The Sports Corner

Murphy leaves Lions toothless

With the Canadian Football League schedule set to kick off in a little over four months, the B.C. Lions have made the unlikely switch from a king of the jungle to a cub.

Earlier this week, the Lions lost another one of those players that gave the entire team its reputable swagger as offensive lineman Rob Murphy’s quick dip in the free agent waters ended when he climbed on board with the Toronto Argonauts.

The recently departed Murphy, who is one of the league’s most hated lineman because of his fierce style of play both during and after the play and his attitude that followed, caps the list of players to leave for the NFL or free agency after having been favoured to win the Grey Cup this past season.

Just a side note, if the Lions offence had mustered up a touchdown in the Western Final against the eventual champs from Calgary, there may be a different tune being sung.

To go along with Murphy leaving for eastern Canada, a move that was as much a family decision as his own, the Lions also lost the services of the explosively entertaining running back Stefan Logan and defensive end Cam Wake, after they had released slotback Jason Clermont.  There are others, but word count restrictions do come into play on a blog.

What Murphy brought to the Lions was a different attitude.  There was a feeling around this team that no one was better, no one was tougher and that playing for the Lions meant playing like a Lion.

In just four short months from the end of the season until the middle of February, it feels like that once ferocious feeling has suddenly left and its time for the pride to patiently support a team of cubs rather than kings.