| Category | Men |
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| Created | 2014-12-19 | ||||
| Owner | krstking2 | ||||
| Title | Though Stamkos missed 45 games from mid-November | ||||
| About me | MARSEILLE, France -- Top-seeded Richard Gasquet and defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both reached the Open 13 quarterfinals with straight-sets wins on Wednesday. Wholesale Jerseys. After the second-seeded Tsonga beat Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), his French countryman Gasquet followed up with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Slovenias Blaz Kavcic. Gasquet did not face a single break-point and took his opponents serve three times. Earlier, the second-seeded Tsonga, who had 19 aces, improved to 4-2 in career head-to-heads against the Russian who reached a career-high ranking of third. Davydenko saved one match point with a forehand pass down the line, but Tsonga clinched victory with the next when Davydenkos forehand hit the net. "Its never easy against him, hes a great player whos won a lot of titles," the 28-year-old Tsonga said. "Im trying to get my bearings again, which is why I was so happy to win." Tsonga next plays either sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France or Ukraines Sergiy Stakhovsky, while Gasquets quarterfinal opponent is either fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia or Germanys Tobias Kamke. "I didnt play well last time (in Rotterdam). But you shouldnt forget that, and use the experience," said Tsonga, referring to his straight-sets loss to Croat Marin Cilic in the second round of the ABN Amro tournament. "I absolutely must raise my level." In the remaining first-round matches on Wednesday, there were wins for seventh-seeded Julien Benneteau of France, No. 8 Nicolas Mahut of France, Spains Roberto Bautista Agut, Germanys Jan-Lennard Struff, Frenchman Michael Llodra and Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania. Benneteau of France won 6-1, 6-4 against Jesse Huta Galung; Mahut beat Kenny De Schepper 7-6 (2), 6-3; Struff beat David Guez 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; Bautista Agut won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 against Dustin Brown; Llodra downed Lukas Lacko 6-3, 7-6 (2), and Berankis led 6-5 when Jan Hajek retired. Wholesale Jerseys US. The deal, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, calls for the NCAA to toughen return-to-play rules for players who receive head blows and create a $70 million fund to pay for thousands of current and former athletes to undergo testing to determine whether they suffered brain trauma while playing football and other contact sports. Wholesale Jerseys China. His agent told TSN that the deal is "virtually done" and will be official in the next day or two. The news comes with Torontos season opener set for this Saturday on the road against the Seattle Sounders (TSN, 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt).(SportsNetwork.com) - The Canucks are hoping to string together back-to-back victories when they hose the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night and a win tonight would give the club its first winning streak since consecutive triumphs on Jan. 18 and 21. Vancouver has won two of three on a four-game road trip after besting the Florida Panthers 4-3 yesterday in a shootout. Vancouver was facing Roberto Luongo for the first time since dealing him to the Panthers on March 4. Luongo made 29 saves, but also yielded the lone goal of the shootout to the Canucks Nicklas Jensen. Eddie Lack, whose production as a rookie this season led to Luongo being dealt, ended with 26 saves and stopped all three skaters in the shootout. Dan Hamhuis and Alexandre Burrows scored in regulation for the Canucks, who escaped with two points after giving up a game-tying goal with 1:35 left in regulation. "Especially the way the game was tied up there at the end, to get the win was huge for us," said Jensen. Vancouver won for just the third time in its last nine games (3-5-1) and improved to 3-12-1 in its past 16 on the road. The victory also pulled the Canucks to within three points of the Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Canucks have lost four of their past six versus the Lightning, including a 4-2 defeat at home on Jan. 1. Alex Killorn and Valtteri Filppula both had a goal and an assist, while Bishop made 28 saves. Lack yielded four goals on 33 shots for the Canucks, who have won four of their past six in Tampa. Both Bishop and Lack faced their respective opponent for the first time in their career in that earlier meeting. Ben Bishop is one of the main reasons that the Lightning remain in the playoff pictture despite an extended absence by Steven Stamkos due to injury. Wholesale Jerseys USA Fresh off of setting a club record for wins in a season, Bishop will look to lead the Lightning past the Canucks in the finale of a six-game homestand. Though Stamkos missed 45 games from mid-November to early March with a broken right leg, the Lightning were able to keep pace in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division. With 79 points, Tampa Bay is occupying the first wild card spot and also is just one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the division. Bishop has been a big part of that success as he is among the league leaders with 31 wins, five shutouts, a 2.10 goals against average and .929 save percentage. The 27-year-old, in his first season as a full-time starter, had struggled to string victories together recently, but won a second outing in a row for the first