VERO BEACH, Fla.
[b]Shaquille ONeal Jersey[/b] . -- Chad Johnson made a sharp cut to free himself from a defender, and then hauled in a pass at the 53-yard line. Yes, the 53. Football is going to be a little different now for the former NFL star. The receiver who once changed his last name to Ochocinco might be hearing a lot of "O Canada" this summer, and he insists hes humbled for that opportunity. Johnson was on the field with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL on Tuesday for the start of their three-day minicamp, and theres a very realistic chance that he will be with them when their season starts for real in June. "Its just football. Its football," Johnson said. "Its not about Montreal. Its about the opportunity to be able to play football again, something I love." Its something he lost two years ago. Johnson last appeared in an NFL game during the 2011 season with New England. He was in training camp with the Miami Dolphins -- his hometown team -- the following summer, but his contract was terminated one day after he was charged with misdemeanour domestic battery. A plea deal was eventually worked out, but after a probation violation Johnson wound up going to jail for a few days anyway after a judge objected to the way he slapped his attorney on the backside in celebration. He hasnt played since. "A horrible mistake," Johnson said. "A dream of mine since I was 4 years old was taken from me, rightfully so, by my wrongdoings and I just want to get back to doing something that I love to do, regardless of where it is. Montreal, flag football, back in the street the way I grew up . I just want to play football." The Alouettes have a history of not judging players by their checkered pasts, as evidenced by how they once gave former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips a chance on what became a Grey Cup-winning team in Montreal. "Its all business," Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said. "Its real. Hes in great shape. He wants to play and well see how things are." Popp shrugged off the notion that Johnsons presence is a publicity stunt. "None of you would know it was here unless it got tweeted out," Popp said. And Twitter does play quite a role in this story, since Johnson -- one of the worlds most popular athletes when it comes to social media -- used the power of his 3.6 million followers to help get the Alouettes attention. "Power of Twitter," Johnson said, grinning. The Alouettes were working out at Dodgertown, where some schoolkids were playing baseball on a nearby field. When their game ended, about a dozen of them came over to the football field to chant "Oc-ho-cin-co!" repeatedly. Some fans wearing his old Cincinnati Bengals jerseys watched, as did a couple in Patriots colours. "Like a kid again," Johnson said. He showed Tuesday that he can still run routes, and right there is why Montreal is eager to take a closer look. The CFL game is very much passing-friendly, and that can be at least partially attributed to several rule deviations from the NFL game. Teams in the CFL have only three downs to gain 10 yards instead of four. The field is 10 yards longer from goal line to goal line, is about 10 yards wider, and the end zones are 20 yards deep -- twice as long as those used in high school, college and pro play in the U.S. Montreal quarterback Troy Smith, the former Ohio State standout, said most people dont realize how much talent is in the CFL. And he believes Johnson can make an impact. "I know hes going to bring some fun and excitement to the team," Smith said. In short, even though theres 12 players on the field per team instead of 11, theres plenty of room for offences to manoeuvr. And in Canada, receivers cant be blocked or jammed unless theyre within a yard of the line of scrimmage. Of course, if Johnson heads to the CFL, he wont be exactly getting rich. The salary cap in the CFL is $4.4 million per team -- Johnson has had years where hes made about twice that much by himself. The average salary is around $85,000. "I dont even need a check," Johnson said. "Didnt I give it all away for 12 years straight? Think about it. Did I ever care about money when I played throughout my career? Still dont. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy the game. Thats it."
[b]Orlando Magic Shirts[/b] . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia.
[b]Darko Milicic Jersey[/b] . The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May.TORONTO -- Brayden Point is banking on the second time being the charm. The Moose Jaw Warriors forward is again at the Canadian under-18 national hockey teams training camp. Last year as an under-age player he was with the squad through its final exhibition game in Sochi, Russia -- scoring twice in regulation and once in a shootout in a 5-4 victory over Czech Republic -- before being released and returning home. Adding insult to injury for Point, the Canadians went on to win the tournament for the third time overall but first since 2008. Canadas victory also snapped the United States run of four straight gold medal finishes. "It (being released) was tough but it was an older team and there was a lot of good players," Point said following Mondays practice at the Mastercard Centre. "I understood and was just thankful to get the experience. "Meeting the Hockey Canada guys and getting to know them over the course of the trip last year was great so now its a lot more comfortable and I feel a lot more confident." The five-foot-nine, 160-pound Point was the Warriors leading scorer this year with 91 points (26 goals, 55 assists). He played in all 72 of his teams games and finished the season with an impressive 12-game point streak. The 18-year-old Calgary native has recorded 149 points (61-88) in his three seasons with Moose Jaw. He also took part in the 2014 CHL Top Prospects game. Point does have previous national under-18 experience. He was a member of the Canadian squad that won gold at the 13 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament, registering a goal and three assists in five games. And although he wasnt a part of last years under-18 world championship squad, Point is well aware of what the expectations are for this years team. "No matter what Hockey Canada event you go to, the expectation is always gold," he said. "That never changes no matter what the previous team did. "But being able to play exhibition games last year over there was an awesome experience. I think I can take the pace of the game from that experience and hopefully translate it into my game this year." Point is among 22 players who were invited to the camp -- eight from both the WHL and OHL, six from the QMJHL. Thirteen participated in last years under-17 world hockey challenge in Quebec while eight played in this years under-17 event in Cape Breton, N.S. Point is one oof nine players on the roster who helped Canada win gold at the Ivan Hlinka event last summer in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
[b]Wes Iwundu Jersey[/b]. . But what stands out most to head coach Kevin Dineen is the sheer size of his squad, with 14 players in camp standing six feet or taller. "I cant believe the size of these guys and when you look at their bios they were playing midget just a couple of years ago," said Dineen, the former head coach of the NHLs Florida Panthers. "But not only are they big, theyre skilled with talent. "That makes it enjoyable having guys who are able to play the game anyway we need to have success." But Dineen, who played 19 NHL seasons and led Canadas national womens team to Olympic gold in Sochi in February, has also been impressed with his players hockey smarts. "Were certainly not going to compromise and dumb things down for this group," he said. "That wouldnt be fair to them because that wouldnt be making them live up to their potential and by no means are we doing that. "Its a pretty smart, cerebral bunch and I like the chemistry . . . one of our players missed the first day and didnt understand the drill we were doing so one of his teammates said, Here, hop in and Ill show you what we have to do. Theres a little bit of that going on which were really trying to encourage." And with good reason. Dineen faces the challenge of having to mould 22 players into a team less than two weeks before the start of the world championship tournament in Lapeenranta and Imatra, Finland. "Many teams were going to face have a real advantage because theyve been centralized like the U.S. team out in Ann Arbor, Mich., and many of the European players have played together for a while and were just putting this together," Dineen said. "But for me I love this kind of stuff, its so much fun. "This is such a good bunch to be around. Theyre enthusiastic, theyre talented, theyre nervous, its the whole package. Weve all felt each other out here for the last few days. Yes, there are challenges. Weve got to gel and find some chemistry in a pretty timely manner but its a really fun group to work with and theyre very sharp kids." Canada will conclude its training camp sessions Tuesday and play exhibition games against Finland and Denmark before opening the under-18 tournament April 17 against Sweden. ' ' '
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