Grey Cup live blog!

From McMahon Stadium, it's a live blog of the Grey Cup! Come join in!

CFL: Western Final Live Blog

Come join us below for the live blog of the CFL Western Final, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Friday Night Football: Lions - Eskimos live blog

It all comes down to this. The 8-9 Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions face off for the third and final playoff spot in the CFL's West Division. The winner's in, while the loser has to hope Hamilton beats Winnipeg on Sunday. To add even more drama, this is the last game that will be played in B.C. Place until 2011. The action starts at 10:30 Eastern; 7:30 Pacific. Come join me after the jump then for the live blog!

B.C. Lions - Saskatchewan Roughriders live blog

It's a crucial battle for playoff positioning in the CFL West Division, as the 8-6-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the 8-7 B.C. Lions. Game time is 5:30 p.m. Eastern/2:30 p.m. Pacific. Join me in the live blog below!

CFL live blog: B.C. Lions - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

wWe interrupt your regularly scheduled Sunday for a spur-of-the-moment CFL live blog! The 7-7 B.C. Lions are on the road against the 6-8 Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a game that could have huge playoff implications. Come join in the action starting at 5 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Pacific.

Friday Night Football: Lions-Eskimos live blog!

I'll be live-blogging tonight's CFL clash between the B.C. Lions and the Edmonton Eskimos here and at Sporting Madness. It should be a good one with plenty of playoff implications, given the logjam in the West Division. Come join me after the jump at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific!

Friday Night Football: Lions - Riders live blog!

It's a great CFL Friday night showdown. In one corner, we have the 7-5 Saskatchewan Roughriders, tied for first place in the West Division; in the other one, the 5-7 B.C. Lions, in the division cellar. The playoff race is so close at the moment that this could be a huge game. I'll be live-blogging it here and at Sporting Madness starting at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/7:30 p.m. Pacific. Come join me below the jump!

Friday Night Football live blog: Stamps and Leos!

It's Friday, and the Stamps are going be hard to tame. Their clash against the B.C. Lions in the second game of tonight's CFL doubleheader should be a great one, though. 5-6 B.C. is coming off an emotional win over Toronto that gave Wally Buono sole possession of the CFL coaching victories record, while 6-5 Calgary enters this one looking to bounce back from a dismal loss to Hamilton. Calgary's in a three-way tie for first in the West Division, while B.C. is just one game back but in last place in the division, so this could have huge playoff implications.

B.C. hasn't beaten Calgary at all in the John Hufnagel era, and they'll have a tough task pulling that one off at McMahon Stadium, but you know middle linebacker JoJuan Armour will be motivated against the team that cut him, and plenty of his teammates are fired up too. It should be a great one; I picked it as my Game of the Week in my latest column, so I'm hoping it won't disappoint. I'll be live-blogging it here and at Sporting Madness, starting at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific. Come join me then!

CFL: Lions - Argos live blog

It should be an interesting CFL clash in Vancouver tonight. For B.C., quarterback Buck Pierce returns after missing a couple of weeks with a concussion, thanks to what may have been a season-ending rotator cuff injury to Jarious Jackson. Head coach Wally Buono will also be going for a record-breaking victory that would vault him above Don Matthews (who will be in the building) into sole possession of first place on the CFL's all-time win list. Perhaps even more importantly, a win would improve B.C.'s record to 5-6 and strengthen their push for a playoff spot.

This game is just as important for Toronto. They'll be trying to build on an overtime win against the Tiger-Cats last week and improve their record to 4-7. If they win this one, they're back in the hunt for the playoffs; if they lose, it's going to be a tough slog for them. Playing a late game on the West Coast in the unfriendly confines of B.C. Place won't help, but they may have an opportunity thanks to the injury to Jackson. It all depends on how well Pierce plays and how much protection he gets from his line. For game previews, check out my CFL column here, Jack Bedell's breakdown of last week's action here, Lowell Ullrich's preview here and his game preview chat here. It should be an interesting one, so come join me here for it at 10 p.m. Eastern!

(P.S. If you're interested in the Toronto FC - L.A. Galaxy clash at 10:30 p.m., I'm also live-blogging that one. Feel free to contribute to both live blogs!)

B.C. Lions - Montreal Alouettes live blog

For those who like football of the three-down variety, I'll be live-blogging today's B.C. Lions - Montreal Alouettes CFL match. The game is on TSN in Canada; American viewers can check out the U.S. broadcast schedule and Internet coverage options at the league homepage. Preview is here. Come join in!

Friday Night Football: Lions - Argos live blog

Saturday may well be Hockey Night In Canada, but Friday's reserved for the CFL! There's an excellent matchup this week, with the B.C. Lions looking to keep their momentum from a win over Saskatchewan and the Toronto Argonauts hoping to avenge last week's shutout at the hands of the Montreal Alouettes. For a full preview, check out this piece over at CFL.ca; you can also check out my weekly CFL column over at The Rookies. There, I predicted a B.C. win, and I'm sticking to that; both teams may be 2-4, but B.C. was very impressive last week against a good Saskatchewan team, while Toronto played their worst game of the year against Montreal and couldn't record a single point. Join me in the live blog below to see if they can bounce back!

CFL: B.C. Lions - Hamilton Tiger-Cats live blog

It's Friday Night Football in the CFL, and the early game should be a great one tonight. I'm live-blogging the match between the 1-3 B.C. Lions and the 2-2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats starting at 7:30 Eastern. It should be a fascinating one to watch, as the Lions will try and rebound from a 48-10 thumping last week at the hands of Calgary.

That loss was bad enough to prompt owner David Braley to issue a rare public apology [Lowell Ullrich, The Province] for the team's dismal performance. It was possibly the worst loss head coach Wally Buono had suffered in seven years [Jeff Blair, The Globe and Mail]. However, all is not lost yet, according to Vanya Tucherov of the great BC Lions Den. Now, the Lions are underdogs against the Ti-Cats for the first time in a decade. Can they rebound, or will their nightmarish season continue? Find out tonight!

CFL: Lions-Stampeders preview and live blog

It's getting close to the end of the work week as we know it, and that means it's time for one of my favourite moments each week in the summer; a B.C. Lions game. The Leos are hosting the Calgary Stampeders tonight in the second game of TSN's Friday Night Football doubleheader (the early game is Toronto against Winnipeg). I'll be live-blogging the B.C. - Calgary game here and at Sporting Madness. Kickoff is at 10:30 Eastern/7:30 Pacific. Read on for my game preview!

This should be a good one. Both the Lions and the Stampeders got off to poor starts, and they both sit at 1-2 after three games. That's not what many had expected, as the Stampeders are the defending Grey Cup champions and the Lions went to the West Final last season. Still, they've both struggled early on, so both sides will be eager to get back on track tonight.

Calgary may be in good shape to do that. After a 40-27 thumping by Montreal in Week
One and a 42-30 defeat against Winnipeg in Week Two, the Stampeders responded with an impressive 44-9 win over the Toronto Argonauts in Week Three. Now, Toronto's far from the league's best, but that's still the largest margin of victory in the CFL this year. Calgary looked back in Grey Cup form, and that should help them tonight. There's a good reason five of the six writers at The Score's The Red Zone blog picked the Stampeders in this one (the lone exception was D.J. Bennett).

B.C. was not as impressive last week, but they did get it done. After losing an error-filled season opener in Regina 28-24, they were embarrassed 31-28 at home by the traditional CFL doormat, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and fell to 0-2. This past week, they didn't get off to a great start in Edmonton, but an injury to quarterback Buck Pierce sent in Jarious Jackson and he got it done in fine style, completing 19 of 28 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns without a single interception and leading the Lions to a 40-22 victory. He was unanimously selected as the CFL's offensive player of the week for his efforts, joining teammate and frequent target Paris Jackson (outstanding Canadian) on the week's list of awards.

Jackson may have won the unanimous approval of the voting committee, but he wasn't able to win the starting job. Despite Jackson's almost-flawless performance in relief, head coach Wally Buono has elected to go back to Pierce tonight [Lowell Ulrich, The Province]. Still, Pierce is notoriously fragile and sometimes ineffective, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Buono make a change mid-game if the offence isn't running smoothly.

In my mind, though, Jackson should be the starter tonight. It doesn't even have to be a slam at Pierce; he suffered "concussion-like" symptoms last week and has a long history of concussions, so why not let him rest a bit more? If Jackson started and failed, Pierce could come in in relief. If Jackson succeeded mildly, the old order could be restored in the Lions' next game. If Jackson played well, then he could have been anointed as the starter.

To me, this is a dangerous move from a health perspective as well as a football one. I've written pretty extensively on concussions over the past few years, and putting a player back in this soon seems like something that would be frowned upon by many medical experts given Pierce's concussion history. The Lions' offensive line hasn't been great this year either, so expect Pierce to get hit at least once tonight. The problem with multiple concussions is each tends to make you more susceptible to future concussions, and they often get more damaging as you go along. That's another reason why starting Pierce tonight is concernihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifng, in my view.


In any case, it will be a fascinating game to watch. There are plenty of storylines to follow, from RB/KR Ian Smart's return to the Lions' QB situation to the Stampeders' attempts to get back into form. Come join me here for the live blog at 7:30 P.M. PST!

Related coverage:
- Ullrich has a nice piece on the Lions' motivation [The Province]
- Matt Sekeres has a good pre-game story on the rivalry between the teams [The Globe and Mail]
- Another good preview piece from The Canadian Press [CFL.ca]
- Check out Brian Wawryshyn's post on his Alberta road trip [BC Lions Den]
- Ullrich and Province sports editor Jonathan McDonald hosted an excellent game-day conversation on the Lions this morning [The Fifth Quarter]

Mornings with Mr. Canoehead

Water off a duck's back, raisins off an Oldsmobile ... what's not bothering you know.

... Sports columnists who think they have a right to comment on Serena Williams' body. Shame on you, Jason Whitlock: "She'd rather eat, half-ass her way through non-major tournaments and complain she's not getting the respect her 11-major-championships résumé demands...seriously, how else can Serena fill out her size 16 shorts without grazing at her stall between matches?"

... Whoever at FOXSports.com came up with the "Jays' Halladay all but gone in Toronto" headline based on J.P. Ricciardi saying, "if something makes sense, we at least have to listen." Flimsy basis, much? New rule: If a list of teams a reporter believes someone might be traded to exceeds one-third of the league, it's straight out of Eklund country. Quoth Craig Calcaterra: "The Blue Jays ... cannot spend a decade talking about how impossible it is to compete with Boston and New York and then turn around and give them one of the best starting pitchers in baseball during a pennant race ... if it did, it would potentially kill baseball in Toronto forever, and the fact that Rosenthal spends any time on those options at all suggests that this is more of a 'throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks' column than anything else."


... Whatever possessed an Ohio sportswriter to say, "Let the rest of the world play rugby," after Team USA beat Canada in the final of the world junior football championship on Sunday. Far be it to point out Americans should be flattered some of their backwards neighbours throughout the world have taken up the gridiron game. No matter how bad the over-the-top chauvinism gets in Canada during the world junior hockey championship, you'd never catch someone saying, "Let the rest of the world play ringette."

... The rumour Leafs first-round draft choice Nazem Kadri did not put on a hat on draft day because of his Muslim faith. Brian Burke was hilarious shooting that down: None of the Leafs' choices put on a hat when called down to the podium at the NHL draft as per a team policy (Burke noted he wanted photographers to get a better shot of the players' faces), plus there were published photos of a younger Kadri wearing a Canadiens hat. Whoever started that is out of touch.

... Bob Uecker dropping hints on-air about the possibility of a Major League 4.

... idly wondering if ave people seen the blog, Tennis Has A Steroid Problem?

BT to the dub, Erin Nicks is back up and blogging at The Universal Cynic. It will get more traffic than this site without even trying, and that's OK.

CFL: B.C. - Saskatchewan live blog

I'll be live-blogging the B.C. Lions - Saskatchewan Roughriders game tonight. It's the first one of the year for both teams, so it should be a good one. There are also several strong CIS connections, which I explore in my game preview over at The CIS Blog. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be televised on TSN. Come join me then for the live blog!

CFL in Ottawa: Cohon says import ratio could be tweaked

Talk about a Canadian conundrum: The CFL's chances in the nation's capital could rest on American players.

League commissioner Mark Cohon told SUN TV's Casino Rama Grill Room last night that the league of loosening the import rule for the Ottawa Rough Riders begin play. The gist of what he told host Gareth Wheeler was that, "we need to ensure that team can become competitive quickly, and one thing we would look at doing is letting them have a few more Americans when Ottawa comes back into the league in 2012."

It is not the big CFL story of the past couple days, but it sounds promising. The rank-and-file fans whose support will make or break the Reconstituteds (as they shall henceforth be known until it's official they'll be the Rough Riders) likely won't care too much. They're more about Ws than whether the Will linebacker grew up in Waterloo or Walla Walla.

What Cohon said is worth passing on for posterity's sake. The current import ratio is 21-18-3 (Canadians, imports and quarterbacks, who are stateless in the CFL's eyes). There's a risk in crediting it for the emergence of ratio-busters (Canadians who play positions traditionally earmarked for Americans) such as the B.C. Lions receiver Paris Jackson, Edmonton running backs Jesse Lumsden and Calvin McCarty and Kingston native Brent Johnson, who plays defensive end for B.C.

Those players can be few and far between and the eight established clubs will not be eager to part with them via an expansion draft. Tweaking the import ratio to 25-14, maybe for Ottawa's first 2-3 seasons, might help with their efforts. It has been noted previously (April 24, 2009) that putting a team that plays good football on the field will be Job One in Ottawa. The league has had two re-launches within the past 15 years, first in Montréal in 1996 and then Ottawa in 2002. One succeeded beyond everyone's wildest dreams, the other did not.

"Montréal got an established team ... which was competitive right off the hop. The terms of the expansion draft should reflect that the overall growth of an underdog league trumps Edmonton or Winnipeg's depth chart. There is no obvious, less direct way to break that to Westerners. The league also said in 2006 it would "place an emphasis on assisting Ottawa to field a competitive team upon its return."

Again, we'll see how this holds up once Ottawa rejoins the league. CFL owners' generosity only extends to far (propping up a struggling Southern Ontario franchise, good, letting the new kids on the block raid your roster, bad).

It is at least something worth pursuing. The point will remain the same, though, the terms of the expansion draft are going to have to be more generous than they were the last time around. It is one thing to let the Reconstituteds dress a few more Americans, but if they're all rookies or newcomers to the Canadian game, it would be self-defeating.

In the name of the father: Dexter Manley II, a Ticat

Presumably the Hamilton Tiger-Cats signed Dexter Manley II for purely PR reasons, as in pass rush.

It speaks to the burden of legacy, how what happens to us is what first happened to our parents. There is an obvious hook with Manley the second trying signing with a team in the league where Manley the first tried to revive his football career during his long slide down from NFL glory in Washington to stints in prison and medical problems. He plays the same position, too, defensive end. (Mister Irrelevant joked he should be signed by the Washington NFL team.) You'll remember that it was kind of a running gag in the CFL, since the elder Dexter Manley went wherever Bernie and Lonie Glieberman owned a team, first Ottawa, then Shreveport, Louisiana.

ESPN's Tom Friend did a writeup a few years ago on the younger Manley when he was playing in junior college. This was before he passed through two college teams, Oregon and a small school, West Texas A&M. All throughout is kind of a theme of someone resisting his athletic destiny, plus it had an Ottawa reference!

"In 1992, Big Dexter signed with the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders, and he invited Little Dexter to the press conference. The boy was in his bow tie, as usual, and afterward, he and Big Dexter raced each other in the empty stadium. That really was their last time running together on a football field."

As Friend related, Dexter Manley II played barely any football as a youth, instead focusing on hoops as wide-bodied, undersized power forward. He was playing junior college basketball in Southern California when some coaches basically said that with his genes, he was in the wrong sport:

"A couple of them had witnessed his (Charles) Barkley act on the court, and when they realized who he was, they asked him why he was playing a soft sport like basketball. 'Football's in your blood,' they said. They told him to come out for spring practice, that D1 scouts would see his speed and drool. A scholarship? His mom would love that. She worked at a Chico's in Atlanta, struggling to pay his juco tuition, and his dad hadn't made a child support payment since 1999.

"But more than that, football felt like home. He'd spent his life trying not to be Big Dexter, but he says the sound of cleats on concrete at spring practice made the hair on his neck stand on end. He'd hear one of his dad's favorite Luther Vandross songs and get emotional. 'I kind of forgave him,' he says.

"And get a load of what happened next: the coaches let Little Dexter Manley line up at defensive end. 'That's where I wanted to play," he says. 'If I was going to do it, I was going to do it all the way. I did it for my dad.' "

That part about tearing up when hearing a Luther Vandross song was jarring. Were this the movies, Manley would have made his peace with what Friend described as "carrying his father's demons." He seems to have the physical specs to play defensive end (6-foot-2, 280 lbs., timed at 4.6 seconds in the 40), but so do a lot of other guys coming out of a couple dozen other colleges. West Texas A&M, where he spent two injury-plagued seasons, isn't exactly a football factory. You know how some schools are known as Linebacker U or Quarterback U? West Texas A&M's football team could be Pro Wrestler U.

