Its not yet Week 12 and this years six playoff teams are already all but determined thanks to the dreadful first halves of both the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Edmonton Eskimos (and you could argue the playoff seeds were clinched long before now). Austin Pruitt Jersey . What remains are the battles for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, still very much up for grabs in both the West and East Division. First place in the West should be hotly contested down the stretch between the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders – with the BC Lions hanging around and hoping to strike as well – while in the East everything is still up for grabs. The Toronto Argonauts currently hold first in the division with a 6-4 mark through 10 games, followed closely by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 5-5 and the 4-6 Montreal Alouettes. Will it stay that way the rest of the season? The Argos hope to preserve the lead in the East, or at the very least stay within striking distance of it, until Ricky Ray returns from a shoulder injury in five weeks and they make their final push for the top spot. With impressive sophomore Zach Collaros filling in, that scenario seems entirely possible. Collaros has thrown for more than 1,200 yards and seven TDs in eight appearances (three starts) this season but theres no question the Double Blue are at their best when Ray is under centre. Prior to his injury, the 33-year-old veteran was playing like a bona fide Most Outstanding Player candidate and if he returns playing at that same high level, will give Toronto a solid chance at a first-round playoff bye. The next two games will be a test for the Argos as they visit both the Roughriders and Stampeders, but it gets a little easier than that with three of their final six against the Eskimos and Blue Bombers. Working against Torontos favour however, both the Tiger-Cats and Alouettes have looked like different teams after their early season struggles. Hamilton started the year at 1-4 before fighting back to .500 with a modest win streak against the Blue Bombers and Eskimos. But its been their last two performances, a series split with the Lions, that has teams more convinced the Black and Gold are to be taken seriously as contenders in the second half. With Henry Burris under centre the Ticats offence has always been one of the leagues best; what was encouraging for fans in Hamilton was the dominant play of the teams defence, routinely their weakness, in the Week 11 win over the Lions. The Alouettes meanwhile, have been a better team under GM and interim head coach Jim Popp. Montreal started the season 2-3 under now fired head coach Dan Hawkins, and while theyve only just matched that record in five games with Popp, signs of improvement – and the team looking like their old selves – are starting to show. Not having Anthony Calvillo for at least the next eight games hurts however. (Calvillo, still recovering from a concussion suffered in mid-August, was placed on the nine-game injury list last week.) That said, rookie Tanner Marsh, despite his ugly stat line through three appearances and two starts, has given the team a chance to win since taking over behind centre (they are 2-1 in games the xx has finished). The Ticats toughest games remaining on their schedule are dates with the Stampeders while Montreal still has the Lions and Roughriders on their schedule. The division winner will almost certainly be determined in the whopping six head to heads the three teams encounter down the stretch. The Argos face the Ticats twice more and the Alouettes once while Hamilton and Montreal still have all three of their meetings left to play, including a Touchdown Atlantic matchup two weeks from now. The Rouge asks: Who will finish the regular season in first place in the East Division? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. Joey Wendle Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. Trevor Richards Rays Jersey . "I never commented to anyone that I wanted out," he explained. "My heart is with this group and making the playoffs." Kesler added that the rumours are "completely false" that he asked to be traded - recently or ever. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/486i-yonny-chirinos-jersey-rays.html . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.CALGARY - It didnt take long for "the Canadian way" to become a mantra at Hockey Canadas massive under-17 mens hockey camp. The slogan is on the back of every red T-shirt worn by the 108 players circulating through the Markin MacPhail Centre on Calgarys west side. The phrase is drilled into their heads on and off the ice by their coaches and Hockey Canada staff. "They use that term almost in every sentence," Toronto defenceman Jakob Chychrun said Wednesday. "They really teach us all to be young men. "They talk about professionalism, respect and even the little things like cleaning the table up after lunch." Part of the revamp of the national under-17 program was summoning this vast group of players born in 1998 to learn early what Hockey Canada expects and wants from players who wear the Maple Leaf. The nine-day camp ends Tuesday. "Weve had a lot of lectures on the Canadian way and what that means to us and how we have to respect it," defenceman Sean Day said. "Thats one of the most used words Ive heard in the last two days is respect. Just having pride in your nation and respecting everyone who is involved and respecting your opponents." Their days have been filled with fitness and hockey skills testing as well as classroom seminars on nutrition, mental training and media relations. Theyre learning how to warm up and cool down properly for workouts and games in order to avoid injury and perform their best. Players from Duncan, B.C., to Mount Pearl, N.L., have been divided into six teams with their own coaches and support staff. They start playing games against each other Thursday. "The message to them is theres a way we do things here," said Scott Salmond, Hockey Canadas vice-president of hockey operations. "What were trying to teach them in the different areas, were going to have a better chance to win. "We want them leaving here knowing what the Canadian way is, that theyre going to play hard, theyre committed players, theyre character players, they accept their roles. The Canadian way was really borne out of the Olympic team and the performance that they had in Sochi, everything from how that team performed to how they prepared. "Its playing hard, its playing with character and when other teams push, we push back harder. Those are the messages were trying to give every day, all day. The Markin MacPhail Centtre will bulge with Canadian hockey prospects when another 44 arrive Friday for the under-18 mens selection camp. Evan Longoria Jersey. A team of the best 22 players born in 1997 will be chosen to play for Canada at the annual Ivan Hlinka international tournament Aug. 11-16 in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Canada has won the tournament six consecutive years. The presence of the under-18 players is another way of driving home the message to the under-17 players whats required to play for Canada. "We want those kids to see the next level for them," Salmond said. The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge has traditionally been held in late December during its 22 years, but the event will be played Oct. 31 to Nov. 8 this year in Sarnia, Ont. Instead of five regional teams representing Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, West and Pacific, Canada will enter three teams mixing players from different regions. So Canadians will now play in the under-17 tournament under the banner of their country, and not their geographical region. There will be more competition to play in the tournament as 66 players from across the country will be named to those three squads. Torontos Chychrun and Day played for Ontario at the most recent under-17 tournament held in Sydney, N.S., under the old format. Forward Mitchell Balmas of Sydney represented Team Atlantic and Edmonton forward Tyler Benson played for Team Pacific. Chychrun was the first overall pick in this years Ontario Hockey League draft by the Sarnia Sting. Benson went first in last years Western Hockey League draft to the Vancouver Giants. Day is the only player invited to this under-17 camp who played major junior hockey last season. He was an underage defenceman for the OHLs Mississauga Steelheads. Balmas was a first-round pick of the QMJHLs Charlottetown Islanders this year. This is his first trip to Western Canada and his camp roommates are from Ontario and Quebec. Mixing the players pushes them out of their comfort zone. Where once they compared themselves to players from within their own province, they now measure themselves against their counterparts in the rest of the country. "You see how you rank with the other guys all across Canada and what you need to work on," Balmas said. "You kind of have to bring all your stuff because you dont know who youre playing against or who youre playing with. You have to learn and adapt." ' ' '