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They won more games than expected. They proved more competitive than projected. Heck http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-uchenna-nwosu-jersey , they even forced the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs into a decisive seventh game all while receiving the stamp of approval from the world’s best player.
Not bad for a team that was supposed to be sitting home and plotting draft strategy long ago.
”This was one of the most amazing seasons of my career,” forward Thaddeus Young said. ”We played for one another, not as individuals. It’s tough (being eliminated), but this is a great group of guys. We all gave our blood and sweat to the game and each other.”
And it could be just the start.
The Pacers’ future looks far brighter now than it did 12 months ago after they were swept out of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Back then, there questions about Paul George’s future in Indiana loomed heavily over the franchise. By late June, new general manager Kevin Pritchard was forced into a difficult choice when George’s camp made his plans public: Take one more shot at winning a title with George and risk losing him in free agency or start rebuilding immediately.
Pritchard opted for a widely panned trade that netted Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
It all turned out just fine for Pritchard and the Pacers.
Oladipo emerged as the leader of this young group, earned his first All-Star trip, won the league’s steals title and eventually figured out how to deal with constant double teams, a familiar treatment for superstars.
”They obviously have the snake in Vic, unbelievable jump from last year to this year,” LeBron James said after scoring 45 points in a Game 7 victory. ”I mean, we all saw the improvement and why he is a franchise-caliber player and everybody on down, they just got a well-rounded team and they definitely pushed us, pushed us to the brink.”
Sabonis http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kentavius-street-jersey , a lottery pick in 2016, became a key contributor off the bench. Point guard Darren Collison was the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter, and Young and Bojan Bogdanovic thrived in their roles, too.
Four of the starting five and Sabonis are already under contract for next season with Young being the lone exception. He and backup point guard Cory Joseph have player options and Pritchard likely will exercise the team option on Lance Stephenson.
If Young and Joseph opt in, the Pacers would have their top eight players back from a team that won 48 games, fell just short of finishing in the top four in the Eastern Conference and was within four points late in their final playoff game at Cleveland.
”We did an amazing job this year sticking together,” Stephenson said. ”This is one of the funnest teams I’ve been on. We left it on the floor every night, every game. Each and every one of us had a goal. Now, everyone in the world knows who we are.”
Now, they’re out to prove they can be dramatically better next season.
The key may be the continued development of Myles Turner, Indiana’s 22-year-old center and one of the league’s leaders in blocks. The Pacers need him to get stronger and become a better rebounder.
At times this season, he showed just how dominant he could be.
Now, the Pacers are asking him to stay healthy, become a more consistent scorer and help Oladipo lead this team to greater successes.
”I wouldn’t trade this year or the men in that locker room for anyone. It’s been phenomenal Connor Williams Youth Jersey ,” Oladipo said. ”It’s the best locker room I’ve been a part of. It’s been an honor playing with those men and I look forward to growing with them in the future.”
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Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals used a fast start to end a perfect road trip.
Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 45th goal and the Capitals extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.
T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Washington, which went 3-0 at Detroit, Montreal and Madison Square Garden.
Nicklas Backstrom, who had four assists in a win over Montreal on Saturday, added two more to give him 44 this season. Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves.
”Tonight we got really loose in the second two periods there, they really took it to us,” Oshie said. ”Without Grub, we might be in overtime right now.”
Washington increased its lead to five points over two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
”We’ve still got to keep going and keep getting points every night,” Oshie said.
Lias Andersson scored in his NHL debut and Mats Zuccarello added a goal for the Rangers.
Andersson, at 19 years, 164 days, became the youngest player in team history to score in his NHL debut. He broke the mark set by Mike Allison (19 years, 195 days) on Oct. 9 Jim Thome Jersey , 1980, at Boston.
”It feels good, obviously,” Andersson said. ”It’s always fun to score and especially in your first NHL game, so it was fun.”
The Capitals scored four goals in the first period and cruised from there.
”I think we jumped in right away,” Ovechkin said. ”I think we had pretty good chances in the first couple of shifts. Osh scored, Nisky’s goal is pretty sick. How he scored, it was pretty impressive.”
Oshie gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead 2:50 into the game with his 18th of the season. Backstrom skated the puck into the zone and had three Rangers near him when he passed to an open Oshie at the right faceoff circle and he beat Alexandar Georgiev with a wrister.
Niskanen made it 2-0 just 2:23 later. Kuznetsov skated with the puck at the blue line and sent a backhand pass to Niskanen, who had plenty of time to score his seventh of the season at 5:13
Ovechkin scored on a one-timer on the power play from his favorite spot in the left faceoff circle at 8:54. Georgiev was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots.
Ondrej Pavelec replaced him and made 26 saves. It was Pavelec’s first appearance since Feb. 9 against Calgary.
Kuznetsov finished off the dominant first period with a short-handed goal at 16:39.
”We talked about this road trip,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”We’ve had really terrible starts. We put a lot of emphasis on the first period, obviously. We were able to get their goaltender out and obviously built a lead.”
Andersson and Filip Chytil gave the Rangers a glimpse of the franchise’s future. Andersson and Chytil, both 2017 first-round draft picks and centers, were promoted from the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford on Sunday.
Chytil centered a line with Kevin Hayes and Zuccarello. Andersson centered a line with Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Spooner and got the Rangers on the board. Andersson cut it to 4-1 late in the second period when Vesey worked the puck behind the net and sent a pass to Andersson, who wristed it past Grubauer at 13:16.
”It was a great feeling to see him score his first goal Jaguars Logan Cooke Jersey ,” Chytil said of Andersson. ”It was something special. We will talk about it tonight. It’s great that he scored his first goal in his first game.”
Chytil assisted on Zuccarello’s 16th goal at 4:26 of the third for his first NHL point.
”Both kids had a good game,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. ”It was an emotional day and an emotional game for them, but I thought they played well.”
NOTES: Devante Smith-Pelly, Shane Gersich and Christian Djoos were scratched by the Capitals. … According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Andersson and Chytil became the first pair of teenagers to get a point in the same game with the Rangers since Dec. 18, 1974 (Ron Greschner and Dave Maloney). Chytil played two games earlier in the season with New York. … Henrik Lundqvist, David Desharnais, Peter Holland, Paul Carey and Tony DeAngelo were the healthy scratches for the Rangers.
UP NEXT
The teams play the second half of a back-to-back Wednesday night in Washington.
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More NHL hockey: .
To make room for Jones, the Jets waived defensive lineman Claude Pelon on Tuesday.
Jones was a sixth-round pick of Houston in 2013 out of Bowling Green. He has also spent time with Tampa Bay, New England, Miami and San Francisco.
In 28 games, including 22 starts, with the Patriots during the 2013 and '14 seasons, Jones had nine sacks. He split the 2016 season with the Dolphins and 49ers Youth Robert Griffin III Jersey , but was placed on IR last September by San Francisco and became a free agent in March.
Pelon has spent parts of the past two seasons with the Jets after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2016 out of USC. He played in one game last season and had two tackles.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have just two regular-season games remaining, and it is possible they will need to win both to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
One reason occurred two weeks ago when the Memphis Grizzlies shot 47.6 percent and handed the Timberwolves a 101-93 home loss.
Minnesota hopes to atone for its sub-par showing against the Grizzlies Monday night when the teams get together at the Target Center.
Minnesota (45-35) enters the game against Memphis in the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves (45-35) have the same record as the Denver Nuggets, but Minnesota currently holds the tiebreaker, though it hosts Denver Wednesday.
Ahead of the Timberwolves are a cluster of teams all jockeying for playoff positioning. The Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the four teams immediately ahead of Minnesota in the wild Western Conference playoff race.
Helping Minnesota’s chances in its final two games is the return of veteran Jimmy Butler, who missed 17 games with a knee injury. Butler returned to action on Friday and helped lift the Timberwolves over the Los Angeles Lakers in a much-needed road win by scoring 18 points in a 113-96 win.
On Friday Authentic Kevin Long Jersey , Butler scored 11 points after halftime when the Wolves outscored the Lakers by a 62-38 margin.
Minnesota struggled without its Butler on the court, especially on the defensive end. In Butler’s absence, the Wolves went 8-9, allowed 109.8 points per game, posted a 109.6 defensive rating and allowed opponents to shoot 47.4 percent from the field.
“When you play hard, just good things happen,” Butler told the Minneapolis Star Tribune after Friday’s win. “Hopefully Authentic Donte Jackson Jersey , everybody takes note of that and realizes how important these games are down the stretch. Now we need to go get two more.”
The first of Minnesota’s remaining two games is against a Grizzlies club with the second-worst record in the NBA. However, Memphis (22-58) held Minnesota to 41 percent shooting two weeks ago.
“I give those guys a ton of credit for battling and fighting through the ups and downs of the season,” Grizzlies interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told the Memphis Commercial Appeal after beating the Timberwolves. “Not giving in and competing.”
Memphis also posted a 95-92 home victory on Dec. 4 in Memphis. Given what’s at stake, the Timberwolves can’t afford to go 0-3 to the Grizzlies, especially since Minnesota also owns eight defeats to teams with at least 50 losses this season.
The Grizzlies are coming off a 130-117-win Sunday against Detroit when they shot a season-high 57.8 percent and also made 48.5 percent of 3-point shots.
Memphis is 4-8 since snapping a 19-game losing streak March 17 against Denver.
It’s possible Minnesota could clinch a playoff spot Monday, but it would need some help. The Timberwolves would first have to win. They would also need San Antonio to beat Sacramento and would need Denver to lose to Portland.
If all three of those don’t happen Monday, that makes Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Denver even more crucial.
“Last time I had two games that mattered a lot Jonathan Allen Color Rush Jersey , it didn’t end well,” Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns told the Star Tribune, referring to his only season of college basketball at Kentucky when he lost to Wisconsin in the national semifinals three years ago. “Let’s hope this one goes right.”
.Being healthy in the playoffs is taking priority over seeding Matt Kemp Jersey , with a few teams sitting their top players Saturday in the final game of the regular season.
MVP front-runner Taylor Hall will sit out the New Jersey Devils‘ regular-season finale after the team clinched a playoff spot but can still move up the standings.
New Jersey is resting Hall, fellow forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, and defenseman Sami Vatanen in Game 82 at Washington, and it isn’t alone in taking precautions. The Columbus Blue Jackets won’t play stars Artemi Panarin, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski and two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in their final regular-season game at Nashville.
Columbus coach John Tortorella told reporters he was ”absolutely not” trying to avoid facing the two-time defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. New Jersey coach John Hynes similarly answered that giving Hall a break is more important after a grueling push to clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2012.
”We’re not looking to get in the playoffs and just be a Cinderella story,” Hynes said before his Devils faced the Metropolitan Division-champion Capitals on Saturday night. ”We’re looking to get in the playoffs and win Youth Justin Bethel Jersey , and (Hall is) a big part of that.”
Hall, who is one goal short of reaching 40 for the first time in his career, said he’s cool with the decision to rest instead of taking a chance on the eve of the playoffs.
”It’s a good time to get some rest and recuperate a little bit,” said Hall, who has 93 points in 76 games and is expected to be a finalist for the Hart Trophy. ”We’ve played a lot of hockey lately, and a lot of the stuff in the standings is out of our hands other than our game.”
No Eastern Conference first-round matchups have been determined going into the final weekend of the season. The only series that’s set is the Winnipeg Jets facing the Minnesota Wild out West as the second- and third-place teams in the Central Division.
There are still numerous combinations of matchups among the seven teams in the East that have clinched, with the Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers still in the running for the final spot. Matchups can make a big difference in how the playoffs go Authentic Connor McDavid Jersey , but players and coaches are careful not to look like they’re favoring one opponent over another.
”I learned a long time ago that you don’t wish for certain opponents,” Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. ”It can backfire very quickly.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning certainly aren’t playing that game. With a chance to clinch first place in the Atlantic Division and avoid facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, the Lightning are expected to start backup Louis Domingue in net at Carolina instead of Andrei Vasilevskiy, who leads the NHL in wins.
The Boston Bruins, who could catch the Lightning, are going with backup Anton Khudobin against Ottawa, but they also play Sunday night against Florida in a game that was rescheduled because of snow.
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San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was suspended Tuesday without pay for the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL's conduct and substance-abuse policy.
The NFL said Foster will also be fined for violations from a weapons offense and misdemeanor drug charge that were resolved earlier this offseason.
Foster will miss San Francisco's games against Minnesota and Detroit before being allowed to return on Sept. 17 before the Niners play Kansas City.
"I accept the League's decision and am sorry that my mistakes have hurt my team Texans Justin Reid Jersey ," Foster said in a statement. "I have a responsibility to the 49ers, our fans and our community, and I am committed to learning from this situation and making better choices in the future. The support I have received over the last five months has been humbling, and I do not take it for granted."
Foster was charged in January in Alabama with second-degree marijuana possession. That charge was eventually dismissed after he completed a first-time offender diversion course.
Foster then faced more serious charges for an incident in California in February. He was initially charged in April with felonies for domestic violence, making criminal threats and weapons possession after being accused of beating up his ex-girlfriend.
A judge ruled there was no probable cause on the first two charges after the ex-girlfriend recanted the allegations and the judge found no other evidence to support the charges. The weapons charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and Foster pleaded no-contest to that in June.
He was sentenced to two years' probation, 232 hours of community service, and $235 in fines. He will not be allowed to own guns while he's on probation.
The 49ers initially told Foster to stay away from the offseason program after the felony charges were filed in the domestic violence case before welcoming him back after that was resolved in May.
"Our organization understands and supports the League's decision Jeremy Kerley Color Rush Jersey ," general manager John Lynch said. "Although we are disappointed that Reuben will not be with our team for the first two games of the season, we will continue to work with him on making better decisions and eliminating unnecessary distractions. We are encouraged to see Reuben take responsibility for his mistakes, and hopeful that he has learned from them as well."
The 49ers drafted Foster 31st overall last year after questions about his health and character caused him to drop from being a possible top 10 pick.
Foster delivered on the field, ranking second on the team with 72 tackles in 10 games as a rookie and looking like a key part of San Francisco's defensive future.
.Whether trying to avoid a first-round gamble or reaching for a player too soon Bradley Chubb Broncos Jersey , many fantasy football players will go into 2018 drafts with a list of performers to absolutely not trust.
Don't be that obtuse to completely exclude players. One person's disappointment could be another's bargain:
JOE MIXON, RB, Bengals: Mixon will be off most boards by the end of the fourth round yet still has the taint of a 3.5-yard average yards per carry and the shadow of Giovani Bernard, especially in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues. Mixon is worth the risk if his value freefalls. Also note that only Tennessee's Dion Lewis (91.4 percent) had a better catching percentage than Mixon's 88.2 percent.
COREY DAVIS, WR, Titans: Last year's fifth overall pick had just 34 catches for 375 yards and failed to score in 11 games. Davis was an overreach in drafts last summer, but health and the addition of new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur are strong signs he can be a mid-round steal who could emerge as a WR3/flex with upside, which would be good news for...
MARCUS MARIOTA, QB, Titans: After firing 26 touchdown passes in 2016, Mariota threw half that number last year while tossing 15 interceptions. LaFleur will open the offense to take advantage of his dual-threat potential. He'll start as a backup option Customized Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , but Mariota can easily account for 30-plus TDs this fall.
SAMMY WATKINS, WR, Chiefs: Despite scoring eight touchdowns, Watkins was a disappointment, catching only 39 passes for a Rams offense that broke out under quarterback Jared Goff. Now in Kansas City, Watkins' game-altering skills will be a good fit for strong-armed Patrick Mahomes.
MARSHAWN LYNCH, RB, Raiders: Oh, how he will love new coach Jon Gruden. Lynch could return to RB1 status under the new regime as he should eclipse the 207 carries he had in 2017. A 1,200-yard, 10-12 TD season is not out of the question.
WE REALLY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT CLAYTON...
Clayton Kershaw owners can't be blamed for being in near-panic mode upon the Dodgers ace returning to the disabled list last week. Kershaw's back woes will keep him out at least a month while a possible early August return is also possible.
Those who own Kershaw should look at what 鈥?if anything 鈥?they can get in return for moving him now Armani Watts Jersey Elite , pitching trade partners the idea of having Kershaw for the stretch run. Equal value is no longer in discussion, so moving Kershaw for about 70-75 cents on the dollar might be as good as it gets. Owners willing to gamble on acquiring him should put themselves in position to dictate the price, especially if the Kershaw owner is already out of the money.
CHASE ELLIOTT THIS WEEK
Chase Elliott is overdue for a Top 5 finish after four straight weeks of ranking between 10th and 12th place. Elliott ($9,300 at DraftKings, $10,600 at FanDuel) is still looking for his first career win and is in position to do so in Sunday's NASCAR Monster Energy FireKeepers 400.
He has run well at Michigan Speedway, having placed in the Top 10 in each of his previous four races that includes three top five finishes. Elliott has been solid in 2018 thus far yet has managed just one lap led during his previous 14 races entering Sunday.
This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, ://FNTSYNEW YORK — Greg Bird was rehabbing a right ankle injury for the first six meetings between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
He carried a .191 average and several frustrating at-bats into Friday’s series opener. Then he slugged two homers and possibly gave the Yankees something to think about with the first baseman’s playing time against left-handers Chris Sale and David Price and the final two games.
While Bird could get the game off, his New York temmates will get a crack at solving Sale on Saturday night in the second game of three-game series against Boston at Yankee Stadium.
Bird posted his second career multi-homer game and the Yankees opened the series by hitting four homers in an 8-1 rout on Friday. After homering twice, Bird is batting 204 (19-for-93) in 29 games since coming off the disabled list.
“Perhaps, I think about that a little bit Youth Su'a Cravens Jersey ,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was really good to see Birdie impact the ball. I was happy for him and that’s something that can kind of jump-start him a little bit because what we believe he brings is that left-handed on-base, power guy in this ballpark.”
If Bird is in the lineup, he will be getting his first career at-bats against Sale. If Bird is not in the lineup, it could be Brandon Drury or Neil Walker at first base.
Regardless if Bird plays, the Yankees were glad to see him homer to left-center field and right-center field against Eduardo Rodriguez in the fifth and Justin Haley in the eighth.
“It’s only a matter of time,” Yankees right-fielder Aaron Judge said of Bird. “It takes a lot of time to kind of get in that groove.”
Sale is 7-4 with a 2.56 ERA this season but rolling of late.
He is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his last three starts and in the last four starts has totaled 43 strikeouts in 28 innings while allowing a paltry .155 average.
Sale last pitched Sunday when he allowed four hits and struck out 13 in a 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. Sale posted his second straight double-digit strikeout game, sixth this season and ended the outing by fanning Mike Zunino with a 100.5 mph fastball — the fastest pitch of his career.
This season as the Red Sox attempt to keep Sale fresh for the final months of the year, his velocity is steadily increasing. His average fastball was 92.5 in April, 95.6 in May and 97.0 this month.
“I think it’s just getting back into a little bit better rhythm,” Sale said of his increase in velocity. “I’ve been saying the same thing over the last three or four starts — it’s feeling good and getting into that tempo and getting back into a little bit better rhythm than I had been starting the year. I put a lot of work into it. I’m glad where we’re at.”
If Sale posts double-digit strikeouts Saturday, it will mark the fourth time he has at least 10 strikeouts in three straight games.
