History and Controversy in Week 2 The Ottawa Redblacks will go through a lot of firsts this year. 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. Fake Vans Cheap . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Fake Vans . He scored two highlight-reel goals in a three-minute span -- the second on a sideways bicycle kick in the 78th minute -- to give the Whitecaps a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers before a crowd of 20,303 at B. https://www.vansfake.com/. Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. Fake Vans For Sale . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Fake Vans From China . Hattestad managed to avoid the carnage midway through the mens final, as a crash took out three skiers, essentially leaving two men vying for gold. The Norwegian posted a time of 3:38.39, outlasting Swedens Teodor Peterson, who took silver with a time of 3:39. WASHINGTON -- An already rough-and-tumble playoff series between the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls now has a full-blown fracas, an ejection and a Game 4 suspension for Nene. What everyone will be watching when these clubs meet Sunday, with Washington leading the Eastern Conference series 2-1, is just how physical the play will get -- and whether things will escalate again. "Weve had scuffles all three games, basically. Youve got to make sure we dont lose our composure, where we get thrown out of the game like that. It doesnt matter who it is, we cant afford that," Washington coach Randy Wittman said after the Wizards loss Friday night. "So weve just got to do a better job. Hey, its very emotional. Emotional game, tough game." Nene was tossed with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter after wrapping both hands around the back of Jimmy Butlers head and neck as they stood so close their foreheads touched. Rod Thorn, the NBAs president of basketball operations, announced Saturday that Nene had been suspended one game without pay for head-butting and grabbing Butler "around the neck with both hands and attempting to throw him down." Butler made two key 3-pointers from there, helping the fourth-seeded Bulls win 100-97. "When you play physical ... things get hot," Nene said with a smile and a shrug Friday. During Washingtons victory at Chicago in Game 2, some lesser contretemps led to a total of four players getting called for technical fouls: Washingtons Bradley Beal and Trevor Ariza, and Chicagos Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah. So neither club seemed all that surprised at the rising temperature in Game 3. "Hes a guy, just like each one of us, hes a guy with a big ego," Wizards centre Marcin Gortat said about Nene. "Theres nobody in this locker room whos going to be pushed around like that. And thats just how he reacted. Does he deserve two technical fouls? I dont know. But at the end of the day, he got kicked out and we had to play without him." Added Beal: "It gets to the point where you just get pushed to the limit way too much, and I think Nene got pushed to the limit. Do we agree with what he did? Not necessarily, but he did it and wwe cant take it back.ddddddddddddquot; Noah, who has spent plenty of time jostling with Nene in the low block, called the ejection a "turning point" of Fridays game. Indeed, not only did Nene average a team-high 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in Washingtons wins in Games 1 and 2, but the teams entire approach changes when the 6-foot-11 Brazilian is on the floor. He provides big-body defence and soft-hands passing. He can score and rebound. Hes so influential that John Wall, Washingtons All-Star point guard, has called him the "X-factor." During the regular season, Washington won two of three games from Chicago, but lost at home 96-78 on April 5 without an injured Nene. The Wizards scored 26 points in the first half. As for what Game 4 would mean without Nene, Noah said Saturday before the official announcement, "Im not sure. I dont think it changes our mindset, though. Its a crucial game for us. All three games really came down to the end. Attention to detail is huge. The game in these situations is so mental. For us, its just about staying focused on the things that we can control." Asked whether he thought Nenes actions warranted a suspension, Noah said, "As a player, those arent things I can control. The only thing I can control right now is eating lunch and ice baths and sleeping and shooting free throws and things like that." All three games so far have been won by the visiting team, a pattern the Bulls would love to see continue Sunday, of course. "I cant tell you why thats happened," Wizards forward Trevor Ariza said. While Washingtons offence is particularly dependent on young guards Wall and Beal, the Bulls found some new sources of much-needed offence in Game 3: Mike Dunleavy scored 35 points, one shy of his NBA high, and Butler finished with 15, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 24 seconds to go. Wittman will want to come up with a way to change that Sunday, of course. What is not likely to change is the testy nature of this matchup. "It gets chippy," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "But youve got to be smart. Its playoff basketball. You can get ejected; you can get suspended. Youve got to keep your hands to yourself." ' ' '