VERO BEACH, Fla. Yohander Mendez Jersey . -- 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." Charlie Hough Rangers Jersey . 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. Ivan Rodriguez Jersey . -- Canadian mens rugby coach Kieran Crowley has made four changes to his starting roster for Saturdays Pacific Nations Cup clash against the United States. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/812h-fergie-jenkins-jersey-rangers.html .Y. -- First, Ryan Miller. WASHINGTON -- The king of Canadian tennis isnt ready to give up his throne just yet. Milos Raonic delivered a strong message Sunday with a workmanlike 6-1, 6-4, win against countryman Vasek Pospisil in an anti-climactic Citi Open final in Washington, D.C. The match marked the first all-Canadian final in ATP history and took just 67 minutes to complete. "It gives me a lot of confidence," said Raonic, who earned his first ATP title of 2014 and will rise one spot in the latest ATP rankings and match his career-high of No. 6 in the world. "Ive always said that hard courts are by far my favourite, and having done as well I did on clay and grass (this year), it got me really excited about this week. For that to be my showing right away this week was great." Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., was nearly perfect in his first tournament since a semifinal run at Wimbledon. As the second seed in Washington, Raonic did not drop a set all week thanks largely to what the 13th-seeded Pospisil called "the best serve in the game right now." Raonic won 92 per cent of his first serve points in Sundays final and faced just one break point against in beating Pospisil for the second time in as many ATP meetings. Raonic also beat Pospisil in three sets in the semifinals of last years Rogers Cup in Montreal. "It was a combination of him playing very well and my being very heavy legged," said Pospisil, who spent more than 3 1/2 hours on court Saturday after his quarter-final match from Friday was delayed by rain. "I ran out of gas a little bit, it took me a while to get into the match, but credit to him, he played very well." Pospisil, from Vancouver, was playing in his first career ATP final. The 24-year-old is experiencing an incredible in-season turnaround, having reached at least the quarter-finals in four of his last five events, just months after a nagging back injury contributed to an eight-match losing streak from February through May. Pospisil will rise from 36th to 28th in the ATP world rankings. "It was a positive week for me," he said. "I couldnt expect too much out of myself today just given the 24 hours that I had with the day before. But it was a very positive week, (including) a top-5 win," against world No. 5 Tomas Berdych which eliminated the tournaments top seed. There was a definite Canadian feel surrounding Sundays final with fans sporting Canadian flags, pins and jerseys on the grounds of the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington. "Its not just here," Raonic said. "With my doing as well as I have, and (Eugenie Bouchard) and Vasek and many more, its something where that kind of atmosphere has been more consistent following us around the world. Its nice to seee that. Mike Minor Rangers Jersey. " The maiden all-Canadian final was the latest milestone for Tennis Canada and it just happened to take place on the eve of the countrys marquee tennis event, the Rogers Cup. Earlier this year at Wimbledon, Raonic became the first Canadian male to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, while Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., was the first Canadian to compete in a Grand Slam final. "It feels like theres history being made all the time," said Pospisil, who teamed with American Jack Sock to win the gentlemens doubles title at Wimbledon. "As a Canadian, I feel like Im hearing it all the time, whether it was at Wimbledon with Genie Bouchard or Milos, so yeah, its nice. But for me, I was thinking more that it was my first final (Sunday) which was great. But yeah, it was nice to be a part of." Raonic and Pospisil also posed with a Canadian flag for a pre-match photo on stadium court. Soon after, Raonic went to work, breaking Pospisil in the opening game of the match, and twice more in the 28-minute opening set. "It was great the way I started," Raonic said. "I couldnt have asked for more. I had a chance to break in every single game in the first set and then I continued to play solid after that. All in all, a very good performance in an important moment for me." The second set was more competitive with the crowd rallying behind Pospisil to force a decisive third set, as both players held serve through the first nine games. Raonic eventually broke with Pospisil serving to stay in the match at 4-5. Raonic clinched the win with a cross court backhand winner. "This one is different," Raonic said of his sixth career hard court title. "Now I go into every tournament, as I have for the past few weeks and months, believing I can win every tournament. In 2012 and 2013, it sort of had to be the right tournament for me. Now I feel like I can win any and every tournament." The next opportunity comes at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where Sundays historic final from Washington aired on screens across the campus of York University. "History is being made," said Rogers Cup tournament director Karl Hale in Toronto. "As Canadians, were all very patriotic as we see with hockey and things like that. On the site here, for example, everybodys talking about that match, including the players. Its good to see Vasek come back after some injuries. Thats really exciting. And also for Canadians to see them on TV all the time and now we have two players in the final, its just amazing." NOTES: Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa won her first career WTA title at the Citi Open on Saturday. Dabrowski partnered with Shuko Aoyama of Japan to win the womens doubles championship. ' ' '