ple suspensions from both the team and the league for his behavi

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Kevin Minter Authentic Jersey . -- Vivek Ranadive has made a fortune in the software industry by betting on the right people. The new owner of the Sacramento Kings is now betting big on DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings signed Cousins to a four-year maximum contract extension worth a reported $62 million Monday, saying the 23-year-old centre is the foundation the franchise will build on to lead a struggling team into a new era. Sacramento hasnt had a winning season since 2006, but the new Kings management is comfortable investing in a player considered one of the NBAs best young big men but who also has drawn multiple suspensions from both the team and the league for his behaviour. "From my perspective, it isnt really that much of a leap of faith," said Ranadive, whose purchase of the team from the Maloof family was approved by the NBA in May. "Im just doing what I do in my business every day, just betting on the best. And he represents the best." The fifth overall selection of the 2010 NBA draft, Cousins led the Kings last season with averages of 17.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals and also averaged 2.7 assists. He ranked ninth among the leagues leading rebounders. But the Kings once again finished among the worst teams in the Western Conference at 28-54, Sacramentos fifth consecutive season with fewer than 30 victories, and Cousins was reprimanded several times for his conduct. The 6-foot-11 veteran said those problems are behind him and he accepts the accountability that comes with his lucrative new deal. "Ive got big shoulders, so I can handle that," Cousins said. "I consider myself a leader on this team, so I take all the responsibility that comes with it. Ive had pressure from the beginning, so I dont have a problem with it. I was doing it in the beginning, so I definitely dont have a problem doing it now." Cousins tumultuous 2012-13 season was marked by several incidents during which his behaviour and discipline came into question. Cousins was suspended one game by the Kings on Dec. 22 for "unprofessional behaviour and conduct detrimental to the team" after an incident involving then-coach Keith Smart in the locker room during a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. He was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay for striking O.J. Mayo in the groin during a loss at Dallas on Dec. 10. Following a loss at San Antonio on Nov. 9, the league suspended Cousins two games without pay for confronting Spurs announcer Sean Elliott in a "hostile manner." But Ranadive began his push to make Cousins a centerpiece of Sacramentos future as soon as he became owner. The Kings had until Oct. 31 to come to terms on an extension to prevent Cousins from becoming a restricted free agent next summer. "I consulted people way smarter than myself and there was never a doubt in my mind that he was going to be the foundation of this franchise moving forward," Ranadive said. "People have said a lot of things about DeMarcus, but hes a fine young man. I think of DeMarcus as really the prototypical, 21st century player. Hes one of the most talented big men in the business and has an understanding of the game that is truly unique." Cousins already is working on improving his image. He will donate $1 million from his new deal to "the families and community of Sacramento," he said. Cousins also will donate money to several organizations launched by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. "Thats something I have to get better at," Cousins said. "I mean, Im the type of guy, if I know you dont like me, Im not going to just be able to smile in your face and say everything is cool. But Im blessed to be in this situation, I believe in this organization and Im glad they gave me this chance to prove it to them and this team." The Kings will begin their first training camp under a new regime that includes coach Michael Malone and general manager Pete DAlessandro with their first practice Tuesday morning on the UC Santa Barbara campus. The team will train there for a week before it begins the preseason Oct. 7 against the Golden State Warriors. The signing of Cousins came hours before the Kings annual media day at the teams practice facility in Sacramento. With a new downtown arena set to open in 2016, and NBA great Shaquille ONeal now on board as a minority owner and new mentor for Cousins, Ranadive said Cousins new deal is the latest example of the teams recent progress. "Its a good day for the new-era Sacramento Kings," he said. "We always knew this is where we were heading, so we are exactly where we want to be. Now we head off to training camp, and weve tied a bow on this (deal) and were excited to move forward." Jerraud Powers Authentic Jersey . Bouchards high stick hit Blue Jackets winger Matt Calvert in the face following a faceoff in the Wilds 4-2 season-opening victory over Columbus. Calvert lost teeth and needed stitches on his lip but returned and got an assist in the third period. Patrick Peterson Cardinals Jersey . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN.Imagine leaving your house, well aware that youre about to be robbed, and not being able to do anything about it. Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks. Each team will lose three players in the process, with each club knowing it will in all probability lose at least one player of substance. Good news for the Redblacks, bad news for the club teams.  (draft rules explained at end of article) For the Toronto Argonauts, general manager Jim Barker has been preparing for this event since it was announced the league would return to the nations capital. The process to come up with a protection list hasnt been easy. "It will be interesting to see what Ottawa chooses to do, whether they choose to take some older guys," Barker told TSN 1050. "For us, that factors in to who we decide to protect. We dont know what Ottawas plan is. Will they decide to take a guy who maybe only has a year or two left (in his career), or are they going to take the younger players and try to build it for more of a long-term thing? We dont know what their philosophy is and we wont until they actually draft the players." Theres the rub. The Argos wont know what the Redblacks plan is until its too late. So teams around the league can try to project what Ottawas strategy will be, but Barker says the Argonauts wont be playing that guessing game. "We cant really do it that way," said the GM. "What well do is protect the players we feel are most likely able to help us long term. We try to take all the scenarios." As an example, the Argos wont likely be able to protect both Jeff Keeping and Joe Eppele. Keeping, a finalist for the leagues Outstanding Offensive Lineman this season, is a 31-year old with nine seasons under his belt. Eppele, the second-overall draft pick in the 2010 draft, is five years younger than Keeping, and has far fewer city miles on his bodys odometer. Barker says the choice comes down to trying to replace whichever player the Redblacks snap up. "If we protect Joe and expose Keeping," reacted Barker to the hypothetical scenario, "If they take Keeping how would we replace him? If we went the other way and they took Eppele how would we replace him? We have players in our pipeline who are not eligible to them. We have Matt Sewell (OT at McMaster) who we drafted in the first round last year, we have (first-overall pick in 2010, LB) Cory Greenwood who has been hurt all year with Detroit (NFL), and we have Natey Adjei (3rd round 2013), who broke his leg at the University of Buffalo and didnt get to play much this year, but hes a guy that we think has a lot of ability as a wide receiver, so those things all factor into it too. When Sewell went back to school it was a good thing for us in terms of (the draft) because hes not eligible." While fans will see some of the bigger names on the import lists, the key to Ottawas success will be what happens in the non-import draft. "The bbiggest thing is that you have to do is try not to lose too much depth," said Barker. Dan Williams Jersey. "You can change the ratio when you have depth, if you dont, its difficult to do that." "The six non-import protections are the most vital," continued the GM. "Theyre the hardest to replace, theyre what you take the longest time to build. When teams are struggling normally its because the Canadian talent base is depleted. When you look at teams that are struggling thats normally the situation." Another difficult decision comes at the safety position. Matt Black is a five-year veteran who started at safety for the first time this year, while Jermaine Gabriel was the Argos second-round pick in 2013 and at some point will start. Who do the Argo protect in this case? "You hate to lose young players and both of these guys are guys who just started to do well," said Barker. "Matt Black has been in the league for a while and has been a great special teams player. Jermaine Gabriel this year was one of the best ST players in the league. Hes what you look for in a safety, hes very physical, this is his natural position. "Matt is more of a corner that moved in to play free safety. Hes a very savvy player. If youre Ottawa and you want to win right now, you prefer that we expose Matt Black. If youre building for the future you hope we expose Jermaine Gabriel. Can you protect both of them? Its very difficult." The selection process is not an easy one. So how do they decide who is on the list. "Well have some heated debates between Scott (head coach Milanovich) and myself and the coaching staff in terms of who it is on the final list," Barker admitted. "The first five are pretty easy, the sixth Canadian is very difficult to pick. With the Americans the first 7 are pretty easy the last three are very difficult." Whether it comes to consensus, pulling rank, or a good old game of rock, paper, scissors, the Argos will submit a protection list to the CFL. Then the waiting game begins before we find out which players the Redblacks receive as early Christmas presents. Draft rules: The first stage of the event is the import draft. Each team will protect ten players, including no more than one quarterback, then the Redblacks begin the poaching process. Each current team will then have one player selected from the available imports, with Ottawa being able to take up to two QBs. Then its over to the non-import draft. Each team protects six non-imports. If the Redblacks picked one of their quarterbacks in the import draft, then they get to protect eight non-imports. If Ottawa took a kicker or punter, the current team can protect seven non-imports. After the first round of the non-import draft is over, the current teams can protect six more non-imports (unless the team lost a QB or a kicker, then it can protect eight more) before the Redblacks choose another non-import. So at the end of the draft the Redblacks will have 24 new players, 16 of whom are non-imports. ' ' '