Geroy Simon will be at J Malones Pub in Richmond for tonight's fundraiser for BC Minor Football and the Zajac Ranch for Children.
Tonight at 7:00pm at J. Malones pub in Richmond, Bobby Singh and some of his closest football friends will be holding a fundraiser to benefit BC Minor Football and the Zajac Ranch for Children.
The event will cap off a great day that will start with the 2nd annual Bobby Singh Down Set Hut football camp at Minoru Park in Richmond for kids aged 8-15. The kids will be taught by several minor football coaches as well as players such as Casey Printers, Geroy Simon and Davis Sanchez.
Printers and Simon are two of the names you can expect to mingle with at tonight’s fundraiser. Tickets are $20.00, which gets you a burger and a beer. There will also be a silent auction, and a 50/50 draw, as well as a chance for pictures and autographs from the several BC Lions players in attendance.
Tickets are limited, so if you would like to go please send me an e-mail to brian@bclionsden.ca and I may be able to reserve you a ticket.
The BC Lions are not only taking their training camp to Kamloops this season, they’re taking their annual fan fest day there as well. The Lions informed us on Twitter today that the popular family event will take place at Hillside Stadium, home of the Lions 2010 training camp, on Saturday, June 12th from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
The event is usually themed towards families and season ticket holders, but clearly the Lions are trying to emphasize the “BC” in BC Lions. The day features a player meet and greet with autographs and pictures, and usually has a short no contact scrimmage for those in attendance.
There is no word if anything will be held for fans and season ticket holders in the lower mainland. The Lions play their first exhibition game on June 13th in Regina, and open up Empire Field the following weekend against the Edmonton Eskimos on June 20th.
Hey Lions fans! I don’t know about you but right about now I’m getting pretty excited about the upcoming CFL season. The tickets are paid for, the parking pass is bought (more on that below) and the training camp trip is booked. In just under a month, CFL football will be back!
Across the league rosters are being filled in with free agent hopefuls and draft picks to compete with the veterans and vie for their spots on their respective teams. The Lions are no exception as they head towards the opening day of rookie camp on June 2nd and the main camp on June 6th at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC.
Let’s get you up to date on the recent happenings surrounding the Lions and here in The Den, as we hit the home stretch to the 2010 CFL season.
BCLionsDen.ca Is Going Camping!
For the last two years we’ve brought you pictures and reports from training camp and this season will be no exception. We’ll have four days of “blogger style” coverage starting June 7th , running through to the 10th. We’ll have live tweets, photos, daily blog entries and possibly a live blog to see what Lions fans want to know from camp. I’ve got a few other ideas as well, but it’s going to depend if I can get a favour or two from the Lions.
If you’re coming up to camp for those dates join us for a little in between session tailgate fun! Follow us here and on Twitter @BCLionsDen for information on where we’ll be.
Roster Moves
The Lions continue to fine tune their roster for training camp. The recent Canadian Draft saw the Lions stockpile nine picks in the six round draft, and the club got arguably two of the top players in the draft taking offensive lineman Danny Watkins and receiver Shawn Gore with their first two picks. The club will have to wait on them however, as Watkins will go back to Baylor for one more season, and could be an NFL draft pick. Gore recently signed a three year deal with the Green Bay Packers after successfully surviving a pre-season tryout camp the weekend of the draft. The Lions had seven other picks, and we recapped them here.
The team also held a free agent camp in Portland Oregon on Mother’s Day weekend, and has one more scheduled for May 14th in Dallas, Texas.
In addition to the draft picks, the team has also added depth and competition in the secondary, signing import defensive backs Anthony Reddick and Dominique Williams. The team also announced they had signed non-import and former Edmonton Eskimo saftey J.R. LaRose and local long snapper Sean Ortiz to the roster, who’s had tryouts with the Tornoto Argonauts in the past. Quarterback Zac Champion was released, leaving the Lions with Casey Printers, Jarious Jackson and Travis Lulay as the men behind centre heading into camp.
Home Sweet Home
Empire Field is taking shape nicely as it nears a June 15th completion date and the club has been posting almost daily photo updates from the site. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot new to see of late as the bowl is now fully enclosed by the constructed seating, and we haven’t seen many pictures from inside the walls. The project hit a minor speed bump when Logistics caused the scoreboard to be relocated from the originally planned south end to the north, forcing to club to redo seat allocations for season ticket holders. All season ticket holders will have the same view of the replay screen as they had in BC Place.
Great news came this week with word that tailgating is going to be permitted in the lots surrounding the PNE. The club and the PNE have worked out season passes for ticket holders which will give them a guaranteed parking spot on the grounds, but not a reserved spot. Prices range from 25.00/game to 30.00. and the passes are good for 9 games, but not valid on August 27th, when the PNE is on. The unofficial word from the club is that they were told tailgating will be permitted, but they are not in any capacity. This development could make this season one of the best yet for regular tailgaters, who will be able to barbeque in the shadows of the stadium, creating a great football atmosphere.
Yeah the price is steep, but you had to expect it. With Playland in full swing parking will be at a premium on game days, so I’d highly recommend season ticket holders purchase the season’s pass if they plan on driving to the games. As a tailgater, it was a no brainer for me.
If you’re interested in tailgating, many of the crew from our group have bought passes in Lot 9 on the north side of the stadium. Make sure your familiar with the culture of tailgating and respect the tradition. It’s a great pastime that is pretty unique to football and can really enhance your game day experience. The PNE is located in a residential area, so respect the neighborhood and it’s residents as well.
Many Lions fans will have great memories of BC Place Stadium, and some will rejince that they have watched their last game under the dome. Whatever your feelings, the Vancouver skyline and watching BC Lions entered a new era this morning when the dome was deflated for the last time, making way for a new retractable roof to be completed in 2011.
Vancouver blogger VanCity Allie of VancityAllie.com took this great time lapse video and agreed to let us share it with BCLionsDen.ca readers. Follow her on Twitter @vancityallie and check out her great blog.
BC Place Deflating/Deflation Time Lapse May 4, 2010 from VancityAllie on Vimeo.
Here is another great video done by Devo4969 and uploaded to YouTube:
We would love it if you left your favourite memory of BC Place below!
The BC Lions held their annual off-season state of the union conference call with the media today and while we weren’t privy to the call, we were fortunate to have the Tweets of Mark Masters, writer for the National Post (@markmasters), to give us some of the highlights of the discussion. Make sure if you’re a CFL fan on Twitter you follow Mark, as he always has great scoops and information on the CFL.
In attendance for today’s call were Vice-President George Chayka, Head Coach and GM Wally Buono, and President & CEO Dennis Skulsky.
Here, in point form are the comments tweeted by Mark during today’s call:
George Chayka: Empire Field construction should be completed in six weeks (June 15).
George Chayka: New season ticket sales are 50% ahead of where they were last year.
Wally Buono: Last year was not the kind of team we had in past; it was important to address changes.
Wally Buono: Casey Printers is in the prime of his development & growth as a QB.
Wally Buono: Two biggest signings are Keron Williams & Davis Sanchez from Montreal. Sanchez helps change the defensive philosophy.
Wally Buono: Re: draft – Watkins & Gore are good enough that we will wait; hopefully not more than 6-12 months.
Wally Buono: Hamid Mahmoudi like a young Davis Sanchez. Joash Gesse is like a young Javier Glatt.
Wally Buono: Joash Gesse would have been 1st round pick in CFL draft if not for injury.
Dennis Skulsky: Moving training camp to Kamloops will help tap into fans outside Vancouver; stresses ‘BC’ in BC Lions.
Dennis Skulsky: We want to be the biggest thing that happens in the City of Kamloops this summer.
Wally Buono: Printers & Chapdelaine have a ’tremendous chemistry of trust’.
Wally Buono: His decision to extend contract in BC was twofold (1) He wants another Grey Cup (2) He still enjoys coaching.
Wally Buono: This year’s team must be more physical & play better under pressure.
Wally Buono: The Lions are still on the lookout for an established left tackle.
After a some interesting trades to get the draft going the BC Lions ended with a pretty good pool of talent when the dust settled on the 2010 CFL Draft. The Lions made a pre-draft deal with the Toronto Argonauts that saw them send the 3rd, 18th, 26th, 30th picks to Argos for 4th, 20th, 24th, 25th picks.
Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono, indicated the draft may have been one of the deepest he has been a part of.
“Overall I’m not sure I have seen a better all-round draft not only for our club but all the teams in our league,” said Buono on BCLions.com. “I think it speaks well of the players being developed in Canada and the future of our game.”
Let’s take a look at how the Lions made out!
1st Round:
(4) Danny Watkins OL – Baylor
With the fourth overall pick, With their first pick in the draft the Lions selected 6’4″ 310 pound offensive lineman Danny Watkins. Baylor is regarded by many as the best player available in the draft, and the Lions will have to wait on his arrival, as he has one year of eligibility remaining at the NCAA level. It’s also believed that Watkins will get a serious look at the NFL before being available to the Lions.
Watkins is a native of Kelowna, BC, and didn’t play football until 2007, playing hockey and rugby as a child.
“We believe Danny is one of the best players in today’s draft and he will be a very important part of our club in years to come,” said Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono on BCLions.com
More on Danny Watkins:
2nd Round:
(10) Shawn Gore WR – Bishops
Regarded as the best receiving prospect in the draft, the Lions were apparently going to take Shawn Gore with their first pick. But they decided to make the deal with Toronto and drop to four and take their chances that Gore would be there when they picked next at ten. The gamble paid off and the Lions got Gore anyway. Now, as with Watkins they will wait and see what NFL opportunities come Gore’s way. He attended a Green Bay Packers mini-camp this weekend and word today was that he had received an offer to attend the Packer main camp.
If he does end up with the Lions, he’ll have plenty of friendly faces to welcome him, as former Bishop’s teammates Jamall Lee, Dan McCullough and James Yurichuk on the Lions roster.
More Shawn Gore:
3rd Round:
(16th) Joash Gesse LB – Montreal
The Lions switched to the defensive side of the ball with their third pick (16th overall) and chose LB Joash Gesse from Montreal. The 6’0″225 pound Montreal linebacker has good speed, running 4.68 40 at the East-West Bowl, then a 4.38 at the Pro Agility. In just 6 games Gesse racked up 22 solo tackles and 18 assisted tackles. Gesse is coming of a knee injury that prevented him from testing in some E-camp events, has reportedly run very well in off-season workouts.
Duane Ford of TSN.ca said of Gesse, “If he were 3″ taller, he’d be a potential #1 overall.”
(20th) Hamid Mahmoudi DB – Montreal
With their 2nd pick of the 3rd roound (20th overall) the Lions selected Hamid Mahmoudi, a defensive back. Mahmoudi also had limited E-camp participation due to an injury that cut his season short in 2009. He was ranked the 2nd best cornerback in Duane Ford’s pre-draft rankings. On BCLions.com coach Buono had this to say about Mahmoudi; “Hamid will come in and compete for a wide side cornerback position with Davis Sanchez. He had 13 interceptions over a little over three years so he definitely has a knack for big plays.”
4th Round:
(24TH) Nate Binder WR – Tusculum College
The Lions selected another receiver in the 4th round, picking Nate Binder out of Tusculum College (NCAA II) . In 2008 Binder was named to the All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team. He tied a school single-season record with nine TD receptions and tied for first in the SAC averaging 78.7 receiving yards per game (37th in NCAA II) Averaged 4.5 points per game (8th in SAC). Tusculum College went 5-1 when Binder found the end zone in 2008.
(25th) Akeem Foster (St. Francis Xavier)
With their second pick in the 4th round, BC took another receiver, this time Akeem Foster out of St. Francis Xavier. The 6’4″ 212 pound Foster has all the tools, but has been hurt by inconsistency according to Duane Ford, who had Foster ranked 7th amongst receivers. In a recent article on BCLions.com, Foster described himself like as “a problem with and without the ball. If I don’t have the ball I’m looking for someone to hit. If I do have the ball I’m looking to make a big play.”
