Whitecaps Eke One Out in Edmonton

The Vancouver WhitecapsFC started the 2013 AmWay Canadian Championship with a 3-2 victory over EdmontonFC of the 2nd tier North American Soccer League.
The Whitecaps were expected to easily handle Edmonton but this game

Khalif Mitchell Might Need to Rethink Some Decisions

The latest from the outspoken Khalif Mitchell came in the form of a televised sit-down interview with Craig McEwen on Rogers Sportsnet. In the interview, Mitchell re-affirmed his stance that he took when he was traded by the BC Lions to the Toronto Argonauts, stating that he would not report to Toronto and would like to be released from his contract.
He cited his love of the west-coast lifestyle and an apparently lucrative business arrangement with a west-coast beverage company.
Khalif Mitchell has always been, what one might describe, a free-thinker. One need not look any further than his twitter account @Truthwillfree96 for evidence of that. In his Twitter bio he
describes himself as, among other things, a "Believer in TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE CONCEPT". I think it will take a lot more than that to set him free from his contract, and truth is he is either getting bad advice or he needs to grow up a little.
I think he is a fantastic player and from all accounts a great guy and truly unique and gifted person. As a season ticket holder I've shaken his hands after games a few times and he has signed autographs for me and countless other fans. From what I've seen, he has always made a point of greeting fans after games on the way to the dressing room and will sign for anyone who asks.

Khalif Mitchell still has 1 year left on his contract with the Argos and it would probably be in his best interest to honour it, go play for a year for them and make a good impression and either take a crack at playing again down south in the NFL or get on with another CFL team, of his choosing, as a free agent.  Then he will truly be free...and that's the TRUTH!

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NHLers loitering on the sidelines

I attended the BC Lions v Calgary Stampeders game at BC Place on Saturday night and I noticed that a group of Vancouver Canucks had been invited to watch part of the game from the BC Lions sideline.  If I'm not mistaken Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Kesler, Jason Garrison, Alex Edler, Mason Raymond and Cory Schneider.

Everyone knows that the Canucks have a lot of extra time on their hands due to the NHL lockout.  It seemed surreal to me to see them standing there in street clothes, supporting another local team, which, by the way, I thought to be a classy move.  They were supposed to be playing a game at Rogers Arena, or on a road trip, or resting up for another game.  It really was quite bizarre to see them there instead of on the ice all because of Gary Bettman's 3rd lockout.

Then it hit me....the 2012 CFL team salary cap is $4.3M.  Yup.  If you add up the salaries of the entire BC Lions roster it is equal to, or less than, $4.3M.  Ryan Kesler makes $5M.   Jason Garrison makes $6M+ per season.  Edler and Bieksa aren't that far behind.

What must that have been like for them?  Watching 2 teams go at it 100% banging heads, sacrificing limbs, and giving it their all in front of 30,000+ at BCPlace and hundreds of thousands more on TSN, knowing that their annual salary is more than the entire payroll of each of the two teams they were watching.  It kinda puts things into perspective as far as how much money NHLers really make.

The thing is, we can't look at NHL players as just athletes playing a game and being compensated with massive amounts of money.  It is important to realize that the players are a product.  They are a product that generates large amounts of money for the owners and they should get their piece of the pie.  The sooner the owners stop treating the players as employees, or cattle, and become business partners with them, the sooner we can get hockey players off of CFL sidelines.

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Lions hold off Stamps for 1st in West

The BC Lions strengthened their hold on first place in the CFL's Western Division by holding off the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 27-22.  Calgary threatened late, driving the ball upfield looking for a game-winning touchdown, but a fantastic interception by Ryan Phillips thwarted the Stampeders late charge.
Despite not having star regulars Geroy Simon, Arland Bruce III, and Khalif Mitchell in the lineup, the Lions powered through behind strong performances from Phillips, Travis Lulay, Andrew Harris and Adam Bighill.
The BC Lions improve their record to 10-4 with 4 games to play in the regular season, while Calgary falls to 8-6.

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