Caledonia Park Dept: The Raiders have won the last two Canadian Junior Football League national championships, three in their five-year existence, and are considered the “Laval of junior” – a reference to the well-heeled Laval Rouge et Or university program in Quebec City, according to Globe And Mail. Harris says he considers Abassi like a father, and with that sentiment, he’s not alone among alumni. Critics, though, have accused Abassi of everything from paying players illicitly to conducting organized crime, he says and but Abassi, 54, is also the George Steinbrenner of Canadian junior football, a polarizing figure who’s invested about $1-million in the Vancouver Island Raiders. On one hand, his benevolence raises the lives and spirits of his players and community, while on the other, his relentlessness spurs resentment within the sport. The Raiders have won 24 consecutive games, and haven’t lost at Caledonia Park, their ramshackle home field, in five years. Last season, behind superstar running back Andrew Harris, who now plays for the B.C. Lions in the CFL, they beat opponents by an average of 38 points. As
reported in the news.
@t canadian junior football league, george steinbrenner
3.8.10