A few weeks ago I was asked to help out on a great gesture by BC Lions cornerback Dante Marsh. Dante recently had a few paintings commissioned commemorating his time with the Lions, and he’s generously offered to donate one to raise money for CFL Fans Fight Cancer.
I’ll be selling raffle tickets for this great cause starting this Saturday at the tailgate party in Lot 9 at Empire Field. Tickets are $10.00 each and only 50 tickets are available giving you a great chance to win this rare piece. The goal is to sell all 50 tickets, with $200.00 going to cover the cost of the painting and $300.00 going to CFL Fans Fight Cancer. If it can be arranged, Dante would like to present the winner with this painting as well.
For several years now CFL fans across the country have been raising funds for Cancer treatment and research. Last year in BC we donated $2533.00 to Hannah’s Heroes Foundation. Our fund raising has fallen behind this year, but we hope to have a few more events before the year is over.
A couple of pictures have been posted here for you to check out what’s up for grabs in the raffle! If youre intersted in trying to win this rare and limited edition Lions collectible, you can find me in the northwest corner of Lot 9 at Empire Field between 10:00am and game time on Saturday. Get your tickets fast because I don’t think they will last long!
A winner will be drawn on Monday, November 22nd and announced here and on DanteMarsh.com. The winner will also be notified by phone.
Thanks to Dante Marsh and to Jeff Armstead of InTheTunnel.com for stepping up to help CFL Fans Fight Cancer!
One of the great things about CFL is the that the majority of players are down to earth people. Players are very accessible to fans of the league, and in several cases I know of fans have become good friends of players in their cities. Many American born players end up staying in Canada after their playing days are done, making this country their new home.
Others contribute in other ways, and for BC Lions cornerback Dante Marsh he’s trying to help in the community. Marsh recently put a rare canvas print up for auction on Ebay, the proceeds of which will be donated to CFL Fans Fight Cancer, an effort this site has been involved with for several years now.
Nobody asked Dante to do this, it came out of the blue and it shows what type of person you find so often amongst CFL players. All of us at CFL Fans Fight Cancer wish to thank Dante for his generosity and support of our cause.
Up for auction is this 16×20 painting of Dante in action for the BC Lions. This is one of 2 ever made and on canvas with a wood framing. Dante has signed the painting with silver sharpie. Proceeds from this auction will go to benefit CFL Fans Fight Cancer. Visit DanteMarsh.com for more information about Dante.
1-3.
Not a pretty start, nor the one most BC Lions fans were hoping to see, but not quite time to panic yet. After all, the Lions are only two points out of first place in the West, and have less of a spread between points scored and yielded than both the Edmonton Eskimos and the Saskatchewan Rough Riders, both at 2-2.
The Lions know they have been inconsistent and can do better. Both slotback Geroy Simon and cornerback Dante Marsh have spoken out about the rough start and their determination to do better in the remaining fourteen regular season games.
“Last night may have been the most embarrassing game I have ever been a part of…. We have to play better as a team not different units,” Marsh commented. “We have to have a sense of urgency and play more consistently on offense, defense, and special teams. Period. There are no excuses we have to win and win now. We are not rebuilding it doesn’t matter who isn’t here we are going to win with who we have on our roster. We will get this thing turned around and headed in the right direction.”
Simon echoes the same sentiments after Friday’s loss at home to the Calgary Stampeders, “Last night was pitiful. If we want to be relevant this year, we must play better and never put on a horrible performance like that again. Don’t feel sorry for us though, we will get it turned around.”
They’ll have the chance to do just that this Friday as they travel to Ivor Wynne Stadium to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
There are bright spots for the Lions statistically, showing that it may just be taking time to jell as a team which has taken a toll on the win-loss record. The team tops the CFL in passing touchdowns with eight, is tied with the Montreal Alouettes for second most touchdowns overall (12), one back of the Stampeders.
Martell Mallett leads the team in all-purpose yardage and yards from scrimmage, good for sixth and third in the league respectively and slotbacks Paris Jackson and Geroy Simon hold the sixth and seventh spots in receiving yardage..
On the defensive side of the ball, things are a little less auspicious, but there are some bright points. Ryan Phillips has had a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned sixty yards for a major; Ricky Foley has three sacks; and Jason Arakgi is tied for the league lead with eight tackles on special teams.
The defence, though, in particular seems to have yet to come together as a unit. The team ranks last in net and average yards against rushing and in pass completion percentage against. They’re not alone in futility, unfortunately. The offensive line has been at best suspect, yielding a league-leading sixteen sacks, which may be why Buck Pierce and company have tossed a league-worst seven interceptions through four weeks.
This week, though, the offensive line may catch a bit of a break, as they go up against a Ti-Cats D-line which has not had much success rushing the quarterback, bringing up the rear in both sacks and passing touchdowns against allowed. If Heerspink, Valli, Reid, Haji-Rasouli and Jiminez can give Pierce time to throw the ball downfield and can keep opening holes for Mallett, the unit may have time to come together a bit before the team returns home to look to avenge the Week 1 loss against the Riders.