“A lot of people get caught up on strikeouts Walter Payton Jersey Youth ,” Sale said. “They’re nice, but at the end of the day your job is to pitch as deep into that game as you can and keep as few runs off the board (as possible).”
Sale enters the game with 153 strikeouts, two ahead of Houston’s Gerrit Cole for the league lead. He also is hoping to see his teammates produce a better offensive showing after losing for the second time in eight games.
The left-hander faced the Yankees on April 10 in a 14-1 win at Fenway Park. He is 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts) against the Yankees.
While Mookie Betts was 2-for-4 and had his 25th multi-hit game, J.D. Martinez was 0-for-4 and is now hitless in his last nine at-bats.
New York will counter with Sonny Gray, who is 5-5 with a 4.93 ERA.
Gray is 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his last five starts since lasting 3 2/3 innings in an 11-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on May 26. His last outing was last Saturday in Tampa Bay when he allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 4-0 loss.
Gray faced the Red Sox on April 12 in Boston when he allowed six runs and seven hits in a season-low three innings of a 6-3 loss. Since joining the Yankees, he is 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox. For his career, Gray is 1-5 with a 5.97 ERA in seven games against Boston.
.MILWAUKEE — As the playoffs approached Saints Cheap Jerseys , the Milwaukee Bucks thought they might catch a break by finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference, setting up a first-round series with the Boston Celtics, who’d go into the postseason without point guard Kyrie Irving.
Through the first two games of the best-of-seven series, which resumes Friday night at the Bradley Center, the Bucks have learned to be careful for what they wished for.
The Bucks returned home in a 2-0 deficit in large part because of the performance of Irving’s replacement, Terry Rozier.
Rozier, a third-year point guard, has torched Milwaukee’s defense, scoring 23 points in each of the first two games, while averaging 5.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
He’s been a particular source of frustration for Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe. Rozier is 7 for 17 when matched up against Bledsoe who, conversely Derrius Guice Jersey Elite , is 4 for 13 from the floor with Rozier as his primary defender.
When asked about Rozier after Boston’s 120-106 victory in Game 2, Bledsoe pretended to not know who the reporter was asking about, saying “who the (expletive) is that” and Thursday, as Milwaukee returned to its practice facility to prepare for Game 3, he maintained ignorance.
“Who?” Bledsoe said. “I’m focused on this series, man, between Milwaukee and Boston right now. I’m just trying to help the team win. That’s what point guards do.”
Rozier certainly is but Bledsoe has done anything but. He’s scored 21 total points on 9-for-25 shooting, including a 2-for-6 mark from beyond the arc.
He’s also committed six turnovers, something that’s been a significant issue so far from the Bucks, who’ve committed 35 in the series.
The Celtics have made them pay for those miscues — 20 percent of Boston’s scoring in the series has come off a Milwaukee turnover — and, while holding only a two-rebound advantage on the glass Authentic Royce Freeman Jersey , have made the most of those opportunities, too, racking up 20 offensive rebounds which they’ve converted for 42 points.
“Our transition defense has to be better — part of that comes from our turnovers — and our rebounding has to be better,” Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty said. “It’s not necessarily high-volume as much as it is, when they get them, they turn them into points.”
Prunty said he hadn’t addressed the Rozier issue with Bledsoe and also dismissed the notion that forward Jabari Parker was not on his “good side,” as Parker hinted earlier Thursday.
The forward, who didn’t appear in a game this season until Feb. 2 while rehabbing from a torn ACL, had finished the regular season strong, averaging 19.5 points in 31.8 minutes over the final six games. But he’s played only 25 minutes in the series, scoring two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
“He’s on my good side Authentic Oren Burks Jersey ,” Prunty said. “We need him and everybody to be ready to go when they step on the floor and play well.”
Rozier downplayed the notion of bad blood or a personal rivalry with Bledsoe and said the Celtics won’t take anything for granted in Game 3, even with a somewhat comfortable advantage.
“We already know they’re going to come out aggressive,” Rozier said before Thursday’s practice. “They’re going to come out hard.
“We’re coming out with the mind-set that we can forget about the taking care of home court. We’re coming out and we’re still going to be aggressive, because we’re coming out to win. That’s our goal. We’ve got to pay attention to details.”
CHICAGO — The Winnipeg Jets will go for their seventh win in a row when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at the United Center.
Winnipeg (47-19-10) has piled up 104 points in 76 games, which already marks the most successful season since the franchise moved north from Atlanta before the start of the 2011-12 campaign. The Jets have clinched a playoff spot and secured home-ice advantage in the first round as they pursue the first Stanley Cup title in the city’s history.
“We’re trying to get ready for the playoffs, trying to get our game so we’re playing our best hockey at the end of the year,” Jets right winger Blake Wheeler said to the team’s official website.
The team’s six-game winning streak has included plenty of drama. Winnipeg has won each of its past four games either in overtime or in the shootout round. The latest was a 5-4 shootout win over the Boston Bruins.
Meanwhile, Chicago (31-36-10) has known for more than a week that it will not reach the playoffs. The Blackhawks shifted much of their focus toward younger players with an eye toward potential contributors next season.
The latest arrivals include forward Dylan Sikura, who is expected to make his NHL debut Thursday. The 22-year-old recently wrapped up a stellar career at Northeastern University and signed a contract through the end of next season.
“There’s no bad players at this level,” Sikura said to the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’ll be a little adjustment with the time and space with the puck out there, but I’m excited to get going.”
Defenseman Blake Hillman Youth Seattle Seahawks Jerseys , also 22, is expected to make his NHL debut either Thursday against the Jets or Friday against the Colorado Avalanche. Hillman signed with the Blackhawks after playing at the University of Denver.
Goaltender Colin Delea also is awaiting his debut, which likely will arrive Friday against the Avalanche.
As Delea watches behind the bench, Blackhawks goaltender Anton Forsberg will make his third straight start. Forsberg is 10-16-4 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .908 save percentage this season. He allowed three goals on six shots in his only career appearance against the Jets.
Winnipeg will counter with either Connor Hellebuyck or Eric Comrie in net.
Hellebuyck boasts a remarkable record of 40-11-9 to go with a 2.38 GAA and a .923 save percentage. He is 5-4-0 with a 2.14 GAA and .932 save percentage in nine career games against Chicago.
If Hellebuyck rests, look for Comrie to make his third start of the season and fourth of his career. The 22-year-old is 1-1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and .885 save percentage this season. He never has faced the Blackhawks.
Both teams have five skaters with at least 20 goals.
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat lead Chicago with 26 goals apiece. Meanwhile, Nick Schmaltz (49 points) and DeBrincat (48 points) are looking to reach the 50-point milestone for the first time in their careers.
