Forums » Introduce Yourself

• Deleted Member

  
   

  February 27, 2018 10:04 PM PST

  MONTREAL -- Alexander Radulov was beaming on Thursday night. Tony Gonzalez Jersey .He was showing his 11-month-old son around the Canadiens digs at the Bell Centre. The expression on Radulovs face as he carried his baby son around in his right arm could have lit up the entire arena.These are good times indeed for the once-banished Nashville Predators winger. Ra-du, Ra-du, the crowd had chanted once again during a Habs power play in Montreals 3-1 win over the?Tampa Bay Lightning.Its been good [here] so far for me and my family, Radulov, 30, said on Friday. Its nice to hear that reaction from the fans. Its big for me obviously, but I have to work hard and keep going. Every time I step on the ice, I have to do something to help the team.Just eight games into the NHL season, it appears that Alexei Kovalev, version 2.0, has surfaced here in La Belle Province. The passionate Montreal fans have embraced the latest version of the misunderstood, enigmatic Russian winger with oodles of talent.Kovalev found new life in his NHL career when he came here years ago. The fans absolutely loved him. This might be happening all over again with Radulov, who is winning over the folks in these parts not just with his offensive flair, but just as much for his dogged determination away from the puck.You learn from things you go through, said Radulov. Its not all about just scoring goals or getting assists. Hockey is about playing both ways. To be a good player, defense, neutral zone, you have to block shots, take a check, whatever helps at that time in a game. The goals and assists will be there if you work hard and do the right job.?And the fans have noticed. People here see if youre working hard, they will respect that,?said Radulov.One person who would have easily predicted Radulovs early-season success in his return to the NHL after four years back in Russia is his former junior coach in Quebec City.I love Alexander Radulov as a person, said Hall of Famer Patrick Roy?in French via email Thursday. Hes a dominant player and dedicated and Im not surprised at all to see his success so far this season.The Habs struck out when they took a flyer on a Russian project named Alexander Semin a year ago. Montreal sent Semin packing rather quickly last December.The Canadiens are banking on a different player his time around. Canadiens general manager?Marc Bergevin talked with a lot of people before signing Radulov to a one-year, $5.75-million deal on July 1.Our guys in Europe really liked his compete level. His skating level was high off the charts, Bergevin said before Thursdays win. For me, personally, that part is very important, the compete level. I think skill is important, but if you have skill and you dont compete, those guys come and go. Theres always a risk, especially for a guy whos been gone (from the NHL) for a while, so the term of the contract was very important.On a day in which some teams once again had to overpay for the top free agents -- as veteran players landed five-, six- and seven-year deals all over the place last July 1 -- the Habs got an impact player on a one-year deal. In todays cap world, thats found gold.As long as he delivers, of course.I think the fact he played in Quebec City helped us sell him on the passion of our fans in Montreal. So far its worked out well, said Bergevin.Radulov said his history with the Quebec Remparts was what he pointed to when Bergevin first approached him about playing in Montreal.The first thing in the meeting with Marc, he was asking if I could handle the pressure here in Montreal, said Radulov. I said, Yeah, I played before in Quebec, I know the French-Canadian people, I had success there. I get that feeling that Montreal is a great place to play hockey, great fans, great organization, Original Six team.Its all about winning here, Radulov continued. Thats why I chose Montreal. I hate losing, too. I want to win. We have a good group of guys with a chance to win.Among that group of guys is an old Predators buddy in Shea Weber. And yes, Bergevin made sure to tap into Webers personal knowledge of Radulov before taking the plunge.Oh yeah, I talked to Shea. He said, Berg, I would (sign him) if you can, said the Habs GM. He said, We grew up together. I think it could work with him. Yeah he put his stamp on it, he did.The Predators and the Habs have some interesting connections this season, dont they? There was so much debate about the Weber-for-P.K. Subban blockbuster. And then you have Bergevin scooping up a player whom Nashville GM David Poile drafted, developed and then brought back a second time from Russia for the 2012 playoffs, an experiment that famously ended with Radulov missing curfew and the Predators self-imploding against the Coyotes in part because of that distraction.When we drafted him, we were looking for a high-end, offensive, talented player, Poile said in a phone conversation earlier this week. There are sometimes some risk with every player when they have that type of skill level. We were really excited when we drafted him, really excited when we brought him over here.But where it breaks off for me is that there was a whole series of things that probably fall under immaturity that didnt allow him to be successful on a consistent basis on our team, added Poile. Youd have to ask him why he went back to Russia in the first place, because I think that hurt him more than anything. I think if he would have stuck it out, my guess is that it would have worked out for us. And him.The second time was real unfortunate, at the most important time of year. We made a decision, and it was the end of our relationship.Seeing a more mature Radulov having this kind of early season success with the Habs? Poile always knew that player was in there. Its why he brought him back a second time.?It turns out that the third time was the charm.Do I wish he would have found the maturity and consistency level with us a few years ago? Absolutely, but it didnt happen, said Poile.When he left Nashville in 2012, Radulov wondered if that was the end of the line for him in the NHL. But he kept the hope -- and the drive --alive.?I wont lie to you, I had a lot of things in my mind, said Radulov. I still believed if I kept working hard back home in Russia and play as good and hard as I can over there, make sure people here see me in case I could come back when I had a chance. Its worked out. Im hoping to play over here for a number of years. Andy Levitre Jersey . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Derrick Shelby Jersey . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. http://www.cheapfalconsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-adrian-clayborn-jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Past performance is not always indicative of future results.That is the audible fine print a disembodied voice speeds through in countless late-night television ads for investment opportunities of dubious quality. It is also one of the reasons why we love sports.We might think we know what will happen. We might think weve seen enough to predict the future.But were no less foolish if we dont heed that caveat of late-night speculation.It was certainly true Saturday evening in Belo Horizonte. To watch the first half of the Group G encounter between the United States and France was to wonder when, not if, Les Bleus would score their goal.Then the game halted, the teams retreated to their respective locker rooms for halftime and everything changed without a ball being kicked.The U.S. women seized control, found a goal and held on for a 1-0 win that doesnt just put them atop their group but shapes their entire path toward what they hope is a gold medal.And the thing is, we have seen that before. For two of the best teams in the world, maybe the two best teams in the world at the moment, the games are always competitive. The results are also predictable.Win, lose or draw, U.S. coach Jill Ellis said, we knew this game was going to be valuable in the takeaways.But the United States found a way to win. Again. And France found a way not to win. Again.Not unlike the game the two sides played in the United States earlier this year -- and not unlike a whole host of games France has played in major tournaments since emerging as a world-class team within the past decade -- Les Bleus had opportunities to take leads on an opponent they have beaten just once in their history. They stretched the United States with speed on the right flank early. They built possession through the retiring-far-too-young Louisa Cadamuro down the left side. Even without one star, Eugenie Le Sommer rested as a fitness precaution, they probed through the middle with the familiar pace and power of Marie-Laurie Delie.It wasnt a rout or a capitulation, by any stretch, but France outplayed the United States for 45 minutes. And that isnt something that is often said about the reigning world champions.France is a really dynamic attack, and I think that we were struggling to find some cohesion through our midfield and really generate an attack, said center back Whitney Engen, who held against that siege in a surprise start for the injured Julie Johnston. But as we settled down into it, I think we were able to move the ball and start to understand their positioning a little bit better, which helped us to kind of manipulate them into places we needed to put them.Yet before they could do that, the U.S. women had to survive the first half. They did so in no small part because of the person who has played so many of them. In her 200th appearance for the national team, and again the target of a crowd eager to heckle her, Hope Solo was brilliant. If her finger grazed Wendie Renards open set-piece header in the 16th minute, as it seemed, the deflection was just enough to send the ball off the crossbar. Even if she didnt touch it, she covered the space and made sure the ball could not slip under the crossbar.More dazzling was the save she made against Delie minutes later. In alone on goal after holding off a defender, Delie had little angle for a clean shot because of how quickly Solo closed the space between them. Delie tried to shoot the ball between the goalkeepers legs, but Solo reacted, any inelegance she felt in a save made by falling on the ball more than made up for by the craftsmanship of the entire sequence.If not for Solo and a back line that bent but didnt break, France would have led. Still, Ellis said she was pleased with the first half, pleased that she felt like her team didnt let France do somme of what it likes to do. Takkarist McKinley Jersey. The concern wasnt in what France was doing but what her team was not.I think at times in the first half, there were a couple of occasions when we played and we played through, Ellis said. But for the most part, I dont think we were disciplined enough to try and commit to what were trying to do, was to play. I think for the second half, we talked to them about making sure our back line was moving the ball, being a little bit more patient.Patient, maybe, but the U.S. women were most of all persistent in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.Then the moment came.Morgan Brian picked out Tobin Heath in open space on the left side, Heath pushed toward the goal and gave herself just enough space to challenge the French goalkeeper at the near post. Sarah Bouhaddi got a hand on the ball but couldnt stop it from caroming off the post and to the feet of Lloyd. The captain scored for the sixth game in a row in a major tournament.It was after the game earlier this year that Lloyd voiced some frustration at feeling isolated for much of the game, even on a day when Ellis was ecstatic at how her team knocked France out of its rhythm. This night, even after a first half starved for service and three offsides in quick succession early in the second half, Lloyd was right there waiting for the chance when Heaths shot bounced to her.There was no frustration voiced after this game.I dont think there was anything, nothing really tactically, Lloyd said of the second-half improvement. It was just reiterating the fact that were good on the ball. We should have the confidence to play. We dont have to force a long ball. We can play in tight spaces; we have the players that are capable of doing that.So I think it was just kind of reiterating that message that, second half, lets come out and when we actually do play and knock it around, theres good things that happen. You saw that on the goal, and you saw that in the second half.If it wasnt tactical, if it wasnt tangible, what is left but the intangible?After the game, through a translator, French midfielder and NWSL standout Amandine Henry mentioned that France needed to continue to close the gap on the United States. But what is that gap? It isnt in technical ability. It isnt in physical ability. It certainly isnt for lack of individual skill, not on a night when French defender Wendie Renard was the best player on the field.Earlier this week, looking ahead to the renewal of the rivalry, Megan Rapinoe talked about all of the good things France does on the soccer field (with which she is particularly acquainted after a professional stint in the country). But she came back to the fact that at some point, the French have to figure out how to score the goals to make all of that matter.How, then, does a team do that?You know, a lot of it, in the biggest games, in those final moments, it is about mentality, Rapinoe said. And its about your gut, and its about just not giving up ever. We could be down in the 95th minute 3-0 and we still think were going to win. Thats the mentality that we have. I dont really know how you teach that. It comes with practice, too. It comes with us winning all those games in the last few minutes. Our competitive nature in training and everything is kind of the extra piece outside of the skill and the tactics and the technique.I dont know how you really train that. You need to get a taste of it first.France should win a game like this one of these days.The United States should lose a game like this one of these days.Both things could still happen in Brazil. Perhaps even in a rematch for gold in the Maracana.But Saturday was not that day. Predictably, it would seem. ' ' '