O' Canada

It's not aboot hockey. It's still all aboot football. The Flea Flicker is going international today. Not too far. Going to our neighbor up north, Canada. There was a time when many NFL quality players went north for some football. There were many reasons for this. The pay used to be much closer. If a player couldn't get that raise with his NFL club, he could find it in the Canadian Football League. In the late '70s, Warren Moon discovered that some in the NFL didn't much care for a black man throwing a football. He went north and did some crazy things with the passing game. Doug Flutie was way too short. He went north too. Both came back and proved that they had NFL skills. Moon showed that the color of his skin had no impact on his ability to throw the ball. He made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fewer and fewer players have taken the CFL route to the NFL. One player may have changed that pattern. The Miami Dolphins found a tremendous pass rushing linebacker in Canada. After two years with the British Columbia Lions, Cameron Wake has sent scouts sprinting across the border. Racking up 14 sacks in a season will open some eyes. The Philadelphia Eagles hope that defensive end Phillip Hunt will have a similar pass rush impact. They found him in Canada. The Eagles were at the front of a long line of teams pursuing Hunt. A couple pass catchers are joining the Canadian pass rushers this year. The Vikings signed BC Lions receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux to a 3-year contract. The length of the contract indicates a greater than passing interest in Arceneaux. The Bears beat out several teams to sign Saskatchewan Rough Riders receiver Andy Fantuz. The NFL is always on the lookout for talent. There are skilled football players everywhere. Even Canada has a few.