The future of superstar forward Rick Nash

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. Jason Pierre-Paul Camo 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. Jason Pierre-Paul Black Jersey.Y. -- Two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and top-20 players Kaia Kanepi and Flavia Pennetta have pulled out of the U. Eli Manning Authentic Jersey. By the looks of things, the Hornets coach wont be reeling the blossoming 7-footer back in any time soon. http://www.nflgiantsstore.com/eli-manning-jerseys. Part of the roof, about the size of a couple of school buses, tumbled down the side of an exterior wall onto some trees. Officials did not report any injuries. Victor Cruz Camo Jersey. -- It was a classic case of hard work beating talent as the London Knights came out on top Saturday. Michael Boley Womens Jersey. First baseman Jimmy Van Ostrand led the Canadian attack on a chilly evening at the Armin-Wolf Baseball Arena with a home run and four runs scored. Adam Loewen went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and Chris Robinson added a two-run shot for the favoured Canadians.The Winnipeg Goldeyes will open the 2012 American Association playoffs in Fargo on Wednesday night. And there is nothing better than beating the RedHawks to get there. On Friday night, after a 5-2 loss to Sioux City, Goldeyes manager Rick Forney said he needed a big game from starter Matt Rusch. Saturday night at Shaw Park, he got it. Rusch pitched seven innings, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out 13 RedHawks as the Fish beat their archrivals from Fargo-Moorhead 5-1 to clinch the American Association Wild Card spot. Josh Mazzola went two-for-four with two huge RBI in the seventh inning while Luis Alen went three-for-three with a walk, two doubles and a run scored. The Goldeyes snapped a three-game losing streak, improved to 55-43 on the campaign and won the first game of a three-game season-ending series with Fargo. "I had our best guy pitching tonight and he sure stepped up," said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. "He did what he did in St. Paul when we were in a desperate situation. He was awesome." Rusch was clearly the big story. The Goldeyes starter picked up his 10th win of the season and lowered his earned run average to a league-leading 2.40. He also took over the league lead in strikeouts with 113. "It was a long road to get here and I said at the start of the season that this would be a long haul and we knew wed finish at home. So here we are and we have some more baseball to play this week," said Rusch with a smile. "It was one of my best nights of the season so it feels really good." The Goldeyes opened the scoring in the fourth as Mazzola singled, Alen singled and then Mike Coles singled to drive home Mazzola and send Alen to third. Victor Cruz Elite Jersey Kyle Day then drove home Alen with a sacrifice fly. In the seventh, after Fargos Eric Campbell had homered to cut the Goldeyes lead to 2-1, Amos Ramon led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Price Kendall. Then Chris Roberson walked, Yurendall de Caster walked to load the bases and Ramon scored on a sacrifice fly by Barbaro Canizares. Thats when Mazzola came up and hit a seeing-eye single through the middle to drive home Roberson and de Caster and give the Goldeyes a 5-1 advantage. "Im glad the fans stuck with us and supported us and were able to watch a good baseball game tonight," said Forney. "I know theyll get to see some more good baseball in the playoffs. "I cant tell you how proud I am of these guys. In the second game of the year, we suffered our first serious injury and these guys have been banged up all season. Theyve earned the right to play some extra baseball this year." Rusch (10-4, 2.40 ERA) got the win for Winnipeg while Fargo starter Alex Caldera (10-4, 3.50 ERA) suffered the loss. Brian Beuning got the final six outs for the Fish. He struck out the side in the eighth. The Goldeyes and RedHawks will play Game 2 of this three-game series on Sunday afternoon. Todd Privett (5-6, 3.87 ERA) will get the start for Winnipeg while Ethan Opsahl (0-0, 2.35) will toe the slab for Fargo. Game time is 1:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on TSN 1290 with Paul Edmonds calling the play-by-play. It can also be seen live on Shaw TV Channel 9 in Winnipeg and Channel 11 in The Pas, Flin Flon and Thompson. ' ' '