With quarterback Marcus Mariota in the final year of his rookie contract and given that the Titans have yet to decide to make a long-term commitment to the second overall pick in the 2015 overall draft http://www.thetitanslockerroom.com/authentic-kevin-byard-jersey , the Titans need to be thinking about the future of the position.Maybe the future is closer to now than believed.Ryan Tannehill has arrived, and the Titans have embraced him as No. 2 on the depth chart.“He understands that he’s coming in as the backup quarterback,” G.M. Jon Robinson told reporters on Friday regarding Tannehill. “I’ve talked to Marcus and told Marcus he is our starting quarterback. Ryan is here to help Marcus, to push Marcus, to compete with Marcus. One thing after talking with Marcus, he said, ‘You know Malcolm Butler Jersey White , one thing Jon that I believe with all my heart is that you to do what’s best for our team and try to put us in position to win football games.’ That made me feel pretty good.”Having Tannehill around also makes Robinson feel good, in the event that Mariota gets injured or otherwise struggles. Tannehill hasn’t been horrible, he just hasn’t been healthy. And if Mariota isn’t healthy for a game or two this year, Tannehill will have a better chance to push the team to a win than Blaine Gabbert. New Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith wasn’t a household name, and there’s no evidence he knows Sean McVay.But Titans coach Mike Vrabel thinks he’s a good fit for what they need, offering something approaching stability for quarterback Marcus Mariota.Mariota is now on his fifth coordinator in as many years, but Smith was at least on staff (tight ends coach) so there’s familiarity there.“I think it’s what’s best for Marcus DaQuan Jones Jersey , and best for a lot of guys,” Vrabel said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s official website. “We make decisions that are for the best interest of the Titans, and Marcus is a huge part and so are all of our other players.“This is the best thing for us, to continue down that path. We’re happy, I’m happy, and I am excited to give Arthur this opportunity and I know the coaches and players are excited as well.”Replacing new Packers coach Matt LaFleur is a big step for Smith Womens Jonnu Smith Jersey , but Vrabel said he was comfortable with the choice after talking to a small group of options.“Ultimately it was easy, at the end,” he said. “We try and do our due diligence with everything we do. … We felt like in the end this was the best thing for us, and the right thing.”If things are largely the same, Mariota can focus his energies on physical recovery this offseason, and not worried about learning a whole new playbook.
Kenny Bell has not had the professional football career he envisioned. Bell’s father played in the NFL Shaquil Barrett Jersey White , Kenny was a high school star, at Nebraska he was first-team All-Big Ten and became the Cornhuskers’ all-time leader in receiving yards. He was drafted by the Buccaneers in 2015, but a series of injuries kept him from ever taking the field in an NFL game. When he was injured once again in Broncos training camp in August, that looked like the end of his playing career.But then the Alliance of American Football came calling. Bell signed last fall with the Salt Lake Stallions of the AAF, and he finally got on the field when the Stallions made their debut last night.On Twitter after the game, Bell described what that meant to him.“Words don’t do justice to the overwhelming amount of appreciation I am feeling,” Bell wrote. “Tonight was the first time I got to play football in a real game in over four years. It certainly was not the outcome I wanted for my team but it would be shameful of me not to acknowledge the unbelievable amount of love and support I have received throughout the day and night. To any and all fans: I appreciate you! Your words of support throughout the years are truly appreciated. To my friends & family: Thank you from the deepest part of my heart. It’s been a brutal four years chasing this dream and tonight you all blessed me with the greatest feeling of love and support one could ask for.”Whether the AAF proves popular enough with fans to stick around for the long haul remains to be seen. But it is an undeniably great opportunity for a lot of talented football players who never quite got their careers off the ground. Which side of the ball should Jason Licht be targeting for his first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft? Adding a Top-5 talent to any NFL roster has the potential to drastically change the trajectory of any franchise. Get it right, and your team could be competing for a title one or two years later.Get it wrong, and a general manager could be looking for a new job. So. No pressure.Here, we’re going to bring you both sides of the coin and leave the final decision to you, Bucs Nation.DAVID HARRISON - DEFENSEChuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsIt’s #FollowTheLicht season, and Jason needs to point his beam squarely onto the defensive side of the ball.Quinnen Williams Womens Brent Grimes Jersey , Ed Oliver, Byron Murphy, Nasir Adderley, Deionte Thompson, Devin White. These are all guys on the short list of who the Bucs could potentially land at or after pick five.Williams is the least likely to be there in my opinion, but any of these other guys carry quite the reputation and play in areas of need for Tamp Bay.In the 2018 version of the NFL, teams surrendered an average of just over 23 points per game.The Bucs surrendered 29 per game. Not good. Only the Raiders, who just happen to have the pick right before Tampa’s, gave up more points per game in 2018.Only two teams surrendered more points per game than the league average and made the playoffs (Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams) and both did so because they had ridiculously efficient offensive units as both just happen to have the top and second-best scoring teams in the NFL.The Bucs had a 12th-best 24.8 points per game. And their defense was nowhere near where they needed to be to get them into the post-season.However, eight of the ten teams who scored the same or more points per game than the Bucs who also made the post-season defenses that held opponents under the league average.Two more teams scored fewer points per game than the Bucs and made the playoffs. Because their defenses held opponents under the league average. There’s a trend.But, Jameis Winston is about to step into a new offense and needs a better offensive line and/or running game. True.Consider this though, Carson Palmer’s worst statistical season with head coach Bruce Arians was his first one in 2013. Ben Roethlisberger threw for less than 3 Bryan Anger Jersey ,200-yards in his first season with Arians. Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning were both rookies in their first seasons with Arians, but both also had their worst years in their first years.If we think a 2019 turn-around for the Buccaneers is going to come on the shoulder of Jameis Winston alone, history says this isn't the case. The offense should still score enough to keep them competitive, even without a Top-5 draft addition.But, unless the defense gets one touchdown per game better in the upcoming season it'll all be for nothing when January 2020 rolls around.James Yarcho - OffenseMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsI have no issues with the arguments David made above. That said, the Bucs will need to secure the best offensive lineman in the draft if at all possible. Bruce Arians’ offense is predicated on the deep ball, the run game, and maximizing the ability to score from anywhere on the field. In order to do so, the Bucs have to keep Jameis Winston upright. That won’t happen with the state of the current offensive line.Now, if Williams is gone - which he may be - then the Bucs will be in prime positionto trade back with a quarterback needy team that will have to pay that franchise quarterback premium to move up. Given that the Bucs only have six picks, this would be the ideal situation.I’m not going to advocate that the Buccaneers take a receiver or a running back at number five. IF they go offense, it has to be in the trenches. And if Williams is gone Womens Shaquil Barrett Jersey , they will need to go to the defensive side if they can’t move down.Something has to be done about this line. There’s a solid chance Donovan Smith returns, so he’s likely going to keep the left tackle spot regardless of the draft. That doesn’t make him any less of a question mark, though. Then you have the entire right side with Caleb Benenoch, Alex Cappa, and Demar Dotson. Dotson has been a solid starter for years, but the knee injuries and age seem to have caught up with him in 2018.You can’t win in the NFL if you don’t win the battle up front. That should be the number one focus this off-season for the Bucs before they address the needs at cornerback, linebacker, and defensive line. You can’t fix it all in one year, but the Bucs will do their best to do just that - and it starts by protecting the franchise quarterback.
There’s been ups and downs for San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard. Mostly downs. He was thrust into the starting role in 2017 and somewhat held things together. At least until Jimmy Garoppolo was ready to go. He’s again shoved into a starting role in 2018. He’s the best guy for the job Womens Earl Mitchell Jersey , because there’s no one else available better for the job. But he is not going to emerge as a QB1, he’s not going to be a savant teams will enter a bidding war to trade for. Beathard is a backup quarterback. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s something that has become apparent. His limitations were on full display Sunday in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals; 14 for 28, 190 yards. For the full game. He’d have a few hot moments, like chucking it downfield for Marquise Goodwin, but he was dwarfed in the cold segments where he couldn’t trust his receivers and pull the trigger. Beathard held onto the ball far too long in plays where he needed to trust his receivers in stride and throw the ball. Whether this is a mental thing with the turnovers, or just how Beathard is as a quarterback doesn’t matter. He’s had a year to get things ironed out, but these issues still remain. These are throws Garoppolo could and would make. That’s why he’s the starting quarterback. And Beathard isn’t going to turn into Garoppolo. Beathard is the backup quarterback for a reason, and it’s the reasons above. A lot of this is plain ability and talent; if he was playing lights out for two seasons, we’d be having a very different conversation. He’s a backup. His job is to help out at meetings and step in when the starting quarterback is down. If anything the last few weeks has shown us, it’s that his role is almost solidified in the team. He knows Kyle Shanahan’s offense, he can take over midway or for an entire game, but asking him to be consistent week in and week out like the starter can is just something that isn’t possible. If it was, he’d be in a Nick Foles situation where the 49ers would be looking to trade, or be faced to pay him more money later on. There’s no one better to put in there either. Tom Savage is an even worse option and Nick Mullens? No. Just no. Beathard knows the offense Marquise Goodwin Jersey White , he probably contributes in the meeting rooms, and is doing the best he can with the tools he has. He was placed into an unfortunate situation where the talent around him, while improved, is still not where it needs to be and his limited ability cannot raise them the way Garoppolo can. Again, you saw why Garoppolo is the starter last season. CJ Beathard is not a bad quarterback. He’s a backup quarterback. And he’s playing far more than any backup quarterback should. We knew that going in. You want a bad quarterback?Go get me Nathan Peterman. The Oakland Raiders appear set to play in San Francisco in their final season in the Bay Area.The Raiders, who don’t have a lease in Oakland for 2019 but won’t have their new stadium ready in Las Vegas until 2020, are reportedly going to play in the San Francisco Giants’ stadium this year. Raj Mathai of NBC Bay Area reports that the Raiders have reached a deal with the Giants to use Oracle Park, formerly known as AT&T Park, in 2019.The league would have to approve such a deal, and presumably any arrangement also has the blessing of the 49ers. Although the 49ers now play 45 miles away in Santa Clara, they’re still the “San Francisco” 49ers and the NFL likely wouldn’t allow another team to play in San Francisco without the 49ers’ approval.So the Raiders, who for many years have shared a stadium with the Oakland A’s, will now share a stadium with another baseball team for one more year, before saying goodbye to the Bay Area for good.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll has found a bigger meaning behind an audacious fourth quarter decision by rookie Michael Dickson to run on fourth down out of his own end zone Byron Maxwell Jersey , a play that somehow managed to net a first down.The Seahawks are playing with a style Carroll wants to see and the freedom to try things that might otherwise seem foolish 鈥?like a punter running on fourth-and-8 at his own 3 rather than taking a safety like he was supposed to.The result is that the Seahawks having won four of five after Sunday's 28-14 victory over Detroit, with six of the final nine games at home and Seattle in the thick of the NFC playoff conversation at midseason."I like to think he showed you our mentality that we trust our guys and we work hard and work at it that you're going to get faced with opportunities, and I like our guys to be able to improvise well and find the ways to make special things happen," Carroll said Monday. "We always look for guys who have special qualities and part of that is, the guys who have the background and courage and faculties to make those kinds of decisions."Dickson's 9-yard run with 2:18 remaining aside, the Seahawks once again used the formula that has worked for the past five games: play strong defense; control the ball offensively with the run; let Russell Wilson use the pass game efficiently and not as the primary vehicle for Seattle's offense.Seattle held promising young Detroit running back Kerryon Johnson to 22 yards rushing on just eight carries and limited the Lions to just 34 yards total on the ground. The Seahawks ran 42 times for 176 yards 鈥?including Dickson's run 鈥?and had the ball for nearly 35 minutes. Wilson also posted the first perfect passer-rating game in Seahawks history while completing 14 of 17 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns.Wilson's 17 pass attempts matched the second-fewest of his career. The only time he threw less came in his rookie season when he was 7 of 13 passing against Arizona in a game Seattle won 58-0. He didn't need to carry the offensive load through the air because of the success Seattle was having on the ground.Chris Carson topped 100 yards rushing for the third time and continues to show the makings of the featured back Seattle has sought since Marshawn Lynch departed. Carson capped his day with a 7-yard TD run in the fourth quarter while bowling over defenders at the goal line. The play gave Seattle a 28-7 lead.Carson is finding success running the ball because Seattle's offensive line continues to play at a high level not seen from the Seahawks since their consecutive seasons winning the NFC championship."We have more run game than we've had in the past. We have more choices in how we go about doing it," Carroll said. "It's a different philosophy in how we're doing it up front and the guys have come along well. We have a very smart Richard Sherman Jersey , experienced group of guys now to run with. ... We have a pretty good setup right now and really we're just kind of hitting it. I think we have a chance to get a lot better as we move on through the challenges of the season."NOTES: Carroll said LB K.J. Wright (knee) and TE Ed Dickson (quad/groin) both came through their season debuts without issue on Sunday. Wright had five tackles and played 50 snaps on defense, while Dickson had two catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. ... Seattle is now plus-10 in turnover margin. The Seahawks have forced 16 turnovers and committed only six. The 2019 NFL Draft is underway, and to no one’s surprise, the Seattle Seahawks traded out of their first draft pick at 21 in order to add two fourth round picks to the team’s draft arsenal. In..."The 2019 NFL Draft is underway, and to no one’s surprise, the Seattle Seahawks traded out of their first draft pick at 21 in order to add two fourth round picks to the team’s draft arsenal. In trading back from 21, the Hawks picked up pick30 http://www.seahawkslockerroom.com/authentic-richard-sherman-jersey , which they then traded to the New York Giants. In moving back from pick 30 to pick 37, the Seahawks also added picks 132 and 142. Pick 132 will be close to the end of the fourth round, while pick 142 is very early in the fifth round. Thus, the Seahawks moved back from 21 to 37, by way of trades with the Giants and the Green Bay Packers, and in doing so added four additional picks on Day 3 of the draft. If one wishes to evaluate this trade on the Jimmy Johnson trade chart, the Seahawks gave up pick 30 (620 points) Kam Chancellor Jersey , while picking up pick 37 (530 points), pick 132 (40 points) and pick 142 (35 points). Thus, the Seahawks gave up 620 points of value and received 605 points of value in return. This now leaves the Seahawks holding two picks on Friday and six picks on Saturday, which should be plenty of ammunition for John Schneider to add the players on the team’s board and address some of the holes facing the team. How do you grade the Seahawks trade back from 30?
Like with bands and politicians Dre'Mont Jones Jersey , it's perfectly normal for athletes to enjoy one round of high-profile success before returning to being average. In the NFL, where the average career is so short, this is especially true. And yes, Derek Anederson, we're talking about you - though we're looking forward to watching you replace Cam Newton this year...Back in August, The Sportster looked at 15 players who had fluke NFL seasons whether it was because of over-performing, injuries that took away their best traits, or because they were part of the 2007 Cleveland Browns.Today, we're going to do something similar by looking at players who did have fluke or one-year wonder seasons, but also examine where they are now?I know I've asked this before http://www.thelionsfootballauthentic.com/austin-bryant-jersey-authentic , but what happens when one in the sports world retires? Do they stick close to the sports world they’ve spent so much of their life in and around? Do they go pursue other careers that maybe they didn’t have the time or energy – or even knowledge – of doing and devoting their time to? Do they wind up in prison – well, we’ll do our best not to talk about these guys today.With players who maybe only have one or two good seasons, are they in the same boat as the Pro Bowlers and Super Bowl MVPs they shared a locker room with? Let's find out. The 2018 NFL free agency period has been hectic, and we haven’t even got to the Draft yet, but already most of the big names have been signed, and it’s got us looking forward to the 2018 season with a lot of excitement. However, not everything is going to work out for all of these players. Some QBs signed long-awaited big money deals, some players got released and signed unexpectedly, and other big names were traded away, and it’s been quite hard to keep up with Rashan Gary Jersey , but now that’s all cooled off, we are going to look ahead a season, and try and predict some things.Succeeding and failing is definitely unique to each individual situation, whether it be a high-profile star leaving for a division rival, or whether it’s a young, up and coming player looking to break out with a new team. Sometimes that will happen, others it won’t, so today we are going to take a look at 8 players who will succeed with their new team in 2018, and 7 that will unfortunately fail.
The saying goes that quarterbacks are the faces and http://www.vikingscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-dru-samia-jersey , in several ways, the CEOs of National Football League teams because they are literally front and center dozens upon dozens of times each game. A quarterback who finds success, even one who doesn’t necessarily win a Super Bowl, is able to land commercials that air on national television, and those who are deemed to be even serviceable starters sign contracts that guarantee them millions upon millions of dollars because a franchise QB can be hard to find for certain clubs. The Cleveland Browns have literally never had a franchise QB since returning to the NFL in 1999, and it doesn’t appear the club is any closer to fixing that problem than it was roughly 20 years ago following the initial organization's move to Baltimore.With that kind of fame and fortune comes a special type of hatred only seen in the sports world. Football fans mock these signal-callers whenever they flop, and some do so using hilarious QB memes that go viral on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. No QB is safe from this phenomenon. All-time greats such as Tom Brady Daniel Jones Jersey , Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and others have all become “meme-ified” for one reason or another over the past decade, and this practice will continue so long as the NFL exists as the most popular league in all of North American professional sports. We’ll see if any QB meme from the second half of the 2017 season beats your favorite among the 15 showcased here from the first eight weeks of the campaign. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers may be the most physically gifted and talented signal-caller of his generation. Rodgers can do it all on the field. He can chuck the football down the field seemingly at the flick of his wrist. He is elusive in the pocket and can make plays with his legs. He also happens to have a brilliant mind as it pertains to reading defenses. It’s no wonder so many wide receivers, tight ends and playmakers want to line up alongside Rodgers while he is still capable of winning games and guiding clubs to Super Bowl contests. As do so many great quarterbacks, Rodgers has shown that he can help young talents improve their stats, and aid proven veterans in finding new lives to their careers. With all of that said, Rodgers isn’t getting any younger. He turned 34 years old last December http://www.giantscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-dexter-lawrence-jersey , and age, the ultimate equalizer for all athletes, is going to catch up to him sooner rather than later. Thus, it makes sense that Rodgers probably has a mental list of receivers and tight ends he would prefer would stay far away from Green Bay and the Packers for different reasons. At the same time, Rodgers likely also has several individuals, at least, who he would love to have wearing Green Bay colors either in 2018 or next season as he attempts to win another title before the twilight of his career sneaks up on him. Whether or not the Packers will do whatever possible to give Rodgers the weapons he needs is unknown at this time.
Cabrera signed a minor league deal Thursday and was assigned to Triple-A Columbus. He was with the club earlier this season before being designated for assignment last month.
Chisenhall was placed on the disabled list this week with a nagging calf injury, and there’s no timetable for his return. Zimmer has been sidelined at Columbus with a shoulder injury.
The 33-year-old Cabrera signed a minor league contract with the Indians in April. He batted .207 with five doubles and 11 RBIs in 17 games for Cleveland.
Cabrera has a .285 career batting average during 14 major league seasons.
The Indians, who lead the AL Central by 11 1/2 games over Detroit, open a 10-game homestand before the All-Star break on Friday against Oakland.
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The NFL Combine has come and gone, everyone and their mothers is out doing mock drafts, and the Cleveland Browns are bound to mess their entire draft up. Nothing has changed in the NFL Dexter Williams Jersey , not even in the slightest.Nothing has changed either that after one year, we can evaluate players from last year's NFL Draft to have a good idea of who will be stars, who will be pretty good, and who will be bad. Now, I do agree that it's hard to judge players entirely after one season, because I'm sure many would've looked at Peyton Manning's 26 interceptions in 1998 and said he was a bust or said Steve Slaton was bound for the Hall of Fame after a dominant rushing season for the Houston Texans in 2008.What we're going to do Tytus Howard Jersey , simply, is evaluate the player on what they did last year and what the future holds; that includes the team they're on, the changes around them, and so forth. All but one player on this list was taken in the first two rounds, though you'll understand why we included that third-round player. Some of these players battled injuries, others failed to really get it going at the NFL level Andy Isabella Jersey , but one of them is an exception to the rest. Let's start with him, I say...
SAN DIEGO — There will be a double homecoming Friday night at Petco Park.
Right-hander Joe Musgrove Chuma Edoga Jersey , who was born and raised 20 minutes east of San Diego in El Cajon, will be facing the Padres for the first time as the starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
And the Padres will also be back in San Diego for only the third game since June 6. This is also a brief respite. After three games at home this weekend against the Pirates, the Padres hit the road again for six games before returning home on July 9.
A quick check of the math. Between June 6 and July 9, the Padres will play only five games at home against 23 on the road in a span of 32 days.
“I’ve never seen a schedule like this,” said Padres manager Andy Green, whose club is coming off a 2-5 road trip to San Francisco and Texas.
Starting for the Padres Friday will be left-handed rookie Eric Lauer. Like Musgrove, Lauer is a former first-round draft pick.
Musgrove is one of three Pirates pitchers from San Diego County. Trevor Williams will start Saturday night’s game. And Steven Brault, who was a teammate of Musgrove at Grossmont High in 2010, is in the Pirates’ bullpen.
Musgrove, 25, was the 46th overall pick of the 2011 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Lauer, 23, was the 25th overall pick of the Padres in the 2016 draft.
Musgrove is 2-3 with a 4.59 earned run average in six starts for the Pirates this season. Lauer is 3-4 with a 5.05 ERA in 12 starts for the Padres
Although Musgrove will be facing the Padres for the first time http://www.jetscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-trevon-wesco-jersey , Lauer made a start against the Pirates earlier this season in Pittsburgh. On May 17, the Pirates scored four runs off Lauer on six hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.
In seven starts since, the 6-foot-3, 227-pound Lauer is 2-2 with a 3.25 ERA. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Musgrove has struggled recently. He is 0-3 in June with a 7.45 ERA, and he gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings in his most recent start against Arizona on Saturday.
Lauer has lowered his ERA in each of his last five starts and has given up two runs (one earned) on eight hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts over 12 innings in his last two starts.
Lauer and rookie teammate Joey Lucchesi are two of the first three pitchers to reach the major leagues from the 2016 draft. Lauer was promoted to the Padres from Triple-A El Paso on April 24.
“We expected there would be growing pains with Lauer,” Green said recently. “Two years ago, he was pitching once a week in college (Kent State). Last year, he and Joey were working with five days’ rest between starts. This is an adjustment, being in a five-man rotation. His jump recently has come with blending in his secondary pitches as well as having better command of his fastball.”
Bartolo Colon goes for a spot in the history books Sunday afternoon when he takes the mound at Target Field where the Texas Rangers will face the Minnesota Twins.
Colon (4-4, 4.91) snapped a tie with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal and became the winningest pitcher from the Dominican Republic earlier this week and should he earn a win Sunday, he would tie Nicaragua native Dennis Martinez for the most by a pitcher from any Latin American country.
“Now that I’ve won the 244 Clelin Ferrell Jersey , I see that it’s close to Dennis Martinez, but with health and enough time, I’m ready to be able to pass him and be the first Latin with more wins,” Colon said through a translator after snapping out of a five-game funk against the Kansas Royals on Monday “I feel happy, of course, to pass a Hall of Famer, the first Dominican in the Hall of Fame.”
Colon is 11-8 with a 3.78 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) against the Twins. Last season he was 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA in 15 starts for the Twins.
Colon is pitching in Minnesota as a visitor for the first time since July 16, 2005 at the Metrodome when he pitched the Los Angeles Angels.
The Latin American record is a big deal for not just the 45-year-old Colon but also for his teammates.
“They’ve wanted to get this win for him for some time now,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “It’s just incredible to watch. He’s such a humble guy. No real fanfare whatsoever. Kind of just a great humility.”
The Rangers have been one of baseball’s hottest teams of late.
They stretched their season-best winning streak to seven games Saturday as Adrian Beltre and Robinson Chirinos homered in 9-6 victory. With a win Sunday, the Rangers would clinch their second consecutive series sweep — and their second of the season, overall.
They may need to do it without first baseman Joey Gallo, who left the game in the third inning after stretching a double. Banister said Gallo had been “battling some soreness” the last few days.
The Twins have dropped three straight games after Eddie Rosario homered and drove in four runs Saturday.
Right-hander Jose Berrios (7-5, 3.38) will try to keep Texas’ brooms at bay.
Berrios earned a no-decision but was magnificent in his last outing, holding the Red Sox to a run on five hits while striking out six over 6 1/3 innings Tuesday.
He’s only allowed one run in each of his last two outings and gave up two in the start before that. Over his last seven outings, Berrios is 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA.
Berrios won his only start against Texas, allowing five runs and five innings in a 6-5 victory Aug. 6. He also is 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA in four starts against teams from the AL West.
Should Berrios struggle Sunday, the Twins will have a fresh arm in the bullpen. Minnesota’s bullpen covered 7 1/3 innings Saturday after Jake Odorizzi recorded just five outs.
The team plans to summon right-hander Alan Busenitz from Triple-A Rochester, where he has a 1.27 ERA in 17 outings this season.
To make room for Busenitz on the roster, Minnesota optioned 23-year-old starter Fernando Romero to Triple-A. The right-hander is 3-3 with a 4.38 ERA and has a 7.54 ERA over his last five starts.
“His starts, while they haven’t been horrific or horrendous or any of those type of things, it just looks like it’s been a little more laborious for him,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “Some of the things that a young pitcher goes through, I think it’s time to reset him. There’s obviously some things maybe that I don’t want to be too transparent about that I think he needs to work on. I’m sure he’ll get back to work.”
TORONTO — The Detroit Tigers will be trying to avoid making more history Sunday afternoon when they face the Toronto Blue Jays on Canada Day at the Rogers Centre.
After Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak smacked a 1-0 fastball from Joe Jimenez for his second career walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday Drew Sample Jersey , the Tigers have lost 11 games in a row.
The last time the Tigers put together a losing streak like that was 2003. On Sunday, in the third contest of the four-game series, the Tigers will be trying to avoid dipping deeper into their history by losing 12 in a row for the first time since 1996.
The Tigers will start right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 4.35 ERA) against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.62).
Saturday looked promising for the Tigers when they took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but the Blue Jays came back to tie in the fifth.
Both Toronto wins in the series have been by one run.
“Honestly, nobody wants to play extra innings,” Smoak said. “To be able to do it in the ninth and get it over with is always a good feeling.”
The Tigers would beg to differ. They would have been happy to try their luck in extra innings if that’s what it takes to end their funk.
“We’re all trying hard,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Everybody’s trying. We tried all kinds of things today to try to make this happen. And we were in the game again and ultimately we lose the ballgame.”
The Blue Jays have dominated the Tigers at the Rogers Centre in recent years, winning 12 of their past 14 meetings.
There could be times when it seems as if the Tigers might be trying a little too hard to make things happen and then paying for it. First baseman John Hicks, who hit his seventh home run of the season in the second inning Saturday, was not so sure that is the case.
“I don’t think guys are trying to do anything more than we’ve been trying to do all year,” he said. “We’re in a losing streak, but we’re going out every day playing the same way we’ve been playing all year. But when you are losing, things get magnified.”
“They all stink, every loss is frustrating. It just happens to be in a losing streak, so it happens to magnify things more. We’ve had opportunities to win pretty much every ballgame we’ve lost.”
The task Sunday falls to Zimmermann, who will make his 10th start of the season.
Despite pitching five scoreless innings Monday against the Oakland Athletics, Zimmermann did not factor in the decision, He allowed four hits and three walks and struck out three.
In three career starts against the Blue Jays, Zimmermann is 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA. This will be his first start against Toronto since June 8, 2016, when he took the loss, giving up seven runs and eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. He will be making his first career start at the Rogers Centre.
Happ has not lost since May 10. In his eight starts since, he is 6-0 with a 2.60 ERA. One of the no-decisions came June 2 in Detroit when he allowed four runs and had eight strikeouts against the Tigers in five innings.
In nine career games (eight starts) against the Tigers, he is 3-1 with a 4.10 ERA.
The Blue Jays lead the season series between the teams 3-2. Two games are left.
Both teams had injuries to relief pitchers Saturday. The Blue Jays put Ryan Tepera on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow and recalled Jake Petricka from Triple-A Buffalo.
Tigers reliever Alex Wilson left the game — and was replaced by Jimenez — in the eighth inning with a strained left calf. He is listed as day to day.
Let's face it, New England Patriots fans are spoiled, plain and simple. Having hoisted the Lombardi Trophy four times in the last 14 years is nothing to shrug at. It doesn't hurt that they have arguably the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady who always seems to stand calm Ryan Finley Jersey , cool, and collected in the pocket when the whole country is watching.We shouldn't forget to mention the guy who seems to always wear a hooded sweatshirt no matter what mother nature brings to the football field, Bill Belichick. Belichick has had his greatest success while serving as head coach of the Patriots compared to his former roles with the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. Belichick has a knack for getting the most out of his players. Fans shouldn't forget wide receiver Troy Brown lining up at cornerback or drafting a little known quarterback out of Kent State and having him switch to wide receiver in Julian Edelman.The draft, in any sport, is an inexact science. As a person making decisions that is costing an organization millions of dollars and a lot of jobs at stake, the pressure to land a franchise player can be overwhelming to say the least. How else can you explain a guy like Tom Brady lasting to the 199th overall pick?Having said all of this, the fact remains that sometimes even a mastermind like Belichick can make mistakes. Below you will find some players that Belichick has missed out on in the past 15 NFL Drafts. In some years, he made the right move by drafting cornerstone players that assisted them in winning Super Bowls. Other years, however, he made some moves that he would like to forget. Please note that in the years 2000, 2009, and 2013 the Patriots did not have a first round pick. It is also necessary to include the years 1999 and 1998 to make the list at 15, even though Belichick was not responsible for those draft picks.
NEWARK Womens Justin Faulk Jersey , N.J. (AP) — If the Montreal Canadiens don’t make the postseason, they can blame the lowly New Jersey Devils.Three games. Three losses. And only one point for a team fighting for its playoff life.Monday night’s 2-1 defeat might have been one of the low points all season for Montreal. With the Canadiens needing a win to improve their hold on the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, last-place New Jersey beat them with a lineup that included seven players who spent the majority of the season with the Devils’ top minor league affiliate.“We just didn’t start on time,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said. “We didn’t play well enough to win a hockey game. This time of year you have to play 60 minutes and we didn’t do that.”The Devils did.Nathan Bastian scored his first NHL goal and Kurtis Gabriel got his second. Recently acquired defenseman Connor Carrick set up both goals and Cory Schneider made 34 saves to cap the Devils’ best season series against Montreal since going 3-1-0 in 2011-12.“When you have young guys called up and guys in the lineup due to injury or trades, you need people to step up,” Schneider said. “The top line was getting keyed on, so to have guys step in and contribute like that was huge. We’re going to need everyone to contribute. Win or lose games like tonight, we can live with this effort and that compete level.”The Canadiens still hold a one-point lead over Carolina and Pittsburgh for the first wild card in the East, but the Hurricanes and Penguins now each have a game in hand.“Every single game from here on out will be absolutely huge,” Montreal center Max Domi said. “We’ve got to find ways to win as many games as possible. We’re going to try and win every game, obviously. We’re going to leave it all out there.”Paul Byron scored a short-handed goal for Montreal, and Carey Price made 20 saves.Trailing 2-0 and with the Devils on a power play, the Canadiens got back into the game on a great individual effort by Byron, who recently returned to the lineup after missing six games with an arm injury.Byron picked up a loose puck near his own blue line Justin Williams Jersey , outskated defenseman Damon Severson into the Devils zone and beat Schneider with a shot to the top corner at 6:30 of the third period.Montreal threatened in the final 13 minutes but Schneider made excellent saves on Domi and Brendan Gallagher on a power play in the last 10 minutes. Schneider’s best save might have been a stop on a short-handed breakaway by Artturi Lehkonen in the first period.Bastian, recalled from the minors Sunday, tipped Carrick’s shot under Price’s pads at 12:35 of the first period. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 19 and this was his second game.“Being a big guy, I pride myself in being big and strong and good around the net,” Bastian said. “Sometimes when you tip it, it goes in, and sometimes it doesn’t. I was lucky enough to get it through Price’s legs.”Gabriel, who scored his first NHL goal against Ottawa last week, got his second by tipping a shot from the point by Carrick at 3:06 of the second period and putting in the rebound.“That’s the kind of goal you feel good getting to the net and rewarded for your hard work on it,” Gabriel said. “That’s why you saw the exuberance and celebration. The first one I didn’t see go in. To be able to contribute and get a game-winning goal in a big game against that team, it’s great.”NOTES: Price has started the last 11 games for Montreal. … Devils D Eric Gryba cleared waivers and was assigned to Binghamton of the AHL. … New Jersey called up four players from its AHL affiliate the past two days: Bastian, G Mackenzie Blackwood, D Egor Yakovlev and forward Michael McLeod. … New Jersey D Will Butcher and forward Jesper Bratt were scratched with lower-body injuries. … New Jersey traded G Keith Kinkaid to Columbus and forward Marcus Johansson to Boston earlier in the day.UP NEXTCanadiens: Play the second of back-to-back road games in Detroit on Tuesday night.Devils: Play the second of a three-game homestand Wednesday night against Calgary. OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Matt Duchene appreciated how short the walk was to join his new team.Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves http://www.officialhurricanes.com/authentic-adidas-rod-brind_amour-jersey , and Duchene’s first game with the Columbus Blue Jackets was a 3-0 win over his former team, the Ottawa Senators, on Friday night.Duchene, who was dealt by Ottawa to Columbus hours before the game, was held pointless. Josh Anderson, Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Blue Jackets, who moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division.“I enjoyed myself out there,” Duchene said. “It was kind of a good way to end my time as a Sen, and I probably felt more comfortable because I was in this building (rather) than had we gone somewhere else.”“It was a big win for us and (Craig Anderson) played really well over there and kept them in it for a long time.”Duchene received an ovation from the crowd when he was introduced in the starting lineup. He was then mildly booed when he touched the puck during his second shift of the game, and again applauded during a short video tribute.Duchene said he’s happy to be part of a team with a realistic shot at the playoffs instead of a rebuilding franchise.“That’s what I’m looking for and that’s what gets me up every morning for sure,” Duchene said. “I’ve been fortunate to be on a lot of good international teams and win some big tournaments, but I’ve never had a chance to play in the playoffs consistently.”Craig Anderson made 37 saves for the Senators, who were shut out for the second straight game and have lost three straight.Ottawa has gone 125 minutes and 17 seconds since its last goal. The Senators lost 8-7 to Chicago on Monday, the last game in which they had Duchene Scott Darling Jersey , Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel in the lineup. The trio has scored 77 of the Senators’ 186 goals this season. Dzingel and Stone were scratched again Friday.Senators coach Guy Boucher understands the challenge facing his team.“It just shows you how hard it is to produce in the NHL. You’ve got your high-end core players and they produce, but they also make the other guys produce. If you take out those high-end guys, now the complimentary players have to become the go-to guys.” Boucher said.“You’ve got guys who eventually become that, but for now it’s hard. There’s a lot of work ahead.”For now, the Senators are in limbo.“Without those guys in the lineup, it’s tough,” said defenseman Cody Ceci, who also could be traded before Monday’s deadline. “It’s a little weird the day of the game and then playing against him tonight and it’s a tough time of year.”Atkinson scored on a short-handed breakaway at 6:45 of the third period to put Columbus ahead 2-0. Bjorkstrand put the game out of reach with 2:46 remaining.The Blue Jackets led 1-0 through 40 minutes, but the main reason for that was the play of Craig Anderson, who kept the game from turning into a blowout.The Blue Jackets had the game’s first four power plays and directed seven shots at Anderson, who stopped them all.Columbus got on the board at 14:43 of the first period when Josh Anderson put a one-timer from the face-off circle behind Craig Anderson following a pass from the corner by Pierre-Luc Dubois.Craig Anderson turned aside all 17 Columbus shots in the second period, including a short-handed breakaway by Boone Jenner.NOTES: Adam Clendening, Alexander Wennberg and Lukas Sedlak were scratches for the Blue Jackets. … The Senators returned LW Darren Archibald and D Cody Goloubef to AHL Belleville and recalled RW Drake Batherson and C Logan Brown on Friday. … Jackets winger Artemi Panarin played his 300th career game.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: Host San Jose on Saturday night.Senators: Host Calgary on Sunday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Valtteri Filppula scored 1:37 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 Tuesday night for their 12th win in 15 games.Jordan Eberle had a goal in the first period for New York Max Pacioretty Jersey Womens , and Robin Lehner stopped 30 shots.David Perron scored the tying goal in the third period for the Blues, and Jordan Binnington — making his fourth straight start and fourth of his career — finished with 23 saves. St. Louis had won three straight and five of its previous seven.On the winner, Filppula jumped on the ice, got a pass from Mathew Barzal and skated in on Binnington before beating him from the right side for his 10th of the season.BLUE JACKETS 4, DEVILS 1COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Joonas Korpisalo had 29 saves and three Columbus players recorded a goal and an assist in the win over New Jersey.Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson carried the offensive load, and Boone Jenner also scored as Columbus won its fourth straight. The Blue Jackets have won six of their last eight games and 11 of the last 14 while sparring with Washington and Pittsburgh atop the Metropolitan Division.Korpisalo has started three of the last four games ahead of star Sergei Bobrovsky and won each time. The 24-year-old Finn could soon find himself the team’s No.1 goalie as Bobrovsky has refused to sign a contract extension with Columbus and may be traded before the deadline next month.Blake Coleman scored and Keith Kinkaid had 30 saves for the Devils, who saw a two-game winning streak endRANGERS 6, HURRICANES 2NEW YORK (AP) — Mika Zibanejad had two goals and two assists to lead the Rangers past Carolina.Pavel Buchnevich and Tony DeAngelo each scored twice and Mats Zuccarello added three assists as the Rangers won for only the second time in eight games. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves for his 444th win, one behind Terry Sawchuk for sixth place on the NHL’s career list.Saku Maenalanen had two goals and Curtis McElhinney stopped 22 shots but the Hurricanes lost for just the second time since the new year.CANADIENS 5, PANTHERS 1MONTREAL (AP) — Antti Niemi made a career-high 52 saves and Montreal extended its winning streak to three games with a victory over Florida.Shea Weber, Phillip Danault, Max Domi Nic Dowd Jersey Womens , Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal.Mike Hoffman scored in the first period for the Panthers, who have dropped seven consecutive games, their longest skid of the season. Florida’s last victory was on Dec. 31, against the Detroit Red Wings.Roberto Luongo was expected to start in goal for Florida, but James Reimer got the nod in a game-time decision. Reimer stopped 23 shots.RED WINGS 3, DUCKS 1DETROIT (AP) — Gustav Nyquist broke a tie with 4:16 left and Darren Helm scored a little later, lifting Detroit and extending Anaheim’s franchise-record losing streak to 12 games.Nyquist lifted his stick at the left side of the net and tipped in Danny DeKeyser’s shot from the slot. Helm’s goal with 2:33 remaining gave the Red Wings a two-goal cushion.John Gibson stopped 22 shots for the Ducks, who haven’t won since Dec. 17. Prior to the skid, they had won nine of 10.Detroit won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.Rickard Rakell deflected a shot past Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard midway through the second period on a power play. Howard finished with 23 saves.PREDATORS 7, CAPITALS 2NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Viktor Arvidsson had his second career hat trick and Nashville routed Washington to snap a two-game skid.Nick Bonino scored twice, and Rocco Grimaldi and Calle Jarnkrok each added a goal as 12 players contributed at least one point for the Predators. They set a season high for goals, topping the six they scored Dec. 31 in a win at Washington, the defending Stanley Cup champion.Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Johansen each had two assists www.officialducks.com , and Juuse Saros made 26 saves for the win.Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie scored for the Capitals.WILD 3, KINGS 2, SOST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jason Zucker scored in a shootout for the first time in his career to lift Minnesota over Los Angeles.It was Zucker’s first shootout goal in five tries. He was the only shooter from either team to convert.Nino Niederreiter and Eric Staal scored for the Wild, who had lost their previous two games.Ilya Kovalchuck and Jeff Carter scored for the Kings, who came into the game tied with Ottawa for the fewest points in the league.JETS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor had two goals and an assist as Winnipeg beat Vegas.Connor scored short-handed and into an empty net. Mathieu Perreault had a goal and Mark Scheifele also scored into an empty net for Winnipeg. Scheifele added an assist and Blake Wheeler contributed a pair.Laurent Brossoit, making his 11th start this season, stopped 43 shots for Winnipeg, which swept a three-game homestand and improved to 5-0-1 in its past six.Brandon Pirri scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 22 saves for Vegas, which is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games.LIGHTNING 2, STARS 0DALLAS (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots for his second shutout in a week, Ondrej Palat and Mikhail Sergachev scored and Tampa Bay blanked Dallas.Vasilevskiy improved to 10-2-1 since his return from injury Anaheim Ducks T-Shirts Authentic , posting his third shutout this season and 15th of his career for the Lightning, who have an NHL-best 74 points.Anton Khudobin made 19 saves for Dallas.SHARKS 5, PENGUINS 2SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tomas Hertl scored three goals and Joe Thornton celebrated his 1,000th game for San Jose by adding another that helped the Sharks win their seventh straight game.Marcus Sorensen also scored and the Sharks improved to 16-3-2 in their past 21 games with a convincing victory over the dangerous Penguins. Martin Jones made 22 saves to tie his career best by winning his eighth straight start.Kris Letang and Derick Brassard scored for the Penguins, who have lost two in a row following a stretch of 10 wins in 11 games. Matt Murray stopped 24 shots but had his career-high nine-game winning streak snapped. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Sidney Crosby now has one more reason to have good memories of the Shark Tank.Crosby had two goals and three assists to win the All-Star MVP, and Henrik Lundqvist pitched a first-half shutout to lead the Metropolitan Division to a 10-5 victory over the Central Division in the championship round of the NHL All-Star game Saturday night.Crosby finished the night with four goals and four assists in two games on the same ice where he won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup three years ago for Pittsburgh.“I have some great memories here for sure,” he said. “It’s always been a tough place to play. Obviously, when you win in a rink and have those memories, it’s something you think about every time you go there. Being in that dressing room, it’s automatic to bring you back to some of those moments.”The memories aren’t nearly as sweet for the Sharks fans, who booed Crosby when he won the award, joining Wayne Gretzky Anaheim Ducks Hoodies Authentic , Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Joe Sakic and Jean Beliveau as the only players to win the Conn Smyth, the Hart Trophy and All-Star MVP.“It’s cool,” Crosby said. “You play and you watch as a kid growing up and you see that presentation so it’s pretty cool. I had a lot of fun today.”Lundqvist stopped 11 of 13 shots in his two games to give the Metropolitan Division its second title in four years of the three-on-three All-Star format and the $1 million prize shared by the winners of the four-team divisional tournament.Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders added two goals and three assists in the final game.Mikko Rantanen had two goals and Colorado teammate Gabriel Landeskog added one for the Central. Landeskog finished with four goals and three assists, while Rantanen had four goals and two assists.“There’s more pace obviously when it’s the final and there’s a million dollars on the line. A lot of guy were going a little bit harder but it’s good for the fans,” Rantanen said. “Just too bad that we were not that ready to play.”Crosby assisted on Barzal’s goal against Devan Dubnyk just 22 seconds into the championship game and then made it 5-0 in the closing seconds of the first half off a pass from Barzal. Crosby also assisted on Pittsburgh teammate Kris Letang’s goal in the first half and then helped seal the game with a goal in the second half that made it 6-2.Lundqvist made big saves against Landeskog and Claude Giroux in the period one night after winning the save streak competition in the skills challenge.“It was good defense, good structure,” Lundqvist said. “That helps, especially three on three. Honestly, I thought we had pretty good structure, so much skill up front, so many goals. You don’t get surprised, you get impressed.”The first time the All-Star game came to San Jose in 1997 Anaheim Ducks Hats Authentic , hometown favorite Owen Nolan capped the night by calling his shot and pointing to the spot where he completed a hat trick that delighted the Shark Tank.Sharks fans didn’t have as much to cheer for in the return, even though their three All-Stars started the night on the ice together for the Pacific. The Central blitzed the Pacific early for its first win in four years in this format, scoring seven goals on nine shots against John Gibson in the first half of the period in a 10-4 victory.Gibson, who plays for the rival Anaheim Ducks, drew derisive chants from the fans who later called for Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury to take over.“Anytime you play it’s a rivalry and the fans take it personally. That’s what makes it fun,” Gibson said. “You’re still at All-Star game and you’re out there with some of the best players in the league. Stuff’s going to happen.”Landeskog had a hat trick and an assist and Roman Josi had three assists and a goal for the Central.Pekka Rinne and Dubnyk combined to stop 23 of 27 shots with Dubnyk providing one of the biggest highlights with a glove save that robbed Connor McDavid on a breakaway.The Metropolitan Division won the second semifinal 7-4 thanks to a tiebreaking goal by Letang with 3:38 to play. Sebastian Aho added an insurance goal seconds after Braden Holtby stopped John Tavares in close.NOTES: The NHL honored four women’s hockey players who participated in All-Star weekend, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Brianna Decker of the United States, and Rebecca Johnston and Renata Fast of Canada. The four women got a standing ovation and a $25,000 donation in their name to a hockey charity of their choice. Coyne Schofield was the first woman to compete in the skills competition on Friday night, finishing seventh in the fastest skater competition.
EDMONTON Josh Bailey Jersey , Alberta (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks have climbed back to .500, yet head coach Travis Green isn’t satisfied yet.Elias Pettersson and Antoine Roussel each had a goal and an assist as the Canucks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Thursday night.The Canucks scored four goals on their first six shots. Tyler Motte and Brock Boeser also scored for Vancouver, which is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.“From Day 1, we’ve talked about how we want to play,” Green said. “We want to be faster and harder to play against, and we wanted to play meaningful games down the stretch.“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves — we’re at .500 right now and we have a long way to go.”Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers, who have lost four straight.“It seemed like every mistake that we made in the first period, they made it count,” Oilers forward Milan Lucic said.“It was a tough one to come back to after the Christmas break. We have dug ourselves a little bit of a hole the last four games and we can’t afford to keep digging it. We have to find a way out, and it isn’t going to take just one or two guys, it is going to take everyone.”Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen gave up all four goals and made just two saves before being replaced by Cam Talbot, who stopped all 14 shots he faced.Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves in the win for the Canucks.“This is how it should feel,” Markstrom said. “Winning shouldn’t be something you celebrate. It should be normal. …Winning should be normal, and in this organization we had that for a long time. That’s what we’re working to get back.”Vancouver started the scoring with a goal on their first shot four minutes into the opening period. Motte took a feed in the slot and beat Koskinen for his sixth goal of the season.The Canucks scored on their second shot Brady Skjei Jersey , too, when, just a few minutes later Pettersson passed in front to Boeser, who scored his 13th goal.Edmonton got one of those goals back midway through the first period, when Connor McDavid found Nugent-Hopkins in front for a power-play goal. It was the first time in 10 games that Vancouver had allowed a power-play goal.Vancouver made it 3-1 with just over a minute left in the first, scoring on its fifth shot, when Pettersson tucked the puck under Koskinen’s arm for his 18th goal of the season.The Canucks got their fourth goal on their sixth shot at 19:49 off a giveaway in front, which Roussel put away for his fourth goal.It was the first time in nine years that Vancouver scored four goals in the first period of a road game.Talbot started the second period in the Edmonton net.Edmonton clawed back with a second power-play goal seven minutes into the second period on a wrist shot by Draisaitl.NOTES: The Oilers outshot the Canucks 32-20 in the game. … It was the second of four meetings between the teams this season, with the Canucks defeating Edmonton 4-2 on Dec. 16. The next meeting will be Jan. 16 in Vancouver. … Oilers forward Alex Chiasson left the game after taking a shot off of the knee in the first period and did not return.UP NEXTCanucks: At Calgary on Saturday.Oilers: Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James van Riemsdyk recorded a hat trick, and Nolan Patrick had two goals and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.Wayne Simmonds also had two goals for the Flyers. Carter Hart had 34 saves.It was just the second win in the last 11 games for Philadelphia, which began Monday with the fewest points in the league.Jason Zucker, Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Suter scored for Minnesota.The Wild dropped to 0-5-1 against Metropolitan Division teams.AVALANCHE 6, MAPLE LEAFS 3TORONTO (AP) — Carl Soderberg had his first career hat trick and Colorado topped Toronto.Gabriel Landeskog http://www.officialblackhawksproshop.com/authentic-adidas-artem-anisimov-jersey , Mikko Rantanen and Matt Calvert also scored for Colorado, which had lost nine of its last 10 games overall (1-7-2), and seven straight in regulation on the road. Semyon Varlamov stopped 17 shots.Igor Ozhiganov, Kasperi Kapanen and Mitch Marner scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 32 saves in his return to the starting lineup after missing eight games with a groin injury. Auston Matthews added two assists.Toronto has lost five of its last seven games and four of five at home.CANADIENS 3, BRUINS 2, OTBOSTON (AP) — Jeff Petry scored 15 seconds into overtime, batting the puck out of the air and past Tuukka Rask to lead Montreal to a win over Boston.Carey Price stopped 41 shots for the Canadiens. Paul Byron scored a short-handed goal, and Brendan Gallagher also scored to help Montreal earn its third victory in four tries.Rask made 19 saves but lost for the first time in his last six starts. David Krejci scored a power-play goal — with Rask pulled for a 6-on-4 — with just 38 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.Brad Marchand also scored for Boston, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead about six minutes into the game.DEVILS 8, BLACKHAWKS 5NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Kyle Palmieri and Blake Coleman each scored twice, and New Jersey had its biggest offensive game of the season in beating Chicago.Travis Zajac, Sami Vatanen, Kevin Rooney and Brett Seney also scored as the Devils won consecutive games for only the third time since opening the season with four straight wins. Rookie goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood won for the fifth time in seven decisions.Patrick Kane scored twice and set up two others for the Blackhawks. Brent Seabrook Brandon Saad Jersey , Dominik Kahun and Brandon Saad also scored for Chicago, which left goaltenders Cam Ward and Collin Delia defenseless most of the game in giving up at least seven goals for the fifth time this season. The eight goals against tied the most given up by the Blackhawks this season.BLUES 4, CAPITALS 1WASHINGTON (AP) — Vince Dunn scored his first goal since October, David Perron extended his point streak and St. Louis scored three goals in a five-minute span to beat Washington for its first three-game winning streak of the season.Dunn banked the puck in on a double deflection for his first goal in 33 games and assisted on Perron’s goal with a no-look backhanded pass. Ivan Barbashev and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored.Perron, who rejoined St. Louis as a free agent in the offseason, has five goals and nine assists during his career-best 11-game point streak.Jake Allen made 28 saves.Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 33rd goal of the season for Washington, which dropped its second in a row. Ovechkin took over sole possession of sixth in NHL history with his 238th career power-play goal and tied Dave Andreychuk at 14th on the all-time list with the 640th goal of his career.Capitals backup Pheonix Copley allowed four goals on 37 shots.OILERS 7, SABRES 2EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Milan Lucic and Zack Kassian each scored a pair of goals as Edmonton routed Buffalo.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who have won two of their last three.Casey Mittelstadt and Evan Rodrigues scored for the struggling Sabres, who have lost three straight.
Marcus Mariota did 2 different interviews today in which he talked about his injury and his status for Sunday. The first interview was on the Wake Up Zone on 104.5 The Zone here in Nashville. You..."Marcus Mariota did 2 different interviews today in which he talked about his injury and his status for Sunday. The first interview was on the Wake Up Zone on 104.5 The Zone here in Nashville. You can hear it here. That was the interview that prompted Ian Rapoport to say that Marcus Mariota was trending in the wrong direction:That seems to be a giant leap that Rapoport made there. Marcus does say that his whole right side went numb when the injury happened Youth Jeffery Simmons Jersey , but that has nothing to do with what is going on today. In fact, that sounds more like a stinger than the ulnar nerve injury that he suffered in week 1 at Miami. That may or may not mean something, but Rapoport doesn’t know anything more than you or me at this point.The second interview Mariota gave was his weekly Wednesday press conference:He doesn’t give anything there to let us know one way or another.This will be the last time we hear from Mariota this week so the only thing we are going to have left to go off is practice reports. For what it’s worth, Marcus didn’t practice today. He did practice in a limited capacity after the injury in Indianapolis.The Tennessee Titans are approaching a crossroads in the next 12 months The Tennessee Titans franchise is coming to a fork in the road over the next 12 months and the path that Jon Robinson takes will set the course for the roster for years to come.Last weekend Jimmy Morris highlighted the 11 players who may be playing their last season in Tennessee. In addition to that group — which includes 7 projected starters in Taylor Lewan, Delanie Walker, Brian Orakpo, Derrick Morgan, Rishard Matthews, Bennie Logan, and Quinton Spain — the team is entering contract extension range for Marcus Mariota, Kevin Byard, and Derrick Henry next offseason. Robinson will also need to decide whether or not to pick up the 5th year option on Jack Conklin’s rookie contract next spring and could even face decisions on what to do with Logan Ryan, Wesley Woodyard, and Ben Jones in this time frame. That’s 13 of 22 starters that the Titans brass could be making long term commitments to (or deciding to walk away from) in the next 12 months and it’s a group that includes many of the team’s best players. In fact, I’d argue that 7 or 8 of the team’s top 10 players are listed above. The biggest of the decisions center around stars coming to end of their rookie contracts in Lewan, Mariota, and Byard. Lewan’s contract has been the talk of the Titans offseason and for good reason. When the deal gets done it will almost certainly make Lewan the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL. Based on the recent contracts handed out to other top offensive linemen in Andrew Norwell, Zack Martin, and Nate Solder, I would expect the numbers to come in around 5-6 years with $15-17M per year and about 50-60% of the total dollars guaranteed. That would make it the second largest contract ever handed out by the franchise behind only Steve McNair’s 6-year, $112M deal* signed in 2004.*In reality this deal was a restructuring cap maneuver made by former GM Floyd Reese to try to squeeze one or two more runs out of that early 2000’s Super Bowl window. That contract ultimately led to the ugly break up between the Titans and McNair when the ridiculous $23.46M cap hit came due in 2006.The next two major contracts are unlikely to come this offseason, but will probably get done before the start of the 2019 season. Kevin Byard’s first two seasons as a pro have been outstanding and he already has his new coaching staff raving about his preparation and leadership. Those qualities have allowed him to quickly become an instrumental piece of the Titans defense. Though his rookie contract runs through the end of the 2019 season, it seems likely that the team would try to lock him up to a long term deal by the end of next summer. If Byard’s 2018 performance is anywhere close to his First-Team All-Pro season a year ago, his agent will have a real argument to make him the top paid safety in the NFL. That throne currently belongs to Eric Berry who signed a 6-year, $78M deal before the start of the 2017 season. I think the floor for any long term deal would start at Reshad Jones’ 5-year, $60M contract. However, both of those potential contracts would be dwarfed by the looming Marcus Mariota extension. The Titans picked up Mariota’s 5th year option on his rookie deal earlier this offseason which means he is now officially under contract through the 2019 season. Franchise quarterbacks are the NFL’s most valuable asset and it’s reflected in their pay. The average annual salaries for quarterbacks hit the $30M mark with Matt Ryan’s 5-year, $150M extension earlier this offseason and you can expect Mariota’s deal to top that number. There is no doubt that Ryan is more accomplished than Mariota, but the Titans QB is younger and has shown tremendous potential for the majority of his 3-year career to this point despite a less than stellar supporting cast. Besides, quarterback contracts will continue to skyrocket as long as there aren’t enough good QBs to go around. One small benefit to the Titans is the fact that Jameis Winston likely isn’t going to be getting a mega-contract from the Bucs with his current off-the-field issues, so there will be one fewer contract to one-up for Mariota’s agents. If the Titans aren’t 100% sold on Mariota’s long term prospects by the end of 2018, they can always choose to let him play out his 5th year option and then have the option to franchise tag him for a couple years before truly committing long term. The risk with that strategy is that you antagonize your most important player and you also likely end up paying more in the long run thanks to larger and larger comparable QB contracts hitting the market. If the Titans extend all three of these players before the start of next year’s training camp http://www.thetitanslockerroom.com/authentic-tajae-sharpe-jersey , they will have handed out three contracts worth more than $10M per year in less than 12 months after only giving out three such deals in the team’s entire existence to this point (McNair, Chris Johnson, and Jurrell Casey). It’s possible that they allow either Byard or Mariota to play on the final year of their deal in 2019 with the knowledge that they could use the franchise tag to hang on to them for another year if needed, but again, the franchise tag tends to be a distraction and frequently leads to hold outs during the offseason. If they can reach a reasonable deal without getting to that point, it’s certainly in the team’s best interest to do so.Those deals would add roughly $60M per year to the Titans bottom line — nearly one-third of the projected 2019 salary cap — and will completely change the team’s cap dynamic moving forward. Tennessee currently ranks 4th in the NFL with $33.2M in available cap space for 2018 and roughly $68M (after rolling over their unused cap and assuming a league wide cap bump to $190M for next season) for 2019. That $68M number includes a $20.9M cap hold for Mariota and a $1.1M cap hold for Byard based on their current deals, so the Titans would be able to pay Lewan, Mariota, and Byard prior to the 2019 season and still have about $30M to spend on free agency and the rookie contracts for their 2019 draft class. That will make it very difficult for the Titans to afford Orakpo, Morgan, Walker, Matthews, Logan, and Spain. You could have three of those guys back, maybe four if one or two of them take a team friendly deal, but that won’t leave room for much else. And that doesn’t even begin to speak to other 2019 free agents like special teams ace Brynden Trawick, depth tight ends Phillip Supernaw and Luke Stocker, or other potential depth/special teams players like Will Compton, Kevin Pamphile, Nate Palmer, and Michael Campanaro. Those roster spots will all need to be filled one way or another. Draft picks will likely play a big role in that, but I would expect at least two or three veteran starters to be playing elsewhere by 2019.The team has some opportunities to save money elsewhere if needed as well. Logan Ryan, Ben Jones, Wesley Woodyard, and Johnathan Cyprien will all have very little guaranteed money left on their deals for the 2019 season so they would be prime candidates to be cut or restructured next offseason. Of course cutting any of those players also means replacing another starter. That means that we will soon find out what Jon Robinson truly values. Where will he choose to invest his limited capital on the roster? Will he try to build a dominant defense and hope Mariota’s play can raise the level of the offensive players around him? Or will he continue to try to build Mariota’s supporting cast and hope to get by with one or two defensive stars surrounded by young or unproven talent? Will he invest more in receivers or offensive linemen? Derrick Henry will also be looking for a new contract by the end of 2019. Will the Titans give it to him, or will they choose to dip back in to the draft for a cheap replacement? Does Robinson prefer a dominant pass rush or a dominant secondary? These questions will start to be answered over the next calendar year and it could either set the Titans up for a long run of relevance and another legitimate title window or it could cause them to backslide in to more mediocrity (or worse). There is far more reason for optimism than fear for Titans fans heading in to this pivotal stretch though. Robinson has been excellent during his first two and a half years on the job, changing the culture and upgrading the talent of the team. His complete lack of fear when it comes to making bold decisions is refreshing and should serve him well as he faces some of the most important questions in this franchise’s history over the next 12 months. With this back drop, I will be taking a look at what analytics and history have to say about some of these team building decisions over the next few weeks, but if you’re Jon Robinson, who would you pay and what’s your plan moving in to this new era of Titans football?Get your “Honor” Landry shirt here.
Many teams are currently in attendance at Tropicana Field in Tampa Warren Sapp Jersey White , scouting all the prospects from the East-West Shrine game. With it being in their own backyard, the Buccaneers brass didn’t have to travel very far to scout these players. Here are a few of the players that Tampa Bay has met with over the last few days down in St. Pete.1. Jordan Brailford (Defensive end) Oklahoma State University. In his three seasons at OSU, Brailford has 90 solo tackles, 45 assisted tackles, 16 sacks including 10 in 2018. He also added 31.5 tackles for loss with 17 of them coming in 2018. With the Buccaneers likely needing help along the defensive line this off-season, Brailford could make sense as a mid-round pick. 2. Derrick Baity (Cornerback) University of Kentucky. Any player the Buccaneers scout in the secondary makes sense. Simply because of need. In his four years at Kentucky, Baity had six career interceptions, 112 tackles and 25 pass defenses. Baity is projected to be selected anywhere from the 4th to 6th round of the 2019 NFL draft.3. Jordan Wyatt (Cornerback) Southern Methodist University. A four year player at SMU, Wyatt established himself as a turnover machine. In his four years, Wyatt recorded 11 interceptions and also forced eight fumbles. He also totaled 116 solo tackles. Again, the Buccaneers continue to scout positions of need at the East-West Shrine game. 4. Brett Rypien (Quarterback) Boise State. With both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Griffin being UFA’s this off-season, this is another meeting that makes sense for the Buccaneers. I fully expect them, at some point to select a quarterback in the later rounds of the NFL draft. In four years at Boise State, Rypien had a 64.0% comp pct, threw for 13,578 yards and 90 touchdowns. Rypien is ranked as a top 10 quarterback in this years draft class. All of this is fluid and many teams have met with the same players, but these are some of the names to keep an eye on throughout the draft process to see if they get an invite to visit One Buc Place. All of these names were provided by Trevor Sikkema twitter handle.Dirk Koetter gives updates after Monday’s practice It’s game week Buccaneer fans and the team was back on the practice filed as they prepare for the New Orleans Saints. Head Coach Dirk Koetter gave some updates Monday on the state of the team as well as some injury updates. Koetter update on Vita Vea: “He’s making good progress. Unfortunately, it’s not to the point where he can play football on the field yet, but he’s working a lot behind the scenes in the weight room, in the training room, and he’s making progress, but he’s not ready to play on the field yet.”Koetter was also asked whether or not he knows when Vea will return and he simply said he couldn’t comment any further. To me Jacquizz Rodgers Jersey White , it doesn’t look likely that Vea will be playing week one. Koetter update on Donovan Smith: “Yeah, we’ll see how it shakes out. You guys know well – Donovan takes a lot of pride,” Koetter said. “He’s never missed a start in his time here, and if anybody can make it, it’s him.”My gut tells me Donovan will play on Sunday. Of course, practices later in the week will tell a bigger story, but like Koetter said, if anyone can heal that fast and play it’s Donovan.Koetter on if it was weird not having Jameis in the building: “It was a little bit. I think I noticed it the most when I walked in the quarterback room when we broke down for individual meetings and went in the quarterback room.,” Koetter said. “I mean, it’s been a long time since Jameis hasn’t been camped out up in the front row next to his computer. It was a little bit strange, but we knew this was coming, and we planned for it. Now we’ve just got to do it.”You have to hope that the team doesn’t have a Jameis type hangover and let his absence affect their performance or energy level. I don’t think it will because Fitzpatrick also has their respect, but it’s something to keep an eye on. Being down a vocal leader can absolutely hurt a team, but Koetter does have to prepare them for that during the week.Koetter on it finally being week one: “Tough opener against a really good football team, but what better way for us to measure where we’re at? One of the toughest places to play in the league – going to play in the Dome in New Orleans,” Koetter said. “I know our guys are excited about it, and as you said a division game, so they know us well, we know them well. We’re excited about getting them going.”The Saints have lost their last four season openers, while the Buccaneers have won their last two. It’s a division matchup so the two teams are very familiar with each other, so there really shouldn’t be many surprises. Will the Saints have an NFC divisional game hangover? We shall see.
SANTA CLARA Earl Mitchell Jersey , Calif. (AP) — All the optimism the San Francisco 49ers had coming into the season crumpled less than a month into the campaign when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo blew out his knee.Talk of a playoff run and a return to the upper echelon of the NFC was put on hold for yet another year as the 49ers were headed to a fourth straight losing season instead.Despite the injuries to Garoppolo and projected starting running back Jerick McKinnon, coach Kyle Shanahan said he believed the Niners should have done better than finish 4-12, a drop of two wins from his first season in San Francisco.“I look at this year and we went through some tough things this year,” Shanahan said. “I look back on it and with the stuff we went through, are you going to have a great record? You have a chance to. But, odds are it’s going to be tough. We only won four games. I’m not happy with that despite what’s happened. I believe specifically going through the games and everything, I think we should have won seven. So, I’m down about that.”The 49ers hope the experience the young players got, plus the expected returns of Garoppolo and McKinnon next season, will be enough for the franchise to end a stretch of losing that began when Jim Harbaugh was forced out as coach following the 2014 season. San Francisco has lost 47 games since Harbaugh left, tied for the worst four-year stretch in franchise history.The one possible bright spot is that run of ineptitude from 1977-80 led to a Super Bowl title the following season. Whether the Niners have enough pieces in place even to be a playoff team next year remains in question.“It’s hard to say,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “It’s hard to tell without your guys out there. Without Jimmy G, you got your franchise quarterback you lose, what, three games into the season. You lose the running back you just paid, no games into the season. Your starting receivers get banged-up. You lose a safety a game almost every game all the way up until the 10th, 11th game. I think it will be tough to know how good we’ll be until we have a consistent unit out there and show some continuity.”As much as the season-ending knee injuries to Garoppolo and McKinnon in September set San Francisco back, there were plenty of other issues on the team that need to be fixed if the Niners are to have any success in 2019.The defense set an NFL record for futility with just seven takeaways K’Waun Williams Jersey , including a record-low two interceptions. The defensive members of the 2017 draft class expected to be building blocks provided little impact, with first-round lineman Solomon Thomas getting only one sack, first-round linebacker Reuben Foster getting released after another arrest, and third-round cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon struggling.Those problems overshadowed the few highlights: a blowout win in the final Battle of the Bay against the Raiders; a home win against Seattle in December that snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Seahawks.“We’re not going to sit here and say anything too positive about this season,” said left tackle Joe Staley, one of the only remaining ties to the winning teams under Harbaugh from 2011-13. “It’s kind of been a downer for everybody. But the thing I am proud of is we’ve been out of it for a little bit, but we keep fighting every single week and the guys still show up. … I’m proud of the effort of the guys. But at the end of the day, it’s not an effort business. It’s a results business.”The 49ers will need to get results in 2019 in the third year under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.The duo has provided strong leadership and Shanahan has proven to be a top play caller, as evidenced by the success he had late in the season with undrafted free agent Nick Mullens at quarterback.The hope is the offense will be even more dynamic with a full season of Garoppolo at quarterback, the speedy McKinnon at running back after missing the entire season with a knee injury, and big-play tight end George Kittle, who set a record at the position with 1,377 yards receiving for the season.But questions remain about Garoppolo, who was given a $137.5 million, five-year contract last offseason after leading the Niners to a 5-0 record as starter at the end of 2017.Garoppolo wasn’t nearly as efficient in his two-plus games this season before the injury. He threw three interceptions in an opening loss at Minnesota, took six sacks the following week in a win against Detroit, then fell behind 35-7 the following week at Kansas City before eventually going down with the torn knee ligament.But the Niners are counting on Garoppolo to be a difference maker in 2019.“We put more pressure on ourselves than anyone,” Garoppolo said. “All that’s just hearsay and stuff. We went through a whole offseason of that last year Joe Staley Jersey , so we’re prepared for that. We just have to keep getting better as a team, coming together, getting together in the offseason and working. That will help us going forward.” The quarterback position is the most important in football, and it doesn’t take long for teams to grow enamored with a potential franchise option. Even when there are questions of the position group heading into the annual draft, teams will reach thinking they’ve found “the one.”The 2019 NFL Draft does not have a clear-cut dominant quarterback that will run the table as the top option. There is no Andrew Luck or Cam Newton or even a Peyton Manning/Ryan Leaf pairing that everybody believes is worth grabbing at the top of the draft. Instead, we have Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State) and Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) competing to be the first quarterback off the board. Drew Lock and Daniel Jones are among others who could get into the first round, but for the time being, Haskins and Murray seem likely to be the first two quarterbacks off the board in some order.There has been speculation about whether or not Arizona might grab Murray, and there are questions as to who will be willing to move up if they think they have to leapfrog some teams to grab a QB. Some teams legitimately are interested in drafting a quarterback, while others simply want a team to move up and take a QB to guarantee one more non-QB is available for them.It appears we can add the Detroit Lions to the mix. They have Matthew Stafford in place but general manager Bob Quinn said on Monday that the team won’t rule out any position with the No. 8 pick.We’ve seen teams jump on the QB position even when it seemed unnecessary (Chiefs two years ago), so nothing would surprise me. But again, it could be a matter of convincing a team behind the Lions that they need to make a move up.So who exactly needs a quarterback in the top half of the draft? You could make arguments for teams in the back half of the draft, but the odds seem long of any of them being interested in moving up to the No. 2 overall pick.1. Cardinals: They have Josh Rosen, but....2. 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo starting, and Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard competing for the backup role. Maybe they deal one of their backup quarterbacks, but they won’t be spending a first round pick on the position.3. Jets: Sam Darnold took his lumps, but he’s their guy.4. Raiders: After the Cardinals, this is where it gets interesting. Derek Carr seems unlikely to be going anywhere at this point Steve Young Jersey , but Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock adding a quarterback in the first round would not surprise me in the least. That being said, I would expect it with one of their other first round picks.5. Buccaneers: Jameis Winston is signed through 2019, on his fifth year option. I would not be surprised to see them sign some competition in free agency, but if they are relatively quiet on the QB front in March, they are a dark-horse to make some noise in the draft.6. Giants: They need a replacement for Eli Manning, but they kicked the can down the road this past year. If rumors heat up around the Raiders and/or Bucs, the Giants seem like a strong contender to be chatting up the 49ers and Jets about moving up — pending the Cardinals own decisions.7. Jaguars: Blake Bortles is not the answer, and in spite of signing him to a three-year, $54 million extension a year ago, the Jags seem likely to be in the market. Free agency is a wasteland at the position this year, so they might be forced to be aggressive in the draft.8. Lions: They’re playing the game, but I would be surprised if they drafted a QB at this spot.9. Bills: Josh Allen is their guy.10. Broncos: Hahahahahahahahaha. Yes, they will be drafting a quarterback. One rumor has GM John Elway smitten with Drew Lock.11. Bengals: Andy Dalton is not the answer, but a lot will come down to how conversations have gone between new head coach Zac Taylor and the front office.12. Packers: Aaron Rodgers isn’t going anywhere. They need a replacement at some point, but it’s not yet.13. Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill seems like he could be out the door, and right now they are the favorites to draft Kyler Murray. They’ll be a player.14. Falcons: Matt Ryan is their guy for the foreseeable future.15. Washington: They seemed settled with Alex Smith, but his devastating leg injury leaves them entirely uncertain of the future. I would not be at all surprised to see them looking at the QB position in April.
Read!"Sign up for the Seaside Joe newsletter!In addition to the great content you'll see on Field Gulls every day Steve Largent Jersey , sign up for a daily newsletter to come to your email every morning that will be a short and sweet post, thought, stat, quote, musing by Kenneth or one of his guests that requires little thought or commitment. Just a good way to bring a Seahawks companion to your morning of sippin' joe by the seaside.Seahawks want a first rounder for Frank Clark 芦 Seahawks Draft BlogFrank Clark trade talk continues – ProFootballTalkWe noted last weekend that there's been talk around the NFL of the Seahawks trading defensive end Frank Clark. That talk seems to be getting louder as the draft approaches. Multiple reports in recent days have said a Clark trade is possible.Source -- Seahawks want 1st-rounder for DE ClarkThe Seahawks would want any trade package for defensive end Frank Clark to include at least a first-round pick in this year's draft, a source told ESPN on Saturday.Seahawks TE Ed Dickson: Russell Wilson 'is the ideal quarterback'Seahawks tight end Ed Dickson says there is a difference between the professional quarterback Russell Wilson and the Instagram star. He talks about the Wilson he personally knows.The highs and lows of John Schneider’s draft selections as Seahawks general manager | The Spokesman-ReviewJohn Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks not only has his own Wikipedia page but a Super Bowl ring and a contract thought to make him among the highest-paid general managers in the NFL.Brock Huard’s 2019 NFL Draft preview: FSU DE Brian BurnsEach weekday at 8:30 a.m. leading up to the NFL Draft, 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard will profile a prospect he considers to be a first-round possibility for the Seahawks. His previews continued with Florida State defensive end Brian Burns.Jared Goff: Contract extension 'not on my mind at all' - NFL.comLos Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff said this week that he is not thinking about his contract situation as offseason workouts commence.Kareem Jackson plays safety during Broncos camp - NFL.comBroncos coach Vic Fangio told reporters on Thursday that former Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson has been playing safety so far during Denver's offseason program.Cameron Brate expects to be cleared for training camp – ProFootballTalkBuccaneers tight end Cameron Brate had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip in January, but he was dealing with the injury well before he finally had it repaired. Brate was hurt in 2017, but doctors hoped that it would heal without surgery.Look for Raiders to focus on defensive side of ball at No. 4 – ProFootballTalkFive years ago, the Raiders found future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack with the fifth overall pick in the draft. This time around, the Raiders have earned the fourth pick in round one -- and the pressure to find another Mack has increased, given that they traded him to the Bears in September.Will Giants pass on a QB at 6 and take one at 17? – ProFootballTalkAs the draft approaches, there's been quite a bit of chatter that the Giants will take their quarterback of the future in the first round -- but not with their own pick, No. 6 overall.Sean Lee: I had to find a way to come back and help in any way – ProFootballTalkCowboys linebacker Sean Lee said after the season ended in Los Angeles that he needed time "to figure things out" regarding his future. It turns out, it didn't take Lee long.Keanu Neal back lifting with teammates – ProFootballTalkFalcons safety Keanu Neal made it through only 37 defensive snaps last season before tearing an anterior cruciate ligament. Neal is working his way back, now lifting with his teammates in the offseason program, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.Ben Watson having second thoughts about retirement – ProFootballTalkLongtime NFL tight end Benjamin Watson might not be retiring after all. Watson Nick Vannett Jersey , who indicated at the end of last season that it would be his last, is thinking he might play this year after all, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.Former NFL running back, 49ers scout Reggie Cobb dies at 50 – ProFootballTalkReggie Cobb, a second-round draft pick in 1990 who would go on to become a scout, has died. He was 50. “We are devastated by the sudden loss of a tremendous teammate and loyal friend, Reggie Cobb," 49ers G.M. John Lynch said in a statement released by the team. Sunday the Seattle Seahawks will wrap up their 2018 regular season with their Week 17 home game against the Arizona Cardinals. While the game will have no impact on either team’s ability to make the playoffs, with the Cardinals having been eliminated weeks ago and the Seahawks owning one of the two NFC Wild Card berths, it will serve as a tune up for the Hawks as they prepare for the postseason. For the Cardinals, a loss would decrease the likelihood of having the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, a position they currently hold due to having the worst record in the entire NFL. Not really all that noteworthy, but it is interesting to consider that the only teams the Cards have defeated in the course of amassing their 3-11 record are the San Francisco 49ers (twice) and the Green Bay Packers. In any case, the Seahawks injury report for the game looks very good compared to how it looked heading into the Week 16 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Hawks should be at close to full strength. Germain Ifedi appears set to start at right tackle after having missed the game against Kansas City, and D.J. Fluker is once again listed as questionable. Fluker played the majority of the game against the Chiefs after J.R. Sweezy went down with a foot injury that is likely to keep him out again this week, so guard will certainly be a position worth watching. It would not be a surprise for the team to keep eight offensive linemen active for the game Duane Brown Jersey , just as they did last week, which is one more than usual. On the defensive side Dion Jordan, Bradley McDougald and Tedric Thompson are all listed as questionable, and even if they play, are likely to see their time limited in order to ensure their health for the postseason. For Arizona, their injury report is pretty empty, with only three players on it. Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones is out with a shoulder injury, and defensive ends Markus Golden and Benson Mayowa are both listed as questionable. That said, the reason their injury report is so empty is largely because huge portions of the team is already on injured reserve. The Cardinals have 17 players on IR (Seattle has nine players on IR, including only two starters. Unless you also want to count Mychal Kendricks as a starter, in which case they have three starters on IR). Of those 17 players on IR, some of them areFormer first round pick Robert Nkemdiche (who as a first round pick has 4.5 sacks and 44 tackles in his first three seasons),Starting middle linebacker Josh Bynes, who was second on the team in tackles until being injured in Week 12, Six different offensive linemen who have started a game for the Cardinals this season (Jeremy Vujnovich, Korey Cunningham, Justin Pugh Kam Chancellor Jersey Green , Mike Iupati, John Wetzel and D.J. Humphries) and a seventh (A.Q. Shipley) who was slated to be the starting center before being injured in training camp, Christian Kirk, who was leading the team in receiving yards and was second in receptions and receiving touchdowns before breaking his foot in Week 13 andstarting kicker Phil Dawson, who will turn 44 next month. So, hopefully the Seahawks won’t have too much trouble at home with the Cardinals, even if they rest their starters because a good number of Arizona starters are already missing. In any case, Frank Clark has one more regular season game this season to try and improve his market value. In addition, while it would take a Herculean effort to tie or break the franchise single season record for sacks, if there was ever an opponent against which Clark might be able to set the single game record for sacks (4.0 is the current record, which five different Seahawks have accomplished, most recently Chris Clemons against Green Bay in 2012) and tie or break Michael Sinclair’s single season record of 16.5 set in 1998, it would seem to be this Cardinals team. Reduced to starting their third string left tackle and their fourth string right tackle in Week 17, Clark would have to have an outstanding day to set either record, but with an opportunity to face off against two tackles who were signed by the Cardinals within the last month, it’s impossible to rule out the possibility.
TORONTO — The Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs have reason to believe they can still be better — and soon.Both teams are pretty good as it is TJ Brodie Jersey , and they meet Monday night at the Scotiabank Arena following impressive victories on Saturday.The Maple Leafs (16-8-0), led by three goals from Andreas Johnsson and shutout goaltending by backup Garret Sparks, defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-0 at home, while the Bruins (13-6-4) defeated the Canadiens 3-2 in Montreal.Article continues below ...The improvement for these teams is expected to come with the return of key players from injury.The Maple Leafs are anticipating the return of center Auston Matthews from a shoulder injury within a week. Not only that, but holdout right winger William Nylander, a restricted free agent, also could be re-signed this week.“It’s my assumption we’re getting both back,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “Obviously, we’ll be a better hockey club when we have them both. They give you a whole other line and give you much more depth. Ideally, that’s what you had in mind when you started the year. I expected to have them a lot sooner than we have, but we’ll be excited to have them both.”The Bruins can expect the return of a couple of mainstays in the coming weeks — center Patrice Bergeron (rib/sternoclavicular) and defenseman Zdeno Chara (knee).Meanwhile, the Bruins are receiving some good play from their younger players.“The team’s growing in front of our eyes,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game Saturday. “Young guys that need to learn how to win. Listen Womens Travis Hamonic Jersey , I don’t want to call it playoff hockey in November, but we are in close games every night. To me, that’s playoff hockey and you have to be comfortable in these games.”The Bruins won when defenseman John Moore scored his first goal of the season on a power play at 17:03 of the third period. The Bruins also had defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in overtime Friday night at the TD Garden.Jake DeBrusk scored his seventh goal in his past nine games Saturday, giving him 10 for the season. He was playing on a line with Danton Heinen and David Krejci for the second game in a row.“By far our best line,” Cassidy had said following the win over the Penguins.“Kind of nice that I struggled earlier,” DeBrusk said. “Because now it makes me hungrier to get more goals.”David Backes also scored his first goal of the season for Boston in Montreal.“I’ve quit thinking,” Backes said. “Thinking is, uh, paralysis when you’re in slumps. It was a quick play and that was good for me. Get it, look for a hole and shoot it as hard as I could. It was a beautiful sight in my mind to see the puck go off my stick and into the net.”The Maple Leafs had been falling into a rut before they scored early and often against the Flyers, taking a 4-0 lead 12:20 into the game with three of the goals scored by Johnsson.“After (the third goal) it kind of felt unreal,” Johnsson said. “It’s hard to explain. I had the first goal, then the second goal and http://www.officialhurricanes.com/authentic-adidas-andrei-svechnikov-jersey , all of a sudden, the third one, I’m like, ‘what’s going on?'”In their three previous games, the Maple Leafs had fallen behind 2-0 and lost two of them on the road to the Caroline Hurricanes Wednesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday. Until those games, the Maple Leafs were 9-1-0 on the road.They did come back Monday to beat the Blue Jackets 4-2 at home after falling behind 2-0.Saturday marked the second Maple Leafs home game in a row without a penalty being called on either team.The teams met on Nov. 10 at Boston with the Bruins winning 5-1 led by David Pastrnak’s three goals. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alex Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left faceoff circle has been unstoppable this season for the Washington Capitals.The Russian forward scored a pair of power-play goals from his favorite spot as the Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Monday night.Ovechkin — who had his 10th multi-goal game this season — leads the NHL with 42 goals. He has scored a goal in three straight games and has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in the past eight games. He is on pace for 57 goals, which would be the second-most in his 14-year career. He scored 65 goals in 2007-08.“We play simple, smart and move the puck well,” Ovechkin said.According to NHL.com, Ovechkin has scored 24 goals this season from the left faceoff circle. The last three have been identical — a feed from John Carlson for a one-timer.“When we use our speed it makes it difficult on other teams,” said Carlson, who had two assists to go over 300 for his career. “We’re just trying to find our looks. It is going decent for us on the power play right now.”The Capitals are 4 of 13 on the power play during their six-game road trip Brock McGinn Jersey Kids , where they have split the first four games. They remain in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 73 points.Coach Todd Rierden was pleased with his team’s performance on special teams, especially after they allowed two power-play goals in a 5-2 loss to Anaheim on Sunday night.“We knew going into the game that we had to play a fast game and regardless of it being back-to-back or not, we wanted to play that way and force them to defend and we were able to capitalize,” he said.Brett Connolly scored Washington’s other goal and Pheonix Copley made 26 saves for his third straight win.It was Washington’s first win at Staples Center since Dec. 14, 2005, and ends an eight-game losing streak.Alex Iafallo and Ilya Kovalchuk had third-period goals for Los Angeles, which is last in the Western Conference with 52 points and 0-3-2 in its last five.Dustin Brown had an assist for his 600th point while Jack Campbell stopped 18 shots.“They capitalized on their power play and that was the difference,” Kings coach Willie Desjardins said. “We had stuff going to the net that we could have had our tips but we just didn’t get them.”Washington opened the scoring midway through the first with a pair of goals 20 seconds apart. Ovechkin put the Capitals on the board at 10:48 on a slap shot from the left faceoff circle.Connolly quickly made it 2-0 at 11:08 when he deflected Andre Burakovsky’s wrist shot past Campbell for his 14th of the season. It was the quickest back-to-back goals the Capitals have scored this season, surpassing the 21-second margin that happened Oct. 4 at Pittsburgh.Ovechkin netted his 13th power-play goal at 5:27 of the second period. It was the sixth time the Capitals have had two or more power-play goals but the first since they had two in a Dec. 11 win at Detroit.Iafallo averted a shutout when the drove to the net and buried a cross-crease pass from Brown past Copley for his 13th of the season. Iafallo has scored in two straight games for only the second time this season.Kovalchuk scored his 13th of the season at 19:32 when the Kings brought on an extra skater.NOTES: Washington RW T.J. Oshie returned to the lineup after sustaining an upper-body injury during the second period at Anaheim on Sunday. … Carlson is the third defenseman in Capitals history to reach 300 assists. He joins Calle Johansson (361) and Scott Stevens (331). … Los Angeles G Jonathan Quick was available as a backup but did not play. He missed Saturday’s game against Boston due to illness. … The Kings have allowed a power-play goal in four of the past five games.UP NEXTCapitals: Continue their road trip on Thursday night at Toronto.Kings: Travel to Nashville on Thursday night to start a four-game road trip.
UNIONDALE Michael Grabner Jersey Womens , N.Y. (AP) — The Lightning and their high-flying offense hadn’t been shut out all season. The Islanders blanked them for 65 minutes, but it still wasn’t enough.Victor Hedman scored the only goal in shootout Friday night to lift Tampa Bay past New York 1-0 after both goaltenders put on a spectacular display in regulation and overtime.Hedman beat Thomas Greiss on the first attempt for the league-best Lightning.The Islanders had a power play at 3:23 of overtime when Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was called for cross-checking but couldn’t convert.Greiss and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy put on a save-for-save clinic before the shootout. Greiss made 41 saves while Vasilevskiy stopped 36 shots. Vasilevskiy turned away three more during the shootout.“Both goaltenders were outstanding,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “It was a well-played hockey game.”The Islanders, who lead the Metropolitan Division, came in having won of 15 of their last 19 games, including five of six heading into the All-Star break and their subsequent bye week. They hadn’t played since losing at Chicago in a shootout on Jan. 22.“There was a little bit of a playoff-feel type of game with the number one team in the league coming to your building,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said.The Lightning were coming off their first game back, a 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. And when they last played the Islanders, Tampa Bay was smothered 5-1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 13.“We knew what happened last time we played them. We were expecting a better effort and we definitely got it Marian Hossa Jersey Womens ,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “And a 0-0 game is a pretty exciting one.”Tampa Bay outshot the Islanders 14-11 in the first period with Greiss made a number of strong saves, denying Lightning captain Steven Stamkos from in close on the power play and stopping Yanni Gourde from the doorstep.Greiss also was in goal for the Islanders when the Islanders won in Brooklyn on Jan. 13.“I think we played two great games against them,” Greiss said. “It is a confidence boost for us.”In the second period, the Islanders had two power-play chances but couldn’t convert.The chippy contest continued with the goaltenders on top of their games as each team registered 10 shots in the middle stanza.Vasilevskiy made a spectacular save on Valtteri Filppula midway through the second period, sprawling to his left to deny the Finnish forward.“I thought we played really good defensively,” said the 24-year-old netminder. “Both goalies played well.”In the third, the Lightning came out flying with 10 shots on Greiss in the first five minutes.Greiss denied Brayden Point with a left pad save off a tic-tac-toe setup from linemates Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov.He made stops on Mathieu Joseph and Ryan McDonagh to keep the game scoreless.Vasilevskiy was equally stellar, robbing Mathew Barzal from in front and stopping Josh Bailey on a follow-up.He also made a sharp glove save on Islanders captain Anders Lee with 2:11 left in regulation.The Lightning had a 40-32 shots advantage heading into overtime.Trotz was asked if the riveting scoreless draw made him miss ties.“A little bit because we’re a team sport and we preach team in everything we do. With a penalty shot, you sort of lose the effect of a game Joakim Nordstrom Jersey Womens ,” Trotz said. “But from the fans’ standpoint, they want to see an end result. And part of what’s theirs is the shootout.”NOTES: The Islanders scratched Fs Tom Kuhnhackl and Ross Johnston plus D Luca Sbisa and continued to be without injured F Andrew Ladd and D Thomas Hickey. … Tampa Bay scratched Fs Ryan Callahan and Danick Martel and D Anton Stralman. … The Islanders were 8-2-1 in January and have a winning record each month this season.UP NEXTIslanders: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.Lightning: Visit the New York Rangers on Saturday night. The old adage is that when a player is injured, opportunities for other players open up. Ryan Hartman has taken advantage of that situation for the banged-up Nashville Predators.Hartman will try to help the Predators to their fifth straight home win when they face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.Nashville (21-10-1) remains one of the league’s top teams in spite of a rash of injuries to key players. Viktor Arvidsson, who’s scored 68 goals since the start of the 2016-17 season, has been on injured reserve since Nov. 11 with a broken thumb and Filip Forsberg (team-high 14 goals this season) was placed on IR on Dec. 1, reportedly with a hand injury.Article continues below ...Hartman has moved into a spot on the top line and scored in Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks. He is averaging nearly 18 minutes of ice time over the last seven games and being called upon more for special teams play.“You can see the poise that he plays with. He’s playing really confident right now, holding on to the puck and really seeing the plays unfold,” said Colton Sissons, who scored the game-winner and has three goals and two assists in a season-high four-game points streak.Hartman already has nine goals in 32 games after collecting 11 in 78 contests with the Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks last season.“The speed in which he’s playing Tyler Graovac Jersey Womens , the offense in which he’s showing. He’s playing the game on the edge, but he’s staying disciplined, and so he’s doing a lot of good things out there with (Ryan) Johansen and (Kevin) Fiala,” coach Peter Laviolette said.Hartman downplayed his contributions.“I don’t really change the way I play really. I just try to be physical, get in on the puck and make plays. I don’t think anything really changes,” said the one-time first-round pick of the Blackhawks.Nashville is 4-0-3 in its last seven matchups with the Devils, who have lost 13 of 16 on the road this season.New Jersey (11-13-6) is in position for back-to-back wins for the first time since Nov. 13 and Nov. 15 after topping the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 in overtime on Friday. The Devils rallied from two three-goal deficits before Nico Hischier’s game-winner in the opening minute of the extra session withstood a review.“We were down early, but we stick to it, we battled hard and we came back Noah Hanifin Jersey Womens ,” Hischier said after lifting New Jersey to its first win in seven games that went past regulation in 2018-19.The Devils are 0-3-2 in the back ends of games on consecutive nights.“It’s time to put it to work on the ice and make the plays and execute. It’s not a matter of between the ears at this point,” center Brian Boyle said.Keith Kinkaid was pressed into service after Cory Schneider yielded three goals on seven shots in the opening 9:23. Kinkaid, who is expected to start Saturday made 32 saves in the Devils’ 4-3 overtime loss to Nashville on Oct. 25 in New Jersey. He’s been reached for at least three goals in seven of 10 road starts this season.Kyle Palmieri, who assisted on all three goals against the Predators, tallied his team-high 17th goal in Friday’s win. He has five goals and an assist in a four-game points streak.Devils winger Taylor Hall sat out Friday and remains day-to-day with lower-body soreness. The Hart Trophy winner leads the team with 23 assists and 31 points and needs one goal for 200 in his career.
Florida Panthers (32-27-12 Brent Seabrook Jersey Kids , fifth in the Atlantic Division) vs. Anaheim Ducks (29-35-9, seventh in the Pacific Division)Anaheim, California; Sunday, 9 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Anaheim plays Florida at Honda Center in a non-conference matchup.The Ducks are 15-13-8 at home. Anaheim scores 2.3 goals per game, the least in the Western Conference. Jakob Silfverberg leads the team with 21 total goals.The Panthers have gone 14-15-6 away from home. Florida has surrendered 38 power-play goals, killing 81 percent of opponent opportunities. In their last meeting on Nov. 28, Anaheim won 3-2. Nick Ritchie scored a team-high two goals for the Ducks in the victory.TOP PERFORMERS: Silfverberg leads the Ducks with 21 goals and has totaled 33 points. Josh Manson has recorded five assists over the last 10 games for Anaheim.LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-2-4, averaging 3.8 goals Youth Corey Crawford Jersey , 7.3 assists, three penalties and 6.6 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with a .904 save percentage.Ducks: 5-5-0, averaging 3.1 goals, five assists, 4.9 penalties and 10.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.Ducks Injuries: Brendan Guhle: day to day (undisclosed).Panthers Injuries: James Reimer: day to day (lower body), Denis Malgin: day to day (undisclosed). BOSTON (AP) — Patrice Bergeron celebrated his 1,000th career game with a pair of goals as the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday night.Bergeron, just the fifth player in Bruins’ history to play 1 Duncan Keith Jersey ,000 games with the club, scored early in the second period and added an empty-netter in the final minute.Peter Cehlarik also scored and Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots for the Bruins, who handed the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders their first regulation loss in more than three weeks.Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak assisted on both of Bergeron’s goals.Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders and Robin Lehner finished with 24 saves as New York’s run of eight straight games with a point came to an end. The Islanders entered the game with a 6-0-2 stretch since a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Jan. 12.The game was delayed for a few minutes for a ceremonial puck drop featuring the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.KINGS 5, DEVILS 1NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tyler Toffoli scored twice in 35 seconds early in the third period to spark Los Angeles past New Jersey.Toffoli, who had the overtime winner Monday against the New York Rangers, helped send the Kings to their third win in four games.Adrian Kempe, Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored for the Kings. Jack Campbell made 29 saves and Anze Kopitar had three assists.Pavel Zacha scored for New Jersey http://www.officialblackhawksproshop.com/authentic-adidas-gustav-forsling-jersey , and Keith Kinkaid stopped 20 shots.CAPITALS 3, CANUCKS 2WASHINGTON (AP) — T.J. Oshie scored as part of a dominant performance, Braden Holtby made 30 saves and stopped a penalty shot and Washington beat Vancouver in Jay Beagle’s return to his old home arena.Alex Ovechkin assisted on Oshie’s 16th goal of the season to pick up his 1,180th career point and become NHL’s all-time scoring leader among Russian players. Ovechkin went into the game tied atop that list with former teammate Sergei Fedorov.Holtby made 13 saves and denied Bo Horvat on a penalty shot in a busy second period to help the struggling Capitals pick up two important points.Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana scored third-period goals for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who had lost eight of their previous nine games.Markus Granlund also scored for the Canucks, who lost for the second consecutive night and have dropped three of four.HURRICANES 4, PENGUINS 0PITTSBURGH (AP) — Curtis McElhinney stopped 23 shots, Brett Pesce and Jordan Martinook scored from way out and Michael Ferland and Andrei Svechnikov poured it on late as Carolina began a pivotal five-game trip with a victory over Pittsburgh.McElhinney collected his first shutout of the season and ninth of his 11-year career by stuffing Jared McCann and Jake Guentzel with sprawling saves in the first period and never letting up as the Hurricanes picked up two big points as they try to stay in the mix for their first playoff berth in nearly a decade.Matt Murray made 28 saves for the Penguins but lost for the third time in four starts since the All-Star break.BLUES 3 John Hayden Jersey , PANTHERS 2SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Vince Dunn scored with 3:53 left to cap a third-period rally from a two-goal deficit and lift St. Louis over Florida.Aleksander Barkov put Florida ahead 2-0 with a goal 30 seconds into the final period, but Colton Parayko, Ryan O’Reilly and Dunn brought St. Louis flying back for its third straight win. Dunn beat James Reimer with a shot from the slot.Jordan Binnington stopped 22 shots for St. Louis. Henrik Borgstrom also scored for Florida, and Reimer made 31 saves.CANADIENS 4, DUCKS 1MONTREAL (AP) — Brendan Gallagher had two goals and an assist and Montreal beat slumping Anaheim.Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Phillip Danault also scored for the Canadiens, who improved to 7-1-1 in their last nine games. Jonathan Drouin had three assists.Carey Price made 24 saves for his sixth straight victory — his longest winning streak since the 2016-17 season.Price is six victories away from tying Jacques Plante for most wins in franchise history.Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, who have lost five in a row. Chad Johnson stopped 28 shots.SABRES 5 Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey , WILD 4, SOBUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored the lone shootout goal and Buffalo won for just the third time in nine games by beating Minnesota.Reinhart also had a goal and an assist in regulation for the Sabres, who led by two in the second period before giving up Zach Parise’s tying goal with 1:37 left in the third. Linus Ullmark stopped 41 shots through overtime in a game Buffalo never trailed.Jack Eichel set up two goals and C.J. Smith also scored. Buffalo’s once anemic power-play unit converted both opportunities on goals from Evan Rodrigues and Rasmus Dahlin.Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored twice and Charlie Coyle also scored during a three-goal second period. Devan Dubnyk stopped 35 shots.
Vaccaro re-signing with the Titans today at the 2019 NFL Combine. Here is part of what he had to say:#Titans GM Jon Robinson on the safety..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Tennessee Titans PodcastTitans free agency 2019: Jon Robinson says Kenny Vaccaro is a primary targetNew Eddie George Jersey ,26commentsCSTShareTweetShareShareTitans free agency 2019: Jon Robinson says Kenny Vaccaro is a primary targetChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsJon Robinson was asked about the possibility of Kenny Vaccaro re-signing with the Titans today at the 2019 NFL Combine. Here is part of what he had to say:We have long said here that there isn’t a scenario where both Vaccaro and Johnathan Cyrpien are both on the roster in 2019. That is what Robinson is getting at if you read between the lines when he is talking about a lot of things to work through at the safety position.Of course the cost always plays into these things, but I would much prefer to have Vaccaro on this team over Cyprien. Vaccaro just brings so much more to the table. Combining him with Kevin Byard gives the Titans one of the better safety tandems in the NFL.Robinson was also asked about Jack Conklin or Dennis Kelly being moved inside to play guard. He said both guys are primarily tackles (which we already knew).We will have more on Robinson’s press conference later this afternoon here and on Locked On Titans. Running back Leonard Fournette missed last Sunday’s win over the Patriots with a hamstring injury and it looks like he’ll be out again against the Titans.According to multiple reports, the Jaguars are set to play without Fournette for the second straight weekend. T.J. Yeldon Earl Campbell Jersey , who was also listed as questionable, is expected to play and Corey Grant will also be part of the backfield mix for the Jaguars.Jacksonville’s offense didn’t miss Fournette last Sunday as Blake Bortles threw four touchdown passes in a 31-20 win over the Patriots. Yeldon and Grant ran 14 times for 71 yards.The Jaguars also listed cornerback Jalen Ramsey as questionable due to an ankle injury, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that he is expected to play. The Titans are set to start Blaine Gabbert at quarterback for the second straight week as Marcus Mariota is still dealing with a right elbow injury.