Hosting the Grey Cup game was often the kiss of death for CFL teams. [url=http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Dante-fabbro-pred

Hosting the Grey Cup game was often the kiss of death for CFL teams. Dante Fabbro Jersey . Prior to 2011, only three clubs had ever won it as the host city -- the 1994 B.C. Lions, 77 Montreal Alouettes and 72 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. But B.C. and the Toronto Argonauts have bucked that tradition with convincing Grey Cup victories in their home stadiums the past two seasons. This years Grey Cup will be played Nov. 24 at Mosaic Stadium. But recent history has convinced Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Chamblin that his team is destined to reap the benefits of home-field advantage playing the big game before its rabid fans. "If it was guaranteed like that, then Id start playing the 6-49 and find a pattern there," Chamblin said with a chuckle. "If I had to put a percentage on it, Id say Ive thought about that (continuing recent Grey Cup trend) maybe one per cent. "I honestly think it just happens that way, I dont think guys play with any extra juice or anything like that. Now, it would be great being at our house but I dont think about whats happened the last two years." The 2013 season kicks off Thursday night with Winnipeg hosting the Montreal Alouettes at Investors Group Field. The Bombers were scheduled to move into the new stadium last year but construction delays forced them to remain at Canad Inns Stadium. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit Toronto on Friday night to renew their long-standing rivalry. The Argonauts are scheduled to unfurl their 2012 championship banner prior to the contest. Later on Friday, the B.C. Lions are at Calgary in a rematch of last years West Division final won by the Stampeders. The Edmonton Eskimos host Saskatchewan on Saturday to cap the opening week. Saskatchewan last won the Grey Cup in 2007 but came agonizingly close in 2009 when Damon Duvals 33-yard field goal on the final play earned Montreal a 28-27 victory. Duval had missed from 43 yards out to seemingly give the Riders a 27-25 win, but a too many men penalty gave Duval a reprieve from 10 yards closer. The Riders will look to improve last years 8-10 record that left them third in the conference before losing a 36-30 semifinal decision to Calgary. GM Brendan Taman took steps in that direction this off-season, signing defensive back Dwight Anderson, linebackers Rey Williams and Tristan Black and defensive linemen John Chick and Ricky Foley as free agents while trading for defensive lineman Jermaine McElveen. But his biggest move was acquiring slotback Geroy Simon from B.C. in January. The six-foot, 198-pound Simon is the CFLs all-time receiving yards leader and needs just 29 catches to break Ben Cahoons league mark of 1,017 career receptions. "Theres definitely a sense of excitement around here with all the additions that have been made," said Foley, the top Canadian in Torontos 35-22 win over Calgary in the 100th Grey Cup last year. "As a veteran, I know you dont win the Grey Cup on paper and every team made moves in the off-season to put themselves in a position to win it. "But I think its known around the league what this team has done, the guys theyve brought in and what theyre trying to do and theyre making that push for the hometown Cup." Simon was a two-time Grey Cup champion and six-time all-star over 12 seasons in B.C. but missed five games last year with hamstring ailments. He finished with 54 catches for 700 yards and two TDs, the first time in 10 seasons Simon hadnt cracked the 1,000-yard receiving plateau. Saskatchewan is counting on the 37-year-old returning to form and taking some heat off speedy Weston Dressler (94 catches, 1,206 yards, 13 TDs). "Obviously, his on-field play speaks for itself," said Taman. "His value to our team on and off the field is going to be immense. "Geroys got some points to prove to a lot of people he still can play so I think theres a lot of bonuses to doing it." The addition of Simon certainly boosts Saskatchewans experience level, but Chamblin said a successful squad needs a blend of veteran savvy and youth. "If I was a position coach, Id just take the younger guy because Id want to mould him my way," Chamblin said. "But as far as being a head coach, youve got to have a balance of both." Getting out of the West Division wont be easy for the Riders as B.C. (league-best 13-5 record last year) and Calgary (defending conference champions) both look strong. New Edmonton GM Ed Hervey takes over a team that despite its 7-11 record still made the playoffs last year. Meanwhile in Toronto, quarterback Ricky Ray and CFL MVP Chad Owens both return to help the Argos defend their title. But gone are defensive linemen Foley, Ron Flemons and Kevin Huntley (both released), Armondo Armstead (New England Patriots, NFL) and Adriano Belli (retired), linebackers Black and Ejiro Kuale (free agent, Montreal), defensive backs Jordan Younger (retired), Pacino Horne (released) and Evan McCollough (free agent, Hamilton) and kicker/punter Noel Prefontaine (released). Two East Division clubs will sport new head coaches in 2013. Kent Austin, who guided Saskatchewan to its 07 title, returns to the CFL sidelines with Hamilton while Dan Hawkins takes over in Montreal. Austin takes over a Tiger-Cats squad that finished tied with Winnipeg with a league-worst 6-12 record. Austin, a Grey Cup champion as a player, assistant coach and head coach, faces two big challenges with the Ticats. Theyre minus big-play receiver Chris Williams, who remains embroiled in a bitter contract dispute, and must play their home games in Guelph, Ont., while a new facility is being built where venerable Ivor Wynne Stadium once stood. The Ticats are scheduled to move into the new stadium, which will host the 2015 Pam American Games soccer competition, next season. Hawkins, 52, begins his first season in Canada with huge shoes to fill. He replaces Marc Trestman, who guided Montreal to a 59-31 regular-season record and two Grey Cup titles in five years before becoming the Chicago Bears head coach. Hawkins spent the last two seasons as a college football analyst at ESPN but possesses an extensive NCAA coaching resume. He has little familiarity with three-down football, but Trestman also had no previous CFL coaching experience when he arrived in Montreal. Fortunately for Hawkins, quarterback Anthony Calvillo, 40, returns for a 20th CFL season. Pro footballs all-time passing leader flourished under Trestman, winning two Grey Cups and two CFL outstanding player awards while being named a league all-star three times over their five seasons together. But Calvillo isnt the leagues oldest player. That distinction belongs to B.C. kicker Paul McCallum, 43, who is gearing up for his 20th CFL campaign. Ironically, with Ottawa slated to return to the CFL next season, McCallum is the lone remaining active player to have played for the former Rough Riders franchise, which folded in 1996. The CFL wont have RONA as a national sponsor this year and Scotiabank is scheduled to leave at seasons end. But its new TV deal should soften the blow. League sources say the CFLs five-year agreement with TSN/RDS is worth about $43 million annually, almost triple the existing deal which expires at seasons end. This years 77 league games (72 regular season, four playoff and Grey Cup) will be televised. The 2014 broadcast schedule will expand to 84 contests with Ottawas expected return. Kyle Turris Jersey . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction. Mattias Ekholm Jersey . - The Jacksonville Jaguars are leaning more toward playing injured quarterback Blake Bortles against Tennessee on Thursday night. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Dan-hamhuis-predators-jersey/ . "Youre not really spending time to sit back and analyze what your competitions doing and things like that," Anthopoulos said. "Youre so focused on what were trying to get done." Ultimately, while the landscape around them changed with trades both major and minor, the Blue Jays did nothing before Thursdays non-waiver deadline. BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Threats to a string of European Olympic offices are reviving a question that has haunted preparations for the Winter Games next month: Is it safe to go to Sochi? European Olympic authorities, whose countries have faced terrorist threats and attacks in the past, largely shrugged off the new menacing messages as a hoax, a marginal phenomenon that security experts say is common ahead of big events. Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project. The threats reported Wednesday appeared to be more anodyne. They were first revealed by Hungarian sports officials, who announced they had received an email in Russian and English threatening Hungarian athletes with terrorist attacks. The International Olympic Committee insisted it takes credible threats seriously, but "in this case it seems like the email sent to the Hungarian Olympic Committee contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public." International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said he remains confident in Russias Olympic organizers. Talking to reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, he said: "Security is always a matter of concern, not only in the Olympic Games but at every big event, whether its sport or any other. That is unfortunately the world we are living in. "But we are very confident and we know the Russian authorities together with their many partners internationally are doing everything to organize the games in a safe and secure way." The Hungarian Olympic Committee said it had received a message from the organizers of the Sochi Games saying: "Threat described in the email sent to your address is not real." It turned out that Olympic committees from several other European countries, including Britain, Germany, Italy and Austria, had received similar messages but hadnt publicly reported them. The Canadian Olympic Committee would not say whether it had received a similar message. However, the COC did release a statement later Wednesday. "The safety of our entire Canadian Olympic team including our athletes, coaches, support team and volunteers is always our main priority," the statement said. "We have the utmost confidence that the International Olympic Committee and the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee will deliver outstanding Olympic Winter Games. "The Canadian Olympic Committee has and continues to work very closely with government and security forces in Canada as a cornerstone of our preparation for Sochi 2014. This preparation extends to a close collaboration with the Organizing Committee in Sochi and the host nationn, Russia, who are responsible for all security matters relating to Sochi 2014. Viktor Arvidsson Jersey. . As with other Olympic Games, our safety and security measures are always adapted to each environment." Wolfgang Eichler, spokesman for the Austrian National Olympic Committee, said the email was a hoax that officials had seen before. "Its a fake mail from a sender in Israel who has been active with various threats for a few years," Eichler told Austrian news agency APA. "Its been checked out because it also arrived two years ago." Germanys national Olympic association, the DOSB, also said it had received "several times the same mail with unspecific, general warnings" and it had sent it onto security officials. "We are not aware of any threats that have been deemed as credible being directed toward our delegation," British Olympic Association spokesman Darryl Seibel told the AP. "Organizations such as ours receive email correspondence all the time -- some of which seem to lack in credibility." A spokeswoman for Switzerlands Olympic committee said similar threats were common so close to the Winter Games and athletes and officials would base their travel plans instead on the assessment of security officials -- not on threats. Across the Atlantic, some are viewing the Sochi Games with more trepidation. Members of Congress expressed serious concerns Sunday about the safety of Americans at next months Olympics in Russia and said Moscow needs to co-operate more. While FBI Director James Comey said earlier in January that the Russian government "understands the threat and is devoting the resources to address it," the U.S. has offered air and naval support to the Russian government as it conducts security preparations for the Olympics. The U.S. State Department has advised Americans at the Olympics to keep vigilant about security because of potential terrorist threats, crime and uncertain medical care. By contrast, the French Foreign Ministry for example has not issued any particular terrorism warnings for travellers to Sochi, and a French official said Wednesday that the government has seen no reason to adapt its advice for now. All national Olympic committees "take security seriously and a number travel with their own security. It is not unusual to see the USA expressing greater concerns than other nations," said Andrew Amery, who oversaw security for the 2012 London Olympics, noting that the U.S. sends one of the largest teams and many of the top sponsors are American companies. Amery said intelligence services will be crucial to the games. "It is not unusual to see an increase in hoax calls during the build up to such events and the security agencies will be prepared for them. I do not feel this increases the risks in Sochi and am confident that the security agencies are well-placed to assess these threats." Russia has responded to the Islamic threat by introducing some of the most sweeping security measures ever seen at an international sports event, including an estimated 100,000 police, army and other security forces. ' ' '