Before I even begin to express my thoughts of this off-season and the coming season, my congratulations and praise to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for winning the 101st Grey Cup and to the province of Saskatchewan and city of Regina for putting on an excellent show and experience. Authentic Vapormax Shoes . One of the best aspects of my job, maybe the best, is the experiences; the interactions with people you never forget. Whether it is meeting Tom Hanks briefly (class act) or the genuine enthusiasm and interaction of Riders and Ticats fans, I am confident I can speak for all that covered the game in saying you made us feel much more important and appreciated than we deserve. I sincerely hope the moment the new stadium is ready to roll the “Big Game" goes back to Regina with no hesitation. Overall this off-season has been a good and productive one. With new stadiums in Ottawa and Hamilton, future stadiums in Regina and Toronto, the most important aspects of the game – in-stadium fan experience and attendance – are progressing, not regressing. Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton is taking shape. The season ticket base is just about maxed out and the luxury boxes are all sold. I have yet to visit the stadium in Ottawa but I have a high level of confidence in the people running the Redblacks and what they are doing to make this organization viable. Its very important to have a CFL team in Ottawa for one big reason: it is our nations capital and will continue to enhance pride and patriotism in ourselves and our country. With Toronto, at the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, BMO Field would be perfect. I have walked around the stadium three or four times and the sight lines, angles, and proximity to the field are exceptional. Its basically on the same location as the old Exhibition Stadium and that location is excellent; not as congested as the Rogers Centre location and probably not as expensive. I dont dislike the Rogers Centre, at one time it was one of the most unique structures in North America, but BMO fits what is needed: more intimacy and less immensity. Trust me when I say this, its perfect! In on-field related issues, I like the challenge system as it relates to pass interference; the NFL will watch closely how it is executed and learn. But I also have concerns with flow of the game. Too many stops and starts in football make the game boring; I hate to say that but it is the truth. This is a pretty bold, precedent-setting move by the league. May I suggest one more? Eliminate the huddle from football with the exception of the beginning of a drive. Football players are pretty bright, they can run an entire offence without talking about it in detail after each play. Between TV timeouts, injuries, and challenges, the game is too long, especially NCAA football, which now runs anywhere from 3.5 hours to four. That is too much. How do you create a rule to keep the game flowing? Easy. Once a play is over, the offence must go back to the original position they began the play from, then the quarterback directs the play and players. Time constraints stay the same and every player that needs an ear piece can use one to offset the noise. The quarterback becomes a true quarterback, not an order taker. Realistic? I believe so. The entertainment value of the game would explode as there would be constant focus from the fans due to constant motion and action. It may be a difficult sell but as a viewer, anytime a team goes no huddle I regain and intensify my interest. Again the league could set a new standard of entertainment for the benefit of the paying public. They are, after all the most important revenue generators. Speaking of revenue, the Players Association wants a new, bigger and better deal. As a former player, I want the present players to earn more. CFL players are the most underpaid athletes in a combat sport I know. The league is not at a point where an increase can be so significant that it satisfies the desires of all. It is still a lean business that has developed stability, but not prosperity. There will be an increase for players, the amount is unknown. May I suggest this though, as a life lesson learned? It is not so much how much you make as it is how much you have and what you do with it. With an increase in revenue, the best thing the league and Players Association can do is get it out of the hands of the players to control spontaneous purchases. We have all heard the mind-numbing stories of athletes that make a lot yet have very little. And the truth is they have no one to blame but themselves. Hard pill to swallow. There will be more money, but making the money truly work so you can satisfy both your desires for security and adventure in life is critical. There is nothing more important in the CFL than the quality of the play and the player. And there should be nothing more important to that player than when his playing days are over he has physical, financial evidence he played. I dont know about you, but this was the most brutal winter I have encountered in a long time. I heard it was the coldest in Manitoba in 100 years. I am looking forward to watching a game without seeing my breath. Fall will come soon enough, but spring football sounds good to me! Vapormax Online . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. Wholesale Vapormax . The Redblacks are taking on the Edmonton Eskimos in their second regular season game Friday night. Catch the game live on TSN as the back end of a doubleheader starting at 10pm et/7pm pt. https://www.cheapvapormaxoutlet.com/ .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No.CHICAGO -- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke finally saw what made Johnny Hellweg successful in the minors. Hellweg (1-3) pitched six innings for his first career major league victory and Logan Schafer hit a three-run triple to help the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Saturday. He allowed three runs on four hits. He struck out one and pitched around three walks to earn his first victory after flourishing in the minors. "That was good to see," Roenicke said. "He came out of the first inning still a little different. But as innings went on stuff got better, location got better, I thought he pitched more with his changeup and his breaking ball. Hopefully this is the guy were going to see." Brewers relievers Rob Wooten and Brandon Kintzler each pitched a scoreless inning then Jim Henderson pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save in 27 opportunities. Hellweg was the Pacific Coast Leagues pitcher of the year after going 12-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 23 starts at Triple-A Nashville. The 24 year-old made his major league debut on June 28 in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-9 right-hander was knocked out after giving up seven runs -- five earned -- and six hits while walking two in 1 2-3 innings of a 10-3 loss. He was also roughed up in a relief appearance and another two starts before being sent back to the minors. "It feels awesome," Hellweg said. "It feels good to contribute to the team up here. I am going to embrace it a little bit. I am not going to put it behind me yet, it feels good to go out there and put up six innings and give a chance for our team to win." The Cubs got solo shots from Luis Valbuena and Brian Bogusevic who fell to 16 games under .500 at Wrigley Field. With the loss, the Cubs dropped behind the Brewers for last place in the NL Central. Cubs starter Jake Arrieta (2-2) pitched five innings and allowed four runs on three hits. He also gave up three walks and hit one batter. The 27 year-old right-hander was done in by a four-run fourth inning. Arrieta, who is trying to compete for a spot on the 2014 roster, gave up all three hits in the fourth. After Starlin Castro committed his 18th error at shortstop in the ninth, Milwaukee got an insurance run on Jonathan Lucroys RBI triple. Trailing 2-0 in the ffourth, Scooter Gennett drove in a run on a single and Schafer cleared the bases with a triple to right-centre to put Milwaukee ahead 4-2. Vapormax 2020. "First and foremost, I got a little too fine with those couple of walks and I got myself into a situation when Schafer came up," said Arrieta. "(I) just left a sinker right in the middle of the plate and he didnt try and do too much there, he just shot the ball in the gap in the right spot to clear the bases. Schafer came into the game 3-for-23 against the Cubs this season. "Well, Schafer is off and on. He comes through with some big hits, I dont want to say much hes been struggling for us, but he has been getting some big hits for us," said Roenicke. Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Arrieta needs to work on putting away opposing batters when he gets ahead of the count. "Its obviously something were trying to get a grip on, its been a problem, couple good pitches and get two strikes on guys and not being able to make a pitch to put somebody out," said Sveum. Valbuena hit a two-run homer into the right-field basket in the second inning. It was his 10th of the season and first home run since July 20th. Bogusevic added a solo homer off Hellweg in the sixth to cut the Brewers lead to 4-3. It was his fourth of the season. NOTES: Cubs manager Dale Sveum said 2B Darwin Barney deserves to repeat as a Gold Glove winner. Barney had four errors and a .993 fielding percentage entering Saturday. "He hasnt done anything for anybody to take it away from him," Sveum said. "Hes had a heck of a year defensively again." ... RHP Scott Baker (Tommy John surgery) will not be limited in his first outing since Sept. 24, 2011 on Sunday against the Brewers, but he likely wont throw more than 100 pitches, Sveum said. ... Brewers CF Carlos Gomez was out of the starting lineup, but came in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and stayed in the game. Gomez has been slowed with a sore knee. ... Despite both teams competing to stay out of the cellar in the NL Central, the announced crowd was 34, 929. ... Cubs RHP Chang-Yong Lim made his major league debut in a relief appearance in the seventh. He became the 32nd player to make his Cubs debut this season, a franchise record. ' ' '