History and Controversy in Week 2 The Ottawa Redblacks will go through a lot of firsts this year. Wholesale Hydro Flask Cheap . On Thursday we witnessed the first game played by the new franchise, the first touchdown scored, (Chevon Walker, who will one day be the answer to a trivia question), and almost the first win. The Henry Burris-led expansion franchise got out to a 14-point first quarter lead, but couldnt hold on against a Blue Bomber team that is for real. More on the Bombers shortly, but it was fantastic to see and call a game involving Ottawa again. Football teams in our nations capital never had bad fans, just bad owners, and that is not the case this time around. The business model is sound, the league is strong, and football fans in Ottawa can trust that this team will be around for decades to come, and get emotionally invested. The players on this team are certainly "all in". They played hard, on the road, in a hostile environment, and almost got it done. It wont be long until we see some more firsts. Like the first game at home which is already sold out on July 18, and based on Thursdays game it wont be long until we see their first win. The Real Deal Now to the Bombers, and yes they are for real! On paper there still may be some who are suggesting other teams in the league are more talented, or maybe more experienced. However, this is a "what have you done for me lately?" business so experience only helps you if you are executing. Also, at the pro level every player is talented, and the difference between winning and losing is smaller than third and inches, so the culture you create for those talented players is what gives you the edge. The difference in Winnipeg this year is that head coach Michael OShea is a team first guy to the core. It oozes out of him when he talks and it is the main reason the Bombers are off to a 2-0 start. Yes, Drew Willy has looked excellent and they have found a tailback in Nic Grigsby but lots of teams have good QBs and tailbacks. OShea is teaching that the team is the priority and that all decisions must be made with the team considered before any personal agendas. It sounds simple but there are many examples of coaches that couldnt get the message across to their players. OShea has not been perfect. He kicked around the handling of veteran Korey Banks for longer than he had to, but his teams record is perfect so far, and that is what matters more than anything. Oh, and in the end the Bombers new head coach did eventually make the right decision when it came to Banks when he cut him loose. Banks wasnt happy with his role and that may have affected the culture in the locker room. By cutting Banks and letting him continue his career somewhere else, OShea made a team-first decision. Reaction to Willis hit on Collaros There are lots of differing opinions on the hit from Odell Willis of the Edmonton Eskimos on Zach Collaros of the Ticats. On one side there are those that argue the game is fast, physical and played by tough men who know what they signed up for, which is all true. It is an old school mentality and its not wrong. However, we live in a new world where player safety has become a priority in contact sports. Finding ways to make hockey and football safer for those who participate is not just dominating league meetings, but is also very important to the players associations. So what about the hit from Willis? First, it looked like the Esks defensive end did try and turn his head and avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. Second, it also looked like he tried to lead with his shoulder, therefore you can assume that there was no intent to target Collaros head. It is also true that if there is a penalty flag thrown every time helmets collide than there would be a penalty called on every play. Having said all of that, if in fact Willis did contact the head of Collaros - whether it was an accident or not - a penalty had to be called. Many times a defensive player gets pushed or trips into the quarterbacks legs accidentally, and that has to be called as well. The league will also review the hit and there could be supplementary discipline handed down in the form of a fine. It is no longer acceptable to say that it is a tough game and things happen at light speed so you have to let the guys play. Improving player safety is priority number one, and has become a legal issue. In fact you could take the discussion even further. The Players Associations in hockey and football are negotiating the player safety agenda into new CBA agreements, and yet dont self-govern when it comes to questionable hits in a game. How many times have we heard the CFLPA announce that they are appealing a fine by the league on a player who has made a questionable hit? It happens virtually every time a player is fined or suspended. Meanwhile the player that took the hit, in this case Zach Collaros, missed the rest of the game and could possibly miss more due to concussion issues. How many times has the Players Association announced a fine within their own organization to a player/member for a questionable hit? That to my knowledge has never happened. The players associations in contact sports have got to start imposing their own fines to players that cross the line, and show the league that improving player safety is not just the responsibility of the leagues head office, but the associations as well. It looks like the hit by Willis was an accident with no intent, but it was to the head of a quarterback, and that is a penalty and should also result in a fine. There is no provision in the rule book that says, "if the player hits a quarterback in the head by accident, or if he didnt mean to do it, then the hit becomes legal." The only way that Willis could avoid a fine here is if the league determines that Collaros didnt actually get hit in the head but it was the whiplash effect that caused his concussion symptoms, and of the TV angles shown so far that doesnt seem feasible. The tougher rules in contact sports these days are designed to change the behaviour of players to protect them from themselves. Those rules are not going away anytime soon, in fact they are getting tougher. We might as well all get used to it and drop the tough guy talk. If the league lets the Willis hit go without supplementary discipline, it will set a precedent for every other time a defensive player hits the head of a quarterback accidentally. There cant be any more grey area. If a defensive player hits the head of a QB, it is a penalty and a fine or suspension - thats the new reality of football. So much so, it is hard to see why there was even a debate on this hit in the first place. Wholesale Hydro Flask Water Bottle . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. Wholesale Hydro Flask Authentic . Brad Malone had the other goal for the Monsters (1-1-0), while Elliott chipped in an assist for a three-point night and the games first star. Bryan Lerg also had two assists. Corban Knight and Max Reinhart scored for the Heat (1-1-0), who opened their season Friday with a 5-2 win over the Monsters in Cleveland. http://www.wholesalehydroflask.com/ . There was little fanfare, though, when the Yankees captain was taken out of his final regular-season Subway Series game in the eighth inning. Jeter watched the last four outs from the bench, pulled off the field during a double switch Thursday night as the Yankees held off the Mets 1-0. CHICAGO -- David DeJesus and his wife were going out to get a healthy drink on Monday when the outfielder saw he had missed a call from Chicago Cubs executive Theo Epstein. Kim DeJesus joked that he had been traded. It turns out she was right. The Nationals acquired DeJesus in a deal with the Cubs, bolstering their bench for a late run at a playoff spot. It made for a strange day for DeJesus, who merely need to move over to the visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field to join to his new team. "Its one of those moments, youre like, Whoa, and time stops," DeJesus said before Washington opened a four-game series at Chicago. "I look over at my wife and shes crying because she grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, 45 minutes from Wrigley Field. Its a surreal moment, it was kind of throwing me off. "But coming over here, seeing the guys and meeting the guys, its been a help. Cant wait to get the game over with - hopefully after a win - and go home and decompress a little bit." DeJesus hit .250 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 84 games with the Cubs, who began the day in last in the NL Central. His new team is on the edge of the playoff race -- the Nationals were 9 1/2 games back of Cincinnati for the NLs second wild-card slot coming into the series -- but DeJesus was excited for the opportunity. "Im going to give it my all," he said. "Try and be a guy out there as a leader and a guy that young guys can learn from.&qquot; The 33-year-old DeJesus is a career . Wholesale Hydro Flask. 279 hitter with 86 homers and 513 RBIs in 11 seasons with Kansas City, Oakland and Chicago. He can play all three outfield spots. "Hes a great addition," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "Hes a quality player. Anybody gets hurt, he can step right in and play at a high level." DeJesus was one of the first acquisitions for the Cubs after Epstein became the president of baseball operations. He agreed to a $10 million, two-year contract in November 2011. The Cubs get a player to be named in the trade with the Nationals, but they also save about $2.5 million, including a $1.5 million buyout for a 2014 team option worth $6.5 million. General manager Jed Hoyer said the money was a "strong consideration." "We really like David a lot," Hoyer said. "Ive told his agent and Theo told David directly, wed be willing to talk to him about bringing him back at some point. Hes a good mentor for our younger guys." The Cubs activated outfielder Brian Bogusevic from the 15-day disabled list to take DeJesus roster spot, and Hoyer said outfielder Ryan Sweeney likely will begin a rehab stint next week. Bogusevic had been out with a strained left hamstring, and Sweeney is recovering from a broken left rib. The Nationals released outfielder Roger Bernardina to make room on their roster. Bernardina hit .178 in 85 games with Washington. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '