Off Topic » 2014 campaign ought to be Better Late

MONTREAL - Former coach Marc Trestman always had a slogan for the season, but the one for new coach Tom Higgins for the 2014 campaign ought to be Better Late Than Never. Nine days after the Alouettes announced the veteran Higgins as their new head coach, he finally met with the media in the teams Olympic Stadium locker-room and introduced his coaching staff on Thursday. The Alouettes are a couple of months behind the rest of the Canadian Football League in getting their staff settled, but at last it is in place. Higgins named former CFL quarterback Rick Worman as offensive co-ordinator, former Edmonton and Calgary coach Kris Sweet as offensive line coach and ex-Toronto Argonauts coach Greg Quick as linebackers coach. He also brought in two former Alouettes, Andre Bolduc and Anwar Stewart, as quality control coaches for the offence and defence respectively. Jean-Vincent Posy-Audette, who worked with Bolduc at the University of Sherbrooke, was named a defensive and special teams assistant. The rest of the staff, including defensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach Noel Thorpe, had already been retained by general manager Jim Popp, who stepped in as head coach when Dan Hawkins was fired five games into the 2013 campaign. They will have less than three months to prepare for the start of training camp. Its a challenge for Worman, a former offensive co-ordinator with the Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, to set up an offensive system and work out who will be the starting the quarterback. With Anthony Calvillo retired, the club will need a new starter for the first time since 2000, with 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and the inexperienced Tanner Marsh as the leading candidates. "To be honest, I havent spent a lot of time evaluating them yet," said Worman, who has worked with CFL veterans pivots Ricky Ray and Khari Jones, among others. "I saw them a minor amount of time on (U.S. television). "The biggest thing they have to be is consistent — get rid of their mindset of following Anthony and just focus on what they do. Theres no magic formula. My job will be to match up what they do well for them to be successful." Popp has said Smith is the frontrunner, but Worman said the decision on the opening game starter will be made after camp and the teams two pre-season games. They also have former Winnipeg quarterback Alex Brink in the mix. "Everyones going to get lots of reps, so its not important at this time to say who is and who isnt (the starter)," said Worman. "If thats what Jim wanted to say, thats fine, but it doesnt matter to me. "Neither is an established, proven quarterback in the CFL." Higgins also named himself as special teams co-ordinator, a job he did for nine years with Calgary. He will be aided by Posy-Audette and Bolduc. "When youre special teams, you get to coach the whole team," said Higgins. "So theres some merit to that. "Its so much a part of the fabric of the CFL because of the three downs. You need a solid foundation for your kicking, and youre not giving lip service when the head coach is the guy thats responsible." Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall and his management team took their time after last season, when they went 8-10 and were beaten in the East Division semifinal, to decide whether to keep Popp in the dual role of GM and coach or to find a new coach. Wetenhall finally decided to have Popp concentrate on what hes best at _ finding talent. Now the new staff has to get to know their players in a hurry. "To me its not about the time issue, its what they do from now to training camp," said centre Luc Brodeur-Jourdain. "The good thing is weve been able to re-sign all our veterans and (the coaches) can get feedback from them. "Its on them now to settle everything about training camps, playbooks and the first part of the season. And we have a challenge in Montreal that most teams dont have. We have to move every day to get to practice facilities. That takes half an hour off of our 4.5 hours (daily working time limit). So we have to be sharper and more accurate in everything we do than any other team in the league." The Alouettes veteran offensive line will also have to get to know Sweet, who reportedly was unpopular with his players on previous CFL stops, although his line helped Calgary win a Grey Cup in 2008 and led Joffrey Reynolds to a rushing title. "I heard he was pretty intense as an O-line coach, but the Montreal Alouettes O-line group has a lot of veterans," said Brodeur-Jourdain. "We always took a lot of pride in being intense and very accurate in everything we do. "I think hell come to realize were passionate about what we do, and even if stuff happens in a game, even if it gets intense, were all adults and we can deal with it." Returning from last season are quarterbacks coach Ryan Dinwiddie, receivers coach Erik Campbell, running backs coach Mark Speckman and defensive line coach Keith Willis. Air Max 720 Scontate . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Air Max 720 Outlet Italia .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. http://www.airmax720scontate.it/. The former central defender calmly nodded it down and quietly went about celebrating a win with his staff. For a man who has had a lot on his shoulders this season, it was an appropriate moment. Air Max 720 Offerta . The 19-year-old Swiss centre back will initially have to impress in Uniteds reserve side to earn a spot in the first team. Veseli says "Manchester United has a long history of younger players coming through and hopefully I can follow and do the same. Scarpe Air Max 720 Scontate .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft.OAKLAND – The Blue Jays entered Fridays action the American League club most reliant on the long ball to score runs. It should come as no surprise, then, that the club struggled offensively during the Fourth of July matinee, a 1-0, 12-inning shutout loss to Oakland during which they had nine hits, including a double and eight singles. It should come as no surprise, then, that the club struggled offensively (five hits) in a series opening 4-1 loss to ace right-hander Sonny Gray and two Athletics relievers on Thursday. Fielding a lineup that included, among the bottom four, Triple-A call ups Brad Glenn, Darin Mastroianni and Munenori Kawasaki, the Blue Jays were shut out for six innings by Oakland left-hander Tommy Milone. Milone allowed only four hits, one of which was a sun-aided popup double by Steve Tolleson in the fifth inning. The Jays, with 404, ranked third in the American League in runs scored on Friday morning. A full 45-percent, or 182 of those runs, have been scored via the home run. If the blot that is Mount Davis in centerfield or the sewage backups that twice have rendered the visitors clubhouse a wasteland of human sewage arent enough to make O.co Coliseum an unappealing place, its well-earned reputation as a stadium where home runs go to die should be enough to turn Blue Jays stomachs. There are only two other teams in the American League that rely on the home run to score more than 40-percent of their runs. The Baltimore Orioles are percentage points behind the Blue Jays (166 of 369 runs, rounded up to 45-percent) and the Houston Astros are third (138 of 322 runs, 42.9-percent). By point of comparison, nine AL teams account for between 30 and 38.dddddddddddd.9-percent of their runs via the home run. Three teams (Minnesota, 26.2-percent; Texas, 25-percent; Kansas City, 24.8-percent) bring up the rear. LAWRIE MISSED Brett Lawries critics like to point to his .299 on-base percentage as the main reason for their displeasure with the 24-year-olds season. Yet, Lawries the man who drove the bus on manager John Gibbons platoons that worked so well in May. Moreover, his right-handed bat is missed as the Jays faced a raft of left-handed pitching last weekend against the White Sox and this weekend against Oakland. The Angels are scheduled to throw two southpaws next week and the Jays expect to see at least one in Tampa Bay next weekend. "We miss Brett right now," said manager John Gibbons. "Bretts a key guy. He really is. Like I said, I think when he first went down, he adds energy to that room and on the field. Our personalities arent, we dont have a lot of that. Of course his play on the field makes a huge difference." Lawrie is out with a fractured right index finger, suffered when he was hit on the hand by a Johnny Cueto pitch on June 22 in Cincinnati. General manager Alex Anthopoulos suggested last week Lawrie could be out through July. The timeframe fits; the injury has a three-to-six week healing period. ROSTER MOVE Prior to Fridays game, the Blue Jays activated reliever Brett Cecil from the disabled list. Outfielder Anthony Gose was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. Cecil pitched to two hitters in the 10th inning, setting down Nick Punto and walking Coco Crisp. He was not involved the in the decision. ' ' '