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Getting called out by former NFL star receiver Chad Johnson was a welcome break from the monotony of training camp for Tyron Brackenridge. Johnson, now with the Montreal Alouettes, took aim at the Saskatchewan Roughriders safety Tuesday on Twitter. Brackenridge was still chuckling about it Wednesday. "Was it entertaining?" Brackenridge asked with a laugh during a telephone interview. "I had fun with it. "When youre dealing with the pressure of training camp, these two-a-days and meetings, its good to have a little laugh here and there. He felt like I was the one he wanted to call out, I just entertained his antics." It began innocently enough on Twitter when a fan asked Johnson, a popular social media figure with 3.6 million followers, which team was he most looking forward to facing this season. "#41 from the Rough Riders," Johnson tweeted, referencing Brackenridge. After Brackenridge said, "Cant wait!" Johnson turned up the heat, tweeting: "I will run through you or around you, whichever you prefer." Brackenridge responded: "your cfl career will be short messing with me! You better ask your teammates or better yet find out for yourself." Johnson countered: "They speak highly of you but youll be dealt with." Added Brackenridge, "they speak highly of me for a reason. Its a thin line between tough & stupid. If your not looking for #41 youll regret it.." The colourful Johnson, in his first CFL season following a two-year hiatus from football, certainly didnt select a shrinking violet. The six-foot, 190-pound Brackenridge was a league all-star last year and voted the CFLs hardest hitter by his peers. Johnson referenced that when a fan asked who Brackenridge was. "The person wholl force me to keep my head on a swivel August 16," Johnson tweeted. Johnson ended the lively banter asking his supporters to follow Brackenridge. "I need at least 2 million of you to follow the homie @Tbrack41 please," Johnson tweeted. Brackenridge, 29, who has over 7,000 Twitter followers, said Johnsons comments were unsolicited although the two have a history. Theyve faced each other in the NFL and worked out together during the off-season with the same trainer. "We dont really know each other personally, like buddy buddy," Brackenridge said. "But at the end of the day, things like this make it fun to play the game and look forward to . . . its all fun and games." That is until June 29, when Saskatchewan opens its season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a Grey Cup rematch. Brackenridge hasnt circled Aug. 16 on his calendar — when Montreal visits Regina — because as defending champions the Riders are expecting the best from every opponent this season. "Yes, we have a target on our back but we must defend the title week in and week out and just continue to be consistent and play like pros," he said. "Thats what keeps me on my toes . . . knowing I must continue to elevate my game." However, Brackenridge appreciates the recognition he received from Johnson. "It feels good to know you have respect around the league but you have to continue to earn that every week," he said. "Each year is a new year, you constantly have to get better otherwise somebody will come in and try to take your job or expose you." As for facing Johnson, Brackenridge will worry about that in August. The two teams will meet again in October in Montreal. "I approach every game the same . . . like its a championship game," Brackenridge said. "Im a competitor and I want to win each game, I want to win every play. "When we play them, Ill have the same mentality as I do when we play Hamilton in Week 1." Johnsons tweets did prompt one Riders fan to offer on Twitter a $100 donation to charity if Brackenridge legally hits Johnson hard enough to separate him from the football. The Riders team that will defend the Grey Cup title will differ vastly from the one that won it. Among those departing are running back Kory Sheets (Oakland, NFL), receivers Weston Dressler (Kansas City, NFL) and Geroy Simon (retired), linebackers Rey Williams (retired) and Craig Butler (Hamilton, free agent) and defensive tackle Keith Shologan (Ottawa expansion draft). "Unfortunately, its the nature of the game," Brackenridge said. "Each year youre going to have new personnel, youve just got to make it work. "Training camp is about building the chemistry to goes on throughout the season." Brackenridge was a key contributor last year with 48 tackles, a league-high five forced fumbles and three interceptions. He was a league all-star and voted the Riders top defensive player. Brackenridge spent time in the NFL with Kansas City (07-08), the New York Jets (09) and Jacksonville (09-10). Entering his fourth CFL campaign, Brackenridge says hes very comfortable with the nuances of Canadian football. "Ive learned a lot in this league," he said. "I was a little raw when I first came in but now the game is normal again . . . Id say Im pretty comfortable right now." And that includes life off the field as Brackenridge was married this off-season. "Everything is complete," he said. "They (wife, Christine, and three-year-old daughter Brooklyn) make it fun for me every day. "Im very blessed and thankful and enjoy this game with a smile on my face." Hes also thankful to be playing in Saskatchewan, home to the CFLs most passionate fans. Last November, a loud, predominantly green gathering of 44,710 watched the Riders defeat Hamilton 45-23 for just their fourth CFL title and first at Mosaic Stadium. "Ill tell you what, they make it extremely fun to play this game," Brackenridge said of Rider Nation. "They make it easier for guys like me who are away from home and our families. "Everything we do is dedicated to them as well as our families. It (13 Grey Cup) is very special to people born and raised in this province . . . that moment will live on forever." Nike Air Max 270 Herren Billig . "He started putting me on the ice to strengthen them at the suggestion from a doctor," he said. Weight said it wasnt a pretty sight at the rink in St. Clair Shores, Mich. "I looked like Forrest Gump," he joked. Nike Air Max 98 Günstig . But Paul Osbaldiston, Hamiltons assistant special teams and kicking coach, said the team still relished the championship game workout. http://www.shopairmaxschweiz.com/sean-wo...ake-kaufen.html. -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis. Nike Air Max 95 Herren Sale . Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. Nike Air Max Tn Damen Günstig . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground.PHOENIX -- San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili was an irritant for Phoenix long before any of the current Suns arrived in the desert. He did it again on Wednesday night. The 36-year-old Ginobili scored 11 of his 24 points in the final four-plus minutes, and the Spurs snapped the Suns five-game winning streak with a 108-101 victory. Phoenixs Channing Frye said hes seen Ginobili do this sort of thing "a trillion times." "Its like a bad nightmare," he said. "Hes absolutely amazing. He just does a good job of continuing to push. I thought he was getting tired there at the end. Obviously, I was wrong." Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard scored 14 for the Spurs, who played without point guard Tony Parker after he bruised a shin in Monday nights loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Frye scored 15 of his 22 points in the first quarter. Goran Dragic had 18 points and Eric Bledsoe 15, but the two Phoenix guards were a combined 12 of 33 from the field. Miles Plumlee added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Led by Ginobili, the Spurs outscored the Suns 15-6 over the final 4:11 after Phoenix used a 10-0 run to take a 95-93 lead on Plumlees rebound basket with 5:10 to go. "These guys are a good team," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said, praising San Antonios resiliency. "It doesnt matter if guys are out of the lineup." Ginobili had a tying tip-in, and then made a 3-pointer to put San Antonio ahead for good at 98-95 with 2:58 to play. San Antonio put it out of reach when Ginobili sank a 10-footer from the baseline, and then stole the ball at the other end and made two free throws to make it 104-97 with 47.5 seconds remaining. "Down the stretch I thought we did look like a veteran team," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. Ginobili, who also had seven assists, six reboounds and five turnovers, gave himself a so-so grade.dddddddddddd "I played pretty well," he said. "I turned the ball over too much but in general the minutes I played I scored well and I moved the ball. I think I did OK. Im very happy that I helped the team win because we are in a tough stretch. We lost the last one, we have a tough back-to-back without Tony and then Oklahoma City." Parker will miss Thursday nights game at Golden State and its uncertain whether he will be able to play when the Spurs host the Thunder on Saturday. Leonards 3-pointer gave San Antonio its first lead at 46-45. There were five lead changes the rest of the first half, with San Antonio up 59-58 at the break. With 4 seconds left in the third, Dragic was fouled while heaving a shot from just past midcourt and Popovich drew a technical complaining about the call. That gave Dragic four free throws. He made three to cut San Antonios lead to 87-81 entering the fourth quarter. Consecutive baskets by Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills put San Antonio ahead 93-85 with 8:30 to go before Markieff Morris three-point play ignited the Suns 10-0 run. "We know that we can play well against good teams," Dragic said. "We are a young team and we have to learn a lot, especially in these types of games where, in the last three or four minutes, you have to close out the game, and I think we can get there." NOTES: Parker has returned to San Antonio for treatment. ... San Antonio has not lost two in a row this season. ... Popovich is the only NBA coach whose tenure dates to Hornaceks playing days. ... Bledsoe was 1-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. ... Entering the game, Duncans career minutes (42,064) were 37 more than the 13 players on Phoenixs active roster combined. ... Phoenix has not won six in a row in three years. ' ' '