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When Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM Joe Mack addressed the media following his
decision to fire head coach Paul LaPolice, he said there were basically two
reasons why he was making the decision. Demaryius Thomas Jersey . The first was that
LaPolice was hired to fix the offense and that had not happened, and secondly,
that the GM was tired of the undisciplined penalties. Now, there are always two
sides to every story and you can easily make an argument that supports the two
reasons, or refutes them. For example, when it comes to the offense, I dont
think anyone would argue that it wasnt that side of the ball that got them to
the Grey Cup last year. This season, the Bombers offense has ranked dead last in
points scored per game and at the bottom of the pack in net offense per game
most of the year. However, you could also suggest that in order to have the best
offense in the league you have to have one of the best quarterbacks in the
league. And if you dont think that even when Buck Pierce is healthy the Bombers
stable of quarterbacks rank among the league leaders, than you have to ask: who
is responsible for that – the coach or the person in charge of finding the
quarterbacks? When it comes to discipline, again it is easy to make the argument
that this team took way too many bad penalties. For proof, all you have to do is
look at the most recent BC Lions game where they took 19 penalties; two of which
were avoidable late hits and two were for objectionable conduct. However, the
counter argument is that every player can make a mistake but character players
wont continually repeat them. If a player is genuinely unselfish and always has
the team-first mentality, than there is very little chance that he will become a
repeat offender when it comes to selfish, after the whistle penalties. So again
the question could be asked; is it the coachs responsibility to fix a selfish
player or the GMs responsibility to bring in character players that will always
put the team first? While you may lean one way or the other on any of those
arguments and explanations, there was something else said in Joe Macks press
conference that was more disturbing. Mack said that this was not a snap judgment
and after discussing the two aforementioned reasons for his decision, paused
almost to reflect and said “when I broke down the film and talent level, I saw
players playing extremely hard, with a lot of heart. I talked to them repeatedly
and asked them; do you think your fellow teammates care? They always said yes,
yet we were not producing results that would equate to what I was seeing on the
field and what the players were saying and that gave me great pause.” Winnipeg
Free Press reporter Paul Wiecek on Sunday also quoted “unnamed sources that
indicated that Mack had been querying players directly and had been advised
almost without exception, that LaPolice had lost the room.” All of which is
likely why, whether you like this decision or not, you cant figure out why there
is such a bad smell hanging over it. First it seems like a bit of a
contradiction to suggest that players are not responding to the head coaches
message and then turn around and say, “when I watched film I saw players playing
extremely hard, with a lot of heart.” Isnt playing with a lack of heart and
effort the sign that a coach has lost the room? What is more disturbing is what
we dont know, and may never know, about what the players were actually saying
about their head coach when Joe Mack “talked to them repeatedly.” If what was
reported in the Free Press is true, and players under the umbrella of anonymity
where throwing their head coach under the bus, well then you have found the
source of that smell. Any player, if asked from anyone in management to assess
the performance of the head coach and talk about whether or not he was respected
in the room, should have had only one answer and it is a fairly easy one. It
should have sounded something like this: It is not my role as a player to assess
the job of the head coach. Im here to play ball and if we are struggling than I
should look in the mirror and find ways that I can do my job better, so as to
help our team get out of this slump. If said player wanted to add anything to
that simple answer he could just say; I would like to thank that same head coach
that youre asking me about for not only giving me an opportunity to play
professional football but also for leading us to a Grey Cup Championship game
last year. If there were Bomber players that were asked about the teams problems
by management and pointed fingers at the head coach than shame on those players.
They should all be careful what they wish for because the field turf may not be
greener on the other side. Apparently the first practice for Tim Burke, who
replaces Lapolice, was more like a military boot camp with lots of running and
lots of yelling than a practice in Week 9 of a football season. Again, we may
never know what was actually said and which players, if any, were involved but
if players were walking all over their former head coach and then letting
management know that they didnt respect him, it looks like their new head coach
is about to put his foot down hard and do a little walking of his own. The fall
guy is gone and so are the excuses. The rest of this season is on the Bombers
players. Peyton Manning Womens Jersey . Swiss Tennis
spokeswoman Sandra Perez tells The Associated Press that Federer is scheduled to
arrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday and will play in the opening singles matches on
Friday. Von Miller Womens Jersey . “Were interested
in being a test league and we hope that we could achieve that,” MLS Commissioner
Don Garber said Thursday while speaking to the Associated Press Sports Editors.
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. Three straight years of making the playoffs – and even the teams first playoff
win in several years last season – looked good for a team that struggled so much
in the mid-2000s. But middling results were no longer good enough for the Ticats
brass. Peyton Manning Broncos Jersey . On behalf of
Bell Media, I wish to extend our congratulations to the official FIFA Womens
World Cup Canada 2015 host cities announced Friday – Edmonton, Alberta; Moncton,
New Brunswick; Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia;
and Winnipeg, Manitoba. John Elway Jersey . He recorded just one
at-bat on the afternoon and used it to make Seattle pay. Encarnacion hit a
tiebreaking solo shot in the sixth inning that helped Toronto to a 7-2
victory.Is it more productive for football players to get away from work when
given the opportunity, or is it better to stay immersed in what you are paid to
do and continue to prepare, practice and improve at playing football? This
question always comes up as a topic of conversation in my world when we hit the
bye week.   The truth is most, if not all teams, give the players the entire
week off.  No football, no pressure, no demands, no exceptions.  This is the way
it works in both in the NFL and CFL, so it is not a product of the  Canadian
style at all. Just about every sport experiences a bye week or a similar break
in one form or another at some time during a season.  In the CFL, there was a
time the bye week was the most difficult part of the regular season. It always
came around the third or fourth week of August and seemed to be timed in
association with the National Football League teams cutting down their rosters,
which meant a sudden influx of players looking for jobs. There was no break for
the CFLers. Instead, the bye week became training camp No. 2, and the players
dreaded it because practices became competition for jobs again. I remember those
bye weeks well.  It was the second-most difficult week of football as you were
not preparing to play anyone, you just went back to practice – but seemingly
without a purpose. I am sure there are many Bomber fans that would like their
team to practice from Monday to Friday this week, getting in five sessions to
get better. In theory, those fans are correct.  In reality, it would do nothing
but create resentment from players, and getting burned out would be a real and
dangerous possibility. The way the bye week should be handled is within the
control of the individual player. With a week away from team activities, the
player has an opportunity to use the time as a tool to improve or escape.
Personally, and this is just my attitude, I have great respect for the players
who stay in town and work at the football facility to improve as an individual –
great respect. To me, its obvious to see that football is important to those
players, very important. What you do wiith your free time is an indicator of
what is important to you. Von Miller Jersey. And what you do with your
free time is sometimes more important than your actual work time. I cant
condemn, criticize or negatively evaluate a player who travels and visits home
or does whatever the heck he wants to do during a bye week. They have earned
that right.  But if I was a coach or any member of a football organization and
saw Player A on his own personal improvement schedule right at the same place
others may be avoiding, I would certainly make a positive mental note. Now,
there is a thought out there that players who stay and work out during a bye
week are just trying to get on the coachs good side. Despite what Ive said about
such workouts likely impressing the staff, the thought that players would do
this solely to make such an impression is pure garbage. These are grown men
working at a profession, not high school kids looking for acceptance. The truth
is many players are sick and tired of the coaches at this point in the season,
but show up during the bye week anyways because they know they must always
improve to keep their jobs. In the end, does a week of workouts make a tangible
difference?  There is a good argument that suggests a week away may be the best
thing for a player to regain desire and get re-energized, but I think the most
under-appreciated aspect of winning football is toughness – mental, physical and
emotional. Often it is the toughest team that wins a game as much as the most
talented. Now I dont know if getting away from football makes you tougher, but I
do know staying involved in football during a bye week does. So, my compliments
to the players who maintain a sense of purpose and focus by working out during
the bye week. And to the players who travel and relax? Hurry back, someone out
there wants your job. In the end what happens on game day means everything, but
what you do before game day allows you to perform at a maximum level. There is
natural talent and trained talent. The one you can control is trained talent and
you can work to improve it. A true pro never misses that opportunity, even on a
bye week. ’ ’ ’