PITTSFORD, N. Vinnie Sunseri Saints Jersey .Y. -- Nigel Bradham is trying to stay upbeat even after learning hell be suspended for the first game of the regular season for a year-old drug offence. The NFL announced on Wednesday that the Buffalo Bills linebacker will miss the start of the season because of a one-game suspension. Bradham said the suspension comes from a ticket he received last August for marijuana possession in suburban Buffalo. "Its something that followed me from last year, a decision I made," Bradham said. "I regret it, I made a mistake. I apologized to my teammates. Im sorry that weve got to go through this again. Hopefully I just get past it come back in Game 2 ready." Bradham said that he first learned of the suspension in March and decided to appeal. The appeal happened one week ago, Bradham said, and the NFL upheld its original ruling. The linebacker was disappointed to receive discipline a year after the incident took place, especially because all charges were dropped. "Everything was dismissed and Im not in the substance abuse program or anything," Bradham said. "Its kind of shocking and disappointing that it came back again." The suspension is a setback for the 24-year-old, who has made significant strides both on and off the football field this season. With linebacker Kiko Alonso out for the season because of a knee injury, Bradham has taken charge of Alonsos starting weakside spot and has worked exclusively with the first team at training camp. He has drawn praise from both coach Doug Marrone and defensive co-ordinator Jim Schwartz for his change in approach and attitude compared to one year ago. "Obviously its unfortunate, especially since Nigel has been playing very well," Marrone said. "Like Ive said before, Ive probably seen the biggest improvement in him. When I say that, Im not just talking about him as a football player. When you look back at what happened, maybe it took something like that for him to grow up and I think hes learned to make better decisions." Bradham has stressed that the incident last year served as a wake-up call. "I was hanging around with some of the wrong people and made some bad decisions," Bradham told The Associated Press last week. "It was a chance where I could have lost everything that Ive worked my life for out here. I just had to get that focus and remove myself from some of the people I was around, make better decisions and be a man. ... I let these guys down and I cant do that anymore. Ive got to kind of put the team on my back. I feel like I owe them." A fourth-round pick of the Bills in 2012, Bradham had 51 tackles in 2013. He remains eligible to participate in preseason practices and games. Bradham may not be the only Bills defender to miss the start of the season. Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus may also face NFL discipline following arrests for drug possession and a drag racing incident this spring.Saints #5 Jersey . Osasunas Alvaro Cejudo drove the ball onto the crossbar in the fifth minute and his team squandered several long-range strikes before he was denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez in the 50th. Tavon Rooks Saints Jersey . After practice on Wednesday, the 29-year-old forward, who has nine goals in 37 games this season and has recently seen his ice time diminish, spoke out. "I cant accept that we will display a losing attitude as were doing this year," Cammalleri told Francois Gagnon of La Presse. "We prepare for our games like losers. We play like losers. So its no wonder why we lose.At a press scrum last Thursday, the day before the Redblacks were to play their season home opener and officially open the new TD Place Stadium, one of the owners, Roger Greenburg, was asked why he decided to become the co-owner of a football team. His answer just may be the best example of why football will work this time, when it didnt on two previous occasions in Ottawa. Im paraphrasing, but the chairman/CEO of Minto Developments said that he believes there are four pillars that make up a strong community. The first is the medical system. Second, is the education system. The third is the arts and the final one is the sports culture. He went on to say that the Senators have contributed to the sports culture, but it was time to add to that with the return of professional football to the city and the addition of professional soccer. Greenburg and his partners John Ruddy, William Shenkman and Jeff Hunt wanted to be part of building and strengthening one of the pillars of a strong community. In other words, this ownership group has done all of this for the right reason - to strengthen the community that they live in and they were rewarded on Friday night for all their hard work and perseverance. Fridays home opener was an unforgettable experience and, hopefully, showed one of our other major cities in the country, that happens to be only about four hours away, just what is possible. The Redblacks didnt score a touchdown on the field, but they did in the stands and that is what mattered most. Jeff Hunt said the team could have sold another 15,000 tickets to the game and that will translate into demand. Based on the in-game experience on Friday night, nobody should be surprised to hear that the next home game will be sold out soon. The atmosphere was electric. It was a young energetic crowd, who partied like they were attending a rock concert. In fact, in what was an ingenious move, there was also a rock concert going on before the game to get people pumped up for kick-off at what was a Canadian-style tailgate party. TD Place Stadium is fantastic with great sightlines and a design that not only looks outstanding, but is designed to enhance the fan experience for soccer and football, specifically. It doesnt feel like an all-purpose facility that accommodates many, but pleases none. The game itself was not a masterpiece, but it had an exciting finish when, down by two, Redblacks QB Henry Burris hit Kerrie Johnson on a deep ball to set up the game winning field goal. It wasnt a walk-off winner by Brett Maher, but when Ricky Ray was intercepted in the dying seconds, it was game over and the crowd erupted. The games MVP was the crowd, that included Prime Minister Steven Harper, who sat beside CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon and Rough Rider great, Russ Jackson. In fact, one of the highlights of the night was when our TSN cameraa caught a fan walking by the PM and the commish to shake hands with Jackson. It was not a slight to our country leader or the leagues top man, but a show of respect for history of football in Ottawa. And speaking of the telecast, I owe the football fans in Ottawa an apology for mistakenly saying that the five Grey Cup teams in the 60s and 70s were alll coached by Frank Clair. Saints #6 Jersey. My intention was to say that all the Cup teams in the 60s were coached by Clair. Jack Gotta was the coach from 1970-1973 and George Brancato was the coach when the Rough Riders beat Saskatchewan to win in 1976. The telecast wasnt perfect and neither was the night - apparently, some of the concessions ran out of beer and the traffic was a bit tricky, which, of course, was pointed out by some sportswriters...I swear some people would complain that their ice cream is too cold. I recently went to a George Strait concert in Dallas at AT&T Field, one of the most elaborate and state-of-the-art stadiums in the world and it had traffic issues, as well. In fact, it was so jammed up, I ended up tailgating in the parking lot for almost two hours after the event waiting for it to clear. On Friday night, the small issue were just that - small - and didnt, in any way, take away from the success of the event. It was a look at what is possible, even in Ontario ,when it comes to CFL football. The capacity of TD Place Stadium is 24,000, which just may be the perfect number and a blueprint for a possible stadium in Toronto. Our country has great football fans, but just not the volume to consistently fill a 40-to-50,000-seat stadium and at 24,000 in the stands, owners are making money. For those who would say that, if the NFL were in Toronto, they would sell out the old SkyDome, I would remind those people that the NFL regular season games played in Toronto were not sell-outs and not even close. In fact, sources have said that upwards of 20,000 tickets to the games in the Buffalo Bills series were freebies, handed to people on the street. No, 25-30,000-seat stadiums are the perfect size for CFL football, professional soccer and summer concerts and, for proof of that, look no further than Friday night in Ottawa. It can work in Toronto, as well, with a stadium at a realistic capacity and one built for football and soccer, specifically. It worked in Montreal, it is working in a big way in Winnipeg and, after Game One in Ottawa, it looks like it will be a huge hit there, as well. The answer may be BMO Field, which seems to still be part of the plan for the Argos. On our TSN set in Ottawa, Commissioner Mark Cohon had this to say when asked what it would take to replicate the Ottawa plan in Toronto: "The answer is a smaller stadium like BMO," said Cohon. "We know that they have a four-year deal left with Rogers Centre. Were talking to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, were talking to the city of Toronto and were working to see if we can move [the Argos] into BMO Field and replicate what we have [in Ottawa.]" The blueprint for the correct business model has now been created and now all that is needed in Toronto is for David Braley, or whomever buys the Argos, to start building the fourth pillar in that community. Congratulations again to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and, on behalf of the football fans in our country, thank you. At the end of the night in Ottawa, the scoreboard read Redblacks 18 - Argonauts 17, but the true winners were the fans and the community in our nations capital. ' ' '
The Wall