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Atlantas last win was a 1-0 decision
« on: Apr 24th, 2015, 1:38am » |
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Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Backstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different. What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin. Matt Cooke Authentic Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the deal that brings Lou Williams to the Raptors. The Raptors Get: SG Lou Williams and C Lucas Nogueira. Wild Jersey . -- Former Auburn and LPGA player Danielle Downey has died in a single-car accident. http://www.wildhockeystore.com/authentic-christian-folin-wild-jersey-sal e/. The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. Josh Harding Jersey . - Defenceman Luke Green was taken first overall by the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft. Jason Pominville Authentic Jersey . The rookie right-hander took a one-hitter into the seventh inning on Saturday only to have the game fall apart for him and the Toronto Blue Jays on one swing. ATLANTA -- Gavin Floyd was impressive in his first start in a year, giving the Braves a chance to end their longest losing streak in two years. Justin Upton homered and scored the tiebreaking run on Chris Johnsons eighth-inning single, and the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Tuesday night to end their seven-game skid. "That felt good," Johnson said. "Its big. We werent panicking too much. We were relaxed, even though we lost seven in a row." Floyd allowed one run on six hits in seven innings. He made his first major league start since April 27, 2013, for the White Sox against Tampa Bay. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery 10 days later, and his comeback included six minor league rehab starts this year. "It felt good," Floyd said. "There were a lot of emotions, a lot of excitement through this process leading up to it and getting back out there ... not only starting for the first time but trying to get us back on the winning side." Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez had modest expectations for Floyds return. "I didnt expect that really," Gonzalez said. "I expected a guy who was going to scuffle through five, six innings for the first time out. He hadnt been in competition in a year but he sure came out with flying colours. You couldnt ask for anything more. "He was really, really good for the first time in a year." David Carpenter (2-0) had two strikeouts in the eighth. Craig Kimbrel added two more strikeouts in a perfect ninth for his ninth save. With one out in the eighth, Upton singled to centre. Freddie Freeman followed with a liner that bounced off the leg of Randy Choate (0-1) and bounced to third baseman Matt Carpenter for an infield hit. Right-hander Pat Neshek gave up Johnsons single to right field that drove in Upton and allowed Freeman to advance to third. Johnson called the at-bat against Nesheks side-arm delivery "a grind." "It wasnt easy," Johnson said. "That guy is funky. Hes nasty. ... That was jjust a battle between me and him and me trying to get something in play.dddddddddddd I was able to finally stay on the ball and kind of go the other way a little bit." Choate was left to bemoan Freemans shot that hit his leg, setting up Johnsons run-scoring hit. "If it misses me its a groundball to (shortstop) Jhonny (Peralta), probably a double play," Choate said. "I didnt feel it. I didnt even see it. It just somehow found me and ricochets off me. Thats the way it bounces sometimes and it stinks but what are you going to do?" St. Louis left-hander Tyler Lyons allowed only one run on four hits, including Uptons homer, in six innings. "Great start," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "Its a shame we havent been able to score that guy any runs. ... He had everything working today." Lyons retired the first 10 Braves before Upton snapped a 0-for-12 streak with his team-leading ninth homer in the fourth. The Cardinals tied it in the sixth. Matt Hollidays single to right-centre drove in Carpenter, who led off with a walk. Floyd made the start originally planned for Ervin Santana, whose spot was skipped due to his swollen right thumb. Santana is listed as the probable starter against the Cubs on Saturday. Gonzalez stayed with the structure of the revamped lineup he unveiled on Monday in an attempt to snap the losing streak and hitting slump. For the second straight game, shortstop Andrelton Simmons hit ninth, one spot behind the pitcher. NOTES: Atlantas last win was a 1-0 decision in 10 innings over the Reds on April 27. ... The losing streak was the Braves longest since eight straight losses from May 21-28, 2012. ... Matheny said 2B Mark Ellis was held out for a normal day of rest. Daniel Descalso filled in. ... The series ends on Wednesday night when Braves LHP Mike Minor looks for his first win of 2014 against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. ... A scoring change gave Floyd an infield single on his grounder in the fifth originally ruled as an error on Carpenter. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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