&

al PORTS.

Give Phelps a break —

Garth | n recent
™ McLennan [=
f Sports editor American
Olympic
| hero Michael
———— Phelps has
taken a very public beating after he was
photographed smoking marijuana at a
fraternity party. Apparently his discretion
was so compromised that Kellogg’s, the
famous cereal company, has terminated
their sponsorship of Phelps. That’s not
all; USA Swimming has also levied a
three month suspension on Phelps despite
the fact that he didn’t violate any of the
body’s meticulous and complex rules and
regulations.

To put it bluntly, this is just complete
garbage. Kellogg’s said in a statement that
Phelps was “not consistent with the image
of Kellogg’s.” Really? Well, I guess the
White House has lower standards than the
angels at Kellogg’s, because the current
president of the United States has admitted
to smoking weed and it’s a pretty safe bet
that the previous president has as well.
Obama went so far as to state “I inhaled
frequently, that was the point.”

So Obama smoked some pot in
college and he’s fit to lead the free world,
but USA Swimming has deemed the 23-
year-old Phelps a national disappointment?

Come on, enough is enough. This is
getting stupid. The guy is 23 years old.
Understandably, Phelps is more than a
little pissed off over this whole mess
and has said publicly that he is seriously
contemplating retiring from competitive
swimming, including the future Olympic
Games.

To state the obvious, that would be
a terrible loss for the entire sports world.

This is a superstar who won a record eight
gold medals last year and actually got
people genuinely interested and engaged
with the Olympics. Besides, does USA
Swimming realize how screwed they’d be
without Michael Phelps? All they have to
do is take a look at the state of the PGA
Tour since Tiger Woods has been sidelined
with a knee injury to paint themselves a
picture.

Besides Michael Phelps, can you
name even one other Olympic swimmer?
I can’t think of any, and that’s a pretty
solid indication of the average sports fan
as well. Phelps is the type of athlete that
can single handedly boost his sport, like
Tiger Woods in golf or Wayne Gretzky
in hockey. Without Phelps swimming
will go back to being just another after-
school activity for kids in grade three and
four. Phelps has literally put swimming
on the sports map, and that isn’t an
understatement; for 95 per cent of people
out there he’s the only reason they even
care about swimming.

Now imagine if he decided to call
it quits. While it isn’t likely, it isn’t out
of the question either. After all, money
isn’t exactly an issue for the Baltimore
native anymore. Even without Kellogg’s,
Phelps has major endorsement deals with
heavy hitters like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola,
Omega, Mazda and Speedo. With those
companies behind him, he won’t be in bad
financial shape any time soon.

But just the fact that so many people
out there are making such a big deal over
all of this is beyond silly. So for all the
people trashing Michael Phelps out there,
give the guy a break. He’s saving the sport,
he hit the bong, and he’s 23 years old.
Enough is enough.

 

By Garth McLennan

‘Sports Editor

upheaval that has seen an almost

|: an off-season of tremendous
complete revamping of the BC

‘ Lions roster, head coach and general
‘ manager Wally Buono did the

expected last Tuesday when he signed

' star slotback Geroy Simon to a three-
‘year contract extension.

It was a nice sign for Lions’ fans
who have had to endure Cameron
Wake bolting to the NFL, Jason
Clermont being inexplicably cut and a
number of other roster re-toolings.

Simon has already played eight
prolific seasons in B.C. and his new
deal will keep him here tntil at
least 2011. He’s one of B.C.’s most
dangerous offensive: weapons and
last year became the Lions’ all-time
receiving yards leader. During his
tenure with the Lions, Simon’s career
has been marked with success. He
was a CFL-all star in 2003, 2004,
2006, 2007 and 2008 while also
winning the CFL MVP award in
2006. That year he also helped the
Lions to a Grey Cup title while also
leading the league in receiving yards
and receptions. Last year he finished
second in the CFL for receiving with
1,418 yards.

Meanwhile, leading quarterback
Buck Pierce has been designated by
Buono as the team’s number one QB,
but that might not matter as Pierce is
reportedly keeping his options open
in terms of possibly suiting up in the
National Football League. Pierce,
27, has played for the Lions for four
years now and says that he has been
in touch with six or seven of the NFL
squads.

Despite that though, the odds
of Pierce landing a full-time NFL
position are slim at best. He’s coming
off another injury-riddled campaign
and while he is considered to be
among the CFL’s best when healthy,

Lions sign Simon, but.
will they lose Buck? »

injuries have followed throughout his -

career and have taken a debilitating |
toll. ;

In 2006, on the way toa Grey _
Cup win with the Lions, Pierce shined
as he led the CFL in completion:
percentage and was among the top-
rated quarterbacks. He earned his spot
when starter Dave Dickenson (who,
now with the Calgary Stampeders, has
also been plagued by lasting injuries),
wentidown with frequent wounds
and Pierce’s fellow backup, Jarious
Jackson, didn’t perform up to snuff.

Pierce has said that he
understands that the NFL is a long ‘
shot but that he owes it to himself
to explore all of his opportunities.
Buono has stated that after his play

‘ last season, where he again beat out

Jackson for the starter’s position, he
has fully earned all the playing time
he can handle and that right now he’s
the undisputed starter heading into
Lions’ training camp.

In other Lions news, Buono has
signed quarterback Jarious Jackson to
a new contract that further solidifies
the Lions’ QB situation. Jackson,

31, has been battling with Pierce for
the starter’s job and is expected to

be in tough to beat him this season.
Jackson’s new deal will likely keep
him with B.C. until 2010 and in the
unlikely event that Pierce sticks in the
NEL, the job will then be Jackson’s.

Meanwhile, the raid of the
Lion’s roster continued with star
tailback Stephan Logan making the
switch to the NFL. He signed a two-
year contract with the Superbowl
Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
Linebacker Jamal Johnson has
already signed with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers and things could get even
worse for the Lions this week as both
of their star offensive linemen, Rob
Murphy and Jason Jimenez are set
to become free agents, Murphy has
said that he will not sign a deal before
assessing all of his options first.

t