[arry J]

WINNIPEG - The bar was set pretty high for Drew Willy when it came to excelling at sports, but the competitive fire that burns inside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback didnt come from his male role models. Devontae Booker Broncos Jersey . "My mom is definitely where I get my competitiveness from," Willy said this week during an interview with The Canadian Press. "She never lost a game of basketball throughout her high school career. Shes in the Nebraska sports hall of fame for high school for three sports: basketball, track and volleyball." While his mother, Diane Minihane, supported her children in their sports endeavours, shed also occasionally rib them about her winning streak. "Whenever we lost a game in high school, she was quick to point it out — but in a loving way," Willy said with a grin. He was also a three-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball and baseball in Randolph, N.J. It was football, though, where he stood out, setting Randolph High records for career passing yards and touchdowns. His accomplishments grew when he went to university, and soon hell have his own hall-of-fame induction on his sports resume. The 27-year-old is being inducted into the University at Buffalo Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 11, although he cant attend as the Bombers have a game two days later in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions. Willy started all four years at the state university of New York and graduated in 2009 with 15 school passing records. He led the U at Buffalo Bulls to a 2008 Mid-American Conference (MAC) title in a game against undefeated Ball State. The victory was the Bulls first in program history over a Top 25 team. "It definitely means a lot to me," Willy said of the induction. "Where we were as a program when I first got there, we werent winning too many games." That scenario is familiar to Bomber fans, who watched their team plummet to a league-worst 3-15 record last season. But all that started changing when the six-foot-three, 215-pound Willy was acquired from Saskatchewan in the off-season in exchange for receiver Jade Etienne. Willy, whod spent two seasons and made four starts for the Riders, was set to become a free agent, but the Bombers signed him to a deal and then named him the starter. He returned that vote of confidence by helping the team open with a 5-1 mark, sparking overjoyed fans to call their home city "Willypeg." Willy gives an embarrassed smile when the unofficial name change is brought up, but he understands fans are starved for a team to cheer about. If Willy can engineer a victory for the Bombers (6-3) on Sunday against his former team, who knows, fans might start calling the province Drewtoba. The defending Grey Cup-champion Roughriders (6-2) have won the past nine Labour Day Classic games. Willys connection to the CFL began years before the Riders signed him. One of his mentors at U at Buffalo was Danny Barrett, Saskatchewans former head coach and long-time CFL quarterback. Barrett was the Bulls quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach during some of Willys time there and they still text each other. Barrett had talked to Bombers assistant general manager and director of U.S. scouting Danny McManus about Willys work ethic and his intangibles. "He just says, What Drew has is what every quarterback needs to have, he has a short memory. He doesnt think about what just happened, hes always thinking about whats going to happen," McManus recalled in a phone call from Florida. "That really got me because thats one of the things that me and Danny Barrett talked about back when we were playing. Once the plays over, youve got to forget about it and go to the next one." It was that kind of info McManus, a CFL pivot for 17 seasons, passed along when Winnipegs football brass was brainstorming about acquiring a quarterback in the off-season. Willy has been cool under pressure, guiding the Bombers to four fourth-quarter comebacks this season. He said he learned patience from his stepdad and his father, both who played sports. His mother and father, Steve Willy, divorced when he was two years old and his mom remarried Chris Minihane three years later. His father also remarried and the blended family includes Willy, three brothers and two sisters. His stepdad, a property manager, took Willy to high-level sports camps. His father, a former high school quarterback, is a golf pro and manages golf courses in Atlanta. Despite his parents breakup, Willy said theyve watched him play two home and three away games this season. "Theyve done a great job of supporting me," he said. "Even when they come to games, theyre able to sit together, able to go to dinner afterwards. Theyve done a good job being able to co-exist as parents. They just want the best for their kids." Willy also has another strong supporter in fiancée Hillary Turkovitz, whom he met in college and will marry this coming April. A registered dietitian, Turkovitz tries to keep the balance in their lives. "Shes always telling me to kind of just get away from football sometimes and put my mind on something else," Willy said. "Ill go home and watch the film right after the game and shes telling me to put the iPad down for a minute." Bombers receiver Nick Moore, who rooms with Willy on the road, said his teammate enjoys joking around, but hes really a "business-first guy." "He goes to sleep really early, around 9:30, 10, so I try to be as quiet as possible, keep the TV off, keep the noise down to a minimum," Moore said. "He wakes early, around eight, 8:30, goes gets breakfast, comes back, watches film all day and then around 15 minutes before its time to leave (to a game), he finally puts his iPad down." Brief stints with four NFL clubs helped hone Willys work ethic, especially while with the Indianapolis Colts and star QB Peyton Manning in 2009. "You watch from a distance, at walkthroughs, media sessions, in the meeting room. Just the way he looks at film, the way hes in meetings," Willy said. "Hes very well-spoken and at the same time he can relate to a lot of different people. He has that charisma about him that he can bring everyone together. I think thats what makes him such a great leader. Hes so well prepared, he knows everyones job. He knows what he wants to get accomplished, he has a plan and he sticks to it." Funny, those are some of the traits Willys Winnipeg teammates use to describe his development into a leader. "Hes like a robot," veteran Bombers offensive lineman Glenn January said. "The way that he leads is to be consistent. You cant tell if were up by 30 or down by 30 whenever he enters that huddle. That quiet confidence is the easiest way that hes found to motivate the offence." Its that type of belief in Willy that Winnipeg head coach Mike OShea was hoping to see ever since he made the bold move of anointing him the teams starter after his signing. "I didnt hesitate," OShea said. "I thought it was the only way to go in this marketplace. "Youve got a guy you believe in, you let everybody know that you believe in him so that now theres someone players can follow. Theres a starting point." Von Miller Authentic Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. Tom Jackson Broncos Jersey . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014. 403 Forbidden . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play.NEW YORK -- The Williams sisters overcame a minor scare Wednesday. Next up: A major test. Venus and Serena Williams overcame two service breaks in the second set to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova. The Williams sisters, who have combined for 13 Grand Slam doubles titles, will play the defending champion and top-seeded Italian team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci on Thursday. The Italians beat the sisters in three sets in the Australian Open quarterfinals. "We learned from the match in Australia," Venus Williams said. "Obviously, they play well, they play often. Theyre a great team, so were going to learn from that and go for it tomorrow." The doubles is keeping Serena Williams sharp during her two-day break between Tuesday nights 6-0, 6-0 victory over Carla Suarez Navarro in the singles quarterfinals and her meeting with Li Na in Fridays semifinals. Vinci, meanwhile, lost to Flavia Pennetta in singles Wednesdayy and now only has doubles. Tom Jackson Authentic Jersey. . She and Errani have three Grand Slam titles, including this years Australian Open. "Honestly, a different draw would have been better," Vinci said. "Well see whether Serena already is thinking about the (singles) semifinals. If we play them, itll be very, very hard. ... They serve well, return well. But Venus is playing a bit less well than (Serena), so well need to go after Venus more." In Wednesdays match, the Williams sisters lost only three points on their serve in the first set, but both sisters got broken once in the second. The second break came against Serena when she was trying to serve out the match at 5-4. The Williams won the first five points of the tiebreaker, lost the next three, then closed it out two points after that on Serenas service winner. "I can always blame her if things dont go right," Serena joked in her on-court interview. "Shes the older sister so she always takes the blame. Im never wrong." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '