Theres a little bit of energy in the building

A running back is like a city bus. If you miss one, just wait five more minutes and another will come along. This rather harsh maxim is something thats been said on many a draft day of the position. It reflects the mindset of a pro football team that there are so many talented players at that spot, it should be relatively easy to find a replacement should one go down with an injury or retire. The Toronto Argonauts are hoping thats the case because Chad Kackert has been forced to step away from his starting job after breaking his lower leg in a non-contact practice just before last years Eastern Final. Replacing a back of his talent will not, despite the adage, be easy. Sporting a lengthy vertical scar on the outside of his left leg, starting just above the top of his shoe, Kackert said he found out a couple of days ago that camp would be a no go. "I expected to come back and be on IR (injured reserve)," said Kackert, "but I understand the circumstance of the league. I dont want a handout, I dont want to come onto a team and just take a paycheque while Im sitting around not helping anybody."Kackert has been named the teams strength and conditioning coach and was in attendance as the Argos opened their full camp at York University on Sunday. "Im going to rehab. I mean I want my leg to get better...who wants to walk around on a gimp leg for the rest of their life?" continued the 27-year-old. "If its sooner rather than later then Ill reevaluate, but as of right now Im going to get my leg better and I going to coach this team as far as strength and conditioning goes." If Kackerts career is over it was certainly an eventful one. He was named the starting running back in 2012 amid a firestorm of controversy when Cory Boyd, the leagues leading rusher at the time, was unceremoniously cut by the club during the bye week. Kackert took over and led the team to the 100th Grey Cup, where he was named the games Most Outstanding Player. Scott Milanovich benefited from Kackerts play, but now the head coach must carry on without him, something that he was prepared for. "I wasnt expecting him to be here (at camp) as a player," said Milanovich. "It was a very serious injury, particularly with his style of play, using his quickness and his speed so we were planning all along, to unfortunately have to replace him." The coach underscored the importance of Kackerts role on the team, not only on the field, but in the locker room, where his intangibles will still be present in his new coaching role. On the field, life goes on. The Argos currently have six other tailbacks in camp. Canadians Anthony Woodson and Brendan Gillanders would be long shots to start. Another Canadian, this years first-round draft pick Anthony Coombs, is "absolutely" a possibility to be the starter, according to the coach. The other three are Americans. Steve Slaton is a former starter with the Houston Texans who was a Heisman Trophy finalist with West Virginia, Jeremiah Johnson is a one-time star at Oregon, while Curtis Steele is back for another year. Steele saw some game action last season when Kackert was injured. His best game was against B.C., when he rushed for 74 yards on 12 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Milanovich says that experience will help him in his quest to become the starter, although the competition is wide open. "Curtis has an advantage because hes been here and hes been in the offence," said the coach. "It could be any of those guys at this point." Steele took reps with the first team on Sunday, something he may not have envisioned because he didnt find out about the severity of his teammates injury until the night before camp opened. Like Kackert said about his paycheque, Steele doesnt want anything handed to him. "It just means that you have to come here and work even harder," Steele told TSN.ca. "I thought Kack was going to be back this year, now (the starting spot) is up for grabs. Every day counts, every rep counts, so you just have to come out and give it your all." Its been an interesting calendar year for the University of Memphis product, who got his first taste of the Canadian game, before getting married in April. How much did last years experience help him prepare for this opportunity? "It was huge," said Steele. "I learned so much last year. The plays (this year) are coming to me faster, Im doing less thinking, and thats what I was aiming for for this year. I dont want to think as much so I can just feel comfortable and just make plays and just play." Coombs is the wild card here. A decade ago a Canadian would be a long shot to start at running back, but with two of the leagues best backs, Jon Cornish and Andrew Harris, being Canadian, the adage that a home-grown product wasnt talented enough to play that position has been proven to be a myth. Can the University of Manitoba product continue the trend? He knows he has a lot of work to do. "Things go a lot quicker in the backfield and you have to stay patient. You have to stay calm and focus on your steps and your aiming point and make your read and go. Once I get comfortable with that I think the skys the limit." He quickly added something about the passing game that will make his coaching staff and quarterback smile ear to ear. "We (the backs) are more concerned with the protection because if you cant protect Ricky Ray, you wont be running no routes (laughs) so thats the first thing." With the "Kack Attack" gone, the battle to replace him becomes one of the more interesting subplots to an already fascinating training camp. Tony McDaniel Youth Jersey . Down by three runs in the early going and in danger of dropping into a huge hole, the Giants and their fans rallied. The win ensured the Series will go back to Kansas City to decide the championship. In the meantime, theres Game 5 on Sunday when post-season ace Madison Bumgarner starts for the Giants against struggling James Shields. Charles Sims Jersey . -- Frederik Gauthier scored twice and tacked on an assist as the Rimouski Oceanic extended their win streak to 11 games by defeating the visiting Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5-2 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.thebuccaneersjerseyslockroom.com/mike-james-buccaneers-jersey/ . But when Fernando Rodney struggled in the ninth, it was Smoak who made another huge play to keep Seattle from blowing the lead. Bruce Carter Womens Jersey .J. Daniels Shane Vereen RB Marshawn Lynch Jonas Gray RB Robert Turbin Brandon Bolden RB Christine Michael James White RB/FB Will Tukuafu James Develin FB/TE Luke Willson Rob Gronkowski TE Cooper Helfet Michael Hoomanawanui TE Tony Moeaki Tim Wright TE/WR Doug Baldwin Brandon LaFell WR Jermaine Kearse Julian Edelman WR Kevin Norwood Danny Amendola WR Ricardo Lockette Brian Tyms WR Chris Matthews Matthew Slater WR Bryan Walters Josh Boyce WR/OT Russell Okung Nate Solder OT Justin Britt Sebastian Vollmer OT Alvin Bailey Cameron Fleming OT Garry Gilliam Jordan Devey OT/G James Carpenter Dan Connolly G J. Charles Sims Womens Jersey .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks squandered another chance to open up their lead over the Anaheim Ducks. Tobias Enstrom scored a power-play goal with 3:36 remaining in the third period to help the Winnipeg Jets deal a blow to San Joses chances to finish in first place by beating the Sharks 4-3 on Thursday night. "Weve let some teams that are not as good in the standings beat us and take points away, for whatever reason Im not sure," captain Joe Thornton said. The Sharks have lost six games since the Olympic break, all to teams that would not be in the playoffs if the season ended now. San Jose still holds a two-point lead over Anaheim in the Pacific Division but the Ducks have three games in hand. "We cant give away points," forward Joe Pavelski said. "Weve given away a few too many lately. They got the games in hand. If they do their job theyll be there but theres still quite a bit of hockey left." Dan Boyle, Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, who have lost four of six. Antti Niemi made 27 saves for San Jose. Blake Wheeler added a goal and two assists for the Jets, who trail Phoenix by nine points in the race for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien also scored, and Al Montoya made 27 saves. "We talked about the playoff race for the first time tonight," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "Its a long hill to climb but this is the way we need to play every night." Couture scored the tying goal in the second period for San Jose but then committed the penalty that led to the game-winner when he shot the puck over the glass while trying to kill a penalty. The Sharks managed to kill 11 seconds of the 5-on-3 but couldnt kill the second penalty when Wheeler slid a pass to a pinching Enstrom, who beat Niemi. "Were a long shot coming into the building against arguably the best team in the league," Wheeler said. "We just tried to make one more play than they did and it worked out for us." The Jets took a 3-2 lead by scoring twice in the first 10 minutes of the secondd period.dddddddddddd The equalizer came early when Wheeler skated into the offensive zone and fired a bad-angle shot at Niemi from along the goal line that somehow sneaked into the net. Winnipeg took its first lead after Thornton negated a San Jose power play with a tripping penalty. Just seconds after Paul Postma came out of the box to give the Jets a power play, Wheeler slid a perfect pass to Byfuglien, who beat Niemi with a one-timer for his 20th goal. "Our power play was kind of sloppy but we were able to pull together a couple of times and set it up," Ladd said. "I wanted to come here, have a good effort and give ourselves a chance to win, and we did that." The Sharks tied it later in the second when they capitalized on another power-play chance. James Sheppards slap shot deflected off Coutures thumb and into the net to give San Jose its fifth power-play goal in two games. Couture also got his 20th goal in his return to the lineup after missing one game with an injury from blocking a shot on Monday in Calgary. The Sharks opened the scoring less than 2 minutes into the game when Sheppard sent a pass from the point that deflected off Marty Havlats stick and right to Boyle, who beat Montoya with a backhand for his first goal in 30 games. The Jets answered just 36 seconds later when Ladd put in a rebound of Michael Froliks shot for his 22nd goal. It came in Ladds first game back after missing Mondays tilt in Dallas for the birth of his daughter. "Theres a little bit of energy in the building, and bang its gone," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "They come right back down and score and we have to start all over. That was probably a bit of a turning point, may have been an indication of things to come." San Jose went back in front late in the period on Burns power-play goal. NOTES: Thornton became the 100th player to play in 1,200 career NHL games. ... Former Sharks F Devin Setoguchi was a healthy scratch for the Jets. ... San Jose recalled F Freddie Hamilton from Worcester of the AHL to replace F Adam Burish, who had surgery on two broken fingers on his left hand. Cheap Jerseys nfl jerseys cheap authentic wholesale jerseys jerseys from china authentic Cheap Jerseys wholesale stitched jerseys ' ' '