14.
He started in his usual spot at middle linebacker during Sunday's 20-16 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders in the West Division final, but limped off the field at various times and was unable to finish the game.
"It didn't get worse, that's one thing," said Simpson. "It feels good right now. It's a little sore, but I have no swelling or anything. It's better than it was last week at this point.

"It stiffened up and tightened up on me. With the -25 (C temperature), it didn't help, so I had to come on out."

Stiff or not, considering the 10-year CFL veteran has never won a Grey Cup, it will likely take a lot to keep him out of the lineup come Sunday.

"This is the reason I signed — no doubt about it," said Simpson, who signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent in April. "It took me a long time in the off-season to sign, because I wanted to go to a team that had an opportunity to get to the Grey Cup and have the chance to win it. That was my mindset and it worked out just like I planned it. I couldn't be more ecstatic about it."

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Cornerback Omarr Morgan told reporters Sunday that he would be good to go in the Grey Cup game.

Morgan started Sunday's contest, a week after injuring a knee in the overtime portion of the West semifinal.

He played the opening series before taking himself out of the game and being replaced by rookie Nick Graham.

Head coach Ken Miller said Monday morning that it wouldn't be until Tuesday that more is known about the extent of the injuries to Morgan or other players.

"I felt very confident that (Morgan) was going to be able to play," said Miller. "He practised on Friday and practised well. I was taken aback . . . that he wasn't able to go."

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Sunday's Saskatchewan-Calgary contest on TSN was the most-watched CFL playoff game ever according to overnight data from BBM Canada.
The game had an average viewing audience of 2.54 million. Viewership peaked at 3.8 million late in the fourth quarter.

An average of 1.7 million people watched the East Division final earlier in the day as the Alouettes topped the Toronto Argonauts 48-17.
While it could be challenged in the upcoming weekend, the Roughriders and Alouettes already hold the record for the most viewers ever for a Grey Cup. An average audience of 6.1 million viewers watched the 2009 game, in which the Als emerged as 28-27 victors after Damon Duval hit a second-chance field goal following the Roughriders' too-many-men penalty.

tswitzer@leaderpost.com
Leader-Post sportswriter Murray McCormick will be tweeting Roughrider news this week from Edmonton. You can follow him at