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nd at sports, everythings changing
« on: Apr 24th, 2015, 1:07am » |
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NEW YORK – HBO wanted Nazem Kadri to wear a microphone for a matchup with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins last week at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, but the 23-year-old politely declined. “Thank God I did because I was a mouthpiece,” said Kadri with a large grin. Kadri went toe to toe with Crosby that night – a 3-1 loss – jawing all evening with one of the greatest in the game. He had no trouble feeling like he belonged on the same stage as a player of Crosbys status, but with more challenging competition and significantly less luck than a year ago, he has found life considerably more difficult this season with the Leafs. Kadri had a scintillating 35 points through the first 34 games of last season, but through the same number of games this season he has a mere 22, still respectable but not quite at the electric level of his first full campaign in the NHL. Why the change? For one, quality of competition has increased for Torontos 2009 first-round pick. Because of injuries down the middle to Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland, Kadri has played higher in the Toronto lineup than he did in the lockout-shortened 2013. Since the start of December in fact, he has been paired with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk on the top line, an audition which has presented its fair share of challenges. Kadri began with a bang, scoring twice against Dallas on Dec. 5, but since that point he has tallied just three points in nine games, the No. 1 unit unusually quiet through the first three weeks of the month. “Youre playing against a lot of good players,” Kadri told the Leaf Report before a Monday date with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. “Youve just got to be consistent night in and night out basically.” Kadri was placed in an optimal role for success a year ago. Tucked in behind Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski on the depth chart at centre-ice, he lined up often against third and fourth lines, also rarely if ever squaring off against the oppositions top defensive pairing. And he took full advantage, totalling 44 points in 48 games, his skill often too much to handle. But with Bozak sidelined by an oblique injury until at least the end of December, Kadri, playing with the Leafs top-two scorers, has gotten the oppositions best just about every night. On Saturday against the Red Wings, he was held without a point or even shot on goal by Detroits top pair of Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson. “Hes a young player still cutting his teeth to become a higher level first line, second line centre, whatever word you want to describe an offensive player,” Randy Carlyle said of Kadri prior to the 5-4 shootout loss to the Wings. “Were asking a lot of a young player right now where last year we were able to use Nazzie more as a third line option and protect him from having to play up against the top two lines of other hockey clubs.” “Its everything I expected it to be,” Kadri said of the top line challenge. “Sometimes the puck swings your way some games, but defensively I think Ive really taken strides in the right direction. I know when youre doing everything else well those points are going to start to come.” Unlike last season, the pucks havent swung in Kadris favour very often so far. No player in the league had better fortune in 2013. The Leafs boasted a 15 per cent shooting percentage when Kadri was on the ice in five-on-five situations last season, the best mark of any player in the league. With luck on his side, Kadri accumulated 82 per cent of his overall at even-strength, his 36 points leading the team. Those numbers have predictably regressed this season. The Leafs shooting percentage with Kadri on the ice in five-on-five situations has dipped to 7.8 per cent, the 196th best mark league-wide. His offence at even-strength has fallen in tow, now counting for 59 per cent of his total attack. In spite of the elevated competition and predictable dip in luck, Kadri has still had a productive second season to date. He is on pace for 24 goals and 52 points, numbers about in line with those of a good second-line centre. Still quite young despite what seems like a lengthy tenure in Toronto, there remains plenty of room and opportunity to grow. (The faceoff circle remains one obvious point for improvement. Kadri has dipped to 42 per cent on the draw, the fifth-worst mark of any regular.) And if anything, his experience as the Leafs top centre – which will come to an end as soon as Bozak returns from injured reserve on Dec. 29 – should prove beneficial as a learning experience, a bar for Kadri to aspire to reach someday. “You just learn to be more responsible,” he said. “They rely on you more and I feel like thats making me a better player. Especially with how young I am, Im being able to develop with the best of the best and I think really thats the most important thing.” Jason Pominville Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres signed forward Nicolas Deslauriers to a two-year contract on Monday. Nino Niederreiter Jersey . The delighted Vancouver Whitecaps coach was "lost for words" after his club scored three goals in the first 20 minutes en route to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. http://www.wildhockeystore.com/authentic-matt-cooke-wild-jersey-sale/. There is also the Genoa derby on Sunday, while second-place Roma hosts Parma looking to take advantage of any more slip-ups from Juventus. Here are five things to know about the Italian league ahead of this weekends matches: LLORENTE ON SONGThe last time Juventus hosted Inter Milan the visitors ended the Bianconeris impressive streak of 49 games unbeaten with a 3-1 victory. Matt Cooke Wild Jersey . The Spurs announced on Monday that they have re-signed Matt Bonner. Ryan Suter Authentic Jersey . Five first-round trades were made Tuesday night as well as another involving an early second-round selection.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Snow made NASCAR drivers Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. no-shows at Daytona 500 media day. Newman and Truex missed the kickoff to Speedweeks on Thursday because a winter storm and icy conditions affected travel in the South and East. Newman posted a message on his Twitter page that included a photo of his snow-covered farm and several buffalo: "Stuck in NC. Headed out to check on Farm. Buffalo are happy this am." The weather caused several other NASCAR drivers to alter travel plans to Daytona International Speedway. David Gilliland and David Ragan were supposed to fly down Thursday morning, but instead of gambling on being able to get to the airport and take off without any delays, opted to drive Wednesday. They got on the road before the heavy stuff wreaked havoc on roadways. "If we left probably 30 minutes later, we would have been in trouble for sure," Gilliland said. "There was a lot of stuff happening. But luckily it was all a couple of exits behind us. We saw all the ice, snow, the trees breaking while we were driving down I-77 there." Parker Kligerman also ended up driving. But the Sprint Cup rookie made a rookie mistake by getting a late start and didnt get to Daytona until the wee hours Thursday. "We didnt get out til the midst of the storm," Kligerman said. "We literally hit gridlock. ... We had the car completely iced over at one point. We had to find a deicer. It was a disaster. We got stuck a couple of times. There were four or five overturned semis." Some drivers and teams arrived in Daytona a day or two early to avoid the chaos. Six-time and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, though, decided to chance it and travel early Thursday. He said the key was moving his private jet to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, which was better equipped to clear runways. "The trip from the hangar to the runway was pretty exciting," Johnson said. "They hadnt plowed any of that. I thought I was in an off-road truck for a while there, trying to get out to the runway." Aside from travel troubles, here are five things to know about media day: DEFENDING DANICA: Several drivers, maybe even most, defended Danica Patrick. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty said the only way Patrick could win a Sprint Cup race is if "t;everybody else stayed home.dddddddddddd." Patrick refused to fire back, politely saying everyone is entitled to an opinion. Her peers were more outspoken. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. said "it was a little rough on Danica" and added that "she goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. And frankly its just got to get old." RETURN OF THE 3: The return of the iconic No. 3, the famed number the late Dale Earnhardt drove with Richard Childress Racing, was a hot topic. Childress grandson, Austin Dillon, will drive the black No. 3 for RCR. Dillon handled the attention perfectly, saying "the legend of Dale has lived on for a long time and is going to continue to live on forever. Dale Earnhardt is not just famous because of the number." Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father died after crashing on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, said hes "quite comfortable with how its going down and Im glad its back." STEWARTS REHAB: Tony Stewarts return to racing is down to hours. The three-time NASCAR champion has been out of a race car since crashing at a sprint-car event in Iowa last August and breaking his right leg. Stewart missed the final 15 races of 2013. He has been cleared to race and will be back in the car for practice Friday. "Its been the slowest off-season Ive ever had," he said. "Im ready to get doing something again." CHASE CHANGES: NASCAR drastically overhauled its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by expanding the field, switching to a knockout-style format and placing more emphasis on winning. Johnson welcomed the tweaks. "I still think the way you win a championship is the same: youve got to win races," he said. "When we look around at sports, everythings changing. The Olympics look far different than they used to. The NFL is considering change. The world is changing. Our viewership is changing, so the sport has to change." GORDONS FUTURE: Four-time champion Jeff Gordon is talking retirement. Gordon said he is prepared to call it quits if he wins a fifth championship. "Go out on a high note," said the 42-year-old Gordon, who won titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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