ASS News » Bettman was booed long and loud when he took the stage.

VANCOUVER - B.C. Lions head coach Mike Benevides didnt give his team much time to celebrate last weeks dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Calgary Stampeders. Benevides had the Lions in a meeting less than nine hours after their plane touched down after that 25-24 triumph to emphasize that while beating the CFLs last undefeated club was big, it wouldnt mean much if they produce a dud this Friday at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Catch the game on TSN starting at 10pm et/7pm pt. "The guys had to have a quick turnaround. They were a little bit surprised by that," said Benevides. "The first message was that I commended them for their performance, but the message that I really wanted to relay was we have really got to prepare to meet a huge challenge from the Tiger-Cats." The coach had good reason to get their attention early. The last time the Lions (3-3) stepped on the field at B.C. Place Stadium they were coming off two big wins and feeling pretty good about themselves, only to get embarrassed 23-6 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. "Weve got to stay consistent, weve got to find a way to get it done at home. The message has been clear," said Benevides. "The veterans and captains and leaders have echoed that. I think were well prepared based on what Ive seen this week." Lions running back Andrew Harris picked up his third weekly top Canadian award of the season for his performance in Calgary, and said its important the Lions keep pace in a very competitive West Division. "Weve had a tendency to have big games and then come back a little flat," said Harris, who leads the CFL with 722 all-purpose yards. "We have to keep this fire burning and weve got to stay at a high energy and high pace with that same attitude we had against Calgary in the second half. "Its a struggle, but if we want to be a good team in this league and consistent and climb the ladder in the West, we need to be able to do that." B.C. quarterback Kevin Glenn said the Lions will have to be wary of a wounded Tiger-Cats team that is coming off a heartbreaking 27-26 last-second loss against Winnipeg that dropped them to 1-4. "Every week youve got to make sure you come to play," said Glenn. "Weve got a team thats coming in (and) their record could easily be reversed to where they have three, four wins and only one or two losses. "We just want to make sure we come out and we match their intensity. Theyre a team thats going to come in here ready to play given their situation." Glenn will get the start again versus Hamilton, but the Lions will have a familiar face in uniform for the first time since last season. Travis Lulay is slated to suit up as either the No. 2 or No. 3 quarterback on Friday for the first time since undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder in the November. It has been a long road back for the Lions incumbent, who had hoped to be ready for the start of the season. "Its exciting. Its not the end of the road, but this is a huge step for me," said Lulay. "Just on a personal level its exciting to know its to the point now where were talking about where on the depth chart as opposed to whether or not youre putting a helmet on." While the Lions offence has struggled at times under Glenns stewardship, the defence is ranked No. 2 in the league and has been lights out all season, led in large part by linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill. The Lions surrendered just three points in the second half against Calgary, allowing time for a B.C. comeback that included two fourth-quarter touchdowns. "Thats the standard that weve set," said Elimimian, who had 10 tackles last week and leads the league with 49 through just six games. "We set high standards for ourselves and we want to continue that because we understand that for this team to get to where we want to get to, the defence is a big part of that." Added Bighill: "It comes down to everyone just doing their job to the best of their ability. Weve got guys making plays. Weve just got to be consistent, because thats what great teams do." After last weeks loss to the Blue Bombers, Tiger-Cats head coach Kent Austin said he would "rather lose 47-0 than lose like that." Despite that frustrating outcome, Hamilton finds itself just one game out of first place in the East Division as all four teams continue to struggle for victories. If the Tiger-Cats are going to walk out of B.C. Place with a win, a good candidate to have a big game would be C.J. Gable. The explosive running back has a team-high 353 yards from scrimmage and is a player the Lions expect to key on. "Defensively we feel like weve been solid. We havent given up a lot in terms of points and yardage," said Bighill. "Theyre going to try to find ways to get (Gable) the ball, whether its throwing him the ball (or) running the ball out of the backfield. Were going to have eyes on him at all times." Notes: The Lions will dress defensive lineman Jabar Westerman after benching him last week in Calgary. The 25-year-old was in court this week on charges he allegedly threw a punch during a nightclub altercation in June. ... The Lions beat the Tiger-Cats 29-26 in their only meeting in Vancouver last season. ... B.C. visits Hamilton on Oct. 4. Nolan Ryan Jersey .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Pedro Martinez Mets Jersey . – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/travis-d-arnaud-mets-jersey/ . Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. Zack Wheeler Jersey . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. Brandon Nimmo Jersey . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St.PHILADELPHIA -- Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon kept everyone guessing right up to his announcement to open Fridays NHL draft. "We proudly select, with the first pick overall of the 2014 NHL draft from the Ontario Hockey League," Tallon told a feisty full house at Wells Fargo Arena. And then he paused for dramatic effect. "Aaron Ekblad," Tallon finally pronounced. "I did not know. I was freaking out there for a second when he stopped," said Ekblad, a normally unflappable 18-year-old defenceman from Belle River, Ont., seen as perhaps the most NHL-ready player in the draft pool. "It was breath-taking to say the least." Said a straight-faced Tallon: "I thought we were in show-business. This is entertainment isnt it?" "I made Ekblad sweat a little," he added. With Kingston Frontenacs forward Sam Bennett ranked No. 1 ahead of Ekblad among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, there was Ontario competition for the top pick. Bennett eventually went fourth to the Calgary Flames. Kootenay Ice centre Sam Reinhart went second to the Buffalo Sabres and Prince Albert Raiders forward Leon Draisaitl was selected third by the Edmonton Oilers. Draisaitl becomes the highest-drafted German-born player in NHL history. Previously that honour was held by Marcel Goc, taken 20th overall by San Jose in 2001. Tallon had two "really substantial" offers for his pick, but elected to stick with the big Barrie Colts blue-liner. "We decided at noon we were going to go this way," he said. Ekblad, who spent three seasons with the Colts, is seen as a potential franchise defenceman who is ahead of many of his fellow juniors in terms of size, strength and maturity. The teenager with Hollywood good looks feels he can help the Panthers in the fall. "Ive said that from the very beginning that I believe in myself and Im confident," he said. "I think if you dont believe in yourself and youre not confident, youre putting yourself behind the eight-ball right off the bat. I believe that if I work hard this summer, I can really step into the NHL next year. Obviously Im going to need a lot of help and its going to be a learning curve, but again Im confident in myself." The six-foot-three 216-pound Ekblad, granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada to enter the OHL at just 15, had 23 goals, 30 assists and 91 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. Ekblad says he plays "strong responsible defence" while trying to contribute on offence. He is the 13th defenceman to go first overall in the draft and the first since 2006 when St. Louis took Erik Johnson. The Panthers (29-45-8) won the draft lottery ahead of Buffalo (21-51-10) to kick off the draft for the first time since 1994 when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski, now 38 and on his second stint in south Florida. Florida also won the draft lottery in 2002 and 2003, but traded away the pick both years. There was a run on blue-liners in the 90s with Roman Hamrlik (1992, Tampa Bay), Jovanovski (1994, Florida), Bryan Berard (1995, Ottawa) and Chris Phillips (1996, Ottawa) all going first overall. The Panthers will be hoping to repeat the success of Colorado last year with the first pick. Centre Nathan MacKinnon jumped directly to the NHL from the Halifax Mooseheads, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie along the way.dddddddddddd After Bennett, Oshawa Generals winger Michael Dal Colle went to the New York Islanders and Calgary Hitmen winger Jake Virtanen became a Vancouver Canuck. Red Deer defenceman Haydn Fleury was chosen seventh overall by the Carolina Hurricanes, ahead of Modo forward William Nylander (Toronto), Halifax winger Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg) and Peterborough winger Nick Ritchie (Anaheim in a pick obtained earlier from Ottawa). Ehlers becomes the second-highest drafted Danish-born player in NHL history after Mikkel Boedker, picked eighth overall by Phoenix in 2008. The Canucks selected Sault Ste. Marie centre Jared McCann with the 24th overall pick and the Montreal Canadiens took Russian winger Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades with the 26th selection. Ottawa did not have a first-round pick, having traded it to Anaheim in the Bobby Ryan deal. After Fridays first round, there will be six more rounds Saturday. Apart from Tallons cheeky delay at the mic, there were few other surprises. The top names all went high. Ekblad was ranked second among draft prospects by the International Scouting Services, which had Reinhart No. 1. Reinhart, an 18-year-old from North Vancouver, is seen as an elite playmaker with good skating and puck skills. The six-foot-one 185-pounder, named WHL player of the year in 2013-14, has true hockey bloodlines. Brother Max was selected by the Calgary Flames in the third round (63rd overall) in the 2010 draft, while brother Griffin was chosen fourth overall by the Islanders in 2012. Father Paul, a 12th-round draft pick of the Atlanta Flames in 1979, played 11 NHL seasons with the Flames and Canucks. The crowd at Wells Fargo Center started a "Lets Go Flyers" chant before the opening roll call of teams. Every other team was greeted with the word "Sucks" as their name was announced -- with the exception of Pittsburgh and Boston, who drew deafening boos. Comcast president Dave Scott, head of the company that owns the Flyers, congratulated the Los Angeles Kings on winning the Stanley Cup -- and defeating the rival Rangers in the final. The feisty crowd loved the kicker. Commissioner Gary Bettman was booed long and loud when he took the stage. "I love your passion," said the unflappable commissioner. The crowd kept booing and Bettman kept up the one-liners as the evening wore on. The Canucks stole much of the pre-draft thunder earlier Friday, sending centre Ryan Kesler to Anaheim and defenceman Jason Garrison to Tampa Bay while acquiring forward Derek Dorsett from the Rangers. For Ekblad, it was "by far the longest day of my entire life." But it ended well. He is the sixth OHL player drafted No. 1 overall in the last eight years, following in the footsteps of Patrick Kane, Steve Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov. NOTES: The 30 players selected in the first round were born in 10 different countries: Canada (14), United States (five), Czech Republic (two), Finland (two), Russia (two), Denmark (one), England (one), Germany (one), Sweden (one) and Switzerland (one) ... Eight of the first 10 overall picks, including all of the first seven, came from the Ontario Hockey League or Western Hockey League. Ehlers (ninth overall) was the only one from the QMJHL. ' ' '