Roy sticks in the shiv

If Matt Dunigan is feeling a tad sore in his back area, he need look no further than a few hundred miles to the east. Saskatchewan Roughrider GM Roy Shivers has once again caused a bit of controversy around the league. As Shivers has voiced publicly what apparently many in the CFL say privately, that Matt Dunigan has ridden a fast track to leadership in the CFL while other candidates have been passed over.

Perhaps it’s a way to take the pressure off of his own Roughrider squad, which has stumbled out of the gate this year and show none of the dominance that many felt would be their domain this year. But regardless of his intent, the comments have raised a few eyebrows around the league. In a collection of teams numbering nine, publicly dumping on a fraternity brother is not a common occurrence. But it’s most likely that Shivers was trying to gain an on field advantage, especially with his Riders going into Calgary this weekend to take on the Stampeders. That may have been the main reasoning behind the timing of Shiver’s comments, to take Dunigan off of his preparation track, giving his players something to think about other than Henry Burris and any other player in Green. Dunigan shouldn't feel too lonely however, Shivers continued to enjoy his rights to express unfettered opinion as he also had some juicy comments for the Blue Bomber dressing room, expressing disbelief that they weren't sharing last place with Dunigan's stamps.

Regardless with Dunigan already testy over his own players’ complaints in Cowtown, the Shivers comments should help to make him particularly ornery come kick off on Saturday night. A game featuring two teams with 1-3 records may actually provide some fireworks, the folks at CBC should be sending Shivers a complimentary bottle of champagne or at least a case of beer, he’s added some life to a game that had all the excitement potential of a field threshing a few days ago. As for Shivers, he may wish to look at the standings soon, his Green Riders are presently in last place, perhaps a little more attention to matters closer to home may help to change that one little glaring statistic.