Facebook
Twitter
There are moments in our lives that we just remember. It doesn’t matter how young we are, some things are just imprinted on our brains. My first professional sports event was a Vancouver Whitecaps game at Empire Stadium. Following that there were cold nights in the end zone, a stint as a ball boy and other memories that provide me with great Empire memories of my childhood.
When I think of Empire Stadium, I also think of my Dad. He was never much of a sports fan, but sure supported my brother and I in our sporting ambitions. Whether it was taking us to a game, or standing around outside with us after a game as we stood with our autograph books, Dad was patient and treated us when he could.
Introducing me to sports peaked my interest as a child, and fueled the love I have for sports today, and in particular my BC Lions and the CFL. My mom was a staunch Edmonton Eskimos supporter, so my childhood was a difficult one. My dad used to get a kick out of mom screaming watching the games, as I looked for any opportunity on those days to stick it to her. The chances were few with the dynasty the Eskimos had, but another great memory would come when I watched this new phenom named Mervyn Fernandez weave through a bunch of Eskimos at Empire Stadium from my grandmothers house in Dauphin, Manitoba. The Lions won that game, and oh did my Dad and I enjoy needling my Mom.
So Empire Stadium was pretty much the location of my introduction to sports. It’s fitting then that Sunday is also Fathers Day. It will be the first one without my Dad, who passed away suddenly in January. I would have liked to take him to this game, to return the favor. But when I take my seat and look around, I’m going to remember him vividly. I’m going to look around and see all the young fathers with their sons or daughters and smile.
My dad will be with me Sunday, and so will the ghosts and memories of Empire Stadium. And for that, I am forever grateful.
Thanks, Dad! I love you!
[tweetmeme]
I was going to blog this session of training camp, our last one here. But I’ve decided to sit back and enjoy this one and take in as much as I can for some posts when I get home.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these blogs, and keep coming back to BCLionsDen.ca this season!
We’ll take a look at defense and special teams in our next report, but first we have a practice and the drive home!
Watch twitter for any exciting news from this session! @Bclionsden.
Talk to you soon Lions fans! Signing out from Kamloops!
[tweetmeme]
Its going to be a hot one in Kamloops today. The players have taken to the field under sunny skies and a mountain backdrop.
8:15am: Positional groups have broken off for technical drills. Receivers, backs, secondary, offensive line, QB’s.
8:29am: Stretching and warmup.
8:35am: Sherko Rasouli entertains the troops during warmup with an inspirational speech from the movie 300.
8:59am: Printer under centre, as the offense runs some routes.. Printers looking sharp again to start the day. Tony Washington receiver has caught everything thrown his way to date.
9:08am: Defence working on coverage assignments. Once again this practice is all business. Wally’s desire for a stronger work ethic seems to be in motion.
9:27 after some route and coverage drills the offense and defense are going at it. Tons of chatter on the field. Geroy gets hit hard over the middle. He’s fine. Tony Washington is the star of this session.
9:30am: Rich Stubler just tears a strip off players walking off the field. “You an all pro? Then run off the field. You want people to fear you? Run off the damn field!”
9:36am: Not a lot of catches being made in these drills with the exception of Washington. Makes a nice catch over the middle with Marsh all over him. Defense maybe getting away with some grabbing here and there. Hopefully not bad habits forming.
9:40am: Sun is heating up. More offense on defence coming up! Great practice, lots of intensity!
9:50am: I’ve been to a few training camps and this is the most physical I have seen the Lions ever. Guys are getting popped! Andrew Harris rips off a nice run.
10:07am: Punters are getting at it. Both are launching it but Whyte has more distance early. Of course placement also counts and McCallum is the master.
10:15am: Aaron Hunt slow to get up after some big contact. Attended to and walks off unser his own steam. He’s fine.
10:17am: Offensive line is opening up some nice holes for the backs. Robertson with a nice run followed by a 65 yard romp by Harris.
10:23am: The secondary looks very agressive this year. Really getting after the ball. Dante Marsh is looking very strong.
10:27am: Another fight. Sorensen and Gibbs exchange blows and Walby Junior gets in a big shot. Extremely physical camp. Gettin after it in BC.
10:38am: things are throttled down a bit with some field goal and special teams work.
10:41am: Players gather at midfield as practice for the morning session is in the books. Another great physical session. Standouts: Washington, Harris, Davis, Marsh, Printers, and the improved play of the offensive line. Both sides were getting after it!
Thanks for following along! We’ll have photos of today’s morning session and we’ll be back to keep you posted in the afternoon! Spread the word!
[tweetmeme]
It was a crisp morning but the weather was perfect to kick off day one of BC Lions training camp in Kamloops. The Lions took to the field in a very workmanlike manner, and the intensity was high for the first practice of camp. There were great catches, interceptions and even a few big hits in the morning session of day one, a session that had the defense looking a little sharper than the offense early on. We have some highlights of the first practice here, and you can see some pictures below.
Be sure to check back this afternoon as we will live blog from the afternoon session as well.
[flickr album=72157624093485111 num=20 size=Thumbnail]
[tweetmeme]
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.
[tweetmeme]
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.”
Last off-season I had the pleasure of attending the 1st annual Bobby Singh “Down Set Hut” Youth Football Camp. The event was held at Minoru Park in Richmond and gave kids a day of football fun and instruction from various levels of football coaches and CFL players.
Geroy Simon teaches kids the tricks of his trade. Photo: BCLionsDen.ca
The 2nd annual event goes on May 22nd, once again at Richmond’s Minoru Park. Bobby Singh will be joined by Mark Uyeyama, strength and conditioning coach of the NFL’s San Fransisco 49ers and an impressive array of BC Lions and other CFL players including:
Geroy Simon, Sherko Rasouli, Paul McCallum, Justin Sorenson, Will Loftus, Casey Printers, Anton McKenzie, Jamal Lee, Angus Reid, Tad Crawford, Brent Johnson, Barron Miles, Dante Marsh, Andrew Jones and Davis Sanchez.
The event will be hosted by Richmond Minor Football League and registration is $125.00 per child between 7-15 years of age if pre-registered. Same day registration will be $135.00. A portion of the proceeds from the camp will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vancouver, as well as the Zajac Ranch for Children.
From my observations last year, it’s a great day of football fun for the kids.
The goods:
WHAT: Bobby Singh presents Down Set Hut Football Camp
WHEN: Saturday May 22nd, 2010. Sign in 9:00 am. Camp 10:00 am to 2:30 pm
WHERE:
Minoru Park
7191 Granville Ave
Richmond BC
WEBSITE: www.downsethutfootball.com
[tweetmeme]
An updated list of potential free agents for each team as Free Agency comes into effect at 12:01 ET time February 16th, 2010. Striked out players indicate they have re-signed or signed NFL deals.
| Montreal Alouettes | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| BOWMAN, John | I | DE | 6.03 | 255 | Wingate University |
| CARTER, Kerry | N | RB | 6.02 | 242 | Stanford |
| CHIU, Bryan | N | C | 6.02 | 300 | Washington St. |
| DESLAURIERS, Eric | N | WR | 6.04 | 206 | Eastern Michigan |
| DIEDRICK, Dahrran | N | FB | 6.00 | 225 | Nebraska |
| FERRI, Diamond | I | LB | 5.10 | 214 | Syracuse |
| JOHNSON, Riall | N | DE | 6.03 | 250 | Stanford |
| LAMBERT, Paul | N | OL | 6.04 | 295 | Western Michigan |
| MCELVEEN, Jermaine | I | DE | 6.04 | 265 | UAB |
| ROBERTSHAW, Jeff | N | DE | 6.03 | 260 | McMaster |
| WATKINS, Kerry | I | WR | 5.11 | 186 | Georgia Tech |
| WILLIAMS, Keron | I | DT | 6.01 | 260 | Massachusetts |
| TORONTO ARGONAUTS | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| BROWN, Jonathan | I | DE | 6.04 | 267 | Tennessee |
| CETOUTE, Obed | N | WR | 6.02 | 213 | Central Michigan |
| DORSEY, Dominique | I | RB | 5.07 | 173 | UNLV |
| FONTAINE, Raymond | N | LB | 6.03 | 235 | Kentucky |
| MCNEAL, Reggie | I | WR | 6.02 | 193 | Texas A&M |
| MIDDLEBROOKS, Willie | I | DB | 6.02 | 196 | Minnesota |
| POOLE, Will | I | CB | 5.10 | 194 | Southern California |
| ROBERTSON, Jamal | I | RB | 5.09 | 215 | Ohio Northern |
| SAM, P.K. | I | WR | 6.03 | 210 | Florida State |
| SHIVERS, Jason | I | DB | 6.01 | 180 | Arizona State |
| HAMILTON TIGER-CATS | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| GAGNE-MARCOUX, Cedric | N | OL | 6.02 | 290 | Central Florida |
| WILLIAMS, John | N | RB | 6.01 | 203 | Edinboro |
| WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| DONNELLY, Ryan | N | OL | 6.06 | 295 | McMaster |
| HARGREAVES, Aaron | N | WR | 6.04 | 230 | Simon Fraser |
| HOLNESS, Steven | N | DB | 5.11 | 197 | Ottawa |
| JOHNSON, James | I | DB | 5.07 | 180 | Arkansas State |
| JOHNSON, Jovon | I | CB | 5.09 | 177 | Iowa |
| MACDONALD, Patrick | N | DL | 6.02 | 247 | Alberta |
| SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| ADAMS, Marcus | I | DL | 5.11 | 285 | Eastern Kentucky |
| BAGGS, Stevie | I | DL | 6.02 | 290 | Bethune-Cookman |
| CATES, Wes | I | RB | 6.00 | 215 | California U. of PA |
| CHERNIAWSKI, Dustin | N | DB | 6.00 | 210 | UBC |
| DAVIS, Eddie | I | DB | 5.10 | 170 | Northern Illinois |
| FANTUZ, Andrew | N | WR | 6.04 | 220 | Western Ontario |
| FOORD, Stuart | N | RB | 5.11 | 195 | Regina Thunder Jrs |
| FRENETTE, Jocelyn | N | OL | 6.03 | 300 | Ottawa |
| JYLES, Steven | I | QB | 6.00 | 195 | Louisiana At Monroe (NE) |
| KORNEGAY, Tad | I | DB | 5.10 | 185 | Fordham |
| MORGAN, Omarr | I | DB | 5.09 | 175 | BYU |
| PARENTEAU, Marc | N | OL | 6.05 | 290 | Boston College |
| PATRICK, James | I | CB | 5.11 | 175 | Stillman College |
| SCHULTZ, Scott | N | DL | 6.02 | 296 | North Dakota |
| SZARKA, Chris | N | FB | 6.02 | 225 | Eastern Illinois |
| WALKER, Gerran | I | WR | 5.10 | 185 | Lehigh |
| WASHBURN, Clifton | I | OL | 6.06 | 313 | The Citadel |
| CALGARY STAMPEDERS | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| DEANGELIS, Sandro | N | K | 5.08 | 195 | Nebraska |
| DICKENSON, Dave | I | QB | 5.11 | 195 | Montana |
| HUGHES, Charleston | I | LB | 6.01 | 244 | Northwood University |
| JENNINGS, Michael | I | WR | 5.11 | 180 | Florida State |
| JOHNSON, Teyo | N | WR | 6.05 | 260 | Stanford |
| REYNOLDS, Joffrey | I | RB | 5.10 | 221 | Houston |
| EDMONTON ESKIMOS | |||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE |
| AMOS, Willie | I | DB | 6.01 | 185 | Nebraska |
| COE, Scott | N | LB | 6.03 | 230 | Manitoba |
| COMISKEY, Dan | N | OL | 6.05 | 302 | Windsor |
| GARRETT, Shannon | I | LB | 5.10 | 195 | Mississippi College |
| ONATOLU, Kenny | I | LB | 6.02 | 225 | Nebraska Omaha |
| PARKER, Byron | I | CB | 5.11 | 193 | Tulane |
| TUCKER, Jason | I | WR | 6.02 | 180 | Texas Christian |
| WAYNE, Clinton | N | DT | 6.02 | 290 | Ohio State |
| B.C. LIONS | ||||||
| PLAYER | IMP/NIP | POS | WT | HT | COLLEGE | |
| ANDERSON, Bret | N | SB | 6.03 | 215 | Simon Fraser | |
| BWENGE, Alexis | N | RB | 6.01 | 225 | Kentucky | |
| FOLEY, Ricky | N | DL | 6.02 | 245 | York | |
| GRICE-MULLEN, Ryan (Signed with Miami) | I | WR | 5.10 | 188 | Hawaii | |
| LOGAN, Stefan | I | RB | 5.07 | 177 | South Dakota | |
| WAKE, Cameron | I | DE | 6.03 | 257 | Penn State | |
[tweetmeme]
The Toronto Sun is reporting that the BC Lions have signed import receiver Derick Armstrong.
BIG COUNTRY IS BACK: Derick Armstrong will attempt to get back into the CFL with B.C. after agreeing to terms with the Lions.
“Oh man, it’s something I’ve been waiting for for a long time,” the 30-year-old said Wednesday from Dallas. “When I got the call, I was ecstatic.”
The Bombers released the three-time 1,000-yard receiver last July after he had a falling out with then head coach Mike Kelly. Armstrong dressed but refused to play in the season-opener after being told just prior to kickoff that he wasn’t going to start.
Armstrong and Kelly made up the day after the game, but it deteriorated because the receiver continued to express his disgust with the situation through the media.
The two almost came to blows in Kelly’s office, and Armstrong was released a few days later.
Armstrong’s connection with the Lions is their player personnel director, Roy Shivers, who brought the former NFLer to Saskatchewan in 2001. Armstrong said the Lions just want him to play, and he’ll do just that.
If Kelly and the Bomber coaching staff had been up front with him, he said, he might still be in Blue and Gold.
“I can accept a role,” Armstrong said. “I don’t mind being the third, fourth or whatever receiver. Because I knew my situation. I knew I was hurting. It wasn’t a big factor in that regard.
“But the way they did me there, that was a feeling I don’t never want to feel no more. I’m happy that I’m moving forward, though.”
This could be a great signing for the team. Armstrong is a quality receiver and a big target. The 30-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Blue Bombers, tallying almost 2,500 yards and 14 touchdowns. He started his CFL career with Saskatchewan in 2001 and 2002 before joining the NFL’s Houston Texans for three seasons.
Thanks to @theriders on Twitter for the heads up on this development, and to @Stargazer_Girl for alerting us to it!
[tweetmeme]
Mike Beamish of the Vancouver Sun reported yesterday that non-import running back Andrew Harris had inked a new deal with the BC Lions, and it’s no coincidence the signing came on the heels of the departure of Martell Mallett.
“It [Mallett's leaving] was certainly a factor in getting the contract signed quickly,” Harris said from his home in Winnipeg. “It made me a little more hungry. For sure, I’m a little bit more excited about the possibility of being seen as a running back or a receiver.”
In my opinion Harris was the most impressive back at training camp last year, and only his age, inexperience, and possibly a ratio issue kept him off the roster. This kid oozes talent and has torn up the CJFL. The 5-11, 195-pound Harris averaged an impressive 14.5 yards per carry and scored 24 touchdowns. He holds Canadian Junior Football League records for all-time touchdowns and scoring.
There had been talk of coverting Harris to the saftey position, but now it seems that along with first overall pick Jamal Lee the Lions have a legitimate chance at starting an all Canadian backfield in 2010. That’s an option that could give them the luxury at starting an import in another area, perhaps the offensive line.
The club also signed two import back in recent days, Brad Lester of Auburn and Yonus Davis of San Jose State. Davis, who’s stature is comparable to Stefan Logan is seen by the Lions as a candidate for punt and kick return duties. Lester was with the Lions late last season, and will be brough back for another look. Regardless, the running back position will once again be under the spotlight at training camp in June.
For now, here’s a few highlights from Andrew Harris:
[tweetmeme]
