May 4

Goal: As M.L.S. Grows, Concern for Charter Clubs

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Mike Stobe/Getty Images For New York Red BuThe Red Bulls before a game last month at Red Bull Arena, where through four home dates, the team is drawing an average of 17,398.

Major League Soccer is bodysurfing a wave of optimism.

Real Salt Lake’s run to the finals of the Concacaf Champions League brought the league a bit of attention around the world, as have the recent signings of a number of players from South and Central America.

This summer will bring another invasion of some of

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the top clubs in the world, including Manchester United and Barcelona, the likely European Champions League finalists, who are expected to play before large crowds at N.F.L. stadiums.


Steve Dykes/Getty Images The Portland Timbers, in their first season in Major League Soccer, are playing to capacity crowds. But attendance is lagging in some of the league’s older, important markets, like New England and D.C.

The Red Bulls, with a strong and entertaining team led by Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez, are still dealing with the residue of fallow years in Giants Stadium, where fans rattled around in a Wholesale cheap New Era 59Fifty hats huge arena where even a crowd of 30,000 looked meager. In the club’s first season in its jewel of a new building, Red Bull Arena, attendance increased by nearly 48 percent from 12,491 in 2009 to 18,441. Through four home dates this season, the Red Bulls are attracting 17,398 a game, according to the league.

In their previous incarnation as the MetroStars, the club and M.L.S. logged its highest average attendance in its inaugural season, 1996, with 17,406 a game. That number dropped to a low of Wholesale cheap snapback hats 13,756 in 2000, and has grown to 16,675 in 2010 and nearly 70 percent of capacity (an increase of 4 percent from 2009), a number that is loosely comparable to average regular-season per-game attendance in the N.H.L. and the N.B.A.

In M.L.S., however, the drag on attendance has come from some of the charter clubs, most notably the New England Revolution, the Columbus Crew, F.C. Dallas and the Colorado Rapids, the defending league champions; and to a lesser degree Chivas USA, which shares the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., with the Galaxy.

And in the Pacific Northwest, the three teams Wholesale cheap ED Hardy Snapback caps have little competition from other professional sports. Dallas, which built a soccer stadium in suburban Frisco, Tex., and the Rapids, whose stadium is in Commerce City outside Denver, have found it difficult to attract core soccer fans in markets saturated with professional, college and high school sports.

“I don’t think it makes sense to overemphasize attendance Wholesale Cheap Monster Energy caps on a day-in, day-out basis,” Abbott said. “It’s important, but trends take place over longer periods of time and we can’t really worry about numbers from one week to next, especially this early in the season.”

Notes

 

 

 

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May 4

Twins 1, White Sox 0: Twins’ Liriano Throws No-Hitter Against White Sox

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So much for those old stats. Now, he’s Mr. No-Hitter. Chicago White Sox. Twins ace Bert Blyleven, who’s headed to the Hall of Fame.

Liriano dodged six walks and struck out only two. Of his 123 pitches, just 66 were strikes.

The final out came on perhaps Chicago’s hardest-hit ball cheap snapback hats wholesale of the evening, with shortstop Matt Tolbert taking two quick steps to snare Adam Dunn’s line drive.

After lasting just three innings in his previous start against Tampa Bay, Liriano excelled on a cold night at U.S. Cellular Field. The Twins ended a six-game losing streak in a matchup of shaky teams.

“He was using all of his pitches. It was such a nice thing Wholesale cheap new era caps to see him smile like that,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We’ve said that Liriano has electric stuff, no-hitter stuff. And, he did it tonight.”

This year, the Twins have told Liriano to forget the strikeouts, try to pitch to contact, let the defense do the work.

And on Liriano’s final pitch, Dunn hit a liner that appeared headed to left field. But Tolbert moved to his right, made the catch, spun around and raised the ball in triumph with his bare hand.

Tolbert sprinted to the mound, where the pitcher was being nfl jerseys from china mobbed by teammates, to personally deliver the prize.

Liriano survived a rocky ninth inning that began when Brent Morel grounded to shortstop, with Tolbert making a one-hop throw that first baseman Justin Morneau neatly scooped. Juan Pierre walked and Alexei Ramirez popped to shortstop.

Dunn dropped to 0 for 16 against left-handers this season.

For Tolbert it was the end of an unforgettable experience. He got the start at shortstop as the Twins moved Alexi Casilla to second base.

