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TORONTO - Soccer was not kind to Rob Friend the last few months but the Canadian international striker leaves the sport with plenty of fond memories and good friends.Friend announced his retirement earlier this month after a championship season with the Los Angeles Galaxy cut short by concussion-related problems. The 33-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C., missed more than five months of action in 2014.Its a bit bittersweet going out as champions here in the MLS, to be honest with you, he said in a recent interview. But obviously Ive struggled a lot with this injury, had a lot of bad symptoms — headaches, what not.Its bittersweet but at least I was fortunate enough to have played the places Ive played, that I can go out with my head held high and be proud of what Ive done. And move on to the next chapter.Friend, a formidable figure at six foot five, was originally drafted by the Chicago Fire in 2003 but opted to sign with Moss FK and then Molde FK in Norway. He spent a year with SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands before embarking on a successful stretch in Germany.Friend signed with Borussia Moenchengladbach for the 2007 season, scoring 18 goals to help the team earn promotion to Germanys top flight. He scored 28 goals in his three seasons with the storied club — the pinnacle of his career — before moving on to Hertha BSC, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSV 1860 Munchen.He joined the Galaxy in January, seeing action in 10 games.Its been an amazing journey ... its been unbelievable, Friend said. Ive met a lot of amazing people, played for some amazing organizations and clubs. At Heerenveen alone, he played with Toronto FC star Michael Bradley, fellow Canadian and Portland Timbers captain Will Johnson and Galaxy teammate Robbie Rogers. Friend, who made his debut for Canada in 2003, won more than 30 caps for his country.Unfortunately, Friend still is not completely over his health issues.Its a very funny animal, the brain. You go through waves of a lot of headache-like symptoms and fogginess, just kind of not feeling 100 per cent. Ive definitely passed that stage of struggling every day. The only issue I have at the moment now is when I do an intense workout I feel the headache coming on again.Ive been able to manage it. Now Im just going to take a little bit of time to really take care of the symptoms so hopefully they dont bother me long term.Friend was hurt in a freak training-ground practice. He was running and a hard-hit ball caught him in the temple, really unexpectedly, caught me totally off guard and knocked me to the ground.For two days, he felt foggy and out of it.Then probably by Day 3 it just went into a straight headache that I couldnt kick for about two months.The injury, along with numerous past knocks, forced him to evaluate his soccer future.Friend was always a target man, physical and good in the air. His head was as important as his boot and he absorbed plenty of abuse going for goal.Ive taken a lot of hits to my head over the years and its serious issue now, the concussions, he said. Theres a lot of former athletes that are struggling long-term. I dont want that. I have to be a good husband and a good father to three kids and take care of my family so I kind of made that decision that it wasnt worth trying to push it another couple of years.Friend says he absolutely had prior concussions.Diagnosed, Ive probably had a few. Undiagnosed Ive definitely had my fair share as well. Ive been to a lot of experts round North America, talked to a lot of different doctors ... They all say accumulation of hits to your head — whether thats constant heading, hard knocks to your head — all take its toll. So I think thats got a lot to do with why my symptom is lasting as long as it is.The symptoms had not been as severe in the past. But Friend says over the last few years, he noticed he felt a little bit out of it for 24 hours or so if he took a harder blow to the head or had done a lot of headers in practice.It left him with a lingering headache for a day or two.Then it would go away. I never thought much about it. I just chalked it up as I just got kind of my bell rung a little but and itll go away. Then as the years went on, I started noticing the symptoms more and more and just didnt think much of it. Then it was just this one kind of freaky hit to the side of my head unexpectedly that really brought the long-terms symptoms on.Concussion aside, Friend has fond memories of his year in Los Angeles and MLS.Its an exciting league and I wanted to be part of it, he said. To be part of the best organization like the Galaxy, thats something Im proud of.It was also a homecoming of sorts.Friend played two years of college soccer at UC Santa Barbara where he met wife Mari, a Los Angeles native who was the setter on the volleyball team. The family — which includes a five-year-old boy and one- and three-year-old girls — plans to move to Vancouver where he hopes to stay involved in soccer.Having endured the hardships of a Canadian playing abroad, he remains a big booster of Canadian soccer.Canada is on the right track, he said, predicting more talent will flourish overseas. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Alvaro Morata Jersey .I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. 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The 23-year-old 2013 second-rounder out of Oregon becomes the third Bills linebacker to win the honour after Jim Haslett (1979) and Shane Conlan (1987.Blacksburg, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - The second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers continue their run through their schedule as they take on in-state rival Virginia Tech in an ACC affair at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. Off to their best start since the 1980-81 season, the Cavaliers are a perfect 18-0 on the campaign, one of just two unbeatens left in the country along with top-ranked Kentucky. Tony Bennetts squad is coming off a 57-28 trouncing of Georgia Tech on Thursday, keeping the team atop the ACC standings at 6-0. Buzz Williams first season at the helm in Blacksburg has been a work in progress. The Hokies showed flashes of strong play during the non-conference portion of the schedule, but ACC play has been a whole different animal. Virginia Tech is one of three winless teams in the ACC, saddled with an 0-5 league mark. The Hokies enter with a six-game losing streak in tow, including Thursdays 85-60 rout at the hands of Notre Dame. Virginia holds an 86-53 lead in this rivalry. The Cavaliers have won five straight meetings, but the Hokies are 14-6 all-time in series games at Cassell Coliseum. Knowing that Virginia is going to play great defense is much different than actually experiencing it. Georgia Tech found that out first hand this week, as the Cavaliers smothered the Yellow Jackets en route to an easy victory. The Cavs held Tech to just 16 first-half points and 12 second-half points, as the visitors shot just .245 from the floor overall in Charlottesville. It wasnt a particularly strong offensive showing for Virginia either, but it didnt have to be. The Cavaliers were led in the scoring department by Malcolm Broggdon, who finished the game with 13 points.dddddddddddd Justin Anderson and Anthony Gill were tied for second with seven points apiece. Gaudy offensive numbers arent needed when you are playing some of the best defense in the nation. Virginia is getting it done better than just about every other team in the country. The Cavaliers lead the nation in scoring defense, yielding just 49.3 ppg. Foes are being held to a mere .335 shooting (second nationally). Virginia also dominates on the glass, boasting of a +10.7 rebounding margin. Three of the five starters are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Andersons 14.1 ppg. Brogdon adds 13.6 ppg, followed by Gills 11.4 ppg. The Hokies were without leading scorer Justin Bibbs for the second straight game and that really hurt Tech, which was simply no match offensively for the high-scoring Irish. The result was a lopsided affair that ended in 25-point blowout for Notre Dame. The Hokies shot just .387 from the floor in the contest, although three players did notch double digits in the loss. Ahmed Hill led the way with 13 points. Jalen Hudson added 12 points and Devin Wilson finished with 11. Already lacking great scoring depth at a modest 67.6 ppg, Virginia Tech really could use Bibbs back on the floor. The talented freshman guard is still dealing with a concussion suffered last week and his status remains uncertain going forward. When on the floor, he is a reliable scoring threat, as the 6-5 youngster is shooting .503 overall and putting up a team-best 13.6 ppg. Adam Smith is the only other player on the roster with a double-digit scoring average at 12.4 ppg. ' ' '