The Ranch » It is the countrys first World Cup in 12 years, and it will

VANCOUVER - A record-setting season earned Solomon Elimimian a piece of CFL history Thursday night.The B.C. Lions linebacker was named the leagues outstanding player, the first pure defensive performer to receive its highest individual accolade. The six-foot, 227-pound Elimimian also captured top defensive player honours during the CFL awards banquet at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.And for good reason. Elimimian, the 2010 CFL top rookie, posted 143 defensive tackles and 151 total tackles, both CFL records, and added five sacks. Elimimian, 28, registered the double in voting conducted by 53 members of the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.Man, I couldnt sleep, I was so nervous thinking about my speech, thinking about what I need, said Elimimian, who was up at 4 a.m. on Thursday. Its nerve-wracking because its something thats uncharted.Winning an award is great but something of this magnitude I probably wont fully comprehend, fully appreciate until later on. Its unbelievable.In his acceptance speech, Elimimian paid tribute to former Lions head coach Mike Benevides, who was in attendance, and invited teammates and family up on stage with him. And when Elimimian received the top defensive player award, he also recognized his presenter, five-time winner Willie Pless. Willie is the man, Elimimian said. I think its important to understand the guys whove paved the way for you.When you come to the CFL you have to look at a guy like Willie Pless, who has won (top) defensive player five times in a row. Who can say theyve done that? Im glad I was able to meet him.While this season was Elimimians most productive it was also an emotionally draining one. With each passing week, the Lions linebacker said he felt the heavy weight of expectation regarding the outstanding player award.I dont think people understand how mentally difficult it was every week to go out there and perform, he said. In a sport like football playing the position I play it was tough and the more and more we kept going the more pressure there was.It was the most emotional season Ive had in my whole career.And Elimimian had some bad news for opposing offences: Hes not reached his peak yet.I just feel like mentally Im starting to come into my own, he said. My thing was I knew I was going to dominate every game, it was just about how much I was going to dominate.Elimimian earned the outstanding player award by a 48-14 margin over Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray. Despite requiring off-season shoulder surgery, Ray, 35 was the CFLs passing leader with 4,595 yards and 28 touchdowns.Ray was also a finalist to Calgarys Jon Cornish for the award last year.Elimimian secured the top defensive player by a 58-4 margin over Montreal Alouettes linebacker Bear Woods, the CFLs second-leading tackler with 89.Cornish didnt come away empty-handed, capturing his third straight top Canadian award by a 50-12 margin over defensive lineman Ted Laurent of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Cornish led the CFL in rushing with 1,082 yards despite playing only nine regular-season games.Cornish became the second three-time winner, joining former Ottawa star Tony Gabriel in that exclusive group.Hes truly a remarkable Canadian, Cornish said of Gabriel. Im pretty happy to be compared to him.Laurent recorded a career-best nine sacks for Hamilton, which faces Calgary on Sunday in the Grey Cup game at B.C. Place Stadium.The other individual award winners included Toronto kicker/punter Swayze Waters (special-teams player), Calgary centre Brett Jones (top lineman) and Edmonton Eskimos linebacker Dexter McCoil (rookie).Veteran Calgary long-snapper Randy Chevrier captured the Tom Pate award for outstanding community service while Toronto linebacker James Yurichuk received the Jake Gaudaur Veteran Trophy.Mark Cohon presented the Commissioners award to Ottawa Redblacks owners Roger Greenberg, Jeff Hunt, John Pugh, John Ruddy and Bell Shenkman for returning the CFL to the Canadian capital. Saskatchewan Roughriders president Jim Hopson received the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership award for his contributions to the CFL.Waters, 27, earned the special-teams award by a 51-11 margin over Lirim Hajrullahu of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Waters season began tragically as his best friend, Tait Hendrix, died in a motorcycle accident during training camp. Waters wore No. 34 — Hendrixs high school number — this year and dedicated the 14 season to Hendrixs memory.I wanted to do it to honour him, honour our friendship, said Waters. He was the kind of guy who lived life to the fullest every day.I hope I did him proud.The six-foot, 180-pound Waters led the CFL in scoring (192 points), field goals tried (52), made (47), punting (47.7 yards) and kickoffs (65.2 yards). Hajrullahu enjoyed a solid rookie campaign, making 40-of-46 field goals (87 per cent) while posting a 43.8-yard punting average 63.5-yard kickoff average.Jones was honoured for a second straight year after being named the CFLs top rookie in 2013. The six-foot-two, 318-pound Jones, a 23-year-old native of Weyburn, Sask., earned the top lineman honour by a 41-21 margin over Jeff Perrett of the Montreal Alouettes.Jones played all 18 regular-season games with Calgary and anchored an offensive line that allowed a league-low 26 sacks. The Stampeders also averaged a CFL-best 144 yards rushing per game but Jones feels he can continue to improve.I just know theres a lot of areas I can keep getting better, he said. Thats why I keep coming to work every day. McCoil was the top rookie by a 48-14 margin over Toronto defensive lineman Tristan Okpalaugo. McCoil, 23, scored three defensive TDs this season and also finished tied for the league lead in interceptions with six and had a team-high 67 tackles. But McCoil accepted the award with a heavy heart as Wednesday he attended his 58-year-old grandmothers funeral. McCoil was planning to bring her to Thursdays awards banquet but she died Nov. 18.She was the rock of the family, he said. I lived with her for a year and a half in high school and I learned a lot from her.I lost my grandfather when I was a freshman in college (Tulsa) so I was pretty much that person she looked to. I used to talk to her the day before games and my mom on the day of games. Im not sure what I will do now.Okpalaugo also had an impressive first year in the CFL with a team-high 12 sacks for Toronto. Abel Aguilar Colombia Jersey . The 42-ranked Czech saved seven break points while converting his one chance, and defeated the No. 3 seed in 1 hour 46 minutes. Rosol, who lost in the final in Stuttgart against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday, awaits the winner between Philipp Kohlschreiber or 2011 champion Gilles Simon. Oscar Murillo Colombia Jersey . Patty Mills scored 15 points, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds in limited minutes, and San Antonio trailed for only 11 seconds late in the first quarter of a 103-90 victory over Portland on Wednesday night. http://www.nationalcolombiafootball.com/...olombia-jersey/. It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. Carlos Sanchez Moreno Colombia Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. Johan Mojica Colombia Jersey .Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night.STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Goals by Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard gave Belgium a 2-0 win over Sweden in a World Cup warm-up game Sunday. After a slow start, the Belgians took advantage of a Swedish defensive mistake that allowed Axel Witsel to set up the Everton striker in the 34th minute. Hazard easily rolled in the second goal in the 78th from a pass by Kevin De Bruyne. "In the first 10 minutes of the match I felt we were a bit hesitant, they played a bit soft," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said about his team. "Then they got five to six opportunities and they found a solution to get into the game." Sweden, which played without injured star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had its best chance in the 68th minute when Jimmy Durmaz hit the crossbar after a corner. Ibrahimovic decided to sit out the game just before the start citing back problems. Expectations are high on Belgiums young team, wiith stars like Lukaku, Hazard and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany, ahead of the World Cup.dddddddddddd. It is the countrys first World Cup in 12 years, and it will play Russia, South Korea and Algeria in Group H. Lukaku, who scored the two decisive goals against Croatia that sent Belgium to the World Cup, also scored a hat trick against Luxembourg on Monday. The 21-year-olds position in the team has become much more important after Belgiums No. 1 Christian Benteke went down with an Achilles injury in April, and out of the World Cup. Hazard said the atmosphere in the team is good ahead of the tournament. "There are always things to work on but I think at the end of the day we kept a clean sheet and I think except for the first 15 minutes the organization of the team was good," he said. Sweden failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Portugal in a playoff. ' ' '