This is being written without knowing much about Dexter Manley II and how he can adapt to the CFL. Three-down football is not for everyone, especially with the adjustment defensive players have to make to lining up a yard off the ball. There is also the adjustment from playing at a U.S. school, where football is king, to playing in Canada, where it's a niche sport.

It's not as if the signing will set off a media circus, since Manley is just another rookie trying to make the team. The Ticats will probably try to shield him from the spotlight until he's assured a spot on the team. However, he has the pedigree and defensive ends who have played in Canada are somewhat in demand in the NFL, between former B.C. Lions sackmeister Cameron Wake signing a big deal with the Miami Dolphins and San Diego drafting Western's Vaughn Martin. Friend said of Manley's attempts to play football, "He's a bright kid. It's not too late."

The question is whether that still stands.

(It looks like he can get after the passer, but that clip is from a game three seasons ago.)

CIS Corner: UBC rookie a survivor of Bosnian war

one way to get through everyday stress is reading about people who've gone through far more than you ever hope to be able to comprehend.

Case in point: Ben Kahriman, a defensive-line recruit for the UBC Thunderbirds, is a Bosnian refugee whose family "literally got the last train out of Serbia" (Inside Bay Area) during the Balkan war in the 1990s. He and his family have overcome more than one could while passing through 100 lifetimes.

"Kahriman might have received Division I offers had it not been for his physical setbacks, but he isn't deterred by it. He believes he still might wind up playing at that level if UBC joins the NCAA, which the Canadian university has been considering. The key is that the prestigious university presents the best springboard to his longer-term goals — helping people from his native country.

" 'There's still a lot of hatred between the religions, and there's a still a lot of anger between Montenegro and Serbia, Bosnia and Serbia,' he said. 'My main goal in life is to help people in that region develop stable government.' "

Words kind of fail when you read about this:

"' I remember since I was little, like 3 or 4, at the dinner table there would be talk about the war and everything,' Kahriman said. 'My mom, she didn't want to hide anything from me. She wanted me to know everything that was happening and didn't want to shield us.'

"... 'When I got older, probably fourth or fifth grade, I developed a resentment against what happened and the fact that a lot of innocent civilians died like my grandparents,' "

No one's trying to turn Kahriman into a saint. He's another young person who wants to play a varsity sport while earning a degree, who for all one knows, having never seen him play, might not stand out too much from 50,000 other players on 500 other football fields. The rub is here is someone from an everyday walk of life who's overcome stuff that is beyond the grasp of someone who had what appears to be a nice, normal middle-class North American coming-of-age.

Reading about Kahriman and his parents, Ferid and Vesna, makes it a little easier to get out the door. Hopefully that doesn't sound patronizing. Regardless of rooting interest, you have to cheer for Ben Kahriman to have a good career at UBC and go, since if you click through (don't want to piggyback on other journos' work), it's a wonder in itself he's playing football.

(Cross-posted to cisblog.ca.)

Kahriman clan gets off train ride to nowhere (Carl Steward, InsideBayArea.com)
Balkan war refugee achieves college football dream (Vytas Mazeika, San Jose Mercury News)

CFL: It's always sunny on draft day

The upshot of tomorrow's CFL Canadian college draft is that the players selected face long odds of having a lengthy pro career. However, player agent Darren Gill says there is a corollary between the teams who put time and thought into the draft and the ones who can't or won't:

"Gill also notes that the Grey Cup-champion Calgary Stampeders have amassed the highest percentage of starters from the draft during the six-year span (from 2002-07) at 18.2 per cent. At the other end of the spectrum, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — who select first overall Saturday after posting a league-worst 3-15 record — have seen almost 45 per cent of their draft picks never play a down in the CFL, compared to just 20.5 per cent for the Stamps."

It's central to understanding the three-down Canadian game that scouting is relatively unsophisticated compared to the major pro sports leagues and the NHL. GIll notes, "Limited financial resources simply means that teams cannot dedicate the necessary funds for dedicated personnel to scout the upcoming draft talent ... With that being said, I believe that teams do see the positive effect of a good draft and many are starting to put more effort into their scouting efforts."

