History and Controversy in Week 2 The Ottawa Redblacks will go through a lot of firsts this year. On Thursday we witnessed the first game played by the new franchise, the first touchdown scored, (Chevon Walker, who will one day be the answer to a trivia question), and almost the first win. The Henry Burris-led expansion franchise got out to a 14-point first quarter lead, but couldnt hold on against a Blue Bomber team that is for real. More on the Bombers shortly, but it was fantastic to see and call a game involving Ottawa again. Football teams in our nations capital never had bad fans, just bad owners, and that is not the case this time around. The business model is sound, the league is strong, and football fans in Ottawa can trust that this team will be around for decades to come, and get emotionally invested. The players on this team are certainly "all in". They played hard, on the road, in a hostile environment, and almost got it done. It wont be long until we see some more firsts. Like the first game at home which is already sold out on July 18, and based on Thursdays game it wont be long until we see their first win. The Real Deal Now to the Bombers, and yes they are for real! On paper there still may be some who are suggesting other teams in the league are more talented, or maybe more experienced. However, this is a "what have you done for me lately?" business so experience only helps you if you are executing. Also, at the pro level every player is talented, and the difference between winning and losing is smaller than third and inches, so the culture you create for those talented players is what gives you the edge. The difference in Winnipeg this year is that head coach Michael OShea is a team first guy to the core. It oozes out of him when he talks and it is the main reason the Bombers are off to a 2-0 start. Yes, Drew Willy has looked excellent and they have found a tailback in Nic Grigsby but lots of teams have good QBs and tailbacks. OShea is teaching that the team is the priority and that all decisions must be made with the team considered before any personal agendas. It sounds simple but there are many examples of coaches that couldnt get the message across to their players. OShea has not been perfect. He kicked around the handling of veteran Korey Banks for longer than he had to, but his teams record is perfect so far, and that is what matters more than anything. Oh, and in the end the Bombers new head coach did eventually make the right decision when it came to Banks when he cut him loose. Banks wasnt happy with his role and that may have affected the culture in the locker room. By cutting Banks and letting him continue his career somewhere else, OShea made a team-first decision. Reaction to Willis hit on Collaros There are lots of differing opinions on the hit from Odell Willis of the Edmonton Eskimos on Zach Collaros of the Ticats. On one side there are those that argue the game is fast, physical and played by tough men who know what they signed up for, which is all true. It is an old school mentality and its not wrong. However, we live in a new world where player safety has become a priority in contact sports. Finding ways to make hockey and football safer for those who participate is not just dominating league meetings, but is also very important to the players associations. So what about the hit from Willis? First, it looked like the Esks defensive end did try and turn his head and avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. Second, it also looked like he tried to lead with his shoulder, therefore you can assume that there was no intent to target Collaros head. It is also true that if there is a penalty flag thrown every time helmets collide than there would be a penalty called on every play. Having said all of that, if in fact Willis did contact the head of Collaros - whether it was an accident or not - a penalty had to be called. Many times a defensive player gets pushed or trips into the quarterbacks legs accidentally, and that has to be called as well. The league will also review the hit and there could be supplementary discipline handed down in the form of a fine. It is no longer acceptable to say that it is a tough game and things happen at light speed so you have to let the guys play. Improving player safety is priority number one, and has become a legal issue. In fact you could take the discussion even further. The Players Associations in hockey and football are negotiating the player safety agenda into new CBA agreements, and yet dont self-govern when it comes to questionable hits in a game. How many times have we heard the CFLPA announce that they are appealing a fine by the league on a player who has made a questionable hit? It happens virtually every time a player is fined or suspended. Meanwhile the player that took the hit, in this case Zach Collaros, missed the rest of the game and could possibly miss more due to concussion issues. How many times has the Players Association announced a fine within their own organization to a player/member for a questionable hit? That to my knowledge has never happened. The players associations in contact sports have got to start imposing their own fines to players that cross the line, and show the league that improving player safety is not just the responsibility of the leagues head office, but the associations as well. It looks like the hit by Willis was an accident with no intent, but it was to the head of a quarterback, and that is a penalty and should also result in a fine. There is no provision in the rule book that says, "if the player hits a quarterback in the head by accident, or if he didnt mean to do it, then the hit becomes legal." The only way that Willis could avoid a fine here is if the league determines that Collaros didnt actually get hit in the head but it was the whiplash effect that caused his concussion symptoms, and of the TV angles shown so far that doesnt seem feasible. The tougher rules in contact sports these days are designed to change the behaviour of players to protect them from themselves. Those rules are not going away anytime soon, in fact they are getting tougher. We might as well all get used to it and drop the tough guy talk. If the league lets the Willis hit go without supplementary discipline, it will set a precedent for every other time a defensive player hits the head of a quarterback accidentally. There cant be any more grey area. If a defensive player hits the head of a QB, it is a penalty and a fine or suspension - thats the new reality of football. So much so, it is hard to see why there was even a debate on this hit in the first place. Wholesale Football Jerseys Throwback . Speaking on TSN Radio 1050s TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday, Colangelo said he had no intention of tanking the shortened 2011-12 season, but definitely wanted a high pick in the draft. "I wish that word wasnt used for headline reasons," said Colangelo, "but the story behind it was: how can we fix the system? How can we tweak the system to make it less likely that teams are rewarded for losing records? "I do believe that if youre as transparent as we were at the time - with our season seat holders, our fans, the market place and the media - everybody knew what the plan was and what we were going through. 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Clearance Football Jerseys Throwback .com) - The Buffalo Bills will return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday when they welcome the upstart Cleveland Browns to town.ROME -- Former AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, one of the key players in Italys World Cup-winning team in 2006, was placed under investigation for match-fixing on Tuesday as a widening inquiry into football corruption targeted Milans last title campaign. Four others were arrested in an early morning police sweep. Cremona prosecutor Roberto Di Martino, who has been leading the Last Bet operation for three years, told The Associated Press that Gattuso and retired Milan and Lazio player Cristian Brocchi were allegedly part of a ring that fixed Serie A and other Italian matches at the end of the 2010-11 season. "About 30 matches, a good part of them involving Serie A, are under investigation," Di Martino told the AP. The four people arrested were Salvatore Spadaro, Francesco Bazzani, Cosimo Rinci and Fabio Quadri. Each of them allegedly helped connect fixers to players, Di Martino said of the case that has seen more than 50 people arrested since mid-2011. Di Martino said a couple of the people arrested Tuesday met as recently as this year, suggesting matches continue to be fixed. "Were seeing clear facts that despite the arrests and investigations a good part of these people continue to do what they did before," Di Martino said later in a news conference, lamenting that past arrests have not made much of an impact. "There certainly were not big reactions in Italy, considering that things continue to go on like before," the prosecutor added. Gattuso and Brocchi face charges of criminal association with the aim of fraud and sports fraud, and had their homes searched. About 20 other people were also placed under investigation. "Gattuso and Brocchi were connected to the case by the use of phone taps," Di Martino said. Gattuso, who won two Champions League titles with Milan, was fired as Palermo coaach in September.ddddddddddddBrocchi is currently coaching in AC Milans youth program. "I spoke to Rino and hes (stunned)," Gattusos agent Andrea DAmico told the ANSA news agency, using the former players nickname. "Right now its important not to draw any conclusions and rather wait and see why these names are coming out." Police said in a statement that the arrests were carried out in Milan, Bologna, Rimini and Messina. Other former and current players placed under investigation included Claudio Bellucci, Davide Bombardini, Leonardo Colucci, Lorenzo DAnna, Nicola Mingazzini, Claudio Terzi, Samuele Olivi and Fabrizio Grillo. The Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Milan matches against Lazio, Chievo Verona and Bari in February and March 2011 were under investigation, plus games involving Juventus and Inter Milan. Milan won its last Serie A title in 2011. The Last Bet operation has resulted in more than 100 people placed under investigation in Italy since mid-2011, with suspect matches being looked at by prosecutors in Cremona, Bari and Naples. The case has led to lengthy bans for former Lazio captains Giuseppe Signori and Stefano Mauri, as well as former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni. Several clubs have also had points deducted. Prosecutors have detailed an extensive match-fixing ring stretching as far as Singapore and South America that was allegedly in operation for more than 10 years. The arrests of 14 people in Singapore in September was hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight against corruption in football, with the global networks suspected mastermind among those taken into custody. The Last Bet operation came only a few years after the 2006 Italian match-fixing scandal, which revealed arrangements with referees and resulted in Juventus being stripped of the 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles. ' ' '