If Chad Johnson was hoping for a regular parking space at the home of the Montreal Alouettes, the GMs spot is taken for a few more years. The Als gave Jim Popp a contract extension on Thursday, ending worries the team would suffer added brain drain after losing Marc Trestman to the Chicago Bears. ?Popp has frequently been a candidate for a range of front office jobs including the GM role with the NFLs Carolina Panthers, a team headquartered just a 30-minute drive from his home in North Carolina. Since Popp helped move the Baltimore Stallions north in 1996, the Alouettes are the winningest team in the CFL.? Popp has been the only constant, but sources close to the team admit he had been hoping and planning on returning this season in the dual role of coach and GM.? Entering the final year of his contract, he was surprised by the hiring of Tom Higgins -- a CFL sideline veteran and former director of officiating -- as the teams new head coach. Some have speculated Popps signing of the NFL star formerly known as Ochocinco was as much about putting himself back in the front office job spotlight south of the border as it was getting the Bengals all-time leading receiver for Alouette quarterbacks. But Popp has never been shy about taking a chance on NFL talents past their prime: witness Ahman Green, Quincy Carter and the infamous Lawrence Phillips -- who helped Popp and the Als end a 25-year Grey Cup drought back in 2002. The quest for the next great quarterback led Popp to even claim the likes of NFL stars Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson and Tim Tebow on his negotiating lists. Popps master stroke in recent years was turning an out-of-fashion offensive guru named Marc Trestman into the hottest coaching commodity to come out of Canada in recent decades.? The immediate task for Popp this season is keeping the Als competitive after the retirement of Anthony Calvillo, as Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, will attempt to solidify his teams tentative start with a victory against Winnipeg Friday night.? Popp will soon be packing bags for his annual NFL training camp scouting missions in about two weeks, when hell see his first round selection in the CFL Draft, David Foucault now a rookie hopeful with the Panthers. Authentic Soccer Jerseys 2018 . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. Cheap Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys .com) - John Wall had 15 points, 12 assists and four steals as the Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 92-85 on Monday night. http://www.wholesalejerseysfromchinashop.com/. Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998. Cheap Soccer JerseysCheap Jerseys Authentic . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013.RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jim Rutherford stepped down as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, and the team promoted Hall of Fame player Ron Francis to replace him. In a series of moves, the Hurricanes also hired Mike Vellucci as assistant GM and director of hockey operations and promoted Brian Tatum to assistant general manager. Rutherford, who also owns part of the team, will remain in an advisory role as team president. He assembled the teams that won one Stanley Cup, played for another and reached the Eastern Conference final in 2009. The Hurricanes havent made the playoffs since then, the longest active drought in the East. "I look at this as a fresh start," Francis said. "I dont want to just kind of build a team that gets into the playoffs for one year. I would like to build it so that its a very solid franchise and we can do it on a yearly basis." Francis had long been considered the teams GM-in-waiting. The former team captain holds team records with 382 goals, 793 assists and 1,186 games played. He has been the teams vice-president of hockey operations since June 2012. He took over as the teams director of player development in 2006 and was an assistant coach under Paul Maurice from 2008-11 before returning to the front office that June as director of hockey operations. Now that hes running a team for the first time, it remains unclear just how much financial flexibility Francis will have. The four highest-paid players -- forwards Alexander Semin and Eric and Jordan Staal, and goalie Cam Ward --- are coming off subpar seasons.dddddddddddd They made a combined $28 million last year and will do so again in 2014-15. "This year we were at the (NHL salary) cap, I believe. Didnt make a heck of a lot of difference, did it?" owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said. "Well set the budget wherever we think we can have the most competitive hockey team." One of Francis first jobs will be deciding whether Kirk Muller will receive a fourth year as coach. Muller is 80-80-27 in three seasons and the Hurricanes finished 13th in the 16-team East this year with a 36-35-11 record. "In fairness, I think its a decision that kind of needs due process," Francis said. Rutherford, 65, is a former NHL goalie who spent two decades as the clubs GM, and helped shepherd its move from Hartford to North Carolina. He said he and Karmanos casually discussed stepping aside and those talks grew increasingly more serious beginning in January and February and continued through the early off-season. "Twenty years is a long time for me," Rutherford said. "Ive thought about this for a few years, and certainly the time is right now." Vellucci, 47, will oversee the teams scouting and player development after spending the past 14 seasons as head coach and general manager of the Plymouth Whalers -- the Ontario Hockey League team owned by Karmanos. Tatum, 40, is entering his 17th year with the team and has been its vice-president of team operations since 2012 after spending five years as its senior director of team operations. ' ' '