Liriano was backed by Jason Kubel’s fourth-inning homer. He won in a game that took just 2 hours, 9 minutes.

Minnesota turned its third double play in the eighth, when Morneau took an offline throw from Casilla and umpire Paul Emmel called Gordon Beckham out — replays appeared to show Morneau missed the tag.

Edwin Jackson (2-4) lost his fourth straight start cheap baseball caps new era despite allowing six hits in eight innings. Then with Arizona, Jackson no-hit Tampa Bay last June 26 despite walking eight. Angels on Sept. 11, 1999. It was the first no-hitter in the major leagues since Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay’s against Cincinnati in last year’s NL playoffs.

Liriano was acquired in 2003 from San Francisco in the cheap nfl jerseys famously lopsided trade that also brought Joe Nathan to Minnesota for A.J. Pierzynski.

His road back has been a long and difficult one. He missed all of 2007, then struggled to regain his form over the next two years, leading some to wonder if he ever would make it all the way back after going cheap hats wholesale 5-13 with a 5.80 ERA in 2009. Jim Thome was put on the 15-day DL with a left oblique strain, and Minnesota will recall INF Trevor Plouffe from Triple-A Rochester. … The White Sox have lost 16 of 20 to fall into last place in the AL Central below the Twins.

 

 

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May 3

U.S. Rallies to Beat Norway 4-2 at Ice Hockey Worlds

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KOSICE, Slovakia (AP) — Nick Palmieri scored twice and the United States scored four third-period goals to beat Norway 4-2 on Monday and advance to the second round of the ice hockey world

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championship.

But Palmieri, who played for the New Jersey Devils, started the comeback and also scored the winner after Jack Skille tied it at 2.

The Slovak Interior Ministry said security had been Wholesale cheap snapback caps stepped up around the U.S. embassy in Bratislava and the American team in Kosice following the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

“Every game for us is emotional,” U.S. captain Wholesale cheap new era fitted caps Mark Stuart said. “Playing for our country every game is big and emotional. Nothing’s changed for us. Our emotion level is pretty high to start with.”

Craig Smith finished the scoring with a power-play goal to put away the Norwegians, who stunned Sweden in their first game.

“We didn’t come out for the start we wanted to,” Stuart said. “But we came back and played pretty well in the second half of the game.”

In Group D in Bratislava, defending champion Wholesale cheap new era snapback hats Czech Republic also advanced by cruising past Denmark 6-0 while Finland edged Latvia 3-2 after a penalty shootout to make the next round.

Michael Frolik had two goals and an assist and Milan Wholesale cheap new era fitted hats Michalek also scored twice, with Tomas Plekanec and Petr Prucha also scoring for the Czechs.

Niklas Persson scored twice and Magnus Paajarvi added another goal to help Sweden rebound from the loss to Norway.

 

 

 

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May 3

Bulls Fans Fear Not; Game 1 Loss Is Not End of the World

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Bulls fans had high hopes coming into the playoffs, and they were slightly shot down in round one after five hard-fought games against the Indiana Pacers.

As round two began, Chicagoans again felt blank new era snapback hats wholesale compelled to boost the somewhat unreasonably high expectations pinned on the young, inexperienced team.

That youth and inexperience showed their glaring teeth in Game 1 of the Bulls’ Eastern Conference Semifinals series with the Atlanta Hawks. The Coach of the Year-led Bulls got off to an extremely lackadaisical start, as they sleep-walked through the first half.

ESPN columnist and long-time Chicago enthusiast Michael Wilbon tweeted after the Chicago Bulls’ 103-95 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks:

“One thing for the Celtics or Lakers to sleepwalk cheap snapback caps wholesale through a half of a playoff game…Bulls aren’t so talented they can do that…”

Wilbon is right; they aren’t talented enough.

The Bulls won in the regular season by being ignorant and trying extremely hard to win every game they possibly could. This uncommon trend in the NBA positioned them for a deep playoff run.

But teams like Atlanta, who lost their final six games heading into the postseason, are experienced enough to know to enter that proverbial fifth gear come the NBA playoffs.

And as Chicago struggled to match the streaking Hawks, I couldn’t help but wonder if all the expended effort has caught up to the young Bulls. But it wasn’t about physical fatigue; it was about mental state.

There are two types of the teams in the NBA.

One, for example the Celtics or Lakers, is a proven cheap nba jerseys competitor best served with a side of extreme confidence, even when the battle looks to be completely uphill.

