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Braley Could Own Two Teams By Next Week

January 21, 2010 By Brian Wawryshyn

CKNW 980 is reporting that BC Lions owner David Braley may become the owner of the Toronto Argonauts by early next week:

Quoting CKNW: CFL sources tell CKNW that the deal current Argo owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski were working on to bring a new partner into the fold is falling apart, and may be officially dead by as soon as Friday.

If a new partner is not in play for the Argo owners, Braley may be forced to deal with a franchise dropped on his doorstep as soon as this weekend.

One person or corporation can own interest in two teams in the CFL, as has been the case in Major League Soccer and the American Hockey League. If Braley were to own both teams, he would not be interested in selling the Lions. He is however, interested in building up the Argos franchise for a new buyer. The future of general manger Adam Rita remains uncertain. Rita may be retained in a player personnel capacity with the club, but not as GM.

Stay tuned for further developments.

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Mallett Signs With Eagles

January 19, 2010 By Brian Wawryshyn

There have to be a few less NFL fans west of the Canadian Rockies of late. Once again the Lions have lost a top player to the lures of the NFL. As we posted a couple days ago, Martell Mallett was given an opportunity by Wally Buono to test the NFL waters and Tuesday the CFL rookie of the year signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

It marks the third player this off-season the Lions have lost to the NFL but make no mistake, this loss will be the toughest.

Mallett rushed for 1,280 yards and six touchdowns on 214 carries and an average of 5.8-yards per carry. He added 43 receptions for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Mallett was also named to the West Division All-Star team and also earned the 2009 CFL Most Outstanding Rookie award.

He joins Rolly Lumbala and Ryan Grice-Mullen as Lion losses to the NFL this off-season. Of course Lions fans also felt the sting last year losing both defensive end Cameron Wake and running back Stefan Logan to the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers respectively.

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Is Larry Smith serious?

September 8, 2009 By Brian Wawryshyn

larrysmith

Ok, first of all let me make this perfectly clear. I’m writing this as a sports fan, NOT as a fan of the BC Lions. And if it were the Lions filing this protest, I would have the same opinion.

The Montreal Alouettes have decided to protest last Friday’s loss to the CFL. Not only are they protesting, but they are requesting that the last minute of the game be replayed. This is absurd.

League OFFICALS made a mistake. Just like an official on the field can make the wrong call that can cost a team a game, this is no different. Making the teams replay the last 1:00 of the game would open up a whole new can of worms and set the precedent for a wave of protests if a team feels they were jobbed by an official.

First of all, there is nothing to say 100% the Als would have tied or won that game. They still had a convert to kick and we all saw what Baron Miles is capable of in those situations, and of course there was enough time on the clock for the Lions to drive for a game winning field goal. But we’ll never know, and nor should we. The Als want to replay the last minute? If that were to happen, it should happen at BC Place, with our crowd. Not in the friendly confines of Molson Percival Stadium. Go ahead and fly them out Larry, we’ll play the last minute at 10:00pm our time, with 27,000 screaming Lions fans, just to make things really fair. We’ll also make all the players that were on the field at that time do a workout prior to the replay, so they are as fatigued as they were at that moment.

Over the years there have been many blown calls by officials. It’s part of the game. I would hope that Mr. Smith is merely doing this to make a point. I would also hope that the league gives no thought to replaying the last minute of this game.

Labour Day Sunday Musings

September 6, 2009 By Brian Wawryshyn

As I sit here awaiting the Labour Day classic between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, I thought I would share a few opinions and thoughts from recent happenings in our great game. The Labour Day weekend football is the most anticipated weekend of the CFL regular season, and he’s a few thoughts on what’s unfolded thus far.

Proud of my Lions, proud of the fans

Two weeks ago, fans left BC Place stunned and deflated at what they had seen. The Lions were thoroughly beaten by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and it appeared like the teams spirit was shattered by that loss. Friday night at BC Place the undisputed best team in the CFL came to town and failed to score a touchdown on the Lions, who turned in a gutsy performance and restored some hope amongst the fans and no doubt confidence in themselves. I’m always proud to be a Lions fan, but Friday night showed me this team has pride and that was great to see. Kudos also go to the 27,199 fans that made it very loud in the fourth quarter getting behind that Lions defense.

