Darian Durant found another level in helping lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a Grey Cup victory last season. Youth Fred Warner Jersey . For an encore, hell have to find an even higher level still. Durant was sensational last year, posting career numbers (325-531 for 4,154 passing yards, and a career best 31 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions), and featuring regularly in the MOP Watch. By the increasingly criticized metric that is Quarterback Rating, Durant had the best year of his career last year at 95.7, a full seven points higher than his career mark. But Durant had an awful lot of help on the teams third-ranked offence. First and foremost was league all-star and team nominee for Most Outstanding Player Kory Sheets. In his sophomore CFL campaign Sheets was second in league rushing with 1,598 yards and a gaudy 5.6 yards per carry average and 12 touchdowns. His Grey Cup performance will also be remembered in Saskatchewan – and Hamilton, albeit much less fondly – for years to come. The 29-year-old will be preparing for NFL training camp in Oakland when the Roughriders begin their title defence, and while hes in tough to make the Raiders roster, the best case scenario for Saskatchewan is a return sometime around Labour Day. Another Roughriders mainstay and fan favourite Durant will no longer have at his disposal is slight receiver Weston Dressler. The 57 slotback was a 1,000-yard receiver in five of his six CFL seasons, falling just 59 yards short in his sophomore campaign, and scored a combined 45 touchdowns. Durant and Dresslers time in Saskatchewan had coincided, the two emerging together in 2008. But now the favourite target is in Kansas City with no guarantee of returning. So this year Durant enters the unquestioned leader on offence, and with more unknowns on the roster than previous seasons, hell have to shoulder a greater load. The good news of course is that the cupboard isnt completely bare. While Dresslers sure hands and elusiveness will be missed in the receiving corps, two other pass catchers, ones still on the roster, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark as well last season in Chris Getzlaf, who led the team with 1,045, and Taj Smith, who hit the mark in just his second season. And if Rob Bagg can stay healthy all year, that will be another receiver for Durant to lean on. The running back position is much more of a toss-up heading into the season. The team has five RBs with a combined two carries CFL experience (Clifton Smith, which he gained with the Calgary Stampeders last season). But the last time they tried to replace a solid veteran running back, Wes Cates in 2012, they found a guy who would one day lead them to a Grey Cup victory at home. So, theres hope. Things could work out around Durant; he may have a support staff as talented as the one hoisting the Grey Cup alongside him last year. But the inexperience and uncertainty heading into the season alone means hell have to do even more as both a leader and performer to keep the Roughriders in Grey Cup contention. The football crazy fans in Saskatchewan already love their veteran quarterback; if he can elevate his game and bring more success to the province, theyll cherish him even more. Notes Expansion Draft Roughriders fans were surprised to see DT Keith Shologan get picked by the Ottawa Redblacks in the national portion of the expansion draft after the veteran spent the past six seasons in Saskatchewan. Ottawa also grabbed Shologans backup in Zack Evans one round later, it being evident the Roughriders were making a ratio change. OT James Lee was Saskatchewans international loss in the draft. Coach of the YearIn his second season as head coach of the Roughriders, Corey Chamblin had a dream year. He led Saskatchewan to a scorching start to the season before guiding them to a Grey Cup win in front of a boisterous hometown crowd. Chamblin was awarded in the off-season with the leagues Coach of the Year award, beating out former Roughriders coach Kent Austin. Free Agency The Roughriders lost a lot more talent in free agency than they signed back. Notable losses included S Craig Butler, LBs Abraham Kromah and Graig Newman, WR Kierre Johnson, RB Jock Sanders, and QB Drew Willy, not to mention Kory Sheets and Weston Dressler who are now in the NFL. The team did lock up some of their pending free agents however, including DBs Paul Woldu and Terrell Maze, and WR Taj Smith. CFL DraftThe Roughriders traded out of the first round, stock piling picks later in the draft. With their first pick in the second round the team landed CFL Combine star Dylan Ainsworth, a DL from Western, before also grabbing WR Alex Pierzchalski from Toronto. Saskatchewan also had two picks in the third round, nabbing John Mark from Calgary and WR Kristopher Bastien from Concordia. Their remaining picks included DB Matt Webster from Queens and OL Kyle Paterson from Regina in the fifth round, LB Travis Bent from Concordia in the sixth round, and OL Terry Hart from St. Francis Xavier in the seventh round. New Mosaic StadiumRoughriders fans got a glimpse at the teams new stadium late in the off-season and not much longer ground was broken. The $278 million project should be completed by August 2016 and will give the 33,000 fans surely to pack the place on a regular basis a more comfortable viewing experience than the one they are getting now. Youth Richie James Jersey . Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres came to an agreement on a big trade that may only offer incremental improvement to the Blues in their quest for a Stanley Cup. Youth Marcell Harris Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. http://www.wholesale49ersjerseys.com/ . Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin broke the news that hes cleared for full activity moving forward.MIAMI -- Indianas Paul George will play in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, which comes as no surprise to the Miami Heat. They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series. "Barring any unforeseen complications, he will play" on Saturday in Miami, the Pacers said. So that settled one lineup issue. The Heat now have a lineup decision to make. Greg Oden -- whose last post-season appearance was April 30, 2009 -- may be inserted into the Heat rotation after showing Miamis coaches in recent days that back issues that slowed him down for weeks may finally be a thing of the past. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra suggested that Oden "could" get some minutes, which would almost certainly come against Indiana centre Roy Hibbert. "If coach needs me, Im ready to play," Oden said. "Im definitely ready whenever he needs me." The series is tied at a game apiece, with Miami grabbing the home-court edge away by rallying for an 87-83 win at Indianapolis in Game 2. The teams have been off since, which figures to be a blessing of sorts for the Pacers -- who had several players limping and ailing late in that game, with Georges concussion the most notable malady. The back of Georges head was struck by Dwyane Wades knee as both were trying to get control of a loose ball during the fourth quarter of that game. George remained in the game but was basically a non-factor the rest of the way, and Miami owned the final minutes. The concussion came to light only after George revealed postgame that he briefly "blacked out." "I probably should have kept that to myself," George said. "It just made a mess. Thats something that, going forward, just keep that between myself and the training staff." The Heat never even considered the possibility that George wouldnt play in Game 3. "Why wouldnt he?" Heat star LeBron& James asked. Cheap 49ers Jerseys For Sale. Wade said he wanted to see George out there, because competitors always want to play against the best, particularly at this time of year. And in these playoffs, no one has looked better on the road -- especially defensively -- than the Pacers, who still havent won even two consecutive home games in this post-season but have won five in a row away from home. Atlanta and Washington combined to shoot only 38 per cent at home against Indiana in the opening two rounds, averaging just 84.8 points per game. The Pacers havent exactly been offensive juggernauts in those games, averaging 90.7 points themselves, but the airtight defence was enough for Indiana to save its season by winning elimination games in both matchups. "We played at a high level in the Washington series, and those last two against Atlanta when we were down in the series, we played with great desperation," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Our guys take pride in their defence. Thats probably why you see those numbers." Then again, the Heat present a bit more of a challenge than the Hawks and Wizards. "I dont know if the home court really matters right now in the playoffs," Spoelstra said. "Its more about your collective disposition, and youre imposing that identity on the other team. I think either team could win home or away." Miami is 5-0 at home in the post-season, winning by an average of 10 points per game and shooting nearly 50 per cent from the floor. Going back to last season, the Heat have won eight straight playoff games in their own building and since James joined the club theyre 35-7 at home during the post-season. Among those seven losses? The Pacers won at Miami in both 2012 and 2013. And thats why Miami knows having the home-court edge now hardly assures a series win. "Both teams can win on each others floor. Weve proven that the last couple years," James said. "We have to protect our home, but we cant go out there saying that just because were back home we get automatic wins. Weve got to play." 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