Over the past two seasons, the B.C. Lions have had good teams that havent won a playoff game. And because of that those good teams are not remembered as exceptional, just non-producing playoff teams. This is a high pressure year in Lions football because of that fact. You can justify losing once, especially coming off a Grey Cup winning year, but losing twice transitions your team into re-evaluation and, sometimes, over-evaluation. Losing three times tends to lead to a more dramatic change. But can you build a team in May and June for success in October and November? Part of me thinks yes, if you have exceptional depth and a quarterback who performs at his best when the pressure is highest - playoff football. Also, a nice balance of veterans and youth helps on your roster. Veteran guys know and have the ability to rise to a challenge, a playoff game, because they know how to raise urgency both individually and collectively. My argument that you cant develop a playoff capable team early relates to how teams change as the season progresses. Injuries are the single biggest factor. If you lose a lot of players over a season it is difficult to find new performers to play as well as their predecessors. Or if you lose key players, a quarterback, a top defensive back, your best receiver, that individual may not be able to be replaced without a drop-off in production. When it comes to training camp and the regular season, all you can do is demand and hope for progressive and consistent improvement so come playoff time, you are at your best and competing against yourself. Last year BC was good on defence but needed to improve on offence. They finished with the third-ranked rushing offence, averaging 107 yards per game, but only seventh in passing with 244 yards per game. On the other side of the ball there was a clear contradiction. They allowed the fewest passing yards but were at the league bottom in red zone defence. It was tough to move the ball against the Lions between the 20s, yet easier from the 20-yard line in. The vast majority of the time the opposite is true: the closer to the goal line, the tougher to advance because the defence has less space to defend. An unusual contradiction. Still, when you study last season and notice that BC was seventh in kickoff returns and eighth in punt returns, you see just what may be the priority for improvement may not be anything with or without the ball. Where you start drives and the length of field you have to overcome determines success in a season as much as any other aspect of football. As always, the Lions strength will be personnel change at just the right time. More youth on the offensive line and more experience at quarterback will prove beneficial at key moments of the season. Travis Lulay will be ready to go but that is not the concern. It is whether he will be ready for 18 games as his shoulder will be tested at some point in the season. In what may turn out to be the smartest move in the draft, acquiring Kevin Glenn as a veteran alternative is a nice luxury that only half the league has.The Lions will win their fair share of games, maybe even more than what is fair. The question will be whether they can break the “one and done” streak in the playoffs. You cant really prepare for it until the week of. And that week is months away. Cubs Jerseys 2019 . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Rod Beck Cubs Jersey . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. https://www.cheapcubs.com/3190t-sammy-sosa-jersey-cubs.html. Authorities in Medina, Minn., released the details one day after Cunningham was jailed for another alleged incident with the woman he had been living with for the previous eight months. Cunningham had already been charged with felony domestic assault for allegedly choking the woman last week. David Ross Cubs Jersey . Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, the bandleader of the beard brigade during Bostons run to the 2013 World Series title, said he will be shaving his off before spring training so that he can file it "in the archive" with his memories of the teams improbable championship. Steve Cishek Jersey . The 22-year-old Spanish midfielder recently signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea, and after spending last season on loan with Valencia in La Liga, Romeu will move to the Bundesliga for the 2014-15 campaign.(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Rangers hope to punch their ticket to the second round when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday for a Game 6 battle at Wells Fargo Center. Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. In order to close out this best-of-seven set, however, the Rangers will have to become the first team to win consecutive games in this series. Through five meetings so far, New York has won the odd-numbered contests with the Flyers posting victories in Games 2 and 4. The Flyers hope to extend the series by earning a win in their final home test of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup. If Philadelphia can pick up a win tonight, the clubs will have a short turnaround for Game 7, which is scheduled for Wednesday night in New York. After losing Sunday afternoon in Manhattan, Philadelphia has lost 10 of its last 11 visits to Madison Square Garden. The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Flyers in Sundays Game 5 at Madison Square Garden and then held on for a 4-2 decision. Marc Staal opened the scoring with 8:07 left in the first stanza, while Brad Richards and Dominic Moore each netted second-period goals to hand New York a 3-0 cushion. Moore added an assist on Brian Boyles empty-net score in the final seconds that sealed the victory and put the Flyers on the brink of elimination. "Its frustrating," Flyers forward Scott Hartnell said of the loss. "Youre always playing catch-up. You make it a lot harder on yourself. Youre skating that much harder to get on pucks, to create turnovers, to get chances, instead of playing comfortable. Its a lot easier when youve got a lead." Henrik Lundqvist came up with 24 saves for New York, which bounced back from a 2-1 Game 4 loss in which Flyers netminder Steve Mason turned in a stellar 37- save effort.dddddddddddd "I thought we played a really good game, good energy," said Lundqvist. "Looking back at the game in Philly (on Friday), we did a lot of good things as well. The difference is today we scored a couple goals and that brings a lot of confidence to the group. Its easy to play patient and not overdo a lot of things." Mason managed just 18 stops on Sunday and Philadelphia wasnt able to maintain its momentum from Fridays win despite captain Claude Giroux and veteran Vincent Lecavalier recording their first goals of the these playoffs. "This series is definitely not over," Mason said. "Were looking forward to going home and having a big game there and bringing it back here for Game 7." The Flyers are 7-10 all-time in series when trailing 3-2. New York is 13-2 in playoff series in which it held a lead of three games to two. The Rangers have lost 11 straight playoff games when holding a series lead. Philadelphia defenseman Hal Gill saw his first action of the 2014 postseason Sunday, filling in for the injured Nicklas Grossman, who hurt his right knee in Game 4. Gill was a minus-2 in just over 12 minutes of ice time in Game 5. Grossmann is expected to miss Game 6, but Erik Gustafsson will fill in for the injured blueliner on Tuesday instead of Gill. The 25-year-old Gustafsson had two goals and eight assists in 31 games this season and has one goal and one assist over seven career playoff tilts. J.T. Miller, New Yorks first-round pick in the 2011 draft, made his playoff debut on Sunday. The 21-year-old forward contributed a point to the winning effort. Including this playoff series, which is the first postseason meeting between New York and Philadelphia since 1997, the Rangers have lost four of their last five games at Wells Fargo Center. ' ' '