for him to finish here," Zimmer said of Allen, "but I do un

It was the first time in two years that I was in the opening day of training camp meeting of rookies, veterans, coaches and support staff. It is by far the longest and most boring of meetings that CFL players will have in a season. Policies are introduced by every department head and introductions of everyone who works in the organization are done. It is a marathon of a meeting but it has to be done. The last time I was in this meeting, I was standing in the front of the room doing the introductions. This time, I was sitting in the chairs taking notes on my Ipad. I was totally excited to be in this meeting as a guest coach with the Toronto Argonauts. I took notes throughout because I believe you always can learn and get information from anyone and any situation. It was general manager Jim Barker who set the tone of the meeting and also what the Toronto Argonauts have been about the past few seasons. The words are very similar to my beliefs in a lot of ways and I wanted to share them and talk about how the Argos are great at following those words and the leaderships mantra from the top. "The Argos are about adapting, we dont accept it, we embrace it." These words were said as Barker talked about the facilities they would be using for training camp and for an undisclosed time after that. "All we care about is winning Grey Cups. We get paid to win Grey Cups." is what Barker said. The Argos more than any other team in the CFL have had to do what is one of my favorite quotes for football: "adapt, improvise, overcome". On Christmas Eve 2011, the Argos meeting trailer and coaches office burnt down. During the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the team had to have meetings in one of the buildings on the Erindale campus of the University of Toronto. They would be in whatever rooms were available and would sometimes change from day to day. The Argos are also one of a few teams that basically has to go on the road every week and move the massive amount of equipment to the Rogers Centre. It is a long process and immediately after the game, you see a large cube van outside the Argos locker room and the equipment is moved back to the facilities. Training camp at York University this season was another process of adapting for the whole organization. I believe the team has done a tremendous job of worrying about controlling what you can control. The coaches were, and some still are, living in the dorms and are housed on two floors. Wires taped on all walls lead to the makeshift video department office. A huge server and some computers were housed in there and helped the coaches get set up to watch practice and game video. Vince Magri and Anthony Ierullo did an outstanding job of getting players and coaches video access. Offensively, we watched the games in the head coachs suite which had people (most of the times, yours truly) laying on the ground because we didnt have enough seats and a good view of the video. Player meetings were in classrooms which were very good for the players and the coaches. The only difference is that the coaches computers would have to be uploaded and moved in and out for every meeting. Team meetings and special teams meetings were held in a large multi-purpose room in the basement that had large bed sheets stretched out so the video would be able to be seen against the walls. The food was tremendous and the York University people were very accommodating. Taping was done in a large room off of the cafeteria which the training staff made a very business-like temporary training facility. Head athletic therapist Scott Shannon and his staff obviously followed Barkers words and found a way to adapt. I asked the communications staff where they had an office and they shrugged their shoulders and said that they didnt and just stayed in the cafeteria with their laptops because the internet was strongest there as they worked away preparing their hand-outs for the day. Danny Webb and his equipment staff made a nice locker room out of the York football complex and provided every request for the players. The previously mentioned cube van was next to the field and served as storage for all the football equipment. Another first meeting note I wrote down was of Dannys, "we are here to help in any way, just ask us. Without you guys, I dont have a job." The coaches did a great job of teaching every day and the players also embraced the long days of training camp. Coach Milanovich and the staff did a great job of establishing York as their home. The Argos will be on the move again in August to a more permanent facility at Downsview Park in a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The move will provide stability as well as a location that the coaches and players can now plan on finding a place to live close by if they have not done so already. There is a lot of football left and the Eastern champs from last year will certainly be in contention at the end of the season. The thing I took from the spending time at training camp (besides a lot of good football ideas) was that the team does a great job of eliminating distractions and focusing on what they can control. That will certainly pay off for them as the season progresses. Puma Shoes Online Australia . Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Puma Shoes Clearance Sale . Yet now its time for the most important pick of them all; the Grey Cup. The thought of going 5-0 with the correct choice is quite intoxicating, I dont think I have ever gone perfect in my CFL futuristic playoff speculations and would take great pride in guessing - I mean analyzing - correctly. http://www.cheapaustraliapuma.com/ . Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion on Sunday. Original Puma Shoes Wholesale . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot. Puma Shoes Australia Sale . Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night.EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - New Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has taken a methodical approach to evaluating the teams muddled quarterback situation, refusing to make any concrete statements about the position until he had time to do his homework and come to a decision. With free agency less than a week away, the coach appears to have come to at least one conclusion: Zimmer wants Matt Cassel to return to Minnesota next season, if the free agent-to-be decides he wants to be with the Vikings. "I would love to have Matt Cassel back if Matt Cassel wants to be back," Zimmer said Thursday. "I dont know if that will happen or wont happen. But were going to find a quarterback somewhere. And if its not Matt Cassel, then well find someone else. "I want guys who want to be here. I want guys that want to be part of the franchise, be part of the organization, be part of the team. And if Matt wants to come back, Im sure that well get it worked out." Zimmer said he has had conversations with Cassel, who went 3-3 in his six starts last season and was on the field at the end of the game for all five Vikings victories, to that effect. Cassel opted out of his contract last month and Zimmer said he expected Cassel to explore free agency before the quarterback makes a decision. Free agents can sign with new teams starting on Tuesday. "Hes got a bunch of pretty girls looking at him right now," Zimmer said, referring to teams that are expected to court Cassel in free agency. "And he wants to explore and see whats best for him. I dont blame any of these guys. In free agency, I think thats why they have the rules is that they get a chance to go see what their markets worth." Last year Cassel split the duties with Christian Ponder for most of the season, with Josh Freeman also getting one start. Cassel completed 60.2 per cent of his passes for 1,807 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. "I think the team rallied around him a lot but I think the team has a lot of confidence in him," Zimmer said. "Other than playing against him I dont that much about him yet other than the conversation that we had on the phone." The Vikings have the eighth overall pick in the upcoming draft and are expected to look at drafting a quarterback.dddddddddddd But with star running back Adrian Peterson approaching 30 years old, bringing in a veteran quarterback to serve as a bridge until that young player is ready is an avenue the team will consider. One player Peterson wants the Vikings to pursue is Michael Vick, who likely will be looking for a starting job after losing his in Philadelphia to Nick Foles. Peterson tweeted on Thursday that Vick "would (instantly) make the Vikings a playoff team!" "I think he has his opinions," Zimmer said about Peterson. "I like Adrian a lot from the little time that Ive talked to him. I know that hes a great running back. I dont know anything else." Zimmer said he would also like to have receiver Jerome Simpson and longtime defensive stars Jared Allen and Kevin Williams back as well, if all three decide they want to play for the Vikings and accept what could be different roles than the ones they had under the previous regime. Allen and Williams likely would have to take significant paycuts to return. "I think it would be great for him to finish here," Zimmer said of Allen, "but I do understand the business part of all this stuff and if it doesnt work out, it doesnt work out." In general, Zimmer said the Vikings have "a lot of holes to fill" on both sides of the ball as free agency approaches. But the coach expected the team to take a pragmatic approach, focusing more on the draft than making a big splash by signing high-priced veterans. "I think if we go out and spend a whole bunch of money now, wed be upset two years from now because some of them didnt work out," Zimmer said. "So were going to be real diligent in how we approach this and making sure that not only is it best for next year, but best for the long run too." NOTES: The Vikings released DT LeTroy Guion and WR Greg Childs. Guion started 31 games in six seasons with the Vikings, but the team saved $4 million by cutting him. Childs was a fourth-round draft choice in 2012, but never played in a game after tearing the patellar tendons in both knees in training camp during his rookie year. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '