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Jan 28 '18
MONTREAL -- Dan Hawkins likes the idea of starting his Canadian Football League coaching career with a winner. Elite Falcons Jerseys . But the veteran U.S. university coach has a tough act to follow on the Montreal Alouettes in Marc Trestman, who left after five seasons and two Grey Cup titles to become head coach of the Chicago Bears in the NFL. "We may come wrapped in a different cloth, but deep down inside were very similar when it comes to our feeling of what football is about and what the culture of a successful organization is," Hawkins said Friday on a conference call. "It doesnt matter if Im the new guy or Ive been here five years, I always think the same way, that we can continue to improve and chase greatness." Since the Alouettes returned to Montreal after a 10-year hiatus in 1996, first-year coaches have mostly done well. Dave Ritchie in 1997 went 13-5, Charlie Taaffe in 1999 was 12-6, Don Matthews in 2002 went 13-5 and won a Grey Cup, while Trestman was 11-7 as a CFL rookie. Of course, this was on a team that has had winning records every year in that period except 2007 (8-10), when general manager Jim Popp took over in a transition year, and 2001 (9-9) under Rod Rust and Popp. "The reason that happens is that you win as an organization," said Hawkins. "It takes everyone. "Everyone wants to point at the head coach and understandably so, but there are so many other factors. Jim sets the tone and brings the players in. To me, if you look at the first-year success, thats a real trademark and credit to the organization because thats the culture, the situation, that a new person walks into." Hawkins said he was impressed with the level of talent he saw both at a recent mini-camp in Orlando, Fla., and on the tapes hes watched of an Alouette team that went 11-7 in the regular season in 2012, but then lost at home to Toronto in the East Division final. He starts out with the leagues all-time passing leader at quarterback in Anthony Calvillo, although the 40-year-old is coming off surgery to fix a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. Theres a tall and talented group of receivers led by S.J. Green and Jamel Richardson and bolstered by the acquisition of veteran Arland Bruce. And they have perhaps the leagues best offensive line. The defence has some question marks, particularly on the line, but it is special teams that will likely need the most improvement after an often grim 2012 campaign. But Hawkins was most impressed with his players work habits and attention to detail at the mini-camp, especially among the veterans. "Theres a tremendous level of talent, experience and leadership," he said. "Theyve won at the highest level. "You can have all the talent in the world, but if you dont have the right culture, youre going to struggle." Like Trestman before him, Hawkins came to Canada with no experience of the 12-man game. Trestmans adaptation took less than a season. It remains to be seen how Hawkins adapts to a new game and a new country. "We keep using a saying here: blessed are the flexible because theyll never be bent out of shape," he said. "Everything is new. "Thats part of the beauty of it -- its football here, but its a whole different brand of football." An new staff of assistants join Hawkins for his first season, including assistant head coach and offensive co-ordinator Mike Miller, who has been doing most of the off-season work with Calvillo on shaping the attack for 2013. Meanwhile, Popp brought in an experienced backup in former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Quinton Porter. Other veterans signed included defensive backs Byron Parker and Geoff Tisdale, and running back Jerome Messam. Also in camp will be NFL veteran running back Dominic Rhodes, who won a Super Bowl with Indianapolis in 2007. But Popp denied angling to bring popular and oft-debated former Denver and New York Jets pivot Tim Tebow to Montreal, which holds his CFL rights. "I can report Ive never had a conversation with him or his agent and I really dont expect to unless I hear them say they have interest in coming to our team," said Popp. "So theres nothing new on that front." Calvillo cant last forever, although hes giving it a good try, and the Alouettes know they will need to find his successor one day. The battle in camp will be between Porter, returning third-stringer Josh Nieswander and a Canadian, former McMaster star pivot Kyle Quinlan. "We try to have a plan every year,"said Popp. "When the day comes that the star quarterbacks not the guy any more, whether he retires or injuries force him out, you really dont know what you have until the other guy starts playing. "When they get their chance, thats when you find out whether they can do it." He likes all three candidates. "Porters had some very big games against the Montreal Alouettes," he said. "Nieswander is a smart, intelligent guy. "Quinlan is very intriguing. He throws a (deep pass) like Ricky Ray does. And its abnormal. And he can really do it well. He drops the ball right in. Thats exciting. It will be fun to see them compete in camp and see where it goes. Quinlan will get a lot more reps. Hes coming to camp to compete for a job." The club will start camp with two players still recovering from off-season surgery. Rookie fullback Patrick Lavoie had a ruptured disc fixed while defensive back Seth Williams had ankle surgery.Red Falcons Jerseys . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Camo Falcons Jerseys . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. http://www.officialfalconsnflauthenticshop.com/ . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Perhaps this was the type of win the talented and young Minnesota Timberwolves needed to get on a roll.Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 27 points and 15 rebounds, and the Timberwolves showed late-game poise by erasing a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Southeast Division-leading Charlotte Hornets 125-120 in overtime on Saturday night.The more close games youre in and the more you win, the better you get, Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. Repetition builds habits. When you see things happen in a game, it slows everything down.Zack LaVine added 17 points and Ricky Rubio had nine points and 12 assists for the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided being swept by the Hornets for the third straight season.We came back and really made some really winning plays down the stretch, LaVine said. Thats what happens when you keep fighting. Weve been fighting the last four or five games and been in those positions but we got over that hump. It feels good. Now we need to keep it going.Towns, a dominant force on the glass all night, had six points in overtime, including a backbreaking follow off a missed shot with 21 seconds left to put the Timberwolves up by six. Towns sealed the victory with two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining.Charlotte appeared on its way to its fourth win in five games, leading 104-97 with less than one minute to play.But Minnesota battled back to tie the game in regulation with LaVine, Rubio and Wiggins all hitting 3-pointers in the final 39 seconds. Wiggins pull-up from 31 feet in transition with 8.9 seconds tied the game at 106.The Hornets had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Kemba Walker missed everything on a step-back 18-footer at the buzzer.There were a lot of mistakes on the defensive end and we gave up some big baskets, Walker said. We missed some rotations and we have tto be better down the stretch. Throwback Falcons Jerseys. Walker led Charlotte with 22 points and eight assists. Frank Kaminsky had 21 points and Nic Batum had 15 points and 12 assists.TIP-INS:Timberwolves: Wiggins and Towns were a combined 22 of 42 from the field. ... Blocked 10 shots.Hornets: The Hornets have given up an average of 16.5 points per game in the first quarter in the last two games, compared to a season average of 27.1 points. ... Cody Zeller had four blocks.STRONG OT STARTThe Timberwolves took advantage of the momentum they had built at the end of regulation, opening overtime with a 7-0 run.You know, it always looks better when the ball is going in, Thibodeau said. When were getting the right shots and sharing the ball, everything looks a lot better. Obviously, playing from a lead is important and we havent been doing that.NOT PHYSICAL ENOUGHHornets coach Steve Clifford said he was especially disappointed with this loss because the team had emphasized getting its defense set and physicality in terms of blocking out.They crushed us with the block outs in the fourth quarter, Clifford said. They had at least four that might have led to nine points. That cant happen. Its been discussed and weve watched it and the reality is we either going to become a more physical group or were not going to win -- at least not every night.TOWNS PASSES GARNETTTowns established a new Timberwolves record with his 27th straight game with at least one blocked shot. He had two blocks against the Hornets.UP NEXT:Timberwolves: Minnesota returns home Tuesday to face the NBAs best road team in San Antonio. The Spurs are 11-0 on the road, while the Timberwolves are 3-6 at home.Hornets: Charlotte heads out on the road Monday night to face the Dallas Mavericks, who they just beat on Thursday night. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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