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. Julian Weigl Jersey .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. Omer Toprak Jersey . And though his comeback night didnt quite go to script, Bryant couldnt help reflecting on the work necessary to get back on that court -- and all the months of steady labour ahead to reclaim his game. Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids-Dzenis-Burnic-Jersey/ .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage. Omer Toprak Dortmund Jersey . He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66. Mahmoud Dahoud Jersey .com) - The St.(SportsNetwork.com) - The suddenly-sliding Toronto Maple Leafs will try to enter the Christmas break on a positive note when they visit the Dallas Stars for Tuesdays encounter at American Airlines Center. The Maple Leafs are in the midst of a three-game skid that comes directly on the heels of a six-game winning streak. Toronto also boasted a 10-1-1 record in the 12 games prior to its current 0-3 stretch. Toronto has been outscored by a combined 15-5 margin during the losing streak, and the Leafs have surrendered 11 goals over the last two outings. After getting slammed 7-4 by visiting Philadelphia on Saturday, the Maple Leafs began a seven-game road trip the following night in Chicago and were handed a 4-0 loss. Antti Raanta stopped 31 shots to pick up the shutout for the Blackhawks. James Reimer allowed all four goals on 34 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have matched their longest skid of the season, tying an 0-3 stretch from Nov. 14-18. Toronto hasnt dropped four straight since losing the last four games of the 2013-14 season in regulation. The record we have in the last three games we have to figure out a way to turn it around, Toronto defenseman Dion Phaneuf said. Toronto is just 5-4-3 as the guest this season. The Leafs will try to pick up their first win of the current swing tonight before the road trip resumes Sunday at Florida. The Leafs recorded a 5-3 home win over Dallas on Dec. 2 and are hoping to sweep the season series tonight. However, the Stars are 3-0-1 in their last four home meetings against Toronto and they posted a 7-1 rrout of the Leafs when they last visited Big D on Jan.dddddddddddd23 of last season. While Toronto aims for a return to the win column on Tuesday, the Stars will try to enter the Christmas hiatus with a fifth consecutive victory. Dallas stretched its winning streak to a season-high four games thanks to Sundays remarkable comeback victory in Edmonton. The Stars trailed the Oilers 5-2 in the second period before rallying for a 6-5 shootout win. Taylor Halls goal with 6:43 left put the Oilers ahead by a 5-2 score, but Jamie Benn began the comeback for the Stars with a power-play tally in the final minute of the second period. Tyler Seguin would even the score for Dallas in the third. The NHLs leading goal-scorer tallied 52 seconds into the third to cut the deficit to 5-4, then tied it up with his 25th goal of the season at the 9:13 mark. Shawn Horcoff then scored in the eighth round of the shootout to give the Stars the win. Seguin, who is two points behind Philadelphias Jakub Voracek for the scoring lead, also posted an assist. Benn also added an assist, while Horcoff and Erik Cole notched the other regulation goals. I thought the leaders of the team took the bulls by the horns, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. Anders Lindback stopped 9-of-10 shots to get the win in relief of Kari Lehtonen, who allowed four goals on 19 shots before getting pulled halfway through the second period. The Stars are 6-6-5 as the home team this season. Dallas will emerge from the NHLs Christmas break on Saturday, when it visits the St. Louis Blues. ' ' '