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Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. Stewart Bradley Womens Jersey . This week, they discuss Chad Johnson signing in Montreal, RA Dickeys excuses, Marc Bergevins dance moves, and the NCAAs decision to provide meals to athletes. Dave Naylor, TSN 1050 My thumb is up to the Montreal Alouettes who this week signed former NFL star Chad Johnson - aka Ochocino - despite the fact he is 36 and hasnt played in the NFL since 2011. Why is my thumb up when so few ex-NFL stars ever succeed in Canada? Well, because theres really no down side to it. If Chad Johnson is truly as motivated and well-conditioned as he claims ... then hell be a welcomed addition to the Als and the CFL. And if hes not, well, hell be gone. Montreal has proven no one makes its team based on whats on the back of the jersey - just ask Ahman Green, Dominic Rhodes and others the Als signed - and then cut, when they couldnt cut it against CFL competition. Will Chad Johnson be the exception to the rule? At least it should be fun finding out. Huit-cinq anyone? Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to RA Dickey, the erstwhile Blue Jays ace, the former Cy Young award winner who seems to lead the Major Leagues in just one category - excuses. With RA, theres always something. Something wrong. Its either too cold or its too hot. The roof at Rogers Centre is either open or closed. The wind is blowing in or its blowing out. Its day or its night. Everything, it seems, affects the knuckleball. He would be one of the three bears of pitching but with him, its not often just right. Dickey has made four starts for the Jays in this young season, and he already owns a 6.26 earned run average. Im sure he has a plausible explanation for that: I just dont want to hear one. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is up to Marc Bergevin, Canadiens general manager and dancin fool. After Montreals Game 1 overtime win in Tampa, cameras caught Bergevin doing a shimmy and a shake, touching off a dance craze now known as the Marcarena. Somehow I cant imagine Bergevins predecessors, Pierre "go go" Gauthier and disco Bob Gainey, men who were neither hip nor hop, busting moves in a luxury box. But thats Bergevin, who has been blessed with a sense of fun. When he played, he would often check into hotels as Denis Lemieux, the goalie from Slap Shot. Maybe Bergevin should switch aliases - to Mikhail Baryshnikov. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is down to NCAA President Mark Emmert, who congratulated himself and his organization for changing a dumb rule that used to prevent schools from providing meals to athletes, but allowed snacks. As Emmert pointed out, a bagel was considered a snack unless it had cream cheese on it, and then it was considered a meal. Well, maybe my thumb should be up to Emmert and the NCAA for giving their heads a shake, but no, its down for looking at what they can and cant provide to the athletes and thinking that the term "meal-ticket" actually and only refers to food. Never mind cream cheese, they should spread some money around, too. L.J. Fort Jersey . The league announced the decision on its website Saturday, shortly before AC Milan was due to kick off against Genoa at 6 p.m. local time. The 25-year-old Morosini died about an hour earlier after suffering cardiac arrest during his teams Serie B match at Pescara. Lamin Barrow Youth Jersey . The assistants greeted Aldridge with compliments and high fives. Stotts had only one word for his high-scoring forward: "Thanks." Aldridge had 25 points and 16 rebounds in his return after missing seven games with a lower back contusion, and the Trail Blazers beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-85 on Thursday night to end a three-game losing streak.Canucks general manager Mike Gillis will speak with star goaltender Roberto Luongo in the next few days. Luongo has declared a willingness to waive his no-trade clause - if the Canucks ask him to do so. Its believed Luongo would prefer moving back to Florida, provided theres interest from either the Florida Panthers or the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks are also on the 33-year-old goalies list, although Luongo could have reservations accepting a trade to either team given the fiercely competitive market that feeds off the Maple Leafs and the emotional scars that may still exist from his battles with the Blackhawks. And Chicago, Toronto and Tampa Bay are in need of stability in goal. The Leafs will show an interest in Luongo, but his statuus as an elite goaltender is fading. Cody Latimer Youth Jersey. The team that lands him should expect quality play for the next 3-5 years, which leaves the additional six years remaining on his contract of predictable risk. So the Canucks may have to take a contract back to sweeten the pot. If we use the Maple Leafs as the example, perhaps defenceman Mike Komisarek (who has two years remaining at $4.5 million per) is asked to be part of such a deal? The bottom line is that there will be trade interest in Luongo. How much depends in how creative the Canucks are willing to get to move him. With Cory Schneider about to become a restricted free agent and a year away out from unrestricted free agency, much of the Canucks offseason will be spent focused on its crease. wholesale nfl jerseys ' ' ' |