More Akeem Foster:
5th Round:
(34th) Cauchy Muamba DB -St. Francis Xavier
One thing is for sure, if Cauchy Muamba makes the Lions, he’ll have one of the coolest names on the team. The Lions selected the DB with their 5th round pick, who was described by Duane Ford this way, “Muamba is good enough in man-to-man coverage that teams rarely throw his way, but at 6’1″ and close to 200 lbs., he’s a physical defender who will likely shift to safety in the CFL.”
With Barron Miles retiring, the auditions for his safety spot have begun, and the Lions may see grooming Muamba for that role.
6th Round:
(41sT) Adam Baboulas OL – St. Mary’s
The Lions went to the St. Mary’s Huskies with their first pick of the 6th round and 41st pick overall, offensive lineman Adam Baboulas.
(42nd) Matthew Chapdelaine – Simon Fraser
With their final pick in draft the Lions stuck with the family and chose WR Matthew Chapdelaine. Yes he is the son of offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, but he hasn’t played football since 2007, having to deal with concussion issues. Coach Buono was quick to dismiss the pick was any type of courtesy to his fellow coach. “”He’s worked out for us four or five times,” Buono said of Matt Chapdelaine. “If I got a list of the comparisons, he would probably be ahead of most receivers in the draft. Honestly, I would never pick a player because he’s the coach’s son. I don’t believe in that b.s. He might be better than the guys we’ve taken. But we don’t know that until we get to camp.”
As reported today on BCLions.com:
The BC Lions Football Club announced today that import defensive backs Anthony Reddick and Dominique Williams have signed with the team and will attend 2010 Training Camp slated to begin June 2nd for rookies in Kamloops, BC.
It sounds like the roof on BC Place will be deflated either this week or the next according to an article by Lowell Ullrich of the Vancouver Province on April 25th.
For the past several weeks, six account reps have been contacting season-ticket holders about moving a seat indoors to a corresponding chair outside. So far so good, according to the club. The biggest problem came when the Lions had to juggle the guest list after discovering the contractor, Nussli Special Events Ltd., could only build a replay scoreboard on the north side of the new facility. A Nussli spokesman did not respond to an interview request.
Only a handful of season-seat holders rejected the great outdoors and will wait for the club to return downtown sometime next year. Roof renovations at B.C. Place Stadium are set to begin in earnest next week with the controlled deflation of the existing cover which prompted the reported $468 million makeover.
The article also discusses the difficulties and logistics of relocating season ticket holders to the new, temporary home of the Lions.
CFL.ca also paid a visit to Vancouver on the weekend, and has some nice video and photos from the construction site, which you can check out:
Video: http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/10995?autostart=true
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=419608&id=134002920443&ref=mf
I don’t know about you Lions fans, but I’m getting pretty excited about this season!
Empire Field Construction. Photo by CFL.ca
The BC Lions announced the signing of two players they hope will help address some of the needs on the their defence this season. Linebacker Joe Henderson and defensive lineman Domini Pittman have signed with the team.
Henderson had a successful career at Alabama-Bimingham and was awarded a First team All-Conference USA selection in 2008. He lead his team, racking up 87 tackles, including 12 for a loss and had seven career sacks. On his college profile, they had this description of Henderson:
” A speedy linebacker who has emerged the past two seasons as one of the top players at his position in Conference USA … has earned all-conference honors the past two seasons … was named in August to the Watch List of the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s outstanding college linebacker.”
Domini Pittman did a four year stint at North Alabama, appearing in 51 games. He led the team in sacks in his last two seasons and helped his team to four straight Division II playoff appearances. Pittman, who is listed at 6’4″ and anywhere between 230-250 pounds, will come to camp to compete for a spot on the defensive line that has led the CFL in sacks the last two season, but who lost Ricky Foley this past off-season to the NFL.
Canadian Press: The BC Lions have added import offensive linemen Jason Boone and Jovan Olafioye to their roster, signing the pair to contracts on Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Boone was a standout at right tackle for the University of Utah from 2003 to 2007 before moving to left tackle for his senior season. The Fillmore, Utah native not only achieved all-academic status in 2004, but was also a 2007 honourable mention All-Mountain West selection.
Olafioye began his college career at Grand Rapids Community College before transferring to North Carolina Central. Olafioye hails from Michigan and attended Detroit Lions mini-camp last spring.
