Chat » headed off the crossbar. The visitors went close aga

TORONTO -- A star athlete from Cole Harbour, N.S., sidelined by a concussion at the peak of his game. Its not a new story, but this time the athlete in question is UFC lightweight contender T.J. Grant rather than hockey superstar Sidney Crosby. The 29-year-old mixed martial arts fighter missed out on an August title shot and has had to pass on another slated for December while he waits to feel normal. Ask Grant these days how he is feeling and the answer is not simple. "Not too bad. Feeling all right," he said in a recent interview. "It could be better ... Im a lot better now than I was, thats for sure." Some days, it feels like one step forward, two steps back. But despite the occasional setback, the hard-nosed fighter says he is still on the road to recovery. "Progress is getting a little slower again. But it was going pretty good," he said. He says he does some "light activity ... to keep myself from going crazy." Grant (21-5) was riding a high after knocking out Gray (The Bully) Maynard two minutes seven seconds into their May 25 showdown at UFC 160. That earned the Canadian a shot at then-champion Ben (Smooth) Henderson. But two weeks later, Grant was hit in the head by his training partners foot during a jiu-jitsu session. Later in the session, he used his head to stop a sweep and was hit again. "I dont know which one it was," he said of the head blows. "All I know is just when I was done training, I didnt feel right." He saw a doctor and was diagnosed with a concussion -- his first. "I took my time hoping it would just heal up and I could get back at it. It just took longer than I expected. So thats kind of where I am now." For those who have not had one, its hard to imagine the disruption of a concussion. "Especially earlier on, I had difficulty concentrating, just carrying on a conversation with somebody. Just simple things that you do every day that are a lot more difficult," said Grant, ranked third among 155-pound contenders. The proud father of a five-month-old daughter, Grants symptoms were set off early on by the baby crying. Motion also made him nauseous. "Im getting past a lot of that stuff. Now I just have a little bit of a headache ... The worst is definitely behind me." But there are still limits to what he can do. He came to Toronto recently to do some TV work and appearances around UFC 165. "After the weekend I was a little bit worn out," he acknowledged. Grant says time is whats needed. Hes happy with the team he has helping him, with physiotherapy to work on his balance and regular visits to a chiropractor to have work done on his neck. The UFC has offered help and paid for an MRI, that came back clean. But inactivity must feel strange after years in a sport built around complex layers of training. And the lightweight merry-go-round continues in his absence. Replacement challenger Anthony (Showtime) Pettis submitted Henderson in the first round of UFC 164 on Aug. 31 to win the championship belt. The UFC had hoped Pettis would make his first title defence in December against Grant in Sacramento. But Grant said he would not be ready. "Its one of those unfortunate things that can happen in a contact sport," UFC president Dana White said when asked about Grant. "Were not going anywhere. The kids just got to take his time, heal up, and relax and well see what happens." Theres never a good time to be injured in the UFC, given inactivity equals no paycheque. But this timing particularly sucks. Grant, ranked third among lightweight contenders, was on a roll having won five straight since dropping down to 155 pounds from welterweight. "The belts going to be there no matter who has the belt," White said. "It will be there and well figure the T.J. Grant thing out when T.J. Grants healthy." In the meantime, the December title shot has been given to No. 4 Josh Thompson. Even talk of title shots has consequences for Grant. "Im trying not to put too much pressure on myself," he said. "Being offered fights and stuff like that was definitely putting more pressure (on me) which causes you to stress out and make things worse. "Man, Im just worrying about just getting better, taking it slow. No real pressure. When I feel 100 per cent and Im able to return to training and all that stuff, then Ill start looking for a fight. "For now, Im not really too much worried about it." White says concussions are monitored closely in that the sport is regulated by government agencies, with mandatory suspensions after knockouts. Often fighters have to be cleared by a doctor before they can step back into the cage after a bad loss. Injuries in training are tougher to monitor, he acknowledged. "We cant baby-sit everybody. We cant police grown men," White said prior to UFC 165. "We can lay down the rules. "If you are on a three month suspension because you were hit in the head or whatever your deal is in a fight and you go back into the gym and start sparring again, first of all youre a moron. No 2, the people who handle you probably dont care about you." Grant has been healthy the majority of his career, missing just two previous fights through injury or sickness in his 7.5-year pro career. He says he has known other fighters who had concussions. "Some guys try to hide it and keep going. They think its like any other injury. But I dont want to be that guy. So I want to do it as safely as possible. I want to enjoy my life, thats for sure." Grant has plenty of motivation on that front. He married wife Belinda on the weekend. They planned to slip away for a few days but with a young daughter the focus of attention, a real honeymoon will likely have to wait a while. As for Crosby, Grant says he does not know the Penguins star so has not been able to share war stories. It would make for an interesting conversation. "No doubt," Grant said with a chuckle. Authentic Pierre Desir Jersey . LaQuinton Ross scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, hitting