Lions to face Riders in West Final for the third time in four years
SURREY, B.C. - Facing the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL West final has almost become a tradition for the B.C. Lions.
For the third time in four years the Lions will battle the Riders Sunday with a trip to the Grey Cup on the line.
"It's not by chance the two best teams in the West are going to face off," Wally Buono, the coach and general manager of the defending Grey Cup champion Lions, said Monday.
"We have a history with the Riders. They are going to be a tremendous challenge for us."
The Lions will host their fourth consecutive West Final on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET). Over 43,000 tickets have already been sold for the game at B.C. Place Stadium.
Last year the Lions embarrassed Saskatchewan 45-18 in the West final. B.C. then defeated Montreal 25-14 in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg.
In 2004, the Lions advanced to the Grey Cup with a 27-25 win in overtime after Saskatchewan kicker Paul McCallum missed a field goal in extra time. The Lions lost 27-19 to Toronto in the championship game.
Quarterback Jarious Jackson, who began the season third on the B.C. depth chart, is expected to start against Saskatchewan. Bruising slotback Jason Clermont, who has been nursing a sore shoulder, will also play.
"Saskatchewan is an excellent football team," said Buono. "The clubs are evenly matched. They are both well rounded as far as they are good on offence, they have very good defences and they are good on special teams. They are both well coached. "
B.C.'s 14-3-1 record was the best in the league. It was the first time the Lions won 14 games in a season.
Saskatchewan finished second in the West with a 12-6-0 record. The Riders defeated Calgary 26-24 in the West semi-final Sunday in Saskatchewan's first home playoff game since 1988.
"Their offensive schemes were really good," said Clermont, who was third in the league this season with 86 catches for 1,158 yards and seven touchdowns. "Calgary did have a chance to win that game a few times.
"We'll look at some of the things they did defensively and we're pretty optimistic on what we can do with the game plan."
The Lions won two of the three games they played against Saskatchewan this year, outscoring them 88-67.
There also has been bad blood between the teams all season.
Lions quarterback Dave Dickenson suffered a concussion in a July 13 game after a hit by Rider defensive end Fred Perry. Dickenson didn't play again until the second last game of the season and Buono wanted Perry disciplined. The CFL investigated but ruled the hit was legal.
A melee broke out in a Sept. 22 match resulting in Lions guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli being suspended for one game while tackle Rob Murphy and receiver Cory Rodgers both were fined.
Clermont said emotions run high when the teams meet.
"They've been meaningful games we've played against them," said the Regina native. "They play us tough and it's always been physical.
"There are professionals on both sides with a lot of pride. You couldn't have scripted a better West Final."
The Lions could be without offensive lineman Jason Jimenez Sunday.
The CFL suspended the right tackle for one game Monday for a hit on Calgary Stampeder defensive lineman Anthony Gargiulo in the final game of the regular season.
Jimenez can appeal the suspension.
New Releases, Nov. 13: Alicia Keys, Celine Dion, Duran Duran
Alicia Keys "As I Am"
The R&B star finally returns with a proper studio follow-up to 2003's "The Diary of Alicia Keys." Keys' last album was 2005's "Unplugged," which was recorded as part of MTV's popular acoustic-oriented series.
Given Keys' tremendous track record--"The Diary of Alicia Keys" won four Grammy Awards at the 2004 ceremony, including for Best R&B Album--expectations are understandably quite high for "As I Am." The work should get a boost from the presence of young pop idol John Mayer, who added some vocals on "As I Am."
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Celine Dion "Taking Chances"
The pop music star has sold some 200 million records worldwide, which, by some reports, makes her the biggest-selling female artist of all time. She hopes to further distance herself from the pack (Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Diana Ross, etc.) with "Taking Chances," her first new studio offering since 2003's "One Heart."
The new disc finds the vocalist, indeed, taking some chances in terms of collaborators. The 14-track CD includes work by such unusual suspects as Ben Moody (formerly of Evanescence), Linda Perry and hip-hop star Ne-Yo.
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Duran Duran "Red Carpet Massacre"
The modern rock legends are back in action--minus Andy Taylor--and are ready to give fans "Red Carpet Massacre." The first single from the record is "Falling Down," which was produced and co-written with Justin Timberlake.
"Red Carpet Massacre," the British pop group's 13th studio album, features production work by hit-maker Timbaland. The album reportedly was completed in late 2006, following the departure of Taylor, who left the band due to the old irreconcilable differences reasoning. Taylor has been replaced by guitarist Dominic Brown, who took part in the recording process.
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Led Zeppelin "Mothership"
Fans of these Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will be thrilled to hear that the "Mothership" is landing. This comprehensive set, which includes two CDs and a DVD, features 24 songs recorded during the band's legendary concerts. All eight of the band's studio efforts are represented here, in songs such as "Whole Lotta Love" and "Ramble On." The tracks reportedly were selected, sequenced and remastered by the band's surviving members themselves.
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James Taylor "One Man Band"
This CD/DVD combo was recorded during a pair of July performances at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA. "One Man Band" features versions of some of Taylor's biggest hits, including "Carolina On My Mind" and "Fire and Rain," interspersed with his anecdotes on the inspiration for the tunes. The DVD portion also includes exclusive interviews, home movies and personal photographs.
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The Killers "Sawdust"
The Las Vegas alt-rock champions return with this collection of B-sides, soundtrack work, cover songs and other fan-friendly tracks. Included in the mix is a cover of the Mel Tellis-penned Kenny Rogers hit "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" as well as the B-side "All the Pretty Faces."
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More new releases:
Boyz II Men, "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA" (Decca)
Dane Cook, "Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garden" (Comedy Central)
Aretha Franklin, "Jewels in the Crown: Duets With the Queen of Soul" (Arista)
The Goo Goo Dolls, "Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Singles" (Warner Bros)
David Gray, "Greatest Hits" (ATO)
The Hives, "Black and White Album" (Interscope)
Queensr˙che, "Take Cover" (Rhino)
Eros Ramazzotti, "E2" (Sony)
Seal, "System" (Warner Bros)
George Strait, "22 More Hits" (MCA Nashville)
Streetlight Manifesto, "Somewhere in the Between" (Victory)
Various artists, "Now That's What I Call Music! 26" (Capitol)
Trisha Yearwood, "Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love" (Big Machine)
Soundtracks and scores:
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (The Complete Recordings)" (Reprise)
Marvel puts old comics online
Marvel is putting some of its older comics on the internet hoping to capture the interest of young readers in the exploits of the X-Men and Fantastic Four by featuring the original issues.
"You don't have that spinner rack of comic books sitting in the local five-and-dime any more," said Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Publishing.
"We don't have our product intersecting kids in their lifestyle space as much as we used to."
Comics — such as Wonder Woman and Iron Man — will be proffered online Nov. 13, viewed through a web browser. They will not be downloadable.
Marvel is hoping fans will get hooked and be willing to shell out $9.99 US a month, or $4.99 US a month with an annual membership, for the privilege of viewing old issues online. About 2,500 issues will be available at first with 20 more released each week.
Fans will be treated to the first 100 issues of Stan Lee's 1963 Amazing Spider-Man series and other titles such as House of M and Young Avengers.
The move comes after Marvel's two competitors began showcasing their products online.
Dark Horse comics puts monthly anthologies for free viewing on its MySpace site.
DC Comics offers weekly peeks at the first few pages of upcoming issues. The publisher also gives out PDF files to download of the first issue in a comic series whenever the series is being launched as a book or graphic novel.
Comic shop owner Michael Ring of Portland, Ore., applauded Marvel's move to use the internet, calling it a "feeder system."
"They give people that initial taste."
NBC Mulls Late-Night Replacements
Layoffs at NBC's late-night staples could begin this week -- or the network could keep at least "The Tonight Show" on the air with guest hosts later this month.
Those are two of the possibilities the networks is considering for its top-rated late-night lineup, which was in repeats last week as a result of the Writers Guild strike and will be again this week. "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and "Late Night's" Conan O'Brien, both of whom also write material for their shows, have refused to cross picket lines. The same is true of CBS' "Late Show" and "Late Late Show" and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
Because the shows are idle, NBC has informed the non-writing employees of both shows that layoffs could begin as soon as Friday. The folks at "Last Call" are in the same boat, according to a number of news outlets.
NBC is also, however, considering bringing at least "The Tonight Show" back onto the air, with guest hosts filling in for Leno, Broadcast & Cable reports. A guest-hosted show -- one still without writers -- could get on the air as soon as Monday, Nov. 19.
"All sorts of things are being discussed, including guest hosts," "Tonight Show" executive producer Debbie Vickers says in a statement. "Our preference is that we return to production of 'The Tonight Show' with Jay as host as soon as possible. We want to protect the staff, who have been loyal to this show for decades, in the same way that Johnny Carson reluctantly returned without his writers in 1988."
Carson returned to "Tonight" during 1988 writers strike, thereby providing work and a paycheck to the camera crew, grips and other staff members of the show. David Letterman followed suit, famously filling time during one writerless show by getting a shave.
If NBC does decide to go the guest-host route, the not-insignificant question will be who would cross the picket line to fill Leno's chair. No names have been floated yet.