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. Air Max 270 Clearance .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Fake Air Force 1 For Sale .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night. http://www.outletsneakersclearance.com/fake-yeezy-boost.html. According to the Red Wings Twitter feed, Zetterberg plans to practice with the team on Thursday and is aiming for a second round comeback. Cheap Fake Air Max 95 . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Air Force 1 Outlet Clearance . Browns advice worked. Irving scored 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 88-82 Saturday night. Irving made his first shot of the night on a layup a little over three minutes into the game. LOS ANGELES -- Gio Gonzalez picked a good time to earn his first victory for Washington in the second half, coming against a talented Dodgers lineup the Nationals could see in the post-season. Backed by four homers, including two from Denard Span, Gonzalez snapped his five-game skid with a 6-4 victory on Monday night in a matchup of division leaders. Gonzalez (7-9) allowed three runs and three hits in six-plus innings. The left-hander hadnt won since beating the Cubs on July 5. He had a 4.38 ERA in his previous nine games. He also doubled and scored on Anthony Rendons double off Brandon League in the seventh. "My velocity was where I wanted it to be," Gonzalez said. "I was attacking the strike zone, fastball, curveball, changeup, it was all working. Especially in a game like this with that lineup, its definitely not easy." The East-leading Nationals (78-58) own the NLs best record while the Dodgers (77-61) are atop the West and close behind in pursuit of the top seed, despite losing for the third time in four games. "We need to win games," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. Rafael Soriano pitched a shaky ninth to earn his 31st save. He yielded an RBI single to Juan Uribe, after the ball skipped by the mound and caromed off second base, allowing Yasiel Puig to score. The Dodgers then had runners on the corners with two outs but Joc Pederson took a called third strike in his major league debut. Roberto Hernandez (2-2) gave up five runs and five hits -- including a career-high four homers -- in 4 1-3 innings. The right-hander came in 2-0 against the Nationals, having allowed just an unearned run in 15 1-3 innings in two starts against them while pitching for Philadelphia before being acquired by the Dodgers last month. "It surprised me a lot," Hernandez said through a translator. "I didnt have command of my pitches from the first inning. It was just a matter of things not working for me. It wasnt that I had lost confidence." The Nationals ended August with 40 homers, second-best in the major leagues behind Baltimore. They picked up where they left off to start the final month of the regular season, with Jayson Werth and Asdrubal Cabrera adding solo shots. Spans second homer, a two-run shot on the first pitch he faced in the fifth, extendedd Washingtons lead to 5-2.dddddddddddd That chased Hernandez, who had walked Cabrera to start the inning before striking out Gonzalez. "I really cant explain it, other than home runs come in bulk and Ive been seeing the ball pretty good," Span said. Werth hit his 16th homer with two outs in the first. The Dodgers then got a two-out homer in the bottom half from Matt Kemp to take a 2-1 lead. Asdrubal Cabrera tied it at 2 with a leadoff drive in the third. One batter later, Span hit his first homer of the game. LONG SPAN It was Spans second career multihomer game. His first came on Sept. 13, 2008. His three RBIs were a season high. He is batting .360 in 43 games since the All-Star break. STREAKING KEMP The outfielder was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and the two-run homer, his 17th of the season. He has 10 RBIs in his last nine games, batting .361 since Aug. 22. His 174 career homers are three behind Mike Piazza for fourth on the Dodgers career list. TRAINERS ROOM Nationals: 1B Adam LaRoche left in the fifth after straining his lower back during an at-bat. He is day to day. ... OF Steven Souza Jr. (left shoulder) returned from rehab and was reinstated to the active roster. He was named International League MVP last week, having led the league in nearly every offensive category. Dodgers: RHP Chris Perez (bone spurs, right ankle) was reinstated from the 15-day DL after making five rehab appearances with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. INF Carlos Triunfel was designated for assignment. CALL-UPS Nationals: With rosters expanding Monday, Washington recalled RHP Aaron Barrett, LHP Xavier Cedeno, C Sandy Leon, INF-OF Tyler Moore and RHP Blake Treinen from Triple-A Syracuse. Dodgers: Los Angeles recalled C Tim Federowicz, RHP Yimi Garcia, and INF-OF Alex Guerrero from Triple-A Albuquerque and selected the contract of OF Pederson from Albuquerque. Guerrero struck out as a pinch hitter and Garcia made his major league debut in the eighth, allowing one hit and striking out two in two scoreless innings. UP NEXT Nationals: RHP Doug Fister (12-5, 2.55 ERA) is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in his last three starts. Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (16-3, 1.73) starts. Among NL pitchers with at least 15 decisions, Kershaw and Fister (.706) rank first and second in winning percentage. ' ' '