For the Jets, Patrik Laine leads the way with 43 goals. He is second only to Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for most in the NHL.
Wheeler ranks in the NHL’s top 10 with 86 points (20 goals, 66 assists) in 76 games. He has at least one point in each of his past seven games and eight of his past nine.
.The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office says former Packers defensive lineman Carlos Gray was found shortly before 10 p.m. Monday near Birmingham Cheap Justin Bethel Jersey , Alabama. The 25-year-old is a native of Pinson, Alabama.
Al.com reports that sheriff’s deputies and Center Point Fire and Rescue were dispatched to the house after a friend found Gray wounded and unresponsive.
Gray played at North Carolina State University and signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2014.
Al.com reports that he was released from the Packers in 2015 and returned home to Alabama. He was the father of two young children.
Sidney Crosby has faced the Washington Capitals three times in the playoffs. All three times the Pittsburgh captain has led his team to victory. And all three times the Penguins used the win as the springboard to a raucous mid-June parade with the Stanley Cup in tow.Still, Crosby sounded like a cautious investor on Tuesday when asked if Pittsburgh has a mental advantage over rival Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals heading into yet another postseason showdown in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting later this week.
Past performance, the two-time MVP stressed, does not guarantee future results.
”I think it depends on what you do in the series and how you play,” Crosby said. ”I don’t think it plays a huge role. I guess to answer your question Alex Avila Jersey , no.”
A mantra Crosby’s teammates repeated over and over they prepared for yet another showdown in a rivalry that somehow manages to be both compelling and one-sided. Pittsburgh is 9-1 all-time in the postseason against Washington regardless of who is in the black-and-gold sweaters and who is in red, white and blue.
Not that Ovechkin is intimidated. The Capitals star said he “can’t wait” to get another shot at the Penguins after spearheading Washington’s first-round win over Columbus in six games. That’s fine by Pittsburgh, which has played Lucy to Washington’s Charlie Brown for more than a quarter century, dangling a potentially deep playoff run in front of the Capitals only to pull it back at the last minute.
The Penguins, however, remain wary. Just because they always beat Washington doesn’t mean they’re going to always beat Washington. The teams split their four meetings during the regular season Cheap Terrelle Pryor Sr. Jersey , with the Capitals wrapping up their third straight Metropolitan Division title with a 3-1 win in Pittsburgh on April Fool’s Day.
Of course, none of it matters once the puck drops in Game 1.
”It’s a new year,” Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said. ”The series is going to play out differently. The game is going to be won differently. You don’t know how it is going to go. The only thing I know is it’s a good rivalry, two really good teams, two teams that have a lot of punch offensively. It’s going to be fun to be a part of.”
Particularly for Letang. He missed all of Pittsburgh’s run to a second straight Stanley Cup last spring while recovering from neck surgery, though he was able to make his way to the arena for Game 7 of the conference semifinals Luke Falk Color Rush Jersey , when Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 29 shots he faced and the Penguins escaped with a 2-0 victory to finish a series in which both teams scored 20 goals and won on opposing ice at least twice.
Though there are a handful of new faces on both sides, the principals remain the same. Ovechkin and Crosby. Evgeni Malkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Letang and Braden Holtby. Two weeks of taut, tense hockey in the offing.
”I think it’s the same old dangerous team,” Letang said. ”Like, don’t get me wrong, those series went the distance Lions Sylvester Williams Jersey , they went to overtime. It was a tough matchup that could have gone either way. They cause the same problems to our team. They cause problems on the power play. They have a lot of skill. They make a lot of plays.”
Yet the Penguins have always found a way to make at least one more, though they may be at less than 100 percent when things get going. Malkin and forward Carl Hagelin both missed practice on Tuesday. Malkin is dealing with a lower-body injury while Hagelin has an upper-body issue after colliding with Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux in Pittsburgh’s clinching victory over the Flyers in Game 6.
That could provide more playing time for players like Riley Sheahan – who filled in capably on the second line for Malkin in Game 6 – and rookie Zach Aston-Reese. The 23-year-old was in high school the first time Crosby and Ovechkin met in the playoffs in 2009 – when the Penguins blitzed the Capitals in Game 7 of the conference semifinals on their way to the Cup.
This time, Aston-Reese’s view will be markedly different. He noticed an uptick in intensity from the regular season when the Penguins fended off the Flyers. Now, the dial goes up to 11 and stays there.
”I expect every game to be almost like a Game 7,” Aston-Reese said.
That’s because it almost always is.
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Of all the things the New Jersey Devils could deliver their fans on Fan Appreciation Night Thursday at the Prudential Center Texans Authentic Jerseys , clinching a spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs is at the top of the list.
With a magic number of two points coming into play Thursday, the preferred method of securing a postseason berth is a victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, even though there are other scenarios involving the ninth-place Florida Panthers in which New Jersey would clinch, as well.
“We don’t want to count on anyone else,” said Devils winger Kyle Palmieri.
The Devils (43-28-9) have done their fair share of winning down the stretch to put themselves in this position. They are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, and carry a three-game winning streak into their home finale of the regular season following Tuesday’s dominating 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers.
Taylor Hall continued to build on his Hart Trophy candidacy with two goals and two assists against the Rangers, extending his career highs to 39 goals and 93 points on the season. He has six goals in his last four games and carries a league-best nine-game point-scoring streak into Thursday’s contest.
“If there’s one thing I’m proud of personally this season is I’ve played well when the games have mattered,” said Hall. “I think that’s true of a lot of guys on our team. You see our record the past 10 games or so. When the chips are down, we’ve come to play and we’ve won games.”
Goaltender Keith Kinkaid is the backbone of New Jersey’s strong finish. He started each of the last seven games and 11 of the last 12 Rasmus Dahlin Sabres Jersey , posting a 9-1-1 record. Since Feb. 13, Kinkaid owns an outstanding 15-3-1 record.
“It’s been fun to play regularly and contribute to us winning games,” said Kinkaid.
While the Devils try to clinch their first playoff berth since the 2011-12 season, the Maple Leafs (48-25-7) already punched their second straight ticket to the postseason and are set for a third-place finish in the Atlantic Division. Their only unknown is whether they will face the Boston Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
“We don’t really compare what either of those series would be like,” Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly told reporters after practice Wednesday. “We just have to prepare for whoever it may be. We’ve got two games here to work on some things and get some things nailed down to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Maple Leafs come off a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday and have won nine of their last 12 games. Auston Matthews and William Nylander each scored twice and added an assist against the Sabres and backup goalie Curtis McElhinney made 32 saves.
