while collecting five of their seven field goals. Hickson

This B. nfl jerseys china .C. Lions team that starts the 2012 season may be even better than the Lions team that last year finished the regular season at 11-7 and won the Grey Cup. I say this in reference to their personnel carried over from last year combined with their newly acquired personnel. Put those two groups together and you have a pretty impressive starting 24. The majority of the time when a team wins a championship, players move on. One or two retire, and those who have earned free agency use it to their advantage to create a new opportunity for themselves. Its also rare to repeat as champions because the desire for that winning feeling has been satisfied. Sometimes its tough to regenerate that same maintained intensity for an 18-game schedule and playoff run. With this years Lions, its a little different, in a good way. Yes, they lost LB Solomon Elimimian and DE Aaron Hunt. But to great surprise, they kept DL Khalif Mitchell and OT Jovan Olafioye. Losing just two starters to free agency from a Grey Cup Championship team is pretty good. And yes, some players retired – DL Brent Johnson, DB Davis Sanchez, and RB Jamal Robertson – but as a compliment to those players, the timing was perfect. All three wouldnt have been starters this season; all three went out on top. I can only wish. Then in the off-season, the Lions improved their roster. Both Lin-J Shell and Byron Parker are risk-taking defensive backs that will enhance the confidence of the entire defence. So, can the Lions repeat? Will they have enough energy and enthusiasm to pay the price to do it again? Well, first of all, it will be a different team with Mike Benevides as head coach. When the head coach changes, the team changes – trust me on that one, I know from experience. This will be a new Lions team. Everyone knows the history of Wally Buono, and I thought it was a very classy move on his part to step aside. I am sure Buono would have liked to have the chance to coach in the 100th Grey Cup, especially considering the team he has, but he is giving that opportunity to someone else. It was a pretty unselfish move by Coach Buono in a sport that has strong egos at all positions. So Benevides takes over as the 24th head coach in the clubs history, and guess what? Hes Canadian. Born in Toronto, hes currently the only Canadian head coach in the league. So look at the possible Cinderella story for Benevides: born in Toronto, played high school and college football in Toronto, and now may come back to Toronto as a Canadian head coach for the 100th Grey Cup. Movies are made of these types of stories. The No. 1 thing I like and respect about Coach Benevides is that hes earned his opportunity. From Central Tech High School – as a nose tackle believe it or not – to York University. Then as a guest coach, to an unpaid assistant. Next a special teams coordinator, linebackers coach, and for the last three years a defensive coordinator. And he also ran the Canadian talent evaluation for the Lions. Mike Benevides has earned it! The opportunity to be a head coach in the CFL has nothing to do with luck or association. It is based on paying the price. What will determine whether Benevides experiences success or failure? The same as any head coach: keeping his team healthy and having his players continue to improve. His first challenge is easy to identify: win more games in July and August so theres not as much pressure in September and October. Through my observation, I would say it is true that maintaining success is tougher than creating it for the first time, and that will be the Lions ultimate challenge. But it is a new team, with a new head coach who could be a Canadian head coach leading his team in his hometown in the 100th Grey Cup. Sure would make for a good movie or better yet, a true documentary. wholesale nfl jerseys . UK Anti-Doping says the Iraqi-born professional tested positive for stanozolol following his four-round loss to former Olympic champion Audley Harrison on May 26. cheap jerseys from china . But its evident heading into Fridays NHL draft at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh that Brian Burke and the Leafs can veer in a number of different directions with card in hand, each aimed at bolstering an organization yearning for its first playoff berth post-lockout. BOSTON -- Two young fans held up a sign that said, "We Miss RONDO." The Celtics looked just fine without him. While star point guard Rajon Rondo began a two-game suspension, Boston got 19 points from Jeff Green and 17 from Jason Terry while cruising to a 96-78 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Rondos "our leader, so its tough when hes not here," Green said. "So everybody as a group has to pull together as a team and try and take his place." Rondo was suspended for his role in a scuffle during a 95-83 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Afterward, Celtics coach Doc Rivers called his team "soft." That motivated Courtney Lee, who started in Rondos place and finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. "Nobody wants to be called soft," Lee said. "I took that personal because I know that Im far from being soft and I think our team took it personal, too." The Celtics never trailed. They carried a 56-33 advantage into the break and took their biggest lead on a 22-foot jumper by Kevin Garnett that made it 65-38 with 8:26 left in the third quarter. The Trail Blazers lost their fourth straight game and had just three scorers in double figures -- LaMarcus Aldridge with 23 points and J.J. Hickson and Meyers Leonard with 11 each. "We came out passive and they came out really aggressive," Aldridge said. "After the last game (with) everything they had going on, they had to set the tone early and they did." The Celtics led 25-18 after one quarter and pulled away in the second when they held the Trail Blazers to just two field goals, both by Aldridge, and outscored them 31-15. "We went into the third quarter, we played a little better, made some adjustments," Portland coach Terry Stotts said, "but we were on our heels from the beginning." Aldridge provided more than half of the Trail Blazers points in the first half, scoring 17 while collecting five of their seven field goals. Hickson and Damian Lillard scored the others. "When we come out and set the tone defensively, like we did tonight, thats the type of team we are," said Paul Pierce, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. "Thats the Celtics that I know. wholesale jerseys. " The Trail Blazers cut the lead to 58-38 before the Celtics scored the next seven on two free throws by Lee, a 3-pointer by Terry and Garnetts jumper. Boston led 75-59 heading into the fourth quarter and was never threatened in the final period. "We just basically played through" the big men, Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We took all the pressure off the guards. All they had to do is bring (the ball) up and then throw it to Kevin at the elbow or Jared (Sullinger) at the elbow and then cut and move. That way theres no dribbling." Rondo leads the NBA with 12.9 assists per game but was suspended after shoving Brooklyns Kris Humphries. Hell also miss Saturday nights game at the Milwaukee Bucks. "We all know Rondos capabilities," Lee said. "Hes a great playmaker. Hes going to rack up assists. Today we just came out there and played together." Without Rondo, the Celtics scored seven of the first eight points and led by seven after one quarter, making 57.1 per cent of their shots to 31.3 per cent for the Trail Blazers. It got worse for Portland in the second quarter when Boston scored the first nine points, the first two on free throws by Leandro Barbosa and the last seven by fellow reserve Green. "Of course, were frustrated," said Portlands Nicholas Batum, who missed nine of 11 shots. "The start of the season we played great, so we have to show some pride and (not) play ridiculous like we did tonight." The loss came two days after the Trail Blazers became the first team to fall to Washington, which had lost its first 12 games. The Wizards won 84-82. Before the game, Rivers provided a glimpse of his strategy with Rondo being suspended. "Everyones going to be the point guard," he said. "I told our guys the entire team has to be ready for ballhandling duties. It left us in a pretty tough spot, but we should be able to play through this and win games still." NOTES: The Trail Blazers had just 12 assists. ... Bostons reserves outscored Portlands 41-22. ... Kris Joseph, recalled from Maine of the NBA Development League, played four minutes, 55 seconds and scored two points for Boston. ... Portland has three more games left in a season-high, seven-game road trip: Cleveland, Charlotte and Indiana. ' ' '