time since late January with a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Bishop made 23 saves in his eighth career shutout and surpassed Nikolai Khabibulins 2002-03 franchise record of 30 wins in a season. "Its a nice accomplishment," Bishop said, "A a whole lot of credit goes to the guys in front of me. I dont get that without them. Its a team thing. I dont like at it as an individual thing." Defenceman Michael Kostka scored in a second straight game and also had an assist, giving him five points in seven games since joining the Lightning off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. "I just try to play solid defensively when Im on the ice," said Kostka. "But its nice to be able to chip in with a goal when I have the chance." B.J. Crombeen and Nate Thompson also scored in the victory, Tampa Bays second straight following an 0-3-2 drought. wholesale jerseys ' ' ' | ||||
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| About the partner | NEW YORK -- Amare Stoudemire has a bulging disk in his back and is out indefinitely, a damaging blow to the New York Knicks with a month left in the regular season. Lukas Podolski Germany. The Knicks werent competitive in the playoffs last year when Stoudemire developed a back problem, and any hopes of even qualifying for the post-season are in jeopardy now that he has another one. "You dont wish it on any player, especially Amare, whos a big part of what we do," Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson said Monday before the Knicks played the Milwaukee Bucks. "All we can is just hope that its not as serious as it may be and that he has a speedy recovery." Stoudemire sat out the fourth quarter of the Knicks victory over Detroit on Saturday after he said his back tightened up. He said after the game he wasnt concerned and believed he would play Monday. However, he didnt attend the Knicks morning shootaround and had an MRI in the afternoon that revealed the injury. The Knicks said he doesnt need surgery and the injury will be treated with rehabilitation. Point guard Jeremy Lin is also out because of a sore right knee, but Stoudemires injury is the greater concern. "Hes a big piece of our puzzle," Woodson said. "I mean, we rely on Amare to do a lot of things, scoring and rebounding and playing defence for us." Stoudemire was finally playing well recently. He struggled for the first half of this season, having not been able to play much during the off-season after injuring his back warming up for Game 2 of what became a first-round sweep against the Boston Celtics. He seemed back on track since Woodson replaced Mike DAntoni. Stoudemire has led the Knicks in scoring four straight games and had 17 points in 7-of-10 shooting in 26 minutes against the Pistons. Stoudemire was not at the arena, instead travelling to Miami for a second opinion. "If he has to have surgery, hes got to rehab and come back," Woodson said. "Hes still a young player, hes got a lot of game still left in him, so we can just wish him nothing but the best." The Knicks knew that giving Stoudemire a five-year contract worth nearly $100 million in 2010 was a risk because of his history of knee injuries. But the back has emerged as the greater problem in New York. Though teammates were just hearing the news and didnt want to rule him out for too long, Baron Davis had a similar injury in the off-season and couldnt get on the court until late last month. Stoudemire put on too much muscle working out while not being able to play in the summer and lacked his usual explosiveness most of the season. But he seemed close to top form lately after losing some weight, averaging 19.3 points over the past four games. "Hes been on a tear as of late," guard Mike Bibby said. "Somebodys got to step up. We cant bring him back." The Knicks hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but may have trouble holding on with so many injuries. Already they have lost backup forward Jared Jeffries for perhaps two weeks with a sore right knee and went with a small lineup Monday of Davis, Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler. "Ive got to step it up a notch," Anthony said. Lin also sat out the fourth quarter Saturday, but it was thought he could have gone back in had the game been close. He took part in the morning shootaround and Woodson was surprised when he learned the point guard wouldnt be able to go. "I went through it and I wasnt sure because in the morning everything was a little more sore," Lin said. "We came to the decision afterwards and figured it would be smart just to rest." Lin is considered day to day. The Knicks play again Wednesday against Orlando. Mesut Ozil Germany. Almost 18 months after Armstrongs seven Tour wins were wiped from the record, an independent panel created by the new International Cycling Union leadership has begun work to discover the extent of the sports past problems. Manuel Neuer Germany. Meek pitched 12 innings over 12 games with Pittsburgh last season. The 30-year-old spent five years with the Pirates, going 7-7 with a 3.34 ERA in 156 appearances out of the bullpen.MONTREAL -- When Lars Eller and Rene Bourque are outscoring anyone on the top line, you know that something is going right for the Montreal Canadiens. But it took until the playoffs for the Canadiens to find the balanced attack they have sought all season. Getting offensive production from all four forward lines has helped them win the opening three games of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They can sweep the best-of-seven series with a win on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. "Thats