Als face Bitter Defeat

Monday, November 20, 2006 - 02:00PM

By Herb Zurkowsky,
Montreal Gazette

WINNIPEG - A professional athlete never gets used to losing a championship game, but this latest defeat by the Alouettes in the Grey Cup might have been most painful for Eric Lapointe.

The veteran Canadian special- teams player and reserve running back sat in the corner of the team dressing room last night, his eyes full of tears and his lips quivering. Lapointe is 32 and has played eight seasons in the CFL, including the last six with Montreal. But he's a successful management consultant on the South Shore, and it's becoming more difficult for him to combine a business career with the life of a pro athlete.

"I've been there for most of the Grey Cups the past couple of years," said Lapointe, who has now played in four with the Als, winning only one, in 2002. "A lot of the players in this room, it's their first time. They'll get their chances. But me, I'm near the end.

"This one was hard to watch. We're a better team than what we showed."

Lapointe won a Grey Cup with Hamilton in 1999 and, when the Als defeated Edmonton in 2002, the former two-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner probably figured he'd never lose a title game.

But the Als were overmatched by the Eskimos in 2003 and lost in double-overtime to Edmonton last year. And now this. Lapointe can't explain why this team seemingly always comes up short.

"I don't look at the past," he said. "This team has changed so much and we're not the same team. You could say it's bad luck. You could say a lot of things. But knowing this team, we will come back and win. I just don't know if I'll be part of it."

Lapointe renegotiated last winter and remains under contract. But he didn't decide to return for the 2006 season until April, so obviously won't be rushed into making a decision. But he spoke and had the look of a player who won't be returning.

"I don't know right now. I just have to rest and forget about that," he said. "This is never a good time to make (emotional) decisions. I just need to rest my leg and everything. And change my mind.

"It's the end of the season. I don't want to see a B.C. helmet."

Lapointe was disappointed and tearful. Other players, meanwhile, were simply disgusted with the Als' performance against the Lions, particularly veteran defensive-back Ricky Bell. Bell had hinted at retirement this week, especially had Montreal won last night.

"We played second-best. That's why we got our ass whipped," said Bell, who lost his second consecutive Cup with this latest setback. "We didn't play good enough to win. We played second-best.

"The B.C. players, all the ones who count, they played and showed up. Our's didn't. I'm not pointing the finger at nobody, but we're second-best. We've f---ed up two years in a row."

It's going to be a long ride home this morning when Als players depart Winnipeg. And the winter, once again, is going to be agonizingly long, filled with doubters, critics and second-guessers wondering why Montreal constantly comes up short in big games.

"You work so hard," quarterback Anthony Calvillo said. "And now here we go again, going home empty-handed. This is very tough. We all want to play for championships. We've been fortunate and blessed over the years, but it hurts. The losses keeping adding up ... the losses in championship games. To come up short, it's frustrating."

Running-back Robert Edwards, who denied the Als an opportunity of a comeback win with his fumble at the B.C. one-yard line with four minutes remaining, said he'll recover.

"I'm not the type to let a play haunt me," said the former NFL first-round draft choice of New England. "It's over. There's nothing I can do about it.

"If I let that play haunt me I can't move on."

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