Professional football players are used to being graded for their on-field performances. Two members of the Toronto Argonauts are happy their recent off-field exploits werent under the same scrutiny. Kicker Swayze Waters and rookie long snapper Jake Reinhart took advantage of the recent bye week to explore the great outdoors. The trip was a resounding success, but at the same time it was almost worthy of the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. On the surface it may seem like a curious pairing. Waters, a 27-year old from Jackson, Mississippi, is in his third season in the league, with a trio of NFL camps under his belt. Hes a household name among CFL fans. Reinhart, 24, was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, about 100 KM west of downtown Toronto. He finished his CIS career with his hometown Gryphons last year. Toiling in the relative obscurity of being a long snapper, hes a virtual unknown to even the most die-hard fans. The two first met a year ago when Reinhart, an undrafted free agent, attended Argo training camp before heading back for his final season with the Gryphons. The friendship blossomed this year when Reinhart made the double blue, replacing long-time long snapper Chad Rempel, who left the team to try out for the Chicago Bears of the NFL. The two became roommates on the road and coupled with the inordinate amount of time the duo spends together at practice, their friendship developed. The pair took advantage of the teams recent bye week by traveling to scenic Algonquin Park for a camping trip, borrowing a canoe from Reinharts brother. Algonquin Park is a paradise for those who love the outdoors. Established in 1893, Ontarios first provincial park covers 7,630 square KM, the southern border of which is about three hours north of Toronto. People travel from around the world to experience the parks lakes, rivers and wildlife. The Mississippi native, an outdoorsman at heart, had recently read a book entitled Wild At Heart by John Eldredge, which the deeply religious Waters said was inspirational on more than one level. "Its a biblical perspective on how God made men," confided Waters. "And how we all have this thing inside of us that loves the unknown and adventure. After I read it I was just really fired up." "Im an outdoors guy anyways," continued the kicker, "And I knew we had this off week coming up. I had heard some people talk about Algonquin and how beautiful it was up there." With Algonquin Parks thousands of interconnected lakes and streams, weeks or even months of preparation can be used to best plot out which waterways, campsites and portage routes should be taken to maximize the experience. How much time did the special teams twosome take to intricately plan this exploration of the wilds? "After the Hamilton game I told Jake Hey, lets go to Algonquin tomorrow," said Waters. "It was just one of those deals." "That was all Swayzes idea," laughed Reinhart, "But as soon as he said it I was right on board." The pair decided shortly after the conclusion of the game in Hamilton that the time was right to load up the Reinharts mothers minivan and head north. After the decision was confirmed at 10pm Monday night, they were on the road at 9am the next morning. The intentions were good. The execution left a lot to be desired. Certain questions were yet to be answered, including "Exactly where was Algonquin Park?" "We knew it was north," chuckled Waters. "We knew we had to take (highway) 400 to get there and thats about it," confessed Reinhart. So without maps, a plan, or anything other than a vague idea of how to get there, the dynamic duo headed toward their ultimate destination. They ended up in the town of Huntsville, where they received advice from some of the locals, then proceeded to hit the local department store to stock up for the excursion. It was there that they bought a camping grill, or so they believed. "We thought we had purchased the grill set," admitted Reinhart, "but it was really just pots and pans because we just looked on the package and there was a picture of a grill." Oops. So then it was off the check in at the park and get a permit. They finally caught a bit of a break. "We showed up at the gate at about 4:50 and they closed at 5:00," admitted Waters. "So I think they knew we didnt have a plan. They were laughing at us." Undaunted, the Argos version of Lewis and Clark proceeded. While portaging over steep, sometimes rocky, sometimes muddy terrain wasnt particularly enjoyable, the canoeing through the pristine waters and undisturbed wilderness more than made up for it. That said, the two didnt quite have the chemistry in the canoe that they enjoy on the field. "We definitely didnt go in a straight line," deadpanned Waters, "It took us a while to figure out our rhythm, but for the first half we were zigzagging our way through the lakes and the rivers." As the crow flies they canoed 52 KM and portaged another six, but the directionally challenged adventurers ended up paddling much, much further than that. Despite taking the scenic route - both literally and figuratively - the pair didnt spot any moose or bears. The did however come in contact with one form of wildlife that was very happy to see them. Mice, and lots of them. "The first night we showed up real late, it was really dark," said Waters. "We didnt really get to our camp until it was completely dark. We unloaded all of our stuff out of the canoe, I got the GoPro out and we were videotaping our site." "Im looking at the food bag and theres a mouse running up the side of it," continued Waters. "I kicked it and then another one jumped out of the inside of the bag. We had literally been there for two minutes." If Waters connected with the rodent the way he did with the football the day before, the mouse may not have come down yet. It didnt deter the pests though, as they tormented them throughout the night. The trip continued with hellacious portages, unplanned trips through swamps and of course the lack of a grill. At one time they thought their journey was going to be a disaster, but they persevered and would jump at the chance to do it all over again. "Id do it again for sure, said a smiling Reinhart. "Next time wed be more prepared. Wed go in with a better plan." The pair has an off-day in Calgary on Sunday following Saturdays game with the Stampeders. Theyre toying with the idea of canoeing down the Bow River. Lets hope they bring a map. Trevor Hoffman Jersey . The ongoing funk on penalty kill and an unusually quiet night on home ice for the power play divided the Leafs from the Bruins at the ACC in a rare Sunday night affair. Eric Hosmer Jersey . The $145.7-million Tim Hortons Field was slated to open this month, a year before it was to host all 32 mens and womens soccer competitions. The delay has forced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football team to use a smaller facility for the first two home games of the season. http://www.padressale.com/padres-ozzie-s...ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan. Dave Winfield Jersey . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. Tony Gwynn Jersey . - Dolphins safety Louis Delmas has been carted off the field with a right knee injury against the Ravens.CALGARY -- Jamie Gregg gained medals and confidence in the first speedskating World Cup of the season, while Christine Nesbitt went empty-handed with a bruised morale. Gregg, from Edmonton, earned his second bronze medal in the 500 metres Sunday after picking up his first in the distance two days earlier. His were the host countrys two medals at the Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating event in Calgary. Canadas womens pursuit team finished fourth to conclude racing Sunday. The Canadian long-track team has three more World Cups before trials in late December and early January to determine the countrys Olympic speedskating team for Sochi, Russia. "I want to make sure Im building into Sochi," Gregg said. "I dont want to peak right now, but Im happy with where Im at and where it puts me in the world." Nesbitt, the reigning Olympic champion in the 1,000 metres, finished 10th in the distance Sunday and 1.77 seconds back of winner Heather Richardson of the U.S. Retired Canadian speedskating star Clara Hughes has said she loves "Nesbitts rage" on the ice, but Nesbitts emotion was bewilderment Sunday. Her time of one minute 15 seconds at the Olympic Oval was over two seconds slower than the world record she set there in 2012. "I cant remember the last time I skated a 1:15 in Calgary," she said. "Its been six years or something, or I dont know maybe longer. Eight years. I dont understand whats going on really. "This isnt really helping my confidence that much and thats what I want to be building. I dont know what to say." The 28-year-old from London, Ont., has been managing tightness in her back for over a week, but she insisted after finishing seventh in Saturdays 1,500 metres that wasnt an issue for her. She intended to analyze tape of her races with coach Xiuli Wang. The Canadian team departs this week for Salt Lake City, Utah, and the next World Cup races starting Friday. "If I dont understand why Im going so slow it means I need to watch my races and maybe learn a few things," Nesbitt said. "I feel good, but obviously how I feel is not whats happening out on the ice." Wang has also trained Hughes and multi-Olympic medallist Kristina Groves. With her objective, experienced eyes, Wang pointed out Nesbitts opening 100 metres was one of her fastest, but Nesbitt also had a slip on the second turn that cost her speed. "Todays race, definitely theres some things we need to be working on," Wang said. "But I believe from how we train, shes strong, she has the power and we just need to synchronize the mental with the body as one unit. "I did talk to her. I said we give you tools, we help you get there, but at the end of the day, youre taking charge. Its your race." Gregg and Ron Mulder of the Netherlands tied for third in the mens 500 with identical times of 34.52 seconds. Tucker Fedricks of the U.S., was the winner in 34.46 ahead of world and Olympic champion Tae-Bum Mo of South Koreea in 34.dddddddddddd.47. Gregg finished eighth in the 500 at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. The 28-year-old from Edmonton won his first World Cup gold in 2012 and was fourth at the world sprint championships in January. "In order to win a medal at the Olympics, you have to be consistently up around the medals at World Cups," Gregg said. "Going into the last Olympics, I won my first bronze medal here in Calgary a month or two before, but you need that consistency to give you that confidence on the line knowing that you dont need a magnificent, perfect race to put yourself up there. "I just need to do this and give myself confidence that I can skate really well and still be up there. I dont need to have some out-of-body experience to get on the podium." Gregg initially thought he was fourth and missed a medal by a thousandth of a second based on his electronic time. His official time, however, was determined by photo finish and it was fast enough for him to stand on the podium again. He is the son of former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Randy Gregg and two-time Olympic speedskater Kathy (Vogt) Gregg. His sister Jessica is on the national short-track team and won a relay silver in 2010. The Olympic 500-metre champion in Sochi will be determined by the combined times of two races. Greggs ability to put two strong 500s together at one event is promising, according to Speed Skating Canadas long-track director Sean Ireland. "The thing I really liked today was his fast lap despite his relatively slow start," he said. "Having that lap time he did, he looked good doing so and having that top-end speed was exciting." Sven Kramer and Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands were first and second respectively in the mens 5,000 metres. Kramers time of six minutes 4.46 seconds was just over a second off the world-record time he set at the Oval in 2007. Saskatoons Lucas Makowsky was 16th. The Netherlands took the womens team pursuit ahead of runner-up Japan and bronze medallist Poland. Ottawas Ivanie Blondin, Winnipeg Brittany Schussler and Reginas Kali Christ were 2.02 seconds back of the winners in fourth. The Canadian long-track team trains at the Oval in Calgary. The teams performance in the season-opening World Cup there was mixed, said Ireland. Other than Greggs two bronze, the mens and womens pursuit teams that finished fourth were the only other top-five results. Nesbitt is the long-track teams best prospect for gold in Sochi. With the 2014 Winter Games less than 100 days away, Ireland believes she can get back on track for Sochi. "Looking where she was at a few weeks ago with performances at trials and practice races, I feel like shes on track in terms of her physiology, in terms of her preparation," he said. "Weve seen good testing results and such. "I think just hit the re-set button now and get into another head space as well as look forward to the next few World Cups." 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