Some comments 2010 Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin (pictured, right) made to The Tennessean are drawing plenty of attention both north and south of the border, and that's understandable. As Shutdown Corner's Doug Farrar wrote, Babin's comments that he was considering joining a CFL team thanks to the ongoing NFL lockout fit right in with statements made by George Atallah and other members of the NFLPA leadership on how many NFL guys may seek alternative leagues to play in this year. However, comments alone don't mean that Babin or any other prominent NFLer will be suiting up in the CFL this June, and looking at the other factors involved, it seems more likely that we're not going to see a lot of NFL players north of the border.

As I wrote last week, there are several factors likely to limit the impact of the NFL lockout on the CFL from a player personnel side (other aspects of the labour dispute, such as potentially increased American television broadcast opportunities for the CFL,

The Edmonton Eskimos' 2011 linebacking corps will look very different than the 2010 edition, thanks to the retirement of Canadian Javy Glatt and the team's decision to release import Maurice Lloyd (seen above left trying to bring down Lions' quarterback Casey Printers with teammate Andre Coleman in a July 4 game last year); they've also added former NFL linebacker Quinton Culberson, who last played with the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers in 2009. Edmonton isn't going to be the only team with an overhauled group of linebackers, though; several other teams are also re-evaluating their linebackers, including Hamilton (where the Tiger-Cats brought in Renauld Williams, axing Otis Floyd in the process. The latest team that could do so, though, is one many might not have expected; the B.C. Lions.

On the surface, B.C. seems to be in pretty good shape at linebacker. The Lions tend to play a 4-2-6 alignment (defensive linemen-linebackers-defensive backs), which would be a standard nickel

There are plenty of connections between the NHL and the CFL, and they go beyond just debates about hits and concussions. The Canadian NHL teams in particular tend to have a lot of overlap with their CFL brethren on fronts ranging from competition for fans' dollars to marketing issues and initiatives to combined charitable efforts. Thus, executives often travel between the two sports. The latest one to do so appears to be former Montreal Canadiens' vice-president (marketing) Ray Lalonde (pictured above at the 2010 inauguration of the Canadiens' Hall of Fame, an initiative he developed), who Herb Zurkowsky reports is set to become the next president of the Montreal Alouettes. That role will likely officially be announced at a press conference tomorrow.

Lalonde comes in to this new job with a significant range of applicable experience. As mentioned above, there are often considerable synergies between what Canadian NHL franchises and CFL ones are trying to do from business and marketing

Star B.C. slotback Geroy Simon has been one of the most iconic Lions over the last decade, and he should be wearing the black and orange for at least another year after signing a contract extension today that will take him through the 2012 season. Simon, affectionately known as "Superman" to many Lions' fans, has been a crucial player for the club since joining them in 2001; he's been their top receiver for most of that period and helped them to the 2006 Grey Cup.

Simon (seen above showing off the Lions' retro jerseys at Empire Field last July) is 35 and has played 13 CFL seasons (11 with B.C. after spending his first two years in Winnipeg). He's currently B.C.'s all-time leading receiver and fifth on the league's all-time list with 13,737 career yards, but he isn't showing his age yet; he racked up his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard-plus season in 2010, picking up 1,190 yards and six touchdowns on 78 catches. As I've written before, there are plenty of older players who survive and

The Calgary Stampeders took an interesting step Monday evening, holding their first-ever fan forum at Calgary's Red and White Club. The team executed the concept brilliantly; many organizations have held expensive dinners or meet-and-greets restricted to season-ticket holders only, but the Stampeders instead decided to do a free event for any fans who wanted to come. That's an important move, as teams can no longer afford to only focus on season-ticket holders; in fact, it may be more crucial to attract those who are undecided if they'll attend CFL games this coming year, or haven't yet chosen how many games they'll go to. Reaching out to all their fans instead of just a selected few is an excellent move on the part of the Stampeders, and it's one that could potentially pay significant dividends for them down the road.

The other critical thing Calgary did right at this forum was bringing important people and giving them free reign to talk. In general, too many sports teams are

Herb Zurkowsky of The Montreal Gazette reports that the Alouettes have apparently signed veteran free agent Kitwana "Batman" Jones (pictured above right after a Roughriders game last year), who played with Saskatchewan last year. Jones, 29, has the size (6'0'', 240 pounds) and speed to play linebacker or defensive end, so he should bring some versatility to the Montreal defence. Last year, he put up four sacks, 13 defensive tackles and 17 special-teams tackles in limited playing time with the Riders. He has seven seasons of CFL experience, so the Alouettes are getting a guy who knows his way around the league.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Jones is how he picked up the "Batman" moniker. It comes from his brief 2009 stint in Edmonton, when he witnessed a mugging on the street and decided to do something about it:

"I heard a woman screaming and I'm like ‘What in the world?'" said Jones. "I seen a guy running around a building with the purses."

When Jones saw a woman in her

Former CFL and AFL legend Cookie Gilchrist (pictured at right during his time with the Denver Broncos in 1965) left behind a complex legacy when he passed away in January; he was fondly remembered by many on both sides of the border (and even further afield) for both his outstanding play and his leadership on civil rights issues, but he thought he was treated poorly by management in both Canada and the U.S. He still took the time to connect with some of his former teams, including speaking to the current Tiger-Cats after a practice two seasons ago, but it was widely reported that he'd turned down induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a protest against then-commissioner Jake Gaudaur.

However, the true story may not be that simple. The Waterloo Region Record just posted a fascinating piece on Gilchrist Friday (link via Drew Edwards), written by Kitchener resident Larry Scholtis, whose family Gilchrist boarded with during his time playing for the semipro Kitchener-Waterloo

The NFL's labour dispute is well underway, with the players' union voting to decertify after contentious last-minute negotiations and a potentially-nasty court battle set to follow. At first glance, this appears to be an issue largely confined to those involved with four-down football; as I wrote earlier, it's unlikely that even a long labour dispute would see a lot of NFL stars come north to the CFL. However, even if the on-field impact of an NFL work stoppage on the CFL is limited, that doesn't mean it won't have other effects on Canadian football. One potential consequence that could particularly mean a lot for the CFL is the possibility of a broader television deal south of the border.

Of course, the CFL has generally had some level of television presence in the U.S., but the league made great strides on that front last year thanks to a deal with the NFL Network. I've heard from a reliable source that the league and NFLN may expand that deal to include many more games in the