Higgins’ quote on blown call bothers Brown

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This article was published 05/10/2011 (5093 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice would say only that the comments surprised him, refusing further comment.

And so it was left on Tuesday — as it so often is with the Bombers — for Bombers defensive tackle Doug Brown to give voice to his team’s reaction to controversial comments made over the weekend by CFL director of officiating Tom Higgins concerning the finish of Friday’s 32-26 Bombers loss to the Montreal Alouettes.

Higgins told Montreal Gazette beat writer Herb Zurkowsky that the pass interference call that put Winnipeg on the Montreal one-yard line in the dying seconds of the game was wrong — and then seemed to suggest that what happened afterwards as the Bombers failed to score the game-winning touchdown despite having two cracks at it was fitting.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Higgins told Zurkowsky. “There are football gods out there. If a team scores from the 38, that’s fine. But the ball shouldn’t have been on the one-yard line.

“One play could have turned the game around, but justice prevailed in this case.”

Higgins comments — especially the “justice prevailed” line — caught both LaPolice and Brown by surprise.

The difference was only Brown wanted to talk about it.

“I was surprised to hear that he had the perspective that there was a sense of justice,” said Brown. “I think it’s definitely a misspoken phrase.”

Brown understood the context of Higgins comments — that the only reason the Bombers were near the goal line was because of a blown call — but wondered if it’s ever appropriate for a director of CFL officiating to express personal views on an outcome.

“I still don’t think winning or losing or hoping or having an inclination towards one team squaring things up — I don’t think that’s in the parameters of that position,” said Brown. “But that’s just my opinion.”

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Brown also had opinions on something else on Tuesday — a promotion by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats that allows fans to vote online for what the team will call for their first pass play and first run play against the Bombers at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Friday night.

A tab on the Ticats website lists four run plays and four passing plays — complete with video of offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones describing the plays in detail.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” said Brown. “Believe me, it’s not the first strange thing I’ve ever heard come out of Hamilton. And I’m sure it won’t be the last.”