Archiv » The Habs core that is still relatively young, as

OTTAWA -- Marc Cohon never tires of singing the praises of the Ottawa Redblacks ownership group. The CFL commissioner spoke to media prior to the start of the Redblacks home opener at the newly refurbished Lansdowne Park, now known as TD Place. Fridays game signifies the return of CFL football in the nations capital for the first time in nine years, but this time Cohon is convinced football is back for good. "We always believed in our ownership group and we had great support at the city council," said Cohon. "I think those two groups working together got us to this point today. It took longer, obviously there were some skeptics and some roadblocks along the way, but look at this -- you have one of the best facilities in North America I believe and when the whole project is done its going to be a great social environment. "You have what looks like a competitive team, corporate support, youve got 17,000 season ticket holders and the ownership group that Ive talked about being the dream team. Its a recipe for success." Cohon had always been a vocal supporter for the return of football in Ottawa and its clear Fridays game is a personal celebration. "Youve heard my quote before and Ill say it again, we had a hole in the heart of the CFL," said Cohon. "I think what this ultimately means for us is we have more people watching our game à this means the CFL is growing and expanding and in a big market like Ontario its important for us to be in one of its largest cities." The 48-year-old commissioners commitment to football in Ottawa has even earned him personal recognition as he admitted to being recognized by fans and given thanks for helping with the Redblacks. When asked about Ottawa hosting a Grey Cup Cohon couldnt help but laugh, but did say there was an agreement in place for the Redblacks to host a Grey Cup within the teams first four years of playing. Many would love to see the Redblacks host in 2017 to coincide with Canadas 150th anniversary, although Cohon was noncommittal. With the Redblacks now established, many expect expansion to be the focus for the nine-team league, but Cohon says attention needs to be given on getting the Toronto Argonauts out of Rogers Centre and hopefully securing a home at BMO Field. In addition, Cohon may have to deal with further delays to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats new stadium. Overall Cohon believes the league is in good standing. TV numbers are good and he expects them to improve as the season progresses. Sebastian Janikowski Seahawks Jersey .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Will Dissly Seahawks Jersey .com) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows about life in the NFL from other stints around the league. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/customized/ . Buffalos defensive co-ordinator had his second interview with Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner on Tuesday night, a person familiar with the Browns plans told The Associated Press. Rashaad Penny Seahawks Jersey . -- Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didnt realize he had broken the rules. Barkevious Mingo Seahawks Jersey . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. The home side could have doubled its tally in stoppage time as first Fiorentina defender Stefan Savic almost scored an own goal then Albin Ekdals shot clipped the top of the upright.TORONTO - The 2014-15 NHL campaign kicks off with the leagues oldest rivalry, as the Toronto Maple Leafs open the season by welcoming the Montreal Canadiens for Wednesdays clash at Air Canada Centre. The NHL regular season gets underway Wednesday with a four-game slate, beginning with another edition of the leagues signature rivalry. The historic foes met five times in 2013-14 with the Canadiens claiming three of the battles. In addition to winning the last regular-season series against Toronto, the Canadiens also made it to the Eastern Conference finals last spring while the Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons. Being the most decorated franchise in NHL history, the Canadiens once deemed a season to be successful only if it ended with a Stanley Cup title. But times have changed thanks to the onset of the salary cap era, so last seasons surprising run to the conference finals made 2013-14 an unqualified success for the Habs. Montreal swept Tampa Bay in the opening round before pulling off a seven-game upset of the Boston Bruins in the East semis. The party ended, however, when the New York Rangers downed the Habs in six games to win the conference title. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin didnt fiddle with his roster too much this summer, with his biggest move coming in the trade which sent Danny Briere to Colorado in exchange for fellow forward P.A. Parenteau, who is questionable for Wednesdays game with a lower-body injury. Bergevin pulled off another minor move right before the start of the season, acquiring bulky forward Eric Tangradi from Winnipeg on Sunday in exchange for goaltender Peter Budaj and Patrick Holland. Tangradi will begin the season with Montreals AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Montreal ended last season without Carey Price, but the clubs No. 1 goaltender is ready to go for 2014-15 and expects to get the start tonight. Price went down with a knee injury in the conference finals and was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs. The Habs core that is still relatively young, as a handful of its best players -- P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, to name a few -- enter this season at 25 years old or younger. It will be interesting to see if last springs excursion to the conference finals was a sign Montreal is on the right track, or merely an illusion. Its fun to see the guys loose and excited for the start of the season, but there are 29 other teams that are also anxious to start the season, Subban said on Tuesday. Its a fresh start. Its an opportunity to see progress and have success. While Montreal hopes to prove last season was no fluke, Toronto certainly is aiming for a fresh start after ending 2013-14 with losses in 12 of its final 14 games. The late-season swoon cost the Maple Leafs a shot at the playoffs, and front office upheaval followed the disappointing campaign. Shortly after the season ended, the Leafs named Brendan Shanahan as the teams president and alternate governor. The Hall of Fame winger left behind a job as the NHLs director of player safety to try and help his hometown team get back on the right track. While the Leafs havent made major changes to the look of the team since Shanahans arrival in April, the club did hire 28-year-old advanced statistics wunderkind Kyle Dubas to serve as Torontos assistant general manager, a move that could signal the beginning of the end for current GM Dave Nonis. Head coach Randy Carlyle also could be on borrowed time. With Toronto bringing back most of its roster from last season, the 2014-15 campaign could be one of evaluation for the Leafs as the franchise tries to transition out of its recent downturn. Of course, the Eastern Conference seems wide open at the start of the season, so making the playoffs in 2015 should be within the clubs reach. High-scoring winger Phil Kessel returns for the Leafs after leading the club in both goals and points for the fifth straigght season in 2013-14, notching 37 tallies and 80 points.dddddddddddd While Toronto doesnt need to worry about Kessels production, the club absolutely needs forward David Clarkson to perform at a higher level this season. Clarkson, a 30-goal scorer with New Jersey in 2011-12, signed a seven- year, $36.75 million deal with the Leafs in the summer of 2013 only to put up an embarrassing 11 points (5G, 6A) in 60 games. Clarksons nightmare season began with him serving a suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight in a preseason game. Although Clarkson broke an orbital bone below his right eye following a fight with Buffalos Cody McCormick during this years preseason, he could be ready to go for tonights season opener. Last year was just something I cant explain to you, Clarkson recently told his clubs official web site. It was the toughest thing and Im ready for whats ahead. Toronto forward David Booth, who was signed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal in the offseason, will not be able to make his Maple Leafs debut tonight due to a fractured foot suffered in the preseason. The injury could keep Booth sidelined until late October. Defenseman Cody Franson also will miss the season opener with a bruised left knee. The Maple Leafs expect to go with Jonathan Bernier over James Reimer in net tonight. Bernier enters 2014-15 as the clear top option in Toronto after going 26-19-7 with a 2.69 goals against average and .923 save percentage. Reimer, meanwhile, is in need of a comeback season following a campaign in which he posted a 12-16-1 record and sported a dismal 3.29 GAA. Bernier, who was acquired from Los Angeles in a trade during the summer of 2013, outplayed Reimer for the starting job early on in 2013-14 before suffering a knee injury in mid-March. Reimer and the Leafs lost the next five games and when Bernier returned on March 25, the club dropped three more in a row. Montreal has won four of six and five of the past eight encounters in the series overall and the Canadiens have taken five of the last seven meetings in Toronto. The Leafs were much better at home than on the road last season, sporting a 24-16-1 record at Air Canada Centre in 2013-14. Montreal had a solid 23-15-3 road record last season. Following tonights season opener, Toronto is off until hosting Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Habs, meanwhile, are scheduled to play the second test of a season-opening four-game road trip tomorrow night in Washington. Line Combinations Toronto Maple Leafs Forwards: van Riemsdyk - Bozak - Kessel Lupul - Kadri - Kozun Winnik - Holland - Frattin Komarov - Santorelli - Clarkson Defence: Phaneuf - Robidas Gardiner - Rielly Percy - Polak Goalies: Bernier - starting Reimer Projected Scratches: Leivo, Ashton, Booth (foot), Franson (knee) TSNs Game Notes: Canadiens at Maple Leafs - 7PM 15th all-time season opener between teams (both teams, first game of season) 6th straight year opening season match up, TOR (4-0-1) won 4 straight MTL 3-2-0 vs TOR last season (TOR 2-2-1) 3 of 5 games between teams decided by 1G in 13-14 (one other game 2G with EN) TOR: 5-0-2 last 7 season openers 3/18 on PP vs MTL last season best home PP last season, 25.2% 2-5-0 final 7 home games in 13-14 Kessel (5G, 10A) PTS in 9 of past 10GP vs MTL Bernier 17-9-1 at home last season, 2.77GAA, .917sv% MTL: Lost 2 straight openers on the road (both vs TOR) 4/16 on PP vs TOR last season 6-1-1 final 8 road games in 13-14, 1/25 on PP Pacioretty (3) tied for lead league in hat-tricks in 2013-14 Price 1-2-0 past 3 starts in TOR, 4.65GAA, .855sv% ' ' '