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Canwest News Service
CALGARY – Davis Sanchez has a Grey Cup ring that he won in 2005 with the Edmonton Eskimos.
But it's a piece of jewelry he rarely, if ever puts on.
"I don't have an emotional attachment to it at all," said Sanchez, who didn't dress in the Eskimos' overtime win over the Montreal Alouettes because of an injury. "I had some good friends on that team and won it with some people who are dear to me, and I was happy at that time. But there's no personal attachment for that Grey Cup at all."
Which is why despite the evidence to the contrary, Sanchez says he'll be playing for his first Grey Cup Sunday at McMahon Stadium when he takes his familiar position at cornerback for the Alouettes against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
"This one here," said the 11-year pro, "I've been working with this group and this team for a long time, so that's what I'm shooting for."
The subtext, of course, is that time could be running out for the North Delta, B.C., product, who's still getting it done for the Als at the age of 35. Sanchez has played in Grey Cup games before, in 2000, 2006 and 2008 with the Alouettes, but with his unofficial plan to hang up the cleats following the 2010 season, there's a growing sense of now or never.
"I've said I'm going to play next year and then I'll take a look at it after that," said Sanchez, one of the most engaging players in the game. "At this point in my career, it's year by year. I've talked to Jim (Alouettes general manager Jim Popp) and the Montreal people the last couple of years, and right now I'm planning on next year possibly being my last."
Sanchez believes his fitness has never been better. As the years have gone by, the five-foot-nine, 188-pounder has devoted more time to taking care of his body than he did when he broke into the CFL in 1999 before heading south to the NFL in 2001 for two seasons; he returned north and signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 2003.
"I'm still healthy; I feel great, I feel stronger and faster than I did three years ago, so it's tough (to be thinking about retirement)," said Sanchez, who picked off two passes during the regular season. "I'm just taking care of myself more. When I was younger, because I was gifted athletically, I could kind of get away with not working as hard. Especially when I came back from the NFL, I kind of cruised for a couple years. I'm not happy about it. I still covered my guy every week, I was still an all-star, I still did my thing. But the point is I kind of cruised with regards to my training.
"I'm just taking care of my body because right now I have to, at my age. And because I've done it the last two years, I'm feeling better at 34 or 35 than I did at 30 or 31. I think at 32, I would lose a sprint to myself at 35. I'm feeling better because of that."
Sunday, his challenge is to deal with Saskatchewan's gifted set of receivers, and he laughs off any suggestion that they're the so-called "slow, white Canadian receivers" ("I'm a slow, half-white Canadian," he said jokingly).
"I love watching those guys and I have a lot of respect for what they do," said Sanchez. "Rob Bagg, nobody knew who he was and now he's one of the better guys in the league. Any time I get to see young Canadians do well, I'm happy for them."
Calgary Herald
acameron@theherald.canwest.com
