The Ottawa Redblacks woke up Monday morning to find themselves in first place in the CFL East Division standings without even lining up for a snap.

OTTAWA - The Ottawa Redblacks woke up Monday morning to find themselves in first place in the CFL East Division standings without even lining up for a snap. Abby Smith Jersey . They would love to stay there for a while longer. The Redblacks have yet to suit up for a regular-season game in the short life of the franchise, but because everyone else in the East lost in Week 1 Ottawa sits first in the division by default. "Were developing a new strategy as to not play so then you get first place," said head coach Rick Campbell with a laugh. "Well take 18 bye weeks if that happens." Campbell doesnt put much stock in the fact that the remaining teams in the East struggled in the opening week, but he would still love to see his team break the trend. The Redblacks open their inaugural season Thursday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and know they have a tough task at hand. The Bombers defeated the Toronto Argonauts 45-21 last week. "(Winnipeg) was a hungry team that played fast," Campbell said. "They came to play football and it showed and it also shows that if youre not completely ready to play or youre making too many mistakes youre going to get into trouble early." While the game will be significant for everyone who has been awaiting the return of football to Ottawa, it will be even more meaningful for Jovon Johnson who spent the past six years with the Bombers. Johnson, a defensive back and kick returner, signed with the Redblacks as a free agent during the off-season. In 2011 Johnson was named the leagues outstanding defensive player. "I think I had this date circled on my calendar since I left there, but even more so after I made the team," Johnson said. "Im looking forward to this opportunity." Johnson said the Redblacks will need to keep things simple in order to be successful. Emotions will likely be running high and he says maintaining focus will be the key. "We need to know our assignments and just do our job," he said. "We cant try to do too much. I think Toronto overthought some things and they made some penalties and left a couple guys open on defence." This being the Redblacks first game, mistakes are likely to be made, but Johnson believes that if the team can make corrections on the fly they should fare well. Johnson laughed when reminded that the team sits in first place and said it would mean a lot more when they accomplish it on their own. "We still have to go out and prove ourselves and we dont want anything handed to us," he said. "Everyone looks to us as an expansion team and a lot of people pick us to finish last so weve got a lot of things to prove and show the world what we can do." By all accounts the Redblacks see no reason why they cant compete with the rest of the East Division and believe the playoffs are a legitimate goal. "Were a confident group," said Ottawa native Justin Phillips. "We have lots of guys on this team who have been there and done that and had success in the playoffs, won Grey Cups so we have guys who know how to get the job done. Honestly theres no one here who lacks confidence." When asked what would consist of a successful season, veteran quarterback Henry Burris said, "playoffs, at minimum." While the health of the 39-year-old quarterback will be integral to any chance of success, Burris says with the veteran talent acquired through the dispersal draft and free agent signings theres no reason why this team shouldnt compete for a playoff spot. "We know its not how you start its how you finish," Burris said. "If you can get out to an early start and win games early on it definitely helps you out down the backstretch. "All we have to do is stay healthy and as quickly as we can gel together as a team and get on the same page. We want to make sure we peak at the right time which is going into that backstretch and into the playoffs because we all know anything can happen." While Phillips would love nothing more than to see the Redblacks advance to the post season he says hes first looking forward to getting the first game underway. "Weve been talking and talking about it and thinking about it that now its fun to finally get this thing going," he said. "Once we get into a routine its going to be like any other week, but it will be nice to get that first one out of the way." Notes: Campbell said the final roster for Thursdays game will be decided following Tuesdays practice as the coaching staff wants to ensure everyone gets through the practice unscathed before making a final decision. Alyssa Naeher Jersey . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. Christen Press Jersey . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. http://www.socceruswntshop.com/Julie-Ertz-Usa-Jersey/ . TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Bob McKenzie both reported Thursday that there have been ongoing trade discussions between the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings over forward Sam Gagner.TSN.ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Rankings were weighted evenly between separate lists made by TSN Radio host and soccer analyst Gareth Wheeler as well as TSN.cas soccer editors. 1. Chelsea (Last Week-1) A massive performance for Chelsea as they drubbed Arsenal 6-0 to put further pressure on their London rivals. Oscar had the major impact with a goal in each half. 2. Manchester City (LW-2) Two huge victories helped keep Manchester City in the thick of the title race. They opened with a 5-0 drubbing of Fulham before picking up their third consecutive victory at Old Trafford over Manchester United, winning 3-0 in the Manchester Derby. 3. Liverpool (LW-3) Six points keeps Liverpool hot on Arsenals tail as they won both matchups this week. After taking a wild 6-3 victory over Cardiff City thanks to a Luis Suarez hat trick and a pair of goals from defender Martin Skrtel, Liverpool beat Sunderland 2-1 at Anfield. 4. Arsenal (LW-4) A tough week for Arsenal as they were well beaten 6-0 at the hands of Chelsea before a Mathieu Flamini 90th minute own goal cost them a win in a 2-2 draw with Swansea. 5. Everton (LW-5) A pair of victories keeps Everton right in the thick of the race for European football as they beat Swansea City 3-2 before blanking Newcastle 3-0 in midweek. 6. Tottenham (LW-6) After falling behind two goals to Southampton, Christian Eriksen scored twice and Gylfi Sigurdsson provided the injury time winner as Tottenham escaped with a 3-2 victory. 7. Manchester United (LW-7) It was an up and down week for United who earned a big 2-0 victory over West Ham United over the weekend thanks to a brace from Wayne Rooney, before falling 3-0 at home to City in the Manchester Derby. 8. Southampton (LW-8) Sent ahead 28 minutes into the game, Southampton conceded three goals, including an injury time decider as they lost 3-2 to Tottenham. 9. Newcastle United (LW-9) PPapiss Cisse scored an injury time winner to snatch a 1-0 victory for Newcastle against Crystal Palace. Allie Long Jersey. Newcastle would then go on to fall 3-0 at home to Everton in their mid-week fixture. 10. Stoke City (LW-11) Peter Odemwingie, Peter Crouch, Steven Nzonzi and Geoff Cameron all found the net for Stoke as they overcame an early goal to romp to a 4-1 victory. 11. Aston Villa (LW-10) Christian Benteke opened the scoring in the fifth minute but Aston Villa were punished by Stoke City in a 4-1 loss. 12. West Ham United (LW-13) After a weekend 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, West Ham picked up a 2-1 home victory over Hull to earn three points on the week. 13. Hull City (LW-12) It was a two game, three-point week for Hull as they earned a 2-0 victory over West Brom, before losing 2-1 to West Ham in a midweek fixture. 14. Swansea City (LW-14) A single point is all Swansea would get out of two fixtures and they earned it late in the second fixture. After falling 3-2 to Everton, an injury time own goal gifted the Swans a 2-2 draw with Arsenal. 15. Norwich City (LW-16) Robert Snodgrass and Alexander Tettey scored first half goals to lead Norwich to a 2-0 victory over Sunderland. 16. West Bromwich Albion (LW-15) Two first half goals condemned West Bromwich Albion to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Hull City. 17. Crystal Palace (LW-18) Crystal Palace conceded an injury time marker to Newcastle as they fell 1-0 at St. James Park on the weekend. 18. Sunderland (LW-17) A tough week for Sunderland as they failed to pick up any points in either match they played. They started with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Sunderland before a mid-week, 2-1 setback to Liverpool. 19. Fulham (LW-19) Fulham were beaten handily by Manchester City at Etihad Stadium, falling 5-0. 20. Cardiff City (LW-20) Jordan Mutch scored twice and Fraizer Campbell also found the net, but Cardiff dropped a wild 6-3 home game to Liverpool. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '