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Its been two years since the BC Lions hoisted the Grey Cup and Wally Buono handed the head coaching reigns to Mike Benevides. Since then the Lions have entered each season with one of the most talented rosters in the league before falling short of expectations. Two years is a short time to be sure, and its not like the Lions cant supply excuses for their shortcomings since 2011 – Travis Lulays shoulder injury last year – but in the ultra-competitive and impatient world of professional sports, the pressure is on. Bad teams feel pressure to be better; good teams feel pressure to be the best. And dont forget the added burden of a potential home field for the Grey Cup and the three-year streak of Grey Cup champs winning at home. The Lions were smart in acquiring veteran leader and “quarterback 1A” Kevin Glenn from the Ottawa Redblacks during the CFL Draft for the fifth-overall draft pick. The price was a little steep for a player few figured would actually end up with Ottawa for the upcoming season, but with Lulays shoulder still a talking point, Glenn provides quality insurance at the most important position. BC has opted for younger projects at QB behind Lulay the past couple years but the Glenn acquisition makes sense for a team that cant get derailed for even a short period of time, should Lulay miss games – for whatever ailment – this season. Especially with Thomas DeMarcos selection in the Expansion Draft, Glenn gives the Lions peace of mind at one of their most worrisome areas for 2014. Another solid move, adding to a position of strength, was the free agent signing of Jamall Johnson. Johnson returns to BC after five seasons in Hamilton, his last a down year after being asked to play in the middle, and joins a frightening linebacking corps that already includes Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill. BCs task in once again entering the year as one of the most talented teams on paper is replacing receiver Nick Moore and a number of large bodies on the offensive line. Not to diminish Moores impact, but the Lions receiving corps still has enough burners, and more importantly, added Canadian content, that Lulay – or Glenn – shouldnt feel frustrated for lack of quality targets. The line however, may have to rely on more youngsters than would be considered ideal. The good news is their young contingent on the offensive line is talented and the unit is still anchored by perhaps the best left tackle in the game in Jovan Olafioye. While theyve fallen short of the Grey Cup the past two years, the Lions still qualified for the postseason those years, and were just a win away from a return trip in 2012; so it feels strange to suggest the team enters the season under pressure to do more. That reality is part testament to how well the Lions organization is run, but as is the case with all good teams, being good only counts for so long; greatness sticks. Like the Argos and Riders before them, look for the Lions to go all out in 2014. Notes Parting Ways After a long tenure with the Lions as an offensive coach and coordinator, Jacques Chapdelaine left the Lions early in the off-season, the coach and team mutually agreeing to part ways. It was certainly a big shakeup on Benevides staff, getting rid of the offensive mainstay of 10 of the past 11 years. Up and coming offensive mind Khari Jones replaced Chapdelaine as well as taking on the QB coach role. Expansion Draft The Lions search for a backup quarterback began anew after the Ottawa Redblacks selected Thomas DeMarco, who gained solid experience filling in for an injured Travis Lulay In 2013, in the first round of the Expansion Draft. BC also lost guard Matt Albright and DT Andrew Marshall to the Redblacks. Free Agency With the least amount of players to hit the free market, the Lions were one of the least active teams during the free agency period. They did lose promising receiver Nick Moore to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers however, but made a splash on the other side of the ball when they brought back linebacker Jamall Johnson, who last played for the Lions in 2008, from Hamilton. Retirements The Lions offensive line took a number of big hits this off-season with the retirements of three big pieces. Veteran centre Angus Reid was the first to announce his retirement. The 13-year veteran was a three-time West Division All-Star and one-time league All-Star. Not long after tackle Ben Archibald retired. The two-time All-Canadian spent the past three seasons in BC. Then late in the off-season Patrick Kabongo joined the two in retirement. The nine-year vet was a one-time West Division All-Star. CFL Draft The Lions traded out of the first round in order to solidify their backup quarterback situation by grabbing Kevin Glenn from the Redblacks for the fifth-overall pick. The team had two picks in the second round, grabbing OL Tchissakid Player from Northwestern State and FB Pascal Lochard from