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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 Heat Jerseys China .This one was bigger than most.Ben Roethlisberger and LeVeon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open. Chris Bosh Jersey . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. http://www.cheapheatjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-udonis-haslem-jersey . The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning and boosted Cincinnatis struggling offence by hitting a double and scoring as the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Atlanta Braves 1-0 Saturday night. Kelly Olynyk Jersey . With the Nets winning streak in jeopardy, Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes, to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. Alonzo Mourning Jersey . Amaro broke the NCAA all-time record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end with 1,352 during his junior campaign, eclipsing the mark of 1,329 set by Rices James Casey in 2008.HAMILTON - Brandon Stewart and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats emphatically punched their playoff tickets Saturday.Stewart scored a key first-half touchdown before Brandon Banks and Nic Grigsby added fourth-quarter scores as Hamilton cemented top spot in the East Division with a 29-15 home win over the Montreal Alouettes. The Ticats capped their regular season with a 7-2 record, their best second-half mark since 72 when after a 1-3 start the squad won 10 straight en route to a Grey Cup title.Following a 1-6 start, Hamilton is a win away from a second straight Grey Cup appearance.Whoever is coming theyve got to come to Tiger-town to see us, Stewart said. What else would we want?You have to come through Hamilton to get to the ship.Hamilton (9-9) needed to beat Montreal (9-9) by eight or more points to finish first and host the division final Nov. 23. The Ticats have not hosted the CFL East final since 1998. The Alouettes won the first meeting 38-31 on Sept. 7.The Ticats also eliminated Toronto (8-10) from post-season contention. The Argos, who beat Ottawa 23-5 on Friday night, needed Montreal to win in order to take second in the East Division.The Alouettes will host the B.C. Lions in the East semifinal next weekend.Zach Collaros hit Banks on a 15-yard TD strike at 2:31 of the fourth, capping a smart 57-yard, 11-play drive that mostly came against a stiff wind in the third. After a Montreal field goal, Grigsby scored on a six-yard run at 11:24 to put Hamilton ahead 28-9.We never lost the faith, Collaros said of Hamiltons stunning turnaround. We knew we were a good football team, we knew we were a bunch of good football players.We finally started to execute a little bit and just played great team football.Added head coach/GM Kent Austin: We have a really strong locker-room and these men believe in each other. Theyre a no-excuse football team, they come to work, they understand they have to have constant improvement.Hamilton improved to 6-0 at Tim Hortons Field before an enthusiastic gathering of 24,186 that braved wet and windy conditions. The contest marked the first time the upper deck was open.Collaros was an efficient 20-of-28 passing for 208 yards with a TD an interception. Banks finished with five catches for a team-high 65 yards but Hamiltons offensive workhorse was Grigsby, who ran for game-high 93 yards on 19 carries.He really ran the ball well, especially on a day when we needed to be able to kill the clock against the wind, Austin said. To have the lead at halftime and then run out the clock in the third was big.Hamilton ran for 131 yards and scored 29 points against a Montreal defence that had allowed just 74 points over its last six games. Offensively, Hamilton had the ball for almost 37 minutes as the Alouettes offence managed 281 yards, including just 17 yards rushing.ddddddddddddWe did a great job against the run and got them into passing situations, Austin said.Montreal had its six-game win streak snapped and fell to 8-2 with Jonathan Crompton as its starter. Crompton was 18-of-35 passing for 284 yards and had a 17-yard TD strike to Duron Carter, but it came with 19 seconds remaining.Wed rather have it (bad game) now than next week, Crompton said. Were in the playoffs, were hosting a game so its a bitter-sweet feeling.Wed rather have a week off but, you know, lets do it the hard way.Montreal could be back in Hamilton for the East final, but Crompton said redemption is the furthest thing from his mind right now.Our focus is on the semifinal, he said. Weve got to come in and make sure we focus on the little things because now its win or go home and we know that.Weve just got to make sure we come out and perform like we need to.Justin Medlocks 23-yard field goal at 5:25 of the third put Hamilton ahead 14-6. It was set up by Craig Butlers recovery of an onside punt as Medlocks 17-yard kick hit Ed Gainey, who had lined up onside, allowing Butler to give the Ticats the ball at the Montreal 24-yard line.It was Hamiltons second such attempt and despite the two Ticats lining up onside, Montreals returners remained deep and allowed the ball to hit the ground rather than have someone come up to play it short.Medlock had two field goals, three converts and two singles.Whyte had Montreals field goals.The opportunistic Ticats scored 10 points off Montreal turnovers to take an 11-6 half-time advantage. Medlocks 18-yard field goal at 3:03 of the first came after Erik Harris recovered James Rodgers fumble on the opening kickoff.Stewarts recovery at 5:31 of the second to put Hamilton ahead 11-0. Stewart jumped on a loose ball in Montreals endzone after running back Chris Rainey couldnt handle Cromptons swing pass.Rainey, figuring it was an incomplete pass, gave no chase on the play.I dont know what he was doing but we all saw a live ball on defence, Stewart said. It was a scramble but I ended up with the ball.Cromptons 53-yard completion to S.J. Green was the big play on an 81-yard, six-play drive that Whyte capped with a 23-yard field goal to cut Hamiltons lead to 11-3 at 8:57. Whyte then connected from 30 yards out at 12:19.NOTES — Defensive back Emanuel Davis and offensive lineman Jake Olson didnt dress for Hamilton while receiver Mardy Gilyard and defensive tackle Corvey Irvin were Montreals scratches . . . The Ticats have had CFL-high 83 players on their roster this year. Theyve also had 54 different starters, also most in the league. Montreal has had the fewest starters this season with 40 . . . Former All-Pro receiver Chad Johnson remains on Montreals injured list. 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