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Fall & Winter Indoor Soccer www.oakvillesoccer.ca (905) 849-4436 Limited space remains for Fall 2011. Registration deadline for Winter is December 11, 2011. Leagues are available for all ages and skill level Improve your skills with year round play at the state of the art Pine Glen Soccer Centre Age groups may fill prior to the deadline with no guarantee of placement if put on a waitlist Register now for 2011/2012 Fall and Winter indoor! Fall registration ends Sunday, September 11. Proud sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club Sports 30 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 h h fT e weig t is over or former offensive lineman By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR There isnt much about Mike Jovanovich today that suggests he once made a living protecting quarterbacks from menacing defensive linemen. And it isnt just the warm handshake and friendly smile as he welcomes you into his Oakville home. Granted, at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds, it seems plausible that Jovanovich might have been a good football player in his younger days, perhaps a tight end or a linebacker. But an offensive tackle? I dont stick out anymore, the 44-year-old Jovanovich says. But, for me, I dont need the notoriety. Health is more important. More often than not (when people first meet me), football doesnt even come up. Was once good to be big Jovanovich grew up in a world where it was good to be big. Weighing 300 pounds in high school, his girth com- bined with remarkable agility for f a man his size made him one o Canadas top football prospects in the late 1980s. Jovanovich considered offers from prominent NCAA programs such as Syracuse and Purdue before accepting a full scholar- ship at Boston College. He played with the Eagles for five years and earned a spot in the Blue-Gray Football Classic, a showcase con- test for some of the NCAAs top football tal- ent. Modern medicine helped Mike Jovanovich lose 100 pounds I don't stick out anymore... More often than not (when people first meet me), football doesn't even come up. Former CFL player Mike Jovanovich See Jovanovich, page 31 SLIMMED DOWN: Former Canadian Football League offensive lineman Mike Jovanovich has lost nearly 100 pounds since underdoing lap- aroscopic adjust- able gastric band surgery in 2008. MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER