Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella
TORONTO — It was showtime for Duron Carter on Saturday.
On Monday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ receiver posted a tweet inviting fans of the CFL team to join him at a Toronto theatre for a movie on Saturday. Subsequent tweets set the time and the location for the screening of Justice League.
After the Roughriders’ walkthrough Saturday, Carter was asked why he invited fans to join him — at his expense, by the way.
“I just wanted to go watch a movie,” replied Carter, whose team is to face the host Toronto Argonauts on Sunday in the CFL’s East Division final (noon, CKRM, TSN). “You might as well have some people who want to be with you in a movie. Nobody wants to go to a movie by themselves.”
Carter wasn’t sure how many people were planning to join him, but he expected several members of Rider Nation to try to fill the theatre. Reporters who showed up counted two dozen patrons in Roughriders gear.
Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones didn’t know about the planned outing until his meeting with the media was about to begin, but he seemed OK with the idea.
“That’s what (Carter) does, right?” Jones said. “The game’s tomorrow.”
Carter certainly didn’t view the movie date as a distraction as he got ready for Sunday’s game.
“We’ve done so much preparation already throughout the week being in Ottawa and here, we just got done with another walkthrough,” said Carter, whose team — after beating the host Redblacks 31-20 in last Sunday’s East Division semifinal — stayed in the nation’s capital until Friday.
“I think we need some time off, to tell you the truth, to relax and get some time to ourselves before this game.”
Carter’s main concern was that the flick had received some bad reviews, so he was “iffy” about it. But he still wanted to see it to make his own judgment.
Asked which member of the Justice League he would be if he had the chance, Carter didn’t go with more obvious choices like Aquaman, Batman or The Flash.
“I would be the guy you don’t see,” he replied. “I’m just the guy on the intercom, the communications guy. I’m safe in the ship away from everybody. I’m just telling them, ‘Oh, there are these enemies over here. You’ve got to go get them.’
“I’m not part of the fighting. I want to just stay safe and chill. I’ll do the celebrating with the Justice League. The Justice League party? I’m definitely there. But I don’t want to do any of the fighting.”
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Roughriders receiver Chad Owens will be fighting for quarterback Kevin Glenn on Sunday.
During his meeting with the media, Glenn said it was “awesome” to have Owens on his team after all these years. The veteran quarterback talked about standing on the sidelines watching Owens play for opposing teams and hoping that he would get tackled by Glenn’s teammates.
After their first season as teammates, the 35-year-old Owens said he has respected the 38-year-old Glenn the whole time, too.
“Every time K.G.’s number has been called, he has been successful,” Owens said. “He has taken teams to the Grey Cup. He has been that guy who has stepped in and balled out. You cannot knock him for anything because he has done nothing but produce.”
One thing Glenn hasn’t done yet is win a Grey Cup ring in his 17-year CFL career. Owens would like to help change that.
“Being able to play with him has been unbelievable,” said Owens, who played alongside Ricky Ray while with the Argos. “I can chalk up two future Hall of Famers who I’ve been playing with.
“K.G. deserves a championship. That’s what my mindset is. They say it’s about the man next to you and that’s all I want for him is to get that ring and to get that feeling … I’m playing for him on Sunday.”
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A computer algorithm has determined that the Roughriders have a 7.99-per-cent chance of winning the Grey Cup.
On Saturday, Carter called the machine that spit out that number “a terrible computer” and suggested it had “never watched football at all.” He also questioned its findings, since Saskatchewan won both of its games against Toronto in the regular season.
Roughriders linebacker Henoc Muamba said he and his teammates haven’t been paying attention to the computer simulation — although they will use its findings as motivation.
“At the end of the day, we know and understand and realize that the only people who can affect the game are the people who step in between those white lines and (play) between each whistle that is blown,” Muamba said.
“We have a really good focus as a team and an understanding of what really matters. (The computer report) is just outside noise that we’ve been able to block throughout the whole time — but it’s going to be good to prove everybody wrong.”
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A quick spin through the channels this week delivered some bad news for Roughriders slotback Bakari Grant.
His premature touchdown celebration and subsequent fumble at the one-yard line in Saskatchewan’s game against the Montreal Alouettes on Oct. 27 topped the list of Sportsnet’s Misplays of the Month. The compilation is running on the network in November.
“I made it, Ma! I’m No. 1!” Grant said with a laugh when told of his, uh, victory.
“It’s one of those things where you look back and you laugh and you learn. You realize the situation and the magnitude of it. Could you imagine that happening in a playoff game or in a Grey Cup?
“It’s unfortunate that it happened to me, but it’s a great teaching opportunity for young guys, guys on my team or other people. You’ve got to live and learn.”
On the play in question, Grant caught a pass from Brandon Bridge, spun away from a would-be tackler and started celebrating before reaching the end zone. Montreal defensive back Tevaughn Campbell stripped Grant of the ball at the one-yard line and the Als recovered.
Three weeks later, the Roughriders’ veteran has put the incident behind him.
“If it wasn’t an anomaly for me — if it was something that I’ve let happen before or I’ve done before — I’d dwell on it a little bit more,” he said. “But if I catch a ball over two people, am I going to keep looking at that and say I’m a great receiver? No.
“Bad things are going to happen. How do you respond?”
