Courtesy Vancouver Province:
The best player scheduled to be in training camp was a no-show, so as omens go it was not a good sign.

Even as a retired guest coach, it might have been said Allen Pitts would still have been a more appealing alternative than any of the new receivers assembled to form the cavalry for the opening of the B.C. Lions training camp Sunday in Abbotsford.

Alas, Pitts, the former Canadian Football Hall of Fame slotback, suffered a perforated ulcer last week and won’t make his coaching debut with the CFL team this year.

So the Lions are left to pick from a substantial group of unknowns in order to satisfy their greatest need this side of a starting quarterback.

Ever since coach Wally Buono arrived six years ago, finding receivers to complement their primary targets has been as easy as keeping Paris Hilton quiet.

No fewer than 12 different players have come and gone, largely because the Lions have been passive players on the CFL free agent market.

So this year, Buono has tried fixing the problem with quantity. He asked personnel director Roy Shivers for six extra receivers, but on the first day of camp the Lions could have field three basketball teams.

Indeed, 15 were in uniform, counting veterans, and maybe it was only fitting one of the one newcomers, rookie import Jeese Holley, actually is better known for having played on the 2005 NCAA hoops champion at the University of North Carolina.
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