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all there - the stadium

(2014-09-11 20:49:31) 下一个
Just about everyone I know works. C.J. Spiller Jersey . Not all, but the vast majority. And everybody that I know who works has a place to go to work that makes a difference. A difference in that they have the resources to assist them to perform at their jobs, day after day. One of the competitive disparities in the CFL right now is that some teams, like the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks, have an inviting feel of professionalism when you visit their home environments and youre impressed. Its all there - the stadium itself, meeting rooms, weight rooms, the equipment, advanced technology and I could go on. Athletic facilities are a marvelous collection of useful implements to improve. The spaces for the Calgary Stampeders, B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders seem to be good, but not great. For the Montreal Alouettes, the space is perhaps not great, yet its still functional. But for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts, this has been a nightmare. The Argos have to get their own home and the Tiger-Cats - come Labour Day - must make Tim Hortons Field their own. Understand that I am completely spoiled and tainted when it comes to football atmospheres and their physical needs. At 18, I went from a modest high school to NCAA Division I football - and that first year was the most difficult year of my athletic life. But what kept me there was the environment. It was big time. Every aspect, every detail and every nuance at the University of Arizona was magnificent. As much as I was in over my head on the football field, I would never consider quitting. My desire to be a part of the university was greater than any anxiety I felt being a freshman at a Division I school...and that first year was nothing but anxiety. From there, after being drafted, making and playing for the Dallas Cowboys what I though was great at Arizona was good, but not as good as I experienced in Dallas. Being cut by the Cowboys and coming to Exhibition Stadium in Toronto...well, that was different. What interesting about football is that the best facilities do not transfer into wins. Whether it is the CFL, NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB, there are many teams that just dont have quality to win anyway. Still, for Toronto and Hamilton (and I will include Montreal here), it needs to change. I have no idea whats going to happen to the Toronto Argonauts in the future. Where they are going to play? What stadium they will play in next year? And their practice facilities are going to be where? I have no idea if Hamilton will play its Labour Day game in their new stadium or at a university stadium? Are the powers that be in the CFL - are they on top of this? To that, I say yes with confidence. Do the teams have a plan if stadiums and other facilities arent ready? That I dont know. In some ways, the stability of the league has never been better. But in other ways, theres a long way to go. Each team needs a home that impresses, that creates revenue and that becomes part of the community. The home needs to be multi-purpose without one function taking away from any of its others. And it needs to be a place for its employees to go to work with anticipation and pride. Some in the league have it, some do not. Here is hoping that the Argos find a home soon and create a new, empowering practice complex soon. Here is hoping the Ticats play in Week 10 on Sept. 1 and stay for a long, long time in their new shiny stadium. Going into the second half of the year, a new home could be just the shot of adrenaline that the team needs. Kiko Alonso Jersey . Aaron Rodgers found out. And so did Brady, running on empty all game long. The Bengals ended Bradys streak of 52 consecutive games with a touchdown pass on Sunday, sacking him on his first pass attempt and keeping the pressure going. Dustin Hopkins Bills Jersey . Both teams were tied at four after the first period, but Halifax (13-8-0) scored five goals in the second and six more in the third while outshooting the Huskies 47-29.SAITAMA, Japan - Canadas Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford had a season-best score in the pairs short program Wednesday to sit in second place at the ISU world figure skating championships. Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were second with 77.01 points, just behind Olympic bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The four-time world champs lead at 79.02 and Sochi silver medallists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third with 76.15 points. "It was amazing," said Radford, who won world bronze last year with Duhamel. "We wish we could skate like that all the time. Most of this season, we tried so hard to please everyone and fight for every point. Today we were a lot more relaxed and its put us in a perfect spot heading into the free skate." Less than eight points separate the top five pairs. At the Games, Duhamel and Radford helped Canada to the silver medal in the team event and were seventh in pairs. "We came back from the Olympics feeling like we had achieved all our goals," said Duhamel. "We feel very settled but from this point on were going to be competing for ourselves and not worry about every little point." Tatsuki Machida of Japan upstaged compatriot and Olympic gold medallist Yuzuru Hanyu on Wednesday to finish first in the mens short program. Machida, who was fifth at last months Sochi Games, hit all his jumps and scored a career-high 98.21 points to finish ahead of Javier Fernandez of Spain, who had 96.42 points. Three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Toronto is skipping the championships. The mens event concludes with the free skate on Friday. Skating to music from the movie "East of Eden," Machida electrified the capacity crowd of 18,000 at Saitama Super Arena with a near-flawless routine that opened with a quad toe loop, triple toe loop combination. The 24-year-old Machida also included a triple Axel and a triple Lutz in his routine. "I got motivated when I saw Hanyu win the gold in Sochi," Machida said. "I think this is thee best chance Ill have to get a medal and will do my best in the free skate. Thurman Thomas Womens Jersey. I was able to get a lot of positive energy from the crowd tonight." Hanyu fell on the opening quad toe loop and finished with 91.24 points for third place. "Needless to say the toe loop wasnt good," Hanyu said. "But how I jumped wasnt that bad so I am going to adjust for the free program." Fernandez, who was fourth in Sochi, impressed the judges with a dynamic routine and got high marks for a triple Lutz, triple toe loop combination. "One skater did better than me but I am still happy with my performance," Fernandez said. "Sometimes its hard to get motivated right after the Olympics by my coaches told me to work hard and I can see that hard works pays off." Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic was fourth, followed by Han Yan of China. Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., was 15th, world junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 16th and Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., was 22nd. Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were sixth in the pairs while Paige Lawrence of Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., were 12th. In Sochi, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch contributed to Canadas team silver and were fifth in the pairs. "It was nice to skate the program clean one last time. All those run-throughs paid off," Moore-Towers said. "I felt great, calm and confident," added Moscovitch. "The skate felt good. Our goal is to skate to clean programs and we are halfway there." The pairs event concludes Thursday with the free skate. "I think youll find there is an easier sense of flow throughout the program," Radford said. "Weve just made some little adjustments to free up the program and when weve been skating it in practice, it feels lighter and smoother and it feels easier for us to just let it go and enjoy the moment." The womens short program is also scheduled for Thursday. ——— With files from The Associated Press. ' ' '
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