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On a cold, sad day in Surrey at the end of a cold, sad season, Wally Buono was asked if he’s concerned about the state of the B.C. Lions.

Apparently the question struck a nerve.

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“If I told you ‘no’ then you’d say I’m an idiot,” said the Lions’ head coach and GM. “If I told you ‘no,’ you’d say he has to be the stupidest guy in the world. How can he be here as long as he has and not be concerned?

“Remember one thing: I didn’t come back to coach to put myself through this misery. I came back because I felt the franchise needed to be stable and we needed to win some more games. Do you think that’s been resolved?”

Uh, we can only assume that’s a rhetorical question.

Buono and the Lions, who started this season amid so much optimism, straggled into Winnipeg on Friday for an encounter with the Blue Bombers on Saturday, with one last chance to restore some pride to their troubled franchise.

On the field, the Leos are 6-8, sit in last place in the Western Conference and figure to miss the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. But, somehow, their football issues seem almost trivial compared to their off-field dilemma where owner David Braley is, theoretically, trying to sell the team in what is likely Buono’s last year on the job. And did we mention the Lions are in need of a new president?