Fantreffen » cowardly fashion, he tried to slough off a positive test on a

I am happy the bye weeks are over. Two games is 50 per cent less preparation time for me but two games compared to four is just not the same. As a former player, the bye week always came at the right time but as a fan and public conduit, the flow is not the same. The meaning of who wins and how they do it does not relate in the standing as directly. Four games a week for the rest of the season is great. At this point of the season - heading into Week 8 - the best team playing their best game are the Toronto Argonauts. Three dominate wins over Winnipeg, BC, and last week a 38-13 win in Montreal, makes the Argonauts the team to beat in the East. Yes, when you evaluate that Montreal game, the Alouettes did beat themselves as much as Toronto beat them - five fumbles, one interception and a turnover on downs is a disaster - but Toronto took those moments and produced points. The Alouettes are in trouble! A statement of the obvious, I realize, but as I look to the future I see next week in Saskatchewan coming off a loss, than BC - who is going to improve - followed by the Argos again back-to-back. The reason for the Als regression and the reality of 2-4 in the standings do begin with the calculated mistake of the head coaching change to begin the season. But the Argos game showed a lack of emotion and passion that has to be a concern as well. Seven turnovers do depress a collective teams ability to regroup but this is pro football not college and pro football players have to have the ability to concentrate on the present moment and nothing else. I have never seen Montreal lose its "fight" the way that team did and it has to be a concern. The other team, Toronto, showed a killer attitude that all coaches love to be a part of. Avoiding mistakes is so important in football - as important as making great plays. Of equal value is taking advantage of opponents mistakes. Toronto crushed Montreal in the first quarter and the Als never recovered. Switching topics completely, Argos defensive coordinator Chris Jones is the next head coach candidate to be considered. Dave Dickenson and Jacques Chapdelaine in BC are two others, but Jones has the ability to see CFL talent and then see them make it happen on the field. Cornerback Alonzo Lawrence played his first game and looked like he can play many more. Whats amazing to me is that out of the starting 12 on defense for the winning Grey Cup team, only three remain - Patrick Watkins, Robert McCune and Marcus Ball. Yet, you get the feel that this defense is going to be as good as last years defense soon. Argos safety Matt Black is also improving game-by-game. The second game of Week 7 lived up to the hype. Well, if youre a Stampeders fan, that is. The season is a grind, that is a given, but the secret to making the grind productive is to look at the practices professionally and take the games personally. Calgarys win over the Riders happened because it became personal. John Cornish was tired of hearing how great Kory Sheets is. The front five of the Stampeders was tired of hearing about how good the front five of Saskatchewan is. Both had something to prove more than winning the game. Players know about other players - who are playing well and who arent playing so well, and every aspect in between. Players want to be all-stars, gain individual recognition for a job well done and everything that goes with it. It is natural and normal in the "human" world of competition. I thought Fridays win by the Stamps was great because Calgary took it personally while Saskatchewan took it professionally. Next time these two teams play again is Saturday, October 26th, Saskatchewan at Calgary, and could be for first place in the West. Ok good; the bye weeks are over. Winnipeg will regroup with all the management changes, both Hamilton and Edmonton are improving, Montreal has major challenges, Saskatchewan will bounce back, and Toronto and BC are on a major roll. Now, staying healthy is as important as anything else with 12 straight weeks and four games a week. Let the grind begin at practice but always make the games personal. Adidas Superstar Heren Goedkoop . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Adidas Ultra Boost Nederland . Pominville scored in all three of Minnesotas games last week to help the Wild (8-4-3, 19 points) earn four out of a possible six points. His best performance was in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Friday, where he posted a season-high three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal. http://www.nmdtekoop.com/ . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. Adidas y3 Kopen . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Adidas Ultra Boost Goedkoop . Cammalleri scored two goals, Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout, and the Flames erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Stars 4-3 on Friday night.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss the NBA of Canada, New York broadcasters, Milwaukee Brewers fans and Johnny Manziel. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to the National Basketball League of Canada, a nine-team minor league that is emphasizing the minor league, of late. Before a playoff game 7 this week between the Windsor Express and the London Lightning, Windsor owner and apparent local goofball Darton Willis ejected London Free Press columnist Morris Della Costa because he disapproved of his work, which in this case included tweeting about a Windsor player flipping off some fans. Commissioner Paul Riley cited his own experience as a journalism professor while siding with the owner, which should be taught in introduction to irony 101. If these maroons were trying to get their minor league some attention, ok, it worked. But this is what we learned: if this is how you treat the people who pay attention to you now, why should the rest of us bother? Dave Naylor, TSN My thumb is down to the trio of broadcasters at WFAN in New York, who this week criticized the Mets Daniel Murphy for missing the first two games of the Major League Baseball season so that he could be with his wife for the birth of their son, Noah. First a little perspective here folks; Daniel murphy played 161 games last season for New York, so it doesnt appear as if hes a slacker. Even if you happen to believe that a trio of baseball games is more important that being present for your childs birth - guess what - its a right the players collectively bargained. Can we all just admit that professioonal sports is the only place where anyone can be criticized for missing work to be there for the birth of a child.dddddddddddd And really, for those of us who love pro sports, thats kind of pathetic. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to the standing ovation brewers fans gave Ryan Braun at Milwaukees home opener. I get it. Sports, like politics, are local. Hey, Braun might be a drug cheat and liar, but hes our drug cheat and liar. But even after serving his 65-game suspension and kissing up with apologies to season ticket holders, Braun hardly seemed worthy of a love-in. In cowardly fashion, he tried to slough off a positive test on a urine sample collector. He attempted to cover his drug shame by implying he was a victim of anti-Semitism. Fans are free to choose their heroes, Milwaukee should have chosen more wisely. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the legend of Johnny Manziel - yes, hes already a legend, perhaps too soon, so Ill stop short of saying thumbs up to Johnny Football himself. Yes, Johnny Football, or J-man or JFF, as he wants to be called if youre buying apparel with those trademarks that hes seeking. J-man, I would have thought Jay Onrait would have beaten him to that, and JFF is either just for fun or Johnny-freaking-football, Im not sure. But we love stories like his in this business, and so we look forward to the NFL draft primarily because of him. The team that picks him suddenly becomes more interesting, no matter how interesting it might be already, and it will have to inform Manziel that hes a rookie and he has veteran teammates, who wont necessarily like him as much as the media does. ' ' '