Gästebuch » he didnt expect to leave a major leaguer

He played in 271 regular season games and 18 playoff games, winning three Grey Cups. John Gant Jersey . He finished second in CFL history with 1,151 tackles and was named Most Outstanding Canadian back in 1999. These are the accomplishment of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers new head coach, and 30th in team history, Mike OShea. Pretty impressive, but does all that on-field success translate to a person ready to be a great head coach? Not really. Being a football coach and being a football player are in some ways polar opposites, both in terms of skill and ability. One is a performer and producer, the other is a teacher, organizer and motivater. But, what is tangible is transferring the experience of football success and failure as a player to your coaching career. Mike OShea has 20 years experience in this game and this style of game; 16 as a player and four as a special teams coach. It would take some serious biographical research to list all the players, head coaches, coordinators, positional coaches, and management types he has been around, observed, and in the end, learned from. Often but not always, we are products of our environment. If you put a person around enough good people, they learn what to do and, of even greater importance, what not to do. That is Mike OSheas greatest asset. Through experience, he knows what works and what doesnt because he has seen it all over the last 20 years. In many ways, this job was made for him. Sometimes people achieve positions of authority or success through nepotism or attrition; we have all had those moments of sublime internal conversation, asking "how the heck did he or she get that job?" But with OShea, the time is now and the timing is perfect . There have been enough moments of "been there, done that" in his experience that its now time to try something that he hasnt done yet. That is the nice and fluffy news; hear is the hard reality and truth: Winnipeg has a long way to go. Last year there were only two aspects of football they excelled in: surprisingly they finished last year third in red zone offence and second in red zone defence. But that was about it. On offence, they scored the fewest points in the league, just 20 per game. And on defence, they allowed the most, 32 per game. On offence, out of the top eight relevant statistical categories of success, the Bombers were eighth in seven of them and seventh in the other one. On defence, they faired a little better but seventh in net yards allowed and seventh in passing yards allowed rescinds any other positive aspect of defensive play. The single and most logical issue is ball security. Winnipeg gave the ball away 64 times last year, thats more than three times a game. Because of that, their critical giveaway/takeaway ratio was -27, eighth again in the CFL. A lot will depend on OShea and quarterback Drew Willy, but the pressure is also on General Manager Kyle Walters. Right now the Bombers do not have enough good players to compete for the Grey Cup. It is up to Walters to find those diamonds, or talents that others dont appreciate or want. Now not all is dome and gloom. The new stadium, the teams excellent fan base (second only to Saskatchewan), and a new direction headed by a new vision. And of course, the 2015 Grey Cup is in Winnipeg. Those are all environmental factors to build on. Still, ask anyone who has dedicated their profession to football and without good players, history, fan base, and facility mean little. So how will OShea do? A complete mystery is about to unfold. And it will be fascinating to watch because football is not an instantaneous success sport; quite the opposite. Its much more methodical and incremental. So time is a price to be paid and an element to be used. After the third season you, me and all that follow will see a pattern of success or frustration. It has been a long time since the city of Winnipeg has hoisted a Grey Cup, and it may take a little longer, especially with the Bombers back in the West (Thank you football Gods). Yet the first few bricks of building a winner have been put down and they are important ones, because the next ones to follow may be easier to find and develop based on the experiences of the main piece: Mike OShea. Bobby Tolan Jersey . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Roger Maris Cardinals Jersey .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals.PHILADELPHIA -- When David Buchanan walked into the managers office after a rough outing in the minors, he didnt expect to leave a major leaguer. Buchanan sure pitched like he belonged in his debut. The 25-year-old righty threw five effective innings, Chase Utley hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 Saturday. Filling in for injured ace Cliff Lee, Buchanan (1-0) gave the struggling Phillies a lift. He allowed two runs and five hits, striking out two. He was pulled after one inning and four runs in his last start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. A couple days later, manager Dave Brundage and pitching coach Ray Burris met with him to make sure he was fine. "After 15 minutes, I was walking out when (Brundage) said: Are you going to be ready when Chooch (Carlos Ruiz) calls for a fastball?" Buchanan said. "I stopped and he said it again. I was like, Are you serious?" Buchanan, who grew up a Braves fan in Georgia, had more than 15 family and friends in the crowd, including his parents. "This is what I thought about since I was a kid," he said. "Im overwhelmed with emotions. Its so humbling that so many people took the time out, got plane tickets and were here to see me." Ben Revere went 4 for 4 in his first game leading off since May 14 and Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs to help the Phillies snap a three-game losing streak. Jonathan Papelbon tossed a scoreless ninth for his 13th save in 14 tries. Dodgers starter Dan Haren (5-3) gave up five runs -- two earned -- and six hits, striking out seven in six innings. Buchanan retired the first three batters he faced on grounders before the Phillies gave him a quick lead in the bottom half. One pitch after catcher A.J. Ellis dropped his foul pop, Utley drove one out to right field for a 2-0 lead. Utley ended a homerless drought of 127 at-bats, dating to April 13. "I just missed it," Ellis said. "It was a bad play by me and it cost us the game." Revere started Philadelphias first with his first double since last July 8. One out later, Utley connected. Revere annd Rollins hit consecutive RBI singles with two outs in the second to make it 4-0. Marcell Ozuna Cardinals Jersey. Rollins hit .308 with two homers and had a .438 on-base percentage in eight games batting first, which used to be his spot throughout his career. But manager Ryne Sandberg put Revere back atop the order after benching him a couple games. "To be close to .300 this soon after ankle surgery is pretty impressive," said Revere, who is hitting .289 after missing the second half of last year following an ankle injury. Carl Crawfords RBI groundout in the fourth cut it to 4-1. Dee Gordon hit an RBI single with two outs in the fifth to get the Dodgers within 4-2. Revere reached on an infield single and went to third when Harens throw to first sailed down the right field line. He scored on Rollins groundout to extend the lead to 5-2 in the fifth. Yasiel Puig led off the sixth with a triple off Jake Diekman. Two outs later, he scored on Carlos Ruizs passed ball. Buchanan earned himself another start while Lee is sidelined. Lee has an elbow strain and its uncertain whether hell be ready when hes eligible to come off the DL. "Its an outing he can build on as we need him," Sandberg said. NOTES: Ruiz hit a foul ball that landed in a vendors bin that he was carrying over his head while walking up steps in the right field stands. Fans cheered the unsuspecting vendor, who gave the ball to a young boy. ... Buchanan is the first player from Georgia State to play in the majors. .... Phillies LF Domonic Brown left with mid-back spasms. Hes day to day. ... Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez was a late scratch because of a sore left calf. ... Phillies 3B Cody Asche is day to day with a left hamstring injury. ... The Phillies placed RHP Luis Garcia on the 15-day disabled list because of a right forearm strain. Buchanan took his roster spot. Garcia had a 15.75 ERA in three appearances. ... Haren struck out the side on 11 pitches in the third. ... The Phillies are 12-3 on weekends, 9-22 the other five days. ... A.J. Burnett (3-3) faces Josh Beckett (2-1) in the series finale Sunday afternoon. ' ' '