Lions left guard Jon Hameister-Ries isn't just in Montreal to play football. He's here to do research. Co-owner of Mean Poutine in Vancouver, with former Lions O-lineman Sherko Haji-Rasouli being the majority partner, Hameister-Ries goes in search of new ways to prepare the classic, artery-busting French-Canadian dish of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. On a previous visit to Montreal, JHR said he sampled nine different poutine variations at six different establishments. "You definitely can't do your research on game day," Hameister-Ries said. "You have to cut back and eat a little lighter. You don't want to be clogged up on game day."


(vancouversun.com)

The University of Miami 2001 Baseball and Football National Championship teams were honored at halftime of the Cavaliers Hurricanes game last night. Check out our exclusive photos below!

The tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks is Sunday, and that's led to some excellent pieces reflecting on how that day's events changed the world of sports. The effects weren't just felt south of the border, either, as many of them extended to Canada. TSN is running a series of features this week looking back at 9/11, and one of the most powerful aired on Friday's CFL on TSN pre-game show, with sportscaster Brian Williams (no, not the American one) talking to former B.C. Lion and recent Canadian national team member Sherko Haji-Rasouli (#55 above, seen during a 2007 game against Calgary) about his experience as a Muslim football player at the University of Miami in the days immediately following the attacks.

The piece (which you can watch in full here) started with a powerful montage of reactions to the attacks on American television, some of which seem almost unbelievable in retrospect. The televised reactions from prominent public figures included such lovely comments as "Islam is of the devil, it is causing billions of people to go to hell, it is a violent religion" and "Take your religion and shove it!" With that kind of atmosphere prevailing, it's tough to imagine what Haji-Rasouli went through, especially as football locker rooms aren't often the most tolerant or inclusive of environments. As Miami teammate Brett Romberg (a Canadian himself, from Windsor, Ontario, who would go on to an almost decade-long NFL career as a centre with the Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons) told TSN, "There were a lot of questions being raised, and Sherko looking the way he did, he became a target."

Under those kinds of circumstances, and in a locker room stuffed with dominant personalities like Jonathan Vilma, Jeremey Shockey, Ed Reed and Clinton Portis (seriously, look at the Hurricanes' 2001-02 roster: it's incredible), it would have been easy for Haji-Rasouli to either retreat into a shell or lash out. He did neither, though, instead opting to try and engage his teammates in constructive dialogue and teach them about his religion. He told TSN his message was simple.

"Generally, it was just 'Have tolerance towards people from the Middle East,'" Haji-Rasouli said.

He opted not to be confrontational or judgemental, but rather available and personable.

"I'm here to help," Haji-Rasouli said, describing what he did. "If I don't know the answer, I will go find the answer for you."
That approach had an impact, as Williams stated.

"Everyone we talked with down at the University of Miami at Coral Gables spoke of how Sherko taught them," he said.

It helped raise awareness and tolerance amongst teammates, and it also solidified Haji-Rasouli's status as a leader in the locker room. Amongst a group of future NFL stars who would go on to win the national championship that season, that's something to be proud of. Haji-Rasouli's efforts to promote tolerance towards Muslims were endorsed by many influential figures outside the sports world, too, including Muslim Canadian Congress founder Tarek Fatah, who told TSN Haji-Rasouli's actions were "an incredible display."

Haji-Rasouli took an unusual path to his football career. He was born in Shiraz, Iran on September 1, 1980, shortly after the revolution. His family moved to Canada when he was growing up, and he then headed to The U for college and was the Hurricanes' starting left guard in 2001. After playing there, he became one of the few guys from that class not to go on to the NFL, but had a very solid CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes and B.C. Lions from 2002-2011. Still, it's his impact at Miami (where he's now returned to pursue a master's degree) that might be the most notable. As former teammate Joaquin Gonzalez told TSN, Haji-Rasouli was a significant influence on his teammates for good in the wake of the horrific events of 9/11.

"There are good and bad people everywhere, and I think that's something he made us understand."


(sports.yahoo.com)

Sherko Haji-Rasouli, a six-foot-six, 326-pound offensive lineman who played collegiately at Miami and spent eight seasons in the CFL with Montreal and B.C. before being released by the Lions on Jan. 31 will be a member of the Canadian team participating in the world senior men's championship in Austria.

"I think Sherko and I will be able to spend time with the youngsters and teach them how to be good teammates and the importance of hustling on every play," Belli said. "I think I was always a good hustle guy on the football field.

"But, you know, I think he (Haji-Rasouli) is the hairiest man I've ever seen."

Head coach Larry Haylor expects Belli and Haj-Rasouli to lead the Canadian team on the field and serve as mentors to the young players.

"We're looking for presence and leadership," Haylor said via telephone from Graz, Austria, where Canada will play its preliminary-round games. "They're people who are recognizable by virtue of what they've done in the pro game and in terms of high achievement they represent the highest.

"Both Sherko and Adriano clearly understand they're not wearing Hamilton Tiger-Cats or Toronto Argonauts jerseys, they're wearing Team Canada. This is a world stage, they understand Canada is being represented and I know they will do that very well."

Canada will be in Group B with Japan, France and Austria. The United States, Mexico, Germany and Australia comprise Group A.

Tournament action kicks off Friday with Canada playing its first game Saturday against France. That will begin a stretch of three contests in five days for the Canadians, who'll take on host Austria on Monday before squaring off against Japan on July 13.


(tsn.ca.com)

During his retirement party last month Adriano Belli was approached by Toronto Argonauts general manager and head coach Jim Barker with an idea.

“Jim told me about the world football championship and said, ‘There will be a lot of good, young kids that will be there and you should be a coach.’ I told him, ‘Screw that, I’m going to play,’” said Belli.

The defensive tackle, who played 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League, made it official on Tuesday. He will suit up for Canada at next month’s world championship in Austria.

And Belli is trying to recruit other members of the CFL community to join the squad.

One player Belli was able to convince is former B.C. Lions offensive lineman Sherko Haji-Rasouli, who was also invited to join the national team on Tuesday. Both Belli (foot) and Haji-Rasouli (knee) missed most of the 2010 season due to injury. Haji-Rasouli was released by the Lions in January.

Team Canada will hold a training camp in London, Ont. from June 23 to July 1 before departing for Europe.


(nationalpost.com)