miaowang123: man roster, it doesnt go 89 and then Michael Sams over there,

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University football has started in Canada. Chuck Bednarik Womens Jersey . Last week, the OUA kicked off with some games, this week Canada West and the Quebec Conference go at it. And next week, the four-team Atlantic conference will begin play. To no ones surprise, Laval is the top-ranked team in the nation. Laval has started seven of the last nine seasons in the number one spot and the other two times they were in second spot. One of those times was last year when they were second to McMaster to whom they had lost the 2011 Vanier Cup, 41-38 in overtime. Laval has been in four Vanier Cups in the last five years, a mark only done by the Saint Marys Huskies, who appeared in three in a row and won two of them. I can pull out last years column or the year before or the one before that because its the same year after year. In brief, the Laval Rouge et Or are strong. The have depth, experience and usually get the recruits that they want. The Rouge et Or are the defending CIS champions, winning an unprecedented seventh national crown since 1999 with head coach Glen Constantine becoming the first man to coach six Vanier winners, all with Laval. Laval is solid everywhere. They have a glorious past but Constantine doesnt dwell on it, in fact he doesnt wear any of his six Vanier Cup rings. "The rings stay in a drawer and maybe when I am done as a coach, I will look back fondly on all of them," he said.  As for the current year, he says "every year is different and we always lose veterans and get new talent.  Its challenging and interesting and I always enjoy it." Other teams from Quebec in the top 10 include the Montreal Carabins and Sherbrooke Vert et Or. Sherbrooke has steadily improved over the years while the Carabins seem to be the only team that can beat Laval or stay close to them in conference tilts. Its been years since Laval has lost a home conference game and that was to Montréal on September 19th 2004, losing a 14-13 squeaker. In fact, they havent lost since. Thats almost a decade of home field wins. Simply amazing. The proverbial question is not will Laval win the conference but will they lose a single game on the road or at home. In Ontario, there are four teams from this conference in the top ten. Western University, coached by Greg Marshall, always seems to be there. Another, McMaster has been a power for five straight years under coach Stefan Ptaszek. They have been in the Vanier Cup the last two years, winning in 2011. Guelph came out of nowhere to make the conference final last season and have many returnees. And every four or five years, Queens has a really strong team and this year seems to be the case. "Weve got a great group of returning seniors, some were here during our Vanier Cup season (they won the Vanier in 2009, beating Calgary 33-31)," head coach Pat Sheahan said. "Weve had solid recruiting classes since and have built a competitive nucleus. And, there are a number of big-play guys on this club. We play McMaster on Monday so we will know if were for real or not." They must have a good club to start the season as the #2 team in the nation. Also theres a new team in the Ontario conference as the Carlton Ravens are back in the fold after a 15-year absence and coach Steve Sumarah is getting ready for a "learning experience". "This is a very strong conference with some of the top teams in the country so Im sure we will get our knocks but I see us growing in the next few years," Sumarah said. Sumarah is the former head coach of the Saint Marys Huskies. In fact, the last time an Atlantic school made it to the Vanier, Sumarah led SMU against Western in 2007.  They won the Uteck Bowl by upsetting Laval, 20-2. Out west, the Calgary Dinos have won five straight Canada West titles for the first time ever under head coach Blake Nill, who is glad to be placed as the third-ranked team but admits it could be hard to repeat. Nill keeps hearing the names of his former payers on CFL on TSN broadcasts. "Weve had great success in the last five years and there are around nine guys playing in the CFL such as Edmontons Nate Coehoorn, Calgarys Matt Walter and Anthony Parker," said Nill. The first overall pick in this years CFL draft was Calgary Dinos lineman Lindon Gaydosh. But Nill sees Saskatchewan and Manitoba as strong teams out west. "The Saskatchewan Huskies are always strong and I hear this season Manitoba is up there," said Nill. And, in Atlantic Canada there is not one team ranked in the top ten for the first time ever. "That is not surprising," said Jeff Cummins,  who coaches the defending Atlantic champions Acadia but his Axemen have lost a lot of seniors, including MVP quarterback Kyle Graves. Saint Marys which usually gives Acadia its best battle and may be the favourite in this conference, reason being they may have one or even two good quarterbacks. "Last year, senior Jack Creighton got knocked out for the season in the first game of the year. Creighton is trying to make a comeback following neck surgery and we have Ben Rossong, who transferred from Western but could not play last season," head coach Perry Marchese said. In a conference that has very limited quarterbacking talent now that Acadias Graves is no longer a force, Rossong may be the QB to watch. The Atlantic conference hasnt made the Vanier Cup since 2007 and have been soundly beaten in the national semifinal the last five seasons and that may well be the case this year. For TSN.ca, Im Alex J. Walling Alex j can be reached via email at: ajw@eastlink.ca Carson Wentz Jersey . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots. Miles Sanders Youth Jersey . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night.ST. LOUIS -- Jeff Fisher has never been afraid to buck a trend, draft a troubled player or grant a second chance. The coach of the Rams stuck with Adam "Pacman" Jones and Kenny Britt when he was at Tennessee, despite their off-field problems. Britt is now reunited with Fisher in St. Louis. Fisher recently rehired Gregg Williams, the defensive co-ordinator who was given a one-year suspension by the league for the bounty scandal with the Saints. It was not a surprise that it was Fisher who helped Michael Sam make history as the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. "He is an amazing leader, and even better, hes a better man," said Wade Davis, the head of an advocacy group for lesbian and gay athletes. Davis currently is doing some work with the NFL. "He looks at everything from all angles and hes not afraid to take on a challenge." The 56-year-old Fisher deflects any praise for being a trailblazer, insisting it was simply a football decision to upgrade one of the NFLs top pass rushes by taking Sam at No. 249. "In our world, nobodys going to agree with what you do 100 per cent of the time because everybody has opinions, and thats fine," Fisher said. "Im concerned about whats going on in the building, with the staff and players, the direction were headed. Thats always been the case." At least on the field, Fisher can relate to the challenge for Sam. He also was a seventh-round pick, the fourth wheel of a star-studded Southern California secondary that featured Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith and Joey Browner. He then carved out a career playing under Mike Ditka for a Super Bowl winner in Chicago and is entering his 19th season as an NFL head coach. Lott, a Hall of Famer, recalls Fisher smoothly making the switch from wide receiver to cornerback. "To me, its easy to play wide receiver because you know where youre going," Lott said. "Having to react, respond and do it with confidence and knowing youre not going to win every play, thats the mindset on defence. The determination he had then has stayed with him." Not long after Sam came out in February, Fisher said hed have no problem having him on the team, that this was an age of diversity. Turns out it wasnt just talk. Several picks before the Rams took Sam, Fisheer broached the subject with owner Stan Kroenke and general manager Les Snead. Randall Cunningham Jersey. Ditka said he wasnt surprised it was Fisher who stepped up when every other team was backing away from Sam. Ditka, who once traded all his draft picks to land Ricky Williams, called it a "pretty gutsy move." Players have fallen in lockstep with their coach on the question of picking Sam. Defensive end Chris Long called it a "football move" and so did linebacker James Laurinaitis. "I dont think it was courageous," Laurinaitis said. "I think its a calculated move by the organization. ... If you have the opportunity to draft a guy that you think is extremely productive and maybe you had a higher grade on him than where he is, you go ahead and take that. I think football-wise, it was a very smart decision." Fisher wouldnt say how far Sam slid on the Rams draft board. The coach joked that divulging that information might affect Sams rookie contract. Titans broadcaster Thom Abraham remembers Fisher in 2009 after Tennessees 0-6 start removing his sport coat, tie and shirt at the podium of a civic function to reveal a Peyton Manning jersey underneath. The punch line: "I just wanted to know what it felt like to be a winner." "Picking Sam did not surprise me one bit," Abraham said of Fisher. "Hes confident in his ability to be out front, and almost represent the NFL." Sam has had several off-season workouts and more practices are on tap this week with the veterans. Long said Sam was working hard and former Missouri teammate, receiver T.J. Moe, said the team viewed Sam simply as someone trying to make it in the NFL. "He is on the team. Theres a 90-man roster, it doesnt go 89 and then Michael Sams over there, this is the gay team, this is the straight team," Moe said. "Michael Sam is on this team and hes treated just like anybody else." And if Sam struggles, nobody that knows Fisher well doubts the coach will have any problem cutting him loose. "He doesnt like doing that part of it," said Brad Hopkins, a former Pro Bowl offensive tackle who played his entire NFL career under Fisher. "But he knows it has to be done, and that you cant make everybody happy." ' ' '