The Hamilton Tiger-Cats would be forgiven if they entered this year with the team they finished with last season. Greg Gaines Youth Jersey . The Henry Burris-led squad finished second in the East Division before advancing to the Grey Cup where they ultimately fell to the home field advantage wielding Saskatchewan Roughriders. For a team that finished 6-12 the previous year, and hadnt made a Grey Cup appearance since winning the trophy in 1999, that qualifies as progress, a significant amount. And more than that, you could argue the team was on the cusp of greatness, a couple tweaks away from finishing the job in 2014. But the Ticats opted against trotting out the same lineup – or a very similar one at least – to take another shot this season. Instead they went for a big shakeup at a key position, one that may lead to some immediate regression, but that could pay off handsomely in the future. Gone is Burris, one of the teams leaders the past two years, and his league-leading stats. After throwing for 10,292 yards and 67 touchdowns the past two years with the Ticats, head coach and general manager Kent Austin allowed Burris to leave in free agency where he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks. The team opted instead for promising youngster Zach Collaros, who proved he more than belonged in the league – and may offer a lot more with extended play – with the Toronto Argonauts last year while Ricky Ray was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Despite Burris taking the Ticats to the peak of the mountain last year, theres a perception hes maybe not the guy to get a team over the mountain, and the Ticats decided to cut bait and build with a quarterback they feel more confident in. For all Collaros heroics filling in and keeping the Argos in contention last season, hes still a young quarterback with just 298 CFL passing attempts to his name. While the Ticats are convinced theyre in for big things with Collaros at QB, and theyre not the only ones as evident by the mini bidding war that went on to secure his services, some growing pains should still be expected with a 26-year-old pivot, especially one learning a new offence. So while Burris may have been the better option for Hamiltons prospects in 2014, considering his age and difficulty winning the big one, going with Collaros upward trending career is the smarter move for ultimate success. Hamilton hopes theyre taking one step back to make two steps forward. This reasonability of this move is buoyed by the general strength of the roster surrounding Collaros. Hell be in the backfield with one of the most exciting running backs in the league in CJ Gable, who finished fourth in the league in rushing with 782 yards but was the clear frontrunner in highlight reel spin-o-ramas frequently seen on Sportcentre Honour Rolls. And the Ticats already robust receiving corps added more talent this off-season. Joining Andy Fantuz, Bakari Grant, and Greg Ellingson will be Cary Koch, an underrated threat who spent the first four years of his CFL career split between Saskatchewan and Edmonton, really breaking out with the Eskimos the past two years. And while the addition isnt likely to help Collaros directly, Craig Butler joins an improving defensive unit. Notes Expansion Draft The Tiger-Cats got off easy in the first two rounds of the expansion draft before a surprise pick in the third. Backup running back Chevon Walker and FB John Delahunt were grabbed in Round 1 and 2 before Marwan Hage, surprisingly still available, was taken by the Ottawa Redblacks in the third round. It was clear the Ticats were moving on from Hage after he was left available in the final round of the draft. Hage Retires Hages time in Ottawa wasnt lasting, and the affable offensive lineman did the right thing in returning to Hamilton to retire. It was as good an ending to a solid 10-year career that Tiger-Cats fans could have hoped for, not having to see him in another teams colours. Free Agency Its hard to argue the Ticats werent the winners of free agency after landing their quarterback of the present and future in Collaros, another weapon in the receiving corps in Cary Koch, a decent offensive line replacement in Steve Myddleton, front seven defensive help in Ted Laurent and Abraham Kromah, and a solid Canadian safety in Craig Butler. CFL Draft The Tiger-Cats took a chance on their second of two first round picks and paid for it when Manitoba defensive lineman Evan Gill, a player they traded up for, decided he would return to school and try his luck at an NFL tryout next season. Gill entered the draft a bit of a risk with a quad injury but the Ticats selected him anyway, perhaps opting for the long play. The team also selected Western LB Beau Landry, one pick before Gill in the first round, who later signed with the team. After the first, Hamilton didnt make another pick until the fifth round, taking Toronto LB Christopher Johnson. The Ticats wrapped the draft up with sixth-round defensive linemen Mathieu Girard (Montreal) and Stephen Mawa (UBC), and seventh-round defensive lineman Martin Pesek from Acadia. Tim Hortons Field After a successful campaign at the University of Guelph last season, the Ticats return home to Hamilton for 2014, to the same location Ivor Wynne Stadium once stood. Tim Hortons Field projects to be ready for Hamiltons home opener in Week 5 against the Redblacks. Tyler Higbee Womens Jersey . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week. Deacon Jones Jersey . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-aaron-donald-rams-jersey/ . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon.TORONTO -- Canadas Milos Raonic strolled into the post-match interview room at Rexall Centre and immediately looked over at the television monitor beside his seat. He watched the screen intently as Roger Federer and Marin Cilic squared off on the stadium court before sitting down to discuss his 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau at the Rogers Cup. Raonic will next meet Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals but the possibility of another semifinal showdown with Federer -- just a month after they met in the final four at Wimbledon -- has Canadian tennis fans drooling. So, is a potential rematch with the Swiss star in the back of his mind? "No, I just enjoy to watch tennis," Raonic said with a grin. Federer ended Raonics run at the All England Club before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final. It was a career-best performance at the Grand Slam event for the 23-year-old Canadian, but his performance against Federer left him disappointed and frustrated. Raonic responded last week by winning in Washington and he has maintained the momentum this week, although he has been tested in both of his matches. The No. 6 seed from Thornhill, Ont., barely got by American Jack Sock in his opener before getting another stiff challenge from Benneteau on Thursday night. The hard-serving Raonic controlled the early pace with his powerful ground strokes but the Frenchman picked up two breaks in the second set to pull even. Raonic broke Benneteau at love to open the third set and was never threatened after that. "Today I was (in) much more (of) a comfort zone -- created my opportunities," Raonic said. It was a day of upsets at the US$3.78-million Masters 1000 series tournament as three of the top four seeds were eliminated. South Africas Kevin Anderson got things started in the morning by knocking off No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (8), 7-5 and No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia. In the evening, Lopez pulled out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The second-seeded Federer held off Cilic, the No. 15 seed from Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4. With a near-capacity crowd cheering him on, Raonic had little trouble in the opening set. He was pushed to deuce at one point but a volley winner and 221-km/h service winner gave him the hold and a 4-3 lead. In the following game, Raonic landed a scorching forehand in the corner to set up a break point and took the game when Benneteau made an unforced error. He closed out the set when the ball struck the net tape and softly landed on Benneteaus side. Benneteau appeared to get more of a read on Raonics serve in the second set but he couldnt match up in the third. The Frenchman fought off threee match points in the penultimate game before Raonic closed things out in one hour 47 minutes. Nolan Cromwell Youth Jersey. Earlier, Djokovic was unable to settle into his usual rhythm and it proved costly against Tsonga, who needed only 63 minutes to complete the straight-sets victory. "Just nothing was going," Djokovic said. "No baseline, no serve, no return. So (it was) just generally (a) very bad day, very poor performance. (I) couldnt do much." Tsonga had eight aces and Djokovic continually struggled to keep his service returns in bounds. Tsonga closed out the victory when Djokovic returned a serve wide. A visibly elated Tsonga did some shadow boxing and jumped up and down before waving to the receptive crowd. "Its not every day you get the rewards of what youre doing every day during the year," he said. "You leave your family, practise every day hard, suffer a lot on the court. And when you win a match like this, you just feel good." Djokovic barely got by Gael Monfils of France a day earlier, needing a third-set tiebreaker to avoid a loss in his tournament opener. He came into Thursdays match with 11 straight wins over Tsonga, but was nowhere near adding a 12th. The three-time Rogers Cup champ said he didnt feel comfortable in either match on the fast hardcourt. "I wasnt hitting the ball clean and a lot of unforced errors," Djokovic said. "Its maybe (a) lack of matches on this surface and well, it takes time. Lets just say its going to be better, Im sure." Tsonga will play No. 8 Andy Murray of Britain in the quarter-finals. Murray advanced when Richard Gasquet of France withdrew due to an abdominal strain. Djokovic planned to maximize his time on the practice court over the next few days as he gets ready for next weeks tournament in Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open at the end of the month. "Obviously Im disappointed that I lost this early in the tournament, but on the other hand I had a tough draw yesterday and today again. Tsonga played (at) a very high level, great quality shots. "All I can say is well done and I have to move on." Federer will next play fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who defeated Ivan Dodig of Croatia 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Anderson will face seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who beat No. 17 Tommy Robredo 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Notes: Benneteau received a warning midway through the second set for a time violation between points. He had some critical words for chair umpire Damian Steiner at the next changeover. After the match, Benneteau explained that he would have appreciated a soft warning beforehand. ... Raonic lost to Spains Rafael Nadal in the final of last years tournament in Montreal. Nadal is not able to defend his title due to a wrist injury. ' ' '