The B.C. Lions got what they deserved Sunday.
A solid 34-27 overtime CFL Eastern semi-final victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Lions played with the desperation that they have lacked at other times this season. Their starting quarterback managed to play a full game, and their defence held up in overtime, despite the usual meltdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
As a result, B.C. handed Hamilton a heart-breaking loss in its first home playoff game since 2001 and first playoff appearance in five seasons. Now, the Lions are evoking memories of an 8-10 Calgary team that Buono coached to the 2001 Grey Cup title after it also had injuries to its key quarterbacks.
Buono and his then Calgary coaching staff, many of whom are now with the Lions, managed to inject enough confidence in journeyman QB Marcus Crandell that he played like the second coming of Johnny Unitas. Casey Printers does not lack confidence, and he has much more ability than Crandell, who never showed the same magic again. Which suggests the Lions will give the Montreal Alouettes a run for their money in next weekend's Eastern Final.
Talent-wise, says Buono, this Lions club is much better than his 2001 Stamps. And, now, a B.C. club that began the season 1-4 and suffered three straight losses before Sunday is one win away from the Grey Cup.
A championship game berth would be a fitting finish for the underdog Lions. They have used five quarterbacks, including four starters, while also battling major injuries to running back Martell Mallett, kicker Paul McCallum and centre Angus Reid, among others.
How much whackier can their season get? We're about to find out.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Many Lions facing last game together
The B.C. Lions caught a break Sunday. For a change, it wasn't a fractured limb.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats did the Lions a favour by beating Winnipeg 39-17, eliminating the Blue Bombers and putting the hard-luck Lions in the CFL playoffs.
Just how the Lions will fare against the Ticats is anybody's guess, but it was good to see the Leos get a reprieve after their embarrassing 45-13 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday. The one-sided setback was a gift to the Eskimos as both starting quarterback Casey Printers and nominal backup Buck Pierce went down with injuries.
"I tried to do everything in my power to go back out there on the field and put some drives together but, physically, I just couldn’t do it,” said Pierce, who re-entered the game briefly in the second half. “You can kind of feel how we feel right now. It’s hard to process right now what we just went through. A lot of guys in this locker room have never experienced something like this – so many times this year."
Often through no fault of their own as bizarre injuries took their toll.
Pierce showed his character as he put his shoulder pads back on after taking a couple of injections and undergoing treatment to loosen up his arm.
“It’s been a tough year,” said Pierce. “This shoulder thing, it’s worn me out emotionally and physically.”
His season is, almost certainly, over. Buono will likely go with Printers, who was showing signs of early recovery from a jammed thumb, rookie Travis Lulay, almost fully recovered from a shoulder injury, and Zac Champion, the only other available quarterback.
“It’s unbelievable,” said dejected receiver Geroy Simon. “We can’t keep a quarterback healthy to save our lives. This is amazing. It’s like we’ve never even played football before.
“How many quarterbacks do we need to go through in a season?”
As it turns out, five.
“This (Edmonton) game is the story of our season,” said Simon. “It’s the biggest game of the year and we don’t show up to play."
You can bet the Lions will show up next Sunday as they get an opportunity to avenge two earlier losses to Hamilton. It's a question of whether the quarterbacking carousel starts to pay off now or later.
Eventually, the use of five quarterbacks will benefit B.C., presuming some can stay healthy. The pivots' experience makes them marketable assets in a leage that has trouble recruiting pivots with extensive pro playing time. Buono, who spent this season rebuilding the offence, can deal some QBs as part of his inevitable defensive remake in the coming off-season.
Say what you will about the quarterback troubles, the defence is largely to blame for this whacky 8-10 Lions season. If the defenders could have held the Calgary Stampeders for a minute and 35 seconds, the Lions would be hosting a playoff game, not playing as the crossover team in the East.
Despite a dominant front four, the defence continued a trend, started last season, of allowing big gains at critical times. For all his bravado, mid-season middle linebacker pick-up JoJuan Armour has had little effect, especially against the run. Meanwhile, the veteran secondary, which includes Barron Miles, Dante Marsh and Korey Banks, has lost its former magic. Its extreme makeover is imminent.
Whatever happens against the Ticats, the Lions should enjoy the semi-final. For many of them, it could be their last game in a Lions uniform.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats did the Lions a favour by beating Winnipeg 39-17, eliminating the Blue Bombers and putting the hard-luck Lions in the CFL playoffs.
Just how the Lions will fare against the Ticats is anybody's guess, but it was good to see the Leos get a reprieve after their embarrassing 45-13 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday. The one-sided setback was a gift to the Eskimos as both starting quarterback Casey Printers and nominal backup Buck Pierce went down with injuries.
"I tried to do everything in my power to go back out there on the field and put some drives together but, physically, I just couldn’t do it,” said Pierce, who re-entered the game briefly in the second half. “You can kind of feel how we feel right now. It’s hard to process right now what we just went through. A lot of guys in this locker room have never experienced something like this – so many times this year."
Often through no fault of their own as bizarre injuries took their toll.
Pierce showed his character as he put his shoulder pads back on after taking a couple of injections and undergoing treatment to loosen up his arm.
“It’s been a tough year,” said Pierce. “This shoulder thing, it’s worn me out emotionally and physically.”
His season is, almost certainly, over. Buono will likely go with Printers, who was showing signs of early recovery from a jammed thumb, rookie Travis Lulay, almost fully recovered from a shoulder injury, and Zac Champion, the only other available quarterback.
“It’s unbelievable,” said dejected receiver Geroy Simon. “We can’t keep a quarterback healthy to save our lives. This is amazing. It’s like we’ve never even played football before.
“How many quarterbacks do we need to go through in a season?”
As it turns out, five.
“This (Edmonton) game is the story of our season,” said Simon. “It’s the biggest game of the year and we don’t show up to play."
You can bet the Lions will show up next Sunday as they get an opportunity to avenge two earlier losses to Hamilton. It's a question of whether the quarterbacking carousel starts to pay off now or later.
Eventually, the use of five quarterbacks will benefit B.C., presuming some can stay healthy. The pivots' experience makes them marketable assets in a leage that has trouble recruiting pivots with extensive pro playing time. Buono, who spent this season rebuilding the offence, can deal some QBs as part of his inevitable defensive remake in the coming off-season.
Say what you will about the quarterback troubles, the defence is largely to blame for this whacky 8-10 Lions season. If the defenders could have held the Calgary Stampeders for a minute and 35 seconds, the Lions would be hosting a playoff game, not playing as the crossover team in the East.
Despite a dominant front four, the defence continued a trend, started last season, of allowing big gains at critical times. For all his bravado, mid-season middle linebacker pick-up JoJuan Armour has had little effect, especially against the run. Meanwhile, the veteran secondary, which includes Barron Miles, Dante Marsh and Korey Banks, has lost its former magic. Its extreme makeover is imminent.
Whatever happens against the Ticats, the Lions should enjoy the semi-final. For many of them, it could be their last game in a Lions uniform.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Flames never gave Anderson a chance
Count Craig Anderson as another goaltender that got away from the Calgary Flames.
Since grooming Mike Vernon into a Stanley Cup winner two decades ago, the Flames have had a terrible time when it comes to drafting and developing backstoppers within their system.
Anderson, a Flames castoff now in his first season with the Colorado Avalanche, is the hottest goaltender in the NHL right now. He tied a record for victories in October with 10 and played a record 15 to start the season, although he has had better nights than he did in a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Park Ridge, Ill., ranks among the league-leading goaltenders in wins and save percentage, but he never got a shot with Calgary after the Flames chose him in the third round, 77th overall in 1999.
“They had a management changeover,” said Anderson, recalling the firing of then general manager Al Coates and the hiring of Craig Button. “They drafted a (goaltender) first round, Brent Krahn, and no terms were ever negotiated . . . I don’t even remember a contract being offered.”
Calgary chose not to sign him and he went back into the draft two years later in the same round, albeit four places earlier, by Chicago. Watching him Sunday night, you could only wonder what might have been.
The Flames got lucky when general manager Darryl Sutter plucked Mkikka Kiprusoff from the San Jose Sharks, where he was the third-stringer, for a second-rounder in the fall of 2003. Sutter, freshly fired from San Jose and hired by Calgary as coach and GM, was familiar with Kiprusoff, and disgruntled with the likes of Roman Turek, Dany Sabourin and Jamie McLennan.
Kipper merely backstopped the Flames to an unexpected Stanley Cup final berth as they made the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
While he has obviously showed that he is a world-class goaltender, the Flames have struggled to find an adequate backup and an injury to him is akin to an injury to Vancouver's Roberto Luongo.
Krahn, a great junior goaltender with the Calgary Hitmen, was a bust with the Flames, and Kiprusoff's other understudies have been equally forgettable. Anderson's case illustrates the need for NHL clubs to show more patience when it comes to developing a goaltender, which in case you haven't heard by now, is the most important position in hockey.
“I had a great two training camps (with the Flames),” said Anderson. “I got to meet Grant Fuhr, my idol (who lest we forget closed out his career with Calgary in 1999-2000). It was just a great experience. Nothing really came out of it. They were rebuilding their goaltending. They went through a bunch of guys before they got Kiprusoff.”
Now, Anderson has a chance to suit up for the U.S. in the Olympics, although probably as a backup to Buffalo's Ryan Miller, after bouncing from the Blackhawks to the Florida Panthers and their farm clubs to Colorado, with whom he signed as a free agent in the summer.
“This team was the one where I knew I could come in and battle for the No. 1 job,” said Anderson. “There was no clear-cut No. 1 guy.”
Peter Budaj, back in the lineup now after battling illness, was the No. 1 netminder at the end of last season. But he likely will have difficulty regaining his place if Anderson stays as hot as he has been. Thanks to him, the underdog Avalanche, who missed the playoffs last season, continue to lead the Northwest Division and sit second overall in the NHL despite Sunday's loss.
Suffice to say he has come a long way from the days when the Flames dumped him.
“I knew if I just stayed the course and showed up every night when I was called upon, there’s 30 teams you’re auditioning for,” said Anderson. “You’re not just auditioning for one team. There’s gonna be change. Guys are gonna retire. A guy’s going to go down with injuries.”
It's an important lesson for the Flames to heed as Miikka Kiprusoff approaches his retirement, although that's not likely to happen anytime soon.
Anderson is not the only goaltender who came back from the scrap heap to star. For details, see Tim Thomas in Boston, Dwayne Roloson during his glory years with Edmonton (although he is another goaltender who rebuilt his career after being dumped by the Flames) and Anaheim's J.S. Giguere. Oops, he's another former Flames draft pick.
The Flames are by no means the only team guilty of failing to develop goaltenders properly. (In fairness, Roloson was never drafted. Calgary gave him his chance in the NHL, but quickly discarded him after his first two seasons.) Vancouver also has a dismal record of developing its drafted goaltenders. Cory Schneider, destined to be dealt now that Luongo has signed a 12-year contract extension, will eventually join a long list of others who got away after little training time. Except for notable cases like Marty Turco of Dallas and retired star Patrick Roy with Montreal, few stars are groomed from within the organizations that drafted them.
As Craig Anderson's case proves, it's time there were more.
Since grooming Mike Vernon into a Stanley Cup winner two decades ago, the Flames have had a terrible time when it comes to drafting and developing backstoppers within their system.
Anderson, a Flames castoff now in his first season with the Colorado Avalanche, is the hottest goaltender in the NHL right now. He tied a record for victories in October with 10 and played a record 15 to start the season, although he has had better nights than he did in a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Park Ridge, Ill., ranks among the league-leading goaltenders in wins and save percentage, but he never got a shot with Calgary after the Flames chose him in the third round, 77th overall in 1999.
“They had a management changeover,” said Anderson, recalling the firing of then general manager Al Coates and the hiring of Craig Button. “They drafted a (goaltender) first round, Brent Krahn, and no terms were ever negotiated . . . I don’t even remember a contract being offered.”
Calgary chose not to sign him and he went back into the draft two years later in the same round, albeit four places earlier, by Chicago. Watching him Sunday night, you could only wonder what might have been.
The Flames got lucky when general manager Darryl Sutter plucked Mkikka Kiprusoff from the San Jose Sharks, where he was the third-stringer, for a second-rounder in the fall of 2003. Sutter, freshly fired from San Jose and hired by Calgary as coach and GM, was familiar with Kiprusoff, and disgruntled with the likes of Roman Turek, Dany Sabourin and Jamie McLennan.
Kipper merely backstopped the Flames to an unexpected Stanley Cup final berth as they made the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
While he has obviously showed that he is a world-class goaltender, the Flames have struggled to find an adequate backup and an injury to him is akin to an injury to Vancouver's Roberto Luongo.
Krahn, a great junior goaltender with the Calgary Hitmen, was a bust with the Flames, and Kiprusoff's other understudies have been equally forgettable. Anderson's case illustrates the need for NHL clubs to show more patience when it comes to developing a goaltender, which in case you haven't heard by now, is the most important position in hockey.
“I had a great two training camps (with the Flames),” said Anderson. “I got to meet Grant Fuhr, my idol (who lest we forget closed out his career with Calgary in 1999-2000). It was just a great experience. Nothing really came out of it. They were rebuilding their goaltending. They went through a bunch of guys before they got Kiprusoff.”
Now, Anderson has a chance to suit up for the U.S. in the Olympics, although probably as a backup to Buffalo's Ryan Miller, after bouncing from the Blackhawks to the Florida Panthers and their farm clubs to Colorado, with whom he signed as a free agent in the summer.
“This team was the one where I knew I could come in and battle for the No. 1 job,” said Anderson. “There was no clear-cut No. 1 guy.”
Peter Budaj, back in the lineup now after battling illness, was the No. 1 netminder at the end of last season. But he likely will have difficulty regaining his place if Anderson stays as hot as he has been. Thanks to him, the underdog Avalanche, who missed the playoffs last season, continue to lead the Northwest Division and sit second overall in the NHL despite Sunday's loss.
Suffice to say he has come a long way from the days when the Flames dumped him.
“I knew if I just stayed the course and showed up every night when I was called upon, there’s 30 teams you’re auditioning for,” said Anderson. “You’re not just auditioning for one team. There’s gonna be change. Guys are gonna retire. A guy’s going to go down with injuries.”
It's an important lesson for the Flames to heed as Miikka Kiprusoff approaches his retirement, although that's not likely to happen anytime soon.
Anderson is not the only goaltender who came back from the scrap heap to star. For details, see Tim Thomas in Boston, Dwayne Roloson during his glory years with Edmonton (although he is another goaltender who rebuilt his career after being dumped by the Flames) and Anaheim's J.S. Giguere. Oops, he's another former Flames draft pick.
The Flames are by no means the only team guilty of failing to develop goaltenders properly. (In fairness, Roloson was never drafted. Calgary gave him his chance in the NHL, but quickly discarded him after his first two seasons.) Vancouver also has a dismal record of developing its drafted goaltenders. Cory Schneider, destined to be dealt now that Luongo has signed a 12-year contract extension, will eventually join a long list of others who got away after little training time. Except for notable cases like Marty Turco of Dallas and retired star Patrick Roy with Montreal, few stars are groomed from within the organizations that drafted them.
As Craig Anderson's case proves, it's time there were more.
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