Dein erstes Forum » yed against No. 3 Japan in October, lo

Its not fair to ask Troy Smith to become the next Anthony Calvillo. Its barely fair to ask a Ricky Ray or Travis Lulay - veteran pivots with Grey Cups and Most Outstanding Player awards to their name - to assume the role of face of the league and greatest active player. So its really not fair for a quarterback with four career starts in the CFL under his belt - albeit promising ones - to be put under that spotlight. But, as the de facto replacement for Calvillo in Montreal, fairly or not that could be the measuring stick for Smith. A more realistic expectation, and one Smith has a shot at living up to, is a solid quarterback that gives the team a chance to win week in and week out. After relieving Josh Neiswander (no longer with the team) midway through a late season game, Smith never looked back in guiding the Alouettes into the playoffs and briefly flirting with second place in the division and a home playoff date. His numbers in his short stint as starter were encouraging. While his completion percentage was just a shade over 50 percent, he threw nine touchdowns to just five interceptions and averaged nearly 300 passing yards per contest. And while his stat line from Montreals lone playoff game (14-26, 142 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was far from impressive, the poise and leadership he displayed - factoring in nerves, inexperience, and all the rhetoric attached to a rookie making his first postseason appearance - was heartening for Alouettes fans. But that composure really isnt all that surprising for a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with tangible NFL experience. Following a strong four-year career at Ohio State, two years as a starter, Smith was awarded the 2007 Heisman Trophy and then embarked on a four-year NFL career, finishing with 1,734 passing yards and 11 combined touchdowns. If youre apt to use the term pedigree to predict future success, a quarterback like Smith would surely fit the bill. And now for the best news of all in relations to Smiths chances of succeeding as a CFL quarterback: Montreals stacked receiving corps. Injuries to Jamel Richardson, proven long ago to be a bona fide stud receiver, opened the door for S.J. Green to elevate his status from very good to great last season; while Duron Carter demonstrated hes very much Pro Football Hall of Famer Chris Carters son in his CFL debut season. Health permitting, Smith will be throwing to receivers with a combined eight 1,000 yard receiving seasons, and four double-digit touchdowns seasons. And Carter almost added to that total in just 12 games last year (enjoy him while you can; the 23-year-old will be making plays in the NFL next season). With those three thoroughbreds in tow, former NFL star and notorious headline stealer Chad Johnson should be battling for fourth on the import receiving depth chart at best. Its of course hard to predict how Smith will do this season and in future years, other than to say hell be hard-pressed to make Als fans forget Calvillo anytime soon. There have been several quarterbacks of the future the past number of seasons in the CFL, few of them (less than nine!) have panned out. But Smith has everything youd seem to want to at least take your shot with him. And thats likely what the Alouettes will do. Notes Calvillo Retires 2013 marked the end of an era as Anthony Calvillo, perhaps the greatest CFL quarterback of all time, retired after 20 seasons. The majority of Calvillos career was spent in Montreal, as were the majority of his 79,816 career passing yards (a professional record) and his 455 career touchdown passes (a CFL record). Calvillo also won three Grey Cups and three Most Outstanding Player awards with the Alouettes. Expansion Draft The Alouettes lost three young players to the Ottawa Redblacks in Decembers expansion draft, none more valuable than versatile FB Patrick Lavoie, who was making a name for himself in the two years he spent with Montreal. The Als also lost DT Moton Hopkins and LB Jordan Verdone. Free Agency Montreal was once again quiet on the free agent market, deciding against bidding on any of the top names available. Free agency will be known more for when the team lost some talent, highlighted by LB Shea Emrys departure to Toronto, but GM Jim Popp did make sure to lock up some important pieces, highlighted by the re-signing of LT Josh Bourke. Return man Larry Taylor was also traded for during this period. Higgins Hired Up until Tom Higgins was hired to coach the team, it was unknown if Montreal would hire a coach or just let Popp continue on in the interim role. The Higgins hiring was strange also because GM Popp appeared to not be a part of the interviewing process for Higgins. Quatre-Vingt Cinq Despite an already solid receiving corps, the Alouettes added some more sizzle by signing former NFLer/headline-maker Chad Johnson to a contract in April. The transaction may be as much a publicity stunt as it is a solid football move but Johnson showed up to Montreal in good shape, in high spirits, and looking like he still has some football left to play. Offensive Line Losses Montreal lost two mainstays of their offensive line in the off-season when Andrew Woodruff and Scott Flory announced their retirements. CFL Draft The team helped to replenish their offensive line in the first round of the draft by selecting David Foucault from Montreal. The rest of the draft saw Montreal select Queens DB Andrew Lue 10th overall, Guelph DL Jeffrey Finley 22nd overall, York DL James Tuck 31st overall, Manitoba WR Andrew Smith 35th overall, Manitoba K/P Nick Boyd 43rd overall, Sherbrooke FB Jean-Christophe Beaulieu 49th overall, and Calgary WR Mackenzie Sarro 58th overall. Udonis Haslem Jersey . "We were left with the overall impression that the team wasnt trending toward being able to compete for a Stanley Cup," Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said in a news conference at the clubs arena. "And that was just a clear signal and why it was time to make those changes. Alonzo Mourning Jersey . So far, so good: Gonzalez has allowed one run through 12 innings this season. His second start came Tuesday night, when he gave up only three singles over six innings to lead the Nationals to a 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. http://www.authenticbasketballshopheat.i...at-jersey/.FIFA said its appeals panel ruled the case not admissible.The former U.S. Attorney had objected to ethics judge Joachim Eckerts summary of the World Cup bid investigation, claiming numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of his work. Justise Winslow Jersey . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State. Chris Bosh Jersey . The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt.Canada has drawn a deep group that includes China (14th in the latest FIFA Womens World Rankings), New Zealand (19th) and the Netherlands (15th) for the opening round of the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup. Opening the competition on June 6 in Edmonton against China, Canada also plays New Zealand in Edmonton on June 11. They will finish group play June 15 in Montreal against the Netherlands. The World Cup Draw, held in Gatineau, Que. placed the 24 qualified teams for the tournament in six groups of four. The Canadian team sits eighth in the world in the FIFA rankings. The team qualified automatically for the tournament as hosts and famously won Olympic bronze in their last competition: the 2012 London Games. Canada has undertaken a difficult schedule of friendlies in 2014, however, playing four of the top five teams in the most recent FIFA rankings. The results were mixed, but largely encouraging: earning a 1-1 draw with the top-ranked Americans in May, and a win and a draw against fifth-ranked Sweden in Los Angeles in late November. They were bested in both games they played against No. 3 Japan in October, losing 3-0 in Edmonton and 3-2 in Vancouver. They were also beat 2-1 by No. 2 Germany in June. China were one of the first teams to qualify for the World Cup, advancing to the Asian Cup semifinal on May 17. They gave the defending World Cup Champions from Japan a scare in the semifinal, losing 1-0 after extra time. The team did not qualify for the 2011 World Cup in Germany after having qualified for the previous five tournaments. Once a world power, China were runners-up to the United States at the 1999 tournament, losing on Brandi Chastains iconic penalty kick. The nation has twice hosted the World Cup, first the inaugural tournament in 1991 and later in 2007. They have advanced to the knockout stage in four of their five appearances, losing in the quarter-finals three of four times. The Netherlands were the second-last team to qualify for the World Cup, securing their berth on Nov. 27 in the UEFA qualification play-off. They finished second to Norway in their qualification group, but the 25 points they secured through 10 games, earned them a chance to secure the lone spot available to a European runner-up via playoffs. The Dutch team beat Scotland 4-1 on aggregate in the semifinal before going on to top Italy 3-2 to earn a trip to Canada. This marks the first trip to the Womens World Cup for the Dutch, whose best international result to date was a third-place finish at the 2009 European Championship. New Zealand qualified for the World Cup by winning the Oceania Football Confederation Cup by going 3-0 and outscoring opponents 30-0 in the tournament.dddddddddddd The Kiwis have qualified for the previous two World Cups in addition to having made the inaugural tournament. They have never won a match at the World Cup, going 0-1-8 (W-D-L). Current Canadian head coach John Herdman coached New Zealand at the previous two World Cups. The Group of Death was handed to the defending Olympic gold medalists from the United States in Group D. The top-ranked Americans were handed Sweden (fifth in the world), Australia (10th) and African champions Nigeria (35th). Winnipeg will play host to the first four Group D games with USA-Nigeria taking place in Vancouver and Australia-Sweden in Edmonton to wrap up the round. Japan was handed a relatively easy group, drawing 18th-ranked Switzerland, 51s-ranked Cameroon and 49th-ranked Ecuador. Group C will be based in Vancouver before a third games in Winnipeg and Edmonton. Germany drew stiff competition for the top of their group with former Champions Norway, but also have 30th-ranked Thailand and 64th-ranked Ivory Coast alongside. The Ivorians are the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the tournament. Group B will play in Ottawa before moving to Winnipeg and Moncton for their opening round finales. Group E sees sixth-ranked Brazil alongside Spain (16), Korea Republic (17) and Costa Rica (40) in Montreal before a move to Moncton and Ottawa. Finally, Group F pits fourth-ranked France with seventh-ranked England, 25th-ranked Mexico and 31st-ranked Colombia in Moncton before moving to Ottawa and Montreal. See the related links in this article for the full tournament schedule. The full groups listing can be seen below: Group A TEAMS Canada China New Zealand Netherlands Group B TEAMS Germany Ivory Coast Norway Thailand Group C TEAMS Japan Switzerland Cameroon Ecuador Group D TEAMS United States Australia Sweden Nigeria Group E TEAMS Brazil Korea Republic Spain Costa Rica Group F TEAMS France England Colombia Mexico ' ' '