CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks are off to the best start in their 85-year history, despite not being in charge for much of their game against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night. Jerseys Paypal From China . Thanks to Nick Leddys goal at 2:45 of overtime and a zoned-in, 29-save effort from Corey Crawford, the Blackhawks defeated the Red Wings 2-1 and improved to 6-0. After taking a cross-ice pass from Viktor Stalberg, Leddy fired from the left circle and beat Detroits Jimmy Howard with a shot that slipped just under his glove. Leddy, a defenceman, said it was his first overtime goal at any level. "Its an unbelievable feeling, one Ill never forget," he said. "I heard that stat (best start) before the game. If we stick to doing the little things, well be great." The Blackhawks started 5-0 in 1971-72 -- Hall of Famer Bobby Hulls final season in Chicago -- and matched it on Saturday night with a 3-2 win in Columbus. On Sunday, however, they were anything but assertive for much of the second and third period. Part of that was penalty-related. Still, Chicago killed all six of Detroits power plays, improving to 22 of 23 this season. Detroits Johan Franzen finally connected at even-strength early in the third to tie the game at 1 and set up overtime. Duncan Keith scored a power-play goal in the first period for Chicago. "We could have been on our heels a little bit," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "Detroit was pressing (being) down a goal. You know everythings coming. They were pinching. "We could have been better, but at the same time, six (games) in nine (days) could have been a factor." Quenneville couldnt really fault his club, one of two undefeated NHL teams along with San Jose. "I think everybody deserves credit," Quenneville said. "Everybodys contributing. Everybody was where we wanted them to be. Everybody had good conditioning to start with. Special teams, Crow (Crawford) in net, the team game.  Подробнее »

NEW YORK, N. Wholesale Jerseys Paypal .Y. - Drew Smyly pitched with more nerve and savvy than reasonably expected for a rookie making his fourth big league start. At Yankee Stadium. The Detroit Tigers left-hander fell behind in the count, then threw curveballs for strikes. He gave up an early home run, then retired 12 of the next 13 batters. The only real acknowledgement of his inexperience was a quick hook from manager Jim Leyland. Oh, and after the final out, his teammates poured beer over his head in the shower to celebrate his first major league win and the end of their five-game losing streak in a 7-5 win over New York on Saturday. "He really pitched like a veteran pitcher to be honest with you," Leyland said. "Not a lot of guys can do that. Guys pitch a long time and cant do that." Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in three runs and Andy Dirks hit a three-run homer in the first off Freddy Garcia. Playing Delmon Youngs usual position of left field, Dirks made a pair of nice defensive plays, too, running down balls that looked like extra-base hits off the bat. Young was placed on the restricted list earlier Saturday to be evaluated under baseballs employee assistance program. He was arrested early Friday on a hate crime harassment charge following an encounter at his hotel during which police say he yelled anti-Semitic epithets and appeared intoxicated. Smyly (1-0) gave up a leadoff single to Alex Rodriguez in the seventh and Leyland pulled him immediately for lefty Phil Coke rather than have him face the rest of the Yankees lineup a third time. Coke got Mark Teixeira to hit into a 1-6-3 double play. Smyly finished with two hits and two walks in six-plus innings. He struck out seven. "He was mixing and throwing strikes on all his pitches," said Andruw Jones, who struck out looking in his first at-bat. "The first time I saw him, he fell behind and threw me three straight curveballs for a strike.  Подробнее »

TORONTO -- There is just one major title missing from Glenn Howards resume. Wholesale Miami Heat Jerseys China . The Canadian curling legend has won just about every significant event over his storied career but he has yet to step onto the Olympic podium. The 2014 Winter Games might just be his last opportunity to do so. Howard has already qualified for the Canadian Curling Trials this fall. If he emerges victorious at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, he would represent Canada next February in Sochi, Russia. "Its on my bucket list to get to an Olympics," Howard said Wednesday. The Midland, Ont., native started curling over 30 years ago and is still at the top of his game. He won the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier and earned his fourth world title later in the year. Howard and teammates Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing and Craig Savill have been strong again this season. The veteran skip is in top spot on the World Curling Tours Order of Merit and he won bronze at the recent national playdowns. Howard said his team will likely sit down in the next week to look back at the last few years to determine what they need to do so they can peak at the Dec. 1-8 Olympic trials. "You want to have your best performance in December and then hopefully you win that and then have it in February," Howard said after a promotional appearance at Yonge-Dundas Square. "I dont see a lot of changes. We kind of like what weve done. Our last two years have been pretty successful. "A couple of weeks we werent that happy about. Were not sure why and thats what weve got to figure out. We dont really know what that formula is but were going to try to figure that out too." Howard will be one of the favourites in the final Grand Slam of the season -- The Players Championship -- set for April 16-21 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (formerly Maple Leaf Gardens).  Подробнее »

PARIS -- Sam Querrey recovered from a humiliating first set to beat second-seeded Novak Djokovic 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday. cheap jerseys . It was the first time since the Miami Masters in March 2010 that Djokovic has been eliminated so early in a tournament. "During the second set I already felt that physically Im down, and I struggled (in) every game," Djokovic said. "Its unfortunate, but on the brighter side, I have a little bit more time to rest because I had really difficult period in the last couple of weeks. Some things happened and a lot of things on my mind." The Serb entered the court wearing a Darth Vader mask on Halloween, and continued to put on a show by winning the first set in just 21 minutes. "It was a little embarrassing," Querrey said. "But then I got rolling and got more confidence and started serving better and being a little more aggressive." Djokovic then started to waver under the relentless accuracy of the Americans big serve, and made too many unforced errors the rest of the way. Querrey hit 18 aces and converted his second match point when Djokovics return sailed long. Djokovic had already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking after defending champion Roger Federer pulled out of the tournament to rest for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. After sealing the first set with some extravagant shot-making, everything had pointed to a comfortable win for Djokovic after he broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set. But Querrey found his range, hitting 10 aces during the set. Djokovic played too many loose shots in the tiebreak and Querrey evened the match on his first set point when Djokovics forehand clipped the net and bounced wide. "I was concerned about how long I can keep that level, since physically Im not feeling very good in last couple of days," Djokovic said.  Подробнее »

WHISTLER, B.C. -- Canadas Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden won their first two-man bobsled World Cup gold medal on Friday. The duo topped the podium with a two-run time of one minute 44.14 seconds, followed by Maximillian Arndt and Martin Putze of Germany. Beat Hefti and Thomas Lamparter of Switzerland placed third in 1:44.21. "I think if we are racing in Whistler we should be one of the teams to beat," said Rush, who hails from Humboldt, Sask. "If we put down our best here it should be better than everyone else because we know the track better." Rush and brakeman Lumsden of Burlington, Ont., were second after their first run, finishing in 52.04 seconds. They turned in the fastest run of the second heat in 52.10 seconds, beating out the field. Rushs medal was his eighth on the World Cup circuit and second victory in the two-man event. For Lumsden it was the second World Cup medal of his career. Lumsden, a former running back with the Hamilton Ticats, has been sledding since 2009, and raced as Pierre Lueders brakeman at Vancouver Olympics in 2010. Lumsden and Rush teamed up at the beginning of this season. Their first-place finish Friday moved them up to fourth in the overall FIBT standings. "I knew we were doing well right away," said Lumsden. "There is only so much you can do in the back of the sled after the start and expect to will your team to victory. Now we just have to prepare to win tomorrow in the 4-man event. That is the baby of our team." Newbie bobsled pilot Justin Kripps made his World Cup debut with brakeman Timothy Randall of Burlington. The duo finished in 17th spot. Kripps debut is the result of friend and teammate Chris Spring who was involved in a season-ending crash on Jan. 5 at Altenberg, Germany. "I looked at this race as a great way to gain experience," Kripps said. "Chris is doing really well and posted on his website that he is cheering me on today.  Подробнее »

MINNEAPOLIS -- A windy, wintry mix of light snow and rain forced the Minnesota Twins to postpone their inter-league series finale against the New York Mets on Sunday. The game will be made up on Monday afternoon, Aug. 19. The Twins announced the decision about four hours before the scheduled game. On Sunday morning, light snow was falling, and the forecast called for rain and a high of 38 degrees. "We certainly knew the days forecast was not promising," Twins president Dave St. Peter said. "The best decision for the Twins and the Mets, and ultimately for our fans, was to postpone todays game." New York won the first two games of the series at Target Field, with temperatures in the low 30s. Its the sixth time the Twins postponed a game since moving from the climate-controlled confines of the Metrodome to Target Field in 2010. The Mets are scheduled to stop in Minneapolis on Aug. 19 after finishing a weekend series in San Diego before heading back to New York. The Twins are at home the day before and play at Detroit the day after. Dillon Gee (0-2) was scheduled to start for New York and Kevin Correia (0-1) for the Twins. The projected rotation has Gee pitching on Monday at Colorado, where the Mets arent exactly expecting warmer conditions -- forecasts called for snow in the Denver area and highs in the low 40s. Correias start was bumped back to Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. "Im sure those guys will take the day off and regroup and hopefully get a precipitation-free day tomorrow," St. Peter said. The Twins also suspended a game against the New York Yankees after five innings because of rain during the ballparks inaugural year. "The first three years have been great, to be honest, much better than many people had predicted," St. Peter said of the weather for outdoor games. Cheap San Antonio Spurs Jerseys .  Подробнее »

CHEMNITZ, Germany -- Brittany Jones of Toronto and Ian Beharry of Guelph, Ont. cheap jerseys 2013 ., won a figure skating bronze medal Friday in pairs at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin led Russia to a 1-2 finish with 140.03 points and Maria Vigalova and Egor Zakroev were second at 138.18. Jones and Beharry posted the second best score in Fridays free skate and remained third overall at 134.06. "We were pleased in the end, but we know we can skate a lot better," said Beharry. "When we saw the 140 point score we know we were capable of beating that but we simply were not on today." The pair won gold in their competitive debut last month at the stop in Austria and they are in excellent position to advance to the Grand Prix final in December in Sochi, Russia, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. "I think we got caught up too much in the competition today," said Jones. Natasha Purich and Sebastien Arcieri of Montreal, also a new pair this season, posted the fourth best score in the long and remained sixth at 128.21 improving their personal best by 15 points. "We are definitely ahead of where we thought we would be at this point in the season," said Purich. "Our overall skating was a lot better and we really attacked the jumps." Shalena Rau of Waterloo, Ont., and Phelan Simpson of Lunenburg, N.S., earned the eighth best score in the long to climb from 11th to eighth overall at 116.53. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., posted Canadas best result on the circuit this season in womens singles placing fifth with 138.33 points. Anna Pogorilaya of Russia took the gold at 160.52, Miyabi Oba of Japan was second at 144.51 and Maria Stavitskaia of Russia third at 143.52. "It wasnt bad," said Daleman. "Both my triple lutz and double axel were very good jumps.  Подробнее »

HAMILTON, Ont. cheap jerseys paypal . -- It wasnt the Toronto team that Tim Connolly imagined hed be playing for when the NHLs lockout ended, but the Maple Leaf veteran made the most of his Marlies debut Saturday. Connolly scored a highlight-reel goal in his first game since being demoted earlier this week and Matt Frattin scored the shootout winner as the Marlies defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 in the American Hockey League. Connolly said he was relieved to be playing competitive hockey games after the waiting game of the NHL lockout. "It was good to be back in a game," he said. "It felt good for the first half and then it kind of felt like it was the end of the game for me. "Ive got a ways to go in terms of game conditioning. Its a totally different kind of conditioning." Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins was complimentary of the new addition to his squad, who he believed demonstrated the hallmark abilities of an NHL-calibre player. "I thought Tim Connolly was excellent," said Eakins. "I thought that he played a good game. I gave him really good minutes and he responded. "He was excellent on the bench and you can see what an elite, skilled forward at the NHL level can do with the puck. The things that he do in tight with very little space are really impressive." Ryan Hamilton also scored in regulation for the Marlies (23-12-3). Mark Owuya stopped 18 shots to get the win. "I thought that was one of our better road games," said Eakins of the win. "I thought that we controlled the play for most of the game. "Hamilton did a great job of hanging on and hanging in there. They were hanging around like a bad smell out there. Their goalie played extremely well. But I was impressed with our team that we didnt falter from the game plan. We stayed with it and were able to be rewarded." Michael Bournival and Joey Tenute replied for the Bulldogs (13-21-5).  Подробнее »

Despite doing well at training camp, Washington Capitals 2012 first round draft pick Tom Wilson is heading back to the OHL. China Jerseys Free Shipping . General manager George McPhee announced on Wednesday that Wilson would return to the Plymouth Whalers. The 18-year old, who was taken with the 16th overall pick in June, is the second Capitals first rounder from 2012 who wont suit up with the team in the lockout shortened season. In July, the club sent 11th overall pick Filip Forsberg return to Sweden for the season. Forsberg played for the silver medal winning Swedish at the World Junior Championship, where he recorded five points in six games on route to being named to the tournament All-Star team. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . That was part of Carters 14 points in the fourth quarter for the Dallas Mavericks, after O.J. Mayos go-ahead spurt to end the third, and it almost wasnt enough against the New York Knicks. Wholesale Jerseys . -- Charles Woodson has been cleared to play again, and the Green Bay Packers are counting on the defensive back to provide a lift in Saturday nights playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. http://www.stitchedchina.com/ . Having broken German great Gerd Muellers 40-year-old record for most goals in a year on Sunday, Messi added to his tally in the 11th minute by tapping into an empty net from David Villas pass. Pedro Rodriguez controlled the ball in midfield and delivered a perfectly weighted long pass to the flank for Villa to cross. Wholesale Jerseys From China . 16 in London. The UFC announced the matchup via its United Kingdom Twitter feed. Jimmo (17-1) made a splash in his UFC debut at UFC 149 in Calgary in July when he knocked out Antony (The Hippo) Perosh in seven seconds. Jerseys From China . Scutaro, who will bolster San Franciscos infield, was hitting .271 with four home runs and 30 RBIs in 95 games for the Rockies. Scutaro joins his sixth major league team.  Подробнее »

PITTSBURGH -- Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates hope theyve finally put an end to their hitting woes. cheap jerseys wholesale . McCutchen hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and drove in three runs to lead Pittsburgh past the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 on Friday night. The Pirates entered the game batting .153, the second-worst average for a major league team through nine games since 1921, according to STATS. The 2003 Detroit Tigers hit .140 in their first nine games on the way to a 119-loss season. McCutchens leadoff shot to left field off J.J. Hoover (0-3), his second homer of the season, snapped a 5-all tie. Cincinnati had just tied the score in the top of the seventh on Brandon Phillips second home run of the game, a two-run drive to centre off Tony Watson (1-0). "It was important for us to answer back right away," McCutchen said. "Thats the type of team we are. Were fighters." The first four batters in Pittsburghs lineup -- Starling Marte, Neil Walker, McCutchen and Garrett Jones -- had two hits each as the Pirates totalled 12. They entered the game with a .153 batting average, worst in the major leagues, and had scored only 21 runs in their first nine games. Every Pirates position player had a hit by the end of the fifth inning. "This is what were capable of doing," McCutchen said. "We have good hitters in our lineup. Its a matter of getting in that Michael Jordan-type mentality where you start thinking that you can outdo the next guy. Thats how we were tonight. One guy started hitting, then everyone else did. Thats how its always been in baseball." Hoover took over the big league lead in losses after giving up the decisive homer to McCutchen. "It seems like he leaves that one pitch out over the plate and theyre not missing it," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. "Youre going to give it up sometimes and he gave it up to one of the best. McCutchen isnt a slouch.  Подробнее »

Former NHL assistant coach Wayne Fleming has passed away at the age of 62 after a battle with brain cancer. cheap jerseys 2013 . Fleming last worked as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning and also worked over three decades in the NHL with Calgary, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Phoenix and the New York Islanders. He was also assistant coach and GM on Canadas Olympic squad that won silver at the 1992 Winter Games and was head coach of Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008-09. Fleming was also head coach of Leksands IF (Sweden - 1992-96), EHC Kloten (Switzerland - 1996-97) and EV Landshut (Germany - 1996-97). He returned to the CHA in August 2000 as vice-president of hockey operations and head coach of Canadas National Mens Team, leading Team Canada behind the bench at the 2001 and 2002 IIHF World Championships, and served as associate coach under Pat Quinn at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, winning a gold medal, and 2004 World Cup of Hockey. "Hockey Canada has lost a great friend, and the hockey world has lost not only a tremendous coach, but a wonderful man," said Bob Nicholson, president and CEO of Hockey Canada in a statement. "We send our condolences to Waynes wife, Carolyn, their four children and the rest of the Fleming family." cheap jerseys wholesale . Baltimores sacks leader last season agreed to terms Tuesday on a five-year, $40 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, who with their first move in free agency added a proven pass rusher and weakened the defending NFL champions. cheap jerseys paypal .  Подробнее »

WASHINGTON -- Before last weeks start in New York, Stephen Strasburg noticed his curveball wasnt working the way he wanted it to. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China . He made an adjustment and dazzled the Mets, limiting them to two hits in six innings. Five days later, Strasburg relied on it again. Against the Houston Astros, the 23-year-old looked unhittable for five innings, struggled in the sixth and watched his team score four runs after he was lifted for a pinch-hitter as the Washington Nationals beat the Astros 6-3 on Monday. Strasburg allowed just three singles in the first five, but the Astros got to him in the sixth for two runs and three hits. Strasburg (2-0) walked one and struck out five. He hasnt allowed a home run in 50 1-3 innings -- since Aug. 15, 2010. His ERA rose from 0.69 to 1.42. "I thought I could get another inning out of him -- until that rough inning," manager Davey Johnson said. Steve Lombardozzi had three singles and a two-run double in the sixth off Kyle Weiland (0-2) that gave Washington a 4-2 lead. Ryan Zimmerman followed with a two-run single. Strasburg used the curveball regularly at San Diego State, and on Monday, he had his best since his Aug. 2010 Tommy John surgery. "I made an adjustment in New York with it. In the pen, it wasnt working warming up," Strasburg said. "I just wanted to go out there and trust it -- and it worked pretty well." Last week, Johnson allowed him to throw a career-high 108 pitches. He wanted Strasburg to throw fewer. Through five innings, he threw 61, but in the laborious sixth, Strasburg had to throw 32. "In his previous start, I took him longer than I wanted to. It probably took a little bit out of him," Johnson said. Strasburg wasnt surprised to be pinch-hit for, but didnt come out willingly. "He knows I want to go out there and stay out there as long as I possibly can. You want to go 7,8,9 innings.  Подробнее »

TORONTO -- Toronto Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle needed an inning to settle into his first career start against his old team. Once he found his groove, the veteran southpaw delivered a performance the Chicago White Sox knew he was capable of. Buehrle recovered from a two-run first inning Monday night to pick up his first win as a Blue Jay in Torontos 4-3 victory over Chicago at Rogers Centre. The fact it came against his former teammates and some good friends was a nice bonus. "Once we cross the lines, Im out there trying to win just like theyre trying to beat my brains in," Buehrle said. "So you just have to go out there and try to perform." Buehrle (1-0), who spent 12 of his first 13 big-league seasons in Chicago, allowed nine hits, two earned runs and two walks over 6 1-3 innings while striking out three. "Guys like him, they can pitch at this level because theyre smart and they dont have to throw 95 to get people out," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "Its something I know White Sox people have seen forever. It was a clinic." J.P. Arencibia and Maicer Izturis hit home runs for Toronto (6-7), which had 10 hits on the night. Arencibia went deep in the first inning off Chicago starter Gavin Floyd (0-3) and Izturis put the Blue Jays ahead to stay an inning later. Aaron Loup gave up a run in the eighth before Casey Janssen picked up his fourth save as Toronto took the opener of the four-game series. After the game, the Blue Jays announced that third baseman Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., would be activated from the disabled list Tuesday. He was at Class-A Dunedin on a rehab assignment after suffering a rib injury last month. The team also planned to put right-handed reliever Sergio Santos on the 15-day DL with a triceps strain. Paul Konerko and Dayan Viciedo had RBI singles for the White Sox (5-8) in the first but Toronto used its speed and power to pull even in the bottom half of the frame.  Подробнее »

