I like football stadiums; I enjoy areas for athletic competition. I have been fortunate to have played in many at the NCAA level, quite a few at the NFL level, and all of them at the CFL level. Each and every one is different no matter the sport as each one brings a unique energy level. Some are beautiful: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for example. Some are dangerous: the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia comes to mind. Im not sure who designed Investors Group Field, the new home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but I sure get the vibe they did it right. With all due respect to those who had a fondness for Canad Inns Stadium, it was terrible. The upgrade is no different than going from the old Exhibition Stadium to the new – well, not so new anymore – Rogers Centre; there is no comparison. Will it assist the Bombers in winning games? Tough to say; the scientific data on that is abstract at best, but it sure cant hurt. The building will be a great addition to athletics, both professional and college, and something people in Manitoba should be proud of … especially if it keeps every quarterback on the Bombers roster healthy! Its a lot to ask I know, but heres hoping. If Buck Pierce stays upright, Winnipeg will be as good as any team; if he doesnt, they will have tough moments to overcome. Last years team never got into a grove. On offence they finished eighth in points, net offence, and passing yards, and seventh in second down conversion rate and red zone offence. They punted the ball more than anyone else and with a defence that regressed from a year ago, it equaled a 6-12 effort. As much as key players make a defence, in Winnipeg coaches Tim Burke, Gary Crowton, Casey Creehan, and Craig Dickenson are a foundation that have to make the right decisions, evaluations, and assessments. They all have CFL experience and education. If the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the “best” fans in the CFL in terms of intensity and loyalty, may I suggest that Winnipeg fans are No. 2. With the new and true home field advantage called Investors Group Field, this team has a new feel of professional football that I did not see previously. Henoc Muamba at MLB is a star; the running back combination of Chad Simpson and Chris Garrett is a great problem; Jonathan Hefney and Alex Suber can regain their spectacular reputation if theyre intensely focused and driven; and a lighter faster Buck Pierce can lead and produce if protected and smart. It has been over 20 years since Winnipeg has won the Grey Cup, but could you imagine if they got there and did it this year? In Regina, Saskatchewan? Bombers fans would travel there, and only if the Roughriders were in the Grey Cup too would Rider fans stay. In an eight-team league, never discount a possibility. Adidas Ultra Boost China Wholesale . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. http://www.cheapauthenticultraboost.com/ . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Adidas Ultra Boost Discount . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance Sale ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. TORONTO -- Only three players of color are competing in the World Cup of Hockey. Team USA coach John Tortorellas stance on the anthem protests across professional sports has only made hockey look more exclusionary, an insulated world as unyielding as the ice its played on.Before the tournament began, Tortorella made it clear that his players would be punished for following Colin Kaepernicks lead. If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game, Tortorella told ESPNs Linda Cohn.Tortorella was given the chance to walk back his comments. He declined the opportunity.It is probably the most disrespectful thing you can do as a U.S. citizen is to bring that in, he said. Because thats our symbol. All for [expressing] yourself. Thats whats so great. Everybody does. But no chance when it comes to the flag and anthem. No chance.By Tortorellas measure, protest is fine so long as it meets his own particular standards of what is or isnt an acceptable form of expression.As a coach, Tortorella has an authority over his players, and ice time is his principal means to wield it. Workplaces routinely set limits that the U.S. government never should.As the father of a son serving his third tour in Afghanistan -- Nick Tortorella is part of the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment -- he is understandably sensitive to the sacrifices made by the men and women serving in the armed forces and their families.As an American, however, Tortorella should remember that some rules arent his to make or break. He represents his country and its ideals to the world just as much as his players do. He also represents hockey.J.T. Brown, an African-American forward on the Tampa Bay Lightning, provided perhaps the most notable opposition to Tortorellas order.Brown followed his tweet with a thoughtful statement to the Tampa Bay Times.I could have been quiet and just kept my opinion to myself, it read in part, but I dont want young minorities who love the game of hockey to think that whats going on in America today is going unnoticed by the hockey community.I love America and thank the military for protecting our freedoms, as well as law enforcement for protecting and serving our communities, but that doesnt mean I cant acknowledge that there is still racism today. I am glad my tweet provoked a discussion, because we need to start having a conversation about racism if we want to work towards a better America.Brown is not part of Team USA; Winnipeg Jets defensemaan Dustin Byfuglien is the only player of color on the American roster.dddddddddddd Asked about Tortorellas comments before the tournament began, Byfuglien essentially said players remained free to protest: You still do it. But you take your chances.He was a healthy scratch for Saturdays opening game against Team Europe.Tortorella said his choice was purely about numbers, a function of having a roster of 23 players and being able to dress only 20. Sources within Team USA were emphatic that the decision to sit Byfuglien had nothing to do with the anthem debate or the possibility that he might disobey his coachs demand.Byfuglien said he wasnt given a reason for not making the cut. No, he said. Just, Youre out.No matter the calculus, Byfugliens absence has meant the World Cup has seen only two nonwhite players so far out of the 184 playing in incredibly diverse Toronto.One is Seth Jones, who plays defense for Team North America and Tortorellas Blue Jackets in the NHL. Jones said he had no problem with his coachs comments. During the American anthem before Team North Americas opener against Finland on Sunday and again on Monday against Russia, Jones stood with his head bowed, tapping his stick after in salute.The other is French winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. He suited up for Team Europe, which doesnt have an anthem to stand for.That leaves Byfuglien, and all indications are he will dress for Team USA during Tuesdays all-important game against Canada. Asked what playing might mean to him, he was even quieter than he usually is. Its everything, he said.Asked whether he had plans to protest during the anthem, he shook his head. Nothing. Nothing, he said. No, Im not going to do anything.America, like hockey, works best when it occupies that great gulf between everything and nothing, between love it or leave it. It can be a messy and complicated place to be, full of compromise and the fog of debate. Extremes are attractive because they are easier. Rules dont just tell us how to behave, but they also tell us how others will.If Dustin Byfuglien stands for the anthem on Tuesday night, thats his right. If he sits, or kneels, or raises his fist, or skates out without his stick or with his jersey inside-out, that should be his right, too.In a world and a game that can seem defined by its polarity, thats the most American, and admirable, of absolutes. 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