a big strength," Eller said Monday. "I cant stress how important it is to have everybody involved, everybody contributing." Players who underachieved on attack all season, notably Eller and Bourque, have found new life in the post-season. It has helped the normally low-scoring Canadiens average four goals per game against the Bolts, who are missing top goaltender Ben Bishop to an arm injury. Bourque, a two-time 27-goal scorer who had a dreadful campaign of only nine goals, has three in as many games in the playoffs while playing left wing with centre Eller and right-winger Brian Gionta. Eller, who had 12 goals in 77 games including stretch of 24 games with only one assist, has two goals and shares the team scoring lead with four points with Brendan Gallagher and defenceman P.K. Subban. The Eller line has produced five goals, one more than Gallaghers unit with Tomas Plekanec and Brandon Prust. The top line of David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek has scored only twice, but has combined for 29 shots in three games. The fourth line of Daniel Briere with Michael Bournival and Dale Weise has only one goal, but it was a big one as Weise scored in overtime in Game 1. "Right now we have momentum and were riding that wave," said Eller. "We knew depth was going to be important and I think a big part of why were having success is we have all four lines contributing in one way or another. "I guess the playoffs are just bringing out the best in all of us." The Lightning are aware they have dug themselves a deep hole. Only three teams have ever come back from a three-game deficit to win an NHL playoff series, most recently the Philadelphia Flyers against Boston in the second round in 2010. The Canadiens are 31-0 when holding a 3-0 lead. Tampa Bay had its best outing in Game 3 on Sunday night, but dropped a 3-2 decision. They thought they had a 2-1 lead in the second period, but Ryan Callahans goal was waived off due to Alex Killorns incidental contact on goalie Carey Price. "That was obviously a tough one to swallow," said Lightning star Steven Stamkos. "A couple of calls didnt go our way. "We cant dwell on it now. We realize the situation were in. We just have to win one game. Our backs are against the wall. Im pretty sure youre going to see a good effort from us. Thats our motto right now: Just win one, then lets go back home and see what happens." Some wondered if Stamkos would be fit to play after taking an accidental knee to the head from Caanadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin late in the second period. Mats Hummels Jersey. He returned for the third, but admitted later he took a major whack to the head. "I feel pretty good so, yeah, Im expecting to play," he said. "I got tangled up with Prust there and slid in. "I dont think Emelin saw me and I got a pretty good knee to the head. Now that I saw it, I dont think there was any intention or anything. It was just kind of a play that happens in a game." Emelin and his defence partner Andrei Markov were given a day off as the Canadiens held a short practice at their suburban training centre at the same time the Lightning skated at the Bell Centre. The talk was mostly about how all four Montreal lines have played well in the series, which is a surprise on a team whose first unit carried the attack for much of the season. After Vanek was acquired at the NHL trade deadline, he, Pacioretty and Desharnais produced 20 goals in the last 18 games of the regular season. "Im not surprised," said coach Michel Therrien. "We have to play well as a team defensively and that includes our forwards and our defence. "We have to stick to our structure, stick to the game plan. This is when were at our best offensively. When we start running around, thats when we get in trouble. But a lot of credit goes to the players. They stick to the game plan and they believe in it. And they have a lot of fun to play in that structure because they get results." Montreals only area of concern is special teams. The power play that went 0-for-23 over the final eight regular season games has only one goal in 11 chances in the playoffs. They spent the time leading up to the series working on the power play, but it continues to struggle. "The only thing we need to improve on is the power play," said Vanek. "We got some good chances again, but weve got to start burying our chances. Its something Im sure well address and get better at." The Lightning have two goals on six chances against Montreals penalty killing, which was fourth best in the league in the regular season. So far, the Canadiens have done enough at even strength to beat coach Jon Coopers young Lightning. Now they hope to end it in four games. As teams have always done in that situation, the Canadiens told each other the fourth win in the hardest to get. "The first three were pretty tough, too," said Vanek. "Cliches are cliches. We enjoyed the win. Everyone felt good about it. Todays a new day. Well get back to work and hopefully we can close it out." Coopers message was much the same -- just win the next one. "Im not going to throw out all the cliches and lets win one for the Gipper and all those little kinds of things," he said. "The reality is you cant win a series in one game. "I truly believe theres not much more wrong that can go against us. At some point karmas going to come around and we just need it for one night. All of a sudden you just gotta win one and you win that one and everybodys back on a plane. Who knows what happens after that?" wholesale jerseys ' ' ' | ||||
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