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox waited for Josh Beckett to recover from his sprained right ankle before letting him get back on the mound. Cheap NFL Jerseys . And he returned to the rotation just in time. In his first start in 11 days, Beckett pitched six solid innings to lead the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Friday night, slowing the charge of the third-place Rays and extending Bostons lead in the AL wild-card race to four games. It was the second win in nine games for the Red Sox, and their first in seven tries against the Rays. "We need him to be Beckett. We dont need him to be Beckett in name only," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Despite whats been happening, we want him to have a chance to pitch effectively. So we werent going to pitch him unless he was ready." The Rays trailed Boston by nine games on Sept. 3 and had a chance to catch them with a four-game sweep in Fenway. But trade-deadline pickup Mike Aviles broke a fourth-inning tie with his first homer since joining the Red Sox, and Boston assured itself of the wild-card lead at least through the end of the weekend. "As tough as the last 10 days have been, playing in this atmosphere -- this is why they work all winter," Francona said. "This is exciting. I was as nervous as can be." Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 30th save -- his first since Aug. 18 -- striking out Evan Longoria with a runner on second to end the game. But the best news might have been the performance of Daniel Bard, who rebounded after three straight losses to strike out three in a scoreless eighth. "I dont know what anybody else is saying, but hes Daniel Bard. I want him pitching the eighth every game I start for the rest of my career," Beckett said. "I dont know if thats going to happen, but Id like my chances." James Shields (15-11) lost for just the second time since July.  Подробнее »

PITTSBURGH -- Jonathan Sanchez didnt look like a guy ready to give the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen a needed night off after the St. Louis Cardinals touched him for two runs in the first inning on Tuesday. Instead, Mother Nature intervened. A massive thunderstorm hit at the end of the second inning with the Pirates leading 4-2, and the game was called after a delay of 1 hour, 24 minutes. No makeup date was immediately announced. The deluge wiped out a promising start for Pittsburghs offence but the Pirates could certainly use the break after the bullpen did yeomans work in relief of struggling starter James McDonald on Monday night. The right-hander gave up eight runs -- three earned -- in a 10-6 loss but insisted hes not injured. The struggling McDonald understands his velocity is down but doesnt believe it is injury-related. His fastball -- which can top out at 94 mph -- rarely ticked about 90 mph against the Cardinals. He isnt panicking, pointing to similar issues early in the 2012 season. "It was just one of those times you dont feel too well," McDonald said on Tuesday. "Its just one of those times where your body feels beat up." McDonald fell to 1-2 as his ERA rose to 5.27. While there may be some mechanical issues at work he believes hes also just trying to get into the rhythm of the season. The ball doesnt feel quite right leaving his hand but he thinks he can still get hitters out. "You dont have your good stuff every single time," he said. "You have to battle through it." Manager Clint Hurdle allowed McDonalds problems are "perplexing" but he doesnt plan on pulling McDonald from his next scheduled start on Saturday against Atlanta. "At this time, I dont have any information to lead me in that direction," Hurdle said. Tuesday nights cancellation could give the Pirates some flexibility. Sanchez -- who came in with a 12.96 ERA -- allowed two runs in the first inning but retired the side in order in the second. Matt Holliday had an RBI single for St. Louis.  Подробнее »