The other, a Bulls or Thunder team, is a young, inexperienced club that must be approached in a different manner.

They need to be knocked down a few times; roughed up by the school-yard bullies. They need to have a chip on their shoulder, something tangible that they can play for.

For the Bulls the regular season came easy, due to the aforementioned opinion that Chicago simply tried harder than other teams in the NBA.

Now, that is not to doubt their talent level and ability. It is simply an explanation for their outstanding record.

It did appear that the Bulls’ inability to compete with cheap new era hats Wholesale the Hawks on both a talent and intensity level hampered them in their Game 1 loss; the continual learning experience for the young team does not end there.

The series opener will in no way be indicative of how this series will turn out. The Bulls just came off a series that they struggled through unnecessarily. They went off in Game 5 and finished off the Pacers with ease, giving them a false sense of security and confidence.

Meanwhile, the Hawks went through an emotional roller coaster of a series, knocking off their nemesis in the Orlando Magic. The experienced Hawks knew that no team can ever feel safe in the playoffs, and they may have just shown the young Bulls that in Game 1.

Also, another point to keep in mind is that the Bulls were coming from five days off. The last time they were off for that long was the 2011 All-Star Break. Their first game back: a loss to the nhl jerseys from china lowly Toronto Raptors.

But fear not, Bulls fans. Rose’s ankle will again prove to be a non-factor, and the Hawks’ sharp shooting will cool.

The Chicago Bulls should take this series in six games, winning Game 2 on Wednesday night and Game 3 in Atlanta, followed by wins in Games 5 and 6.

The learning experience for the young team is now continuous; they must learn on the job. Although largely ahead of the usual “learning curve” for potential NBA championship contenders, the Chicago cheap hats wholesale Bulls will suffer the peaks and valleys of the NBA playoffs. But overall it is the end result that counts.

So, Bulls fans and NBA watchers alike, I warn you: The Chicago Bulls are not turning over and calling the season a success with one playoff series victory.

They’re gunning for an NBA title, and too young to know any better.

 

 

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Apr 28

USA/DOM – Calipari poised to coach Dominican Republic

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Kentucky coach John Calipari has revealed he plans on taking the reins of the Dominican Republic this summer at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina in an attempt to lead the Caribbean country cheap baseball hats new era into the London Olympics.

With nearby Puerto Rico making the surprise announcement late Tuesday night that Louisville coach Rick Pitino will not coach their national team, at least one prominent cheap nhl jerseys college coach looks set to be in Mar del Plata when that tournament is staged from August 30 to September 11.

Calipari, a former coach of the New Jersey Nets, has like Pitino had a lot of success in the college game.

He led Kentucky to within seconds of playing in the Jerseys from china NCAA title game earlier this month before a narrow defeat to eventual champions Connecticut.

Calipari had previous stints with Massachusetts and Memphis.

He issued a statement on coachcal.com about his potential involvement with the Dominicans.

Calipari said: “During the season, I was approached by the cheap mlb jerseys Dominican Basketball Federation to become involved in helping grow basketball in their country. Now that our season is over, I can give proper attention to other things, such as this.

“My question to the Dominican Basketball Federation was, why are you calling me? Their response was, they liked what we are doing in China, including coaching their coaches and being involved in promoting grassroots basketball.

“Not only would I help train coaches in the Dominican Republic and here in Lexington like we have with the Chinese coaches, but I would also coach their national team.

“The commitment would mainly be from the blank new era snapback caps wholesale start of August through mid-September. The Dominican Republic national team would train in our state-of-the-art facilities at the Joe Craft Center in Lexington prior to the start of the Tournament of the Americas, which would begin towards the end of August.”

Calipari, speaking to Kentucky fans, said: “I wanted cheap hats wholesale the Big Blue Nation to be aware of what’s going on in your program. If I move forward on this, I’ll be asking you to adopt the Dominican Republic national team as your third team behind your Kentucky Wildcats and Team USA. I also want to let all our friends in China know that we will continue our relationship with the CBA and their coaches.”

 

 

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Apr 27

NHL Playoffs 2011: After 6 Games, What We Know About the Lightning and Penguins

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The Tampa Bay Lightning finally proved they could win on home ice against the veteran Pittsburgh Penguins and forced what we all expected—Game 7 in this evenly matched Stanley Cup quarterfinals matchup.

Indeed, it appeared inevitable that the Lightning and Penguins would end up here with a winner-take-all showdown on Wednesday night.

The Lightning were too talented to go out with a whimper. The Penguins were too experienced to allow a snot-nosed upstart to run roughshod over them—even without two superstars.

This series had to go the distance…and here we are.

What have we learned in the last six games that can help us peer into the crystal ball for some sort of advantage in the finale?

The Lightning Can Score Some Goals

We pretty much already knew this, but it wasn’t a certainty after Marc Andre Fleury looked like Terry Sawchuk in Game 1 of the series. Since that game, Tampa Bay has scored 21 goals in the past six games, including two blow out road wins.

Fleury has had his moments in the series but in the past two games, Tampa Bay seems to have found the answer to his puzzle.

Dwayne Roloson Has Outplayed Marc-Andre Fleury

41-year old Rollie the Goalie has been unconscious in this series for the Lightning. Roloson’s team has been outshot in every single game, yet his sparkling .941 save percentage is second only to Washington’s Michael Neuvirth among playoff goalies with at least four starts.

Fleury has been rather pedestrian, managing a 2.77 GAA and a .890 save percentage—despite shutting out the Lightning in Game 1.

The Penguins Are Extremely opportunistic

Tampa Bay’s concentration has at times seemed to disappear at key moments in the hockey game and the Pens have made them pay. The first goal of Game 6 was a poorly played puck by Roloson that ended up in the back of the Lightning net.

Several times in the series, the Lightning have failed to get the cheap snapback hats wholesale puck out of their zone, created unforced errors or simply fanned on a puck that Pittsburgh pounced and turned into chances.

At times, the Penguins Want It More

In Games 3 and 4, the Pens dominated the games (despite the close score) because they simply fought harder. They won the little battles in the corners, won faceoffs and did what needed to be done to pull out the hockey games.
Who wins Game Seven?
Tampa Bay Pittsburgh Submit Vote vote to see results

Scoring Depth Has Been Key for the Lightning

Despite a brief appearance in Game 5, we haven’t “seen Stamkos” much this series. Without their hoss putting the biscuit in the basket, the Lightning have had to find other scorers to do the trick. Guys like Sean Bergenheim, Teddy Purcell, Nate Thompson, Pavel Kubina and others have made contributions when the big three (Stamkos, Lecavalier and St. Louis) have been marginalized.
Trends Don’t Mean Much in this Series

Coming into Game 6, there were several trends tipping the scales in Pittsburgh’s direction.

Five of the last six times the Penguins lost a series clinching game, they came back to win the next one.

In the playoffs, Marc-Andre Fleury was undefeated when coming off a game in which he was pulled.

The Pens had won six of their last eight playoff road games.

In this series, the team that scored Wholesale cheap new era caps the first goal of the game would eventually win it.

None of that seemed to matter Monday night.

I guess now is not the opportune time to mention the Lightning are undefeated in game sevens or have never won a series they did not have home ice advantage or that the Pens have lost four straight series clinching games.

The Lightning Can Win in Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay has won the last two games in Pittsburgh by a combined score of 13-3. Yeah, they have confidence going into this final game that they can win in the Steel city.

The Lightning Dominate on Special Teams.

Tampa Bay has been deadly on the power play. Despite cheap baseball caps new era going 0-for-4 last night, the Lightning still have clicked on 32 percent of their chances, good for third in the playoffs and best among Eastern Conference playoff teams. It’s a bit surprising the Bolts have been this effective against a Pens penalty kill unit that was tops in the NHL during the regular season.

As good as the Lightning have been on the PP, their penalty kill is really what has kept them in the series. Pittsburgh is a dismal 1-for-30 on the man advantage.

The Penguins Can Dominate 5-on-5

The Penguins 12-11 advantage on goals scored at even strength is a bit skewed by the Game 5 8-2 shibacle. Eliminate those four goals scored by the Bolts in that game and the Pens advantage is a much nfl jerseys from china more pronounced 10-7.

Of course, Game 5 happened and could happen again on Wednesday night.

Fleury Can Win or Lose the Series for the Pens.

If Marc-Andre Fleury has his “A” game, the Penguins not only have a chance to win Game 7 but will be extremely difficult to beat. If Fleury is the same goalie we’ve seen the past two games, it’s going to be tough for Pittsburgh to break their string of four straight clinching losses

Final Thoughts

This has been a tremendous, hard fought series between two evenly matched, good hockey teams. Would Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have swung the series in favor of the cheap nfl jerseys Pens? Maybe, but we’ll never know. The bottom line is they’re not here and they’re not miraculously going to appear on the ice.

That’s okay for the Pens, who’ve held their own for quite awhile without them. The fact that they’ve faced an arguably better talented opponent and had them on the brink of elimination twice is in itself a testament to the depth the Penguins have.

The bottom line—a seven game series is supposed to determine who cheap hats wholesale is the better team. The Lightning have had superior scoring, superior goaltending and superior special teams throughout this series.

Experience and grit have tipped the scales for Pittsburgh three times. Will it be enough to close out the Lightning?

 

 

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Apr 26

Puck Headlines: Sharks/Kings previews; Luongo song parody

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Decimated by injuries, the German national team had no choice but to put Mr. Cinders the Wonder Dragon in their starting lineup on left defense. He ended up a minus-3 and was ejected for biting the arm off the linesman Wholesale Cheap Red Bull caps on an offside. The German League later claimed it was a hockey play that occurred in the ‘biting zone.’ [Getty]
The San Jose Sharks in Game 6s? That would be 3-13. [Jewels From The Crown]
So, Los Angeles Kings Coach Terry Murray, your team gave up 52 shots against the Sharks. Ewww-weee, what up with dat? “I don’t even look at the 52 shots very long. I know it was there, but it’s not a number that I’m concerned about. We always break those numbers down to smaller areas. It’s the grade-A quality chances that are the ones that I really focus in on. That number was not too bad.” [LA Kings Insider]
Sharks Coach Todd McLellan on Antti Niemi(notes): “We don’t expect him to be perfect. We expect him to be a little bit better and I think he expects that of himself.” [Working The Corners]
The key in Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Tampa Bay Lightning? Calm down. From Guy Boucher: “Fans are waiting for that big win in the playoffs, and everybody cared so much, probably too much and it took us away from our task. We want to make sure we come to the ice intense but mentally calm about what we want to do.” [Lightning Strikes]
My gawd, is that Evgeni Malkin’s(notes) music!? (Yes, but he’s not playing in this postseason.) [Tribune]
The Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres are twoWholesale cheap ED Hardy Snapback hats markets that can “move the needle” on national ratings. So NBC earned a 1.6 overnight for Game 6 of that series, which is their best first-round rating since 2009 and a Flyers/Penguins game. [Puck The Media]
Lindy Ruff says that despite the similarities to Game 7 in the 2006 conference finals, when a slew of injuries cost the Buffalo Sabres a trip to the final round, this year’s Game 7 will have a “fairy-tale ending.” We’re betting on someone kissing Brad Boyes(notes) to wake him from his slumber or Nathan Gerbe(notes) being revealed as some sort of a wood sprite.  [Sabres Edge]
Complete coverage of the Nashville Predators’ first journey Wholesale Cheap gucci snapback caps to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. [On The Forecheck]
Ryan Kesler(notes) hasn’t scored a goal in six games, and now he’s going to have to deal with being The Guy Who Made a Win Guarantee and Then His Team Lost. [QMI]
Interesting story from over the weekend: The Columbus Blue Jackets asked the NHL about moving to the Eastern Conference and found out that there’s no super special agreement that the Detroit Red Wings get to move there first. Problem is that the Atlantic and Northeast are sorta perfect as they are, no? [Blue Jackets Xtra]
From Elliotte Friedman’s latest CBC column: “During a Fan 960 Calgary radio interview last week, Rhett Warrener(notes) wondered how Gordie Howe and Mark Messier would be received if they played now. It’s a great question, because part of both men’s lore is the ‘intimidating elbow’ they would deliver to soften an opponent’s melon. Of course, they weren’t using killer elbowpads and didn’t care as much about concussions back then.” [CBC Sports]
The Washington Capitals don’t have a game until, like, May, so there’s Wholesale Cheap Red Bull hats time for injury rehab. But Coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t put a timetable on the health of Mike Knuble(notes) and Dennis Wideman(notes). [Capitals Insider]
Who will coach the Ottawa Senators? The Citizen assesses the field and sees Wings assistant Paul MacLean, Habs assistant Perry Pearn, St. Louis assistant Brad Shaw and Anaheim assistant Dave Farrish as the most likely candidates. [Ottawa Citizen]
Great, now that bastard Trevor Gillies(notes) is breaking bread, too … Oh, wait, think we misunderstood the headline. [Islanders]
Game 6 was the second greatest miracle on Easter Sunday in the history of mankind. [Rumors and Rants]
Via The Danny Mac Show, it’s the doo-wop-tastic “Luongo Weeps Tonight.” Ouch:
“Historically speaking, the Blackhawks have put Team Choke on the verge of a spectacular gag.  Stay thirsty, my Vancouver friends.” [Daily Herald]
? Another look at NHL.com’s unstoppable pun machine. How was “Won’t Black Down” never a Jay-Z song? [The Royal Half]
General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today

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the Edmonton Oilers have agreed to terms with defenceman Martin Marincin on a three-year entry level contract.  Marincin, 19, finished his first season with the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars, appearing in 67 games collecting 56 points (14G, 42A) and 65 penalty minutes. [Oilers]
Good piece on Jordan Eberle(notes), his breakout rookie season and the expectations on him for the Oilers. [Copper and Blue]
Rick Nash(notes) has been named Canada’s captain for the NIT. [Blue Jackets]
Finally, a plea to get the St. Louis Blues into the NHL Winter Classic through the hypnotic use of jaunty old-timey music. Not only that, but a Blues vs. Montreal Canadiens Winter Classic. Ratings bonanza!

 

 

 

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Apr 26

Eulogy: Remembering the 2010-11 Anaheim Ducks

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By Rudy Kelly, Battle of California
No team in the NHL needed to miss the playoffs more than the Anaheim Ducks.
“What?” you may be asking. “Miss the playoffs? Rudy, you’re crazy!”
No, friend, I am not crazy; the Ducks would have benefited far more by missing the playoffs than they did by making it.
You see, the Ducks are an incredibly flawed team that will never go anywhere as currently constructed. The Ducks are probably the most top-heavy team in the league, blessed with two good scoring lines, a solid No. 1 defensive pairing, an All-Star goaltender… and absolutely nothing else. They are a team of stars and trash with nothing in between.
Their best forward that’s not on the top two lines was Brandon McMillan(notes), a 21-year old 3rd round pick who had 21 points. Their best defenseman not on the 1st pairing was an 18-year old Cam Fowler(notes) who had 40 points… and was also minus-25. Their best non-Hiller goaltender was Ray Emery(notes). There were stars and trash with nothing in between.
That type of mix could work, potentially, but even the Ducks’ stars are flawed. Ryan Getzlaf(notes), Corey Perry(notes) and Bobby Ryan(notes) are given responsibility that far outpaces most other No. 1 forwards despite never showing the maturity to handle it.
Ryan Getzlaf is expected to shut down other team’s top centers despite never really showing an interest in back checking. Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan are supposed to score the lion’s share of the team’s goals… when they’re not in the box for slashing.
Instead of showing displeasure at their young stars’ mistakes, the Ducks instead reward them; Ryan Getzlaf was named Captain of the team, Corey Perry was given an “A,” and Bobby Ryan was given a multi-million dollar deal last summer. What impetus do they have to change when the Ducks tell them that what they are doing is A-OK? Their goals are cheered and the goals against while they’re on the ice are ignored.
The Ducks were not very good this season despite the plan going as well Wholesale cheap New Era 59Fifty hats as Ducks GM Bob Murray could have hoped. The Ducks’ top line was fantastic offensively, with Corey Perry leading the league in goals while Bobby Ryan was not far behind (he had 34). Lubomir Visnovsky(notes) found chemistry with Toni LydmanWholesale cheap snapback hats (notes) and led all defensemen in points. Jonas Hiller(notes) made the All Star Game and was in the Vezina conversation for most of the season. Despite all this, the Ducks were still outshot by the 3rd greatest margin in the league (ahead of only Minnesota and Edmonton) and had the 10th best goal differential in the Western Conference.
Hockey’s not basketball, where one or two superstars can carry a below average team to glory. In hockey, everyone must contribute.
“But wait,” you may be thinking, “Didn’t they lose Hiller for most of the season and Getzlaf for a good Wholesale cheap ED Hardy Snapback caps part? They were pretty unlucky.”
It’s true, the Ducks did lose Jonas Hiller after the All-Star Break. Is it bad luck that they lost Hiller for the last 30 games or the season, or good luck that Hiller was able to have a .924 save percentage while facing 31 shots a game when he did play?
Is it bad luck that the Ducks lost Getzlaf for 15 games after he got a puck to the head, or good luck that Teemu Selanne(notes) was able to average over a point a game at the age of 40?
Was it bad luck that Andy Sutton(notes), Andreas Lilja(notes), and Paul Mara(notes) didn’t seem to click with the team, or good luck that Lubomir Visnovsky tied his career high in points at age 34?
Not to mention that Getzlaf and Perry both set career highs in shooting percentage, they managed to shoot 20 percent while 4-on-4, they won 8 games in overtime, etc.
No, friends, the Ducks were as good as they could be and it still wasn’t all that good. Still, they managed to ride a hot March into the fourth seed and were expected by many to do some damage in the playoffs. Then they ran into the Nashville Predators, and it’s poetic that it was the Predators that clipped the Ducks.
The Predators were the Bizarro Ducks: They are an unheralded team with no offensive stars, just wave after wave of tough players that can succeed in the tough areas where the Ducks, for all their talent, falter. It was extremely satisfying to watch the Ducks get more and more incredulous as this no-talent team beat them through sheer will and force of action.
The Ducks scored all the pretty goals but the Predators scored all the dirty ones. In Wholesale Cheap Monster Energy caps a poetic ending, Corey Perry scored 8 points in 6 games; then he took a slashing penalty right after the Predators scored the series-clinching empty net goal.
So where do the Ducks go from here? They have some offensive talent in the system to replace Selanne and Koivu but there’s no guarantee they will be nearly as good as those two Finnish icons were. Their young stars will have good seasons, they’ll have great seasons, and they’ll take stupid penalties. Their young defensemen will get better but their old defensemen, Visnovsky and Lydman, will get worse. The Ducks killed their star goalie and who knows when, or even if, he’ll be back.
If they had missed the playoffs maybe they’d see the fatal flaw in the makeup and strive to change it, but now… I doubt it. They’ll be stuck in a holding pattern unless something drastic changes as the

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memories of the Cup win fade and they assume their rightful place in the NHL as irrelevant.
Their fans like to think the Ducks are the “villains” of the NHL and that people in the league office are conspiring against them. They point to the suspensions of Bobby Ryan and Jarkko Ruutu(notes) as evidence of this conspiracy. This is nonsense, of course. It’s classic paranoid delusional thinking wherein one blames imaginary hostile forces for personal failures.
There is no conspiracy against the Ducks because that would require someone to give them a second thought. Even worse, this delusion spares the Ducks the pressure they need to actually change their ways.
But no, Ducks fans would rather live in a happy fantasy world and invent boos to cover the silence that’s actually there.
Los Angeles will always be important because c’mon, we’re kind of a big deal, but Anaheim? Anaheim is only relevant when they’re actively being annoying. They are of no more consequence than one of those terrible NHL Geico Caveman commercials — when they’re on they’re irritating, but then they’re gone and people forget they exist.
And right now, thankfully, they’re gone.

 

 

 

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Apr 24

Sweat : Rugby It’s Not. But Watch the Teeth.

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Bloody knees, scarred faces, missing teeth? Yes. Men with rugby-worthy physiques wielding club-length sticks at a hard, fast ball? Yes. Body padding? No. North East Field Hockey Association — one of the only men’s field hockey leagues in the country — are expatriates. Many Wholesale Cheap Red Bull caps of them have immigrated to New York for work and had played on Olympic and national teams in their home countries. Columbia University’s sports complex at the northern tip of Manhattan, play was competitive and physical. It was the New York City Field Hockey Club vs. the Westchester Field Hockey Club. Players pushed and bumped and chopped at the ball like lumberjacks. The artificial turf, which had been drenched by several large sprinklers before the game, created a smooth roll for the baseball-size ball and a more forgiving surface for sliding players.

Mr. Haydon called it an accident, but Mr. van den Wholesale Cheap gucci snapback caps Berg, still smarting from the blow, slapped him solidly on the chest and said, “I didn’t hear you say sorry, though.” Mr. van den Berg continued jawing at a New York City player on the sideline, and a field umpire stepped in to calm things down. San Francisco Bay area and in Southern California, where the national team is based, said Nick Conway, coach of the United States men’s national team. New York’s hotbed of field hockey talent has produced its share of national and Olympic players, he said, including the Wholesale Cheap Red Bull hats national team’s current goalkeeper, Tom Sheridan, who also plays for Mr. Haydon’s team.

The Tri-State Falcons and the New York Islanders are made up of Caribbean players known for their individual skills. A team from Rye, N.Y., is heavily stocked with Indian and Pakistani players. Other teams, including Greenwich, have many English and European players who favor strong defense and passing — “a practical, more conservative style,” said Mr. Haydon, a software sales executive in Manhattan and a native Australian who played for the English national team. The New York City team consists largely of players from England, Australia and South Wholesale cheap ED Hardy Snapback hats Africa. The Westchester team is almost entirely Dutch.

Before Sunday’s game, the Westchester team captain, Misja Perquin, who has a scar on his upper lip from an errant stick, gave his team a pep talk in Dutch. As play began, a heavy downpour added a bit of chaos to the game, which looked like a cross between soccer and ice hockey. Each team, with 11 men apiece, used tight passing and some Hail Mary heaves to work the ball downfield, toward

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the opposing team’s goal.

Among the half-dozen spectators was Nigel Traverso, 52, a Trinidadian who played on the 1984 United States Olympic team and on the national team before the years of pounding on the artificial turf ruined his knees.

“In the U.K.,” he said, “it’s well known we can drink just as well as the rugby guys.”

 

 

 

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Apr 24

For Longtime Fans of the Knicks, a Garden View Is Clouded by Green

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As a teenager in the mid-1960s, he was a ball boy assigned to the visiting team bench at the Garden’s previous location on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street.

Since then, the privilege of remaining close to his beloved Knicks has come at a significant cost. But through a decade when the team was not only unwatchable but often unlikable, Dorf hoped for better days and faithfully renewedcheap baseball hats new era his two seats, for which he paid $330 per ticket per game this season.

Next season, those seats will cost $825 each, or a combined $1,650 per game, as part of a sweeping price increase that will average 49 percent across the arena. Although prices did not rise in recent seasons, Dorf, a small-business owner from South Orange, N.J., was clearly stunned by the increase, especially in a time of financial stress.

When Dorf — who watched the Knicks get routed by the Celtics in Game 3 of their first-round series Friday night — returns for Game 4 on Sunday, he and many courtside fans he has known for 40 years will be contemplating the end of their era with the May 13 deadline for renewal approaching.

That is the problem for the oldest courtside fans, who have invested abundant time, money and emotion but now face the biggest markups for what the Knicks have described as beachfront property. Bernard L. Madoff Ponzi scheme. “I certainly can’t take $80,000 and put it down on Knicks tickets. But I’m not blaming the Dolans; it’s a private enterprise system. If they can Jerseys from china get it, more power to them. If they can’t, the seats will be empty.” Carmelo Anthony and before the Knicks had even qualified for the playoffs.

Michelle Musler of Stamford, cheap mlb jerseys Conn., has been going to the Garden for 34 years, sitting behind the Knicks’ bench through thick and thin, and in recent years through back surgery, two knee operations, a stubborn case of shingles and a bout with cancer.

“It’s been a big part of my life, and I’ve made so many good friends,” said Musler, whose seats, now priced at $330, will rise to $900.

While networking to hold on to her tickets, Musler chafes about the fine print of the new deal.

Huibert Soutendijk of Bronxville, cheap nhl jerseys N.Y., is one of those friends she will be separated from because of the cheap mlb jerseys Garden’s continuing renovation and gentrification. Soutendijk, better known as Hup, has attended Knicks games for 35 years and has renewed with his group. Although each of his seats in the third row behind the basket has increased only to $280 from $240, the addition of two rows cheap hats wholesale in front will turn them into fifth-row seats.

It’s a sad and familiar American story retold in the context of professional sports, said Steffi Berne of Manhattan. She has been a Garden regular since the 1960s with her husband, Bob. Their seats behind Musler’s will rise to $675 per ticket from $330, and she has suggested to her husband that they not renew.

Berne’s two most cherished possessions — “what I’d grab first if our apartment was oncheap hats wholesale fire,” she said — are a dollhouse her daughter made in fifth grade and an authentic Walt Frazier game jersey.

“This is not like losing your parents or your kids growing up and moving away,” Ross said, adding that he was considering moving to California, where his children live. “Leaving the Garden will be a big change, but from the Dolans’ point of view, someone else will sit in those seats.”

 

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