Matthews has at least one point in all seven games he has played since returning from a 10-game absence due to an injured shoulder. Injuries limited Matthews to 60 games so far this season, but he has 33 goals and 60 points.
“Simply put, we are a better team when he is in the lineup,” stated Toronto’s Nazem Kadri.
The teams split their first two meetings this season, both of which were played in Toronto. The Devils doubled up the Maple Leafs 6-3 on Oct. 11 before Frederik Andersen turned in a 42-save shutout to help Toronto edge New Jersey 1-0 in overtime on Nov. 16.
Zay Jones is with family and is going to be fine Authentic Jalyn Holmes Jersey , the Buffalo Bills receiver’s father said Wednesday, two days after his son was arrested following a naked, bloody argument with his brother.Robert Jones posted a note on his Twitter account saying Jones ”is with me and his mom,” while adding ”he’s going to be fine!”
Online jail records also showed the player, whose legal name is Isaiah Avery Jones, had been released.
The 22-year-old Jones was arrested after officers were called to a disturbance in downtown Los Angeles, said police spokesman Luis Garcia. Jones was found ”breaking glass doors and windows” and arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism, Garcia said.
Prosecutors did not immediately file a case against Jones and have asked police to further investigate the matter, district attorney’s office spokesman Paul Eakins said.
The arrest was first reported by TMZ Adidas Artemi Panarin Jersey , which posted a video showing a nude Zay Jones pushing his brother, Cayleb, in what appeared to be the hallway of an apartment building. Cayleb Jones, a Minnesota Vikings receiver, on Wednesday also posted a note on his Twitter account, which read: ”I am my brothers keeper.”
Robert Jones, who lives in Texas, is a former NFL linebacker, and won three Super Bowl championships with the Dallas Cowboys during his 10-year career.
Jones was held on $20 Braden Smith Jersey ,000 bail. His agent, Zeke Sandhu, did not reply to text and voicemail messages. Sandhu also represents Cayleb Jones.
The Bills, on Tuesday night, said in a statement they were aware of an incident involving Jones and were still gathering additional information.
Jones was the first of Buffalo’s two second-round picks in 2017 after completing a prolific college career at East Carolina. He set an FBS record with 399 career catches and broke the single-season reception mark with 158 catches in his final season.
The production didn’t carry over into Jones’ rookie season as he struggled in attempting to take over the Bills’ No. 2 receiver spot. He finished tied for third on the team with 27 catches and fourth with 316 yards. He also scored two touchdowns.
Jones’ production tailed off over the final month, when he had just two catches for 25 yards. Following the season, Jones revealed he played part of the year with a torn labrum and had surgery to repair the injury in January.
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Wawrow reported from Buffalo, New York.
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Singletary was at minicamp with the Detroit Lions on Thursday. He said he doesn't know Lions coach Matt Patricia that well, but he wanted to be there to check out the video screens Detroit is using at practice.
Singletary was hired earlier this year to coach high school football at Trinity Christian Academy in Texas. He also has been hired as coach of the Memphis franchise in the Alliance of American Football, which will start playing in February.
Singletary has coached for three NFL teams, including a stint as San Francisco's head coach. The 49ers went 18-22 under him from 2008-10. Singletary was asked if he thought he could get another opportunity like that.
"I hope so. But for me, I'm going to work where I'm planning," he said. "Very excited to be where I am, and if that happens, great. If not, then I'm going to keep working where I'm at."
Singletary says he learned some lessons from his time coaching in the NFL.
"It's a long list of things. I think more so than anything else is how much I needed to do 鈥?how much work I needed to do as a coach and being able to coach my coaches and have them help my players. ... Just getting more information, just getting more grounding as a head coach."
A star linebacker with the Chicago Bears Billy Price Jersey , Singletary was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. He clearly still enjoys being involved in the sport.
"It's such a great game, such a great game when you have the right people involved, when you have the right coaches and you've got good kids," Singletary said. "I think all kids are good kids. ... You've got to know which ones you've got to manage, and the ones that help the others. But it's just such a great game, and so many life lessons, so very important game to me, in America."
As for the video screens at practice, Patricia explained the purpose this week.
"You may have missed something on the field. You kind of look at it and see what happens. You see what went wrong on the play and can get that instant kind of correction to the player right away," Patricia said. "A lot of the times the players are trying to figure it out for themselves. So Cheap Calvin Ridley Jersey , they'll see something and, 'Hey, what happened right there?' And they can look at it and reference it from that standpoint."
Follow Noah Trister at Twitter/noahtrister 鈥?Richie Incognito is abruptly calling it quits on an 11-season NFL career, three years after the Buffalo Bills gave the offensive guard a second chance at playing following his role in the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal.The NFL Players Association on Tuesday night announced Incognito had contacted the union of his plans to retire. The announcement made on the NFLPA’s account , came after Incognito revealed his intention to retire through a series of tweets and comments made to several publications throughout the morning.Without going into detail, the 34-year-old said he was “done” in a text to The Associated Press shortly after SportsIllustrated reported Incognito was “strongly considering retiring,” but would consider returning for one more season at the right price.Incognito then told The Buffalo News he’s retiring because of health reasons.“I’m done. That’s it,” Incognito told The News. “Went to the doctor. My liver and kidneys are shutting down. The stress is killing me.”The Bills did not respond to a request seeking comment.Incognito’s decision to retire comes a week after he fired his agent, David Dunn, in a post on . That decision came after Incognito accepted a pay cut by restructuring the final year of his contract.Incognito initially backed his restructured contract by posting a note on saying he was “thrilled to be returning this season and fired up to get back to work with my Buffalo Bills brothers.”Incognito is also the subject of an NFL investigation after Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue accused the Bills player of making racist slurs during the Jaguars’ 10-3 win over Buffalo in an AFC wild-card playoff game in January.The NFL has not announced whether it has completed its investigation. Ngakoue said he and Incognito cleared the air after they were AFC teammates at the Pro Bowl in January.Incognito began Tuesday with a series of vague tweets Adidas Will Butcher Jersey , which began with “Good morning, FOOTBALL!” He then tweeted “Yes,” and “Wow,” before posting a note that read: “Big Ben.”Later, he mentioned the accounts of the NFLPA and the union’s assistant executive director, George Atallah, in a note that read, “I’m done,” followed by a winking emoji with its tongue stuck out.In its tweet Tuesday night, the NFLPA wished Incognito good luck in the next stage of his career.Incognito is leaving football a little over three years since signing a one-year deal with Buffalo to resume his career after spending 18 months away from the game.Incognito was suspended for the final eight games of the 2013 season Authentic Kevin Hogan Jersey , when the Dolphins were thrust into the national spotlight after offensive lineman Jonathan Martin abruptly quit the team amid accusations he was being bullied. An NFL investigation determined Incognito and two other Dolphins offensive linemen persistently harassed Martin.In February, Martin was detained and questioned by Los Angeles police after posting a threatening note on his Instagram account. Martin’s post showed a shotgun and specifically mentioned Incognito, former teammate Mike Pouncey as well as a private Los Angeles prep school Martin once attended. Martin wrote suicide and revenge were the only options for a victim of bullying.Incognito also played three-plus seasons in St. Louis, which drafted him in 2005. He played in college at Nebraska but left after being suspended, then transferred to Oregon though he never played for the Ducks.Incognito earned three of his four Pro Bowl selections in Buffalo, and was considered among the Bills team leaders. He started all 36 games at left guard for the Bills, and was part of a line that led to Buffalo leading the NFL in yards rushing in both 2015 and ’16.The Bills’ offensive line is already undergoing a shuffle after center Eric Wood was diagnosed with a career-ending neck injury in January. Buffalo also traded starting left tackle Cordy Glenn to Cincinnati last month..Vaccaro signed a one-year deal with the Titans on Saturday morning and was with them for individual drills at practice at Nissan Stadium hours later. He had been waiting for a team to sign him since his contract with New Orleans expired in March.
“This has been a long time coming for me,” Vaccaro said. “I was waiting on the right opportunity. I was fortunate that one opened up here and that we could get a deal done. I’m ready to work.”
The Titans also signed safety Jason Thompson after placing safety Johnathan Cyprien on injured reserve Friday with a torn left ACL.
Reid, who has been looking for a job since March himself, remains unsigned since his own rookie contract expired in March with the San Francisco 49ers. He filed a claim this spring after visiting with Cincinnati, arguing he was unsigned as a result of collusion by NFL owners over his protests of police brutality and racial inequality by kneeling during the national anthem.
“He’s a great man,” Vaccaro said of Reid. “He’s a good family man, and a great dude. He needs to be on a team. He’ll get on a team. I believe in him.”
Reid was headed to Nashville to work out for the Titans on Friday but reportedly had flight issues. Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he’d leave questions on what happened to Reid’s workout to Reid and his agent and general manager Jon Robinson.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see him,” Vrabel said. “So that’s really all I can comment on. I’ll let Eric and his camp comment, and I’ll let Jon take care of it on our end.”
The 6-foot Vaccaro spent the past five years as a starter with New Orleans, starting 67 games with eight interceptions Authentic Bo Scarbrough Jersey , 7 1/2 sacks and four forced fumbles. The Saints drafted him 15th overall in 2013 out of Texas. Vrabel said Vaccaro didn’t look at times last year like the safety had earlier in his career but had a great workout for the Titans.
“So what we expect is that he’s a pro, and he comes in and learns what to do quickly,” Vrabel said. “We’ll work him in there and see where he can help us. He’s made plays in the National Football League, and it seems like he’s starting off with a great attitude.”
Vaccaro said he’s a competitive person who knows he has to catch up with his new teammates in a secondary featuring All-Pro safety Kevin Byard and cornerbacks Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and Adoree Jackson.
“There’s a lot of good players here,” Vaccaro said. “They’re loaded. Dean Pees’ defense, the stuff we’re going to run, it’s just a good fit. I’ve got a good feeling about it. I haven’t got to practice yet. I did a lot of different things at NOLA — nickel, dime, safety, back deep at some point Adidas David Pastrnak Jersey , I’ve been in every situation.”
Thompson has spent time with New England, Chicago, Seattle and Dallas since coming into the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Utah in 2017.
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster said he is using his legal problems that he feared could cost him his football career this offseason as a learning tool going forward now that he has been cleared of the most serious charges.Foster spoke to the media on Saturday for the first time since he was charged in April for felony domestic assault and later exonerated when the accuser recanted her story and a judge found no other credible evidence.
"I learned every day I have to go harder at everything I do now to better myself even more," Foster said. "It's like do or die. Just don't mess up. ... It's like how I'm trying to craft my career, I have to craft my life."
Foster spent much of his offseason dealing with legal issues rather than preparing for his second season in the NFL. He was charged in January in Alabama with second-degree marijuana possession. That charge was eventually dismissed after he completed a first-time offender diversion course.
Foster then faced more serious charges for an incident in California in February. He was initially charged in April with felonies for domestic violence, making criminal threats and weapons possession after being accused of beating up his ex-girlfriend.
A judge ruled there was no probable cause on the first two charges after the ex-girlfriend recanted the allegations and the judge found no other evidence to support the charges. The weapons charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and Foster pleaded no-contest to that in June.
He was sentenced to two years' probation, 232 hours of community service, and $235 in fines.
Foster declined to discuss specifics of the case on Saturday and is just thankful to be back with his teammates on the field.
"It made me appreciate football a lot better," he said. "It was crazy knowing that football could be gone. Just being back on this field with my brothers and these coaches is a blessing."
Foster missed about a month of the offseason program while dealing with the legal issues and will also be suspended without pay for the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL's conduct and substance-abuse policy.
He is able to take part in training camp and play the exhibition games, but must sit out San Francisco's games against Minnesota and Detroit before being allowed to return on Sept. 17 before the Niners play Kansas City.
"It was painful," Foster said of the punishment. "It's football Cheap Marshall Newhouse Jersey , something I do, something I love. It is what it is. Accept the consequences, you take it and you move on. You learn from it, too, and you grow from it."
The 49ers stood behind Foster even as he was not allowed at the facility. But coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have made clear that Foster must get his life in order and avoid further legal trouble if he wants to remain part of the organization.
"I think Reuben's done a great job just handling it," Shanahan said. "What they originally charged him with is as bad of a thing as you can imagine. It's a very embarrassing thing because of how bad it was. To have all that scrutiny on you and to have to go through that, I think would be a challenge for any human being. That would mess a lot of people up.
"I've been really, very impressed with Reuben in how he handled it, the process he went through while it was going on and after it got dropped, how he's handled himself since. I know he learned a lot through it. We talked about it a lot at the beginning, that some things seem so bad but if you get through it Titans Authentic Jerseys , it can be a good thing in the long run. If you handle it right, it can enlighten you in some things and help you grow. I really think it has for Reuben and I think it's benefited him in the long run."
Foster said he appreciated the support, especially from teammates who came to court in a public show of support. One of those teammates was Richard Sherman, who barely knew Foster after signing with the team in March.
Sherman and Foster now have lockers next to each other.
"That's real. He's a man for that," Foster said of Sherman coming to court in April. "I respect Richard Sherman for that, coming to court and supporting me. Just being there for me at the hard times."
.鈥?Super Bowl 52 will be played comfortably under the translucent U.S. Bank Stadium roof on a dry artificial turf Authentic Anibal Sanchez Jersey , leaving the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles without worries of traction trouble or kick-altering winds.That doesn’t mean the workers in charge of preparing a surface that’s championship-sufficient were free from challenges.The host Minnesota Vikings came close to reaching the big game, for one.When they beat the New Orleans Saints with that last-play touchdown pass in the divisional round on Jan. 14, the NFL would have normally already been in takeover mode of the stadium by then. The victory by the Philadelphia Eagles over the Atlanta Falcons that weekend was a big help for the league’s exhaustive operations; it sent the Vikings on the road to face the Eagles for the NFC title rather than hosting another postseason game at their not-yet-2-year-old home.“That would’ve really pushed us back and crunched the time,” said Ed Mangan, the NFL’s field director. “We’ve had a few other teams in the past that got close, so you always start out with a ‘what if.’ You have a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C, and you have a backup plan for each one of those. So you’re always prepared for it.”Then there’s the winter weather, which has its own share of the spotlight this week next to the Patriots and Eagles. Just because the game itself will be played in climate-controlled conditions doesn’t mean the crews are always comfortable, with some outdoor work to be done in the single-digit temperatures. The downtown setting, with a major hospital, several churches and plenty of apartment buildings within a few blocks of the front doors, added some urban-specific security hurdles.Commuting to the site last week, too, could have been made trickier by a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on the region. But the City of Minneapolis and Minnesota Department of Transportation snowplows produced a championship-caliber performance.“We’ve never been held up getting anywhere Authentic Trenton Cannon Jersey ,” said Mangan, whose team is also responsible for the practice facilities at suburban Vikings headquarters in Eden Prairie (for the Patriots) and at the University of Minnesota a short ride from downtown (for the Eagles).So are all the preparations finally caught up?The answer is yes, according to Eric Finkelstein, the NFL’s senior director of events.“We’ve been talking to the team and were for multiple months, and we were able to delay the things that we knew we could afford to delay and get a jump on the stuff that we knew we had to get done, even during the playoff game run,” Finkelstein said.Vikings fans are still decompressing from the loss to the Eagles that dashed their dream of an unprecedented Super Bowl on home turf. So having the home stadium as the backdrop for the big game could be a painful sight either on television or in person. The good news for them and their healing process is that almost all of the team’s logos will be invisible, covered by NFL and Super Bowl signage. The six-panel purple end zones have been pulled off, replaced with Patriots and Eagles paint.“We want this to look like the Super Bowl and know that you’re here,” Finkelstein said.The field itself remains the domain of the indefatigable George Toma, the NFL’s grounds crew master who is working his 52nd Super Bowl. Yes, that’s all of them. He’ll turn 89 on Friday, and his pride in the job is just as high as it was five decades ago.“The cheapest insurance for an athlete from preschool all the way up to professional is a good, safe playing field,” Toma said Justin Bethel Color Rush Jersey , “and that’s what we try to do. For the people in the stands and the people on TV, we try to give them a field of beauty and then some.”There’s less pressure, per se, this week than four years ago in New Jersey during the NFL’s first outdoor Super Bowl in a northern site. There’s still plenty to do.More than 1,000 performers have been on the field at a time rehearsing for the halftime show. So Toma and his crew use a magnetic rake of sorts to comb the field for any stray nuts, bolts or random wardrobe pieces that might have popped off. They use a stamping tool to gauge the stiffness of the turf every 8 feet or so, to make sure there are no dangerous soft spots. The sand-rubber mixture that serves as the artificial sod underneath the fake grass is supposed to be 1陆 inches thick.Having worked two years for the Vikings at their practice facility and served as the spring training groundskeeper for the Minnesota Twins at their baseball facility in Fort Myers, Florida, Toma has a special affinity for this Super Bowl being held in Minnesota.“I’ve been through a lot of stadiums worldwide, but in my book I love this stadium,” Toma said. “This is the best stadium I’ve been in. Why? Everything’s right here for you. We come out that tunnel, and we’re only 100 feet to the playing field for our equipment and for our paint and everything. Not only that, but the people who run this stadium are outstanding, and then some.” 鈥?The Minnesota Vikings have hired Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo as their offensive coordinator.DeFilippo replaces Pat Shurmur, who became head coach of the New York Giants. The 39-year-old DeFilippo spent two seasons with the Eagles after one year as offensive coordinator in Cleveland.DeFilippo becomes the third offensive coordinator Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has had in five seasons on the job.“We took our time with the search and made sure we left no stone unturned to get the right fit Markus Wheaton Color Rush Jersey ,” Zimmer said in a statement distributed by the team. “He has a track record of success and has proven to be a great teacher. We feel John will have good chemistry with our team, and we are all eager to get to work.”The deal was done on Friday, five days after the Eagles beat New England in the Super Bowl in Minnesota behind an MVP performance by Nick Foles. DeFilippo first met with the Vikings on Thursday, the day the Eagles rode in their raucous victory parade through Philadelphia.Now he’ll work with Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman to sort out the quarterback situation in Minnesota, with contracts for Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater all currently scheduled to expire next month.With guidance from DeFilippo, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and head coach Doug Pederson, Foles found a rhythm in the playoffs after an initially rocky takeover for the injured Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to their first NFL title since 1960.Wentz was an NFL MVP award contender with 33 touchdown passes in 13 games in his second season in the league, until tearing the ACL in his left knee. In three postseason starts, including a 38-7 victory over the Vikings in the NFC championship game, Foles passed for 971 yards, six touchdowns and threw only one interception for a 115.7 passer rating. In the Super Bowl against the Patriots, Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns and even caught a pass for a score on a trick play.Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski, who interviewed with Zimmer for the promotion, becomes a strong candidate to join Shurmur with the Giants as the offensive coordinator there. Former Seattle Seahawks and Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was also considered along with Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan and New Orleans Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell Cowboys Michael Gallup Jersey , according to various reports.Under DeFilippo in 2015, the Browns gained more than 4,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards in the same season for the first time since 1986. He also has five years as quarterbacks coach for Oakland on his resume over two different stints, including in 2014 when Raiders quarterback Derek Carr led all rookies in completions, yards and touchdowns and threw only 12 interceptions, the fewest by a first-year player in NFL history with at least 450 passing attempts.DeFilippo is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, who was a four-year letter-winner as a quarterback at James Madison, where he led the team to a conference championship as a senior in 1999..