of run support by coming through

At a press scrum last Thursday, the day before the Redblacks were to play their season home opener and officially open the new TD Place Stadium, one of the owners, Roger Greenburg, was asked why he decided to become the co-owner of a football team. His answer just may be the best example of why football will work this time, when it didnt on two previous occasions in Ottawa. Im paraphrasing, but the chairman/CEO of Minto Developments said that he believes there are four pillars that make up a strong community. The first is the medical system. Second, is the education system. The third is the arts and the final one is the sports culture. He went on to say that the Senators have contributed to the sports culture, but it was time to add to that with the return of professional football to the city and the addition of professional soccer. Greenburg and his partners John Ruddy, William Shenkman and Jeff Hunt wanted to be part of building and strengthening one of the pillars of a strong community. In other words, this ownership group has done all of this for the right reason - to strengthen the community that they live in and they were rewarded on Friday night for all their hard work and perseverance. Fridays home opener was an unforgettable experience and, hopefully, showed one of our other major cities in the country, that happens to be only about four hours away, just what is possible. The Redblacks didnt score a touchdown on the field, but they did in the stands and that is what mattered most. Jeff Hunt said the team could have sold another 15,000 tickets to the game and that will translate into demand. Based on the in-game experience on Friday night, nobody should be surprised to hear that the next home game will be sold out soon. The atmosphere was electric. It was a young energetic crowd, who partied like they were attending a rock concert. In fact, in what was an ingenious move, there was also a rock concert going on before the game to get people pumped up for kick-off at what was a Canadian-style tailgate party. TD Place Stadium is fantastic with great sightlines and a design that not only looks outstanding, but is designed to enhance the fan experience for soccer and football, specifically. It doesnt feel like an all-purpose facility that accommodates many, but pleases none. The game itself was not a masterpiece, but it had an exciting finish when, down by two, Redblacks QB Henry Burris hit Kerrie Johnson on a deep ball to set up the game winning field goal. It wasnt a walk-off winner by Brett Maher, but when Ricky Ray was intercepted in the dying seconds, it was game over and the crowd erupted. The games MVP was the crowd, that included Prime Minister Steven Harper, who sat beside CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon and Rough Rider great, Russ Jackson. In fact, one of the highlights of the night was when our TSN cameraa caught a fan walking by the PM and the commish to shake hands with Jackson. It was not a slight to our country leader or the leagues top man, but a show of respect for history of football in Ottawa. And speaking of the telecast, I owe the football fans in Ottawa an apology for mistakenly saying that the five Grey Cup teams in the 60s and 70s were all coached by Frank Clair. My intention was to say that all the Cup teams in the 60s were coached by Clair. Jack Gotta was the coach from 1970-1973 and George Brancato was the coach when the Rough Riders beat Saskatchewan to win in 1976. The telecast wasnt perfect and neither was the night - apparently, some of the concessions ran out of beer and the traffic was a bit tricky, which, of course, was pointed out by some sportswriters...I swear some people would complain that their ice cream is too cold. I recently went to a George Strait concert in Dallas at AT&T Field, one of the most elaborate and state-of-the-art stadiums in the world and it had traffic issues, as well. In fact, it was so jammed up, I ended up tailgating in the parking lot for almost two hours after the event waiting for it to clear. On Friday night, the small issue were just that - small - and didnt, in any way, take away from the success of the event. It was a look at what is possible, even in Ontario ,when it comes to CFL football. The capacity of TD Place Stadium is 24,000, which just may be the perfect number and a blueprint for a possible stadium in Toronto. Our country has great football fans, but just not the volume to consistently fill a 40-to-50,000-seat stadium and at 24,000 in the stands, owners are making money. For those who would say that, if the NFL were in Toronto, they would sell out the old SkyDome, I would remind those people that the NFL regular season games played in Toronto were not sell-outs and not even close. In fact, sources have said that upwards of 20,000 tickets to the games in the Buffalo Bills series were freebies, handed to people on the street. No, 25-30,000-seat stadiums are the perfect size for CFL football, professional soccer and summer concerts and, for proof of that, look no further than Friday night in Ottawa. It can work in Toronto, as well, with a stadium at a realistic capacity and one built for football and soccer, specifically. It worked in Montreal, it is working in a big way in Winnipeg and, after Game One in Ottawa, it looks like it will be a huge hit there, as well. The answer may be BMO Field, which seems to still be part of the plan for the Argos. On our TSN set in Ottawa, Commissioner Mark Cohon had this to say when asked what it would take to replicate the Ottawa plan in Toronto: "The answer is a smaller stadium like BMO," said Cohon. "We know that they have a four-year deal left with Rogers Centre. Were talking to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, were talking to the city of Toronto and were working to see if we can move [the Argos] into BMO Field and replicate what we have [in Ottawa.]" The blueprint for the correct business model has now been created and now all that is needed in Toronto is for David Braley, or whomever buys the Argos, to start building the fourth pillar in that community. Congratulations again to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and, on behalf of the football fans in our country, thank you. At the end of the night in Ottawa, the scoreboard read Redblacks 18 - Argonauts 17, but the true winners were the fans and the community in our nations capital. Nike Air Max 1 Aanbieding . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Air Max 2019 Nederland . -- Houstons All-Star tandem of James Harden and Dwight Howard refused to let the Rockets give in to fatigue. http://www.airmaxkopennederland.com/uitverkoop-air-max-270/max-270-dames.html . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout. Nike Air Max 180 Nederland . -- Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didnt realize he had broken the rules. Nike Air Max 98 Heren Sale .twitter.com/TeZD3KOvlA — Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) September 24, 2014 Sorry for the delay, we just got back from lunch at Papa Vons #NBAFastFood pic.SEATTLE -- Jered Weaver believed he had enough left to finish off his first complete game in more than a year. Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia didnt see the point in pushing Weaver beyond the 102 pitches hed already thrown at this point of the season. "I wanted to try and extend it as much as possible, but I understand where hes coming from," Weaver said. Weaver gave up just three hits in eight strong innings, Kole Calhoun added a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Angels completed a three-game sweep with a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. The Angels gave Weaver plenty of run support by coming through in clutch situations. The Angels seven runs were all scored with two outs, including Calhouns homer, a two-run triple by Chris Nelson and an RBI triple from Peter Bourjos. "We did real good (in) situational hitting, 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position, took our walks when they were there," Scioscia said. "In between 13 strikeouts we managed to get some key hits with guys in scoring position." Weaver (8-7) continued the Angels pitching dominance in the three-game series, where they allowed two runs. His only mistake was giving up a solo home run to Dustin Ackley with one-out in the third inning on a 3-2 curve ball that came back over the middle of the plate. But Weaver followed by retiring 15 of the next 16 batters. He struck out eight, but wasnt given the chance at his first complete game since Aug. 6, 2012 against Oakland. "He had a little bit left in him. I think the 102 pitches was good, (and) theres no sense in throwing 115 or 120 this afternoon," Scioscia said. "But its a good sign that he finished strong." Weaver rebounded from two straight losses with one of his best performances of the season. Weaver had won four straight decisions in July and early August before getting knocked around by the Yankees and Cleveland in his previous two starts. He was back in top form against Seattle. Kendrys Morales singled with two outs in the fourth and was the last batter to reach base against Weaver until Ackley doubled with two outs in the eighth. Weaver tried to pitch more on the inner half of the plate after Seattle knocked him around for nine hits and four earned runs in his last start against the Mariners in July. Despite barely being over the century mark in pitches after the eighth, Sciosscia brought in Cory Rasmus to pitch the ninth.dddddddddddd "It is what it is. My goal is to try and get extended and get out there and stay out there as much as possible," Weaver said. "Its up to (Scioscia) whether he wants me to keep going or shut it down." The Angels offensive outburst was surprising considering how dominant Seattle starter Aaron Harang (5-11) was for the first 3 2-3 innings where he was nearly perfect. Harang retired 11 of the first 12 batters, striking out five and giving up only a second inning single to Hank Conger before his day rapidly fell apart in the fourth. Josh Hamilton started the rally with a double, followed by Mike Trumbo just missing a home run and doubling off the right field wall to pull the Angels even at 1-1. Conger was intentionally walked and Nelson made Harang pay for the decision, slicing a fly ball that landed on the right-field foul line and bounced into the corner. Trumbo and Conger scored easily while Nelson raced around to third with his second triple. Grant Green then capped the inning beating out an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop that allowed Nelson to score. The Angels finally knocked out Harang in the sixth, again sending eight batters to the plate and doing it all with two outs. Greens two-out bloop single was followed by Bourjos RBI triple off the left-centre wall. Calhoun then ended Harangs day with his fourth homer of the season and first since Aug. 6. Harang struck out seven, but allowed seven earned runs for the third time in August and fourth time in his last eight starts. "Hes a veteran guy, he has to be able to shut that down and get that final out," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "Just some bad misses in the middle." Seattles lone highlight was Ackleys homer, his first at Safeco Field in more than a year. After slumping early in the season and going down to the minors, Ackley is hitting .330 in his last 26 games. Seattles offensive slump continued, having scored three or fewer runs in seven of its last 10 games. Notes: Weaver improved to 13-8 all-time against Seattle in 27 career starts. The 13 wins are tied for most against any one team (Texas). ... The Angels now have swept four series of at least three games on the road this season. ... Seattle OF Michael Saunders missed his second straight game due to neck stiffness. ' ' '