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TORONTO -- Never in his 20 years as a general manager has Jim Popp seen a CFL draft like it. Five first-round trades were made Tuesday night as well as another involving an early second-round selection. The fireworks began 30 minutes before the start of the draft when the expansion Ottawa Redblacks dealt the first overall pick to the Calgary Stampeders, who kicked off the frenzied first round by taking Laval centre Pierre Lavertu, the consensus top selection. Popp even got in on the action, swapping the Montreal Alouettes fourth overall pick with Ottawa after it obtained the No. 5 selection from the B.C. Lions for disgruntled veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn. "It was crazy," Popp said. "We even got slowed down by the time it was our pick flipping with Ottawa because they (CFL) couldnt even confirm the deal that was done with B.C. in order for us to do the flip. "Its the most Ive ever been called during a first round or even during a draft to try and trade. It was wild." Toronto Argonauts GM Jim Barker, another CFL draft veteran, was stunned by the flurry of activity. "Ive never seen anything like it," he said. "Everyone was trying to manoeuvre because there werent as many top players." However, Popp said the overall depth of the draft pool prompted the feeding frenzy as teams scrambled to land the players they coveted. "There may not be as many clear-cut guys as someone thinks can start now but theres a lot of guys who can help teams," Popp said. "I told our guys beforehand this was going to be a bit of a crazy draft. "And Im not talking about the trades but just the different directions people were going to go because there wasnt a lot of real clear-cut guys that were going to go in the first round and you didnt know what everybody was going to do." In Lavertu, Calgary secured a player regarded as the most pro-ready prospect. That cost the Stampeders offensive lineman Jon Gott, a five-year CFL veteran who played previously for Redblacks offensive co-ordinator Mike Gibson in Alberta. Calgary also landed the rights to veteran centre Marwan Hage. He played 10 seasons with Hamilton before going to Ottawa in the CFL expansion draft, then retiring last month. The Redblacks will get a conditional pick if the Stampeders trade Hages rights. Calgarys selection of the six-foot-three, 300-pound Lavertu was surprising because starting centre Brett Jones was the CFLs top rookie last year after being a 2013 second-round pick. That could force Lavertu, of Quebec City, to play guard. "If they want to put me at right guard I am going to do it," he said. "Im going to go all out, do the best I can and play to my full potential and maybe have a starting spot." Lavertu, a three-time All-Canadian, watched the draft at a restaurant in Quebec City with family and friends and received a loud ovation when his name was called. "My mom cried but everybody was happy for me," he said. "It was a great moment. "I think Im pro ready for the CFL. Ive worked hard for this, Im physically ready and understand the game so I can learn the playbook really quick . . . I think I will be able to show my full potential." The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as expected, selected Simon Fraser centre Matthias Goossen second overall. Like Lavertu, Goossen is regarded as a pro-ready prospect and addresses a need with veteran Justin Sorensen signing this off-season with Edmonton as a free agent. Toronto acquired the No. 3 spot from the Edmonton Eskimos, using it on versatile Manitoba running back Anthony Coombs. Not only is Coombs an effective runner but a solid receiver who could also be returning kicks. "It was important for us to make this trade and move up in the draft to get the guy we wanted," Barker said. "We needed to be proactive and go after him. "We believe hell fit very well into what we do on the field." Ottawa dealt its way back into the first round at No. 4, making versatile Montreal Carabins defensive back Antoine Pruneau its first-ever draft pick. Lions GM Wally Buono dealt for Glenn after trying unsuccessfully to move up. With incumbent Travis Lulay coming off shoulder surgery and backup Thomas DeMarco now with Ottawa, the 34-year-old Glenn is a reliable insurance policy. "Hes a proven winner wherever hes been," Buono said of Glenn. "Hes been a tremendous quarterback, hes a great locker-room guy. "We know automatically he will come in here and compete very well and make this a very good football team." Glenn guided Calgary to a Grey Cup berth in 2012 and a CFL-best 14-4 record last year before going to Ottawa in the expansion draft. But the Detroit native asked to be traded after the Redblacks signed veteran Henry Burris as a free agent. "To be honest I didnt know if anything would actually happen," Glenn said. "To give up a first-round draft pick shows a team really wants you. "Thats what I was kind of excited about." Montreal followed at No. 5 and selected David Foucault of the Montreal Carabins, a towering six-foot-seven, 320-pound offensive tackle. Foucault is attending the Carolina Panthers rookie mini-camp this week but hasnt signed an NFL deal. If Foucault reports, hell have a chance to start in Montreal with the off-season retirements of Scott Flory and Andrew Woodruff and Michael Ola signing with the NFLs Miami Dolphins. Edmonton, taking Torontos pick at No. 6, picked St. Francis Xavier receiver Devon Bailey, a physical six-foot-five, 202-pound player who competes effectively for the football. Calgary, with its second first-round pick, took Concordia defensive lineman Quinn Smith at No. 7. The six-foot-two, 305-pound Smith impressed at the CFL combine on both sides of the ball before testing positive for Stanozolol, a synthetic anabolic steroid. Fittingly, the round ended with a deal as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats acquired Saskatchewans No. 8 selection to go with their ninth overall pick. The Ticats took All-Canadian linebacker Bo Landry of the Western Mustangs, then selected Manitoba defensive lineman Evan Gill, the drafts sixth-ranked prospect. The defending Grey Cup champions made their first selection in the second round, 11th overall, taking Western defensive end Dylan Ainsworth. The Riders also sent the No. 17 pick to Winnipeg for its third-round picks (20th and 26th overall). McGill offensive tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the top-ranked draft prospect, was selected in the third round by Calgary. That wasnt surprising because the six-foot-five, 315-pound native of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., went to Kansas City in the sixth round of the NFL draft Saturday. . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. http://www.soccerportugalshop.com/world ... ll-jersey/. Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.TORONTO - The Womens World Cup comes to Canada in the summer of 2015 as the FIFA showcase expands to 24 teams for the first time. A look at the tournament, which will take place in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton from June 6 to July 5:Getting There: Some 128 nations, playing 398 qualification matches from April 2013 to December 2014, battled it out to fill the 23 slots alongside host Canada. There were 1,643 goals scored in qualifying (an average of 4.13 per game) with games in 79 countries and 179 cities. Average attendance was 2,378 at the games where a count was kept.---World Cup Debuts: Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand.---Stars are Born: Teenager Vivianne Miedema led the Dutch charge to Canada. The 18-year-old forward, who plays for Bayern Munichs womens team, scored 16 goals in qualifying including all three Dutch scores in a two-game playoff win over Italy ... Attacking midfielder Yoreli Rincon, 21, leads the Colombia attack and was named player of the tournament at the Copa America ... Ecuador coach Vanessa Arauz, just 25, guided her team to Canada via a playoff win over Trinidad and Tobago ... Mexican goalie Cecilia Santiago, 20, featured in a record four FIFA U-20 championships ... Nigerian forward Desire Oparanozie, 21, was the leading scorer at the African Women’s Championship ... Norwegian winger Caroline Hansen, 19, led her country with eight goals in nine qualifying matches.---Home Team: Canada is playing in its sixth straight World Cup,, missing out only on the inaugural tournament in 1991.dddddddddddd. But the Canadians have advanced out of the group stage just once, in 2003 when they finished fourth after losing to Sweden in the semifinals and the U.S. in the match for third place. Canadas record at the World Cup is 4-11-3. Canada finished last, in 16th place, at the 2011 tournament.---The Controversy: Turf, turf, turf. Lawyers representing a rebel faction of elite players have done a marvellous job keeping their human rights challenge to the use of artificial turf in the headlines. The women contend that they are being discriminated against because they are playing their World Cup on artificial turf while the mens showcase tournament is played on natural grass. Amazingly FIFA president Sepp Blatter has managed to stay out of the turf morass. Secretary-general Jerome Valcke has played the heavy.--Facts: New Zealand has not lost a World Cup qualifier since a 2003 defeat to Australia, which now competes in the Asian Football Confederation. The Football Ferns have won 11 straight in qualifying, outscoring their opponents 101-1. ... Swiss goalies Gaelle Thalmann and Stenia Michel combined for nine shutouts in 10 qualifying matches.---Favourites: The U.S., Germany, Japan, Brazil and France are seeded for a reason, qualifying for the Canadian tournament with just one loss (Brazil lost 2-0 to Argentina) between them. The Americans, France and Germany won all their qualifying matches while Japans lone blemish was a tie.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter ' ' '