Subject :about him," Lowry said, or attempted to say about Johnson. "Hes just an
TORONTO -- John Hufnagel bucked Grey Cup tradition Wednesday. Joel Dreessen . As he and Toronto Argonauts rookie head coach Scott Milanovich stood on opposite sides of the Grey Cup, the Calgary Stampeders head coach and GM grabbed one of its silver handles. That gesture caused a stir among reporters in attendance because coaches have traditionally refrained from touching the hallowed trophy until theyve won it on the field. But Hufnagel had no problem bucking that trend because he has won the Grey Cup, most recently in 2008 with Calgary. "I think my names on it," he said when asked why he touched the Cup, prompting much laughter. Milanovich stood next to the trophy, close enough that his reflection could be seen in it. But he refrained from touching it despite earning Grey Cup rings in 2009 and 10 as an assistant coach with the Montreal Alouettes. "We decided, as a team, that we werent going to touch it," Milanovich said. Why? "Tradition," he said. Milanovich will make his first Grey Cup appearance as a head coach Sunday when Toronto hosts Calgary at Rogers Centre. One of his first duties was participating in the coaches news conference Wednesday with Hufnagel at the Royal York Hotel. Despite a 22-year age difference, the Grey Cup head coaches share many similarities. They both hail from Pennsylvania, played quarterback collegiately as well as in the NFL and CFL, earned championship rings north of the border as assistants and are in this years game after leading their teams to second-place finishes in their respective divisions. Hufnagel, 61, got into coaching as a player-coach with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 87 before becoming a full-time coach the following season. But coaching was in Milanovichs blood as a youngster as his father, Gary, was a former assistant football coach in Butler, Pa. Gary Milanovich attended Torontos 27-20 road win over Montreal in the East Division final Sunday but its not clear if hell be in attendance for the Grey Cup. "I thought the world of my dad," Milanovich said. "He used to take me as a young child and wed watch film together on that old 16-millimetre projection screen on a white bed sheet and he started to teach me the game of football. "Then I became a quarterback and his message was always about poise. His mantra to me was: Always stay even keeled. I learned the same lesson from Tony Dungy when I was fortunate to have played for him in Tampa Bay. All that stuck with me, its just a great environment to grow up in." Hufnagel said no one should be surprised to see two former quarterbacks in the Grey Cup as head coaches. "It is a passing league, you have to have a real good understanding of pass offence and pass protection but dont neglect the running game," he said. "Usually the quarterback does have a little bit of a head start in that area." While Milanovich and Hufnagel will be on opposite sides of the field Sunday, they did cross paths briefly in 2000 with the Cleveland Browns, where Milanovich was playing and Hufnagel was the clubs quarterbacks coach. However, the association didnt last long or end well for Milanovich. "I was released right before my contract became guaranteed so if youre looking for another storyline theres one for you," Milanovich said with a chuckle. "I can answer the question what coach Hufnagel mustve thought of my ability as a quarterback but I wasnt a very good player. "I hung on (and played) as long as I could and was fortunate to be with some coaches like coach Hufnagel and coach Dungy and coach Barker (current Argos GM Jim Barker) and kind of learned the coaching craft" Barker hired Milanovich to succeed him as Argos coach last December, a move that impacted Hufnagel. One of Milanovichs first moves as Torontos head coach was hiring his good friend Chris Jones as his defensive co-ordinator, a job he had held with Calgary. But the CFL fined the Argos $5,000 for tampering because they didnt contact the Stampeders for permission to speak with Jones. "I talked to coach Hufnagel about this after the situation and I wish it wouldve happened differently," Milanovich said. "What originated as Chris calling me to congratulate me turned into more than that and I couldve handled it better in terms of the Stampeders and coach Hufnagel. "Chris Jones is a good friend of mine . . . our families are close and if I had to choose one guy Chris is the guy that I wouldve wanted as defensive co-ordinator." Hufnagel said the incident is now water under the bridge. "Thats yesterdays news," he said. "What I said, I said and Im not changing what I said. "Move on." And Hufnagel said his relationship with Barker -- who was replaced by Hufnagel as Stampeders GM after the 07 season -- hasnt changed. "Its the same as it was when we worked together," he said. "Nothing really has changed. "I dont get to talk to him every day now but thats the only change." On Sunday, Milanovich will look to become the second head coach in as many years to lead his team to a Grey Cup victory at home. Wally Buono capped his illustrious coaching career by leading the B.C. Lions past Winnipeg in last years finale at B.C. Place Stadium. But Milanovich wont be looking to inspire his team with a fiery pre-game speech. "Im not a rah-rah guy," he said. "I try to give them one or two thoughts just before the game that I think are critical for us to win the game. "Ejiro Kuale is kind of our ringleader as far as pre-game getting the guys hyped up, so I dont have to do a whole lot of that. Most of the words and things I say to the team are said during the week and I try to keep it short and sweet on gameday." Hufnagel also said hes not that type of coach, maybe spending 15 minutes the morning of a game to decide what message to convey to his team. But in the 2008 Grey Cup in Montreal, Hufnagel delivered a stirring pre-game speech prior to his team facing the Alouettes before more than 60,000 rabid fans at Olympic Stadium. "We are playing Montreal in Montreal," he said then. "We are playing on the road. "We are playing in a dome. We are playing in front of 65,000 screaming fans. Men, weve got them right where we want them." Calgary obviously heeded the words of their coach, earning a 22-18 victory over Montreal. On Sunday, Hufnagel will again lead the Stampeders into a hostile environment. But he said its a similar challenge to playing at Mosaic Stadium before the Roughriders energetic fans or facing over 43,000 spectators at B.C. Place in last weekends 34-29 West Division final win over the defending champion Lions. Calgary also finished tied with B.C. and Toronto for the CFLs best road record at 5-4. "I dont think you shy away from hostile environments because you see it numerous times throughout the CFL season," Hufnagel said. "Our team is comfortable with it. "Its very difficult, its a challenge but you have to use history to help you prepare for whats going to occur Sunday." Will Montgomery . -- Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin has a partially torn ligament in his left elbow that may require season-ending surgery. Emmanuel Sanders . Although hes not the most talkative guy wearing their black jersey, he has no desire to leave town in a much-rumoured trade. A dynamic hat trick against the struggling Chicago Blackhawks made Browns point quite clearly.OKLAHOMA CITY - Prior to Sundays game - a game no rational person expected them to be competitive in, let alone win - Raptors coach Dwane Casey spoke about his teams newfound mental toughness. "I like the toughness factor in certain situations where last year and two years ago wed get bumped, get hit [and] wouldnt respond," Casey said an hour and a half before facing the league-best Thunder, a team that hadnt yet lost at home. "Weve grown up from that standpoint and learning how to win is huge." To suggest that Casey was foreshadowing is giving him too much credit. He couldnt have known or genuinely expected what was about to happen. No one did. But he was on to something. This is a different Raptors team than the one Casey was referring to, the one that would cower from adversity in years past. They were supposed to go winless on this exceptionally difficult Western Conference road swing. Instead, theyve won their first two games. “Im seeing it growing," Casey said of his teams resiliency after shocking the hosting Thunder, 104-98, winning four straight on the road for the first time since 2002. "It was one of those things where our guys fought through it and we could have folded or packed it in but they stuck with it and stuck together most of all and didnt fall apart." He called it their best win of the season, which is a given. To take it one step further, it was the Raptors most impressive victory of the three-year Casey era and for all the criticism Torontos coach takes, he had his fingerprints all over it. Casey earned his pay check Sunday evening. He didnt sit down, he didnt relax. He couldnt, not against this team. The Raptors got off to a quick start but withstood the inevitable counterpunch, they rose above spotty officiating and stood their ground when they needed to the most. Through it all Casey was manic on the sidelines. "Sit down Coach," a Thunder fan behind the Raptors bench kept yelling. He didnt. The Raptors were coming off an impressive win in Dallas, defeating a Mavericks team that was 11-2 at home on Friday. The Thunder, winners of nine straight and 17 of 18 overall, were perfect in 13 games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Toronto threw the first punch and led by six at the break. They were "the aggressor," as Casey puts it, and they paid for it. The Thunder had attempted 22 free throws at the half, making them all, while Toronto shot just 10. That trend continued into the third when, finally the lopsided officiating began to seep into the psyche of a young team that has never been known for their mental resolve. A nine-point lead early in the third quarter turned into a nine-point deficit going into a fourth. Collectively Raptors fans thought, here we go again. The Thunder were fighting back - as we expected - and the Raptors couldnt catch a break from the officials. They missed 17 of 19 field goal attempts to end the frame. Thats when something seemed different. They didnt run, they didnt hide, they hit right back. For that, Casey and his players unanimously credited the work of veteran newcomer John Salmons. "I thought John Salmons maturity came through," Casey said of the reserve forward, who scored nine of his 14 playing the entire fourth quarter. Terrance Knighton. "He has a settling effect when hes in the game and it helps us. It rubs off on DeMar and Terrence. He doesnt get rattled." "John Salmons, I mean give him the game ball, offensively and defensively," added Kyle Lowry. "Just, here, take the ball. He was a big-time player tonight." For the second straight game Salmons came up big when it mattered most. On Friday he slowed down Monta Ellis and two days later he was a big part of the brigade that frustrated Kevin Durant, holding him to 24 points on 5-of-16 shooting, 1-of-6 in the fourth, and forcing his six turnovers. A 12-year vet, Salmons was an afterthought in the seven-player deal that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento earlier this month. He was - and probably is - a temporary Raptor, a contract that can be moved at the deadline or easily bought out in the offseason. A day after the trade was finalized, he stood in front of the local media without much in the way of emotion or excitement, complaining about being tired from the trip. He has brought more to this team than anyone could have expected. "Im not a rah-rah guy at all but Ive been around for a long time," he said. "Ive experienced a lot so I just try to give my advice when I can." Taking the lead of Salmons, his teammates remained even-keeled when things looked to be going south. Nobody panicked. They executed and made good decisions, the right plays down the stretch. "Weve done a great job of just everyone cheering for each other, supporting each other and nobodys getting their head down," said Lowry, who continues to play the best basketball of his career, leading the team with 22 points and nine assists on Sunday. "Everyones focusing on winning the game no matter how bleak it looks." DeRozan played well, scoring 17 points against a tough defender in Thabo Sefolosha, someone who has given him fits in the past and once again, Amir Johnson was the unsung hero. Johnson - who recorded a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds - made some crucial defensive plays down the stretch, switching off on Durant and swatting a Russell Westbrook floater in the final two minutes of the game. "I cant [say enough], theres too much to say about him," Lowry said, or attempted to say about Johnson. "Hes just an unbelievable player. He had his struggles (early in the season) but we all said hell be alright once he finds his groove. And look at him, hes playing unbelievable. He guarded Kevin Durant as tough as he did and the other night he guarded Dirk (Nowitzki) as tough as he did. You just have to tip your hat to him." Back atop the Atlantic Division, the Raptors play their final game before a three-day Christmas break in San Antonio on the second night of a back-to-back Monday. The Spurs have the third-best record in the West and are 9-3 at home. The Raptors are not supposed to win. Care to bet against them? ' ' ' |
