Neues » ace Chicago Blackhawks but 11 up on the Minne

CALGARY -- The Calgary Stampeders are less crowded at quarterback this season, but there is still heavy competition for the starters job. The Stampeders employed a three-man rotation in 2013 mainly because of an early-season injury to Drew Tate. Kevin Glenn started the majority of games, but Bo Levi Mitchell was a busy third-stringer. He won his three starts and came off the bench to lead Calgary to another when Glenn was also injured. Glenn was taken in the off-season expansion draft by the Ottawa Redblacks and subsequently dealt to the B.C. Lions, which leaves Tate and Mitchell vying to lead the offence of a team that posted a league-best 14-4 record last season. "It brings out the best in us and I think that being said, we could be a starting point for the team," Tate said Sunday on the first day of training camp. "If the quarterbacks are battling, everyone else is battling kind of thing." Tate, 29, was anointed Calgarys starter two years ago when Henry Burris was dealt to Hamilton. But injuries have limited the six-foot, 190-pound pivot to 153 completions over the past two seasons. A throwing arm injury on July 6 last year and a subsequent setback sidelined him until October. Training camp reps will test the durability of the arm, Tate says. "Feels good right now. Just trying to be smart with it," he said. "I feel its all moderation with the volume we have. Its a lot of volume and its really hard to mimic that in the off-season, the kind of volume we have, especially in camp. "Ever since I was three feet tall, Ive only had one speed and getting injuries, it make you have to change your approach. So far so good. Its only the a.m. of Day 1, so a lot of ball left." Mitchell, 24, completed 69 per cent of his passes for 1,156 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Six-foot-four and 204 pounds, Mitchell says theres no jealousy between he and Tate. "Were friends through and through, no matter what," Mitchell says. "When he makes a great play, Im not looking down saying Ive got to make a better one. Im going out there, congratulating him and slapping him on the butt and saying good play. "If you look at last year, we went with three quarterbacks. I know theres not many teams in the league that are going to play one guy for 18 games every single snap, so youve got to be ready. Were going to do whatever we can to help each other prepare for the season." The two Texans both signed contract extensions in the off-season and bring different qualities to the table, says head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. "I guess the best way I could explain it is Drew is more of a jitterbug," Hufnagel explained. "Hell make plays out of nothing, just because of his mobility and elusiveness and great vision and accuracy. "Bo is a little bit of a stronger-armed guy. He has the ability to move around and make plays, but hes more of a pocket guy and throw the ball down the field." The Stampeders lost in the 2013 West Division final to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who went onto win the Grey Cup in Regina. In addition to taking Glenn in the expansion draft, the Redblacks also selected Stampeder offensive lineman JMicheal Deane and safety Eric Fraser. Ottawa also hired away defensive co-ordinator Rick Campbell to be their head coach. Rich Stubler replaced Campbell after two seasons as B.C.s defensive co-ordinator. Stampeder offensive co-ordinator Dave Dickenson signed a three-year contract extension in November. Hufnagel swung a deal with Ottawa to obtain the first overall pick the Canadian college draft in May and used it to choose Laval offensive lineman Pierre Lavertu. The hope is hes a fast adapter to the CFL as centre Brett Jones was in winning the leagues rookie award last season. Among Calgarys significant contract extensions in the off-season were CFL sack leader Charleston Hughes, receivers Maurice Price, Jabari Arthur and Joe West, as well as middle linebacker Juwan Simpson and linebacker Keon Raymond. To get some experience in his backfield, Hufnagel signed halfbacks Lin-J Shell and Josh Bell, who have experience working with Stubler in Vancouver, as well as former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Dee Webb. "In the defensive backfield, it will be interesting because of the loss of players weve had in the off-season," Hufnagel said. "Theres spots to be won." Running back Jon Cornish, the CFLs leading rusher for two seasons and most outstanding player in 2013, adopted the practice of tai chi, a Chinese martial art, in the off-season. "After doing six months of it, I understand that a lot of my movement patterns were not as efficient as they could be," said Cornish. "A lot of the things I could do on the field could be optimized. Thats what Im trying to focus on this year. "Mentally I felt I could add some aspects to my game." The Stampeders also have at camp running back Martell Mallett, the CFLs rookie of the year in 2009 when he played for the Lions. Calgarys off-season was not without its drama. The team suspended defensive back Quincy Butler nine days before main camp. He was charged with two counts of assault following an incident outside a Calgary casino. Hes due to appear in court June 26. Concordia defensive tackle Quinn Smith, Calgarys seventh overall pick in the college draft, tested positive for a steroid which he says he inadvertently ingested via a supplement. The Toronto native faces a two-year ban from Canadian university football. Smith is currently at Calgarys main camp and is subject to mandatory drug testing under the CFLs drug policy. And Price chose the first day of training camp to apologize both in a press release and in a scrum with reporters for remarks he made on Twitter over a month ago that criticized gay NFL draft pick Michael Sam. The CFL fined Price for those comments. "I just wanted to come here and be face to face with the guys and not do it from a distance," Price said. "Thats why I waited until this day to just apologize. Im aware my comments were offensive and I just want to apologize to the Stamps fans, the CFL and especially Mr. Michael Sam himself." The Stampeders are training on new turf at McMahon Stadium, which makes the pounding of two-a-days feel a little less painful. "Its a lot better, 1,000 per cent better," Price said. "Thats vacation for the joints, the ankles, the knees. Im glad they got that done. That old turf was worn out and hard. When it was snowing it was icy and hard and just rough on the legs." Teppo Numminen Jersey .S.-Cuba relations means baseball prospects get off the island and into the major leagues without payoffs to smugglers and threats from kidnappers, its hard to see the downside. Laurie Boschman Jersey . -- The taxing preseason, which included two games in China, is finally over. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-d...uk-jets-jersey/. Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers were left fretting over an MRI on the stars left knee. Paul George scored 21 points, Roy Hibbert added 19 and the Pacers used a dominant fourth quarter to blow out the Cavaliers 91-76 on Tuesday The Pacers (25-5) have won eight in a row over Cleveland, their longest active streak against any opponent. Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . "I had a pretty good year," the soft-spoken Granberg told TSN.ca with a grin from the teams annual rookie tournament in London. A fourth-round selection in 2010, Granberg is worth keeping an eye on with NHL training camps rolling around in less than a week. 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The Jets hit the road for a game following a winless homestand (0-2-1) that has dropped them five points back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild card berth in the Western Conference. Winnipegs three-game slide is its longest since an 0-5 stretch from Jan. 2-11, a rut that led to the firing of coach Claude Noel the following day. The Jets won their first four games under Maurice and went 9-2-0 in his first 11 contests on the bench before this current 2-3-2 stretch. Winnipeg ended its residency with a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators, getting goals from Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom. However, Ondrej Pavelec did not make it past the second period in net, lifted after allowing five goals on 20 shots faced. Al Montoya halted all 12 shots he faced in relief. "Weve been doing everything we can to keep ourselves in games," said Byfuglien. "Theres going to be nights it goes the way it does and thats what happened tonight. We have to find a way, stick to our game plan and just move on." Pavelec should get a chance to rebound tonight and is 3-1-11 in his career versus the Avs with a 1.dddddddddddd96 goals against average. Colorado had a four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 2-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues in a key Central Division showdown. The Avalanche are third in the division, three points back of the second-place Chicago Blackhawks but 11 up on the Minnesota Wild, who sit in fourth. Semyon Varlamov had 23 saves and P.A. Parenteau got the Avs on the board with a goal at the 8:57 mark of the third period. "We certainly had our chances to not only tie the game, but win it," said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog. Matt Duchene and Ryan OReilly both had assists to extend point streaks. Duchene has three goals and eight assists over a career-high seven-game run, while OReilly has notched three goals and seven helpers over his past six games. Nathan MacKinnon, though, had the longest point streak by an 18-year-old in NHL history snapped at 13 consecutive games. Colorado also saw forward Paul Stastny exit the loss after just one shift due to a back injury. He is day-to-day. The Avalanche are likely to start Varlamov in the second contest of a four- game homestand tonight and he has gone 6-3-1 with a 2.56 GAA in 11 previous encounters with the Jets franchise. The Avs won their first two meetings with the Jets this season before a 2-1 setback in overtime at home on Dec. 29. Winnipeg has won six of its last eight trips to Colorado. ' ' '