However, it is reassuring to read the teams which do right by Canadian players are rewarded on the field. The ones who aren't, such as Hamilton and the Toronto Argonauts, don't. Paraphrasing what Barry Alvarez said when he took over the woebegone Wisconsin Badgers two decades ago, the heart and soul of the CFL comes from Canada; the arms, hands and legs come from somewhere else. (The draft is pretty heavy in linemen.) It seems important to keep that in mind ahead of Saturday's selections.

The B.C. Lions have a deal in principle to move up to the No. 3 overall pick and take the hometown kid, record-setting Bishop's Gaiters running back Jamall Lee (who was coached by Napanee native Leroy Blugh).

Incidentally, it's impossible to resist passing along a column from South Carolina actually dedicated to the CFL draft and the fact Americans are not eligible:

"As for the CFL, its top pick is expected to be Alberta offensive lineman Simeon Rottier. By the time the draft is done it’ll read like a who’s who of Canadian stars, although those of us unfamiliar with Canadian college ball might be asking, 'Who?' "

That could go for much of Canada, but that is neither here nor there. It's going to be a very special day for some Canadian footballers.

Related:
CFL agent Darren Gill offers his clients some sage advice (The Canadian Press)

CIS Corner: Western's Martin bolts for San Diego

It was no risk at all Vaughn Martin to declare for the NFL draft. It's a great day for him, first and foremost, getting drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round, 113th overall. It's a great day for Canadian university football, too.

(And a cisblog.ca commenter called it!)

Martin is an outlier, since 330-pound men who are hostile, mobile and agile don't come along too often in Canadian university football. Point being, defy anyone to find a downside to having an underclassman drafted by the NFL out of CIS. It's a good advertisement for the game, as far as most media and fans are concerned.

One bit of subtext here is that the Canadian Football League is going to have to examine its drafting procedures. These were exceptional circumstances, but the league should wonder if something's wrong when its rules don't let it draft an exceptional player from a Canadian school.

The focus is on Martin, though. It helped him that the 3-4 defence (three down linemen, four linebackers; most pro and collegiate teams in Canada run a 4-3) has enjoyed a renaissance in the NFL. At the start of this decade, it seemed like a football anachronism and has almost disappeared from the NFL.

Half a dozen teams use the 3-4 full-time and a couple others are working it into their defences, since it gives them another fleet defender. Martin seems to have the physical specs, namely the size and longish arms to help hold off blockers. As National Football Post, on behalf of Yahoo! Sports, says:

"Martin is one of the most intriguing talents in this draft. He's a massive 6-foot-3, 330-pound nose tackle who played the past year in Canada. But he is a gifted athlete who has the makings of a potential steal and the guy who could take over for Jamal Williams in the coming years."

Williams is 33 years old. Nosetackles can have surprising longevity considering the beating they take (the Vikings are going into the season with 37-year-old Pat Williams), but the Chargers have to budget for Williams' decline.

San Diego's roster seems to reflect that with interior defensive linemen, it really doesn't matter what school you attended. Three of their DLs, Jacques Cesaire (Southern Connecticut St.), Andre Coleman (Albany) Keith Grennan (Eastern Washington) played below the NCAA's top division.

The Chargers also have their share of small-school or "project" players. Their all-everything tight end, Antonio Gates, is a converted basketball player. Starting wide receiver Vincent Jackson played at Northern Colorado, a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA) school.

As for the impact on Western, the Mustangs are relatively well-stocked in the middle of the defensive line. Mike Van Praet, who tips the Toledos at 300 lbs., entering his sophomore season after playing as a true freshman in 2008. Chris Greaves, listed at 6-foot, 275 lbs., would be entering his fourth season. Greg Best was limited to two games last fall, but he was nimble enough to occasionally serve as a blocking back for running back Randy McAuley during the 2007 season.

(Cross-posted to cisblog.ca. It seemed like no one else would bother posting on this on a Sunday, so I apologize for the obscure topic.

Martin is the first underclassman from a Canadian Interuniversity Sport school taken in the NFL draft. Of course, underclassmen weren't allowed to enter it in the mid-1980s when Mike Schad from Queen's was taken in the first round by the L.A. Rams and yes, pointing that out is a total dick move.)