Laval. With their final five selections the Lions took LB Casey Chin from Simon Fraser in the third round, DL David Menard from Montreal in the fourth round, WR Alexander Fox from Bishops in the fifth round, DL Dylan Roper from Simon Fraser in the sixth round, and RB Guillaume Bourassa from Laval in the seventh round. Khalif Mitchell Returns One of the most enigmatic players in the league the past few seasons made his return to BC late in the off-season after a year with the Toronto Argonauts. Khalif Mitchells talent and impact at his DT position are unquestionable, but his return to the Lions was surprising after Mitchell seemingly burned a lot of bridges on his way out of BC a year ago. Lions GM Wally Buono has said all the right things about Mitchells return so far, noting the player has matured over the years. Cheap Basketball Shoes Authentic . The start of the seasons fifth and final major was delayed two hours due to heavy rain in the area. The tournament eventually began, but with water on the greens and the rain persisting, players were called back to the clubhouse less than an hour after the first group teed off. Wholesale Basketball Shoes Fast Shipping . He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 5th. The 34-year-old Laval, Que. native has played six seasons with the Penguins. http://www.clearancebasketballshoes.com/. Kadri was dressed in a green jersey at Thursdays practice and skated as an extra forward on the teams fourth line as the Leafs. Basketball Shoes From China . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes. Discount Basketball Shoes .com) - Roosevelt Jones had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead No.Vancouver Canucks 3 at Winnipeg Jets 2 (SO) - It was the fifth time in eight games that the Jets have gone to overtime (1-2-2), and their 38th one-goal game of the year. The game started a stretch of five of six at home, and a difficult stretch of four in six nights, with the New York Rangers in Winnipeg Friday, and then back to back games, home to Dallas Sunday and in St. Louis Monday. Vancouver is now four points back of Dallas, the Jets five. The game was the 1,000th for Henrik Sedin and the 599th for Andrew Ladd. The first period was scoreless with the Canucks outshooting the Jets 14-9 and both Ondrej Pavelec and Eddie Lack were forced to make a number of good saves. Penalties were the story of the first as the Jets were shorthanded three times, the Canucks twice. The Canucks built momentum off three straight power plays. Andrew Ladd opened the scoring at 3:48 of the second, beating Lack high blocker from the slot, on a tape to tape pass from Bryan Little. Jacob Trouba also drew an assist. For Ladd, it was his 18th of the year and for Little his team-leading 53rd point of the year. At 9:01 of the period Evander Kane was awarded a penalty shot but fired it over the net. A face-off win and a fortunate bounce led to the Canucks goal that tied the game. A shot from the point went off a leg to an open Alexandre Burrows who scored his first of the year. Canucks outshot the Jets 10-7 in the second. Jets came out firing in the third, outshooting the Canucks 16-5. Michael Frolik redirected a pass from Olli Jokinen past Lack to restore the one goal lead for the Jets at 2:18. Keaton Ellerby also picked up an assist on the goal, Froliks 13th of the year. The Jets pressed for the two-goal lead but Lack was equal to the task leading to the tying goal, again by Burrows, and again a strange one.dddddddddddd Jannik Hansen got his stick on a pass in behind the Jets net, it deflected up in the air and over the net to the front of the goal where Burrows batted it out of mid-air to make it a 2-2 game and forcing overtime. The five minute overtime went without a whistle with chances at both ends, but no goals. Final shots were 34-33 in favour of the Jets and it was off to the shootout - that went as follows: Setoguchi no, Burrows no, Ladd no, Jensen no, Jokinen no, Chris Higgins yes.Trouba again led the Jets in ice time with a career high of 27:43. Toby Enstrom was next at 25:54, Blake Wheeler led all forwards at 23:44, Ladd 23:34. Zack Bogosian had five shots on goal. Jets were five for five on the PK and zero for four on the PP.For Paul Maurice, it was another frustrating game on a night his team needed two points and played well enough to get two points. “Its like any 2-2 hockey game. Theres going to be parts where you dont really like it. I thought we had control, a little loose in the neutral zone at times, a couple problems getting the puck out but they had the exact same game. We hemmed them in at times and up 16 in the third, so we werent sitting back, we were going. Its a loss because of the shootout. The compete was there but at the end of the day you have to win. From the start of the third we carried it, played well enough to go ahead 3-1.” Friday vs New York Rangers (TSN Jets, TSN 1290), Sunday vs Dallas (TSN Jets, TSN 1290), Monday in St. Louis (TSN Jets, TSN 1290.) ' ' '