The Ottawa RedBlacks, the CFLs newest team, signed its first four players in franchise history on Friday. Chris Culliver Red Jersey . General Manager Marcel Desjardins signed wide receiver Fred Rouse, defensive back Nick Turnbull, defensive end DiMetrio Tyson and defensive back Jerrell Gavins this week. Rouse started his college football career with Florida State in 2005 before completing it with Concordia-Selma in Alabama. Hes been on the Calgary Stampeders practice roster and played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. Turnbull played college ball at Florida International and appeared in three NFL regular season games with the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears. Tyson played at Jacksonville State and mostly recently played with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL). Gavins played for Boise State in college and the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL. He had a tryout at Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie mini-camp earlier this year as well. "These players will have an opportunity to make our roster once we get onto the field for camp in the spring," said Desjardins. The CFL expansion draft is on Dec. 16 where Ottawa will select 24 players from the eight other CFL teams. This includes eight imports and 16 non-imports. CFL free agency starts Feb. 15 at noon. Michael Wilhoite Red Jersey . -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings. Frank Gore Red Jersey . As the lowest-ranked of nine unseeded European qualifiers, France was expected to go in the Africa-dominated draw pot — meaning it could not be placed in the same group as a top-seeded European team.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills president Russ Brandon sees no reason why last years stalemate in contract talks with Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd would prevent the two sides from reaching a long-term deal this off-season. "Its a process and theres no carryover. You start over again and you try to get something done," Brandon told The Associated Press on Monday. "We just werent able to come up with a solution that worked for both parties, so you reset it and start again." Brandon said the team maintains "great communication" with Byrd and his agent, Eugene Parker, and said there are no lingering hard feelings from talks last year. "We all are hoping to get a deal done," Brandon said. "And were going to do the exact same thing this time, work our tails off to try to get another one done." Byrd is the Bills most high-profile player not under contract this off-season. He spent last year playing under a $6.9 million franchise tag after the sides were unable to reach a long-term deal by a mid-July deadline. The stalemate in talks led to Byrd waiting until the final day of training camp to accept the contract. He then missed the first five games of the season because of plantar fasciitis. Despite the missedd time, the fifth-year player was selected to his third Pro Bowl after he tied for the team lead with four interceptions, and added a sack and a forced fumble. Joe Montana Red Jersey. General manager Doug Whaley said the Bills are in the midst of putting together contract offers to pending free agents, including Byrd. Whaley wouldnt rule out using the franchise tag one last time on Byrd in order to retain his rights. The price of this years tag would jump to over $8 million for Buffalo. Byrd did not return after hurting his back in the first quarter of the Pro Bowl on Sunday. Byrd posted a message on his Twitter account that hes OK. Whaley had no update on the injury. He said Byrd was expected to return to the teams headquarters for evaluation. Brandon provided an update on another front. Without going into detail, he said hes had discussions with Rogers Communications regarding the teams concerns about its annual "Bills In Toronto" series. Brandon questioned the benefits of the series following a 34-31 overtime loss to Atlanta at Toronto on Dec. 1. He wondered about the Bills possibly giving away a home-field edge by playing indoors. Brandon has not ruled out the possibility of the Bills pulling out of the remaining four years of the series. cheap jerseys ' ' '
