MONTREAL -- Troy Smith is ready to hear Anthony Calvillos name mentioned every time he lines up at quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes. [url=http://www.cheapcelticsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-bill-rus sell-jersey]Authentic Bill Russell Jersey[/url] . The Heisman Trophy-winning pivot, who jo

MONTREAL -- Troy Smith is ready to hear Anthony Calvillos name mentioned every time he lines up at quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes. Authentic Bill Russell Jersey . The Heisman Trophy-winning pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through last season, will be the clubs first opening-game starter other than Calvillo in 15 years when Montreal plays its first game of the 2014 CFL regular season at Calgary on Saturday. They are massive shoes to fill, with Calvillo having retired in the off-season as the leagues all-time passing leader. "Ill never stop hearing those references," Smith said this week. "I think its great to be mentioned with a great name like that. "I havent done nearly the things he has, and just holding onto his coattails a bit has been fun so far. But as a man, I definitely want to make my own path. Thats why Im here." Smith takes over the key position on a team that was a powerhouse for most of Calvillos time behind centre, but which has been sliding in recent seasons. And even though they remain well-stocked with top talent at many positions, the Alouettes are perceived as a team in decline. Last season was a disaster, with the inexperienced Dan Hawkins fired as head coach only five games into the season, followed shortly by a season-ending, and career-ending, injury to Calvillo. They finished 8-10, tying their worst record since they returned to Montreal after a 10-year gap in 1996, and lost to Hamilton in the East Division semifinal. This season hasnt started well either, with team architect Jim Popps bid to keep the head coaching as well as general managing job turned down. Tom Higgins, who was out of coaching since 2007, was named the new head coach, but the offensive co-ordinator he hired, Rick Worman, was fired midway through training camp. Then the club lost both its pre-season games, including a 26-10 setback at home against expansion Ottawa in which they failed to score a touchdown with new OC Ryan Dinwiddie calling the plays. Smith was not sharp while playing just over half of that game, but neither were backups Tanner Marsh and Alex Brink. All three got starts last season, with Smith emerging as the most promising to take over the top job. Now he has to play well enough to keep it. "I dont look at it as a transition year," said Popp. "That was last year. "Theres going to be a transition, but we were faced with this starting in Game 6, and we played two thirds of the year without Anthony Calvillo, knowing he probably wasnt coming back. "We had four different quarterbacks that won games and the team realized they could win without Anthony. That was a big hurdle. Its a little nerve-wracking, but like with all great players you lose, you just have to march on. Its not so much to replace that guy, but to find someone you can win with. How great theyll be, well find out." There were two main positives to come out of the off-season. One was the return of Larry Taylor, who gives them a kick return threat they havent had in recent seasons. Another was the signing of former NFL star receiver Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson, who so far looks to have a positive influence on and off the field. The 36-year-old Johnson has been out of football for two years, but Popp said he showed up in shape and has been a "great fit." "I think he can do great things for us," Popp said. "Every time we play somebody, their attention is on him, and not on S.J. Green and Duran Carter. So if hes an attention grabber and everyones talking about him, great. Chads used to that. And Chad, with each game and experience he has in this league, is only going to get better as the season goes along." Smith will have an impressive set of receivers with Green, Carter, Johnson, Taylor, Brandon London, Eric Deslauriers and the repatriated Dave Stala. Gone are Jamel Richardson, who had a knee injury and was cut, and veteran Arland Bruce. "Weve got the best receiving corps in the league," said Popp, who is particularly high on Carter, the son of former NFL great Cris Carter, who gained 909 yards in only 12 games after making his CFL debut in August. "All I say is CFL, enjoy what youre watching because youll be watching him in the NFL next season, Hell have the majority of NFL teams after him, and were not talking about as a third or fourth receiver. He can go in and have an impact like Cam Wake. Hes at that level." There is a first-rate running back in Brandon Whitaker and a solid offensive line anchored by left tackle Josh Bourke, despite the retirements of Scott Flory and Andrew Woodruff and the departure of Michael Ola to the NFL. The defence lost starting middle linebacker Shea Emry to Toronto, but should remain among the leagues best under defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe with veterans like rush end John Bowman and linebacker Chip Cox leading the unit. The Alouettes kick teams have been weak for the last three seasons, including when Marc Trestman was head coach and didnt name a full-time special teams co-ordinator. But they looked good both on returns and kick coverage in the pre-season and they may be a key area of improvement. Taylors ability to avoid the first wave to pick up extra yardage should be a bonus. It will likely take some time for the offence to jell. And if it turns out that Smith doesnt have what it takes to be a regular CFL starter, it could be a long season indeed. Starting the campaign against Calgary, followed by a home game against B.C., should give Higgins and idea of what it will take to re-establish Montreals reputation as a Grey Cup contender. "Every indication is that Troy Smiths going to be our guy, but sometimes there are growing pains," said Higgins. "If you look at Anthonys career, at the start it wasnt as stellar as it was at the end. "All that being said, (Smith) comes with good intangibles. Hes from a good program. Hes got the system down. Practices are going good. So lets see him get measured up against the best." Wholesale Celtics Jerseys . - In about six minutes, the Memphis Grizzlies had allowed their 23-point lead to be cut to seven. Authentic Paul Pierce Jersey . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. http://www.cheapcelticsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-reggie-lewis-jersey . Perhaps as important, shes sending a message to 17-year-old gold medal favourite Sara Takanashi of Japan. Iraschko-Stolz relegated Takanashi, who has 10 World Cup victories this season, to second place in two of three training jumps Saturday.WASHINGTON - Left-hander Ross Detwiler was left off the Washington Nationals roster for their NL division series against the San Francisco Giants, while former closer Rafael Soriano made the 25-man cut Friday.San Francisco outfielder Michael Morse, who played for Washington from 2009-12, was not on the Giants roster. He hit .279 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs this season, but hes had only two at-bats since Aug. 31, because of a strained oblique muscle.Is he 100 per cent? No, manager Bruce Bochy said, adding that Morse might be sent to the instructional league to get work in. Taking that into play, along with he hadnt faced pitching in about a month, we just decided to go with (Gary) Brown. He would give us a few more options versus the one pinch hit appearance maybe by Morse.Right-handers Tim Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong, who were not active for the Giants 8-0 wild-card victory at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, returned to the roster. Hudson will start Game 2 on Saturday, while Bochy said Vogelsong or Yusmeiro Petit could start Game 4.The teams had to submit their rosters about five hours before the Nationals hosted the Giants in Game 1. Both went with 12 pitchers and 13 position players.The Giants also included rookie reliever Hunter Strickland, who made his major league debut in September. The 26-year-old righty didnt allow a run in seven innings and was on the Giants roster for the wild-card game.Detwiler is a former starter who spent the regular season in the bullpen, mostly working in long relief. He went 2-3 with a 4.00 ERA in 63 innings across 47 appearances. The last time the Nationals were in the playoffs, in the 2012 NLDS against St. Louis, Detwiler started Game 4 a€” which Washington needed to win to avoid elimination a€” and allowed one unearned run in six innings.It is disappointing for anybody, for sure, especially being here the whole season, manager Matt Williams said, explaining that the Nationaals figured they only needed two lefty relievers and went with Matt Thornton and Jerry Blevins. Authentic Aron Baynes Jersey. oriano began this season as the closer and converted 22 of 24 save opportunities with a 0.97 ERA before the All-Star break. Since then, though, he blew five of 15 save chances, and Drew Storen took over the ninth-inning role in September as Washington won the NL East and finished with a league-high 96 wins.He is one of the reasons why we are here. Was the premier closer in the first half of the season, Williams said about Soriano. Went through mechanical issues, and has worked diligently to resolve those. I think he is where he needs to be.Williams indicated that Ryan Zimmerman, who returned in late September from a strained right hamstring, will mostly be used as a pinch hitter but the team will look at the possibility of starting Zimmerman against left-hander Madison Bumgarner in Game 3.Other reserves for Washington include Danny Espinosa, Kevin Frandsen and Nate Schierholtz. Backup outfielder and pinch hitter Scott Hairston, a 34-year-old hoping to be in the playoffs for the first time in his 11-year major league career, did not make the NLDS roster.Washingtons Game 1 lineup was exactly as expected, with centre fielder Denard Span leading off, followed by third baseman Anthony Rendon, right fielder Jayson Werth, first baseman Adam LaRoche, shortstop Ian Desmond, left fielder Bryce Harper, catcher Wilson Ramos, second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, and right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg, set to make his post-season debut.San Franciscos starting lineup Friday: centre fielder Gregor Blanco, second baseman Joe Panik, catcher Buster Posey, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, right fielder Hunter Pence, first baseman Brandon Belt, shortstop Brandon Crawford, left fielder Travis Ishikawa, and right-hander Jake Peavy.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Authentic Nike Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Tennessee Titans Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Washington Redskins Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Denver Broncos Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Green Bay Packers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike New England Patriots Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Oakland Raiders Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Seattle Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Carolina Panthers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Cleveland Browns Jerseys Cheap Cheap Throwback Baseball Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Atlanta Braves Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Baltimore Orioles Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Boston Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Chicago Cubs Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Chicago White Sox Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Cincinnati Reds Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Cleveland Indians Jerseys ' ' '