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You are here: Home / Archives for Wally Buono

Pawdcast Episode 127: Season Wrap Up

November 14, 2018 By Brian Wawryshyn

Ed Hervey - BC Lions Season Wrap Up

Episode 127: Season Wrap Up

Ed Hervey and the BC Lions saw their season come to an end last week and now the GM heads into his second year on the job without Wally Buono’s input and with a ton of questions to be answered this off-season.

Who will be the new head coach? What coordinators will they bring in? What about the long list of free agents the Lions have to deal with and how will that process be affected by the pending new CBA?

Will the new core include guys like Solomon Elimimian, Manny Arceneaux or Travis Lulay? Or will Hervey put his mark on this team by doing another big roster turnover?

How about ownership? Will Davis Braley still be the Lions owner when the 2019 season starts?

Brian and Mojo take it from start to finish this week in a season wrap up episode that discusses these issues and a lot more.

Brought to you in part by AngusReid64.com


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Missed our last episode? Our chat with TSN’s Farhan Lalji and Podskee Wee Wee’s Josh Smith is here.

Filed Under: 2018, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, Featured, Podcasts Tagged With: BC Lions, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Ed Hervey, Jonathan Jennings, Mike Reilly, Mojo Kemp, Podcast, Travis Lulay, Wally Buono

Pawdcast Episode 126: Farhan Lalji and Josh Smith

November 9, 2018 By Brian Wawryshyn

Farhan Lalji

Episode 126: CFL Playoffs discussion with Farhan Lalji and Josh Smith

After one year on the outside looking in the 2018 BC Lions find themselves back in the CFL playoffs. If they want to win the Grey Cup, they will have to go through the East to get it.

We preview Sunday’s East Semi-Final with Farhan Lalji of TSN and Josh Smith of Podskee Wee Wee and 3DownNation.com.

We review Wally Buono night and give the Lions huge props for a great night, even if they weren’t great on the field.

Who’s the Pawdcast champ in CFL Pickem, Brian will gladly tell you.

Settle in, we have over an hour of playoff talk for your CFL loving ears!


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Missed our last Episode? We were joined by Tony Allen of Rouge Radio.

The BCLionsDen.ca is brought to you in part by: AngusReid64.com

Filed Under: 2018, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, Featured, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BC Lions, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Farhan Lalji, Josh Smith, Mojo Kemp, Podcast, Wally Buono

Pawdcast Episode 125: Tony Allen – Rouge Radio

November 2, 2018 By Brian Wawryshyn

Rouge Radio

Episode 125: Tony Allen – Rouge Radio

The final regular season home game of Wally Buono is here, as we look forward to that and look back at the loss to the Riders that took away any chance of a home playoff game.

Tony Allen of the Rouge Radio Podcast joins the show to chat about the Stampeders and the Lions, as well as where the last place Edmonton Eskimos go from here.

We say thank you to Wally Buono, who is a big reason why this podcast exists.

That, and out final CFL Pickem picks of the season. Next stop, the playoffs!


Download this episode!

Missed out last episode? We chatted with BC Lions running back Tyrell Sutton!

Filed Under: 2018, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, Featured, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Mojo Kemp, Podcast, Rouge Radio, Tony Allen, Wally Buono

Wally Buono: All You Can Say is Thank-You

October 14, 2018 By Brian Wawryshyn

Wally Buono

Wally Buono: Thank-you

I don’t write many blogs posts anymore. Simply put, the podcast takes up enough of my free time and I had to make a choice.

That said, Wally Buono is winding down his CFL career and I didn’t feel I could say what I wanted to say on a podcast, versus taking the time this man deserves to convey the gratitude from me as not only a BC Lions fan, but a CFL fan.

As the BC Lions head into this week, a win away from clinching a playoff spot in Buono’s final season, I needed to express my feelings on the man who has represented this team with class and dignity for the last 16 seasons.

Buono arrived to an organization in shambles, and along with the late Bob Ackles, reignited my passion for the BC Lions.

I’ve been a Lions fan for 42 of my nearly 50 years on this earth, but I admit for a short period of time I had drifted away from the team. During my late teen years and early 20’s I had stopped going to games, still watching on TV when the games were on. None of my friends were interested in going to the games, so I stopped going too.

But when Buono arrived, he brought instant credibility to the team. Working with Ackles, Buono quickly made it apparent that the status quo would not be tolerated any longer. This organization was going to operate Wally’s way…one that had a proven track record of success, and it didn’t take long to get things turned around.

In the first five seasons under Buono (2003–2007), the Lions went 62–27–1 in regular-season play, with five straight playoff appearances, four straight first-place finishes (2004–2007), and two Grey Cup appearances: a 27-19 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in 2004 and a 25-14 victory over the Montreal Alouettes in 2006.

I’ve been a season ticket holder for the whole Buono era, and next year will be my 17th straight season with tickets. If it wasn’t for Wally Buono, I honestly don’t know if this would be the case. There have been highs and lows, thrills and devastating disappointments, but that’s the life of a sports fan, it’s part of the ride. But I am hooked for life now because this passion has developed into me devoting even more time to the game, as a fan, blogger and podcaster.

The highlight of course was the 2011 season. The Lions dug themselves a hole starting the year with five straight losses. In a year when they were hosting the Grey Cup, they were 1-6 when they turned their season around, in one of the best worst to first seasons that this league has ever seen.

It was in this season, where Buono did his finest work and the Lions rebounded to win 10 of their last 11 games on the way to an 11-7 record, a west final win over Edmonton and a Grey Cup win at a newly renovated BC Place stadium over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

He walked away from the sidelines after that season, but you never truly got the feeling that it was the last we would see of him. Wally needed to be involved in the action;  lived it…it’s who he is. After two failed attempts at replacing him, Buono realized that inner passion was still there and knew he had to return.

Faith, Family, Food and Football

Buono is an ambassador for this league. He is an icon. It doesn’t matter what CFL event you attend, if Wally walks in the room, people flock to him. Whether it’s to chat, ask for a photo, an autograph or simply to shake his hand, he’s Wally, and everyone knows who he is and what he’s done for this league.

Buono Family
Wally Buono and family: Faith, Family, Food & Football – Flickr.com

He’s a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Speak to any of his children and it’s apparent how much they love and respect their dad. A tribute to not only the man who had to sacrifice so much to be successful, but also to his wife Sande, who has supported him and been the matriarch of the Buono family for the whole ride. After this season, they will get him back full time, and they deserve that. He deserves that.

He takes time to speak to everyone who wants a moment of his time, and realizes that though things have changed and evolved over the years, the CFL is a fan driven league.

The end of an era is coming in BC Lions football, and the Canadian Football League. It’s my dream one day to have Wally Buono join us on the podcast. But I want to wait until he’s done coaching to bring out as much as we can from him. His journey has been a fascinating one and one would hope there could be a book in the future, filled with stories from his time in this league.

I just want to say thank you to a man who brought my passion back. A man that has represented this team and this league with class.

If you have ever been a Lions fan under this regime, and for whatever reason you have stopped coming to games, the Lions have two home games left. Now is the time to come and say thank you to Wally yourself.

Now go get them coach…you deserve that final chapter to be a thriller.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Den Talk, Featured Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Wally Buono

The End of an Era in BC

February 9, 2017 By Brian Wawryshyn

 

Ryan Phillips

On Friday, the BC Lions will likely announce the release of veteran defensive back Ryan Phillips. It will mark the end of an era in the Lions Den and will be the final chapter of one of the best defensive backfields the CFL has ever seen.

Like Korey Banks, and Dante Marsh before him, no player can escape the clock that GM and Head Coach, Wally Buono has in regards to players. Phillips and Buono had been in discussions over his role for 2017, and a reported pay cut as well. The two sides couldn’t agree on those scenarios and it’s reported that Phillips asked for his release.


In their prime, Banks, Marsh and Phillips formed “Lockdown U”. A self-named moniker that held true for several seasons and struck fear into receivers and quarterbacks across the CFL. All three should be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame one day, and if all is right in the world, all three will also be added to the Lions Ring of Honour as well.

Dante Marsh never played again after his release, Banks ended up in Winnipeg and didn’t last long after they decided he wasn’t a starter. Phillips obviously still feels he can play and is also chasing that 50th interception, just two away from the mark.

So he will test the waters and see if there are any takers while leaving behind the only CFL team he has played for.

Following the release of Marsh, I wrote a blog a bout how Phillips was the last man standing from the trio of Lockdown U. It was meant as a tribute to Ryan, but as any proud player would, he took exception to my thought that while he wasn’t the best tackler on the team, his leadership was invaluable. We talked about it, and I apologized if he saw it as a slight, but it was never my intention to insult him. He played two more seasons for the Lions and was a huge contributor in mentoring young players like Keynan Parker, Ronnie Yell and TJ Lee, among others.

At the end of last season, Phillips said he had no desire to play anywhere else but BC. Obviously, he has changed his mind, and he has earned that right to try and continue his career. He’s been around Wally Buono long enough to realize that this day might be coming, and he’s ready to end his career in another uniform, just like Geroy Simon. No player is immune when Buono decides the best before date has come.

But make no mistake, Phillips bleeds orange and understands the business of football. Don’t be surprised that when he finally decides to hang up his cleats, he signs a one-day contract in BC and retires a Lion. Very rarely in sports these days do players finish their careers with one team, and Phillips lasted longer than the average player does.

He’s one of the all-time greats, not only as a BC Lion, but as a CFL player, and we were lucky to have him in orange and black as long as we did.

He’ll always be a Lion, no matter where he finishes his career and Lions fans will be ready to welcome him to the Ring of Honour, along with Banks and Marsh when and if the club deems it appropriate. And if there is any question about that, this blogger will be sure to be campaigning hard for it to happen.

Thanks for the memories RP, and all the best on your new adventure.

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Blog Posts, Featured Tagged With: BC Lions, CFL, Dante Marsh, Korey Banks, Ryan Phillips, Wally Buono

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