his first four 3-pointers, to send No. Authentic Chester Rogers Jersey .com) - Jenny Boucek is the new head coach of the Seattle Storm. http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/ . Austin does not believe the game-time temperature is going to be an advantage for either side heading into the Grey Cup. "We dont think about (the cold)," said Austin. "Im not even sure how you would determine an advantage. Authentic Al-Quadin Muhammad Jersey . After missing 20 games as a rookie a year ago, Valanciunas - like the Raptors as a whole - has been fortunate to be in good health this season. As he spoke about it, the Raptors sophomore centre scanned the room for wood to knock on. "It is disappointing because we lost today so thats the worst part of the day," said Valanciunas, who left Tuesdays game with a lower-back sprain in the third quarter, missing the rest of Torontos 118-113 overtime defeat at the hands of the Hawks. Authentic Luke Rhodes Jersey . Western and the second-ranked Laval Rouge et Or (7-0) once again received 20 and 10 first-place votes from the Football Reporters of Canada panel, respectively. Rounding out the Top 10 are the Calgary Dinos (7-0), Queens Gaels (7-1), Guelph Gryphons (7-1), Montreal Carabins (5-2), Bishops Gaiters (5-2), McMaster Marauders (5-3), Manitoba Bisons (4-3) and the Saskatchewan Huskies (4-3) Western crushed York 50-10 last Saturday in its league finale to secure first place in the OUA standings and a bye in the first round of the conference playoffs.MILAN, Italy -- Serie A leader Juventus remained on course for a third straight title with a 3-0 victory over second-placed Roma, which was forced to play with nine men for the final 13 minutes on Sunday. It was a 10th successive win for Antonio Contes team and saw it extend its lead at the top of the table to eight points at the halfway stage of the season. It was Romas first loss of the season. "Our statistics are impressive and show that we fully deserve to be top of the table, clearing away any type of doubts," Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. "Today we won thanks to several incidents which we made the most of. While they were in the game, Roma showed they are a team to be feared, they are not second by chance. Roma impressed me for the first hour." Juventus was in complete control following goals from Arturo Vidal and Leonardo Bonucci but Roma was still fighting to get back in the game. However, Daniele De Rossi was sent off for a brutal tackle on Giorgio Chiellini and Leandro Castan was also shown a straight red card two minutes later after he handled on the goalline. Mirko Vucinic fired home the resulting penalty against his former club. "We had so much possession but we werent efficient up front," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "For me thats the problem. We didnt have many chances but Buffon had a good first half, but they didnt have many chances either. "We have to be stronger in the future to be able to win these matches, but the title race isnt over, it hasnt ended here, there are still 60 points at stake. We have to get back to winning as soon as possible. Our aim is to return to Europe, we are second so we are in the right spot." Earlier, Fiorentina beat Livorno 1-0 in the Tuscan derby and Cagliari drew 0-0 at Chievo Verona as Serie A resumed following a winter break. There was bad news for Fiorentina as star striker Giuseppe Rossi was injured again. Rossi, who is the top scorer in Serie A, limped off in the second period with what appeared to be a knee injury. The United States-born player has only recently recovered from two years of injuries and several surgeries. Juventus was boosted by the return of key playmaaker Andrea Pirlo from a five-week injury layoff, but it was Roma which started the brighter and Gianluigi Buffon had to rush out smartly to close down Adem Ljajic after six minutes.dddddddddddd Roma had more possession and several half chances but Juventus looked dangerous on the counter -- cheered on vociferously by the home fans -- and took the lead in the 17th minute with its first real opportunity. Carlos Tevez spun and threaded the ball through for Vidal to beat the offside trap and slot into the back of the net. Juventus almost doubled its lead shortly before halftime when Tevez rolled a tantalizing ball across the face of goal but no one could get on the end of it for the tap-in. The home side did score again immediately after the break when Bonucci was left unmarked at the far post and the Juventus defender slid in to turn home a Pirlo free kick. There was bad news for Juventus as Tevez went off injured on the hour mark. Romas hopes of a comeback diminished following De Rossis moment of madness and all but evaporated when Castan followed him. In Tuscany, Fiorentina struggled at times before grinding out a 1-0 win against struggling Livorno. Livorno almost took the lead shortly before Fiorentina scored, when Ibrahima Mbaye was left unmarked but headed off the crossbar. The visitors went close again when Paulinho rounded Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto but Rodriguez got back to clear off the line. Fiorentina moved provisionally level on points with third-placed Napoli, which hosts Sampdoria on Monday. Livorno remained two points off safety. Earlier, Cagliari missed a penalty as it was held to a 0-0 draw at lowly Chievo Verona. Mauricio Pinilla blasted his spot kick over the bar in the 66th minute after the Chilean forward had been tripped by Bostjan Cesar. It was the first penalty Chievo had conceded all season. Both teams struggled to create any scoring opportunities. Chievos best chance came with its first sight of goal, just before the hour mark, when Cyril Thereaus effort scraped past the outside of the post. Cagliari extended its unbeaten run to seven, while Chievo snapped a run of two defeats and moved provisionally two points off the relegation zone. ' ' '