Storm- News » The Whitecaps continue to develop

MONTREAL - A longtime respected voice in the Montreal Alouettes dressing room, Scott Flory will now put his leadership talents to work on behalf of all CFL players. The nine-time CFL all-star offensive lineman announced his retirement Wednesday after playing 15 seasons and winning three Grey Cups in Montreal. The move was largely expected after Flory became the new president of the CFL Players Association in late March. The Regina native suffered a season-ending biceps tear July 12 in a game against the Calgary Stampeders, though he was determined to return this season if he had not won his leadership bid. "It was a decision I made when I chose to run that I told myself that if I did win that I was going to retire," Flory said at an Olympic Stadium press conference. "It was a way for me to segue out of football from the playing side of it but still stay involved with the game and being around the guys and trying to represent them. "I was committed to coming back. I was training, I was doing everything, and I believe in this club and the direction that theyre going so I wanted to be a part of it." Flory felt that he could not do justice to either job by continuing to play while heading up the players union. "I didnt want to shortchange the players or the Alouettes by trying to do both jobs at the same time," Flory said. "Over my 15-year career I committed myself wholly to being the best football player I could be and I want to do the same in my new role as president of the players association." The 37-year-old is currently participating in talks with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement, though he declined to comment on any of those issues Wednesday. "Ive been a player rep since 2002 and sometimes there needs to be a guy who is the voice of the guys, and not everybody has the ability or the strength or the desire to talk to coaches or to deal with a lot of things that players have to deal with," Flory said. "It was something I liked and I cared about and I wanted to serve the guys ... and I was elected, and Im thankful for that. But over my time in Montreal I was always a part of the players association and I believe in the players and trying to represent them the best I can." Twice the CFLs top lineman (2008 and 2009), the six-foot-four, 296-pound Flory helped Montreal to Grey Cup victories in 2002, 2009 and 2010. "When people talk about how I was able to play for so long it was because of people like Scott that took pride in protecting the quarterback," said former Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who retired in January as pro footballs all-time passing leader with 79,816 yards. "They didnt get a lot of press, a lot of accolades, but in that locker-room when I could walk away from a game with not getting hit you could see a big smile on their face and they took a lot of pride in that, so they were able to do that for many, many years and that allowed me to play for a lot of years." Montreal selected Flory in the third round, 15th overall, in the 1998 CFL draft out of the University of Saskatchewan. He attended training camp before returning to the Huskies, helping them win the Vanier Cup that season. Alouettes tackle Josh Bourke acknowledged that losing both Calvillo and Flory to retirement will leave a leadership void in Montreal that needs to be filled. "It just means that were going to be missing two great leaders on our team, two great men," Bourke said. "Ive played a lot of football with Scott. Ive played a lot of games with him, pretty much every start Ive made in this league hes been on the field with me so Ive learned a lot the last seven years from him, how to be a man, most importantly, but how to be a great teammate, how to prepare, how to be a professional. "Guys like myself and other guys coming up the ranks, were the ones that have to kind of take over now but its going to be hard because hes been such a great leader for so long." Joe Haden Jersey . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Maso...h-Elite-Jersey/. 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But amidst the celebrations, its important the Whitecaps return to winning ways in Major League Soccer against an Earthquakes team that is below them in the Western Conference standings. The Form: Its now four matches without a victory for the Whitecaps who are yet to win against a Western Conference opponent this season, but they have tied their last two games against two of the top teams in Major League Soccer. In Utah last Saturday, the Whitecaps started terribly, going two goals down inside the first nine minutes against Real Salt Lake, but the second half was much improved, and a late comeback ensured the Whitecaps left Rio Tinto Stadium with a point. The Big Question: Will either of the Uruguayans be given the chance to start? Nicolas Mezquida and Sebastian Fernandez made an impact coming off the bench at Real Salt Lake a week ago, both scoring a goal, including a fantastic strike from Fernandez in the final minute of stoppage time to tie the match. Prior to the game, Carl Robinson said last week that the Uruguayan duo had been performing very well in training and wear very close to getting a start in the team. Mezquida has appeared in four matches this season, all as a substitute, while Fernandez started the season but then was left on the bench after a couple of less effective performances. With a Canadian Championship semifinal against Toronto FC coming up on Wednesday, its likely Mezquida and Fernandez will start at least one of the two games. "Everyone will get their chance," said Robinson after training on Thursday. "As a player, all you want is the chance to play and show what you can do, and most of the players will get that chance." The Lineup: Chilean midfielder Pedro Morales missed the trip to Real Salt. Lake to try and heal a back problem that has plagued him in the opening weeks of the season, but if he has fully recovered, he is likely to return to the Whitecaps lineup. Once again, there is a big decision for Carl Robinson in the centre of defence. Last week, Jay DeMerit staayed at home as Honduran international Johnny Leveron partnered Andy OBrien at the back.dddddddddddd Robinson must decide whether to stick with that pairing and bring some consistency to the back line, or bring DeMerit back into the eleven. Nigel Reo-Coker played the first three matches of the season but hasnt played since due to injury, coachs decision and most recently illness. Its doubtful that Reo-Coker will be considered for the starting lineup but he could return on the bench. The Opposition: San Jose Earthquakes started the season with a five match winless run, but that came to an end last weekend when they won 1-0 at home to Chivas USA. The Quakes are yet to win away from home this season, losing 1-0 at Kansas City and tying 0-0 at Colorado. Yannick Djalo scored the only goal of the game against Chivas. The 27-year-old from Portugal is still adapting in his first few weeks in Major League Soccer as he gets fully fit, but he is a quality addition for the Quakes this season, joining on loan from Benfica. 2012 MLS MVP Chris Wondolowski has scored three goals in six matches so far this season as he looks to win a place in Jurgen Klinsmanns United States squad for this summers World Cup in Brazil. The 31-year-old has an excellent goal scoring record against the Whitecaps. On a day where there will be plenty of focus on the soccer history of Vancouver, it is fitting that there is a heavy Vancouver presence amongst the Earthquakes coaching staff. Head Coach Mark Watson played for Whitecaps in 1994 and 2005 while assistant coach Nick Dasovic previously played for the 86ers and was a player coach with Caps from 2002 to 2005. Both men are from Vancouver. The Odds: The Earthquakes are yet to win in Vancouver against the Whitecaps in Major League Soccer and the Caps must be favourites heading in. Carl Robinsons team are four points ahead of the Quakes in the standings but have played two games more. The Whitecaps continue to develop under Robinson, but they must start to put together 90 minute performances if they are to get back to winning ways. Where To Watch: Whitecaps against San Jose is live on TSN2 on Saturday. Were on air with a special Whitecaps 40th anniversary pre-match show at 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt. Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '