& Soot Ts. Lions lose superstar to NFL _ By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor star defensive end Cameron Wake would give the NFL a try next year after yet another stellar season in the Canadian Football League. Sure enough, he signed a four-year contract with the resurgent Miami Dolphins on January 18" that includes a $1 million signing bonus. It’s a great opportunity for the 26- year-old Wake and a big loss for the Lions. There was very little doubt that Wake would depart Vancouver after the season he just had. With the highly restrictive CFL salary cap, there was no way Wake would agree to remain in B.C. when he could easily receive a multi- million dollar salary down south. While Wake has only played two seasons for the Lions, he’s been the franchise’s best player both years. Both years he’s led the entire league in sacks, two years ago with 16 and last season with an astounding 23. Both seasons he was named to the CFL’s all-star team and in his rookie year with the Lions, as well as in the CFL, he became the only player in league history to win the CFL’s rookie of the year and the CFL’s defensive player of the year award. He also accumulated 72 tackles and was the only CFLer to block a field goal for the entire season. Last year he was even better. Aside from his impressive sack record, he swept the board in winning the CFL’s defensive player of the year for the second season in a row. He also became the first ever player in a defensive position to win TSN’s Friday Night Gladiator of the Year award. So after all those godly accomplishments, it came as no surprise |: was widely assumed that B.C. Lions that Wake drew serious interest from at least 17 different NFL clubs. He worked out with eight of them and eventually settled on the up-and-coming Miami Dolphins over his second choice, the Indianapolis Colts. At 6’3”, 260 Ibs, the Dolphins have indicated that they are likely to switch the Penn State graduate from defensive end back to his old position of defensive linebacker. When approached in an interview by hordes of reporters after his decision to head to Miami, the Maryland native, Wake, was classy when speaking about his move. “I wanted to eliminate all the fluff. It wasn’t about whoever offered the biggest deal. It was about the coaching staffs, the opportunity, the organizations. Miami put themselves above the others in those things even if it wasn’t by much,” Wake said. With the addition of Wake, whose deal could wind up being worth as much as $4.9 million, the Dolphins have added another impact player that can really be a boost to their rebuilding effort. The Dolphins were football’s most improved team this year after going 1-15 two years ago to 11-5 this season. 2008 first overall draft pick and offensive lineman Jake Long is the franchise cornerstone in Miami and it looks right now that Wake will be able to contribute to the youth movement. Now, anyone who has ever heard of Casey Printers knows that heading south to the NFL is never a sure thing for a guy coming from the CFL. However, Wake doesn’t have the attitude issues that Printers had (and still does) and is coming out of Canada as perhaps the best pass rusher and most dominant CFL player. Where are they now? By Garth McLennan Bernard opine 43-year-old, Bernard “The Executioner’ Hopkins is still going strong in the ring, even if his performance has begun to show aging signs. Most recently, Hopkins fought and defeated 26-year- old Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City by unanimous decision in October. After losing to undefeated Welshman Joe Calzaghe back in April by decision, Hopkins’ future was in doubt. However, his critics had been calling for his retirement for years and Hopkins wasn’t about to begin listening to them despite his age. In his bout with Pavlik, Hopkins switched up his style. After losing to Calzaghe because of a slow, retreating’ style, Hopkins instead came out flying and punished the much younger Pavlik for the bulk of the bout and easily out-strategized and outfought him to victory. As always, Hopkins’ future is in question. He has no upcoming fights in the near future, but retirement is unlikely considering his history. Felix Trinidad The best Puerto Rican boxer in history, Felix Trinidad, 36, is a shadow of the fighter he once was. His last contest came in January of 2008, which he lost to former superstar Roy Jones Jr. by a decision. It was Trinidad’s first bout since May of 2005 and he was coming out of his second retirement. Since 2002, he has only fought three times, losing twice and winning by TKO in 2004. That’s a long time with little to do for a fighter to still be considered among the sport’s elite. After his 2005 retirement, which obviously proved to be only temporary, Trinidad’s father proclaimed that he would no longer continue to work his son’s corner. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be good enough for Ring Magazine's 2000 fighter of the year. While he’s certainly taken a long layoff since his January fight with Jones, Trinidad needs to recognize that boxing has left him behind and that he should retire for a third time—only on this one, it should be a permanent decision. Evander Holyfield While most professional boxers hang up the gloves before or shortly after they hit 30, Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield is still fighting at age 46. Holyfield has stated that he will not retire until he wins a record-setting fifth world heavyweight championship. On December 20", 2008, Holyfield had his best opportunity to accomplish that goal when he squared off against the monstrous seven-foot WBA heavyweight champion, Nikolai Valuev. Holyfield entered the bout in phenomenal shape and hammered the big Russian for the majority of the match. However, in what is being called one of the biggest disgraces in boxing history, Valuev retained the belt by a split decision, despite basically standing in the middle of the ring for the entire fight and barely winning a round. The Holyfield champ has already filed a formal complaint and there is talk of a rematch later this year. With any luck, Evander Holyfield will get his hands on a fifth world title soon enough. Oscar De La Hoya “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, 35, has more than likely just fought his final bout. On December 6", 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, De La Hoya took on Manny Pacquiao in what was billed as “The Dream Match.” De La Hoya, who has won ten world titles in six different weight classes, was dominated by Pacquiao throughout the fight, and threw in the towel after the eighth round. While most knew that De La Hoya was clearly over-the-hill, he didn’t back down from the much faster Pacquiao, who Ring Magazine recently named the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. After the fight, De La Hoya was asked about his boxing future and responded by saying that he still wanted to continue fighting, but he admitted that, in his words, “I just don’t have it anymore.” When De La Hoya, who is one of boxing’s most recognizable figures, does make it official, he will likely go into promoting fights full time. He already owns the fight promotion company Golden Boy Productions.