Aktuelle News! » S. expansion team to retire, closing t

In Canadian football, the potential of the games greatest players isnt always obvious during the early stages of their careers. And Anthony Calvillo is no exception. He came to the CFL in the most unusual of circumstances, the 21-year-old quarterback of a CFL expansion team in Las Vegas that spent its one and only season playing before crowds that resembled friends and family. That first season, he completed 44 per cent of his passes and threw more interceptions than touchdowns while the team stumbled to a 5-13 record and then folded. Had Calvillo hung up his cleats right then and there, no one would have blamed him. And no one would have remembered him, either. At that time, he was about as anonymous as a CFL player could be. All of which makes more remarkable the journey hes taken over the past 20 years, retiring as the all-time leading passer in pro football history, three Grey Cup rings and a legacy in Canadian football that is virtually unmatched. The lesson of Anthony Calvillos career is that those who become stars in the Canadian game are rarely those who possess eye-popping physical attributes, or who arrive with bona fide star power. They are, instead, usually players whose full skill sets arent obvious right away, requiring a combination of humility, determination, patience and smarts to reach their potential. And in Calvillos case, he needed every one of those qualities to get him to the top. Calvillos time in Las Vegas was followed by a move to Hamilton for three seasons where he served primarily as backup quarterback for the Tiger-Cats, followed by two more with Montreal where he once again played the understudy, this time under CFL great, Tracy Ham. If there was greatness ahead of him at that time, only Calvillo would have known it. Yet six years into his professional career, following Hams retirement after the 1999 season, Calvillo took the reins in Montreal looking like someone whod been succeeding at the Canadian game all his life. It turns out Calvillo had made good use of those first half-dozen years in the league, refining his craft, learning from his own mistakes and those of others, quietly turning himself into someone who was ready and able to engineer a CFL offence. When his time came to become a starter with Montreal, he was meticulous and calm, the consummate professional who could command respect from those around him with his approach to the game and unmatched level of preparedness. Had his success come earlier in his career, Calvillo might not have lasted as long as he did in the CFL. But when the National Football League comes looking for players in Canada, it tends to value youth and overhwelming physical skills. To appreciate Anthony Calvillo, you couldnt just look at tape or watch him at a workout. You had to see him game-in and game-out to understand the consistency, how rarely his instincts betrayed him and what a winner he was. That recogntion didnt come quickly in Canada either, however. Consider that when TSN did its Top 50 all-time players list in 2006, a survey of football media from across the country, Calvillos name wasnt on it. It wasnt truly until the final half-dozen years of his career that Calvillo began to receive his due as one of the leagues all-time greats, as the success he accumulated year after year became impossible to ignore. Calvillo is the last player to have played for a U.S. expansion team to retire, closing the book on that desperate chapter of CFL history but at the same time reminding us it wasnt all bad. If it werent for the Las Vegas Posse, would Calvillo have ever played in the CFL? And even if he had surfaced elsewhere in the league, would his journey somehow have turned out differently? Its been a great ride for Anthony Calvillo, the rare CFL player who retires as a nationally recognized name in Canada. From the unlikeliest of beginnings to the highest of accolades, he earned everything he got along the way. Dave Naylor can be heard weekdays from 4pm-7pm as the host of TSN Drive on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto. Wholesale Pacers Jerseys . -- Brad Gushue of St. Mark Jackson Jersey . With one penalty, Fourcade finished in 24 minutes, 58.2 seconds, just nine-tenths of a second ahead of Timofey Lapshin, who shot clean in the cold. http://www.cheappacersjerseys.com/. -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. T.J. Leaf Jersey . Fans holding laudatory signs started showing up at Yankee Stadium when the gates opened at 4 p.m. Monday, an hour early in order to give them a chance to watch the New York captain take batting practice. Domantas Sabonis Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston.BIRMINGHAM, England -- Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, who admits to a dislike of competing on grass, moved within one win of her first final on the surface with her third confident victory in a row at the Aegon Classic on Friday. The top-seeded Serbian beat the sixth-seeded Czech, Klara Koukalova, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Wimbledon warm-up event. Ivanovic has described playing on grass as "like being stuck to the ground all of a sudden," but there was little wrong with her movement nor any evident lack of self-belief as she forcefully completed her win in 72 minutes. There was a 20-minute phase in the second set when Koukalova, who has a grass-court title to her name, seemed capable of regaining parity and held service up until 4-3. But Ivanovic boldly attacked off the ground to break serve in the psychologically crucial moments of the ninth game, and closed out the match without fuss. "Its a tough transition, not only in the body and thhe movement, but also in the mindset," Ivanovic said of her improved grass-court showing.dddddddddddd She was even now able to believe she could win the tournament. "I have more confidence. Its about rhythm and getting ready for the next match. Now I have the flow," she said. Ivanovic will meet surprise semifinalist Zhang Shuai, the ninth-seeded Chinese player who patiently took advantage of an error-prone, self-critical Sloane Stephens, the third-seeded American, to win 6-3, 6-1. There will not be a fairytale finalist in the bottom half. Kimiko Date-Krumm, the 43-year-old Japanese who ousted defending champion Daniela Hantuchova on Thursday, was unable to emerge fresh for a fourth consecutive day, lasting only three-quarters of an hour in a 6-1, 6-0 loss to 16th-seeded Casey Dellacqua of Australia. In the remaining quarterfinal, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic defeated fourth-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4, 6-2. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '