Tips & Tricks » . Plus, the elevation of the Mile High City was get

If Chad Johnson was hoping for a regular parking space at the home of the Montreal Alouettes, the GMs spot is taken for a few more years. The Als gave Jim Popp a contract extension on Thursday, ending worries the team would suffer added brain drain after losing Marc Trestman to the Chicago Bears. ?Popp has frequently been a candidate for a range of front office jobs including the GM role with the NFLs Carolina Panthers, a team headquartered just a 30-minute drive from his home in North Carolina. Since Popp helped move the Baltimore Stallions north in 1996, the Alouettes are the winningest team in the CFL.? Popp has been the only constant, but sources close to the team admit he had been hoping and planning on returning this season in the dual role of coach and GM.? Entering the final year of his contract, he was surprised by the hiring of Tom Higgins -- a CFL sideline veteran and former director of officiating -- as the teams new head coach. Some have speculated Popps signing of the NFL star formerly known as Ochocinco was as much about putting himself back in the front office job spotlight south of the border as it was getting the Bengals all-time leading receiver for Alouette quarterbacks. But Popp has never been shy about taking a chance on NFL talents past their prime: witness Ahman Green, Quincy Carter and the infamous Lawrence Phillips -- who helped Popp and the Als end a 25-year Grey Cup drought back in 2002. The quest for the next great quarterback led Popp to even claim the likes of NFL stars Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson and Tim Tebow on his negotiating lists. Popps master stroke in recent years was turning an out-of-fashion offensive guru named Marc Trestman into the hottest coaching commodity to come out of Canada in recent decades.? The immediate task for Popp this season is keeping the Als competitive after the retirement of Anthony Calvillo, as Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, will attempt to solidify his teams tentative start with a victory against Winnipeg Friday night.? Popp will soon be packing bags for his annual NFL training camp scouting missions in about two weeks, when hell see his first round selection in the CFL Draft, David Foucault now a rookie hopeful with the Panthers. Cheap Danny Ainge Jersey .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Cheap Paul Pierce Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. http://www.cheapcelticsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-robert-parish-jersey . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. Cheap Kyrie Irving Jersey . Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile. Cheap Swingman Celtics Jerseys . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday.DENVER -- The kid wanted to keep playing even with the field a muddy mess and more rain on the horizon. Sorry, Nolan Arenado, maybe next time. The game between the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants was suspended after the second rain delay Thursday, with the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. A makeup date was still being determined. The Giants next visit Coors Field on Sept. 1-3. When the game resumes, though, the Rockies will be at the plate with two outs and Michael Cuddyer on first after his third single. Had it been left up to Arenado, they wouldve found a way to finish. But thats just him. "If it looked good, I wish we wouldve kept playing," Arenado said. Thats the thing -- the weather didnt look good. Although the skies looked less ominous, the field was saturated. The grounds crew dumped bags and bags of diamond dry on the infield just to try and make it playable. But after an 82-minute delay before the fourth and another stoppage two innings later for 84 minutes, it was a big undertaking. The commissioners office had finally seen enough and informed crew chief Bill Miller to suspend it. "The field took a lot of water," Miller said in a statement. "It was going to take 45 minutes to get ready and another storm was forecast to hit. ... Both managers agreed it was best." No reason to risk injury, especially after the Giants had two pitchers strain hamstrings the day before -- on a dry field, no less. "It just made sense," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "This is the smartest thing to do." Wilin Rosario tied the game at 2 when he hit into a double play in the fifth. Hunter Pence had a solo homer for the Giants in the fourth and Pablo Sandoval drove in another run with a double later in the inning. Sandoval also had a solo homer overturned by a challenge in the second. He lined a shot down the left-field line that was ruled a homer, sending Sandoval trotting around the bases as left fielder Corey Dickerson repeatedly pointed that the ball was foul. Manager Walt Weiss challenged the call and it was changed. Sandoval stepped back into the batters box and flew out to centre. "I didnt think itt was fair, but it was blowing out," Sandoval said.dddddddddddd "Thats part of the game." Fans were ushered out of their seats and sent to the concourse area as a storm rolled through the city, complete with lightning, heavy rain and even a brief tornado warning for the vicinity. The second wave of weather wasnt nearly as severe. Neither starter returned after the first stoppage. Jorge De La Rosa was cruising along, too, not allowing a hit and striking out three in three innings. The hard-throwing lefty has been bothered by a balky back and given the length of the delay, the Rockies went to the bullpen. He understood the decision. "With this weather, I think its the best thing they take me out," said De La Rosa, whos won five straight decisions. The Giants made the same call with Tim Hudson, who went three innings and allowed one run before exiting. Hudson missed his start last Friday because of a strained left hip. Plus, the elevation of the Mile High City was getting to him. "Ten days off not pitching at game speed can be challenging from a stamina standpoint," Hudson said. "Its kind of hard to catch your breath out here, too." Hudson has never won at Coors Field. "Still on my bucket list," he said. Cuddyer gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the second when his two-out infield single drove in Rosario. The Colorado lineup was missing slugger Carlos Gonzalez, who sat out because of a swollen left index finger. "We did treatment during the game," Gonzalez said. "Its making progress -- slowly, but I know its going to be fine." NOTES: The Giants placed RHP Santiago Casilla (strained right hamstring) on the disabled list Thursday and recalled RHP George Kontos from Triple-A Fresno. ... The Giants will give starter Matt Cain (strained right hamstring) a "couple of days and re-evaluate once we get back to San Francisco," Bochy said. Cain felt a twinge in his hamstring after his final pitch in the third before leaving Wednesdays game. ... The Giants return home for a three-game series against Minnesota. ... Colorado embarks on a nine-game road swing starting Friday in Atlanta. ' ' '