As millions of Americans enjoy their annual Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family today, they are gearing up for a national tradition of a different sort north of the border.

On Sunday, the 97th Grey Cup will be contested for Canadian Football League supremacy. This year's game features the West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders and the East Division champion Montreal Alouettes.

The University of North Dakota will have representation on both sidelines.

Former UND standout and Winnipeg native Donovan Alexander will get the start at cornerback for the Roughriders, against the team that traded him during the offseason, no less. For Alexander, it is the ultimate career culmination for a young man whose life was in serious jeopardy as an infant.

Alexander's former Sioux and current Roughrider teammate, Weston Dressler, will not be able to suit up on Sunday after a broken leg and fractured ankle ended his year with four games remaining in the regular season. Despite missing those four games, Dressler, UND's all-time receiving leader, was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his young career.

On the other sideline will stand Montreal linebackers coach Tim Tibesar, himself a standout linebacker at UND before returning to the school as defensive coordinator. Tibesar, whose younger brother Marcus is a senior fullback with the Sioux, is one of the architects of a Montreal defense that was the CFL's best in 2009. The Alouettes allowed fewer than 19 points per game in the wide-open CFL and led the league in virtually every defensive category.

Tibesar's job will undoubtedly be made easier by the absence of Dressler, who torched the Alouettes to the tune of eight catches for 179 yards during their last meeting in August.

Sunday's Grey Cup in Calgary, Alberta, begins at 4:30 p.m. Central.

~Go Sioux~