Karl Anthony lost a Grey Cup ring but gained a pickup truck last Sunday night.
At least he thinks he gained a pickup truck.
The veteran Baltimore cornerback was voted the Most Outstanding Player in the 82nd Grey Cup, a 26-23 loss to the B.C. Lions in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Anthony made two big plays in the first half -- a diving interception in the first quarter and a 36-yard touchdown run with a lateral after Alvin Walton's second-quarter pickoff.
The voting, by Canadian writers, was done with two minutes left BTC in the game -- before Lui Passaglia's game-winning 38-yard field goal.
In the chaotic aftermath, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., which telecast the game, announced that Passaglia had won the Most Outstanding Player award, and with it, the Dodge Ram pickup. Somehow, Passaglia even got the keys.
Then, when the mistake was realized, he had to give them back.
Anthony was told in the locker room that he had won the award, but no presentation was ever made. Contrary to a popular rumor, he did not refuse the truck.
"If I was awarded the truck, I would not not accept it," he said. "That would be crazy. No one talked to me about it."
Until he talked with a league official Thursday, Anthony was still in the dark. But Paul Brule, the Canadian Football League's vice president for business development, told Anthony he would get the truck after all. Brule just didn't know when.
Passaglia was named the top Canadian in the game. According to Greg Fulton, another CFL executive, Chrysler is going to give Passaglia a truck for a year.
Looking like a Pirate
Winnipeg's Matt Dunigan heads the list of available free-agent quarterbacks this off-season. While in Vancouver to do TV commentary on the Grey Cup, he said he wouldn't be opposed to joining a losing team like, say, the Shreveport Pirates.
"I would have enough confidence in my abilities to make anybody a winner," said Dunigan, who played for Louisiana Tech. "Rally the troops and head in the right direction."
Asked about the competency of Shreveport's ownership tandem Bernie and Lonie Glieberman, Dunigan said, "Everybody's got a tainted view of the Gliebermans."
No wonder Winnipeg coach Cal Murphy is planning to file tampering charges against Shreveport.
Ham had some help
Baltimore coach Don Matthews insists quarterback Tracy Ham's Grey Cup game wasn't as bad as it seemed (9-for-24, 193 yards, three turnovers).
"He missed [Robert] Drummond twice," Matthews said. "Other than that, he had more heat than he should have. We had a breakdown in protection. Tracy's game was a lot better than other players'."
Matthews said Ham's two interceptions were the result of receivers running the wrong routes. On the pass that B.C.'s Charles Gordon returned for a touchdown, Matthews said Gordon was led to the ball by an unwitting receiver.
Buddy-up in Baltimore
CFL owners will meet in Baltimore on Thursday and Friday to determine, among other things, the fate of the Las Vegas Posse and Calgary Stampeders. The Posse is moving, and Calgary owner Larry Ryckman has threatened to move.
The league will set up a "buddy system" to assist Memphis in its start-up operations. Baltimore owner Jim Speros said he will help Memphis implement ticketing and marketing plans.
The owners also will talk about TV aspirations. Contracts with CBC and TSN expired this season. The league wants to renegotiate a third contract with ESPN and explore two other possibilities in the United States.
Audibles
CFLPA president Dan Ferrone wants to eliminate the negotiation list that ties unsigned players to CFL teams, and install a draft system with the next collective bargaining agreement. . . . At the start of the season, Las Vegas oddsmakers listed B.C. as 8-to-1 to win the Grey Cup. Baltimore was 10-to-1. . . . How good was Baltimore's defense down the stretch? It allowed one touchdown in three postseason games, and did not allow more than one touchdown in any of the last five games. . . . Speros said the CFLs probably will be back at Towson State next summer for training camp.