ies, including Fridays 8-2 loss to Kyle Hendri

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. Bill Bates Jersey . Ashley Wagner will skate in the womens short program for a U.S. team thats in seventh place. Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions. Michael Irvin Jersey .com) - St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been selected as the NHLs top players for last week. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/El...Cowboys-Jersey/. His second visit, not so much. Roark (7-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk over six innings in a 7-2 setback in front of several friends and family members, as the Cubs snapped his personal streak of four consecutive victories on Friday. Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2.LOS ANGELES -- Hanley Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. Dee Gordon hit a two-out single against Blake Parker (1-1), stole his major league-leading 51st base and came home when Ramirez drove a 1-0 pitch into the Dodgers bullpen in left field for his 12th homer after a full-count walk to Justin Turner. Jamey Wright (4-2) allowed two hits over two innings to get the victory and help the Dodgers increase their NL West lead over San Francisco to 3 1-2 games. Junior Lake pushed a bunt single past the right of the mound with one out in the Cubs seventh and came all the way around on a double to right-centre by Arismendy Alcantara, tying the score 2-all. It was the third hit of the game for the switch-hitting rookie. Teammate Starlin Castro also had three hits, including an RBI single in the first. Matt Kemp gave the NL West-leading Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the fourth against left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada with a drive into the pavilion seats in left-centre after a leadoff walk to Ramirez. It was the 12th homer this season and fourth in five games for the two-time All-Star, who has four homers and 12 RBIs in 11 games since manager Don Mattingly shifted him from left field to right and Yasiel Puig from right to centre. Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed two runs and nine hits through seven innings and struck out six. The left-hander, working on five days rest, was lifted for a pinch-hitter after 108 pitches. That pinch-hitter was Yasiel Puig, who didnt start beecause of a sore left hamstring.dddddddddddd He singled leading off the seventh, but was picked off by right-hander Brian Schlitter. The original ruling by umpire David Rackley was safe, but a replay challenge by Cubs manager Rick Renteria got the decision overturned. Wada allowed two runs and six hits over 5 2-3 innings and struck out six in his fourth major league start. The Dodgers are 12-5 in games started by opponents rookies, including Fridays 8-2 loss to Kyle Hendricks. TRAINERS ROOM Cubs: Right-hander Kyuji Fujikawa, who has yet to pitch for Chicago this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, is scheduled to throw an inning for Triple-A Iowa on Monday. The club has yet to decide whether he will be reinstated from the 60-day disabled list on Tuesday. Dodgers: Lefty Paul Maholms first season with the Dodgers ended Saturday when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The 10-year veteran was injured during the seventh inning of Fridays game while covering first base on a grounder behind the bag by Alcantata. ON DECK Cubs: Right-hander Edwin Jackson (5-11, 5.79 ERA) is 0-4 with a 7.39 ERA in seven starts since beating Pittsburgh June 20 at Wrigley Field. Dodgers: Right-hander Josh Beckett (6-5, 2.74 ERA) looks for his first victory at Dodger Stadium since May 13, when he beat Miami 7-1 for his first win of 2014. He is 3-4 with a 3.05 ERA in in 10 starts since his no-hitter on May 25 at Philadelphia, and hasnt pitched more than five innings in any of his last four outings. ' ' '