VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Chad Johnson made a sharp cut to free himself from a defender, and then hauled in a pass at the 53-yard line. Yes, the 53. Football is going to be a little different now for the former NFL star. The receiver who once changed his last name to Ochocinco might be hearing a lot of "O Canada" this summer, and he insists hes humbled for that opportunity. Johnson was on the field with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL on Tuesday for the start of their three-day minicamp, and theres a very realistic chance that he will be with them when their season starts for real in June. "Its just football. Its football," Johnson said. "Its not about Montreal. Its about the opportunity to be able to play football again, something I love." Its something he lost two years ago. Johnson last appeared in an NFL game during the 2011 season with New England. He was in training camp with the Miami Dolphins -- his hometown team -- the following summer, but his contract was terminated one day after he was charged with misdemeanour domestic battery. A plea deal was eventually worked out, but after a probation violation Johnson wound up going to jail for a few days anyway after a judge objected to the way he slapped his attorney on the backside in celebration. He hasnt played since. "A horrible mistake," Johnson said. "A dream of mine since I was 4 years old was taken from me, rightfully so, by my wrongdoings and I just want to get back to doing something that I love to do, regardless of where it is. Montreal, flag football, back in the street the way I grew up . I just want to play football." The Alouettes have a history of not judging players by their checkered pasts, as evidenced by how they once gave former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips a chance on what became a Grey Cup-winning team in Montreal. "Its all business," Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said. "Its real. Hes in great shape. He wants to play and well see how things are." Popp shrugged off the notion that Johnsons presence is a publicity stunt. "None of you would know it was here unless it got tweeted out," Popp said. And Twitter does play quite a role in this story, since Johnson -- one of the worlds most popular athletes when it comes to social media -- used the power of his 3.6 million followers to help get the Alouettes attention. "Power of Twitter," Johnson said, grinning. The Alouettes were working out at Dodgertown, where some schoolkids were playing baseball on a nearby field. When their game ended, about a dozen of them came over to the football field to chant "Oc-ho-cin-co!" repeatedly. Some fans wearing his old Cincinnati Bengals jerseys watched, as did a couple in Patriots colours. "Like a kid again," Johnson said. He showed Tuesday that he can still run routes, and right there is why Montreal is eager to take a closer look. The CFL game is very much passing-friendly, and that can be at least partially attributed to several rule deviations from the NFL game. Teams in the CFL have only three downs to gain 10 yards instead of four. The field is 10 yards longer from goal line to goal line, is about 10 yards wider, and the end zones are 20 yards deep -- twice as long as those used in high school, college and pro play in the U.S. Montreal quarterback Troy Smith, the former Ohio State standout, said most people dont realize how much talent is in the CFL. And he believes Johnson can make an impact. "I know hes going to bring some fun and excitement to the team," Smith said. In short, even though theres 12 players on the field per team instead of 11, theres plenty of room for offences to manoeuvr. And in Canada, receivers cant be blocked or jammed unless theyre within a yard of the line of scrimmage. Of course, if Johnson heads to the CFL, he wont be exactly getting rich. The salary cap in the CFL is $4.4 million per team -- Johnson has had years where hes made about twice that much by himself. The average salary is around $85,000. "I dont even need a check," Johnson said. "Didnt I give it all away for 12 years straight? Think about it. Did I ever care about money when I played throughout my career? Still dont. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy the game. Thats it." Richie Ashburn Jersey . The actual winners on transfer deadline day are those clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City who were well prepared and managed to get their main incoming business done well ahead of the transfer window closing. Tottenham were able to add seven players by spending over 100 million pounds and also ensured maximum return for the Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid by managing the move superbly. Larry Andersen Jersey . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D. http://www.baseballphilliesofficial.com ... rsey-c-19/. Fabio Fognini pulled off a surprise 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray to level the best-of-five quarterfinal at 2-2 before Andreas Seppi defeated James Ward 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the decisive match. Joaquin Benoit Jersey . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. Clay Buchholz Jersey . Acclaimed by world football leaders but held in contempt by many football fans. Blatter should arrive at the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo to watch host Brazil play Croatia confident that this tournament -- his fifth as president -- wont be his last leading the worlds favourite sport. LOS ANGELES -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says if the Los Angeles Clippers sell for US$2 billion, he has franchises worth more. The estranged wife of embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling has said she has agreed to sell the NBA franchise to former Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer for that amount. Bettman said sports franchises are becoming increasingly valuable because of their prominence as media content. Speaking before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, the NHL commissioner said the Clippers sale may be a unique case due to the Los Angeles market, the number of people in the L.A. area who wanted to buy the team and Ballmer himself. "It went for $2 billion, whether that means all franchises, either in the NBA or in any sport are proportionally impacted, Im not so sure to the dollar," said Bettman. "But if the Clippers are worth $2 billion, we have plenty of franchises that are worth at least that, if not more." On other matters, Bettman said the speed and timing of the game presented obstacles to expanding instant replay. The league would move slowly on the issue "and if we did do more things, youll see incremental -- youll see a handful of things that are vvery discreet.dddddddddddd And well have to test it. "But as you see in other sports its not so easy to implement it. And Im very comfortable with what we have. And Ive got to be as least as comfortable with anything new we try to undertake." Bettman gave a thumbs-up to the leagues divisional realignment and revamped playoff format, saying "by almost any measure this may have been the successful season on and off the ice in league history." He said concussions were down this season "moderate, low double-digits" as a percentage, with man-games lost down by about half. He said the concussion protocols were working and the league and players association were serious about them. "Theyre being enforced and we are doing what is necessary to enforce the concussion protocols. And if we think theres been a violation, we follow up. If in an appropriate case there needs to be discipline imposed, we will do it." He declined to provide specifics, however. But he did say that players have to be open about symptoms so they can be addressed. "Obviously its difficult for us to get into a players head, no pun intended, with this concussion discussion." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '