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October 25, 2013 , Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun
Edmonton Eskimos at B.C. Lions
THREE THEMES
BEARING UP
Grizzly bears normally avoid contact with people. The guessing is that’s not what Wally Buono had in mind when the Lions GM playfully slapped six-foot-six, 325-pound right tackle Jovan Olafioye on the back after Thursday’s walk-through and urged him to “play like a grizzly bear.” “Whatever the boss man say, I’ll be,” Olafioye responded. “He wants me to go out there and play hard.” The CFL’s most outstanding lineman in 2012, Olafioye hasn’t been as much of a problem bear for opposing defences because of recurring back issues, one reason he hasn’t performed at the level of a year ago. He’s been aggressively attacking the issue, however, with regular chiropractic visits, stretching exercises and core work. “It’s getting better,” he said. “Backs are a big thing with offensive linemen. We carry so much weight, and we always bend down all the time. It goes with the position.”
COLD-BLOODED QB
Long ago, the French came up with a word “sangfroid” (literally cold blood) which applies specifically to Lions’ first-year starter Thomas DeMarco, who gets the ball for the sixth straight game tonight. Self-possession, imperturbability, confidence . . DeMarco remains unflappable, despite eight interceptions and a quarterback rating of 59.0 in his past three games, all losses. DeMarco, it seems, has been undersold and told so often, throughout his football career, that he would never make it to the position he’s in now, that he relishes every moment. “We call it work, but at the end of the day it’s a game we love to play,” DeMarco explained. “If we came out here and lost every single game, it wouldn’t be fun. But, this was my goal: To come here and play professional football. We get to do what we’ve always wanted to do. I love being here. It’s a blessing.”
NAKED GOES ACOUSTIC
Alternative rocker Bif Naked (Beth Torbert) and guitarist JD Ekstrom are featured at half-time of the Lions-Eskimos game, with Naked singing two of her most requested songs as determined by Lions fans -- I Love Myself Today and Spaceman, in an acoustic format. The Lions sought out the tattooed songstress to headline the Pink Initiative for cancer awareness because of her personal experiences with breast cancer, as both a survivor and advocate for women battling the disease. “It’s a natural progression for anyone who’s gone through a health crisis,” she said. “I really discovered I have a love of working with patients and their families, on a peer-to-peer basis. It (cancer) was a hiccup in the road, but it got me off the crazy train of touring. It’s something I have a passion for.” Lions will donate proceeds from pink merchandise sales to B.C. Children’s Hospital’s oncology dept.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
EDMONTON
RENNIE CURRAN
Linebacker
Filling in for injured J.C. Sherritt, the CFL’s defensive player of the year in 2012, Curran has been a terror for the Eskimos. He has 55 defensive tackles for the season, but 19 have come in the past fortnight, which includes 11 in a 14-9 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Oct. 12. Curran was named the CFL’s defensive player of the week for his performance. The former Georgia Bulldog anchors a defence which has allowed the most first downs rushing -- 129 -- and an average of 137.6 yards per game. The Lions’ Andrew Harris scored three touchdowns and ran for 103 yards the last time the teams played, on July 20, at BC Place. Curran remains wary of Harris, despite the latter’s recent struggles to advance the football. Both players share the same agent -- Zeke Sandhu. “He (Sandhu) has told me to take it easy on Andrew,” Curran quipped.
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