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TORONTO -- Throughout his football career Swayze Waters never thought much about the significance of a jersey number. Corey Knebel Jersey . He was issued No. 94 as a freshman at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, then various other numbers by the five pro teams he auditioned for, including the No. 30 he has worn since 2012 as a punter/kicker with the Toronto Argonauts. His latest number will mean much more. Waters will don No. 34 this season in honour of his best friend, Tait Hendrix. Hendrix, 27, died recently in a motorcycle accident. Waters, also 27, took three days away from Torontos training camp to be family and friends as they paid their final respects to Hendrix. Upon returning to the Argos, Waters decided to wear Hendrixs No. 34 and dedicate the season to his memory. "For me, Ive never had a reason to put significance in a number until now," Waters said following Mondays practice. "That was Taits number . . . hes the guy I grew up playing any kind of sport you could think of with. "Its just my way of honouring him, the life he lived, all the things he taught me and the times we had." At the request of the Hendrix family, Waters spoke at the funeral. Waters also wrote about Hendrix on his website (www.swayzewaters.com). "First off, I just communicated to everyone there I was suffering with them," Waters said. "Then I talked about some of the good memories I had, not specifically stories of me and Tait personally but just the kind of guy he was, his smile, his laugh, his character. "He was just one of those guys you couldnt be around and not have a good time and not smile. He had this work ethic and mindset to get better every day . . . so I left everyone with that challenge: No matter what you do, get better at everything you do every day, keep alive that little piece of Tait thats in all of us. Thats how we can honour him as we go forward without him. It will never be the same, its going to be way different but as we move forward be the best we can every day." Trouble was, No. 34 in Toronto belonged to rookie defensive back Eric Black. However, its the number the Argos issued Black and it held no significance to him so when approached by Waters, Black willingly gave it up. Waters said hell forever be indebted to the Argos and his teammates for their support. "It was anything but a vacation," Waters said. "But Im very thankful to the Argonauts for allowing me that opportunity to go home and be a part of that and just be with the family. "I know in this business not a lot of teams wouldve done that but its family around here and I really appreciate what everyone did for me." Waters said the three days he spent at home were invaluable to him. "It was huge," he said. "I think that was the biggest thing I could do, just be there. "There was a lot of laughing and a lot of crying. I got home and hugged my wife. We cried it out then went over to his house. Not a lot of words needed to be said. For me, that was a big part of it. Weve got to go on and things are going to be different but this is just one thing I wanted to do to honour my best friend." Waters said Hendrixs death is a sobering reminder of just how precious life is. "When you go through something like this it just puts everything in perspective," he said. "Youre reminded how short life is and that football is just a game." Its a perspective the Argos third-year kicker plans to lean on heavily this season. "Dont get me wrong I love football, its my job and Im always going to work as hard as I can to be the best I can to help my team," Waters said. "But football is not life. "Theres already enough pressure in professional sports. Youre playing in front of one million people on TV and 30,000 to 40,000 people in the stands. Youve got your job, your house payments, all that kind of stuff on the line. Theres no need to add any more pressure and this is one of those things that reminds me this is just a game. "Im going to go out there and do the best I can and the rest will take care of itself. Im just going to mainly take the kind of guy Tait was, work hard and get better at everything every day, into the season. Every day I put No. 34 on will remind me of that." Jonathan Villar Jersey . - The Seattle Seahawks have signed nine players to 2014 future contracts, including quarterback B. Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. http://www.baseballbrewersofficial.com/travis-shaw-jersey-c-17/ . Brad Malone had the other goal for the Monsters (1-1-0), while Elliott chipped in an assist for a three-point night and the games first star. Bryan Lerg also had two assists. Corban Knight and Max Reinhart scored for the Heat (1-1-0), who opened their season Friday with a 5-2 win over the Monsters in Cleveland. Angus Reid is at peace with the most difficult football decision hes ever had to make. The B.C. Lions veteran centre announced his retirement Friday, ending a 13-year CFL career. "As an athlete you know this day will always come but you never want to think about it and never want to know its real so youre forced with facing that reality," Reid said. "But Im good with it because it was my decision and most athletes dont get that opportunity, their careers end because of various factors out of their control. "Sure, in the youthful part of my mind Id love to play football forever but I know I cant give the game what Id want to give it in terms of what I have left physically and I wouldnt be happy with that. I have nothing but happy memories and theres nothing more I couldve achieved. I think I over-achieved and Im proud of what I was able to get done in this sport." The six-foot-one, 305-pound Reid appeared in over 200 regular-season games, 11 playoff contests and three Grey Cups with the Lions (winning two). Heady stuff indeed, considering the inauspicious start to his pro career. The 37-year-old native of Richmond, B.C., was selected fourth overall in the 01 CFL draft by the Toronto Argonauts. However, the former Simon Fraser star was released during training camp and spent time on the Montreal Alouettes practice roster before being dealt to B.C. later that year. "I vividly remember that first year after getting home to the Lions saying, Wow, I guess this is probably it. Im a journeyman after one season. This is not what I planned," Reid said. "But true to my character and who I am I just sort of kept focusing on what I could do, kept working and didnt let what was happening dictate what I was going to do. "I think Im a pretty good example that continuous hard work does pay off. Life is going to be up and down and its going to be a bumpy road but you just have to stay on that roller-coaster longer because most of us want to get off when it gets rough. I just stayed on and it worked out well." Reid was a West Division all-star on three occasions and he earned league honours in 2011. He was also actively involved in community events. "Few players have made the kind of impression both on and off the field as a member of the B.C. Lions that Angus has during his career," Lions general manager Wally Buono said in a statement. "He was an incredibly durable player, a tremendous leader in our dressing room and he will be missed by everyone in our organization." Former CFL players Doug Brown and Bryan Chiu took to Twitter to offer their congratulations to Reid. "Throughout college & the pros, there arent many Ive lined up against that I respected more," tweeted Brown, a native of New Westminster, B.C., who was a standout defensive tackle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. "Congrats on ur retirement." Added Chiu, a Vancouver native who played centre for the Montreal Alouetttes: "Congrats on a great career. Custom Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys. . Proud of you bro. Who wouldve thought we would both be centers in the CFL back at @vcrfootball." But Reid definitely saw the signs it was time to retire, most notably missing last season after undergoing major back surgery. "That was a wakeup call to me saying Im 37 now, not 27," Reid said. "Theres going to be life after football whether you like it or not and you want to be as healthy as you can so you can do other things in life and still have a lot of enjoyment and fun. "I have a wife and were trying to start a family and you have to look forward to more things." And then there was the realization that many of Reids former Lions teammates had long since moved on. "Half the guys I played with are my coaches now and you look around and say, Did I not get the memo," Reid said with a chuckle. "The good thing is I have no regrets looking back. "Im not leaving anything on the table. In that regard I dont want to say it was an easier decision but it gives me comfort that I can leave looking back with really proud, happy memories of my time in this sport." Especially with the majority of those memories having come at home. "There was some luck involved, obviously, that I got to play my career in B.C.," he said. "I grew up going to Lions games, my brother, Mark, was a long-snapper with the Lions in 1990 so I looked at it as a kid thinking, This would be amazing to do. "Well, I actually got to do it in the stadium I grew up going to watch games in. You really couldnt write a better career in terms of happiness, to be able to do it with your parents and family being able to come to almost every single game. You dream of a career like that and no matter how good it is it often doesnt come as close to what you would envision as a youth but mine really did and Im thankful and proud of that." As for what lies ahead, all Reid knows for sure is he wont be suiting up for the Lions in 2014. "Thats a good question, thats what Im trying to figure out right now," he said. "I did a pretty good job during my career of building bridges and good networks of people and so I do have a lot of opportunities. "However, Im trying to be careful to not to rush into the first opportunity, Im trying to look at them all." Reid has thought about a few different options when it comes to his future. "Id love to stay involved in the sport in some way but the probability of being a coach is slim right now," he said. "I think Id like to stay involved maybe in the sports media, be it TV, radio, newspapers. "But I have a feeling Ill also be doing other things in the business community. Im a Vancouver guy, this is where Ill be. Ill be busy, probably busier than I was when I played and went to work every day, put on sweats and ran around for a few hours. Now Ill probably be all over the place." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '