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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- He plays with passion and energy and always has something to say but Brandon Isaac will have a bit more juice than usual Friday night. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats colourful linebacker will face his former Toronto Argonauts teammates for the first time since being released by the CFL club in July. Isaac helped the Double Blue win a Grey Cup title last year and was a team captain to start the season before being let go four games into the season. The four-year CFL veteran will arrive at Rogers Centre with a definite chip on his shoulder in the opening game of a home-and-home series between the long-time rivals. The Argos face the Ticats in Guelph, Ont., on Oct. 14. "I can say you play a little harder, you can say that because youre going to have that grit to win and try to prove those guys wrong," Isaac said candidly. "Ive thought about it (facing the Argos), Ive looked at it a few times (on the calendar). "Its here now and as a team were ready to play and see where were at." Ticats coach Kent Austin, always a model of political correctness when addressing reporters, could only shake his head at Isaacs brutal honesty during Hamiltons pre-game news conference. "Thats not what I wanted to hear," a smiling Austin said, drawing laughter from the assembled media. And asked if Isaac had been watching his news conferences this season, Austin jokingly quipped: "Apparently not." However, Austin said hes not concerned about emotions getting the better of Isaac on the field. "Look, football is an emotional game and youve got to play with your heart but you also have to play with your head," he said. "B.I. brings us . . . the energy, the emotion, the physicality our defence needs. "He handles it the right way." Isaac definitely has the gift of the gab on the field and says hell have plenty to say Friday night. "Theres a couple of things I want to say," he said. "I envision me making certain plays and saying certain things but those plays have to happen for me to say it that way. "Im going to talk and whatever I feel at that moment is the right thing to say Im going to say it." But Toronto receiver/returner Chad Owens (ribs) -- who will be game-time decision -- said the Argos expect to face a motivated and vocal Isaac. "B.I. is a good football player," Owens said. "He tries to get under your skin but were not going to involved in that. "Whether he knows it or not, that energizes both sides of the football, that will get us going. We have to know where hes at, we have to understand what hes doing, when hes blitzing and we also have to worry about what were going to do." The game is an important one for both clubs, who will play their final five regular-season contests against East Division rivals. Toronto (9-4) can clinch a home playoff game with a win and would cement first in the East if the Montreal Alouettes also lose to the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday. Hamilton (6-7) can close ground on the front-running Argos with a victory and would claim a post-season berth if Edmonton and Winnipeg (which is visiting Calgary) also both lose. "Thats what our season has come down to," Austin said. "Its pretty apparent theres good and bad news. "The good news is theyre all Eastern teams, the bad news is theyre all Eastern teams so we have to prepare well because theyre the most meaningful games." Sophomore Zach Collaros makes his sixth straight start for Toronto in place of veteran Ricky Ray, who suffered a shoulder injury against Calgary on Aug. 23. Ray will be the Argos No. 3 quarterback behind Collaros and backup Trevor Harris. "Hes not at 100 per cent, hes probably at 85 per cent strength in his arm but if he has to play, he can," Milanovich said of Ray. "We want to get him out there and used to his pre-game routine and going over the wristband . . . so if its next week or the week after hes ready to start that its not the first time he goes through it." Toronto is 4-1 since Rays injury, becoming the first CFL team ever to win all four games of a four-game road trip in the process,. They rallying from a deficit in each road win. Collaros has been especially impressive in the fourth quarter of those contest, completing 33-of-38 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and a stunning 142.5 quarterback rating. "I guess weve executed, Ive thrown better, weve caught it better and done all those things better in the fourth," Collaros said. "I dont really know if their is an answer for that. "We need to find an answer for the first couple of quarters to get it going and not make it so hard on ourselves." Hamilton will have rookie safety Courtney Stephen back in the lineup while former Washington Redskin Brandon Banks will return kicks. "He (Stephen) is going to be a really really good football player in this league for a long time," Austin said. "We had pretty high expectations for him but I think hes developed faster than I thought he would. "Banks is a natural returner . . . hes got a great initial burst. Well see come gametime but what Ive seen in practice is what Ive seen on his tape and thats a guy who has good vision and runs with vision, not just with speed." Friday nights game will be Torontos first at home since dropping a lacklustre 20-9 decision to Montreal on Sept. 9, the first game after Ray was injured. "Im very excited to be back home," Milanovich said. "Just playing in our stadium and not having to concern yourself with weather and some of the decisions you have to make from a head coachs perspective on the road makes it a little bit cleaner. "It seems like its been a long time since weve gone into that locker-room." Milanovich downplayed the significance of Torontos record-setting road trip, suggesting it was a first because clubs dont often play four straight games from home. Of more importance, he said, was the Argos pulling together to find ways to win in hostile environments. But Austin said Toronto deserves to be in the discussion about which are the CFLs top teams. "Theyre a good football team, theyre well coached, they play well together and they believe in one another," he said. "You can see it, you can see the chemistry . . . Its hard to beat a team that has a high level belief that theyre unbeatable." http://www.asicskayano-au.com/asics-gel-lyte-iii-f...urple.h tml .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. http://www.asicskayano-au.com/adidas-originals-sup...urple.h tml . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. http://www.asicskayano-au.com/asics-gel-lyte-iii-f...i-red.h tml . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.asicskayano-au.com/adidas-original-supe...ralia.h tml . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. http://www.asicskayano-au.com/asics-gel-lyte-iii-f...brown.h tml . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void.BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Within minutes of being elected to the top job in the Olympics, Thomas Bach got a phone call from a powerful leader hell work with closely in the next few months: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, was elected Tuesday as president of the International Olympic Committee. He succeeds Jacques Rogge, who stepped down after 12 years. Bach, the longtime favourite, defeated five candidates in a secret ballot for the most influential job in international sports, keeping the presidency in European hands. The former Olympic fencer received 49 votes in the second round to secure a winning majority. Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico finished second with 29 votes. One of the first congratulatory phone calls came from Putin, who will host the IOC in less than five months at the Winter Olympics in the southern Russian resort of Sochi. The Sochi Games are one of Putins pet projects, with Russias prestige on the line. "He congratulated and (said) there would be close co-operation to make (sure of) the success of the Sochi Games," Bach told The Associated Press. The buildup to the Feb. 7-23 games has been overshadowed by concerns with cost overruns, human rights, a budget topping $50 billion, security threats and a Western backlash against a Russian law against gay "propaganda." Bach and the IOC have been told by the Russians there would be no discrimination against anyone in Sochi, and that Russia would abide by the Olympic Charter. "We have the assurances of the highest authorities in Russia that we trust," Bach said. It remains unclear what would happen if athletes or spectators demonstrate against the anti-gay law. Rogge said this week the IOC would send a reminder to athletes that, under the Olympic Charter, they are prohibited from making any political gestures. "We will work on our project now and then it will be communicated to the NOCs (national Olympic committees) and then athletes," Bach said. "It will be elaborated more in detail." At his first news conference as president, Bach was asked about how the IOC would deal with human rights issues in host countries. The IOC has been criticized for not speaking out against abuses in countries like China and Russia. "The IOC cannot be apolitical," Bach said. "We have to realize that our decisions at events like Olympic Games, they have political implications. And when taking these decisions we have to, of course, consider political implications. "But in order to fulfil our role to make sure that in the Olympic Games and for the participants the Charter is respected, we have to be strictly politically neutral. And there we also have to protect the athletes," he said. A former Olympic fencing gold medallist who heads Germanys national Olympic committee, Bach is the ninth president in the 119-year history of the IOC. Hes the eighth European to hold the presidency. Of the IOCs leaders, all have come from Europe except for Avery Brundage, the American who ran the committee from 1952-72. Bach is also the first gold medallist to become IOC president. He won gold in team fencing for Westt Germany in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.dddddddddddd He received a standing ovation for nearly a full minute after Rogge opened a sealed envelope to announce his victory. Bach bowed slightly to the delegates to acknowledge the warm response and thanked the members in several languages. "This is a really overwhelming sign of trust and confidence," Bach said. "I want to be a president for all of you," he told the members. "This means I will do my very best to balance well all the different interests of the stakeholders of the Olympic movement. This is why I want to listen to you and to enter in an ongoing dialogue with all of you. You should know that my door, my ears and my heart are always open for you." Bach was viewed as the favourite because of his resume: former Olympic athlete, long-serving member of the policy-making IOC executive board, chairman of the legal commission, head of anti-doping investigations and negotiator of European TV rights. "It is what I and many of the others had anticipated," said IOC member Prince Albert of Monaco. "I think it was very clear. You cant argue with his experience and his leadership and his great knowledge about the Olympic movement and the world of sports, and also the outside world. I think we are getting a great president." Bach was elected to an eight-year term. In 2021, he would be eligible to run for a second and final four-term term. Bach presented the 71-year-old Rogge with the IOCs highest award, the Olympic gold order. After awarding the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo and bringing wrestling back into the games, the IOC completed the last of its three critical votes — choosing the person to lead the body for the most powerful job in international sports. Bachs supporters had hoped for a first-round win, but a second-round victory still showed that he had a big base of support. Carrion, who chairs the IOCs finance commission and negotiates lucrative U.S. TV rights deals, wound up being Bachs only serious challenger. The votes fell off after that with Ng Ser Miang of Singapore getting six, Denis Oswald of Switzerland five and Sergei Bubka of Ukraine four. C.K. Wu of Taiwan was eliminated in the first round after an initial tie with Ng as low vote-getter. In the first round, Bach got 43 votes, followed by Carrion with 23, Bubka eight, Oswald seven and Ng and Wu six each. Ng then beat Wu 56-36 in a runoff. Ng had been considered a strong contender, but his chances were dented after Tokyos win because the IOC was unlikely to give Asia two major prizes in a row. Much of the pre-election talk among the members has been about the power of Sheik Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti who heads the Association of National Olympic Committees. The sheik was a key backer of Bach. With his influence in Asia and among the national Olympic committees, the Kuwaiti was seen as playing a key role in Tokyos victory, even helping Istanbul get to the second round of voting to keep Madrid out of the final. ___ AP Sports writers Stephen Wade and Tales Azzoni contributed to this report. ___ Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
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