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At a press scrum last Thursday, the day before the Redblacks were to play their season home opener and officially open the new TD Place Stadium, one of the owners, Roger Greenburg, was asked why he decided to become the co-owner of a football team. His answer just may be the best example of why football will work this time, when it didnt on two previous occasions in Ottawa. Im paraphrasing, but the chairman/CEO of Minto Developments said that he believes there are four pillars that make up a strong community. The first is the medical system. Second, is the education system. The third is the arts and the final one is the sports culture. He went on to say that the Senators have contributed to the sports culture, but it was time to add to that with the return of professional football to the city and the addition of professional soccer. Greenburg and his partners John Ruddy, William Shenkman and Jeff Hunt wanted to be part of building and strengthening one of the pillars of a strong community. In other words, this ownership group has done all of this for the right reason - to strengthen the community that they live in and they were rewarded on Friday night for all their hard work and perseverance. Fridays home opener was an unforgettable experience and, hopefully, showed one of our other major cities in the country, that happens to be only about four hours away, just what is possible. The Redblacks didnt score a touchdown on the field, but they did in the stands and that is what mattered most. Jeff Hunt said the team could have sold another 15,000 tickets to the game and that will translate into demand. Based on the in-game experience on Friday night, nobody should be surprised to hear that the next home game will be sold out soon. The atmosphere was electric. It was a young energetic crowd, who partied like they were attending a rock concert. In fact, in what was an ingenious move, there was also a rock concert going on before the game to get people pumped up for kick-off at what was a Canadian-style tailgate party. TD Place Stadium is fantastic with great sightlines and a design that not only looks outstanding, but is designed to enhance the fan experience for soccer and football, specifically. It doesnt feel like an all-purpose facility that accommodates many, but pleases none. The game itself was not a masterpiece, but it had an exciting finish when, down by two, Redblacks QB Henry Burris hit Kerrie Johnson on a deep ball to set up the game winning field goal. It wasnt a walk-off winner by Brett Maher, but when Ricky Ray was intercepted in the dying seconds, it was game over and the crowd erupted. The games MVP was the crowd, that included Prime Minister Steven Harper, who sat beside CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon and Rough Rider great, Russ Jackson. In fact, one of the highlights of the night was when our TSN cameraa caught a fan walking by the PM and the commish to shake hands with Jackson. It was not a slight to our country leader or the leagues top man, but a show of respect for history of football in Ottawa. And speaking of the telecast, I owe the football fans in Ottawa an apology for mistakenly saying that the five Grey Cup teams in the 60s and 70s were all coached by Frank Clair. My intention was to say that all the Cup teams in the 60s were coached by Clair. Jack Gotta was the coach from 1970-1973 and George Brancato was the coach when the Rough Riders beat Saskatchewan to win in 1976. The telecast wasnt perfect and neither was the night - apparently, some of the concessions ran out of beer and the traffic was a bit tricky, which, of course, was pointed out by some sportswriters...I swear some people would complain that their ice cream is too cold. I recently went to a George Strait concert in Dallas at AT&T Field, one of the most elaborate and state-of-the-art stadiums in the world and it had traffic issues, as well. In fact, it was so jammed up, I ended up tailgating in the parking lot for almost two hours after the event waiting for it to clear. On Friday night, the small issue were just that - small - and didnt, in any way, take away from the success of the event. It was a look at what is possible, even in Ontario ,when it comes to CFL football. The capacity of TD Place Stadium is 24,000, which just may be the perfect number and a blueprint for a possible stadium in Toronto. Our country has great football fans, but just not the volume to consistently fill a 40-to-50,000-seat stadium and at 24,000 in the stands, owners are making money. For those who would say that, if the NFL were in Toronto, they would sell out the old SkyDome, I would remind those people that the NFL regular season games played in Toronto were not sell-outs and not even close. In fact, sources have said that upwards of 20,000 tickets to the games in the Buffalo Bills series were freebies, handed to people on the street. No, 25-30,000-seat stadiums are the perfect size for CFL football, professional soccer and summer concerts and, for proof of that, look no further than Friday night in Ottawa. It can work in Toronto, as well, with a stadium at a realistic capacity and one built for football and soccer, specifically. It worked in Montreal, it is working in a big way in Winnipeg and, after Game One in Ottawa, it looks like it will be a huge hit there, as well. The answer may be BMO Field, which seems to still be part of the plan for the Argos. On our TSN set in Ottawa, Commissioner Mark Cohon had this to say when asked what it would take to replicate the Ottawa plan in Toronto: "The answer is a smaller stadium like BMO," said Cohon. "We know that they have a four-year deal left with Rogers Centre. Were talking to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, were talking to the city of Toronto and were working to see if we can move [the Argos] into BMO Field and replicate what we have [in Ottawa.]" The blueprint for the correct business model has now been created and now all that is needed in Toronto is for David Braley, or whomever buys the Argos, to start building the fourth pillar in that community. Congratulations again to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and, on behalf of the football fans in our country, thank you. At the end of the night in Ottawa, the scoreboard read Redblacks 18 - Argonauts 17, but the true winners were the fans and the community in our nations capital. Billy Smith Jersey . Steve has built a solid reputation throughout the years - first as a hockey player, then as an NHL general manager and now as a scout. Valtteri Filppula Jersey . People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend. http://www.authenticnyislanderspro.com/B...landers-jersey/. Alexander was released last week by the Edmonton Eskimos, where he spent the past three seasons at safety. He had 121 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles and seven interceptions in 51 regular-season and three playoff games. New York Islanders Jerseys . -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back. Brock Nelson Jersey . - Their offence is underperforming.MILAN, Italy -- Mauro Icardi scored twice to help Inter Milan beat 10-man Sampdoria 4-0 in Serie A on Sunday and boost its hopes of qualifying for the Europa League. Icardi is living with the ex-wife of former teammate Maxi Lopez, and the Sampdoria forward refused to shake Icardis hand before kickoff. "Icardi shouldnt have done that gesture with his ear, but for the rest he showed a really cool head to deal with the environment that had been created around him," Inter coach Walter Mazzarri said. "We shouldnt forget that he is young and he has this exuberance which lets him be clinical and cool. He can become a great player, as he has that in his DNA." Walter Samuel and Rodrigo Palacio also scored for Inter while Lopez had a penalty saved. Sampdoria played most of the match with 10 men after Eder was shown a second yellow card for his part in a brawl. Inter remained fifth but will be boosted by Parmas 1-1 draw at Bologna and Lazios 4-2 defeat at Napoli. AC Milan is firmly back in the race for a Europa League place as picked up a fourth successive victory with a 1-0 home win against bottom club Catania. Hellas Veronas slim European hopes diminished as it lost 5-3 at home to Fiorentina. Also, Chievo Verona beat Livorno 4-2 in a relegation battle, while Torino snatched a dramatic 2-1 win against Genoa. Icardi was booed every time he touched the ball by Sampdoria fans but that seemed to spur him on and he fired Inter in front in the 13th minute. Deafening jeers rang out but Icardi celebrated by cupping a hand to his ear and urging the fans on. Sampdoria could have immediately levelled when it was awarded a penalty after Andrea Ranocchia went into the back of Daniele Gastaldello, but Samir Handanovic denied Lopez. Sampdoria was down to 10 men after a brawl boke out in the 20th minute and Eder, who had been booked for diving, was shown a second yellow and dismissed. Inter doubled its lead on the hour mark when Samuel headed in Hernanes corner and Icardi sealed the result minutes later with his second of the match, driving across from a tight angle. "Icardi lost today," said Sampdoria assistant Nenad Sakic, who was standing in for suspended cooach Sinisa Mihajlovic.dddddddddddd. "That gesture towards his ex-fans and against his ex-club, which made him grow, shows what kind of person he is." Parma is two points behind Inter after rescuing a draw in the lunchtime kickoff. Bologna had only won one of its past nine games but looked to have secured a vital three points thanks to Niccolo Cherubins 44th-minute strike. However, Parma levelled 11 minutes from time when Raffaele Palladino volleyed home Jonathan Biabianys cross. Bologna moved three points clear of the relegation zone, while Parma remained in the Europa League spots -- three points above Milan, Lazio and Torino. Riccardo Montolivo scored the winning goal for Milan, a 30-meter snapshot into the bottom left corner, in the 23rd minute. Catania midfielder Fabian Rinaudo was sent off 12 minutes from time following two yellow cards. It was Maurizio Pellegrinos first match in charge of Catania, after replacing the sacked Rolando Maran. Catania is eight points off safety. Gonazalo Higuain scored a hat trick for Napoli, ending his five-game goal drought. Senad Lulic had given Lazio a surprise lead when he forced his way past Raul Albiol and drilled across into the bottom left corner. Dries Mertens levelled with a swerving shot into the top right of goal shortly before halftime. Lazio was reduced to 10 men at the start of the second period as Lorik Cana was dismissed for a second booking after fouling Mertens. Higuain converted the resulting penalty. The former Real Madrid forward scored twice more, either side of Ogenyi Onazis consolation for Lazio. Torino appeared to be heading for defeat after substitute Alberto Gilardinos late goal. But Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci scored stunning strikes into the top right corner within 30 seconds of each other in stoppage time. Fiorentina had beaten Verona 4-3 earlier in the season and the fans were treated to another high-scoring game. Alberto Aquilani scored twice for Fiorentina, and there were also goals for Juan Cuadrado and Borja Valero and a penalty for Alessandro Matri. Jacopo Sala and Juan Iturbe scored for Verona, while former Fiorentina forward Luca Toni converted a penalty. ' ' '