BUG Community

TORONTO —Ricky Ray and Jason Barnes were good when they had to be. Jeremy Kerley Jersey . Ray threw three TD
passes—including a 37-yard strike to Jason Barnes with 2:06 remaining—to
rally the Toronto Argonauts past the hard-luck Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-22 on
Wednesday night. Toronto (2-2) needed Rays heroics to pull out the win over the
injury-plagued Bombers (0-4), who lost receiver Terrence Edwards, safety Ian
Logan and defensive lineman Brandon Collier in the first half. The defending
East Division champions have lost 10 starters—including quarterback Buck
Pierce—to various ailments this year. After missing a wide-open Barnes
earlier in the drive, Ray hit the streaking receiver for Barnes first TD catch
of the season before 22,485 spectators on a glorious evening with the Rogers
Centre roof open. And the Barnes score woke the crowd from its second-half
slumber as the only previous scoring in the final two quarters were three Justin
Palardy field goals that put Winnipeg ahead 22-18. “The whole second half we
couldnt get into a rhythm, we just werent putting any drives together,” Ray
said. “We ran the same play a couple of times earlier in the game and they were
doing a good job defending it so we put him on a little up-and-go move and just
missed that. “To be able to have a second chance with him coming across the
field wide open was a big play for us.” Barnes, whose four catches for 72 yards
all came in the second half, scored on a play that Argos head coach Scott
Milanovich drew up just last week specifically for Winnipeg. Ray, who was
23-of-35 passing for 325 yards with one interception, said he was saving the
call for just the right time. “We wanted to save it for the score zone,” Ray
said. “Coach Milanovich saw it on film. When they bring a guy down and have a
back go to the flat out of the backfield their defensive backs tried to switch
it, so we had JB stutter like he was going to block and then go run his route to
the other hash. And sure enough, they switched it and he got wide open. “It was
a great design and great call.” A 45yard kickoff return by Demond Washington
put Winnipeg at its own 52-yard line with 1:55 remaining but quarterback Alex
Brink came up a yard short on a third-and-10 run. The Bombers got the ball back
at their 14-yard line with 37 seconds remaining, however Brink couldnt put
Palardy in position to force overtime. “Well, it wasnt pretty but Im proud of
the way we hung in there,” said Milanovich. “Our defence didnt play well in the
first half but in the second half played extremely well and kept us in that
football game. “Ricky was unflappable. We dont play well the entire second half
. . . and he just has the poise to stand in there, make a good play fake and
deliver a dime to Jason Barnes for the touchdown. Those are the things we expect
from him.” Milanovich said the improved defensive effort came after defensive
co-ordinator Chris Jones dressed down his unit at halftime. “Chris was very
upset at halftime at how well they ran the ball and he challenged them,”
Milanovich said. “He got after them as much as Ive ever seen a coach get after
somebody and he challenged them and our guys stepped up and did a much better
job.” Torontos kick-cover teams also played much better against Winnipeg after
giving up long missed field goal returns for touchdowns in two straight
contests. The loss tarnished a solid effort from both Palardy—he had five
field goals—and Winnipegs defence. The Bombers will literally limp back to
Manitoba and prepare for their first home game of the season next week against
Edmonton. Adding insult to injury, Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice couldnt
effectively communicate with his coaches upstairs the entire game due to a
broken headset. “We kept it close most of the game but turned it over at the
wrong times,” LaPolice said tersely. “We had some young guys who hadnt played
much before.” Logan, whose injury wasnt immediately revealed, could only shake
his head in disbelief at Winnipegs every-growing list of walking wounded. “Its
definitely up there,” Logan said. “Its strange to see so many. “We came out of
training camp with so few but now….” Both teams were playing on a short
turnaround. Winnipeg came in following a 42-10 loss to Edmonton on Friday while
Toronto dropped a 36-27 defeat in Hamilton on Saturday. And it showed,
especially on offence as neither club was able to mount a consistent attack.
Toronto dodged a huge bullet late in the third when Dustin Doe returned an
interception 33 yards to the home sides 15-yard line. But after two
incompletions the Bombers had to settle for Palardys 22-yard field goal that cut
the Argos lead to 18-16 at 11:59. Cory Boyd and Chad Owens—who had his first
receiving TD since 2010 but also lost two fumbles—scored for Toronto.
Newcomer Swayze Waters, replacing injured veteran Noel Prefontaine (hip), booted
the converts, a field goal and single. Brink, starting in place of Pierce
(foot), had Winnipegs touchdown. Palardy also added the convert. Brink was just
9-of-34 passing for 185 yards and two interceptions and was continually
pressured by the Argos, who posted three sacks. Brink, who will start against
Edmonton, said the Bombers offence simply didnt get it done. “The game was so
back and forth . . . we had our opportunities but I have to find a way to make
it count,” he said. “Give our guys credit, our defence kept us in it and special
teams gave us position.” NOTES —Boyd has scored touchdowns in all four of
Torontos games so far this season . . . Pierce has missed 16 of the 40 games
Winnipeg has played since he joined the squad in 2010 . . . This game was the
Argos 100th at Rogers Centre. Toronto came in with a 109-89-1 mark . . . . This
is the first of three matchups this season between Toronto and Winnipeg . . .
This is the last of four straight road games to open the season for Winnipeg,
which will host Edmonton on July 26. . . . Torontos scratches were receiver
Maurice Mann, tailback Chad Kackert, linebacker Marcus Ball and defensive tackle
Joseph Cohen. Receiver Kurt Adams, fullback Jordan Matechuk, defensive end
Rodney Fritz and offensive lineman Chris Kowalczuk didnt dress for Winnipeg. Bart
Scott Jersey .Schneider continued his stellar play Tuesday night,
making 47 saves as Vancouver beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1.He posted his
fifth straight victory since starting in place of the injured Luongo, who is now
back to full health and watching from the 25-year-old Marblehead, Mass. Nick Mangold Jersey . She said it happened on
a whim, inspired by a newspaper article with the headline: “Boomers believe
theyve found a fountain of youth in a syringe.” She said it happened in her posh
master bathroom, which she described as being “like the size of a kitchen. http://www.jetsprostore.com/tim-tebow-jersey
. It was an eventful night for Bostons top two hitters. Ortiz was back after
missing 35 games with a right Achilles strain and had two hits and two RBIs on
the first two pitches he saw, sparking Boston to a 4-3 win over the Kansas City
Royals on Friday night. Nick Folk Jersey .  – Andrew Ranger extended
his domination of Circuit de Trois-Rivieres with his fourth win in six races
there Sunday in the JuliaWine. LaRon Landry Jersey . It worked.
Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder each hit solo homers Tuesday night
and the Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 for the first time this
season.There are times when the NFL can seem like the Teflon Don of professional
sports leagues. When the steroid issue in Major League Baseball turned into a
moral crisis and investigation from Congress, the NFL just chugged along – a
positive test here and there – but never found any need to examine its soul
along the way. As the most popular betting vehicle in North America, the NFL can
proudly take a harsh anti-gambling stance, and do so with a straight face
telling those nasty folks to from the Las Vegas Convention and Tourist Bureau to
take their advertising money elsewhere. And all those stories of retired NFL
players having a tough time with life after football?  Well they havent dampened
the fans enthusiasm for the game one bit, with new viewership records being
established one year after the next. So no, the NFL and commissioner Roger
Goodell arent used to being on the defensive. But thats exactly where the league
has found itself during an off-season unlike any other – one that has shone a
bright light on the true nature and effects of what goes on between the white
lines for our entertainment. First came the lawsuits from former players,
spreading like wildfire in recent months until now roughly 1,500 former players
including some of the biggest names of the game – are suing the league for
negligence over its management of head injuries. Then came the bounty scandal,
which not only made the NFL in general appear barbaric but managed to suck all
the feel-good out of the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl run of two seasons ago.
And finally – just last week – came the suicide of Junior Seau, an NFL icon and
future Hall of Famer. He died at age 43, just over two years removed from the
playing field. Its too early to conclude that football contributed to Seaus
death, but given the context, it hardly seems inappropriate to speculate. Its
stunning how quickly the issues around head injuries in professional football
have come to the front burner. Goodell took over the NFL just less than six
years ago at a time this wasnt even a blip in the public eye, with collective
bargaining and off-field discipline the most important issues he was facing.
Remember one of the very first ideas Goodell brought forward as the new face of
the NFL? An 18-game regular season, a notion that seemed reasonable at the time
but which, in light of recent events, seems as ridiculous as it is unlikely to
occur. Dustin Keller Jersey. How fast things change.
It now seems clear that Goodells ability to steer his league around the issues
surrounding concussions and head injuries will define his time as commissioner.
And though his current contract extends to 2018, there is every reason to
believe the NFL will be dealing with this issue until then and beyond, given how
difficult it is to define where it begins and where it ends. And the question no
one seems able to answer right now is whether its actually possible to make
professional football safe? Or, as New York Times columnist William Rhoden
recently suggested on an episode of ESPNs Sports Reporters – is professional
football akin the tobacco industry of yesteryear, defiantly insistent that its
product can be made safe when in fact it cannot? And is it time for the NFL to
face that fact? Will players of the future have to acknowledge the risks of the
game up-front, forfeiting their right to sue based on understanding the risks
they are taking? But how does that sort of thing play out at the college, high
school or grass roots levels? Is it possible that the very nature of football as
it is now played could change, so that it becomes a game far less about hitting
and more about wrapping-up and tackling? But what about all of those repeated
low-impact hits which may be just as damaging as the big ones over time? And
what about full-contact practice? The NFL is in the midst of a cultural shift,
one that began in the fall of 2010 when the commissioner vowed to take a harder
stand on helmet-to-helmet hits, was emphasized by restrictions on practice
negotiated with the players as part of last summers collective agreement and was
then accelerated by the manner in which he came down on the Saints players and
coaches in the bounty scandal. It would be nice to believe this was simply the
case of a league doing the right thing, but its impossible to ignore the
upcoming need for the NFL to present itself in court as a league doing all it
can to minimize the hazards of the workplace for its employees. Were it not for
this issue and the threat of liability through the courts, Roger Goodell might
have the easiest job in all of sports, captain of an economic juggernaut that
that shows no signs of slowing down. But looking at the landscape ahead, theres
every reason to believe hes going to earn every penny he makes. ’ ’ ’