CINCINNATI, Ohio -- As the game went one with no hint that either team was capable of scoring, Arizona catcher Miguel Montero became philosophical. Paul Westphal Jersey . "I knew eventually it was going to go one way or the other," he said. Whenever it goes really long, the Diamondbacks always win. Nick Ahmeds RBI single with two outs in the 15th inning sent the Diamondbacks to a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night and kept their franchise perfect when the innings pile up. Arizona is 13-0 all-time in games of at least 15 innings. "You get into a game like this, everybody is trying to end it," manager Kirk Gibson said. "You tell yourself not to do it, but thats the reality of it." Ahmeds single off J.J. Hoover (1-8) gave the Reds their ninth loss in 10 games since the All-Star break, a slump that has dropped them below .500 for the first time since June 21. The offence has been the problem, scoring only 17 runs in those 10 games, by far the fewest in the majors. "Just nothing was falling in for either team, really," Ahmed said. Oliver Perez (1-1) gave up a hit and a walk in two innings. Addison Reed got his 25th save in 30 chances. Cincinnatis Aroldis Chapman fanned the side in the ninth, extending his major league record for a reliever to 44 consecutive games with at least one strikeout. One of his pitches was clocked at 104 mph. Devin Mesoraco led off the second with his 17th homer off rookie Chase Anderson, ending a streak of three straight games at Great American without a homer -- the longest in the ballparks 12 seasons. Miguel Montero singled home the tying run in the fourth off Homer Bailey, who gave up five hits in eight innings. Anderson allowed three hits and matched his career high with eight strikeouts in seven innings, retiring the last 11 batters he faced. Arizona right fielder David Peralta saved a run in the fourth with a diving, backhand catch of Brayan Penas fly ball. He doubled up Chris Heisey at first base. ON DECK Diamondbacks: Trevor Cahill (1-7) is trying to get his first victory as a starter this season. Hes 0-5 in six starts. He also has made 15 relief appearances, going 1-1. ... Aaron Hill is expected back on Tuesday. He was out of the starting lineup the last two games with a bruised right hand, which was hit by a pitch. He has a 10-game hitting streak. Reds: Mike Leake (7-9) is 3-0 in six career starts against Arizona. TRAINERS ROOM Diamondbacks: INF Jordan Pacheco was activated off the 15-day DL. Arizona claimed him off waivers from Colorado on June 12. He went 3 for 8 as a pinch-hitter before developing shoulder tendinitis. INF Nick Evans was placed on unconditional release waivers. Reds: RH Logan Ondrusek is still resting his sore right shoulder, which landed him on the 15-day DL on July 22. Manager Bryan Price said hes still got some soreness. CH-CH-CHANGES Reds manager Bryan Price batted Jay Bruce second, trying to get his lineup out of a slump. Bruce went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. TAKE A LOOK Arizona is asking for a review of a call in Sundays 4-2 loss to the Phillies. Catcher Miguel Montero was called for blocking the plate on Ryan Howard, violating a rule enacted this season. Manager Kirk Gibson contends that Montero, who initially set up in front of the plate, went into the baseline to get the throw. Gibson hopes that the play leads to a clarification of the rule. FLASH Many of the 30,288 fans flashed their cellphone camera lights during extra innings and did the wave to amuse themselves. JUMBO VS. TRUMBO Reds reliever Jumbo Diaz faced Mark Trumbo in the 12th and gave up a single that ended a streak of 14 consecutive Diamondbacks retired. STATS Arizonas Martin Prado went 0 for 5, ending his six-game hitting streak. ... Mesoracos 17 homers are the most by a Reds catcher since David Ross hit 17 in 2007. ... Zack Cozart extended his slump to 0 for 22, matching his career high from the start of this season. ... Chapman has struck out the side nine times this season. ... Todd Frazier struck out four times. The Diamondbacks struck out a season-high 18 in all. John Johnson Jersey . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. Danilo Gallinari Jersey . A top pitching prospect, one who the ball club is pinning some of its future hopes, takes the spot of a veteran who once was viewed as a future ace but who, to this point, hasnt realized his potential and may never. https://www.cheapthunder.com/1571h-justi...under.html . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. FIVE QUICK HOOPS THOUGHTS 1. RUDY GAY (Kings): Bottom line, it didnt work out the way Raptors fans had hoped it would. I give GM Masai Ujiri credit for recognizing that this was a contract and a playing situation that was going to hamper the development of the franchise and individual players and made his move. I love coach Mike Malone but I feel for him. Good Luck trying to get Derrick Cousins and Rudy Gay thinking about the needs of teammates when theyre such proud/competitive guys who believe they can score on anyone. I personally like Rudy Gay; hes a first-class individual who carries himself in a nice way. Hes a good man. On the court, he has some limitations and hell have loads of pressure on him in Sac-town to live up to the big money. If he cuts down on turnovers, starts to attack the basket with greater determination, tightens up his shot selection and trusts his teammates abilities and is willing to give them the ball it can work for him. A lot to ask, though. I like this trade for the Raptors; both on the court and with the cap flexibility. 2. GREIVIS VASQUEZ (Raptors): Like this addition. They have an option on him in the offseason and also could move him before the trade deadline to add another piece. Hes a guy who will give the ball up and is a nice pick and roll player. Plays with energy and enthusiasm. I have no problem if he and Kyle Lowry (he could be dealt as well with his expiring contract) play at times together on the court. Like the leadership, play-making, ball handling and passing that two lead guards give you and its a nice luxury to have. The Raptors needed to improve this area and they did. As crazy as this sounds, the Raptors could very well be better with these new four players than the previous mix. That wont go over well with Tank Nation. Oklahoma City Thunder Gear. 3. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): Good to see him flying around the court and playing with such passion and productivity. He was awesome Sunday night in LA. He will benefit from the trade. He thrives as a roller in the screen and roll game, and hes so efficient in the lane that when you give it to him in there you feel really confident that hell make the shot. Considering all the chippies that Rudy Gay missed in the lane as well as all of his turnovers, I feel quite confident that with the redistribution of touches to guys like Johnson that Raps will have better chemistry and ball movement. Obviously, Gay is a really talented guy yet many times, less is more. 4. KOBE BRYANT (Lakers): Looked really rusty and a ways away from his normal level. Its going to take a while. Normally you dont see an eight turnover 2-9 FG percentage performance from him and I doubt youll see that in a few weeks. In time, as he gets into rhythm and in game shape, his game will gradually come back. Thats a major injury to come back from in less than eight months. Not easy, yet when I think of great players/competitors, hes at the top of the list. In 4-6 weeks from now hell be back to/close to his normal self. 5. JEFF HORNACEK (Suns): Love the job hes doing in Phoenix. His team plays really hard and they play together and share the ball. He has incorporated a style of play that suits the philosophy that theyll use in their pursuit of players that fit their model. Hes gotten complete Buy-In and has done as good a job as any coach in the league so far this season, based upon the talent at his disposal. Always really important for a fist year head coach to lay the foundation for how he wants his team to play and look. At 20 games in, he is succeeding deservedly so . ' ' '
MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid will play crosstown rival Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinals after coming from behind for a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, sending the visitors through 3-1 on aggregate. Clint Capela Jersey . Bilbao had yet to be beaten in 12 games at its new San Mames Stadium, and it appeared set to turn around its 1-0 first-leg loss after Aritz Aduriz scored in the 42nd minute. But as steady rain continued to fall, defending champion Atletico resisted Bilbaos push until Raul Garcia beat goalkeeper Iago Herrerin on a second try in the 54th. Diego Costa scored on the break with four minutes to play to seal a rematch of last years final, when Atletico ended a 14-year winless run against Madrid by winning 2-1 in extra time. "At halftime we talked about being a team made of men," Garcia said. "We had to step up when things were at their worst, and thats what happened." Also, Alexis Sanchez scored twice to help Barcelona rout Levante 5-1 at home and advance 9-2 over two legs. The Catalan club will play either Real Sociedad or third-tier Racing Santander next. Andres Iniesta returned after missing four games for Barcelona. Adriano, Carles Puyol, and Cesc Fabregas added to Alexiss double after Levante went ahead through Loukas Vyntras header that hit Barcelonas Sergio Roberto before going in. The marquee matchup of the quarterfinal round between the defending champion and Bilbao, a 23-time winner, lived up to its billing as the two sides offered a flowing, up-tempo match from start to finish. And given the chances created by both sides, the final score would have been larger if it hadnt been for the superb performances by both goalkeepers. "Thats because we played against a great team," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "Football is passion and here (in Bilbao) you can experience football in its purest form. Its incredible how the team feeds off the atmosphere." Diego Costa had the first opportunity 30 seconds into the game, but keeper Iago Herrerin denied him one-on-one. The visitors lost left back Filipe Luis to a leg injury in the 12th, but didnt miss him until the final minutes of the first half when the intense contest swung in Bilbaos favour. After Bilbaos Mikel Rico and Atleticos Garcia had both sent shots inches from the post, Aduriz rose above Diego Godin to head Mikel Balenziagas cross off the turf and into the net. Bilbao pressed to extend its lead with the overall score now level at 1-1, and Atletico goalie Thibaut Courtois had to turn away another Aduriz header and Ricos volley before the respite of halftime. After he had stopped Diego Costa again, Herrerin used a reflex save to deflect Garcias shot, but Garcia was not to be denied seconds later when he whipped in Cristian Rodriguezs cross with a similar left-footed volley. Diego Costa finally bettered Herrerin when he had plenty of time and space to size him up and round him before scoring. The semifinals start next week. Moses Malone Jersey .com) - The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings are ready to put all the talk and hype surrounding their meeting at Dodger Stadium behind them. Matt Maloney Jersey . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. https://www.cheaprocketsonline.com/ . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, What are your thoughts on the NHLs recommended rule changes from Monday? Do you think theres a way to make goaltender interference - or other on-ice rulings - more clear by going to video review? Does video review help the officials on the ice or take some of the decision making away from them? Which of the recommended rule changes do you think can really help the stripes in a game? Steve Wishie, Toronto Thank you for submitting these very important questions following the competition committee meeting that took place on Monday in New York. The General Managers will be convening sometime in the very near future to discuss these issues. Since it would appear there was little or no input from a knowledgeable officiating mind in attendance, I wish to address the General Managers directly with the following comments specifically related to implementing an expanded video review. I had the pleasure of developing a professional working relationship with each of you; in some cases that relationship began during your playing career and prior to your move into the role of general manager. While it is safe to say that we didnt or wont always agree, please know that I have great respect for the knowledge and care for the game that each of you demonstrates. Having been on that goal-line far too many times to count during my 30-plus year NHL officiating career I know, better than most, the demands, expectations and difficulties that the current crop of referees are experiencing. Goalkeeper interference is the most difficult decision that any referee has to make. The referees, like no time ever before, require your most thoughtful assistance to equip them with the necessary tools to achieve success and uphold the integrity of the game. The time has now come to step outside of any traditional comfort zone and implement video review technology that is available to the rest of us that watch the game on a television monitor, but who are not charged with making a split second decision on these potentially game changing plays. Based on Mathieu Schneiders quote below it would appear that the expectation of "certainty" must be met in order for video review to be expanded beyond the current allowances contained within the rules. "I think the underlying fundamental here is that if youre going to go to video review in a given area, there is the expectation of certainty," said Mathieu Schneider, the NHLPAs special assistant to the executive director. "And its just not there. Its very difficult. The type of things that were talking about, a possible coachs challenge, are things that we might be able to be certain on. But theres still a ton of grey area." I would respectfully submit that language contained throughout the rule book provides the referee(s) with the authority and latitude to exercise his individual judgment in the enforcement of the rules. Phrases such as "In the judgment of the Referee; There is an enormous amount of judgment involved in the application of this rule by the Referees; The Referee, "at his discretion" may assess; The Referees are provided very wide latitude in the penalties with which they may impose under this rule; The discretion provided (to the Referees) should be exercised realistically…" The referees do not apply a mathematical equation to problem solving. Mike Newlin Jersey. Instead, with your direction provided to them as to the expected standard of enforcement, the referees exercise their individual judgment to try and make the "correct call" from a position and vantage point that they occupy on the ice in that moment. This does not always achieve "certainty" and the referees perception of the play can quickly be changed if he is provided with a different angle or more precisely through video review. The current process and follow-up protocol of a conference conducted by the four on-ice officials (when utilized) does not achieve any "certainty" that the correct call is ultimately made. Gentlemen, one of the challenges that await you at your next meeting is to achieve some consensus among your group as to what actually constitutes a violation of rule 69—goalkeeper interference? Based on another quote following the competition committee meeting you have your work cut out for you. Even the Game 2 situation brought what Schneider called a "split room" on whether it should have counted or not. "Theres a lot of instances where you have two reasonable people looking at the same video and have two different interpretations, and goalie interference is certainly one of those," Schneider said. "I think the education process is whats going to be most important for the officials, for the players, and I think Colin alluded to, we want to maybe err on the side of the goalie more often. Well, thats the direction we have to give to the officials. "The education process is going to be key. And to have certain telltale signs." Your room cannot be "split" on this crucial issue of players interfering with the goaltender. The players and officials are in need of more concrete direction. Empowering the referee to take a second look at a play with a quick video review, perhaps through a coachs challenge, will help improve these game altering decisions. I also agree that "the education process is going to be "key". The officiating brotherhood can never stop learning, evolving or improving. Give them the tools they need to develop better positioning philosophies so that they consistently know where to go when a player is coming at them or where to go to find the best site line to the goal. A well officiated game is also incumbent upon the utilization of a referees sound judgment. He cannot be stripped of that yet again by a non-official making the call for him from an off-site location. The referees want to get the call right! The couple of minutes it will take for the referee to review the suspected presence of goalkeeper interference, along with some good coaching, will lead to a new age of officiating. ' ' '
A steady contributor who logged first pairing minutes with Dion Phanueuf, Carl Gunnarsson said he was “shocked” to hear the news that he had been dealt to the St. Air Max 97 Oro . Louis Blues for Roman Polak. The defenceman joined TSN 1050 to discuss his time in Toronto, the criticism levied onto the teams captain, and the issue with his hip which caused him to have daily treatment last season and eventually led to off-season surgery. Gunnarsson: Shocked by deal, Phaneuf criticism Air Max 97 Argento . 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. Air Max 97 Camo . "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. http://www.airmax97outlet.it/scontate-ai...peach.html . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center.NEW YORK -- The Washington Capitals reveled in what they accomplished Sunday night. The New York Rangers seethed at what they didnt. Steve Oleksy, Jason Chimera and Mikhail Grabovski scored second-period goals in the Capitals 4-1 win over the Rangers. "We felt them deflate a little bit," Oleksy said. Washington defenceman Nate Schmidt added a goal in the third for the Capitals, who beat Nashville at home on Saturday. Schmidt, a 22-year-old rookie, scored his first NHL goal in that game. Grabovskis goal came on a penalty shot. In his fourth NHL game, Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Washington (16-12-2) to earn his first career win. The Capitals have won four of five. "Its a huge pressure, but he handled it," Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin said. "Its good for him and its good for us." New York (15-15-1), beaten at home in overtime by New Jersey on Saturday, has lost three of five. Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves, and Benoit Pouliot scored the Rangers lone goal with 1:53 left to spoil Grubauers shutout bid. The Rangers are 0-1-1 on their team-record, nine-game homestand. Following the loss, the Rangers held a players-only, closed-door meeting for about 15 minutes. The meeting was at least the second they have held this season. "Its one of those things. Its not going to come from anyone else except from the 22 guys in here," New York centre Derek Stepan said. "We have to find a way to grab it. Forget about what happened in the first (number) of games. "It doesnt matter if you were playing well, playing bad. It doesnt matter. We have to start playing as a group." Washington now has a three point lead over New York for second place in the Metropolitan Division. "We need to grasp it here, need to play with some desperation," Stepan said. "Thats the biggest key right now. Points are points right now. You have to win your hockey games." Chimera opened the scoring 2:28 into the second period. He found a loose puck in a cluster of players around the crease and shoved it in before being knocked down by Justin Falk. That ended Lundqvists shutout streak against Washington at 202 minutes, 28 seconds, dating to Game 6 of last seasons first-round playoff series. Just 25 seconds later, Oleksy ripped a slap shot past Lundqvist to ggive Washington a 2-0 lead. Air Max 97 2020. Grabovski was awarded a penalty shot with 1:34 left in the second after Ryan McDonagh hooked him on a breakaway. Grabovski then beat Lundqvist glove side with a slap shot from between the circles. "We thought he was going to fake it and go five-hole," Chimera said. "Weve seen him score like that before on penalty shots. It was pretty good. Didnt know the little guy had it in him." Schmidt pushed the lead to 4-0 with 2:57 left. Much of the game was played on the perimeter as both teams clogged the middle of the ice in their defensive zones. Washington recorded 36 shots, and New York finished with 31. "We checked them pretty good," Chimera said. "It was one of those games that we didnt give them much, which is really good." Both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play. Despite the playoff history between the two teams, the game lacked emotion outside of several scrums. Offensive stars Ovechkin and Rick Nash of the Rangers were given roughing penalties during a late second-period dust-up. "Just a hockey play," Nash said. "He was finishing his check, and I was trying to get a spark for the guys." By the end of the game, many of the announced 18,006 in attendance had left. Those that remained offered the Rangers a less-than-stellar job performance evaluation. "We should be the ones dictating everything," McDonagh said. "Especially home games, its been too easy for teams coming in here. (We need to) come out with a lot of fire and get some hits, some blocked shots and get the crowd into it. "They really had nothing to stand up for tonight, and its something were ashamed of. Its something we take some pride in here and try (to) correct." NOTES: New York D Marc Staal sat out after being injured Saturday against New Jersey. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault described the ailment as "neck issues which are causing him to have some symptoms." Staal, who has a history of concussions, hadnt yet been diagnosed with another. "Were taking every precaution," Vigneault said. "Well probably know more in the next day or two." Michael Del Zotto replaced Staal in the lineup. ... Grubauer made his second NHL start and second outing of this season. His other start came last season. ' ' '
Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Brandon Kozun left the teams Friday night game against the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury. Thomas Sanders Jersey . The 24-year-old took a hit from Detroit defenceman Kyle Quincey in the second period and needed to be helped off the ice. He was not putting any weight on his left leg as he was helped to the dressing room. He did not return to the game. Following the game, Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle said the injury could be a high ankle sprain. Kozun will undergo an MRI Saturday and will not travel with the team to Detroit for Saturdays re-match against the Red Wings. The Los Angeles-born rookie has earned one assist in four games with the Leafs in 2014-15. Kozun made the Leafs roster after a strong showing in training camp. Dennis Gentry Jersey . “The fact that he was willing to do the deal the way we wanted it to be done showed that he wanted me to be a part of something great," Lowry said, noting that Ujiri willingness to sign off on the proposal that both Lowry and his agent presented to the GM was the final straw that convinced him to return. Devante Bond Jersey . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. http://www.custombearsjersey.com/custom-...2436t.html . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.MOOSE JAW, Sask. - Tyler Wong had two goals and an assist to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 6-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors in Western Hockey League action on Tuesday night.Taylor Cooper, Kord Pankewicz, Kade Jensen and Carter Folk also scored for the Hurricanes (7-20-5).Jayden Halbgewachs, Jaimen Yakubowski, Brett Howden and Tanner Eberle responded for Moose Jaw (15-16-3).Stuart Skinner recorded the win in net for Lethbridge, turning aside 29 shots. Justin Paulic started for the Warriors, but was pulled after kicking out 20-of-25 shots in 40:24 of work. Zach Sawchenko entered in relief and stopped all five shots he faced.The Hurricanes went 2 for 9 on the man advantage, while Moose Jaw was scoreless on three power-play chances.---PATS 6 WHEAT KINGS 5 (OT)BRANDON, Man. — Connor Gay scored 3:24 into overtime as Regina edged the Wheat Kings.Sergey Zborovskiy, Morgan Klimchuk, Braden Christoffer, Patrick DAmico and Austin Wagner supplied the rest of the Pats (20-11-1) offence.Tim McGauley struck twice for Brandon (24-7-4), with Ryan Pilon, John Quenneville and Nolan Patrick also chipping in.---ICE 5 BLAZERS 2CRANBROOK, B.C. — Tyler King scored the first-of-three third-period goals for Kootenay in its win over Kamloops.Ryan Chynoweth, Jaedon Descheneau, Tim Bozon and Rinat Valiev rounded out the Ices (18-17-0) attack for their third-straight win.Collin Shirley had both goals for the Blazers (13-19-5).---ROCKETS 4 OIL KINGS 1EDMONTON — Cole Linakers late power-play goall in the first period proved to be the winner for Kelowna over the Oil Kings. Johnny Morris Jersey. .Rodney Southam, Gage Quinney and Tyson Baillie also chipped in for the No. 2 nationally-ranked Rockets (27-5-3).Brandon Baddock scored the lone goal for Edmonton (15-14-5) on the power play.---CHIEFS 5 COUGARS 4 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — Kailer Yamamoto found the back of the net for his eighth of the season as Spokane held off the Cougars.Liam Stewart, Calder Brooks, Dominic Zwerger and Hudson Elynuik also scored for the Chiefs (17-12-3) for their third-straight win.Jansen Harkins had a four-point night for Prince George (17-17-2), scoring twice and adding two assists. Brad Morrison also had a pair of goals for the Cougars, who have dropped three straight.---GIANTS 2 SILVERTIPS 1VANCOUVER — Carter Popoff had a goal and an assist as the Giants edged Everett for their seventh-straight win.Tyler Benson opened the scoring for Vancouver (16-18-0), which has won all six games under new head coach Claude Noel.Montreal Canadiens prospect Nikita Scherbak scored his 15th of the season for the Silvertips (19-9-4).---THUNDERBIRDS 5 ROYALS 4KENT, Wash. — Ryan Gropp had the game-winning goal at 17:27 of the third period as Seattle downed Victoria.Justin Hickman, Lane Pederson, Donovan Neuls and Keegan Kolesar also scored for the Thunderbirds (14-15-4).Travis Brown, Tyler Soy, Logan Fisher and Austin Carroll found the back of the net for the Royals (17-17-2), who have dropped three in a row. ' ' '
David Poile and his U.S. Olympic hockey management team have been making what he called "ghost rosters" since August. Its getting close to the time where the roster has to be real. "We know were going to have to make these decisions pretty soon," said Poile, the general manager of the American side. "Weve also got a number of injuries right now that we have to deal with, and we have to make decisions on that." Decisions are looming on three players who are out with injuries: Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings, defenceman Brooks Orpik of the Pittsburgh Penguins and winger Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers. Team Canada is dealing with a similar situation with injured Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos -- who was considered a lock to make it to Sochi -- and could name him to the team even if he hasnt returned after suffering a broken right tibia. Poile, by day the Nashville Predators general manager, plans to use the same injury exception if he has to. "If we think any of these players are going to be on the Olympic team or we want them on the Olympic team and theyre going to be healthy by Feb. 11, then well have to name them on the team and then well have to deal with replacing them if their injury doesnt come around," Poile said on a conference call Thursday. Unlike Canada, which will take advantage of the IIHF pushing the 25-man roster deadline back to Jan. 7, the U.S. will still name its team Jan. 1 at the Winter Classic. Six days may not make a lot of difference in this case. In answering the question about injuries, Poile used Quick, whos recovering from a Grade 2 groin strain, as his example. He went on to say that he expects the Kings goaltender to be ready. "The information that we have from Los Angeles, and specifically from (GM) Dean Lombardi, tells us that hes going to be back before the end of the year," Poile said. "If hes a guy that we want on the team, we will name him to the team. If, for some reason, between then and the start of the Olympics, he cant play because this injury didnt come around or what have you, we will be able to replace that player." Quick, the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy-winner for the Stanley Cup-champion Kings, is a shoo-in as long as hes healthy. He could even be the starter, though Poile had plenty of good things to say about 2010 silver-medal-winner Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres too. The U.S. has several goaltending options, including Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils and Ben Bishop of the Lightning. On defence, the U.S. cant be so sure about Orpik, who suffered a concussion Saturday night when he was knocked to the ice and sucker-punched by Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton. "Its one of those things probably, with a concussion, that were going to have to wait and see and kind of see how he reacts," U.S. associate general manager and Penguins GM Ray Shero said this week. "Right now (hes) really not doing too much, just resting." Orpik was on the U.S. team at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and figured to be a part of the core of the group Poile expects to bring back for Sochi. If the concussion lingers and he cannot play, it would mean the loss of a veteran presence and key defensive stopper and penalty-killer. The penalty kill would also suffer if Callahan cannot recover in time, and the Rangers captain is in the most danger of that among these three. Callahan suffered a sprained ligament in his left knee in Tuesdays loss to the Predators and is expected to be out four to six weeks. That would mean a return sometime in January, after the roster deadline but before the Olympic break and before players fly to Russia. Poile listed Callahan among the U.S. teams leadership group and said "in all likelihood" all five -- Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, Dustin Brown and David Backes, additionally -- would make it. Its hard to replace what Callahan brings, but the U.S. is deep at right wing with Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, T.J. Oshie, Blake Wheeler and Bobby Ryan. Poile said he and Brian Burke, who was GM of the 2010 team, agreed that it was harder this season to pick the team and that thats a good thing. Its even better because of what injuries could do. "The most important thing, for U.S.A. Hockey specifically, is our talent pool is so much better, so much more in quantity (and) most importantly in quality," Poile said. "(Players from 2010 are) going to be the foundation of this team. Theres going to be some new players, up-and-coming younger players, that are just too good to keep off the team." Vonnie Holliday Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have signed free agent offensive lineman Mike McGlynn. Marcedes Lewis Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/custo...r.html.com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. Darnell Savage Jersey . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. Kenny Clark Jersey ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwrights day started as badly as it could but ended up just fine. Wainwright gave up Junior Lakes homer on his first pitch and allowed six more hits and three runs after that. But he saved a tired bullpen by sticking around for seven innings Saturday and leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. It was hardly a vintage performance by Wainwright (2-1), who struck out eight and helped his own cause with an RBI single. The four runs were twice as many as he yielded in his first two starts. "It was OK," said Wainwright, who led the majors with 241 2-3 innings pitched last year. "I think because our offence was so great, I did what they needed me to do, just go a little later in the game and give the bullpen guys some rest." St. Louis relievers Carlos Martinez, Kevin Siegrist and Trevor Rosenthal all threw more than 20 pitches in Friday nights 11-inning loss. "We needed that," manager Mike Matheny said about Wainwrights outing. "There were a couple of guys we were wanting to stay away from, for sure." In hindsight, Wainwright said there were only a few pitches he wanted back -- including his first one. "Hes an aggressive hitter," Wainwright said. "I should have known he was going to be swinging there. Thats OK to throw a fastball when you know theyre swinging, but youve just got to locate your heater." The win was Wainwrights 101st with the Cardinals, tying Matt Morris, Larry Jackson and Max Lanier for 10th place on the franchise list. Matt Adams homered and Matt Carpenter drove in two runs for the Cardinals. Daniel Descalso also had two hits with an RBI and two runs scored. Adams hit his first home run of the season, a leadoff shot in the second inning, and Jon Jay drove in two runs with a single. "It was nice to get some runs, especially for Adam and let him do his thing," Matheny said. "We took some good at-bats right from the top." The Cubs Nate Schierholtz, who had four hits Friday night, had two doubles and an RBI. &quuot;We did some good things, especially against Wainwright, who is an excellent pitcher," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said.dddddddddddd "We just didnt do enough." St. Louis did most of its damage against starter Carlos Villanueva (1-3), who allowed nine runs and 10 hits in three innings. "I didnt feel bad," Villanueva said. "I felt like I had good stuff. But theyre a good team and they got me out of there quickly." After Adams homer tied the game at 1, the Cardinals sent eight more batters to the plate in the second. Yadier Molina and Allen Craig followed with singles, and they came home on RBI singles by Descalso and Wainwright. Carpenter then drove home Descalso with an infield single to shortstop that made it 4-1. St. Louis sent 10 more hitters to the plate in the fourth inning and broke it open by scoring five times. Descalso started the inning with a double and was safe at third on Wainwrights sacrifice, with Wainwright reaching first on the fielders choice. Carpenter and Kolten Wong followed with RBI singles and Matt Holliday had an RBI groundout. Jays single off reliever Chris Rusin with two outs made it 9-2. NOTES: Renteria had a successful replay challenge in the third inning of first base umpire Jerry Laynes call on Jays grounder to shortstop Starlin Castro. Layne had called Jay safe at first, but after reviewing the play, Jay was ruled out. ... St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta, who has two hits in his first 32 at-bats for the lowest batting average among all qualifiers (.063), was given the day off. ... Castro, who had two hits, has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. ... Former Cardinal Edwin Jackson (0-0) will take the mound for the Cubs in the series finale Sunday against Michael Wacha (1-0). ... Craig was 1 for 12 on the homestand and hitless in his last eight at-bats before his second-inning single. ... With a victory Sunday, the Cubs can win a series for the first time since taking two of three from the Reds from Sept. 9-11 last season. Chicago has dropped eight straight series since. ' ' '
TORONTO – Brett Lawries impending return from hamstring tightness creates a problem – a good problem – for manager John Gibbons. That is, how does he keep the red hot bat of Juan Francisco in the lineup when first base is taken by Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind is back as the designated hitter? "Maybe Francisco can play second," joked Gibbons. In all seriousness, Francisco has been a revelation for the ballclub since signing a minor league deal on April 2 and arriving in Cleveland to meet his new Blue Jays teammates on April 20. Coming off an 18-home run season split between Atlanta and Milwaukee last year, Franciscos already hit five in 61 at-bats for Toronto. He doesnt get cheated, either, having deposited one in the fourth deck of Rogers Centre, just above Paul Beestons name on the Blue Jays Level of Excellence. Franciscos slash line of .311/.403/.623 (1.026 OPS) is well above his career .248/.308/.447 (.755 OPS) but even if his history suggests his numbers will regress the longer he plays, until it happens, Francisco needs to stay in the lineup. "Right now were looking at everything," said manager John Gibbons. "While hes hot weve got to find a way to keep him in there somehow." The obvious play is to move Brett Lawrie to second base. It doesnt have to be permanent. Lawrie, should the decision be made, hopes its only temporary. "Im going to do it because its for the team but Im not necessarily amazed about it," said Lawrie. "Im a third baseman. Its where I play. Its what Ive been doing. Its what I did to work to get here. Obviously Francisco is swinging a hot bat but were going to have to find another way to get him in the lineup, who knows, but if I do get put at second base thats how it goes. Ill just do it for my team." Look at this hypothetical starting lineup with Francisco at third base and Lawrie at second base: Reyes – SSCabrera – LFBautista – RFEncarnacion – 1BFrancisco – 3BNavarro – CLind – DHLawrie – 3BRasmus – CF One through nine, wheres the easy out? The Blue Jays would be giving something up defensively with the realignment but Francisco has proven to be more adept at third base in Lawries absence than expected. "Ive been very impressed," said Gibbons. "I think that was his rap. His defence was the reason he never really established himself but we havent seen it. Of course hes not Lawrie down there but how many guys are?" Dont count on Saturday being Lawries return date. He took ground balls on Friday afternoon and participated in batting practice for a second consecutive day. Its part of the process of ramping up the effort level, testing his sore right hamstring. "Ive still got to do some other stuff baseball-wise," said Lawrie. "Ive still got to get up to relatively full speed to see how were doing. Ran on the treadmill today at a little bit higher pace so feeling a little bit better." Lawries willing to be a team guy. He also wants the appropriate recognition for his gold glove caliber play at the hot corner. "Im a third baseman," said Lawrie. "I worked my butt off to get where Im at. Im not saying its not going to help the team. Im here to do what it is to help the team but I worked my butt off to be that good at third base and continue to do what Im doing. I work everyday over there. Still continuing to get my work in and second base, it is what it is, man, its not what Im here to do. I worked my butt off to do what I do out there." Babe Ruth Jersey Large . A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for. Cristian Pache Jersey . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/custom...1047z.html. Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Charlie Culberson Jersey . Still, Inter moved one point ahead of Parma in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League spot. Udinese remained 14th, 11 points above the relegation zone. Inter was beaten 2-1 by Atalanta at home on Sunday and has won only seven of 16 matches at the San Siro this season, as the squad seems to still be searching for its identity under new owner Erick Thohir and first-year manager Walter Mazzarri. Tyler Flowers Jersey .com) - Scott Parel carded a 5-under 65 on Thursday and he grabbed a 1-stroke lead after one round of the season-opening Panama Claro Championship.As teams prepare for the 2014 NHL Draft, Im digging back into past drafts in an effort to distinguish some value between picks. This is an exercise I have undertaken a few times, starting in 2009, and hope that Ive refined my approach a little bit in that time to help paint a better picture. This latest update goes through NHL Drafts from 1990 through 2009, leaving some time for the 2009 picks to establish an NHL career, and assigned a numerical value to each of the players selected, using the following guidelines: 10 - Generational9 - Elite Player8 - First Line, Top Pair D7 - Top Six Forward, Top Four D6 - Top Nine Forward, Top Six D5 - NHL Regular 4 - Fringe NHLer3 - Very Good Minor Leaguer2 - Minor Leaguer, under 50 NHL games1 - 10 or fewer NHL games A few disclaimers:- There is not necessarily an equal talent gap from 10-9-8 as there is from 1-2-3 (and there are far more ones than tens), so the average grades may not be right on target for what the average player at that slot will become but they should be in the ballpark. - Its difficult to properly evaluate players from the most recent drafts, as there is a certain amount of projection still required to determine where their careers are headed, so any evaluations from 2009, in particular, tend to be conservative, making the percentage of players "Ranked 7 or better" lower in some cases. - My focus was on the best four years of a players career, in determining whether production/usage would warrant first line, second line, third line status, but players whose careers were shortened or had a narrow peak could be knocked down a peg. - There are any number of reasons why a player may or may not make it to the NHL, so when I list players under "worst", there could be extenuating circumstances, whether its injury or being stuck as a late first-round pick trying to make a talented team. Even so, Ive removed Alexei Cherepanov (#17 in 2007), Luc Bourdon (#10 in 2005) and Mickey Renaud (fifth-round pick in 2007) from the evaluation as their NHL careers werent established enough before their tragic deaths. Below is my value for draft picks, broken down pick-by-pick for the first round, by 5-pick groups in the second round, 10-pick groups in the third and fourth round, then 15-pick groups in rounds five, six and seven. Included is the average rating for players taken in those slots for the years from 1990-2009, with best and worsts of the group included for all first round picks, then only bests beyond pick No. 30. (How would you like to determine the worst fourth-round picks of all time?). Also included are percentages of those selections that ranked at least as top-six forwards, top four defencemen or starting goaltenders and, by contrast, a percentage that maxed out as fourth-liners, depth defencemen, backup goaltenders (or worse). Then, there is a percentage of players taken in that slot that have played at least 100 NHL games, a relatively low bar to say that someone was an NHL player. For those that are just embarking on their pro careers, I tend to give the benefit of the doubt, so even if Chris Krieder has 89 NHL games, I feel pretty comfortable including him among the group that will play at least 100. Before the numbers, some observations:- There is real value to holding the No. 1 pick and its getting better. While there are slip-ups every so often, they are becoming increasingly rare. The last first overall pick that would have fallen short of being a top-six forward, top four defenceman or starting goaltender would probably be Rick DiPietro. That was in 2000 and while a cautionary tale against drafting a goaltender first overall or signing 15-year contracts, DiPietro was an above average goaltender for about three seasons (2003-2004 through 2006-2007) before injuries derailed his career. - While there is plenty of talk of the Panthers trading out of the No. 1 pick, and they very well could do that, there is an element of risk involved in sliding too far down. Some risk starts to show as early as pick three or four, but outside the top five a team is at least as likely to land a depth player as they are a significant contributor. This becomes particularly interesting when a team at the top might consider moving down to take the likes of William Nylander or Nikolaj Ehlers, skilled players with high upside, but maybe they come with a little more risk and thats the downside part of the calculation when looking further down the board. - Another point to consider about the top pick is whether it will get used on Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad. There is more risk involved when taking defencemen at the top of the draft, but the difference isnt such that defenceman ought to be ignored altogether. Fair to question whether Ekblad has a high enough ceiling or whether his relative success in junior is predicated on a size and strength advantage that should diminish in the pros, but he shouldnt be eliminated from consideration merely because he plays defence. Teams could have taken Chris Pronger or Drew Doughty at the top of the draft and ended up quite satisfied with their selections. See the positional breakdown for the top of the draft here: Forwards in First 5 PicksAverage Rating: 7.22Ranked 7 or better: 74.2%Ranked 5 or worse: 12.9%At Least 100 NHL Games (or very likely): 95.2% Defencemen in First 5 PicksAverage Rating: 6.82Ranked 7 or better: 66.7%Ranked 5 or worse: 12.1%At Least 100 NHL Games (or very likely): 100.0% Goaltenders in First 5 PicksAverage Rating: 7.30Ranked 7 or better: 80.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 0.0%At Least 100 NHL Games (or very likely): 100.0% - What is notable is that, aside from the super small sample of goaltenders taken in the top five (Roberto Luongo, DiPietro, Kari Lehtonen, Marc-Andre Fleury, Carey Price), which is a relatively successful group, the rest of the goaltending picks in the first round are a serious roll of the dice. Even though he has nothing to do with those numbers, maybe that could affect the appeal of Thatcher Demko, the top goaltending prospect. Forwards in First 30 PicksAverage Rating: 4.96Best: Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin. Ranked 7 or better: 32.7%Ranked 5 or worse: 50.1%At Least 100 NHL Games (or very likely): 73.5% Defencemen in First 30 PicksAverage Rating: 4.71Best: Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson. Ranked 7 or better: 29.9%Ranked 5 or worse: 53.7%At Least 100 NHL Games (or very likely): 70.6% Goaltenders in First 30 PicksAverage Rating: 4.11Best: Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Tuukka Rask. Ranked 7 or better: 27.2%Ranked 5 or worse: 61.4%At Least 100 NHL Games (or very likely): 50.0% - The 15th pick has been some inexplicable wasteland, the lowest-rated pick of the first 29 and that includes having Erik Karlsson taken there by the Ottawa Senators in 2008. Only 40% of 15th picks played 100 games in the NHL, so best of luck, Detroit. - Beyond the first round, there is better than a 34.0% chance that a second-round pick (31-60) plays 100 NHL games. This falls to about 29.3% of third-round (61-90) picks, 19.3% in the fourth round (91-120), 14.7% in the fifth round (121-150), 15.5% in the sixth round (151-180) and 9.2% in the seventh round (181-210). A neat trick to have sixth-round picks slightly more successful than fifth-round picks, but that speaks to the randomness at play by that point in the draft. Land a Pavel Datsyuk or Andrei Markov or Brian Campbell at that stage and it affects the value. - While I enjoy the draft as much as anyone, and its always interesting to see how teams approach talent acquisition, hopefully these numbers indicate the uncertainty of the process. There are very few sure things on draft day. PICK VALUES No. 1Average Rating: 7.88Best: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin.Worst: Alexandre Daigle, Patrik Stefan, Rick DiPietro.Ranked 7 or better: 85.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 5.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 100.0% No. 2Average Rating: 7.78Best: Evgeni Malkin, Chris Pronger, Daniel Sedin, Drew Doughty.Worst: Andrei Zyuzin, Pat Falloon.Ranked 7 or better: 90.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 0.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 100.0% No. 3Average Rating: 7.00Best: Scott Niedermayer, Henrik Sedin, Jonathan Toews.Worst: Alexandre Svitov, Aki Berg, Cam Barker.Ranked 7 or better: 80.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 15.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 100.0% No. 4Average Rating: 6.13Best: Paul Kariya, Roberto Luongo, Nicklas Backstrom.Worst: Alexandre Volchkov, Jason Bonsignore, Pavel Brendl.Ranked 7 or better: 50.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 30.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 85.0% No. 5Average Rating: 6.68Best: Jaromir Jagr, Thomas Vanek, Phil Kessel, Carey Price.Worst: Ric Jackman, Stanislav Chistov.Ranked 7 or better: 55.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 10.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 85.0% No. 6Average Rating: 5.25Best: Peter Forsberg, Ryan Smyth, Oliver Ekman-Larsson.Worst: Scott Scissons, Brian Finley, Daniel Tkaczuk.Ranked 7 or better: 45.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 45.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 80.0% No. 7Average Rating: 5.40Best: Jason Arnott, Shane Doan, Ryan Suter.Worst: Ryan Sittler, Alek Stojanov, Lars Jonsson.Ranked 7 or better: 35.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 40.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 90.0% No. 8Average Rating: 4.75Best: Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk, Braydon Coburn.Worst: Scott Glennie, Terry Ryan, Jonathan Aitken, Alexandree Picard, Zach Hamill.ddddddddddddRanked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 45.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 75.0% No. 9Average Rating: 5.03Best: Dion Phaneuf, Logan Couture, Kyle McLaren.Worst: Brent Krahn, Petr Taticek, Brian Lee.Ranked 7 or better: 25.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 55.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 85.0% No. 10Average Rating: 4.68Best: Nik Antropov, Radek Dvorak, Cody Hodgson, Jocelyn Thibault.Worst: Boris Valabik, Mikhail Yakubov, Brad Ference.Ranked 7 or better: 0.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 63.2%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 80.0% No. 11Average Rating: 5.15Best: Jarome Iginla, Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter.Worst: Kyle Beach, Lauri Tukonen, Jeff Heerema, David Cooper.Ranked 7 or better: 35.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 45.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 12Average Rating: 5.08Best: Marian Hossa, Dan Hamhuis, Ryan McDonagh.Worst: Teemu Riihijarvi, Hugh Jessiman, A.J. Thelen.Ranked 7 or better: 40.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 50.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 13Average Rating: 5.10Best: Alexander Semin, Ales Hemsky.Worst: Michael Henrich, Marek Zagrapan, Michael Stewart, Joe Hulbig.Ranked 7 or better: 40.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 40.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 14Average Rating: 5.05Best: Sergei Gonchar, Brent Seabrook.Worst: Sasha Pokulok, Michel Riesen.Ranked 7 or better: 30.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 35.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 80.0% No. 15Average Rating: 3.10Best: Erik Karlsson, Alex Kovalev.Worst: Matt Zultek, Scott Kelman, Artem Kryukov, Igor Knyazev, Jesse Niinimaki.Ranked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 80.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 40.0% No. 16Average Rating: 3.68Best: Markus Naslund, Martin Biron, R.J. Umberger.Worst: Nick Stajduhar, Mario Larocque, Alex Bourret.Ranked 7 or better: 15.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 75.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 60.0% No. 17Average Rating: 4.26Best: Zach Parise, Barret Jackman, Martin Hanzal.Worst: Scott Allison, Brent Bilodeau, Brad Church, Alexei Mikhnov.Ranked 7 or better: 21.1%Ranked 5 or worse: 57.9%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 60.0% No. 18Average Rating: 4.20Best: Glen Murray, Petr Sykora, Brooks Orpik, Jason Smith.Worst: Jesper Mattsson, Jens Karlsson, Chet Pickard.Ranked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 65.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 75.0% No. 19Average Rating: 4.13Best: Ryan Getzlaf, Keith Tkachuk, Martin Straka.Worst: Mark Mitera, Niklas Sundblad, Jakub Koreis.Ranked 7 or better: 25.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 70.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 40.0% No. 20Average Rating: 4.53Best: Martin Brodeur, Alexander Frolov, Brent Burns.Worst: David Fischer, Angelo Esposito.Ranked 7 or better: 25.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 60.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 21Average Rating: 4.63Best: Saku Koivu, Tuukka Rask.Worst: Libor Polasek, Evgeny Ryabchikov, Anton Gustafsson.Ranked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 55.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 22Average Rating: 3.83Best: Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne, Max Pacioretty, Jordan Eberle.Worst: Curtis Bowen, Jeff Brown, Nikos Tselios.Ranked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 70.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 60.0% No. 23Average Rating: 4.68Best: Ray Whitney, Todd Bertuzzi, Ryan Kesler.Worst: Mikka Elomo, Craig Hillier, Tyler Cuma.Ranked 7 or better: 35.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 55.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 24Average Rating: 4.43Best: Mike Richards, Alexander Steen, Daniel Briere.Worst: Dennis Persson, Eric Lecompte, Luca CeredaRanked 7 or better: 25.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 60.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 25Average Rating: 3.95Best: Brenden Morrow, Cam Ward, Patrik Berglund.Worst: Mikhail Kuleshov, Patrick White, Eric Lavigne, Chad Penney.Ranked 7 or better: 15.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 70.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 70.0% No. 26Average Rating: 4.10Best: Zigmund Palffy, Martin Havlat, David Perron, Cory Schneider.Worst: Nicolas Perreault, Kevin Grimes, Martin Vagner.Ranked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 55.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 60.0% No. 27Average Rating: 3.95Best: Scott Gomez, Steve Staios, Boris Mironov, John Carlson.Worst: Ari Ahonen, Mike Morris, Philippe Paradis.Ranked 7 or better: 20.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 65.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 65.0% No. 28Average Rating: 3.70Best: Corey Perry, Justin Williams, Matt Niskanen.Worst: Brandy Semchuk, Adrian Foster, Jonas Johansson, Nick Petrecki.Ranked 7 or better: 15.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 70.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 50.0% No. 29Average Rating: 3.50Best: Niklas Kronwall, Mike Green.Worst: Chris Gotziaman, Brian Wesenberg, Daultan Leveille.Ranked 7 or better: 10.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 80.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 40.0% No. 30Average Rating: 2.70Best: Sandis Ozolinsh, Jim Slater, David Steckel, Deron Quint.Worst: Rod Pasma, Andy Rogers, Nick Ross.Ranked 7 or better: 5.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 95.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 35.0% No. 31-35Average Rating: 2.83Best: Doug Weight, James Neal, Marc-Edouard Vlasic.Ranked 7 or better: 13.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 84.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 34.0% No. 36-40Average Rating: 2.84Best: Geoff Sanderson, Jozef Stumpel, Bryan McCabe, Brendan Morrison, Jarret Stoll.Ranked 7 or better: 10.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 82.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 34.0% No. 41-45Average Rating: 3.02Best: Patrice Bergeron, P.K. Subban, Paul Stastny.Ranked 7 or better: 11.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 75.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 41.0% No. 46-50Average Rating: 2.69Best: Shea Weber, Milan Lucic, Mike Cammalleri.Ranked 7 or better: 12.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 81.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 32.0% No. 51-55Average Rating: 2.71Best: Patrik Elias, Duncan Keith, Jason Pominville.Ranked 7 or better: 10.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 82.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 33.0% No. 56-60Average Rating: 2.32Best: Zdeno Chara, Michael Nylander, Brandon Dubinsky.Ranked 7 or better: 5.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 89.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 29.0% No. 61-70Average Rating: 2.45Best: Brad Richards, David Krejci, David Backes, Kris Letang.Ranked 7 or better: 5.5%Ranked 5 or worse: 88.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 37.5% No. 71-80Average Rating: 2.32Best: Jonathan Quick, Alexei Zhamnov, Chris Drury, Vinny Prospal.Ranked 7 or better: 8.5%Ranked 5 or worse: 83.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 26.5% No. 81-90Average Rating: 2.16Best: Sergei Zubov, Milan Hejduk.Ranked 7 or better: 6.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 89.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 24.0% No. 91-100Average Rating: 2.10Best: Marc Savard, Patrick Sharp, Alexander Edler, Johan Franzen.Ranked 7 or better: 3.5%Ranked 5 or worse: 90.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 24.5% No. 101-110Average Rating: 1.85Best: Keith Yandle, Christian Ehrhoff, Niklas Hjalmarsson.Ranked 7 or better: 3.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 94.5%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 19.5% No. 111-120Average Rating: 1.68Best: Miikka Kiprusoff, Lubomir Visnovsky, Miroslav Satan.Ranked 7 or better: 4.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 94.5%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 14.0% No. 121-135Average Rating: 1.85Best: Daniel Alfredsson, Jamie Benn, Marty Turco.Ranked 7 or better: 4.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 92.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 16.0% No. 136-150Average Rating: 1.64Best: Ryan Miller, Andrei Kovalenko, Bryce Salvador.Ranked 7 or better: 2.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 94.3%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 13.4% No. 151-165Average Rating: 1.78Best: Peter Bondra, Brian Campbell, Andrei Markov, James Wisniewski.Ranked 7 or better: 5.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 92.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 15.0% No. 166-180Average Rating: 1.74Best: Pavel Datsyuk, Andrew Brunette, Marek Zidlicky.Ranked 7 or better: 2.3%Ranked 5 or worse: 94.0%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 16.0% No. 181-195Average Rating: 1.54Best: Martin Erat, Filip Kuba, Jussi Jokinen.Ranked 7 or better: 2.0%Ranked 5 or worse: 96.3%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 10.3% No. 196-210Average Rating: 1.49Best: Henrik Lundqvist, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Kaberle.Ranked 7 or better: 2.3%Ranked 5 or worse: 96.3%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 8.0% No. 211+Average Rating: 1.61Best: Tim Thomas, Tomas Vokoun, Pavol Demitra, Kimmo Timonen, Pekka Rinne.Ranked 7 or better: 3.2%Ranked 5 or worse: 94.6%At least 100 NHL games (or extremely likely): 12.0% Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '
HOUSTON -- This is exactly what the Houston Astros were looking for when they signed Scott Feldman over the winter. Feldman tossed seven innings of one-run ball, and the Astros stopped a three-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. "I just tried to go out and make my pitches," Feldman said. "The guys went out and got some early runs for me again. From there, just trying to throw strikes and not walk many guys." Feldman (2-0), who signed a $30 million, three-year contract in December, allowed three hits and walked two in his second start of the season. He also pitched 6 2-3 scoreless innings in a victory over the New York Yankees on opening day. He became one of four pitchers in Astros history to go at least 6 2-3 innings in his first two starts while allowing one run or less, joining Roger Clemens, Robin Roberts and Dean Stone. "Hes been outstanding," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "Again, giving us the start that he did today, obviously, we needed it with the bullpen getting taxed the last couple days. He gave us seven solid innings the way he did today was outstanding." Chad Qualls got two outs for his first save of the season. The Astros hit five homers. Jason Castro, Matt Dominguez, Jesus Guzman and Alex Presley connected against Jered Weaver (0-2), and Jonathan Villar added a two-run shot in the seventh off Matt Shoemaker. Feldman did not allow a hit until Josh Hamiltons two-out dribbler in the fourth went under the glove of the pitcher, who charged at it off the mound. He allowed his first run in 11 1-3 innings this season in the fifth on Erick Aybars groundout to second that made it 4-1. Feldman said he did not have great command of his pitches, but his curveball was there throughout the game. Castro, Feldmans batterymate, said the pitcher was helped by early run support. "Any time we can put some runs up and then shut them out is huge moving forward," Castro said. "It keeps the momentum on our side. We were able to keep putting the pressure on the offence and he just kept doing his job coming out putting up zeroes." Castro hit a two-run shot off the left-centre facade in the first, and Dominguez, Guzman and Presley had solo homers in the second, fourth and fifth, respectively. "We had some good swings on some pitches and the ball went out of the park," Presley said. "We had seven hits and five were home runs. Thats a pretty good percentage. Its something you dont see every day, and we took advantage of it." Weaver allowed five runs and five hits with six strikeouts over 5 2-3 innings. It was the third time that he had allowed four homers in a game and the first since Aug. 2, 2008, against the New York Yankees. "I made a couple of mistakes and they did not miss them, obviously," Weaver said. "You know you are going to have games like that, but it is frustrating personally to start the year off like this. I have a bunch more to go, so I am just going to shake this one off and start thinking about who weve got next." Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said he thought Weaver struggled with his command at times. "He threw some good pitches and located some good fastballs," Scioscia said. "As the game went on, his changeup became part of what he was doing and had some success with it. But, just from the get-go he was having problem with commanding counts and repeating pitches, and he got behind." Raul Ibanez cut Houstons lead to 7-3 with a two-run single in the ninth against Anthony Bass, and Howie Kendrick followed with another base hit. Qualls got Hank Conger to fly out before Aybar had a run-scoring single. Qualls then struck out Kole Calhoun to end it. Houstons five homers were its highest total since it hit five at the Chicago White Sox last Aug. 26. NOTES: Houston OF Dexter Fowler was out of the lineup for a third straight game due to a stomach virus. Fowler spent Friday night at Methodist Hospital and was released Saturday. Porter said Fowler was at home resting. ... Castro returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a bruise on his right foot. ... "A Haunted House 2" star Marlon Wayans threw out the first pitch. ... The Astros will send RHP Jarred Cosart (1-0) to the mound in the finale of the four-game series Monday against LHP C.J. Wilson (0-1) for the Angels. Air Max 270 Homme Soldes . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Site Chaussure Pas Cher .C. -- Theyll remember the OT from the first Syracuse-Duke game -- and the Ts that decided Round 2. http://www.chaussurepascherchine.fr/gros...tml.Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team. Air Max 90 Off White Pas Cher . -- Jake Peavy arrived at Bostons spring training complex on Monday with a large white bandage covering his left index finger, the result of a weekend accident. Air Max 270 Blanche Pas Cher . The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours. Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet. MIAMI -- As soon as Chris Young connected on a deep fly ball to left field in the ninth inning, the New York Mets thought they had tied the game on a sacrifice fly. But they misjudged the strength of Marcell Ozunas arm. Ozuna threw out Kirk Nieuwenhuis at the plate to end the game to help the Miami Marlins beat the Mets 3-2 on Friday night. "Its pretty surprising. Hats off to Ozuna," Nieuwenhuis said. "He made a great throw. Theres no other way to put it." Even Ozuna thought the Mets had tied the game. "I didnt think I had a chance to get him out, but I was going to throw it no matter what," Ozuna said. Ozuna also threw out David Wright to end the eighth after the Mets cut the deficit to 3-2. "I cant remember seeing a game decided by two great throws from a left fielder and two great tags from the catcher to end the game," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Thats pretty amazing." Henderson Alvarez (4-3) pitched 6 1-3 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits without a walk, and struck out five. In his past six starts, he is 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA, which leads the majors since May 22. "It was a good start for myself. All my pitches were working. Now its about keeping going forward," Alvarez said. Steve Cishek allowed a double to Nieuwenhuis to open the ninth, but earned his 17th save in 18 chances when Ozunas throw landed in catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchias glove for his fourth assist of the season. "He started at the Clevelander, so I didnt think he had a shot, but he started running in," Saltalamacchia said. "Once he got closer I knew he had a chance, but thats a tough throw, big moment like that. You tend to do too much. He made a perfect throw." Mets starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-1) allowed one run and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out four. "I felt good today, and just going off our last time off of Alvarez, I knew it was going to be a close game -- a one or two-run game -- so I knew I couldnt give up too many runs," Matsuzaka said. "One run ended up making a difference." Adeiny Hechavarria drove in two runs, and Saltalamacchia hit two doubles for the Marlins, who won their major league-best 17th one-run game of the season despite going 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. "It was nice to win that one," Redmond said. "We needed to win that one." Six of the eight games between these clubss this season have been decided by one run New York had a two-game winning streak snapped.dddddddddddd. With the Mets trailing 3-0 in the eighth, Wright hit an RBI single off Kevin Gregg. Two batters later, with Mike Dunn pitching, pinch-hitter Eric Campbell singled to left field to make it 3-2. Wright was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score on the hit. "I got thrown out by about 10 feet, so it wasnt a real close play," Wright said, "but at the same time we kind of thought that he was blocking (the plate) and apparently they thought he wasnt." Mets manager Terry Collins challenged the play, taking up the argument that Wright was blocked from getting to the plate. "When you saw replays, his foot had pretty much that whole side blocked," Collins said. "The over-the-top view, I dont know. You dont ever get an explanation. All they say is the play stands. "You dont ever get an explanation or why they ruled it, and the umpires are as confused as anybody." Rafael Furcal led off of the game for the Marlins with a triple off the right-field fence and scored on a groundout by Hechavarria. It was Furcals first extra-base hit of the season in 30 at-bats and first leadoff triple since June 11, 2010, against the Angels when he played for the Dodgers. "I knew that was the only run I could give up the rest of my outing," Matsuzaka said. After Jake Marisnick stole second base in the seventh, he swiped third with Wright not in position to cover the bag. He then scored when catcher Anthony Reckers throw to third went into left field. "It surprised them a little bit that he took off there with a left-hand hitter," Redmond said. "He was being aggressive and took advantage of a bad throw. That was a huge run for us." The Marlins extended their lead to 3-0 later in the inning when Wright attempted to bare-hand a grounder hit by Hechavarria, but the ball bounced past him, allowing Justin Bour to score. Wright was originally charged with an error, but it was later changed to a hit. NOTES: Mets SS Ruben Tejada took a base hit away from Casey McGehee in the eighth inning when he made a diving stop to his left, spun on the ground, and threw to first from his knees. ... Wright has a 10-game hitting streak at Marlins Park. ... Miami will send RHP Tom Koehler (5-5, 3.84) to the mound on Saturday. New York will counter with RHP Jacob deGrom (0-4, 4.39). ' ' '
Hours before the Stanley Cup finals began, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman proudly proclaimed that concussions are down across the league and there are numbers to back him up. That does not mean the league has figured out how to prevent head injuries among its players. Or that the numbers tell the whole story. According to data from STATS provided to The Associated Press, there were 53 concussions during the regular season, a sharp decline from the 78 reported during the leagues last full season two years ago. But even Bettman said there is only so much the league can do about a player hiding a head injury to stay on the ice. "Obviously, its difficult for us to get into a players head, no pun intended, with this concussion discussion," he said. "But if a player is going to not follow the protocol, not say exactly what hes feeling, thats pretty difficult to address." Dr. Jeff Kutcher, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based neurologist who works with NHL players believed to have concussions, wasnt sure the lower numbers indicated a dramatic change. "Im not surprised that the numbers are down, but I wouldnt read too much into those numbers," Kutcher said. The NHLs concussion protocol, like other leagues, requires players to get a team doctors OK before they can return to play. They are taken to a quiet place for evaluation, questions and tests of their memory, balance and general awareness. Players, though, seem to be able to skate around the protocol. Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman James Wisniewski said he avoided return-to-play protocol after he went head first into the boards during the playoffs. He wanted to keep playing. The Montreal Canadiens were criticized for letting forward Dale Weise return to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals after a blindside hit sent him to the dressing room. General manager Marc Bergevin insisted the team did not know Weise had a concussion until the next day and that the leagues protocol was followed. "Its flawed, but Im not a doctor," Bergevin said. "We all worry about our players, but we can only go by what were given." Hockey Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan, who was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to be their president two months ago after he was the NHLs chief disciplinarian, said it is good for the game that concussions are part of the conversation. "When there are situations like weve had in the playoffs, whether it is a hit to the head or mis-reporting, it gets put in the spotlight and it should," Shanahan said. "That is part of the continuing change of culture, and its going to be an ongoing process. I dont think there ever will be a perfect system because players are always going to want to play." The NHL Players Association says it has taken steps to educate its players about the dangers of concussions, including bringing doctors to each team before the season for discussions. "The players understand the seriousness of concussions, and along with our consulting doctors we continue to discuss with them the importance of early diagnosis, treatment and proper recovery," NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said. Detroit Red Wings forward Drew Miller said players choose to keep playing with head injuries for at least a few reasons. "Guys downplay the symptoms or dont report them because of job security and they dont want to lose their spot," Miller said. "And, guys want to keep playing because they want help their team. In the back of our minds, too, you dont want other teams to know you have a head injury." Retired players Dave Christian, Reed Larson and William Bennett filed a class-action suit nearly two months ago in federal court that alleged the league has promoted fighting and downplayed the risk of head injuries that come from it. They joined another group of former NHL players in the fight for compensation for head injuries they blame on a game that promotes hard-hitting action. Current players seem to be adapting to the NHLs emphasis on safer play: Physical penalties -- such as illegal checks to the head, checks from behind and elbowing -- have dropped in each of the last six regular seasons. An average of 1.03 physical penalties were called per game during the 2013-14 season, according to STATS, down from 1.14, 1.16, 1.25, 1.36 and 1.39 the previous five years. Suspensions have generally held steady at around 35 per season the past few years, and players are sometimes forced to sit even if no penalty is called. Montreals Brandon Prust wasnt penalized for a hit that broke the jaw of New York Rangers forward Derek Stepan during the Eastern Conference finals, but he was suspended for two games by the league. Stepan sat out one game after going through a series of tests. "The protocol helps make sure that the player is OK and that he is not playing with something that he shouldnt be," he said. "I think its a good step in the right direction." Ultimately, though, players have to protect themselves and each other. "It comes down to the guys on the ice respecting each other and playing it as safe as possible," Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said. "You see some of the big hits this year, inevitably youre going to catch a piece of the head and cause a problem, but the leagues done well with suspensions and penalties and the players have done a good job as far as the respect factor." Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. DeAndre Yedlin Jersey . - Ronda Rousey realizes shes finishing up one of the biggest years for any fighter in the young history of mixed martial arts at UFC 168, and the UFCs bantamweight champion intends to go out on top. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/201j-dani...y-usa.html. Peter Dawson took his long before he started the job. "I was playing an American one year at Oxford Golf Club, and he introduced me to this travelling mulligan," Dawson said. Antonee Robinson Jersey . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 11 aces and did not have a double-fault as he comfortably advanced to the third round at the Masters Series event. Marcelo Balboa Jersey . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros.DALLAS -- Andrew Ladd stepped on the ice in a shootout knowing Winnipeg had lost two in a row after regulation. The Jets captain made it a happy ending this time. Ladd scored the only goal in a shootout, Ondrej Pavelec had 35 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Saturday night. The Jets played past regulation for the third straight game and fourth in the past five. They snapped a three-game losing streak. "Yeah, nice to be on the other side of an overtime and shootout game for sure," Ladd said. After Jamie Benn hit the post and Alex Chiasson was stuffed easily by Pavelec in the shootout, Ladd beat Kari Lehtonen on the glove side. The Jets got the win when Ray Whitney missed wide. Olli Jokinen missed on Winnipegs first attempt. The Jets were penalized for too many men on the ice with 24.6 seconds left in regulation, and Pavelec made a pad save on a point-blank shot from Benn just a few seconds after the faceoff. "We need him to be our best player on a lot of nights," Ladd said of Pavelec. "He bailed us out a couple times, but still thought we did a lot of good things." The Stars had a 4-on-3 advantage for the first 1:35 of overtime, but the Jets had the two best scoring chances during that stretch. Bryan Little was stuffed by Lehtonen, and Zach Bogosian couldnt finish a play, trying to beat Lehtonen with a crossover on the goalies glove side. "We made some ill-advised decisions," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff, who returns to Buffalo on Monday night for his first game since getting fired during his 15th season with the Sabres in February. "We gave some pucks up again. Our shots are going to stay high against until we manage the puck better." Lehtonen had 37 saves for Dallas, including four in the final minute of overtime, but lost for just the second time this season. Winnipeg won in Dallas in its first visit since relocating from Atlanta, and for just the second time in the franchises 14 seasons. &"These three in a row, losing that extra point would have been tough on our group," Jets coach Claude Noel said.dddddddddddd "So I thought we got rewarded." Stephane Robidas pulled Dallas even at 1-all at 6:36 of the third period when his shot from the point went through the legs of Lane MacDermid and under Pavelec. The assists went to MacDermid and Vernon Fiddler, who carried the puck into the zone and flipped a pass backward to Robidas. "Its tough to win games when you have bad starts," Fiddler said. "Youre playing catch-up hockey. We cant be a team that just turns it on in the third and expect to win." Evander Kane opened the scoring at 3:28 of the second with a goal during a delayed penalty as an extra Winnipeg skater was joining the play. Kane settled the puck with his glove on the right wing and shot it past Lehtonen as the goalie was settling back in after jumping to make a pad save on a shot. Tyler Seguin, who had a career-high four points when Dallas beat Winnipeg 4-1 for its only road win earlier this month, was held scoreless but had a team-high five shots. Winnipeg just missed going up 2-0 in the opening seconds of the third period on a rush that ended with Dallas defenceman Jordie Benn sweeping the puck out of a wide open crease after a shot hit the post. The Stars had a good chance to go in front with about 6 minutes left, but Seguin couldnt control the puck with Pavelec out of position. Notes: The Winnipeg franchise had just one previous win in Dallas dating to its days in Atlanta. ... Stars defenceman Alex Goligoski played nearly 20 minutes after he was a healthy scratch in Thursdays 5-1 win over Calgary. Kevin Connauton, who replaced Goligoski against the Flames, was a scratch against the Jets. ... Winnipeg opened the second of 10 back-to-back sets this season. The Jets play at Colorado on Sunday night. ... The Stars were 0 for 4 on the power play and have failed to convert in all 16 chances at home. ' ' '
The rematch is upon us. The San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat will meet for the second consecutive year in the NBA Finals, starting tonight at AT&T Center. The 2013 NBA Finals went seven games, a series that went down in history as one of the all-time greats. Watch it live on TSN and TSN GO and listen to it on TSN Radio at 8pm et/5pm pt. Last year in Game 6, the Spurs were three clear with five seconds left and staff at Miamis AmericanAirlines Arena started roping off areas in anticipation for a celebration. Ray Allen hit a circus 3-pointer to tie it. The Heat prevailed in overtime to force a Game 7, which Miami won by seven in South Beach. San Antonio was literally seconds away from a fifth title in franchise history, all, not so coincidentally, under the leadership of Tim Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich. The boss was extremely proud of this group. "I think they showed an unbelievable amount of fortitude," Popovich said after clinching a berth in the Finals. "If I can compliment my own team humbly, to have that tough loss, especially the Game 6, and not have a pity party, and come back this year and get back to the same position. I think thats fortitude, and Im really proud of them and even happier for them." And the Spurs welcome the challenge of taming the Heat and exacting revenge. "Weve got four more to win, and well do it this time," boasted Duncan. "Were happy its the Heat again. Weve got that bad taste in our mouths still." That sort of bravado is a little out of character for the mild-mannered Duncan, but perhaps the best illustration of how much the Game 6 loss still hurts. And, its also a testament to the Spurs focus. "They dont like us, they dont. I can sense it from Timmys comments over the last couple of days," LeBron James said after practice on Monday. "They wanted this, they wanted us and well be ready for the challenge. "They wanted us, they got us." This is the first Finals repeat since the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz both made it in 1997 and 1998. Chicago of course won both of those to complete its second three-peat. A win in this series and the Heat would earn three consecutive titles. The Los Angeles Lakers turned the same feat in between Michael Jordans Bulls and James Heat, but this Miami group is the first to reach four consecutive Finals since the Boston Celtics did it from 1984-87. "Im in the moment, I dont really think about it," said James. The Heat clinched their spot in the championship round first. They knocked off top-seeded Indiana in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals after sweeping Charlotte in the first round and needing five games against Brooklyn. The Spurs moved on with a Game 6 overtime victory over Oklahoma City Saturday night. San Antonio was pushed to a Game 7 in round one versus Dallas, but handled Portland in five games in round two. It was in the Dallas series Tony Parker injured his ankle. He sprained it and the All-Star sat out the second half of San Antonios clinching Game 6 victory over the Thunder. Thanks to four days of rest, Parker declared himself ready to go for Game 1 Thursday, but the injury could linger. "Im trying to be very positive, trying to do everything I can, eat healthy, get my rest, do all the treatment. I just trust my body," said Parker. "I had little stuff, wear and tear, but Im still here and I trust my body to hold up for the whole series." The two sides split two regular-season meetings with the home team prevailing both times. Including last years Finals, the Spurs are 5-2 in their building against the Heat, but Miami has won four straight over San Antonio and seven of their last eight at AmericanAirlines Arena. In looking for differences from last years Finals to this years, the format might be the biggest change. The NBA implemented a 2-2-1-1-1 format for this Finals as opposed to the 2-3-2 version of a year ago. Also, Miami had homecourt advantage in 2013 and this year it belongs to San Antonio, which finished with the best record in the NBA. Spencer Haywood Jersey . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Oklahoma City Thunder Pro Shop . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. https://www.cheapthunder.com/1531h-abdel...under.html. The International Ice Hockey Federation says Pavlovs avoided a two-year sanction because he acted "without significant negligence in failing to verify the safety of the supplements he was taking. Shawn Kemp Jersey . -- The San Francisco 49ers have re-signed cornerback Perrish Cox to a one-year contract. Avery Johnson Jersey .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem.WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The New South Wales Waratahs will stand apart from the potential chaos of the last round of the Super Rugby regular season this weekend. By beating the Highlanders 44-16 last Sunday, the Waratahs clinched first place on the overall table and afforded themselves the only sense of certainty belonging to any of the teams still involved in the playoffs race. They know that whatever happens this weekend, they will have a weeks rest before hosting a home semifinal. For every other team from the second-placed Crusaders to the ninth-placed Blues, who need events of almost miraculous proportions to reach the playoffs, almost nothing is assured. The last and most intriguing episode of the regular season has still to play out. For the Waratahs, with their fate already decided, Saturdays match against the 12th-placed Reds should be little more than an undemanding end to the regular season and a light prelude to their first semifinal in four years. But matches between New South Wales and Queensland, beginning in 1882, are invested with such a potent interstate rivalry, even antipathy, that the Waratahs cannot expect an easy time. Queensland, champions in 2011, have little to salvage from a season in which their performance has fallen well short of expectations, but a win over New South Wales would at least be a small consolation. Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has refused to name an under-strength lineup for the match to spare his frontline players for the semifinal. "You could (injure a player) at any time, in training or regular games," Cheika said. "This is a contact sport, you dont go into it worrying about things like that." In other matches in the final round, the Christchurch-based Crusaders will meet the Dunedin-based Highlanders in a contest for first place in the New Zealand conference. The Crusaders are currently in second place with 46 points and the Highlanders in fourth place with 42, needing a bonus point win to finish ahead of the Crusaders. A single bonus point would be enough to ensure the Crusaders top the New Zealand conference but they neeed a win, ideally a good one, to hold out the challenge of South Africas Sharks for second place and the other home semifinal.dddddddddddd The Sharks wrapped up the South African conference several weeks ago and are currently in third place overall, equal on points with the Crusaders, sharing the Crusaders tally of 10 wins and only eight points behind on points differential. The Durban-based Sharks face the Stormers in the final round -- a team to which they lost only two weeks ago -- and also need to win to enforce their challenge for second place. If both teams win and finish the regular season with 11 wins, points differential may decide which takes the preferred route through the playoffs. The Highlanders need to recover quickly from last weekends six-try mauling at the hands of the Waratahs to take their place in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. That position isnt yet safe and they could be displaced, depending on the outcome of matches between the ACT Brumbies and the Western Force, the Blues and defending the champion Chiefs. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has been ruled out of Saturdays match with a rib injury: a minor setback for the Crusaders who can finish no further back than fourth but who are determined to achieve a conference victory and second place. The Chiefs must beat the Blues in Auckland to have any chance of extending their two-year reign as Super Rugby champions. They enter the final round in eighth place and must also depend on the outcome of other matches to gain a top-six finish. The Blues must beat the Chiefs by a clear 38 points and with five tries to preserve their frail hope of a playoffs spot. The Brumbies, in sixth place, and Force, in seventh -- both with 40 points -- also meet in a must-win clash between playoffs hopefuls. The winner of Fridays match at Canberra will advance to the playoffs while the losers season is over. The most anxious role in the final round belongs to the Hurricanes who are currently fifth with 41 points but who have the bye and must allow the outcome of other matches determine whether their season continues. ' ' '
With the 2014 CFL Draft set to take place next Tuesday in Toronto, CFL on TSN analyst Duane Forde breaks down the top prospects. Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013. The Good: His combination of size, athleticism, strength, intelligence, and untapped potential make him the most intriguing offensive line prospect produced by the CIS since Mike Schad in 1986. The Bad: Hes projected as a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft so whoever picks him wont have him for at least another year - if ever - especially considering his desire to finish med school. 2. David Foucault (OT, Montreal) The Good: At 67 and a relatively lean 320 lbs., he moves well, making him a potential ratio-breaking offensive tackle. The Bad: Despite all of his obvious tools, Foucault has yet to be consistently dominant at the university level. 3. Matthias Goossen (OC/OG, Simon Fraser) The Good: Combining toughness and intelligence, this three-time All-GNAC selection has played every position on the O-Line during his four years as a starter. The Bad: Despite having always played in Canada, he has never faced defenders who are a yard off the ball, as SFU and British Columbia high schools both play under American rules. 4. Pierre Lavertu (OC, Laval) The Good: Quick, strong and smart, he was a three-time All-Canadian and four-time All-RSEQ selection while anchoring the nations best collegiate O-Line. The Bad: His ceiling likely isnt as high as those ranked ahead of him. That said; hes as CFL ready as any prospect in the Class of 2014. 5. Tchissakid Player (OG, Northwestern State) The Good: Although he played at a smaller school, this 66, 300 lbs. guard is the only NCAA Division 1 player in the entire draft class. The Winnipeg-born, Texas-raised lineman was a three-year starter for the Demons. The Bad: A hamstring injury suffered at the Toronto Regional Combine prevented him from participating in the main CFL Combine, which kept scouts from comparing him head to head with other top prospects. Other Contenders: - Jas Dhillon (OG, British Columbia) - 2013 Canada West All-Star; former DL, 2013 was his only year on offence- Terry Hart (OG, St. Francis Xavier) - 2013 AUS All-Star; 32 bench press reps tied Lavertu atop O-Line group at CFL Combine- Kyle Paterson (OG, Regina) - from same hometown (Weyburn, SK) and college as CFLers Brendon LaBatte and Brett Jones; 5.22 second 40-yard dash and 30 bench press reps at CFL Combine- Quinn Everett (OG, Mount Allison) - college defensive lineman shows potential as a guard; dominated the O-Line testing at the Montreal Regional Combine - Aaron Wheaton (OG, Toronto) - 65", 295 lbs.; participated in 2013 East West Bowl Also On The Radar (alphabetically): Ahmed Abusafeyeh (Tiffin/Windsor AKO Fratmen), Kwinton Albino (Manitoba), Stephen Armstrong (Mount Allison), Lane Bryksa (Saskatchewan), Renaud Lafrance-Longtin (Sherbrooke), Fréderik Landry-Simard (Concordia) Analysis: During the 2013 season, the CFL made two significant changes to the leagues draft eligibility rules. Under the old system, all players became draft eligible four years after joining a college program. Now, prospects at U.S. schools become draft eligible upon completion of their college eligibility, eliminating redshirt juniors ("futures") from the draft. Those at Canadian schools now become draft eligible three years after using their first year of CIS eligibility. In other words, if a player redshirts in his first university season, his draft year gets postponed by a year (i.e. hed now be draft eligible after his fifth year instead of his fourth). In this "transition year", no position group was impacted more by the rule changes than the offensive line. No fewer than five NCAA Division 1 O-Linemen, including outstanding UNLV tackle Brett Boyko, and a handful of top CIS hogs, like Calgarys All-Canadian guard Sukh Chung, were reclassified from 2014 to the 2015 draft class. In addition, a CFL policy requiring "non-resident" Canadians to apply for their non-import status (even when they clearly qualify) led to Penn States Winnipeg-born star guard John Urschel also being excluded from this draft class. As a result, what wouldve been a bumper crop of high end offensive line prospects was reduced to just four (Duvernay-Tardif, Foucault, Goossen, and Lavertu), followed by a lot of uncertainty about the next tier of prospects. Bear in mind that while the eligibility rules have changed, the CFLs need for non-import offensive linemen hasnt, and the effect on this years draft process will be twofold. First, with Duvernay-Tardif most certainly NFL-bound, the demand for the other top linemen will be intense. For teams whose need is more immediate, theyll look to Lavertu and Goossen, as their learning curves wont be as steep as Foucaults. Regardless of the order, those three could easily be the first three players off the board and will surely all be Top Five selections. Secondly, with the leagues constant need for non-import O-Linemen, teams looking for OL depth will be forced to reach for lower ranked prospects (i.e. draft them earlier than their ability suggests they should be picked). As for Duvernay-Tardif, the gap between the top four or five O-Line prospects and the rest of the class means that his NFL interest shouldnt cause him to fall as far as he would have in a deeper draft pool. As a precedent, Ill point to the 2005 CFL Draft. Much like the Class of 2014, there werent a lot of "cant miss" offensive line prospects. A few days before that draft, the clear No. 1 prospect, Toledo tackle Nick Kaczur, had been selected in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. Despite the limited supply of upper echelon O-Linemen, the demand for non-import blockers remained the same, as eight of the first nineteen selections were offensive linemen, including Kaczur, who went 9th overall. Simply put, the Toronto Argonauts, who chose him, felt that the likelihood of Kaczur returning to Canada within a few years was greater than the likelihood of the linemen who were still available developing into quality starters within the same time frame. In the same draft a similar line of thinking led to the second-ranked O-Lineman, Chris Best, going 4th overall despite having already committed to a Masters degree program that would keep him from turning pro until two years later. Godfrey Ellis was chosen 10th overall even after measuring in at 510 at the Combine. The fact that Jeff Keeping, a college tight end, had never played O-Line didnt stop him from being drafted - as a guard - 18th overall. John Comiskey went one spot later even though he hadnt played a single snap in the previous season. Fast forward to 2014, where the point is this. The top offensive linemen will be snapped up early. Once Lavertu, Goossen, Foucault, and Player are gone, teams will have to evaluate the likelihood and timeline of Duvernay-Tardif becoming a CFL lineman vs. the likelihood and timeline of the same happening for the remaining O-Linemen on the board. The "tipping point" could be reached by the end of Round 1 and probably no later than Round 3. Wholesale Custom Cardinals Shirts . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Dexter Fowler . And yet as they left TD Garden amid the slush and snow of a winter storm on Thursday evening, there was a sense among the Leafs that they had finally stood toe to toe with their long-time bully, only to fall just short. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/...1471q.html... maybe even more than that. Maybe all season I have to take a few blows. Lou Brock . LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. Jack Buck . Lisicki beat South African Chanelle Scheepers by a 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) margin. Next up for the Wimbledon runner-up will be Slovenian Polona Hercog, who outlasted Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. IRVING, Texas -- Tony Romo looked like the man in charge of the Dallas offence for the first off-season practice until the drills got a little more competitive. Five months removed from back surgery, Romo donned a baseball cap for 11-on-11 work. Theres no use in rushing, as coach Jason Garrett has been saying for weeks. Romo echoed that talk Tuesday in his first extensive interview since sustaining a herniated disk against Washington and missing the finale against Philadelphia with a playoff berth on the line. "I dont know that theres anything you cant do," the 34-year-old said in the locker room after practice. "You just want to make sure you dont put a high volume of numbers on it yet." For example, Romo says he has thrown at full velocity -- just not very often -- in his continuing recovery from surgery Dec. 27. That came two days before he watched from home while the Cowboys fell to the Eagles in a third straight season-ending loss that put them at 8-8 and kept them out of the post-season. "Its very difficult to watch," said Romo, who was under centre for season-finale losses at the New York Giants and Washington the previous two seasons, and for another one at Philadelphia in 2008. "That one obviously is out of your control. Thats what made it hard. Its amazing how big of a fan you become, rooting and excited about every little thing." Romo was further along Tuesday than he was a year ago, when he had surgery to remove a cyst on his back in April and missed all the off-season practices. He went to California ahead of his teammates for some intense conditioning work before training camp, and spent tthe first few weeks catching up.dddddddddddd "Im actually excited just about comparative to last year where youre just going into camp without having had a rep in the off-season," Romo said. "Theres some things I want to work on, and Ive been doing that in small doses. Now well get that ramped up here." Romo has a new play caller for the third straight season in Scott Linehan, who was offensive co-ordinator in Detroit before coach Jim Schwartz was fired after last season. Linehan and Garrett worked together for a season in Miami almost a decade ago, and plenty of the language will be the same. The new passing game co-ordinator is in no hurry to see up close all the things his new primary weapon can do. "Were early," Linehan said. "And the mental game that hes getting done with us and the meetings and the last four or five weeks when we started our off-season program has been huge. I know hes getting himself ready to go." There are daily discussions over whats next for Romo. "Certainly we anticipate him being ready to go at training camp," Garrett said. "Well evaluate how he did today, say, What do you think? Should we stick with the same plan tomorrow? What do you think about Thursday? Youre always trying to push the limit as best you can, but you dont want to do something where you go across that line and they have setbacks." NOTES: The Cowboys waived injured rookie free agent tight end Evan Wilson and signed guard Tyronne Green, a fourth-round pick by San Diego in 2009. Green has 28 starts in 41 career games. He was with New England part of last season but didnt play. ' ' '