Chris Cuthbert on what to expect in the 99th Grey Cup

CFL on TSN announcer Chris Cuthbert has called the Grey Cup 13 times, so handling the play-by-play duties for TSN's broadcast of the 99th Grey Cup Sunday (live blog here, 6 p.m. Eastern) is hardly new for him. That makes him an excellent candidate to predict what's likely to happen here at B.C. Place Sunday afternoon. I spoke to Cuthbert Friday about the game, the atmosphere and the matchup; here are the highlights of what he had to say.

Cuthbert (seen at left) said the environment of the newly-renovated B.C. Place will make this Grey Cup stand out.

"It's the most spectacular venue we've been in," he said. "I think that's going to make it special in a sense."

Cuthbert said he's intrigued by the on-field matchup, too, especially as Winnipeg and B.C. haven't frequently meant for the Grey Cup.

"It is a matchup we're not that familiar with, we've only seen it once before," he said. "There is the sense it's not a traditional East-West [matchup], but that doesn't bother me a whole lot. I've always been 'Let's get the best two teams in,' and I think these two teams have proved that."

There are no shortage of storylines around this game, including both teams' incredible comebacks (Winnipeg from 4-14 last year, B.C. from 8-10 last year and 0-5 this year), and Cuthbert said those make his job easier.

"There are phenomenal storylines," he said. "I don't think we've ever had a Grey Cup with two teams that were below .500 the year before, so that's another twist."

Cuthbert said it's nice from a commentary standpoint to see a completely different matchup than the Montreal-Saskatchewan clashes of the last two years.

"I like when two teams meet and then they meet again in a rematch, but at the same time, we had Montreal-Saskatchewan twice," he said. "It's time for some fresh meat."

Cuthbert said home teams' recent struggles in Grey Cups also make for an interesting storyline.

"A, it's been 17 years since a home team won, I think they're 1-5 in the last six, and Wally Buono, who's been in every possible circumstance, has never been the coach at home in a Grey Cup game, so there's something fresh about those storylines."

Both of these teams have terrific defences, so Cuthbert said he thinks it's more likely to be a defensive struggle than a high-scoring offensive shootout like the Montreal-Hamilton East semifinal.

"We'd take that Eastern semifinal every week if we could get it, but I'm not expecting it; these defences are too good," he said.

He doesn't think that will ruin the entertainment value, though.

"These are defences that can be very entertaining," Cuthbert said. "There are some defences that just grind it out, but these guys, guys like [B.C. DB] Korey Banks who plays so aggressively, and [Winnipeg DB Jonathan] Hefney and [Winnipeg DB] Jovon Johnson, guys like that and the guys up front, I think they can make it an entertaining defensive game."