Lionbackers.com

Buck vs Travis

The passing of Richard Harris

3 and 1 vs 0 and 4

Many story lines

the odds are in our favor.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports ... 14143.html

Very nice article about Richard Harris, mostly through the eyes of Doug Brown ...

'I'm worried about how I'm going to react': BrownBy: Gary Lawless

WAYNE GLOWACKI/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image


Cliched as it may sound there's wisdom in the thought we shouldn't leave things unsaid because we never know when the chance to say them might be snatched away from us.

"Coach Harris, I'd go somewhere to meet him and when I arrived he'd say, 'there's my son Doug. He knows I love him like a son and I tell him. But he's too immature to tell me he loves me.' I'd kind of laugh. But he was right," says Blue Bombers defensive tackle and future CFL Hall of Famer Doug Brown. "I'm not the kind of guy to say those things so I never told him. But I loved him. I hope he knew that."

Brown is not given to shows of emotion. The above words came out slowly and faded into a near whisper as he spoke with a reporter on the phone. Maudlin isn't in Doug Brown's lexicon. Callous and aloof after years of residing at the top of his sport wouldn't be unfair labels for Brown. But Richard Harris saw through the veneer Brown used to keep others out.

"He knew how to challenge me and to get me to come out of myself," said Brown. "He had that charisma -- and not just the ability to always know what to say to someone but the willingness to do so. He wanted to help others and it made him happy to do it. He loved people and he loved his players. I'm not like Tom Canada. I couldn't hug him 10 times a day. But I did hug coach Harris from time to time. Just not enough."

Harris, who died of heart failure on Tuesday at the age of 63, was far more than a football coach. He took his Louisiana roots and planted them in our city. Harris was one of us. He slogged through the winters, bought his clothes here and ordered his Chinese food here. Harris might have been a Blue Bomber but to a greater extent he was a Winnipegger.

"Coming from Shreveport, well, let's just say there aren't very many affluent black people there and back in Richard's youth even less. I can only guess at what he saw coming up but it would have been rough," said former Bombers receiver Milt Stegall.

"Something in Winnipeg attracted him. Whether it was the people or the place -- Richard loved that town."

Tonight, when the Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions take to the field for a regular season game that will be anything but regular, Brown says Harris will be honoured.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know if anything we can do will be enough. Sure, we can win the game and that would have made coach Harris happy, but that doesn't meet the measure of the man," said Brown. "And God forbid if we lose. The Lions have an attachment to him too from his time there. So it's hard to know what to expect. I'm worried about it. I'm worried how I'm going to react."

Brown wanted to underscore Harris was among the best coaches he ever worked under, whether it be the NFL or CFL.

"I can't put the respect I had for him in words. To be the first defensive player taken in the first round in his draft year and then to have the career he did, you always wanted to prove to him you could measure up," said Brown. "It's like when Ricky Williams or some other player comes up here from the NFL, you want to prove you can play with him. Well, I always wanted to prove to Richard that I belonged. Did he make me better? Before he came I went three years without being an all-star and every year I played under him I was an all-star. He got the best from me."

And there you have it. The effect a coach can have on a player. Without Harris, three years without all star status. With Harris, every year Brown was an all star.

The longest serving current Blue Bomber and one of the best players this organization has ever had, Brown usually says a few words before each game.

"I'm not the rah rah type. But usually after we stretch I like to set the table. I'm not sure if anything will need to be said. This has permeated everything we do the last couple of days," said Brown. "This will be all about coach Harris. I don't know what it's going to be like. Going to the bench and not having him there. There will be reminders all night. It's in my subconscious and I know it will be there all game. We're going to have to control it. I just don't know what to expect. I thought I'd seen everything in football but this is something I never wanted to have to deal with."

Brown says he is not a rah rah type. But I would love to hear his words before a game. I think they might motivate me.

Brown says he'll change his pre-game routine tonight by including Harris in a ritual he's had for years.

"I take a quiet moment to remember all the loved ones that are gone. I visualize their name and then their face," said Brown. "I'll add coach Harris to my list. I've been lucky enough not to have lost a parent. But now I think I know what it feels like."

Very powerful article.

Salute to Richard Harris ...
..........

I just met him once. At the Lions headquarters for some other business with Kato. In came Richard Harris. And he greets you like a long time friend. Surprising and warming from such a huge guy. Genuine warmth.

He will be missed. And remembered.

It will be a solemn start, but I am interested in the Buck vs Lulay matchup. First game we get to see against Buck, once our "next great" QB vs our current "next great" QB.

It will be fun to watch I think, both QBs have the heart to win. Lets see if the rest of the team can pull their heads out of their arse's and play

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/ ... 79571.html

Reid looking to launch

Tailback still seeking a breakout performance

By KEN WIEBE, QMI Agency

Reid’s best game as a pro came against the Lions back on Aug. 21 of 2009, when he had 26 carries for a franchise-record 260 yards.

Reid is coming off his best game of the season, as he carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and finally broke off a few big gains against the Toronto Argonauts.

“We’re getting closer every week, we’re getting better and we just have to keep going,” said Reid, who led the CFL with 1,396 yards on 213 carries in 2010. “We know we have bigger things to come here. It’s a long season. I know I’m going to bust a lot of long runs here. I haven’t got the one’s I’ve wanted quite yet but I’ll keep putting in the work and it’s going to pay off for me soon.”

The Blue Bombers offensive line knows how important it will be to get Reid going on the ground.

“As an offensive line, every game we want to get 100 yards,” said Blue Bombers centre Obby Khan. “We want to get Freddy his rushing yards. Our MO is to play physical, play hard. We’re going to work our tails off to get Freddy those yards.”

26 carries for 260 yards against a Mike Benevides defence. I remember it well. Benevides looked like he wanted to rip his hair out. Helpless to stop it.

Hello I am Irishland. I am new to this site and forums in general. I started to watch a bit of CFL last season but didn't catch full game. This season I have been pulled in and am fully invested. As for the game I won't be surprised if we lose this game. Travis Lulay is still developing in my opinion. He hasn't even played a full season. I think that is the problem with today's average fan. They want to win now and expect players to be elite in there first year but in reality it takes years to develop a outstanding quarterback. Nobody has the patience for that anymore. I do hope the Lions turn it around but Winnipeg is playing very well right now.

According to LU, Eric Williams and Joe Henderson are still out and Travis Williams is questionable. There's been too much turnover on the defence, and it looks like it won't settle down for a while.

Well I'm attending the game tonight and my feelings are all over the place. In some regards I'd like to see the Lions handed their heads by the Bombers....only to reinforce the change of coaching that is needed. David Braley are you reading? It saddens me to see Bobby's work being peed away by the man who only remembers when players wore leather helmets and the game was simple. I guess that's why we've got Benevides and Chaps. On the other hand I've bled orange since 1961.. A huge dilemma for me. I guess I'll see when I get to the stadium. I really don't want to be negative but I have to agree with others who've stated that the games came before yard work,etc and now the games fit into the schedule if there is time open. I usually visit my family 3 or 4 times a year and catch a game or two when in Vancouver but not this year. My spending money is discretionary like everyone else's . I'm keeping the cost down by not attending.

Enjoy the game all of you and maybe this will be a turnaround point. One can only hope.

Irishland wrote:Hello I am Irishland. I am new to this site and forums in general. I started to watch a bit of CFL last season but didn't catch full game. This season I have been pulled in and am fully invested. As for the game I won't be surprised if we lose this game. Travis Lulay is still developing in my opinion. He hasn't even played a full season. I think that is the problem with today's average fan. They want to win now and expect players to be elite in there first year but in reality it takes years to develop a outstanding quarterback. Nobody has the patience for that anymore. I do hope the Lions turn it around but Winnipeg is playing very well right now.

Hello and welcome aboard!

I started really watching the lions last yr and things were even worse then this and Wally got it turned around, so here's hoping!

Like watching Buck but I hope he doesn't burn our D. Bombers have had their ups/downs over the past few seasons, so I am glad their fans get some cheering to do now. I think this is it, Lions win a close one I'm going to enjoy the game regardless....

Game time.

Many great things said about Richard Harris. The best by Milt Stegall, a guy who sometimes stumbles with words IMO. This time he nailed it.

2 and out for the Bombers. Nice start.

oh boy banks was pointing to the safety who blew coverage

Here we go again, sloppy tackling on special teams.

When I heard Rick Ball say "Pierce throws incomplete" my first thought was "what? I thought Winnipeg had the ball first".