Schwarzes Brett » Hes running around the cage and looking

On Monday, the Ottawa Redblacks registered the first win of their inaugural season. It wont count for two points in the standings in 2014 but in Mondays CFL Expansion Draft, Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins and his staff picked the 24 players that will become the foundation for the new franchise in Ottawa, and all indications are that they got it right. Now, no win is perfect and there were a couple of questionable picks, especially in the first round. However, overall it was mission accomplished when it was clear months ago that the mission was to find a quarterback that gave the team a fighting chance and an offensive line to protect that player. It wasnt a secret that Desjardin was looking for a combination of an experienced, proven quarterback, and a young pivot that could become the teams future franchise player. In Kevin Glenn he gets a quarterback that has played in 222 games and has led a team as recently as 2012 to the Grey Cup, when he was the Stamps starter in the championship game against Toronto two years ago. He is also coming off, arguably, the best two years of his career, where he had career-highs in completion percentage at over 66 per cent in 2012 and 2013. He is 20-8 as a starter over that period of time, and last year registered a QB efficiency rating that was a personal-best in his 13 seasons in the CFL. The numbers speak for themselves, but what is perhaps as important as the numbers and the experience is that he sounds like he sincerely wants to be part of this unique once in a lifetime opportunity in Ottawa. In a conference call on Monday, Glenn said, "I am very excited about the opportunity to lead a brand new team that is starting from scratch like this." Skeptics might suggest that he had to say that and is making the best of a tough situation, in leaving a team like the Stamps that has played in the West Final the last two straight years. However, Glenn sounded like he was being genuine and remember; he was the backup to Drew Tate in Calgary, not the starter. He may have taken more snaps, but he was the number 2 in Calgary and wont be in the Nations Capital. Now, it is always difficult to predict if a young quarterback will actually become a teams franchise player, and former BC Lions QB Thomas DeMarco has a lot of work to do to prove he is that guy. However, spend twenty minutes talking to the quarterback from Old Dominion and you quickly see that he is an intelligent, team-first player with tremendous leadership qualities. He has a strong arm, is mobile, and proved on September 22 in Saskatchewan that he has the composure to win a tough game in hostile territory, when he led the Lions to a last minute win against the Grey Cup champion Roughriders. There are never any guarantees in sports but by his selections in the draft at quarterback, Desjardins has sent the message to all the potential free agents on the market that at the most important position on the field, the team will have a fighting chance. It was also Ottawas goal in the expansion draft to make sure that they can protect the quarterback in 2014 and with six offensive lineman picked, they are well on their way to putting a checkmark on the "to-do list" in that category as well. Desjardins has an offensive captain and great pro in Marwan Hage from the Hamilton Ti-Cats to lead the group, and also picked three fullbacks on Monday to make sure that Glenn, DeMarco, and/or free agent Matt Faulkner out of San Jose State, dont spend the teams inaugural season on their backs.Now, I mentioned that not every win is perfect and there were a couple of surprising picks in the first round of the draft, starting with Chevon Walker of the Hamilton Ti-Cats. Walker did show signs of greatness early in the 2012 season but this past year lost his job to CJ Gable and was relegated to a backup roll where he carried the ball just thirty times all year. Now Desjardins has, on a couple of occasions, reminded fans that due to free agency and the ten man protected list, there was not as much talent available as most may think. That may have been the case with his decision to take Walker. Also, everyones evaluation of a player is personal and can vary greatly depending on many factors, like the system that you want to run. In other words, Walker may not have been a good fit in Hamilton last year but could be in Ottawas offensive system in 2014. However, the argument that free agency limited the choices isnt as strong when it comes to Desjardins pick in the first round out of Edmonton, when he took a relatively unknown receiver by the name of Carlton Mitchell. Again, if you put ten GMs in a room and asked them to make up a draft list, you would likely have ten very different looking lists. But this year in the import category, the Esks had just seven potential free agents and even after protecting the next ten imports, there would have been some veteran names available. Pick any ten of the fourteen names here and see what you are left with and I think it is fair to say that Carlton Mitchell may become a great player. But there were accomplished vets passed over to get him. In no particular order: 1. JC Sheritt2. Rennie Curran3. Marcus Howard4. Fred Stamps5. Adarius Bowman6. Marcus Henry7. Thaddeus Coleman8. Aaron Grymes9. Cliff Louis10. Almondo Sewell11. Odell Willis12. TJ Hill13. Eric Samuels14. Chris Thompson Desjardins said after the draft he likes Mitchells size (he stands 64") and thinks he has a huge upside, but when we head into training camps at the start of the 2014 season, we will say that about a lot of relatively unknown receivers. Again, no win is without a few questionable calls and if Carlton Mitchell becomes a star in Ottawa, good on Desjardins for doing his homework and going off the board a little bit. That being said, a win is a win and on Monday in the expansion draft the Redblacks won. They have quarterbacks that give them hope and the start of what should be a solid offensive line to give those QBs a fighting chance. 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I kind of got a taste of being able to pick a suit with the draft lottery, I went with the bow tie.Even before he received the call, Ali Bagautinov had a feeling he would be challenging Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight championship. Since debuting in the UFC last year, the Dagestan native has made waves in the 125-pound division. After finishing Marcos Vinicius with punches in front of a hostile Brazilian crowd in September, Bagautinov earned consecutive decision victories over Tim Elliott and John Lineker. Immediately following his win over Lineker at UFC 169 four months ago, Bagautinov checked the UFCs official rankings and discovered hed broken into the top five. Since each fighter ranked above him had suffered recent losses to Johnson, Bagautinov knew he was next in line. "I dont know, but for some reason I had this feeling I would be given a chance at a title shot," Bagautinov told UFC.ca through a translator. "I watch all the fights in my (weight class). So I try to keep abreast of everything thats going on." Bagautinov gets his opportunity to dethrone Johnson in the headliner of UFC 174 in Vancouver, B.C. June 14. The co-main event features a pivotal welterweight bout between Rory MacDonald and Tyron Woodley. Also, former heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski returns against Brendan Schaub. Not only would a win over Johnson be the culmination of all his hard work in both mixed martial arts and Combat Sambo, it would earn Bagautinov the distinction of being the first Russian titleholder in UFC history. The heavy-handed striker also recently became a father, welcoming his first-born son. It goes without saying that a victory would allow him to further support his family. Bagautinov admitted a lot is riding on his fight with Johnson. "First of all, its very important to me that I will go into the history books as the first UFC champion from Russia," Bagautinov said. "It is very important to me, and without a doubt, it will help me provide better for my family. "I think that you will see more and more fighters from Russia (in the UFC). We have a lot of very successful and very promising fighters. I believe that they might be champions and titleholders in different categories, in the future." Though Bagautinov is on the cusp of making a better life for himself and his loved ones, his road to a title shot has been bumpy. A recent report from MMABoxing.ru claimed the fighter failed a 2012 drug test and was retroactively suspendded for two years by the International Sambo Federation.dddddddddddd According to the article, Bagautinov was flagged for methylhexanemine, a dietary supplement and stimulant commonly found in nasal sprays that is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Bagautinov has since called the report bogus, stating that had he been suspended, he wouldnt have been allowed to compete in Sambo bouts in Russia. He also said the incident hasnt interfere with his training camp. "I never even thought about it," Bagautinov said bluntly. "It did not affect my training. I would say that I did experience some indignation as to why this nonsense suddenly came up. But it didnt damage me or hurt me in any way because I am focused on my training and my preparations." With the drug accusation behind him at least for now, Bagautinov has to get the job done against Johnson, who has proven to be a difficult puzzle to solve. Since capturing the inaugural flyweight championship in 2012, Mighty Mouse has been as impressive as any champion on the UFC roster. Johnsons toughness was on display in his first title defence in early 2013, as he rallied to win a unanimous decision over John Dodson. He then put on a dominant display against John Moraga last July before sealing the deal with a fifth-round armbar submission. In December, he became the first fighter to finish Joseph Benavidez by uncorking a vicious right hook for the stunning knockout win. Though Johnsons speed, footwork and timing have given other contenders fits, Bagautinov said hes figured out the flyweight champions style. "In my understanding, his style is to actually crock up his opponent and then to win during the fourth or fifth round," Bagautinov said. "I think hes trying to play it safe by not risking too much. Hes running around the cage and looking for the ninth corner. The cage has eight corners, so its as if hes looking for the ninth corner, then (he tries to deliver) the decisive strike, with a decisive result." Though Johnsons speed and slick striking are often considered among his best tools, Bagautinov feels his power and grappling will get the job done. "As Ive said before, God willing, if I get the title it will be the result of everything that I have been doing for all these years," Bagautinov said. "You can expect a beautiful and good quality fight." ' ' '