Another chapter will be written in Ottawas CFL story when the Redblacks play their first home game in franchise history Friday night against the Toronto Argonauts. However, it will be far from the first professional football game the nations capital has seen. For almost a century they were known as the Rough Riders (not to be confused with the Roughriders from Saskatchewan). Then, after a six year absence, the city returned to the CFL with the Renegades for a short and controversial four-year stint. Now after a time where some thought it could never happen, football has returned to Ottawa with a new name, a new group of players and new optimism. Looking back at their long history, Ottawa definitely has had some proud - and not so proud - moments on and off the gridiron. The Early Years Before they were the Rough Riders, they were simply known as the Ottawa Football Club, formed in 1876. It wasnt until 1898 when they changed their name to the Rough Riders. For a five-year stint from 1925-30, they were called the Ottawa Senators before changing the name back. In the early 1950s Ottawa hosted the NFLs New York Giants for a pair of exhibition games, losing both times. They won four Grey Cup championships (1925, 1926, 1940 and 1951) before the Canadian Football League officially formed in 1958. The Glory Years The Rough Riders won five Grey Cups under the CFL umbrella from 1960-76 (1960, 1968, 1969, 1973 and 1976) with Frank Clair manning the sidelines as head coach and Canadians such as quarterback Russ Jackson, receiver Whit Tucker, running back Ron Stewart and tight end Tony Gabriel leading the charge on the gridiron. Jackson of Hamilton, Ont. is widely considered to be the greatest Canadian-born quarterback to play in the CFL and is a member of the Order of Canada, the Canadian Football of Fame and Canadas Sports Hall of Fame. He even finished eighth - and as the top Canadian - in TSNs ranking of the top 50 CFLers of all-time. Ottawa could run during those successful years as well. Rough Riders running back Vic Washington has the record for longest rushing touchdown in Grey Cup history with an 80-yard scamper during their 1968 Grey Cup victory over the Calgary Stampeders. Their final championship season came in 1976 and is probably the most notable. Burlingtons Tony Gabriel caught a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Tom Clements with just 20 seconds remaining in the final quarter to defeat their hated rivals, the Saskatchewan Roughriders 23-20. It became known as simply "The Catch" and was arguably the greatest moment in Rough Riders history as well as one of the most memorable Grey Cup plays ever. Ottawa made one more Grey Cup final appearance in 1981 against the Edmonton Eskimos - a game in which they blew a 19-point halftime lead to lose 26-23. With nine championships, the Rough Riders are fourth all-time in Grey Cup victories behind the Argonauts (16), Eskimos (13) and Blue Bombers (10). The Decline From 1983 to the end of their existence in 1996, the Rough Riders never put together another winning season and didnt win a single playoff game. As the team struggled mightily, fans stopped coming out and the franchise lost money at a rapid rate. One positive note from this era came in 1988 when Jo-Anne Polak was named co-general manager of the team, which made her the first woman to be appointed to an executive title in CFL history. On the other side of the spectrum, there was the time when Ottawa management drafted a dead man. Derrell Robertson was a defensive end who played one season with the Las Vegas Posse in 1994 during the CFLs doomed American expansion. Shortly after the season, the 27-year-old died in a car accident. With the Posse folding after just one season, all their players became available through a dispersal draft and Ottawa drafted Robertson fully believing he was alive and well. Not a great moment for a franchise that was on its last legs. The team folded in 1996, 120 years after the Ottawa Football Club played their first game against the Aylmer Club at Jacques-Cartier Square. Franchise Records Most Career Touchdowns: Bob Simpson (Windsor, Ont.) - 70 Most Career Passing Yards: Russ Jackson (Hamilton, Ont.) - 24, 592 yards Most Career Passing Touchdowns: Russ Jackson - 185 Most Passing Touchdowns in a Season: Damon Allen (American) - 34 in 1990 Most Career Rushing Yards: Dave Thelen (American) - 6, 917 Most Career Receiving Yards: Tony Gabriel (Burlington, Ont.) - 7, 484 Most Career Receptions: Tony Gabriel - 444 Back With The Renegades In 2002, Ottawa was back in the CFL game, this time with the Renegades. Hope was back in the nations capital with an entirely new franchise, but it ultimately didnt last very long. Over four seasons, the Renegades would win only 23 games and never got a sniff of the post-season. On April 9, 2006 the CFL suspended operations of the franchise after low attendance and unstable ownership from the Glieberman family. Football was done in Ottawa - again. A New Hope In 2008, a group led by Ottawa 67s owner Jeff Hunt was awarded a conditional CFL franchise that would become the Redblacks. After getting approval for a redevelopment of Lansdowne Park and the hiring of general manager Marcel Desjardins as well as head coach Rick Campbell, Ottawa was finally ready to start putting another team together. Receiver Fred Rouse, defensive lineman Dimetrio Tyson and defensive back Nick Turnbull became the first signings in franchise history. They would later sign free agent and veteran quarterback Henry Burris to a contract. The Redblacks have gone 0-2 so far in 2014, losing games on the road to the Blue Bombers and Eskimos. With a rejuvenated fan base and stable ownership along with a fairly strong team by expansion standards, this version of Ottawa football seems like its here to stay. And thats all football fans in the nations capital want to hear. Cheap Balenciaga . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. Wholesale Balenciaga . Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy. https://www.fakebalenciaga.com/ . The Kelowna, B.C. rink made the announcement on their facebook page on Thursday night. Fake Balenciaga From China . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. Balenciaga Shoes Sale . The Asheville, N.C. native, who signed as a free agent with the CFL club last May, didnt see any action with Edmonton this season after opening the year on the injured list.SOCHI, Russia – When the Canadian management team, headed by executive director Steve Yzerman, gathered in recent months to evaluate the crop of players that would be selected to play for Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics two central attributes emerged above all else. There was the requisite hockey sense demanded from the countrys very best and of equal importance, if not more so, was the ability to burn up and down the ice, the latter of significant consequence on the generally unfamiliar international ice surface. "I think we have a really good mix of players here that bring a lot of elements," said Doug Armstrong, the Blues GM and a member of Team Canadas management team, "but the one element they all have is skating ability." Its likely why someone like 34-year-old Joe Thornton – a member of the gold medal winning squad in 2010 and top point producer again this season, but certainly not the fleetest of foot – was not named to the team this time around, replaced by explosive types such as Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn. In fact, the Canadian roster in Vancouver featured a number of players who were probably never be described as quick – Jarome Iginla, Brendan Morrow, Dany Heatley, Eric Staal – but could get around just fine, at that point in their respective careers, on the NHL-sized ice. "I think you see some players that can play on the North American ice [that are] not quite as fleet of foot, but the space they have to get to they can get to quicker and hold it longer. From the corners to the front of the net the distance isnt as great. I think its a different style," Armstrong said. "A bigger man can have success maybe in the North American game thats a little harder to have here." Absent is a single player on this roster who cant get up and down the ice effectively. Quickly adjusting to the larger international ice surface – 15 additional feet wide – will be among the greater challenges facing the Canadians as they look to become the first back-to-back gold medal winning squad in the NHL era of the Olympics. All of which explains why swiftness on skates – not to mention the ability to move the puck with equal speed and precision – was such a fundamental asset in the selection process. Canada managed to win its first gold in 50 years on the Olympic size ice in Salt Lake City, but fell badly short four years later in Torino – they finished a distant seventh. Though other gold medal hopefuls face a similar challenge – with the vast majority of talent migrating to Russia from the NHL – the Canadians (and Americans certainly) will be required to climb a somewhat higher hill, having only played on the 200 by 100 foot surface sparingly. "Theres no question," said head coach Mike Babcock, "when youve grown up your whole life playing on one surface youre probably pretty comfortable with that surface. I know we are in North America. So theres a little adjustment, well get it worked out." One adjustment Babcock will seek is shorter shift lenngths: from the NHL standard of 45 seconds down to 40 seconds with more space to cover and ground potentially to protect.ddddddddddddHe and the coaching staff, which includes big ice expert and former Swiss National Team coach Ralph Krueger, will also stress the need to attack inside on the offensive end, rather than linger on the perimeter as an opponent would prefer. "As much wider [as] the rink is you still want to play an up and down, north and south game and I think its the strength of our team to be able to play at a high speed, high tempo, all four lines," said John Tavares, who played on the bigger ice in Switzerland during the last lockout. "I think thats where were going to be at our best." Other immediate challenges facing Canada (and just about every country) include the required role alterations demanded of NHL stars and energy-sapping jet lag, an adjustment most countries will face in some way or another. "We can talk about the size of the ice surface," said Yzerman, "but I think its adjusting to playing a lesser role. Youve got forwards that are used to playing 21-22 minutes a game that are going to play 10 and 11 and defencemen that are used to playing 27 playing 18. Thats a huge adjustment for them all." Stars and scoring champs are fighting for even the slightest bit of ice-time. Martin St. Louis was the oldest Art Ross winner in NHL history last season (he was 37) and has kept the Lightning afloat save the injured Steven Stamkos again this season, but he finds himself grinding amongst 14 forwards for an opportunity. He and Duchene, a fellow first-timer were on the outside of the forward lines on the opening day of practice at Bolshoy Ice Dome. "When I talked to St. Louis in Tampa I told him he was one of 14 forwards and that he has to grab his piece," said Babcock. "Thats what weve told everyone; theyve got to find a way to grab their piece." Babcock was flipping through lineups and line combinations from the triumphant experience in Vancouver alongside assistant coach Claude Julien and came to a very simple conclusion: things can change in a hurry. Mike Richards for instance, rose from the 14th forward to a key member of an effective trio which included Jonathan Toews and Rick Nash. "Its a competitive environment and we expect our guys to compete for their ice-time," Babcock said. The Canadian head coach got creative in his attempts to quell the effects of jet lag. Players were given a special package for the plane ride over to Sochi, a kit that included eye covers, ear plugs, melatonin, vitamins, and compression socks to reduce the possibility of swelling in the feet. They were also told to sleep no longer than four hours (some did anyway) and stay up until midnight if possible. All to curtail the effects of the drastic change in time zones. "Keep the players up," Babcock said of his goals for a practice that begin at 8pm local time. "We thought if we got some exercise at this time of night we had a better chance of staying up til midnight." ' ' '