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.

You can follow Sporting Vancouver on Twitter @vansport

Canadians featured at running back in the CFL

Unlike any other time in the CFL have we seen the quantity and quality of Canadian running back as we have in the last few seasons.  Sure, there have been many good Canadian running backs in CFL seasons gone by, such as Normie Kwong, Orville Lee, Sean Millington and others but for the most part, the role of the Canadian running back was that of a fullback, or blocking back, making holes for the import running back.  That's just the way its always been...until now.
We are witnessing a golden generation of Canadian running backs; not just good enough to get playing time, but dominating at the position.
Last year we saw Jerome Messam have a dominant season for the Edmonton Eskimos winning Top Canadian honours and getting a shot in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins where he was a late cut.  Messam is back with the Eskimos and has fellow Canadian Calvin McCarty in the backfield with him.
But the two biggest stories this year are New Westminster, BC's Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders who currently leads the league in rushing, and BC Lions star and Winnipeg native Andrew Harris who has a chance to have 1000 rushing yards and 1000 receiving yards by the end of the season.
These two are leading their teams and dominating CFL defenses this season.  While both have a lot in common as far as CFL success goes, their path to pro-football couldn't have been any different.
Jon Cornish starred in the NCAA for The University of Kansas, while Harris played BC junior football.

You can follow Sporting Vancouver on Twitter @vansport

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.

You can follow Sporting Vancouver on Twitter @vansport