The touchdown that wasn’t?

The Lions may have been fortunate that a league error on the Als final drive nullified a Montreal touchdown that would have tied the game. However a couple things need to be clarified. The first is, what was the flag on the play for? Lowell Ullrich, in his video recap following the game stated the call was offside against the Lions, while Rick Ball of the TEAM 1040 stated the call was procedure against Montreal. That would explain why Wally Buono was so upset after having the call explained to him, and almost every Lion on the field was pointing towards the Als after the touchdown and seeing the flag. If the call was against the Als, they would have been facing a 3rd and a 11 and the touchdown wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Secondly, there has been a lot of finger pointing at the “homer” timekeeper in BC Place, an accusation that is getting a little stale from disgruntled opposing fans. I sat at Commonwealth stadium this year and the clock had to be reset 4 times. It happens folks and the officials and the league are responsible for making sure it is accurate before each snap. The league has admitted their error, and while unfortunate for the Als, those are the breaks, and the Lions sure needed one.

Finally, congratulation to Wally Buono, who pulled even with Don Matthews as the most successful coach in CFL history with the win. The Lions next won will see Buono become the CFL’s all-time leader in coaching wins. Go get em Wally!

Go Joystick go!

As a Lions fan, I watched Stefan Logan closely over the last couple of weeks, selfishly hoping that “Joystick” would wear a Lions uniform again. Of course we all know his 80 yard punt return for a touchdown Thursday erased any glimmer of hope that would happen. Congratulations to Stefan Logan, who chased his dream, and went down to Pittsburgh, with no contract, no signing bonus and no promises. He gave the Steelers no choice but to have him on the team. He’s an outstanding player, with a tremendous belief in himself and his abilities, and I’m sure I join all Lions fans in wishing Logan an outstanding season with the Steelers, and I’ll certainly be watching anytime the Steelers are on TV.

Tailgating goodness!

We’re halfway through the season, and I have to say our new tailgate home has been a big success. New people are showing up and finding us to enjoy the cheap parking and everyone has been great about policing ourselves and keeping the lot clean each and every game. It’s so nice to head to the game knowing we won’t be facing a surprise when we arrive. Another huge thanks goes out to the folks at Easy Park, in particular Greg Watrych, and city councillor Andrea Reimer who made a lot of Lions fans very happy. I encourage everyone to park at Easy Park lots whenever they head downtown to an event, and if Greg and Andrea are up for it, I would love to treat them to a tailgate dinner!

Enjoy the games everyone!

Time to settle down and get ready for some great Labour Day games. Winnipeg and the Riders get it on today, and Monday features a day of double header football. Enjoy the games everyone, and good luck to all our teams in the second half of the season!

ROAR YOU LIONS ROAR!

Big night for Jarious Jackson at BC Place

August 21, 2009 By Brian Wawryshyn

Tonight at BC Place Stadium, Jarious Jackson will start another game for the BC Lions. It won’t be the first time, he has done so, but it could well be the most important start of his career if he hopes to regain the starters role.

There is no doubt Jackson has been one of the best back up QB’s in the league for a few years now. But as a starter he starts slowly and has often struggled. Getting pulled to start the 3rd quarter last week in Toronto irked Jackson, who returned to the game to lead the Lions to the win. One would have to think Jackson’s chances of securing starter status here are running out. With talk of Buck Pierce being re-evaluated after the bye week, Jackson must impress this week to have the club consider him as the number one QB, coming out of the break.

There is no doubt that Jackson posesses superior arm strength. An article in today’s Vancouver Province talks about the need for Jackson to develop and add a softer touch to his arsenal, to go along with his ability to get the ball to a receiver with zip, or go deep.

Friday is a big night for Jarious.

What are your thoughts? Let us know below, or in our forums!