KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- B.C. Lions head coach Mike Benevides says his team has a better handle on what makes Khalif Mitchell tick this time around. The hulking defensive tackle helped the Lions win the 2011 Grey Cup, however a series of incidents on an off the field the following season precipitated a trade to the Toronto Argonauts prior to the 2013 campaign. The mercurial Mitchell rebounded in Toronto and asked for his release from the Argos to pursue NFL opportunities this winter, but when those failed to materialized the Lions surprised the rest of the CFL by bringing him back into the fold. "I think hes a person thats matured. Hes a person thats experienced some things," Benevides said at training camp this week. "The biggest thing I see is everybody else understanding who he is. "I think hes very conscious of whats occurring and whats going on around him. What people need to know is he is not a bad person. Hes a good person." Benevides would know. He was the Lions defensive co-ordinator back in 2011 when Mitchell had his best season, compiling 33 tackles and six sacks. "I see everybody understanding who he is and sometimes you have a misconception or you dont understand someone and that sometimes creates issues," said Benevides. "Khalif is a very charismatic guy, hes a very passionate guy. He enjoys the game. His teammates and his team and the guys around him are very important to him." But it was those teammates who wanted him out the door after the six-foot-six, 315-pound Mitchell made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2012. The league suspended him two games for violently hyperextending the arm of an opponent that July before fining him an unspecified amount for making multiple throat-slashing gestures in another game. Mitchell was then fined and suspended again for violating the CFLs social media policy after using a racial slur on Twitter. Benevides said the teams leadership group was consulted when the idea to was first floated to bring Mitchell back, and it was agreed that all parties could move on and work towards winning the Grey Cup, which the Lions host in November. "It was a long process and discussion. There was a lot of guys that I spoke to and they were the ones who said Bring him back in the room," said Benevides. "At the end of the day we all have a job to do and thats win." But while his coach has seen growth and maturity, the 29-year-old Mitchell emphasized hes still the same person in many ways. "I havent changed who I am. Even when I came back to B.C. I was like Im going to be Khalif and they were like We understand that," said Mitchell, referring to himself in the third person. "I think a lot of people dont understand who Khalif is because a lot of people only see me in football or from the negative things that Ive produced in the media." Lions running back Andrew Harris expressed delight when Mitchell was traded last year, tweeting "Good riddance!!!!" after the deal with the Argos was announced. The Winnipeg native said hes willing to move on because of Mitchells unique skill set and a hope that he has learned from his mistakes. "Khalif is a beast. Hes a guy that can help us win football games, and thats the most important things," said Harris. "All the off-field stuff that happened in the past, its just maturing from that now. Things happen with people and youve just got to move on from that and trust that there will be better judgement in the future. "Theres definitely no animosity between us. Were teammates now and were just working together for the one goal and thats the Grey Cup." Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian added that there werent any awkward conversations when Mitchell walked back into the locker-room. "I think the guys all know Khalif, and thats the biggest thing for us," said Elimimian. "We know that hes a good guy. We know he means well. We know that hes a very bright man. But also the thing is hes a great football player and thats what we need in the locker-room and on the field." Lions defensive back Ryan Phillips said it was made clear to Mitchell upon his return that he can be himself as long as it doesnt hurt the team. "Just understand that theres consequences to mistakes," said Phillips. "Hes grown up from that. We know the dominant player he can be as long as hes focused on football." Theres no doubt that Mitchell will help an already solid defence get better. The Lions surrendered the second fewest rushing yards per game (94.4) in 2013, but allowed the second most rushing touchdowns (17) and recorded the third fewest sacks (45). Mitchell put the drama from 2012 behind him and nearly matched his 2011 numbers while playing with Toronto last season, registering 32 tackles and five sacks. "In order to be successful in our division, youve got to be very good against the run. Youve got to be big inside," said Benevides. "Hes another big, effective body that can have an impact in the interior line of scrimmage, and good teams win at the line of scrimmage." Mitchell said he never expected to return to the West Coast after his messy divorce with the Lions last year, but is ready to do what he does best -- stop the run and get after the quarterback. "I definitely wasnt expecting to come back. Im sure when they told me Good riddance and Bye they werent expecting me to come back either," he said. "Im here now and regardless of what the situation was, at the end of the day weve got to win a championship." Chicago White Sox Store . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/. Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. Stitched White Sox Jerseys . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Leave it to Matt Niskanen, the newly proclaimed Eddie Haskell of the Washington Capitals.Major League Soccer is approaching the business end of the schedule. It is now into its eighth full month of regular-season play and the teams are entering the final laps to see who will be in a playoff spot when the checkered flag comes down on Oct. 26. It has been another thoroughly entertaining season but the league is far from perfect. With just over two weeks left here are the three things I would change if I became MLS commissioner for a day. -- 1. SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR FINAL DAY OF SEASON Toronto FC end their season in New England on a Saturday night while Columbus finish their campaign the next day. The two are currently locked in a fascinating race for a wild-card spot but on that weekend the Crew will know exactly what they need heading into their match, which might be simply a draw, something they wouldna€?t necessarily know if they were unaware of the Toronto FC result. Similarly, Vancouver and Portland are currently going head-to-head in a race for the fifth spot in the Western Conference. On the final day of the season Portland kick off at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt, while the Whitecaps start their game at 10pm et/7pm pt when the Timbers will have around 15 minutes left in their game. Neither of these scenarios is fair. The World Cup found out the hard way with a€?the disgrace of Gijona€? between Austria and West Germany in 1982 and every major European league now plays all of their games at the same time for a reason. MLS needs to act on this immediately because right now they are opening themselves up to a situation that could see two teams playing each other while knowing exactly what they need to do based solely on the start time of their games. CHANGES TO BE MADE: I understand there are stadium conflicts, television deals and many other factors that go into organizing kick off times. However, none of them are a good enough reason as to why the league should not start every match on the final day of the season at the same time. If they ever had a Gijon moment, it would be more than just a disgrace considering the world is showing them just how it should be done. POTENTIAL ISSUE: What if it is not logistically possible to play in those stadiums on the final day of the last weekend? SOLUTION: Ideally, you play them all on a Saturday away from the NFL and find a time that works for all time zones. It should be done. Not only would this bring more attention to dramatic playoff races but it is also the only fair thing to do for the teams and their players. For that reason alone the league needs to find the time and date that works. If finding ten available stadiums on a Saturday in October proves to be more of a challenge than it sounds then find a different time. 8pm et/5pm pt on a Friday? Even Sunday? It doesna€?t matter. It has to happen. -- 2. IMPROVE THE WAY GAMES LOOK ON TV I have really enjoyed commentating on some great games in MLS this season for TSN and a lot of people behind the scenes work very hard to put together an excellent product that thousands of people enjoy watching every weekend. However, it can get better. CHANGES TO BE MADE: MLS wants to become one of the worlda€?s leading leagues by 2022 and one of the ways they can do that is by pushing the boundaries with technology. Never have more eyeballs been placed on this sport and if you show the world a different lens to view it through then people will react. I would have them place more cameras in the stadiums including a high tactics view above each goal that people can watch solely with their MLS Live accounts. More importantly, I would work out an agreement with the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) to have the referees wear portable GoPro Cameras on top of their heads, with an open line being sent to the home and away brooadcast trucks.dddddddddddd POTENTIAL ISSUE: What about some difficult scenes and conversations going out live that shouldna€?t be shown? SOLUTION: Due to the abuse referees receive from players the agreement would have to stipulate that it could not be shown live during a stoppage of play but some of the replay images you would see would be fascinating. It is already working in other sports, including rugby league in England where the referee moves around the field just as much as they do in soccer. Thankfully, in that sport they dona€?t let their players berate the officials with a tirade of abuse but perhaps this camera could help solve that as well. Possibly. For now, though, for the day I am in charge, I would do whatever it takes to have referees wear them for every game going forward. -- 3. PLAYOFF SEEDING CHANGES FOR 2015 Next season New York City FC and Orlando City will be joining the Eastern Conference. The expected two year hiatus, and rebranding, of Chivas USA leaves 12 teams in the East and eight in the West. It is expected that Sporting KC and Houston Dynamo will join the West next season, turning the already superior conference into an absolute powerhouse. Remember the NFCa€?s dominance over the AFC in the NFL during the late 80s and 90s? Well, this could be the same. Forcing teams in the West to play more games against each other is one thing (clearly some kind of balanced schedule needs also to be resolved in years to come with expansion) but should one of those teams really miss out on the playoffs if they were still able to get more points than a fifth placed Eastern Conference side that played weaker teams more often? Absolutely not. CHANGES TO BE MADE: There is no need for a revolutionary new playoff format that will be difficult to understand for fans. MLS should again reward the top three teams in each conference with a playoff spot but the next four a€?wild carda€? spots should simply go to the teams with the next four best point totals, regardless of what conference they are in. This, much like Major League Baseball, would turn everyonea€?s attention to the wild card standings and the top four in this would be ranked in that manner and still play in the one game playoff matches (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3) that currently exist. POTENTIAL ISSUE: How does MLS avoid the nonsense, similarly to what took place in 2010, where teams can win a playoff game and then get moved into a different conference, which they could subsequently become champions of, having played the entire regular season in the opposite one? SOLUTION: Conferences by region are a nice idea for regular season but are meaningless in playoff format. They have no history and having teams swap back and forth between them further strengthens the argument at just how irrelevant they are. Why should a league be restricted from common sense based on geography? Take the top six teams and rank them in order of points. The two wild card winners then take spots seven and eight and then you have two knockout rounds for the quarters and semis before the final based around a 1 vs 8 format. This also eliminates the problem that the NFL had when, so often, their best two teams were in the same conference and were unable to meet in the final. This solution also means a team can finish seventh in the West and get in, which they should if they were able to get more points than the team who finished fourth in the East, for example. -- Now if we can just get the regular season wrapped up before the international break in October and the MLS Cup awarded before the international break in November we wouldna€?t have to see players leave their clubs at crucial moments of the season. Somehow I think that may take me more than one day to change. ' ' '